#ok I’ll stop whining now thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[cuddling-siren]

My birthday is also Friday but I have to work and do barrel tasting the next two days 🥺

[oh-theatre]

Sycamore High: Shatter (Chapter 11)

A/N: I am so sorry about what you are about to read, please forgive me AND PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS!! Also, I love Henry he's my precious

summary: Henry has an unexpected morning, and Ted falls victim to an awful scene cause in the cafeteria

words: 2,648

warnings: FORCED COMING OUT, crying, negative thoughts, sickness, homophobia, suicidal thought 

Ao3 link

In Henry's defense, he wasn't a Musical Theatre teacher. Yes, ok, he doubled majored in Theatre and Science but that does not mean he had any intention of teaching it. He enjoyed the steady pace of biology, the thrill of surgery or even just talking about. He can't remember a single day where he doesn't boast to his students about his surgeon years, going over and studying with the class his multiple operations. The thrill he got knowing that every student that walked into class that day would leave utterly in love with him. He liked the attention, what can he say? But something he liked, even more, was his husband. And god, would that be the death of him.

“Henry..” A soft voice pleaded from the main bedroom, Henry sighed and turned away from the vanity where he was getting ready for the day. He peeked his head out of the connecting bathroom. He was met with loving eyes the sweet face of his husband. He bit the inside of his mouth, damnit here come the puppy eyes, He thought. The figure rolled in bed bothered, Henry studied him for a moment, His usually pristine face was red and puffy, his eyes were a never-ending source of watery tears. His voice was higher and stuffier than usual. The figure was weak, this set off alarm bells. Henry's husband was many things but he wasn't weak. He took years of dance, and gymnastics, his body was...well strong. Henry felt his cheeks flush a lovely shade of crimson thinking about this. He cleared his throat and finished examining his sad husband.

“You're sick, aren't you?” He questioned.

“Always the doctor aren't you Henry?” His husband teased, Henry remained unimpressed. He knew exactly where this illness came from and he had previously warned against.

“There is one basic rule all theatre people know” Henry explained, his husband sat up weakly. He faced Henry, eyes growing wide with fake interest. “You don't share water bottles Chad” Henry said simply, Chad groaned happily. “You of all people should know this, now look at you”

“I know” Chad whined “But I was parched and had already used up my own hydration-” He paused giving his husband an adoring look “You would share your water with me wouldn't you?” Chad cooed. Henry let out a boisterous laugh before staring his husband dead in the eye.

“Over my dead body” He retorted returning to his vanity, continuing his routine. He heard Chad let out a small amused moan before plopping back against the pillow. Henry finished and made his way into the main bedroom. He carefully slipped his brown blazer over his turtleneck and went over to his husband's side of the bed. He kneeled next to the bed and began stroking Chads forehead lovingly. Chad lets out a small noise of pleasure and Henry can't help but smile. I love this idiot, don't I?

“I presume in this condition you won't be able to make it to work?” He said finally still caressing his husbands face. Chad thought for a moment, no doubt examining his condition.

“I'll be fine” Chad says weakly, he sits up immediately becoming paler. Henry adjusts himself and sits next to him on the bed. “I have one class today, I'll go to the morning one and return after” Chad compromised, as much as he knew he would regret this Henry simply couldn't let Chad leave home today.

“I will take your morning class-” Before his husband could argue he continued “I don't have a morning class, I will take your lesson plans and you will stay here, watch a lot of bad tv and get better, understood?” Chad furrowed his brows, Henry sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, I can't believe you're making me pull this card “Doctors orders” Henry added, he wasn't asking anymore. Chad let out a loud groan before falling back against the comfortable mattress.

“I hate you, you know that right?” He said Henry smiled un-convinced. He planted a soft kiss upon Chad's warm forehead before getting up again.

