#i almost hit the curb parking (did hit it backing out making an old lady wait for me to get it together) and also at one point i had to turn

[californiaquail]

ok i did the driving today but now i have so much anxiety about the things that have already happened that i can't sleep. who wants to try their hand at lobotomizing

[vintagedolan]

Post fix concept #1- how did gray propose???!

this makes me so 🥺

Indiana barely had time to let out the breath she had been holding before Grayson’s lips were on hers. He pulled her to him by her hip, grateful that there wasn’t a barrier between their seats.

“I’m so fucking proud of you.”

Indy smiled, her adrenaline still pumping enough to make her fingers shake as she ran them over his scruff. She rested her forehead against his for a moment, catching her breath as the flight attendant came over the intercom.

“G’day, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sydney Australia Airport. Local time is 9:04 am and the temperature is a lovely 29 degrees. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the fasten seatbelt sign.”

“29, what is that, like 85 fahrenheit?” Indy asked, eyes moving to the windows that were opening on the opposite side of the aisle. They revealed a new place, a new world. It felt different somehow. Calm, and welcoming as she looked out over warm tones of brown and the far off ocean.

Grayson looked up the aisle, spotting his brother and Eden in first class, peaking their heads out to look back and check on Indy, no doubt. He threw them a quick thumbs up while Indy wasn’t looking. There had been a few moments on the flight he’d missed his usual first class ticket across the pond. But he knew with the wall between the seats, he’d have more trouble getting to Indy if she needed him. So, they went one step down, to the reclining wide seats next to each other in economy plus, big enough for Indy to climb over into his seat and sleep throughout the 15 hour flight if she needed him. Most people were there so long they forgot they were even in the air.

Indy didn’t. She slept more than she expected to though, only lulled off by Grayson’s gentle snores in her ear as he held her tight. Her body was confused, but it wasn’t anything worse than a hard 12 hour shift at the hospital. Still, her adrenaline from landing made her legs wobble when she stood in the aisle, hard enough for Grayson to stabilize her hips from behind her.

“You good?”

“Yeah, just ready to finally be off a plane,” she chuckled, reaching back to squeeze his fingers as they squeezed her waist. The group walked slowly through the line of people, made it through the airport, got their bags and made it out relatively quickly, and fresh air never smelled sweeter than on the curb before they climbed into their uber. 

It didn’t hit Indy until they were there, scrunched up in the back with her between both the twins and Eden in the passenger seat.

“I did it. I actually fucking did it,” she said to herself. She turned to Grayson with a smile. “We’re here. I’m in fucking Australia!” Despite herself, she started to tear up a bit. Somewhere, tucked away, was ten year old Indy, leaping for joy at the fact that she’d accomplished something she never thought she’d be able to do.

“Hell yeah we are!” Ethan cheered, wrapping an arm around Indy’s shoulder and shaking her just barely. “Proud of you sis.”

Indy blinked back her tears and leaned against Grayson, closing her eyes as they made their way to their home for the next week and a half. 

Grayson held her head against his shoulder for every bump and turn they encountered, turning his head to kiss her hair. 

His mind? Well, other than keeping his girl comfortable, it was wandering to his bag in the back. Specifically, to a small wooden box that was wrapped up in one of his speedos for safe keeping. 

A box that Grayson was paranoid that Indy would find every minute that he didn’t have his eyes on her. He’d been so excited to show her his favorite place, and even more excited to have his girlfriend all to himself in a king size bed that he hadn’t bothered to find a better hiding spot for it.

It worked out - there wasn’t a minute that he didn’t want to spend with her anyways. They packed their days with everything adventurous they could think of - snorkeling, beach days, exploring the outback. They went ziplining, and held koalas and pet kangaroos and learned about Australian history and culture. 

Every night, they found themselves showering off the day together and crawling into bed with just enough energy left to get lost in the rhythm of Grayson’s hips and the sound of their lips on each other’s skin. 

Except for the night of September 23rd. That night, Grayson put on his nicest shorts with pockets and slid the ring box into them with shaky hands before he went down the hall to find his brother. 

Ethan perked up, confused for a moment before he smiled. 

“Today’s the day huh?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

“You know so. You sure you don’t want me to take pictures or anything?”

“Nah, just want it to be us. I’m fucking scared bro.”

“That just means you love her. “ Ethan stood up and pulled his twin in by the shoulder, giving him a tight hug. “You got this man. Can’t wait to see you all when you get back.”

Grayson nodded and tried to settle his breathing down. 

It picked right back up when he walked into the room and saw Indy in front of the mirror. She was in a sundress - a short dusty blue number that kissed the tops of her thighs, resting delicately on the curve of her ass while she leaned closer to the mirror to put on her mascara. 

She smiled when she saw him, finishing quickly and turning around.

“Hi baby. I’m almost ready, just gotta pick out a lipstick.”

“Lipstick makes you sticky when I kiss you,” he pouted, making her roll her eyes playfully at him. 

“Fine. Just for you.” She kissed him softly as if to prove her point, humming when he pulled her in by the hips. She melted against him for a moment, getting lost in his like she always did before her mind wandered back to her. 

“We’re gonna be late to our reservations.”

“I made them for later. Wanted to show you something first.”

Indy was never one for surprises growing up, but the nervous excitement was welcomed now. She knew she could trust him, wholly, with anything. So she slid her shoes on took his hand and let him lead her to the car. 

She bit her tongue when she wanted to ask where they were going, what they were doing. But it didn’t stop the worry when she pressed her fingers into Grayson’s wrist in the car, pausing the hearts she was tracing.

“Your pulse is 104. Are you good?”

“Okay human apple watch,” he laughed, pulling his arm away from her dramatically for a moment before giving it right back. “I’m fine baby. Maybe you just make my heart race.”

Indy snorted. “You wanna pull over for me to throw up or should I just do it out the window as we’re going.”

She kissed the back of his hand as they laughed. 

Grayson on the other hand was 99% sure he was the one who would puke when he put the rental car in park. 

Indy cocked her head to the side for a moment. Then she craned her neck up, trying to see over the embankment. 

“Is the restaurant down there somewhere.”

In a moment of panic, Grayson raced to put his hand over her eyes, hitting her nose in the process.

“Okay ow?” Indy muttered.

“Fuck, sorry, sorry baby.” He leaned over and pressed a fleeting kiss to her temple. “Just close your eyes, I want it to be a surprise. Don’t open them until I say.”

“You coulda just said that,” Indy grumbled as Grayson got out of the car and went to her side. He pulled her door open, heart pounding so loud he was sure she could hear it when he leaned over to unbuckle her seatbelt. 

“Okay, come out here.”

He guided her out of the car to stand up, putting his hands on her shoulders. He looked at her shoes - dainty sandals - and then at the thick sand they would have to get through to get to where he wanted on the beach. On the horizon, the sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of purple and pink. Avalon was the most beautiful beach he’d ever been to, and he knew it would only be even more special after that night.

“Get on my back.”

“Huh?”

“Just jump on my back,” he said, turning around and putting her hands on his shoulders.

“My ass will be fully out in this dress if I do that,” she countered.

“I’ll cover it with my hands or something, just jump.”

“So demanding,” she teased, but she jumped anyways. He smoothed the fabric down over her butt and held her up as he moved through the sand to the lookout he had in mind.

She rested her chin on his shoulder as he walked, eyes still squeezed shut.

“I hear the ocean,” she hummed, already content. 

When he got to where he wanted, with the perfect view of the beach, he closed his eyes for a moment and sent a prayer up to all his angels that he would find the right words to say. 

He sat her down gently on her feet and moved behind her, pulling the box out of his pocket. Slowly, he knelt down, watching her dress blow in the wind. 

“Okay, open.”

Indy opened her eyes. The sun burned for a moment, and then she took it all in. The water was a painting of bright hues, reflected back off the sunset that tinted the clouds. The beach was pristine, fine white sand laying perfectly for as far as she could see in either direction.

“Oh wow. This place is perfect.”

And then she turned around. 

The ring caught the fading light, sparkling in it’s little box lined with velvet. His smile was brighter. And nervous, more nervous than she’d seen it in so long. She watched him swallow as he looked up at her.

“Oh my god.” She covered her mouth, her legs feeling like jello beneath her. 

“Indiana-”

He forgot his entire speech in the moment, and it didn’t matter. 

“I love you. I knew I wanted you to be a part of my life from the first day that I met you. And then I fell in love with you, and I knew I was going to love you for the rest of my life, no matter what. I want everything, all of it. The wedding and the honeymoon and the kids and the good days and the hard days and the days when we’re old and gross but we still have each other. I want forever with you, and for me, marriage is the promise for that. And you have me, forever, no matter what. So... Indiana Jamie Cross... will you marry me?”

“Yes. A million times yes.”

She couldn’t kiss him fast enough. She crouched, cupping his face in both her hands as he stood up, desperate to have him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, spinning her around and sending sand flying that neither of them noticed as they laughed with tearful eyes. 

indy was dizzy when he sat her down, hands shaking as he held up the box again. The ring was beautiful and delicate, with thin gold all the way around the stone.

“I got it custom. And I had them round out the top and bottom edges just a little bit so it doesn’t get caught on your gloves at work,” he explained. 

“I love you so much. Forever,” she whispered, kissing him again just because she could. He breathed her in, squeezing her again before he pulled back and reached for her left hand, sliding the ring on, letting out a relieved sigh when it fit. 

“Oh my god that really just happened,” Indy whispered, and all they could do was laugh and hold each other as it sank in. 

Gray kissed her hair. “No going back now, you already said yes.”

She smacked his shoulder playfully, admiring the way the ring caught the light when she did. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, nuzzling into her hair as the swayed back and forth, soaking in the moment.

“Also, sad news. I totally lied about the reservation, and Ethan’s contribution is cooking dinner tonight. So we might be celebrating our engagement with food poisoning.” 

Indy laughed into his shirt. “Well hey, at least if we’re puking our guts out later we’re doing it as fiancees.” The word felt foreign but somehow electrifying coming off her tongue. 

“Fuck yeah we are. You ready to go home, or do you wanna stay another minute.”

“Just a few more minutes. I wanna remember this forever.”

Gray smiled his brightest smile and kissed her slow and warm before wrapping her up again, closing his eyes as they held each other again.

Against his back, through his shirt, he felt her finger move. 

H-U-S-B-A-N-D

bonus: this is the ring :’)

[theboywithtoomanynames]

Xhristopher Green:

It's 6:04pm. The summer sun is shimmering in the sky, slowly starting to descend below the trees and houses. There's a couple of kids on bikes and skateboards riding past us, shouting and laughing. I wish I still had my board, life would be so much more fun - and efficient.

Hope and I are walking down to church for worship practise. I told her I'm not going to play, just watch. She seemed happy with that, so here we are. Almost there, walking along the path through the middle of the park. As we walk I glance to the left, maybe for a bit too long. "This is where you first saw her, isn't it?" Hope asks, watching me. "Yeah." I say. "It was the first time I really took notice of her." Hope smiles and nods. For some reason I keep going. "She waved at me from over there" I say, pointing at a tree to our left. "I remember thinking she was pretty, and I waved back. Didn't realise her friend was stood behind me, also waving." "Ouch," she laughs. I smile at the memory, and watch the speedy kids disappear around a far away corner. "Have you spoken to her lately?" "Actually, yeah. We bumped into each other at-" "Hope!" calls a woman's voice from behind us. It's Jenny, one of the vocalists from church. A very sweet lady, always chatty and passionate about conversation and connection. A people's person.

"Jenny!" exclaims Hope, turning to see her old friend. "How are you doing my love?" asks Jenny, quickly catching up to the two of us. "I'm doing very well, super well!  I haven't seen you for awhile, it feels like it's been years. Have you met Xhristopher?" "Yes I have," replies Jenny. "We had a lovely chat last Sunday after church. A lovely young man, even if his name is a little odd." I just stand there and smile, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. It's getting a bit chilly out, and the warmth of the church is only a few steps away. Soon we continue walking, and I hold the door for the other two as they carry on chatting away. Closing it behind me, I follow them to the hall, where waves of sound hit me very suddenly. The bass guitar and kick drum thunder through my chest, and when I look to the stage I'm surprised. It kind of looks like the drummer and bassist are the only two onstage that are actually worshipping. The rest just look tired. Hope doubles back to check on me before going up onstage to practise. "I'm ok," I assure her. "Go." I find a seat just off to the left, near the middle of the hall, and settle in to listen. I watch Hope set up the keyboard next to the worship leader, who's stood straight as a pole with a pale acoustic guitar. There's an electric guitarist riffing away, enjoying his distortion pedals. For roughly 2 hours the band goes through 4 or 5 songs, jumping between keys, tempos and arrangements. The worship leader keeps trying to get the bassist to calm down, which isn't working. Funny to watch though. The drummer isn't bad, neither is the guitarist. I figure I'm probably better than both of them, but I couldn't do this. Worshipping with an instrument, paying attention to the Holy Spirit and watching the leader at all times, it's completely different to other kinds of live music. When it's all over Hope packs down her instrument, and we get going. It's too cold to walk, so we start jogging home. She moans that her breath keeps fogging up her glasses, I don't even have the breath to moan. Not as fit as I used to be. We stumble up the curb, through the gate, and bounce up and down as Hope tries her best to unlock the door quickly. When she does we dash inside and turn on the heater in the lounge room. Shoes off, the kettle and a few more layers on! After making some tea we sit on the couch with furry blankets and stick on a series. I see Hope look at me over her mug, thinking about something. "What were we talking about before, in the park?" she asks. "You asked if I'd spoken to her." "Oh, yeah. And?" "I did. Her name's William, she's 18." "That's an interesting name, I wonder why her parents called her that?" "Dunno. Probably has a fun nickname because of it though." "Probably."

[youllneverknowrac]

Oscar Diaz-Protect

For my bitch @spookysmujer, hope you like it girly! And y’all go check out her stuff!

Warnings: A fucking sleazy guy 🥴

~

“What do you say you come back to my place for some fun?” Some random guy asks as you walk out of the corner store that was down the street from your boyfriend Oscar’s house. You were actually heading that way after deciding to walk so you could pick up some snacks to munch on during the movie marathon he had planned for you guys.

“Fucking pig.” You mumble as you ignore him, taking a few more steps before you hear his deep voice once again.

“Are you a stuck up bitch that can’t answer a question or what?” He asks in a teasing manner as he walks closer.

“Oh no, see that’s what you’re not about to do.” You snap as you turn around to glare at the man,”Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Woah, woah, woah chill out baby.” He chuckles,”I’m just trying to get to know you, that’s all.” He says his fingers coming up to your face as he try’s to push some hair behind your ear.

“Don’t touch me!” You cringe in disgust as you swat his hand away,”Just go back to your car.” You say with a wave of your hand in that direction,”You don’t want the problems that come with me.”

“Am I suppose to be scared of you?” He chuckles,”Besides I wasn’t doing anything wrong, there is no harm in trying to make new friends.”

“Nah you’re doing more than that.” You say as a knowing smirk forms on your face,”You ain’t from around here huh?” You ask with a chuckle as you glance around,”Cause if you were, you wouldn’t even be looking in my direction. Especially not on this street.”

“What? Your daddy own this neighborhood or something?” He asks with a scoff,”Last I checked this was America baby, I can say what I please.”

“You could say my daddy owns this block.” You smile sweetly at him,”Which is why I’m going to let you walk away. I would hate for him to have to take time out of his day to beat the shit out of some sleazy dumb fuck.” You say as you spin around in the opposite direction, the guy biting his lower lip and nodding before heading to his car with sick intentions.

“What a asshole.” You shudder as you walk at a hurried pace along the sidewalk. Oscar’s house in sight a minute later just as a familiar beat up blue mustang pulls to a stop in front of you and sends a few trash cans flying.

“Ahhhh!” You exclaim as you jump back in fear,”What the fuck?!” You shout as you see the familiar guy step out.

“You know, I don’t like the way our conversation ended back there.” He says as he begins to walk around the car, causing you to step backwards and into the street,”I think I oughta show you manners baby. Maybe you wouldn’t be able to bitch if you had something to occupy that pretty little mouth of yours.” He smirks, his hand grabbing at his bulge.

“Come any closer and I’ll scream.” You warn, taking one more step before you trip and fall on your backside. A moan of pain escaping your lips as you sit up in discomfort, your snacks now thrown about.

“See what happens when you don’t do what I say? You get hurt.” He chuckles just as he reaches you, your about to scream when you hear a all too familiar voice behind you.

“Aye what’s going on out here?!” Sad Eyes shouts as he jogs down his driveway in nothing but his sweats with a gun in hand,”Y/N?” He asks, your best friend running out after him in one of his too long t-shirts.

“Y/N, oh my god are you okay?” She ask as she comes to a stop and kneels down next to you,”Your hands are all cut up.” She says as she puts her arms under yours and lifts you up quickly, Sad Eyes stepping around the two of you with his gun now pointed at the man.

“You know this foo?” He asks

“She’s my friend.” He answers the same time as you do, fear now clear in his eyes as he takes notice of a few neighbors coming outside to see the commotion. Most of them being armed and tattooed with the famous Santo cross.

“No! He fucking followed me from the store.” You say as you wipe your hands clean, the sting causing your eyes to water,”He wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“You messing with my homies girl?” He asks rhetorically as he cocks the gun,”Ima need you to take a seat on the curb. I’m sure he’s going to want to have a chat with you.”

“Look man, I’m gonna just go alright?” He says as he holds his hands up,”I don’t want any trouble. That wasn’t my intention.”

“He’s a liar! He was messing with me in the parking lot, I tried to warn him about what would happened and he didn’t care.” You say as angry tears slip from your eyes,”You should have just left me alone.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. Really, I am.” He says, his head snapping in the direction of Oscar’s commanding whistle as he walks down the street.

“What the fuck is happening on my block?” He booms as he takes in the scene in front of him, his pace quickening as he takes notice of you,”Dime qué está pasando.” He barks out loud to nobody in particular as he reaches you and takes you from Carla,”Calm down bebe, I’m here.” He soothes as he looks over you, his jaw clenching when he takes notice of your injury.

“Seems like this guy was messing with your hyna Spooky. Followed her from the store and shit.” Sad Eyes explains as he puts his gun down and steps to the side,”Made her fall and cut her hands up too.”

“No!” The man interjects,”It wasn’t like that.”

“You fucking with my girl?” Oscar questions as he slowly walks towards him after letting Carla take over you again,”And then you made her bleed?” He adds as he pulls off his chain and tucks it in his pocket.

“I would never mess with your girl man. Come on, we don’t have to make this into a big thing.” He says shakily as Oscar now tugs off his white t-shirt and hands it off to his right hand man.

“Nah it’s too late for that.” Oscar shrugs before he posts up,”It’s square business now, we gonna have to catch a round.”

“I don’t want to fight you. We don’t have to do all that.” He cries, one of the other Santo members coming up behind him and shoving him forward.

“It’s either we fight or my compa here puts a bullet between your eyes. Your choice.” He informs as he holds his stance, the guy looks around before weakly holding his hands up. Oscar taking that action as a final decision and quickly throwing a powerful right hook to his jaw. He falls to the ground, Oscar leaning down and delivering blow after blow to the guys head,”Don’t fuck...with my...girl!” He grunts as his knuckles get covered with blood, the curb sprayed with it as well.

“Oscar! Enough!” You shout out when no one else intervenes, the guy having been knocked out after the first few punches. He looks over at you before using his forearm to wipe his mouth as he nods towards the other side of the street.

“Look over there.” He orders quietly, you take in a shaky breathe before doing as asked and turning around with Carla. The sound of more blows being delivered reach your ears before a final and different kind of hit sounds off.

“Okay, enough...chill out Spooky.” Sad Eyes finally jumps in as he wraps his arms around his best friend and forcibly walks him over to you,”Take her home, I’ll handle this mess.” He reassures Oscar as he hands off his gun to Carla,”Go put that up and stay inside.” He instructs her as you take a peek at the man, his face almost unrecognizable. You look down and cringe when you take notice of your boyfriends once crisp white air forces, no doubt that the last hit you heard was a kick to the guys face.

“I’m sorry.” The man croaks out as you feel yourself being pulled away by Oscar, you let him lead you down the road and into the house after he kicks off his shoes on the porch.

“You okay nena?” He asks as he gently pushes you down on to the toilet to sit after you enter the dim lit bathroom,”He didn’t actually touch you, did he?”

“I’m okay...he’s so stupid, I tried to tell him to leave me alone because I didn’t want you to have to do that.” You say as you watch him wash his hands,”I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t apologize.” He says with a shake of his head,”He got what he deserved and that’s that. Next time he’ll think twice before approaching any girl, maldito tonto.” He grumbles as he drys his hands before taking yours in his and kneeling down in front of you,”Just a few scrapes.” He informs before flipping them over and placing soft kisses to the back of them,”I love you.” He mumbles against them, his nerves calming down as he closes his eyes.

“I love you.” You smile before wrapping your arms around him,”Thank you for being there, like you always are.”

“You know Ima always be there ma, ain’t no one ever gonna hurt you, or even disrespect you as long as I’m around.” He informs you, the two of you standing up so you could properly hug him,”You go set that movie up, I’m gonna step out real quick and see what’s up.”

“Okay.” You reply as you stand on your tip toes,”Just hurry up, I don’t want to be alone.” You admit before pecking his lips.

“I will.” He sighs, giving you another quick kiss before untangling his body from yours,”Go to my room, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He urges, he did have to make sure the mess that happened was cleaned up properly after all. You wait until he’s back outside before lazily walking to his bedroom and setting up a movie like he asked, a comedy for sure after everything that just went down. You look out the window after a few minutes go by, the little old lady that lives across the street cleaning off the road with a bucket of soapy water after giving Oscar a reassuring squeeze on the arm. The blue mustang now driving down the street, the window tint to dark to see who was inside. You watch as the neighbors join together to clean up the mess, being pulled from your thoughts as a pair of arms embrace you from behind.

“Don’t worry about that.” He mutters as he turns you around to face him,”He’ll be fine, I know you’re worried about that. He had his Id on him, Jokers gonna go toss him out on his lawn. Think he’s gonna keep the car too.” Oscar says with a dry chuckle.

“Lets just forget about it.” You sigh as you step around him to lay on the bed,”Can you come lay down now?” You ask, Oscar smiling as he slides in next to you before grabbing the remote and pressing play. Your mind now at ease in the comfort of his arms, his lips pressed to the top of head as he mumbles about how he’d always be there to protect you. A promise he’d keep forever.

[isitmadness]

A Chance to Try

summary: Cody and Obi-Wan meet again after being separated for months and realize how much they missed each other.

characters/relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Commander Cody, Codywan

words: 4.9k

tags: AU - modern setting, angst with a happy ending, idiots in love, sad mutual pining, me: write some pure angst!, also me: BUT WHAT IF WE FINISH WITH FLUFF

a/n: This is a follow-up to Out of Chances to Give. I’m not sure it makes a whole lot of sense on its own, but I couldn’t leave those boys sad...Anyway, let me know what you think! (Comments and/or reblogs mean so much if you enjoyed it!)

Read it on a03

It had been eight months since Obi-Wan had left.

Eight months of freedom and quiet and nights spent not worrying if Obi-Wan would make it home on time, or at all. No messes left behind from his little half-finished projects, no dirty teacups left all over the house in nooks and crannies he’d never look in, no dirty clothes left right inside the bathroom door to trip over, no fighting, no--

No little projects cooked up as a way to make Cody’s life easier, no tea shared in the early mornings or late nights just because Obi-Wan said it helped to calm his nerves, no sweaters left hanging over the back of the chair for Cody to put on and snuggle into when he missed Obi-Wan the most.

He should have been happy there was no fighting, but he found it really only made him sad.

He missed Obi-Wan...desperately and it sat in his chest like a dull ache on most days.

----

It didn’t at first.

At first there was a new-found sense of freedom. He and Obi-Wan had been together a little over three years—he hadn’t thought of anyone else for even longer than that. He had worked with Obi-Wan for years before he ever made his move—there really had only ever been Obi-Wan for a long time. But now there was no Obi-Wan and he was re-learning how to meet people and mingle and socialize in ways he hadn’t in a long time.

And so he tried a couple of new relationships, which started well then--

The eyes weren’t bright enough, they weren’t the right shade of blue, the corners didn’t crinkle when they laughed, the hair wasn’t the right ginger shade (or at all). They weren’t funny or sassy enough, their eyebrows didn’t arch after telling the horrible punchlines waiting for Cody’s reaction. They didn’t hum or sing. They didn’t gently card their fingers through his hair while he rested his ear against their chest.

He found himself looking for Obi-Wan everywhere but never found him.

In eight months he had talked to him twice. Once to tell him he had left behind some things, then again when they met up to pass them off. Obi-Wan didn’t look too different then—he still looked tired with dark circles around his eyes and Cody wondered if he got to sleep at all or if he just stayed at work all the time now. But that had been seven months ago. All Cody could hope was that he didn’t let it consume him.

He thought of Obi-Wan often and wondered if he’d ever get to a point where he wouldn't.

----

Cody walked into the bright new cafe that early spring morning feeling a sense of renewal after the long, bleak winter. He was meeting a client for coffee in a part of town he didn’t frequent often, but he knew Obi-Wan’s brother and his family lived fairly nearby, and a tiny part of him wondered if he could run into them (he hoped he wouldn’t).

He stood in the back of the line, flipping through the different apps on his phone as the line slowly inched forward. The shop was busy and loud. He looked up and around hoping he hadn’t missed his contact yet, but he hadn’t seemed to. The line shuffled on, with names and orders being shouted for pick-up while music blared overhead. Cody finally looked up to watch the bustle of customers and workers as they made all the orders. Then suddenly, behind the counter, just barely showing above the top of the espresso machine, he saw the right shade of sandy-ginger hair. His heart sped up.

The man never looked up, presumably too busy making drinks, but Cody couldn’t take his eyes off of the top of his head. There was no way it was Obi-Wan. He was being ridiculous. Why would Obi-Wan be here working?

The line continued forward and Cody was next. He tried to crane his neck to get a look around behind the counter, but he was unsuccessful. Finally it was his turn.

“Yes, what can I get you?” The young lady behind the counter smiled even though Cody was basically ignoring her. Once he realized he was holding up the line, he looked at her.

“Oh, uh, coffee with room for cream and uh...a blueberry muffin, I guess.”

The lady pulled a cup and marker from behind the counter, “And name?”

“Oh, Cody.” His eyes snapped back to the man, their eyes finally met, and they both just stood there staring at each other.

It was Obi-Wan. And yet...it was almost not him.

