#ellis falls in love probably Too Easily & it's not difficult for him to catch feelings

[elliscousland]

shipping call. i have been wanting to write romance so uhhh. like this if that might be something you're interested in! i will hop into your discord or im's to talk it out!

[echotrinityme]

You will be loved Chapter 17: Everything’s All Right(Good Ending)

Charles glared at him and he noticed Henry was shaking in fear, he wanted to help him but he needed to take care of Dominic.  

"Let. Him.Go" demanded Charles, lowly.

"Why would I?" sneered Dominic, he tighten his grip on Henry making wince in return.

"You're hurting him!"

"So what?"

Charles closed his eyes in frustration and he grind his teeth, Dominic was being difficult on purpose.

"Please let go of Henry." pleaded Charles, softly.

"Awww, do you love him?" cooed Dominic, in a mocking way.

"Yes!" exclaimed Charles, he was getting desperate and so was Henry. Charles was trying to think of a plan to free Henry from Dominic.

"Too bad, he's mine." said Dominic.

"You don't deserve him!" shrieked Charles.

"Oh that's rich, coming from someone who was easily manipulated by that idiot Calvin."

The way Dominic said that made Charles froze, he was not only mocking him but demeaning him in the process. The sad thing is...it's true, and that hurt to Charles. Sure sometimes he can be an idiot but he's really smart, despite being smart he fell for a stupid trick and it made Henry go to this guy.

"Screw you! At least he wasn't a bad partner! Unlike you!" screeched Charles, his expression grew more livid when Dominic grinned more evilly.

"But he manipulated you into a relationship." hissed Dominic, acidly.

Henry's eyes widened, did Calvin actually do that to Charles? Why? Why would Calvin do that to Charles? That seems wrong, at least when he saw them together Calvin treated him right. He got unlucky with love.

While they were both distracted, Henry noticed the door openly quietly and slowly. A head peeked in and a familiar, black spiky hair popped out. It was Rupert! He met Henry's eyes and he silently shushed him to make sure Dominic doesn't see him, he turned to motioned someone else. He crept in quietly with Dave, Ellie, and the Budowski twins, Dominic noticed Henry stopped struggling and then saw Rupert and the gang.

"What are you guys doing here?" snarled Dominic, he was not expecting these idiots to show up. He thought he had to deal with Charles, now he had to deal with all of them. "Get lost you freaks, Henry is mine." spat Dominic.

"He is not, you bastard!" bellowed Rupert, he already wanted punch him. He and the others have their guns trained on him, Rupert spotted Charles trembling like he was going to do something stupid. "He's not yours." said Charles,lowly.

His voice was cold and dark, making everyone in sans Dominic shivered as if they were in a pelted with icicles. Rupert has never seen Charles this...dark before, Henry on the other hand was scared. He had a feeling that Charles will be the bold action man and probably do something crazy, and knowing Charles he will do just that.

"You treat him like a slave, you treat him like garbage, you made him feel insecure, and worse of all you almost made him commit suicide!" shouted Charles, the others nodded their head in agreement. Dominic growled at them and it made Henry whimpered, Calvin decided to distract Dominic by basically getting his attention.

"Hey Dom!" exclaimed Calvin, Dom turned to look at him and while he was distracted Konrad kick the gun away from him. Dom let a out a gasp of pain, releasing Henry in the process. Henry fell on the ground and he quickly ran over to Charles, the twins almost manage to retraint Dominic.

Seeing that they need help, Rupert turned to Charles who was holding Henry closed and he quickly led them to the door, "You guys go, we will handle this." demanded Rupert. Charles and Henry nodded and they quickly left, Ellie followed them leaving Dave, Rupert, and the twins to handle Dominic.

The triple threat ran until they couldn't see Henry's apartment no more, they stopped to catch their breaths and Henry started to cry again. Charles and Ellie quickly ran to his side and started to comfort him, he was pulled into a hug by Charles while Ellie rubbed his back.

"Hey Hen, don't cry. You are safe now." cooed Charles.

"Yeah, we are here for." added Ellie.

Before Henry could say anything, Charles was tackled on the ground by a heavy figure. Dominic apparently was able to get away from the others and followed them out here in the clearing, He and Dominic were fighting, "Did you really think you can escape me!?" shrieked Dominic, his voice shrill and psychotic.

Charles punched Dom and he kicked him in the stomach making fall on his back with an oof, "Yeah, I made a promise to protect Henry and I will do it." said Charle, boldly. Dom got up and charged at him but Charles was much quicker and he dodged, meanwhile Ellie and Henry was watching the fight with intense fear.

