#i had a headache before though. i took ibuprofen in the middle of typing this post

[vivitalks]

man. derek is such an interesting character in season 1, especially when you can look at him through the lens of having seen the whole show, because he's like an unreliable narrator for scott, even though he's not a narrator for the show.

the thing is, derek in season 1 is the primary vehicle for werewolf lore. as new viewers, we're reliant on his character to explain to us the rules and conceits of the genre, but once you've seen the whole show, that role is no longer necessary. but for scott, in season 1, derek is the sole source of werewolf intel. derek is werewolf jesus. which means that everything scott initially learns about being a werewolf is filtered through the Derek Hale Trauma Matrix, and neither of them know it.

for example: in 1x05, derek tells scott that pain is what keeps you human (which is a mantra that gets repeated and referenced a ton over the course of the rest of the show). scott has been a werewolf for all of five seconds, and has no choice but to take the word of this obviously much more knowledgeable werewolf. in that way, derek operates as a kind of narrator for scott, giving him information and context he couldn't really get any other way. but it's unreliable info. don't get me wrong - derek isn't trying to be an unreliable narrator; he's not aware of how much his life experience has colored his understanding of his own species. it's just that...well...derek is a twenty-something with the kind of trauma that eats other trauma for breakfast. of course he would say that pain is what keeps you human. at this point in the show, pain is all he has.

this is the same guy who, in the next episode, says this:

DEREK: You getting angry? That's your first lesson. You want to learn how to control this, how to shift-- you do it through anger, by tapping into a primal animal rage, and you can't do that with her around. SCOTT: [defensively] I can get angry. DEREK: Not angry enough. This is the only way that I can teach you.

except we know, and scott quickly learns (in that very same episode, in fact), that this isn't true. anger doesn't work for everyone, and it doesn't work for scott, who's not an angry person. the things that work for derek won't work for all werewolves - but how would derek know that? he's never had to teach someone to be a werewolf before. he's not actually werewolf jesus.

to scott, derek is the only trustworthy source of information on being a werewolf, because he's the only werewolf scott knows. and from derek's perspective, everything he knows about being a werewolf must be true, because it's true for him. derek is the narrator, and it's only as his backstory unfolds that the viewers, and scott, learn just how much his history and trauma have obscured the reality of things, even for derek himself.

pain is not what makes you human. it's what makes derek human. because the moments in derek's life that stand out to him most are all tinged with tragedy. mercy killing his high school girlfriend. losing his entire family in a house fire. the death of his sister. for derek, to be human is to be in pain, and to be angry about that is the only way to be in control. after all, he doesn't have anyone teaching him otherwise.

[albino-whumpee]

First mistake

In which we learn Albus can´t see anything.  

Taglist:  @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @giggly-evil-puppy @cowboysrappin @haro-whumps @burtlederp @neuro-whump @comfortforthepain @whumps-the-word @whole-and-apart-and-between @broken-horn @ashintheairlikesnow @rosesareviolentlyread​ @starnight-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @as-a-matter-of-whump  @whumpasaurus101 @grizzlie70​ @twistedcaretaker

CW// Pet whump, dehumanization, defiant whumpee, migraines, whumpee as caretaker. Pretty mild one. 

Days later, Albus was having a headache.

It was getting harder to read the reports or even his own notes, and his eyes weren´t taking lightly the increasing strain.

“Are you taking anything for that?” Sasha asked with cards and papers scattered around their table on the cafeteria.

Albus grunted “I can´t take medicine” he said squinting harder at his excel document. Re-reading it for the tenth time.

“You allergic?” Tony asked scratching his head before showing the boy the piece he was working on “Hey, what do you think of this?” Albus sighed, giving up on trying to understand.

“I don´t need them” The boy took a look at the man´s tablet and was marveled as always. But the colors made him stare away. Too vibrant for him “It´s good” he said closing his eyes for a second.

“Dude are you sure about that?” Sasha asked stopping the sound of rushed typing.  

“I have gone through worse without them. I´m fine” he growled annoyed at her insistence “Why does this have last week´s numbers?” he showed her his tablet. She took a look and then directed an even more worried look at him.

“Because it´s last week report, Albus. I sent you the new version an hour ago” she explained making him look at her and then at the tablet.

“No, it´s version 8 right? It´s this one, look” he said feeling a tug on his chest when she shook her head and Tony stretched his neck.

“Ah, no it says right there it´s version 6″ the man said as Sasha pointed with her finger the number 6 at the top. Now more visible at the distance. “See?” the boy sighed before covering his face with his hand.

“Good thing you haven´t sent it to Zarai” Sasha tried to comfort him, but when he didn´t say anything both stared at him. “You didn´t…”

“No, not yet” he said making both sigh in relief. “I have two hours left at least” he said opening the mail app and downloading the correct document. Using index and middle to expand the screen and verify the file´s name.

Sasha looked at Tony and then back at the boy “No, it´s due in half”

“What?” The boy jumped and rushed to check on his notes. His breath growing quicker until he read the actual note and his heart skipped a beat. His eye trembled, before he let himself fall on the table covering his head in a quiet attempt to soothe himself from the anxiety.

He had had trouble reading back at the facility. They had partially erased that part of him before, only to reinstall it later as “costume training” as the handlers liked to call it. It had taken more than just a few hits on his right hand and on his thighs to learn to read and write again without passing out. Despite the white pain he had felt at the beginning, he had gotten used to the small burn at the back of his eyes.

His sight was blurry and even now making up letters up close was difficult sometimes. But he thought it would be fine as long as he squinted enough. He was slow because he always expanded the screen to read…

Was it really something so small, reason enough to get him fired? He shivered and hugged himself harder as he realized that it was enough. Ma´am had a long history of firing slow workers and he couldn´t let that happen.

He trembled at the thought of being returned to the white walls, with its freezing tiles and the muffled sounds of people screaming. The electricity ran through his limbs like a ghost´s caress.

Tony looked at Sasha and reached to tap on his shoulder. Only making him jump away “Hey, hey! It´s ok, Albus, hey, don´t worry man, let me help you with that” the words made Albus teary eyes look up at him at the exact moment Tony gave him his glasses.

The boy blinked a few seconds trying to accustom to the clear view. If just a bit blurry but definitely an improvement.

“Ah, just like I thought. Look here” he pointed to his tablet and he followed his finger to see the document with literal new eyes. “You can read them better right?” Albus nodded.

“Hah, welcome to the four eyes club” Sasha giggled as she went back to work “So you were cranky because your eyes hurt huh? You don´t need to go through pain if I can help it you know. I´ve got ibuprofen in my bag all the time”

“I´ve heard its normal for albinos to have poor sight, didn´t you use glasses before? Your eyes have that little...hm, tremble, you know?” Tony asked him, but he put the act as if he was too busy fixing the document to avoid answering. He didn´t know anyways and time was running out too fast for him to worry about the blinding pain from trying to summon memories kept under the fog.

“Thank you Tony, you´re a life saver” he said so meaning it more than the man could know “I´ll do anything to pay back the favor…just…need to finish this…” he wasn´t lying, but for his luck, he took it as a joke and allowed himself to focus in making his fingers fly on the screen. After Tony simply nodded and waited a few minutes, the man chuckled at the concentration face he put.