His eyes were bright and warm, just like Cody had remembered them, and also that right shade of stormy blue. But the dark circles were nowhere near as pronounced. His hair was the same shade as before, but it was much longer than he had ever seen it. The bulk of it was pulled behind his head in a short ponytail, but a few pieces hung below his jaw, tucked behind his ears. And his beard was gone. He looked like a younger twin brother of his Obi-Wan.

He isn’t yours though, is he? A tiny voice in his head told him. You kicked him to the curb when he wasn’t always around to give you what you wanted.

Cody shook his head. The lady had said something to him, but he didn’t hear. “I’m sorry, what?” He turned to her then looked back and Obi-Wan was gone. She gave him his total again and he dug the money out of his pocket to pay.

When he finished, he walked to the end of the counter where the orders were placed and waited. He kept looking for Obi-Wan, but he never saw him again.

----

The cafe on the other side of town was never anywhere near where Cody needed to be, but he found himself there a couple times a week hoping against hope that he would run into Obi-Wan again. He couldn’t ask for his schedule, that would be creepy, and they probably wouldn’t give it to him anyway… he already felt a bit ‘stalkery’ coming by so often, but he HAD to see Obi-Wan. He HAD to talk to him—even for just a minute.

Today there was no sign of him again, so he grabbed his coffee and left. As soon as he hit the pavement at the front of the shop, he heard a voice call to his right. “What are you doing?” He whipped around quickly, heart pounding in his chest. He would know that lilt anywhere.

Obi-Wan was leaning against the wall, right leg bent with his foot pressed against the brick building, and he was smoking. He thought Obi-Wan gave up smoking years ago. He just stared as he took a long drag then blew out the smoke. He pushed himself off the side of the building and turned to face Cody.

Obi-Wan was always lean, not too thin, but healthy. He appeared to have put a few pounds on, in addition to some muscle and Cody thought it suited him well. His hair was down this time and it fell almost to his shoulders, flipping at the ends. Cody found his fingers twitchy, wanting to run them through it. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and his apron appeared to be slung over his left shoulder.

“Obi-Wan?” It was all Cody could think to say. Of course it was him.

Obi-Wan stretched his arms out to the side then dropped them back down, “In the flesh.” He took two steps closer to Cody, but he was still out of arm’s reach. There was a hardness in Obi-Wan’s expression that Cody figured was directed at him. “You’ve discovered my great secret it seems.” He took another long drag from the cigarette—it was...distracting.

Cody blinked, “Your...your great secret?”

Obi-Wan took another step forward. “Found where I worked.”

Cody looked between the coffee shop and Obi-Wan. He knew he worked here, he’d seen it with his own eyes, but he had convinced himself that it was a one-off thing, that maybe Obi-Wan was volunteering to help, as a friend, or something...none of it make sense, but Obi-Wan working here didn’t make sense either. “You work here? Since when?”

Obi-Wan scrubbed a hand down his face, “I’m not sure why it matters, it’s just a job to make ends meet, to pay bills...but four months.”

Had Obi-Wan fallen on hard times? Did he lose his job? He didn’t think anything less of Obi-Wan, he just wanted to know why he was here and not in his old financial job. He had a million questions to ask and he was in danger of asking them all right this second. “Are you okay?”

Obi-Wan gave a short laugh. It sounded incredulous, even derisive. “I didn’t expect such pleasantries. I am well, I hope you and your family are, too.” As he started back towards the door, he threw his cigarette down and put it out with the toe of his boot, but Cody caught him by the arm. Obi-Wan looked down at where their skin met then back up at Cody who dropped it quickly.

“I need to talk to you,” Cody blurted out before he chickened out.

“Well, I have to go back to work, my break is over.”

Cody shook his head, “No, not here, not now. Later?”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “Text me time and place details—that is, if you kept my number.” Then he walked back inside leaving a very confused Cody standing on the sidewalk.

----

Obi-Wan sat on the park bench, waiting. He wasn’t going to be late—not this time. He looked at the message in his phone again. He assumed that Cody had deleted his number long ago, wiping him out completely. He wasn’t sure how to feel now knowing that he still had it. But more than that, he didn’t expect he’d want to talk to him either. They hadn’t talked to each other in months, and it didn’t end exactly the greatest last time. Obi-Wan had made a fool of himself, groveling, and he wasn’t going to be doing that again.

But that ache in his chest was back. And had been since he saw him standing in line in the cafe that morning.

Over the months, he had managed to tamp it down, make it more of a dull ache instead, but it was very clear now that he had never gotten over Cody. He probably never would. He didn’t even want to hope that they could maybe be friends now. Hope was dangerous.

But he missed Cody, so he hoped anyway.

His leg was shaking out of nervousness as he looked around the city park looking for warm brown skin and short dark hair. He looked back at his watch—it seemed Cody was the late one now.

He had been turning over in his mind all the things he wanted to say, but couldn’t decide on any of them. They sounded too weak, too little, feeble attempts at making up for all the hurt he caused. He couldn’t undo any of it, so there was no point in even trying. He had stayed out of Cody’s life, just like he had asked. Then Cody had to come along and re-insert himself into his.

“Hello.” Obi-Wan turned his head and found Cody standing at the other end of the bench. He looked unsure, and a little tired himself. But still just as handsome as he always was. His hair was shorter than it had been—it seemed he had attempted to cut all the curl out of it, but Obi-Wan could tell that even short, it started to wave.

“Hello,” Obi-Wan finally replied and gestured for Cody to be seated. They sat two feet apart on the park bench, facing forward. Obi-Wan almost chuckled to himself imagining how stiff and ridiculous they looked. He turned to Cody again.

“Well--”

“I just--”

Of course they would start at the same time. “Please, you first,” Obi-Wan said. “This was your idea.” It came out rather irritable, and he didn’t really mean it that way, but well…

Cody cleared his throat, cutting his eyes over to Obi-Wan then back forward. “Hmm, well, yes...I just-- I guess I was surprised to see you working there and I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.”

Obi-Wan bit back what he really wanted to say—there really was no point in being short or difficult. “I’m fine, like I said before, it’s just a place to make some money to pay the bills, help Anakin and Padme with rent.”

Cody looked over at him, “Oh, you live with your brother?”

“Right now, yes. They have been kind enough to let me stay while I…” He was prepared to tell Cody everything. He guessed it didn’t matter if he knew or not. “I’m working on my master’s finally and don’t make enough at the shop to live on my own. They’ve been kind enough to let me stay. And I get to see and take care of Luke and Leia. It's mutually beneficial.”

“Ah,” Cody nodded at the almost-clinical description of his living arrangements. He knew that family meant the world to him. “So you don’t…?”

“Work at that other place?” Obi-Wan chuckled mirthlessly. “No. They saw fit to get rid of me two...three? Three months after yo--” Obi-Wan stopped that line of thinking. “Anyway, so here I am.”

“Here you are.”

Obi-Wan sighed, “And you’re here, too. Which I can’t understand.” It was out of his mouth before he could think better of it. He watched Cody wrestle with something - he looked down and away and didn’t respond for a while. “I know you came back to the shop several times after that first morning, too.”

Cody looked at him confused, “But I never saw you.”

“That’s because I didn’t want to be seen.” The corner of Obi-Wan’s mouth lifted slightly and he shook his head. “You think I wanted you to find me there?”

“Well, I....” Cody shifted and put out a hand, then quickly drew it back. “Listen, Obi-Wan, if you’re embarrassed, there’s nothing--”

“Of course I was embarrassed. I’m not embarrassed working there, no, but having you find me there… ‘oh there’s Obi-Wan, the great screw-up. Not only was he overworked and terrible at his job, he couldn’t even keep it!’” There was no humor in his laugh.

“Obi-Wan, I didn’t-- I wasn’t thinking that.”

Obi-Wan looked at his watch then stood abruptly. “Well, you’ve checked on me, you’ve seen that I’m okay. I need to be going or I’ll miss my bus.”

Cody stood, too. “I could give you a ride home, if you want. If you want…”

In the end, Obi-Wan couldn’t bring himself to accept the ride—not just yet. But he did agree to see him again in a few days’ time for dinner.

It would just be a dinner between acquaintances.

But could those acquaintances become friends again?

----

Dinner was pleasant enough, but also at times quiet and awkward with neither of them knowing once again what to say. They got caught up on their families, which took some time, then talked about Cody’s job for a bit, but they were so very carefully avoiding the enormous elephant in the room. And Obi-Wan was growing antsy.

He put his fork down and took a long sip of his water. "Cody…" he started, but Cody cut him off.

"No, I'm sorry, I can't do this." Obi-Wan winced—it felt like that night eight months ago all over again. Why did he agree to this? It wasn't even his idea. "I'm-- I'm so sorry for how things ended all those months ago. I'm sorry for the way we parted that one time we met up. I'm sorry for my part in the breakdown of our relationship. Because of course it wasn't just you. We were partners, a team, and...oh gods, I've missed you so much. I didn't realize how much until I saw you again in the shop, and I...I had tried to move on, but I didn't do a very good job of it, I guess. I couldn't, I can't...and, I'm not here with any expectations, I just want you to know that, I just wanted to see you and talk to you and make sure you're okay." Cody exhaled and sat back.

Obi-Wan was stunned. He very nearly took all the words right out his mouth. But...Cody still missed him? He tried to calm the hammering of his heart.

"Cody, I-- I don't know what to say."

He shook his head, "You don't have to say anything, I guess, if you don't want to." Cody looked at him and gave him a soft, encouraging smile. And Obi-Wan couldn't find any of his words anymore. He only knew he wanted to kiss him so badly.

Cody put his hand out on the table, palm up. Obi-Wan looked down and hesitated, unsure of what this would mean, of what Cody wanted. He wanted, but he was afraid. Time seemed to slow and stop.

"Oh," Cody said quietly as he pulled his hand back into his lap. "I'm sorry, I think-- maybe we should get the check." They had both screwed up again.

----

It was stupid, it was too soon, why would Obi-Wan want him back after kicking him out? He was a fool. All of these things Cody thought to himself as he paced their old living room.

They had paid their checks and parted on the sidewalk quickly as it had begun to rain. Cody insisted on giving him a ride home, but Obi-Wan had adamantly refused, claiming the bus was just fine. Cody knew it was an excuse, and he couldn't deny being hurt, but he supposed he deserved it. There were no plans to talk or see each other again. Obi-Wan didn't request that Cody not come back to the shop, but Cody felt it was implied anyway.

A quick burst of lightning flashed followed shortly by a long rumble of thunder, and Cody hoped that Obi-Wan had made it to the bus station before the worst of the storm hit. He flopped down on the couch and pulled out his phone to text him. That was normal to check on a friend, he told himself, to make sure they made it.

But instead, he opened the thread of texts. He hadn't...hadn't deleted any of them, and it didn't take him long to find texts from their breakup or texts from even longer before, going back as much as two years. Texts where Obi-Wan had sent him some random fact he had discovered while reading, a photo of Leia sitting in a mud puddle, a small grocery list, simple declarations of love...and his chest ached. He laid his head back on the couch cushion and closed his eyes listening to the rain, his neighbors upstairs, and loud rushing of blood through his ears.

He jerked up when someone banged on his door. He felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. It had to be Obi-Wan, it had to…

But he remained fixed to the spot, unable to move. After what felt like an eternity in his own mind, he jumped up and ran to the door, throwing it open and finding no one there. He burst out of the maisonette just in time to catch that ginger hair moving quickly toward the main entryway.

"OBI-WAN!" He didn't care if he woke every neighbor in the building or even the street. To his surprise, Obi-Wan did stop and turned. He was soaked. Water was gathering in a puddle at his feet and his long hair hung limply around his face. He was breathing quickly and looked as if he was reading to take off. They both remained frozen to their spots.

"Obi-Wan, please come inside, you're soaked. You'll get sick." Cody was taking a risk, he knew, but he hoped it would pay off. Obi-Wan had come back—it was more than he ever could have hoped.

Obi-Wan hesitated then looked down. "I don't-- I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

Cody sighed, "Just get warm then you can go home. Think of your family." A cheap ploy, he knew, but he didn't care—as long as it worked.

He looked at Cody then started back up the stairs slowly. "All right."

When they got back inside, he helped him take off his jacket then took it to the kitchen sink, where he left it to start drying. Obi-Wan stood in the middle of the kitchen thinking of all the meals they had cooked together there, the cups of tea shared, the cold leftovers he subjected himself to—not that that had been Cody's fault...then the kisses and that one time they had--

"Come on, you know you can't stand there in those wet things." Cody stood in the doorway of the kitchen, an inscrutable expression on his face. Obi-Wan knew he was right, but he knew it would prolong his stay. He should have just caught the bus like he was supposed to.

But he nodded anyway and followed Cody up those familiar stairs to that familiar bathroom. "Just wait here, okay?"

Obi-Wan huffed a laugh, "Where do you think I'm going like this?" Cody just shook his head and left.

Everything was nearly the same, maybe some new touches here and there, but it was all so very Cody, just how it had been months ago and Obi-Wan was finding it harder and harder to be here. He looked at himself briefly in the mirror then sat down on the edge of the tub. What was he going to say? Why had he run back? Why didn't he take his hand at dinner? Why would Cody want him?

"Okay, here's a towel," Cody said, startling Obi-Wan out of his trance. He jumped up quickly and took it and a change of clothes from his hands. "That...I hope that still fits." Obi-Wan looked at the sweatpants and t-shirt and recognized it immediately as one of Cody's old university shirts that Obi-Wan had stolen many times. He had kept it. He couldn't hold back the sob any longer.

"Cody, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...for everything." He covered his face with his hands and cried. Cody's heart was breaking. Even a month ago he couldn't see himself here. He wasn’t sure they’d ever speak again. He had felt for a long time that if they ever did, then he would have to be the first one to do it, but he never had the courage. But now Obi-Wan was back, sobbing in their once-shared bathroom, and he was angry at himself for many things.

He slowly reached out, afraid that Obi-Wan would refuse his touch, but he surprisingly let himself be pulled into Cody's arms where he held onto him tightly. It felt good and familiar and right. Cody ran a soothing hand down his back, nearly ready to cry himself with how much he missed this.

They stood there for a long time, both afraid of once again making the first move, both not wanting to pull away. But finally Cody did. He reached up and put his hands on either side of Obi-Wan’s face, "Change your clothes and come downstairs, okay?" Obi-Wan nodded again and Cody left him alone.

----

Everything was feeling so painfully just how it once was that Cody didn't know if he'd be able to handle Obi-Wan leaving, and the two of them going on just as they had been. It was selfish, but he couldn't help it, he knew he still loved him.

He stirred milk in Obi-Wan’s tea and walked out to the living room just in time to see Obi-Wan coming down the stairs. He had attempted to towel-dry his hair, making it wilder than he had seen it in a very long time, and he had changed and looked comfortable and cozy in Cody's clothes. Something ignited low in his gut.

"Here you are," Cody said, holding out the tea which Obi-Wan took gratefully. "Come sit down."

"Thank you." Obi-Wan tucked one leg under himself and sat down carefully on one end of the couch while Cody took the other. Obi-Wan couldn't quite meet his eyes yet, but he could feel them on him.

"Obi-Wan, I--"

"No," Obi-Wan interrupted, setting his cup down on the coffee table. "I think I need to speak first this time. That's what I had come here to do."

Cody blinked at him several times, "Well, then go ahead."

Obi-Wan exhaled slowly, "Cody, I never ever meant to put you or what we had on the back burner. And I'm sorry. I hated the decisions I was forced to make—you or the never-ending work projects—and I hate that I didn't push back more. I'm sorry I let them. Later when you… when we were through, they pushed harder, but all I could do was be grateful that it would no longer affect you. I knew you'd be happy, or could be happy, without me dragging you down." At this Cody frowned. "When they let me go, I was devastated, as maybe you could imagine, but then with sudden clarity, I realized it was the best thing that could ever happen. But the victory felt hollow without you. I've missed you terribly, and I don't know if I have a right to say any of this, but I can't help it, I need to.”

It was Cody’s turn to be stunned. He watched as Obi-Wan leaned forward, grabbing his cup and taking another sip of his tea.

"I’ve enjoyed my time working at that shop, but I'm still a bit embarrassed by you finding me there like that," Obi-Wan shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know what I was thinking, but I had hoped that perhaps I'd be back on track before I saw you again…" He set the cup down once more. Before he saw him again? Cody sat up slightly.

"I told you, Obi-Wan, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, but… but perhaps you could explain, before you saw me again?"

Obi-Wan finally looked at him, "I suppose it was a foolish notion, especially given the way we parted when we last saw each other but, well, I kept holding onto hope for some reason—it was all I had. Finish school, get a different job, become worthy of you…" He gave Cody that sweet half-smile, and Cody adored that it was so visible now since his beard was still gone. But that was neither here nor there.

"Worthy of me??" Cody asked incredulously. "Obi-Wan, you were always worthy. Surely you don't think that somehow you weren't then, or even now?" He didn't know what to do with this information.

Obi-Wan looked down and away with a chuckle, "Well...I…"

"Obi-Wan," he reached out and grabbed his hand before he could think twice about it. Thankfully, he didn't recoil from the touch. "I love you. I always have. I never stopped. I'm ashamed to admit I tried, but it was impossible—you were everywhere and nowhere. I'm so sorry for the way I treated you, I was… upset, and neither of us did a good job of communicating." He could feel Obi-Wan’s hand shaking. He scooted closer to him and put his hand on his cheek so he'd look at him. "Obi-Wan, I love you."

Obi-Wan stared at him, wide-eyed, wanting to fall backwards into the couch and forward into Cody's arms at the same time. He chose the latter.

They fell backwards, Obi-Wan knocking the breath out of Cody's chest and laughed. Obi-Wan grabbed Cody's face and planted kisses all over it, much to Cody's amusement. Each kiss was punctuated with "I love you, I've always loved you," until Obi-Wan got a hold of himself and realized what he was doing, what he'd done.

He started to pull away but Cody wrapped his arms around him tighter. "No! You can't leave, I don't want you to." Obi-Wan smiled and dove in for another soft, chaste kiss. “Stay, please stay.”

Obi-Wan pulled back and looked at him. He supposed he was trying to find any trace that Cody might be having him on, playing some cruel trick. But Cody wasn’t cruel. “Do you mean it?”

Cody kissed him once more, then stroked his hair back off his face. His face was so very dear—how did he let it go? He sighed. “I know this is a lot right now, and I don’t mean to push you, I’m sorry. You can have my bed, I’ll sleep on the couch--”

“No, no, no, you impossible man,” Obi-Wan interrupted with such fondness in his voice. “I’ll take the couch, I’ve slept on it many times.” He tried to ignore that phantom ache in his chest.

“Obi-Wan…” Cody said exasperatedly.

“Cody…” Obi-Wan returned with a grin. He loved it when he said his name.

Cody knew he wouldn’t win, but he was completely fine with it. As long as Obi-Wan was here with him and that they would have a chance to try.

[fictionalabyss]

We can carpool.

Pairing : Dean & Reader, Sam, John

Word count :  2,990

Written for : @spnfluffbingo​

Square : Neighbour AU

Warnings : AU, Running from the past, fresh start, new life, anxiety and suspicions,  Dean is is a good guy even when insulted.

A/N : I wrote this after two very very tall men (one was like 6′7 easily) delivered my new oven.

Masterlist • Patreon • Ko-fi.

SPN Fluff bingo 2020 Masterlist.

Moving to a new place was nerve wracking, but also came with an odd sense of peace as you looked around your new, and bare, home. Lawrence wasn’t far enough, nothing would ever be far enough from what you’d ran away from, but it was as far as you could get with what you had, and it would have to do.

You jumped when your bell rang and then a knock sounded immediately after. Cautiously, you made your way towards the front, glancing through the window at the visitor before opening the door. Opening it, you glanced up at the man who’s back was to you for a moment before he turned to you again, a small smile gracing his handsome face. “Hi.” When you just stared up at him, not responding, his lip twitched a little higher on the left side. “Appliance delivery?” He motioned to the embroidered logo on his shirt and watched as you glanced down at it. “You are Y/N, right?” he glanced down at the papers in his hand.

“Y-yeah, sorry.”

He glanced up again, another soft smile. “I just need to come in and check out the space, is that okay?” You nodded, stepping back and opening the door further. He gave you a nod and strolled past you, thankfully not glancing around as he headed first for the kitchen. You couldn’t help but watch him as you chewed on your cheek. He was tall, he was good looking, his jeans fit snug on what you noticed were bowed legs, and you couldn’t help how your eyes lingered on his ass before he turned out of sight. Maybe this town wouldn’t be so bad. He came out then ducked into the downstairs bathroom which also housed the washer and dryer connections, then he came out. “Alright, we’ll bring it right in for you.” Again, you simply nodded and stayed out of his way as he headed past you and back outside to the truck parked on the curb.

You headed for the front room and the large window that overlooked the street beyond. You watched as another man opened the back of the truck. He was handsome too, surprisingly taller than the guy who’d come to your door. Hair blowing in the breeze so he had to tuck it behind his ears to get it out of his face. They were talking as the back of the truck was opened, a conversation you obviously couldn’t hear, but it had the taller one shake his head with a smile before he hopped into the back of the truck and disappeared.

Turning, you glanced around what should be a living room and sighed. It needed paint. It needed furniture. It needed everything. You felt oddly embarrassed that your place was as empty as it was. The whole place looked like this. You’d moved in two days ago with nothing more than a small bag of clothes, two blankets, a pillow and an old smartphone with a cracked screen. Slowly but surely, you’d make this place a home. Or, at least homey. Glancing back out the window, you watched as the two men pulled straps over their shoulders, one on each side of the range oven, and then they hoisted it up and started towards your door.

You watched as they made their way up the few stairs out front, then through your door. The man who’d been at your door was backing in, his head turned, glancing behind him as he went, then looking to the walls to be sure not to hit anything. “You good?” The delivery guy’s voice grabbed your attention.

“Yeah.”

You glanced over to see his partner duck his head slightly as he passed through the inner door. Was he that tall? That he had to duck? No, but he was damn close to needing to. You couldn’t help but stare at him as he went past, not even sending a glance your way as he focused on the task at hand.

As they made their way towards your kitchen, you sat on your window sill in the front room as you pulled out your phone and opened a notepad app. Looking around, you started to make a list of the things you needed and arranged it based on priority. Now that you had appliances, you needed food and dishes. You couldn’t do takeout forever, though you might survive a few more days if need be. As the boys moved back through and out your house again, you glanced out the window and saw the delivery guy glancing back at you, a half smirk on his lips before he turned back to the truck as he came up to it. Curtains. You’d need curtains asap. A bed would be nice too, or at least a half decent mattress.

And a job. Fuck. You froze and just stared blankly ahead. It was too late to go out looking today, you had waited around for these guys all day.

You were pulled out of your hole of self pity and list making by someone clearing their throat, and you glanced up, confused to see the delivery guy standing there with a look in his eyes you couldn’t read. How long had you been spaced out and how long had he been standing there watching you? “We’re uh, we’re done. Sammy’s just hooking up your dryer for you,” he pointed behind him with his thumb, “And I need you to sign this.”

“Yeah, okay.” you pushed off the window sill. “He doesn’t need to hook stuff up, I can do that myself.” you mumbled, stepping up to him and taking the pen.

“You paid for it.” he shrugged.

“Did I?”

“Says so here.”

You scanned the form, but didn’t see anything about a hookup service. With a shrug, you signed.

“All done.” ‘Sammy’ announced, neatly folding the shoulder dolly they’d used to move all the appliances in.

“Thanks.” He gave you a dimpled smile in response before he continued out the front door.

“Here’s your copy, you call this number if there’s any problems. This receipt is your warranty, basically. You’re covered for three years.” You nodded, taking the slip of paper he ripped off for you. “Have a nice day.”

“Yeah, you too.”

He left, easily catching up to the other man by the time he hit the sidewalk, and you stood in your doorway watching them for a moment. “Told you she was hot.” He nudged the other man, and you realized you probably weren’t meant to hear that.

“Shut up, Dean. We’re working.” ‘Sammy’ replied heading for the back of the truck to shut it while ‘Dean’ laughed and went around to the drivers side.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t look, Sammy.”

Awkwardly glancing away, you shut your front door.  Once you heard the truck pull away, you let out a breath and looked down at the list on your phone again as you walked towards your kitchen. Maybe you could get furniture tomorrow, and at the same time, see if any of the nearby places were hiring.  Get an early start. Looking up at the shiny almost new fridge and stove, your stomach grumbled. With a smile, you grabbed your keys off the counter and started back towards your front door.

It was time to have some real food in this house. You practically skipped to your car as you thought of all the delicious things you were about to grab at the grocery store.

Breakfast was simple while you air dried after your shower. Popping a bite into your mouth, you moved towels up your list of necessities, right under pots and pans. You couldn’t wait for a good, big breakfast. Finishing off your food, you made your way to the downstairs bathroom and pulled a warm shirt out of the dryer. Holding them up to your nose, you took a deep breath in and smiled before digging for the rest of the clothes you planned to wear today.

“This is happiness.” you mumbled to yourself as the warmth still clinging to the clothing surrounded your body with each item you put on. For the time being you had peace, you were safe, and now you had warmth and comfort.

Turning to the mirror over the sink behind you, you brushed your teeth and made yourself look more presentable. Each little thing made you feel more human again. Another step closer back to who you were before all this shit weighed you down and made you run. You stared at yourself in the mirror, as ready as you’d ever be to start getting your life back on track, but you wondered if you would ever be that person again. Could you be?

You weren’t sure, you were anxious at every turn. Even out here, where you knew no one and no one knew you, there was anxiety about heading out, buying stuff to settle down and finding a job. There was fear about setting down any kind of roots that would make it difficult to run again if you needed to. You felt like you would always be running, but you were tired. It was time to get your life back. Time to stop letting yourself be afraid of every shadow. You were stronger than this, god damnit!

With a deep breath, you steeled yourself for the day ahead and headed for your phone,  keys and bag on the kitchen counter.

Stepping outside, you locked your door, turned and froze.

The delivery guy from yesterday was standing outside on the sidewalk between your house and the neighbors, eyes focused down on the phone in his hand. You glanced around, you’re not sure what you were looking for, maybe help, maybe police, but your eyes went back to him. Why was he here? He had said he found you attractive, was he back to act on that? Was he stalking you now?

Maybe he felt eyes on him, because he looked up suddenly, glancing around before his eyes met yours and he gave you a smile. He opened his mouth, but you cut him off, putting on the bravest face you could muster. “Why are you here?”