The sounds of running came into view and they both saw Rupert, Dave, and the brothers all looking beat up, "Charles!" shouted Rupert. Charles kept dodging Dom's punches and he kicked him in the shins and he fell to the ground, Dom also kicked back and Charles landed on the ground.

Dom quickly got on top on him and began to strangle him, Charles was trying to breathe but Dom's grip was strong. Dominic started to laugh crazily, he was enjoying watching Charles suffer. Rupert was about to help Charles but he heard Dave whisper to himself and he was in an attack stance.

"C'mon Dave, you got this."

Before Rupert could stop him, he leaped on to Dominic but he pushed Dave away making him fall on the ground. Charles was beginning to see black spots and everything began to blur but he can hear Dominic taunt him.

"Hahaha." laughed Dominic, he was growing more psychotic by the second. His eyes were wide, listless and he was twitching. "Did you really think you can get rid of me?" said Dominic, his voice getting higher as his sanity fluctuated. "You're pathetic and a waste of space." continued Dominic.

"Don't worry after I get rid of you and all of your friends, I will have Henry all to myself and don't worry I will take real good care of him."

"N-No." choked Charles, just then a loud bang was heard and a bullet whizzed into Dominic's head killing him instantly. Some of his blood got on Charles but with Dominic's hands off of his neck, he can breathe again. Calvin held his gun tightly, he was the one to shoot Dom. He was sick of Dominic on what he said to Charles.

Charles sat up and he coughed, trying to get some air back into his lungs. His neck had some bruises and his eyes were red from the tears that were escaping his eyes, Henry, Ellie, and Rupert immediately ran to his side.

"Oi Charles! You ok?" asked Rupert, he was helping him up while Henry and Ellie had worried looks on their faces.

"Yeah...I'm fine." croaked Charles, he was still trying to gain his composure. Henry shook his and he grabbed his chin roughly, forcing Charles to stare at him in suprise.

"No. You are not." said Henry, his tone was firm. He was also using his voice and he had an angry expression his face, Ellie and Rupert nodded in agreement. Charles had many bruises and a black eye, his clothes were dirty and matted. His headphones broke during the confrontation and his nose was also bleeding.

"C'mon, let's get you to the medical bay." said Ellie, softly. She and Henry helped him to the base to get medical treatment, Rupert helped Dave up and he sheepishly told him, "Uh...good teamwork." Rupert laughed and he went to the direction the triple threat went. Dave followed too and the twins picked up Dom's corpse to follow suit.

They got to the base and everyone gasped in shock and confusion, the General and Henry's parents came to see what's the fuss about until they saw the state of they were in. Galeforce quickly ran to Charles' side and Henry's parents went to Henry's and Ellie's sides, He introduced Ellie to his parents and he also told them what happened.

The twins were still carrying Dom's body and Galeforce look between the body and Charles, he immediately got the idea on what happened. He instructed them to put his body in the morgue and they did as they were told, Charles was taken in the medbay and he got treated right away.

While he was being treated, he held Henry's hand while Ellie explained to Galeforce about what happened between Charles and Dom. Victoria was also there along with Rupert, Dave, and the twins, they were all be treated too.

After a couple of minutes, Charles was still holding Henry's hand and he was looking at him with a small smile. Henry glanced up at him and his eyes began to shimmer and Charles went to comfort him.

"Hey Hen, what's the matter? You're safe from Dominic." soothed Charles, he wiped the tears that were beginning to fall down his face. "He's dead, he will never hurt you." Henry put his hands up sign to him, "But he tried to kill you and it's my fault."

Charles reassured him it was not his fault and he lift up his chin to glance up at him. They both stare at each other and without thinking, they leaned forward and kissed. They didn't care if anyone saw them, they kept on kissing. Henry put his hand on Charles face gently, they kept going until they pulled away from each other.

They needed to catch their breaths and they leaned their foreheads to touch gently, their faces were red and they were smiling.

Everything is going to be all right.

