#i just know tim was in the writer's room laughing his ass off i hate him so much

[flimsy-spine]

obsessed with how 7.09 is one giant 'OHHH!!' after another. 911 you are so messy

[lifewithdavefarts]

DaveFarts - Episode 9 “Trapped In The Closet” [Episode List] Following the most blatant sit-com tropes you can think of, Dave decides to spy on his girlfriend, Dana, because he thinks she’s hiding something. Tim reluctantly decides to join his friend, but the two end up stuck in the girl’s closet, which will eventually turn into a gas chamber.

Trapped In The Closet

“Yeah Dana. Sure. No problem.”

Tim was working on some college tasks, but couldn’t help but to eavesdrop Dave’s conversation with his girlfriend, Dana, on the phone. He could only hear his friend’s replies, which being only the 50% of what they were talking about, it didn’t make a lot of sense. Not that he was interested: Dave was simply hanging out in his room because he had nothing better to do during that warm Summer evening, apparently, and so he simply showed up to Tim’s place with a couple of beers and a remarkable amount of procrastination powers.

Despite being relatively hot outside, Dave was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of long, grey levi jeans, kinda loose as usual. Something that Tim hated about his kink is how quickly he checked his friend’s outfit, something that he always did since Dave is now basically his “fart bud”, against all odds.

“Yeah… yeah… I love you. No… I love you more!”

Kinda funny how Dave, 24, would revert back to an awkward teenager at times whenever he and his girlfriend were on the phone. They probably even acted like that on purpose, because love is doing stupid things together after all.

“Tim. Car. Now!”

Dave hung up and turned weirdly serious, got up and walked downstairs, saying something about getting in the car.

“Wait, what?” Tim asked, questioning whether his friend was being serious or not, but he did follow him to wherever he was going.

“We don’t have much time, Tim. Dana will come back soon. She’s out with her own friends and we have… like… 15 minutes.”

The two walked outside and headed towards the girls’ house, actually only a few blocks away from Tim’s. Tim himself reluctantly followed his bro into this, knowing that, at best, it may turn into a funny mishap to tell to their other pals while being drunk and laugh about it.

“I’ll just pretend your words make any sense, like I usually do…” Tim chuckled, sarcastically, but still following his friend.

“I think she’s hiding something.” Dave explained, walking at a fast pace, Tim right behind him. “She’s been strangely elusive lately and I want to check her room for clues.”

Tim just chuckled in response. “Dave, you do realize that this is not a 90s sit-com, right? Her room? Really? What are you hoping to find out, exactly, anyway? That she’s having some kind of affair behind your back?” he asked, trying to reason with him.

“An affair? You think I’m that kind of guy?” Dave answered, looking surprisingly offended by Tim’s question.   “I just want to make sure she’s fine. She seemed worried about something and she’s like this organized haf-woman/half-machine hybrid who keeps sticky notes in her room to keep an eye on her busy life.”

“Oh…” Tim replied, rather sarcastically.   “Now that makes a lot of sense.”

“Leave your sassiness for later, dork. Can we take your car?” Dave asked.

“Why? We’re already right in front of her house…”

Dave realized that he was so worried that they did, in fact, walked for a couple of blocks and found themselves stepping in Dana’s backyard without even noticing. He just laughed a bit about it.

“Sorry. Love makes me blind.” he joked, knowing that it was a rather silly thing to say anyway.

“Not the words I would have used, but ok.” Tim answered.

“Come on, let’s get inside.” his bro said, with a smirk.  

“Alright… but please, let’s keep a low profile and no awkwa-”

But as they approached to the girl’s house, Dave awkwardly started muttering some kind of theme song that was oddly reminiscent of the Mission Impossibile’s most iconic soundtrack. This guy has a girlfriend, everyone.

“So much for keeping a low profile, Ethan Hunt…” Tim joked.

Dana’s room, following the usual   “average american house tropes” that the writer of this story grew up with in the 90s, was on the second floor. Luckily, the house was empty, so both Tim and Dave could easily climb it without fearing of someone noticing their totally legal actions.

“Look at Tim, such a rebel! Such a fast climber!” Dave whispered, noticing how good Tim was at climbing the girl’s house.

“Thanks. I learned it when I visited your mom.” he joked.

“I thought you’d prefer my dad, you know.” Dave played along, with a rather noticeable reference to Tim’s homosexuality.

“Just… just let’s get done with this.”  

After some awkward climbing, the two found themselves in front of a window leading to Dana’s room. The duo was sitting on a small portion of slanted roof, wondering how to get inside.

“Alright. I could just punch through the window and open it. But you know I don’t like violence against windows.” Dave said, somewhat joking, but really trying to come up with a way to get through this final obstacle.

“Never mind, it’s open.” Tim said, as his hand passed right through the window.   “Or, you know, I got ghost powers all of the sudden, but I doubt it.”

“You’re so funny I forgot to laugh.” Dave commented, as he got inside his girlfriend’s room, making sure no one was there, immediately followed by his sassy friend.

The room was fairly big and messy, books and magazines scattered all around the floor and the bed. Dana was a busy woman: she got a degree in economics but, given the tough times, she had troubles finding a decent job lately. Dave actually suspected that this was the reason she was being nervous about, well, everything, understandably.

“Why don’t you just ask her instead of acting like the perfect boyfriend material that you are?” Tim stated, in his usual snarky tone, noticing Dave basically rummaging through Dana’s more personal stuff.

“Just… let me do my thing ok?” he was serious again, trying to find something that could be clue, deep down knowing that all of that was quite non-sense and even ridiculous, but his stubbornness was showing.   “Wait…”

Something drew his attention. A red (therefore important, according to Dana’s code) sticky note on the nightstand. Something was written on it.

“Oh… I guess I was right…” Dave whispered, eyes glued on the note.

“Something about her job?”  

But Tim didn’t get an answer, as they heard someone coming from downstairs. They probably were so focused on their mission that didn’t even notice how someone got inside the house minutes after them. They went silent and tried to listen to the person’s footsteps.

“Yeah. I’ll keep you posted.”

They heard a muffled female voice getting closer, probably talking on her phone. A voice that was very familiar.

“Fuck! It’s Dana!” Dave whispered.

The two looked around, looking for a quick solution or a place to hide, blatantly ignoring the window they used to get inside in the first place.

“The closet!” Dave said.

Without even questioning whether this was a good idea or not, the duo sneaked inside Dana’s closet and closed themselves inside just as the girl came into her room, still talking on the phone about something.

Tim and Dave managed to mess things up however, as they ended up in a very small section of that apparently big, spacious closet, so they had to arrange themselves in a weird position. Dave was standing up, towering over Tim, who found himself sitting on the floor instead, right behind his friend… with his face perfectly aligned with his loose jeans butt. As his eyes got adjusted to the dark, Tim started to distinguish the seams and texture’s on Dave’s jeans ass, and the tiny red Levi tag on the right back pocket. He couldn’t help but take a look, which he felt really unnecessary, given the context.

“So… this is where you lived for most of your life…” Dave joked, looking around, as if the closet was some kind of fancy mansion.

“Haha! Another gay joke! Great timing, Dave!” Tim muttered instead. The last thing they had to do was talk.

The two waited for a couple of minutes, hoping that Dana would just leave again or even just go downstairs, so they’d have enough time to get out of there in the hopes that Dave didn’t leave any clue of his presence.

“As long a we remain silent…” Tim whispered.   “We have nothing to worry about.”

Only moments after saying that, he felt a very familiar sound greeting his face. It was a long, rumbling sound coming from Dave’s denim ass. It was one of his usual, well-known loud farts, a fart that he was desperately trying to keep as silent as possible. Luckily, Dana was too busy with her phone to even notice the weird noise coming from inside of her closet.

“Dave! What the fuck?!” Tim hissed.

The gassy friend tried not to laugh, realizing how idiotic the whole situation was.   “I’m sorry dude.” he murmured.   “You know what happens when I’m nervous!”  

The smell was unbearable already. Being in a such small space didn’t certainly help. Those were probably some of the smelliest farts Dave ever managed to rip in Tim’s face, although this time was, against all odds, more like an accident.

“Tim…” Dave whispered, carefully placing his butt closer to his friend’s face.

Another fart erupted, sounding dangerously louder than the previous one. The rough surface of Dave’s denim gently caressed Tim’s nose. The blast of gas then turned into something much more subtle, but still otherwise bubbly. Tim felt his nose burn, as really he had no choice but to breath all of that in.

“Dave I swear. If you don’t stop, Dana’s gonna–”

But another   “slow-paced” rumbly fart cut him off. Dave was seriously trying to contain his well-known farting abilities. Tim, instead, was trying to remain calm, feeling like the Universe was somehow messing with him. That was an insane situation: he certainly wasn’t new to Dave’s farts, but in that context, it felt almost like one of his weird dreams about his fart fetish.

“Tim I’m sorry, at least I know you don’t mind… I hope”

Funnily enough, despite the slightly amused tone in his whispering voice, Dave sounded genuinely sorry. Yet he was right: Tim was insanely enjoying it, but knowing that Dana was out there made the whole thing almost surreal. And, once again, as much as Dave always proved so chill about this stuff, he couldn’t help but feel somehow awkward about having his friend face-farting him so non-chalantly.

And yet another   “ninja” fart was ripped all over his face.   Being nervous really turned Dave’s stomach into a messy cloud of gas, and Tim’s nose was there to vacuum it all up, completely defenseless, standing before the sheer power of the gassy friend’s powerful denim-covered anus.

Even though the situation was absurd, Dave couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. After all, the smell hit him too, and it was getting insane even for the farter himself, whose gas just didn’t stop building up.

“Sorry bro… I have to do this.” he whispered.

Tim felt Dave’s hands gently grabbing the back of his head, holding it still, as he pulled him in the clutches of his denim butt. The warm fabric of the jeans was soaking in that unbearable smell. The sniffer then felt the weight of his gassy friend almost crushing his skull. Despite being dark, Tim realized that Dave was basically sitting on him, using his head as some kind of human stool.

The fart was directly ripped in Tim’s mouth at that point, that rumbly sound once again renewing the already destructive stench. It was supposed to be loud, so loud, that Dave had to basically use his friend’s face to deadpan its impressive thunderous noise. The gassy bro was trying to rip it in the form of a long series, hoping that Dana would fail to hear (or even recognize) his well-known gross, but rather impressive talent.

Tim heard his friend’s sighs of relief after each, rumbling fart, but Dave was also trying not to burst into a laughter that could blow their cover. Fart fetish or not, he couldn’t help but to find it more hilarious than gross.

As much as the lack of space in that closet wouldn’t really allow it, Dave even lifted his right leg a bit, while still   “sitting” on his stool-friend, as a way to facilitate the impressive amount of gas gushing out from his anus. It’s not like he had to worry about Tim passing out or finding it too gross, anyway.

That fart itself was lasting longer than both of them anticipated. They lost count of how much time passed, probably a full minute. Tim’s face was warm and sweaty now, still trapped in the clutches of his gassy bro’s denim butt, directly living in person that thin line between Fart Heaven and Fart Hell.

A final sigh of relief, followed by a louder toot and a chuckle.   “Sorry, bud.” Dave muttered, hoping that his plan worked.

Indeed, Dana didn’t hear a thing. She hung up and left the room, her footsteps slowly turning into a far, muffled sound, until silence announced that the duo was now free to get the heck out of there, especially considering how they were almost both choking on farts.

Tim forgot what fresh, non-fart air felt like in his nostrils and so took a deep, refreshing breath the moment he stepped out of that gas closet. Ironically, Dave did the same, maybe even wondering how would Tim even endure something as overwhelming as his farts, but he didn’t really mind anyway. Despite everything, that was oddly hilarious, as the two stared at each other and then bursted into a laughter.

“Now let’s get out of here…” the farter suggested.

But before the two could even walk towards the window, Dana showed up again in her own room. She didn’t even startle.

“What are you two doing here?” she asked, sounding more like an inquisitive mom than an angry girlfriend. She was fairly mature, after all. “I don’t know what you Dumb and Dumber are up to, but I swear if you–”

“I heard the news, Dana. We were just outside your window…” Dave explained, slightly tweaking the truth. “We wanted to play a stupid scary prank but then I heard it, while you were on the phone you know…”

Dana shook her head and laughed a bit. She hugged her boyfriend and kissed him.

“Yes! I got the job!” she giggled. “Sorry I’ve been so cold lately. The job interview made me so nervous…”

“It’s fine, Dana. You’ve always been stone-cold anyway!” Dave joked, earning a playful slap on his chest by his girlfriend.

“Yes, that’s a very import–wait what’s that smell?” the girl asked, sniffling loudly the air around him.