“You´re sticking your tongue out” he giggled taking a photo, just before he stood up to sprint to the printer down the hall. 

“You´re done?!” Sasha and him yelled, jaw hanging open. 

He took the paper and read it on his way back to the table “It took me an hour because I couldn´t see the numbers but now?” he smiled shaking the papers in his hands. “Thanks Tony! I´ll give them back later!” the albino shouted, trotting to his owner´s office.

“Good luck!” he managed to hear before he entered the elevator.

He recomposed as he entered the office. Only to find Zarai crying.

She quickly turned around to face the window wiping the tears off. 

“M-Ma´am?” he asked, stepping inside and closing the door. “Are you…?”

“Where´s my report, Albus? You´re two minutes late” she cut him out with a husky voice. Albus shifted the papers on his hands.

“I´m sorry, ma´am”

“Knock on the door next time” her voice shifted to that of anger. The boy stared at the documents for a second, before laying them on her desk.

“I´m sorry, ma´am. I´ll do better next time” he replied in a low voice. He stood there twisting his fingers anxiously, until she turned to face him. Her face looked older, showing some signs of fatigue that didn´t have anything to do with work.

“It´s not like you have a choice right?” she said taking the papers and quickly passed them over to let her prodigious memory work as Albus kept his head down in submission. She put the document down and stared at him. “Are those Tony´s glasses?” Albus hadn´t noticed until now that he still had them on. It was comfortable seeing clearly, but he quickly put them on his pockets. “Why do you have them?”

“I, uh…” he stuttered thinking how to string the words together “He lent them to me”

One eyebrow shot up, “I can see that. Since when do you need glasses?” she asked with her brows in a knot. Albus swallowed, fearing he might have become an inconvenience. Undesirable. But he couldn´t ignore her.

“I´m not sure ma´am…” He managed to say.

“They didn´t say anything about bad vision… its recent then?” she mumbled to herself “Do you see well on those?” the question left him frozen.

“…yes, ma´am” he answered after a second. She nodded absent mindedly before standing up.

“Well, check where there´s an optic store and we will go after work. You have to give Tony back his glasses before he stamps himself against a wall” Albus stayed still as he realized she had joked with him. She gave him a look “Yes, I can try be funny sometimes too. I´m not made of ice” she wiggled her hands in a Duh- gesture. “You´ll have to pay for them yourself though. You can do that now” She proceeded to walk out the office for her evening smoke. “Thank you ma´am” he managed to say before she made a gesture as if to close the door but regretted at the last second. “Yes, ma´am?”

“Do you need a pill for that?” she asked leaning on the door frame. 

“No, ma´am. I´m fine” he lied, putting a smile the woman didn´t fell for. 

“I have ibuprofen on my purse. Take one, please” she ordered him before turning on her heels and closing the door. 

The boy let out a sigh. 

She was so hard to read. 

—-

He stayed there for a while, searching for a place like she had ordered him to. But couldn´t stop thinking about her.

How he had found her crying.

It was true he had seen her gloomy and contemplative lately. More than usual. Definitely more emotional than normal. Hugging Momo and staring at the garden for a long time until she stood up and left to her room.

He wondered if it didn´t have anything to do with that weekend´s trip with Claude and Mister Robert. What was it? Why was she in so much pain?

Albus glanced at the photo on her desk. The one with the kids and Sann´s clone. He already had a hunch about what could it be, but… it wasn´t his place to ask and if she didn´t tell him, it wasn´t information he needed to know.

Browsing the internet the sudden realization he would be seeing Sann for the weekend popped on his head and made him blush. He looked at his hands and tried remembering the lady from the sign language video.

“My…” He pointed with his index at his chest and then pulled up both hands in front. Forming “H” with both hands and then ticking one above the other. “Name is…” then he formed each letter. Stumbling a bit between U and S. Sighing at the way he still needed practice to teach it to Sann.

He was breaking one of the most endorsed rule of the facility by thinking about him.

“Don´t get attached to the others”

But he wasn´t there anymore.

[authenticcadence18]

Ladynoir July Day 10: Breakdown

When Ladybug is hit by an akuma blast that makes her forget all about being a superhero, Chat Noir must give her a breakdown of how her powers work and how amazing of a hero she is so they can save the day!

@ladynoirjuly2020

AO3

...

“M’lady….M’LADY. Please, I need you to wake up!! Come on!!!”

Marinette had a headache.

Why was someone shaking her shoulders?

….was she lying on the ground?

“…ibuprofen...I need ibuprofen…..” she grumbled, opening her eyes warily.

“Wait...Chat Noir?”

“LADYBUG!!!!!” Chat didn’t think twice before wrapping his lady in a tight hug, tears of relief swimming in his eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!!!!”

Marinette shifted uncomfortably in his arms. “Ladybug? What are you talking about? I don’t see Ladybug anywhere.”

Chat Noir stiffened, and he slowly retracted himself from the hug.

“....oh no.”

He examined his partner closely. She still LOOKED exactly like his lady, even if she was acting a little strange.

“Do you know who you are?” he asked tentatively.

“Of course I do!” his partner replied. “I’m M--mmpH!”

“DON’T!!!!!” Chat hissed, pressing a hand against Ladybug’s mouth in a panic. “You can’t tell me your real name!!!!!”

Marinette cocked her head at him, puzzled, before pushing his hand away. “Why not?” she asked. “I don’t have any other name to tell you.”

Chat’s heart sank. “...the akuma victim got you after all….” he muttered sadly, ears drooping.

“Akuma??” Marinette flinched and whipped her head back and forth (and then winced because it still hurt like crazy). “Where?? What akuma?? Where’s Ladybug? Don’t you and her usually take care of this sort of thing??

“Wait….did I get HIT by an akuma victim???”

She held her hands in front of her face and examined the spots covering her body. “Oh NO, did they turn me into some sort of Ladybug clone?? I don’t think I’m really the Ladybug-type, per say...where’s the real Ladybug??”

Chat took a few seconds to breathe deeply and blink away the spots of panic hovering in his vision.

“...before I answer that, I’m going to ask you a few questions,” he voiced gently, trying to hide the shakiness in his tone. “I don’t want you to elaborate on them, though! Just think about them in your head and shake your head yes or no. Can you do that for me?”

Ladybug gave him a thumbs up.

“Do you remember your name?”

Ladybug nodded.

“Your family?”

She nodded again, smiling a bit fondly this time.

(Chat Noir tried to ignore the pang he felt in his chest at her expression.)

“How about where you go to school? Or what you’d like to be when you grow up?”

His lady continued nodding, though the final question made her wince a little bit.

Chat chuckled lightly. “Yeah, no one ever likes to be asked what they want to be when they grow up, sorry!”

“So what’s going on, Chat Noir?” Ladybug asked. “Why am I dressed up like Ladybug in the middle of an akuma battle? Why can’t I tell you my name?”

“Because you aren’t dressed up like Ladybug, you ARE Ladybug,” Chat replied.

Marinette’s eyes widened, and she frantically shook her head.

