#and greg had forgotten his wallet
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housethemd · 1 year ago
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One Life For Another
(What if Amber had been the one to survive the bus crash instead of House? Snapshots of Wilson’s life after House. Wilson/Amber, eventual House/Wilson. Just read and you’ll understand.)
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“Where’s House?”
Amber asks, shortly after her eyes open. Wilson smooths back her hair, thinking she’s just confused, concussed.
“Shh, you were in a bus crash. You’ve been unconscious for nearly 24 hours. You’re going to be okay though.” He reassures her, kissing her forehead.
“Where’s House?” She repeats.
That’s how they find out House was in that crash too. He’d forgotten his wallet at the bar, so he’d been taken to Princeton General as a John Doe. That’s why Wilson only got the call about Amber.
When Wilson gets there, House only has a few hours left. The damage is too extensive. He’d need multiple organ transplants to save him, and he qualifies for none of them because of his addiction. Conceptually, Wilson knows that House would be unlikely to survive regardless.
Amber checks herself out of PPTH AMA, refusing not to be at her boyfriend's side. House is in and out of consciousness, the high doses of Morphine he’s being given make him drowsy.
It’s 3am when House wakes up for the last time. He’s surprisingly lucid, and Wilson knows what that means. He’s seen it time and time again in his patients. It’s like the universe grants them one last chance to say their goodbyes, to make their peace.
“Always knew I’d go first.” House’s voice is rough and quiet. Wilson has to lean in close to hear him.
“Me too, I didn’t think it would be quite so soon though.” Wilson laughs through his tears.
“On the contrary, I think I’ve lived longer than I was supposed to.” House says.
Wilson knows he’s talking about the infarction. He always knew House felt he should have died then, but Wilson always tried to reassure him that it obviously wasn’t his time, and besides, misanthropic bastards are supposed to live forever, aren’t they?
“Oh Greg.” Wilson is starting to shake as he fights the urge to break down.
“S’okay Jimmy.” He soothes.
“Cut throat bitch.” He addresses Amber now.
“Yeah House?” She’s wiping her own tears away, watching someone die is always hard, especially when it’s someone your loved one loves so much.
“Take care of Jimmy for me, okay?”
She finds she can only nod.
They all know it’s time. No one wants to say it, but they all know.
“I love you, Greg.” Wilson says, squeezing House’s hand and leaning close.
“Love you too, Jimmy. You’ve been the bestest friend a fucked up guy like could have asked for.”
Wilson can’t respond through the sobs. House’s eyes are glassy and unfocused. Wilson leans his face on House’s shoulder. His friend is dying.
“See ya, boy wonder.” The words are drawn out and slow, as House says them with his last breaths.
The monitors alarm as House flatlines. Amber rubs circles on Wilson’s back as he sobs loudly into his dead best friend's shoulder.
———————
Wilson gives the eulogy at House’s funeral. It's an open casket. House’s parents had his body dressed in a dark gray suit with a white shirt and a black tie. Wilson hates that they put House in a tie. House always hated ties. They should have put him in a blue shirt, not a white one. He always looked best in blue, it brought out his eyes. Not that you can see his eyes now.
He talks about how House was a healer, how many lives he’d saved that no one else could. How he cared about people, but only when no one was looking. How much he’ll miss, how much he misses him.
He sobs quietly as they lower the casket into the ground. He doesn’t want to make a scene, but if he’s leaning heavily on Foreman, no one says anything about it. Amber never lets go of his hand.
Blythe comes up to him and thanks him, “For being such a good friend to Greg.” He thanks her, tells her that her son was a very special man. He doesn’t know how to tell her that for everything he did for House, House did just as much for him.
——————
A year goes by.
Amber encourages James to talk about House. She knows how important that relationship was to him, and she never wants him to feel as though she’s forgotten. She doesn’t want him to think she expects him to forget.
They buy a house in the suburbs. It has three bedrooms, a large backyard, and a massive living room. It’s perfect for housing a baby grand piano. Despite the fact neither of them can play it, James keeps it.
He kept all of House’s instruments, they were all incredibly important to House and James couldn’t bear to see them go; there was so little that was truly important to House. But while the guitars get put away in cases and stored, James wants the piano displayed. After the movers had left, James just stared at it for a while. Eventually he said,
“He used to play for me when I’d ask. He was quite talented. It was… nice.” Before he went back to unpacking boxes.
Three months after they move into their home, they go out for a night on the town and James gets down on one knee. She says yes, but also says she won’t change her name. No way will she be the fourth Mrs. Wilson.
That night she wakes at 3:30am to an empty bed and the occasional sound of piano keys. She pulls on the shirt James discarded when they tumbled into bed before she creeps just far enough down the stairs to be able to hear him without being seen.
“I missed you a lot today. I asked Amber to marry me. She said yes, but she’s keeping her name. Thinks ‘Mrs. Wilson’ is cursed or something. I know you’d agree with her.”
There is the sound of piano keys being played randomly.
“It won’t be the same. Getting married without you there. I know it’s silly, I’ve done this three times before, but it’s a big day and I wish I could have my best friend by my side.”
Amber creeps back up the stairs. She’s happy James talks to House. She knows his therapist suggested it, and she’s glad to see he’s listening.
——————
Their wedding is small. They end up not doing wedding parties because James can’t bring himself to have anyone but House as his best man. Amber doesn’t mind. At the reception they light a candle “for those who couldn’t be with us” but it’s really just for House.
———————
Eighteen months after their wedding Wilson is standing in one of the PPTH delivery rooms.
“It’s a boy!” The doctor doing the delivery announces.
As Amber dozes that night, Wilson cradles the small bundle that is his son. He looks down at him with awe. The birth certificate sits next to him on the side table, signed by both him and Amber. It reads:
Michael Gregory Wilson-Volkais
He’d been worried about asking Amber to name their son after House. But she’d only smiled at him, and said she thought Gregory made a lovely middle name.
———————-
“Dad, who’s that with you in all the pictures?”
Michael is ten, and they are flipping through a photo album Amber just completed. She insisted they include pictures from before they met, because she was in her mid thirties and he was in his early 40’s when they met, meaning they both had a hell of a lot of life before each other.
“That’s your Uncle Greg.” Wilson answers, as they all stare down at a collage of images of himself and Greg.
“But I thought you only had two brothers, Uncle David and Uncle Danny.” Michael says, confused.
“Greg wasn’t my brother. We met at a medical conference when I was 28, and after that he was my best friend.”
“If he’s your best friend, why haven’t I ever met him?” Michael questions.
Wilson lets out a deep sigh, putting his arm around his son.
“Because he died, Buddy. Before you were born.”
“Oh.” Michael hangs his head, clearly feeling bad. The boy was cursed with his father’s empathy.
“It’s okay. It’s nice to talk about him. Did you know you’re named after him? Your middle name ‘Gregory’ is after your Uncle Greg. Gregory was his full first name.” Wilson tells him.
Michael thinks that’s pretty cool, and they move on to other pictures in the album. That night however, Wilson sits down with a glass of scotch and the album. He sips his drink and reminisces about the moment each picture captures, and all ones that weren’t captured on film.
———————-
At sixty-five Wilson lies in a hospital bed. His wife of twenty-three years is on one side of him, and his twenty-one year old son is on the other. Dying of cancer isn’t how he pictured his life ending, but having family around him makes it somewhat bearable, or maybe that’s the morphine.
He hates to leave his son so early, but that’s the danger of having kids later in life he supposes. Michael is only in his last year of his undergraduate degree - premed. He wants to be an oncologist like his old man. Wilson wonders if watching him die of cancer will change his mind.
He’s said his goodbyes, and slowly light and sound fades away. Strangely, or maybe not, his last thought is not of his wife or son, but of Greg House.
See you soon, old friend.
———————
“Wasn’t expecting to see you for another twenty years at least.”
He recognizes that voice. As he slowly opens his eyes he realizes he recognizes his surroundings too. It’s a forest in upstate New York. He and House used to go backpacking here. They’d spend weekends camped out, cooking everything over their campfire and sleeping side by side in sleeping bags in a two person tent.
He finds the source of the voice seated on a tree stump, and there he is.
“House.” Is the only word he manages.
“In the flesh. Well not really, but you know what I mean.” House smiles and laughs.
He looks like he did the night they met, dark hair and unshaven face. Jeans and a band t-shirt under a leather jacket. Wilson looks down at himself and realizes he’s similarly dressed, his own jeans and McGil sweatshirt. He touches his face and realizes he’s also back to the age he was that night.
“I missed you.” He tells House. It’s true. He didn’t realize how much until right now.
“Come on Jimmy, walk with me.”
House takes him down a narrow path that leads them to a small lake. Wilson remembers it from their camping trips. The only difference is now there is a small cottage next to it.
“So, what have you been up to?” House asks. Like they aren’t dead, like this isn’t some strange afterlife they find themselves occupying.
“Not much. Married Amber. Had a son. Named him Michael Gregory, after you.”
They stare at each other for a moment before bursting out into stomach aching laughter. After they finally stop they wrap their arms around each other in a tight hug. They never hugged much when they were alive, but now it feels right.
“What got you?” House asks softly in his ear.
“Cancer.” Wilson tells him.
“Wow. That’s… ironic.” House says as they pull away.
“Yeah. Yeah it is.”
They make their way into the cottage. House will give him a tour of it, and when the sun begins to set in their version of heaven they’ll lay down together in one bed without question.
In life they never seemed to get things right, and then their time together was cut short.
In death they’ll get it right.
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riahlynn101 · 10 months ago
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"Swimming Lessons."
Taking place within the "Of Heartaches and Headaches Universe."
One shot #1
Thank you, as always, to @halogenrobotics for editing this and giving me a plot outline. I couldn't have done it without you :D!!
--
Vanessa groaned, using her hands to fan herself. It was the middle of summer, and in true Utah fashion, it was absolutely sweltering. And because her luck was nonexistent, her A/C had stopped working. She'd put a work order in for her landlord to fix it, but knowing him, it’d be fixed in time for Christmas. 
Gregory was sprawled on the floor. Crayons and coloring book forgotten, because of the heat. “It’s soooo hot!” He whined, and Vanessa felt guilty. She’d heard that little kids were more susceptible to the heat. 
“Sorry, kiddo. It’s a heatwave. Hopefully it won’t last forever. I can text Luis and see if he’ll let us crash at his place.” Vanessa stared at her phone. Luis was working a double shift today, and she would really hate to bother him. But staying in this heat was dangerous…
A thought popped into her head. “Hey, Greg?” 
“Hm?”
“Do you wanna go to the pool?” She couldn’t remember the last time she went swimming. A year ago? Two?
Gregory didn’t respond, and for a minute Vanessa thought he’d gone to sleep. “Greg?” She nudged him with her foot. “Still awake?”
He sat up. “I can’t go.” Gregory pouted. 
“Why not? Is there a height requirement that I’m unaware of?” Vanessa said it jokingly, but she wondered if there was some universal rule about bringing preschoolers to the pool. She was still relatively new to this mom-ing thing. She wished Maria left a book of instructions before she moved on. Maybe she could call-
Gregory burst into tears, startling her back into the present. “I can’t swim!” He wailed.
Vanessa processed his words. “That’s okay,” She murmured. 
He sniffled, wiping his eyes. “But I…I can’t go to the pool. And-and it’s sooo hot!”
She slid off the couch, sitting on her knees in front of Gregory. She patted him on the head. “Then, I’ll just have to teach you.”
“Teach me?”
“Yep, being able to swim is an important life skill.”
“So, I can go to the pool?” 
Vanessa chuckled, messing up his hair. He made a face at the gesture, reaching up to grab at her hand. “Of course, I wouldn’t be a very good mom if I didn’t. Now, would I?”
Gregory pursed his lips together, eyes getting an oddly serious look in them. He seemed to think it over for a few seconds, shaking his head in agreement. 
“Good,” Vanessa said, getting to her feet. She holds a hand out for Gregory. “Now, let’s get changed, and get to the pool before we melt.”
-x-x-x-
The pool was surprisingly empty, but that might have something to do with the fact that a newer pool just opened a block away. The lifeguard waved at them - probably excited to have something to do. Gregory waved excitedly back. 
Vanessa put their stuff on one of the many available lawn chairs. She sat down, motioning Gregory over to her. “Sunscreen,” she said. He scrunched his nose, but skipped over nonetheless. 
It’s a good thing that she bought Gregory a swimsuit a few weeks back. The Pizzaplex had a sale, and the pair of Freddy swim trunks with a matching swim t-shirt they had was too cute to pass up. The smile the outfit earned from Gregory was well worth the temporary blow to her wallet.
Her own swimsuit was a one piece she’d had for several years. Actually, Vanessa might have “stolen” this swimsuit from her mother’s closet as one final act of revenge. Oh, well. 
She guided Gregory to the shallow end of the pool. “Now, it’s going to be a little cold. But it shouldn’t last.” Eager to cool down, Vanessa practically skipped the steps into the pool and hops right in. 
Gregory eyed the water with a nervous expression. He stood on the top step, kicking at the water. 
“It’s okay,” Vanessa said, wading through the water and reaching her hands out. “You can reach this part. No swimming required yet.”
Gregory seemed to consider her words, taking another step into the pool. And another and another, until he was on the final step. The water reaches his naval, and he muttered something about it being too cold. 
“Good job!” Vanessa complimented, taking his hands. “First part done.”
“What’s next?” He asks. 
Vanessa moved back a little. “Keep walking forward until you can’t anymore.” She made sure to have her arms outstretched just in case she had to save him from going under. 
Gregory looked less than pleased with that answer, staring at the water like it offended him. “Okay,” he whispered. He walked forward, arms reaching towards Vanessa’s. 
He stopped suddenly. The water now reached his collarbones. They’d barely moved five inches from the steps. Vanessa smiles encouragingly at him. “Would you like to try floating?”
“Floating?” He asked. 
“Mhm, floating is when you lie on your back.”
A crease formed between his eyebrows. “No swimming?” 
“No swimming,” Vanessa confirmed. 
“O-kay.” 
She helped him onto his back. Gregory startled a little, cool water tickling his ears. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m right here.”
He calmed down, trusting her to keep him afloat. She placed her hands under his back, supporting him. Slowly (very, very slowly) Vanessa removed them. Gregory remained floating. “You’re floating all by yourself, Greg.”
His eyes shot open. “Huh!? Really!?” He shouted, ears still submerged under water. She nodded. 
Gregory smiles widely. “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!
Vanessa allowed him to bask in his newfound ability. Sometimes she wished she could find joy in the mundane. That childish glee that followed a brand new discovery. A few inches away, Gregory giggled, lightly smacking the surface of the water. But this, Vanessa thought to herself, is just as good. Better even. 
Eventually, Gregory grew tired of floating. He grabbed at her, trying to reorient himself. Vanessa kept a firm grip on him, as they’d drifted closer to the deep end of the pool. “Ready for step two?” She asks. 
He tilted his head. “Step two? That…that wasn’t it?” 
“Nope.”
Gregory clung to her like a baby Koala, or perhaps a boa constrictor (no matter how much she tried to distance herself, he just tightened his hold. Tiny limbs squeeze the life out of Vanessa). He shook his head frantically. “Nuh, uh!”
“Come on, please. You’ve already done part one.”
Gregory quirked an eyebrow, pulling away from Vanessa to eye her. “So?” For someone so sweet and innocent, it never ceased to amaze her how sassy he really was. Vanessa supposes she should be grateful that the little boy she found in an alley was finally showcasing his personality (and she is), but sometimes….
“Can you at least try? I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Gregory stared at her with watery eyes. “Mama ‘Nessa. I…I can’t.”
It takes everything in Vanessa not to call it a day, pack up their stuff, and let Gregory off the hook. But doing that means subjecting him to this some other day. “No,” she agreed. “But you will.”
She spent the next two hours teaching Gregory how to swim. It was a slow, agonizing process. One step forward, two steps back. It also didn’t help that he seemed unable to let go of Vanessa, clutching her wrist for support. 
Twenty minutes into the second hour, Vanessa’s efforts were finally rewarded. She watched in amazement as Gregory doggy-paddled all the way to the stairs and back. It wasn't perfect, but that was okay. They could work on it another time. 
He looked so proud of himself right then, standing on his tiptoes in the shallow end. “Didja see Mama ‘Nessa!? Didja see!?”
Vanessa gave him a thumbs up. “Great job, Greg!” She opened her arms, ready to scoop him into a hug. Only to be met with a faceful of water. She wiped at her eyes. 
“Gotcha!” He shouted, giggling like crazy. It would be endearing if her eyes weren’t burning. In response, Vanessa splashed him back.
“Brat,” she teased him, dodging another one of his attacks. 
Gregory stuck his tongue out. 
They continued to splash each other, laughing and calling each other by endearing (but annoying) names. 
Vanessa wished this moment could last forever. The thought that it wouldn’t, made her feel sad, but in a faraway kind of way. Like the hurt was someplace else. Somewhere far enough away that it couldn’t bother her in the present moment. 
And that was okay with Vanessa. She was happy enough living for the here and now. 
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comeupinns · 5 years ago
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BETWEEN GREG GRIMALDIS AND GREG FRICKARD PODCASTS HAVE INSTILLED INTO ME THAT "GREG" IS THE NAME OF A TRUE VILLAIN!!!!