“You love me, and you know it” He said slipping out of the room, not allowing Chad a chance at a response. Henry gathered his things for class, and Chads before preparing some breakfast and Tea for his sick husband. Once delivered, with the thank you of many sick kisses, Henry grabbed a nutrition bar and made his way to school. He hadn't expected the nervous feeling in his stomach to arise as he pulled into his parking space at school. He fumbled for his things watching children laugh and sulk in the early morning. He took a deep breath, you're a teacher, this is what you do every day. After reassuring himself he made his way into the teacher's lounge, setting his things into his designated locker. And went over Chad's lesson plan, what could go wrong?

~~~

“Everything! Everything could go wrong!” Ted hollered once the children had been dismissed into their theatre groups. Bill quickly shushed him as other students eyed him cautiously. Murmuring quietly before deciding it wasn't worth their time. Ted mumbled a quiet apology and continued “Literally everything could go wrong” He said in a more hushed tone towards his two friends. Paul, still in a very drowsy state, simply rolled his eyes.

“You think too much” He said, suddenly erupting into a fit of giggles “Or maybe you don't think enough, or maybe no one can think-” His eyes grew wide with excitement “What if, this entire thing is a simulation and all of our thoughts are pre-determined and nothing we think or do is of our own control” he finished flashing an insane smile towards Ted. Bill let out an annoyed groan, with a hint of panic.

“Wh...what the hell is wrong with you?” Ted asked looking at his friend, who sounded like they just escaped Gotham Asylum. “What did he drink” Ted quietly whispered to Bill who waved him off.

“He got a very little amount of sleep last night, and the previous night” Bill explained turning his attention to his script. Ted nodded with sudden realization.

“Looks like Stage 3 Paul is joining us today huh?” Ted teased, Paul did nothing but smile and nod eagerly. Stage 3 Paul was Ted's favorite. Stage 1 was annoyingly grumpy and mean, Stage 2 was overly emotional and much too worrisome, Stage 4 was weirdly smart, and did nothing but correct people but Stage 3? Oh, Stage 3 was an amazing blissfully unaware gift sent from the heavens. Stage 3 Paul was the best Paul. Ted let his worries about Tommy and his father slip away, as he dutifully ignored his current assignment and turned all his focus on having fun with Stage 3 Paul. Today couldn't get any better, Ted thought.

But it could get worse, so much worse

~~~~

“It was not that bad!” Charlotte exclaimed delightfully as she unwrapped a pastry from her mother's bakery and took a mouth-watering bite out of it. The group murmured sounds of agreement and disagreement. “He was sweet! So he was a little nervous, can you blame him? A biology teacher teaching Musical Theatre-”

“Talk about out of your element” Emma chimed in, Charlotte nodded giggling. Emma smiled at her friend before unwrapping her own lunch, 2 pieces of bread, a bag of chips, homebrewed coffee, and honey and as always a handwritten note from her mother.

Have a wonderful day Honey! I hope your bread and honey will bee satisfactory. Also, enjoy the coffee, hopefully, it gives you the buzz you need to get going.

Love you forever and always

Mama

Emma groaned at the forced honey puns but couldn't help but smile at the sweet note. It has always been like this, ever since she was little. Her mom insisted on making her kids lunch, and every day since her first day of kindergarten there was a hand-written note filled with love, puns and more. Emma never dared complain about it, she feared it would stop if she did and honestly? She loved it, she always had. Her sister… She shook her head stuffing the note back into the lunch box and removing her lunch and setting it up. She smiled gratefully knowing no matter what, she would always have her mom… and lunch.

Ted, on the other hand, sat next to Bill empty-handed. This isn't unusual, he rarely had time to make lunch, not that there was any food at home. He was also flat broke so buying wasn't an option, all he could do was sit watching the others eat and trying not to drool over their food. He tried to distract himself by joining the conversation but… other things occupied his mind. He rolled his eyes as the girls playfully teased Paul for all he was worth. Ted had grown bored of Stage 3 Paul, having milked him for everything he could think of. Bill was sitting reading and pleasantly enjoying his food, so not an option. He huffed annoyed and examined the cafeteria, he found himself looking for a certain wide-eyed, glasses-wearing boy. He felt his heart flutter at the sight of Tommy sitting at a table not far from his own. He was sitting alone which sent a pang of guilt down Ted's chest. He was hunched over, reading a book much like Bill. Ted couldn't help but grin at the pleasant comparisons.

One more reason to love him

Like him!

Help me…

He shook his head and looked further, Tommy sat sipping his trademark hot chocolate and munching on a tasty treat. Ted gave his table one more look and decided to make his way over to Tommy finding his company much more exciting. He danced through the crowded room and slid himself into the bench across from Tommy, he cleared his throat to which Tommy’s head shot straight up. At the sight of Ted, Tommy had plastered a giant smile across his face. He bookmarked his page and turned his full attention to the taller boy.

“Heya Ted!” He looked around “What brings you to my corner of the cafeteria” Tommy inquired, Ted marveled at his voice. The sound of constant excitement rushing through him, the eagerness to listen, never faltering loving look he showed. Oh, I have got it bad, Ted thought. He quickly realized he had been gazing and adjusted his position.

“Nothing much just wanted to…” Ted paused, why was he here? He mentally cursed himself for approaching with no plan. Luckily something caught the pair's attention and god how Ted had wished it had not.