Tim’s heart almost stopped while Dave did his best to not just laugh like an immature prankster. His hair, clothes, skin, were completely “soaked” in his gassy bro’s gas, so naturally he’d himself smell like flatulence.

“Never mind. It must be you, Dave. He farts like crazy when he’s nervous, Tim, I swear.” she said, disgusted but slightly amused as well.

“Ow… it’s part of my charm, babe.” Dave replied, using what he would have considered an irresistible flirty tone of voice, which was super awkward instead.

“And yeah. Tim’s very aware of my skills, right?” he joked, winking at him, like the big teasing bastard he’s always been since he found out about his fart kink.

Tim just shrugged, faking a disgusted look, his heart racing fast, knowing that all he had to do after that was take the biggest shower in the hope that such unbearable stench didn’t fuse with the atoms in his body.

“Well, it’s gonna be a wild ride!” Dana exulted, happy about her new job offer.

“How about a round of beers to celebrate?” Tim suggested. “It’s on me, no worries.”

“Great idea, but I’m paying. I got the job, you dumb-dumbs get to drink!” Dana replied. She was in a very good mood.

“It’s fine, Dana! It’s the least we can do after-“ but Dave interrupted him.

“Come on Tim, stop living in outdated gender roles and let the pretty girl buy you a drink.” he said, faking a serious tone.

The girlfriend simply rolled her eyes and left the room “Just… meet me downstairs when you’re done saving the world, ok?”

As Dana was nowhere in sight, Dave simply turned to Tim and let another huge, long one rip.

“Shhh. Just tying up some loose ends here.” he said, shushing the gay friend, blasting what was left of his gas out.

“Are you finish-“ “Not yet” he simply said, as if he was making sure no particle of gas was left behind.

With one high pitched final note that was met with some immature laughter, Dave sighed in relief.

“With that said” he chuckled “You might want to take a shower.”

Tim simply nodded with an unamused expression.

“Oh, and you might want to leave the other closet you’ve been hiding.”

That was out of nowhere.

“No pressure bro, just know that we’re all always more than happy to have a beer with you.”

“Thanks Da-“

“Despite your bigoted views on gender roles of course.”

“I’m going to punch you now.”

The duo then headed downstairs and no one got punched luckily.

Tim thought about his friend’s words and how it was probably time to leave that metaphorical stuffy closet soon or later, not that he felt forced or anything.

Dana’s closet, however, that’s probably the only one he enjoyed being trapped into…

End of Episode 9

[cloudytamaki]

imma req a mha matchup because it seems fun and ily 😩🙏

I’m a Pisces and Gemini moon (Ik) and I’m ISFP

uh I’m skinny, 5’4 with black hair, blue eyes, and a Tim Burton ass look. Like I’m a dead girl walking. Queen Elizabeth has nothing on my ass. my likes are DAD JOKES bye they’re so funny, funky sweaters (i got a thrifted tee that said ‘vote Michelle for queen’ and idk who Michelle is but get it sis), playing episode for shits and giggles, and pancakes. Oh and fucking around on Yahoo answers (rip). My interests/hobbies are writing god awful shitty poetry and posting it on my emoboydepressddkid10 account, dance competitions which is BASICALLY child stripping but no one talks about it, hanging out with friends, and baking. My style is just idgaf central. the only thing I do is like a blurry eyeliner. Sometimes I go crazy and do a feline look. Wild shit. But yeah just like Air Force 1s, black skirt and some dad joke shirt. For my uh likes in a partner I’d say someone who’s fucking vibey, yk? Like I desperately want someone to steal a shopping cart with and explore abandoned buildings with. Committing crimes by yourself is boring. Someone who knows the universal snitches get stitches policy cause again live laugh commit arson. What I wouldn’t like in a partner is probably if they have a huge stick up their entire ass. Just like whole tree. A fine example is if I shared a Prince Phillip joke with you and you went “it’s not funny he died 😐” i hate you. like mf was a huge racist wdym? uh and also someone who will put effort in. like if we’re in a relationship be prepared to care about me. you can’t ghost my ass and leave me all suicidal and alone that’s bs. And someone who won’t leave me when I’m in the psych ward. Sorry best friend we ain’t got phones 😆 and someone who respects my friends. If you do Jack shit to my friends I’ll beat your ass without hesitation. I will never pick you over them so get it together. Bros before hoes. Oh and lastly someone who won’t bully me for my insecurities. My toxic ass best friends did this and I’m left with gaping holes in my heart so please don’t rip it up ty. my love language is definitely words. Compliment me bitch I’ll cry. Maybe it’s because I didn’t get enough love as a child or maybe it’s not. Either way fuck yeah make my ego strong. HEY AND ALSO someone who isn’t insecure that I’m bi is great. I’ve had boyfriends who’ve asked me deadass ‘yk...you should stop being bi.’ Like babe I’ve been trying. For seven years in total. It don’t work. Sorry?

anyway bye and also ur such a good writer like uh gimme what ur on? 😍

viv’s notes: bae this was one of the most interesting asks i had to respond to immediately. first off i love your personality please send me more asks. second, i’ve gotta agree with the prince philip jokes and shit. i must say his recent horrifying photos are now added to my folder of reaction pics. third, i am on nothing. the only way i’m holding onto sanity and grasping fleeting creativity is with a dark ass room and rain lofi at the moment. (plus i’d commit crimes with you <3)

i pair you with mina ashido.

you and her both have a collection of inside jokes and laugh about them often

she’s loyal and will stay by your side even if that means signing release forms at the police station or paying for a broken target cart

she’ll give you hugs and kisses but definitely expresses her affection verbally

she isn’t gonna pick at your insecurities but will smack anyone who does

“wow, so this place has been here longer than a hundred years?” you look around the building in awe, the sun shining through the broken glass windows.

“i think so, google said it was used as a hospital.” mina affirms, nodding to herself as she looks around.

“it’s pretty nice in here. you can see the sunlight and everything.”

mina takes a selfie of the both of you, flashing a peace sign before grabbing your left hand. “come on, let’s go!”

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

13. A Shot in the Dark Part 1

Part One of the "Prologue" chapter.

This could have all been prevented. Had they just not brought it here. This could have gone smoothly. This could have succeeded, but instead of being on one accord and being on the same page, they had all taken various pages out of Simon Laurent’s book. 

“Do you think she’s dead?” Jalicia asked. “I heard at least 6 shots… you think he put them all into her?”

“Shut up, 227,” Sunny said.

“Oh, I’m 227 right now? We’re still on Date Night? Grace just got shot…” Sunny grabbed Jalicia by the collar and the younger one laughed a little bit. “You still tryin’ to be Grace when Grace isn’t here? Because, that’ll be a long ride, considering that she’s dead now.”

“I said shut up. Xan. Pull over.”

“That’s not protocol,” he said. 

“No, it isn’t. But, we were outside, and it wasn’t his home, so one of two things have happened, either he left her there to die, or someone has called for help. Either way, this is a different circumstance.”

“She wouldn’t want us to risk the operation for her.”

“NOW, you care about that? You didn’t care about that when you tried to make Simon an X, BEHIND her back!”

“That was the ONLY thing I cared about!” He hissed at Sunny. “And did I work alone? Was it ME that made her stop trusting her fucking team?”

Now, she grabbed his collar and he swerved the van. “Pull the motherfucking van over!” She growled. He obeyed. They switched seats and she circled back to where Grace had been shot. As suspected, there were police lights, an ambulance, the firetruck. The usual. She tried to pass by slowly and try to see. She couldn’t see Grace, but she did see a covering over an obviously dead body. Xander and Jalicia must have seen it when she did, because he yelped and Jalicia burst into tears. The workers were waving the van along, so she sped up only slightly, to not draw too much attention. Then, she saw him, standing with the police, talking… Simon.

Her breath hitched and she blinked away tears as she continued driving. Neither Xander nor Jalicia mentioned him, so she presumed that they hadn’t seen him. But she had. Now, it was time to regroup.

.

“Yoga and Meditation for Seasonal Depression with Sunny!” the community center board read when Simon stepped into the building with his mat and bag. She had been there for a while. He knew that, because he had too, only from the outside. She had a head full of faux locs that he hadn’t seen her sporting prior to whenever she made him think that she was Grace a few nights before. She saw him the moment he walked into the gym, but her expression was unreadable. He enjoyed that, to a certain degree. He did like that he didn’t have to feel as tense around her as Jalicia or Xander, but he had a feeling that he couldn’t be as relaxed around her as he was around Alexandria, and her little warning that night made him even more weary about the casual smile that she had on now. She was maybe like him… and he knew that he was nothing to toy around with, and would pay her the same reverence, until he understood her better. 

“Hi. I’ve never seen you in the community center before,” She said. She extended her hand, “Sunny.”

“Yeah, the sign says so,” he said, taking her hand and shaking it. They both held tight and shook firm, staring each other down, either trying to outshake or outsmile the other. And in a moment, they made the simultaneous decision to end both. “Is it okay that I’m not a regular? The post and fliers didn’t mention that it was a closed class.”

“It’s open. But, if it gets full and I see regulars…”

“I know my place,” he said. They both smiled again. 

“Well then, find yourself a spot on the floor. Looks like you’ve come prepared. Have you done this before?”

“No. But, I once tried capoeira at a country club.” She frowned. “I’m going to presume that look is because it’s an art form created by enslaved Africans. Trust me, I’ve gotten that speech already.” 

She rolled her eyes and pointed towards the door. “I’ve got other guests to greet. See you later, Monison?”

“What? Simon.”

“Right. If I forget again, I can always go with Surveillance Soccer Mom.”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t?”

“Your preference is… noted.” She cheerily went to greet the people coming in, who she seemed to know, because she hugged them and talked animatedly with them. It was different than how she’d handled him and reminded him again of Grace, and the way that she had a certain obligatory politeness that seemed to be taught and structured and perfected… Sunny had that too, only she was using what he’d called Grace’s “customer service manners” with  him, and the more natural pleasantries with the other people there. He wondered if she had made that choice on purpose, or if it was just a side effect of her not trusting him? At any rate, he noted that she didn’t immediately reach for her phone to alert Xander, the way that Jalicia had whenever she’d seen him enter her space. In fact, she hadn’t done so, even by the end of the class.

She wished several of them well, gave some info on upcoming things, and other warm and gentle dealings, until it was only she and Simon left in the room. Still, he noted, she didn’t get onto her phone. In fact, she seemed to be waiting for him after she packed up all of her things. He knew that she didn’t have to lock up, so he wondered why. She offered no insight. Just stared at him, with all of her things packed away and her bags on her shoulders. Still, no phone. 

Simon collected his things and went up to her, hoping that he could gain something from whatever their exchange was about to be. “I… you know who I am, right?” he asked. She threw her head back and cackled to the skies, echoing off of the gym walls until they were out in the cold of the air and her lungs felt the repercussions. “I now regret asking that.”

“I know who you are. That lackluster writer that has risen to popularity only because you’re in a package that can be rewarded for mediocrity. Timonthy Something.”

“Did you say Timonthy? TiMONthy?”

“I’d call you “Tim,” for short, but that’s one of my favorite characters from The Magnus Archives, and I don’t wanna blend that world with the one you’re a part of. Maybe I’ll say “Mon.”

He chuckled and put on ear muffs. “You seem really chill about me being here, is all. I thought that maybe you didn’t realize. The others are a little bit different about me.”

“Meh. Maybe if I was there, I’d feel differently. It isn’t like I’m not empathetic. I really am, and if the others feel threatened or anxious, I would never discount that for them, but I also have no firsthand experience with you that has given me any reason to personally hate or fear you and I don’t like to say it out loud too much, as it makes space for my loved ones to get really offended and upset, but the people who were there for whatever it is you supposedly did - I’m hesitant to take what they say at face value, because they can be very close minded. Grace isn’t trippin,’ so maybe they are.”

“Then, why did you threaten me?”

“If you read it as a threat, I can’t change that, but it does help to mold my opinion of you and what you’ve been doing to my good sis…”

He frowned and looked at the ground. “Well… when you put it that way, I guess it wasn’t threatening. I’m not a harm to her. I never have been. I don’t think that I could hurt her if I tried. She grew up on the streets. I was in one fist fight when I was 13, and it was mostly me just getting the shit kicked out of me and trying to shield myself.”

She laughed again, “I’ve been told you have that effect on people. What’d you do to get your ass kicked?” 

“I told people that I had a crush on a boy.” She immediately stopped laughing and felt bad. He shrugged his shoulders, “It got me sympathy points and my first boyfriend, so I can’t be too mad.”

“You can, if you choose to, but if you choose not to, I support that. It’s up to you.”

