#i kicked a restroom stall wall I was. very mad that day.

[purpleskelet0n]

After having an. absolute shitter of a day like a full level shart monster of a day you need to draw a cow dragon eat comfort food and watch relatable netflix shows to make it better

[lonelyapprehension]

!!! WARNINGS !!!

semi detailed descriptions of suicides, mentions of fire and bombs, lots or cursing, abusive relationships, drug use mentions, lots of mentioned death, mentioned amputations (if i missed something please please please tell me!!)

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"Open the door, Max."

The shuffling of items behind the pristine closet door stopped. "I don't want-"

Em cut the voice off and took a deep breath. "I don't care that you don't want to open the door. You told me we'd do everything together, and this is a thing we need to do."

"You killed three people, Em! I don't want the blood on my hands! We need to stop! We're in highschool* for fuck's sake!" Max's voice was shaky.

"They hurt you, Max! They needed to die! Why don't you fucking get that!?" Em hit the door again. "Just get dressed, we have to go to the pep rally."

There was more silence. "No."

Em whipped her head around. "I'm sorry, what?" She seethed, shaking the locked door knob.

"No!" Max shouted through the door. "I won't let you treat me like this!"

"Treat you like this?" Em laughed. "You chucked me out, like I was trash. For that you should be dead."

There was more shuffiling in the closet, "I didn't chuck you out, I kept you away from me. I don't want the fall of the...the murders falling onto me!"

Em leaned her forehead against the door. "Oh poor little Maxie. Too scared to take the blame of something I made sure looked like an accident! What a stupid set of morals you have!"

"At least I have morals!" Max's voice was strained.

Em kicked the door, resulting in a startled shout from Max. "Shut up and get dressed. The school isn't going to blow itself up."

There was a little gasp of air,then Max began to talk. "No, the school isn't going to be blown up. If you said we were going to do it together, you won't be able to. I'll stay in here forever if I have to."

Em kicked the door again, and there was another strangled yelp. "Open the fucking door!"

"No! Stop trying to make me!"

Em muttered something under her breath, "I'll tell the police if you don't get your ass out here."

Max laughed. "Good luck trying to rope* in a dead girl to your murders, you sicko" Max kept laughing.

Em turned around, to face the door. "What the hell do you mean?"

Max didn't answer for a while, only laughing. Suddenly she gasped for air. "Goodbye, Em. I'll see you on the other side."

"No, what do you meam." Em repeated, kicking the door.

When there was no sound of response from Max, Em kicked the door yet again.

"What did you mean, Max. Awnser me!"

Em took a deep breath. "I'm not mad, Max. Just open the door, we can figure this out."

The was no response.

Em sighed. "Fine, I'll kick the door down"

"One... Two..."

Em threw her head back and laughed, "Fuck it! You don't deserve a countdown."

Em kicked the door down, coming face to face...

With Max's hanging body.

Em's face fell, turning more ashen by the second. "Max...No, please. Don't do this. Please come back to me..."

Em wiped at tears before standing up, "I guess I'm doing this on my own..."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"God, I can't believe I left my bag in the auditorium. Miss Q must be so mad at me."

Apollo sighed, rubbing their face. I hope she doesn't kill me... they thought worriedly. Apollo sped up, trying to reach the auditorium before it would be locked up.

"Yes! The doors are open!" Apollo sped over. "Just gotta sneak in and-"

Apollo stopped, trying to focus on the stage. "What's... I didn't know the troop was practicing today."

One of the students, a skinny brunette, looked up to where Apollo was. "Oh! Hey App! Come join us!"

Apollo shook their head, "No thanks Nikki! I'm just grabbing my bag!" They shouted down, heading down the stage.

"C'mon, App! It'll be fun!" Nikki attempted, holding onto App's arm.

App laughed, "No! You looked baked! What did you guys take?"

"Uhh...A lot of stuff. Kelly got this new drug that makes us feel awesome" Nikki starts to giggle.

Apollo sighs. "I'm not fucking my life up, you know how I feel about it."

Nikki pouts, but lets go off App's arm. "Fine."

App hugs her quickly. "Thanks, Nick. I'll text you later, stupid."

Nick laughs, but it sounds somehow hollow. "Yeah...later."

App swipes some hair from in front of their face and goes to get their bag.