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givemethatgold · 4 years ago
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Fix’er Upper Pt 2
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Pairing: Eventual Frankie “Catfish” Morales x F!Reader
Length: 1.5k words
Warnings: Too many commas, some extra ‘u’s in words as I’m Canadian..., not enough time spent world building. Hope y’all got an imagination.
Notes: They meet! They meet!  (Tags at the end.)
PART ONE
The morning sun saw Frankie already awake and amidst his trees. He knew that most people thought him stubborn by wanting to run his little orchard himself. He had heard the whispers, seen the side glances, the quirked eyebrows. The odd reputation he was gaining was worth the solitude and peace he had found.
The reputation of Town Recluse was better than That Ex-Cokehead Murderer. A small part of his brain knew that he was being too hard on himself but a larger part was convinced he deserved it. 
So, he worked his penance here. Frankie nursed the trees back to fruition, his sweat and blood sacrificed to bring forth life; refusing to use pesticides or any form of agent that might harm another living thing. Deer, rabbits, mice, and bugs were the bane of a harvester’s business but Frank had decided to find joy in their presence. If he didn’t have to see another death until his own, that would still be too soon.
It had taken him three years to get anything more than a few barrels of apples. Most asked why he didn’t just cut them all down and start anew. They didn’t understand, hell he barely did, but in his soul, Frankie knew he needed to prove that he could do good. He had made his own baskets, built sheds, mended fences, and slowly built the business and a small loft for himself in the old barn.
Looking down the rows and rows of trees, Frankie was starting to get the feeling he might need help this harvest season. It wasn’t easy for him to acknowledge this but if he didn’t get at least one helping hand, more than a few bin-fulls would go to waste. Frankie decided he would put up a flyer on the notice board the next time he went to town and pray that only quiet people would apply.
The trees were his pride and joy. A variety that had been lost and forgotten until he had bought the aging orchard and a man named Tom Brown had come along asking about the fruit.
He felt at peace when he worked as it let his mind focus on the job at hand and was tired enough to slip into a deep slumber at night. Previously plagued by nightmares, long days of pruning, fixing, or working in the mill proved the cure for a dreamless sleep.
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“I’m sorry, how much did you say the total was?” you asked while rapidly trying to do some math in your head. If you purchased everything you needed at the hardware store that would only leave you forty-seven dollars left in this week’s budget. And it was only Monday. “Ermm, on second thought, I don’t know if I really need the plaster and trowel just yet. I’ll just take the drywall and screws, please.”
Leaving the store, head down, you were feeling like such an ass you didn’t even notice the two older ladies watching your exit and whispering madly to each other. The owner of Hank’s Hardware, whose name was oddly Allan, kindly helped you pile the drywall into your truck box. You were too busy with the tie-downs to notice him join in on the developing whispered plot.
Unable to resist, you purchased a bouquet of sunflowers. They were your favourite and, once you mentioned that you were new in town, the sweet older gentleman selling them gave you an extra bunch for free. The bright flowers lightened your heart enough to almost, almost, make you forget your even lighter wallet. 
The laden-down truck was nearly out of town when you spotted an open-air market down a side street. It had a surprising number of booths set up and looked so welcoming that you couldn’t resist.
Slowly walking between the stalls, you smiled at each vendor and complimented their handiwork. A few you recognized and thanked for the delicious foods they had brought by when you had first moved in.
You wished you could have supported more of the vendors, you respected their ability to create and be confident enough to share their wares. Taking one last look around, your gaze was caught by a familiar logo: it was the same one you had seen scattered across your porch a few weeks ago. ‘Catfish Cider’ in bold script framing a picture of a gnarled old tree. Maybe you should buy some and have Jacquie over for a less depressing girl's night? But could you afford it, even with leaving behind some of the reno items at Hank's?
You didn’t realize how long you had been standing there staring at the display until a voice called out.
“You gonna buy something or just wanted to block off my stand?”
Whipping your head up you noticed the man standing behind the stand for the first time. His face, for the moment, set into a grimace you assumed was due to him being upset at your loitering.
“I dunno,” you fired back, annoyed by his annoyance and too tired to stop yourself from saying a bratty, “is it actually worth the money?” 
His grimace turned into eyebrow-raising shock, the tan skin of his rather attractive face reddening a shade or two with anger.
“Oh, you have such a discerning pallet to know better?”
“I- what? No! I just want to make sure I’m spending my money on something worthwhile.”
“Like flowers?” He challenged, his stance widening and arms crossing across his chest. 
You’d seen that pose too many times in the past; Brad used to tower over you posturing himself just like this asshole at the market. He liked to hover over you menacingly any time you had mustered up your courage to state an opinion or to belittle your ideas. It made you inwardly flinch, making you angry at yourself for still acting like a meek victim, and then, in a show of great maturity, you projected that anger onto the stranger who initiated the exchange.
“Like it’s any of your business!” You cried out in a shrill voice you didn’t even recognize as your own. “But yes, these flowers make me happier than anything else I’ve seen today could.”
“I’ll have you know-” he ground out, jabbing his finger at you.
“Nope!” You interrupted him, “I’m going to stop you right there. I’m done listening to men like you!” 
“Men like me? Men like ME?” He crowed, “Pray tell, what the hell do you know about men like me?”
Had you been acting like a functioning adult you might have realized that your voices were beginning to get noticeably loud. A small crowd around the two of you had stopped what they were doing to listen while also trying to look like there weren’t eavesdropping.
“I know all I need to,” you proclaimed, not quite able to stop the tremble in your voice. “and I’m not going to waste any more of my life listening to one.” With that, you sharply turned and made your way through the suddenly thick crowd of people.
Once the adrenaline from your encounter had worn off, you found yourself crying in your truck and regretting the way you had snapped. The hot guy at the stand might have been a bit brash with you but he hardly deserved you taking out all your inner turmoil on him like that.
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Frankie winced again, thinking about how quickly out of hand the conversation had gotten. His remark was supposed to come out light and teasing but he was out of practice talking to people. Pretty people. People who were framed by armfuls of sunflowers, whose skin glowed in the Autumn sun, who had a ready smile for everyone she talked to. 
He had found himself craving one for himself, and when she had stopped at his booth, looking lost in thought, he silently begged for her to look up. Impatient, he just blurted out the first words that came to his head and instantly regretted even trying. His cheeks grew red from embarrassment and Frankie just stood there looking at her blankly, not sure how to salvage the situation.
Before he could open his mouth to apologize though, the woman responded with a retort of her own. While it could have been interpreted as teasing, there had been a fiery glint in her eye that had pushed his pride button. Frankie was suddenly ready to throw down or at least regale her with the accolades of his cider and how it came to be.
What a mess he had made. He had riled up the beautiful stranger to the point her voice had wavered with barely repressed emotion. Not to mention the stir he had caused in front of half the town.
Once the market quieted down and everyone was closing up shop, Greg from the stall next to his, called over, “Know who that was?”
Even though it had been over an hour since the spat, Frankie knew he was referring to the woman with the sunflowers.
“Hopefully just some Leaf Peeper, I’d hate to run into her again.”
“Oooooh I dunno,” mused Greg, “A woman with passion in her blood like that can be a boon to crusty old men like us.”
Frankie noticed the gleam in Greg’s eyes and felt an odd burning in his stomach because of it. It was not jealousy at the unbidden image of Greg and the woman together. Definitely not.
PART THREE
@rebelliouscat @pedro4ever @speakerforthedead0 @yespolkadotkitty @ilikechocolatemilkh @weirdowithnobeardo @pedro-pastel @disgruntledspacedad @a-skov 
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keanureevesisbae · 4 years ago
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Coach Cavill - Chapter 2
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Summary: Benji really likes his new coach and Amelia can only agree. 
Coach!Henry Cavill x Amelia Jung (Asian ofc)
Wordcount: 3.3k
Warnings: None
Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter
‘Annabelle did not pee her pants today,’ I tell Greg, when I place the shopping basket on the counter. ‘She actually managed to reach the toilets in time, so no clothes in a plastic bag today.’
When I walked out of school today, I got a text from Eve, saying that if Benji, Isabella and I wanted to have dinner at her place, I should bring some ingredients back with me and I really want to have dinner at her place. She is a much better cook than I am. Or even will be for that matter.
‘I’m proud of her,’ Greg chuckles, as he scans the articles. ‘By the way, I heard coach Cavill is a success.’
I agree to that a bit too quickly, but Greg is clueless (bless his heart) and doesn’t hear the desperation in my voice. Two practices have passed since the first one on Monday and usually I would bring some work with me, but now I’m enjoying every second of it. It’s something about how Henry handles the kids. I mean, when men are good with kids, it’s always a plus (I mean, have you seen Chris Evans with kids?), but it was different with Henry. The way he would grab the back of Benji’s brown belt, hoisting him up, it was something fatherly.
I remember when Benji was younger, Dean would bring him to practice. Since Benji had this thing about not changing in the locker rooms when he was younger (he finally outgrew that, thankfully), he’d get dressed back at home and Dean would carry him into the practice centre, as if Benji was a sports bag.
What has changed between Benji and Dean?
Henry’s deep voice fills the judo hall, with compliments to each kid. Some of them prefer the yelling type of coaching, while Benji prefers an one on one moments, where the coach would softly and privately tell him how he is doing.
No one hears the things he says to my son and I can’t believe this man knows how to handle my son within one week.
However, I’m not the only one who is enjoying the training, since the crowd of drooling moms is expanding with the minute. ‘Benji really likes him.’
Greg nods. ‘Good, good. Henry is already a well liked customer here. He buys a lot of groceries,’ he says. ‘I heard he lived in the old house miss Bonny used to live.’
‘He lives in that dump?’ I ask. That house has been empty for at least five years since her passing and kids are often told that the spirit of miss Bonny is circling around. Now my kids never believed in that, since I told them that was untrue. It’s just… The place scares me a bit, so I never walk passed that place when it was already dim outside. ‘Why?’
‘Has too much time on his hands?’ He shrugs. ‘I have no idea, never really asked about that, but what is a Brit doing here anyway?’
‘Trying to disrupt the peace here and breaking up marriages. You should see the bleachers during practice,’ I chuckle. ‘There are more women than there are kids. I saw Lotte Gambles even sitting there.’
‘Lotte Gambles doesn’t have any kids nor is interested in judo or any sport for that matter,’ Greg notes.
‘My thoughts exactly,’ I laugh. ‘I mean, how obvious do you want to make it that you are thirty seven, single and desperate?’
‘I bet you’re glad you got pregnant when you were in college, so you’d have a kid, thus an excuse to ogle the handsome coach.’
‘Greg,’ I tell him in my stern teacher voice, ‘I know what tooth broke off. My fist can do that again.’
He holds up his hands in defense. ‘I’ll shut u— Oh no.’
‘What oh no?’ I look over my shoulder and let out a frustrated sigh. Why is Dean here? With Mindy of all people? Is she incapable of doing something herself? Whenever I see her, it’s always with Dean. I don’t think I’ve ever run into her without my ex by her side.
Dean notices me and holds up his hand. I simply turn around again and say to Greg: ‘I’ll give you an extra twenty bucks if you can speed it up a bit.’
‘Amelia,’ I hear Dean say behind me and I clench my jaw out of frustration. I hate the way he says my name. I just hate him anyways. I can’t believe I was married to someone, who had the capability of hurting me so bad. ‘I still haven’t heard if I have Isabella over this weekend.’
I might’ve “forgotten” to text him. ‘She didn’t want to go,’ I simply tell him, ‘but she will think about going for the rest of the weekend, when she sees you tomorrow at the match.’
‘And Benji is still sure that he only wants me there?’ Dean wraps his arm around Mindy’ waist and I’m ready to stab my car keys or anything really in his eye. Why is he rubbing in that he has someone new, a younger model that he exchanged me for?
‘Benji is more than sure.’ I pay for my groceries and Greg hands me the plastic bag. ‘Thank you, Greg.’
‘Wish Benji good luck from me, will you?’ Greg says. ‘I’m not going to be able to make it tomorrow.’
‘So no snacks for us?’ I ask him, pushing my wallet back in my purse.
‘Sorry, Amelia, but I’ll put something behind the registry. When you guys come over, I’ll give you something to make up for it.’
‘You are amazing, Greg. Thank you.’ I look at Dean and say: ‘I’m serious, don’t go and bring,’—don’t say the toddler, Amelia, you have to be more mature than that and you are—‘her with you. Your son specifically asked for you and that means only you.’
I don’t even want to hear what he has to say about that, but I have known Dean for quite some time now: he has plenty to say. I walk to the lot and as I try and find my keys, when I hear a: ‘Hello Amelia.’
I look up so quickly, I nearly break my neck. ‘Coach Cavill,’ I say with a smile.
‘Henry, please.’
‘Excuse me, Henry. What are you doing here?’
‘Just going to get some snacks at the store,’ he explains.
Why going to get some snacks, when you are the only snack around? Thankfully I have the ability to shut my mouth, but I need to tell Eve this as soon as I get to her house. I bite my lip as I look at his outfit. I mean, he is a delicious looking man in his judogi. Normally men don’t wear shirts underneath it, but I do think he is aware that if he were to grace us with a glimpse of his bare chest, all the women would be dead in a heartbeat, me included.
But now, he is wearing jeans and a thick sweater and it looks so homey. I’m just going to put it out there: it’s an outfit that I have dreamed about, in a setting where he is sitting on our couch.
I simply nod. ‘Well, Benji really looks forward for tomorrow,’ I say. ‘He has been talking non stop about how great of a coach you are.’ It warmed my heart to hear Benji speaking so highly about his new coach, he barely does that. ‘He really doesn’t want to let you down.’
Benji always says that he doesn’t want to let me down. Not his dad, not Eve, not Johnny, not his grandparents, not even his sister, but only me. Hearing how there is someone else that he doesn’t want to let down, someone he met just this week, it makes me all sorts of happy. It’s all I ever wanted for my son, to have someone who shares his love for judo on a much deeper level.
I mean, sure, he and Johnny are close, he and my dad are close, but that is different. They don’t share his love for judo with him. Just like Dean and Benji never shared his love for judo. Their bond was never optimal.
Dean is loud, sometimes a bit crude and that was a bit too much for Benji from time to time. A real dad might tone it down a bit, however Dean is not a real dad, from my perspective of course.
‘Really?’ Henry smiles brightly, as he buries his hands in his pockets. ‘That’s always good to hear. I mean, whatever happens tomorrow, I’m proud of him anyways. Your son is an amazing judoka, Amelia. I’ve been training judoka’s for quite some time now, but Benji is on another level. I swear, the way that kid prepares before the throws, it’s quite something. Very unpredictable.’
Hearing other people gush about my children, is something that I always love, but hearing it from a coach who is new, but also seems like the type of man that really, really knows what he is doing, makes it extra special.
‘Really?’ I ask. ‘Wait, now it sounds like I’m actually surprised that he is good, while I know that Benji is amazing, but… His other coaches never gushed about him like you just did. And how long have you known him? A week?’
‘It comes with being a good coach, I guess,’ he says, with an even wider smile on his face. ‘When you see someone talented, you recognize it right away. I’m serious.’
‘Thank you for believing in him.’
‘That’s fairly easy when someone is that good,’ he tells me. ‘I’m not trying to infiltrate in yours and Benji’s life, but… I just have to ask. The divorce, it’s really hard on him, isn’t it?’
I sigh. ‘It is. I mean, it’s hard on both of my kids, but Isabella is really different. She understands that we are never getting back together, that her father is starting a new life and that I’m trying to do that too, but she never blames herself for it. Not one second. Benji on the other hand, keeps assuming it’s his fault. He keeps thinking if he was a better kid, a different kid, Dean wouldn’t have left.’
‘I’m so sorry to hear that,’ Henry says. ‘It must be tough on the three of you.’
‘It is. I mean, Benji is so sweet, but he takes a lot too personal, while this whole divorce had nothing to do with him.’ I sigh deeply and add: ‘It’s good for him that he has another male role model in his life that he shares something so important with.’
Henry smiles and is that a little blush on his cheeks? ‘Happy to be that for him.’
I realize that what I’m saying now, belongs in a therapy session, not on a parking lot with my son’s hot judo coach ‘I’m so sorry, that’s too much information about a messy divorce you don’t want to hear about.’
‘No, I brought it up myself. It’s just that… I can see it with Benji, how much he is seeking for approval. Just let him know that I’m never going to be disappointed in him. No matter how he performs tomorrow and all the trainings and competitions after that.’
I blink my eyes, as I try to not cry. ‘I’ll let him know. Thanks, Henry, for everything.’
‘No problem, Amelia.’ He motions towards the store and says: ‘I’ve got to go, I’m terribly sorry.’
‘No, no, I understand,’ I quickly say. ‘Please, don’t let me stall you. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
✰ ✰ ✰
Isabella, Benji and I finally managed to sneak out of Eve’s house. Normally I’m not too strict with bed time, especially when it’s weekend, but we have to wake up pretty early tomorrow and I want Benji to feel fresh and fit for his match. I already gave Isabella a kiss, before I walk over to Benji’s room. He is scrolling through his phone and looks up with a smile.
‘Hi sweetheart, what are you doing?’
‘Just checking the opponents.’
‘Can I come in?’ I ask.
‘Of course, mom.’ Benji places his phone to the side, as I sit on the edge of his bed.