“I’m sorry?” he looked confused by that, his phone in his hand forgotten for the moment.

“Why are you here?” you asked again. “This isn’t flattering. It’s fucking creepy.” His eyebrow cocked up at that. “I get that you may think you’re god's gift to women, but you’re not, and this is unacceptable and unprofessional and I will not stand for it.”

With a sigh, he tucked his phone into his pocket and turned more towards you. “Look, lady-”

“No you look.” you snapped, cutting him off. “I’m not interested in creeps, okay? So either you get lost, or I’m calling the cops and your place of employment. I think they’d love to know what you do after you-”

“Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart.” You froze, mouth still open mid sentence as he cut you off. “I’m not fucking stalking you, I’m your neighbor.”

“Wha-”

“I live next door.” he pointed to the house and you glanced over at it, finally closing your mouth before looking back at him. “Yeah. So, I mean, you can call them if you want, but..” he just shrugged at you.

Embarrassment flooded you. Embarrassment and guilt. You were so on edge you attacked an innocent stranger, your neighbor no less. How could you live next to him now? “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I just-”

“Save it.” he held up his hand, cutting you off. “I’m not accepting that apology.” You shrank away from him now, considering running back inside and hiding for the day, forgetting everything you had planned and everything you needed to get. You wanted to hide and disappear. Licking your lips, you were about to turn away when he spoke again. “But you can make it up to me.” Your eyes shifted up from the ground to meet his again. “Join me for dinner.”

“What?”

“You’re new here, right? I mean, I grew up here, and I’ve never seen you before so you must be from out of town.” You gave him a small nod. “You know anyone? Been out to check out what we’ve got here?” You shook your head this time. “If you want, I can show you around. I’m off today, so I don’t mind, and we’ll grab something to eat after, as friends so you can keep those accusations to yourself.” he pointed out with a playful smirk.

“I uhm.” you chewed your bottom lip for a moment. “I’m busy today.. I need to get stuff for the house and find a job, and-”

“You moved here without a job lined up?” He watched you carefully. “You running from something?” You were quick to glance away, nervously chewing on your bottom lip again. “What kind of work are you looking for?” he asked, taking a step closer.

“Anything.”

“You got a resume, experience, or-”

You took a deep breath and sighed. “Not really. Nothing too recent, anyways.. I uh-”

His hand came up. “You don’t have to explain.” You looked up at him, and felt relief that he wasn't going to pressure you into details. “We might have a job for you at the warehouse, I’ll ask about it.”

“Really?” You were stunned. “You don’t even know me.”

He shrugged. “No promises, and it’s nothing special, probably just phones and making orders and shit.. If you want we can go now and I’ll ask.”

“Uh, yeah.. Thanks.”

He smiled. “Alright, get in.” He started to make his way around the sleek black car he’d been standing in front of. “Unless you’d rather just follow in yours.”

You took a moment trying to remember how much gas was left in your tank before conceding. “I’ll ride with you if you don’t mind.”

“I offered, didn’t I.” he smiled, motioning towards the passenger side door as he pulled open the drivers side. “Oh, hey, before I forget.”

“Hm?” you hummed, sliding into the passenger seat and shutting the door just as he shut his.

“So you don’t go accusing my brother of stalking you too, he lives around that corner.” he pointed before putting the key in the ignition and turning.

“Your brother?” you asked, engine roaring to life and surprising you. Why would you care about his brother?

“Sammy.” he smiled, glancing behind him before pulling away from the curb.

“That was your brother!?”

He nodded. “My little brother.”

“That man was anything but little..” you mumbled, making Dean laugh.

It was only about a ten minute drive before Dean was pulling into a parking lot. You followed Dean into a front shop where everyone, customer and employee both, greeted him as he went past, then he led you through a back door to a large warehouse. “My dad in?”

“He’s around.” came the answer. Dad?

“Dean.” You followed the sound of the rough voice and spotted an older man making his way towards you, the grey that was peppered through his hair covered most of the light beard on his face. “What are you doing here, son, it’s your day off.” He greeted his son, then glanced at you as you tore your eyes away to look around. “Who’s this?”

“New neighbor. Sammy and I ran a delivery to her yesterday.”

“Everything okay? Something wrong?” he glanced at you again.

“No, everything's running fine. She needs a job, actually. Desperately, I think.” The last three words were whispered so just his father would hear, and the older man nodded.

“Hey, kid.” You turned, realizing he might be talking to you. “You got somewhere you need to be right now?”

“Uh-” you glanced at Dean, then back to his father. “Not really. I was just going to buy some needed things for my place.”

“Bring her up front, let’s see what she can do.”

“The store?” you were surprised. “But I don’t know anything about-”

“Dean will teach you. You just lost your day off, kid.” he pat his son on the shoulder. “You brought her in, she’s your responsibility. I’ll check back in a few hours.” He started away.

“Thank you, sir.”

“John.” He glanced at you over his shoulder. “Call me John.”

You nodded and watched him go, then turned to Dean. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to sell appliances.”

Dean chuckled, leading you back towards the font. “You're not. Not really.”

“Then what am I-”

“You’re getting to know the space and people. Getting to know the products. ‘You’re my responsibility’ means you’ll be working with me. I don’t work up here. I work in the back, repairs and deliveries. You’ll end up in the back office doing orders and taking calls.”

“Then why put me up here?”

“Don’t question the old man.” Dean put an arm around your shoulder. “He doesn’t like it, being a marine man and all. So let’s see what you know. What’s this?”

“It’s a fridge.”

“Very good.” he teased. “And that?”

“An oven.” Dean cocked an eyebrow at you. “A range oven.” you corrected and he smiled again.

“See, you do know some stuff.”

“Fuck off.” you gave him a playful shove, pushing him away from you and he laughed. You felt oddly relaxed around him, like you’d known him and been friends with him for years. There was something disarming about that smile and laugh.

“Okay, okay, what’s the cubic footage of this oven?” you froze at that and he laughed again. “Check the sticker.” he pointed to a sticker slapped onto the top of the stove. “Always check the stickers. There’s no way you’d just know that.”

“I’m starting to regret this decision.” you muttered at him, walking away from him and moving towards washers and dryers.

“Oh, come on. Working with me will be fun. We can carpool!”

“Not happening.”

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[midnightartemis]

Chapter One (Part One)

She learned that life was a game of survival from a young age. First, it was the religious fanatics— the ones with the locked fridge and the forced prayers and the idea that children were the spawn of Satan to be beaten and starved into godly angels. After them came the Johnsons. They were a young couple, hopeful and naive, and completely unprepared for the half-feral, skin and bones desert commune child that the government dumped in their laps. She didn’t last long there either. But they hadn’t let her starve and they hadn’t hit her and Rey tended to put that down as a plus in her book. It was why she started speaking (though in a British accent much to everyone’s surprise) and it was why she still kept their last name. Even when they gave up on her. After them… It was years in the system until she came to be in the hands of Unkar Plutt.

She learned how to survive. Learned how he always hit her where no one could see, but he only did it when he was raging drunk and he only was raging drunk a few times a month. She learned his tells, knew that some nights she was better off stealing a slushie from the 7-eleven and camping out at the skatepark until it was late enough to go back home. 

As long as she did her chores and didn’t give him trouble, Plutt let her be. Rey was okay with that. She could survive that. 

She sat on the lip of the park's bowl as the sun set, casting riotous shades of pink and purple and red across the cloudy sky. Summer had only just begun and while that met school, which she hated, was over, it also met more time with Plutt. More time in his shop. More ways to mess up and more drunken rages to avoid. She often wondered if he kept her around as something to look at or because she knew how to keep her mouth shut and balance his books. Both sets. 

She’s been coming to the park for a while now, at least when the weather was decent. The weather was always decent. There was something comforting about the sound of wheels and boards on concrete, the whoops and hollers of the skaters, the warmth of the sun on her skin. Reminded her of the desert- only the best parts. People left her alone. 

They learned after… Well, after they learned what happened when they didn’t. A few bloody noses. A few broken boards. Cause and effect. 

The only ones who ever paid her any mind were Kuruk and his small band of nerdy boys in black. Even then it was only a few words here and there. She respected their space and they respected hers. And after the broken nose incident, she’d almost become an honorary member of their group. A staple of the skatepark. She’d never had anywhere to belong before. 

It didn’t mean anything and you could fuck off if you thought it did. 

Rey watched them lazily, sipping on her stolen slushie as Cardo and AP kept biffing it on the same rail trick with a loud “fuck!” Every time. 

There were a few other people around, but like usual, most had left as it started to get dark. 

“Hey! Hey!”

Rey snapped to focus, frowning as she realized Kuruk had been trying to get her attention for a while and was now slowly jogging over to her. He held his board at his side and there was a lopsided smile on his face. He wore black baggy jeans and a baggy t-shirt like the rest of them and he always kept his dark hair buzz cut like he thought about joining the military but only committed to the hair style. 

“What.”

Kuruk laughed. “You’re a Rey of fuckin sunshine, you know that?”

Rey rolled her eyes. It was only the millionth time he had used that line on her. “What do you want, Kuruk?”

“The guys and I are headed to the loft. We wanted to know if you wanted to come.” He gave her that look that he always did that only told Rey he was trying to get in her pants. She was pretty sure the guys had a bet going on it. 

She sighed. “You better have the good vodka this time. And better smokes. Those last ones tasted like dried out ass crack.”

“Yeah, yeah. Totally. One of my buddies is coming back from Chandrila and bringing the good college town shit.”

She didn’t know much about college towns but was fairly certain that “good” college town shit didn’t exist. She nodded anyway. “Fine. But imma kick your ass in Mario Kart.”

“Bet.” Kuruk offered her a hand and Rey let him pull her to her feet. She practically flew off the ground and threw them both into the bowl. It wasn’t that Kuruk was supernaturally strong or anything- she had seen him shirtless and seen that unfortunate happy trail- it was just that she was built like a skinny prepubescent boy with an eating disorder. Rey landed in Kuruks chest and scowled, shoving him off before he could say anything. Some whistles echoed over the park. She grabbed her melted purple slushie and flipped off the rest of the guys. 

Rey went with them with the promise that life would maybe suck less for a little bit with them. At the very least they treated her to free booze and a toke. Inebriation was about the only thing that made Trudge and Ushar’s misogynistic idiocy palatable and Kuruk’s advances maybe not the worst thing in the world. It was nice to be liked. To be wanted. Even if it was just to win a bet. She’d never let them know that. Maker end her if they ever found out. She had enough self worth to know it would never fucking happen. 

They skated through the darkening streets of Coruscant, slow enough that Rey could keep up on foot. It wasn’t hard. None of them could go ten feet without tipping a trash can over or trying to nail a trick off the curb. No one cared as they loudly made their way down the street, making themselves known to the world in the one way they could. Rey trailed after them in the dark. They left the cracked and degrading streets and dipped through a hole in the chain link fence, passing through a barely used rail yard and a dry culvert until they reached a small mostly abandoned warehouse. 

A few years back some real estate guy had bought it and started trying to convert the place into condos. He got about half way done before, probably, coming to his senses and realizing that no one on the south side of Coruscant wanted to buy a luxury condo. Even if there was exposed brick and industrial aesthetic, there was also high crime rates and a hatred of outsiders and gentrification. Scared off most of the investors and the rest vanished after the recession hit and never seemed to leave the south side. Buying the one completed loft back from the city was the only smart decision the guys ever made. Even if they only did it to piss the cops off who kept kicking them out for trespassing. 

Part of Rey wishes she had seen the encounter instead of hearing about it every five seconds from one of the guys. The other part of Rey wondered how they were even smart enough to come up with that plan, let alone execute it.

The Loft as they called it consisted of a giant open area that functioned as a gaming room and kitchen, the most disgusting bathroom Rey had ever stepped foot in, and three bedrooms which had once been split between all of them till Cardo got his own place and Vic moved in with his pregnant girlfriend. Three bedrooms became six after one drunken night where Ushar had taken a sledgehammer to the wall and broken into the abandoned half-finished apartment next door. As far as Rey knew, they were arguing between turning that living room into a sex dungeon or a pool table room. The vote was fifty fifty since Rey refused to participate and Trudge refused to pick a side. The whole place constantly smelled of weed and Kuruk’s weird incense. 

Rey would never admit it, but she secretly loved the place. The ceilings were at least twelve feet high and there were huge metal framed windows that looked out over a field of dead grass to the lights of the city.

Kuruk dug through the mess of a freezer pulling out a half bottle of Everclear and a mostly empty bottle of captain morgans, which Rey snatched from him without a word. She found an unopened can of coke and poured it straight into the Captain's bottle, swishing it around before taking a large sip. No one blinked an eye. 

Across the room, AP cursed as he tried to get the projector working. It wasn’t that old of a projector, but it had been purchased from some seedy electronic store that definitely looked the other way on where they acquired their products. Gaming was about the only thing they ever spent their money on and they had almost every game and system out there. That was the other reason Rey secretly liked this place. Secretly liked most of them. 

Rey carried her bottle with her across the room, stopping AP before the short haired black kid started to rip the machine apart in frustration. If she was being honest, AP was the only guy she ever thought about letting win their stupid bet. He was shy and generally quiet and never really said much to her, which Rey prefered. He gave up the projector to her with a frustrated grunt and sat down on the giant sectional couch to roll a joint with the last of their weed. 

After Rey popped open the lid of the projector and blew out the fan and circuitry, the projector came to life with a small whine. She popped the lid back on and adjusted the focus so it hit the stretched sheet across the room right. 

She hopped down from the chair and took the lit joint from AP for a deep hit before passing it back. Trudge and Ushar eventually moved from the back rooms howling to each other and fighting over who would play COD first. 

“Hey, dickheads. The lady’s already chosen Mario Kart.” Kuruk slammed a shot glass on the table. “Loser finishes the everclear.”

“She always fuckin wins.” Trudge groaned. “She always picks rainbow road. I fuckin hate rainbow road.”

Rey smiled to herself as Trudge and Ushar groaned but ultimately complied with their ringleader’s orders. 

She could kick their asses at Mario Kart with a blindfold on. Rey snatched up the Wii remote and easily beat Trudge, Ushar, and Kuruk on Mario Kart’s three hardest courses. Even when Kuruk sat beside her and Trudge tried to tackle him over the back of the couch. Happy with her victory and at the sight of Ushar and Trudge gagging down straight everclear, she released them to fight over endless rounds of COD. 

Her and AP quietly pass the last joint back and forth, her eyes growing hazy as she practices blowing smoke rings into the air. 

“God you fuckers are rank.”

Rey grips tightly the mostly gone Captain’s bottle in her hand at the unrecognizable voice. People stopped by the loft constantly, but it was always someone she knew. She was halfway to smashing her bottle and brandishing it as a weapon when the guys broke into a flurry of motion, leaping over the couch and flying at the voice as they howled. Rey jumps in the opposite way, watching as the stranger was set upon by the guys. It took a moment for Rey to realize that they weren’t actually beating him up. She took a long swig of her drink. 

Out of the male-bonding wrestling pit emerged one of the tallest, broadest men she had ever seen. He wore all black like the rest of them, but there was something different about him. Long black hair came to his shoulders and Rey fought off the sudden urge to run her fingers through it. His pale skin was covered in smatterings of moles and freckles and his long nose was hooked from a break that didn’t heal right. It wasn’t until his eyes caught hers that the world seemed to break away under her feet. She felt his intense brown eyes from across the room. They dropped down before traveling back up again. He met her with eyes with a smirk and Rey scowled back. Something flashed across his face, too quick for Rey to tell what it was. Confusion, maybe? 

Kuruk caught him staring at her and puffed out his chest in some sort of testosterone filled dominance display. The stranger's eyes didn’t leave her. Rey did the only thing she could think of to win whatever battle she was having with this asshole and downed the rest of the Captain's bottle without breaking eye contact. The corner of his lip tweaked up. 

Kuruk cleared his throat. “Kylo - Rey. Rey - Kylo.”

[blkgirlcafe]

The Chase Pt.6

She plugged Florian’s address into her phone GPS, he wasn’t far from her, 15 minutes tops. She drove through the streets of Atlanta music blaring. 

Brand new car is noisy, come through and it's roarin' (Skrrt)

You ain't gotta worry, don't care about your boyfriend

See me and get nervous, I damn near did it perfect

Work hard and determine, it's safe to say I earned it

Camila texted Florian to let him know she was parking. He lived in one of the old buildings that had been converted to loft condos. Camila took the elevator up to the 6th floor and gently knocked on his door. He wasted no time in answering. 

“Hey, come in. You look great, now I feel underdressed.”  

He moved his large frame to the side so she could pass, Camila noticed he talked faster and more of his accent was present when he was nervous. 

“Thanks, and you look fine. Your place is dope.” 

She looked around. Just what she expected from a bachelor pad. A large couch dominated most of the living room, a large Romanian flag on the wall behind it. 

“What are you cooking? It smells great?” She asked. 

Camila followed him into the kitchen. 

“I hope you like salmon, glazed salmon with a homemade glaze, brown rice, and roasting in the oven is a mixture of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.” 

“If it tastes as good as it smells I know I am in for a treat.” She smiled at him. 

“Can I have a kiss?” 

Camila looked up at him, he even looked surprised with himself asking. She didn’t respond, just leaned against his broad chest and gave him a kiss. 

He pulled her closer, cupping her ass, deepening the kiss. When they finally pulled apart they shared this look. 

“Let me give you a tour.” Florian finally broke the silence. 

He kept a hand on her as he showed her around, the lower level had the living room, kitchen, half bath, and a home gym. 

“This is the gym that keeps your body like that?” she joked.

“Not at all, this is for days when I can't make it to the gym for a full body workout.”

Camila liked that he was dedicated, even if she thought that he didn't need it. He took her upstairs, walking behind her. 

“I hope you are enjoying the view Flo, you ain't slick.”

“A gentleman always lets a lady go first, and it wasn't just so I could look at your ass.”

“Yeah right.” she smirked. 

“This is my bedroom as you can see. Nothing special here.” 

“You need some home touches, too much black up here.” Camila looked around, letting her hand slide along his comforter. 

“Just waiting for a woman to help me decorate it.” he shyly looked up at her. 

Camila heart skipped a beat, for such a big guy, he came off so innocent. 

“I am sure you had plenty of women up here, one of them could have helped you.” 

He led her back downstairs and to the small dining table, telling her to stay put while he served the food. He bought her a plate and a glass of wine, before bringing his own, his plate brimming with food. 

They made light conversation for a while before Flo cleared his throat.

“So I have to ask about your ex, the one who came to my spot.”

“What about him?” Camila flaked off a piece of salmon. 

“Is he still chasing you?” 

“Yeah, he disappeared and then popped back up a few weeks ago.”

“Man got balls the way he stepped to me.”

Florian told her about what happened at the club once she left and she couldn't believe it. 

“I can promise you I don't want that asshole, and I can promise you I am not his girl in any capacity at all.” 

“I almost beat his ass.” Flo shrugged. 

“Should have, Pablo used to getting what he wants and that includes women. Included me at some point because I went back. He is such a cocky asshole.”

“Now that I have permission I will gladly beat his ass.”

“So what else did Jess tell you, since she likes to run her mouth.”

“That you work hard, you don't date much, and haven't had a man since pablo.” he smirked at her. 

“Wow didn't know yall was chummy like that.”

Flo moved them from the table to the couch, bringing the bottle of wine, lowering the lights. 

“Do all your dates go this way?” she teased.

“I haven't had a date since I moved here a year ago.”

“Really, so what made you ask me out.”

“I mean at first, just your beauty, I saw you and knew I had to say something. Then it was your mean attitude, I like them mean.”

Camila playful hit his arm, “I am not mean Flo.”

“You rolled your eyes when I tried to approach you.”

“But I still gave you my number.”

“Yeah then ignored me.”

“Why is your memory so good?”

“You should make it up to me.” he sat his wine glass down.

“Oh yeah, and how can I do that.”

“Vino să-mi călărești pula.” he said. (Come Ride my dick.)

“Until you teach me more Romanian, I need the English version.”

“Come here I’ll show you.”

Camila sat her wine glass down before he pulled her into his lap. The first kiss was gentle, soft, testing the water. Camila put her arms on his shoulders, using her hand to gently massage his neck. Florian moaned into her mouth. Their tongues met, Flo's hands going from her back to grip her ass. He pulled her dress up, bunching it around her hips. Camila leaned her head back, giving Florian the chance to suck on her neck, sure to leave a few marks. 

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

Camila tried to ignore it.

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

“You need to get that baby.” Flo asked between kisses. 

“No, I don't think so.” 

His hands played with the silk panty. Camila grounded against his thigh, feeling his hard dick. Maybe Jess was right, she did need dick, she needed his dick to be specific. 

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

“You can answer prinţesă, I will be right here.” 

Camila gave a slight pout before getting up and adjusting her dress. Her phone was on the table where she had left it.

The person calling was Asshole, which was Pablo. He would only keep calling. 

What?

Where are you?

He was drunk, of course he was, words slurred. 

Minding my business, what do you want? 

I am outside your door, knocking. 

Camila heard him knock loudly through the phone. Camila looked over at Flo, his side profile leaving her breathless. 

Stop before my neighbors call the cops. 

Come stop me.

I am not doing this with you.

Fine you can explain to your landlord why a drunk guy is singing on your doorstep all night long. 

He started to sing and off key, and was still loudly knocking. 

Fuck I am on my way there, you are a fucking asshole. 

I am your asshole baby girl. 

Camila hung up and closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. 

“Everything okay?” Florian asked. 

“Unfortunately no, I have to go. This date was perfect, thank you so much.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

Florian pulled her into a hug and Camila had thoughts she could risk being homeless to stay here with him, in his arms,in his bed. Fuck Pablo and his needy ass. 

When he pulled away he tipped her chin up and gave her a kiss, “Call me when you get home so I can know you made it safe.” 

“I will Flo, thank you again for tonight.” 

He walked her to the door and Camila was regretting having to deal with Pablo ass.

True to his word he was still singing when she got there. She heard him as soon as she got off the elevator. Leaned against her door, the dorky giant was trying to sing Living on a prayer. His phone laid at his feet, and he was cradling a bottle of Jack Daniels. 

“God you are a fucking mess, go home.” she kicked his feet. 

“I am home with you.” He tried to stand and leaned forward a little too much, Camila put her arm out to help him, “See you still care about me.”

“There is no way I can explain a white man dropping dead at my door Pablo.” 

Pablo leaned against the wall as she unlocked the door. 

“Give me your phone, I am calling Jason.”

“He is with Jess fucking like we should be.”

“I don't care if he balls deep in her guts, he needs to come get you. You can not stay here.”

He found his way to the couch and laid down, still holding the bottle like it was his lifeline. Camila punched in his phone password, still her birthday, he should have changed it by now. 

She found Jason contact and called him, calling going straight to voicemail 5 times, so she sent a text. 

I know you and Jess are fucking like rabbits right now but you need to come get your boy and asap before his ass is on the curb with the rest of the bums. - Camila

“You look nice, where were you?”

“I had a date.” Camila kicked off her shoes. 

“With that boxer boy?”

“Does it matter Pablo? What are you doing here in Atlanta?”

“I came to win my girl back, I fucked up baby, I know that.” he rolled over onto his back, the shirt rose. 

“There is no winning me back, no more chasing me, just let me go Pablo.”

“I can't do that, I will never forgive myself if I don't try.”

“You tried, it was unsuccessful.” Camila crossed her arms. 

“You still care about me, I can tell, or you would still be on your date and I wouldn't be on your couch, you still care about me Camila.”

Camila went to her room, slamming the door in the process.

[shawtygonemad]

What Is This Feeling: Chapter 9

Fem!9th Doctor x Male!Rose Tyler

WITF Masterlist

The last time we saw our dynamic duo they had picked up a stray from Utah. Adele was only with them for one adventure, before she almost got them killed. She also got an information port embedded into her forehead which is a big taboo. You never try and change the future or past in a dramatic way. So, the Doctor once again had to save the day. Needless to say, Adele was dumped back off at her place once they were out of danger.

Ross and the Doctor were currently relaxing in the control room throwing around ideas on which place they should explore next. The Doctor was sitting on the jumper rolling a ball between her hands.

"How about the planet of Junifer? It's really beautiful this time of year. They have one of the best flower festivals in the universe," she suggested with a smile.

Ross shook his head. He seemed really off this morning. She had asked him earlier if anything was the matter. He had denied that something was wrong. The Doctor left it at that assuming he had wanted his space. However, this was the fifth place that he had rejected.

"Alright. Is there any place that you're wanting to go to," she asked.

"Well… there is one place I've been thinking a lot about. Well it's more of a time rather than a place," He started. "I want to meet my dad. Peter Alan Tyler. The greatest man in the world. Born 15th September 1954. My mum would always take out a photo album and start telling me about him. I wasn't old enough to remember him. He died on 1987, 7th of November. It was the day that Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke got married. That what mum always said. So I was thinking, could we, could we go and see my dad when he was alive," he said somberly.

"Where's this come from, all of a sudden," she furrowed her brows at him.

"All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of time or something, then never mind, just leave it," he mumbled as he began to absentmindedly touch knobs on the TARDIS's console.

The Doctor furrowed her brows as she studied her favorite pink and yellow human. This was a simple adventure. There's nothing wrong with Ross wanted to see his dad alive. She was just a bit worried how Ross would take in the event. Humans seem to be much more emotional than Time Lords.

"No, I can do anything. I'm just worried about you," she gazed at her companion with concerned eyes.

"I want to see him," Ross confirmed.

"Your wish is my command," The Doctor smiled. "But be careful what you wish for."

The Time Lord hopped up onto her feet and began her dance around the console, hitting buttons, twisting knobs, pulling levers. This console is originally meant for at least 8 Time Lords to operate her. It was miracle the Doctor was able to do it by herself. Although she has had many years of practice under her belt now.

The pair arrived just in time for the wedding ceremony. They didn't want to be noticed to much in case people came asking questions, so they sat in the back pew. It wasn't very formal. Jackie didn't even wear a white dress. She was in a baby pink pencil skirt with a matching blouse and blazer. As she walked down the aisle towards Peter she seemed to be a mixture of happiness, nerves, and dare she say doubt. Peter, on the other hand, was all nerves.

"Repeat after me. I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Angela Suzette Prentice…" The officiant spoke.

"I, Peter Alan Tyler, take you, Jacqueline Angela Suzanne…" Everyone's eyes grew large with the mix up. Peter tried to correct himself but dug himself an even further hole. "Suzanne Anita…"

"That wasn't even remotely close," The Doctor thought. "I never thought I would say this, but poor Jackie. This bloke must have been sneaking around behind her back. And yet she still wants to marry him."