“Attention everyone!” A loud voice boomed across the cafeteria. Ted spun around on the bench quickly, he found himself staring at Billy. Billy was standing on the middle cafeteria table and held a speaker in his hand. He was surrounded by his goons who were murmuring excitedly and snickering.”I have a very important announcement to make-” He declared pausing, right cause anything you say is important, Ted thought. “About Ted Porker”

Ted felt his face fall and his stomach knot. Me? Oh god… why me? What could he- Ted felt his entire face go red. The hallways this morning, the conversation, Tommy. He turned to his bespeckled friend who shared the same face of fear that Ted did, except his was riddled with concern. Tommy quickly placed a comforting hand on Ted's arm, who gasped and pulled away. He wanted to stay, he wanted Tommy to comfort him.

HELP

PLEASE

His eyes pleaded but his actions were closed off, he turned back to Billy who shot him a disgusting smirk. Ted felt ill, he couldn't look at him. Frantically, he looked around the cafeteria, eyes were moving between him and Billy. He couldn't hear the confused murmurs of the groups around him. Finally, his eyes landed on his table, his four friends staring back at him. Charlotte's face was riddled with concern and fear, Ted tried to make out what she was mouthing to him but his eyesight dulled. Emma's face was scrunched with anger, not at Ted, at Billy. She shot him apologetic eyes before glaring at Billy. Next to her was Paul, oh Paul. Paul had clearly gained enough consciousness to understand the situation. He was standing now, balled fists slammed on the table sharing the same angry look that Emma had. Ted might have been across the room but he could feel the fury directed at Billy. And then there was Bill, Bill’s eyes were filled with concern but his face stayed calm. After a moment of silent communication between Ted and Bill, his small friend stood and made his way over to Ted. Ignoring all the looks and conversations, he sat next to his taller friend.

“Are you ok?” He whispered softly into Ted's ear, Ted pulled himself away from his gaze of the table and turned to Bill. He ignored the fact that Billy was still talking, and people were still paying attention.

“Whats… what's he saying?” Was all Ted could manage, his mind was silent. But so was everything else, he hated it.

“Ted…” Bill said softly, Ted pleaded once more “He’s… he's describing an encounter with you this morning” That was it, that was all Ted needed to hear. He shut his eyes tight to stop the hot tears from flooding. He balled his fists, he could feel Bill wrap him in a supportive hug. And then… it happened.

“Ted Porker likes boys” The room went silent, not just Teds mind everyone. Everyone froze in shock, Ted felt Bill hug him harder.

Pressure

Breathe

What would your father think?

Pressure

Failure, that's what you are

Breathe

But he couldn't, he couldn't breathe. He heard the room erupt into confusion and excited talking. Seriously? Ted thought Vultures, the lot of them. He pulled away from Bill, failing to stop the tears, he choked back a sob and stood embarrassed, mortified, ashamed. Bill stood next to him, soon joined by Tommy on his other side.

“NO!” He shouted Ted gasped, clasping a hand over his mouth. He frantically spits out apologies before backing away covered in tears and feeling hotter than ever he ran. He ran out of the cafeteria, ignoring Bill and Tommys concerned shouting after him, ignoring Paul who tried to grab him, ignoring the commanding voice of the principal telling everyone lunch was over and to get to their next class. He ran, he didn't know where he was going but it wasn't here. He wasn't staying here.