BANG

"Was that- Was that a gunshot!?" App walked out, their bag in hand. "What the fuck? What did you guys-"

BANG

App's eyes widened, there was blood dripping off the edge of the stage. "Please tell me it's fake." They whispered, putting her bag onto their shoulders.

As they walked out, the stench of blood hit like a freight truck.

"Holy fuck. No, no, no, no." App kept their hand over their mouth.

Everyone she saw on the stage, laughing and messing around just minutes before, we dead. What was probably the gun App had heard was right by Nikki's hand.

"Nikki, you idiot..." App choked out, leaning next to the body. "Why would you do this? Was it what you took? God..."

App gently closed Nikki's eyes, wiping at their eyes viciously. They then ran out, heading for the restrooms.

They crumpled against a bathroom stall, taking gasps of air and rubbing the back of their neck roughly. "God fuck!"

After barely calming down, App ran out of the school and got into their car.

Where the they were going was completely up to chance

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

App pulled over to the side of the road when they smelled smoke, thinking it was just the car's engine overheating from the long drive.

They quickly realized that the smoke was coming from a school, a little more ways up the street.

"Oh, fuck." App started jogging over to the forest separating the school from the road. "What the hell happened here."

As App was running through the forest they noticed a shapeless figure draped on a log. When they walled closer, they realized that it was a person.

"Hey, are you okay?" App tried calling out, walking closer.

The figure didn't answer, but the smell of their charred flesh did. App rushed over, checking their pulse.

When they felt the rhythmic thump of a heart, Apollo sighed. "Oh, thank god." They then threw the person's arm over Apollo's shoulder, dragging the limp body back over to their car.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"How did you and your friend get so beat up?"

App began to tear up, "All-all of our friends committed suicide and my ex...he blew up the school." They explained for the thousandth time.

The nurse nodded, not sensing the total act App was putting up. Sure, App's "friends" committed suicide, and someone blew up the mysterious person's school. But App didn't have an ex, and sure as hell didn't know the stranger.

"Well, your friend might need a prosthetic... But, they're very expensive and we can't find if your friend here has any insurance."

App forced their breath to sound shaky. "I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out."

The nurse walked out, leaving App and their rescued stranger.

App look at the person on the bed, "I know you're not asleep."

The figure groaned. "How did you know?"

"You always breathe faster when I say we know each other."

"Yeah, well. Sorry Apollo, I'm Em."

App looked at Em. "Short for Emma?"

Em laughed and choked out ; "I wish." in between coughs.

App began to mess with the cuffs of her new hoodie, a pale green and yellow gift from the hospital. "How does it feel not having an arm? You had some pretty nasty burns..."

Em sighed. "I wish my bomb took more..."

"You made the bomb?"

"Hell yeah I did."

"Impressive, there was so much destruction."

Em laughed again, this time softer. She looked at the IV tubes hooked up to her body, and to the heart rate monitor to her right. "I wouldn't know. The blast knocked me out as soon as it hit, I can't remember anything from the last day."

"I wish I couldn't remember the last day..." App mutters, swiping hair behind her ear.

"When can we get out of here?" Em spoke up after some time.

"God if I know, but you've been out for a while."

"Wait, what?"

App chuckled, "I found you at like... three in the afternoon. It's 10 o'clock at night now. The nurses say you're recovering inhumanly fast."

"That's good news."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Well, time to go back home. C'mon bestie!" App internally cringed, forcing a smile on her face.

Em let out an obviously fake laugh. "Chill out, I'm coming!"

As soon as the duo entered App's car, they let out s sigh of relief.

Em started fist pumping with her good arm. "God it's over!"

App joined in the celebration. "We passed every psych evaluation! How did we manage it!?"

Em shrugged, nudging App. "All that matters is we are never coming back!"

"Hell yeah!" App started her car, and began to drive far away from the hospital.

"There was always a stupid old wife's tale about a house in the woods, wanna check it out?" Em asked, rubbing her thighs with the heel of her hand.

"Sure, what's the worst that could happen?"

FIN

[lolcat76]

I'm hoping this is a prompt you'd consider: "Sharon and Andy accidentally reveal they are dating during Living Proof (The Closer)"

This prompt is super old, but I’m trying to catch up. Here you go. 

“Mike hates you,” he whispered.