“What???!?!! No way!!! That’s crazy!!!! I think YOU got hit, not me!!!! How can I be Ladybug??? I’m not cut out to be a superhero!!!!!”

“Woah, woah, please don’t freak out!!!” Chat said, unable to fathom how differently his lady was acting (and trying to shake the nagging sense of familiarity he felt after listening to her hysterics).  

“I can break everything down for you,” he continued gently, placing a comforting hand on his lady’s shoulder. “We’ll just take this one step at a time.”

Marinette took a deep breath, struggling to hold back tears of panic and anxiety. “...alright…” she replied softly.

“You just got hit by a blast that made you forget a part of your life,” Chat explained. “I tried to take the hit for you but...I was too slow…”

He gulped, swallowing down his guilt.

He needed to be strong for Ladybug right now, not wallow in self-pity.

“...I was hoping it wouldn’t affect you, or maybe it would just make you forget about some after school club you’re in, but it must have made you forget all about being Ladybug.”

“.....I guess my memories of Ladybug ARE a little fuzzy…” Marinette mused quietly. “I can’t picture her face...all I remember is she and you saving the day.”

“You remember you and I saving the day,” Chat replied with a soft smile. “You’re an amazing hero, Ladybug. Even if you don’t remember it right now.”

“But…” Marinette blinked a few times, trying to corral the thoughts swimming around her brain. “...if I’m Ladybug, that means I have to help you capture the akuma to get back to normal….and I have no idea how to do that anymore. I don’t even remember how my powers work. What are we going to do?”

Chat took her hand and squeezed it. “Fortunately for you, I have a BIT of experience wearing the ladybug miraculous. I’ll give you the breakdown of how it all works, and then we’ll go save that akuma victim and get your memories back! What do you say?”

Marinette pondered the situation for a moment.

“Well…” she began hesitantly, still uncertain about it all.

Then, memories of balconies, candles, roses, and one somewhat-hard-to-recall but nonetheless eventful brunch flashed through Marinette’s mind. Her eyes widened with clarity.

“I may not remember being Ladybug, but I remember YOU, Chat Noir. So if you think I can do this….”

She squeezed his hand in return and gave him a smile, one filled with both determination and care.

“...then so do I.”

Chat Noir beamed.

“...there you are, m’lady.”

...

“That’s it!! We did it!!!!!”

Chat Noir and Ladybug both let out cheers of joy as the akuma victim’s bright green costume bubbled away.

“Don’t forget to capture the akuma!” Chat said.

“Oh, right!!!” Ladybug awkwardly shot her yo-yo in the direction of the purple butterfly and snatched it out of the sky.

“Uh…bye bye, little butterfly!!!”

She opened her yo-yo and then watched in awe as the purified butterfly flitted away.

“Alright, now you throw your lucky charm into the air and shout ‘MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!!’” Chat reminded her. “Then everything will go back to normal.”

“Alright!!” With a cheer of excitement, Marinette threw her lucky charm into the sky.

“MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!!!!!!”

Ladybugs whipped out of her yo-yo and carried the akuma victim back home (presumably to reconcile with those she’d felt wronged by). They soared down into the streets, over buildings, and finally around Marinette herself.

“Hey….I REMEMBER NOW!!!!!!!”

Ladybug took in the sight of her gloved hands and yo-yo, relishing in once more feeling comfortable in her own skin.

“Chat Noir!!!! I remember!!!!!!!” She flew at Chat Noir and hugged him fiercely, memory after memory of him being her amazing, supportive, wonderful partner flooding back into her mind.

She didn’t realize just how hollow she’d felt without those memories.

“Thank you, kitty….I couldn’t have gotten my memories back without you….”

Chat Noir didn’t respond for a few moments...now that the urgency of defeating the akuma was dealt with, all the emotions he’d been repressing came rushing back.

“....if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have needed my help to get your memories back in the first place…. “ he managed to mutter.

Ladybug pulled away from the hug so she could look her partner in the eye, heart aching at the sight of tears swimming in his eyes.

“Hey,” she whispered, reaching up to brush a tear from his cheek. “I’ve seen you take hits NUMEROUS times because I didn’t reach you fast enough or because you jumped in the way to protect me. Does it hurt my heart every time it happens? Of course. But I understand that sometimes, getting hit by akuma victims is a part of our job description.

“These things happen, kitty. It’s okay. All that matters is that you were there for me when I needed you most.”

A surge of longing to cheer Chat up, to make him understand just how thankful she was for him, suddenly filled Ladybug from head to toe...so she inclined her head up and brushed a soft kiss against his cheek.

“There…” she whispered with a small smile. “Feel better?”

And for just a moment, Chat Noir found himself free of the fears burdening his mind, fears that revolved around Ladybug losing her memories for good due to his inability to save her.

“....maybe a little….” he replied with a small smile.

The fears would return later.

But for now...being with his lady was all that really mattered.

...

I'm writing some one-shots for Ladynoir July! What days will I write for? How many fics will I be able to finish?

...only Ahtohallan knows.

(thanks for reading!) 

(and thank you @youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal for being my beta!) 

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

Friendly Neighborhood Harmacy || Simon and Kaden

TIMING: A few hours after Blanche was possessed LOACTION: Pharmacy Downtown PARTIES: @inconvenientsimonstrocity and @chasseurdeloup​ SUMMARY: Hunter and Werewolf shopping trip that didn’t go wrong at all

Kaden knew he shouldn’t be out right now anywhere unprotected with wards or salt. He was a walking lightning rod for bullshit ghost activity. But he needed more ibuprofen. Desperately. Maybe some Excedrin. The headache pounding in his skull seemingly refused to die down and there was nothing left in his house. The combination of crying and worrying and just overall stress wasn’t boding well. Riding it out wasn’t going to fix it. The pharmacy down and around the corner was close enough to his apartment. He’d be in and out quickly enough. The ghost should still be gone for now, too. If not, he had salt packets in his jacket and an iron knife in his back pocket. He turned the corner, eyes still a little blurry and saw someone standing in his way. “Hey. Can you move?” Kaden wasn’t normally super polite to begin with, but he was too haggard to even pretend tonight.

Simon had been standing there for… longer than he would’ve admitted to a total stranger-- well no, that wasn’t true. Simon was always ready to take a fall or look like the fool to spare someone else’s ego or intelligence and this was no different but he was honestly comparing and contrasting the labels on at least three different types of allergy medication at that moment. He wasn’t a huge fan of nasal spray but maybe that would’ve been more effective? He found himself slowly but increasingly growing worried of developing liver failure or a stomach ulcer from how many pills he had to take depending on how close to the full moon it was. Was it placebo? Was he just making this all up? What if it was psychosomatic? These were all thoughts that floated through his head as he lifted one bottle to read the contents, then the other that was wedged between his ring and pinky fingers when he heard a voice push through his thought cloud. He turned sharply and regarded a… Kaden? He had only seen the man once before, at his birthday party but he knew his memory wasn’t failing him yet though he certainly looked worse for wear this time around. “I’m sorry,” He apologised, taking a generous step back as he felt the hair on the back of his neck instinctively stand on end at being so suddenly close to a werewolf Hunter. He ignored the feeling. “Are… you okay?” He found himself asking though part of him certainly didn’t mean to.