THUD

Ted shivered as he felt himself hit the floor. He swallowed so scared looking up to realize he had collided with another person. He quickly shot up, terror-filled him, what was he going to do? What was wrong with him? Why was he like this? Panic flooded his thoughts, everything he had tried to keep at bay EVERYTHING was now washing over him and he collapsed in front of the unknown person too scared to look them in the eyes. He collapsed feeling alone, useless, and feeling like he wanted to end it all. So he collapsed sobbing as two warm arms wrapped around him, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

~~~

Henry caught the boy just in time before he seriously hurt himself, immediately engulfed the terrified child into a warm embrace and rubbed his back ever so carefully. Everything about him was soft and caring but his eyes? Oh, Henry's eyes were burning with fiery rage, he knew he couldn't but he really wanted to punch that kid.

‘You can't punch a kid’ Chad would say

He shook his head, he would deal with that cretin later. Right now, he looked down at shivering boy, who had nestled his head into Henry's neck, right now this boy needs me.

[still-not-king]

Actually Talking About It

Schitt's Creek ficlet

Patrick / David

Rated G

Notes:

So this is a quick ficlet that lived half-formed in my Google Keep notes for a while. I just finished for my bff while we were waiting for "The Hike" to air. :-) Enjoy!

***THIS IS A FIRST XPOST FROM AO3 SO IF I NEED TO FIX FORMATTING PLEASE TELL MEEEEEE 😁😁😁******

-------------

Patrick Brewer looked up from restocking at the sound of Rose Apothecary's door bell. Alexis Rose swanned in, zeroing in on his position immediately.

"Pah-triick," Alexis called out, like she wasn't the only other person in the building. (Patrick didn't know when she's started adding that little lilt to the way she said his name, but he liked it. Somehow very few things made him feel more comfortable in his relationship than the fact that she half-whined his name with the same cadence she called for David).

"Hey Alexis. What can I do for you?” He smiled. “David's not here. He went over to Heather's to pick up -"

Alexis got very close, hovering at the edge of his personal space. "Hey, yeah, so... I know David's not here. That's actually, specifically why I'm here. See, I wanted to touch base with you about something." She looked around conspiratorially, petting her hair with a happy, nervous energy and studying the candles in the shelf over his shoulder. "Umm... So Ted was talking... And I agreed... That maybe, umm... Third time's a charm?"

Patrick looked at her blankly for a moment while she widened her eyes, trying to convey her point.

"Third...oh, oh wow!" He’d taken a moment to get her meaning, but now gave her a bright, genuine smile. Alexis bounced excitedly, heels making a delighted clomp-clop on the store's hardwood floors.

"I know, right!?!?" She squealed. She abruptly shifted to her best genuine-seriousness face and grabbed Patrick's hands. "So I just need to know your plans so I can get back to Ted on the best timeline."

Patrick, still smiling but now vaguely bemused, blinked back at her. "I'm sorry, I - I don't follow. We'll be happy to help with... Wedding stuff? If you want?

Alexis smiled conspiratorially and hit his bicep playfully. "Oh my God, Patriiick," there it was again, that sibling lilt. "You don't have to be coy, I won't TELL him, OBVIOUSLY. I just need to avoid a stealing-each-others-engagement-thunder situation, because that would just be... cringey. And I don't want this to be one of those he-thinks-you-did-it-because-of-me-and-Ted things either, because literally everyone knows this is full endgame for you guys so I'm not going to put that anxiety on him over a sure thing.” Alexis' face got a soft, faraway look for a moment before she shook her head, bright smile slipping back into place. "He'll never let me hear the end of it, anyway. And he deserves..." She pursed her lips, then smiled again and gestured vaguely. "Well it's not like he's ever gonna get engaged AGAIN, so. He should have a solid three weeks to gloat and be disgusting before Ted is allowed to do it."

Something equal parts nerves and delight twisted in Patrick's stomach at Alexis's casual statement.

Like or was a given.

Well she wasn't wrong. But...

"Alexis, I'm serious. I'm not planning anything. We really haven't even discussed it." He looked around at the store, hoping against hope that no customers chose the next few seconds to come in. He suddenly found he was having a hard time looking at his boyfriend's sister. "I, uh... I'm not even sure that's something David would even really be, be interested in, y'know?" He stole a glance back at Alexis's face. She was staring at him like she couldn't tell if he was serious, and blinked rapidly when he stopped talking like she was trying to process the information. They stared at one another in silence for a beat. Then Alexis laughed, throwing her head back and hitting Patrick again in the chest. "Oh my God, don't do that! You nearly had me, oh my God!” She howled, tears forming she was laughing so hard. “You’re so mean! I'm crying, and this mascera is not NEARLY as waterproof as advertised, oh my God!" Her laugh turned into giggles and the bell over the shop door rang as a gaggle of ladies that looked like they were on a day trip from Elmdale walked in, ooh'ing and ahh'ing at the decor. Both Patrick and Alexis glanced at them, Patrick smiling professionally.