He looked at her and she seemed genuine. She seemed nice, despite him knowing that she was definitely on a murder team. “Okay, so if you’re not threatened or whatever the others are, why’d you come after me?”

“I didn’t come after you. If I had come after you, you’d be in the Field of Nulls. I gave you a chance to be free from that kind of destiny. It is never pretty. Never painless. Never without every bit of suffering that can be provided, and the death is slow and potentially terrifying. It’s death sentences that only the worst kind of scum gets to endure… You seem like high level scum. Just because you have poor impulse control, bad judgment in romance and a passionate death wish doesn’t mean you deserve what we do to people. And Grace shouldn’t have to worry about you, either.”

“The Field of Nulls,” Simon repeated.

“I think you know what that is.” She wasn’t smiling. In fact, she was staring at him with a threatening expression. “Personally, I’d have called it the Wormfood Wonderland. So far, only the Apex and the nulls know what it is. And you know what we do with the nulls.”

“Is that another name for your Xs?” This man’s curiosity blew her mind. She couldn’t tell whether he really was so curious about learning more secrets or if it was a defense mechanism to avoid fear of danger.

“Yes,” She said.  

He started to ask something else, but she waved a finger and said, “Aht aht aht. Have a good day, Salmonella.” 

“I refuse to answer to that one!” He said and huffed a little bit as she got into her car, which looked like a ladybug… like it was one of those red bugs, and she’d added spots, headlight eyelashes, a sunflower on the head, and various bumper stickers of witchy stuff and pro vagina sentiments… He furrowed his eyebrows at the I Heart My Vagina one and really wondered who the hell this woman was. Maybe he didn’t understand her at all… and if he couldn’t understand her, that would certainly make it harder for him to win her over or overthrow her. Either way… when her car started, some loud female rap music began, she tossed something out, and she took a few moments getting settled before she actually drove away. Simon watched her pull away and then looked down at her litter… It wasn’t litter. That was why she left it. He picked it up. It was a flier from his mom’s bistro and in curly q handwriting a message: “I SAID stop,” with a smiley face sticker.

He glared at the direction the car had gone in. She wouldn’t. They couldn’t. What would she do to his mom? Nothing. He didn’t believe her. His mom was an upstanding citizen in two countries, a local feminist icon, in a way - single mother and business owner who frequently allowed gatherings for rallies and stuff in her place of business, and a good, wholesome person. They didn’t even hurt that killer’s wife. There was no way that they would hurt his mother… But… He couldn’t risk it. He backed down. He wasn’t going to press Sunny. She was too mysterious… He… was afraid of her. Unlike the others, even Xander, whose weaknesses he saw, understood and could exploit in the face of danger.. He just couldn’t figure that out with Sunny.

From everything he took note of, she had… he didn’t know how to word it… nothing of value to her. Of course, she seemed like she loved her family and her friends, and the kids, but… she just read like an empty vessel, mimicking a loving daughter, friend, mentor. Even when she was around the yoga students that she seemed to genuinely like, he just felt like her energy wasn’t decipherable enough to throw caution to the wind. THIS. Was definitely a threat. 

He was frustrated after that. He went to the gun range. He spent a few days on a “detox” of sorts. He stayed away from Grace’s friends. He went to practice shooting, visited his mother, got chewed out by his literary agent, and went back to the bookstore coffee shop to try to focus on his book again. All he had at this point was a title: Beauty, Like the Knight… and the tentative synopsis that he bullshitted to Chloe, “She’s an avenging angel who slays child predators and stuff.”

“HOW is that urban?” She had demanded.

“They’re in a fucking city, Chloe,” he’d said, with a low coldness in his voice that she wasn’t used to and he certainly had never used that type of language with her before. The silence between them tipped him off that she was shocked and potentially upset, so he chuckled awkwardly and said, “I haven’t had coffee today, but I’m in the coffee shop. She’s on a quest to end a trafficking ring in an urban setting and… I don’t know, Chloe… I’ve got a lot of notes. I’ll produce an outline today.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay… Simon, are you okay?”

“I went through a recent breakup… Should fuel my soul for creativity.”

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize that you were involved with anyone. Well… I look forward to seeing what type of urban magic you create.”

He nodded and hung up. Urban Magic… He tilted his head at the screen. Maybe he  should add magic to the story. He shook his head. They didn’t WANT magic from him. Magic wasn’t selling recently. Maybe if he lollygagged long enough, he’d miss this wave of everybody trying to pretend to care about diversity by lazily including POC here and there or telling a tone deaf story, but dipping the language and/or characters in a little bit of color/culture that the writers didn’t understand or know… He sighed… And why did he even care to stay relevant in writing if he was going to be writing crap that he didn’t even care about?

But… he did care about her. He cared about her life. He cared about her story. He missed her and he missed the rush of having her there. But, he knew that he had to make the choice and currently, that choice was that he loved his mom and Grace refused to be around him. Her friends were keeping them apart, but if even one of them would hurt his mother in the process, he had to let go of this remarkable fantasy where this beautiful deadly knight falls in love with a sensible prince, no matter how much he was willing to give to her in the process. Besides, he’d never done this before - let himself be so taken up with someone that he shirked all reason and rationale to know them and to love them… So, Simon decided to move on.

It “worked” for a little while. For a few weeks, he stopped following them, stopped watching, and even got back into the habit of focusing on work and stuff. He was sending Tulip massive therapy checks and whenever his 26th birthday rolled around, he tried to enjoy himself. He and his mom went to Minnesota to visit Tulip and her mom for both his birthday, Christmas and New Year, since those were all three so close and the Olsens were like their family. He opened his social media back up and was regarded with a lot more online love than he had for the weeks he had been set to private, hoping to weed her out. She was gone. He had to just accept it.

Except… he couldn’t deny himself one indulgent little search. It was his birthday, and he had resisted for weeks! That was very big of him, considering that most of his year had been spent focused on her and her alone and this was ONE day where he should have been able to just try to peek and see if anybody saw what she was doing on today… And… she was back…

He saw an account come up in her name on one of the social media platforms “Grace St. Catherine Artwork” and… he was now scrolling through her photos while everyone was having cake… She had artwork she was posting. The Saint and The Shadow… They seemed to be foils, but no… no, no… He understood it better than most of the people giving the works likes. That static figure in the background of the heroine in these images wasn’t an enemy, lurking around her… it was an extension of who she was in the light… and some of them even had a face… His face. She was really good, even though she “dabbled,” according to her. But, she “dabbled” in a lot of things that she wound up being pretty good at. He wanted to go through and like them all, but he was so afraid she might vanish again… and even though he was supposed to just be checking, a small indulgence for his birthday… he knew the moment that he saw a video of her drawing vigorously while Hazel walked around on the desk and read the caption, “Thinking about my ex on his birthday and making what I would have given him. Not gonna show you all, but that’s what I’m doing. 😝” and he noticed that it had been posted today… he felt like he was falling down a dark chute that led him directly back into his deepest feelings. 

“Oh, he’s on Grace’s page,” he heard his mother say and it snapped him back into the room. He looked up and Tulip was staring at him in concern, Mikayla, in confusion and Aunt Meg gave him a sympathetic look. His mother kissed him on his hair and squeezed his shoulder, “We can do gifts later.”

“No. No… I’m good.” He smiled and Tulip noted that it was a different one than the one that he had earlier. She couldn’t tell which one was more painful to look at, that empty one from when they arrived, or this one laced in emotion that she just… worried about.

Whenever she found him later, she reminded him, “You said that you two were over.”

He nodded, “We are,” he said and Tulip knew that he never lied on purpose, but he sometimes… lied to himself and fully believed it. It was fine before Grace, but all she could do now was be afraid for him and his… delusions of grandeur.

“I thought she gave up social media.”

“I guess she felt comfortable enough to return. It’s just a business page, though. Well.. An art page. But, it looks like she sells her work. That’s cool. Good for… good for her.”

“Simon, please promise me that you won’t get yourself entangled in this woman again…”

He frowned and turned to look at her, “No.”

“Simon.”

“I’m not going to promise you anything about her. I can’t. I don’t like to lie, and… I just don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do when it comes to her. I never meant to become obsessed. I’ve never stalked anybody. I never… was the person that my emotions for her turns me into. I can’t make any promises anymore, Tools. Not about her.” She sighed and wanted to cry, but also didn’t want to in front of him. He patted her on the back, absentmindedly and went back inside. 

After the holidays, whenever he got back into town, he’d successfully been ONLY watching Grace’s one art social media page (not officially following it, either) and had been “off” of watching her friends or engaging in their business for almost two months! He was proud of himself. He wondered if that was why when he got home, there was a jumbo envelope outside of his door with no postmark and HAPPY BIRTHDAY in big letters and familiar script. He picked it up and opened it before even unlocking his door, neglecting his luggage bag now to see this artwork, drawn onto cloth, of him curiously reaching out for a rose, meanwhile its thorns were wrapping around him and even cutting into his flesh. His face is enamored and the rose is wilting. He looks like if he can just touch it, he believes that at least one of them, or perhaps both might be saved… Or… maybe he looked like if he could just touch it that one of them or both might perish… So, he didn’t really know what message she wanted him to comprehend from it. He guessed that would depend on perspective, and in either… he still needed to touch her. 

.

Simon messaged the art account, “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this to me? I stopped. I left you alone. I let you go… Why are you torturing me? Is this what it felt like to you? Are you punishing me for wanting you too much? For giving up on you and moving on? Please… just… tell me what you need me to do…”

Sunny sighed and held her forehead, then looked at Xander, “What is it that you need him to do?”

Xander rubbed his hands together, thinking to himself, then said, “Arrange a meeting for him, in the Field, since he fucking knows about it now. Make him come alone and… I’ll handle it from there.” Sunny bit her lip and stared at the screen. “Come on, Sunny. You’re the only one that might be able to fool him. He’s too skilled in Grace for any way that I might type it up to actually sound like her. You capture her perfectly. He obviously believes that this is her page.”

“That’s mostly on the strength of Xandria copping her art style. This just… This is going further than what you initially said we were doing, which was figuring out if he really had moved on or if he was just waiting for an opening to come for her again… It feels like we CREATED an opening that he wasn’t waiting for. If you would have told me about the birthday present, I never would have agreed to this.”

“Sunny…” Xander kneeled in front of her and cupped her face, “I would never ask you to do anything that you don’t believe in and I won’t ask you to do anything else for me, ever. But, I  have to protect her and I have to protect all of us. He’s dangerous.”

“I don’t think that he is, Xan…”

“He IS!” He rolled the chair aside and began to type, hoping that maybe Simon was too shaken up to note any differences. “I think we need to face each other and finally settle things, good or bad… I’m not going to live in fear. I’ve done that already.”

Simon wiped away tears, “There’s nothing to fear. I just… Okay. Let’s meet, then. Remember our last date night?”

Xander blinked and looked at Sunny, “Do you know what that means? Is this code? Did she have CODE with him???”

Sunny shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, “He was her official alibi for a few months, just in case, so maybe it’s something to do with that. She’d definitely remember though, and he’ll definitely know that she wouldn’t have forgotten a detail like that.” She folded her arms and watched Xander type.

“I do. But, that’s not what I want. I want it on MY terms. You’ve controlled enough without my permission. Meet me in the place that you weren’t supposed to be.”

Simon suspiciously looked at the message. That could mean anything and while Grace was very vague at times, he usually knew exactly what she was vaguing about... “Your apartment?” he asked. “The storage unit? Where is this place that you’re talking about?”

Xander frowned, “I think he’s made me. Sunny… You have to help.”

“I literally don’t.”

“If he figures out that this is a set up, he’ll react and it’ll be bad.”

“Then just say “Sorry, I can’t do this. I’ve gotta go,” and leave him the fuck alone.”

“NO! I can’t do THAT.”

Sunny rolled the chair back in front of the computer and typed out, “Huh. I was told that you and my Left Hand discussed this place whenever you last saw each other. She was… compelled to give you some advice on the subject.”

“Oh…” He frowned. If she wanted him to come to the Field of Nulls, maybe he understood this drawing, after all… She didn’t think that she could come home unless he was gone. She intended to kill him. He let tears fall down his face. She betrayed him. He knew that she was upset and that she wanted distance, but he never would have thought she would take it this far. He responded, “I don’t like this Grace. It feels like I’ll be harmed. I’m going to have to set up some insurance. If something happens to me, I’ll have to have someone… release things. Are you okay with agreeing to this?”

Xander hissed, “Shit!” Sunny stared at him. At any moment, he could just admit defeat, confess to Grace and work on fixing her anger about it. “Reply something, please?”

