#but jackie??? they literally dug into her

[fairytwles]

i sometimes forget that they actually ate jackie

[moonagedaydreamsofrhiannon]

IN DEFENSE OF TRAVIS MARTINEZ:

Because I’m sick and tired of seeing travis hate everywhere I go.

“Travis was sexist.”

Did he spout some sexist rhetoric in the beginning of the show? Sure. But it’s important to recognize that: A) he changed, and by season 2 he completely stopped, B) he was a teenage boy in the 1990s, and that kind of rhetoric was normal at the time, C) most of his sexist macho tough guy attitude was a complete act that he likely put on to compensate for his insecurity about his own masculinity, and internalized homophobia. (More on that later.)

(Also let’s be real, Travis is basically one of the girls anyway and I’m tired of pretending he’s not.)

2. “Travis didn’t care about Javi.”

Did we watch the same show??? Granted Travis may have had trouble expressing his feelings (also related to his insecurities about masculinity, likely learned from his father, as well as growing up in a patriarchal and homophobic society), but he cared deeply about Javi. In S1E4, Travis literally DUG UP HIS DAD’S GRAVE, through horror, tears, and vomit, in order to retrieve his ring to give to Javi. When Javi disappeared, Travis kept looking for him every day for months, and never gave up, even when logically it would have seemed impossible for him to still be alive. He comforted and reassured Javi when neither of them drew the card. He cradled Javi’s dead body and ate a bite of his raw heart (which was a metaphor for how much he loved him, and a parallel to Shauna eating Jackie’s raw ear.) Maybe Travis wasn’t always there for Javi in the way he needed, but he absolutely loved him, and it’s important to remember that Travis was also a traumatized, grieving, kid who just lost his dad.

3. “Travis slut-shamed Nat.”

As we are literally shown in the show, Travis was not trying to slut shame her, he asked how many times she had done it because he was embarrassed about the fact that he was a virgin, and worried that she would judge him, or that he wouldn’t measure up because he was more inexperienced than her. When she told him she hooked up with Bobby Farleigh, he did not get mad at her because she slept with another guy (he already knew about that, and was fine with it), he got mad because she hooked up with his bully, and then lied to him about it. I don’t blame Nat for this, she didn’t know about it at the time, and didn’t want him to get mad once she found out, but I also don’t blame Travis for being hurt and embarrassed and upset with her for lying about it.

4. “Travis was just kind of a dick.”

Sure, but so were all of them. He acted like kind of a jerk in the first season. So what? Shauna had an affair with her best friend’s boyfriend, lied to her about it for months, and refused to apologize. Misty tried to drug Coach Ben. Nat faked his brother’s death to him (yeah, she was trying to help him move on, but still not cool). All of them called him “Flex” (y’know, the nickname that was used to bully him for years). None of them are perfect or nice or likable all the time, and that’s ok; that’s the whole point. They’re realistic, complex, flawed, morally gray and sometimes unlikable people. They’ve all done bad things, but nothing Travis did is worse than what anyone else on that show has done. He was a traumatized teen whose dad literally just died. Also, me personally, if everyone around me was constantly calling me the mean nickname that was used to bully me since middle school, I would also probably act like a little bit of a dick.

5. “Travis is a straight man.”

Wrong. (Also not really a valid reason to hate someone… But most importantly, just wrong.)

Travis Martinez is clearly a bisexual.

So many of his issues: the insecurity, the bullying, the macho tough guy act, the whole weird complex about his masculinity, all of it stems (at least partly) from the fact that he’s bisexual and has internalized homophobia. The whole “Flex” thing is just thinly veiled homophobia. The main reason why he got bullied is because Bobby Farleigh spread a rumor about him getting back surgery to better suck his own dick. The unsaid implication there is that he’s a man who sucks dick, which is inherently queer, even if it is his own. If you look even slightly past the most surface level interpretation, it’s pretty obvious that Travis was bullied because of homophobia. His performance of stereotypical toxic masculinity was clearly over compensation for the fact that he doesn’t fit into the box of traditional straight masculinity, and was a reaction to the bullying from his peers, abuse from his dad, and internalized homophobia from growing up in a homophobic and patriarchal society. As the show progresses he starts to unlearn that toxic masculinity and internalized homophobia, and he allows himself to be more vulnerable, emotional, and feminine, and as a result, he becomes stronger, more confident, and more respectful of the people around him.

As for Travis being a man… Is he though???

In season 1, Travis is a man (narratively speaking); there is a clear distinction between Travis/Coach Ben and the girls. However, in season 2, we see a stark shift in how Travis is depicted. The separation between Travis and the girls pretty much ceases to exist. Narratively speaking, there is no distinction made between Travis and the other girls; they are one entity—one hive mind. Instead, the emphasis is now placed on the distinction between Coach Ben and the girls/Travis. When Coach Ben watches the Yellowjackets eat Jackie in horror and disbelief, Travis is right there with them, dressed in ancient greek robes along with the rest of them. In season 2, Coach Ben is the only real Man of the group (Travis has narratively become one of the girls, and Javi is just a boy, not a man) and he is shown staying separate from the rest of the group, and growing more and more uncomfortable with the cultish dynamics, while Travis, on the other hand, becomes more and more integrated with the group, as he falls deeper and deeper into cult beliefs, until he is a full-blown devout Lottie worshipper. Of the three males on the show, he is the only one who actually participates in cannibalism with the other Yellowjackets. Also he lost his virginity to a lesbian.

Whether or not you choose to believe that Travis is transfem (I do) you cannot deny that, at least narratively speaking, Travis is literally just a girl.

6. Travis is a victim.

I don’t know why nobody in this fandom seems to acknowledge this, but Travis is a sexual assault victim and I’m tired of people constantly overlooking and ignoring that fact. In Doomcoming, the girls (excluding Jackie, Nat, Tai, and Van) chased him down, sexually assaulted him, and then tried to kill him. That’s not something that’s up for debate or denial, that is literally canon. Stop pretending it didn’t happen. Stop pretending it wasn’t assault. Stop shaming him and making fun of him for struggling with sex, or not always being able to get it up. That’s a normal trauma response after being assaulted/raped. You guys are literally proving the point. This kind of treatment from society towards masculinity and male victims is just playing into the patriarchy and toxic masculinity, and is exactly what made him act the way he did in season 1 in the first place!

[tabithatwo]

I miss your opinions on twitter! and i wanted to ask you something (no idea if you’ll ever see this 😭) but do you think that the condescending way jackie acted towards shauna was because shauna is an unreliable narrator and that didn’t happen at all? bc i genuinely think that shauna’s bitterness towards jackie was justified (until the moment she had sex with jeff), i always think about that post of yours saying that the audience sees jackie like shauna did helpless little lamb or heinous bitch…

So honestly I have watched s1 an ungodly amount of times and studied every jackieshauna scene and I don’t think that jackie did anything that isn’t the most boring basic unavoidable occasional snark within a best friendship. She’s not perfect by any means, people really simplify her character both positively and negatively, and I actually think people diminish how fucked up she could’ve become out there. But the thing that I think happens is people taking what shauna says during their fight at face value instead of really digging in to what’s toxic between them.

For example, Shauna says “You're so obsessed with yourself, I'm surprised you're aware other people even exist.” It makes sense that shauna would say that. She thinks that’s true. But if you take it at face value and think “ah yes jackie is self absorbed and ignores shauna” you’re ignoring the rest of the show.

Firstly, that’s projection. Shauna even writes in her journal in s2 “I used to think jackie MADE me feel this way, but…” SHAUNA is obsessed with jackie. Shauna can’t think about anything without jackie entering her thoughts and influencing her. She thinks that is something that jackie is DOING to her, when it’s really just the nature of their relationship. They built this codependent entanglement together, brick by brick baby!!

And secondly, we KNOW jackie isn’t obsessed with herself over shauna. She is CONSTANTLY thinking about shauna. She gives shauna her last bite of food, she pulls her off of the burning plane, etc etc. Jackie’s biggest creation of tension in their relationship is actually that she cannot stop clinging to shauna. Shauna is quite literally her will to live, once jackie feels she’s lost Shauna’s love she gives up on life entirely. Almost all of their little spats actually relate to jackie suffocating shauna with how MUCH she cares. But Shauna can’t see that, it’s hard to see when you’re in it and when you have your own equally codependent behavior going on.

This took a round about route, but basically I wouldn’t call it unreliable narration necessarily. I think SHAUNA is an unreliable narrator in her own mind, twisting things in amazing ways with not just jackie but everyone lol. But no, I don’t think the show is giving us unreliable narration in the sense that what we see on screen between them didn’t happen that way.

I think a lot of viewers have surface level analysis of the show that makes THEM view or remember things in a way that doesn’t really align with the story. Which is fine, that’s a thing, not everyone is studying the show, memory doesn’t serve us particularly well with things far more important than scenes from a television show lol. But when people do analysis in fandom that feels based on a surface level read of a watch that was perhaps a long time ago, it does lead to conclusions that a lot of people who have really dug in will roll their eyes at I think.

As far as whether it is justified goes, I don’t really have many opinions on justification of feelings or actions, it’s just not an area of interest for me. You could give me any event from this show and I could probably argue for and against it being justified, I just don’t care much about that aspect personally!

[i-mean-y-not]

TOUCH

Touch A/N: This is the follow up to All This Time, it makes more sense if you read it first, but you don’t have to. If you’d like to request drabbles for this story that would be cool lol. As always, if you’d like more content feel free to send me an ask or message.

Happy Reading!

Sooo maybe you’ve bitten off more than you can chew. And that’s saying a lot, seeing as you were in multiple clubs in high school and college, volunteered at a different animal shelter every weekend, and still managed to snag a decent shag when you were in the mood. Life had been somewhat of a shit show lately, though. Your romantic life becoming almost nonexistent. Jess was the reason you’d smiled at all anymore, and Gojo, the man you’d thought you hated up until 10 minutes ago hadn’t made anything easier.

But this? After Jess clued you in two years ago, you’d thought the supposed “attraction” Gojo felt was nonexistent. But now here you were in the front seat of Gojo’s new sleek black car, an Audi maybe? Shit, who cares? You think to yourself as you start to nervously bite your lip.

What are you thinking?

Sleeping with Gojo of all people? The Gojo that fucked literally everything that batted an eyelash at him? You’re snapped out of your thoughts by him placing a comforting hand on your thigh and caressing it with his thumb, his left hand remaining on the steering wheel.

You shiver and stare out the window, refusing to acknowledge him.

Gojo’s soft, “hey” only serving to make more nervous as you couple your lip biting with the bouncing of your leg.

“Y/N, you know we don’t have to do this. I can just take you back home. Maybe--” you clench your legs together in trepidation and shake your head before words tumble out of your mouth.

“Is that all you want, Gojo? I mean if we’re just going to do it… that’s fine. I just don’t want to get fucked over after you fuck me... ha, that was funny right?” You say, a wince immediately making its way into your face. Gojo slows to red light and proceeds to tilt your face towards him.

“What? Where’s all this coming from?” he says as he coaxes your bottom lip from your teeth. “Talk to me, please?” His gaze remains sharp on you as you clear your throat.

Just as you open your mouth the light turns green and you whisper, “Green light”.

Gojo sighs and starts to move the car and states plainly, “We’re going to my place, okay?” You start to shake your head, tears welling up in your eyes. What the fuck is wrong with you? Here you were possibly about to get dug out by one of the finest men on the planet and you’re messing it up.

“We’re going to my place and I’m going to make you some tea. And we’re going to talk and if you allow it, I’m going to fuck you and it’ll be the best you’ve ever had. I’ll have you feeling it for days and if you’re a good girl, I’ll let you cum. Maybe I’ll cum inside you and make you keep it there until work tomorrow, hmm? So, your friend, what’s her name …Jackie? So, she’ll know. So Kento will know, so everyone in that fucking office will know that you’re mine”.

By the time Gojo is finished with his monologue, you’re a panting mess in your seat, eyes closed and hand clenching and unclenching.

“Y-Yeah we can go to your place to talk Gojo, just to talk.” You gulp and once again stare out of the window. You hear his slight chuckle as he takes a right at the next green light and the subsequent left before he pulls into his parking garage.

He parks and gets out with all the grace of a swan and opens your door to help you onto your wobbly knees. He holds your hand as you walk towards the elevator and when he presses the button for the twentieth floor. Its not until the elevator panel asks him for a code that you realize, this asshole lives in a penthouse. You mentally scoff and chuckle to yourself, modest much?

You’re snapped out of your reverie by Gojo grabbing your hand and ushering you in his lavish apartment. Okay, so your apartment was pretty-- fancy at best--but Gojo’s apartment was beautiful. With floor to ceiling windows and a grey and chrome theme, it screamed playboy.

“Would you like sugar or honey in your tea?” Gojo asks as he motions for you to sit at his kitchen table while he makes the tea. Once he’s finished, he brings both the sugar and the honey to the table for you to decide as he takes a seat himself. He reaches to pour your tea and looks at you, head titled.

“I’m just going to assume its honey,” he sighs as he pours the tea adding a squirt of honey.

When he looks at you, you turn away from him and mentally berate yourself. Then the panic ensues. But as you try to get up from the chair Gojo, gently as ever sits you back down.

“What’s wrong? C’mon look at me, Y/N?” He says in perhaps the softest voice you’ve heard.

“I just- Gojo I mean, what would you think if you were me? Do you know how many times I’ve heard people that we work with brag about your dick? I’ve heard a lot, frankly more than I’d ever want to hear about a dick I’ve never personally seen. I mean apparently it’s a beautiful dick, apparently there’s a mole on the underside of it and-” You immediately stop when you see Gojo’s face a distraught red.

Gojo honestly doesn’t know whether to laugh or pull out his “beautiful dick” and show you.

He simply observes you for a second and finally says, “I know you’re thinking I want you because I haven’t had you, but that isn’t the case. The first day I met you, the day I unceremoniously spilled coffee on you, do you know what I thought to myself?”

He waits until you nod your head before continuing, “I didn’t picture fucking you, waiting until you woke up after your third orgasm and telling you to get out. I just honestly- I wanted to take care of you. I still do. When you didn’t give me any inclination that you wanted me back I just wanted a warm body. I know when you look at me you see a guy that’s fucked half the office. I guess I was trying to distract myself from you. You have more power than you know, Y/N. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I’d drop any of them for a chance with you. And I don’t mean just for tonight, I want to date you. Make love to you. Shit, do you want a kidney?”

Your face must exhibit the picture of bewilderment to Gojo because he barrels on with a bashful, “I’m kidding about the kidney, but yeah I just need you to give me a chance. I’ll prove it to you, I want into your heart not just your pants.” He finishes with a rub of his neck and a sheepish smile.

Oh wow, you shrink into your seat and verbalize your thoughts, “Gojo, why didn’t you say anything?”

He looks down at the floor and mumbles, “I just did.”

You laugh and before you say anything else, he shrugs and glances at your tea and says, “What was I supposed to say anyway? Hey, Y/N, I know you’re practically in love with Kento and although I’ve had sex virtually everyone in the office give me a chance?” He ends his tirade with a scoff and you begin to see his lip quiver.

Well damn, maybe we’re both broken you think as you stand up and make your way to Gojo just across the table. You grab his face and softly gaze at him as you chide, “So, you're telling me you could have been blowing my back out the past two years?”

You get a laugh from him then as he cups your face and kisses you. You’ve been kissed before but, oh isn’t just a kiss. He sucks your lips and caresses your tongue with his and moans slightly when you gasp into his mouth.

This, this is everything.

This kiss has you somehow grabbing onto those silky white locks and gasping out, “Take me, take me to your room please.” You moan as he snakes his hand lower and lower until it reaches the hem of your dress.

He chuckles as he toys with your basic ass panties, why didn’t I wear sexier panties? You’re in the middle of your mental sob when Gojo bites your neck, and you cling to him.

“You sure?” he rasps out. “You don’t want me to fuck you against that window? For everyone to see?” You look up at him, panting and desperate, and shake your head. He merely smirks and jests, “What about Kento, you want him to see you falling apart for me?” Your knees buckle at that statement, practically grinding your teeth in frustration.

He seems to sense this as he gets you up and says, “Forward, walk forward.” You stumble and walk on shaky legs to the first room you see which luckily turns out to be Gojo’s bedroom, with a large Alaskan King bed in the middle and mirror on the ceiling.

You don’t marvel for long however because Gojo’s on his floor, your panties in hand, and before you know what’s happening you hear a “Hold this,” as he shoves the bottom part of your dress into your fists, and he licks a long stripe up your pussy.

That has your knees buckling for the second time today as you exclaim, “S-Shit, Gojo, I- wait.”

“You even smell good.” He groans and that has you gasping and whimpering above him. The feeling of his hands opening you up should make you bashful, but you cry out when you feel two fingers slowly start a rhythm inside you.

“Sat-fuck! Gojo, can we p-lease get on the bed?” He hums and picks up his pace and you clutch his raven locks and your pussy spasms, and you let out a guttural moan and before you know it, you’ve spiraled into your first orgasm of the night. You constantly gasp and twitch and Gojo, you notice is looking at you like you hung the moon and he’s groaning too. Then you see the very visible dark spot over his slacks.

You gaze at him vision still hazy and begin to question him, but before you can Gojo stands and abruptly pulls you to his bed. Once you’re standing before his bed, he strips you bare and with the way he’s looking at you, it’s not just physical.

“Beautiful,” he whispers, and you shiver when he traces his fingers over every insecurity on your body and with a groan he starts to strip too.

But you place your hand on his once he gets to his belt buckle.

“Let me,” you say, and he nods fervently. You take your time with his pants too, giving yourself time to mentally prepare yourself for this.

When you get to his boxers, you take a deep breath and a hand reaches out to you, “Are you okay, babe? Do you need a minute?” You shake your head and rather harshly yank his boxers down and damn near moan at the sight.

His dick is beautiful. There’s a slight curve, a pinkish hue and the prettiest tip you’ve ever seen. There’s no mole, you note. That bitch Allison was lying. You must sit on his bed gawking for a bit because when he attempts to lay you down with a chuckle, you remain upright and say, “Can I touch you? Please?” Now it’s his turn to gawk.

He stutters and shakes his head, “So I can cum for the second time? I haven’t even been inside you yet, Y/N. Don’t be greedy”.

You simply nod and say gently, “Do you have a condom? Not that I don’t trust you, I just want to be saf-”

He cuts off your rambling by kissing you and laying you down on the bed and saying, “I understand. My intention never was to take you raw. I know I have to earn that.”