All eyes were on Jackie now, awaiting her response. "Oh, just carry on. It's good enough for Lady Di."

The Doctor grinned. Of course, it was such a Jackie response.

"I thought he's be taller," Ross whispered.

After the ceremony, they snuck out before the newly bride and groom could make their rounds greeting all of their guests and thanking them. They were back in the TARDIS once again.

"Well that was fun, wasn't it?" the Doctor grinned as she practically skipped around the console. She had hoped this would make her little human feel a little bit better. She hated it when he was feeling down.

Ross moved towards the Doctor slow and hesitantly. He still wore a frown on his face. His eyes were trained on the ground.

"I- I remember mum telling me that no one was there. When he died that is. It was a hit and run driver. Never found out who. He was dead when the ambulance got there," Ross finally looked up and met the Doctor's gaze. "I want to be that someone."

The Time Lord of course gave in. "November the 7th?"

"1987," he finished.

The Doctor flipped some switches and the Time Rotor once again started up. Once they landed the TARDIS parked herself between a telephone junction box and a road sign by Park Railings. They stepped outside to the sound of Never Can Say Goodbye playing off in the distance. The Doctor took a deep breath in and looked around.

"It's so weird. The day my father died. I thought I'd be all grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day," Ross softly spoke and also gazed around.

"The past is another country. 1987's just the Isle of Wight," she looked at her companion. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," he quickly replied and nodded his head. He also threw the Doctor a reassured smile.

"Alright then. Off we go," she spoke with a smile before walking off.

A few blocks away Ross stopped and stared at a road with minor disbelief.

"This is it. Jordan Road. He was late. He'd been getting a wedding present, a vase." He started to choke up a little bit. "Mum always said, 'that stupid vase'."

Just then a car rounded the corner. It was Peter.

Ross continued narrating the scene unfolding before them.

"He got out of his car…" The car pulled up to the curb. "And crossed the road…" He watched with slight horror. "Oh God, this is it."

The Doctor wrapped Ross's hand with hers and held it as Peter got out of his car. She wanted to comfort Ross that was the only subtle way she could do it.

The two watched in silence. As Peter got out he was instantly hit but the driver. Ross shut his eyes during the impact. The car zoomed away leaving Peter and the vase lying broken in the street. The Doctor turned to Ross.

"Go to him. Quick."

Ross stood there frozen in horror. Tears formed in his eyes as he watched his father slow die in the street.

"I can't…" he softly whispered.

Once the Doctor realized that he was in shock and not going to his father's aid, she slowly steered him away. The went around the corner and sat on the ground with their backs against the brick wall. The Doctor held Ross's hand slowly running her thumb over the back of it comfortingly until Ross snapped out of his daze. The ambulances sirens could be heard arriving.

"It's too late now. By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead." Ross looked at the Doctor sorrowfully, with tears running down his cheeks. It pained the Doctor to see him like this. "He can't die alone. Can I try again?"

She caved once more to please her little human.

The Doctor and Ross hide behind the corner to see themselves waiting by the curbside.

"Right, that's the first you and me. It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she leads him off, then go to your dad," the Doctor informed him. Peter got out of his car.

"Oh God, this is it," Past Ross said.

"I can't do this," Present Ross spoke, slightly panicked.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but this is the last time that we can be here," the Doctor told him.

Ross suddenly sprinted towards Peter as he was getting out of his car.

"Ross! No!" The Doctor yelled.

Ross wrapped his arms around his father and threw both of them off to the side of the road out of the way of the driver. The previous Doctor and Ross disappeared. Oh, no no no! This was not good!

The doctor didn't notice Peter pointing at her. She was too busy seething. Stupid, Stupid humans! This was all a ploy, wasn't it? Have her take him back just so he could save his father's life! Was he planning this all along? Buddy on up to her and then convince her to take him here. It's no bloody wonder he hoped on in the TARDIS as soon as he said that it could travel back in time.

The Doctor hadn't said a single word the entire way to the Tyler's flat. Even once they were inside and Peter started to yammer on about some invention. The Doctor waited until she was alone with Ross in the living room. Her arms were folded across her chest and she leaned against the door frame. She watched Ross analyzing the place and continue to speak about unimportant things in the apartment like his father's bowling trophy of health drinks. The Doctor could honestly care less and glared at Ross completely cross.

"'Kay, look, I'll tell him you're not my girlfriend," he said thinking that's why she was so annoyed. How could this daft human no understand the entirety of this situation?! How could he? He was just a stupid little human.

"When we met, I said travel with me in space. You said no. Then I said time machine," she spoke trying to cover the hurt in her voice.

"It wasn't some big plan. I just saw it happening and I thought…I can stop it," Ross defended himself.

The Doctor gave herself a sad smile. "I did it again. I picked another stupid ape. I should've known. It's not about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you."

"So it's okay when you go to other times, and you save people's lives, but not when it's me saving my dad-"

"I know what I'm doing! You don't!" She cut him off. "Two sets of us being there made that a very vulnerable point," she tried to explain.

"But he's alive!"

"My ENTIRE planet died. My family! Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?"

"But it's not like I've changed history. Not much. I mean he's never going to be a world leader. He's not going to start World War Three or anything," he tried to rationalize.

"Ross, there's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. An ordinary man. That's the most important thing in creation. The whole world's different because he's alive," she kept trying to explain to him.

"What, would you rather him dead?"

"I'm not saying that," she shook her head in annoyance.

"No, I get it! For once you're not the most important person in my life," he told her full of bitter.

This struck a pain in her chest. She, at one point, was the most important person in Ross Tyler's life. Above Mickey, her mum, everyone. And now she wasn't. It hurt so much. It angers her that it hurts so much. Why does she feel this way? Why did she have to form feelings for this ape? She should know by now that they all hurt her. They all leave her in the end. Why did she think that this one was any different?

"Let's see how you get on without me, then. Give me the key." She held her hand out. "The TARDIS key. If I'm so insignificant, give it me back," It truly pained her to say these words, but she put up her cool, stony look so he couldn't see what he had done to her.

"Alright then, I will," he said and placed the key into her hand.

"You got what you wanted, so that's goodbye then," she spoke coolly, before turning around and began to leave.

"You don't scare me," he cut her off and stood in front of her. "I know how sad you are. You'll be back in a minute, or you'll hang around outside the Tardis waiting for me. And I'll make you wait a long time," he yelled after her.

She quickly left the flat. She didn't want him to see a truly sad she was. Her pace was quick as she walked down the sidewalk towards the TARDIS. Hot tears were forming in her eyes. She angrily wiped them away. Why was she crying over a stupid ape? She very rarely cried, and she was not going to start crying over Ross!

The TARDIS was in sight. Just as she reached it a cold wind blew past right. She felt as if something was watching her. She looked up towards the sky to find nothing there. She shook her head as she unlocked the door and started to push open the door. That familiar hum and warm was gone. Throwing the doors open she found that the inside of the TARDIS was gone! Now it was just an ordinary telephone booth. She must have been too busy arguing with Ross and feeling sorry for herself that she didn't notice the connection to her old friend had disappeared. This was not good! Everyone was in trouble.

"Ross!" She yelled before sprinting off towards the church the wedding was being held at. The flat would be empty by the time she got there. An old church might actually be the best place to be in a situation like this. She ran as fast as she could. She just hoped that she would make it in time.

As she turned the corner leading to the church she saw Ross standing on the side walk along with the bride, bridesmaids, Peter, and more. They all are in immediate danger.

"Ross!" Ross turned around and smiled knowingly at the Doctor assuming she came back because she missed him. "Get in the church!" She yelled. Ross's smile fell.

Just then they both looked into the sky to see a large creature with bat-like wings appear. It was very devilish looking. The reaper hissed and started to swoop in on Ross. He cried out in fear as it almost latched its talons onto him. The Doctor quickly took action and pushed them both onto the ground and out of the reaper's grab.

"Get in the church," she said once again, to everyone.

The ground quickly headed for the church only to be stopped at the inside of the gates when another reaper appeared. The Doctor put herself in front of the other's ready to distract the beast if need be.

"Oh, my God. What are they? What are they," one woman cried.

"Inside," the Doctor kept yelling trying to coral them in.

"Sarah," the groom yelled for his bride-to-be and stepped outside.

"Stay in there," the Doctor yells at him.

One man, the father of the groom, took in the situation and decided to try and escape. The reapers pounce on him before he could even get a few feet away. Another one appears in the bride's path and she just screams at it, scaring it away. It decided to take that vicar as its next victim. This gave the group some time to make it safely into the church.

Once inside the Doctor began to survey the area making sure they the reapers couldn't get in. Their screeches rang loudly outside of the church.

"They can't get in. Old windows and doors. Okay. The older something is, the stronger it is. What else?" Her mind was racing a million miles a second. She had to make sure they couldn't get in. At least for the time being so she could figure out how to get them out of this mess. "Go and check the other doors! Move!" She cried out orders like the true warrior that she once was.

As the Doctor began to move around Jackie followed. "What's Happening? What are they? What are they," Jackie asked.

"There's been an accident in time. A wound in time. They're like bacteria, taking advantage," she informed her as the Doctor began checking other doors and windows.

"What do you mean, time? What're you jabbering on about, time?" Jackie snarked back, like always.

"Oh, I might've known you'd argue. Jackie, I'm sick of you complaining," the Doctor rolled her eyes.

"How do you know my name," Jackie demanded.

"I haven't got time for this-" the Doctor was cut off by Jackie once more.

"I've never met you in my life," Jackie exclaimed.

"No, and you never will unless I sort this out. Now, if you don't mind, I've waited a long time to say this. Jackie Tyler, do as I say. Go and check the doors," she ordered the woman.

Jackie was shocked to finally be yelled back at. She quickly nodded her head and replied with a 'Yes Ma'am' before running off to check the doors and windows.

"I should have done that ages ago," she laughed.

The groom walked over to the Doctor. "My dad was out there."

"You can mourn him later. Right now, we need to concentrate on keeping ourselves alive,'" the Doctor told him.

"My dad had-"

"There's nothing that I can do for him," she told him firmly.

"No, but he had this phone thing. I can't get it to work. I keep getting this voice." He passed to phone to the Doctor. She put it up to her ear and listened.

"Watson, come here. I need you," it said. The Doctor smiled.

"That's the very first phone call. Alexander Graham Bell. I don't think the telephone's going to be much use," she passed it back to him.

"But someone must have called the police," he said.

"Police can't help you now. No one can. Nothing in this universe can harm those things. Time's been damaged and they've come to sterilize the wound. By consuming everything inside," she explained to everyone. Her eyes locked with Ross who was standing in front of her.

"Is this because… is this my fault?" He asked. The Doctor didn't answer as she stepped around him.

She was still really made at him, so she decided to go off and work rather than say something she might regret later. The Time Lord strode up to the front of the church and began to use her sonic to bolt the doors down. Just was she was doing so the bride and groom approached her.

"Excuse me, Miss," the groom said.

"Doctor," she corrected him.

"You seem to know what's going on," he stated.

"I give that impression, yeah," she said not removing her eyes from her work. In reality she really had no idea how she was going to get them out of this situation.

"I just wanted to ask-" he was cut off by his fiancée.

"Can you save us," she asked abruptly.

This made the Doctor stop her work and turn towards the couple.

"Who are you two, then," she asked, look at them both up and down.

"Stuart Hoskins," the groom said.

"Sarah Clarke," the bride followed.

The Doctor's eyes strayed onto Sarah's slightly protruding stomach.

"And one extra. Boy or a girl?" She asked.

Sarah looked down at her stomach and smiled while caressing it, "I don't know. I don't want to know, really."

"How did all this get started," the Doctor cocked her head, and asked curiously.

"Outside the beatbox club, two in the morning," Stuart grinned at Sarah.

"Street corner," Sarah added with a laugh. "I lost my purse, didn't have money for a taxi."

"I took her home," he said happily.

"Then what? Ask her for a date," the Doctor laughed.

"Wrote his number on the back of my hand," Sarah confirmed.

"Never got rid of her since," he grinned. " My dad said-" he trailed off with a frown.

"I don't know what this is all about, and I know we're not important-" Sarah began sadly.

"Who said you're not important? I've travelled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn't even imagine, but you two. Street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that. Yes. I'll try and save you." The Time Lord smiled at the pair.

Suddenly Jackie began to call her over. As she walked over to the blonde she began to prepare for another lecture of some sort. She was surprised when Jackie asked if she could watch baby Ross while she went and looked for Peter and little Mickey. She of course obliged. Little Ross looked up at her and began to smile. This made the Doctor's heart soar. Even though she was still a little ticked at her Ross, she had no reason to be angry with this little one. He was even as cute as his current Ross.

She sat down beside him and offered him to play with her fingers a she smiled down. She began to talk to him knowing very well that he would not understand her. However, the present Ross approaching them would.

"Now, Ross you're not going to bring about the end of the world, are you? Are you?" She gave a sideways glance to Ross. "Jackie gave her to me to look after. How times change."

Ross gave a small laugh. "I'd better be careful. I think I just imprinted myself on Mickey like a mother chicken."

He began to lean in close to the baby. The Doctor put her hand on his chest to stop him.

"No. Don't touch the baby. You're both the same person. That's a paradox, and we don't want a paradox happening, not with these things outside. Anything new, any disturbance in time makes them stronger. The paradox might let them in," she informed him.

"I can't do anything right, can I," he mumbled dejected.

The Doctor looked at him and frowned. She knew he was hurting, but he needed to learn from his mistake. If he wanted to continue to travel with her then he can't make stupid and dangerous mistakes like this again.

"Since you asked, no! So, Don't. Touch. The baby." She emphasized every word so he would understand.

"I'm not stupid," he glared at her.

"You could have fooled me," she shot back. Ross looked away, sad and a little angry. She knew that she had to be the one to cave first and fix this bitterness between them. She really hated it when they were like this. "Alright, I'm sorry. I wasn't really going to leave you on your own."

"I know," he looked at her with apologetic eyes.

"But between you and me, I haven't got a plan. No idea. No way out," she confessed.

"You'll think of something. You always do."

"The entire Earth's been sterilized. This, and other places like it, are all that's left of the human race. We might hold out for a while, but nothing can stop those creatures. They'll get through in the end. The walls aren't that old. And there's nothing I can do to stop them. There used to be laws stopping this kind of thing from happening. My people would have stopped this. But they're all gone. And now I'm going the same way."

"If I'd just realized…" he began.

"Just… tell me you're sorry," she looked at him.

"I am. I'm sorry," and he meant it.

The Doctor reached out and placed a hand on his cheek. Ross held onto it with his hand and leaned into the touch. The Time Lord grinned at him and the both fell into a hug. Ross leaned back with a small jolt.

"Have you got something hot," he asked. He reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the TARDIS key. It was scolding hot which made him quickly toss it to the ground.

"It's the TARDIS key," she grinned and quickly took off her leather jacket to pick up the flowing key. "It's telling me it's still connected to the TARDIS. Everyone! I have an announcement!" She ran up to the back of the church and faced the entire crowd. "The inside of my ship was thrown out of the wound but we can use this to bring it back. And once I've got my ship back, then I can mend everything. Now, I just need a bit of power. Has anybody got a battery?"

Stuart quickly grabbed his dad's phone and passed it to the Doctor.

"Fantatic!" She grinned. She took the battery and began to charge it up with her sonic. Once it was ready she placed the key where the door would be and it held in place. The TARDIS slowly began to materialize around it. "Right, no one touches that key. Have you got that? Don't touch it. Anyone touches that key, it'll be, well, zap. Just leave it be and everything will be fine. We'll get out of here. All of us. Stuart, Sarah you're going to get married, just like I said." She grinned at the couple.

Afterwards there was nothing much to do except wait. Ross and the Doctor sat in one of the back pews with Peter in the one directly behind them. Ross leaned towards the Doctor and began to speak softly.

"When time gets sorted out-" he began.

"Everybody here forgets what happened. And don't worry, the thing that you changed will stay changed," she finished his thought.

"You mean I'll still be alive, though I'm meant to be dead. That's why I haven't done anything with my life, why I didn't mean anything," Peter started from behind them.

"It doesn't work like that," the Doctor said.

"Rubbish. I'm so useless I couldn't even die properly. Now it's my fault all of this has happened," Peter said with a frown.

"This is my fault," Ross reassured him.

"No, mate. I'm your dad. It's my job for it to be my fault," Peter stated.

The Doctor got up and shook her head in frustration. Of course, Ross told him.

"Her dad? How are you her dad? How old were you, twelve? Oh, that's disgusting," Jackie said, overhearing the entire conversation.

"Jacks, listen. This is Ross," he tried to explain.

"Ross? How sick is that? You give my son a second-hand name? How many are there? Do you call them all Ross," Jackie yelled defensively.

"Oh, for God's sake, look! It's the same Ross," Peter said taking baby Ross out of Jackie's hands and place him into Ross's hands.

"Ross! No!" The Doctor yelled, but it was too late. She grabbed the baby and placed him back into Jackie's arms.

Just then a reaper formed inside the church causing panic. "Everyone! Behind me!" They all ran behind the Doctor as she held her arms out in a sad attempt to protect them all. She stared up at the creature with fear in her eyes. "I'm the oldest thing in here."

Within a blink of an eye the reaper flew towards her. There was a second of pain. Then darkness.

The Doctor woke up on the ground where she was attacked completely unharmed. She felt her body and did a quick once over. She was fine, and was not regenerate. While getting up on her feet the first thought to cross her mind was to find Ross. As she stepped outside she began to observe the situation. Peter was lying in the middle of the road once again with a broken vase. He must have sacrificed himself to set everything right. She walked up next to Ross.

"Go to him. Quick," she told him.

With that bit of encouragement, he ran off to be with his father during his final moments. The Doctor finally approached the scene once I was over. She held put her hand for Ross to take. He did, and the two walked hand in hand back to the TARDIS for some much needed down time before their next adventure.

[chilling-seavey]

Anything But Mine (d.s.) - Chapter Five

A/N :)

Saturday, September 7th, 2019

Florence, of course, called Callum right away to tell him the news. Her call, as usual, was sent to voicemail. For once, it didn't ruin her mood. She talked excitedly into the phone, spilling how she met this gorgeous boy and how he made her feel all these ways she never knew she could feel before. The rest of the day was spent getting her apartment back together, leaving Clementine playing on the living room rug while she worked. Laundry was started, dishes were washed, and a good vacuuming was done to the hardwood floors.

As much as she was loving life that day, her mood depleted quickly with the lack of text from Grayson. Two days had passed and she had still not received a text back. She tried not to overthink it, yet it still took a toll on her. She was in a sensitive state of mind once Matt left and she couldn't help but think she did something wrong.

It was Saturday around noon when Florence went over to the frat house for a spur of the moment visit. Daniel answered the door, barely getting a word out before she threw her arms around his neck.

“Hi.” Daniel laughed.

Florence let herself into the house, pushing the stroller with the sleeping baby in it.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, not being able to hide his smile over her cheery mood.

“The apartment was too quiet and I missed you.” Florence shrugged, letting herself grab a pop from the fridge.

“I missed you too.” Daniel smiled.

“How's school?” Florence leaned against the counter.

“It’s good. My producing professor is tough but I’m sure that’s a good sign.” Daniel shrugged. “What have you been up to?”

“I’m glad you asked.” Florence said dramatically. “I met the most amazing guy.”

Daniel’s smile faltered but she didn’t notice.

“His name is Grayson and he’s our age too and he’s so gorgeous like chiseled from the earth gorgeous and he’s so sweet and funny and-and-“ Florence gushed, hiding her pink cheeks behind her can.

“Where did you meet him?” Daniel asked softly.

“At Mommy group! He’s Cameron’s younger brother. And he’s a twin too! An identical twin but to me they don’t look identical but Ethan is really witty and lovely and I still can’t understand how they’re so...so...” Florence held her hands out in front of her. “So.”

“Sounds nice.” Daniel nodded.

“Are you okay?” Florence raised an eyebrow. “You’re distant.”

“Sorry, I was writing upstairs so my mind is still there I guess.” Daniel cleared his throat.

“Oh, sorry!” Florence said quickly. “Go back to it! I’ll just hang out down here if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.” Daniel said. He started for the stairs but Florence ran over and hugged him before he got too far.

“Love you.” She whispered.

“I love you too.” He smiled.

Florence made herself comfortable at the dining room table, pulling Clementine next to her in her stroller. She opened the small jar of baby food she brought with her and started to feed the baby. Only moments later, Jack came down the stairs with his guitar in his hands.

“Hey.” He smiled, coming over to greet the two.

“Hey, you.” Florence beamed.

“You’re in a good mood.” Jack stated.

“I am! Life is looking up!” Florence threw her arms out. Clementine laughed.

“Do the ladies want some music with their lunch?” Jack sat down next to them, his guitar on his lap.

“I’m sure we won’t mind, would we, Clem?” Florence said. Clementine watched Jack intently as he started playing, lazily opening her mouth to be fed spoonfuls. As long as Florence knew him, Jack always had an amazing singing voice. It was clear her daughter thought the same.

At that moment, her phone rang. Florence picked it up without looking at the screen, tucking it between her shoulder and ear as she wiped the baby's face with the edge of the spoon. Jack quieted his playing.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Grayson."

Florence's heart leapt like a middle schooler with a crush.

"Oh, hey." She cleared her throat nervously. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry for not texting you the past couple days, work has been a major pain in the ass."

"Yeah, I figured you were busy."

Grayson continued, "What are you doing right now?"

"Nothing really. Why?"

"I'm downstairs. I want to take you out."

Florence almost dropped her phone. No one had ever asked her out before.

"I would love that but I'm not at home right now."

"Oh. You must be busy then."

"Um, one sec." Florence muted her phone, turning to Jack. “How much do you love me?”

“A decent amount, why?” Jack said slowly, still quietly plucking away at his guitar. Living in a house of boys, he knew better than to accept something before knowing what it was.

"Can you watch Clem if I go out? I just got asked on a date by this amazing guy and I'm kind of freaking out!"

"Yes! Of course, I can!" Jack beamed. “I wouldn’t say no to quality time with my favourite little orange.” He leaned over to squish Clementine’s cheek and she giggled.

"Thank you." Florence whispered before putting her phone back to her ear. "Yeah, no, I'm not busy. I'll head home now."

"I can pick you up if you would like?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, text me the address."

"Okay." Florence couldn't wipe her smile off her face as they said their goodbyes. Jack was leaning on the table, smirking at her.

"What?" Florence mumbled, noting him staring as she texted Grayson.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Jack asked.

"Just someone I met the other day." Florence shrugged, sliding her phone in her back pocket as she stood up from the table.

"Good." Jack smiled, "Someone who can treat you how you deserve to be treated. Oops did I say that out loud?”

Florence smiled nervously, moving slowly and nervously, finishing her drink and applying light lipstick in the powder room. Florence's heart was hammering in her chest; she didn't know why she was reacting this way. It never happened this much with Matt. Thinking of him made her whole demeanor change, her shoulders slumping and bright eyes falling. She tried to focus on Jack’s music but her mind was cloudy. The wait for Grayson's text was almost tortuous, the nineteen-year-old's broken heart still beating strongly. When her phone buzzed in her hand, she took a deep breath, adjusting her purse on her arm as she called goodbye to Jack, and started for the front door.

The light blue Porsche was parked on the street out front. Grayson was stood leaning against it, his dark hair pushed back messily, and black sunglasses on his nose. He wore a black button up, the sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone, and dark grey cuffed jeans. Florence physically stopped at the sight of him for a quick second. When he saw her, he smiled and walked over to open the door for her.

"Thanks." Florence mumbled through a smile. The two got in the front seat again. Florence blushed at the memory of what happened the last time they were there.

"Did you have a good day yesterday?" Grayson asked her as he pulled away from the curb.

"It was alright. Just got some cleaning done." Florence answered. "How was work?"

"So long. I work at CTV studios and they kept me there for hours yesterday. I didn't get home until late."

"You work at CTV?" Florence gaped. "That's the biggest Canadian television and film company."

"Yeah." Grayson chuckled. "My brother and I were going to move to LA but they noted our social media presence out of high school and offered us an internship and then now a full time job."

"That's incredible." Florence shook her head, as Grayson turned onto the main road. "What do you do there?"

"We're on our first producing gig currently but usually we're filming or helping out with editing."

"Ah, so no talk show starring for you?"

"Not yet." Grayson laughed.

Florence looked out the window, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He smiled. "So, we talked about my job. What do you do?"

"I'm raising an eight-month-old." Florence sighed, her gaze flicking over to him. He was still staring straight out the windshield but she noted his eyebrows furrowing momentarily. Florence continued, "I couldn't start university here because a) I was pregnant and b) I had no money to my name. Still don’t, really."

"But you manage to live downtown still?"

"My family has a lot of money so my brother sends me enough for my apartment rent. Our old neighbours really help me with other things I need. I don’t have time to get a job or even take classes because I have to look after Clementine all the time."

"That must be hard."

"It is; but I think it'll be worth it one day."

"I don't doubt it for a second. You're putting your life on hold to raise your daughter. That's really admirable and no where near easy."

His overly kind words startled Florence into silence. She just stared at him. When she didn’t answer, he briefly looked over at her then back to the road.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"No, you didn’t, it's just no one has said that to me before. Callum always kind of makes me feel badly for what I do. He has this grudge against Matt – my ex – and I guess he just blames him for screwing over my future."

"Well I don't blame him for having that grudge. And obviously your brother's opinion matters a lot to you, so I get why you feel stuck in the middle. But your priority is your daughter and that's what you are focussing your life around which is the right thing to do."

"Do you take classes on sweet talk?" Florence smirked. Grayson looked over at her and smiled a goofy grin, making his whole face absolutely light up. Florence couldn't help but notice his perfected jaw line and how his light brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the sun.

"Nah but I pride myself on my honesty."

Florence bit back a smile, turning to look out the window. It was a sunny day with bright blue skies and sparkling sunlight hitting the lake water. It was only a few quick minutes later when Grayson turned onto a side street and into a parking lot. A graffitied wooden fence framed the cracked concrete lot.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"Where are we?" Florence frowned with curiosity.

"We're going bowling."

Florence could feel herself pale.

"You look like I just told you I'm a serial killer. Have you not been before?"

"No. I've never been bowling. I don't even know how to play."

"What?!" Grayson gaped. "Well good thing I brought you then. Come on."

Grayson opened his door and climbed out. Florence took a second to take a deep breath before following him. The walk around to the entrance was nerve-wracking to Florence. Although, now living alone, she was used to saving money and going through life like the average city dweller; she was still affected by the way she was raised, and the dimly lit bowling ally made her almost cringe.