‘Benji, we have to talk.’
‘Is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?’ His voice is dripping with worry. I should’ve worded it differently.
‘Oh, no, of course not. It’s just that… I ran into coach Cavill today at the grocery store and he wanted me to let you know that he is not going to be disappointed in you, no matter how you perform.’
Benji nods, as he leans with his back against the headboard of his bed. ‘I just don’t want to let him down, mom.’
‘And you’ll never will,’ I say to him, running my fingers through his hair.
‘Dad said that too,’ he mumbles.
I nod. ‘But he always was disappointed when you didn’t win gold,’ I fill in for him. ‘I know, but remember, your dad was overly competitive and was a failure in every single sport out there, thanks to his selfish personality. But you should remember, that not every man in your life is like him. Uncle Johnny and grandpa and even Greg from the store, they are all incredibly proud of you and those men don’t even understand judo. Imagine how proud coach Cavill is going to be, since you both share a love for judo.’
‘But, mom, what if he thinks that I’m not good enough?’
‘You are good enough, honey,’ I say with a smile. ‘And you always will be, for everyone around here and that means for coach too. He will always think that you are good enough, He even said that you were on another level today and he knows his stuff about judo. Remember again, he is not your dad.’
He sighs. ‘I’m scared for tomorrow.’
My sweet and worried Benji. ‘You want me to call coach for you? I think I have his number somewhere in my email. Maybe he can calm you down a bit, prepare you for tomorrow.’
He wants to appear a little tougher than he is, so he shakes his head, but his puppy eyes say something completely different. Thankfully my mom instincts have barely proved me wrong, because I grab my phone from my back pocket and scroll through my mail, trying to find the introduction email from Henry. I click on his phone number and bring the phone to my ear, while holding Benji’s hand even tighter in mine than before. ‘Henry,’ he says when he picks up.
‘Hi, this is Amelia.’
‘Oh, hi Amelia, what a nice surprise. Are you okay?’
This man is quite something else, asking if I’m okay. When was the last time that Dean asked me something like that? I think it was at least six months before I found out he was banging his intern Mindy Simpleton, so that makes it more than a year.
‘Yeah, I’m okay, but I have very a nervous young boy here, who doesn’t believe that he is good enough.’
‘That can’t be good.’ Henry says. ‘You want me to talk to him?’
‘If you want.’
‘Of course I want that. You can put Benji on.’
I hold out my phone for Benji and he hesitantly takes it out of my hand. ‘Hi, coach,’ he says and I stand up, as I clean up his room for a bit, making sure his sports bag is all packed and ready to go.  I know he should do that himself and he does, but it never hurts anyone to double check. ‘Yeah … No, I’m just worried … My mom said that too … Yeah, she is indeed … I’m sorry … No, I really am … I’ll see you tomorrow … Will do … Thank you … Of course.’ Benji holds out the phone for me and says: ‘Coach wants to say something to you.’
I take the phone and say: ‘Hi, it’s me again.’
‘I hope that worked.’
‘That was quick,’ I whisper, as I see Benji getting ready for bed, with a smile on his face. ‘How did you do that?’
‘I’m that amazing,’ he says. ‘No, just kidding. I recognize myself in him, so I know how he feels.’
There is so much I want to ask him. He recognizes himself in my son? Why doesn’t that match up in my head?
‘Anyway, just wanted to tell you that he is a great kid, he’ll do fine and that tomorrow I’ll be his coach and his coach only for that block.’
‘Could you wait for a second?’ I ask him. ‘Just real quick.’
‘Of course.’
I hold the phone away and ask Benji: ‘Are you okay, honey?’
‘I’m fine,’ he says.
‘Well, good night and I’ll see you tomorrow. Rise and shine at six.’
He groans. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, sweetheart, I’m sorry. It’s quite the drive.’ I give him a kiss on his forehead. ‘I love you.’
‘I love you too, mom.’
I smile at my handsome boy, before I walk out of his room, flicking off the light and closing the door. ‘I’m sorry you had to wait.’
‘You need to find better and more appropriate moments to apologize,’ he says. ‘You’re always apologizing, even when you shouldn’t.’
‘Yeah, it’s an annoying trait.’
‘Not annoying, little bit unnecessary.’
I walk downstairs and sit on a stool at the kitchen island. ‘It’s amazing, really,’ I say, ‘what you managed to do to him. I barely recognize him.’
‘What I said, I see a lot of him in me. It’s hard being that age and… Well, having to deal with a divorce.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘What did I say about apologizing, Amelia?’
I can’t help but laugh. ‘This wasn’t an apology,’ I defend myself. ‘This was empathy, very nice of me. You should appreciate that.’
‘You’re right,’ he chuckles.
I sigh. ‘But it is hard on him. This town barely has experience with a divorce, especially if all parties stay in town. We’re all figuring out how to deal with it really.’
‘Yeah, I heard. After you and I saw each other at the lot, Greg told me who you ran into in the store.’
‘Greg, what a big fat blabbermouth. He was never like this back in high school, but the store changed him.’
‘He means well,’ Henry laughs. ‘I haven’t been here too long,’ he continues, ‘but I’ve heard quite some things going around about you and Dean and the kids. I just want you to know that you are doing an amazing job and that Dean is the one who lost out.’
I can’t help but blush and I’m so grateful that he can’t actually see me now. I bite my lip. ‘I just can’t believe that you arrive here when I’m in the spotlight of the town gossip.’
‘Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m not interested in town gossip,’ he says. ‘I can tell you that I trust my own judgement a lot more than rumors.’
This shouldn’t make me tear up and I blink away my tears, before clearing my throat. ‘That means a lot.’
‘Of course.’ Henry’s voice is soft and I wonder what he is doing right now. Is he also in his kitchen, is he relaxing on his couch or was he doing work and have I interrupted him?
‘I have to hang up,’ I say. ‘There is a lot that I still need to do. Preparations for tomorrow and such. You want me to bring something for you? I’ve heard that I make great sandwiches.’
‘What a mom move,’ he laughs and a chuckle escapes from my lips. ‘But I’m never saying no to a great sandwich. I love everything, so surprise me.’
‘Will do. See you tomorrow, Henry.’
‘Yeah, see you tomorrow, Amelia.’
✰ ✰ ✰
Taglist: @diegos-butt​ // @henrythickcavill​ // @thelastsock​ // @onlyhenrys​ // @agniavateira​ // @needmorereading​ // @summersong69​ // @coldmuffinbanditshoe // @chamomilebottom // @toomanystoriessolittletime // @shadesofarrogance​ // @crazybutconfidentaf​ // @oddsnendsfanfics​ // @gearhead66​ // @star017​ // @iloveyouyen​ // @thereisa8ella​ // @thethirstyarchive // @nina-skyee // @rn7rocks // @hollytehmoomin // @star017 // @abschaffer2​ //
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exophile3d · 4 years ago
Text
Old Rip (Part 3)
Male Gargoyle, Female Reader.
Part 1 (SFW)
Part 2 (SFW)
The final part of my gargoyle boyf story is below - hope you enjoy! Mostly SFW. Minor fluff warning.
Tagging @findinghiddenisles as you seemed to be enjoying this yesterday. :)
----- 
You can’t sleep. You’ve found a dingy bedsit above a newsagent in one of the outlying suburbs, and you’ll hopefully just about be able to afford it if you can get a job in the next couple of weeks. Although this prospect and the events of the day are weighing on your mind, still your thoughts keep ranging back to last night and your tumble from the archway. Eventually, after your brain follows the same impossible loop of thoughts for the tenth time, you bury your face in your hands and whisper to the room, “Was I so drunk I dreamt it?”
“No.”
The voice is deep, and rumbles like the grating of a mausoleum door. You peek out from between your fingers and the shadows on your wall loom large, coalescing into a solid, black outline against the lighter shade of the curtains. You scramble backwards up your bed and press yourself against the headboard, fumbling for the lightswitch.
“No!” More urgently this time, and you pause with your finger shaking a hair’s breadth from the switch.
“Who’s there?” you whisper, wishing your voice had a little more volume, a little more confidence.
“It’s me.”
You frown at the blackness. You don’t recognise the voice, and with the lights off, you haven’t a hope of identifying your intruder, beyond the fact that he sounds male.
“Thanks for the sandwiches.”
You’ve forgotten how to breathe. There’s a series of soft thuds as the shadow moves, circling around to stand at the side of your bed, and the tension in your muscles reaches breaking point.
“Rip?” You’re having a waking dream, that’s the only explanation. Either that or you smashed your head on the ground falling from the archway, and this is all a coma-fantasy you’re living out from your hospital bed.
“I have something for you,” the shadow-form rumbles and hands you what feels for all the world like an A4 envelope.
Just at that moment, you’re not interested in payment for the sandwiches, and you set aside the paper wallet and reach out towards where you expect his leg to be, wondering if you’ll feel stone. Instead you find rough flesh, warm but pitted as you might imagine living stone to be. He flinches slightly at your touch, then leans into it, sighing quietly. The bed creaks then groans as he perches on the edge. Silhouetted against the curtains, you can see his head is bowed. It strikes you then that you have been telling him about yourself your entire life - he knows everything about you - but you have no idea who or what he is, what he thinks, what he feels. Nothing.
“I’ve loved you for years.”
Your mouth drops open at his simple admission. Of all the things a stone-form-made-flesh might have said when sitting on your bed in the middle of the night, this one takes the biscuit.
“All this time, having you near me, listening to your voice, having you joke with me and show me friendship, and I’ve been unable to respond.”  He pauses and his head turns towards you. “Until now.”
“Why now?” you manage to ask. Your head is spinning from the bombshell he’s just dropped, but you’re understandably curious as to what has caused the change.
“I can take living form when the estate is in danger. To protect it.”
Your fingers find his on the quilt cover and curl around them, pleased by the answering pressure of his grasp. “Well then, I’m glad that idiot bought the place.”
Even in the dark, you can tell he’s smiling and his hand grips yours with more assurance.
“Let me see you in the light,” you suggest. You’re absolutely buzzing with curiosity, but you can tell he’s reluctant. Long seconds tick past before he answers.
“You might not like what you see,” he warns.
You run a hand reassuringly against his shoulder then reach over and switch on the light, ready to smile sweetly no matter what stone-faced monstrosity awaits you.
The first thing you note is that ‘Old Rip’ does not appear old at all. His features are soft and youthful, with just a little of the demonic cherub about him. The cherubic influence is offset by a strong jaw and a prominent nose, and his lips are a perfect curved bow. The little ridges on top of his head appear to be short dreadlocks, and his body is sculpted in heavy slabs of muscle that go a long way towards explaining the thudding as he walked across the room. There is a  slate sheen to his eyes that reminds you of a wet church roof, and his skin is the grey of the bluestones that form Stonehenge. Twin wings, curved and spiked and more akin to dragon vanes than those of any living fauna, sprout from his back and are folded neatly against his shoulders. You can feel the warmth of his skin radiating out towards you and it draws you closer. You note the lump bobbing in his throat as you move to within touching distance.
You raise a hand to his cheek, all need for pretence gone, and run a thumb across his lips. “You’re beautiful.”
He freezes, eyes widening as though he cannot believe this is real, as though moving, breathing or making a sound might shatter this fragile illusion. At your reassuring smile, his paralysis shatters and he leans in for a kiss. His lips are smoother than the rest of his stone skin, closer in texture to marble than granite and you lose yourself in their warmth. He bears you down onto the soft covers, warming you everywhere his pitted skin touches yours. His hands explore tentatively, his eyes constantly flicking to yours, until he finally finds the confidence to indulge you both.
During a brief break in your night-time activities, you open the manila envelope to find it contains old man Bryant’s missing will. It states that with no living family, he wants ownership to pass to the people who have cared for Ravenscourt for over two hundred years, namely, you and Grumpa. He knows it will be in good hands and it is his thanks for the love, care and friendship you have given over the years.
In the morning when you wake, Rip is standing at your window looking out at his archway. From the few serious words you exchanged during the night, you know you’re faced with a catch twenty-two. Until you show the will to the lawyers, Ravenscourt is still in danger and Greg may do irreparable damage. On the other hand, Rip will stay in living form only until the will is filed and the danger is over.  
He turns, a sad smile on his cherub-demon features. "Were I not bound to protect this place, I would fly off into the night and carry you away with me."
You wrap your arms around him from behind, laying a hand on his chest and pillowing your head on his shoulder. His warmth seeps through you, setting your skin a-tingle and your heart a-pumping. It's tough, but you both know what needs to be done.
"I'll visit you every day," you promise. “With sandwiches.”
You see Greg only once more. He stops at the end of the driveway in his dented Aston Martin and you shoot a cheeky grin at him from where you perch at the top of the archway with one arm thrown lightly over Rip’s stone neck. Greg can’t even bring himself to enter the property. From what the lawyers tell you, he stands to lose a sizeable chunk of his nine million. You share that nugget of information with your stone companion and the afternoon breeze joins you in a chuckle. You fondle the stone figure’s pointed ears as the DB9 roars off, knowing Rip appreciates your touch even in this form. He told you as much last night, several times, as though desperate to make sure you continue to keep him company. It’s going to be difficult, being this close to him every day, knowing who and what he is, but you both have a job to do, and you’ll continue to look after the manor - and Rip - with the same faithful devotion he has shown through the centuries.
You know that if and when the time comes, Rip will break free of his stone prison to fight for Ravenscourt.
All you need to do is figure out how to make it happen.
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benkouji726 · 4 years ago
Text
Written for alexweek2020. Sequel to “Settled”, but can also be read as one-off. ...I think.
Anyways, “Settled” is based on meet ugly prompt 2: I bought a house three months ago but I’m finally moving in and discover you’ve been squatting because you’re homeless.
Spoiler alert: they ended up living together! And none of them are aliens! Jesse died in the previous work, so all is well...ish.
Home can be a person
They’d been living together for a month now, and Alex still knew nothing about Michael Guerin.
OK that wasn’t entirely true. He knew plenty. Because one, he was a military man, his livelihood depended on his observation skills. And two, their schedules somehow synced perfectly, and after a week of awkwardly bumping each other in the kitchen and waiting turns to use the bathroom, it was simply easier if they just worked out a systematic plan to build their lives around each other, which led to divided chores, respected bathroom routines and shared meals. And when two men spent that much time together, they had no choice but to have conversations, which were really not that hard, because they clicked like magnets and they actually enjoyed spending time together.
So Alex knew plenty. Both from his observations and their conversations. But it was not like Guerin volunteered personal informations, and even he did, it was always surface stuff, so it didn’t really count. Like he knew Guerin was a mechanic, who was really good at his job. So good that he even opened his own auto shop the second year into the business. And based on what Alex saw, money was not exactly an issue for him. Which frankly didn’t match up with his squatting life style, not to mention he owned a perfectly functional airstream, but that topic was always brushed aside.
Alex also knew Guerin had two siblings, who moved away a year ago. They were both married, and apparently lived nearly enough that they did a weekly get together. Guerin would join them via FaceTime, they would laugh and talk, and Guerin seemed so happy when they did this, which did not explain why he was always a little sad when they were done. But again, not to be talked about.
Sometimes Alex would be impressed by Guerin’s topic changing skills. Granted, his go-to move was more often than not flirtation, but it worked like a charm on Alex, so whatever got the job done, right? And rationally, Alex knew he should be grateful, because Guerin was a surprisingly pleasant roommate. He was good company, he wasn’t nosy, he did VERY good repair work around the house, his cooking skills were better than Alex’s, and he slowly became the reason why Alex was looking forward to going back home after a day’s work. And truth be told, Alex wasn’t exactly an open book himself, so he should just respect Guerin’s boundaries and enjoy their easygoing companionship.
But he just couldn’t.
34 days into their co-living arrangement, Guerin came home, visibly upset. It was Alex’s day to make dinner. So he ignored Guerin at first to finish the lasagna. But when he was putting together a cob salad, he heard Guerin throw his tool box on to the floor, and caused a loud clang.
Guerin NEVER threw his tool box.
“What’s got into you today?” OK that was a little harsh. But in his defense, Alex was kind of tired of asking “are you ok” at that point, because he always got a “just dandy” and a too-big-to-be-genuine smile in reply.
Guerin shut down immediately, threw on a well-practiced smirk, and said: “Nothing. Unless you are up for the job?”
And just like that, Alex snapped.
He got up, got his keys, and left the house.
It was when he sat in his car, had no idea where he’d go, he realized that he didn’t even bring his wallet and phone, which was just stupid.
The whole thing was stupid.
He knew he had no right to feel angry and hurt. They didn’t have that kind of relationship. Guerin didn’t owe him anything.
But he had felt their connection the first time they’d met, and it was there ever since. He thought Guerin felt it too.
Apparently he was wrong.
He came back two hours later, because he needed that time to work out an apology and also to learn not to be this naive again. When he got home, Guerin was sitting at the kitchen table, seemingly lost in his thoughts, lasagna in front of him, cold and forgotten.
“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier, it was really none of my busi...” He began but was cut by Guerin mid-sentence.
“I didn’t eat”.
“...OK? Were u not hungry or was the lasagna that bad?”
Guerin looked up at him then. His eyes big, voice raw.
“I didn’t eat because it felt wrong.”
He looked back down at the lasagna.
“After you left, I was angry at first. Because fuck you, you know? I don’t owe you anything.”