He tries to go back down on you, but you shake your head profusely, just wanting him inside you already,

“Please,” he says nothing as he roots around in his drawer for a condom, you know he’s found it when he rips it open, and you feel him sheath it on.

“How do you want me?” you say as you prepare to get on all fours, but a slap to your ass stops you. You gasp and squint at him before you rub your ass cheek.

He leans down to nip on your ear and says, “Wanna see your face while I split you open, yeah?” You lean up to kiss him and he stares at you for a second and says, “Are you sure?”

You mentally roll your eyes but smile nonetheless and say, “Yes, Gojo I’m very sure.” He licks at your mouth and he slides inside you on a gasp.

He clenches his eyes shut and fists the sheets by your head, “How could you do this to me?” he says on a pained whisper.

You had closed your eyes on a gasp yourself when his dick touched your g-spot upon entry. You open them now and look at Gojo, his eyes look almost teary. As you reach up to touch him, he relaxes into your touch.

You look at him and although his rhythmic thrusting is making you breathless you say, “What’s wrong?”

He merely shakes his head on a chuckle and says, “You didn’t tell me your pussy was this good.” he says almost as out of breath as you.

How the fuck am I supposed to know? You think to yourself and proclaim hoarsely, “I-I’m sorry?”

His gaze darkens and he picks up his pace, his balls slapping your ass cheeks. “Sorry? You’re sorry? The only way you’ll be sorry is if you ever give my pussy to anyone else.”

"S-shit, you’re so warm and wet. Fuck you feel like home,” He says as he somehow gets deeper almost pressing into your cervix. When you don’t answer, he grabs your throat with one hand and pinches your nipple with the other and pins you with a look that has your mouth watering.

“Did you hear me? I said you feel like home, can you take me deeper? Huh? You want me deep in you? As deep as you’ve been inside me the past two years?” You nod and gasp and a litany of whimpers and moans fall out of your mouth.

“Yes, Gojo, fuck I want it deeper,” you choke, and a stray tear falls from your eye.

He flips you over now, and as he crushes your pelvis to the mattress and drags you up by the hair.

You practically scream, “Ah! Gojo, I- I can’t, I-I’m gonna- gonna cum”.

He chuckles wrapping his arm around your midsection and his middle finger finds your clit and as you buckle in on yourself on a choked moan he says, “Fucking take it! You begged for it, take it!” You try to squirm away as he lands a few quick slaps to your clit. “You think anyone else could fuck you like this?”

You let out a cry and damn near yell, “No, fuck Gojo, you’re fucking me so good, never b-been fucked like this. N-never felt so full, sooo good,” you’re practically drooling at this point as Gojo fists your hair and finds your lips with his own.

Your pussy clenches and Gojo groans, still rubbing furiously at your clit. Your mouth opens wide, and you begin gasping for air and your hands try to find purchase on literally anything at this point. You’re flailing and shaking as your second orgasm hits you like a tidal wave.

You collapse onto the mattress and Gojo follows with a long groan and after two more thrusts he cums too pulling off the condom and drenches your still quivering pussy.

You gaze at him and he says, “You okay? I’m gonna go get a towel to clean you up, okay?”

You weakly nod and he goes to the en suite bathroom after throwing the used condom into the bin beside his bed. When you hear water running, you remember the mirror on the ceiling as you glance up at yourself, you gasp. Who the fuck is that? This woman looks nothing like you, hair everywhere and makeup smeared, and legs still twitching.

Gojo rushes out of the bathroom upon hearing your gasp and looks at you, looking at yourself, and smiles.

As he saunters over to the bed, warm rag in hand he says, “I meant what I said earlier, you know? This isn’t a one-time thing for me.”

As he wipes you, you nod your head and bring him in for a gentle kiss and whisper against his lips, “Me either”.

[motherofmabari]

I'm having TMA and Yellowjackets brainrot rn so I'm thinking about which Entity each Yellowjacket is most aligned with, like individually. The show as a whole has big Hunt and Slaughter vibes, also Flesh, but I wanna break it down further so here goes -

First up, Tai's gotta be Stranger right? We've got other Tai going on, plus the Man with No Eyes feels Stranger aligned, and even specifically Eye opposed considering the lack of them imo.

I'm gonna say Laura Lee is the Vast, what with the little plane and her death in the sky and then her final resting place underwater.

Lottie is Spiral, no questions. What is reality, what isn't, that's her whole schtick.

Misty is the Web, she manipulates and collects information and positions herself to get what she wants, though I don't think she'd get along with Annabelle.

Shauna is ofc the Flesh, girl is their butcher and the first cannibal among them, this one's a no brainer. I mean, she gave birth! Tell me growing a other human inside your own body isn't the most Flesh aligned thing ever

Van is pure Hunt, she's been both prey and predator and is the most bloodthirsty among them imo.

Natalie took me awhile, I initially leaned towards Hunt for her too but I actually think I'm gonna go with the Buried for her, and here's my reasoning - Natalie is buried in guilt from episode one, over her father's death. The guilt continues to pile on through her entire life, and she even attempts to bury her trauma with drugs. Idk, I think it fits.

For Jackie I lean towards The End. She's the definition of Doomed by the Narrative, and her death signals the end of the Yellowjackets retaining any real normalcy.

Getting into the girls we don't know as well - with Mari I'm thinking maybe Slaughter? She keeps hearing the dripping which we can now assume is blood dripping, what with her bleeding wall hallucination, and she's a strong contender for Pit Girl.

For Akilah I'm gonna go with the Lonely, I mean she hallucinated a whole little mouse friend for herself, seems pretty Lonely.

As for Crystal/Kristen, Gen, and Melissa, I honestly know so little about them that I just don't know.

Bonus Boys -

Coach Ben is officially Desolation aligned after the season 2 finale if you ask me, the Spiral might've been playing with him earlier but the Lightless Flame has him now

Javi feels like a mix of Lonely and Buried for me - he spent so much time presumably alone and underground, so in a literal sense it works, and he's also the outsider in this group, the baby brother who's in the way. The ring Travis dug up for him also feels Buried aligned tbh.

And last we have Travis - I'm thinking Flesh. This works both with his latest act of eating his brother's heart, and with the earlier obsession with his body as both a sexual object and literal meat, when the girls hunt him as the 'stag'. Even his cruel nickname, Flex, comes from a scar on his body and the lie about why he got surgery (removing ribs is very Jared Hopworth too).

Is this anything? Idk but it's fun to play with

[autisticlancemcclain]

okay so. couple weeks ago my sister broke her nose. she got it set but it was still kind of crooked, so she had an appointment today to set it straight. she asked me to come with her because last time she passed out and her boyfriend barely caught her lol.

anyways i’m with her at this appointment holding her hand, watching her get stuck in the face with numbing needles and grimacing because it looks painful, and she’s squeezing my hand and i’m squeezing back and i start to get lightheaded and i think, there’s no fucking way.

here’s the thing. i am not queasy about medical procedures or whatever. a couple months ago i took my nonna to her dentist appointment and held her hand while (gross warning) the dentist numbed her up and fuckin’ dug out the pieces of her rotten tooth. it was disgusting and i had to watch the whole thing bc she was really distressed and there was literally nowhere else for me to look. i’ve also been in first aid crises, right? blood and needles and guts and stuff doesn’t bother me, doesn’t make me queasy, i keep a pretty level head.

but i’ve fainted a few times before (my family has a history) and i know what it feels like, when your ears ring and your stomach gets really tight and you kind of get floaty and you just think oh fuck. and i was like there is no goddamn way my attention seeking ass is about to fucking faint at SOMEONE ELSE’S doctor’s appointment. no. so i grit my teeth and sat on a chair and told myself it Would Be Fine and just breathed through it.

twas not fine! one second i was telling my heart to cool it then next second i was Waking Up On The Floor to my sister’s ENT specialist freaking out a little 💀 i’m still half out of it (bc you are for a couple minutes when you come to) and he’s fussing and my sister is asking me if i’m good and i’m thinking fuck i was supposed to be here to look out for her. i gotta chill out. but i’m aware enough to realise i’m still lightheaded and too shakey to drink water and my stomach’s still tight so i just sat on the floor, didn’t try to get up or anything, and then BOOM i’m waking up on the floor AGAIN 😭😭

luckily this time i was actually fine when i woke up. but the specialist was like hey i think i should call an ambulance. and i was like bitch do not??? i do not want to spend the day in the ER for literally no reason?? so my sister called my mom instead (lol) and my mom was like What The Hell, Jackie, and the specialist demanded to talk to her and my mom was like she’s fine just don’t let her drive. i’ll come get them.

so i had to wait in the lobby and feel horribly guilty as my sister had her nose reset by herself and then my mother had to rush over on her lunch break, pick us up, and then we had to sit in her car in the parking lot for two hours until her work was done boring as HELL especially bc i was fine by then lol

whole thing was so ridiculous it was the most sitcom situation i’ve been in for a while 😭😭accompany my sister to her appointment so she doesn’t faint and then I FAINT TWICE LIKE WHO DOES THIS HAPPEN TO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

would y’all like another insane storytime 💀

[charfletchh]

CALLING TOO MUCH, YOU'RE BREAKING MY PHONE. MAD WHEN YOU DO AND SAD WHEN YOU DON'T.

{ VALENTINA ZENERE, 22, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER } Is that CHARLOTTE FLETCHER? A SENIOR originally from BOSTON, MASS. they decided to come to Ogden College to study COMPUTER SCIENCE. They’re THE FEMME FATALE on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance. 

pinterest/spotify

BASICS:

full name: charlotte "charlie" elizabeth fletcher

age: 23

date of birth: oct. 28, 1999

zodiac sign: scorpio

hometown: boston, mass

gender: cis female

sexuality: pansexual

RELATIONSHIPS:

father: charles fletcher- disconnected, strict, but present. a lawyer of some kind, she doesn't really care what he does.

mother: mary brandt, formerly fletcher, formerly morales. charlie doesn't know where she is and she really doesn't care.

siblings: two younger brothersPERSONALITY:

positive qualities: generous, charismatic, supportive, nonjudgemental

negative qualities: apathetic, entitled, condescending

skills: just skating by in school, bringing the party, getting what she wants

character parallels: samantha jones (satc), serena van der woodsen (gossip girl), jackie burkhart (that 70's show), michelle richardson (skins), hailey dunphey (modern family), edie britt (desperate housewives)

relationship to greer: many thought that charlie was jealous of greer, and that was probably true in the way all women were jealous of a woman like greer. but that wasn’t it, really- charlie would have never traded her own life for greer’s golden cage. she loved her friend. but something about her dug under charlie’s skin. it could have been the glass-like skin, the goody two-shoes act, the way people looked at charlie’s chest when she talked and greer’s eyes when she did. whatever it was, she often found herself in a bad mood when they were together and would pick apart the smallest things she did. they were famous for their fights, frequently heard screaming at each other through the walls over a boy who had followed them both on instagram or a backhanded comment made two days prior about someone’s shoes. no one incensed her like greer did; the only thing more fun than fighting with her was making up with her.

school activities: volleyball (because her father made her join a sport in high school and she likes the shorts- she plays outside), kappa kappa gamma (for clout and because she looks fantastic in letters), and the robotics society (because she should probably get a job someday and she was told winning a robotics competition looked good to FAANG).

WANTED CONNECTIONS

the rolodex: her reputation is well-earned, and she wouldn't want to fail to live up to it. she's messed around with half of campus. open to any kind of FWB/one night stand/potential relationship connections!!

the chase: i think it would be funny if there was one person she was really into and they wanted nothing to do with her. or maybe the other way around!

the heartbroken: while many of her trysts end with a mutually agreed upon separation (or a separation she makes you think was your idea), inevitably, things get ugly. you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

charlie's angels: in greer's absense, charlie is taking advantage of the power gap to cultivate her own following. she's hand-selected a few dear friends to join her inner circle.

study buddies: "why doesn't anyone think i'm smart?" she says as she googles "do i need to pay taxes". she is good at what she does though and enjoys programming. would love to have a few other STEM connections so she can elle woods in Intro to Machine Learning.

mom friend: charlie is a wreck herself so when someone's coming to her for advice, shit must be really bad. she's always good for a cigarette and some good, if not always easy to hear, advice.

yuck!: charlie doesn't have a problem catching feelings, she just can't sustain them. so why hasn't she gotten the ick yet from someone she'd thought was just a one night stand?

i am literally down for anything though so if you have any wcs my girliepop can fill let me know!! she's unhinged i would love some unhinged plots

OTHER HCS:

i think the funniest thing in the world would be someone calling her chuck like i can't get it out of my head. if our muses r close pls call her chuck.

she's a big reader but mainly of books with insane female main characters. huge fan of Boy Parts, A Certain Hunger, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, ect.

she is not a "clean girl". she is a feral girl. she always has last night's mascara under her eyes and never makes her bed. she pays to have her laundry sent out not really because she's lazy but because she lets it pile up for like 3 weeks at a time and then has no underwear.

she was some kind of senior mentor/orientation leader/tour guide and she absolutely terrified the freshmen. i think she likes to mentor.

yes, she pulls because she's confident and confidence is sexy, but she also pulls because she's a little goofy.

her favorite moment in history is stevie nicks making lindsay buckingham sing backup on silver springs. she can only dream to have that much power over a man one day.

she's one of those girls who always thinks she should start a podcast.

she's anti-weed but pro-coke

big charli xcx girl

[1995lahaine]

was it you throwing around the idea of shauna imagining jackie as a way to cope? that ties in nicely with your last time jump post i think (sorry i don't even watch the show i just enjoy the posting)

oh shauna imagines jackie/is haunted by her bc losing jackie essentially froze her development (heh) into an adult at that moment, at least in any 'normal' sense of growing up. she had to become an adult in terms of physically surviving and making hard decisions but she's never been able to process losing jackie in any way. jackie literally froze and shauna metaphorically froze in that moment. jackie's death really cemented the reality of their new world for her, and it dug her own grave in the sense that it chained her forever to the woods. she had to kill her old self and create a new one that was stuck in time at that moment, that's why we see her trying to fulfill an adulthood jackie had imagined, while her fantasies/wishes remain those of a teenage girl before the woods. imagining jackie is not coping it's quite the opposite. it's the thing that will ultimately bring about a 20 year in the making ego death for shauna and it's the ghost of herself and the ghost of the girl she loved and her guilt and shame all wrapped up in one neat little ella purnell shaped package

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Hospitals & Hellos

A JSE Fanfic

Consider this a follow-up to the action of the previous part. A lot happened, including a cliffhanger that really left you dangling >:)c Sorry about that, but also not sorry. Anyway since it’s so closely related, I’m having trouble summarizing it. Basically, Chase and Marvin get some good news, there’s a brief intermission when something else happens, and then we cut back to those in more danger. That may sound confusing but I don’t want to get too spoilery. Read for yourself =)

You can find the other stories under the pw timeline tag!

Chase woke up to the sound of his ringtone, the sensation of someone shaking his shoulder, and the pain in your back and neck that develops when you fall asleep somewhere you’re not supposed to. He groaned, and opened his eyes. Where...? Ah, right. Jack’s hospital room. He fell asleep? For how long? Visiting hours must be almost over by now.

Marvin shook him again, leaning over from his chair next to him. “You keep getting a call,” he said. “You should probably pick it up now.”

“Right.” Chase stretched, wincing a bit at the ache in his body, then dug his phone out of his pocket just as the ringtone ended and the call dropped. But looking at his lock screen, he had three missed calls from one Detective Nix. “Oh shit!” He was immediately awake. “I gotta call back—”

Before he could do that, his phone rang yet again as it received another call from the detective. This time, Chase picked it up instantly. “Hello?”

“Mr. Brody?” asked the somewhat-familiar voice of Detective Nix.

“That’s me. Sorry about all the missed calls, I-I fell asleep.”

“Ah, I see.” Nix sounded amused. “I suppose I have to plan for calling you several times.”

Chase laughed nervously, glancing over at the others. He’d fallen asleep to Marvin teaching Jack the beginnings of BSL, but now both of them were staring at him, listening in to the conversation. Jack was sitting straight up, without leaning against the bed. Marvin kept bouncing his leg. The two of them were clearly anxious. “So...wh-what’s the situation?”

“Well, there’s good news, bad news, and good news,” Nix said. “Which would you like to hear?”

Chase inhaled sharply. “Bad news first.”

“We couldn’t find your friend Henrik. Or the other one who’d been taken a month ago, Jameson.”

“Oh.” Chase’s heart sank. “What’s the good news, then?”

“First things first: your friends’ tips were extremely helpful. We managed to find the house they were talking about,” Nix said. “We didn’t recover many things from the location, but we found something else. Or rather, someone else. Jackie Donovan.”

If his heart sank before, it now rocketed upward into his throat, rendering him speechless. Finally, he managed to get out a strangled, “What?”

“He was in one of the house’s bedrooms, badly injured and tied to a chair, but alive,” Nix continued. “He’s at the hospital now.”

“Which hospital?” Chase asked.

“Southpoint General, in the—”

“Holy shit, we’re literally there right now!” Chase stood up so fast he knocked his chair over. “Where is he?! Can we see him?!”

“He’s recovering in what is, I believe, the emergency ward,” Nix said calmly. “Don’t worry, he’s stable, but as I said, badly injured. Unconscious, actually. Visiting hours are basically over, but if you’re already here, and you insist, you could probably hurry if the staff lets you—”

“That’s what we’ll do, then. We’ll be there as soon as possible!” Chase hung up without saying goodbye, and turned to face the other two.

“What was that all about?” Marvin asked, confused but hopeful.

“They found Jackie!” Chase shouted, unable to contain his overflowing joy and relief. “They got him back, he’s here, at this hospital right now!”

“What?!” Marvin shot to his feet. “We gotta see him!”

“That’s what I said! If we run, we might be able to squeeze in just before visiting hours end.” Chase started to head towards the door, then stopped, and looked back at Jack. “Oh, uh, sorry, you probably want—”

“Go!” Jack waved at the two of them, pointing at the room’s doorway. “Gogogogogo!”

Chase laughed. “Alright, we’re going! I’ll see you in a couple days, probably!”

“Go!”

“Okay, bye!” Chase hurried out the door.

“Bye, Jack!” Marvin added, following Chase.

Jack waved at the two of them as they left.

From there, the two of them hurried to the nurses’ station so they could ask where Jackie was. Once the nurse confirmed he was in the emergency ward and gave them the room number, they practically sprinted to the right wing, desperate to make it before visiting hours were over. They ended up making it just in time, and both skidded to a halt outside the right door, breathing hard.