[tempesrature]

Of The Standard Of Taste: Logan and Memes

Pairing: Ride or Die | Ellie x Logan Summary: Logan has a terrible taste in memes and Ellie wants to help him.  (A very loose continuation of Communication Degree. But if you don’t want to read that, all you need to know is Ellie and Logan live together and Ellie has a Professor that she hates.) Word Count: 1,924 Warnings: None. Just the buffoonery that I come up with. This is terrible and self-indulgent because I just want some stupid domestic fluff for my two idiots.    A/N: I feel like Logan’s relevant character flaw has to be that he’s probably not too knowledgeable with pop culture and memes (on the run most of his life, has no real need for it, etc) so...here you go. I also reread Hume’s “Of The Standard of Taste” just in case I get into a tussle with Philosophy nerds over my usage of the title (you can fight me but I’ll lose, I didn’t understand much). Also, please forgive me for my poor editing, I may be a millennial but I run on boomer batteries. Happy RoDAW everyone!  @rodappreciationweek @troublemakerinspace​ ~*~

In the silent space of the Langston library, Ellie’s phone pings on her desk and her eyes flit to the device. The name on her screen immediately pulls a wide smile on her lips as she picks up the phone and checks to see what he has sent her. Once she sees the picture, her face falls and she immediately groans before she puts the phone back on her desk.

“Woah, bad news?”

Ellie turns to look at Brooke, her friend and partner for the paper they’re currently working on, before Ellie shakes her head with a small sigh.

“It’s Logan.”

Brooke furrows her eyebrows, squinting lightly at Ellie. “And that’s bad because…?”

Ellie sighs before she picks up her phone and hands it to Brooke. Brooke raises a curious eyebrow before she takes the phone and looks at the screen. Her face morphs into a string of emotions—shock, laughter, cringe—before it settles into pity. “The boy’s taste in memes are terrible.”

“It’s not his fault,” Ellie quickly defends, taking the phone back and staring at the picture that Logan sent her.

“It’s his first Pictagram account and he’s still figuring things out,” Ellie explains as she gives his picture a heart. “You know, developing his standard of taste.”

“From what? The 2010’s?” Brooke cackles as she takes Ellie’s phone, scrolling up their conversation before she bursts into muffled chuckles. “Look at your replies! ‘That’s great baby, it’s really funny’, you sound like his mom!”

Ellie scowls and snatches back her phone, putting it face down on the desk. “He’s trying okay? I think it’s sweet that he sends me memes he finds funny.”

“Uh huh, keep telling yourself that,” Brooke snickers before she rolls her eyes at the annoyed look on Ellie’s face. “El, just like…send him better memes. It’s not that hard.”

“I tried!” Ellie groans again, pushing her fingers to her temple as she stares at the wooden surface of the desk in dismay. “But memes nowadays need so much context! How will he understand when he’s still catching up on so much of pop culture—” Ellie pauses, an idea swirling in her mind. “Unless…”

“Unless what?” Brooke frowns, furrowing her eyebrows. She is scarily aware of Ellie’s face when she starts to plot. “Unless what El?”

“I have an idea,” Ellie declares, quickly gathering her things and dumping them into her backpack as she grabs her phone off of the table. “I’ll send you my part tonight, bye!”

Ellie quickly throws a wave goodbye at the confused looking Brooke as she heads back to the apartment before Logan arrives. Her mind already turning and plotting on how she’ll efficiently enact her plan.

~*~

Logan carefully balances the bag of groceries in one arm as he walks up the stairs, his eyes glued to his phone. He knows he should be more careful, Ellie has already chastised him about using his phone while walking up the stairs to their apartment, but he finds it difficult to pull his eyes away from the endless scroll of memes on his Pictagram feed. Many of which he’s already saved because he plans to send them to Ellie sometime tomorrow during his break.

Logan gives one last double tap of his phone screen to a particularly funny meme when he reaches the door of their apartment before he places his phone in his back pocket. He moves the grocery bag to his other arm before fishing out his keys and inserting it into the doorknob. He hasn’t even fully opened the door when he hears Ellie calling out his name from the living room. A smile pulls at his lips at the sound. Even if it’s been months, he still can’t shake the feeling of utter content at the reality of her waiting for him in their apartment. A scenario he’s only ever imagined in his most indulgent dreams.

“Just a sec trouble. I’m taking off my shoes,” He calls out toeing his sneakers off and kicking it to the side before he walks to the living room with a wide grin. Ellie excitedly greets him with a hug and he easily returns it with a one arm hug.

“Welcome back,” She greets, leaning up to kiss his cheek before she takes the grocery bag in his arm and whisks it away to the small kitchenette in their apartment.

Logan follows behind her, the wide grin still present on his face, as he leans on the refrigerator. He silently watches her place the bag on the counter, start to pull out the groceries and flit by cabinets and shelves to put away the cans and bottles. His heart feels full and sated, the picture of her seeming to bring about emotions that’s both strange and welcomed. Strange in a way that he never thought that this could be his life and welcomed in way that he’s grateful that this is his life.