“Yes, Guerin, I know, I was trying to apologize...”
Guerin continued as if not heard him at all.
“And then I got up to help me some food, man’s gotta eat, and frankly, lasagna is like, the only food you can make right. So I got myself a plate, and I sat down. Normally at that point, you would begin to nag me about eating some salad or drinking some water first, but then I looked up, and you were just, not there.”
He looked up again. All open and bare.
“So yeah, maybe it was not your business, but it was also wrong of me to assume I didn’t want it to be.”
They stared at each other. Both at lost what to say next. Eventually, Alex sat across the table, reached out, and squeezed Guerin’s hand.
“You reheat the lasagna, I’ll finish making the salad. And we’ll eat. OK? I’m starving.”
“Yeah, you didn’t even bring your wallet. I mean, dramatic much?”
“Shut up, Guerin.”
They didn’t talk about why Guerin was upset that night, but it was OK.
—————————
Things got better after that. They talked now, not just making conversation. Alex learned that Guerin had been in the system for a long time. His siblings, Max and Isobel, were actually not related to him. They had been just best friends in group homes, until they were adopted by the Evans, while Guerin went through many terrible foster families. They were united at the age of 15, when Guerin’s new foster home brought him to Roswell, and they had been inseparable ever since.
“That was, until Max decided to marry someone in LA, and moved there. And then Isobel’s husband also got a job in LA, they moved soon after. So it was just the same old me, again.”
They were at the fire pit in front of Guerin’s airstream, which he still wasn’t using, except sometimes he would go in there and do God knows what, they still didn’t reach the subject why he had been squatting yet. Alex suspected it had something to do with his issues with his siblings moving away, like the bitterness in his voice now had.
“Well, you’re literally sitting next to me now, so not exactly the same, you know?”
Guerin startled, and looked over at Alex with something like hope mixed with fear in his eyes. Alex stared right back, because at this point, he really wasn’t interested in pretending that they didn’t mean something to each other. And he hoped Guerin would drop the “I’m a lone wolf and I don’t care” act too, at least when he was with him.
Whatever Guerin saw on his face, seemed to satisfy him. He smiled, the kind of smile that reached his heart and soul, and said,
“You trying to hold my hand now, private?”
And they did.
—————————
Alex woke up in screaming. Next thing he knew, he was in Guerin’s arms.
He didn’t remember the dream. But he could easily guess the content. It was always the same. Bomb, blood, cries, he looked down, his leg was gone. Sometimes his father was there, sometimes he wasn’t. Either way, he felt his presence.
Normally, after he woke up from such a dream, he would do some breath exercise, get up, get some water, and didn’t even try to sleep again. But tonight, Guerin was right there, humming something like a lullaby, and rubbing soothing circles on his back. He didn’t say anything, or ask how he was doing, just held him and gently rocked him.
At some point, maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour later, they lied down, together on Alex’s bed. Guerin’s hand slowly reached down, until he touched his stump. He rubbed it once, twice, and then he just stayed there.
Alex fell sleep.
——————————
Friday movie nights became some sort of tradition between them. They would finish their work, meet at the house, grab something to eat, and then drive to the drive-in theatre. Alex liked those nights, hell, he cherished those nights.
So he was very irritated when some shitty client just didn’t know what it meant to demand something WITHIN REASON, and he had to cancel their movie night via a short text. He was even more irritated when said client walked out in the last minute, so his previous work was totally wasted. Plus his new prosthetic was giving him trouble all day. Safe to say he was not in the greatest mood.
When he got home though, he was met by Guerin’s soft smile and homemade dinner. By the time they finished eating, he felt more or less like human again. Then Guerin gave him a dessert, told him to rest a bit on the sofa, and disappeared in the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he pulled Alex into the bathroom, where he already drew a bath for Alex.
He even lit some candles.
All of a sudden, Alex wanted to cry, except he hadn’t cried in ten years.
So he let out a shaky breath, buried himself in Guerin’s arms, and asked a stupid question.
“Why did you do all this?”
Guerin held him, shifted somewhat awkwardly, and said in a quiet voice.
“You spelled ‘bail’ wrong.”
Of all the answers, THAT was not what Alex expected.
“What?”
“Your text. I guess you meant to say you had to bail on our movie night. But you spelled it ‘ball’. Auto correct or something. And you never spelled wrong. So I figured, you must be exhausted.”
At that, Alex just HAD to kiss him.
—————————
They visited Greg together on a Saturday morning.
At the drive home, Alex was awfully quiet.
Michael didn’t ask. He made coffee. He fetched a blanket. He sat beside Alex on the sofa, and began to read his monthly mechanic magazine.
Alex talked before he decided he wanted to.
“My father was a piece of shit. And out of my three brothers, Greg is the only decent one. But when we were kids, he didn’t know how to protect me or stand up for me, when my father beat the shit out of me.”
Michael dropped his magazine, and silently held his hand. And Alex decided he wanted to keep talking.
“I wanted to make music. He sent me to war. Frankly, war wasn’t even a worse choice than my so called home. It just wasn’t a better choice either.”
“I never felt I belong anywhere, not at home. Not at war. I bought the house because Greg asked me to, because he was the only one who reminded me a shred of the ‘home’ concept. But today, seeing him with his family, I realized, he is my family, but he is not home.”
“I still don’t belong.”
He hadn’t cried for ten years. He didn’t want to begin now.
Expect the hands wiping his tears were so gentle, he couldn’t seem to stop.
“I was offered a great job opportunity in New York, when I finished my study at UNM. But four years apart from Max and Isobel were tough enough that I decided to ditch that and move back.”
“I never felt I belonged, too, what with the fucked up system and shitty foster homes, except when I was with them. So I clung to them, a little bit desperately. When they moved away, I felt betrayed, left out and abandoned. I didn’t want to live in my airstream anymore because it felt like a fantasy I built, just to fool myself into thinking I could have followed them anywhere in it, because they were my harbor. But then they were gone, so I decided I wasn’t supposed to settle in anywhere, and that’s when I began to squat in people’s not lived in houses. Because they are just like me, you know, abandoned.”
“Until you invited me to live with you.”
They held each other a long time after that.
—————————
The email came on a Wednesday morning, and Michael was on the plane that very night to LA, because Liz was going into labor and Michael would become an uncle.
He asked Alex to come with him, but he was caught up at work so he just couldn’t make it.
They called each other every day though, Michael showed him so many baby pictures he even dreamed about it one night. He was vibrating joyful energy and Alex was happy for him.
Then on the fourth night since he was gone, he called Alex, hesitation evident in his voice.
“Liz pulled some strings at her university. And they offered me a job here.” He said, without so much as a hello.
Alex felt the world shook for a moment. Then he blinked, and the house seemed the same, intact, but somehow much quieter, and larger.
“I’m happy for you.”
An exhale.
“You are happy for me.” Michael repeated, slowly.
Alex shut his eyes. He thought of all the times Michael looked at the photos of the three of them, and all the times he seemed to be lost after he ended their phone calls, and he opened his eyes again.
“They are your family.” He said simply.
Another exhale.
“Yeah, they are.”
Silence.
After three minutes of nothing else, Alex hung up.
——————————
Michael came back on Tuesday afternoon.
Alex had not been sleeping well, or eating properly, so at first he thought he might be dreaming or something.
But there he was, clearly not been sleeping well, or eating properly himself, eyes glaring with fond anger.
“You are a dumbass, you know? You’re just gonna give me up like that?”
Alex refused to back down.
“It’s not giving up. You always wanted a family, a home. I don’t wanna stand between you and your opportunity of that.”
Michael shook his head, sighed, and pulled Alex into his arms.
“You still don’t understand, do you? They are my family, true. But YOU are my home.”
And there, stood in his embrace, Alex finally understood.
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max-is-really-okay · 5 years ago
Text
Ink On Skin Chapter Two
Closing up, Ethan saw that Lex and Hannah had already gone home. He shrugged it off and locked up, glad that it had gotten a little warmer. He shrugged off the flannel and wrapped it around his waist.
A few people still walking eyed him suspiciously, not trusting him. Some women clutched their purses a little tighter, and some had their hands ready to grab something from their pocket. He hated that they saw him as a threat, he hated that they had to see everyone as a threat at night.
The only people who acknowledged him with an emotion other than fear were the hookers that liked to stay outside of his building. A woman called Tiffany and a man who went by Richard. Ethan knew that they were lovely people, so he always made sure to say hello.
Ethan got home around twenty minutes later, happy to see Greg screaming at his food bowl. As he fed Greg, he noticed that Greg was running low on food. He sighed, that meant that he would have to go to the store the next day.
Ethan hated going to the store. The store meant that he had to leave work early and go to a place where he would be surrounded by people he didn’t know just so that he could empty his wallet of anything that wasn’t already going to bills. But Greg needed to eat.
He looked at the ever growing grocery list taped onto the fridge and added cat food to the list. The front and back of the list was filled, so Ethan supposed that it was around time to go to the store. It would be nice to drink milk without a sour aftertaste and maybe have some real food to come home to.
He kicked off his boots once he was finished doing chores. He was exhausted as hell. He went to his room and changed into his pajama bottoms and decided to just go shirtless. He laid down on the couch and grabbed a red sharpie from the floor.
‘Hey.’ He sent his soulmate. He wasn’t sure if they would respond because of how late it was. He wondered what time it was in California. He was shocked when he felt the slight tingle of a message being written back.
‘You’re up late.’ It said. Ethan smiled down at it, closing his eyes and imagining who it could be. Was it the guy at the movie theater who took the late shift? The girl who lived down the street? An actress in L.A having the time of her life at a Hollywood party? There was no way for him to know.
‘You are as well, you know. I just had to work late. What’s your excuse?’ He smiled down as there was a frowny face drawn next to the comment about working late.
‘No fun. And I’m just settling down for the night. I just made dinner a little while ago.’
‘Oh. What did you have?’ Ethan asked.
‘Just pasta. It’s the only thing I really know how to make.’ They admitted, ‘What about you?’ they asked.
‘I didn’t have dinner’
‘Why not?’
He paused. There was more to the answer he thought of than he wanted to write down.
‘Don’t have much food. Shopping tomarrow’
‘Okay. Get some sleep weirdo.’
‘You too’ He drew a little smiley face next to his last comment.
Ethan grinned to himself as he tried to fall asleep. He always felt better when he talked to his soulmate. Something about them caring about him, even a bit, made him feel all warm and fuzzy in his chest. It was a feeling he wished he could hold onto forever.
It was gone when he was thrust into another one of his nightmares. This time it was more of a memory, which made it all the worse.
He was ten when it had happened. He had forgotten his homework. His teacher didn’t tell him that she had called home. He came home with a big smile on his face, proud of his loose tooth. He walked inside, and suddenly all of the air was taken from his lungs.
His mom and dad stood, waiting for him. His mom had her hands on her hips and his dad’s arms were crossed. Ethan had only been in trouble a few times before that, but he knew what those looks meant. He wasn’t getting dinner, at best.
“We got an interesting call from the school today. Can you guess what it was about?” His mother had asked him. Before he could respond, she kept talking. “Apparently our son couldn’t get off of his lazy ass and do his homework. So he might start failing.” She spat.
“Go to your room. If we see you before tomorrow morning on the way to school, you’ll regret it.” His dad threatened.
Apparently he didn’t move quickly enough, since his mom pushed him. He fell onto the bannister next to the stairs. He ran upstairs with blood running down his face. He looked in the mirror to see that his nose was bleeding. And his tooth was missing.
Ethan woke up, Greg clawing his way as he fell off of his chest. It was just enough to draw blood. He made sure his cat was okay before getting up and going to the bathroom to clean himself up.
He felt the tingle of a message and looked at his hand, ‘Are you okay?’ was written in sloppy letters.
‘I’m fine. Cat just scratched me while I was sleeping.’ He wrote back with an eyeliner pencil he had in his bathroom as he slowly applied rubbing alcohol to the wound. He groaned and then bandaged it.
He didn’t get a response, so he assumed that his soulmate had just fallen back asleep. Ethan looked at himself in the mirror and flipped himself off before going back to his bed and crawling back under the covers.
He didn’t sleep well, and woke up feeling like shit. He didn’t feel like doing anything, but Greg was on his last can of food, so Ethan got himself dressed.
He didn’t even attempt to look presentable. He knew he wouldn’t be going into work that day, which made things a little easier. He just needed to go to the store and come back. There wasn’t much that could go wrong. That’s what he kept telling himself.
Ethan pulled on a green muscle shirt and put deodorant on before slipping on some slippers. He ordered an uber to drive him to the store, glad he had put away money for when he couldn’t walk somewhere.
He climbed into the back, not bothering to say anything but a simple ‘hello’ to the driver. When he got out of the car, he made sure to give the driver five stars for driving his living corpse around.
He walked into the grocery store and grabbed a basket. He made a habit of stocking up when at the store so he wouldn’t have to go back until later. Even though it took more of a chunk out of his balance than he would like, it was worth it.
He felt like a zombie walking around. He got some cereal for himself first. Off brand lucky charms. Just as much magic for a fraction of the price. As well as some apples and bananas. If anything, they were easy to grab.
He continued to take items, even getting a box full of cat food. Ethan was glad to report that on Wednesday morning, Walmart wasn’t very full. He also wasn’t the worst dressed out of everyone there.
He used the self checkout, making sure he ignored the candy beside the area, not wanting to give into temptation. It took all he had.
He got another ride and sat down at a bench to wait until they got there. There was a Subway inside of the Walmart, so he got himself a drink and waited. He was half asleep on the table when he saw them.
Ethan suddenly felt even more sick and had to swallow bile that rose in his throat. He wished he had brought his jacket, so he had some way to hide himself. Walking into the store were his parents.
He felt sick as they walked by, praying that they would pass him. He thought that he had gotten unreasonably lucky when they walked by, but then his dad stopped, turned around, and walked over.
“Well well well.” He had a fake smile plastered on.
“Hey dad.” Ethan could hit himself for how weak he sounded.
“Look at that. You still don’t even know how to dress yourself.” His mother sneered down at him.
Ethan hated that he was shaking. He could easily get up and leave. He had been through everything, if he was in his normal condition he could easily take down both of them with no problem. Who ever said that nothing good came from fighting? Now he knew how to throw a punch.
The issue was that he couldn’t move. His stomach felt odd and any time he tried to move he couldn’t breathe. He was about to hyperventilate when they finally left, realizing that he couldn't interact with them. He didn’t miss them calling him stupid once again before they left.
It was then that he got the notification that his uber had arrived. He grabbed all of his reusable bags and walked outside. The man in the car waved him down. Ethan all but collapsed into the seat with his ten bags and box of cat food next to him.
The driver tried to make small talk, but Ethan couldn’t really process anything. He took the water that was offered and gave five stars when the drive was finished. As soon as he got back up to his apartment, he threw up.
He had just barely made it to the toilet, and he collapsed next to it. Throw up had even gotten on his shirt. He only moved when his phone started buzzing and an unknown number was shown. He picked it up anyway.
“Hello?” His voice sounded like he had cut his vocal chords with a cheese grater.
“Jesus Christ, what happened to you?” Lex’s voice asked.
“Sick.”
“I can tell. What’s your address?” She asked.
“What?” He mumbled, half asleep.
“What is your address? I can’t have you dying on me, we just started hanging out.”
“How did you get my number…?”
“Business card babe. Now stop avoiding the question.” Lex’s voice was stern, so he told her. She hung up after telling him not to die before she got there.
Ethan didn’t want to smell more like vomit than he had to, so on the bathroom floor he lazily took the sleeveless shirt he had on and put on a long sleeved shirt that was already on the floor. Wrinkled, but less smelly.
He closed his eyes for just a moment, leaning on the cool tile of the bathtub, then woke up to someone poking his face. He brushed whatever it was away, thinking that it was just Greg. He opened his eyes to see Lex leaned down looking down at him.
“Your door was unlocked. I put your groceries away.” She told him bluntly. Ethan was barely sure that she was speaking English.
She helped him up and walked him into his room, saying something about how light he was. He tried to mumble something defensive, but she didn’t even flinch.
“You stay in here. I’m going to get you something to eat and maybe something to drink.” She told him. Ethan didn’t respond until she walked out.
He blinked slowly, feeling as his body begged him to go to sleep. This was the worst he had felt in ages, since he had lived with his parents. His tired mind finally put together that he had had a panic attack, one directly after another. No wonder he felt like shit.
Lex walked back inside with a glass of orange juice he had bought since it was on sale and toast next to some soup. She handed him the juice and he took a long drink.
He looked back up at Lex, she was still kind of out of focus, “Why are you helping me?” He asked.
“Because I was worried about you. Hannah was too, and I couldn’t say no to her. By the way, she’s in the front room playing with your cat.”
“His name is Greg.” Ethan told her unhelpfully. Lex nodded thoughtfully.
“I’ll tell Hannah when you’re done eating. Now, what do we want to try first? Chicken soup or lightly buttered toast?”
“I didn’t buy soup…?” Ethan tilted his head, which made the pounding pain worse.
“I picked some up from Panera. And that means soup.” Lex told him, smiling as she opened the lid. Ethan had to admit, it smelled really good.
He moved his hand to take the spoon, but it was shaking so badly that he couldn’t get a good hold on it. Lex took the spoon and fed him the soup. If Ethan was any more lucid, he would be embarrassed. If Ethan was any more lucid, he could probably feed himself.