The door to the hospital room was ajar. An older man leaned over and peered through the doorway. “Ah, hello Mr. Brody.”

“Hello, Detective,” Chase said. He paused for a moment to breathe, then added, “We’re here.”

“I can see that,” Nix replied, smiling a bit. “Well, you and your friend come in. It’s Mr. Maher, isn’t it?”

Marvin nodded. “Yeah. Weren’t you at the trial? You talked about the case?”

“So I did.” Nix nodded.

“Huh. So you’re handling the whole thing?”

“Indeed. It’s turning out to be a complex beast of clues and crime. Anyway.” Nix stepped back, and Chase and Marvin entered the room.

Most of the emergency ward was large rooms with multiple beds, but there must have been certain circumstances in place to let Jackie have his own room to himself. It was small, but a bit more homey than Jack’s room in the ICU, with cushioned chairs and a couple small tables, even a TV in a cubby in a wall. The hospital bed didn’t have as much medical equipment surrounding it. But Jackie wasn’t awake to appreciate any of this.

Chase stopped short, just staring. It was eleven months since he’d last seen Jackie. He hadn’t always been that pale, had he? His collarbone and cheeks hadn’t always jutted out like that, had they? His hair was a shoulder-length mess, having grown out, and his eyes had deep purple bags under them. He was wearing a hospital gown, but there were scars visible on his arms that certainly hadn’t been there before, as well as some bandages wrapped tightly around his right arm above the elbow. Despite all this, he looked rather peaceful in sleep, breathing steadily.

Marvin made a choked sound, unable to say anything else.

“He’s...fine, right?” Chase asked, glancing at Detective Nix.

“The doctors say so,” Nix assured him. “He was injured when we found him, but they say it’s not life-threatening.”

“H-how? How was he injured?” Chase asked hesitantly.

“Well...you can see his arm. His legs are bad, looked like someone used a knife to slash them up. And there was a stab wound in his stomach. But he hadn’t lost too much blood. They say his main problem is malnutrition. He’ll be okay.”

Chase let out a long breath. “Okay. Okay. That’s good. Good to hear.”

Marvin stayed silent. He walked up to the bed and, after a moment, gently took Jackie’s hand. 

“I’ll let you two have a moment.” Nix slid out of the room, closing the door behind him.

The moment passed in silence.

——————

The car ride back was silent as well. A lot had happened that day, and the two of them sat, quietly processing everything. They lost Schneep, but found Jackie, each within a few hours of each other. Who knew what would happen tomorrow?

Chase pulled onto the street where Marvin’s house sat, and noticed something odd. “Is there someone outside your house?”

“Hmm?” Marvin, previously spacing out, snapped back to reality. “Why would someone be at my house?”

“I dunno, I assumed you would. Not expecting anyone?” Chase shrugged. “Maybe they’re in front of the neighbors.”

“No.” Marvin narrowed his eyes, staring down the road. “There’s someone at my door. A car in front, too. Who is that? I can’t see them.” He shook his head. “Too dark. The city needs to work on installing stronger street lamps in the area.”

Chase chuckled a bit. As he approached Marvin’s house, he pulled to the side of the road, right behind the strange car that was already there, and tried to get a good look at whoever was at the doorway. A woman. Dark-haired, wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans. She was facing the door, her back to the road, but when the car pulled up she heard the sound and turned to look. Odd...Chase recognized her. But he couldn’t place where he’d seen her before. “You know her?”

“Uh...I don’t think so?” Marvin shook his head, looking confused. “But I think I do? She kinda looks familiar.”

“I was thinking the same thing, actually.” Chase parked the car and opened the door. “C’mon, I want to talk to her.”

“Yeah, let’s ask her what she’s doing at my house at like ten o’clock,” Marvin said, opening his as well and heading out.

The two of them walked up the short path to the door. The woman, noticing them, waved. “Hello! I’m very sorry, ah—one of you is Marvin, right? Actually, you both look—maybe you could both help me? I’m looking for Henrik.”

That voice made Marvin stop in his tracks. “Mina?!”

Chase visibly started as the pieces clicked into place and he remembered who this woman was. Mina von Schneeplestein—or rather, Mina Pfeiffer, as last he heard she was going by her maiden name again. What was Schneep’s ex-wife doing here?!

“Ah, you recognize me, so I have the right address.” Mina nodded, satisfied. “You are Marvin? I saw you on television, I recognize your hair. Though it’s longer than I remember. But to be fair, my memories of faces are vague.”

“You saw me on TV?” Marvin repeated, looking even more confused now that he realized who the woman was.

“Um, hi.” Chase waved awkwardly. “I’m Chase, I’m a friend of Schneep’s. What are you...It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, were you out of town or something?”

“Oh, Chase! I remember you. Yes, I went back home and stayed with family for some time,” Mina said.

“Why are you at my house?” Marvin blurted out.

“Well, ah—sorry about that. It was the only address I could think of.” Mina sounded fairly embarrassed. “I thought you would be home. I am looking for Henrik.”

“Why? We haven’t seen you for more than a year!” Marvin pointed out.

“Yes, I know. It is...a complicated situation.” Mina glanced back at the door behind her. “Should we go inside and sit down?”

“No, I’m fine,” Marvin said. “We can talk about this while standing.”

“...oh. Okay.” Looking even more embarrassed, Mina stepped away from the door, walking a bit closer to the two men. “I suppose this wouldn’t take too long.”

“So you’re looking for Schneep?” Chase asked.

Mina nodded. “Yes. I received some phone messages and mail from this hospital they said he was staying at. But I threw them out. Shortsighted, it would seem.”

“I think I know what you’re referring to,” Chase said. He recalled a conversation he had with Dr. Laurens, where she said they were trying to contact Mina but getting no response. “Did you think they were spam or something?”

“Ah...no, not exactly.” Mina grimaced. “It is really a long story, and it is cold and dark out, so I would prefer if we could step inside—”

“No, tell it quick,” Marvin interrupted.

Mina bristled a bit. “Well!”

“Marv, c’mon,” Chase pleaded.

“Look, no one disappears for a year without a reason,” Marvin insisted. “And something about this seems fishy, so I want to hear the story before I let her into my house with my pets.”

Mina sighed. “I do not see why you are so concerned. Henrik and I are married.”

“You’re divorced.”

“No, they’re separated,” Chase added. “It’s a different thing.” But personally, he still considered them exes, even if the separation had been friendly enough. The pair of them had rushed into marriage, likely due to some family pressure, and later agreed that they needed some time apart to sort their own lives out. That was about three or four years ago, and shortly afterwards Schneep had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. As far as he knew, they hadn’t gotten back together since the separation.

“It’s just weird that you’re showing up looking for him now,” Marvin said, crossing his arms. “Where were you when he first went into Silver Hills?”

“I was out of the country,” Mina repeated.

“On purpose?”

“What?”

“Were you avoiding him?”

Mina looked like she wanted to protest, but then straightened, adjusted her jacket, and said, “If you must know, then yes.”

“Ha!” Marvin barked.

“You must be missing so much of what happened,” Mina said, leveling him with a stare. She was about equal height with the two men, so it wasn’t hard to do. “Henrik and I...were starting to try again. But then his behavior became erratic, and the next thing I knew, he put his friend in a coma and started killing strangers.”

“He wasn’t the one killing them,” Chase corrected gently—mostly to prevent Marvin from saying the same thing, much louder.

“Well I know that now, but at the time, it seemed fairly obvious,” Mina pointed out. “So I left for some time. I returned a couple months ago, but only now heard the news about the truth of the situation. I saw clips from the filmed hearing between you, Marvin, and that doctor. I saw them on television, and realized something was off. So I looked it up, and now I know, and now that I do, I have to talk to Henrik about something.”

“You know...it seems a bit sketchy that you immediately thought he must be the killer,” Marvin said. “Because he was, what, ‘erratic’?”

“Yes,” Mina said firmly.

“You should have realized he would never do anything like that!”

“I wasn’t about to stick around and have blind faith! That is how serial killers draw in women, it has happened in the past!”

“Schneep would never—”

“I did not know that! He was being very strange, and with his condition—”

“Get off my property.”

Mina blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Marvin leaned close to her. “Get off my property.”

“No, you do not understand, I really must know how to talk to Henrik,” Mina said, tone shifting from defensive anger to a strange desperation. “There is an important matter—”

“Find that mail you threw out and get the address from there. Google it, I don’t care. Though really, if you keep talking like that, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near Henrik.” Marvin growled. “If you stay here one second longer, I’m calling the police. Leave.”

Mina looked like she wanted to protest more, but thought better of it. She walked around Marvin and Chase, staring at the two of them as she did, and then hurried down the path to the street. She got inside the strange car Chase had parked behind, started it, and drove off.

“You could’ve handled that better,” Chase said.

“You didn’t say anything,” Marvin replied, facing him.

“No, I know. You’re right, something about that seemed...weird.” Chase couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about the way Mina was acting was...strange. Not in a bad way. But it felt like there was something more she wasn’t saying.

“I don’t like people talking about people’s ‘conditions,’” Marvin muttered.

“Yeah, that was a bit...Just, the way she said it, like it was a given, y’know?” Chase shook his head. “But you really went off there.”

Immediately, all the fire drained out of Marvin’s body. “Sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m just...tired.”

“I don’t blame you. I feel it too.” Chase nodded. “You, uh...want to go see Jackie sometime soon?”

Marvin nodded. Day after tomorrow? he asked, signing.

“That could work. We’d have to be quick, though, Stacy will be dropping off the kids in the evening for the weekend.”

Oh, you sure? I can go tomorrow, or even after the weekend.

“No, it’s fine, I...I really want to see him.” Chase swallowed a lump in his throat. “I’ll pick you up. How about around two?”

Marvin nodded again. That would work.

“Great. See you then.” Chase retreated to his car, turning back before getting inside to wave at Marvin one last time. Marvin waved back, then turned around and went through the front door to his house. Once he was gone, Chase got in his car and drove away.

This day just kept getting longer. He really needed to get home and go to bed.

——————

Two days later, Chase picked Marvin up and the two of them drove back to the hospital around two o’clock, when visiting hours started. They remembered the way to Jackie’s room, and found it quickly. Nobody else was there. Chase half-expected Detective Nix to still be here, doing some sort of police stuff, but no, the room was empty. Jackie was lying in bed, eyes open, hands folded on his stomach, staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t moving at all, except for the up-and-down of his chest as he breathed. Chase hovered in the doorway, Marvin nearby, feeling uneasy. This sight was a bit...worrying. Was Jackie okay?

Marvin leaned over and whispered, “Is he awake?”

“I don’t know,” Chase replied in the same hushed tone. “His eyes are open.”

“Maybe it’s like with Jack? How he was before?”

“God, I hope not. I don’t want anyone else to go through that.”

At that moment, Jackie’s head turned, and he looked at the two of them. He must have heard them, despite the whispering. Chase gasped a bit before coughing to clear his throat. “Hey, Jackie,” he said awkwardly. “It’s uh...it’s us.”

Jackie didn’t respond, just kept looking at them. His eyes darted up and down as he took in their appearances. Self-consciously, Chase tried to brush some nonexistent dirt off his jacket. He should have worn a newer one instead of the old one with the first merch design for his channel.

Marvin waved. “Hi. We’re here now.”

“Yeah, hi.” Chase waved again. “Uh...how are you feeling?”

Still no response. Though Jackie looked a bit confused now.

“Uh...can you hear us, bro?” Chase stepped forward until he was standing next to the bed, then put a hand on the non-bandaged part of Jackie’s arm.

“Holy shit!” Jackie jerked his arm away and bolted upright. “You’re really here!”

“Wh—yeah?!” Chase said.

Marvin laughed.

Chase glanced back at him. “Dude, what the fuck?” 

“Sorry, sorry, I-I dunno what that was about, nervous reflex,” Marvin waved away Chase’s look. “It was just a bit funny, cause he jumped up like that.”

“I—I wasn’t expecting that,” Jackie said, sounding a bit dazed.

“You...weren’t expecting us to actually be here?” Chase clarified.

“Yeah, I-I-I thought that—it’s all a bit—never thought I’d—” Jackie paused, gathering his words. “I thought that maybe...I was just daydreaming a bit. To make myself feel better. This whole place, actually.” He gestured around the hospital room. “I guess it was all so surreal, and I...I was kind of out of it, a-anyway, so I thought this was just more of that.”

“Oh. Well, no, we’re here.” Chase squeezed Jackie’s arm. “You’re really in the hospital. Southpoint General, actually, the same place Jack is.”

“Really?” Jackie laughed a bit. “Cool, I could go visit him.”

“Well he’s in a different, um, ward, or whatever,” Chase said. “But yeah, technically you could.”

Jackie smiled, but then the grin slowly faded from his face. His eyes glazed over a bit.

“So...” Marvin jumped in, walking over to stand next to Chase. “What do you remember?”

“Huh?” Jackie blinked, and looked over at him. “Remember about what? You’ll have to be a bit more specific.”

“I mean about the whole rescue operation,” Marvin explained. “How did the police find you?”

“Oh. Uhhhh yeah like I said I was really out of it, so...” Jackie shrugged. “Not that much. I remember them appearing, I think. There were, like, footsteps, and then a bunch of strangers appeared in the doorway.”

“Did they have to kick it down?” Marvin asked, sounding a little too excited at the idea.

“No, it was already open. I dunno why. Maybe he forgot to close it all the way, he was in a hurry.” Jackie mumbled that last part under his breath, but Chase and Marvin heard it easily enough. “Anyway, they picked me up, and I’m sort of assuming there was a ride to the hospital of some kind, but I completely zoned that out. I kinda vaguely remember a bunch of doctors and some bright lights? But, uh...yeah. Otherwise, I just woke up here, in the bed, and thought I was daydreaming it all.”

“You must have some vivid daydreams, bro,” Chase muttered.

“Yeah.” Jackie nodded.

Marvin gave Jackie an odd look. “I don’t know if having daydreams that strong is normal.”

“No, probably not, but it doesn’t matter, really,” Jackie dismissed.

Marvin looked like he was ready to push the issue, but Chase put a hand on his shoulder and subtly shook his head. This wasn’t the time. “Well, we’re...we’re just really glad you’re okay, Jackie,” he said softly. “We were so fucking worried. You—you’re alright, right?”

Jackie patted himself over, wincing a bit as he pressed on his chest. “Mostly, yeah.”

“Yeah. We’re so happy you’re back,” Marvin added. “What...what happened?” Chase gave him a sharp look, but it was too late, the question was out.

“What happened?” Jackie looked at Marvin incredulously. “I got fucking kidnapped, that’s what happened. And then—a-and then—I was—we—” He stopped, taking a few deep breaths. “Sorry, I...I can’t talk about it.”

Marvin winced. “Sorry. Th-that was—that was rude. It just sort of came out. You don’t have to talk about it. Like Chase said, we were just...really worried, and we—we want to know you’re okay.”

“It’s fine, just be careful,” Jackie said quietly. “I’m okay. Except for the obvious.” In the moment of silence that followed, his eyes drifted down, attention drawn by the bandages on his upper arm. Frowning in strange concentration, he reached up and started pulling at them.

“Whoa, dude, what’re you doing?” Chase almost reached out to grab his wrist, but stopped, thinking that wouldn’t be well-received. “You need those!”

“I just wanna confirm something,” Jackie muttered, managing to loosen the tight bandages enough to start unwinding them. “They can be put back on.”

“I—you’re not wrong, but—what if there’s—I don’t know, a lot of blood, or something?” Chase speculated.

“I don’t think so. Not if I’m remembering right.” Jackie slowly removed the bandages, unwinding and pulling them off. Until, eventually, the wounds underneath were visible.

All three of them stiffened in unison. Jackie’s arm was cut up, but not in a random or accidental way. Instead, the word WARNING was carved into his skin, in bleeding capital letters, going from his shoulder, all down his arm, reaching his elbow. 

“What the fuck...?” Chase said, unable to say anything else. He couldn’t believe what he was saying. Stuff like that didn’t happen in real life, only in crime dramas. Who would actually do that?

Jackie’s face shifted as he covered up his distress with a blank expression. “So I was right,” he said tonelessly, attempting to rewrap the bandages one-handedly. Chase pulled himself out of his stunned stupor to bend over and help him with them.

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“Huh?” Chase stopped, looking back over at Marvin.

“Anti. I’m gonna fucking kill him,” Marvin repeated through gritted teeth. His posture was stiff, unmoving, his fists clenched. “He takes our friends—JJ, Schneep, Jackie—and does this? I’m going to kill him. I’m going to take a fucking knife or a gun or rope or whatever I can find and I’m going to kill him and watch the fucking life drain from his eyes—”

“Jesus, Marv, calm down!” Chase cried. “You gotta think this through.”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah. You’re not a killer.”

“I could be,” Marvin said bluntly.

“No!” Chase straightened, grabbing Marvin by the shoulders and forcing him to look at him. “Marvin, I get it, you’re upset by recent events and clearly filled with rage. For good reason, I’ll say. But you can’t just walk up to a professional assassin and attack him, you’ll just get killed! Besides, JJ and Schneep wouldn’t want you to do that, even for their sake. Just...take a step back. Go walk around and get it out of your system, if you have to. Don’t do anything stupid.”

For a moment, Chase’s words only seemed to anger Marvin more. But then, he broke away, letting out one long, single breath. He pressed his hands to his eyes, breathed some more, then let out a shout and hit himself in the chest a couple times. Chase jumped in surprise, instinctively reaching forward to stop him, but Marvin was already done. “Alright, fine, you have a point. That’d be a dumb move. Impossible and not worth it. But fuck, we gotta do something.”

Chase nodded. “Yeah. I know how you feel, bro.” Even though common sense would say to leave this to the professionals, he couldn’t just sit by while his friends were in danger.

“Um...” Jackie waved a bit, drawing the other two’s attention back to him. “What do you mean ‘professional assassin’?”

“Oh. Do you not...know?” Chase asked. “I mean, I thought you would, but...I guess maybe there wasn’t an opportunity. That’s, uh...kind of what Anti does. I think what he’s done with Schneep and whatever he has planned now is just...a side thing, maybe. We actually found his website—oh shit!” His eyes widened in remembrance, and he whirled back to face Marvin. “Marv, you’re not gonna believe this, and you probably don’t need any more reason to hate this guy, but he might be the one who stabbed you.”

Marvin gasped. “Shit, really?!”

“The one who what?!” Jackie repeated.