Grayson stopped at the front desk, passing over his credit card in exchange for two pairs of shoes.

“I’m putting so much trust in you right now.” Florence shook her head as they got to their designated lane.

“It’s just bowling.” Grayson laughed as he sat down to change his shoes. Florence did the same.

“It was a game for the lower class in my family.” Florence admitted, sliding off her own shoes.

“Oof, ‘the lower class’.” Grayson laughed. “Your parents doctors or something? Lawyers?”

“Actors. Hollywood actors.”

“Really?” Grayson gaped.

“Surprised you haven’t heard about the scandal. DiCaprio daughter flees parents’ luxury to live alone.”

“Sounds like quite the heathen, that one.” Grayson smirked.

“Kinda a bitch, to be honest.” Florence joked.

“Well at least she’s got those stunning good looks going for her.” Grayson got up and stood in front of her, holding out his hand to help her up. Florence stood up with him and he guided her to the beginning of the lane, a ten pound ball in his hand.

“Take this.” He instructed. “Fingers in these holes here.”

He wrapped his arms around her, large hands on her wrists, guiding her arm back.

“Toss it forward, try to go straight down.”

He took a step back and Florence gave the ball a toss. It spun right into the gutter. She put her hands on her hips and turned to him, her lips pursed.

“I think I did it wrong.”

Grayson laughed, “It’s not easy.”

He took a ball for himself and aimed and shot. His back muscles flexed as he moved and Florence couldn’t help but stare. Grayson’s flawless shot knocked down all the pins.

“No one likes a show off.” Florence tisked.

“No one likes a sore loser.” Grayson teased.

It was like that for the rest of the game: Florence’s failed attempts and Grayson’s expertise of the classic game shining through. She was exhausted by the end, Grayson guiding her to his car with a hand on her lower back. He opened the door for her and helped her in. Florence thought about her mother and how proud she would have been if she had seen that simple action.

“How do you feel about steak?” Grayson asked as he closed the door behind him and started the ignition.

“I think it’s delicious but half a mortgage.” Florence said.

Grayson only smiled, turning onto the sunset dyed streets. One arm was resting on the window ledge, the other at the top of the steering wheel. Soft 80s classics were playing through the speaker and when he rolled down the windows to let the summer air in, he also turned up the volume.

Grayson sang loudly, making Florence laugh and join in. Each red light they stopped at earned them glances from pedestrians but they sang on like no one was listening. The warm summer air blew Florence’s blonde hair back in waves, her smile plastered to her face like she was sculpted that way.

The restaurant they pulled up to was coated in dark glass and black panelling in the midst of downtown. Fairy lights were strung along the patio, lighting the exterior in a golden shade. They both got out of the car and made the short walk to the restaurant from the parking lot. Grayson led Florence inside by a hand on her back. Dark laminate flooring and black painted walls stared back from the interior with white accents and red detailing. People sipped red wine in fancy dress and Florence felt out of place in her jeans and t-shirt.

“Do you take all your dates here?” Florence asked Grayson as they started to follow the hostess to their table.

“Nah. Been waiting just for that special one.”

His smooth words never failed to bring a blush to her cheeks. As they sat at their table and they were given their menus, Florence took her phone from her pocket. The only notifications were a picture of Clementine and Jack playing guitar send by Aidan and a text from Daniel.

Jack said you’re on a date. I hope he acts like a gentleman.

Florence smiled, sliding her phone back in her purse without responding. Daniel’s hopes were definitely answered as Grayson was the most polite and respectful man Florence had ever met. The perfect combination of sweet, witty, and flirty, Grayson could leave her smiling for hours. And he did. Dinner lasted longer than usual, their meals filled with childhood stories and facts about themselves. Florence learned that Grayson grew up in a small town and got into so much trouble with Ethan as a child; breaking bones and giving their poor mother grey hair at an early age. Florence told him her story, growing up in a strict family in the upper class area of LA and how punishment was intense. She even explained her confusing relationship with Matt, Grayson listening intently through the all of the details.

They walked back to the car hand in hand, pink dusting Florence’s cheeks both from the simple action and from the glass of champagne she had with dinner. The warm summer air was cooling down under the moonlit sky, the bustling sounds of the city filling the infinite space around them. Finally at the car, Florence reached for the door but Grayson took her outstretched hand in his other, guiding her to face him. He didn’t speak, instead, cupped her face with one of his large hands and pressed his lips to hers. Florence could have melted on the spot. Her back fell gently against the cool metal of the car, contrasting Grayson’s warm body beautifully. She let her hands rest against his chest, the firm muscle under her touch almost making her knees buckle. It was nothing she had ever experienced before and it was electrifying. Grayson wrapped his other hand around to her back, pulling her body close against his. The way his tongue felt over her lips made the nineteen year old, open up for him hungrily. As her nails started to grasp the front of his button up, he pulled back, leaving still minimal space between them.

“Come home with me?” Florence breathed, embarrassing herself by saying that.

“I’ll take you back to your daughter.” Grayson smiled. “I’m not the type to stay over on the first date.”

“Oh, me neither. I just-I didn’t-“

“I was teasing.” Grayson chuckled, dipping down to kiss her again. “But I do stick with that rule.”

~~

Zach was the only one awake when Florence was dropped off at the boys’ house. Being left with a chaste kiss, Florence was in pure bliss as she came twirling into the foyer. Zach was in his pyjamas at the fridge in the darkened kitchen, watching her with amusement over his young features. Florence came to an immediate stop when she spotted him, hands catching herself on the granite island.

“Someone’s happy.” Zach chuckled.

“I had the best night!” Florence sighed, making sure to stay quiet for the other boys who she guessed were asleep since it was almost midnight. “Is Daniel upstairs?”

“Yeah I think he’s still up.” Zach said. “You staying over?”

“Probably. If Clementine’s already down.”

“She is. We sang her a few songs.” Zach admitted.

“What would I do without you guys?”

“Be sad, for one thing.” Zach shrugged, popping a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth.

With quick ‘good night’s, Florence headed to Daniel’s room and Zach started for the loft. Sure enough, Daniel was fast asleep, gentle breaths being the only sound filling the room. Since the last time Florence was there, she noticed the addition of the small bassinet by the far wall and she walked over to find her daughter asleep on her back. Her lips were parted slightly and little snores matched her moving chest. The onesie she wore was white with a print of a Clementine fruit on it; part of the set that the boys got Florence for her baby shower.

Florence left a kiss to her baby’s head before helping herself to Daniel’s drawers. She got herself changed into a light pink sweatshirt and stayed in her underwear, leaving her discarded clothes and bra on the wooden floors. Daniel shifted as she climbed under the covers next to him, a place she always felt so comfortable. As Florence got herself situated, Daniel woke from his light sleep. He shuffled up behind her, wrapping an arm around her middle, pulling her into him.

“You’re back.” he said, his voice thick with sleepiness.

“I am.” Florence smiled, her voice quiet through the dark room. She set her hand over his, the position all too familiar to when she was pregnant and staying at the Clifford’s. Daniel was stay over often to keep her company, being one of the few things that helped her fall asleep during those later months.

“It was good?” Daniel asked tiredly.

“So good.” Florence sighed, pulling his arm tighter around her. She fell asleep before he could say anything else.

[bloodandpaintchips]

Eat, Pray, Love

Tagging→ Andrea Sheldon, Audra Sheldon, a dead guy named Lou Time Frame→ Late September, 2020 Location→ Brooklyn & Upstate NY General Notes→ Andy’s a mess, and finally meets her proposed dead mother, Audra. It goes well.   

Glamorous.

When Andrea got another bite on her Facebook post about her mom and the photos she posted, she didn’t open it for a while. When she finally did, just like the note, she just kept repeating certain phrases in her head. Like glamorous.

It still sat in her DMs days later:

Hey, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the lady you’re looking for. I work in Chelsea and I’ve served her and some guy a few times. Almost didn’t recognize her or say anything because the woman I see is way more glamorous. Not as grungy and artsy, just reallly nice jewelry and big tips.

Anyway, I don’t know much about her or where she’s from but I know she either lives here in the city or she comes in a lot. 

Hope this helps.

Andy knew this was supposed to be exciting, but for the first time in what had to be years, she was nervous. Did this person make a mistake or did she actually get a lead on Audra? Taking the next step felt important.

Maybe her head was also in a spin because she was so hungry. She looked up from the twin motel bed she sat perched on to look at the mirror across the room over the dresser. Just an empty spot on the bed in front of a laptop, but she didn’t need a reflection to know she no longer looked human. The hungrier she got, the more tired, the more she stayed in her true form, which she had yet to accept. Tearing her gaze away from the reflection, she looked over at the twenty-something year old guy laying face down on the bed, glassy eyes gazing at her and mouth quivering from her compulsion to stay quiet.

He looked bad. Skin overly pale, her bites covering him, some of them getting infected. It was like fasting and coming home to a TV dinner that had been left out for a week.

She groaned, shutting the laptop and reaching for a rubber band on the nightstand to put her hair up.

In moments she was out of the motel, walking to her van with No Name Dude slung over her shoulder. 

Tossing him into the back and unceremoniously shutting the doors, she got into the driver's seat, started the engine and took off to the local hospital. So far she’s been deemed in this West Virginia town as “animal attacks” but she knew she had about one more time before she had to hit the road again.

Parking far away from the emergency entrance, she put the car in park and looked back at the near dead college boy on her blankets. 

After stopping the car she crawled back there, taking a few deep breaths to hype herself up for one last feed on this guy so she could play it off long enough to find the next one. But she knew it was gonna taste gross.

Scanning his arm for an okay spot, she lifted his elbow to her lips and sank her exposed fangs a few inches above it, drinking and shutting her eyes through a few gulps. With a deep breath, she released him and wiped her mouth off with one of the blankets. Despite the stale taste, after a moment she felt slightly normal again. She could feel herself returning to normal, skin soft and eyes clear, but she had a small window of time before her hunger would begin to nag again.

She pulled the guy out of her van, throwing him back over her shoulder and taking off to the entrance to drop his body on the curb. Feeling his pulse, her eyebrows raised to find that it was pretty steady.

“Good luck,” she mumbled. After that she was gone, having sped back to the van, started it up and headed for the road.

West Virginia Tech wasn’t exactly a notorious party school, but she ate well while she was here. And if she was going to have the energy to get closer to finding her mother, she needed to be filled up one more time.

-

“Oh hi, I’m so sorry I’m just standing out here like a goober, I guess I’m debating cause I’m nervous,” Andrea said, greeting three girls walking up onto the porch of a house party.

“Oh my god! Are you new on campus?” One of the girls pressed her hand to her chest like Andrea was the most precious thing she’d ever seen.

“Do you know anyone inside? If not you can come in with us!” The tallest girl introduced herself as Kelly, the first one to speak as Chelsea and the third, who was already buzzed and shooting Andy a warm smile, as Morgan. 

“No, I just saw the public invite and wanted to put myself out there but I should have known coming alone would send me into a whirlwind of regret,” Andy replied, laughing and shaking her head.

“Come on, you’ll walk in with us and it won’t be awkward at all,” Chelsea said, earning nods from her friends.

When they entered the party, bass throbbing against wood floors and bodies everywhere, Andrea thought of a time when these kinds of events (outside of working) used to send her into an anxiety hole. She thought about her past fears a lot. Now, all she felt in the sweaty room to the soundtrack of Travis Scott was determination. 

She played up her role of awkward new girl, letting the threesome introduce her around until she found the right one. Luckily, he ended up presenting himself.

“Kelly, who’s your friend?” He asked, leaning in to be heard over the music.

“This is Rachel, our new friend!” She yelled back along with confirmations from the girls.

Andy maintained her role but almost wanted to giggle to herself at the way this boy looked at her, like he was hungry and she was a delicious snack; irony always got to her.

“Yeah, my name’s Rachel,” she repeated, reaching out to shake his hand. 

“Lou. You new to the school or just the crew?” His hand lingered on hers for a moment and the girls, watching and grinning and giggling amongst themselves, took that as a cue to let them get to know each other.

“New to the school and the crew I guess,” she answered, tucking her hair behind her ear and giving a half smile to really play up her naïveté. “I’m enjoying myself though.”

“Do you get high?”

“Yeah actually, are they smoking in here?”

“No but I’ve got some up in my room.”

She met his curious eyes with a smile, holding her hand out, telling him to lead the way. On her way up the stairs, you could hear whoops and other inappropriate commentary despite the loud ass music. She knew it was coming; the college parties all blend together after a while.

Lou sat on his bed, rolling a blunt on what looked to be a folder from one of his classes. He was asking her a lot of bullshit questions about her interests and who she was as a person so the obvious ploy to get her in the sack seemed more genuine.

“So I lied,” she said, once he’d finished rolling and was passing the second hit to her. She hit it once and pressed the burning tip onto the desk to put it out. “I don’t really smoke.”

Lou’s eyes lit up and she could tell he was holding back a pleased grin. “Oh, you just wanted to spend some time alone with me?” They were sitting on his small bed and he inched closer, putting an arm around her shoulder.

She made eye contact with him again, giving a shy smile before pressing the middle of his chest back so he was essentially tossed onto the pillow. His eyes were wide from his now laying position but they still glistened with excitement as she crawled on top of him.

“You got me,” she said, taking off her glasses and putting them on the stand. His heart was beating fast and she could hear it so loudly.

“I uh, don’t have any protection, I hope that’s cool.” 

She tried not to roll her eyes, instead leaning down to press a small kiss to his neck before flicking her tongue at the lobe of his ear. “That’s cool,” she said simply before beginning a trail of kissing and sucking down his neck, collarbone and eventually removing his shirt to continue down his torso.

He bucked his hips a little, rushing her toward the blowjob he was so sure was coming.

“Be patient,” she said, running a finger down to his happy trail.

“I’m sorry you’re just...so—”

She didn’t want to waste any more time, sinking her fangs into his hip. She would later think it funny that she ended up being the impatient one. 

Covering his mouth when he started to scream, she shushed him repeatedly, still straddling his waist.

“You’re going to be silent. And you’re going to come with me.”

——

Back at the motel, Andy laid on one of the twin beds, her hand on her stomach and a smile on her face. She felt solid again. Lou was slumped up in a sitting position on the other bed, watching tv with dazed eyes and remaining under her command not to speak.

Sitting up, she grabbed her laptop and set it in front of her, ready to finally answer that message and possibly hit the road again soon.

“Thanks for this, by the way.” The comment was directed at Lou where he sat, as she opened the internet and leaned over to grab a lighter off the table, sparking the blunt he’d rolled for them (her, now) hours earlier.

______________________________________________________________

So Lou was dead.

He was also still in the back of her van, but once she reached New York, one hunch led to another, to an acquaintance to...actually being close to her mom. She’d been led to one more person, someone who supposedly could give her an address. So, she didn’t really have time to find a hospital and dump his half dead body there. She didn’t really have time for anything but feeding and fixating.

She was also not doing too hot again. Thumping her head against the driver’s seat of the van, she sighed heavily before aggressively slapping herself in the face.

“Come on Andrea,” she mumbled through gritted teeth. She knew she had to get better at feeding -- more efficient or something because she got to this point much too often. A voice in her head told her it was her own fault, feeding on singular targets until they get rotten, leaving them alive because of some pathetic desire she had in her heart to be good. Ironically, she didn’t care as much about that as a human. Maybe because she had a soul then and didn’t spend all the time lamenting about her lack of one.

She was the lamest fucking immortal on the planet, that much she knew had to be true.

Her eyes weren’t hazel anymore, her veins protruding to show she hadn’t properly fed in days. Maybe a week. Time was blurring together even more the closer she got to Audra. But she had to get out of the van and go across the street to the club. Her executive functioning also seemed to grow the closer she got. Scared but determined to find her mother; it was an annoying line to toe.

The nightclub was called BACCHUS and it was somewhere in Brooklyn. It would be the first creature friendly drinking hole she’d encounter since TARTARUS. Looking at the neon sign would have made her a little nostalgic if she wasn’t so focused on the turning of her stomach, skin and head. Her hunger made her feel like she had the flu, and that was only in early stages. If this place was for humans, they might have called her a meth-head and dismissed her at the door.

“Oh, honey.” The bodyguard at the entrance addressed her with concerned yellow eyes when she was at the front of the line. “Come on in.”

She simply gave him a grateful smile before going in, scanning the big city club for a bartender with fire red hair, as he’d been described to her by multiple humans and vampires who had encountered Audra. Supposedly he did more than encounter her before she “settled down” wherever she was. Fighting off a couple twitches, she continued to study the bar until she found him.

 “Don’t even, sweetheart,” he said, holding a hand up when she found a stool in front of him. She was confused until he set a tumbler of thick red liquid on the bar in front of her. Everyone could tell she was out of it. She downed it, no questions asked.

As soon as she’d set it down, he was refilling it again from a glass jar with snake engravings on it.

“That’s cool,” she said, pointing at the jar before gladly taking her glass and finishing it off again.

“I’ve had it forever. But let’s talk about who you are and why you don’t like feeding.” His eyes flashed a pretty violet and she found herself studying the vampire, thinking of her mother and the vast difference between this bartender and Frank Sheldon.

“Um, I’m Andrea. I got turned against my will when I was 24 and I guess I’m still struggling.” He was studying her too.

“So you need to loosen up,” he replied, ignoring the other bar patrons waving at him for service, to the irritation of his coworkers. “I have just the thing.”

He reached under the bar and pulled out a similar jar, only this one was matte black, covered in silver snakes.

“Why the new jar?” She asked, eyeing the new stream of blood being served into her glass. He shrugged.

“My good stuff. Consider it to be top shelf,” he said with a pleased grin. She was already feeling better, knowing the skin on her face was smooth again and her eyes back to their unassuming shade. As a result she relaxed the more she spoke to him, but she was getting away from the point. Downing the new glass and not tasting anything strange, she slid it back to him with a gracious nod.

“So, I’m not just here looking for free snacks and conversation with a new person,” she began. He liked that, leaning forward on the bar and cocking his head slightly.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I...someone I met recently said you may be able to point me in the direction of Audra Sheldon.”

That gave him pause and he straightened his back, expression flopping between surprise and confusion.

“Sheldon?”

“Uh, she may have gone by Audra Miller when you knew her.” The confusion left his face and he folded his arms, eyeing her curiously.

“Wow. You’re the daughter.”

“Did she talk about me?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her expression dropped a bit when he shook his head.

“No. She was pretty withholding about her past. Especially with me. When I’m with someone I can briefly see their memories. You look like the little girl I saw, now that I get a real look at you.”

Andrea wondered if Audra never spoke of them to protect them. It would make sense. It just seems odd to brush a little girl’s hair every day and sing to her and read her comics only to never bring her up again.

“What would I see if I saw your memories?” he asked, bringing her out of the thought trail. She trailed the rim of her glass and laughed a little, feeling a strange buzz in her head that felt unfamiliar. Probably the top shelf blood or whatever.

“Not much,” she shrugged. “You’d see a lot of movie nights with a human dad, my glorious years as a busboy and a few romps, some that stay with me, some I really wish I could forget. Typical sad immortal girl shit I guess.” The way he gazed at her made her add on another point. “I dont necessarily believe in the whole ‘when you sleep with someone you’re sleeping with everyone they’ve slept with’ bit, but I would definitely pass on having a sex partner in common with my mother.”

He laughed loudly, earning an eye roll from the other bartender who pushed behind him to serve an impatient demon. “Maybe you have a little gift for mind reading.”

“I don’t think so. I could just be good at reading people. Or it could be you blatantly looking...everywhere…” she said, trailing off a bit as his gaze drifted back up from her arms, neck and chest.

“I’m sorry, I tend to be a little greedy sometimes,” he said, trying his best at a well-meaning smile.

“I just need the address.” She knew he had it, he knew she wanted it, and she was grateful for the blood but tired of being leered at.

“Why do you wanna find your mom anyway? She certainly didn’t go looking for you.” Despite his discouraging words, he was ripping off a piece of paper from a pad by the register behind him. He scribbled a few words onto it with a sharpie and slid it to her.

“Well, I guess if that’s the case I have a twenty plus year curiosity to quell. Thanks,” she said, sliding off the stool.

“Good luck,” he paused and put his hand on hers that held the paper, smirking. “And have a good trip okay?”

She stood there, squinting at him after the weird sendoff and gently pulled her hand away. He said “trip” with a wink and she didn’t have time to decipher it. However the buzzing in her head had grown quite a bit and the further away she got from the bar, the more she thought his “top shelf” blood might have had a strange kick to it.

___________

Lou was well past the rigor mortis stage, but Andrea couldn’t be bothered with that. She only just realized she’d been dosed with a psychedelic and now that she had an address, stopping now seemed silly. He would just have to stay there for the time being. She had no idea how long the drugs would last or what they would do to her so she just needed to get where she was going.

The first wave was alright, maybe she even liked it. The lights of the city danced and when she got to the interstate along rows of trees, they danced for her too. Their arms reached over the road ahead of her, twisting and furling. As long as she did what the GPS said, she felt she would be fine. And she really believed that, until she started to peak and the hallucinations took form.

The van skidded to a stop off the side of the road when she felt someone there with her. She swore she felt someone sitting in the passenger seat but whenever she looked, they were gone. She had to stop. Get herself together.

When no one materialized, she cursed at herself and put the car back in drive, bouncing back onto the paved road.

“Oh, we could have been so happy Andrea. I swear you just didn’t see it.”

She heard those words, clear as day. But she wouldn’t stop again, could only grip the wheel until she could feel it indenting under her skin. She knew it was August’s voice, the sound of it sending a shiver up her scar. It was unmistakable.

“He’s not here Andy. That’s impossible. He’s not here.” She finally stole a glance over to the passenger seat and gasped, snapping her eyes back to the road and shaking her head. 

August was there, pale and dapper in one of those suits, holding his decapitated head in his arms, the blood pooling in his lap and dripping from the open wound that was his neck. The head was doing the talking while his arms kept him securely in his lap.

“You have so much potential, Andrea and you’re just wasting it!” 

“No. No no no no no…” she muttered to herself, taking deep empty breaths and trying her best to keep her eyes on the road. She knew the veins in her face were pulsing, unsure if she was turning against her will because of the drugs or if she was hungry again. She was so unsure and fucking August was still talking.

“You thought a bartender or a bouncer or a pizza clerk could give you what you wanted but I offered you everything you could need on a silver platter. Every single thing you wanted--”

“EXCEPT FOR YOU. I NEVER. WANTED YOU. YOU TOOK ME,” her bellowed words filled the van as it screeched to another stop and she looked at the headless man, red veiny eyes swelling.

After a glance back at the road, he was gone. But she swore she could still see the blood puddle stain from where he sat. Starting back onto the road, she was now very aware that she hated this. She was so on edge she knew her driving wheel would now be the shape of her clenched fingers when she pulled them away.

Her phone said she had another two hours before reaching her destination. With no one else on the road in the middle of the night, she sped.

The radio was blasting now because she needed a distraction. Needed something other than the silence and whoever else would try to invade it. A couple swerves on the road where attributed to her glancing in the rearview mirror and seeing her father, looking back at her as himself only with her glowing, veiny, black rimmed eyes. She continued to mutter “no” to herself, following the road to the best of her ability.

An hour had passed, and as long as she avoided the mirrors and thus Frank, she truly felt she could get to the upstate address mostly unscathed.

She felt what had to be genuine fear. That was something she couldn’t really remember feeling as deeply as she did as a human. What fucked up memory would replay itself next? Who from her past would appear to make her feel helpless?

The few glasses of blood, as she knew, were getting weaker and weaker at their job of keeping her sustained. She saw the road and her dashboard through a dark vignette, banging her head against the seat in some feeble attempt to keep herself more present.

Soon she felt something cold and wet sliding onto her hand through her fingers and down her wrist. “No…” was the best she could do this time, coming out in almost a whimper as the familiar black mass wrapped around the steering wheel and continued to slip down her arms until the area was covered in slimy black.

She could only hear whispers upon whispers until they were incoherent. Some words that slipped through, she recognized from phrases it used to chant to her while using her body. Her body was always being used, it seemed.

The whispers grew until she felt like they were literally crawling out of her ears to join the growing mass over her arms and torso. Her eyes burned with tears and her foot pressed harder on the gas, speeding up until it filled her vision.

“It’s not real Andy,” she spoke, finally caving to the disorientation she felt. Had she stopped the car? Did she crash? Would she? She honestly didn’t know.

_

Andrea hadn’t woken up in a bed this soft since she spent the night at Johnny’s. Due to the fact that she wasn’t in Johnny’s home, confusion hit pretty quickly. She opened her eyes to a bedroom with high ceilings and tall windows, sunlight pouring in somehow and...not burning her skin off. That was even more confusing.

“Did you sleep well?” She barely had time to collect her thoughts before a short suited man stood in the doorway.

“I...sure,” she replied, sitting up from under the comforters and wiping her eyes. “Um, where am I?”

“Apologies, you’ve been in a state since you’ve gotten here. I’m Alan, I work for Audra Langman. This is her home,” he explained, smiling and waving a hand towards the end of the large bed. “If you don’t mind getting dressed in some clean clothes, you can meet me downstairs for more to eat.”

More?

She looked at the clothes on the bed, a sweatshirt with a faded college logo on it and a pair of leggings.

“Oh, and miss?” She looked up when Alan paused in the door, smiling still with a knowing look twinkling in his eyes. “We disposed of the body for you.”

_______________

Andy had a moment upstairs trying to figure out how she made it here, why she was in a mansion, why she was inexplicably fed and why Audra had a new last name. But she figured she wouldn’t get the answers to those questions if she stayed upstairs just staring at everything.

In her new clean clothes, she entered the kitchen to find a glass of dark red liquid on the counter. Walking up to it, she realized it was still warm once she picked it up. She was real tired of taking blood from strangers without knowing their origin but it smelled so good, like it was fresh. Hunger always won.

As she finished off the glass and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, Alan was in her line of view again.

“You’re kind of sneaky,” she said, licking her lips.

“I didn’t mean to sneak up on you, miss. Now that you’re fed, Audra is going to meet you in the sunroom. You can follow me,” he said, waving and walking out of the room with her on his coattails.

She couldn’t believe she was here, after everything. She found her and she wasn’t dead and they were in a fancy house with a butler, and the sun that shone through the windows didn’t burn her. As she followed him, she couldn’t help but look at every surface. It had truly been so long since she’d seen sunlight, she forgot she missed it.