Ellie pulls out the carton of milk and turns to him, grinning in amusement at the soft and warm look so prominent on his face. An expression she’s seen on him a multitude of times in the time they’ve started living together. She quickly shoos him away from the refrigerator door and Logan merely chuckles as he moves away, placing a passing kiss to her temple before he makes his way to the living room.

His eyes immediately latch on to the papers and books scattered on the coffee table (not an unusual sight) as her laptop lay on the center of the couch. He gently pushes the laptop to the side, careful not to accidentally move anything from its original place as he drops down on the couch and pulls out his phone.

“Are you making another report for Professor Hardass, El?” Logan calls out, absentmindedly scrolling through his Pictagram feed.

“Huh? Oh…no. Actually,” Ellie answers back before she walks back into the living room. She grabs her laptop, balancing it on one hand, as she scrolls up and starts the presentation. “It’s for you.”

Logan pauses before he looks up at her in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“Me?”

“Yes,” Ellie plops down next to him and sets her laptop on his lap, angling the screen to him as the title ‘Important Points in the History of Pop Culture and its Relevance on Memes’ flashes in big black text and stares back at him.

Logan blinks once, twice. His brain frying as he tries to decipher what she just presented him. “I don’t understand Ellie.”

Ellie nods, expecting this reaction before she clears her throat. Her voice takes on the tone she always uses when she presents her reports as she starts the plan that she has been preparing for since she arrived in the apartment three hours ago.

“You see Logan, I love you and I care about you a lot—”

“—this sounds like a break up speech.”

“And,” Ellie emphasizes with a grin, lightly hitting his arm as he looks back at her with a teasing smile. “And I want you to get a better sense of what memes are popular and funny right now.”

Logan opens his mouth, closes it and frowns. Finally picking up what she’s hinting on. “The memes I send you aren’t funny?”

“Oh baby they are,” She leans forward, placing gentle hand on his arm as she tries to keep her voice loving and sympathetic when she delivers the devastating truth. “But like…funny if its ten years ago.”

Logan blinks, pausing for a moment, before a burst of laughter escapes him. Ellie frowns at his reaction and he shakes his head, turning away from her as he muffles his laughter behind his hand. He really didn’t mean to laugh. But the image of his girlfriend, the love of his life, hunkering down and taking a considerable amount of her time and day just to create a presentation to teach him about memes of all things creates a feeling inside him that he’s never felt before.

In his most vulnerable and loneliest nights, he went through a list of the most domestic and romantic what-ifs with her—already resigned that they would never be his reality—that ranged from the simple to the ridiculous but sitting down on the couch of their apartment learning about memes through a PowerPoint presentation from her was something that never crossed his mind.

But somehow, this is the one that hits him the hardest. This is the one that makes him imagine a life beyond their tiny apartment. A house, a dog, kids’ maybe…all of it. If it’s with Ellie Wheeler, he’s ready to want it all.

“Okay troublemaker,” He finally says, turning back to her with a wide grin. “Or should I call you professor now?”

“Behave,” She admonishes playfully before she scoots closer to him and lays her head on his shoulder. He easily wraps one arm around her waist, his hand settling on her hips as he leans his head on top of hers and waits patiently for her presentation.

Ellie immediately launches into her first slide and Logan listens intently, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing nonsense circles on her skin over her pajamas.

As the minutes pass, it leaves him in awe at how much effort and love has gone into this presentation just for him. There are pictures, gifs, and videos all for him and he’s willing to admit that his feed seems to pale in comparison. She goes through the resilience of SpongeBob memes and the “rickroll”, the diversity of Kermit the frog memes, and the brief and fleeting existence of Vine memes. And she laughs and cringes at the particularly older ones and he laughs and takes note at the particularly funny ones as the late afternoon slowly stretches into evening.

By the end of it, she’s cuddled up next to him, her laptop laying open on top of her books on the coffee table, as they both scroll through a better array of pages for him to follow on Pictagram to broaden and expand his taste of memes. They laugh, talk, and tease each other under the dim lights of their tiny apartment and Logan can’t help but feel the kind of warmth and happiness that settle and seep right down to his bones.

~*~

Brooke bursts out in laughter but quickly clamps her mouth shut to avoid disturbing the other students in the library. “I can’t believe you did that! You gotta give me the file!”