She sighed and typed, “Do whatever makes you feel safe. You should know that I wouldn’t hurt you, but I understand why you’re leery.”

This was… oddly trusting, but suspiciously selfish. Grace would begrudgingly agree to do their last Date Night alibi and take upon the potential danger to her group all on herself. As much as it hurt him to know it, she would NEVER allow even the idea of putting them in danger, not for anything, not even him. And… to just contact him and then do so, out of nowhere, when he hadn’t been bothering any of them or her in months? He looked at the artwork again. He began to look through artwork that he had salvaged of hers and he found one that he remembered, of him. He checked it against this one and wow, this was elaborate as hell of a plan and ALMOST got him, but… that wasn’t Grace’s work. It was beautiful, and he loved the whatever the message was or the warning… but, somebody else had made this. He wondered if they had forged the “Happy Birthday,” or if Grace had actually written it, and if she had, had it been for this? That didn’t seem likely. “If you don’t meet me at our last Date Night in 30 minutes, I’m going to set the wheels in motion.”

Sunny tossed her hands in the air. “He made us. You’d better come clean to him and to Grace.”

“It’ll take me less than 30 minutes to get to his house and kill his ass,” Xander said, grabbing a bat with nails hammered into it.

“You can’t be serious. Grace is gonna…”

“Forgive me! Grace is gonna forgive me for fucking up and fixing my mistake!” Xander fussed. Sunny tried to stop him and he snapped at her, “You’re wasting my time! He’s gonna rat on us to the police!” She moved aside, hurt and scared, but when he pulled off, she called Grace. This was going too far and even if he DID successfully kill Simon, he was going to definitely be fucking arrested and thrown into prison for the rest of his life. 

“Grace, this is an emergency. Xander is going after Simon.”

Grace KNEW it was true, because even though Sunny was playful, she wouldn’t play like this and this was the first time that she had ever said his name right. “Warn him,” Grace said first. Sunny typed it into the messages, as Grace added, “And explain it to me.”

After the 15 minutes it took Sunny to explain everything, from the warning Simon to stop, Xander being paranoid that he was still out there, watching and waiting, the fake art page, the gift, the ruse and tonight’s messaging, Grace was already heading for the airport. Xander was going to lose his shit, but Grace was losing hers and Sunny could tell that there was gonna be hell to pay whenever she got back. 

It was hours later that Xander came back home, and Sunny wasn’t there. Jalicia was asleep, but he woke her up and went over it with her. He had gotten a call from Grace. She found out about him spearheading his first executive decision to take Simon out while she was in Canada and she was on her way… She pulled rank on him, and she was probably going to kill him… to… to actually choose this null over him… “She’s unfit to lead, right? She’s… she’s fucking lost it, right? RIGHT?”

Jalicia pulled him into a hug and let him cry on her, “Grace would never hurt you, Xander. Your paranoia is just messing with your mind. Grace would never, ever hurt you.”

“She’s choosing him over us. He threatened us. He said he would turn us over and she’s going to give him what he wants? She’s going to just LET him use her like a puppet? She’s let him void out every part of her that has made her the champion we put all of our trust into!”

Jalicia knew Sunny’s routine enough to remember which tea to make, which grass to smoke, which songs to play and Xander eventually fell to sleep in her bed, crying over it all.

.

Grace called Simon and he picked up, while at her old apartment. “It's me,” she said.

“Hey… Was it you? Before?”

“No, but I’ve been caught up to speed. Where are you now?” He said the address and she froze, “My old apartment?”

“Yeah. I figured that 808 would be less likely to set my headquarters on fire if they were here. The damage that might be done to uninsured neighboring apartments and all that. The thing is that I was trying so hard to get over you and to give you space and they just… didn’t let me. This shouldn’t be allowed. They shouldn’t be allowed to do this to me…”

“Well… Let’s call it even for your previous violations.” They were silent. “Please, Simon. If you ever cared about me, don’t hurt them…”

“Why does..?” he groaned so loudly it scared her. “Why does EVERYONE act like I’M the dangerous person? I’m THE ONLY person in this entire situation who ISN’T fucking dangerous!” He took a deep breath and shook his head, “Sorry, that was unfair, and I’m sorry.”

“You said that you were going to turn them in if I didn’t come to see you.”

“I knew that wasn’t you. They… still don’t know you as well as they think that they do and if they do know, they certainly can’t translate it properly. I wouldn’t hurt them or you, I was just testing to see if they would tell me the truth.” He heard a knock on the door and he froze. 

“Are you gonna let me in?” she wondered. He thought about grabbing his gun, just in case she didn’t believe him and in case that wasn’t her and she had actually sent Xander, after all… but… why go through all of this for that? He looked through the peephole and she was there. He wanted to open it and throw his arms around her, but what if she wasn’t alone? What if she had a syringe and the van was right around the corner? Oh God… He was doubting her. He was afraid now. Xander had won, in a way. He didn’t want to open the door. “Simon, are you in the apartment, or not?”

“How do I know that you aren’t coming here just to finally get rid of your stalker problem?”

“I guess you don’t know that anymore than I know if tomorrow morning, I’ll have a bigger stalker problem than I had yesterday. It's up to you whether you trust that I’m here to try to fix things or whether you break my trust and hurt my friends.” He opened the door and glanced up both hallways before stepping out, but she pushed passed him and went inside of the apartment. It was similar to the storage, but somehow more haunting in a home setting. Her face everywhere and all of the information and surveillance reorganized. She sat on the couch with the Grace mannequin/doll.. Which was now more detailed than before and also now wearing clothes she’d left behind. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

“I was never going to hurt you.”

“I know,” she said. 

“I… don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know why I did this. Why I took it so far.”

“I do.” 

He sat down between her and the mannequin, “Because I let you and I encouraged you. I wasn’t sure, but I surely had my thoughts and I liked them. I liked my thoughts of you being so into me that you would follow me around or watch me for a long time, even obsess over my photos and hang on my every word. I don’t know what the fuck love is supposed to look like, in a normal setting. I thought maybe that was one of those things… that this was how it was supposed to be if he was really into you and then, I indulged in the thought of somebody loving me and wanting to serve me, not because we had endured shit together, or because I pledged revenge in their name or I saved them, but just because I’m me. I wanted to be special. I’ve always wanted to be the love of somebody’s life. Even when I was little, before I… before the Apex…. The FIRST Apex, I never had the love that I craved and thirsted for. I suppose those years didn’t teach me much. Because I still managed to get inside of a pretty carriage with a nice man and head directly into disaster.”

“It's not your fault. You didn't ask for anything, and even if you wanted me to... I made a choice and you never knew for sure how far I took it all. But... Please tell me you don’t think that I’m so bad? As that man? That this disaster is like that one...” He looked like he might cry and she reflexively took his hand. They smiled at each other. He exhaled and squeezed her hand, “I found him,” he said.

“What?” she asked, laughing a little and confused about the random turn in the conversation. 

His face turned serious, and hers followed, matching the expression. “I  found  him.” She was still confused, but suddenly apprehended by stress as Simon moved to grab an envelope much like the ones that she got from the flower shop, like the one that he gave Jalicia. He was saying words that didn’t make sense. Stuff like, “Outside of their territories, city limits, neighboring towns news,” and so on and as she pulled out a mugshot of a man who obviously had seen better days, a flood of emotions came rushing over her. This man in the photo, years older, and a lot of stress later, but it was undeniable. She had forgotten certain details, but her body had definitely remembered them in the trauma it stored. If she took off some years, added some money, and a big bright pinky ring, it was him. This was the man that took her. 

This was the man that stole her life and gave her this awful destiny that made it so hard for her to love… She looked at Simon, and he helped her flip through the pages, because she couldn’t. 

This man was arrested not too long after she disappeared, and whenever he got out, he went to a half way house and reentered society… all in a span of time before she ever got back home… He had moved on and lived past it while she had still been in it. The sound that erupted from her was terrifying, but Simon refused to react to it.  Instead, he set the information aside and took her hands into his. 

“I was going to give it to them and try to lure you back to me, but whenever they threatened my mom, I,” he sounded ashamed to even admit it. “I chose her…” 

“They threatened your mom?” Grace asked. “God, Xander spiraled…”

“No, not him, the girlfriend.”

“Alexandria? She’s been out of the…” She stopped, seeing something regretful in his face. Her heart broke. “Sunny?”

“I didn’t know if she meant it, but I couldn’t take the chance. It wasn’t like she knew that I had this, but I wanted to avoid something happening to Mom. I love my mom.”

Grace shook her head, “She wouldn’t have, but, she might have let Xander, if he went for it. She’s… she wouldn’t have, but she didn’t tell me… She told me everything, I thought, but she left that part out. Would she have?”

“Xander making murder attempts, Sunny making immoral threats, do they even… still acknowledge you as their leader, or has the mission changed?” He asked. He wasn’t being manipulative, this time. He was actually very concerned. Because, if the Apex thought that Grace was turning on them… If they thought she was a threat to everything they’d built, or unfit to lead… if they thought that she was a danger to them all…

“I have to go…” She said, collecting the information and leaving the apartment. “Don’t follow me,” she said. “I mean it.”

“I’ve learned my lesson,” he said, choking down the anger of rejection and the disgust of her rushing into potentially dangerous arms with what he thought might be the most important thing she had ever been given in her life! 

Her eyes were soft upon him as she hugged the information to her chest. “Thank you, Simon.”

His anger was gone. He came over and gave her a hug. “You… remember our last Date Night, don’t you?”

She scoffed and laughed, “Duh. That romantic ass shit. Why?” 

“I just… hoped you had.” He smiled at his feet, “You didn’t tell them.”

“I mean, I didn’t tell them any of them. It would be easier to just tell them if the need arose, than to give them several to potentially stumble over. To be honest, it was a shame it was fake. That’s the kind of thing…” She bit her lip and now she looked at their shoes. “That was around the time that I knew how I felt about you.” She turned and left quickly, not offering how she felt. She… knew that he probably knew. He knew everything else about her.

.

Grace felt like an outsider here. Maybe it was the time she spent in the safe house, maybe it was the fact that two of these three people had kept secrets from her and tried to lie to her, whether in her personal interest, or theirs… she hated it, but she also would forgive them. They were held together by interweaving threads. Even if she didn’t fully trust them right now, what could she do? Do this shit without them? Unlikely. And there was the whole matter of Simon. She hadn’t seen him since she had been back. Sometimes, she thought that she felt him watching, but she was always too afraid to turn around to check. More afraid that he might not be there than the thought that he might. 

The X was taking the trash out in the alley, the way he tended to do around this time at the place that he worked as a custodian. Sunny felt conflicted about it, since he hadn’t been a criminal in years. Jalicia felt like the group needed to heal before trying to do a job like this. Xander was willing to do anything to get into Grace’s… well… her good graces. Grace was out for blood and feeling betrayed that only Xander seemed as bloodthirsty about this as she did, and that even this seemed fabricated for her pleasure! 

They had gone over Jalicia’s tactical plan, and it should have been a breeze to pick him up, but whenever Grace got out of the van and to wait and the van was still, in the darkness, the man was cautious. There were no businesses doing anything in the alley at this time of night and he knew that a van meant criminal activity. He didn’t want to get involved and tried to rush back in. Grace knew that the door would lock, so she rushed upon him and when she did, he was prepared and shot her right in the abdomen. 

Should she have known to not rush him like that? Of course. Could she rationalize in the moment that she did? Not really. And whenever Xander started the van, Sunny opened the door to try to grab Grace, but the X was pointing the gun at the van now and Xander swerved out of panic and Sunny couldn’t catch hold of her. The other shots fired and Sunny screamed, unable to see behind the van, but presuming of course, that he finished Grace off, unless he had been firing at the van and simply missed every shot. She didn’t know what the hell had just happened, but Xander was still driving and crying, and not seeming to turn around and mow that motherfucker with this thing. 

.

Simon was out of his car by the time she was shot, his own gun drawn and his heart racing as everything happened much too fast for him to save her from what happened. The first gunshot rang through the night and he watched Grace fall and the van start. They were going to leave her. OF COURSE they were. That’s what they DID. But, he wasn’t going to. He could hardly see the shadow moving and shot him first in the back of the neck, but once the body fell he advanced on him, continuing to fire into him until he emptied the gun and reached Grace. She was unresponsive. It was too dark. He could see a little bit, but the security lights on the outside of most of these buildings hadn’t been changed in a while and the nearest one only gave him a little, so he made sure that she knew it was him. He turned on the flashlight of his phone and found the wound to try to stop the bleeding. He was on the phone and writing something on her hand, and trying to hold it together, but he couldn’t. He was crying and confessing on the phone to having shot someone. They were thinking he meant that he shot the woman he was calling about, but he managed, “No. No… Not her… I love her. I shot him. I’m sure I killed him.” 