That’s why Lex didn’t think about it as she started humming as she fed him. It was something she did for Hannah when she had a breakdown or panic attack, and something her adoptive dad did for her during a depressive episode.
Ethan relaxed slightly and soon his stomach was full again. He didn’t really think about it as Lex ran her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner as he slowly fell asleep. It was the type of affection he craved at all times.
When Lex was sure that he was asleep, she slowly stood up from the bed. Ethan had looked worse for wear since she had started talking to him. It couldn’t have been the beginning of the issues, since he was so light. He shouldn’t have been that easy to carry.
She smiled when she saw Hannah playing with Greg the cat. Hannah had taken really well to Ethan, faster than Lex had ever seen her warm up to someone. It made her a little more comfortable coming over when he wasn’t at work.
She couldn’t tell what exactly was wrong. From what Hannah had told her, he had seemed fine the day before, if maybe a little tired. Lex only got the way he seemed during a bad depressive episode or after a bad panic attack.
“What do we do now Banana?” Lex asked her sister, who looked up to acknowledge that she was listening. “Do we stay here until he needs something or to feed his cat? Is that weird?”
Hannah shook her head. “We should stay.” She told her older sister. Lex nodded.
That’s how the two of them found themselves lounging around Ethan’s apartment. Hannah continued to play with the cat while Lex put her feet up on the table and turned on the television to watch a shitty lifetime movie about a pregnant teenager.
She laughed at some of the poorly acted moments and soon found herself fully relaxing. The small apartment was cozy and warm, and Ethan had bought enough groceries to last through the next month.
She messaged her soulmate a few hours to see how they were doing. ‘How are you doing?’
It took maybe thirty minutes, but they responded. ‘Honestly? Not amazing. I’m sick from a panik attack and I just woke up from another nightmare. And it had started out so nice…’
Lex frowned softly, sympathy blooming in her chest. ‘I’m sorry to hear. My friend is sick too. I think he’s going through the same thing as you.’
‘That’s rough’
‘I know. I’m at his house right now taking care of him.’
‘Well he’s a lucky duck.’
‘Eh. I just bought him soup.’
‘Weird. A friend did that for me.’
‘That is weird. Now we both know we have good friends.’
‘Maybe they’re soulmates too.’
‘Maybe.’
Lex smiled down at that.
Ethan smiled down at his wrist. He felt slightly better knowing how his soulmate was at least as nice as Lex. And that was more than he could believe he deserved. Ethan took a moment to calm fully down before deciding that he needed to feed Greg.
He climbed out of bed and thanked god that the world now felt still under his feet. He walked into the front room to see Lex napping on his couch and Hannah with a purring cat in her lap.
“Hey Hannah, do you want to feed Greg?” He asked, and Hannah lit up, nodding so violently that her braids jumped up and down.
Ethan showed her how, and soon Greg was eating while Hannah had this proud grin on her face. Ethan smiled. “Are you allowed to have sugar?” He asked her. She nodded, and he got out the fixings for ice cream sundays.
He made Hannah a banana split upon her request, and made himself a sunday covered in chocolate sauce and cherries. He poured them both big glasses of chocolate milk.
They sat in his front room eating their ice cream while Lex snored away. “I’m going to wake your sister up so she can make her own.”
“Lexi is always grumpy when you wake her up.” Hannah smiled.
“Oh is she?” Ethan smiled back. Hannah just nodded and Ethan laughed. He still stood up and walked over, gently shaking Lex to get her to wake up. She did with a groan.
Instead of making her own sunday, Lex grabbed a spoon and took turns stealing from both Ethan and Hannah’s ice cream. While Ethan pretended to be offended, he still let her without much struggle.
Hannah fell asleep on his couch once they finished their dinner, and Lex looked at her little sister fondly. “I think that means that we should get going.” Lex told Ethan.
“Right. Um, thank you for helping. You didn’t need to come over, and I know that you closed up early, and that was real fuckin’ cool of ‘ya.” Ethan told her.
“I think you’re a really cool person. And If Hannah wants to keep having lunch with you, you can’t be dead. That wouldn’t work.”
“You’re so right. So we’re even?” Ethan joked. Lex laughed and nodded. He wanted to hear her laugh forever.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” She asked, scooping up her sister.
“Are you walking?” He asked.
“No, my friend Deb is giving us a ride.” Lex reassured.
Ethan nodded and watched as she left. He grabbed a pen from the table.
‘I know that you are my soulmate, but until I meet you, do you think that I could date someone else?’
About twenty minutes later, he got a response.
‘Oh thank fuck. I was about to ask the same thing.’
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christophe-delorne · 5 years ago
Text
Good Dog
Chapter 8
Warnings: Excessive swearing
Pairings: Gregory x Christophe
AU: Adulthood
The bar was noises and crowded, far more than Christophe would ever feel comfortable in but his paranoia was drowned in alcohol. It wasn't unusual for him to get drunk but to do so in a public place was out of the ordinary and only because he had been coerced into it by one Kenny McCormick. The guy was convincing as hell and likely the only other person Christophe moderately tolerated. Other than Gregory. Though right now Gregory had been the deciding factor in why Christophe had ever agreed to go out and drink with Kenny in the first place, he needed to do something that he would consider a bit reckless for him to do. Kenny though, seemed all too entertained by Christophe's crass nature, maybe because the Frenchman was bluntly honest, unlike the blond's childhood friends. Both had shared the experience of death, Kenny seemed more used to that kind of thing that Christophe, not that Christophe was frightened of death by any means but or was heyo willing to dive right into it either.
"Glad to finally run off and have some fun, huh?" Kenny's voice broke through Christophe's haze, making the Frenchman turn to glare sourly at him. Kenny looked different from earlier today, looking less like a bum and more like a nine to five business man. It was not surprise, Kenny was a man who could easily blend in and that was something he used to his advantage.
"Fuck off, you just caught me at a bad time. Or a good one considering how you are." Christophe tapped the bar counter to gain the bar tender's attention and give him a refill on his drink. "And since you invited me, you're paying the bill."
Kenny placed a hand over his chest as if wounded by Christophe's words. "You expect poor lil' ol' me to pay? You're the hot shot merc with loads of cash you probably store under your mattress."
"That would require me to have a mattress in the first place."
"Right, right, I bet Gregory doesn't let his favorite lil' pet up on the furniture now does he?"
"Shut up." Christophe downed the shot, needed that burn to make him forget everything else that bothered him in his life. Like how right Kenny actually was.
Kenny laughed and clapped Christophe on the shoulder, obviously being able to read the mood the statement had put the Frenchman in, that was enough of an answer for him. "You know, you could always ditch the pompous dick and work for me. You know I treat my friends right even if they're idiots."
Christophe knew that Kenny was an honest man, far more generous and kind than he lead others to believe. A man of justice, even since he was a kid he hadn't hesitated to give his own life to bring peace to a world that didn't deserve it. Christophe couldn't share that sentiment, if anything, he needed Gregory to keep him going. No matter how much he hated the man, Christophe needed Gregory and while Gregory would never admit it, he needed Christophe as well. They were fit for each other, no matter how many girlfriends Gregory had, they were replaceable, Christophe was the one thing in Gregory's life that the seemingly impenetrable Brit that was ever stable in his life. Christophe stared down at the worn wood of the bar table, knowing that he would eventually need to go find where Gregory was staying which would likely lead to some sort of bitchfest.
"You already know that I can't fuckin' do that." Christophe pushed the tumbler away from himself, done drinking for the night. He was buzzed enough and didn't want to be completely impaired, even if he did trust Kenny, he didn't trust anyone else in this bar, or so he thought.
Just as he was about to stand up off the barstool, a hand fell on his shoulder. Instinctively he grabbed it and yanked, planning to throw the perpetrator over the bar for making the mistake of touching him, especially from behind. However, the owner of the hand seemed to have expected the motion and grabbed at the back of Christophe's hair with his free hand and giving a violent yank back, causing a hoarse cry of anger and foreign swear words to come spilling out of his mouth. His head was forced to tip back, green eyes locking onto smug, pale blue ones. It appeared Gregory had lost his patience in waiting for Christophe to return to him.
"You kept me waiting long enough, Christophe." The polite tone was deceptive as Gregory turned his head to look over at Kenny who was doing his damnedest to innocently drink the beer he ordered, pretending he wasn't there and failing. "I should have known you'd be the cause, Mr. McCormick. Though I should have guessed you'd come snooping around, I was hoping you would but not so soon." Gregory pulled upwards on Christophe's hair, making the Frenchmen swear as he was pulled to his feet.
"Well, you know me, I always do enjoy getting into the center of mischief." Kenny downed the rest of his beer before standing up, giving Christophe a look, not out of pity but almost out of understanding. "Anyways, just thought I'd show the old dirt dog some fun while he was off the leash."
"While I am thankful that he hasn't gone off and done something regrettable, I still prefer that Christophe not go off while we are in the middle of work."
"Ohoho, work you say? And what interesting things could possibly require the insistence of British upper crust and a mysterious Frenchman in Denver?"
"Likely the same reason why you're here, Mr. McCormick."
"Jeeze, Mr. McCormick, really? You make me sound like a honest, hard working man. Work is hard, but definitely not honest." He pulled out his wallet, placing down money for the bill, paying for Christophe's as well.
"I do enjoy formalities. However, I must excuse myself and Christophe, we have things to attend to and this little adventure has put us behind schedule. If we need your assistance, I will be certain to contact you." Gregory nodded briskly as if his words were the final say in the conversation. Kenny took the hint and waved them off with a sigh.
"Yeah, whatever, but just so you know, my services ain't free."
"Duly noted."
Gregory turned, still holding Christophe by his hair as he dragged the stumbling, disoriented Frenchman out of the bar. Already there was a taxi there waiting, not one of the public transports either. It appeared Gregory had hired a chauffeur to drive them around during their stay in Denver. Figures, Gregory wasn't the type to bother with a vehicle that wasn't exactly the cleanest or the nicest. That and having one or two designated drivers were preferable in this sort of mission, dedicated to serving them without being distracted by other customers. Gregory opened the back door, shoving Christophe into the backseat. It was unusual for Gregory to enter after Christophe, a sign of how upset the man was.
"You simply cannot leave like that in the middle of a mission."
"Shove it up your ass, prick." That got him a brisk slap upside his head, making Christophe turn his challenging glare at Gregory. He wasn't going to regret his decision and if anyone should apologize, it should be Gregory.
"You were rude to our host and you didn't answer my texts."
"First of all, fuck you and that cunt. Secondly... Fuck you." Maybe he had drank more than he thought, trying to remember his line of thinking was difficult, especially when he felt so pissed off with the man beside him.
"Wendyl had inside information on our target, so we need them to carry this mission out."
"What the hell even is this mission, you've told me fuck all and it's starting to get on my fuckin' nerves. Tell me what the shit is goin' on, Greg." He was used to just doing as he's told, but this, being back here so close to the worst time in his life. He wanted answers, he deserved some sort of explanation that would give him a good enough reason to stay near that he'll hole of a place. Not to mention deal with the people who were a part of it. A part of a war that he had no real stake in. A war that had changed both him and Gregory for the worst. He couldn't care less about what had happened to him, but...
Gregory sighed, running a gloved hand over his jaw, a sign of him thinking, choosing his words carefully. Which meant the blond wasn't ready to give Christophe the full details on this mission, which made him listen to Gregory's words with a grain of salt. "There have been reports of a new addictive drug on the market, one that is spreading far too quickly to be created by just some small timers." Gregory looked out the window, mulling over his thoughts and seemingly his anger had lessened. "It started showing up in Europe recently, the supply is thin, so people have begun killing each other over it. I managed to trace it back to Hall as the supplier, but I know a man like that wouldn't dirty his hands too much in drug trade, so someone must have offered him something too irresistible to pass up."
Christophe rubbed the back of his head, his scalp still sore from where Gregory had yanked on it. "So you were pulling all the information he had on the one who bought him?"
"Correct. I found out that he'd been promised a good deal of power and control in Europe in the coming years once whatever plan this organization was brewing up came to fruition. Such a promise means that the current powers would have to be cleaned out and replaced. Something that can only be done if something drastic happens. Something I intend to stop."
"Fuckin' hell. You know I hate missions that force me to do heroic things. I'm not doing it, not again."
"You don't have much of a choice in the matter, or have you forgotten you place once again?"
Christophe turned his head, avoiding Gregory's dangerous look, instead preferring to look out the window at the buildings moving past at a slow rate, it appeared they'd managed to get into afternoon rush hour. He hated being in the car, much less in traffic with a man who oozed anger while having the damnedest calm expression on his face. Even with the distraction of the conversation, Gregory hadn't forgotten Christophe's transgressions as expected. However, Christophe didn't know what to expect from the Brit, while everyone around Gregory thought of him as harmless, Gregory didn't hold back when it came to the Frenchman.
"I won't sacrifice my life again, Greg." Christophe stated firmly. "Never again. Nothing about this shitty world is worth my life for."
"Oh? Not even me?"
It was a trap question, one Christophe wouldn't fall for. He would never admit how much he cared for Gregory, though at this point he wondered if it wasn't even out of care for the man. Did he truly care about Gregory? Or was he just following routine, following the only thing he ever knew because it was familiar and safe. His entire life was chaotic and dangerous, ever changing except for one person. Once upon a time, when they were kids, he might've fancied such a notion, he had envied Gregory then. He had wanted to gain Gregory's attention, to cur favor in order to gain a reward. Eventually, that had stopped, there were no rewards, no more kindness left between them. Whatever youth that they had left had been ruined I that little mountain town in Colorado. They were adults, able to see the reality of their situation and yet unable to fix it, some wounds never did heal, on,y festered and grew into something more dangerous.
Christophe didn't respond, knowing he was only tempting Gregory's anger later. He wanted it, craved it almost, it had been so long that he wanted any kind of attention Gregory could give him. He knew it was wrong, he hated, loathed that part about him and yet he didn't want to change it. What sort of better world would be out there for him anyways? Did he even deserve anything better than this? He had done terrible things, had cursed God himself more times than he could count. So no, he deserved Gregory, deserved that sort of punishment. Christophe glanced back over to Gregory, the temptation was there, could he piss Gregory off enough to make the man forget everything else and focus on him? He would likely regret it, but the alcohol in his system had loosened his caution around the Brit.
"What makes you different from all the rest of the pieces of shit?"
Gregory seemed slightly taken aback by Christophe's statement, staring at the Frenchman as if hurt by it. Christophe hoped so, sure it was petty of him but he wasn't really in the right mindset to be reasonable and rational. It took a moment for Gregory to recover, but when he did, he moved closer, pressing close to Christophe's side. Instantly, he became aware of the touch, the subtle but elegant cologne wafting up, bringing back memories that made him feel mixed emotions. His eyelids lowered, regretting drinking, lowering his guard around Gregory was the worst mistake he could make. However he wanted to finally let his guard down, wanted to feel something that he scorned and locked away to keep himself safe. He felt warm breath on his ear, damning him to lifetime of torture that he'd reluctantly savor as his eyes closed. Words, soft softly whispered, sounding almost deceptively affection teased him for the rest of his days.
"Because I'm the only one you care about."
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susandwrites · 6 years ago
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Day 14 - “Some people call this wisdom.”
“Some people call this wisdom.”
“Well, I call it fear. Old age. Complacency,” Sherlock spat out the words as if they had an unpleasant taste. His legs bounced up and down and his fingers danced on the armrest of his chair. John tried to swallow the little smile that arose at the sight of him.
“Sherlock, you called the police to handle a police matter,” John reasoned calmly. “You had Rosie with you - it was very responsible of you to call Greg and let the Yard handle it.”
“It was hateful, John, hateful!” Sherlock bounced upright from the chair and spun around in Lestrade’s office, trying to rid himself of some excess energy. “I could have brought him in, interrogated him on the spot, caught him off guard, gotten far more information out of him than these damnable police possible can -”
“Stop right there.” John grabbed Sherlock by the upper arms and spun him until they were facing each other. “You did the right thing. If you’re going to be Rosie’s ‘Papa’, you have to put her first. Always. And you did that without hesitation.”  John paused for a brief moment, but eventually decided to voice his feelings. “I’m… proud of you, Sherlock. You did good.”
“‘Well’, John. I did ‘well’.”
“Too right you did.”
Sherlock’s eyes narrowed and John smirked. It made Sherlock happy when John was clever. Luckily for Sherlock, John was often clever - more clever than people assumed, which was ridiculous on their parts. John was quite possibly one of the cleverest men Sherlock had ever had the pleasure to know.
“Daddy! Papa!” Rosie bounded back into the room, Lestrade not far behind. He had taken her to get a juice from the special little Rosie-sized refrigerator in the break room while John calmed Sherlock down. “Officer Greg took me to have my picture drawn by the… uh…”
“Sketch artist,” Lestrade filled in.
“Yeah! Look at it!” She practically leapt into John’s arms, the portrait in her hand, and waved it under Sherlock’s nose. He examined the paper closely.
“You’re much prettier than this,” he said matter-of-factly. Rosie was not phased by this statement.
“The sketch artist draws crim-nals!” Rosie continued excitedly. “Except me - he draws crim-nals and me.”