“Oh, right you were...gone by the time that happened.” Marvin grimaced, then quickly filled in Jackie with what happened at the boutique he used to work for. Finding out it was a front, having someone stab him on his way home one night, getting home and patching up just barely in time, then figuring the owners of the front tried to kill him and heading back to Ireland for a few months to let things calm down. “How’d you figure out it was Anti, Chase?”

“I checked his website. He has reviews from past, uhhh…’clients,’ and one left one talking about a failed hit on a guy who sounded like you,” Chase explained.

“Well, shit.” Marvin folded his arms, face grim. “That’s not good. Well, I’m not gonna leave again until this whole thing is cleared up. Fuckers try to kill me again.”

“Y’know I really don’t think you should tempt fate like that,” Jackie pointed out.

“Fate doesn’t exist, only karma. They’ll get what’s coming to them thricefold, I’m not leaving.”

“I guess...you don’t have to,” Chase said skeptically. “But be careful. We’re not losing anyone else.”

Marvin nodded, expression finally softening. He grabbed Chase’s hand and squeezed it. “I will be.”

“Good.” Chase sighed. “Well, Jackie. This has been a lot of excitement. We should probably let you get some rest.”

“No no no!” Jackie protested. “I-it’s fine, I don’t want you guys to go yet. I...it’s been...so long. You know?”

Chase nodded sadly. “Almost a year.”

“Yeah. Exactly.” Jackie grabbed the edge of the hospital blanket, twisting it. “So...you have a lot to catch me up on, then. I-it’s gonna take a while. You should sit down.”

Marvin and Chase glanced at each other. Then Marvin shrugged. “There are better chairs in this room than in Jack’s,” he said.

Chase laughed. “I mean, I wasn’t gonna say it—”

“You were thinking it, though?”

“Exactly.”

“Glad to hear my chairs are superior,” Jackie said, smiling a bit. “Pull one up.”

“Alright, Jackieboy Man, we have some time,” Chase grinned. “There’s a lot you’ve missed.”

The three of them sat, talking for hours about things that mattered a lot, and things that didn’t matter at all.

——————

“—can’t believe they—how did they know about—probably figured out about the others too—”

Jameson wasn’t paying much attention to Anti’s muttering, but every so often, he caught random snatches as Anti paced back and forth. Every time he passed by the doorway, more angry phrases passed through into the bedroom beyond. Something really had him upset, didn’t it? From what little he heard, someone had found something, and that was a big problem. Well...he had wondered if the police found Anti’s previous hideout, and if that was the reason he had to drag them out of there. Whatever the case, good. If Anti had a problem, he deserved it.

“—three fucking people in this tiny—gotta find out what’s still—somewhere new? Maybe?—”

Lying on the bed, Jameson saw Anti’s shadow pass to the left...then the right...then the left...then the right.... It kept cutting across the light that was shining into the dim bedroom from the room outside. The living room, to be exact. The living room of the apartment he was now trapped in, to be precise. Though, Anti did seem to be distracted. The bedroom door was wide open, if he wanted he could run out and—No, it probably wouldn’t work. Anti told him the front door was locked, and he probably still had the key on him. Jameson couldn’t take it from him; Anti was much stronger. Besides, even if the key had been sitting out on the table, Jameson wasn’t the only person who needed to get out.

Speaking of which...

He rolled over to his side, now facing the bedroom wall. There was a window on this side, but the shutters were closed, and actually had a padlock making sure they couldn’t be moved. Anti probably had that key, too. There was a wardrobe in one corner and a dresser in the other, the former having its doors ajar to show it was empty inside. Or...empty of clothes, at least. A figure was pressed against one wall, huddled up, indistinct in the shadows. When Jameson had woken up a few hours ago, there had been faint mumbling and sobbing coming from that direction. Now, there was nothing.

After a moment of listless staring, Jameson sat up, glanced out the doorway to make sure Anti was still occupied in his pacing, then stood and walked over to the wardrobe. He pushed the door farther open and stared down at the figure. A man. Knees pulled up and arms covering face, the classic defensive position. A moment more passed before Jameson sat down on the wardrobe floor next to the shadowy huddle.

“Ah!” The man gasped a bit, then looked up. Wide blue eyes reflected the little light in the dim room. He stared at Jameson, then asked, “Jackie?”

Jameson shook his head.

“No, no. Of course not. I’m sorry, I am just confused.” The man’s eyes squinted a bit. “Do I...know you?”

Jameson shook his head again.

“Oh. Good. I was worried for a moment there.” The man uncurled a bit, taking his arms away from his face. He reached down to his ankles, slightly adjusting the cuffs around them, binding them together. Then he glanced around. “I do not recognize this place, either. Do you?” When Jameson shook his head for a third time, the man tilted his head. “Can you...not speak?”

Faintly surprised, Jameson nodded. Most people would ask why he was quiet or demand that he talk. Only a few caught on to the reality without him somehow cuing them with signs or writing.

“Ah, I’m sorry, then. Can you hear me?”

A nod.

“I see.” The man glanced out at the room again. “My name—my name is Henrik.” So Jameson’s guess was right. This was the Dr. Schneeplestein he’d heard so much about, and had one brief meeting with, a meeting that had ended badly. “What is your—what do I call you?”

Thinking for a moment, Jameson reached out and gently took one of Schneep’s hands. He stiffened a bit, but allowed him to do so. Jameson then drew out the letter J twice on the surface of his palm.

“JJ? Oh, that is very nice.” Schneep smiled faintly. “I understand some sign language, you know. But I am afraid I am very rusty. I do not think I could hold a conversation.” His smile fell. “Do you...know why we are here?”

Jameson nodded sadly. He gestured out towards the room, in the direction of the doorway Anti was pacing and muttering in front of.

Schneep shuddered. “Yes, I—I have—he has—I have been in this situation. Before.”

Jameson pointed at himself, then made the sign for also by pointing his fingers and touching his hands together.

“I know that one. You...you know him, too?” Schneep’s voice held a combination of horror, sympathy, and strangely, hope. Hope that he wasn’t alone. “I suppose I don’t have to explain, then.”

Letting out a huff of dark laughter, Jameson shook his head.

“Hmm. That is good.” Schneep scanned Jameson, taking in as many details he could in the faint light. “I...something about this time is...different. Than when he last took me.” He suppressed another shiver as he looked up towards the shadow passing back and forth on the ceiling. “I...am sorry you are here.”

Jameson scooted closer to him. He put one hand on Schneep’s shoulder and signed Sorry with his other. Neither of them should be here. Anti should never have interfered in their lives again.

Schneep let out a shaky breath, and leaned closer to Jameson until he was resting his weight against him. Jameson pressed his head against his. And together, they listened to the sound of their nightmare pacing and muttering, wondering what was next for them.

[trashyswitch]

Tickleboy Man's Shenanigans

Jackieboy Man goes on a playful spree and ends up eventually bringing Henrik along for the ride.

This fanfic prompt was suggested by Shannon the JSE Anon!

Link

I hope you enjoy!

Jackieboy Man was hiding up on the top of the roof, waiting around for his first victim to approach. He waited for a little bit, and soon came across Marvin. A smile quickly grew onto his face as he rubbed his hands evilly like a villain. He lowered himself down through his floating ability, and grabbed his shoulders. “BAH!”

Marvin shrieked and jumped about 5 feet in the air. Not only that, but he was caught on the way down by a pair of hands around his waist! Marvin looked down, touched the hands, and turned to see Jackie. “Oh...What the hell?!” Marvin pushed at Jackie’s face.

But Jackie smirked at this and faked dropping him. This led Marvin to just about have another heart attack. “WoO-AAH! DON’TDROPME!” Marvin begged.

“Wasn’t counting on it!” Jackie replied.

“Good. Now what do you want?” Marvin asked, letting his legs dangle.

“To capture you and hold you like this:” Jackie wrapped his legs around Marvin’s thighs and wrapped his arms around his chest. Marvin yelped and protested at first, not fully understanding what he was doing. But once he felt like he was in a weird spider hold, Marvin calmed down a little. “Weird execution, but surprisingly nice…” Marvin admitted.

“Oh yeah, I also wanna tickle ya.” Jackie said as he started tickling the magic man on the ribs with his fingers.

“WAAAAhahahahahaha! Jahahahackihihie nohohohoho!” Marvin protested.

“Look! I’m spinning you around like a spider would in her web!” Jackie reenacted this move by spinning Marvin and tickling his middle and back while he spun him.

Marvin squealed and wiggled around, laughing at both Jackie’s weirdness and at the ticklishness of the man’s fingers.

“And:” Jackie wrapped both his arms and legs around him again, and hugged him snugly from behind while he leaned in. “Snack time!” Jackie moved his mouth to Marvin’s neck and started ‘nibbling’ on his neck while making nomming sounds.

“AAAHAHAHAHAHA! THAHAHAT’S NAHAHAT HOHOHOHOW SPIHIHIDEHEHERS WOHOHOHORK!” Marvin shot back.

“And how would you know?!” Jackie asked, pausing before going back to tickling him with his nibbling.

“BLOOHOHOHOD! THEHEY SUHUHUCK THEHEHE BLOHOHOHOOD!” Marvin told him.

“Well we all know I’m not a vampire…” Jackie mentioned. “But I can pickpocket others pretty well.”

Jackie reached into Marvin’s shirt and grabbed onto the magic wand that was in his hand. “Now does this cap-” A bunch of large feathers came poofing out of the top of the magic wand! “!...Well there’s my answer!” Jackie fluffed up the feathers and lifted Marvin’s shirt up. With one arm wrapped around his lower ribs and holding the shirt up to expose his belly, Jackie started tickling his belly with the feathers. “Kitchy kitchy kitchy koo!” Jackie teased.

“EEEEEEK! JAHAHahahahahack! Stahahahahap thahahahat! Yohohou’re beheheheing weheheheheird!” Marvin laughed.

“And now for the ultimate boss fight!” Jackie pushed Marvin horizontally up against the roof with one forearm pushed against the thighs and the other against his chest. “3...2-” Jackie started counting.

“NOHOHO! DON’T YOU EVEN-”

“1! PPPPPPFFFFFFBBBBBBBBFFFPPPBBFF!”

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Marvin was pounding his fists against the roof and laughing his whole heart out like a child. It was so weird because the roof felt exactly like the hard floor! Only, it wasn’t hardwood or carpet.

Jackie lifted his head up, breathed in and-

“PPPPPFFFFBBBBBPBBBPBPPPBBB”

“STAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHEHEHEHE!” Marvin shouted, pounding his fist further into the roof.

“Better not punch a hole in the roof~”

“RIHIHIGHT BAHAHACK AHAHAT YOHOHOU!” Marvin shot back, trying to remind him of who actually had the super strength here.

“But I can control it! You kinda can’t right now.” Jackie retorted.

“AHAHAHAND WHOHOHO’S FAHAHAULT IHIHIS THAHAHAT?” Marvin mentioned.

“Why, yours! You’re the one who ended up in my web of tickles!” Jackie joked.

“WHAHAT?! BUHUHUHUT-”

“Shhhhhh…” Jackie put his index finger on Marvin’s mouth. “I’m right.” He ordered softly.

Marvin rolled his eyes, but went along with it. It didn’t take much long for Jackie to stop tickling him and for the super man to place him onto the couch.

Next, Jackie flew around the house in search of his next victim. He had an idea of who it should be, but he had to find him first. He checked the office first: Nope. He checked the clinic room. That was empty too. Then, Jackie checked the kitchen:

And there he was! The doctor was reading a book, finishing up some food and working on some coffee. Jackie smirked as he rubbed his gloved hands together before using his powers on the coffee cup. Whenever Henrik would reach for his coffee, Jackie would drag it away from the hand with his powers. Henrik looked over at his coffee, and reached for it while he watched. Quickly, the coffee cup moved away from him.

Henrik hummed in confusion and reached further out. But the coffee cup moved away further! Finally, Henrik reached out really quickly and managed to get both his hands on the cup. But when he pulled on it...it didn’t move. He tried to remove his hand and found that it was stuck to the cup as well!

“Hmm...Vell scheiẞe!” Henrik reacted.

To make Henrik even more stuck, Chase grabbed out some gorilla glue and put it onto the chair, to get Henrik’s pants stuck to the chair. Since it was that fast-acting glue, it made Henrik’s pants get stuck to the chair in a matter of seconds.

With that determined and Henrik completely stuck, Jackie let his presence known with an evil giggle and squeezed the man’s hips.

“AAEEEEP! WHO ZERE?!” Henrik jumped.

“Iiiiiiit’s JACKIEBOY MAN! And you’ve better get comfortable because YOU’VE just been trapped!” Jackie teased.

“Lass mich jetzt gehen!” Henrik ordered. “I have un appointment vizh a patient at vone! And If I am late-”

Jackie squeezed the left hip. “Sorry bud.”

“aAAH GEHEZ- Uh oh! NEIN!” Henrik quickly tried to wiggle himself out of there, but found that the stool was stuck to his butt. “Zhe hell?! Did you sooper glue mein things?!” Henrik asked.

“Yyyou betcha! Even your thick booty is glued!” Jackie teased as he poked his lower back.

Henrik growled and muttered the following words through his teeth:” “Du kleiner Scheißer.” Before wiggling around and giggling.

Jackie had started squeezing both of Henrik’s hips at a speed of multiple times a second. Henrik was laughing with his head lowered, and kicking his feet to try and cope with the amount of tickles he was getting. “Jahahahahahack hahahahahaha! Du bihihist lähähächerlihihihich!” Henrik told him.

Jackie laughed. “Sorry, Schneep. I don’t speak Einstein.” Jackie told him. “If I did though, that would be cool!”

Henrik shook his head and tried to pull on his sticky hands. Then, Jackie stopped and unglued his hands from the mug. Henrik muttered a german insult to him before sipping his half-spilt coffee.

“Hey now...I would’ve let you go. But now:” Jackie picked Henrik up by the forearms. “You’re coming with me, Dr. Beleídigung.” Jackie declared.

The super boy threw Henrik up, flipped onto his back, and caught his victim. With the doctor’s back against his chest, Jackie took off flying straight upside down, and right out the door.

Out in the wide open space, Jackie flew up above the houses and opened his arms high! However, he did not let go of Henrik...for Henrik’s torso was safe in the grip of Jackie’s strong superhero legs. “WEEEEEEEHEHEHEHE!”

“JACKIE! PUT ME DOWN ON ZHE GROUND NOW-”

“No way! I didn’t jut fly up here to show you the view!” Jackie started skittering his fingers onto Henrik’s hips and lower ribs. “I came here to tickle the bejesus out of you!”

“BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! JAHACKIHIHIHIE DU HURENSOHOHOHAHAHAHN!” Henrik shouted to him.

“Whaaaat? Whatever could have the german man have meant?! I wonder~” Jackie joked, sticking his tongue out between his teeth. “I know what it means! It means “I want more tickle tickle tickles!” Jackie joked.

Henrik tried to push Jackie’s hands off him. But this only made Jackie hold onto him further! He didn’t really blame him though...He was actually thankful Jackie was saving him from falling to his ultimate doom to head splatter.

But still...He would prefer a better way of being held.

“Hey Henrik, you doing alright up there?” Jackie asked. “Or do you need to be tickle hugged instead~” Jackie asked.

“NEHEHEIN, ZHIHIHIS IHIHIS FIHIHINE-” Jackie ignored his answer and stopped tickling him. Then, Jackie flipped Henrik around onto his chest rather than the back, and hugged him.

Henrik blinked in surprise and...hugged him back.

“Z-Zhank you.” Henrik replied.

“Hugs for the overworked doctor!” Jackie declared with a little squeeze.

Henrik giggled and took the squeeze like a champ. “Zhahahanks- Hehehehehey!” Henrik giggled as his back was squeezed and tickled.

“Good god man! You need to stretch your back out once in a while! There’s so many knots!” Jackie reacted. “I can literally count them!” Jackie poked at a knot on his shoulder blade. “One…Two...three four...five...six seven, eight…” Jackie moved to the next shoulder bone. “Nine, ten eleven twelve- Holy shit!” Jackie reacted.

Henrik was giggling and snorting into Jackie’s shoulder as the tight muscles were prodded and massaged. There’s a reason he never got massages…

“Wow...I can see why you don’t see a massage therapist...You’re way too ticklish for it! Is your spine even tickli-”

Henrik snorted and guffawed! “EEEEEeeeeehehehehehehe!” Henrik squealed as he shoved his face into Jackie’s shoulder to muffle the laughter.

“Awwwww! This is so cute! What about…” Jackie started tickling the back ribs, on the lower back where the kidneys were located, and even on the back hips. Henrik snorted and kicked his feet at the back ribs, squeaked at the squishy back sides, and cackled the moment his back hips were poked, let alone dug into.

“Wow! All this tightness is making you ticklish! I feel at least 10 knots on your back sides, a couple knots in your back rib area, and a single knot riiiiight…” Jackie poked in the spot beside the back hip divot, “-There!”

Henrik just about died the moment that knot was drilled into. He wheezed, snorted, and laughed with muffled snorts mixed in!

Why were the snorts muffled? Well that was easy! Because Henrik was covering his mouth with his hands like a little child!

“You know...for a doctor, you’re pretty childish!” Jackie reacted.

“Mahahaybe...Ihadtogrowuptoofast…” Henrik muttered.

“Wait what?” Jackie asked.

“I needed to grow up too quickly...and I needed to develop a mature look to be a doctor…” Henrik told him. “It’s a Vórurteil…” Henrik muttered.

“A...what?” Jackie asked.

“Prejudice! It’s a prejudice!” Henrik shot back.

“Come...Keep laughing. You sound less like a grump when you’re laughing.” Jackie decided.

“Ihihi -BWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAND YOHOHOU SOHOHOUND NIHIHICEHEHER VHEHEHEN YOHOHOU’RE TIHICKLIHIHIHING MEHEHEHE!” Henrik yelled back.

“Oh do I? Well you just earned yourself some more tickles, my man!” Jackie declared.

Henrik winded up being tickled for 10 more minutes by Jackie before being flown back home safe and sound. Furthermore, Jackie got Henrik in on the tickle monster idea and both agreed to go for the most quietest ego of them all:

No, not literally...It’s not Jameson Jackson.

The boys chose Shawn Flynn!

Shawn had been working on a little black and white automobile based off the same car from the Bendy series. He had also been listening to some old music and was actually singing some of the lyrics off by heart! It was really nice to hear the man sing, let alone talk. And...he actually had a nice singing voice too!

The two boys waited patiently at the door for Shawn to finish the car, and then barged in the moment the artist’s hand was off the brush.

“Greetings, my creative fellow!” Henrik greeted.