"Good afternoon ladies! I'll be over to help you in just a moment."

Alexis, laughter still hovering at the edges of her smile, grinned at him. "Well, I'll let you get back to it. Thanks for that, I needed it." She delicately dabbed her eyes, still smiling, and turned to go. "But seriously. Patrick? Like, you don't have to tell me your plans but, like, do you think you could get a move on? Because if I have to wait more than like 3 months, it's gonna be Christmas, and I do NOT want to be in one of those your-engagement-ring-is-your-christmas-present situations. Because Ew."

"Sure, I'll get…” he sucked on his teeth. “...right on that." He finished with a nod and a tight smile.

Alexis shot him a grin over her shoulder as she opened the door. "Thanks! Oooo I'm so excited!!" She squealed as she swanned out.

Patrick shook his head and slapped on his customer-service smile, walking over to the ladies. One in a green visor smiled maternally.

"Friend of yours?" She asked, raising her eyebrows towards the closed door of the shop.

Patrick's smile shifted to genuine. "Uh... S-Sister-in-law, actually," he corrected, trying out the term.

"Oh," the lady replied warmly. She turned back to the scarves she'd been thumbing through. "Do you have something like this but more summery? I don't want to wait until it starts getting colder to have to wear this."

Swallowed his glee, as well as the feeling he was getting away with something scandalous, Patrick cast about the store. "You know, there's nothing knit, but we did just get some hand-dyed scarves in from a new vendor. Let me grab some for you to look at."

And just like that, he fell back into the rhythm of the day.

.

.

.

.

.

    That is, until David got back just before close and greeted Patrick with a familiar kiss on the cheek and a cup of tea. The unexpected appearance, along with his favorite beverage, brought that knot of nerves and butterflies back full-force.

"I thought you'd go home after dealing with vendors all day," Patrick had prompted, elbows leaning on the counter, tea clasped in both hands. David waved his hand dismissively and floated around the skin care products. "Well, I was coming literally right past the store. It would have made me unreasonably and unjustifiably anxious to drive by and not check in to make sure you haven't put those fugly baba yaga brooms out by the candles again."

"You mean the brooms we agreed you'd let me put out for Halloween two days ago?"

"...Mmhmm" David bit his lips and continued studying the moisturizers.

"Ah. And the tea?"

David pointedly ignored him.

Patrick sidled his way around the counter and made a show of looking David up and down until his boyfriend broke and, flustered, turned to him. "What."

"Just, ah... Where your coffee?"

David made a face like he was smiling through a lemon. "Ok, so maybe I didn't get a coffee. Maybe I decided I didn't need caffeine at 445 on a Tuesday, ok?"

"Wait," the overly-sincere tone betrayed Patrick's straight face. "Are you saying you just... Brought me tea? Out of the goodness of your heart?"

David preened a little, swinging drastically from avoiding the admission to over-confidence. Which meant he no longer felt self-conscious about making the excuse to come into the store.

"What can I say, I'm incredibly generous,"

Patrick lightly grabbed his boyfriend's face with both hands, enjoying the mischievous sparkle David's eyes got whenever he did that, and brought the taller man down to meet him for a gentle kiss.

"I missed you too," he admitted quietly. "I always miss you when I don't see you all day."

David made a dismissive noise, but couldn't hide his delight. "Ughhh, ugh! How'd we become these people?" He stood up and shook his head and upper body like he was shaking water off. "I thought moving in together was supposed to make people want to spend LESS time with each other! Blech."

Patrick screwed up his face in over-the-top concern. "Uh oh, you think you'll survive my conference next month?" The familiar tease came easily, as did David's radiant, faux-tragic response.

"I'm seriously considering checking myself into rehab for the entirety. I hear Lindsay Lohan's back in again, we'd have SO much to catch up about. I'd probably barely miss you."

Patrick crowded into David's space, the taller man taking the cue and draping his arms over Patrick's blue dress shirt, playing with the collar.

"Well, I mean, you could always come with me," he suggested casually. "We could leave Alexis to run the store-"

"Hard pass."

"-stay in a hotel with actual room service. You could learn about tax exemptions and human resources."

"Hawt," David replied sardonically, leaning in to steal a kiss.

"We could learn how to overhaul the online ordering system together. Maybe even hold hands in the liability and osha regulations seminar," Patrick continued, grin sneaking in against David's mouth.

"Hot sexxxxy sex," was his boyfriend's response before they left off the banter for a minute to carry on with the more important task of kissing one another thoroughly. As it was, Patrick could feel David's laughter on his tongue and both men were still smiling as they pulled apart.

   Eventually, David floated away to finish restocking while Patrick locked up and closed the register. He was bagging up the deposit before he had convinced himself this conversation would be completely normal.

Which... Yeah. Sure. Totally casual.

Totally casual to bring up marriage.

For the first time in their three years together.