“Right in here,” Alan said, holding a hand out. She walked past him into the plant filled sunroom. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, almost too distracted by the brightness of the colors -- straight sun hitting the veiny colorful leaves of all her plants. It was beautiful and for the first time in forever, she really wanted to paint.

“It’s nice isn’t it?”

Andy froze at the sound of her voice, something she only knew from fuzzy childhood memories now directly in earshot. She’d only spoken four words and Andrea knew. That velvety, deep, slightly raspy tone was her mom. She finally looked up from the plant she was fixated on and made eye contact with the woman. Audra continued speaking before she could muster a response.

“The sun, I mean. That enchantment was a hard one,” she said, laughing and going to sit on a wicker couch in the middle of it all. There was another one directly across from it beyond a coffee table and Andrea followed her, choosing that one as a seat. She was unsure how close they should be.

“It’s...I didn’t know it was possible,” she managed, looking around at the windows and rays more. “The whole place is uh, pretty magical.” She knew she had so much to say, and Audra was examining her intensely. 

“So, you probably have a lot to say,” her mother expressed, basically parroting her thoughts. She crossed her toned legs under the black slip she wore under a black silk robe. Andrea wondered if she stayed in her pajamas all the time. If she lived in a house like this she probably would too.

“Yeah. I just don’t know where to start I guess.” She looked down and fiddled with the bottom of the old sweatshirt. “I made this decision to come find you and it felt so dead-ended and hopeless for years that now that I’m like, here I almost don’t know what I wanted anymore.”

“I get that.” Audra stayed silent for a few moments to let her get her thoughts in line. Finally, Andrea went on.

“Well I guess I can start by asking why you have a different last name and why I kind of just woke up here? I don’t remember a lot.”

“Okay,” Audra began. “I married Martin Langman about 3 years ago. He’s a piece of shit, but this house is his, he does what I ask of him and I come and go as I please. You woke up here because my gardener saw your van skidded off the side of the road. Looked like you got here, almost, and then passed out. You were practically shaking and you’d scratched yourself up a bit. We fed you so you could stabilize and got you into a bed. Got rid of the trash in your van, too. How long have you been like this?” She leaned back on the couch, legs still crossed.

“Uh, I guess roughly five years or so. Time started to blur a little after a while,” Andy replied, maintaining eye contact and trying her best to read her.

“You don’t like it.”

“It’s...taken some getting used to.”

“Nah, you’re still not used to it. Or you wouldn’t be carrying bodies and searching for Long Lost Mommy,” the woman said, leaning forward to pick up the mug of tea that had been waiting for her on the coffee table. Andrea steeled her spine a bit, tensing at her words.

“Maybe not. Guess we all couldn’t slip into it effortlessly,” Andrea replied, barely holding back the resentment in her tone.

“Of course I didn’t slip into it effortlessly. No one does,” Audra said with a small eye roll. “But I will say perhaps it was easier for me because I didn’t spend my time obsessing over my human life and what I had to leave behind.”

“That’s not easy for everyone like it was for you. That’s all I’m saying. Some of us have regrets about leaving people behind.” Andrea clenched her fists a little bit, trying to keep herself even, but everything Audra said, every look she gave -- it didn’t feel familial between them. There wasn’t even a fondness. A lot of questions she had were already being answered by the way the woman acted. When Audra laughed, Andy had to clench a little more.

“You resent me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I guess that’s fair. Comes with the territory. And I get it. It wasn’t exactly my plan to have a daughter. I never wanted the responsibility but there you were. And I tried the mothering role, I really did. I tried reading to you, singing to you, hoping to feel that connection other moms never shut up about.” She scoffed a little and set her tea down, settling back into the couch. “So I get why you’d grow up, human and vulnerable, wondering what happened to me and if we had all these lovely things in common or if I was missing you. That has a big effect on a child. I get it.”

It was Andrea’s turn to laugh. “I don’t think you get it.”

“I really do apologize, Andrea. Maybe I don’t get it emotionally, but it makes sense that you’d hate me. Unfortunately it’s a risk I was willing to take in the back of an alley with a traveler while your father waited for me at home. It sounds ugly, but sweetheart,” she ran a hand through her thick dark hair, messy and just like Andrea’s. “I will always put myself first. As a human, as a witch, as a vampire. Family is the center of some people’s world, but that’s just never been me.”

“How nice that must’ve been for you to be able to make the conscious human decision to fuck off despite having a husband and daughter.”

“Frank!” Audra exclaimed, clearly unfazed by Andrea’s words and going into a soft expression and a smile that was almost pitying. “Frank Sheldon. I really do think about him occasionally.”

“Occasionally.”

“Yeah. He was a nice guy and it’s ultimately why we didn’t work. Typical college white boy in a band who was dying for some girl to sweep him off his feet and distract him from how boring his life had been up until that point. And he was cute. I liked him for a while, then I got pregnant.”

Andrea let out a dry laugh. Every expectation she had was shattered by this little convo. It’s not like she didn’t think about the possibility of being disappointed, but Andy just didn’t expect her to be...such a bitch?

“So you liked him until you got pregnant.” Maybe repeating her own words would make her realize they were shitty? She wasn’t sure why she kept doing it.

“Yep.” No change in expression. She just looked so casual, like Andy was just an old girlfriend who showed up on her doorstep. “He got so domestic. All we did was fuck and play music and ride around but as soon as we were in that doctor’s office, all he wanted to do was settle down after that. He got that place from his grandmother and started talking about fate, how everything was lining up and we would be just as in love if we settled down. I was barely in love with him before that. After I had you I realized I was basically committing to all this stuff I didn’t want. I didn’t stumble upon an out, I was actively searching for one.”

“So why not let me die out there in the van?” Andy asked, crossing her own legs.

“Doesn’t look cute in front of a mansion,” Audra said simply. “Okay, that was a joke.” She added that when Andrea scooted forward like she was going to get up.

“Was it, though?” 

“Half. It really would look bad, and maybe it’s because my blood runs through you and you actually found me and the ancestors pushed me to do something about the state you were in. At the very least it’s embarrassing. Also, I knew you were coming.”

Andrea furrowed her brows. “How?”

“The cards. Of course it wasn’t spelled out for me, but the entire reading surrounded the Daughter of Wands. That’s not me, and it’s not anyone in my life currently. Everything else said travel, transformation, subsequent Nine of Swords…I just knew the reading wasn’t about me. You were coming.”

“And here I am,” Andy replied, sighing and sinking a little into the couch.

“Here you are. And I’m sorry, Andrea.”

“Why do I just feel like you’re not? You don’t really seem like the type to say sorry.”

“No, I am. I’m not sorry in the sense that I apologize, but I’m sorry you’ve been starving yourself for years and trying to find me. If I could, I would have told you to save yourself the trip. I’m sorry you spent your newborn years looking for me instead of spending them discovering yourself. That’s what I did. It’s what most new vampires do. Not you.”

“Discovering myself,” Andy said, laughing. “It’s not Eat, Pray, Love.”

“You can joke all you want to, but look at yourself, Andrea. Maybe you didn’t want to be a vampire. Maybe you didn’t choose it. But here you are. You resent me because I didn’t cling to my humanity, but you’re clinging so hard, you don’t even know who you are. That Andy is gone. Accept that.” 

Andrea’s eyes flashed red and finally, she stood.

“You don’t get to call me that. Boring Frank calls me that.”

Audra put her hands up in defense and stood as well. “Didn’t mean to step on toes.” 

“I’m gonna go. Don’t wanna take up too much more of your time,” Andrea said, patting down the pockets of her pants out of habit. She guessed all her stuff was in her car. As if on cue, Alan appeared in the sunroom with her keys extended.

“Your van is in the garage, miss. We took the liberty of cleaning it. You can follow me to get there.”

“Thanks, mister,” she mumbled, taking the keys and turning to look at her mother once more. Audra was still giving her this pitying yet curious look that Andrea realized she hated. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

She didn’t wait for a response, following Alan to the garage so she could leave this place. 

Not only was her van clean and the body gone, it seemed like they cleaned the blankets too, the errant blood stains she’d grown used to being either faded or completely gone. “Thanks again,” she said, closing the back doors and looking across the garage at Alan.

“Do you think it’s time to go home?” he asked. She wondered if he listened to their conversation. She wouldn’t have blamed him.

“Yeah, Alan,” she called back, flipping the keys in her palm and biting her lip. “I think it’s probably time to do that.”

[waywardaardvark79]

No Strings Attached Part 15: The Whole Commitment Thing

Summary: Your roommates old friend moves to town and the two of you quickly strike up a no strings attached relationship. How long will the two of you be able to hold up what was supposed to be a simple, uncomplicated arrangement?

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Warnings: language

"Dean!" you yelled, walking down the hallway, a baby on each hip. "Dean!" you yelled again, kicking the bathroom door as you walked by. "Get a move on, Freckles! We're gonna be late."

You walked into the kitchen, placing each baby in their individual high chairs before turning to start making their breakfast.

You sat down in front of them a few moments later, a bowl of oatmeal with two spoons in one hand, and two sippy cups in the other.

"You know, I think your Daddy goes slow in the mornings on purpose just so he doesn't have to be a part of all of this chaos." you sang out, both babies smiling and giggling back at you.

"Your Mommy is a great story teller, isn't she?" Dean asked as he walked into the kitchen, fresh from the shower.

You scooped up two spoonful's of oatmeal and popped it into their mouths, "You know, we were starting to get worried. We thought you may have fallen in, and were only a couple of minutes away from starting a rescue mission." you teased as you wiped oatmeal from Bobby's chin.

"I got the bags packed, so all we should have to do now is get them dressed." Dean said, making the two of you some coffee.

The twins started to shriek and bang their hands down on their trays, the sippy cups soon falling victim and tumbling to the floor.

"Really, guys? Can we not have one morning where breakfast doesn't end up on the floor?" you asked, spooning more oatmeal into their mouths and placing the bowl down on Bobby's tray before bending down to retrieve the sippy cups.

The second you popped back up you felt a glob of oatmeal hit you right between the eyes, the twins squealing and Dean's snickering soon followed.

"Here." Dean said, picking up the bowl  from the tray. "Go take a shower and I'll finish this."

You went to reach for the bowl, "Then you would just need another shower. I'll finish it." you said.

"I think I can handle feeding the kids without needing a shower. Have a little faith in me." he said, pulling you to your feet.

"Good luck." you said, a knowing smile on your face as you walked out of the kitchen towards the bathroom. 

You were almost done with your shower when you heard the bathroom door open. You poked your head out from behind the curtain to see Dean standing there with both babies, all three of them covered head to toe in oatmeal.

"Did either of them actually manage to eat any?" you asked.

"Some." Dean sheepishly said, as he bounced the babies.

"Pass me one of them." you said, your hands coming out to reach for one of them.

Dean walked closer, turning to his side so that you could grab Ollie. You pulled off her diaper, letting it fall to the floor before pulling her inside the shower and quickly rinsing her off, her delighted squeals ringing out through the bathroom.

"Ready for the next one?" Dean asked, his oatmeal covered shirt now on the floor, and Bobby, diaper free, wiggling in his arms.

"Almost, get a towel ready for her." you said.

The two of you made the exchange, Dean taking a freshly showered Olivia while you took an oatmeal covered Bobby.

"Give me just a minute and you can take our spot." you said, struggling to wash a wiggling Bobby. "You got his towel ready?" you asked, deciding that he was clean enough.

"Ready." Dean said, Ollie wrapped up in one arm, and a towel hanging from the other.

You grabbed the towel, and wrapped Bobby up before handing him over. "Let me rinse off and I'll be done." you said, moving as fast as you could, knowing that you were on the clock.

You turned the shower off, grabbed your towel and wrapped it around yourself before stepping out, and taking both babies from Dean.

"It'll only take me a second." he said, stripping off the rest of his clothes.

"Good, cause we got places to be, Freckles." you said before walking out of the door to get the twins dressed. 

Dean was showered and dressed in ten minutes. He grabbed the bags he had packed and met you at the door, Ollie holding out her arms for him to take her.

"Ready?" he asked as he settled her into his arms.

You shifted Bobby on your hip, "You sure you want to do this?" you asked, suddenly second guessing the plans for the day.

"We talked about this. You know it's time." Dean said as he held the door open for you.

You stepped out, turning to look at him over your shoulder, "It just doesn't seem very us." you said before turning to walk down the hall. 

Dean pulled into the driveway of a picturesque  two story home located right in the middle of a nice suburban neighborhood, the realtor's car waiting for you on the curb.

"Can you really see us living here?" you asked as you climbed out and opened the back door to grab Bobby.

"Kind of too late to back out now. We're here to sign the final paperwork." he said as he pulled Ollie from her seat. "I thought you said you really liked it."

You sighed, "I do. It's...it's just so normal. You know, the last time we were here the old lady across the street invited us over to play Bridge with her and her husband, until she found out that we weren't married and had our children out of wedlock. She said she couldn't be associated with people who lived in such sin."

Dean shrugged his shoulders, "So, we'll liven the place up a little bit." he said as he started to walk towards the front door. "Besides, who in the hell wants to play Bridge anyway?"

You chuckled, following after him towards the door, "Maybe we will get lucky and we'll scare them off. I mean, who wants to live across the street from a bunch of sinful heathens." you said, pausing a moment to look at the car parked out front. "Hey, did Kathy get a new car?"

Dean shook his head, "I forgot to tell you. They said they were sending someone else over since it's just signing some stuff. They said Kathy was out of town and they really wanted to get this done."

The front door swung open, "Mr. Winchester, I was beginning to think that you were going to have to reschedule." the realtor clipped out, an air of superiority about her.

"Sorry, about that." Dean said, an annoyed tone to his voice as the realtor stepped aside to let you in.

You rolled your eyes and nudged Dean, "We're like five minutes late." you whispered, Dean nodding his head in agreement with you.

"The name Winchester doesn't ring a bell, but the two of you look awfully familiar. Have I shown you a house before?" she asked, studying the two of you closely.

That's when it hit you. You had thought you recognized her when she opened the door, but the snooty tone, and her asking if she had shown you a house before made everything click into place. She was the realtor that was hosting the open house you had crashed with Dean.

"No, I don't think so. We've only worked with Kathy." Dean said, Ollie starting to grow restless in his arms.

"That's strange. I could swear I know the two of you." she said, and you could see the wheels in her head turning.

"Yeah, we just have those faces. It happens all the time." you cut in, attempting to get her to drop the subject.

"Hmmm...well, I have the paperwork in the kitchen so, if you'll just follow me." she said, turning on her heel and heading towards the kitchen.

You let her get a few feet in front of you before turning to Dean and mouthing, "It's her."

"I know. Do you think she remembers us?" he whispered.

You shrugged your shoulders, "Nah, I think it would have come to her already."

"Mr. Winchester." she yelled from the kitchen causing the two of you to quickly head that way.

The realtor walked the two of you through all of the paperwork, explaining in great detail everything that you were signing.

"Congratulations and welcome home." she said as soon as the last signature was in place.

The two of you thanked her for her time and she followed Dean to the front door with you trailing after her, a baby on each hip.

Dean opened the door for her and she started to walk out, but stopped in her tracks. "I do hope you will be able to find enough space for all of the Fabergé eggs and caviar." she said, the corner of her mouth quirking up into a half smile.

You looked up at Dean, the same surprised look on his face that you had, "So, you DO remember us?" he gulped out.

"I wasn't completely sure until I was walking behind you. That's a view I won't soon forget, Mr. Winchester." she said, quickly turning and making her way towards her car, leaving Dean speechless.

As soon as she was inside of her car you started laughing, your entire body shaking. "Holy shit!" you said, cringing when you realized that the twins were looking up at you like they understood what you had said.

"I know. I can't believe she actually said that. I can't believe YOU didn't say anything back." he said, surprised that you didn't have a smart ass comment ready.

You motioned for Dean to take one of the babies, landing a quick smack to his ass once you had a free hand, "Well, she did have a valid point, Mr. Winchester." you said, winking at him. 

                                                         One Week Later

"Sweetheart, have you seen...you do know that the icing is supposed to go on the cake and not you, right?" Dean asked as he walked into the kitchen of your new home.

You glared at him, "I know that. Fuck, I should have just bought a cake from the store. I don't even think this is edible." you said, disappointed in your lack of baking skills.

Dean walked over to the counter and looked down at the thing that was supposed to be a cake, "I'm sure it's not that bad. I bet it tastes better than it looks." he lied, trying to make you feel better. "Wait, is that part of an egg shell?" he asked, plucking a large piece of shell from the icing.

"Fuck, I thought I picked all of it out. I may have gotten a little overzealous with the egg cracking." you admitted before sliding the cake down the counter and dumping it into the trash can. "Great, now they aren't even going to have a cake." you sighed.

"Look in the fridge." Dean said, a smile on his face as he shook his head.

You opened the fridge to see a store bought cake inside. "Part of me wants to be a little pissed that you didn't think I could do it, but the more rational part of me knows that I never should have tried to make the stupid cake in the first place, and I'm so glad you know me well enough to have gotten a back up." you said, suddenly relieved to have a cake that people could eat without suffering food poisoning.

"Hey, at least you tried." he said as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you back against him. "We are still letting them go with my parents tonight, right?"

Dean felt your whole body tense, "Well...." you trailed off, trying to think of a valid excuse for them to stay home.

"Y/N, come on. They'll be fine, and we haven't had a night to ourselves since they were born." Dean argued.

"I know, but what if they need us, or what if something happens?" you nervously asked, every worst case scenario running through your mind.

"Sweetheart, everything will be fine. Come on, we can do Sunday with just you and me, just like we used to." he said, trying to tempt you.

"Fine, but we get to do all the Sunday stuff, the thrift store, the food truck, everything." you said.

Dean chuckled, "Who would have thought that the only thing I had to offer you was discount junk and taco's to make you want to spend time alone with me?" he teasingly asked.

"What can I say? I'm hard to please." you replied, pulling yourself free from him when you heard a knock at the door. "I'll go see if they are ready to get up yet, and you get the door." 

You walked downstairs a few moments later, Olivia in your arms, to see John carrying in an arm load of packages. "Please tell me there isn't more." you said, knowing that there probably was.

"I think one more trip should do it." John said before smiling over at Ollie. "There's Pop Pop's princess." he cooed, a smile coming to your face at his self appointed title. You had never thought that the burly ex-marine would dub himself Pop Pop.

Ollie reached out for him, her bottom lip beginning to quiver when he didn't take her right away. "Pop Pop is a little busy, Ollie." you said, bouncing her on your hip to try and distract her.

John quickly walked into the kitchen, dropping the load of gifts on the table before turning to you, "Pop Pop's never too busy for you." he said, taking her from your arms and tossing her into the air, her delighted squeals ringing out through the room.

"I think Nana and Pop Pop might have gone a little overboard." Dean said, as he picked through the gifts on the table. "I'm pretty sure they would have been perfectly happy with a couple of empty boxes."

You chuckled, "Or toilet paper, keys, shoes, anything but actual toys." you added.

"We're gonna have to build on a room onto the house just to have somewhere to put all of this stuff." Dean teased.

Mary turned from the dessert tray she was setting up and whacked Dean on the back of the head, "It's our job to spoil them." she said, Dean's brows furrowing as his hand came up to rub the back of his head. "We are still taking them after the party?" she asked turning to you.

You glanced over at Dean, who was giving you his best Sam puppy dog eyes, before turning back to Mary, "Sure, I was thinking we would probably be done sometime tomorrow afternoon and then we'll come get them." you said, still a little nervous to be without them.

Mary's face lit up, "Oh, you two just take your time. We'll be just fine." she said.

"Everybody else should be showing up soon, so I'm going to go see if he's ready to get up." you said as you turned to walk out of the kitchen. 

By the time you had gotten Bobby changed and dressed you could hear your other guests downstairs. "You ready to party, bud?" you asked, tickling his stomach as you walked downstairs.

"There he is!" Ash exclaimed, quickly making his way to your side and plucking Bobby from your arms. "Uncle Ash, has the most badass present ever for you, little dude." he said, Bobby's tiny fist coming up to tangle in his hair. "I see, he's still on the hair pulling thing."

You pulled the extra hair tie from your wrist, untangled Ash's hair from Bobby's fist, and pulled it back into a ponytail, "Yep." you replied, satisfied with your handy work.

"Well, what are we waitin' for, Cherry Pie? Let's get this party started." Ash said, as if this party was going to be a total rager.

"You do know that this is a first birthday party and not a kegger, right?" you asked, a smile on your face.

"Glad I pre-gamed then." Ash teased back as he walked into the kitchen with you. 

Bobby and John were leaning against the counter, talking about some kind of car part that John wanted to try and find. Mary and Ellen were setting up the high chairs, and Dean was on the phone.

"Where's Charlie?" Ash asked, looking around the room and not seeing her.

"Her and Kaitlynn stopped by last night and we had a little celebration. They're flying out to some comic thing, I think." you said, trying to remember what Charlie said it was called.

"Where's the big one?" Ash asked.

"Sam and Jess couldn't make it either, but they are going to come by Mary and John's tomorrow to see them. So, this is everybody." you explained. "Unless, you plan on telling me that Jo decided to come after all."

Ash chuckled, the two of you still weren't on the best of terms, but could at least be civil with each other in public, "She had something to do." he said.

"Then, I guess we are ready to get this party started." you said, motioning for Ash to put Bobby down in the high chair. 

The twins were both covered in cake, all of the presents had been opened, and you had taken enough pictures to fill ten albums.

"So, what did you think of my gifts? You know, I had to special order them." Ash said, as you walked him, Bobby and Ellen to the door.

"Matching PBR onesies...couldn't have picked a better gift myself." you said, pulling him into a hug before turning to Bobby and Ellen. "Thanks for coming guys. We'll see you tomorrow, Bobby."

"Actually, me and Ellen...well, I ain't gonna be home tomorrow." Bobby said, not elaborating on his plans.

You smiled knowingly at the two of them, "Then, we'll stop by in a couple of days." you said before hugging him goodbye. 

Dean was coming downstairs, his arms full of everything you insisted on Mary and John taking with them. "You know, they have most of this stuff at their house already." he panted out.

"I know, but this is the stuff they are used to." you said, taking a few things from him to lighten the load.

"Dad! I'm gonna go put all of this in the car." Dean yelled as you opened the door for him. "I don't know how." he said, under his breath.

You shook your head at him before walking into the kitchen to help Mary get the twins cleaned up. She had Bobby in one side of the sink, and Ollie in the other, each of them squealing and splashing water everywhere.

"I hope you don't mind. I just thought this would be a little easier." she said.

"I'll go grab a couple of towels, and some clothes." you said, before picking up your camera to snap a few more pictures. 

"And...and you'll call us if you need anything?" you asked again, as you double checked that they were both strapped into their caseates right.

Dean pulled you back from the car, his arm coming to wrap around your shoulders to keep you at his side, "Have fun, guys." he said before taking a couple steps back from the car, dragging you with him.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. We will see you two tomorrow." Mary called out the window, as John started the car and started to back out of the driveway.

You stood outside until you couldn't see the car anymore, "I know you think I'm crazy, but I can't help it. I don't even know what to do with myself now." you said.

Dean pulled you closer to his side and started to walk back towards the front door, "I can think of a few things we could do." he said, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

You giggled, "Help me clean up the kitchen, and let me take a shower and you got yourself a deal, Freckles." you said, your hand coming down to firmly squeeze his ass.

Dean's arm left your shoulders and he practically ran into the house, "Get a move on, Sweetheart!" he yelled as he rushed inside. 

The two of you had everything cleaned up in record time, and Dean was basically dragging you upstairs.

"Give me a few minutes. Let me take a fast shower. I've got icing everywhere." you said, as you came to a stop by the bathroom.

"There's other ways besides a shower to get that off." he said, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Hmm...tempting Freckles, but I'm pretty sure licking the baby snot/drool/ icing combo from me wouldn't be as sexy as you think it would be. I'll be right there. I'll go as fast as I can." you said.

Dean sighed dramatically, "Fine." he said before sulking towards the bedroom.

You turned on the shower and stripped off your clothes before stepping under the water, a moan falling from your lips at just how good it felt. You started to move quickly, trying to get in and out as fast as you could before stopping abruptly. You couldn't remember the last uninterrupted shower you had. The moving as quickly as possible plan soon flew out the window, and you took your time, actually enjoying yourself and taking the time to shave everything without being on the clock. You turned the shower off once there was no hot water left, and grabbed your towel to wrap around yourself. You decided against getting dressed, or toweling off all the way, wet, naked you being one of Dean's favorite things.

"Dean." you called out as you walked down the hall towards your bedroom. "Hope you're ready in there, Freckles."

You walked into your bedroom expecting to see an eager Dean, but were met with a totally different sight. He was naked, but he was also passed out. He was laying on his stomach, his arms tucked up underneath the pillow, his soft snores filling the room. You shook your head, a smile on your face as you walked to the dresser to grab one of his t-shirts to sleep in.

You climbed into bed next to him, gently shaking him to get him to wake up enough to get under the covers, "Get under the covers, Freckles." you said.

Dean mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, moving just enough to work his way under the covers and not bothering with putting on any clothes. He automatically curled himself around you.

"Mmm...smell good." he said, his nose in your hair.

"Get some sleep. We have all day tomorrow." you said as you snuggled back into him.

"Night, Sweetheart." he mumbled, already almost back to sleep.

"Night, Freckles." you said as you closed your eyes. 

                                                             Sunday

The smell of frying bacon and coffee woke you up, and you stumbled out of bed, not worried about getting dressed as you made your way downstairs into the kitchen.

Dean was at the stove, his back to you, when you walked in. "Dibs." you said, spotting the plate of bacon on the table.

Dean laughed, "That's yours." he said as he finished scooping up his own portion and dropping it onto a plate. "Coffee's ready too." he said, turning to look at you.

You smiled when you seen your travel coffee mug waiting on the counter, "You tryin' to get us out of here as soon as possible?" you asked, picking up your coffee.

"We've got places to be, Sweetheart." he said before popping a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"We've got to go see Martin. Bobby isn't home so we don't have to go there, that just leaves the store and the food truck. We got plenty of time for that." you said as you sat down at the table.

"I may have another stopped planned. " he said, as he sat down across from you.

"Keeping secrets now?" you asked, around the piece of bacon in your mouth.

"Just eat your bacon." he said, a smile on his face. "You'll find out when I'm ready for you to find out."

"That sounds kind of ominous. You gonna take me out in the middle of nowhere and kill me?" you asked with a straight face.

"Maybe." Dean said, his expression matching yours.