Shawn jumped about 3 feet up off his chair and landed in the same wooden seat. “HOLY MOTHER OF- Guys! Honestly...Could you knock next time?!”

Not unless you want a surprise!” Jackie spoke.

“I...Ohokay. Well I like the surprise, but still…” Shawn tried to explain the situation, but was cut off by a flying beam of red picking him up. “Hey HEY HEY HEY! I didn’t fuckin’ ask for THIS!” Shawn shot at him. His voice grew wobbly the moment he was lifted a little higher. “DoOoOon’t lift me too much, sir…” He ordered softly.

“Zhat’s all he’s liftin’ you. Guarantee!” Henrik told him. “Now vhere to goooo…”

“Go? How about ‘to the door’?” Shawn suggested.

“Jahahaha, Not happening. Oh! I know!” Henrik lifted his foot up, bending Shawn’s knee upwards, and removed the man’s sock.

“Uuuuuhuhuhuh...What are you planning exactly?” Shawn asked.

“Oh! Yust some good ol’ fashioned Serotonin.” Henrik replied.

“Let me rephrase that:” Shawn cleared his throat. “Why me?” Shawn asked. “I get serotonin everyday!”

“By vorking more zhen even I have?” Henrik clarified. “I don’t believe you. Not even a leetle.” Henrik started tickling the bottom of Shawn’s foot, putting Shawn into a giggly state almost immediately. “My my my...Such a giggly Flynn ve have here!” Henrik teased.

“Cohohome ohohohon, Hehehehenryhyhyhy! Ihihis thihihis nehehehessehehessahaharyhyhy?” Shawn asked.

“Vhy YES! It is!” Henrik replied.

“Good choice on the person, Henrik! This is so much cuter than I expected!” Jackie admitted.

“See? Vhat did I tell ya?” Henrik joked.

“That Shawn would be a good choice.” Jackie replied.

“And am I right?” Henrik continued.

“HELL YEAH!” Jackie replied.

Shawn was laughing, kicking the air and hiccuping in the middle of his laughter. He was silently losing his mind and it was so cute to watch!

“Hey Shawny boy!” Jackie wrapped his one arm around Shawn and looked at his own free hand. “How would you feel about superhero fast tickles?” Jackie asked.

“Du kleiner Bösewicht!” Henrik reacted. “I couldn’t imagine!”

Jackie brought his hands to Shawn’s side and started skittering quicker, and quicker, and even more quick! The tickles were going almost 60 wiggles a minute!

“HehehehEHEHEHEHEHAHAHA! HAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! JAHAHAHAHAHA- YAHAHA GOHOHOBSHIHIHITE!” Shawn yelled.

Henrik had bursted out laughing and fell backwards while Jackie was in full confusion.

“I’m sorry, what?” Jackie asked.

“HEHEHE- AAAHAHAHA! HEHEhehe called ya a gobshite!” Henrik laughed. “Gohohobshite! Zhat’s a fuhun wohohord!” Henrik reacted, repeating the word a few times.

Jackie rolled his eyes and resumed tickling the little barker at ‘fuck you’ miles per minute. Shawn was DYING of laughter at this point. He was hiccuping in between his laughter, and wiggling around more than a flopping fish. Who knew that such a quiet soul could have so much energy to let out!

“STAHAHAP IHIHIHIT IHIHIHi’M *hiccup* GOHOHONNA PEEEEEE!” Shawn yelled to him.

“Oh shit, really?” Jackie quickly stopped tickling him and lowered the man down. “If you need to go to the toilet, then please do so!” Jackie told him.

Shawn looked up at the boys, and bit his lip. “Well...Alright.” He talked out of the room and into the bathroom just down the hall. It didn’t take long for Shawn to do his thing and come back.

“There. Now what?” Shawn asked.

“I hope you enjoyed your break! Because TIME FOR MORE TICKLES! But this time: with an empty bladder!” Jackie picked up Shawn, threw him onto the bed, and flew above the bed upside down. With the man laying there and his feet free for the taking, Jackie lowered himself to the feet and started tickling rapidly.

Shawn’s eyes practically burst out of his skull and a SCREAM left his mouth! “OHOHOHO SHIHIHIHI- BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Shawn laughed and clapped his hands.

“Ooooh! Not bad, Jackieboy! Your hands may be fast...But only a doctor fully knows zhe human body to its top tier!” Henrik started tickling up and down Shawn’s ribs and even went for the artist’s ab muscles. “Zhese muscles are not used on artists very often. Zherefore:” Henrik started tickling more. “Zhey are tickly vizh a capital T!” Henrik teased.

Shawn’s scream-like laughter filled the room almost immediately. It was so loud and all over the place! It was like he couldn’t figure out how exactly to laugh!

And boy was it worth it!

A little while later:

Henrik and Jackie were watching movies together with a bag of popcorn and pop in front of them.

Soon, Henrik looked over at the super hero and gave his upper rib a poke. Jackie jumped up onto hsi feet on the couch, and pointed at him. “Noooooo...No tickling.”

“Ound vhy not? I zhink some revenge is in order~” Henrik took off running after the quick superhero and managed to find ways to catch up to his super fast opponent. It didn’t take long before Henrik had caught Jackie’s leg in the air, and pulled him right down with a face plant into the ground. “WAHAIT! That was unfair!” Jackie yelled, his nose hurting from the face plant.

“Ja! So is zhis:” Henrik pulled his foot closer to himself and started tickling the red-socked foot really quickly. “Now face zhe fingers of a qualified surgeon!” Henrik declared.

Aaaaand that was how Henrik managed to overpower Jackieboy Man, of all people.

[itwillbeall-dwight]

christmas (calm) spirit

Meg Thomas & Dwight Fairfield & Claudette Morel & Jake Park; implied/referenced dwake + megdette; christmas; post canon; 1455 words

a/n: A SUPER LATE SECRET SANTA GIFT FOR THE WONDERFUL AND AMAZING @dwhatsup​ !!!!!! please forgive me for dragging my heels on this one jackie, but hey, happy new year, right? hope this will do you well!

let it be known they’re all wearing their christmas cosmetics but i was not willing to write about jake’s bare feet, i’m not strong enough for that.

likes < reblogs, any comments in the tags are appreciated

ao3 mirror/kofi in the reblogs!

Preview: It had been months since the fog had dissipated, and life had tried to return to normal, and even now some wounds had still not fully closed - both literally and metaphorically. The littlest noises could startle, sounds of snapping twigs and crunching leaves that had once given Jake comfort digging a pit in his stomach with a 0-to-60 response, making the cold winter in the cabin that he had once looked forward to and welcomed feel all too off for him to enjoy, the snow reminding him too much of the way crawling in the snow of the Ormond resort made him feel - bleeding from his back, cold and alone as he dug his nails into the dirt. In short, not good. ...So when a letter showed up at his doorstep that invited him back tot he city, the paper written on in a familiar, nervous chicken scratch, he did what was once unthinkable - he packed a bag, and waited at the bus stop to return to the city.

The snow sat light and fluffy on the windowsill outside, untouched and undisturbed, unlike the snow that had turned to ice and sludge on the street outside, or the very same snow that stuck under boots and melted on the doormats of cozy, lively apartments. More snow fell in front of the window, too, dancing down from a dark sky and mingling among the lights of the city, festive or not. The night was alive with something magical, and it was absolutely electric - much different to the holidays he’d been used to, up until now. Nowhere near as alone, nor as cold.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, sitting up straight with a tenseness of surprise in his back as he pressed it against the chair he’d brought to the window. Tired eyes looked up to the kind face that smiled down at him.

“I thought you like some cocoa,” Claudette gave him one of the mugs she held, one adorned with festive racoons (had she done that on purpose?), before pulling up a chair from the nearby table to sit with him. “You doing OK, Jake?”

He nursed the mug in his lap, feeling the warmth from it and the way the heat floated up and hit his face, swallowing before nodding. “Yeah… yeah, I’m good.”

The botanist crossed one leg over the other, watching as he looked back to the window, following his gaze to the falling snow, and the sparse streets below them on the cold December evening. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Jake hummed, taking a slow drink from the mug, using it to gesture to the window as he pulled it away from his mouth. “S’peaceful. Fluffy.”

“Right.”

“If it wasn’t cold as hell, I’d probably just lay there.”

She laughed, smoothing down one side of her skirt, meeting his eyes as she looked up to him, a somewhat knowing smile on her face. “You say this like you happen to have some experience, lying in the snow.”

He paused, shrugging his shoulders, speaking over his mug before he took another slow drink. “You could say that, yeah.”

It had been months since the fog had dissipated, and life had tried to return to normal, and even now some wounds had still not fully closed - both literally and metaphorically. The littlest noises could startle, sounds of snapping twigs and crunching leaves that had once given Jake comfort digging a pit in his stomach with a 0-to-60 response, making the cold winter in the cabin that he had once looked forward to and welcomed feel all too off for him to enjoy, the snow reminding him too much of the way crawling in the snow of the Ormond resort made him feel - bleeding from his back, cold and alone as he dug his nails into the dirt. In short, not good. ...So when a letter showed up at his doorstep that invited him back tot he city, the paper written on in a familiar, nervous chicken scratch, he did what was once unthinkable - he packed a bag, and waited at the bus stop to return to the city.

He and Claudette carried on talking by the window, their quiet pleasantries contrasted with the commotion one room over, cries of despair and celebration mixing and growing in volume, though not to the point where it could be ignored. That was until the two of them had to pause, as a loud “Yeah, suck it!” rang from the room with the door wide open (followed by a quiet clatter and panicked whispers). The two of them looked at one another, exchanging a small smile, and a silent agreement to check inside.

Claudette poked her head around the doorway, now empty mug still in hand. “What on earth are you two doing?”

Sitting on the floor behind the coffee table, both Meg and Dwight looked up - the former looking stunning still in her party attire from her short college gathering (“Of course I’d bail those losers to come hang with you guys!” she’d said as she came through the door and made herself more than at home.), and the latter looking… very unique, still wearing the ef costume given to him as compulsory work uniform for the holiday season, too tired to take it off before his friends arrived at his apartment. Meg looked up sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders up to her ears, damp end of the blanket draped over her shoulders still in hand as it hovered over the suspicious stain on the carpet. “Uh… happy accident?”

“...Do you need towels?

“I.. yeah. Yes, please.” She used the couch she was leaning on to push herself to her feet, picking up the knocked over mug and taking a small jump over the cocoa stain before she jogged out of the door, sidestepping Jake as he moved to let the girls pass, daring to shoot him a knowing look he didn’t see as he came in.

The survivalist took a seat on the sofa in front of where Meg once was, watching as Dwight sighed and took off the elves hat, placing it on his lap. “Losing?”

“Badly. How do you get this good at racers?” Dwight gestured an exasperated open palm to the TV, the results screen on full display - guest account in first, home console in sixth.

“It’s Meg. That should be enough of an answer.”

“...Right. She runs on competitiveness and spite. Almost forgot.”

Jake hummed a chuckle, which the former leader (it was still so weird to call him former, even now - after all, he’d brought them all together again, didn’t he?) joined in with. There was a moment of silence in which Jake looked at his hands, before looking up to see the eyes staring back at him. “...What?”

“S-sorry, just… it’s nice to see you so… relaxed. You’re smiling. That’s nice.” Dwight paused, seeming to slowly take in what he had said, before tensing and tripping over himself in a correction. “Not that- you don’t look nice normally, I just think that-”

“Dwight.”

“Y-yeah?”

“You’re fine.”

The blatant reassurance was something he was used to from jake, and welcomed, almost, as it was enough to get him to relax his shoulders and swallow a nervous loud, though the redness in his face remained as he looked down, playing with the joysticks of the controller in his lap. “Thanks for, uh, coming, by the way.”

Jake blinked. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“I-I, well… maybe? You haven’t gotten alone time in… a while. A long while, actually.”

He tilted his head, analysing the focus on Dwight’s face for a moment, the way his brows seemed to furrow at the task he’d seemed to make up to keep himself occupied. “Yeah, I suppose. I think I realised I… didn’t like it as much as I thought it did.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah. Sometimes you miss the things you don’t know you had.”

Dwight stopped, slowly looking up again to watch the way Jake smiled again, slight and self-aware, enough to make him smile back and let out a breathy laugh of relief before he ran his hands over the controller again. He paused once more, a wave of realisation washing over his face, eyes tracing over to the second controller Meg had left on the coffee table. “Hey, wanna play?”

“What?” He followed the gaze to the table. “No, I can’t-”

“I-I’m sure Meg won’t mind. Come on, you can’t kick my ass any worse than she didn’t, right?”

Jake swallowed, hesitating for a moment as he glanced back to the soft and hopeful look the other man, his friend, gave him, before looking back to the controller. After a few more moments of silence, he reached forward, trying not to pay attention to the subtle (or not so subtle) celebration in his peripherals.

They played the game together, even getting somewhat competitive, though to levels nowhere close to their athlete friend, who, at some point, returned with damp towels and a lipstick mark on her cheek that she ‘forgot’ to wipe away. As she got down on her knees to clean the mess on the carpet, Claudette gently took a seat on the armrest beside Jake, commentating as the two concentrated, and soon all four of them exchanged jokes and laughs between one another, as, finally, Dwight found his victory to great personal triumph, and a cheer rang throughout the room. All the while, the snow continued to fall outside, sitting undisturbed by the windowsill.

Fog and mist slowly rolled in with the evening chill, though it was a different fog than before. It was a fog that couldn’t hurt them, anymore. Not now they were together.

[olivay-official]

Scenes from Red: The Untold Story of a Reluctant Hero

Jay is just your average college student with a secret superhero identity. The deep underground crime world knows her as Red, a sarcastic pain in the ass hero who is annoyingly good at stopping their nefarious activities despite being terrible at her job. Though not what one might typically imagine as a hero Oliver, aka Napster, gladly took up the role of her techs sidekick cleaning up the messes left in her wake. Despite how closely they work together Oliver is clueless to Red’s true identity, while Jay struggles to act normal around him in civilian form. Balancing a social life with friends with the looming threat of Suped up villains created by a mad scientist with the face of a lizard isn’t easy and Jay and Oliver definitely make it look much harder than it is.

“Would you put away your phone? This is supposed to be a tech free weekend!” Andre made a grab for Jackie’s phone. She pulled away holding it close to her chest.

“And I promise I will put it away when we get there!” She shot back.

“Why are you so big on camping Andre?” I called from the backseat.

“Dude, some of my best memories were camping with my brothers and pops. And I think that we can all do with getting out of the city for a few days.” Andre looked at all three of us pointedly.

“Really all I remember from camping was having to pee in a hole, and getting eaten alive by bugs,” I answered bitterly. I wondered absentmindedly if my blood would make a super mosquito now.

“I remember trying to go camping with my mom once, then a bear ate our food so we ended up leaving and getting breakfast at a diner,” Jackie giggled.

“I’ve never been before,” Oliver said quietly.

“Lucky you,” I muttered.

“What?!” Andre practically screeched. “Oh no you girls aren’t going to ruin this for Oliver. Oliver my boy you are about to get the full camping experience!” Andre said exuberantly. I rolled my eyes as I dug a soda out of the cooler in the backseat.

“Hey what are you doing, those are for the camping trip!” Andre said indignantly.

“Well then it’s a good thing I packed extra!” I grinned as I popped the tab of the can with an overdramatic display of defiance.

“Seriously Jay! I had everything planned! You guys have no faith in me!” Andre waved his hand in frustration.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how much this girl eats? She could eat all four portions of food you packed for us and then some,” Jackie snorted. Oliver smiled looking around at the three of us as he relaxed into his seat. I watched him for a second, curious. He looked at ease, happy even as he looked between Andre and Jackie but behind his eyes there was an odd mix of worry and anticipation. He checked his phone several times within a few minutes as if he was waiting for something. I smiled finally realizing what he was waiting for. He was worried that Red would need him even though I had told him Red would be gone til Tuesday. His phone would lose service as soon as we started winding up some of the backroads and his connection to Red would be cut off or so he thought anyways. I wished I could tell him it would be fine but I had already told him once as Red. There was nothing more I could do here.

The rest of the car ride went by much like that. We played music belting out the classics from our high school days, we talked about old camping memories, and Jackie and I shared stories from our childhood the humor of which was completely lost on Andre and Oliver. Andre complained about Jackie and Oliver being on their phones. Oliver complained about my laying across all the backseats including the one he occupied. Jackie complained when Andre shut off her music trading it for a much more classic form of music- the CD. Many of which were burned and included songs in no particular order that only Andre recognized. We had three phone calls from Enzo on the way up who was worried he would get lost and at least two pitstops for me to pee. During the drive I had consumed three cans of soda, a bag of chips and a burrito I had picked up at a food truck. Andre complained about my eating habits and I threw wrappers at him. All in all it was a good time.

When we got to the campsite Enzo was already there, tent set up.

“Sorry we are late, someone made us stop for a burrito on the way here.” Andre glared at me.

“Damn you’re probably not hungry then,” Enzo said holding up a bag of takeout from my favorite burrito place. I swear I fell in love with him right there.

“I am always hungry,” I beamed at him.

“No you are helping us unpack first,” Andre demanded. I rolled my eyes at Andre and gave an apologetic smile to Enzo.

I followed Andre back to the car so that we could unpack all our crap. I opted for the large cooler in the back seat. It was a heavy item but with my abilities it would hardly be a problem. I had only managed to pull the container about three quarters of the way out the car when someone came up behind me, their hand brushing mine as they took the container from my grasp. The rest of the cooler came sliding out the car. His hand reached over me to grab the other handle just in time.

“Careful.” Oliver smiled at me. “This probably weighs more than you,” He chuckled. I put my hands on my hips.

“I had it,” I said confidently. Oliver smirked.

“I’m sure you did but why don’t I just carry it instead yeah? You can grab the firewood.” He smiled at me that infuriatingly adorable smile. I stared at him for a moment fixing him with a stern look before I walked over to the back of the trunk. He raised his eyebrows in anticipation. I fixed him with a glare before I dared reaching into the trunk to pull out the bags of firewood. Balancing one in each arm I started to walk back to the campsite with Oliver in tow struggling with the weight of the cooler.

“Want to trade?” I teased.

“As much as I’d love to see you carry this, I think I got it,” He said with a sardonic hint to his tone. I shrugged and kept walking at a much faster pace than he could manage with the clunky weight of the cooler. I enjoyed watching him struggle to keep up. We crossed paths with Enzo and Andre who were heading back to get the remainder of the food and supplies.