Sharon’s fork was halfway to her mouth, Willie Rae’s green bean casserole ready to slip off and land with a splat on her plate. “He what?” she hissed.

Andy shouldn’t get such a kick out of teasing her, but he couldn’t help himself. He was well aware of how much the Chief resented Sharon’s presence, and Provenza had told him  - more than once, and in great detail - about how much he also hated the Wicked Witch of the 5th Floor.

Even Andy had his moments where he’d happily shove her off a cliff. Those moments were few and far between these days, but missing Christmas Eve dinner with his kids, even if it wasn’t exactly her fault…well, he couldn’t blame the team for being pissed. Even if he had far more satisfying post-Christmas plans that were most definitely still on. His bag was packed and nestled in the trunk of his Crown Vic, ready for a long weekend of snow and skiing and Sharon getting tipsy on her mother’s overly potent egg nog. 

No, he couldn’t blame the rest of the team for being pissed, because they wouldn’t be spending the next four days sleeping next to Sharon Raydor. But Mike Tao, of all people, announcing to the Murder Room that he hated Sharon …well, it was funny. Maybe not to her, but it sure as hell was to him. Mike didn’t hate anyone, except help desk peons who took too long to answer the phone and didn’t respond well to the words “I have a warrant.”

“Oh yeah,” he continued, trying to hide his amusement as her face fell. “Told us and everything.”

“Lieutenant Mike Tao? The same Mike Tao who came to me for help on LAPD policy and regulations before his lieutenant’s exam? That Mike Tao?”

“DId he look like that?” Andy pointed at Tao, his cheeks blushing enough to match his Hawaiian shirt. Tao never could handle more than a single glass of wine, and with Provenza pouring, he was on his third at least. “If that’s the guy, then yeah. He hates you.”

“Another glass, Captain?” Provenza interrupted, waving a bottle of the Chief’s favorite Merlot.

“No. No, thank you, Lieutenant, I believe I’ve had enough.” She pushed away from the table and disappeared from the Murder Room, the ominous sound of her heels echoing against empty hallways sending an involuntary shiver down Andy’s spine.

Dammit.

In the 20 years they’d known each other, he’d lost count of how many times he’d told her that people hated her. At first, it was a desperate attempt to rattle her. Then, as they got to know - and very grudgingly like - each other, it was just a way to tease her. And once they began sleeping together, he’d tell her that Captain West or Detective Ross hated her, then spin a lengthy, and mostly fictional, tale of how he’d defended the honor of the poor, defenseless head of FID.

Apparently it was only funny when it was people she didn’t like so much either.

“What’s her problem?” Provenza asked.

Andy shrugged. “Probably you? I dunno. I’ll go find out.”

She’d go to one of a few places - her office, the bathroom to hide out in a stall until she regained her composure, or the the third floor break room where the IT Bureau commander hid the fancy chocolates from Bottega Louie that Sharon liked so much. He took a chance and settled himself against the wall opposite the women’s restroom.

Andy was just about to give up and go on a search of the mostly deserted PAB corridors when he heard the splash of water running. He had to hand it to his girl - even when she only escaped to the bathroom to hide from his team, she still wouldn’t walk out without washing her hands.

“He doesn’t really hate you,” he said as she emerged, causing her to jump at let loose a little gasp. Normally, he’d be proud at evoking that sort of reaction from her, but normally, he got that reaction by using his tongue for far more satisfying pursuits than shooting off his mouth and hurting her feelings. “He’s just annoyed that his plans got ruined.”

“Oh, well, he has my deepest sympathies,” she snapped. “Lord knows I had nothing better to do with my Christmas than ruin Mike Tao’s vacation.”

Shit. He was gonna have to grovel for this one. “Hey, hey, babe,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms, one hand rubbing her ramrod-straight spine, ��we’re all a little on edge today. Didn’t you tell me you hoped the Chief chokes on her fried okra?”

Sharon sniffled, relaxing just enough in his embrace to bring a grin to Andy’s face. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Neither did he,” Andy reassured her. “Give it a week, and we’ll all forget what a shitty Christmas we’re having.” He kept up the pressure on her spine, pressing into the ever-present knots she carried until she relaxed fully against him.

“You’d better take it back about your shitty Christmas, or I’m not letting you on that flight with me tomorrow.”