"So speaking of Alexis-" he started.

David turned and pinned him with a critical squint/head-tilt combo.

"Were we, though?" He asked pointedly.

"Well, she came in today," he charged on, pointedly keeping his eyes on the deposit slip he was filling out. Totally natural. Very casual.

David sighed dramatically. "She didn't come in scamming for more free stuff, did she? I told her, 10% off is my final concession. It's not like we didn't pay her for-"

"Apparently she and Ted are talking about getting married."

Patrick looked up in time to catch David's cascade of expressions. Surprise melted into a pained look, which was chased off by a kind of bemused internal self-assessment Patrick mentally referred to as his boyfriend's Whadda-huh face, which melted into a what looked most like disbelief. The smaller man pretended he hadn't been watching intently when David turned to face him fully, blinking rapidly like he was struggling to process the information.

"Alexis and Ted?  Broken-up-with-twice Ted? Married. Wow, ummm... Okay," he processed aloud. He squinched his eyes shut and struggled valiantly to mask a level of emotion that appeared to be a surprise. "When, umm, whennn, when, okay," David shook his hands like he was trying to disperse all his disparate thoughts, took a breath, and tried again, striking a casual pose and smiling brightly. "Married?!" He almost completely masked the hysterical bent to his voice.

Patrick gave David an indulgent smile and continued his closing paperwork. "Yeah, she came in... It's not a done deal or anything. She was just excited, I guess."

David rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Sure. That sounds like Alexis. Definitely. Just excited, that's why she came in here to tell us. Personally. That it's even, even, even on the table again." There was an unexpected, nervous frustration Patrick couldn't quite parse radiating off of David, but he carried on as though he hadn't noticed.

"I mean, it's nice for them. That they're back to that place. Where they can talk about spending the rest of their lives together." Patrick shrugged, trying so hard to be casual but only barely succeeding.

David heaved an exasperated sigh. "People don't have to talk about getting married to know they're going to spend their lives with a person, I mean... Ugh!" He spun out like leaning on the counter was restraining him somehow and started gesturing wildly in the way he tended to when a simmering issue had come to a full roiling boil. "I mean, look at you! You were engaged and look how THAT turned out. Traumatic. I'm not going to, to... foist the idea of marriage upon you simply because it's what we’re supposed to do. It doesn't change anything. I don’t need to peer-pressure a ring and a ceremony into your life simply to prove our relationship is just as real as the one you almost… almost… guh.” He shook his head. “No. No, she’s just dangling a potential 5th engagement in front of me because she found my private pinterest boards once." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and started worrying the sleeve of his sweatshirt between finger and thumb. His body language was closed and tense, and - like always - Patrick’s nerves evaporated in the face of David’s anxiety. Because David had thought about this. Like, a LOT.

It sounded like he wanted it just as much as Patrick did, and was just as nervous to bring it up. Possibly more. A beaming grin escaped before he bit it down, broadcasting fondness but choosing to undercut the tension with a joke. “I’m sorry - Foist marriage upon me? What do you think this is, Little Women?”

David’s eyeroll was so hard it took his whole head with it, but his arms dropped and he returned to the counter so Patrick counted it as a win. “You know what I mean. I never wanted to… I’m the first man you’ve ever been with. I didn’t want to come off as some desperate Bachelor-reject type.”

“Oh, so you just assumed I’d never want to get married and we’d somehow avoid the discussion until we died.” Patrick couldn’t fully hide his amused smile, but he didn’t really want to either. He reveled in the sparkle David’s face had for a moment at his casual acknowledgement of forever. The taller man leaned further across the counter, mirroring Patrick and getting into his personal space. He looked unreasonably smug. “Yeah, basically.” He leaned in to kiss Patrick and they both melted into it for a moment. Patrick pulled back first, face serious.

“You know, for a long time I didn’t think I’d ever get married,” he told David softly, anticipating his boyfriend’s soft, sad smile and understanding nod. “But now? I find the idea isn’t something I’m terribly adverse to. One might actually say I’m solidly a fan. But I figured you…” He looked down at the counter for a moment,  retroactively embarrassed. “Honestly I figured marriage might be something you wouldn’t be interested in. Too… traditional? I dunno.”

David’s smile brightened until it was almost too much to see so close. He screwed up his mouth, trying and failing to keep his expression at least marginally schooled. (He failed miserably). “Well, I could probably be convinced it’s not the worst idea, given an adequate venue and budget,” he replied, tracing a ringed finger through the hair behind Patrick’s ear.

“I hear doing it with the right person is pretty important too,” Patrick snarked back, diving in for another quick, light kiss. David smiled against his lips.

“I mean, I guess.”