“Thanks,” he grumbled as he shuffled past the guy to get to the rows of painkillers. For a second, Kaden thought he felt something. A chill, maybe? Was the poltergeist here? Or was it something else? He couldn't tell. All he could feel was the fucking throbbing in his head like it was getting louder somehow. Maybe this guy was bringing it out, maybe he was a fucking werewolf because that would be his luck tonight, who knew. Kaden certainly didn’t. And he sure as fuck didn’t care as long as he moved out of his way. Thank god he did. Or he was tempted to throw a punch or something. That kind of night. “Why do you care?” he said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed at least 3 different kinds of painkillers, barely looking at the labels to see the difference between any of them. Didn’t care. “What’s it to you anyway?” Normally he would move on and let some weird stranger’s small talk lie but something about tonight made him want to pick a fight. An eyebrow quirked in what seemed to feel like a mixture of concern and curiosity as Kaden seemed keen to shove past Simon had the latter not complied. “Because you weren’t like this at your party,” He said, considering after the fact that perhaps it wasn’t his wisest move to show his “cards” so soon into the awkward small talk. Normally, he would’ve been more careful about how to proceed but so far, he’d seen Kaden twice now and he looked miserable both times. He glanced briefly at the medication Kaden had picked up - and he seemed to pay more attention to what they were than the younger man, at least. He didn’t say anything about that though and set his own contemplations back where they had sat on the shelf carefully. He wanted to add something else, something like ‘you seem like you need to yell at someone’ but he didn’t, keeping his comment brief and leading. He remembered the verbal spat they got into online a few weeks back, noting that he had to get ‘mean’ for Kaden to… react. He was hoping that might not’ve been the case this time.

Kaden’s brow furrowed as he turned to look back at the other man. “At my party?” he asked. Did he know this guy? Should he know this guy? He looked kind of familiar, sure. In that way that meant you could have passed each other in a hallway once or twice or been to the same bar a few different nights. Noting specific sprung to mind. “Do I know you?” Shit was this someone he worked with? Maybe he was supposed to know this guy. Putain. Either way, know him or not, Kaden didn’t need anyone seeing him like this. Didn’t need to chit chat about his miserable fucking life in the middle of the fucking pharmacy. Just when he was about to open his mouth to ask something more, a light overhead flickered. Only a little. He glanced up. It was just a shitty  fluorescent light in a beat down small town store. Had to be. Right? Putain. As Simon correctly predicted, the question was enough to give Kaden pause and the younger man regarded him. He entertained several different responses to Kaden’s question such as ‘no, I just work at the morgue’, ‘no but I know you’ and just the regular classic ‘no, sorry’ but he didn’t give an answer at all as Kaden seemed to open his mouth to say something more but he faltered and looked up at the light as it flickered. Simon didn’t turn his head upward but he did accompany the hunter in looking up briefly at the light - he had been in and out of that store many times since he first arrived and not once had the lights been faulty, at least not like that. “I, uh…” He picked an answer to Kaden’s question. “No, you don’t. At least not the face.” He cleared his throat. “I’m the guy that said he didn’t like dogs online and got some backlash from you.” Animal Control, he remembered. He himself had a dog named…. Abel. Be kind.

This conversation made less and less sense to him as it went on. Kaden had a feeling there was something this guy wasn’t saying but he couldn’t put a finger on it. “Right. You.” He may not be able to recognize this man but anyone who didn’t like dogs was automatically questionable in his book. At best. “Weird way to introduce yourself,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He searched the guy’s face for any clue for his angle. What the hell he was after. “So. Who are you? Why were you at that shit hole of a party anyway?” The lights cut out in the whole store. Kaden staggered, head darting back and forth like he could find the cause of this. A few seconds later, they flickered and came back on. Not good. “I was--” Simon started to reply when the lights in the whole store shut off for a few seconds. His eyes adjusted much faster when they turned off than when they turned back on and he narrowed his eyes faintly, not entirely too shaken about what seemed to be a basic power outage but Kaden’s body language suggested otherwise, giving Simon the impression that this wasn’t normal. Well… he was correct, it WASN’T but Simon opted to stay calm; he had his fair share of paranoid nights and he was certain that people oftentimes thought he looked similarly disheveled to the Hunter. “Are you okay?” He asked again, tilting his head slightly as he regarded Kaden with a slightly gentler expression. “You seem… nervous.”

“I’m fine,” he snapped. Kaden was used to being the one in control of a supernatural situation, the problem solver. The one to swoop in with the answers and the ability to protect the uninitiated humans around him. Asking people if they were okay was his line. “Why do you care any--” Before he could finish, there was a crash from across the store. “Putain de merde,” he grumbled, mostly to himself. Not again. He took the boxes of drugs and shoved them onto a shelf. Any shelf. “Yeah, gotta go.” As fucking weird as this conversation had been, he had to get out of there now. As he pushed past the guy, the lights went out again. And this time they stayed out. Kaden froze in place. The few other people in the store screamed. No. No no no. “I just wanted Advil!” he shouted in French at the ceiling, like that’s where his mother was. Granted, she was a fucking poltergeist. She could be anywhere. Fuck. All he heard was another crash, this time in the opposite side of the store. The older man also turned his head sharply when the crash sounded off and when Kaden passed by him, making sure to make contact this time, Simon followed whether out of innate curiosity for the sound, Kaden’s clearly compromised mindset or some third purpose. The lights went out yet again, not to return and he almost ran into the younger man as the latter stopped suddenly. Simon himself tensed up this time as other people screamed but he had to be honest, he wasn’t sure why Kaden himself was now yelling in French, why the lights kept going out, or what that crash on the other side of the store was. He wanted to ask what was going on but given Kaden’s previous track record of… not being honest, he wasn’t sure if his question was going to get an answer so he silently clung close to Kaden as his blue eyes glanced towards the crash… he may not’ve known what was going on but he had a feeling that Kaden, the ever-efficient werewolf hunter, would have some sort of weapon or knowledge up his sleeve to at least bark an order at him if he could help.

By this point, it seemed like the other people in the store had filed out or were making their way to the door. Not “Are you okay?” guy, though. Whatever, Kaden didn’t have time to worry about that. “Yeah, now’s probably a good time to be anywhere but here,” he told the other man through grit teeth. Kaden ran back into one of the aisles on the way to the front of the store. Then he heard a creaking and a big slam. Well that sounded bad. Then another slam. And another and-- Putain. Before he knew it, he saw the entire aisle tilting forward onto him, boxes and plastic containers pummeling him. Shit. At least he finally gave Simon some direction on where to go, even if that was to leave the store. Though part of him wanted to go check up on the other customers, he was noting as he followed behind Kaden that everyone else had fled, smartly. He didn’t run the way Kaden did but his stride was purposeful though his mind still buzzed with curiosity rather than danger the way it should’ve - why did the lights go out? What was attacking the pharmacy? . . . Would he get a sale if he offered to help pick up afterwards? He was interrupted from is absent thinking when he heard the sound of something colliding with something else, then repeated like… dominos. He tensed further as the rhythmic crashing got louder and he glanced ahead just in time to see the shelf tilting and starting to tumble towards Kaden. His next couple moves were autonomous, not thinking and just reacting as he dove forward, rolling onto his back and throwing all four of his limbs up to catch the shelf. He felt a burst of adrenaline, a pulse through his body as his strength was thrown into holding the shelf up at least long enough for Kaden to escape without being totally crushed.