Oliver set the cooler down at the edge of the campsite with a grunt. A thin sheen of perspiration dotted his forehead. I admired the site as he rolled up the sleeves of his fitted black thermal shirt over his lean arms. He ran a hand through his dark hair letting it fall back down in shaggy disarray ends pointing in all different directions. I busied myself with arranging the uneven bags of firewood so they wouldn’t fall all the while letting myself peak up at Oliver. He really did look good in black. His deep eyes met mine, I managed a half smile before letting my eyes drop back down to the firewood, finalizing their arrangement.

I was by no means a camper. I liked having running water and actual toilets. Mostly the toilets because who the fuck enjoys squatting in a bush to go to the bathrrom completely exposed and vulnerable to attack by bear or an unhinged deer.

Growing up camping had never been a part of my childhood experiences needless to say I should be out of my element here. Thanks to my powers, however, I was a galdamn pro. A few helpful survivalist videos, and several episodes of naked and afraid later and I could probably survive out here on my own for months. I set up mine and Jackie’s tent in record time while the boys were tangled in heaps of collapsable sticks trying to find which end to start with. While they struggled Jackie and I busied ourselves with making our camping space comfortable. Just because we were camping did not mean Jackie was going to give up all the luxuries of a home. She had made me drag her mattress topper here and just about a dozen blankets and pillows on top of the sleeping bags.

“Damn that’s romantic, you aren’t trying to seduce me are you?” I asked, giving her a quick wink.

“You wish!” Jackie laughed.

“When you’re done hitting on my girlfriend would you mind helping us out here Jay?” Andre asked from under the tent’s tarp.

“I thought you were such a big camper Andre.” I rolled my eyes. “Wouldn’t want to ruin your trip by getting in the way.”

“You’re the absolute worst.”

When we finally got all set up and situated Andre began packing bags for a hike. He was determined to give us the campiest of camping experiences apparently. Andre took the lead, compass in hand, with the rest of us in tow. Enzo fell in step behind me. The trail was only big enough to walk along single file. Andre’s hiking style was hard to keep up with. Some moments without warning he would turn on a dime shifting directions and surging forward.

The final destination of the hike was a small waterfall. I had to hand it to Andre. It was a pretty picturesque spot. We sat down to have lunch but I had other plans. I was hot and sweaty from the hike and that water looked damn good. I quickly started stripping down.

“Jay! Seriously!” Andre shouted at me. I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t worry I’ll keep my panties on,” I winked at him which he did not find amusing. I dove into the water and almost immediately regretted it. The water was fucking freezing. When I broke the surface Andre was looking smugly at me.

“Cold isn’t it? You’re an idiot,” Andre said.

“Worth it!” I said through chattering teeth. I’d be damned if I’d admit I was wrong to Andre. I swam around in the water despite the cold finding myself a nice sun baked spot of water that wasn’t too terrible.

“Jackie, that’s literally snow run off,” Andre warned. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know the splash of water was Jackie joining me. We both laughed. Oliver and Enzo looked at each other finally both shrugging. They stripped down and attempted lifting Andre into the air - he was forced to strip or get his clothes wet. Finally we were all in the water and for the first time in a long time shit felt totally normal. No super villains lurked in the woods to demand my attention. There was no Red or Napster. It was just me and my friends and it was so nice to play normal even if only for a few days.

I was shivering by the time we got out of the water to dry off. Enzo stayed close to me doing his best to warm me up, offering me his jacket that he’d been smart enough to bring on the hike. While I laid out on the warm rocks trying to get my body temp back up Enzo went back to our bags to get us food. Oliver flopped out of the water and onto the rock next to me.

“I think I like camping,” He said shaking water out of his hair. I laughed.

“Please don’t tell Andre that, he’ll want us to go every week,” I said.

“Is there a reason you love torturing him?” He asked.

“I mean other than the fact that it’s so darn fun? Andre and I lived together for like a week Freshman year, there was a mixup with the dorms. Since then we have been great friends but our friendship is based on the fact that we love torturing eachother,” I said.

“You and Andre lived in a dorm together?” Oliver raised his eyebrows and laughed.

“Oh yeah I probably know more about his deep dark secrets than you do,” I said.

“And you introduced him to Jackie?” He asked.

“Yup! Really he has me to thank for his happy relationship,” I beamed. Oliver smiled at me turning back towards the waterfall. I tried to ignore the way the water glistened off his body. I turned back to the water.

“He picked a really good spot,” Oliver said.

“Yeah as much as I hate to admit it, he did a good job. Probably wanted to impress Jackie,” I said.

“Well I’d say he picked one hell of a romantic set up,” Oliver mused. I glanced over at Oliver ready to fire off a smart remark but the words died on my tongue. Oliver was already staring at me, his eyes running over the curve of my body. The sun was starting to get lower creating an orange glow that framed him like a greek god. His eyes caught mine and he cleared his throat quickly looking away. A light blush colored his cheeks. My face felt warm as I looked away.

Great, that was sufficiently awkward.

I only hoped the orange light of the sunset might hide the blush creeping across my own face.

The sound of a branch snapping caused me to straighten, muscles tensing. My eyes narrowed as I stared out into the forest searching.

“What was that?” I whispered to myself.

“Probably a deer or something,” Oliver attempted to sound nonchalant about it but I could see his body stiffen at the sound and refuse to relax.

There was a rustling in the bushes. I stood in a fighting stance. What I was planning to do if it was a bear or something I don’t know, maybe punch it in the nose. More rustling. Then everything happened in a blur. A woman emerged from the underbrush looking half crazed. Under her skin her veins flowed orange and red like molten fire. Her irises were the same glowing color, the sclera pitch black. The smell of burning hair filled the air. She looked scared out of her mind and in agonizing pain but that didn’t stop her from lunging at me like the last shrimp at a buffet.

“Help me! It burns!” She cried. The woman grabbed hold of my arms. Her touch seared my skin burning my arms. I hissed in pain rearing back and punching the woman square in the jaw. She stumbled back.

I shook out my hand cursing under my breath. Her skin burned to touch. The woman surged forward again tackling me to the ground. I cried out in both fury and pain as we hit the ground. I kicked the woman off of me and up over my head. I scrambled to my feet. The woman’s hand caught my bare ankle causing me to scream. Oliver was there, shouldering the woman into the shallowest part of the lake. Steam hissed as she his the surface. She let out a horrible screech struggling to get out of the shallow depths. I whipped around and clocked her square in the face, hard enough to knock her out, silencing her screams. She landed on the shore skin still sizzling.

“Ah Fuck!” I shouted as I shook out my hand and bounced around on one foot. Of the injuries my ankle was definitely fairing the worst. Heat and pain pulsed through the seared flesh with each heartbeat.

Everyone finally came running over to us their eyes bulging out of their head when they landed on the unconscious woman that lay at my feet. Enzo was next to me in a second wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me to him.

“What the hell just happened?!” Andre asked.

“Hell if we know. She jumped out at us from the woods,” Oliver said kneeling down next to her. Suddenly the woman’s eyes snapped open. She locked onto Oliver.

“Burning!! He promised it wouldn’t hurt! Now it burns! Please-” She grabbed Oliver’s hand. I could see the pain in his face but he didn’t pull away from her touch. “Please make it stop,” The woman begged her voice strained and hoarse. With those final words her eyes closed and her grip on Oliver’s hand relaxed. He removed his hand from hers. He held his good hand up to her mouth and shook his head.

“I think she’s gone,” He whispered. Carefully he moved her head to the side and tilted his head inspecting a single mark on her neck. Looking over his shoulder I immediately knew what it was. My hand came up to touch the invisible injection site. The one that gave me my powers…

“We better call someone. I’ll go see if I can find some service,” Andre said. Jackie clung to him not wanting him to be alone and not wanting to lose the comfort of having him near. Enzo guided me away from the body to sit on the rocks once again. He made me show him my ankle which had cooked meat hanging off of it, turns out I did not smell like barbecue. Oliver came over to us with the first aid kit cradled in his good hand. While Oliver went about treating his hand, Enzo cared for my injuries. Other than my ankle my knuckles had burn blisters splayed across them from where I hit her. My arms however were mostly unharmed.

When the authorities finally showed up it went without saying that the camping trip was officially over.

[bigcryingcat]

Hello everyone I’m back to say FUCK jeffree star once again. 

if you genuinely support black people/BLM then don’t buy his products or support him in any way anymore he is legit fooling the lot of you

idgaf if something he said happened two days ago or ten years ago point is he is still utilizing his racist ways/IS A RACIST and he should have never had his career take off in the first place.

He did a bunch of gross racist Nazi things in the past that have already been dug up so i’m only really focusing on recent years. 

Where are the black women in his collab videos? literally where is a guru darker than Kim K in his videos for like 3 years now?

the fact that he referred to jackie aina as a gorilla and a rat should have ended his career right then and there & this why i cant stress enough that if you STILL like and support him then you really don’t care about black people (especially black women) at all

ideally this should extend to shane dawson as well since he is/was friends with people who have used racist language numerous times/utilized racist behavior and benefited from it(Jeffree, Trisha). 

Liam’s videos - these are not all concrete points of evidence, more of a deep dive into Jeffree’s presence on the internet and oh geez

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6A133sMx7g&t=104s

2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t8fkXFs7m8&t=1974s

Ashlye Kyle’s video about her being influenced by Jeffree during the attempted take down of James Charles. she also implies(but does not state as fact) that Tati’s Bye Sister video was not on the spot & that both Shane and Jeffree were in on this months before James promoted sugar bear on Instagram after Coachella.

* Ashlye also apologized to James in the comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNMhF2OYcIU&t=915s

him calling jackie a rat & gorilla, use of the N word, etc

additionally this is him apologizing for his racist behavior in 2016... but the next year he was back to referring to black women as animals and has not had women of color in his videos in probably years. 

LASTLY!!!! HE PLANNED AND EXECUTED A CONSPIRACY TO DESTROY SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE. MANIPULATED AT LEAST 3 OTHER PEOPLE(Tati, Ashlye, and Sam, the waiter) INTO DOING DIRTY WORK FOR HIM AND RAISED SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST JAMES CHARLES who btw at the end of his receipts video said the entire ordeal put him in a bad depression. wouldn’t you be if two of your close friends attacked you and called you a predator in front of millions?

Stand with BLM & the LGBT community not Jeffree. I don’t like cancel culture but too many “”���”allies””” are quick to forgive him for any and everything, and for what? all he does is bully people on twitter, continue to be racist, threaten blackmail to get his way, and cause drama all day long. yet he’s somehow the victim? how???

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

I’m getting a shovel talk from your sibling/best friend.

This is pure chaos but so much to write!! There are a couple of cuss words in this!

He heard the door slam as he looked up from his phone. “Oh Thank God you’re home!”

Race dropped his bag by the door, toeing off his shoes before hopping over the back of the couch to join Spot there. “What’s going on?”

“I’m getting a shovel talk from your brother.” Spot gulped loudly, as his phone dinged with an incoming text. “He said the hole is already dug in the backyard.”

Race raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. “Back up 80 steps. Who is texting you and what is the shovel talk?”

“You don’t know what a shovel talk is?” Spot blanched at the thought. “How do you not know what one is? You’ve given plenty of them over the years.”

Shrugging, Race shook his head. “What is it because I have no idea?”

“The shovel talk is if you hurt him/her, we’re comin’ after ya. You hurt them, you’re gonna get hurt kinda talk.” Spot said as the light bulb clicked over Race’s head.

He chuckled. “So who’s giving you the talk? ‘Cause we've been for 2 years already, so I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed.”

“Jack is texting me.” Spot shrugged. “He mentioned a hole in the backyard and that’s where my body would be if I hurt you. I texted him back and said that we’ve been together for two years already and that ship had sailed but he said it’s always good to be reminded.”

Race shook his head. His entire family was weird and crazy and loved saying they were going to hurt someone when it was an empty threat. “Don’t worry snookums, I’ll protect you from Jack.”

“You promise?” Spot dropped his cell phone on the coffee table before snuggling up to Race.

Throwing an arm around his shoulder, Race kissed his forehead before humming. “Yes, I promise you. Jack won’t be able to hurt you.”

A Few Days Later

Family dinner was a weekly tradition that was just mayhem. As everyone had gotten older, Medda demanded that her children come home once a week to have dinner with her. So that Saturday night, Race and Spot along with Jack, Katherine and Smalls gathered around the table.

“So what’s with this shovel talk you gave Spot the other day, Jack?” Race raised an eyebrow looking at his older brother. “You know we’ve been together for two years already?”

Jack grinned, helping himself to more mac and cheese. “Well I like to remind him every now and then if he hurts you.”

“Shovel talk?” Medda looked between her children with an eye raised. “Jack you’re not going to kill Spot are you?”

Spot’s eyes went wide while he looked at Katherine, who rolled her eyes. Jack laughed. “Just gotta keep him on his toes momma.”

“Jack Francis Kelly - there will be no killing, today or any other day.” Medda pointed at him. “Besides, Spot is a nice guy and he treats Race well. We love him in this house.”

Jack opened his mouth, giving Spot a look while Katherine’s eyes went wide. “Is that why there’s a hole dug in the backyard? You’re not throwing anybody in there, Jack Kelly or you will find yourself divorced.”

“You can’t kill Spot!” Smalls butted in giving her brother a look. “You wouldn’t last a few hours in jail, let alone the rest of your life.”

“You’re going to have to go through me first before you get to my boyfriend.” Race glared at his brother. “Besides, he’s too pretty to kill.”

Jack’s hand hit the table, groaning at the insanity of his family. “I’m not killing Spot. Geez all of y’all are nuts. Kat and I are getting a new tree put in the backyard. That’s why there’s a hole. But glad to see what you think.”

There were a few wide eyes and ooohs that went around the table. “Then why the shovel talk?”

“I was JOKING!” Jack shook his head. “Why do y’all gotta take everything so literal? I wouldn’t kill Spot because y’all love him more than me most days and I don’t want you all on my back anymore than you already are.”

Katherine leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Why won’t you admit you like Spot?”

“He, like all of y'all, is a pain in the ass.” Jack grinned, shaking his head. “But at least he’s a decent pain in the ass for my little brother.”

Spot put his hand on his chest, grinning at Jack. “Awww that’s the best compliment I’ve ever received from you. You do love me.”

“Watch it Conlon.” Jack pointed his fork in Spot’s direction. “I could still murder you in your sleep.”

Race glances between his boyfriend and brother. “Over my dead body, Jackie.”

Medda’s hand hit the table. “I swear only in this house we would talk about murder and not bat an eye. No more talk of death or killing anyone. Now how was everyone’s week?”

The conversation continued about the week each of them had. Race thought his family was nuts but at least they’d always be there for him as that’s all he needed in life - his family and Spot, not dead.

Thanks @wide-eyed--wonderer for sending this in!!!

[gingerteaonthetardis]

Bit of a sad hurty/comforty prompt, in which Rose takes a moment after the earth is back in its proper place to look in her room and she finds a silver-wood-like box that contains letters from the Doctor to her, and for once the TARDIS translates Gallifreyan for her and she reads about the little moments and thoughts from the Doctor as he tries to deal with (and by deal with, I mean doesn't deal with at all) his grief and loneliness since losing her.

ah, anon! it’s been a little bit since you sent this in, but i hope you still enjoy!

read on ao3.

-

𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕣𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦

-

It had been a long few days, but the world was starting to feel solid under her feet. Less like something that could be stolen—snatched away at any moment—and more like the home she'd left behind. The Doctor had helped, in his way. Parking the TARDIS outside Jackie's flat (which had been restored to its proper owner, temporarily. Pete was already looking for a bigger place, for them and the baby.) Walking around London with her. Making her laugh when she looked bereft, and leaving her alone with her thoughts when she needed time.

She couldn't say why, but it seemed he'd grown that way—grown a little more emotionally mature, maybe—in the years she'd been gone. Donna gleefully took some credit for it, and Martha had just shrugged. "He's still a thousand-year-old man-child," she teased. "He's just finally worked out that people need space sometimes." And not the literal, celestial kind.

Much as Rose wanted to spend every second with the Doctor, she couldn't. It was still too hard, too strange, too something. The world had settled, but they had not.

These thoughts consumed her as she sat alone in her old room. In the kitchen, Jackie was making plenty of noise under the guise of wrangling up dinner. The Doctor was out there, too, chattering on about something to Tony, who made cooing noises in reply. She could make out the drone of the telly as Pete caught up on this world’s news. Everything was in its proper place.

Rose flopped back on her bed, arms outstretched.

Or not. 

Her knuckles had struck something—something hard. Rolling to her stomach, she dug her hand under her pillow, forming her fingers around the shape of the misplaced object. It felt almost like a jewelry box, only they'd never been able to afford a nice, solid one when she was growing up. Only the plastic kind. But this—

Rose pulled the box out from under the pillow, surprised by how heavy it was. It felt like wood, but looked almost like metal—sort of silvery, but with a grain. And on it was a pattern, a series of interlocking circles—like someone had set down dozens of little coffees without coasters, only not quite like that either. The curves weren't blurry or smeared, merely carved. She fiddled with the latch and, after barely a moment of touch, the lid flipped open. The inside was scarcely less enigmatic: deep blue velvet lining, and a pile of folded paper—different weights and tones and textures—marked with those same interlocking circles, all over, in different patterns.

Rose knew where she'd seen that writing before. She knew what it was. But she also knew she couldn't read it—not without help.

-

She stole out to the TARDIS on light feet, though she was quite sure nobody would notice her absence. They were justifiably occupied by the baby, and the telly, and each other. She smiled at the thought. Once, she'd been unable to get the Doctor into her mum's flat under any temptation or threat; now, he seemed more at home there than she did.

She was still grinning as she stepped up to the TARDIS, pulling the key from around her neck—but before she could get it into the lock, the doors swung open. "Oh!" she laughed, startled. "Thanks! I guess you know why I'm here." She glanced up over her shoulder, scanning her building’s windows to see if anyone was looking out at her. But nobody was. 

She was on her own.

Rose stepped through the open doors, clutching the heavy little box to her chest.

"Now, I know you don't normally do this, but—just this once," she begged, approaching the console, "can you translate for me? I think it's important."

Apparently, the TARDIS agreed. Scarcely a second later, the circular patterns wavered and re-formed into letters. Into English—or some facsimile of it. Property of— The following letters were a jumble, incomprehensible for a moment, before they blurred and re-formed again. 

To say: Property of the Doctor.

Rose's brows furrowed. Why had the Doctor's box been hidden in her bedroom?