He wasn’t crying because he killed someone, though maybe later, that would hit him harder. He was crying because all he had ever wanted to do was help her, save her, protect her, and it was his fault that she was dying in his arms. It was his fault… and she had just gone unconscious...

14. A Shot in the Dark Pt.2

[stonerbughead]

maria watches friday night lights (#4)

season 2, pt 2!! (2x08-2x15)

ugh Matt is really having his Being A Stupid Teenage Boy season huh?

-lol love a good naked dude being chased scene — in this case, Smash on his recruiting trip being chased around by a potential future teammate. Classic.

(it’s kinda cute that Matt came to pick him up tho)

- the latest in season 2 being off the fucking rails: really? Riggins’ new digs include a meth lab on wheels??

-Landry confessing to murdering someone and then having his sheriff dad drag him out of the station to go home is the whitest shit EVER. Like, Landry is literally *trying* to be punished and they just won’t punish his white, cop-kid ass. ‘Murica. (I mean don’t get me wrong: it WAS self defense against someone literally stalking and trying to rape Tyra, but the point still stands that if Landry was a black kid he’d have been tried as an adult and convicted no doubt)

-YESSSSS a MySpace shoutout! we love to see it

“I hate you” - Santiago (and also me) @ Buddy Garrity

-omg Coach Taylor noticing that things aren’t good at home for Riggins and taking him in, my heart!

-Wow in just one scene Riggins charmed baby Grace, warned Tami’s sister not to shame women for eating a lot (“it can lead to anorexia, especially in girls”) and then offered to go out to the store to get baby formula in the pouring rain. What a man.

-and yes, Shelly, you fully grown woman, it IS a bad idea to lust after a TEENAGE BOY

-wow Riggins protecting Julie from the SUPER DRAMATIC TORNADO that made me laugh. Do we get to have a Riggins-Julie friendship??? bc I’d be down. We need more friendships.

-Thank you, Tami, saying “EW” to her sister watching Riggins work out! Someone has sense to know a fully grown woman shouldn’t be lusting after a teenager! Julie can lust if she wants tho, that’s age appropriate.

-DYING at Landry being aghast that Tyra’s never heard of West Side Story.

-oh god, Lyla — it is totally fair to assume your mom would tell your dad she’s getting remarried, especially if she knew you’d be seeing him — so I’m sorry you’re the one who accidentally set off whatever nonsense Buddy is gonna pull now that he knows his ex wife is “marrying that treehugger.”

“Who’s that?” “Some douchebag named Chip. who names their kid Chip anyway?” Same, Tyra, same.

-Landry, one of my biggest pet peeves is asking someone out while they’re on the clock. Like, come on! let Tyra work, boy.

-Jesus Christ it’s like everywhere Julie looks, she has to see Matt making out with someone. That’s rough.

-and oop Matt you busted bc Julie actually knows who Carlotta is!

-once a cheater, always a cheater, Buddy. And yes to Pam for being like “nah bye I’m happy now, it is over.” You treated her like garbage so here we are, sir!

-hilarious that Landry is the one who ends up throwing the first punch that gets the post-tornado, school-crossover tensions to finally boil over

-I like that they show both the fall formal and the party where everyone who didn’t go to the formal is. Nice.

-Aw poor Julie got drunk af to deal with all her feelings. This really is the season where they have Julie and Matt being sixteen year olds in the most painful ways. So maybe it’s good they’re not together during this tho I’m still looking forward to when the tide turns their way again.

-anyway, Tim is a good friend for getting the creep who thought he was “one beer away from getting laid” off of Julie.

-And....in true Texas dad fashion, Eric Taylor misinterprets everything! Noooo. We can’t have nice things.

-This Noelle-Smash partnership is definitely an interesting pairing. Two very ambitious football people courting all these recruiters while Smash’s mom side eyes them in the corner? Hilarious.

-omg not this Oklahoma tech recruiter harassing smash’s mom in the grocery store! GTFO here! Give her some fucking personal space. They really do such a good job of showing as much of the toxic shit about football culture as the inspiring, big moments.

-Aw and I love that Tami tried to help Mama Smash get the guy to go away. It’s such a familiar scene, women helping each other get a dude harassing them away. And then they have a heart to heart in the parking lot? Love that.

-omg what a throwback that Shelly TAPED OVER Eric’s football game to tape a NEW EPISODE of The Office! Love it. “Y’all should get a TiVo.”

-omg watching Tami and Eric work out arguments is so beautiful, they communicate very well! We stan a good marriage.

-wow seeing the other coach from tornado school lose his shit publicly after he knocked down Riggins was uh....wild???? This is the second time he put his hands on Riggins!

-awww Eric actually coming to apologize to riggins for overreacting about Julie when he hears the real story??? Love it.

-Weevil from Veronica Mars shows up as a friend of Santiago’s? Of course.

-WOW and Logan from Gilmore girls as a Christian radio host...tracks.

“Is that your way of telling her you like her?” Jason making a surprisingly astute observation about Tim. (And Lyla.)

-yo why would you invite your daughter’s boyfriend’s family over for dinner just to say they shouldn’t date? (And bc it’s an interracial relationship.) Southern culture is wild to me lol

-wow the racist coach from last season is now off spouting his mouth about how “no wife of mine would be working with a kid at home.” I love that Eric calls him out as sounding stupid and ignorant — you better!

-hearing that Lyla burned her cheerleading uniform is one of the most badass things she’s done so far tbh along with that dealership destruction

-off the rails update: 2x12 was toooo much!! Like, Jesus between Smash’s sister getting harassed at the movie theater by the racists who hate on smash and Noelle...and this plotline with Santiago and his old friends trashing Buddy’s place...it’s like, can we breathe.

-I could not be more excited for Carlotta to leave and another teenage boy with adult woman relationship to end.

-wow can’t believe the plotline where Riggins stole $3000 from a drug dealer isn’t ending well for him. And now Smash is getting arrested bc of those racist guys from the movie theater episode? One recap I read said that too many of this season’s plots feel contrived and I think that sums it up.

-is there any character who HASN’T worked at Buddy Garrity’s dealership at this point?!

-and yikes at all the other salespeople being mad that a salesperson in a wheelchair was hired...y’all mad ugly and ableist for that

-Tyra and Landry are....confusing

-Wait Logan from GG is an actual preacher and not just a Christian radio host? CREEPY. And he kissed Lyla? A lot to unpack there.

-lol Tim trying to woo Lyla is kinda funny to watch simply bc Tim is clearly so confounded by rejection

-I love how much space they give for Smash’s sister’s pain in the Noelle-Smash theater incident. A lesser show wouldn’t have centered her as much.

-is it mean of me to say Jason is boring AF most of the time

-yeah this dreads girl is seemingly way more compatible with Landry than Tyra yikes! Like she made him a power metal mix cd???

-wow this Smash storyline where mouthing off to the press is what gets him suspended....really checks out bc teenage boys are dumb

-I love Tami as a volleyball coach and getting to see another sport! Also as someone who’s been on a losing team I know that feeling of finally winning a game!!! Go Dillon volleyball!!! (Am I maybe currently writing a Bughead fic based on my underdog field hockey experiences? ;) yes yes I am)

-Oh shit now Saracen’s at the nihilistic Nothing Matters phase of teenage angst. Right on schedule!

-lol these two short haired blondes (white dreads Jean and Tyra) being in a love triangle with Landry is wild

-Omg jean just said, “are you a friend or are you competition?” She is not playing!

-I love Riggins dragging Saracen to practice

“I don’t want you to become at an at-risk youth” -Landry teasing Saracen while also sincerely caring about him is some of the best friendship banter on this show. The accuracy 😂

-It seems like Julie gets a lot of hate? But I think I have such a soft spot for Julie bc I was a bitchy teenager with undiagnosed mental health disorders and I just wish so much #growth for her! Also I really do miss her and Saracen’s relationship, I’m so excited I’m almost at S3 where it seems like it’s happening again?

-LOL this guy at the dmv is the first person in Dillon to be like, “no I hate football.” That tracks.

-wow Saracen is getting driven to the hospital to make sure his grandma is okay by the sex worker who was just giving him a lap dance. Amazing.

-also I hope grandma is okay!

-okay Tyra throwing her hat in the ring for Landry at the last minute? Idk I think Jean deserves the win but there’s no way it’ll happen bc she’s a guest actor?!

-awww Saracen’s abandonment issues coming out whiles he in the tub after being sobered up by Eric Taylor. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” 😭 and “your daughter left me for a better guy” - will take that crumb — first mention of Julie out of Saracen’s mouth in a minute

-hey, Landry, my friend: flirting with a girl (Jean) to get her outside then dumping her immediately is kind of a wild bait and switch. But I get it, he’s been in love with Tyra for a long time and Tyra IS right — they had a very fucked up start to their relationship so it makes sense she needed a minute to process her ~feelings~. however I definitely identified closer to a jean in my high school experience L O L (minus the unacceptable white dreads)

-these Julie and Tami driving scenes are painfully accurate, btw. Love them.

-wow the scene of Smash hyping everyone up, the adrenaline/energy of the team cheering with helmets and a classic “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” - then the whole team running out onto the field and leaving an empty locker room with just Smash breaking down into tears....#art

-alright y’all I’m gearing up for the last episode of S2! Thanks to @lockitin for reminding me this is the writers’ strike season — I was in eighth grade then and remember being pissedddd about the shortened fourth season of “the office” — so I’m fully prepared for the abruptness to come.

-I love when they parallel showing the white church and the black church

-and Tim going to church just to see Lyla makes me laugh

-ooooof Jason you cannot put on this waitress you had a one night stand with the fact that this could be your only chance to have a baby!!! Omg this poor woman who just pointed out she, too, is NINETEEN.

-wait so is Riggins doing a sports show on a Christian radio station? What?

“I think you’re really hot. Your long hair reminds me of Jesus” -Christian girls being horny for Riggins LOL

-awww Saracen being like “okay Landry you’re gonna impress Tyra right now” before that football play was a cute friendship moment for those two

-aww I love how this Smash storyline is turning out with Coach Deeks whose had his eye on him for six years my heart 😭

-also unclear to me whether Logan Huntzberger the Preacher is a fully grown adult dating a high school senior?? Biggest teen drama pet peeve once again! Stop this!

-Tami is my heroine for just leaving Eric at the restaurant fighting with her ex. “see you at home, honey!”

-I’m sorry, is Jason gonna like actually convince this girl to have a baby with her one night stand at 19??? Oh lol wait THAT ended up being the cliffhanger of the whole season? Fucking hilarious.

well I made it through season 2!!! Super psyched for Season 3, Jay has been hyping me up for it. See y’all next time! (I’ll try to post more for season 3 bc this accidentally got long af.)

[barnesbabes]

Casting Call

gif creds to: @mrbenhardys

pairing: Joe Mazzello x Male!Reader

word count: 2.4K

request: @writingsthegame-dylansthename ”Well in that case, could you please write a fic where Joe Mazzello does a movie with the reader and then they accidentally fall in love. (Male reader of course)”

A/N: so excited to write this!

For the last month, you waited by your phone for hours. Ever since you left the audition room, you didn’t stop thinking about it. Mark, your manager insisted you got the job. He felt that you could portray the character the best. You fit the description that the casting directors wanted. You felt confident about it. That was until walked into the agency and found a room of your clones. They didn’t look exactly like you, but the similarities were clear. Your audition went good in your eyes, you gave your lines and they seemed really impressed by you. They smiled and told you, 

“We’ll give you a call when we make a decision.”

You felt confident leaving that audition. But you didn’t get a call for weeks. You tried to think positively, your friends tried to encourage you. They’d gush about how prepared you were. You were surprised Mark didn’t quit, you called or text him at least once a day. He tried to calm you down. You had roles in TV shows before but this was a movie, a big project. This would get your name out there to more opportunities so you tried to wait patiently.

Nearly a month had gone by and you began to lose hope. They never posted who the cast was so maybe they were still looking? You began to blame everything that led up to that moment. You felt that you were plagued with bad luck. You wanted to blame the barista who said ‘good luck!’ instead of ‘break a leg!’. Okay, maybe you were overreacting.

Mark called you that day, he didn’t even wait for you to say hello before speaking. You groaned into your pillow, wallowing in self-pity.

“Y/N, are you sitting down?”

“Laying down actually.”

He laughed, you could basically see his smirk through the phone.

“Even better. Remember that audition you went in for, the super big movie?”

You hopped up, leaning on your elbows. The sound in his voice made you hopeful. You hummed in agreement.