Kaden winced and ducked, arms above him, anticipating the shelf to come crashing down on him. Only it didn’t. He opened his eyes and saw the other guy holding the fucking thing. Shit. Also why didn’t he think of that? Putain. Kaden didn’t waste anymore time and shuffled out of the aisle. He gripped his hands around the edge of the shelf and pulled with all he had. Only way to be sure his current life saver didn’t get crushed as well. “Out!” he shouted to the other guy. Not sure how long he could hold it. He didn’t have to wonder long. A gust of wind raged through the store. Kaden held tight until his companion was out, even as it threatened to push him off his feet. As soon as he could, he let go and ran to the door. He pushed. It wouldn't open. He pulled. Nothing. He rattled it back and forth, rammed it. Stuck. Locked. Maybe. One bang on the glass with his first was enough to assure him it wasn’t glass at all  but fucking plastic, some sort of anti-shatter shit. Which sure, made sense in this town. Also fucking inconvenient at the moment. “Need a way out!” he yelled over to the guy, seemed like they were the only two unlucky bastards left in there. As soon as he saw Kaden get out from under it and hold it up for him, Simon flipped onto his hands and knees and skittered out himself so Kaden didn’t have to hold the thing up longer than absolutely necessary though it seemed as though everything was trying to get him to fail - he sensed that was a running trend for Kaden. His arms hurt from catching the shelf and even then he was wondering why he did that but neither of them were hurt that badly so far so they had that going for them. “Thanks,” He replied over the sounds of disarray and chaos that seemed to swirl about them. He saw the other man try the door before banging on the glass with his own balled fist. “Damn,” He muttered, turning on a heel to look for something that could help them break the glass and instead finding the front counter. A key? He glanced up and found himself sniffing the air. A vent? That might be efficient. A back door? He found that too much information was going through his head, body getting more tense and he felt his fingernails growing subconsciously. “What did you have in mind?” He called back.

Kaden looked for an exit sign, the kind that usually stayed lit even when the lights went out. Apparently not right now. Putain. “Back door maybe. If we can find it.” He took his phone out and used it as a flashlight as he shuffled through fallen items on the store’s floor, hoping to maybe find some salt. Or that fucking advil he wanted. Shoplifting didn’t feel like a fucking issue right at this point. So far all he saw was a lot of weird colorful shit he assumed was makeup. Some hair products. Hey, that was one he-- A blast of wind poured into the room. From fucking nowhere. But it was so strong, Kaden had to fight against it; products were lifted in the air and swirling around, whacking and slicing into his already cut and scabbed skin. “Door-- Need to-- Find it,” he said as he tried to shield his face from flying objects. He tapped the guy’s shoulder, pointing towards the direction he was headed when he felt it again. That chill down his spine. He was-- Putain de merde. Of course he was stuck in here with a fucking werewolf. “You know what, I don’t care,” he said as he climbed over shelves and battled through the wind, trying to pick his way to the back of the store. The wind only intensified as he walked away from the werewolf. Back door, right. In a few light hops, Simon went over to the counter and opened the most obvious drawer quickly to try to find the key that could open either of the doors. Not the first drawer, maybe the second? Claws scraped around inside the drawers until he caught a faint glimmer and he snatched a toothy key up. “Okay, okay,” He repeated to himself and quickly caught up to where Kaden was searching for things on the floor when another sudden blast of wind buffeted them both with boxed medicines and fine edges of makeup. He held one of his arms up as he also tried to shield his face, not caring quite so much but something spiked in him when Kaden touched him, brief as it was. He wanted to run, fight and attack simultaneously but he pushed what he felt were ‘primal desires’ down. Suddenly, though, Kaden turned and he heard Kaden say something along the lines of ‘I don’t care’ even through the whipping wind. “H-hey wait!” Simon called, still following after him. “I have the key!”

Kaden’s foot caught and he slipped on one of the shelves, banging his calf into another on the way down. He cried out in pain and felt the edges of flat backed packaging starting to lacerate his skin. Again. He winced and tried to push himself up. He just wanted to run away from this and he couldn’t even do that. Then he heard something that sounded like “keys” through the blasts of wind. Kaden wanted to scream. Of course the werewolf was the one to save him and get him out of here. Of course. And he was sure his mother wanted him to kill it but really, he was having trouble caring what she wanted right now. With a groan, he pushed himself up and headed back towards the fucking werewolf. “Great. Get us the fuck out. And then run.” In the darkness and wind and items flying around them, Simon saw Kaden stumble and it was then that the smell of blood greeted his nose. Another pulse through his body, clenching his clawed fists, cracking his neck and he planted himself on the ground, steeling against the wind as he pushed through to meet Kaden as the latter limped back to him. “Here--” Though he knew Kaden was surely going to protest, he ignored the other man’s resistance if he put any up and placed one of Kaden’s arms around his shoulders, keeping the key tightly in his hand. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew every fiber of himself wanted to either try to kill this man or flee from him but he was determined to do neither as he pushed through the wind alongside Kaden. The store itself wasn’t very big and the emergency exit was within sight to him even in the pitch-black store so he kept going with a resolute pace and feeling Kaden’s warmth against his skin. “Okay, gimme one sec--” He pushed the key into the lock and struggled for a second to open the door, finally pushing it open and almost falling over as he tumbled forward, spilling onto the back patio.

Kaden grumbled but allowed himself to be helped out of the fucking tunnel of wind by the goddamn werewolf. As much as he hated asking for help, even more so when from a monster, he hated the idea of dying in a shit small town pharmacy because the ghost of his mother buried him with boxes of medicine and bottles of shampoo and packets of ramen. There was no way he could kill this werewolf either. Not in human form. He’d never even seen the change. Not that it seemed to matter to his mother. Still he sighed and pushed forward with the other man to the door. “Any faster,” he said through grit teeth, glancing behind him as the tunnel of wind in the center of the room picked up and began to spread. He bolted out of the door as soon as he could, then turned to slam it closed behind them both. “I’m going home. You should, too. If you know what’s good for you.” His voice had no warmth or appreciation to it, but it was better than the disdain most wolves garnered from him. “Thanks,” he muttered under his breath before turning to run back to his well warded apartment.

As soon as they were out, Kaden made sure to pull himself away from Simon, who exhaled heavily as he stretched his arms and legs; they were gonna be sore tomorrow. He didn’t know what he was expecting in terms of reactions from Kaden so it didn’t surprise him that the younger man was still abrasive towards him. Surely, he had to have figured out by now that Simon was a werewolf, which probably added to his innate hatred for him. Simon didn’t think much of it; at least he didn’t die in the store or get crushed by falling shelving units. He massaged his shoulders at the thought of that bit as he kept his eyes on Kaden with a certain alertness. As much as part of him wanted to scoff dismissively at Kaden’s warning - like he gave a single shit about suggesting what Simon should do that was good for him - he didn’t and instead gave a rather quiet “Happy to help” in response to Kaden’s half-hearted thank you. The Hunter departed and Simon sighed again, dropping to a crouch for a moment as he sat outside of the ruined pharmacy in the dark, clicking his sharpened nails together idly and finding himself wondering if he did the right thing.

