#catch me flit from au to au like a concussed butterfly

[oh-no-its-bird]

Chasing Shadows inspired time travel au where Fugaku and Kakashi get zapped to the warring states, but things become tricky when they keep looking to Hikaku as their shared "figure of respect/responsibility" (bc hes the Uchiha head in future Konoha, having lasted long enough to make Fugaku his heir) when at this time he's just barley third in command and Madara is like. RIGHT there.

That's not even mentioning the ticking time bomb of "Kakashi looks like Tobirama did as a child" that's already been established, that's gonna cause problems (half-Hatake Tobirama who's Kakashi's blood uncle agenda goes brrr)

(For those who don't know what Chasing Shadows is, all u really need to know for this is that Kakashi is 6, Fugaku is 19, and Hikaku is the acting Uchiha clan head at 76. A week after his fathers suicide, Kakashi found out he's related to Tobirama via his grandmother, projects on him really fucking hard, and eventually ends up with Hikaku acting as one of multiple mentor figures to him.)

Fugaku, aware that the Uchiha compound of this era isn't uhh. The best place for a Hatake kid who resembles one of their greatest enemies to a suspicious degree: "maybe u should leave actually. Go shack up with the Senju or smthn"

Kakashi, now heavily biased towards the Uchiha bc of Hikaku and Fugaku: "ok but why."

Izuna, standing directly behind him holding a giant mallet:

The Uchiha are arguing ab what they should do w Kakashi and if they should like. Take him as political hostage (assuming, not entirely incorrectly, that he's related to Tobirama and Hashirama) but also like. The Hatake are an isolated clan that famously react very fucking badly when their kids are threatened. So is this a potential political tool for them to use or a ticking time bomb to when they accidentally potentially get a new clan (who's already allied to the Senju) involved in their feud.

The Uchiha writing to Tobirama and Hashirama like "we have ur secret little brother/cousin(?) come talk to us now or he gets it"

"You have our what."

Hashirama is going "ahaha oh nooo my secret little brother,, who I love very much and also know exactly who ur talking about but would love it if u could send a portrait or chakra signature or smthn just to make sure its the right kid,,, u know how it is <3"

I feel like I've used that beat before actually. Which one of my like 20 Kakashi to warring states time travel aus have I pulled this in?? Possibly multiple tbh

Anyways Hashirama also going "oh nooo u have my baby brother,, I guess we have no choice but to talk andmaybedopeace"

Anyways. I need a Hikaku focused character study sooo badd,, the pipe he uses in Chasing Shadows is Madara's, have I mentioned that yet? Bc it totally is and no one really knows that and like. Hikaku sure as fuck won't mention it bc it'd really only bring bad things

Kakashi and Fugaku are making surprised Pikachu faces at Hikaku like every time they see him, neither can get over seeing him this young and not blind and also not in charge. It's unnatural.

Even logically knowing that they can't just place their full trust in him bc hes not their Hikaku, they still can't stop themselves from doing it accidentally— Fugaku is his ward, he was raised by the guy. And Kakashi is a moody 6 year old who only has like 5 actually trusted adult figures in his life and only 3 of those he gives actual respect and Hikaku is one of those 3.

That's totally gonna fuck them over in the future bc, again, Hikaku doesn't know them!!! His clan and his loyalty to Madara + Izuna will always come first over these odd strangers, sorry

Maybe throw Mikoto in too, who's Izuna's granddaughter (that resemblance is gonna cause issues) and Fugaku's begrudging fiance (Hikaku said Fugaku could become clan head on ONE condition— marrying Izuna's granddaughter back into the main line), could be fun

Maybe I'll try to write smthn like this once I'm more into the meat of chasing shadows and have set up the Hikaku-Fugaku-Kakashi dynamic enough that people are invested in it

[creekschitt]

Better Than The Best Night Without You

Summary: When Patrick gets a call that David and Stevie have been in an accident, he fears the worst. But a beautiful lesson comes out of it.

Note: Link to AO3! This is my first SC fic so please be gentle. Also AU in which Alexis didn’t go to the Galapagos, I guess, because I have a hard time believing that’s going to happen.

Patrick watches it all happen and says nothing. It occurs to him now, in this moment, that this is his family. In a few short months when they’re married, these are the people who will surround each other at bedsides just like this, the ones who will be there for each other in the (hopefully few) dark moments.

The call comes at around 3 am, but Patrick had only drifted off about an hour prior. David was accompanying Stevie to some event in Elmdale - he’d been told several times what it was and still couldn’t remember. Some kind of…hospitality mixer? Something that would be good for business but Stevie wouldn’t be caught dead at alone. Whatever it was, it had run too late and David had called around 1 saying he was so sorry, but they were only hitting the road now. He’d sounded a little tipsy but Stevie had assured on speakerphone that she was driving and perfectly sober.

The first call had shaken Patrick a little, though he didn’t want to admit it. He’s not used to sleeping without David and he’d sort of been counting on it tonight, regardless of how late it may be, so it takes a good hour for him to get back to sleep after he hangs up. That’s what makes the second one so unexpected. He’s bleary eyed when he fumbles for his phone on the night stand, barely conscious enough to lift it to his ear. “David? Where are you guys?” But the voice on the other end of the line isn’t David.

It’s Stevie, and she’s hysterical.

“Someone hit us. A drunk driver. We were at an intersection and-”

Patrick can’t hear through the ringing in his ears. He puts Stevie on speaker and starts getting dressed, barely catching snippets of what she’s saying. She’s okay, but David’s unconscious. They’re in an ambulance on their way to the hospital. She’s calling David’s family next. “I’m on my way,” is all Patrick is able to get out of his mouth before hanging up the phone. He’s never been up and out the door so fast in his life.