“You got the job! They are having me forward the script to you later tonight! First read through in first of next month.”

That was only 5 days away. Holy shit. You laughed, thankfully he couldn’t see the tears pricking your eyes. You squealed with joy and listened to him tell you more about it. Once the call ended you fell back onto your bed and cried. You were excited, nervous and felt like all the weight was finally lifted from your shoulders. You stayed up until you finished the script. Your character seemed to totally have feelings for his longtime best friend. It was never addressed but you were sure to play the part to the best of your ability. You just wondered who the rest of the cast consisted of.

You finally figure out what you were wearing, your closet thrown around the floor. You made sure to get to the office early. You arrive and smile at the director. He threw his arm over your shoulder and smiles, knocking you off your balance. 

“We are so happy to have you on this project, Y/N. Did you get the script?”

“Yes, it was amazing!”

You want to gush about it but you refrain so you wouldn’t annoy him. The secretary leans her head the conference room, pulling the director out of the room. You wipe your sweaty hands onto your pants and pour yourself a glass of water from the table of refreshments. You could hear the most adorable laugher outside the door. The director opens the door, a man follows behind him. God, he’s beautiful. The ginger hair that shined from the morning sunlight. The beautiful eyes that glistened. The smile tugging on his lips when he saw you. The beautiful laughter belonged to a beautiful man. He pushes his hand into yours and shook lightly. You had to try not to get lost in his eyes.

“Hey, I’m Joe Mazzello. You must be Y/N Y/L/N.”

You were astounded that he knew your name. You could only nod and smile. That’s all you did the whole time while the other actors showed up. You step back, reveling in how grateful you felt in that moment. Joe crept behind you, placing a hand onto your shoulder.

“A little overwhelmed?”

His voice was soft and sympathetic. Even through all the loud conversions in the room, you felt alone with him. You laugh softly and nod.

“Yeah, a little.”

He shakes his head and leans back into the table.

“Don’t be. I watched some of your work. They made the right decision.”

He had seen some of your shows. Holy crap. You felt like you could die right there and be happy. You made a mental note to yourself to look up his filmography. 

You sat beside him as you began to read through the script. Everyone introduced themselves and their characters. It was your turn next.

“Hi, I’m Y/N Y/L/N. And I’m playing Issac.”

Everyone said hello and waved, making your nerves fall. You felt more comfortable as time grew. As you stop speaking it struck that you never asked Joe who he was playing.

“Hello everyone, I’m Joesph Mazzello. And I’ll be playing Sam.”

Sam and Issac were the two best friends in the movie. You remember reading the interactions between the two of them. It seemed that your character had deeper feelings for Sam. Yeah, it wasn’t going to be hard to act like you fancied Joe. The reading began and you couldn’t help but smile at Joe when you weren’t reading. 

Your night was spent watching anything Joe had been in. You never realized that he was Tim Murphy from Jurassic Park, a movie you never shut up about after it came out. You watched an episode of The Pacific, holy crap he was adorable. You admired him as an actor even more now. He was able to play such different characters and looks adorable while doing so.

Three months had gone by since the first read through. You basically had seen Joe every day, not complaining though. In between scenes, Joe would strike up a conversation with you. As time went by, both of you would bring the other a coffee in the morning. Joe would saunter over to you, a smile tugging on his lips. He was quick to learn your coffee order. You’d giggle and cradle the drink your hands, thanking him.

“You’re addicted.”

He jokes as you punch his elbow. He sat beside you while you got your hair and makeup done. Joe began telling you about this girl he met at the bar a couple nights back. You try to act happy for him, responding the way any guy would to his friend having feelings for someone. But you were any guy to him, you had feelings for him and he never seemed to reciprocate them back. As the makeup artist left, a soft silence filled your trailer. He shifts in the seat across from you. You smile towards him as he finally comes up with a topic of conversation.

“We’re filming our fight today. You ready?”

You nod and glance over to your script. The fight was a turning point for your characters.  Your character was going to finally reveal his feelings to Joe’s. Hell, it felt like you were going to. Of course, you’d run over the scene with him. Before any take, you two would go over it until it was perfect. 

One night he even invited you to dinner. He showed you supposedly the “best pizza” place ever. You had to admit, it was really good. The plan was to have a bite to eat and then run over the scenes of the next day. Instead, you talked about each other's filmography. You swear that you can listen to his past acting experiences for hours. He mentioned how much he admired you in one of your more difficult roles. You could feel how warm your face was as he rolled out endless compliments to you. He walked you back to your apartment and gave you a hug, his hand lingering on your waist. You could still feel his hand there once you finally got upstairs. But somehow your feelings were oblivious to him.

You glance around the set, it was supposed to resemble the apartment of Joe’s character. Joe was sat on the couch, his hands clasp together. He tries to get into character before he shot something. He now likes to say that “it was hard to pretend to hate.” You stood outside the fake door, moving around to get your energy up, the coffee helped with that. You were given a thumbs up from one of the lighting people. You nod to him and take a deep breath. The slap board clap followed by the director calling to everyone.

“Rolling!”

Issac slammed his fist into the door, calling for Sam to open it. He stands up from his place on the couch and trudges over to the door. He lets himself into the apartment and turns on his heels, facing his friend angrily.

“Why have you been so M.I.A recently, Sam? You haven’t answered any of my calls.” 

He threw his hands up, defeated by his friend's action. Sam rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He tried to muster up the words in a more polite way but couldn’t.

“Have you ever realized that you’ve been kind of a dick lately?”

Issac glared up at him. Of course, the two friends always called each other things like that, but never with such anger. 

“Dude, ever since I started seeing Amy you’ve been a total dick.”

Issac rolls his eyes even though he knows his friend is right. He tries to think of something to say but Sam stops him.

“Issac, I know it sucks being single. But you’ll fin-”

“Stop! I’m not pissed about being single.”

Sam leans into the back of the couch, waiting for him to continue.”

“I’m pissed about the person I love not loving me back.”

Issac felt his heart sink. He had never planned to tell Sam his true feelings, let alone acting on them. He wrung his hands together and sighed.

“Do you like Amy or something? Is that why you’ve been such an ass?”

Sam retorted.

Suddenly, you weren’t acting anymore. You quickly responded, still in character.

“I spend all my time with this person! They bring me things, remember things but still are oblivious! They hold me, acting like it’s nothing! It means the world to me!”

The writer quickly stood when he noticed you going off the script. Joe didn’t look confused by your sudden change. He was listening to what you said, feeling at fault. Before the writer could cut in, the director stopped him. He leans forward to watch your performance.

“God, I love them. And it hurts. It hurts because they go one with their day fine, and I’m left wishing I could hold them! I wish I could kiss them, anything. They are fucking perfect. I do anything, hell I’m obvious about it but still, nothing is returned!”

Sam searched his head for something to say.

“Issac, I understand what you mea-”

“No, you don’t. Because I’m in love with you and that scares the hell outta me.”

Not only was there tension in this scene but it filled the room. People shared looks with each other, utterly impressed with your acting. Your chest heaves after yelling out your frustrations. The director calls cut and claps, walking over to you. You stare at Joe, not sure of what to say. It was clear that the line had some sort of truth behind it. You tried to leave the room as fast as you could, Joe races after you. He calls your name but you couldn’t face him.

You close the door to your trailer and flop into your chair. You push your face into your hands, groaning. You try to push back your tears. You wallow in the silence until you hear someone patter at your door. You take a deep breath before moving to the door, pulling it open. Joe stands there, panting softly. You open your mouth to speak but Joe kisses you softly. You start off taken back, not disappointed. He parts and carcasses your jawline.

“That story I told you earlier? Total lie. Y/N, I am utterly in love with you.”

You quickly pull him back into your lips, kissing him with all the passion you could muster.

Tonight was the premiere of the movie, your nerves running high. It wasn’t the first premiere you had been to, but one of the most important. But Joe had promised to stay by your side for the whole night. His hand rests on your inner thigh, your hand holding his. He presses a kiss to your temple, sensing how nervous you were. The car slowed down and the door swung open. Joe climbs out and waits for you, smiling brightly as you step onto the asphalt.

“Ready, love?”

Your cheeks feel warm as he whispers to you, his hand rests on the small of your back. You nod and wave to all the people trying to get your attention. Interviewers fix their fancy clothes and rush through the questions in their head, waiting till you reached them. You stopped and took some photos with people, they gushed about how handsome you looked in your suit. You laugh and thank them before rushing off to step onto the main carpet.

Joe holds an arm for you, smiling as you rush into it. The cameras flash and you can hear people calling for you both to look to them. You can’t help but smile at Joe. Through all the chaos you felt alone with him. The relationship was public, only to your family and friends. One of the photographers must have picked up on the intimacy between your exchange and called.

“Give him a kiss, Mazzello!”

What a prick, you thought. You didn’t have a second to respond before Joe pressed a wet kiss to your cheek, laughing. His nose presses against your cheekbone. People whistled and hollered, camera clicking and flashing around you. You hit his chest lightly and laugh as he pulls away. Throughout the rest of the night, his hand rests on yours. This was worth all the waiting.

[sonofadeanwinchester]

Even Then

Summary: You’re the writer and lead female role on a movie. When Sebastian Stan is cast as the male lead, old feelings come back.

Words: 1869

Sebastian Stan x POC!Reader

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: This was requested by @areelphony ! I’m sorry that it took me so damn long to write this for you. I’m also sorry if this sucks.

Tags:  @221bshrlocked @marvelouslyme96 @shellymaesworld @titty-teetee @pawallday @chameerah@buckylicious@nerdywitch @teresaoliva20 @guera31 @i-should-probably-be-asleep-rn @ssweet-empowerment@jhangelface0523 @sarahp879 @parkerrpeterr @bxxbxy @mrs-meghan-winchester  @yknott81 @thejemersoninferno@yeahbutmarvel @kaleidoscope96

“Okay, so you’re telling me that you wanna star and be the writer?” My sister, Shay, ask me.

I nod. “Just looking for some actors willing to do some shit acting.”

She laughs. “This script is incredible, really.”

I roll my eyes. “Thank you but I couldn’t really picture anyone being playing these roles.”

Shay cocks her head to the side. “Well, it seems that you’ve written the male lead like a tall guy with black hair and you mention striking blue eyes a few times as well.” I sigh. “God, I based him off Prince Eric, didn’t I?”

“Sebastian.” My sister’s eyes grew wide as she googled him.

I shake my head. I haven’t seen Sebastian in nearly seven years, not since he joined onto the MCU. “No.”

She nods. “Yes. He’s perfect for this role.”

I shake my head. “No, Shay, it’s too soon.”

“It’s been seven years and too late. He’s on his way over here.”

“What?!” I jump to my feet. “I wasn’t expecting a fucking audition here today.”

She shrugs. “I’ll talk to him, you just get it presentable in here, k?”

“The writer is a friend of yours?” I hear Sebastian’s voice from down the hall.

Shay speaks, very professional. “You could say we grew up together.”

Their voices grow closer every second as I rush around my office, trying to get everything tidy and ready for this spontaneous audition. By the time the door opens, I sit down in my chair, my back to it. “Well, this role seems to fit for me. I’m glad my manager gave me a head start. Who’s the director?”

I take a deep breath and swivel around in my seat. “Seb, hey.”

“(y/n)? What’re you doing here?”

Shay smirks. “This is my sister. The writer”

“Sister? Wr-writer?” Sebastian’s eyes grow wide as he takes a seat in front of me. “Uh, this is shocking.”

I nod. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to hear about this movie for a while yet.”

He clears his throat, his eyes focused on my face. He licks his lips before speaking. “Well, it’s amazing.”

My face flushes. “Thank you. And just for the record, I didn’t capture the character’s looks after you.”

He smirks. “Never crossed my mind but now that you mention it.”

Shay chuckles. “You’ve read the script then?”

He nods, his eyes leaving mine for just a moment. “Yeah, it’s great.”

“Then why don’t you give us a piece of it.”

His eyes jerk back to mine and he grins. “What part and what setting?”

Shay smirks. “What about the part where our male lead is at the altar and his ex-lover barges in and he realizes that he’s been with the wrong woman.”

I grind my teeth together and smile. “Go ahead.”

He nods, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, they are tear-filled. “Jamie-” He takes a deep breath. “I almost married the wrong woman because I thought you hated me. I thought you would never forgive me for what I did to you.”

Shay steps in, playing Jamie. “You broke my heart, Stanley, but how could I ever hate you?”

He wipes a tear from his cheek, anxious he starts again. “Samantha was just someone to maybe and try to get over the fact that I ruined the best thing that ever happened to me. When I found out you moved away and didn’t say goodbye, I figured you would never want to see me again but-” another deep sigh, “here you are, busting into my wedding ceremony. Why?”