You rolled your eyes, preparing to fire off a comeback when you noticed the cooler sitting on the floor next to the fridge. "Hey, is that my old cooler from Charlie's?" you asked.

Dean nodded, "I had her bring it by when she came over the other night." he said.

You eyed his suspiciously, "What are you up to Freckles?" you asked.

"The faster you get done, the faster you'll find out." he said, not giving anything away.

You scoffed and grabbed a handful of bacon, shoving it into your mouth, "Fas...enough...fo...ya." you got out around the mouthful.

Dean laughed, "You've never been hotter." he teased. 

You finished eating as quick as you could, eager to find out what he had in store for you. You got dressed for the day and were walking downstairs when he called out to you, "Bring the camera!"

"I got it." you said, coming to a stop in front of him. "Ready?" you asked, taking note of the cooler in his hand.

"If you are." he said, before opening the door for you. "Let's take your car today."

"You just want to drive." you said, reaching into  your bag to toss him the keys.

"Nah, you drive." he said as he walked to the passenger side.

"Ok, now I know something is up. You always want to drive. What is wrong with you?" you asked, narrowing your eyes at him.

He smirked at you and wiggled his eyebrows, "Wouldn't you like to know?" he fired back before climbing into the car. 

Dean willingly played stoplight karaoke with you, in fact he was the one that suggested it, throwing you off a little. Your visit with Martin went really well. You had brought along plenty of pictures from the birthday party to show him, and walked out with a new painting for your collection. The thrift store game went as usual, Dean remaining the undefeated champ when his badly painted portrait of The Golden Girls beat your find, the last piece of the dragon band statues. You did tell him that you were going to get him all of them, and you kept your word.

You were sitting behind the wheel, your tacos from the food truck sitting between the two of you. "After we eat do you want to go pick up the kids?" you asked as you started the car.

"We need to make one more stop first." he said.

"Ok...you gonna tell me where I'm going?" you asked.

"Remember the spot you took me to on our first Sunday?" he asked.

You looked over at him, a soft smile on your face, "Yeah, Freckles, I remember." you said.

The sun was just starting to set, much like it did on the first day you had taken him here. In fact, the entire drive there moments kept repeating themselves. Dean had pulled your camera from the bag and taken a picture of you, telling you that he was keeping that one, just like he did on your first Sunday. You pulled into the open field, grabbed the same blanket and laid it out in front of the car, Dean hauling along the cooler and grabbing the two of you a beer when he sat next to you.

"If you get a picture of me, then I get one of you." you said, as you raised your camera and snapped a picture of him.

"How about one of the two of us?" he asked, pulling you into his lap. "Take two."

You snapped the pictures and scooted from his lap to sit down next to him, "I had a lot of fun today, Freckles." you said.

"Me too." he replied, his voice a little shaky.

"So, was this your big plan or are you still gonna kill me?" you teased as you laid back, the first stars just starting to appear in the sky.

"I haven't decided yet." he said as he laid down next to you.

The two of you lay next to each other in comfortable silence, each looking up at the night sky.

"Do you remember the three questions I first asked you?" he asked out of nowhere, breaking the silence.

You rolled on your side to face him, "My last name." you said, a smile on your face. "If I considered Die Hard a Christmas movie...and if I was happy."

"Do you remember what you said?" he asked, looking over at you.

"Well, Y/L/N, obviously, and then the only answer to the Die Hard question is yes, and then I think I said I still had a lot to learn before figuring out how to be satisfied with my life." you said, trying your best to recall your answers.

"You asked me if I was happy too." he said.

"Yeah, you said something along the lines of hoping you would get there one day." you replied.

"Can I ask you my three questions now?" he asked.

"I mean, I think we are a little past that, but fire away." you said.

"Do you remember the other night when I was looking for that last piece of pie, and you said you said you had no clue what happened to it and then actually helped me look for it in the fridge....you ate it didn't you?" he asked, completely serious.

"I plead the fifth." you guiltily replied, Dean smiling and shaking his head at you. "Question two."

"Are you happy?" he asked.

"I am. I think I may have figured out the answer to the whole satisfied with your life debacle." you said. "Are you happy?" you asked.

"So, you get questions too?" he asked.

"That's only fair." you replied.

"Am I happy? I...am. I really am." he said, smiling brightly at you.

"Ok, Freckles, this is your last one, so choose wisely." you said, bracing yourself for his question.

"I got a few things I want to say first." he said, looking over at you for your approval.

"Ok..." you said, the word coming out more like a question.

"I know that I already answered this question, but I'm going to answer it again. That night you asked me if I was happy. I wasn't. I was probably the furthest thing from being happy. I told you that I had hoped to get there someday, and every day, even the days in the beginning,  that I have spent with you has made me happy. You have completely changed what I thought my life had to be before it was perfect. Now, I know that someone can love me because I make them extra bacon in the morning, and kick their ass, repeatedly, at finding awesome thrift store shit. You love me for me, and that's what it's supposed to be like. I know that both of us said that we didn't do the whole commitment thing, but if there was ever one thing I was sure about committing myself to it would be you, and the two kids you gave me. I...I'm rambling, this all sounded a lot better in my head. I guess, what I'm trying to ask you...My last question is..." he trailed off, looking away from you.

"You're last question is?" you asked, prompting him to go on.

"My last question is...would you do the whole commitment thing with me?" he asked.

You thought for a moment, your silence causing him to be even more on edge, "And by the whole commitment thing...you mean?" you asked.

"Marry me?" he blurted out, his tone rising a little at the end like a question,  shocking you.

You didn't think that he was actually going to ask you that. You thought that he might ask if you could ever see yourself considering it in the future. Your lack of an answer sent him into a panic.

"I...I know...you...we...I mean." he stammered out before you cut him off.

"Yes." you said, Dean now shocked into silence. "Freckles?" you asked after a few moments of him just staring at you.

"Yes?" he questioned, you nodding your head to give him your answer. "And you understood the question?" he asked.

You scoffed, "You're asking me if I understood the two words marry me? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I got it." you replied.

"And you're saying yes?" he asked again, needing to be sure.

"Do you understand the meaning of the word yes?" you asked, trying to keep the smile off of your face.

Dean pulled you on top of him, his lips immediately crashing against yours. He broke the kiss and looked up at you with the biggest smile on his face, "You said yes." he breathed out, still a little shocked.

"Well, the whole commitment thing doesn't seem so bad if you're involved, Freckles." you said before leaning down to kiss him again. 

A/N: I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that took the time to read this. I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoyed it. 

Tags: @vicmc624 @flamencodiva @divadinag @deans-baby-momma @heyyouwiththeassbutt @baby-bunker-pie @sunsetsandbooks​ @michellethetvaddict 

[writehardwhumpharder]

Carson - Magical Healing and Fainting drabble

This takes place after Carson and Daniel have known each other for a while and live in the same apartment building but Daniel still doesn’t know about his magic.

"I said no." Carson said through gritted teeth. He had himself firmly braced against the door, trying to close it despite the desperate 30 year old woman fighting him from the other side.

"Please, I know you can do it. Doctors can't help him." She begged.

Carson's heart clenched and for a second he almost let go of the door. But a voice in his head warned him, you can't save everyone. You can't let your heart melt for every sad mother who comes to you for help, no matter how much you might want to.

"I can't help him either. I don't know where you got this address but you need to leave now." He growled.

Tears streamed down the women's face. She was an ugly crier, it was ugly because you could see just how much she was hurting.

"I'm serious I'll call the police." He threatened.

Her hands slipped from the door as she sank to her knees. She wasn't pushing anymore, Carson could easily close the door and be done with it but something wouldn't let him. She sobbed loudly, loudly enough for the whole building to hear her.

Whether coincidentally or because of all the noise, Daniel came down the stairs just then, approaching slowly. He made eye contact with Carson from afar and his face contorted in a way that said, "what the fuck is going on?"

The woman must have heard the stairs creak because her head whipped toward him and suddenly she was on her knees. "Please, please convince him to heal my son," she begged. Daniel shot him an uncomfortable look.

"Listen, he can't convince me to heal your son any more than he can convince himself to fly." Carson snapped. He didn't want to be rude, but he really needed this lady to leave.

"I know you have the magic to do it."

Carson opened the door a little wider and squatted down to her level, he stared her hard in the eyes, "No one has that kind of magic. Why don't you go and take your son to an actual doctor?"

She rubbed the snot dripping from her nose onto her jacket sleeve between sobs and Carson couldn't help but cringe a little. "It's incurable..." she choked out, "he needs a miracle, he needs you."

Daniel edged closer, still utterly confused about whatever was going on outside Carson's door. The woman was a wreck, not entirely rational, but a sliver of doubt crept into his mind at her words. What if Carson could do what she was asking him to do? Why come here if she didn't really believe that he could somehow cure her son?

"Um, Miss? How about I walk you to your car, okay?" Daniel tried to gently grab her arm to help her up but she shrugged him off.

"I'm not leaving!" She screamed. Carson leaned through his door to get a look at her car. She had parking directly in front of the building, completely disregarding the rather obvious no parking sign there. Then on her way in she left the main door wide open so cold air could spill into the lobby. That's how he ended up with a perfect view of the 5 year old boy in the backseat of her station wagon. He looked... eerily like Carson at that age. Was this some kind of cruel joke on the universe's part?

Suddenly he was struck with an idea as Daniel continued trying to cajole the woman to her feet. "If I heal him, will you leave?" He asked with a mischievous smile.

She stopped sobbing, or more likely, she stopped breathing. After a few long seconds of collecting herself she looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Really?"

I am such a sucker, he cursed at himself in his head but still kept up the facade that he wasn't serious about healing him.

Pushing past her quickly Carson stormed across the front lawn towards the car. Daniel ran out after him. "Wait what are you gonna do?" He asked.

Carson threw open the car door to expose the very startled child inside. "I'm going to heal him of course," he winked.

Daniel rubbed at his face. Sure the woman was causing a scene but pretending to save her child was not the way to get rid of her. "Come on, Carson, stop messing around."

"Who says I'm messing around?" He smiled smugly. "Come on kid, give me your hand," he ordered. The child looked to his mom who was just emerging from the building, she nodded and he stuck his hand out for Carson to grab.

"Oh dear lord in heaven, please heal this child! Use me as a conduit for your holy power." Carson yelled up at the sky, the more theatrics the better. To his annoyance the woman actually clasped her hands together to pray, blindly believing in his charade.

Now for the actual magic. Carson held onto the kid's hand and closed his eyes, using his senses to find all the cancerous cells in his body. There were clusters of them all throughout his lymphatic system, more than he'd ever sensed in a client before. His plan wouldn't work very well if he immediately passed out right after so he cracked an eye open and ushered the mom over.

"He needs some of your life force," Carson said. The woman didn't hesitate to run the rest of the way to the car and offer up her hand. Usually life energies wouldn't be compatible enough to make a direct transfer. As a soul magician he was somewhat of a universal donor which is why he was able to heal people using his own soul energy. In this case, having direct parent to child connection, especially with such a young child, it just might work. Meanwhile Daniel just stood on the grass scowling at Carson thinking he was pulling a nasty prank on this poor mother which was exactly what he wanted him to think.

With the child's hand in his left, and the mother's hand in his right, Carson made the exchange. It took a couple minutes to find every cancerous cell and destroy it. If he missed even one the cancer could come back. As the energy moved through him he knew that the match wasn't perfect, it helped a lot but he'd still end up using more of his own soul than he wanted. It was unfortunate the cancer was so progressed. Kids were known to have extraordinarily bright souls, if she'd come sooner he probably could have used the boy's own energy to heal him.

Once he was done Carson took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Darkness crept into his vision immediately and he was forced to lean on the car door to stay upright.

"Well, he's cured. So you can get off my lawn now." Carson said.

The woman looked at her son, who visually looked the exact same as he did a moment ago, and beamed.

"Oh thank you so much, thank you. And thank God-"

"Don't thank god." Carson interjected.

She didn't listen and continued thanking him. Just as Carson was about to get irritated about doing such a difficult job for free she reached into the passenger seat and grabbed an envelope. The mom pressed it into his hands and clasped hers around his so he couldn't let go of it. "This is all I have."

Daniel shook his head adamantly but the woman insisted and upon Carson's urging, hustled back into her car and pulled away from the curb.

"You are the actual worst," Daniel stated after she was gone.

Carson peeked into the envelope, "there's only $600 in here, I can sleep at night."

Daniel's eyes widened and his jaw tensed, "You better find her and give that back."

A wave of dizziness hit Carson suddenly and he almost stumbled. Alright, time to leave while he still looked like an asshole. On shaky legs Carson walked back towards his apartment.

"You know, you look kinda pale." Daniel said, brows furrowing.

"I don't get a lot of sun," Carson deflected.

"But..."

He wanted to argue further, make it into his apartment and shut the door behind him before collapsing, but his body had other plans. The front door was in sight, just a few feet away, but then it started tipping. Black spots overtook his vision but not before he saw the ground rushing him towards him.

"Carson!" Someone screamed. But it was too late. He was already face down on the grass, dead to the world.

Daniel ran over to him, flipping him over so he could see his face. "What's... what's wrong with you?" He asked uselessly. Then he looked in the direction that the car sped off in. It was just a coincidence... right?

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

What We Make for Ourselves

A story set soon after the events of Terminator: Dark Fate

Oakland, 2021

Sarah Connor’s knuckles were white as she maneuvered her jeep down the residential streets at highway speeds.  She and Dani were cutting it close as is, having spent the last year preparing their plan to storm the no-name tech startup in Silicon Valley that would soon create Legion.  She’d stopped Judgement Day once before, and she was sure she could do it again, but there was one last detour she needed to make in case their plan didn’t pan out.  Someone she wanted to warn.

She’d never thought about visiting him before.  She figured it would do no good, serve no purpose other than reopen old wounds.  Until recently, she didn’t even know where he lived, but with Judgement Day drawing nearer she decided to take initiative.  It didn’t take long to track him down; you’d be amazed how much you can find about a person on Google in a few minutes with just their full name.  By sheer coincidence, he lived in the Bay Area, so she waited until they were already headed up for their mission to squeeze in time for her little visit.  Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Dani sat idly in the passenger seat, cradling a small manila envelope stuffed to the brim with building schematics.  Grace hadn’t given them much to work with in terms of intel besides a company name and a short window for when the grid was supposed to go down, but somehow they’d managed to find the right data cache and download the floor plan for the server farm that would soon host the Legion software; Skynet by any other name still reeked of shit.

Dani would rather be at the motel finalizing their game plan than out in the open so Sarah could wax sentimental for no good reason.  This outing was tactically dangerous, as they both had warrants for their arrest, Dani by ICE, Sarah by every intelligence community in the western world.  A couple of fake driver’s licenses and Milwaukee accents would do little to hide their identities once the feds got back on their trail.

Sarah slowed the jeep to a crawl as she rounded the final corner onto a dead end street that butted right up against MacArthur Freeway.  She parked on the curb between two houses, no doubt to the chagrin of their tenants, but immediately she knew she wouldn’t be there for long.

There he was

Right across the street, piling a small mountain of boxes into the back of an old pickup truck.  Sarah didn’t dare take her eyes off him, even for a second, lest he disappear back into the void that was her memory.  She hadn’t seen him in almost forty years, had almost forgotten his face, but all at once everything came flooding back.  Good memories and bad, of the last normal day she ever lived.  The day her best friend and mother were murdered by a machine, the day she went from an English major waiting tables to make ends meet to a soldier hellbent on stopping the end of the world.  That was a lifetime ago, but here he was in front of her, younger now than ever before.  She couldn’t help but stare, drinking in his face, memorizing every line, every curve. A man, probably his father, popped the truck’s hood and called to him as he checked the engine.

“Kyle, I’m topping her off with oil, but you need to remember to get gas before you hit the highway.”

“I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it, we’re not done loading my crap yet.”

Kyle Reese gingerly set down a duffel bag stuffed with unfolded clothes, and threw open the passenger side door.  He was getting ready for his first semester at school, and packing his truck was proving to be the hardest part of the transition.  “It’s like playing Tetris,” he quipped as he rearranged a few boxes, trying to will more space out of thin air.

He was taller than Sarah remembered.  This Kyle had had an unremarkable childhood and never missed a meal, he was a far cry from the malnourished guerrilla she knew.  Seeing him, this ghost from her past, living a normal life in a future she never thought she’d see, it was almost too much.  She only turned away from him once she began to feel tears well up in her eyes.  This encounter brought back too many painful memories, but pain, he once told her, can be controlled.  

Just disconnect it.

His dad disappeared back into the house, and was soon replaced by three boys around Kyle’s age, carrying even more boxes.

“Why you got so much shit, Reese?” asked a short black kid with glasses.

“Because I’m trying to make things are hard as possible for you guys, that’s why.”

An tall Asian kid propped his box on the trucks roof so he could free his hands.  “I’m really gonna miss you, man.”  He walked over to Kyle and scooped him in for an awkward bear hug.  Kyle tried not to laugh as he was lifted off his feet.

The kid with the glasses punched him playfully on the shoulder once the hugger finally put him down. “Hate to see you go, Reese.  You know, it’s never too late to drop out and stay home.”

“Tempting, but I’m already balls deep in student loans.  I might as well actually be a student for a while, otherwise they’d just be loans.”

“Things will never be the same without him,” cried a kid with a buzz cut, dramatically splaying himself out on the truck’s hood.  “Poor kid, he was so young!”

“I’m not dying guys, I’ll see you in a few months, I’m coming home for Thanksgiving.”

“I can still hear his voice.”

Sarah didn’t bother stepping out of the jeep, but turned to face the small crowd of high schoolers, legs dangling out the missing driver’s side door.  Dani followed her gaze across the street as she stowed the envelope in the glove compartment.

“That’s the friend you were talking about? He’s younger than I am.”

“I knew him, another him, from another time.  Things have changed a lot since then.”

Kyle’s mom came bounding out the front door and embraced her son in an even more awkward hug than his friend’s.

“My little Kyle, heading out to college, paying bills.  When’d you get so old?  You’re not allowed to be an adult yet, you were still in preschool last week.”

“Mo-o-om,” Kyle complained with a smile.  Only two of his friends laughed.  “You didn’t act like this when Derek left for school.”

“Sure I did, every year, and I’ll do the same for you because I like embarrassing you in front of your friends.  Now everyone come together.  Marc, Andy, Sawyer, stand next to Kyle, I want to get a picture.”

“You already took a ton of pictures.”

“And I’m gonna take a ton more before you leave, now stand there and smile.”

They all huddled together against his truck, and she kept directing them like she was making Christmas cards at Sears.  “Okay, now let’s have a funny one, everyone make a face.  Great.  Now let me get some with two of you at a time; Marc you’re first.”

Marc, the kid with the buzz cut, took this as an opportunity to force an exit.  “Hey, Mrs. Reese, why don’t you go get his dad, and I’ll take a photo of all three of you.  A family portrait, wouldn’t that be nice, Kyle?”

“Oh, I can’t think of anything better.”

She smirked, taking their hint.  “I’ll be right back,” she said as she disappeared back into the house, calling her husband’s name.

“Quick, help me pack everything now and I’ll be gone before she gets back,” Kyle joked once she was out of earshot.

Three of the four boys began stuffing thing into the passenger side, well after it was full to capacity, but the bespectacled Sawyer stood back by himself for a few moments.  Sarah’s eyes were still locked on Kyle, but Sawyer’s eyes were locked on her.

“Hey,” he called to his friends.  “What’s wrong with this picture?”

“What’s up?”

“There’s an old lady staring at you, Reese.  She’s been staring for like five minutes.”

Kyle looked over at Sarah, and she immediately turned away.

“Good for her,” he said without a second thought.  He continued with the task at hand, trying to force an uncooperative shoe box into the space beneath the passenger seat.

“Isn’t that creepy?”

“Not really, she’s just some lady, she’s not hurting anyone.”

“You ever heard of stranger danger?  She’s giving you the bedroom eyes, you’re gonna wind up in her windowless van.”

“Dude, shut up, she can probably hear you.  Besides, that’s a jeep, it’s got nothing but windows, I’ll be fine.”  Kyle turned back to Sarah who was trying to keep herself busy by reading the warranty sticker on the windshield.  Dani nudged her to let her know Kyle was looking, and when she turned back to him, he smiled at her and waved.

Sawyer punched him on the shoulder again, less playfully this time.  “Stranger. Danger.  Windowless van.  It’s your funeral, Reese.”

“Shut the fuck up, man. She’s probably a friend of my mom’s or something.”

With that, Sarah emerged from the jeep and walked over to the boys.  Dani also stepped out so she could have a better look, but remained on the far side of the street.  Sawyer tried to motion for his friends to head back towards the house, but none of them moved as Sarah stopped a few feet short of the curb.

“Kyle Reese?” She didn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but she couldn’t believe it was truly him.

“Never heard of him,” Sawyer said at the exact same moment Kyle responded “yes.”  A third punch, not playful at all.

“It’s really good to see you, Kyle.”

“Um, yeah, it’s good to see you too.  How, uh, how have you been?”

“You can stop pretending like you know me.  You don’t.”

“Okay, cause I was gonna say… Can I help you? What’s up?”  This woman was at least a decade older than his mom, and her face wasn’t familiar at all.  He had thought that maybe she was an old babysitter of his, or he’d seen her at church or something, but he was now drawing a complete blank.

“I’m actually here to help you, Kyle.  You see, there’s a storm coming.  Something big, something bad, and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to stop it.”

Kyle’s friends had backed into his yard, but he remained where he was on the curb.  As she took a step closer to him, a gear in the back of his mind began turning, and he got the feeling that he had seen her before, but still couldn’t place where.

She told him a date and a list of cities to avoid, suggesting he head out into the desert and stay there. Andy inched his way towards Kyle and gingerly grabbed his shoulder.  “C’mon man, I think your mom’s calling us, we should head back inside.”

Sarah stared into his soul with such intensity that he was a deer in the headlights, unable to move. She reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out another manila envelope, thinner than Dani’s, and handed it to him. His friends shook their heads, silently imploring him not to take it, but he did anyway.

Dani, seeing that the handoff was complete, beat the hood of the jeep to call Sarah back over.  “We’re burning daylight, we should head out.  Andale.”

“Just a second,” Sarah cried over her shoulder.  She turned back to Kyle, who was holding the envelope out at arm’s length like it could explode at any moment.  “I don’t have time to explain everything right now, but it’s really important that you trust me on this, Kyle.  Your future is at stake.  I don’t have a lot of people left I still care about, but you’re one of them.  Have courage in the dark times to come.  I’ll try to help you with what you must soon face, but just know that the future is not set.  There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.  You must be stronger than you imagine you can be.  You must survive.”

She turned and walked away, climbing back into her jeep without another word.  The engine roared to life, and she and Dani sped away, returning to the mission at hand, leaving the four cowering boys in their wake.

“The fuck was that?” Sawyer finally managed.  “I mean, what the fuck was that about? What kind of shady ass drug dealer shit was that? Do not open that envelope, it could be a bomb or anthrax or something.”

“Dude, that was sketchy as hell,” Marc said, his voice wavering with adrenaline.  “You need to tell your parents.”

“Who was she?” Andy asked, clutching his chest.

“I don’t know,” Kyle answered, tearing open the envelope before his friends had time to yell anything coherent.  Inside was a long handwritten note which he’d accidentally torn in half.  He had no time to read it before his parents came bounding back out of the house for their last family photo.  The four friends broke apart and pretended like they had been loading the car this whole time; Kyle’s dad could tell they were hiding something, but didn’t want to ask what.

Kyle balled up the note in one hand and unceremoniously tossed it into the open window of his truck. He’d read it later and give his friends the full report, but he didn’t want his parents to know a thing, not yet at least.  They took their photos, said their goodbyes, shared more hugs, and finally got all of his stuff wedged in such a way that nothing would fall out, and he hit the road just in time to get stuck in rush hour traffic.

He unwadded the note and barely made it through the first line before he froze.

“My name is Sarah Connor,” it read.

Sarah Connor.  THE Sarah Connor.

He’d heard her name a few times over the years.  She was a domestic terrorist wanted for blowing up a computer company back in the 90s. They called her the Cyberdyne Bomber, and her name was up there with the likes of Ted Kaczynski and Timothy McVeigh. She’d been in the news recently because she was finally caught at the US-Mexico border trying to sneak back across. She’d apparently killed a ton of guards and stolen a police helicopter, then crashed it into a dam or something like that. Kyle hadn’t kept up with the news with quite the same intensity as his parents.

He realized now that that’s where he knew her face from…

“Holy shit.”

He pulled off at the first exit he came to and parked at a gas station so he could read the whole thing in peace.  He’d heard that she was a crazy person, the news said she was schizophrenic, that she believed there were evil aliens robots trying to take over the world. Her note was legible, to say the least, but no less fantastical than the news made her out to be.

The end of the world was coming, fire and fury would rain down from the heavens, machines would rise up against man to exterminate all life on Earth.  And here he was, stuck in the middle of it all.  She claimed she knew him in a past life, one of his past lives apparently, or a future life, it didn’t make a lot of sense.  Something to do with time travel, with a rogue AI called Skynet, but it’s also called Legion, but then only recently?  She was trying to stop the end of the world, but didn’t know if she’d be successful, and just wanted to give him a heads up so he didn’t die like four billion others.

He’d lived through several end-of-the-world prophecies since he was a kid, but he’d never given them much thought.  June 6, 2006, 666, Biblical Revelations, nothing happened.  May 21, 2011, the rapture, nothing happened.  December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar, nothing happened.  And now Connor was convinced that the world was going to end later this month, but for real this time, and wanted him specifically to know about it.

Why had a domestic terrorist singled him out like this?  Was he in danger?  Was his family?  He considered calling the police, the FBI, the crime stoppers hotline, anything, but he wasn’t sure what he’d even say.  At the bottom of the note was a cellphone number with too many digits, obviously international, and he typed it into his phone almost without thinking. He couldn’t stop himself from doing it anymore than he could force himself to call the police.  He was on autopilot, fight or flight mode, and he had apparently chosen fight.

It rang once, twice, then connected with no greeting.  He could hear the wind whipping by on the other side, a car on the highway.  With caution, he threw out a feeble “hello,” secretly hoping she wouldn’t be there and he could pretend none of this had happened.

“Talk to me, Reese.”

Fuck. “Is this really Sarah Connor?”

“Yes, Kyle.  It is.”

“What’s going on?”

“Did you read my note or not?”

“None of that’s… it’s not… But that’s all BS… Isn’t it?”  He sounded unconvinced, one way or the other.

So, Sarah had some convincing to do.