[lalka-laski]

A - Appearance.

What are you wearing? A sweatshirt with my company's logo & a pair of jeggings

What are on your feet right now? Slip-on sneak type of things? I abandoned my usual flip-flops today because my feet are a tragedy

What color are your fingernails? Like my toenails, my fingernails are also a tragedy! I haven't had room in my budget for a mani pedi in awhile :/

What does your hair look like right now? It's clipped up, but it's clean and therefore, the best my hair has looked this week

B - Best Friend

Who is your best friend? I have several but for the sake of this survey I'll say Sean

What was the last thing you two did together? Sadly it was a post-funeral service for his grandmother. But it was a fun, lighthearted celebration of her life. I adore his family and it's always great to spend time with them, even if the circumstances are dismal.

What is (s)he doing right now? Man, this guy is ALL over the map. I can't keep tabs on him! He could be in Bora Bora right now and I wouldn't question it.

Are you talking to her/him online right now? Nope, but we keep in pretty regular contact.

C - Crush.

Who is (s)he? He's a little more than a crush! He's my fiance

What does (s)he look like? The cutest pumpkin pie in the WORLD (he finds that nickname emasculating?? Can't imagine why...) What was the last thing you two talked about? We're texting right now about what Starbucks drinks we're gonna get later!

Does (s)he make you smile? More than anyone or anything on the planet

D - Dad

What’s your dad’s name? Richard

What does he do for a living? He's an electrician. Although these days he's more of an executive (I don't know his actual title). So he oversees lots of electricians and various projects, but doesn't do as much as the hands-on work. I'm so proud of him for working his way up the ladder but it's still so funny to me to picture my blue-collar, borderline redneck dad, working in an OFFICE.

What was the last thing you two did together? We got ice cream (Glenn & my mom were also present)

Do you get along better with him than your mother? My mom and I have more in common and therefor do more friendly/social stuff together. But I get along with each of them equally well. Especially as an adult.

E - Ebay.

Have you ever bought anything from ebay? Yep I have a few pairs of reading glasses on the way actually

Do you just shop around when you’re online? Kinda but I'm trying to kick the habit

Do you know anybody who is addicted to it? You could argue I am...

Have you ever sold anything on it? Nope

F - Facebook.

When was the last time you logged on? I'm on currently

How many friends do you have? Over 1,000

Do you hate when your facebook chat messes up? It doesn't happen much tbh

Who was the last person to leave you a wall post? I just had a birthday so it could've been anybody

G - Google.

Do you Google everything? I might rely TOO much on Google!

What was the last thing you Googled? Stretches for my calves

Would you ever trade Google in for Bing? Nah

What do you Google the most? "Is it safe to eat expired ______?"

H - Hair.

Do you like your hair? It's kind of my enemy. I spent years destroying it with box dye but even regardless of that, it's limp and stringy in texture. I long for thick, luscious locks!

What color is your hair? Blonde

What does it look like right now? Clipped up in a claw clip

What kind of shampoo for you use? Biolage

I - Ibuprofen

When was the last time you took ibuprofen? Few days ago for a headache prob Do you rely on it for everything (cramps, headache)? I don't take it much, no

Are you so thankful people made it? I mean yeah?

Do you have any right now? We have a few bottles upstairs at the nurse's station

J - Jobs.

Do you need a job? I have one. I need a better PAYING job though...

Where do you work? A fertility clinic

Where would you work? If I could choose anywhere? I'd be a regular columnist for a website, magazine, blog etc.

How much money would you like to get paid? Sadly, I'd be ok with even $15/hour at this point. Ideally $20.... but that will never happen at this job.

K - Kissing.

Who was the last person you kissed? Glenn

Will you next kiss be a mistake? This is a weirdly common question in surveys. But no, it certainly won't.

Do you kiss someone everyday? Mhm

Who was your first kiss? Steven was his name

L - Love.

Who do you love the most in your life? My family, Glenn, my friends, my babies

Have you ever been in love before? I am right now

Does it make you so happy when you feel the feeling of love? Oh it's like SPARKLING, magical feeling throughout my whole body. Electric, even.

Why is this word so hard to describe? Probably because it's such a spiritual, almost otherworldly feeling. While there are a lot of physical sensations that accompany it, love itself is magical. And how do you define that in human language??

M - Mom.

What is your mom’s name? Julie

What is she doing right now? Ugh. The lucky duck is currently in Canada with my godmother having the time of her life. I'm so jealous but happy for her!

Where does she work? She's a retired schoolteacher

Do you two shop together a lot? Oh very often!

N - Netflix.

Do you have Netflix? Mhm but I don't watch it much

If not, what movies would you order?

Do you rent a lot of movies? Nah

Do you have the tool where it just downloads to your tv? Uh what? I have a Smart TV so I don't need any additional tools really?

O - Ohio.

Is this the state in which you live in? No lol

Is Ohio State your favorite football team? I don’t have a favorite Did you know Ohio Is For Lovers? Mhm

Have you ever been to Ohio? Nope

Q - Quitting.

What was the last thing you quit doing? It's hard to say 'cause I quit so many things. I can't decide if this is a bad habit or not? On one hand, I should exhibit some more perseverance. On the other hand, I think it's good that I recognize when something is no longer serving me.

Do you need to quit talking to someone right now? Nah. Everyone in my life is meant to be here.

Would you ever quit school? Well I'm done with school so no.

Don’t you think quitting is stupid? Nope. Again, I think it's good to acknowledge that something isn't doing you any favors. I don't think there's necessarily dignity in keeping yourself in a situation that doesn't serve you. Wish more people had that mentality. Just 'cause you start something doesn't mean you have to finish it.

R - Reading.

What was the last book you read? I'm in the middle of a riveting book called The Opposite of Everyone. My MIL has been lending me some really great mysteries lately. She's turning me on to the genre!

Do you own a lot of books? Our living room is overflowing with them and we actually are planning to buy a third bookshelf soon

Do you have a library card? Actually no but I want to get one for the library in the town I now live in

Have you ever read a book that changed your life? They all do, really.

S - Safety.

Do you always wear your seat belt? Ha. I often don't when I'm in the backseat because I don't find it necessary and my mom always barks back "THAT'S WHAT PRINCESS DIANA THOUGHT TOO"

When riding a four-wheeler do you wear a helmet? I've only ridden one a couple times and I can't remember if I wore a helmet

Did you ever wear knee pads and a helmet when riding your bike? Mhm Do you always think safety first? Eh, no. I'm kinda reckless if I'm honest.

T - Talk

Who was the last person you talked to? I'm messaging with Glenn right now Who are you talking to right now? ^^

Who did you last talk to before you went to bed last night? Also Glenn

Do you need to talk to anybody right now? I'm good

U - US ARMY

Do you support it? What a question... not really one I feel like getting tangled in right now. Thanks!