Warily, she glanced up at the center console. "Do you think I should open it?" A flash was her only answer, as careless as a shrug—if she was interpreting the timeship right. (She was still getting the hang of TARDIS-speak.) With a shrug of her own, she made for the jumpseat and hopped up, cross-legged and curious. She lifted the lid without further hesitation, figuring the TARDIS would stop her if she started to look at something she shouldn't. 

The rotor gave another flash, long and slow, like a sigh. She could almost hear the TARDIS saying, "That's not how this works."

"Oh, you know it is," Rose teased. "You keep us out of trouble. Well. Too much trouble."

The lights flashed quickly, like a burst of laughter.

Rose giggled. And she withdrew the first piece of paper. Unfolded it.

And gasped.

To Rose, she read, even if you'll never see this.

Her fingers flexed around the paper, crumpling its ragged edges. A letter from the Doctor—to her? She glanced over at the time rotor, eyes wide. "He—while I was gone?"

The TARDIS was silent.

So, Rose read on.

To Rose—even if you'll never see this.

I'm writing this down because I don't want to forget what it feels like. Or maybe I do. Maybe I want to forget it so badly that I'm hoping the paper can absorb it all, purge it out of me. That if it's in ink, it won't be inside me anymore. I can't tell. It's hard, it hurts so much, and it's been such a long time since I've written like this—in the old language. It tends to get things… tangled.

I'm about to leave Alpha Lupi—in the future, after it went supernova. There's nothing there anymore. I used up everything the star had and then flew away. That's how I do things, Rose. I fly away. I use people and places up, and then I run. 

That's what I liked about you: you never ran away. It's what I still like. Will like. Because you're alive and there for the liking. Just not… here. I wish you were here now, to tell me not to run. Or to run with me.

I'm not making sense. I may never make sense again. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. Only there's

and then the page ended abruptly, in a splatter of ink.

Rose frowned. "What happened?" But the ship was still quiet, seemingly content to leave her to her reading. There was a sense of radiant contentment that convinced her to keep going; this was the right thing to do. She flipped to the next scrap of what looked like parchment.

Dear Rose,

Sorry about that last

But maybe I'll get rid of it, try again with a new start, new letter. Or maybe I won't. I did say I wanted to remember. I still can't decide whether that's true or not.

The interruption at the end of my letter came in the form of a very bossy, very angry ginger woman called Donna. I can tell you this, because you can't tell anyone, but she's quite scary, actually. And she saved me. I'm always being saved, you know, by you humans. You brilliant humans.

She asked me about you.

Rose, I didn't know what to tell her. I don't know what to tell anyone about

I wish you were here. I wish you hadn't had to cry for me. I can't stop thinking of you, crying on that beach. Over me! I mean, look at me, I'm old and stupid! And you were crying…

And you said

Sorry, I

The lines skipped, and Rose's eyes covered the distance even as they blurred with tears. 

I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so sorry.

That was the end of the letter. She wondered if his language, his writing, had wavered like those words did at the end—if they blurred, as if smeared with tears. Or was that just from her own eyes?

She sniffed. The TARDIS gave a low hum, soothing. And she picked up the next letter.

Dear Rose,

I think you'd be proud of me. I've made a friend called Martha Jones. She's studying to be a doctor! Isn't that funny? Two doctors aboard the TARDIS.

Two doctors and no rose.

I wish you could meet her—

And the next. A rapid, slurred-looking scrap of paper.

Rose, I don't know what to do without you. I don't know how to be. I think something's broken. Martha keeps… I don't know, looking at me and I keep wondering what she sees. I don't know how to look at myself without your eyes. That doesn't make any sense, does it? Rose, I hope you're alright. I hope you're happy. I'm trying not to keep track of the relative time streams, but it's hard—

And the next.

This one was covered in words. Charcoal or pencil, smudgy and layered. There was text over top of text, nearly illegible. She keeps walking away… Perfect Rose, Perfect Rose… I keep dreaming of a girl... The writing felt fevered, somehow. Frantic. As if he was trying even harder not to forget.

And her face. Rose stared at the sketched impression of her own face, wondering if he really saw her that way. Shrouded in mystery. Unknowable.

Beautiful.

She turned to the next letter.

Dear Rose,

I think I fell

Well. I wasn't myself, you see, in the most literal sense. Martha was keeping an eye on me, but not close enough. I met this woman, and she had golden hair and kind eyes and… I think I thought she was you.

And then I woke up, and she wasn't.

Nobody is. I know that now. Can I ask you questions? I suppose you can't answer that, or any questions at all, but I still want to ask them. (I should've given you psychic paper. It could still work across the void. Maybe?)

How's Mickey? And Pete? I don't really want to know how your mum is, but I suppose it's rude not to ask.

Ah, well, rude and not ginger.

She chuckled as he skimmed right over the unasked question.

Are you still at Torchwood?

What do you think about? What constellations do you like to look at, over there on Pete's World? Do you still

No, that's not fair.

Rose, I still miss you. When will I stop missing you?

And the next. It was a long one, and mostly a rehashing of what he and Martha called The Year That Never Was. It read like a diary entry, or a therapy session, with even more broken sentences and blur marks. She could see the places where he’d wept for his old friend, for his new friends, for the world he’d had to save. He told her what it felt like to be ancient, really ancient, and for everything to ache all over.

He told her that he’d thought of her, even when his mind was going.

Rose’s heart was pounding by the end of it.

And then she lifted the next letter out, which wasn't a letter so much as a scribbled note on the back of what looked like a receipt for a market stall. He'd bought eggs—lots of eggs.

No time, Donna's back. (Long story.) She keeps asking me about you. I think she's trying to understand something, but there's nothing to understand. I just miss you. Still. Rose, it's been long enough. I want to stop missing you.

There was another receipt.

I’m sorry, that was a lie.

On and on Rose went, reading through the Doctor's letters and notes and looking at the spilled ink and thumbprint smears. There was no consistency; he seemed to have taken every possible chance to jot down a thought or a question or an apology. So many apologies. 

She hadn't imagined so much pain. She hadn't even considered that he'd missed her this much—enough to write letters, day after day. It hurt, an active ache lodging up in her ribcage like a fist strangling her heart. She tried to breathe slowly, but every time he wrote something—

I think I might have lov

...and it reminded me of your hair. Just the right colour.

Please come back. I know it's a lot to hope for. But please try.

I'm not sad all the time, I promise. Just a little. Donna says I mope but… 

Rose Tyler, I

On and on. To the end of the box. As she unfolded the last piece of paper, she realized her hands were shaking.

Well, Rose Tyler, you've done it.

You brilliant woman. You saved us all. I'm writing this while you do—I don't know, human things up in your mum’s flat. Jackie's barely let me get a breath in, let alone a break, but I've ducked out to the TARDIS for one last letter. I've been keeping these in your bedroom while you were gone—it was an excuse to pop by when I started to miss you too much, how silly is that?—but now that you're back… what if you find them?

What if you don't?

I’ve re-ordered them so they make sense (as much as I ever make sense). You're clever enough to take these to the TARDIS for translation. But I don't know what's more frightening: the thought of you standing there, looking just as you did before you left (only maybe more beautiful) and reading every page of pain I felt without you, every half-thought and hurt—or the thought that you'll never know.

That I love you.

Rose’s heart thundered in her chest. She read the sentence over, and then over again, disbelieving. The words swam in front of her, and she had to blink rapidly before reading again. The TARDIS had picked up a low, soothing buzz, sounding pleased.

Rose, please. Come find me, when you've read this. Tell me you love me again.

I'll do better this time.

With all of my hearts,

The Doctor

The creased and crinkled paper fluttered down to the grating, abandoned. Rose was already running. Behind her, the TARDIS let out a juddering laugh, her lights flashing happily through the empty console room.

[lastbluetardis]

Day by Day

Summary: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The Doctor and Rose take that first step together as they begin to clear the air and reconnect after being left alone in a parallel universe together.

Tentoo x Rose, ~6400 words, Mature

What is this? I wrote something that’s not an AU??? Indeed I did. I was inspired to write Tentoo/Rose after rewatching Journey’s End this weekend, and after finding half of this fic on my laptop’s hard drive. I wrote the first half of this sometime in 2015 and finally finished it this morning. Enjoy!

AO3

They’d been in Pete’s World for a grand total of six hours. Six frustrating, emotionally-draining, confusing hours. Using the newly-obsolete dimension jumpers and some jiggery-pokery of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver—which had not been stolen, thank you very much—they’d managed to teleport themselves directly to the London-based Torchwood offices, where they were greeted enthusiastically by the Torchwood team. Congratulations, handshakes, and hugs were given plentifully and freely; even the Doctor was corralled into the merriment and celebration.

As soon as was polite, though, Rose had grabbed his hand before tugging him and her mother out of the building. Jackie departed their company straight away, not giving either the Doctor or Rose the option of staying with her and Pete. (Jackie knew her daughter would hide from the situation, and was doing her damnedest to make Rose talk to this new Doctor.) Though Jackie did tell Rose quite firmly that she was expected ‘round for dinner one night soon—her little brother would be overjoyed to see her again.

That was how Rose suddenly found herself with a new flatmate and a belly full of butterflies.

The taxi had pulled up to Rose’s home—a small cottage away from the bustle of London that she was renting—and she had guided the Doctor inside.

But rather than sit down and have a much-needed chat about everything that had gone on, they’d cleaned up a little and went straight to bed. In separate beds. In separate rooms.

Sleep didn’t come as easily as Rose would have wished. She should have been able to fall asleep immediately. She’d been awake for over twenty-four hours; she should have been sleeping like the dead. Instead, Rose found herself tossing and turning with nothing but her racing thoughts for company.

So much had happened. She had found the Doctor and lost him again all in the span of a few hours. Only, she hadn’t lost him. He was right down the hall, hopefully having more luck than she was with sleep.

The Doctor was in her flat. The Doctor—her best friend and lost love—was in her flat in the next room over. And here she was, cooped up alone.

Letting out a groan of frustration and exhaustion, Rose flopped onto her back. She dug the heels of her hands into her eyes and sighed.

When she’d undertaken the Dimension Cannon project, this was not how she had seen things turning out. At all. She had imagined a bit of everything. Her bleakest thoughts were that the Cannon would never work, and she was doomed to die in this universe as every single star eventually winked out. Then there were even bleaker thoughts that she would make it back to the Doctor, only to find he had regenerated into a new body, into a new person who didn’t want her anymore. But at least in that scenario, she imagined they’d saved the universe—the multiverse—and her family would be safe.

However, there were moments she had allowed herself to hope. She allowed herself to imagine that she found him exactly as she left him: tall, thin, tight suit, really great hair and all. She allowed herself to immerse herself in the burning desire and love that she knew would sear through her veins as soon as she’d lay eyes on him for the first time. She imagined being swept into a rib-crushing hug that turned into a heated, bruising snog that turned into some really fantastic sex…

But not in any of her imaginings did she predict this: two Doctors, one of the Doctors coming to live with her while the other left her behind, no TARDIS (yet), no (foreseeable) travelling. And she was still stuck in this godforsaken universe.

At least the company was better this time around, she mused as her thoughts began to turn to the man the next room over. The Doctor was just next door. A white wall still separated them, but between those walls were simple drywall, insulation, and air molecules; there was no impenetrable Void keeping them apart anymore. Just her own stubborn pigheadedness.

Rose’s chest tightened as she remembered the look in his eyes when she’d left him alone in her flat several hours earlier. After a short, cursory tour of his new living environment, she’d made a quick escape, claiming to need a shower and sleep. He’d looked so lost, hurt, and panicked at the thought of being on his own, yet he had forced a smile and agreed wholeheartedly with her. He hadn’t protested, hadn’t asked to stay with her. He’d given her space and time, and she had selfishly taken it.

But why? Why was she hiding from him? She had been looking for him for years, yet the first thing she did was run away.

Cursing softly, Rose flung off the blankets and stepped out of her bedroom into the hallway. The door to the guest room was wide open, and upon peeking in, she saw it was empty. The bed was neatly made up; he obviously hadn’t been in here yet.

Unease flitted through Rose. Surely he was exhausted as she was? He was human now, and would need more rest than he had before. They’d gone through quite a traumatic ordeal, after all. Him especially. He’d gone and split himself in two, for God’s sake. If it was anything like a regeneration, he surely needed to sleep off any lingering stress, lest he make himself ill. Her guts twisted at the thought of him slipping into a coma as he had done that Christmas day after he’d regenerated.

Rose moved down the hall and into the living room. Perhaps he was entertaining himself with the telly? Or the scant collection of books she’d acquired over the nearly four years of existing in this universe. After all, Dickens hadn’t died until 1873 in this world—rather than 1870—and had managed to coax out one last novel before passing. She’d tried reading it herself, but found the material a bit dry and language too foreign for her to thoroughly enjoy by herself.

Before, reading together in the library, snuggled against the Doctor with hot tea and nibbles, had been Rose’s favorite pastime on the TARDIS. He had thoroughly enjoyed narrating books to her, and she had likewise enjoyed listening to him. He’d brought the stories alive in ways she could never have imagined. Quite literally sometimes, seeing as he would often surprise her with trips to go and visit long-dead authors.

Since being trapped in Pete’s World, reading by herself had only left her feeling hollow and alone.

Anyway. Rose was sure the Doctor would have snatched that particular book right up. She was eager to visit a bookstore or library with him now; she was dying to know if any of their old favorite authors had produced anything new or different in this universe. Perhaps they could resume their habit of reading together every night before bed. She would like that very much, and hoped he would as well.

With every step down the hall, her excitement grew. A smile was already tugging up the corners of her mouth in preparation of seeing him, but it slipped when she found her living room as empty as the guest bedroom.

Where is he?

She noticed with some satisfaction that the unique-to-this-universe Dickens novel was resting on the coffee table, a bookmark tucked into the pages about a quarter of the way through. But the satisfaction disappeared, only to be replaced with dread.

Where was he? Surely he wouldn’t have left without telling her? A peek into the kitchen told her he wasn’t there either. Nor was he in the loo.

“Doctor?” she called out, her voice trembling. 

No answer. But before she could work herself into a panic, she glimpsed his red Chucks strewn haphazardly by the front door. She breathed out a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have gone anywhere without shoes.

She scrubbed her hands over her eyes, feeling utterly exhausted suddenly. She wondered if she should just go back to bed, but she quickly decided against it. They really, really ought to have a chat about their circumstances and expectations of each other. Yes, she wanted him here with her, but only if he wanted it too. Yes, she was happy to be with him again even though part of her heart was breaking at being abandoned by the other Doctor.

The middle of the night probably wasn’t ideal for that conversation, but at least it might help clear the air a bit. If they were both awake at this ungodly hour, there was no reason not to have this conversation. And at the very least, she really ought to apologize for running away from him like she’d done.

But a conversation required two people, and for all intents and purposes, her flat was empty. Where on Earth could the Doctor have gone?

He hadn’t been taken, had he? By some alien species that recognized him as alien? Was he even still alien? He said his body was human, but he still had a Time Lord’s consciousness. A Time Lord’s memories. Would that show up as alien?

Before she could call Torchwood to track him down, Rose noticed the door to her back garden was unlocked. She strode to the door and nudged aside the curtains. Bingo. A dark, familiar, lanky form was sprawled on one of her lounge chairs. He looked so small, sitting out there by himself underneath the stars he used to travel.

Her heart twinged. How hard must this be for him?

Sighing, Rose turned away from the door. As much as she ached to go and join him, she needed a minute. She needed to organize her thoughts and emotions, lest she simultaneously hug him and rage at him. No, she needed to get her anger and hurt in check first. There would be time to work through that later, but for now, she allowed herself to be filled up with the joy of being with the Doctor again.

To busy her hands, Rose filled the kettle and set about making tea. She pulled down two bags of chamomile tea and worked on making it to each of their likings. At least, she made it according to how he used to like his tea. She wasn’t sure if his tastes had changed, either from time or from becoming human.

With the tea finished, Rose rummaged around her bare cabinets for a box of her favorite biscuits. Tucking the box beneath her arm, she carefully picked up both mugs and headed outside. She struggled with the door for a few seconds until she was able to push down on the handle with her elbow.

The summer night was cool and there was a gentle breeze that nipped at her nose and cheeks. She wished she’d thought to put on a dressing gown; she was soon shivering in her pajama shorts and t-shirt. She wondered if the Doctor was cold. She didn’t know how long he’d been sitting out here, and he was dressed similarly to her: in boxer-briefs and a shirt. She winced when she realized it was the same shirt he’d been wearing beneath his suit. They really needed to get clothes for him.

She took a selfish minute to observe him, to drink in every inch of him before she approached. He must have heard her, because he turned his head. A small smile tugged up a corner of his mouth as she set the mugs and biscuits on the table beside him.

“Hello,” she said, her voice a little breathless.

“Hello.”

“I, er, made tea,” she said awkwardly, wringing her fingers in front of herself. “May I join you?”

“I would like that,” he said. He hovered his fingers over the two mugs and looked up at her questioningly. She pointed to his tea and watched as he took a long gulp, not seeming to care if the hot liquid scalded his throat. He smacked his lips appreciatively. “You remembered how I take it.”

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “I was worried that you might not take it the same way.” She picked up her own mug and took a more cautious sip than he had. “But you’re still you, right?”

“Oh! Yes! Of course!” He cleared his throat, then lowered his voice to something a little more appropriate for the quiet night air. “I meant… it’s been a while, is all. Didn’t know if you’d remember something as silly as how I take my tea.”

“I remember everything about you,” Rose murmured, hiding behind a sip of tea.

His face softened.

They slipped into an awkward silence, with each of them nursing their own cups of tea. Rose was painfully aware that she was just standing there like a nutter.

“D’you…”

“Can I…”

They chuckled nervously, and Rose wanted to rip out her hair. Why was everything so stiff and awkward between them? Why did this feel like meeting up with her ex, rather than her lover whom she’d been parted from for four years?

“You first,” the Doctor prompted. He glanced sidelong at the box of biscuits.

Rose grabbed the box and opened it one-handed before nudging it towards him. He beamed at her and didn’t waste any time with grabbing a biscuit and stuffing it whole into his mouth. His cheeks puffed out comically.

Her heart squeezed with love for him, and tears inexplicably burned her eyes. Apart from the layer of tension between the two of them and their current location, it could have been any other night aboard the TARDIS with them sharing late night tea and biscuits before bed.

But there was a layer of tension between them. And they weren’t in the TARDIS.

“‘Oo were sch’aying?” he mumbled as he chewed his biscuit.

The confidence Rose had built up suddenly left her. “S’nothing. Wanted to know if you wanted company. But you looked deep in thought. Don’t want to interrupt. Just thought you might like some tea, though. It gets a bit cold out here.”