Ellie smiles in triumph, crossing her arms in front of her as she leans back on her chair. “Laugh all you want. If it worked then I’m the real winner here.”

Brooke shakes her head in amusement, looking at Ellie with a teasing look. “If? So you haven’t seen the results yet?”

Ellie opens her mouth, ready to reply, when right on cue her phone pings on the desk next to her books. She picks it up when she sees the flash of his name on the screen and she smiles. Her eyes land on the latest picture he’s sent her, her heart squeezing in an ache so powerful she clutches the phone to her chest as she falls forward on the desk with a helpless groan and a silly smile. Brooke sees her reaction and chuckles before she reaches out her hand.

“Give me, I wanna see too.”

Ellie hands the phone to her and Brooke’s eyes land on the picture and she grimaces.

“Now he’s just being cheesy,” Brooke comments dryly.

“He’s too good,” Ellie laments helplessly, lifting her head off of the table with a huge grin. “I made him too powerful.”

Brooke rolls her eyes as she hands Ellie her phone back. “Can we please just finish this paper today?”

“Fine, fine,” Ellie takes her phone back and quickly types out a message and finds a photo before she hits send. She places the phone back on the desk and goes back to working on her part of the paper with a smile she can’t seem to wipe away even if she tried.

[shadowlandwalker]

Tag!