Do you know anybody who is in the army right now? Actually yes

Don’t you ever wonder why their camo doesn’t match anything? No?

Would you ever go to the army? HA HA HA HA HA

V - Virgin.

Are you a virgin? No, but virginity is a construct anyways.

When did you lose your virginity? I was 17 when I first had vaginal intercourse if that's what you're asking

Do you wish you would’ve waited? Nah, it all happened at the right time and led me to the right places. (Took awhile, but it did)

Do you think you could have stayed a virgin until marriage? No, that's not for me.

W - What.

What are you doing right now besides this survey? Messaging Glenn, texting a groupchat, and drinking coffee

What are you craving? Kind of everything since I'm fasting right now. So ALL food sounds appealing

What do you need to buy? NOTHING at the moment. I'm on a spending freeze for a little while.

Why are you taking my survey? Because I'm bored at work

X -Xanax

Do you know anybody who is addicted to Xanax? Maybe...

Have you ever taken it before? Nope

Do you even know what it is? Yes

Have you ever suffered from anxiety or depression? I do & I currently take Lexapro (I have lukewarm feelings about its effectiveness for me)

Y - Yourself.

Name. Elizabeth

Age. 29 (gag)

Do you smile a lot? Very often, even when I don't want to

Z - Zebra.

Are you addicted to zebra striped? No

Do you own anything zebra striped? Also no Is anything on any of your websites zebra striped? Lol no

[aprillikesthings]

Today at work:

We had the farmer’s market across the street, which always makes traffic a clusterfuck and we get a lot more visitors. 

A charter school that works with some of our residents hosted their 8th-grade promotional thing (like a graduation but not actually a graduation??) in a big room we rent out

As I posted earlier, one of the residents was convinced that someone was late to pick her up, and then that they had forgotten, and they were agitated and kept asking me to do something about it. (They didn’t even have an appointment today, as their own daughter pointed out later. “Huh, I wonder how I got that mixed up?” Gee I dunno, but you do this once a week. At least their kid knows this is happening--we deal with a lot of families who insist their parents don’t need to be moved to a higher level of care because “She’s just fine with us!” Yes, and people are always a little better around familiar faces. You try dealing with someone who comes to your desk over and over in the middle of the day to ask the same question, because every time they walk away they forget you already had a conversation about it. (That was a different resident a few months ago. It was incredibly frustrating.))

The UPS guy was late and I didn’t have a chance to label the packages and call for them until nearly 8pm (I usually get it done by three or four at the latest)

Someone in independent living called 911 and my phones lit up and I forgot we had two people with the same first and last name and sent our facilities people to the wrong apartment at first (it wasn’t crucial but I still felt shitty about it)

Just....a lot of phone calls today, and questions from residents about thing I didn’t know how to answer (why, oh why, does the facilities manager not email ALL of us when there’s a memo that goes to the residents? I had no idea the gas was going to be out on the 22nd and looked like an idiot). 

When I went on lunch, the person in front of me took FIVE FUCKING MINUTES TO ORDER A PIZZA. WHY. (I only get half-hour breaks and I was starving to boot.)

“Did you know the trash chutes won’t open?” Yes. Yes I did. No I don’t know when it’ll be fixed. Facilities is working on it, and I know because I heard them talking about all the things they’d tried so far. 

TO TOP OF IT ALL OFF I have had a headache all day, and I took two excedrine, and I still had a headache, I was just jittery af on top of it, and when they wore off I couldn’t take more ‘cause otherwise I’ll never sleep tonight. (I took ibuprofen when I got home, which was a significant improvement.)

OH BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE like 45 minutes before I was supposed to clock out, a resident (who was already getting really forgetful) comes down asking where [name of our building, that we were in] was. “I need to get to [name of building].” “You’re in it.” “What? I don’t have my hearing aid in.” 

I literally walked him to the elevator and up to his floor and his unit (which I never do, but my coworker was already at the desk--just not on the clock) and he didn’t recognize his own apartment. “Is this the way out?” “No, this is your apartment.” I try to get him to stay and run back downstairs and get facilities on the radio. We call my manager who says we should call 911 (he doesn’t have diagnosed memory issues, and it turns out he’d already had to be walked back to his apartment four times today). We do....and the resident comes back down wondering where [our building] is again. He tries to leave and we talk him into staying in the lobby. He tells me (god, this is heartbreaking) that “a lady took me to some place upstairs just now, and the room had a bunch of old pictures of me!” The lady is me. The room full of old pictures of himself is his own apartment. 

The EMT’s convince him he should go to the hospital. They can’t force him, so this takes some doing. “I just need to get back to [our building].” “Sir, you’re in [our building], and you don’t recognize it, so you need to see a doctor.” I think he finally went only because he was confused and figured they must know better than he did. 

Keep in mind that, because he wasn’t wearing his hearing aid, every conversation was held via shouting and enunciating as clearly as possible, to which he frequently replied, “What? I don’t have my hearing aid in.”

And then because facilities management are fucking idiots (the actual workers are usually fine; but god the management is shitty) I had to write out two incident reports BY HAND--that said the exact same thing I’d already emailed to my own manager, just with lots of scratch-outs and less detail, because I fucking hate writing shit out by hand. UGH. 

....ANYWAY. Now I’m home. And I should probably just smoke a bunch of weed and go to bed early but I think I’m gonna try poking tumblr and writing a little and THEN smoking some weed and going to bed. Though “early” for me is still 2am. Last night I went to bed at nearly 5am. (It’s 11pm at the moment.)

MAN I feel better typing that all out. Shit. 

[mldrgrl]

Bugged

by: mldrgrl Rating: PG-13 (language) Summary: All you Hanella fans can finally stop asking for sick!fic now

Hank was having a weird day.  He woke up feeling restless somehow.  He tried to write, but his brain wouldn’t focus.  Besides, there was a cramp in his shoulder that felt like a pulled muscle and his shoulders burned and ached when he typed.  He gave up by lunchtime and then he tried to eat, but food didn’t seem to agree with him so he put it away and went for a walk.

By the time he got home, he had a headache.  He took some Ibuprofen and wondered what time Stella would be home today.  She hadn’t been working on cases for a few weeks, but was doing something he didn’t fully understand that entailed analysis of departmental efficiency.  Some days she’d been home by mid-afternoon to type up reports, some days she wasn’t home until eight or nine o’ clock.

It was after seven when she got home that night.  His headache had waned, but the ache in his shoulders was still there and had traveled to the middle of his back as well.  It made him feel old and cranky.  Now that Stella was home, he wanted to pout at her and have her tell him he wasn’t old or cranky.  He met her at the door, like a puppy or a child desperate for attention, but she looked almost as miserable as he felt.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, massaging her shoulders lightly as she held the wall to unzip her boots.

“Tired,” she answered, swatting him off of her when she had one boot off.

“Want something to eat?  There’s leftover lasagne.”

“I think I’m just going to go to bed.”

“I might join you.”

“Not tonight, I have a headache.”

“That’s weird, me too.  I mean, I did.  It’s gone now.  Sort of.”