The drive to the hospital seems endless. By the time he’s bursting through the automatic doors he’s worked himself up to the worst-case scenario. He walks up to the front desk, ready to demand to see David, but suddenly he’s being intercepted out of nowhere - hands are on his shoulders and he comes out of his daze just long enough to see Alexis in front of him.

“Patrick,” it’s like she can sense that he’s about to make a scene. “Come on. We’re sitting over here.” She gestures over to where her family are sitting in uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Stevie sits next to them with red-rimmed eyes.

“No. I need to see him.”

“We all do, but we don’t know anything yet. We have to wait, okay?” She says it in her usual saccharine voice, and it’s placating, and it just drives Patrick more insane than he already feels. How are they all just sitting there? How is he the only one freaking out? He’s never the one freaking out.

“No, fuck that, I need to-”

Alexis’ surprisingly strong grip stops him again as he moves forward, and he must have raised his voice just enough because the nurse is telling him he needs to sit down now. The last thing he needs is to get kicked out of here so he lets Alexis lead him over to the chairs. He slumps down next to Stevie who looks as defeated as he feels. It’s only then that he remembers-

“Stevie. Are you okay? Why are you out here?”

“They checked me out already. Not a scratch,” she says it with a quiet laugh that is laden with self-loathing. Like she can’t believe she’s the one that’s okay. Like she hates herself for it. “It happened so fast, Patrick.” The way she looks at him is desperate in a way he’s never seen before. They’d gotten pretty close through doing the show, bonded over their mutual fondness for one David Rose, and he envelopes her in a hug without thinking twice about it.

“It’s not your fault,” he assures her, as much as he’s able to assure anybody right now.

“Okay, everyone? The last thing David needs is a bunch of hysterical people coming into his room when he wakes up, so let’s pull it together please.” Alexis chides, and it’s only then that Patrick realizes that David’s parents haven’t said a word. He’s never heard them not say a word. Between that and Stevie’s face the whole thing is so wrong, so out of character, he feels like he’s coming unglued with it.

He’s about to stand up again when a doctor emerges into the otherwise-vacant waiting room, asking for David’s family. Patrick is the first to approach him, his entire demeanor demanding answers, and Alexis’s hands are on his shoulders again to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.

“He’s awake,” the doctor tells them. Patrick lets out what feels like the first breath he’s taken in the past hour. He has to consciously remind himself to keep listening as the doctor continues:

“His right wrist is fractured and he has a concussion, but we didn’t find any internal bleeding. We’ll need to monitor the concussion tonight and keep him awake, but he should be free to go tomorrow. You’re welcome to see him.”

The last words are hardly out of the doctor’s mouth before Patrick is walking straight past him through the double doors. No one follows him just yet. Maybe they want to give him some privacy, maybe they have more questions to ask the doctor. He doesn’t care, because right now all he can see is David through the doorway of a room ahead of him. David with a cast on his arm and a butterfly bandage over his left eyebrow.

He’s never seen David like this. Even when he’s sick he’ll hide from Patrick, covering his face with the blankets or hiding in the bathroom to avoid his usual put-together facade being broken. He once told Patrick that not many people got to see him before 9 AM. And now here he was, looking more fragile than Patrick had ever seen him. It made him shake a little. To use David’s own words, it looked incorrect.

He only gave himself a moment to regain his composure before rushing into the room. “David.” Patrick breathes the word like it’s a prayer, crossing the room and taking his one free hand. He kisses him and David returns it but grimaces. Right, the concussion. He’d already forgotten. He can see it now, the way David’s eyes look dazed and far away. Patrick is so distracted that it startles him when David speaks.

“I don’t think I’ll make it home tonight actually,” and there’s that grin, the one Patrick fell in love with. His hand is coming up to cup Patrick’s cheek, as if he’s the one that needs comforting.

Patrick squeezes their hands together tightly, the only affection he can show right now without causing David more discomfort. “Yeah, I kind of gathered that.” He laughs a little, and he’s so grateful to be laughing. So grateful that they’re in a situation where he can laugh, and not the worst-case scenarios he’d feared on the way over. “Fuck, I thought-” he can’t even finish the thought. He doesn’t want David to know where his mind went.

David is about to respond when the rest of his family enters. Moira sets right to making a big fuss about her precious baby boy and Alexis is flitting around trying to find a nurse they can talk to and Stevie is hanging in the back, looking apologetic but also deeply relieved. Patrick watches it all happen and says nothing. It occurs to him now, in this moment, that this is his family. In a few short months when they’re married, these are the people who will surround each other at bedsides just like this, the ones who will be there for each other in the (hopefully few) dark moments.

But they’ll be there in the good ones too. Alexis will bring that authoritative and surprisingly calming energy to their wedding, making sure no one loses their cool. Stevie will be there when the pipe under their sink bursts and they need a place to stay, always showing up in the moments they need her most. Moira will continue to fuss over David in a way that Patrick will never be able to match, and Johnny will look at him with the same pride that Patrick feels every single day. For as awful as this night has been, it’s also been an important reminder. They’ll be there for each other, always.

Everyone offers to stay but eventually trickles out of the room one by one, off to get the sleep that neither he nor David will be getting any time soon.

“Hey,” David’s voice shakes him out of his thoughts and the hand in his tightens its grip. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Patrick smiles softly and pulls up a chair, ready to take his station for the remainder of the night. “How do you propose I keep you awake all night?” Obviously they can’t use their usual methods, he thinks.

“What’s the opposite of talking about baseball?”

Patrick laughs, and soon the nurse is coming in, and David is holding his cast up and asking if it “possibly comes in black,” and Patrick realizes that even the worst moments with David are going to be better than any of the best moments without him.”>