Tagged by: @catgotyourtongu3 1. do you have a good relationship with your parents?
Yep 2. who did you last say “i love you” to?
My mom I think? 3. do you regret anything?
Lol yeah lots of things 4. are you insecure?
Yeah I think so lol 5. what is your relationship status?
In a relationship 6 .how do you want to die?
Honestly I don't really know. I don't want to go quickly because then no one else has time to say goodbye and I know that can like really hurt people and shit? But then I don't particularly want to die of a long term illness either. I guess as long as it's not Alzheimer's or dementia or some shit like that I'd be ok with whatever lol. 7. what did you last eat?
Waffles 8. played any sports?
lol nope thanks asthma. Badminton recreationally though. 9. do you bite your nails?
If i break it and the edge is all rough sometimes I will just to make it smooth but I don’t obsessively or anything (copying catgotyourtongu3's response because this is exactly me) 10. when was your last physical fight? 
A couple months ago? 11. do you like someone?
Alan <3 12. have you ever stayed up 48 hours?
Nope. The longest I've gone being awake has been 23 hours and 45 minutes. Cuz I took a 15 minute power nap before my 8am Chem exam :D 13. do you hate anyone at the moment?
Eh not really. Just not too happy with a couple people who are making Alan's life difficult, but I wouldn't say I hate them. 14. do you miss someone?
@catgotyourtongu3 even though we just saw each other (I'm so glad you feel the same way tbh :'( ) 15. have any pets?
My beeb <3 (my dog Ellie) and some sleeping butterflies but they're not really pets I guess lol 16. how exactly are you feeling at the moment?
Very unmotivated but that's typical 17. ever made out in the bathroom?
Heck yeah 18. are you scared of spiders?
Big ones, but like those small bathroom spiders that mind their own business are fine and all 19. would you go back in time if given the chance?
Heck yeah. Honestly I probably wouldn't be able to accomplish anything too big, but I'd at least try to prevent my grandpa from dying. 20. last place you made out with someone?
In his (Alan's) bed 21. what are your plans for this weekend?
Working, working, and more working :( but maybe some runescape or something before work at least 22. do you want kids? how many?
Yes definitely one, possibly two. 23. do you have piercings? how many?
Just single earrings 24. what is/are your best subjects?
accounting, math, chemistry, catholic theology I guess? 25. do you miss anyone from your past?
Pretty much all of my grade school friends. I know we're still friends and we see each other every year but I really wish we were closer :( 26. what are you craving rn?
Beer (always), chocolate milk, and harvest moon but I can't motivate myself to play :( 27. have you ever broken someones heart?
lol whoops sorry Miguel 28. have you ever been cheated on?
Hopefully not (at least Alan hasn't lol) 29. have you ever made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry?
Yep and I feel like shit for doing it but oh well 30. whats irritating rn?
My constant state of being unmotivated and my fear of asking for another day off to have a party with my grade school friends. And not being able to see Alan very often. 31. does someone love you?
Yeah lots of people apparently 32. what is your favorite color?
Orange! 33. do you have trust issues?
Yeah definitely. It's a problem, but I've started working on it. 34. who/what was your last dream about?
So I can't really remember my most recent ones but I had one last week where my parents and friends were trying to convince Todd Rundgren that I wasn't too young to date him. He turned me down though and I cried a lot lol 35. who was the last person you cried in front of?
My mom 36. do you give out second chances too easily?
Oh yeah definitely, but oh well. 37. is it easier to forgive or forget?
For me it's definitely easier to forgive. But I'll remember that shit until the day I die probably lol 38. is this year the best year of your life?
Nope definitely not. But so far it's not as bad as last year I'd say. 39. how old were you when you had your first kiss?
Ooo dang well idk how old this blog is because I made it the day I had my first kiss lol. So idk maybe like 16? 40. have you ever walked outside completely naked?
I used to like pee outside when I was little and went swimming, but idk if that counts? (i guess i don't get to know what 41-50 was lol) 51. favorite food? 
Honestly bread and butter because it's amazing and I wish I could solely live off of that. 52. do you believe everything happens for a reason?
I wouldn't say things happen necessarily for a reason, but I can see how almost everything has a good side and a bad side to it. I don't really consider the good side to be the "reason" it happened though. 53. what was the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?
Ate some cashews and watched some naruto episodes to try and catch up lol 54. is cheating ever okay?
Nope 55. are you mean?
Not to most people. But I'm probably mean to my mom and Alan too often. 56. have you ever been in a fist fight?
Kind of? It was more of a wrestle I guess. 57. do you believe in true love?
So I don't really know what the definition of true love is or anything, but I believe it's possible for two people to be completely in love with each other. Like I can see Alan's imperfections, and he can see mine, but somehow we're still like perfect for each other and we both love each other completely. 58. favorite weather?
Warm, but still cool enough that I can wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt or a T shirt and a sweatshirt. Really sunny, with lots of clouds but not a cloudy day. 59. do you like the snow? Yeah, I just don't like the ice on the roads that comes with it. 60. do you wanna get married?
Yes definitely. 61. is it cute when a girl/boy calls you baby?
Kind of? I don't really care for it a lot, but since he doesn't call me that all the time it's kind of cute. 62. what makes you happy? Animals (farm animals in particular), Alan, pigs, spending a lazy day at home with my family, being with my friends, sleepovers, fall festivals, Dan Fogelberg's music, Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel because that never fails to make me happy for some reason, games like stardew valley and harvest moon, beer, Christmas in general. 65. your bff of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?
I start dating him asap and find out he's even more amazing than I could have ever imagined <3 66. do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around?
Alan and that's about it. I have lots of guy friends, but I don't really act completely myself around anyone but like 4 people. 67. who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to?
Alan 68. who is the last person you had a deep conversation with?
@catgotyourtongu3 cuz we're not surface thinkers :P 69. do you believe in soulmates?
I kind of do, but I also believe that people can become soul mates? Idk I feel like that defeats the whole purpose, but sometimes things just happen and people who were perfect for each other break up, but then they still find other people who are perfect for them? I just think it's extremely rare to find someone who is perfect for you. 70. is there anyone you’d die for?
Anyone in my immediate family, Alan, Mackenzie, and probably most of my close friends. Not to sound heroic or anything, but I'd like to think (because I know I could possibly be a chicken shit when the time comes) I would die for anyone as long as I knew my family would be ok without me. I like living, but I know dying is a huge fear for some people so I'd be ok taking their place. I would just be worried about my family being able to make it emotionally and financially. (Oh wow listen to miss selfless over here). Tagging: Anyone who wants to do this! Because I don't really want to tag anyone in this lol

[siribear]

morning breaks bleak and cold across diamond city. alice keeps the flannel shirt - she figures it won’t be missed - and pulls the leather jacket on over it. the spare jeans she stuffs in her bag. few are awake in the morning; the market populated only by merchants readying the shelves for the day or early risers getting in their daily dose of power noodles.

alice heads out to find valentine’s. she turns right, continues further into the alley instead of heading back toward the market. and - there, it isn’t difficult to spot in the morning sun. valentine’s is an indented doorway, set apart by a neon sign, valentine’s detective agency glowing bright. she heads inside.

the agency is a small office, walls lined with filing cabinets. in front of her, a desk and chair; the desk itself decorated with photos and drawings and notes of thanks. in the center of the room stands a woman slowly removing papers from the filing cabinets and piling them on another desk in the back. she doesn’t acknowledge alice’s arrival. even when she steps fully into the building and knocks twice on the wall, the woman only mutters something to herself.