“Kyle, listen to me very carefully…”

[jack-irallie]

Chapter 1 - Lost and Found

Slice of life story about gay couple and their daughter, but whoops the new biology teacher at the daughter's school is an old boyfriend of one of the dads! 

Only the first two chapters are finished (WIP/First Draft), but I’m dying to share, so...

The high school was bustling with activity, from students running around with poster boards and projects to teachers greeting families as they wandered past the booths lining the front walkway and through large double doors. 

In one of the cars that had just arrived and found itself on a curb bordering the main street, a young teenager sprung out, already racing across a patch of grass and toward the parking lot. 

“Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?”

She glanced behind at the voice, one foot already on the concrete. “Can I go practice cheerleading drills with my friends while you guys do all the boring stuff? Please? I told Tiffany I’d meet her over at the basketball courts.”

“And I’m only just hearing about this?”

“I didn’t think you’d care.”

He huffed a sigh as he stepped out of the car. “Only if you promise to meet me back at the front doors at six.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Amber.”

She rolled her eyes, but was quick to drop the brattiness for a more genuine attitude. “I will...is dad coming?”

He gave a nod as he pulled out his phone to skim a text that had just popped onto the screen. “Oh, he just left work, actually.”

“When does the…” His voice trailed off before picking up once he had fished a folded up flyer out of his pocket.

Bright, bold word art spelled out ‘Back to School Night’ on the top of the page with a bunch of fine print under that he had to squint with a squint. “Who even makes these things; it doesn’t even have the time.”

Amber stomped over, glancing over his shoulder and almost immediately pointing out what he had missed. “It already started like ten minutes ago, which means I’m late.”

“Hey, I’m not stopping you.” He put his hands up in mock defense as he leaned some of his weight back on the car. “Go have fun with your friends; I’ll be here...well, until your father shows up.”

“Have fun with all the boring teacher stuff,” were her parting words as she turned on a heel and rushed towards the school.

“Love you too.” He replied with light sarcasm as he unlocked his phone, scrolling through the contacts until he clicked on ‘Richard’ and hit call. 

A few rings later, and a voice slightly muffled by the sound of traffic picked up. “Hey, I was just about to call. Almost there.”

“How was work?”

“Eh, same old stuff. Got some good tips.” A swell of music started to overtake the call, but it was promptly turned down a few notches. “I can meet you inside if you want.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m just out here in the cold; I’ll be fine.”

Richard chuckled. “You poor dear; made the mistake of wearing shorts again?”

“I can’t help if the weather is so inconsistent.” He grumbled, just getting more soft laughter that turned out to be quite contagious. “Know you’d never make that mistake, with your life all together and shit.”

“It’s not that hard to know not to wear shorts in September, darling. I’m sure it’ll be warmer inside. But um...I’m just around the corner, so I’m going to let you go.”

“Yeah…see you in a sec.” 

There were even less parking than there was prior, but a quite ordinary blue sedan found a spot across the street; Richard quickly got out to rush past a horde of cars that were still on the hunt for a place to park.

“Grant...you really did wait out here for me; you must be freezing.” He muttered as he stepped up onto the curb and slipped out of his jacket to drape it on his boyfriend. 

“No use going in and awkwardly standing in the hall.” He shrugged it off like it was no big deal, but was obviously grateful for the warmth, which only grew as they started to walk and Richard slipped a casual arm over his shoulders. 

“Where’s Amber?”

“Ran off to practice cheerleading with her friends.” He answered as they weaved between impatient drivers and the shrubbery that lined each row of the parking lot. “I don’t think she has to come in with us?”

Richard gave a lax shrug, though he swiftly put his arm out when a car whizzed by them only to pull into a parking spot a couple dozen feet away. 

He muttered an obscenity under his breath, relieved when they finally reached the school’s sidewalk. “I swear; you think people would be more careful with kids around.”

Grant gave a long sigh as he patted the other’s back. “You okay? You seem a bit tense tonight.”

“Me? Yeah; I’m fine.” He looked down at himself, adjusting his turtleneck and thumbing away a leaf that had blown over and stuck to the fabric. “I just hate how people are looking at us...at you. Wish I could give them a piece of my mind.’

“We are kind of the token gay couple here, huh?” He joked as he glanced around at the sea of straight parents. And, leaning in to whisper, he added, “Fuck em’; Amber is doing great and that’s all that matters.”

That got a chuckle out of Richard. “You’re right.”

Before their conversation could continue, a cheery lady behind a colorful booth was ushering them over. “Hello! Are you here for back to school night?”

“Yeah, Grant Miller; my daughter is a freshman here.” He approached the counter, putting a hand out for a shake before noticing a sign in sheet that he scribbled his and Richard’s names onto. 

“Wonderful, what’s her name?”

“Amber.” He watched as the woman searched through a large folder and pulled out a slip of paper with a list of classes and a simple map. “Ah, thanks; I was just going to ask where we had to go.”

“No problem; have a nice time.” She said, her attention already on a different set of parents. 

“Where to first?” Richard asked, glancing down to skim over the paper. “Sure you know your way around better than me.”

“Probably, but I doubt any of the classes are where I remember them…” Grant muttered as they entered the busy hallway. “Yeah, looks like Biology is in the old English room…Let’s go there first; it’s right down here.”

Past a row of lockers and some more judgemental side eyes, they came across the correct room number, but took pause at the name plate hanging below it as they continued inside.

A man in a lab coat turned on his heel at the sound of the creaking door, giving a warm, inviting smile. “Let me guess; the name on the slip is different than the one on the sign? I just took over a few days ago and...it’s a long story.”

Richard peeked back at the correct sign for a moment before putting his hand out to the teacher. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you Mr.Moore.”

“Likewise.”

“Alan?”

The teacher’s demeanor shifted at Grant’s questioning, causing him to squint his eyes in thought before they went wide with realization. Though, he was quick to dart them towards the ground as he adjusted his glasses. “You look quite different with facial hair; I almost didn’t recognize you. You’re daughter is Amber Miller, correct? I’ll go grab her folder.”

Richard glanced between them before he turned to his partner with a hushed voice. “Is he an old boyfriend of yours?”

“Heh...is it obvious?” 

“A little; I can handle this if-”

“No, no; I’m fine.” Grant cut in before the other could continue. “I just wasn’t expecting to see him here of all places.”

“So...oh, yes, Amber.” Alan mumbled as he pulled a few papers out to slide across the table. “She seems like a very bright student, got a ninety-nine on her first big test when the average was closer to eighty.”

“Wonderful.” Richard said as he sat down and skimmed through some of the other assignments, all which had high marks. “She’s always been a pretty good student.”

“Yeah…” Although Grant was happy that his daughter was doing well, there were obviously other things still eating away at his mind. “What are you doing back here, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, they offered me a higher pay than the other high schools in the area; wanted their ‘star pupil’ back.” He chuckled with a slant of self deprecation, clearing his throat before continuing. “I thought you would’ve gotten out of this town by now; I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I uh...I did for awhile, but I’m glad to be back. It’s been a wonderful town for us to raise Amber in.”

“Ah, so you are a couple; I was about to ask. I actually got married awhile back; this year is my fifteenth anniversary.”

Grant leaned in with a delighted smile. “Oh? And who’s the lucky man?”

Alan simply spun a frame around that had been previously facing him with a picture of a bride and groom smiling cheesily for the camera before going back to some paperwork. “It’s was lovely to see you and your husband; I hope your daughter enjoys my class.”

“We aren’t…” But his voice petered out as his mind filled with a growing list of questions that he tried to push aside. “It was nice to see you too, Alan.”

The silence that followed was their cue to leave, and after a couple of awkward seconds, Grant grabbed his daughter’s work and stood back up. 

Though, just as the couple reached the door, Alan spoke up once more. “Wait...I’m sorry.” He said as he hurried over with a tired smile. “Seeing you just put a lot on my mind, and…”

“Hey, I get it. Me too; don’t sweat it.”

The old friends stared at each other for a moment, Alan speaking up first as he nervously stumbled over his words. “You know...my wife and I were going to go to see a movie tonight; you and your husband are more than welcome to join us.”

“We are only dating at the moment.” Richard added. “But that sounds lovely. Long as you’re okay with that, dear.”

Grant gave a nod as he pulled out his cellphone. “Why not; might be nice to catch up. What time?”

But, even after the conversation had ended positively, with the couple leaving for the hallway after exchanging information, Grant was hit with the reality of what had just happened and made a beeline outside. 

It was much calmer than the bustling hallway, though a cold wind made him cross his arms to rub them for warmth. “I’m sorry; I just...I needed a breather.”

Richard was right by his side, patting his back for comfort. “We don’t have to-”

“I want to.” Grant assured forcefully as his eyes darted up to his partner’s, but were quick to fall to the ground. “I just didn’t think back to school night was going to make me feel emotional.”

“Aw, hon…” He sneaked a quick kiss on the cheek, pulling his boyfriend into a side hug. “Go wait in the car; I’ll handle the rest of it, okay?”

“But…”

“I insist. I’m sure the rest of it will be super boring anyway.”

The genuine smile from his partner lulled Grant into a calmer state as he leaned into the hug. “I love you, but you baby me too much.”

Richard laughed at the comment, and they shared teasing looks before he finally pulled away. “Love you too. I’ll see you in a bit.”

After parting, Grant wandered back to the car, plopping down in the front seat and pushing it back to get more comfortable. 

Soft rock filled the space as he rested his eyes and rubbed over them. Part of him was excited to see the man he used to date, but the other...the other was terrified. 

Ignoring his problems, he pulled a sudoku book out of the glove box, zoning out until it was time to leave.

[midnightartemis]

Chapter One (On AO3 Now!)

She learned that life was a game of survival from a young age. First, it was the religious fanatics— the ones with the locked fridge and the forced prayers and the idea that children were the spawn of Satan to be beaten and starved into godly angels. After them came the Johnsons. They were a young couple, hopeful and naive, and completely unprepared for the half-feral, skin and bones desert commune child that the government dumped in their laps. She didn’t last long there either. But they hadn’t let her starve and they hadn’t hit her and Rey tended to put that down as a plus in her book. It was why she started speaking (though in a British accent much to everyone’s surprise) and it was why she still kept their last name. Even when they gave up on her. After them… It was years in the system until she came to be in the hand of Unkar Plutt.

She learned how to survive. Learned how he always hit her where no one could see, but he only did it when he was raging drunk and he only was raging drunk a few times a month. She learned his tells, knew that some nights she was better off stealing a slushie from the 7-Eleven and camping out at the skatepark until it was late enough to go back home.

As long as she did her chores and didn’t give him trouble, Plutt let her be. Rey was okay with that. She could survive that.

She sat on the lip of the park's bowl as the sun set, casting riotous shades of pink and purple and red across the cloudy sky. Summer had only just begun and while that met school, which she hated, was over, it also met more time with Plutt. More time in his shop. More ways to mess up and more drunken rages to avoid. She often wondered if he kept her around as something to look at or because she knew how to keep her mouth shut and balance his books. Both sets.

She’s been coming to the park for a while now, at least when the weather was decent, which it almost always was in Southern Cali. There was something comforting about the sound of wheels and boards on concrete, the whoops and hollers of the skaters, the warmth of the sun on her skin. Reminded her of the desert- only the best parts. People left her alone.

They had learned to after… Well, after they learned what happened when they didn’t. A few bloody noses. A few broken boards. Cause and effect.

The only ones who ever paid her any mind were Kuruk and his small band of boys in black. She respected their space and they respected hers. And after the broken nose incident, she’d almost become an honorary member of their group. A staple of the skatepark. She’d never had anywhere to belong before.

It didn’t mean anything and you could fuck off if you thought it did.

Rey watched them lazily, sipping on her stolen slushie as Cardo and AP kept biffing it on the same rail trick with a loud “fuck!” Every time.

There were a few other people around, but like usual, most had left as it started to get dark.

“Hey! Hey!”

Rey snapped to focus, frowning as she realized Kuruk had been trying to get her attention for a while and was now slowly jogging over to her. He held his board at his side and there was a lopsided smile on his face. He wore black baggy jeans and a baggy t-shirt like the rest of them and he always kept his dark hair buzz cut like he once thought about joining the military but only committed to the hairstyle.

“What.”

Kuruk laughed. “You’re a Rey of fuckin sunshine, you know that?”

Rey rolled her eyes. It was only the millionth time he had used that line on her. “What do you want, Kuruk?”

“The guys and I are headed to the loft. We wanted to know if you wanted to come.” He gave her that look that he always did that only told Rey he was trying to get in her pants. She was pretty sure the guys had a bet going on it.

She sighed. “You better have the good vodka this time. And better smokes. Those last ones tasted like dried out ass crack.”

“Yeah, yeah. Totally. One of my buddies is coming back from Chandrila and bringing the good college town shit.”

She didn’t know much about college towns but was fairly certain that “good college town shit” didn’t exist. She nodded anyway. “Fine. But imma kick your ass in Mario Kart.”

“Bet.” Kuruk offered her a hand and Rey let him pull her to her feet. She practically flew off the ground and threw them both into the bowl. It wasn’t that Kuruk was supernaturally strong or anything- she had seen him shirtless and seen that unfortunate happy trail- it was just that she was built like a skinny prepubescent boy with an eating disorder. Rey landed in Kuruk’s arms and scowled, shoving him off before he could say anything. Some whistles echoed over the park. She grabbed her melted purple slushie and flipped off the rest of the guys.

Rey went with them with the promise that life would maybe suck less for a little bit with them. At the very least they treated her to free booze and a toke. Inebriation was about the only thing that made Trudge and Ushar’s misogynistic idiocy palatable and Kuruk’s advances maybe not the worst thing in the world. It was nice to be liked. To be wanted. Even if it was just to win a bet. She’d never let them know that. Maker end her if they ever found out. She had enough self-worth to know it would never fucking happen.

They skated through the darkening streets of Coruscant, slow enough that Rey could keep up on foot. It wasn’t hard. None of them could go ten feet without tipping a trash can over or trying to nail a trick off the curb. No one cared as they loudly made their way down the street, making themselves known to the world in the one way they could. Rey trailed after them in the dark. They left the cracked and degrading streets and dipped through a hole in the chain-link fence, passing through a barely used rail yard and a dry culvert until they reached a small mostly abandoned warehouse.

A few years back some real estate guy had bought it and started trying to convert the place into condos. He got about halfway done before, probably, coming to his senses and realizing that no one on the south side of Coruscant wanted to buy a luxury condo. Even if there was exposed brick and industrial aesthetic , there was also high crime rates and a hatred of outsiders and gentrification. Scared off most of the investors and the rest vanished after the recession hit and never seemed to leave the south side. Buying the one completed loft back from the city was the only smart decision the guys ever made. Even if they only did it to piss the cops off who kept kicking them out for trespassing.

Part of Rey wishes she had seen the encounter instead of hearing about it every five seconds from one of the guys. The other part of Rey wondered how they were even smart enough to come up with that plan, let alone execute it.

The Loft as they called it consisted of a giant open area that functioned as a gaming room and kitchen, the most disgusting bathroom Rey had ever stepped foot in, and three bedrooms which had once been split between all of them till Cardo got his own place and Vic moved in with his pregnant girlfriend. Three bedrooms became six after one drunken night where Ushar had taken a sledgehammer to the wall and broken into the abandoned half-finished apartment next door. As far as Rey knew, they were arguing between turning that living room into a sex dungeon or a pool table room. The vote was fifty-fifty since Rey refused to participate and Trudge, convinced he could have both, refused to pick a side. The whole place constantly smelled of weed and Kuruk’s weird incense.

Rey would never admit it, but she secretly loved the place. The ceilings were at least twelve feet high and there were huge metal-framed windows that looked out over a field of dead grass to the lights of the city.

Kuruk dug through the mess of a freezer pulling out a half bottle of Everclear and a mostly empty bottle of Captain Morgan, which Rey snatched from him without a word. She found an unopened can of coke and poured it straight into the Captain's bottle, swishing it around before taking a large sip. No one blinked an eye.

Across the room, Ushar cursed as he tried to get the projector working. It wasn’t that old of a projector, but it had been purchased from some seedy electronic store that definitely looked the other way on where they acquired their products. Gaming was about the only thing they ever spent their money on and they had almost every game and system out there. That was the other reason Rey secretly liked this place. Secretly liked most of them.

Rey carried her bottle with her across the room, stopping Ushar before the stout Mexican twin started to rip the machine apart in frustration. His brother, Trudge, was the same in almost every way- built like a tank and while they could be bright at times, they were oblivious to almost everything.

If she was being honest, AP was the only guy she ever thought about letting win their stupid bet. He was shy and generally quiet and never really said much to her, which Rey preferred. He was cute, too, with short black hair, dark skin, and brown eyes. But he was more like a brother than anything. He was insanely smart, which made him the brains of the operation, and about the only one with any real sense. He took up his usual position on the couch and started to roll a joint from their last bits of weed.

After Rey popped open the lid of the projector and blew out the fan and circuitry, the projector came to life with a small whine. She popped the lid back on and adjusted the focus so it hit the stretched sheet across the room right.

She hopped down from the chair and took the lit joint from AP for a deep hit before passing it back. Trudge and Ushar eventually moved from the back rooms howling to each other and fighting over who would play COD first.

“Hey, dickheads. The lady’s already chosen Mario Kart.” Kuruk slammed a shot glass on the table. “Loser finishes the Everclear.”

“She always fuckin wins.” Trudge groaned. “She always picks rainbow road. I fuckin hate rainbow road.”

Rey smiled to herself as Trudge and Ushar groaned but ultimately complied with their ringleader’s orders.

She could kick their asses at Mario Kart with a blindfold on. Rey snatched up the Wii remote and easily beat Trudge, Ushar, and Kuruk on Mario Kart’s three hardest courses. Even when Kuruk sat beside her and Trudge tried to tackle him over the back of the couch. Happy with her victory and at the sight of Ushar and Trudge gagging down straight Everclear, she released them to fight over endless rounds of COD.

Her and AP quietly pass the last joint back and forth, her eyes growing hazy as she practices blowing smoke rings into the air.

“God you fuckers are rank.”

Rey grips tightly the mostly gone Captain’s bottle in her hand at the unrecognizable voice. People stopped by the loft constantly, but it was always someone she knew. She was halfway to smashing her bottle and brandishing it as a weapon when the guys broke into a flurry of motion, leaping over the couch and flying at the voice as they howled. Rey jumps in the opposite way, watching as the stranger was set upon by the guys. It took a moment for Rey to realize that they weren’t actually beating him up. She took a long swig of her drink.

Out of the male-bonding wrestling pit emerged one of the tallest, broadest men she had ever seen. He wore all black like the rest of them, but there was something different about him. Long black hair came to his shoulders and Rey fought off the sudden urge to run her fingers through it. His pale skin was covered in smatterings of moles and freckles and his long nose was hooked from a break that didn’t heal right. It wasn’t until his eyes caught hers that the world seemed to break away under her feet. She felt his intense brown eyes from across the room. They dropped down before traveling back up again. He met her with eyes with a smirk and Rey scowled back. Something flashed across his face, too quick for Rey to tell what it was. Confusion, maybe?

Kuruk caught him staring at her and puffed out his chest in some sort of testosterone-filled dominance display. The stranger's eyes didn’t leave her. Rey did the only thing she could think of to win whatever battle she was having with this asshole and downed the rest of the Captain's bottle without breaking eye contact. The corner of his lip tweaked up.

Kuruk cleared his throat. “Kylo - Rey. Rey - Kylo.”

Kylo. Rey glared. What was it with them and stupid names?

Kylo frowned at her glare for only a moment before shoving a black backpack into Kuruk’s chest. “I brought your shit seeing as that’s the only reason you wanted me back, fucker.”

Maker, his voice. Deep and rough liked smoked whiskey and thunder. She wasn’t high enough for this.

Rey sat back down on the end seat of the couch and tried to mindlessly watch as Trudge and Ushar went back to trying to kill each other. AP returned to his rolling board with the fresh bag of weed. Bag of bags Rey realized. There had to be several hundred dollars in a dozen different strains in there. She tried not to let her eyes drift to the newcomer. He stood in the kitchen pouring drinks with Kuruk. The muscles in his back stretched his tight black t-shirt as he moved. The bottle he held looked fucking minuscule in his hands. He talked to Kuruk with dark eyes and a scowl on his face, never stopping as he pulled bartending tools out of various drawers and cabinets. He knew the loft. He knew them well enough to waltz in and start digging through the drawers.

Rey looked away before Kuruk could catch her watching Kylo. It was barely a secret that Kuruk was trying to claim her— a fact that pissed her off to no end. But the last thing she wanted tonight was to start a fight. She just wanted to bliss out for a bit. Pass out on the couch so she didn’t have to wander back to Plutt until the afternoon when her shift started.

Her eyes kept betraying her, slipping away from COD to the man taking up a majority of the kitchen. Kylo had pulled several bottles of liquor and mixers from the bag and- was that a fucking lemon and lime?

Kylo’s eyes flickered up to meet hers. A little smirk formed on his lips and Rey kept her mouth in a firm scowl. She already had too many cocky assholes in her life. She didn’t need one more.

She looked away from him and poked AP with her foot. Without skipping a beat, he pulled her favorite bong out from under the table, packed it, and handed it and a lighter to her. Maybe she wasn’t completely surrounded by assholes. He knew not to give her sativas, not after the time he found her in the bathtub having a full-blown panic attack.

Rey adjusted herself and lit up, filling the pipe until it was opaque with smoke. She sucked the entire take deep into her lungs in one go, holding it there as she let her head fall back. She let the smoke out slowly playing with it and blowing double rings into the air to watch them drift lazily up. Kuruk wasn’t lying. This was the good stuff. A dark figure stepped into the corner of her eye and Rey looked up to find Kylo standing by the couch. He held a dark amber drink in one hand and a pale pink drink in the other.

“Trade?” There was a teasing quality to his question that pissed Rey off. No doubt the pink drink was meant for her. Rey smiled sweetly.

“Sure.” She pressed the bong to his ridiculously broad chest— no she was not noticing or thinking about it at all— and snatched the glass of amber liquid from his hand. A puzzled look crossed over his face and Rey pushed away the unwanted thought that he was kinda cute. For an asshole. A moment later that cocky smile was back and he set the pink drink on the table. Kylo motioned for the lighter and she handed it to him snatching her hand back like she was burned when his hand brushed against her own. Rey blamed it on the fact that she was half-way to Elysium when she openly stared at him as he took a hit as strong as her own and pulled off a proper French inhale.

It wasn’t sexy.

It wasn’t sexy at all.

A moment later he exhaled completely, their smoke combining to hang around them in a thick haze. His eyes never left her and Rey wondered if he could see into the darkest depths of her soul to see his own reflection. He handed the bong back to her, reached down for the pink drink and downed it all in one go.

A loud swear from Trudge broke Rey out of whatever hellish subspace she had been trapped in with Kylo. AP shot her a glance like he saw everything that happened and behind him in the kitchen, Kuruk looked close to murder. He had seen too.

“How long you staying, Ren?” AP shifted between the two of them, sensing the impending fight as much as Rey did.

“No fucking clue. Might stick around for a bit.”

“Awwww was college too much for you, Einstein?” Kuruk pouted mockingly.

“Nah. They’re blaming me for nearly blowing up the chem building. Academic probation since they can’t prove it wasn’t an accident.” Kylo held on to his glass and stared down Kuruk. AP went back to rolling his joints not wanting to get in the middle of it. This was bigger than her, Rey realized. Territory dispute.

Strange how they do that. Though girls tended to be worse than guys. Guys just wanted to sleep with her. Girls wanted to murder her. Sometimes it was cause and effect— either way.

“Was it?” It took a moment for her brain to catch up to her mouth to realize she had said that.

Kylo raised an eyebrow. “Was it what, sunshine?”

“Fuck off, dickwad.” Kuruk plopped down beside her and threw his arm on the couch behind her shoulder. Not quite touching her but still trying to stake a claim on her. As if he could. He smelt of BO and stale cigarettes and she couldn’t get the thought of that sad happy trail out of her head. She wasn’t in the mood to be the chess piece in whatever fucked up game they were playing.

“Touch me, Kuruk, and you’ll wake up without a dick.”

Mr. Tall, dark, and asshole snorts, but his eyes widen ever so slightly as Kuruk actually takes his arm away from her without complaint. She smirks a little, thinking back to the time when Kuruk thought she was only joking. He had figured out pretty quickly that Rey would follow through on her threats when he woke up with a knife hovering over his junk. It was clear to them after that that no one touched her without her permission. After a while, they just straight up accepted it. No one touches Rey. Kuruk was the only one to ever press that boundary.

Rey picks up her bong and goes back to practicing smoke rings. She’s been working on her triple ring trick for a while but can’t seem to get the timing down. It’s relaxing. She could focus all her energy on just that and let the rest of the world drift away for a while.

AP finished rolling his joints and packed her bong again before picking up his bag and taking off without a word. He’d be back in a few hours and about 500$ richer. Split between the six of them with the majority going to Kylo and AP, she’d maybe get twenty bucks out of it. Still twenty bucks was twenty bucks. Maybe she’d actually buy her slushie next time.

Her neck burned as if someone was watching her. Sure enough when she looked over Kylo’s eyes were unabashedly fixed on her and ignoring Kuruk’s pointed glares. Rey stared back at him, her eyes slowly caressing over his cheekbones and strong jaw. She found constellations in his freckles. He leaned back in his chair letting her observe him, a faint cocky smile ghosting his lips. She wondered for a minute if she should feel embarrassed for ogling him like this, but she couldn’t. Not when she felt so light and free. Not when nothing mattered. Not really. This must be what death felt like.

She wondered what he’d taste like. What his moans sounded like. If his touch would feel like fire against her skin. He looked at her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking and was wondering the same thing.

But why?

Why... when you’re nothing. When you’re no one. When you’re far too skinny and you have no tits and half-healed bruises on your ribs. When even the gentlest touch makes you want to puke. You’re nothing but a quick lay. Something to use and discard.

Rey frowned and quickly locked her emotions down in the darkest parts of her. Kylo frowned, too. His eyes flitted away from her but never strayed far.

Learning how to swim but the lands are dry Feeling like a shark, If I stop I'll die Things are lit and the blood's on fire Underneath the buzz of the telephone wire

All my friends are doing fine While I'm looking for a sign Is this body even mine? Feels good to be alive but I hate my life

So tied up and tired of this self-inflicted fight In spite of, I light up, to leave my demons inside Tell myself I'm fine while I'm looking for a sign Is this body even mine? Feels good to be alive but I hate my life

- Good to Be Alive, PVRIS