Stella was already undressing as she slowly slunk upstairs.  She had her blouse off and over her arm and worked on unbuttoning her pants.  All the while, Hank was two steps behind her, ripping his own shirt off and unzipping his jeans, thinking how strange it was to be in a race to remove clothes when nothing was going to happen.

“I’ll take that,” Stella said, reaching up to prevent Hank from overhanding his balled up t-shirt into the hamper as he followed her into the bathroom.  She turned her back to him and he unclasped her bra for her before he opened his fly to relieve himself.

“My back has been killing me all day today,” he said, eyes closing slightly at the relief of pressure on his bladder.

Stella slipped his shirt on and plucked her toothbrush out of the holder.  She hummed in acknowledgment and pasted her toothbrush.  He flushed and kicked off his jeans while she rinsed and spit.  She pulled her hair into an elastic to wash her face and he washed his hands next to her.  After he wiped them dry, he put his hands on her hips and leaned down to kiss one of her shoulders as she bent over the sink and rubbed face wash into her cheeks.

Hank turned the bed down while Stella finished in the bathroom, throwing extra pillows onto the floor and out of the way.  He was settled before she came out, but he’d left the lamp at her side of the bed on so she could see.  He rolled towards her when she slipped between the sheets and put his arm over her.

“You’re too hot,” she mumbled.

“Mm, thank you,” he answered, nuzzling her neck.

“Hank.”

“Just saying good night.”  He planted a series of kisses in the crook of her neck and then rolled away.

“Good night,” she said, softly.

He startled awake in the dark.  Something had woken him, but he wasn’t sure what.  His eyes were too unfocused to read the clock, but it looked like it might be 12:23, or something approximating that time.  Stella’s side of the bed was empty.  He heard a noise that was like a cross between a cough and a groan and he stumbled out of bed, shivering slightly when he threw back the covers and exposed his sweaty skin to the air.

He weaved towards the dim light shining from the cracks in the bathroom door where it was slightly ajar and pushed it open.  He recoiled with a squint and brought his arm up to block the light.

“Stella?” he slurred.

Stella’s response was a deep retch and a cough over the toilet bowl.  Hank grimaced and fumbled blindly for the washrag that was always hanging on the hook next to the sink.  He wet it and crouched behind Stella as her body went stiff with another wave of vomiting.  Her hair was still in the elastic she’d had in when she went to bed, but it was looser.  He pushed sweaty strands of hair away from her face and tried to press the damp cloth to her face, but she shook her head at him.

“Go back to bed,” she panted.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked.

She shook her head again and weakly flailed one of her arms to shoo him away.  When he stood, it felt like a flow of ice water moved down his spine, so cold it burned.  Fresh beads of sweat trickled down his back and his gut clenched and throat tightened at the same time.  Quickly, he covered his mouth with one hand and rushed out of the room to the second bathroom, making it just in time to make an offering to the porcelain god.

“Fuck,” he said as he heaved, the curse strangled and mostly just a noise that echoed off the bowl.

When he finally sat back, his abdomen was quivering and he had a sour taste in his mouth.  His knees felt weak when he pushed himself to his feet, but he got up, flushed the mixture of half-digested turkey sandwich and bile away, and stumbled back across the hall.  Stella was still in the bathroom, arms curved around the toilet seat, eyes closed as though she were asleep.

“Sherlock,” he rasped, gagging at the taste of his own tongue.  “I think we might have the flu.”

“Whatever gave you that idea, Watson?” she mumbled, eyes still closed.

“Might have picked up some of your crack investigative skills over the years.”

She opened her eyes as he searched the medicine cabinet for something useful, but came out empty-handed.  He did take a swig of mouthwash to clear out the gross taste in his mouth though.  Stella gazed up at him with glassy eyes, giving sleepy little half blinks he would normally find alluring.

“I’m cold,” she whispered.

“You have vomit in your hair,” he answered.

Stella wrinkled her nose and groaned.  Hank wet the washcloth that had cooled on the sink where he left it and crouched down to clean her up a bit.  He helped her up and put his arm around her waist to take her back to bed.

“Hang on,” she said, stopping to take her own swig of the mouthwash.

Back in bed, she curled up against his back and hugged him close.  “You’re so warm,” she murmured.

The next time Hank woke, it was to Stella’s alarm clock, which he would’ve gladly smashed to a thousand pieces if he felt like he had the energy to do so.  Stella groaned in annoyance as she slowly rolled over to silence the alarm.  His body felt achy all over from head to toe.  Even his hair ached and the back of his ears ached.  Stella must’ve felt similar.

“How you feeling?” Hank asked.

“Like I ought to call in sick.  How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.  I’m going to tell my typewriter not to expect me today.”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever called in sick.”

“Well, you deserve to.”

Hank rolled over to face Stella’s side of the bed.  Her back was too him and she was half off the bed, arm outstretched and resting on the nightstand next to her alarm like she couldn’t bear to move after shutting it off.  He inched closer and then dragged her back into bed and moved her arms under the covers.  She made a noise that he couldn’t interpret.  Could’ve been in protest or in thanks.

Usually, Hank was terrible at being sick.  He hated feeling lousy and he wanted to make everyone around him feel just as lousy so they could fully understand his pain.  Karen had told him a thousand times he was worse than a child and she was right.  He was needy and immature and liked being taken care of.  Something about Stella’s misery kept all that at bay though.  He put his own illness aside and focused his attention on her.

“I’m gonna get dressed and run to the pharmacy,” Hank said, rubbing a bit of warmth into Stella’s arm.  “Tell me what you want or need and I’ll get it.  Where’s your phone?”

“Still in my bag, I think.  Downstairs.  Are you really going out?”

“Someone has to.  We need like, what...broth or something?  Fuck, if we were in New York, there’s this Jewish deli down the street that delivers.  Matzo ball soup cures everything.”

“The thought of food is not particularly appealing at the moment.”

“Don’t want to get dehydrated though, right?  Feed a fever, starve a cold?  Or is it vice versa?”

“I’ve no idea.”

Reluctantly, and with a groan, Hank slid away from Stella and got out of bed.  He felt flush with fever when he stood and it almost sent him back to bed, but he pushed through it and grabbed a pair of pants.  Every step he took seemed to take more energy than the last.  He broke into a sweat going back upstairs after grabbing Stella’s phone and he slid it under her hand that rested on her pillow.

“Hank,” she whispered, opening her eyes a crack and then snagging the pocket of his jeans with two hooked fingers before he could walk away.

“What?” he asked, bending to one knee.

Stella lifted a hand to Hank’s face, holding it to his cheek while her fingers moved over his forehead and across his brow.  She closed her eyes again and breathed deeply, exhaling with a sigh.

“You have a fever,” she said.

“Probably,” he answered, moving his own hand to her forehead and smoothing her hair back out of her face.  “So do you.”

“Hurry home?”

“You bet, babe.”

Her brows lifted before one eye opened and he grinned at her.  Of course he couldn’t get away with that one, sick or not.  He kissed her cheek and then pushed himself back to his feet while every muscle in his body seemed to protest.

“Thank you for going,” she said, as he shuffled to the door.  “I love you.”

“Call in,” he said.  “Go back to sleep.  I’ll be home soon.”  

The End