Shay chuckles. “Why? Because I’m still in love with you. I still want to spend the rest of my life with you. Because watching you be with other women is like stabbing myself repeatedly in the heart.”

Sebastian shutters out a sigh. “I’ve been waiting so long to hear you say that. Jamie, I still love you. I never stopped loving you. I’ll always love you even to my deathbed. And if there is a life after death, I’ll love you even then.”

“Scene.” Shay stopped, shaking Sebastian’s hand and grinning. “That was amazing.”

He wiped his cheeks. “Thank you.”

I chuckle. “Can’t believe you remembered all that in like the ten minutes of reading it.”

He shrugs. “From the first words, it gripped me and it kind of resonated with me, you know? Kinda seems familiar to my own life.”

Shay clears her throat. “Well, I think it’s safe to say that you’re definitely the top picks for our male lead.”

He claps his hands. “That’s amazing, thank you. Any idea who’s playing the leading lady?”

I clear my throat. “That’s me actually. I’ll be playing the role of Jamie.”

His face drained of blood. “Really. You’re the lead star. Okay, that’s cool.” He swallows and licks his lips. “Who’s playing Samantha?”

I cock my head to the side. “Margot Robbie.”

“Oh! I’ve worked with Margot, she’s great.”

Shay looks between the two of us and stands. “Sebastian here’s a script and I’ll send the paperwork over to your agent. Congratulations, you got the part.”

“What?” Sebastian and I spoke in unison.

She nods. “I’m the casting director on this film and I think you’ll make a good part on this team.”

He stands to his feet. “Uh, thank you, Shay.” He nods his head once and leaves the room, shaking his head as he walks away.

“What the actual fucking hell was that?” I stand, glaring at her.

“You really don’t see it?”

“See what?”

She groans. “There is clearly unresolved history between you and that fine ass man that just left. This might be a good way to, you know, resolve things.”

I snort. “There is nothing ‘unresolved’ between us.”

She cocks a brow. “You never do air quotes unless you’re annoyed or being defensive and I think you’re doing both of those things.”

I roll my eyes. “So what if I still have feelings for him? He clearly isn’t interested.”

“Are you blind or just stupid?” She sees my face and smiles. “Sorry, just that, he clearly has a thing for you.”

I shake my head. “Well, he’s worked with Margot before and he has a history of dating co-stars so maybe there is something between them.”

Shay shakes her head. “She’s married.”

“And I’m not interested.”

“Mhmm.” She rolls her eyes and walks away.

The final day of rehearsal was the most awkward. I wanted so many times to run to Sebastian and explain to him that I still love him but I never did. He was always with Margot. . “Okay, everyone. Get in your places.” The director, Tim, was sipping out a coffee. “We’re ending today with the wedding scene.

Margot and Seb stand at the altar, with love in their eyes, as a priest behind them starts the wedding ceremony. Sebastian is dressed in a tuxedo, looking handsome as ever. Margot stands across from him, dressed in a princess style wedding dress, a veil covering her face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say I was really attending their wedding. Sebastian is saying something and Margot is giggling. He winks at her and she sighs, nodding. As the priest opens the ceremony up to anyone who objects, I run in. Busting through the double doors, tears on my cheeks and my mascara running wildly, I scream. “Stanley!”

Stanley’s head swings to look at me, confusion on his face. “Jamie?”

Samantha jolts her head backward. “Who’s Jamie?”

“Stanley, don’t marry her.” My throat tightens up with emotions. “Don’t, please.”

He releases her hands and looks her square in the eyes. “Sam, I love you but I can’t do this.”

Samantha’s jaw drops and she crosses her arms like a child throwing a hissy fit. “Stan, come on.”

“I’m sorry, Sam.” With that, he drops down the stairs, running over to me. “Jamie-” He takes a deep breath. “I almost married the wrong woman because I thought you hated me. I thought you would never forgive me for what I did to you.”

My voice comes out shaky. “You broke my heart Stanley, but how could I ever hate you?”

He wipes a tear off his cheek. “Samantha was just someone to get over the fact that I ruined the best thing that ever happened to me. When I found out you moved away and didn’t say goodbye, I figured you would never want to see me again but-” another deep sigh, “here you are, busting into my wedding ceremony. Why?”

I chuckle. “Why? Because I’m still in love with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Because watching you be with other women is like stabbing myself repeatedly in the heart.”

Stanley shutters out a sigh. “I’ve been waiting so long to hear you say that. Jamie, I still love you. I never stopped loving you. I’ll always love you even to my deathbed. And if there is a life after death, I’ll love you even then.”

He leans in close enough that I can feel his breath on my lips and the director calls “CUT!”

I sigh, trying to calm my beating heart. Sebastian stands in front of me, his blue eyes watching me. “Good job.”

I nod, not breaking eye contact with him. “You too.”

“Seb, that was amazing. I actually believed you loved her.” Margot was beside us now, shaking her blonde curls. “Hello, (y/n), I’m Margot.”

I smile, eyes still on Sebastian. “I know who you are.” Breaking contact for a moment. “I’m (y/n), the writer.”

Her eyes grew big. “The script is lovely! Really, it’s amazing.” She puts a hand on Sebastian's shoulder and tugs him. “Come now, let’s go get some food.”

He nods. “Sure.” He turns away from me and starts to leave. I can feel my stomach growing in the urge to scream, to ask her to lay off of him but he’s not mine, not anymore. I turn my back from him and then I hear my name. “(y/n).”

I turn to find Sebastian standing in front of me. “Yeah?”

He swallows loudly and goes to speak but nothing comes out.

I nod, walking away.

“(y/n)?” His voice again.

I turn, agitated. “What?”

He clears his throat. “This script, resonated with me because it reminds me of you. And it makes so much sense why now because you put your heart and soul into this and I could feel it. It reminds me of our past, our history, together and it makes me miss us. It made me miss you.” He chews his lip. “I don’t expect a huge answer or even an answer at all, I just needed you to know that. I needed you to know that being in the same room with you is suffocating and intoxicating all at the same time. Being near you again, it makes me want to be a better person, I better actor. You always brought the best out in me. I love you like how Stanley loves Jamie.”

I feel a lump in my throat growing as I smile. “I love you like how Jamie loves Stanley.”

[writing-yj]

Robin/Tim Drake x Reader: Back Again

Anon: Can you do prompts 41 & 50 with Tim Drake? If you can, can you make it angst at first but then cute and romantic at the end? You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Have a nice day/night! And don’t pressure yourself too much!

41. “I often ask myself if I deserve you, and I usually feel like I don’t.”

50. “How could you do this to me?”

Word Count: 4205 (I GOT REALLY CARRIED AWAY)

Warnings: Death, blood, bit of gore, angst, kissing, same old same old

A/n: I got the idea for the plot at two in the morning. To other writers, do you guys also fly for the computer while squealing with delight or practically choking on air when you have the best strike of inspiration? Anyway, I hope you like it, anon! There are several time skips, my bad!

Being Zatanna’s protege had many, many perks. You were learning more and more every day, and getting stronger and stronger by the minute. You were remembering almost every spell you were taught, and you could navigate all of your spell books in a snap. 

When you were first placed on the team, you were very unhappy. You didn’t have friends your age and you were content with that, but you still had to learn how to work without adults.

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Zatanna! I don’t need to work with them!” You snapped. You glanced over to the team you were being forced to join. It was obvious they were eavesdropping, but that wasn’t your biggest concern.

Zatanna looked in the same direction and grumbled under her breath. The other group of teenagers looked away abruptly. “You need to learn how to work with other heroes, not just me. Please stop being so difficult-”

“You’re calling me difficult?! You don’t even understand what I’m feeling! When you joined that team, you were willing to do it! You practically begged your father to let you join, but I’m doing the exact opposite.” The light above you flickered. “If I’m supposed to stay here, I won’t be working with you anymore, will I? It kind of feels like you don’t want me to be your partner anymore, actually. Is that it!?” You were feeling so many emotions that it hurt. 

“Now you’re just making assumptions.” Zatanna’s voice was firmer now. “Like I said, you are here to work with other heroes, make friends your age,” You knew what she was going to say next would set you off. “And it looks like you still need to work on your anger, too.”

The flickering light above you shattered, but you didn’t even flinch. “Still sounds like you don’t want to deal with me anymore. You’re no better than my parents.” With that, you stalked off to the zeta tube, and went to a secluded place of yours to calm down.

“She’ll come around, Z.” Nightwing put a hand on Zatanna’s shoulder. “I know how much she hates change, but-”

“Just make sure she doesn’t get too uncomfortable, and you better keep her safe,” Zatanna gently shrugged off his hand, and went to the zeta tube. “If she gets badly hurt, The Light will be the least of your problems.” She threatened before she left to find you.

Then, after reluctantly joining the team, you met Robin. He helped you adjust to life with the team, and easily became your first friend… and first crush. It was easy for you to hide it; you did have magic, after all. That and Batgirl helped you out when you accidentally told her.

You greatly impressed Tim (you eventually gained enough of his trust, much to Batman’s chagrin) when you beat him in sparring, without using magic. During training session, you were his go-to sparring partner, and you two eventually were able to work together so well that it was like putting two puzzle pieces together. You were almost always partnered on missions due to your impeccable teamwork, and Zatanna contacted you and praised you when she found out.

“You’re doing better than I thought you would, (Y/n)!” Zatanna hugged you. “And I’m positive that he likes you, too, (Y/n)- of course I knew, I’m not stupid -Make a move!”

“Be quiet! Someone will hear you!” You hissed.

Nightwing peeked his head around the corner and chuckled. “Too late- Stop looking at me like that; I won’t tell anyone!” Your death glare sent unpleasant chills down his spine.

You looked back at Zatanna and your expression calmed. “But really, I am so proud of you.” She hugged you again, and you didn’t think you could ever be happier.

You took your mentor’s advice to make a move, but not without extensive planning. It took you at least two days to come up with a solid plan and to prepare yourself for any form of rejection. But rejection never came. Tim blushed immediately and said yes to getting coffee faster than Bart ever could, and the rest was history.

“Are you sure you want to help with this mission?” Zatanna asked you quietly. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“It’s the least I can do.” You said softly, but you looked sad. “The team might not ever forgive me. Or you, for that matter.” When Zatanna gave you the choice to help her and Doctor Fate on a top-secret mission, that required as much magic as possible, you jumped at the chance. But there was a catch.

You had to fake your death.

Zatanna’s face fell a little. “We know that, but this mission is too important for us to ignore. Are you absolutely positive to pay that price?” 

You nodded solemnly with very little hesitation, and the three of you started to work on the spell you needed to use. It was a rare spell, one that a magic user could cast only once every one hundred years. You didn’t plan on having to fake your death a second time, so you didn’t think much of using it only once in your lifetime.

Trying to hide the inevitable from your team was hard, especially from your boyfriend. Not even Nightwing knew about it. Other than Doctor Fate, Zatanna, and Rocket, no one else knew that your death wasn’t going to be real.

“How was school, love?” You walked up behind Tim and pecked his cheek.

Despite being the third Robin, he jumped at your sudden presence and romantic gesture. “I mean, it was normal, I still hate it- wait a minute, you have lipstick on, don’t you?” Tim turned his head and looked at your lips, and then put a hand on his cheek. He rubbed it for a moment, pulled his hand away, and sighed when he saw red on his fingers. “Did you, ‘forget’, again?”

“Of course I did.” You winked and giggled. You uttered a quick spell and it disappeared from his face and fingers. “I would never do it on purpose, Robin!”

Bart zoomed over and propped an elbow on Robin’s shoulder. “She definitely did it on purpose. And every time before that.” He looked smug, but Robin already caught on to your sarcasm. 

You phone went off, and even though you knew what it was for, you casually pulled it out of your pocket and answered the call. “Hey Zatanna, how may I be of service?” You walked away from the two teenagers, and quietly used a spell to prevent them from hearing Zatanna’s side of the conversation.

“From what we’ve calculated, there will be a villain near the Hall of Justice in thirty minutes,” Zatanna told you gravely. “It’s time to say your goodbyes, (Y/n). But don’t give it away, be nonchalant.”

“Another villain, huh? Kudos to you on finding out in advance,” You said a little louder than usual, maintaining your cover. “I’ll be there in a bit, just let me finish up first- Of course I’m not just going to run out without saying anything, that’s rude…!” You heard Bart snort, and Robin elbowed him. “See you soon.” You hung up not long after and you walked back to your boyfriend with a false smile. You felt like doing anything but smile, but you had to.

“You need to leave.” Robin stated and he gave you a small grin. “Be careful, okay?” He said that before every mission, and it made your heart flutter each time.