“I reckon you’re the most lovely non-criminal he’s drawn in quite some time.” John pressed a kiss to the side of her head before turning to Lestrade. “How’s the interview going?”
“Done,” Lestrade said proudly. “Thankfully, Sherlock called us early enough that we were able to get him into custody before he left this evening. He had this woman’s photo in his pocket,” he handed over a small wallet-sized photo to Sherlock, who brought it close to his face and set about memorising every detail. “You were right - he was after her, too.”
“Did he say if there are any others? Any other hitmen or women in danger?” Sherlock demanded.
“One more gunman,” Lestrade answered, “and just this woman. For now. We’re on our way to pick up the last assassin now.”
“Why was he so eager to talk?” John mused, suspicion setting in. Thompson had been so keen to protect Jack - why would this man be so keen to sell him out?
“It’s a gambit,” Sherlock answered, his eyebrows set with thought. “Putting someone away to make the police complacent.” He ran his fingers over his cheeks, pinching his lips like a fish. Rosie laughed, but he didn’t hear it. “You need to find every single one of Jack’s girls, put them in protective custody until this whole thing is done.”
“I’ve got people out looking for them but, Sherlock, I can’t house them all. We haven’t got the resources to -”
“I won’t have this man kill another woman because of resources, Lestrade!” Sherlock snapped. He whipped out his wallet and handed over his Coutts Silk Card. Lestrade’s eyes widened at the sight of it and he reached out as if for the Holy Grail. “Put them all up in a hotel - high security - until the case is settled.”
“I can’t take this, Sherlock.”
“You can and you will.” The detective swept his coat from the back of the chair and wrapped it around himself with an unnecessary flourish. “Call me when I need to testify.” With that, Sherlock strode from the office, his nose buried in his mobile as he walked.
There was a moment of stunned silence while Lestrade stared down at the nearly-unlimited wealth in his hand before John shifted Rosie in his arms and made for the door. “Where did he get this?”
“Mycroft,” John answered. “He never uses it. Except in emergencies.” John gave Lestrade a short nod, which he returned with one of amazement, and he and Rosie left.
---
John taped Rosie’s portrait up on the wall next to her own crayon sketches and she beamed sleepily at him from her new pirate ship bed. “D’you think I could draw like that, Daddy?”
“You can do anything, Rosie-girl,” John said, his voice low and soft. She yawned as he bent down to pet her head.
“I prolly need to practise,” she mumbled, eyelids drooping.
“That’s a fine idea. We’ll start tomorrow.” John kissed her on the forehead, she returned the gesture, then he kissed her on the lips. “Good night, sweetheart.”
“‘Night, Daddy. And night-night to Papa, too.” She was asleep by the time he closed the door.
Sherlock was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, a large container of vindaloo in his lap, staring raptly at the telly. John dropped down next to him and smiled to see him eating so ravenously. “Rosie says night-night.”
“Mmm,” he nodded in acknowledgment, his mouth full. Sherlock swallowed thickly before asking, “Does she like her bed?”
“Of course she does. It’s harder than ever to get her to go to sleep, so thanks for that.” John reached forward and took up his own container of tikka masala, gladly tucking in. It was deliciously spicy and he followed a large bite with a large swig of chai tea - it wasn’t his usual drink but he loved the sweet and peppery flavours all mixed together in his mouth. He smiled happily and they ate in quiet comfort for a time. The case wasn’t quite done, but Sherlock had done his part. It was time for him to be a functioning human being until the next case turned up.
After their containers were empty and John was thinking about feeling sleepy, Sherlock did something unexpected. He reached forward, turned off the telly, and then pressed his body full against John’s on the couch. Taken aback, John said rather stupidly, “Hello.”
“Hello.” Then Sherlock dropped his hand onto John’s thigh and looked him right in the eye. He seemed a little tense - nervous, maybe. So John put his hand on top of Sherlock’s and traced his thumb over the slim bones of his fingers. “Is this… are you still… interested?”
Part of John wanted to laugh, but he repressed it. He didn’t want to upset Sherlock, make him think that he had done something wrong. So instead, he smiled gently and said, “Yes. I’m still interested.” Sherlock’s face visibly relaxed and John was suddenly desperate to kiss him. Desperate to let him know just how interested he had been.
And kiss him he did. John gripped Sherlock’s hand beneath his own and pressed their lips together almost harshly. When Sherlock let out a little sigh and opened his mouth to let in John’s tongue, John dropped his other arm from the back of the sofa and gripped Sherlock’s neck. He flicked his tongue over Sherlock’s, tasting curry and Earl Grey and eliciting another soft moan from the man in his hands. After a moment, he pulled back and stared into Sherlock’s electric eyes.
“I thought you had forgotten.”
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e350tb · 7 years ago
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Steven Universe: The Eye of the Storm - Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Sadie picked at her dinner, listening to the clock ticking. The room was silent, and she felt rather uncomfortable. Outside the sun was setting, the sky turning a dark violet colour.
Barb put down her food and looked at her daughter.
"Okay," she said, "What's up?"
"What do you mean 'what's up?'" replied Sadie, "I'm fine, mom."
"You've hardly eaten your food," Barb pointed out, "Is it something Clancy said to you? Because if it is, I'll wring his-"
"Why did you and Dad split up?" asked Sadie.
There was a long silence.
"Because he turned out to be good for nothin'," Barb grunted at last.
"Yeah, but you must've seen something in him once, right?" said Sadie.
Barb nodded soberly.
"When I met Clancy," she said, "He was a little twig of a man with awful social skills and an obsession with the stars. I guess thought he was endearing. It was college, everyone was allowed to be dumb sometimes. We ended up getting hitched too early and everything fell apart from there."
"But what did he do to you?" asked Sadie, "What actually happened?"
Barb furrowed her brow, biting softly on her lip.
"He walked out," she said at last, "Decided some fancy government job was more important than...than his family. Left Beach City and never looked back - heck, he handled the whole divorce through his lawyer. And good riddance, that's what I say."
"So it had nothing to do with...I dunno, aliens?" asked Sadie.
For a split-second, Barb's eyes widened. Then she shook her head and laughed.
"The closest Clancy's ever gonna get to outer space is eating at Planet Kansas," she declared, "I mean, aliens? Where did you get that idea?"
Sadie sighed.
"Nowhere, mom," she said, "Just...thinking out loud."
"That'd be good for your band!" chuckled Barb, "Deadbeat Dads From Outer Space! Think it'll work?"
Sadie didn't answer, going back to picking at her food.
The sun had long gone down and Lion had taken Connie home. Steven had reheated a few slices of pizza he'd found in the fridge and was sitting on the couch playing Mad Libs with Amethyst and Peridot.
"Peridot, I need a name," he said.
"Percy," replied Peridot.
"Great!" nodded Steven, smiling, "Now Amethyst, I need a body part."
Amethyst grinned.
"I'm gonna say a-"
There was a knock at the door.
"Who could that be?" mused Steven, getting up.
"Boo!" grumbled Amethyst, "My word was gonna be great!"
Steven walked to the door and opened it, finding Sadie standing outside.
"Sadie? Is everything okay?" he asked.
"I asked Mom about Dad," replied Sadie.
"Oh," said Steven, "Did...did he do something really bad?"
"I don't know," replied Sadie, "Because she lied to me. Can I come in?"
Steven nodded, letting Sadie enter.
"What's up, ex-Donut Girl," said Amethyst, waving.
"Look," said Sadie, "Sorry to bother you this late, but something really weird is going on."
"It's Beach City," shrugged Amethyst.
"Yeah, but weirder than normal," replied Sadie, "Okay, so Dad left his wallet at the library and the librarian gave it to me to send back to him, and I went through it..."
"Sadie!" exclaimed Steven, scandalised.
"...yeah, I know, not the right thing," said Sadie, "But then I found this."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the picture, showing it to Steven and the two gems.
"Is that a Roaming Eye?" gasped Peridot.
"A roaming what?" asked Sadie.
"It's a ship from the Gem Homeworld," replied Steven.
"We stole one!" added Amethyst, "It was great until they stole it back!"
"That was purely through Navy's mastery of deception," sniffed Peridot, "I was not responsible."
"Homeworld?" mused Sadie, "That's where you and Lars went, right? What's a ship from Homeworld doing on Earth? And what're my parents doing next to it?"
"Beats the heck outta me," replied Amethyst.
"Are you sure?" asked Peridot, "It seems implausible that a Homeworld ship could arrive without the Crystal Gems knowing about it."
"We can ask Garnet and Pearl about it when they get back," suggested Steven, "I'm sure they'll explain everything, right?"
"I hope so," sighed Sadie, "Because I really need answers right now..."
Roughly halfway between Beach City and Ocean Town was a small access road. Once upon a time, it had led to a cannery by the sea - but times had changed and the cannery had been closed and demolished, the road to nowhere its only remaining legacy.
A short distance down the road was a small depression in the landscape. It was about forty square metres across and ten metres deep - the earth had been covered with abundant grass which made this dip easy to miss from a distance. Only a select few knew what it really was - a crater left by a crashed alien ship.
A black car pulled up next to the hole. Agent Clancy Miller stepped out. He looked around, satisfied himself that he was alone, and sat down at the edge of the crater.
He remembered that day well.
It had been a Saturday. He and Barb had been dating for three months, and neither had really decided whether or not they were taking it seriously. The biggest thing on his mind was whether or not he was going to commit to an astronomy major or not. Those had been simpler times.
They had spent the day by the sea in Ocean Town and were driving back to campus when the enormous object crashed to earth. He being the space nut he was, he immediately turned off onto the access road, hoping to find a meteorite at the impact point. Instead, he had found the Roaming Eye.
Barb had been apprehensive about approaching the wrecked ship, but Clancy would not be deterred. He took a photo for posterity first, using the roof of his car as a makeshift tripod. Then he had walked right up to the ship with merry abandon - these days, as an OSS agent, he would have known to check for background radiation and other hazards first, and it made him cringe to remember how unprofessional he had once been.
In the soil around the ship, he had found the shattered remains of a green gem, and had excitedly picked them up to examine them. He would later learn that these were the shards of an unfortunate Peridot that had perished in the crash.
While he was shouting unrealistic and fantastic theories to Barb, the Crystal Gems arrived on the scene.
He remembered his awe upon seeing them. Pearl, graceful and fearless and fiercely protective of her leader; Garnet, stoic, mysterious and powerful; and then there was Rose Quartz herself, perhaps the most remarkable of them all, gentle and compassionate but the greatest warrior of them all. To an amateur Ufologist like himself, it was like walking in the presence of Caesar, Napoleon or the Quarrymen. He had so many questions of them - there was so much he needed, needed to know.
Rose walked past him, instead walking over to Barb. She had picked up a deep red gem - it was cracked but intact. Gently, Rose had taken the gem from her, holding it in her hands. She looked down upon it and wept a single tear.
There was a brilliant glow. Clancy had watched as the light around the gem seemed to shift, morphing into a short, humanoid shape. It fell to the floor, landing on its face - the light dimmed, revealing a red figure with square-shaped hair. He heard the Garnet's whisper - 'a Ruby.'
She began to try to stand out - Barb offered her hand to help, which she took. She began to babble - "What planet is this? What happened to my ship? I need to report to my supervisor!"
Barb put her hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
"It's okay," she told her, "You're safe now..."
And there he was, standing off to the side, forgotten by everyone.
"Why did I come here?" Clancy asked himself, staring solemnly into the crater, "Nothing good ever came from this place..."
"Because you couldn't leave without coming back first."
Clancy got up and turned around. Garnet and Pearl were standing next to his car.
"Really, Garnet?" sighed Clancy, "We talked about this earlier. I have my orders."
"You're going to regret taking it, Clancy," said Garnet, "You know that."
"I've regretted everything I've done in this place," replied Clancy, "What's one more thing?"
He shook his head.
"What exactly are you hoping to achieve?" he demanded, "If I don't take it, they'll just send someone else to get it. And they'll be clumsy about it because they won't have my experience and they'll probably get somebody hurt. If I do it, it's done quietly and cleanly."
Garnet shook her head.
"Garnet, why don't we just stop him now?" demanded Pearl, "It's hardly like he deserves a chance!"
"Because they'll send another agent, Pearl," replied Clancy, "Just like I said. And that other agent might start looking into things - your things."
He walked back towards his car. As he passed her, Garnet put a hand on his arm.
"Make up a lie, Clancy," she urged, "You can tell them it wasn't here."
Clancy narrowed his eyes.
"I. Have. My. Orders," he snarled.
He got into his car and drove away.
There was a pillar of light as the warp pad activated. When it disappeared, Garnet and Pearl were standing in front of the temple door - they were immediately approached by Steven and Sadie, with Amethyst and Peridot hanging slightly back.
"Oh! Sadie, right? What are you doing here?" quizzed Pearl.
"What do you know about a ship that crashed twenty years ago?" asked Sadie.
Steven helpfully held up the photograph for them.
"Oh...that," said Pearl, "Uh..."
"It's a Roaming Eye," said Garnet, calmly, "It was probably here to check up on something Homeworld left behind..."
"In hindsight, probably the Cluster," Pearl interrupted quickly.
"Yes," nodded Garnet, "When we found it, it was damaged beyond repair. There were no survivors."
"Why didn't I know about this?" demanded Amethyst.
"There was a Lil' Butler marathon that night," replied Garnet, "You were with Greg."
"Yeah, that makes sense," admitted Amethyst.
"Sure does!" exclaimed Pearl, "And oh my goodness would you look at the time! I'm going back to my room to bed! Goodnight!"
She turned around and walked briskly into the temple.
"So there's nothing weird that could have happened with my parents, right?" asked Sadie.
She looked up at Garnet, trying to catch a glimpse of her eyes through her visor. She failed.
"Nothing," said Garnet, her tone final, "Goodnight, Sadie. Goodnight Steven."
She walked to the temple door.
"Don't I get a goodnight?" demanded Peridot.
"Goodnight, Peridot."
Garnet entered the temple and disappeared.
"Okay, quick question," said Amethyst, "Since when does Pearl have a bed?"
"She doesn't" replied Steven, clenching his fists, "They lied to us."
He turned to Sadie, whose expression was unreadable. There was a long silence.
"Library," she said at last, "Tomorrow. We're gonna ask Dad..."
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radioactivedelorean · 7 years ago
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PInescone (again!) wiiiiith 27?
27: “Guess who~” - Pinescone
“Guess who~”
Wirt couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “Dipper, I know it’s you.”
“Aw,” Dipper pouted a little bit. “How did you know it was me? It could have been your brother.”
“Your hands are bigger than Greg’s and Greg isn’t tall enough to reach my eyes,” Wirt replied. “Plus, I spend so much time holding your hands that I know they’re yours.”
Dipper rolled his eyes and plonked himself down on Wirt’s bed, lying on his back with his arms and legs spread out.  “You always know that it’s me.”
“That’s because you’re the only one who does that, silly.” Wirt teased as he finished off the biology question he was answering and moved on to the next one. He’d just about finished that week’s homework from school but was very quickly running out of motivation to do it now that his boyfriend was here.
Dipper sat up on the bed with his legs splayed out in front of him. “Whatcha doing?”
“Homework,” Wirt replied. “It’s biology. I’m almost finished, actually.”
“Great. Once you’re done with those, we can go out to that cafe down the street for some lunch.” Dipper offered.
“That’s a real romantic idea,” Wirt remarked with only a hint of sarcasm. “What’s next? Are you going to propose to me?”
“I work at the paper shop, do you really think I can afford a ring?” Dipper laughed, flopping onto his back again. “Hurry up and finish your homework so we can go out.”
“It’s a little difficult with you distracting me.” Wirt shot back as he turned to look at the last few questions. He sighed and got up from his desk. “I can finish the last of it later. It’s not due for a few days anyway, so I don’t think it would hurt to leave it for now.”
“Oh?” Dipper’s eyes went wide in faux shock and surprise. “You? Leaving homework until later?!”
“Oh shush.” Wirt flicked his ear. “I’m only doing it this once because you’re distracting me.”
Dipper giggled a little, rubbing his ear. He hopped up from the bed and bowed in front of Wirt, offering him his hand. “Come with me, my darling.”
Wirt rolled his eyes and blushed slightly, taking Dipper’s hand rather graciously and letting the shorter boy lead him out of his bedroom. He grabbed his jacket and wallet on the way out the door. “Mum! Dipper and I are going to the cafe down the road!” He called into the kitchen as the pair headed for the front door.
“Alright, sweetheart, don’t be too long. Have fun!” Wirt’s mother called back. She soon appeared in the doorway, smiling at the two boys. “I’ll make us some chicken pie for dinner, that sound good? Dipper, would you like to join us?”
“I-if it’s not any trouble,” Dipper said, grinning sheepishly. “I wouldn’t want to bother you.”
“It’s no trouble at all! I’ll make up some extra filling then. You boys have fun!”
“Thanks, Mum!” Wirt grinned, letting Dipper lead him out of the front door and down the steps towards the pathway outside. Dipper held Wirt’s hand firmly in his own as they walked down the street.
“So how’s your homework coming along, Dipper?” Wirt asked, raising an eyebrow. “I bet you haven’t even started it yet and are waiting until the night before it’s due to get it all done.”
“Pssh,” Dipper scoffed, chuckling awkwardly. His cheeks flushed pink. “It’s all on my desk waiting to be done.”