‘is everything okay?’ alice asks, stepping around the desk.

the woman barely lifts her head, but nods slowly. ‘yes, sorry. the - the office is closed.’

‘oh. i can come back later?’ the woman shakes her head and turns back toward the files. ‘wait, please. are you valentine? i need.. help finding a missing person.’

‘no, i’m his assistant, ellie. nick is.. i’m sorry,’ she repeats.

‘please.’ alice puts a hand on her shoulder, ducking her head to meet ellie’s eyes. ‘it’s important.’

‘you’re - right. it’s just that nick is missing. he hasn’t returned in a week.’

‘okay,’ alice says, arms crossed. ‘do you know where he’s gone?’

ellie’s eyes widen, hopeful. ‘yes, there’s a gang that hangs out in park street station. nick was investigating a missing daughter that disappeared with the gang leader, skinny malone.’

park street. that was - she pulls up the map on her pipboy, scrolls over to - there. near the boston common. ‘i guess i’ll be back, then.’

‘wait, you’re going after him?’

‘of course. maybe he’ll waive the fee for my case if i save him, hm?’ she says with a wink.

-

‘sorry, ma’am. we don’t have the people to go after him.’ sam tightens the buckles on his catcher’s padding-turned-armor. he tucks his gun in its holster and picks up a baseball bat.

‘a citizen of diamond city goes missing, you know where he is, and you just... aren’t going to do anything about it?’

‘sorry,’ he repeats, and gestures for her to leave the security office ahead of him.

-

‘told you the diamond city security is useless.’

alice and piper sit on the lone couch in piper’s home, alice with her head in her hands and piper with her legs tucked up under her. on the coffee table next to them are their own bowls of noodles.

‘you told me to come talk to you,’ alice says, lifting her head. ‘did you know about this?’

piper leans back against the arm of the couch. ‘i’m just a reporter, blue. skinny malone, huh? he’s in charge of the triggermen.’ at alice’s blank stare, she clarifies, ‘they’re a bunch of gangsters with submachine guns. and you want to go after them?’

‘what choice do i have?’

piper makes a thoughtful noise. ‘i have a deal for you. i wanted to bring you in for an interview, anyway - an outside look at the commonwealth, the city would love it. so, do this for me and i’ll go with you after valentine.’

‘you’re... serious?’ alice looks to piper’s sister sitting behind her, perched on an end table with a notebook and pencil in her hand.

‘of course i am, blue,’ she says. she tips her cap with her thumb and index finger.

‘uh, blue?’

piper points to the pipboy. ‘yeah, blue. you aren’t wearing the vault suit now, but the pipboy and that fish out of water look? dead giveaways.’

alice frowns. ‘i’m not - from a vault. the one i picked this up from was long dead. skeletal. surprised it still worked. i came from a small town, outside the commonwealth.’

‘oh. well there goes that line of questioning.’ nat jots down a few notes when piper leans back to look at her. ‘still. since it’s your first time in diamond city, what do you think? how does it compare to your town?’

what does she think of diamond city? it’s foreign. utterly different from what she remembers the area looking like. two realities layered on top of each other and nothing fits. but it’s - ‘it’s... different. where i came from, everything was open to the area around it. no walls, no security. so it’s kind of genius, really.’

‘is that all?’

‘i’ve seen the buildings in the area, crumbling and ruined. but this place, it’s the opposite. it’s flourishing despite the dangers around it. it gives me hope that maybe - maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem.’

in the background, nat scribbles furiously at her notebook. piper smiles, almost proud. ‘that’s actually kind of inspiring. living here every day, you don’t get that kind of.. perspective.’ alice shrugs. ‘next question: why are you going after valentine? what did you come to diamond city for?’

at that, alice freezes. maybe it was a mistake, doing the interview. admitting it - still makes it too real. ‘i’m - i’m looking for someone.’

‘who?’

alice blinks once, then lets the question settle. ‘a family member,’ she says evasively. ‘they... went missing, a few weeks ago.’

‘there,’ piper says with a muted clap of her hands. thankfully, she doesn’t pry. ‘if they went missing, do you think the institute is behind it?’

‘the institute?’ she remembers danse mentioning them - the synths, the technology, the apparent perversion of technology. ‘i honestly don’t know.’

‘yeah, no one does. damn, though. doesn’t look too good if their reach extends even beyond the commonwealth. okay, last thing. but i want to try something a little different.’ this time, piper stands. alice instinctively mimics her. ‘what would you say to someone who’s had a loved one go missing, but is too scared to look for them?’