“If you guys are going to kiss, I’m out!” Bart almost gagged and he ran out of the room. You laughed as he left, but you turned back to Tim just as fast.

Tim pulled you closer and put his hands on your hips. “I love you, (Y/n).” He said warmly. He didn’t know why he had a bad feeling in his stomach, but he didn’t want to take any chances. “I’m taking you out for dinner when you get back, you have no choice.”

“Is it that one restaurant we went to on my birthday?”

“Sure is, I even made reservations.” Tim beamed, and you laughed.

You put your forehead on his and whispered, “I often ask myself if I deserve you, and I usually feel like I don’t.” 

In response to your statement, he gave you a passionate, breathtaking kiss that warmed your entire body. The amount of love in the kiss made you want to cry; you were going to break his heart in a few short hours.

Tim went weak in the knees when you kissed him back with two times as much love and devotion, and you clung to him like it was your last day on Earth. To them, it technically was, so your were pouring all of your emotions into the fiery lip lock. 

“I’d love to make out with you,” You said flirtatiously and he turned pink. “But I’ve got to get going. Maybe when I get back, or after dinner, okay?”

“S-Sounds like a plan, pretty lady.” He called out after you, and you forced the tears to not fall. “Don’t get yourself killed, please!”

Now that pulled some major heartstrings. “I won’t!” You said quickly before your voice could crack.

As you went to the zeta tube, you waved and said a happy and heartfelt goodbye to your team, your friends, your family. You didn’t want to hurt them like this, but it had to be done.

“Really, Robin?” Blue Beetle asked and shook his head.

Robin grunted at him and he kept his eyes on the team's huge computer. "What? I don't think there's anything wrong with watching my girlfriend and her mentor kick some ass." He said as carefree as possible, but he was worried. The villain you were fighting against wasn't too difficult to defeat, but anyone could have a trick up their sleeve.

The other team members came one by one to watch the news; when you worked with Zatanna, it was always a cool battle to watch. Bart scrambled over to see and he turned up the volume for everyone to hear.

The news channel even had a news reporter at the scene, but the team was more concerned about the battle. No one expected anything to go wrong.

As onlookers stared in fear or awe, you started to cast the spell the was crucial to not die in the process of faking your death. If there were any errors, you would actually get killed. When you finished the spell, a cold feeling settled over you, and that confirmed that the spell worked. For the specific villain, you knew how to get them to murder you, so that was the plan.

"If you don't stop smiling at her like that, I'm going to be sick." Beast Boy said to Robin, cringing in the process.

Batgirl chuckled when she looked at his smile as well. "Leave him be, I think it's sweet." She was happy for Tim; she helped you two get together, after all.

You were sweating you felt sick. It was time, and it was going to be hell to hurt them. You didn't want to break their hearts, but you wanted to go through with the mission, too. So Zatanna distracted the soon-to-be murderer, and you went into the final steps of the plan.

The team was on the edge of their seats; this was usually your final and signature move and it almost always ended the fights you participated in. Tim watched you fight with adoration in his eyes, and he whispered to him, "That's my girl."

But what happened next destroyed Timothy.

You were jumping at the villain, pretending to attack him with all you had, but you purposely made your position known. He turned around rapidly, and drove his long, sharp sword straight through the middle of your chest. Your blood instantly coated the sword and spewed from your mouth. Zatanna, playing along, shrieked in despair and conjured the most powerful spell she could to 'avenge' you. The villain swung the sword sideways and sent your bleeding body flying through the windows and into the Hall of Justice. The news reporter gasped and bystanders reacted similarly.

Shrieks and cries simultaneously echoed around Mount Justice. Tim shouted and screamed and he flew away from the computer as his heart shattered. Hell, the entire team was distraught. He broke into a sprint to the zeta tube, and Nightwing was right on his heels.

By the time they got there, your killer was unconscious and apprehended and Zatanna was inside Mount Justice. The two brothers ran in with no hesitation. They didn't even try to not cry at the sight of your blood smeared on the floor from where you slid across it.

Zatanna knelt next to your body and cried, too. And the tears were real; it looked realistic, and the troubles and emotional hurt to come would be hard. She heard their running footsteps and she cried harder.

Tim wailed when he saw your body, and even more so when he glanced at your lifeless eyes. The love of his life was gone, just like that. No warning whatsoever. Not a single suspicion of something going horribly wrong. He fell to his knees next to you, and pulled your body to his chest.

He couldn’t care less about the blood that got on his costume. Tim sobbed into your hair and ignored the gaping, bloody wound on your chest that still adorned the floor with red. Even though he saw it happen on TV, you had no chance of surviving. If anything, you would have died before you hit the floor.

“(Y/n), please!” He begged for it to just be a nightmare. He prayed that the image of your death was a lie.

It wasn’t.

You sat up so fast that your head spun. You took a sudden deep breath of air as if you were almost drowning. Before you could freak out, you saw Doctor Fate standing above you with his palms facing you. The memories of the recent events came coming back, and instead of relief, you felt a sickening sense of dread.

“You scared us there, (Y/n),” Zatanna exhaled. “We thought you weren’t going to wake up.”

You blinked several times. “I thought you had enough faith in me to trust me with casting the spell properly.” You yawned and rubbed your eyes, but your heart was abruptly pierced with sadness. “How are they...?” Your voice dropped to a whisper.

Rocket briefly looked away. “They’re not handling it very well. None of them are.”

“And Robin?”

Zatanna closed her eyes and opened them a few moments later. “He’s the worst one of them all. From what Nightwing has told me, he hasn’t left his room in days.”

After hearing of all of their conditions, you wept. They were hurting so much, and you couldn’t help until the mission was over. That could take months. Maybe even a year. You didn’t know how you were going to be able to handle it, but you were going to have to whether you liked it or not.

A little more than half a year later, Tim was one of the most serious members on the team. Your death took away and sort of will to mess around and to be a teenager. It was useful for missions, if that was a bright side to it, but his personality was different. Everyone on the team  became more serious, some less that others, but not as much as Tim.

Zatanna was speaking to Nightwing, and she quietly asked him, “Can you ask your team to come in here?” It was time for you to come back, and Zatanna wanted them to all be in the same place. She was there for moral support and to explain to everyone. Nightwing still had no idea, so she was going to try and contain his wrath as well.

“Why?”

“Please. Just do it.”

So he did, with plenty of confusion. None of them knew why they were summoned to the same room; they didn’t see anything special. Nothing in the room was new or cool.

Tim looked at Nightwing with a stone face. “Why are we here?”

Nightwing looked at Zatanna, and she inaudibly said into her comm, “Ok.” About ten impatient seconds later, the zeta tube whirred to life.

Recognized: (Y/n) (L/n), B27

And there you stood, wearing casual clothes with your hands shoved into your pockets and you looked up from the floor. Nothing emotionally prepared you to see their stunned faces and the tears welling in their eyes.

Nightwing’s escrima sticks clattered to the floor and Robin stumbled back a couple feet. No one could understand what was happening. Was this a test? A hallucination? This couldn’t be real, could it?

“Shape shifter!” Blue Beetle cried out and wasted no time in shooting his plasma cannon in your direction. You were supposed to be dead; this was impossible!

You let out a small huff as you put quickly put your hands out in front of you, wordlessly summoning a small force field that absorbed his attack. You clapped your hands together, and the force field disappeared with a small gust of wind. “Are you trying to kill me a second time?”

Batgirl was the first to collide into you with a big hug. If this was just a dream, she was going to make the most of it. Your ‘death’ hit her hard. When she wrapped her arms around you, she shuddered; you felt so real, so alive. (Y/n) (L/n) was truly back.

It became a large group hug, with happy tears and a few angry demands for an explanation, and you gave them a mini version, but Tim hung back. He was still in a state of shock. He didn’t know what to say to you; he was overjoyed and it took a lot for him to not run up and kiss you in front of anyone, but he was also furious. Tim was enraged that you tricked him and everyone else into thinking that you were killed. You were in for it.

It was a very long reunion, and it came with a long lecture from the Justice League members you didn’t know about the plan. Zatanna backed you up, and it came to them understanding why it had to be done. But Tim blocked that out; he wanted to hear your explanation on why you thought not telling anyone was a good idea. Nightwing tried to console him, saying that it wasn’t your fault and that it was necessary, but he refused to listen to his older brother. 

Tim waited until he got you alone. He still had yet to approach you, and when you were about to run over to him, he stopped you in your tracks. “How could you do this to me?” He asked, and when you didn’t answer, he yelled the question a second time.

You flinched at his raised voice, but you looked away. “It was for the mission. I had to-”

“But you had a choice! You could have chosen to not do it, but you did!” He curled his hands into fists and his knuckles went white. “Do you not know what you put us through, how you made us feel? How you made me feel!?”

You gritted your teeth. “I already told the others; I did it because-”

“How am I not supposed to think that you were lying to them, too? You had no problem making everyone believe you were dead!” Tim couldn’t control the words coming out of his mouth.

“I wasn’t lying!” You growled. “The mission called for some of the most powerful magic users and I am one of them!”

He still wasn’t convinced. “You could have told me! You could have told Batgirl, or Nightwing!”

“No, I couldn’t have! We would have told anyone else, but we had to fake my death and keep it a secret for a reason. I’m sorry that I-”

Tim interrupted you again and it was pissing you off. “What was so important about this mission that you had to make us all cry and scream and shatter our hearts? What was so important that I had to have nightmares about seeing my girlfriend impaled and thrown in the Hall of Justice!?”

“If I hadn’t gone on this mission to- if you fucking interrupt me again, I’m going to lose it!” You snapped and Tim closed his mouth. “If I didn’t go on that mission, there would be chaos on Earth. It would become a war that we wouldn’t win, not by a long shot. I’d rather have you see me die than for you to have a slow, painful death at the hands of our enemies.” You exhaled and looked down at the floor. “I love you, Timothy. I wanted to tell you so bad, it hurt. And I didn’t want to be left with the thought that there would be worldwide bloodshed if I chose to not help. I’m sorry.”

Tim was silent, and you heard his footsteps echo around the room. You thought he was leaving, and you didn’t blame him, but when his arms wrapped around you, you let out the sob you had been holding in since the day you left. You instantly leaned into his embrace and dampened his shoulder with your tears.

He stroked your hair and cried, too. Tim pulled your warm body as close as he could and never wanted to let you go. Not again. Your body was warm and living against him, not cold, dead, and bloody. Tim was never going to let that happen again.

You glanced up at him for barely a second before kissing him, just like you wanted to for the past six months. He lightly gasped, but pressed his lips against yours almost immediately. You ran your fingers through his dark locks, and he wiped away a stray tear from your cheek. Tim’s anger turned to sadness, and then to the burning love he always held for you. You groaned when he slid his hands down your waist and gently felt your delicious curves.

“You’re going to have to- face Batman for this- He won’t be happy-” Tim said between hot kisses. Your back touched the wall and his lips hovered over your reddened ones. “He doesn’t like being kept in the dark about these things.”

“I thought he’s always in the dark,” You chuckled and your lips barely brushed against his. “And you know how many secrets he’s kept from everyone, let him have a taste of his own medicine.” You lightly kissed his jaw once, twice, thrice, and so on. You almost laughed when he shivered.

Tim reluctantly pulled away from you when you started to kiss his neck. “W-we need to take this somewhere else, we can’t go any further here.” He blushed a bright red and he felt like his face was burning. 

“You do still need to take me out for dinner,” You giggled at his expression. “If that is an option?”

“I can’t say I have reservations anymore... For obvious reasons.” 

You winced, but he didn’t notice. “We don’t need reservations, dummy. They shouldn’t be busy this time of day anyway.” You reached out and took his hand in yours. 

“Yeah, th-that’s true...” He stuttered and his eyes shot down to look at your hand tangled with his own.

Tim lightly jumped when you snorted. “I swear, you’re more embarrassed when we hold hands than when me make out. It’s usually the other way around.” You giggled, and he gave you a soft push.

After dinner, you found yourself laying next to Tim in the grass, looking up at the stars. He asked questions about what you did on the mission, and you asked about what the team did when you were gone. When he barely hinted at how horrible and upset they all felt, you started to cry again. 

Guilt still had a firm grip on your heart and, overtime, Tim helped you get rid of it. Eventually, everyone understood why you, Rocket, Zatanna, and Doctor Fate did what had to be done for the mission, and the negative feelings slowly dissolved. 

You were back in Tim’s arms for good, and he couldn’t be happier. You could finally love him again with nothing holding you back.

And that’s all you ever wanted.

This ending is certainly not the best, but I hope y’all liked this!!!

Pssst.... @draketimbers , I have some Tim for you