Rose realized she was rambling and scrambled to make an escape. “I’ll let you get back to… whatever it was you were doing.”

With her face burning from embarrassment and annoyance at her own cowardice, Rose was about to turn around when cold fingers wrapped around her forearm, halting her exit. She took a deep breath, willing her face to cool down, before turning towards him.

The Doctor was wearing a similar expression to the one he had when she left him alone in her flat earlier that evening. His eyebrows were knitted together, his mouth was drawn up tight into a thin, white line, and his eyes were so deep, so fathomless, and so sad it made her breath catch.

He opened his mouth to say something, and his Adam’s apple bobbed, but nothing came out. He exhaled in a rush, and tried again. Swallowing deeply, he averted his gaze from hers as he asked softly, “Stay? Please?”

He finally dropped his hand from her arm, moving it to cradle his mug of tea. He kept his eyes downcast, staring into the milky liquid, tracing the rim of the mug with his index finger.

The waver in his voice as well as the uncertainty shattered any resolve Rose had of fleeing back to her room. She placed her half-drunk mug of tea on the table and stepped up to him. She rested her hand on his shoulder, gave it a squeeze, then gave him a hug. Standing as she was, she towered over him for once. His shoulders were at her stomach, his head at her breasts. She tried not to think too much of that as she wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders and held him. This was the first intimate touch between them since their kiss on the beach.

The Doctor clutched at her desperately, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and burying his face between her breasts. She was suddenly extremely aware that she was not wearing a bra. A shiver that had nothing to do with the night air rippled through her.

She bent over him and pressed a kiss to his hair. It was just as soft as she remembered.

They stayed like that for an immeasurable moment, with her hunched over him and him stretched up towards her, holding each other as if their lives depended on it.

When Rose’s back began to protest, she stood, shivering as the cool night air replaced his warm, solid body.

“Will you stay?” he asked again.

Rose bit her lip. She really was quite cold, and judging from the goosebumps raising his arm hairs, he was too.

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

Before she could overthink it, she leaned down and pecked a kiss to the corner of his mouth, then skipped inside. She shivered when the warm air of her flat kissed her skin. She went to the couch and grabbed the fuzzy blanket balled up in one of the corners. She shook it out as she strode back to the Doctor.

He was sitting in the same position as when she’d left him. She held up the blanket for him to see.

“Budge up a bit,” she said, flapping her hand at him. He blinked, and she rolled her eyes. “Scoot up, and spread your legs. I’ll sit between them. That way we can both share the blanket. Unless…?”

Doubts crept into her mind. This would be a very intimate position for them to sit in. They’d engaged in much more intimate positions before, but that had been years ago.

The Doctor moved quickly, slinging his legs on either side of the lounge chair, leaving room for her between them. 

“Good idea,” he said, patting the seat to encourage her to sit. “I didn’t realize how cold it was. This human body is quite rubbish with the cold.”

Rose carefully lowered herself to the chair, settling between his thighs before she threw the blanket across herself and draped it over his legs and feet. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her middle and tugged her closer until her entire back was flush with his front. A warm tingle bloomed in her stomach.

“That’s better,” the Doctor sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“Yeah. It’s nice.”

She pillowed her head against his collarbone and let out a deep breath to relax herself into his arms. His hands rested loosely against her lower abdomen, and before long, his fingers began tracing idle lines across the waistband of her shorts. His lips then pressed ever so softly against her temple before he nuzzled his cheek into the top of her hair.

Rose hadn’t felt this complete in years. Despite the maelstrom of thoughts and other emotions churning through her, the one dominating this moment was utter peace. She loved him so much, had missed him so much, and now she was back with him once more. They still needed to talk, to clear the air between them. She needed to wrap her head around her new reality, to give herself the proper time and space to grieve the loss of the other Doctor, but not right now. Not on such a beautiful, perfect night when she was in the arms of the man she loved.

“I missed you.”

He’d spoken so quietly that if she hadn’t felt the rumble of his chest, she wouldn’t have been sure if he’d spoken at all. She tilted her head up to look at him and saw the depth of his longing in his eyes.

She reached up and cupped his cheek, stroking it with her thumb. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into the touch.

“I missed you too, Doctor. So much.” She paused for a moment, then added, “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Are you, though?”

Her heart squeezed. “Yes. I know I didn’t act like it earlier. And I’m sorry. I really am. But I am very glad you’re here. With me.”

He was silent for a few seconds, then he said, “This probably wasn’t what you were expecting, was it?”

“Not really,” she admitted. His entire body tensed behind hers, but she wouldn’t lie to him. “But I’ll get used to it.”

“Great,” he scoffed, and he slowly withdrew his hands from her hips.

“No,” she said. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… I expected to be back on the TARDIS, with…”

“With him,” the Doctor bit out.

“You’re the same man,” she said. He hummed noncommittally. “Please, Doctor. Don’t do this. No, this isn’t what I expected, and yes, I’m angry and hurt and confused. But I’m also happy to be with you. I- I love you.”

He slumped back in his chair and ducked his chin to hide his face. For one horrible moment, she thought he was about to reject her, reject what she’d just said.

Instead, he said, “I’m sorry. I’m happy to be with you, too.”

Rose was said nothing for the span of several heartbeats, then she asked, “What happens now?”

The Doctor cocked his head to the side. “Well… we take it day by day, I guess.”

“Together?” Rose couldn’t help but ask.

A faint smile crossed the Doctor’s lips. “Together. Though, first thing’s first, you’re cold. Let’s go inside.”

Rose, who, despite the blanket, was close to shivering in the cold night air, nodded and stood up from the seat. She messily folded the blanket and began gathering up their mugs and the box of biscuits. The Doctor hurriedly jogged to the door and held it open for her. He followed her into the brightly-lit kitchen but stood there awkwardly while she dumped the dregs of their cold tea down the sink and put the biscuits away.

“This is a nice flat,” the Doctor said, glancing around. “You didn’t stay with Pete and Jackie?”

Rose shrugged. “I did for a while. Then needed my own space.” She held out her hand for him, glad when he threaded their fingers together. After the quiet intimacy they’d generated in the garden, she was loath to let any barriers come between them.

“I noticed the new Dickens book,” the Doctor said, pointing with their joined hands when they walked to the living room. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” she said. “Is it any good? I tried reading it but, well… The classics were never my favorite.”

“But you let me read them to you all the time,” the Doctor said, sounding a bit affronted. “Why didn’t you ever say anything.”

“I enjoyed listening to you read them to me,” Rose said, squeezing his fingers. “Maybe you could read that one to me? Like we used to?”

“I would like that,” he murmured. “Did you want to start it tonight…?”

“I’m a bit too knackered for that,” she admitted. “I’d probably fall asleep after the first page.”

Rose guided him down the hall and to the guest room. Rather than releasing his hand, she gripped it tighter.

“You could sleep in here, or you can join me in my room,” she said, her voice low. “Your choice.”

“Your room,” he said immediately, and Rose breathed a sigh of relief.

They untangled her sheets and crawled beneath them. Without speaking, they moved until they were spooned together with the Doctor curled around her as tightly as he could be. His front was flush with her back, his legs tangled in hers. He wrapped his arms around her chest and anchored her firmly to him.

Rose knew this position wouldn’t last the night; no matter how many times they’d fallen asleep tangled together, they always awoke separated the next morning. But for now, Rose relished the closeness, the movements of his chest as he breathed, the tickle of his breath in her ear.

“Goodnight,” he whispered, and the kiss he planted to the sensitive spot just below her ear sent goosebumps prickling through her.

“Night,” she managed, and before she could tell him she loved him, she was asleep.

oOoOo

When Rose next awoke, pale yellow sunlight was filtering through her window. Her head was fuzzy and her eyes gritty, and it took all of a second before the memories of yesterday rushed back to her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the Doctor curled up behind her, wide awake and staring at her. He met her gaze and smiled.

All of a sudden, everything came over Rose at once. Tears burned behind her eyes, making her vision swim before she covered her face with her hands and began sobbing. Sobbing for everything she had lost and everything she had gained. For the years of exhaustion and hard work that led her back to the Doctor and led to the salvation of the universe. For the heartbreak and agony of the Doctor rejecting and abandoning her, and for the joy and love of the Doctor that was now crushing her into his arms.

She cried and cried until it felt like her entire body might break apart from the force of it. And through it all, the Doctor held her. His voice was low and soothing amidst her shuddering breaths, and though she couldn’t make out the words, she appreciated it nevertheless.

It took many long minutes before her tears stopped, and even longer before she felt like she could look at the Doctor. When she finally peeked up at him, he offered her a sweet smile and kissed her forehead gently.

“Feel better?” he asked, drying her cheeks with his thumbs.

“Not really,” she said thickly, her voice scratchy. Her head and body ached, and she felt like she could sleep for another couple of hours.

“I’m so sorry, Rose,” he said, kissing her forehead again.

“Please don’t think I’m unhappy with you. With being with you,” Rose said. “I’m happy you’re here. But I’m furious and heartbroken at him at the same time.”

“I know,” he murmured. He loosed a long exhale then admitted, “I never expected to be able to do this again. To wake up beside you. You were lost to me forever. But here you are.”

The wonder in his voice was almost enough to set her off crying again. She tucked her face closer into his chest until the urge went away.

“We can do this every day. If you want. Fall asleep together. Wake up together.” Her voice was muffled by his shirt, but she knew he’d heard her. 

He shivered and his arms tightened around her. “I would like that very much.”

Rose pulled back just far enough to press a kiss to his Adam’s apple. The muscles of his throat bobbed beneath her lips as she trailed kiss after kiss to his neck. He hummed and sighed, the sounds making his throat vibrate deliciously against her lips.

“Rose,” he groaned.

He pushed at her, pushing her away, making her stop. Her heart dropped. But as soon as she took her face away from his neck, his lips descended on hers. Her surprised exclamation was muffled by his mouth as his lips devoured hers, searching and pushing and pulling in all the best ways.

A violent shudder rippled down her spine, blazing an inferno through her veins that screamed for more, more, more. She had missed this, missed him, missed sharing her body and soul with him as they made love. And she needed him right now.

Needing better leverage than what was being afforded, Rose wrapped her arms around his shoulder and one leg around his hips and pulled. Without breaking the kiss, Rose rolled onto her back, bringing the Doctor with her. He moaned as their bodies aligned perfectly. His hips were cradled in hers, and she felt the burgeoning evidence of what this kiss was doing to him growing against her.

“Rose,” he panted, wrenching his mouth away from hers. “Rose, wait. Is this… do you…?”

“I want this,” she said, cradling his lightly-stubbled cheek in her hands. Her thumbs brushed his kiss-swollen lips. “I want you.”

A helpless little noise escaped his throat before he ducked his head down to catch her lips in his once more. She buried her fingers in his hair, so soft and strong, to deepen the kiss. Her lips parted for him, and their tongues tentatively met in the middle, slipping and gliding against each other, relearning each other after all these years.

An aching heat throbbed between her legs and she shifted restlessly. Hooking her thighs around his hips, she brought him into tighter contact against her. His groan was lost amidst hers as he rubbed against her so deliciously.

“Rose,” he breathed, releasing her lips to trail frantic little kisses along the curve of her jaw. He scraped his teeth along the side of her neck, sending shivers of pleasure sparking across her skin. She tightened her hold of his hair, keeping him where he was and urging him to do it again. He obliged. “I missed you. I love you.”

It was the first time he’d said those words since the beach. She gasped out his name and arched further into him, needing to be closer, closer, closer.

“I love you,” he repeated, kissing and sucking at her neck until Rose was sure there would be a deep red stain across her skin.

The pressure in her gut coiled tighter and tighter the longer they moved together. Their hips arched and rubbed and squirmed, hurtling her closer and closer to the edge. Rose wasn’t sure how much longer she would last when the Doctor’s rhythm faltered and he bit the soft part where her neck met her shoulder.

“R-Rose,” he rasped. “I… sorry, but if we keep going, I’m going to… er, make a real mess of things.”

As much as she would love to continue as they were, she was desperate to feel more of him. They were still fully clothed, for heaven’s sake. Granted, they were each in shorts and a t-shirt, but still. They hadn’t removed anything, though the Doctor’s hands were doing a pretty good job of mapping out any bit of skin he could reach.

“Shift up a bit,” she ordered, lowering her legs from his hips.

“Right, yeah…”

He moved to clamber off of her, but she wrapped her legs around him once more.

“Don’t want to stop,” she said. “Just… freeing up the important bits.”

“Oh… ohhhh.” She had unceremoniously reached into his pants and wrapped her fingers around his hard, throbbing length. His hips stuttered into her touch, and she tried not to give him too much stimulation to send him over the edge. She made sure he didn’t get caught in the elastic of his waistband before she worked his pants halfway down his arse.

“Feels good,” he croaked, thrusting shallowly into her hand.

“It’ll feel better in a minute,” she said, wrenching her own sleep shorts down her legs.

After a whole lot of squirming, Rose managed to free one of her legs from the shorts, letting the fabric dangle at her other thigh. She made very quick work of lining him up and taking him into her.

“Oh… oh Rose,” he hissed, eyes and jaw clenched shut.

She was nearly beyond words at the friction, at the glide of him into her. Her hips undulated against his, working him deeper and deeper until he was seated as far as he could go. The Doctor trembled above her as he held himself still, letting her adjust.

After only a few seconds, Rose couldn’t bear the pressure anymore and she arched into him, wrapping her thighs around his lower back once more. She pressed her feet into his arse to spur him on, and he was all too willing.

It was over embarrassingly quickly, but it was so, so good. When his clever fingers drummed at the sensitive bundle of nerve just above where they were joined, the tightening coil deep in her belly burst outward, spiraling through her entire body from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes. She bowed off the bed, a garbled, wordless cry coming from her throat as she lost herself in her pleasure, in him.

He followed mere seconds later, his rhythm absolutely nonexistent as he worked for his release. It shattered through him in a rush of grunted curses and a sigh of her name as he pulsed and throbbed deep within her.

The world dissolved around her. There was nothing except for her and him, tangled together in the ultimate expression of love and unity. Rose trembled with aftershocks as her mind, for the first time in a long time, went utterly blank.

The Doctor breathed harshly at her breast, his forehead on her collarbone. His hair tickled her nose, and she brushed it away.

His arms trembled as he held himself above her, still seated inside of her. It was half a minute before he pressed a kiss to her chest and rolled onto his side, slipping out of her. She winced and grimaced, but followed him, tucking herself into his side. She threw a leg over one of his, careful not to accidentally knee him in a very sensitive area.

She was sure they looked slightly ridiculous. Her shorts were still dangling off of one of her legs and his boxers were barely tugged off his hips, and both their shirts were still on but twisted from their movements.

But Rose wouldn’t have had it any other way.

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his jaw, then to the corner of his mouth. The Doctor hummed and turned his head to meet her kiss.

“That was really rather brilliant, wasn’t it?” A self-satisfied smile played across his lips.

“Yeah, it was,” she agreed, snuggling beside him.

“Er… rather messy, though,” he said, beginning to squirm.

Rose breathed out a laugh. Thank God. Their combined fluids were rapidly cooling between her legs and becoming rather… sticky.

“A little bit,” she answered. And though she really wasn’t in the mood for it, she knew she ought to clean up.

As though he read her mind, he said, “Do you want to… erm, take care of things? Well. I should as well. It’s a bit… damp. Anyway. Do you maybe want to… share? A shower? With me?”

Rose peered up at him; he was looking directly at the ceiling. She rolled her eyes. After what they’d just done together, he was worried she would reject the intimacy of a shower?

“That sounds brilliant,” she said, kissing his chest.

She wriggled off the bed, and let her shorts finally fall to the floor. The Doctor very gingerly worked his boxers down his legs.

“I’m gonna need clothes,” he said, looking down at his discarded pants. “I’ve got no clothes. Definitely gonna need clothes. And- and money, I s’pose, to buy clothes. Blimey. Money. I’ve got no money. Never needed it, but now I do. You’ve got bills, so now I do too. Money. I’m gonna need a job, and a name for identification, and papers, and…”

The Doctor’s eyes widened in his growing panic and his chest began rising and falling as his breathing went shallow and rapid. She stepped up to him and took his hands in hers, squeezing them once, before she dropped them to wrap her arms around his waist. He stood somewhat stiffly, but as Rose stroked his back gently, his muscles unlocked.

“We’ll take it day by day, yeah?” she said, echoing his words from the night before. “Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, if we need to. We’ll get everything sorted out. I’ll text Mum and ask her to bring a change of clothes for you, then we can think about going shopping. But for right now, you and I are gonna get a shower, then we’re gonna eat breakfast.”

“Most important meal of the day,” he quipped weakly. He hugged her tightly and tucked his face into the curtain of her hair. “Thanks. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Doctor. D’you think I didn’t have the same freak out when I first got here?” she asked. 

“I’m not freaking out,” he muttered petulantly.

She ignored him and continued. “We had to invent a whole new person for me. And raise Mum from the dead. We can do the same for you.” She paused and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “It’s okay, y’know. To not be okay.”

The Doctor exhaled raggedly. “I know. But I don’t want you to feel like I regret being here. Because I don’t. Being with you again is… it’s the happiest I’ve ever been.”

She smiled into his neck. “Me too. But we’ve got a lot to adjust to.”

“Day by day,” he murmured.

“Together,” she added.

He finally pulled away from the embrace. His eyes hadn’t fully lost their panicked gleam, but it was definitely more muted. She understood all too well that anxiety.

Though their morning was utterly perfect and she was utterly content, Rose knew it wouldn’t last. It couldn’t last. Too much had happened and so much had changed. There were so many emotions and hurts to sort through, and she knew some days would be worse than others.

But she also knew some days would be better than others. Some days would be perfect. And that would make it all worth it. Those days would be the days she would be fighting for when the fragile peace between them eventually cracked. But she had faith in herself and faith in him that they could work together to mend any breaks and piece themselves back together again, stronger than they ever were before.

As if he could see exactly what she was thinking, he smiled at her. His smile was a paradoxical mixture of sorrow and longing and joy; she was relieved he was on the same page, that he didn’t expect everything from here on out to be sunshine and rainbows. It would take work, on both their parts.

The Doctor reached out to cradle her cheeks in his palms. She leaned into the touch. His thumbs stroked her lips, then her cheeks as he ducked his head down towards hers. He skated the tip of his nose along hers, and hovered with his lips barely a centimeter away from hers.

“Together,” he affirmed, before he pressed his lips to hers to seal the promise of their forever.