There was a beat, then Patrick put on an exaggerated look of skepticism and pulled back. “Did you just-”

David looked aghast and flailed a bit helplessly. “Oh! God! No! No no no, this is NOT how I ask you to marry me, no. No.”

Now it was Patrick’s turn to light up the room with a smile. “So you want to?”

“No! I mean, I mean… oh god,” David ground his palms into his eye sockets. “This is not the engagement story I wanna tell the kids.”

Patrick about swallowed his tongue. “... kids?” As much as he hated how small and vulnerable he sounded, he needed to be sure he’d heard correctly. Because David had just casually dangled an entire, perfect life in front of him and he needed to be sure.

David’s loose fists floated down in front of his mouth, eyes terror-wide and eyebrows high. His shoulders were up around his ears, tension having pinned him to the spot.

“... oh god,” he whispered nearly inaudibly. “Patrick, I didn’t… we don’t… it’s just, I’d just have the thought… sometimes… it’s so stupid, I’m sorry…”

That was the moment. He’d been sure for months, maybe even years at this point, but that was the moment he saw everything so clearly he was concerned he’d hallucinated. They were on the same page, crazy as that sounded. They wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. David wasn’t just ok with the idea of getting married - he’d thought of them having a family.  Patrick was looking at his future, packaged in black and white and standing in the middle of the life they’d already built together.

   But first he had to short-circuit the panic attack he could see brewing in David’s body language. He rushed around the counter and gently but firmly brought his boyfriend’s hands down from in front of his face. Then he pulled him forward and down with another hand on the back of David’s neck, and wrapped him up in a solid, steady hug. David clutched Patrick with only a hint of the panic he’d had a moment ago and buried his head in Patrick’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, I mean, it’d be… I’d be okay with… I’m not-”

“Hey, hey, breathe.” Patrick rubbed a soothing, steady hand up and down David’s back until he felt the tension melt. “You calm enough to listen to me?” he asked with a smile. Feeling David nod and hearing the huff of laughter against his neck, he allowed the taller man to stand but not back up. He caught David’s eyes and held them. “I wanna marry you too, David.” Patrick found himself on the receiving end of one of David’s incredibly rare, hyper-focused, entirely open stares. A distant part of him wondered if there was a way to bottle this feeling. “I wanna live with you and get annoyed with you and bug the shit out of you and spend all day every day working for a great life with you. I wanna have a family, and I don’t care if it’s kids or dogs or just nieces and nephews, as long as it’s with you. You’re my Mariah Carey, remember?”

“Okay, that’s not fair, I’m already emotionally compromised,” replied David archly, unable to hide his overly-dewy eyes when they were this close. He fluttered his eyelashes and smirked at the smaller man in his arms, trying to diffuse the tension. “Mr. Brewer, did you just…”

Patrick smirked. “Oh, no. No, you’ll know when I’m officially asking. It’s gonna be a great story. The kids’ll love it.”

David sighed and patted Patrick’s shoulders, making a put-upon, sour face that couldn’t really hide his laughter. (Could it ever?) “Okay.” He pulled away, making a show of gathering his things.

“I’ll make sure it’s in front of your whole family… maybe even the whole town?”

“It’s time to go, I’m leaving!” David grabbed his things in a flourish and made his way towards the door. Patrick grabbed the deposit and turned off the lights, making his way to where his boyfriend was holding the door for him with theatrical impatience.

“Why thank you, Mr. Brewer,” he replied just to get that last needle in. It landed perfectly.

“Oh, you KNOW we’re both going to be Roses, right? Because I am NOT changing the name of this store.”

The debate over last names continued all the way to the car. Patrick couldn’t help but think “Brewer Rose” had a nice ring to it. Not that he’d admit that until just before the paperwork was signed. Maybe he could convince David that “Brewer” would make a good middle name, considering he was pretty sure nobody remembered what his real middle name was. Maybe Alexis could help convince him. Actually, speaking of Alexis...

They got all the way to the apartment before Patrick’s curiosity got the better of him. “Wait, FIVE engagements?”

[forasecondtherewedwon]

Can i get a choni one? 11, 39 and 78 all together. And something to do with kids, please. Love ya💞💞💞

Thanks for the prompt! This immediately became a Halloween story because–JUST KIDDING! I HAVE NO REASON! HALLOWEEN IS THE BEST!

11. “What’s with the box?”

AND

39. “How long have you been standing there?”

AND

78. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

“The door,” Toni said, tapping Cheryl on the shoulder to interrupt herfocused swaying to ‘Love Potion No. 9.’

Cheryl opened her eyes and stared hard at her.

“WHAT?” she shouted, though their heads were no more than a foot apart.

“THE DOOR!” Toni screamed back.

She’d have gotten it herself, but her arms were full of soda cans, carriedup from the basement of Thistle House to top up the ice-filled bucket in thekitchen. Toni wouldn’t have gone into the living room at all, since it meantnavigating the rocking, jumping, and gyrating bodies of 50 of their closestfriends, except that, away from the blasting music, she’d distantly heard theeerie chime of the doorbell―something Cheryl had promised more than once tochange and had yet to get around to. It wasn’t like they’d been living in thehouse for a decade or anything…