“Bullshit. Even if you don’t want me there, your mother loves me.”

“My mother is a sucker for a pretty face,” she muttered into his neck.

Andy leaned back and tipped up her chin, waiting until her eyes met his. “That makes two of us,” he said before leaning down to brush his lips against hers.

“Captain,” Tao said, his head popping out from the doorway to Major Crimes, “Your phone was ringing so I answered….” he trailed off as he processed the scene in front of him. “Oh. You’re busy. I’ll just, uh…” He dropped the phone on one of the benches lining the hallway and disappeared back into the Murder Room.

“Great,” she muttered. “Just great.” She pulled away from Andy and retrieved her phone. “Hi, baby. Did you have a merry Christmas?”

One of her kids, Andy guessed. Emily, given that she wasn’t immediately answering the third degree about where she was, who she was with, and what she was doing. He brushed past her, stopping long enough to drop a kiss on her temple, and left her to her call with her family.

The most elite squad in the LAPD had no problems getting in Andy’s business, but it never failed to amuse him that they never, not once, noticed that he had more than a passing acquaintance with their nemesis from FID. Not a single member of the squad batted an eyelash when he said it was getting late, and he’d see the Captain home.

Except Tao. Andy didn’t think he could get redder in the face, but damn if Tao didn’t surprise him when he helped Sharon into her jacket and picked up her purse. He rested a hand on Sharon’s back, pushing her with a little more force than necessary toward the elevators.

“I’m going to get fired,” she sighed. “All these years of being careful, and I’m going to get fired because Lieutenant Tao had to miss out on his trip to Hawaii.”

“If he makes trouble, I’ll beat him up. Same as I’ve beat up anyone else who’s looked at you funny.”

She snorted. “Yes, because that’s exactly what I need. Investigating intra-department violence instigated by my own careless disregard for ethics. Andy, you do know how to make me feel better. What would I do without you?”

He didn’t even want to consider possible answers to that question. He just wanted to get her home, curl up next to her, and breathe her in until he had to wake up and drive them to the airport to catch their flight to Salt Lake City. He jabbed the button for the elevator again, impatient to get her out of this building and away from the dark cloud that he’d unwittingly brought down on her.

When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, he guided her in, pulling her close as he pushed the button for the lobby. The doors were almost closed when a hand stopped them. As they slid open, Andy sighed. Of course.

Sharon stiffened again and pulled away, but the damage was already done. He kept a firm grip on her waist. “Tao,” he said.

“I, uh, was heading home.”

“No shit,” Andy agreed. “Well, come on. We don’t have all night.”

The three of them stared at the display, watching the numbers tick down from 9 to L. Tao ignored them; Andy ignored him; Sharon shrunk further into herself as if she could disappear on the spot.

When the doors opened, Tao made a beeline for the PAB entrance. He threw open the door, but stopped and caught it before it could slam in Sharon’s face. Holding it open with one hand, he gestured with his other. “Captain.”

“Lieutenant,” she acknowledge. She swept past him with as much dignity as she could muster.

“Thanks,” Andy muttered under his breath. The three walked in silence to the parking garage. And wasn’t it just his luck that Tao had parked next to him this morning. Tao waited for Sharon to open the passenger door of Andy’s Crown Vic, but before she could shut it, he rested his hand against the frame.

“Captain, do you remember when I was taking my LT exam and I asked you for help on policy and procedure?”

She nodded, a little hesitant. “Yes, Lieutenant. I remember very well.”

“I didn’t think it mattered much at the time, but I do recall that there are specific rules about fraternization within the LAPD, and I’m pretty sure that all of them refer to officers within the same chain of command. Anything else…I don’t think that falls under the rules of unethical conduct. So it doesn’t need to be reported, or ever discussed again.”

“I believe you’re right, Lieutenant.”

“Of course I’m right,” Tao said. “I had the foremost expert on LAPD policy teaching me. You enjoy the rest of your holidays, Captain.” With that, he closed the passenger door.

Andy waited until the taillights of Tao’s car disappeared around the corner, then got into the driver’s seat. “Still mad at me?” he asked, reaching out to twine his fingers with hers.

“Always. Take me home, Andy.”

He brought her hand up, kissing it gently before letting it settle on the console between them. “Yes, ma’am.”