‘don’t give up,’ it comes easily. ‘no matter what, you can’t give up hope that you’ll see them again.’

piper grins. ‘we’re definitely quoting that. nat, you get everything?’ nat, to her credit, never stops writing even as she flashes her sister a quick thumbs up. ‘great! we made a deal, then, didn’t we?’ she holds out a hand. ‘piper wright.’

alice takes it and finds herself smiling. ‘alice.’

-

from diamond city they head east, piper following a short distance behind alice. the inner city looks more like a war zone, with spiked barricades and toppled buildings making the streets near impossible to traverse. more than once, piper has to redirect alice’s path. the streets she once knew simply no longer exist.

‘blue, you’re leading us right to the commons,’ she says. there’s an edge to her voice. ‘no one comes back from there.

alice makes a show of checking per pipboy. ‘it’s the quickest way to park street station.’ piper only groans. ‘come on. it’s probably just a bunch of ghost stories.’

-

it isn’t just a bunch of ghost stories. the closer they get to boston common, the more warning signs they see. sometimes, literal warning signs. piper points out the third building tagged with graffiti: stay away. at the sound of a low growl, alice ducks into a crouch, piper following suit.

‘ghost stories,’ piper whispers harshly.

alice edges around an abandoned army vehicle. she peeks her head out and sees - nothing. not a single person. she turns to piper, brings a single finger to her lips, and gestures for her to follow. they slowly creep around the fenced park, and through the bars she can see the old pond and a single swan boat.

it moves.

they stop. the boat moves again with another growl and a series of bubbles on the other side of the pond. and again. and - alice exhales quietly, indicating for piper to move. the station is on the other side of the park, just beyond the pond. they quietly make their way toward it, and whatever lurks beneath the pond snores on.

they break into a run at the stairs leading down into the station, taking them two at a time. at the door, they take the moment to breathe.

‘what do you think - ?’

‘no.’ alice shakes her head. ‘no, absolutely not. i’m not going to think about it.’ she doesn’t want to think about what could be under that water. what could be so terrible that the entire area is a ghost town.

‘they call it swan’s pond,’ piper continues. 'jesus. i think swan is - ’

‘piper.’

‘okay. sorry. uh, my legs feel kinda numb. is that normal?’

alice takes a seat next to her when piper all but collapses to the ground. ‘yeah. kind of normal. do you do this often?’

‘what, hang around giant monsters? no. i deal with enough just publishing the paper. don’t... usually go chasing down danger.’

what a pair they make. ‘we’ll be alright.’ alice stands, draws her pistol. ‘you good?’

‘think so.’ piper stands with alice’s help. ‘yeah. i’m ready to go, blue.’

‘you’re not letting that nickname go, are you?’

‘fine, alice.’ she wraps her hand around the door handle. ‘let’s get this party started.’

-

the party consists of a handful of triggermen sitting in the dust covered reception of the subway. they sit on crates emblazoned with vault-tec logos, talking amongst themselves. alice catches handfuls of conversation. something about joining the gang, more caps than they could have imagined, skinny malone’s girl and her short temper.

and nick valentine, held deeper in the vault. vault.

alice signals to piper and slowly brings herself to look over the stack of crates they’ve hidden behind. one of the triggermen spots her and manages to point before getting shot in the face. she crouches back down.

‘got their attention?’

rapid fire gunshots ping off the crates. ‘maybe.’

piper shoots one that tries to circle around them with a baseball bat. he falls to his knees, one covered in blood, before his head bursts open from another shot. alice shrugs it off, ignoring the bit of bone that falls out of her hair, and continues shooting at the others.

two more go down by her count and piper’s exclamations of yes! they’re almost through until three more triggermen run into the room.

‘any ideas?’ piper yells over the gunfire peppering their hiding spot.

alice digs in her pack while piper covers them. ‘just the one,’ she says, pulling out a grenade. she pushes piper down by the shoulder as she pulls the pin and lobs the grenade across the room.

the world explodes. lights flicker overhead. her ears won’t stop ringing, but it’s the only sound she hears. which means - alice shakily draws herself upward, one hand on the edge of a crate. reception is a mess of scattered plaster, blood, and gore.

‘wow,’ piper says, surveying the damage. ‘nice, i guess. good timing, too. i’m out of ammo.’ alice ducks back down to rifle through her things, producing three more packs of ammo. ‘hey, thanks. what about you?’

she unslings Righteous Authority, smiling faintly. ‘i’ve got a spare.’