“You’ve only got two and a half days to finish it all,” Wirt pointed out. “I saw how much you had in your backpack at school the other day and I doubt you’ll be able to get it all done in time.”
“I’ll be fine.” Dipper waved his concerns off with a casual hand gesture. “I’ve done it before and I can do it again.”
“You were in a mad rush to get an entire maths paper done in the half-hour we had at the break before the lesson,” Wirt pointed out. “You scrawled all over it like a madman. It looked almost like some of the pages from your uncle’s journal.”
“You calling my uncle a madman?”
“No, I’m just saying that the way you filled out that maths paper resembled half of his crazy scribbles throughout that book,” Wirt shrugged.
Dipper blushed a little bit. “That’s because I had put it in my bag and forgotten about it. I’d lost it amongst the other papers and didn’t see it until that break.”
“You made so many mistakes and skipped half the questions and failed the paper,” Wirt said, rolling his eyes. “You had to sit and redo the whole thing, all because you didn’t do it at home like everyone else did.”
“Oh shush.” Dipper blushed a little more. “Don’t act like you’ve never done the same thing.”
Wirt rolled his eyes, though the red tint to his cheeks indicated that Dipper was right. “That was one time, and it only happened because I was sick for a week.”
“You were stuck at home. That meant you had more time to do it,” Dipper pointed out.
“I was sick!” Wirt protested. “I was asleep all the time!”
“Not all the time.” Dipper elbowed him in the ribs gently. “I came to see you one day and you were playing video games!”
“Because I felt better.” Wirt stuck his tongue out at him with a frown.
Dipper giggled, leaning up to kiss him on the lips. “You still could’a done your homework, Wirt.”
Wirt rolled his eyes, slipping an arm around Dipper’s waist as they approached the cafe. The couple ordered a sandwich, a drink and a slice of cake each before taking a seat at one of the small metal tables outside. Their bickering had somewhat ceased and the two boys ended up discussing what they were going to do once they had finished high school. Several ideas were thrown around, involving Wirt going off to study English Literature and Language somewhere in Chicago while Dipper was talking about going somewhere involving scientific research similar to what his uncle studied, or maybe studying media and film production somewhere in Washington. Neither of them particularly wanted to move away from each other so they both agreed to look for good universities that supplied the courses they were looking for where they could both go.
The boys had soon finished their lunch and Dipper paid the bill (having had a recent pay rise from his paperboy job due to an influx of customers) and soon they were heading back to Wirt’s place. Hand in hand, the couple walked down the street, smiling and laughing amongst themselves.
_____
Prompts list
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aniallstory-blog · 7 years ago
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Chapter Six
Note: I’ve been super inspired and writing up a storm this week! I wrote two whole chapters today so I decided to post another one. If it would be easier for people to follow if I posted them on a more set schedule then just let me know and I’ll figure something out!
Also, if there’s any requests for parts of Avery and Niall’s past that you’d like to read about feel free to make suggestions and I’ll see if I can fit them in! :)
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A week later I found myself wandering through Dublin airport, my eyes peeled for any sign of Niall. It was a bit ridiculous, we were flying in from completely different countries after all, but I was eager to see him and his flight did land only ten minutes before mine. After our conversation last weekend when he was drunk, Niall had suddenly become much more mushy and romantic. He was always open about his feelings, we both were, but there were times when he was away that he would take it to another level. There were novel length text messages telling me how much I mean to him, constant admissions of love and selfies almost every time I checked my phone. He missed me and I was soaking it up. After the doubts had started to creep in about Niall's desire to marry me, his sudden overly affectionate attitude was just what I needed.
“Avery! Over here!” I heard the voice of my future mother-in-law call out.
I turned towards her voice and spotted her through the crowd, standing with Niall's grandmother Margaret as well.
“Hello!” I smiled once I'd made my way towards them. “It's so good to see you both!”
I quickly gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“How was your flight?” Margaret asked. “Not too bumpy I hope, it's a windy day today.”
“It wasn't too bad,” I assured her. “A bit rough on the landing, but I survived.”
“We're glad to hear that!” Maura laughed. “Can I take your bag?”
“Oh no, I'm fine, thanks.” I smiled. “Have you seen Niall yet?”
They shared a knowing smile, probably silently mocking me for how desperate I was to see him.
“His flight landed at the other terminal,” Maura explained. I hadn't even thought about that. “He said he'd walk over once he made it through passport control so he shouldn't be too long now.”
“Great,” I smiled, looking to the entrance almost as if I expected him to be there already. As I looked back towards his family, my eyes settled on a little cafe and I suddenly realized I hadn't had a coffee yet. “Would either of you like a tea or coffee? I think I'm going to grab one.”
“That sounds lovely!” Margaret agreed.
-
We had been sat at the table drinking our coffee (which I had insisted was my treat despite much protest) for almost twenty minutes when a very familiar voice interrupted our conversation.
“There ya are!” He said, sounding exasperated. “Been wanderin' around this terminal for ages lookin' for the three of ye.”
Apparently we'd been so caught up in our conversation that we'd forgotten to keep an eye on the door.
“Sorry, honey,” Maura apologized as I jumped out of my chair and threw my arms around him. “We weren't sure how long you'd be.”
Niall let go of his suitcase and wrapped his arms around me as well, but there was no squeeze or sign of the affection he'd been showering me with all week.
“Did ya get me a coffee at least?” He grumbled as I pulled out of our little embrace.
“I didn't want it to get cold if it took you a while to get here,” I explained. “But I can get you want now if you'd like one.”
He huffed and reached for his wallet.
“Can get it myself,” He mumbled causing me to frown and swat him as his grandmother and mother shared another knowing look. They'd obviously dealt with Niall in this mood just as often as I had.
“Don't be like that, Niall.” I chided him. “I haven't seen you in weeks, your family haven't seen you since Christmas and you're being a grump because we weren't standing by the door waiting for you?”
Niall sighed and I could see the tension ease from his shoulders.
“Sorry, Ava, you're right,” He conceded. “M'just jetlagged and cranky, didn't sleep much on the plane.”
“Well I'll warn you now then,” Maura spoke up as Niall put an arm back around me so I could snuggle into his side. “Your brother's at home. Theo's been desperate to see you since he heard you were comin'.”
I glanced up at Niall, expecting more annoyance given the tension that had risen between the two brothers over the last few years, but was relieved when he simply shrugged.
“S'okay, I can deal with him. Haven't seen Theo in far too long anyway.”
Maura's face lit up at Niall's decision to take the high road, the tension between her sons always bothering her more than she wanted to admit.
“Great, then get your coffee if you're going to and we'll be on our way.”
-
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“Uncle Niall!” Theo screeched, running towards us as soon as we walked through the door.
“Theo!” Niall screamed back, any hint of his earlier annoyance disappearing completely as he scooped him up into his arms. “How've ya been buddy?”
“Good!” He squeaked throwing his arms around Niall's neck. “Tanks for comin' to visit!”
“Of course! Gotta come see me favourite nephew!” Niall turned so they were facing me. “And look who else came to say hi!”
“Auntie Avery!” He beamed as he leaned over to give me a hug while Niall held him up.
“Hey, Theo!” I smiled, squeezing him gently. “When did you get so big? You've grown so much since I last saw you!”
Theo giggled and buried his face in Niall's neck shyly. Niall was soaking it all up. I knew that despite his issues with his brother, he loved his nephew and would have liked to be able to see him more. He was great with kids and Theo couldn't have asked for a better uncle.
“Theo! I told you not to bombard them the moment they walked through the door!” Denise scolded as she appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.
“Sorry, Mama,” Theo mumbled sheepishly, keeping his face tucked against Niall.”Sorry, Uncle Niall.”
“S'alright, little man. I was just as excited to see ya too,” Niall assured him. “But ya gotta listen to your Ma, alright? They always know best.”
Theo nodded as Maura squeezed past the two of them.
“Well let's not stand in the doorway all day. Come sit down, leave the bags and we'll move them up to your room later.” She insisted as she walked by Denise into the living room. “Would anyone like a cup of tea?”
I followed her, ready to help as everyone chorused that they would like tea, stopping to hug Denise on my way.
-
A few hours later I was curled up in a corner of Maura's couch with my second cup of tea, talking with the women in Niall's family. Niall and his brother were outside with Theo playing with a little toy golf set Niall had brought over for his nephew. It was really meant to be used inside, but Theo insisted he wanted to play properly which meant Niall and Greg were spending most of the afternoon chasing after the little fake ball as it got swept away in the wind.
“Niall's so good with Theo,” Margaret mused as we looked out the window and saw Niall fall dramatically to the ground as the ball hit him square in the face. Theo ran over, giggling hysterically to make sure he was okay and Niall grabbed him and pulled him to the ground as soon as he got close enough.
“He is,” I smiled. “He's great with all kids really.”
Maura smirked and eyed me up.
“Well I wouldn't say no to more grandchildren,” She informed me causing Denise to laugh and shake her head.
“They're not even married yet,” She pointed out. “Leave the poor girl alone until after that at least. Besides, they might not even want kids.”
Maura and Margaret both looked horrified at the idea.
“We do,” I said with a laugh as I thought back to first time we'd had that conversation.
*
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I was being uncharacteristically quiet on the drive home and I knew Niall had noticed, but there were too many thoughts racing through my mind for me to care. We'd been out at dinner with the rest of One Direction since it was the first time all the guys had been in the same city since the hiatus had started a few months ago. They were desperate not to lose touch or get too busy with their own lives so they'd made sure to schedule in a night out together when they could. I'd turned down every alcoholic drink offered to me and had barely said a word the whole time and I knew it was killing Niall, but I couldn't tell him, not until I knew for sure.
I was late. Almost an entire week. And I was terrified. I'd only been on birth control for a month so I wasn't entirely used to it, but I knew my period was supposed to start three or four days after I finished the active pills, definitely not after I started the next pack. I cursed myself for trusting it. We'd scrapped the condoms as soon as it was safe to do so and the lack of barrier had brought us closer, but now I was thinking it wasn't worth it. Obviously the pill hadn't worked and we'd made the biggest mistake of our lives.
I sighed quietly to myself and finally drew my eyes from where I'd been staring at my hands in my lap. Immediately I saw a 24 hour pharmacy on the corner of the intersection we were approaching and I knew what I needed to do.
“Pull in there,” I said before I could stop myself, my voice rough and quiet from lack of use.
“What?” Niall asked, looking shocked to hear me speak.
“Pull in there!” I repeated, louder and with more urgency, panicked that he would miss the turn.
He gave me a look that clearly told me how insane he thought I was, but did as I asked. Once we were parked, I pulled off my seat belt, but froze when he did the same.
“Wait here,” I demanded.
“What?” He asked again, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Why can't I come in with ya? Stretch me legs a bit.”
“We've only been driving for ten minutes, your legs are fine,” I insisted, my tone much harsher than I intended. “Wait here.”
Niall shook his head, but his movement stilled and I knew he'd do as I asked so I got out of the car as he mumbled something about how ridiculous I was acting.
I found the pregnancy tests quickly and silently prayed that the older man behind the counter didn't have a daughter who was obsessed with One Direction, but luckily he didn't seem to have a clue who I was and I very much doubted there would be headlines about my purchase in the morning.
When I got back to the car, the air was tense.
“Okay, we can go,” I told Niall, wrapping the bag around the box inside it so it was well hidden from view.
“Not going anywhere until you tell me what ya just bought,” Niall said sternly, his voice telling me there was no room for arguing. My stomach clenched with nerves and I felt like I was about to throw up.
“Tampons?” I offered weakly, but regretted it when I saw a flash of anger in Niall's eyes.
“Don't lie to me,” He scolded. “You've been quiet all day, couldn't even perk up around our friends and you didn't have a drop of alcohol all night. A-are ya pregnant?”
Hearing him say the word out loud combined with the nervous hesitation when he asked me made tears well up in my eyes.
“I don't know,” I admitted. “That's why I bought the test.”
“Shit,” Niall cursed as he ran a hand through his hair and that was all it took for the tears I'd been holding back all day to break through. Before Niall could even blink I was sobbing hysterically in the passenger seat of his car. “Whoa, hey. Calm down. S'gonna be okay, Ava.”
“I'm sorry,” I sobbed. “I'm so sorry. I know we didn't plan this and I know you're going to Asia with your cousins and it's such horrible timing. I don't know how it happened! I swear I didn't do it on purpose, I'm not trying to trap you!”
“Trap me? What're ya on about?” He asked, reaching out to hold my hand. “Ya don't need to trap me, m'not goin' anywhere. And I'm only goin’ to Asia for six weeks or I can cancel the whole thing if that's what ya want. We can go anytime. That's if ya even are pregnant. Let's find out before we start the waterworks, alright?”
I sniffled, wiping my eyes as I nodded. My sobs had subsided as Niall's calm voice reassured me and he rubbed my hand with his thumb.
“Sorry, I've just been holding that in all day,” I admitted through my sniffling. “I guess the dam just broke.”
“S'alright. Now let's get home and figure this out.”
The drive home was silent. Niall kept his hand  in mine the whole way and I could feel the slight shake in his fingers. He was as scared as I was. I practically tore out of the car when I got to the house, but Niall was hot on my heels.
“Wait out there!” I shouted through the bathroom door as I wiggled my pants down.
Once the deed was done, I set the two tests on the counter and set the timer on my phone for five minutes.
“I thought birth control was supposed to be 99 percent effective,” Niall mumbled as I walked out of the bathroom.
He was sat on the bed, looking down at his hands as he picked at his nails and I realized that now it was my turn to reassure him a bit.
“It is, but there's always that one percent. Maybe we're just unlucky,” I pointed out. “And I know we did what they said and waited seven days before not using condoms, but maybe we should have waited eight just to be sure.”
“Well if they want ya to wait eight then they should tell ya that!” Niall practically shrieked. “Jesus Christ, ya can't change the rules like that. Not when there's so much at stake!”
“I know, Ni,” I assured him, sitting next to him. “And that might not be true, I'm just throwing out ideas. Trying to figure it out myself. I took all my pills exactly on time, I never missed a day. I think, if I am, it's just a fluke.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder, fighting back tears of my own once again.
“I must have some determined sperm,” He joked, placing his hand on my leg and squeezing gently. “But we'll get through this, alright? We have the money and I'm off work indefinitely. I'll take care of ya. I promise.”
I teared up again at his assurance, but my phone went off before I could answer him. I leapt off the bed and into the bathroom, snatching the two tests I'd taken off the counter. Both of them clearly showed one single line.
“I'm not pregnant,” I breathed out, relief filling every part of my body. “We're not having a baby.”
“Woohoo!” Niall cheered, pumping his fist in the air and actually jumping for joy. “Thank fuckin' God!”
He continued cheering and laughing for a few minutes, until he looked up and noticed my face.
“You don't have to be that happy about it,” I told him before he had time to question why I wasn't celebrating with him.
“Are ya jokin'? Don't tell me ya actually wanted to be.”
“No, no, definitely not,” I assured him. “The timing is horrible and we're still so young.”
“So what's not to be happy about then?”
“You're acting like having children with me would be the worst thing in the world.”
I was being a tad harsh, I knew it. But it had been a rough, long, emotional day and seeing his extreme reaction to me not being pregnant was a bit unsettling. We'd never talked about kids, but I wanted to have some one day and this level of reaction was making me think that maybe he didn't.
The smile on his face fell and I instantly felt bad.
“I didn't mean it like that, Ava,” He insisted, stepping towards me and reaching out for my hand. “I wanna have kids with ya, I swear. I wanna have a family and all that stuff. Just not right now. We have lots to do before then and right now m'just really relieved we don't have to deal with those things yet. M'not ready to be a dad. Can still barely take care of you and myself.”
I pulled my hand away from his and he looked hurt until I moved to wrap my arms around him.
“You're right. I'm sorry, that wasn't a fair thing for me to say.” I admitted, standing on my toes to bury my face in his neck. “It's just been a stressful day, I'm tired and cranky.”
“If you've been feelin' how I felt that last half hour all day then I dunno how you didn't kill someone,” Niall teased, nuzzling into my hair. “Ya should've told me. Shouldn't have dealt with that all by yerself.”
“I didn't want to worry you over nothing. I was going to tell you as soon as I knew, if there was something to tell.” He squeezed me tighter, but didn't reply and we stood there in silence, reflecting on what we'd just been through. After a few minutes, I spoke up again. “So you do want to have kids with me one day?”
My voice was quiet, but I knew this was an important thing to discuss and wanted to clear it up before it weighed on my mind and became a problem.
“Absolutely,” Niall was quick to assure me. “I can't wait to be a dad. Want as many little ones as you'll give me. They'll be the cutest things the world as ever seen, 'specially if they take after their Ma.”
My heart soared as his confession and I pulled back just enough to place a kiss on his lips.
“Perfect, I want lots too,” I smiled. “And just for the record, you take great care of me. Probably better than I take care of myself. You'll be the best dad ever.”
A few days later I went to the doctor just to be absolutely sure and luckily they confirmed exactly what the at home tests had said. Apparently, birth control can sometimes cause you to completely skip a period and it was just my body’s way of adjusting to it. Which was something that Niall and I both agreed should also be mentioned in the information that they give you when you first start taking the pill.
*
“We're definitely going to wait until after the wedding though,” I said, smiling as Niall threw Theo over his shoulder and pretended to drop him, making Theo laugh so hard we could hear it from inside.
He would be an amazing dad once we decided to have kids and seeing him laughing and playing with Theo made a tiny little part of me wish that we didn't have to wait.
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c-rankin93 · 7 years ago
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SHE'S NO YOU - Ch.6
A/N: This chapter is when the truth starts to unravel... do you think you have figured out what happened? Have a good read! P.s Loooooong chapter :) -- CHAPTER SIX: DON'T LISTEN TO THEM -- RAE POV: "How do you know Olivia?" I had just put the kids to bed and now I was sitting next to a tense Gregory awaiting his answer. "Well about 2 years ago I sold her sister a house. She was there of course, but I didn't know she was Finn's Girlfriend". 'It was interesting to know that he could still remember his clients sisters from 2 years ago, especially on a first name basis' I snickered to myself. It was a simplistic reply that was used as a deflection. It was obvious he was uncomfortable talking about her, and I was curious to know why. But for right now I was exhausted beyond belief. "Ohkay" I smiled. It wasn't worth a fight, it was bad enough that I was dealing with Finn, I didn't need to add Greg to the mix. "You seem close to your ex-husband's family" You could hear the bitterness in his voice, and internally I chucked. He didn't really have a reason to be mad at me over that, when he's the one lying right now. "Greg". "It was just a simple observation Rae. The man seemed very fond of you, if I must say". "We were very close when I was married. I cut all ties with them when I filed for divorce. It was the first time seeing Archie- Finn's brother in years" I sighed. "Mhm" he nodded. His hand lightly pressed against my naked thigh. "Hon, can I stay the night?" I was not prepared to hear that on a Wednesday night. He never stayed over when we both had work in the morning. "What about work your work tomorrow" I said stating the obvious. Gregory lived more towards the CBD, where traffic was lethal at anytime of the day or night. It was easier for him to get to work in the morning because he only lived a block away. It would take him a good two hours extra to drive home and get ready, then head to work for his 8am start. "I have a later start tomorrow. So I can just leave when you drop the kids off for school" he smiled; grazing his fingers more into my inner thigh. For some reason the intimate touch felt foreign. His hands were softer then I was use to, not as callous and rough. This was not good. "Ugh- sure" I encouraged myself to smile. We got off the couch and headed towards the bedroom hand in hand. Just as we opened the door to my bedroom and saw the state it was in, I froze. Clothes littered the floor in an unattractive manner. The bed, the same bed where I let Finn take me the night before had disheveled sheets, after not sleeping a wink last night. "You go have a shower and freshen up and I'll give this pig-sty a little clean. You don't really want to be smelling three day old Rae do you?" I tried to joke, I was embarrassed he had to witness this. "Don't worry about it to much hon" he laughed, then kissed my forehead. I didn't watch him walk into my ensuite. I was to busy glaring at my bed. There was no way I was washing those contaminated sheets, no they to be burnt. -- Anxiously, I hurried to get the last details added to the final sketch before the meeting in two hours. Chloe had organised for the board at 'Taylor industries' to come in and confirm the sketchs before signing of on the build. The new multi-million dollar mall has been a top priority for my team and I, for the past year and a half. I was glad that we were finally having the last meeting before I could watch my work come to life. When it was lunch time; or so my stomach reminded me. I checked mobile messages before leaving the office. I had turned it to silent, not wanting to be disrupted. Which I regretted once I saw the miss call from my children's school. Dialing the number on my office phone I waited for an answer. "Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, Mary speaking, how may I help?" "Hi my name is Rachel Nelson-Earl, I'm the mother of Ruby and Joshua Nelson. I have a missed call, and I was wondering why". "Hi Ms. Nelson. Yes I have a message here for you referring to your son Joshua. It seems that he has had a altercation with another student. He has been stepped down for the rest of the day. We are in need for you to collect him as soon as possible please". 'Shit' I thought. Joshua had never been a kid to ever get into any sort of altercation, physical or not. This was completely out of character for him. Checking the time I noticed I had 30 minutes to til the meeting started, a meeting that could potentially sink my career if I didn't attend it. "I'll have to ring his father to collect him. But someone will be there as soon as possible" I replied. It was the only other solution I could think of. I just hoped Finn wasn't in a meeting. "Certainly. I will let his teacher know". "Thank you". As soon as I hung up the phone to the school, I dialed Finn's office number. I was put through to two different receptionist before i was finally directed through to Finn's office. "Finn Nelson's office, Olivia speaking" the nasily voice spoke. "Can you please put me through to Finn" I said in a rush and slightly paniced. I was not in the mood to talk to this bitch, time was against my side and I wasn't going to let her waste it. "And who's speaking?" Her cheerful demeanor forgotten. No wonder why Finn couldnt get any other pussy, she was the ultimate cock block. Clearing my throat, I continued speaking. "Its Rae, now can you put me through to f-". "Rae? Why would you possibly need to talk to Finn?" Olivia barked- like the true dog she was. "Olivia I don't have time for this! I need to talk to Finn about Joshua!" "I'm sure this is something that can be discussed outside of office hours-" "But y-" "- unlike some Ms. Earl, Finn is a busy Man and I can't possibly interrupt him!" "Fucki-" "Good day Rachel!" *Beeeeeeeeep!* That donkey nose airhead, wannabe-fucking-heiress, man-stealing bitch! I quickly dialed Finn's mobile, praying to God he actually turned it on for once. One thing Finn and I had in common was that we hated being disturbed from our work. No mobile, no hassle. "Rae?" "Finn! You need to put a fucking leash on that crackhead girlfriend of yours! I tri-" "Calm down Rae!" Finn sighed, I could only imagine him raking his hand through his hair. "Tell me what's going on? Slowly. And calmly". "I called your office to talk to you but your lovely assistant hung up on me! But that's not the point, the point is I rang you about Josh". "Why? What happened? Is he alright?" Finn rattled off questions. "He's fine, but he has been in a fight with another student. He's been stood down for the rest of the day.. Finn I need you to pick him up, please. I have a meeting in 15 minutes and my career depends on it. I know your busy bu-". "Of course I'll pick him up Rae. You don't need to explain yourself, he's my son too. I need to take responsibility for him too. But really, fighting?" I could hear the disbelief in his husky voice. "I know Finn. I don't know what's going on with him? He's never gotten into a fight before" My voice broke, but I managed to pull myself together. This was not the time to do this, especially whilst on the phone to my ex-husband. "Rae it will be Ohkay, I'll pick him up and take the rest of the day off. I'll get Archie to pick Ruby up for me when she finishes". "Ohkay" I breathe. "Thank you". "I'll talk to you tonight". For the second time today, I was hung up on. My phone was still pressed snuggly pressed against my ear when Chloe pranced in, smile beaming, and excitement lighting her eyes. "Are you ready?" She came around the desk to stand beside me. Her eyes flicking over the mountain of blueprints and sketches I had rolled up in a neat pile. "Is this all of them?". "Yes, there is a detailed plan of every floor, shop location, public area, toilets and even parking. Name a room and and I am certain it's here" I smiled at my friend. "This is why I love you Rae" Chloe beamed. Collecting a stack of scrolls, she took off towards the board room. I had a lot of people's jobs in my hand in this moment and all I had to do is impress 4 billionaires. Easier said then done, taming one was hard enough. -- FINN POV: I saw red the moment I ended the call with Rae. To whom my anger was directed towards was a mystery, because i couldn't narrow it down to just one person. Multiple people where now on my radar. Including a women only metres away from me. Grabbing my jacket, wallet and keys I threw the door open in a haste. I didn't even care about the looks that were directed towards me. Not that my floor was full of people, it was only a handful. But those select people obviously found my fury more interesting then their work at this moment. "Cancel the rest of the day, direct all my calls to the front desk with a note saying I'm away for the rest of the day and send sorry notes with chocolates to whoever I'm cancelling on" I spoke as I walked. I didn't even look in Olivia's direction, my main goal was getting to the elevator as quickly as possible. "But Finn where are you going? You can't just cancel ev-" "Do not tell me what to do Olivia! I am your boss and you are my employee. Start acting like it for Christ sake" I hissed, my voice was raised and no doubt our audience were enjoying the show. By the look Liv's face was portraying she was livid. Not that I cared. "Will you at least tell me where your going?" She asked, grabbing my arm just as I reached the elevator. "I'm going to collect Joshua from school" I said keeping all conversation to a minimum. Olivia snorted. "Really Finn? Your leaving work for that? It's only 1 o'clock, why on earth would you be picking him up now for? I bet you Rae is only doing this to trick you into some stupid pla-" Not being able to take her rant anymore. I closed my palm over her mouth, stopping the bullshit. "Enough! Enough for once Olivia! My son needs me, and not you or anyone else is going to stop me getting to him. Im his father first and foremost. So next time when Rae rings do not hang up on her. Do you understand me?" She nodded, my hand still firmly clasped over her sticky lips. "Now if you'll excuse me, you have work to get back too and I have a son I have to see. And maybe you should go see your sister after work for a bit. I need some alone time with my children". I didn't wait for her reply. Stepping into the elevator I immediately pressed the ground floor button. And just like in the movies the elevator doors closed that two seconds, too slow. - Joshua had remained quite when I spoke to the principle in his office. Mr. Horne was a rapacious man. When he needed money, I was his life line. When the music program needs to upgrade out of season instruments they come to me. In order to keep his bulging budget, he needed to keep me happy. Joshua had gotten away with barely a slap on the hand and a day off school. Nothing was going on his permanent file, and after much hesitation on Mr. Horne's behalf the name of the other student was given to me. I knew his parents, they had been an acquaintance of my company for some time, due to my shares in theirs. The matter will get sorted, quietly. We had been home for the past 20 minutes and still Joshua had barely looked my way, only nodding and shaking his head when I spoke. This sort of behavior was unusual for my 8 year old boy. He was never one to fight, or act up. Unless it was against his sister. But after being fly tackled by a pigtail wearing 6 year old, you would get mad too. The silence finally got the best of me, when I found myself sitting across from Joshua. "What happened?" My tone demanding, but I felt desperate. "He pushed me, so I hit him". Joshua would have to be kidding if he thought he was getting away with an answer like that. Raising an eyebrow. "You expect me to take that for an answer son". "I don't know" he shrugged. "Why did he push you?" "Because". "Oh come on Joshua just tell me!" My son slammed his hand down on the couch and stood abruptly. His face was glowing red, tears threatened to spill. Something was wrong. "You want to know why dad! It's because he was talking about you and mom and I told him to get a life. He pushed me and I just hit him... I don't know why" he cried. "I just couldn't help myself". "Son" I stood, walking towards Josh and sat him back on the couch, with me right next to him. "What did he say about your mother and I? You know you can tell me right?" Nodding, Joshua pulled his knees up against his chest. "He was saying that mom wasn't good enough. That- that's why you left us". My heart shattered. I knew kids could be cruel these days, but this was nothing that I would of expected. I didn't know how I was going to explain myself to Joshua. How do you tell your son that it wasn't me to walk away, but it was her? You don't. "Josh.. Josh look at me please" cupping his chin I turned his face towards me. "Your mother was never 'not good enough' for me. She is the most lovely and courageous women I know. We didn't break up because I got sick of her son". "Then why did you break up?" Shit! "We just grew apart, but I will always love your mother". "Then why are you mean to her dad? Why does she still cry at night?" It was my turn to start tearing up. I couldn't beleive I was having an adult conversation with my 8 year old son. My heart hurt more the longer he spoke. I never knew he could hear Rae and I's conversations. He heard me when i stupidly degraded his mother, everytime i opened my mouth. Did that mean Ruby could hear too? I felt like a monster, but i was hurt. Rae had broken me to the point where hate started seeping in, leaving me with fragments of my old self that I reserved for my kids. "I'm sorry Joshua. I should never of talked to your mother like that. Please promise me you wont ever speak to your mother like that". "I wouldn't. I actually love her" he declared. "Josh. Don't talk to me like that! You are not your mother so I don't have to explain anything to you, alright? We are getting off topic and I want to talk about you hitting another student Joshua". "Colton said that his dad got to touch mom" Joshua softly spoke. My heart skipped a beat with his words, then plummeted to the pit of my stomach. "What? When?" If I wasn't sitting my knees would've already buckled by now. He was talking about Mr. Davis and Rae. How many other men has she fucked while being with Gregory, or better yet me. "He said a few years ago his dad saw mom coming out of the bathroom of this big fancy ball... And touched her. The- then he said. He said his friends laughed when Mr. Davis said mom was fighting him. What does he mean dad?" I tried to remember the last ball he had attended with Rae. It had to of been at least 3 years ago. I remember vaguely the lacey number she wore. The neckline plunged deeper then usual, teasing my eyes, and many men around him. After thinking about it, I do remember how she had been the perfect plus one. Floating around from person to person, saying her hellos. Between dancing and chatting she was spreading her happiness. Well until half way through, when she insisted they went home early. Her mood sombre, but she insisted she was due for her menstrual cycle. Unless... Something happened between Mr. Davis and Rae. Something sinister, and degrading. That son of a bitch! "Joshua. Promise me you won't tell your mother. I want to be the one to speak to her about this. And I will tonight, Ohkay?" Nodding, Joshua leaned into me as my arm draped across his shoulders. My son was hurt and it was all my fault. I didn't help Rae, but I didn't know. If something happened during that ball without my knowledge I don't think i could forgive myself. I pray that the kid was feeding Josh bullshit, but somewhere in the back of my mind I felt like something did happen. The door softly opened to reveal my beautiful daughter and brother, walking through the entrance still unnoticed to Josh and I's presence. Until Ruby looked up and make eye contact with me. "Daddy!" The click of her polished leather shoes echoed the foyer. "Hi princess, did you have fun at school?" "I did! I did! We learnt our 4 times tables today daddy. They so easy, but Mike said that I was just a smarty pants. I told him that my daddy always said I should have my nose within a book, then a boy on a hook" she declared proudly. My glorious daughter reminded me so much of her mother. The light in her eyes shone brightly, just like Rae's. "Well done baby girl. Did you have fun with Uncle Archie?" I asked. Looking towards Archie I smiled, mouthing 'thank you'. I had phoned him the moment I jumped in the car to pick up Josh. He, of course agreed. Our work was close to Ruby's school, plus Archie had informed me that Ben is quite able to pick up Sophie daycare. "Yes we organised a play date for Mommy and Uncle Archie. He said he wants mommy, Joshua and I to come see them. It's going to be fun!" Archie and Rae must have rekindled their relationship after we interrupted her dinner. With Gregory. "That sounds great sweetheart. How about you and Josh go to your rooms for a second whilst I talk to Archie, ohkay". "Ohkay daddy! Come on Josh, I can show you what I did today in art class with Crissy" she pulled on her brother arm in a haste. Finally, when they went to their rooms I turned to my Brother. "What happened with Josh?" he asked, moving towards the love seat next to me. "He got into a fight with John Davis' son today. He punch him when Colton started to talk about Rae and I's relationship". Sighing, I ran my hand through my thick hair. I knew I could trust my brother with my life, so I knew what I was about to tell him will be kept confidential. "What about your relationship?" Quizativley he moved forward. "Apparently she wasn't good enough for me so I left. But that's not all..." "How could a kid say something like that! How would he know what was going on with your family? Hang on there's more?" I told him everything that Josh had just told me, down to what I remembered about the night. I could see the empathy in Archie's eyes. The more I talked, the more my throat constricted. The words left a bitter taste in my mouth, if only I had been there. I could of done something. "Finn you don't know for sure if anything happened that night. John could of been telling a bullshit story to a punch of people. Don't beat yourself up about it". "Archie, you don't understand. After that night Rae started to become slightly distant, I didn't notice it until she left though. She didn't seem like herself, but originally I thought it was because of the kids. Then 6 months later, she fucking left me with divorce papers". "Finn-" "What if this was the reason. She couldn't bare to look at me after I let my work associate molest her!" "You didn't know!" "I should of asked her what was wrong. I should of followed her or something. I can't stop thinking what if..." "Talk to her. Finn, you need to go around and talk to her. What time are you meant to drop Joshua and Ruby back off?" "7.." I breathed. "Its now 4pm, go talk to her now. I'll stay here with the kids and if your not back by 6.30pm then I'll drop them of there. That gives you 2 and a half hours to work out what the fuck happened, Ohkay?" Nodding like a scolded child I got up of the couch. "Are you sure?" I asked. I was unsure about leaving the kids with him, but I needed to talk to Rae immediately. I couldn't wait til i dropped Ruby and Joshua off tonight. "Of course Finn. I'm your brother, I'll do anything for you". "Thank you". I pulled Archie in for a hug, then ran out the door. I hope Rae is ready for me. -- As quickly as I could I drove to Rae's house. When I arrived, I threw the gear into parked and hurried to her front door. After knocking I waited very patiently for a very confused but equally beautiful Rae to open the door. "Finn?.. What are you doing here? Where are the kids?" "We need to talk Rae. Josh and Ruby are fine, they are with Archie" I said. The truth will be revived tonight. What really happened the night she walked away... No more waiting. -- I hope I haven't forgotten anyone! Sorry if I did!! @luly310 @milymargot @eveerez @I88cym @lily-pop-2 @mmfdfanfic @milllott @i-dream-of-emus @arathewallflower @tinakegg @hey1tskat1e
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