As quickly as she could, Toni made her way through the room. Halfway to thekitchen, she gave up and dumped the cans into the arms of Jughead, who wassitting this song out on a high-backed chair in the corner, Zorro mask pushedup on his forehead.

“SORRY,” she yelled at her friend as he struggled not to drop anything. “IHAVE TO STOP CHERYL FROM TERRORIZING ANOTHER CHILD!”

Jughead nodded in understanding, not bothering with a response she’d neverhear, and Toni hurried back the way she’d come. Why, oh why had they decided tohost their Halloween party on the night of Halloween? It meant two sets ofvisitors, two sets of treats, and half the time available to spend on any onething. She slid into the front hall, RiskyBusiness-style, and straightened her costume glasses. Dressing as journalistClark Kent let her use her camera as a prop, making it easier to snap photos oftheir friends all evening long. Another plus was seeing her wife in a Supermangetup, her alter ego and perfect other half.

Right now, that other half was checking out her tights-clad back half in thefull length hall mirror.

“Cheryl!” Toni urged. “Get the fucking door!”

But her wife had already been reaching for it and the door swung open toreveal the comically round eyes of five or six kids to whom Toni had justintroduced the F word. She grit her teeth, snatched up their well-stocked candybin, and approached the children with a smile.

“Hey, guys. You weren’t supposed to hear that.” She dug the largest chocolatebars from the bottom of the container, not above winning their visitors overwith a sugary bribe.

“Um, trick or treat!” one of them belatedly piped up and the whole miniatureposse hoisted their goody bags at once.

Toni gave Cheryl’s hair a surreptitious tug to encourage her to helpdistribute the loot and was rewarded with an annoyed look. For being both oftheir favourite holiday, this one hadn’t been the smoothest between the two ofthem. With a sigh, Cheryl straightened up from where she’d been leaning againstthe open door.

“Sorry we didn’t come to the door right away,” Toni offered in the softsingsong she’d recently developed for use on people under the age of 10,feeling guilty towards more than just the assortment of ghosts and Avengers ontheir front step, but too stubborn to apologize directly to Cheryl. “How longhave you been standing there?”

“Ages,” a little one answered with innocent bluntness, pushing to the frontof the group inside the trappings of a bulky cardboard costume. Toni dippedinto the supply to pass out a second round of sweets.

Her wife didn’t take the guileless criticism quite so well.

“What’s with the box?” she inquired with a jerk of her chin.

“I’m a robot!” he cheerily replied.

“I’m not convin―” Cheryl began, but Toni cut her off.

“Ok! Thanks for stopping by, everybody! Happy Halloween!”

With a frantic wave, she swung the door shut. As ‘Clap for the Wolfman’started to play in the other room, Clark Kent and Superman petrified into astandoff.

“It was a poorly executed costume,” Cheryl finally said. “I mean, what arehis parents watching? The Jetsons?Aren’t they aware of the technological advancements in AI? If that kid had comedressed totally normal and said he was an android, that would’ve been an impressive costume.”

“Oh my god,” Toni whined. “Are youserious? He was like five years old!”

“We’re living in a post-Steve Jobs world! That kid should be able to code,give a TED talk, and design environmentally-friendly energy solutions to rivalthe creations of Elon Musk!”

“That’s not the point!”

“Then what’s the point?” Cheryl shot back, crossing her arms. Toni waspissed and the fact that the stupid Superman logo kept drawing her eyes to herwife’s chest wasn’t helping.

“That you need to learn how to talk to children!”

“Why?”

“Because I’m having one!”

That shut Cheryl up as Toni had never seen her shut up before. A secondlater, Superman was wrapped around Clark Kent like she was trying to merge thetwo halves back into one body and snack-sized chocolate bars were scatteredacross the floor.

“Let’s go back to the party,” Toni suggested quietly, stepping away beforeher wife could plant another kiss on her cheek. “I think I’ll be able to enjoy it now. We should celebrate.”

“We are,” Cheryl assured her, “We’re going to have a toast.” She bent downquickly then stood, presenting Toni with a chocolate bar in each hand. “Do you preferSnickers or Kit Kat?”

With a grin, Toni motioned for the Kit Kat. There was no delicate, refinedclink of champagne flutes, but to the Halloween-loving moms-to-be, the crinkleof candy wrappers sounded so much sweeter.

Writing prompts can be found here if you’d like to make a request!

[dancinginmydressinthesun]

3 for the unusualish asks💞

Oh I will girl ( you should have NOT give me that number right after the bold type season finale)

I cannot rant about Taylor bc everythings good and I’m living for that so lets just go with my favourite show and how fucked up everything is, I am usually not someone who voices their opinion too much especially on here bc thats just not the type of person I am but anyway 

The Bold Type has been my favourite tv show and if you have never seen it I still recommend you do bc overall its still a damn good show dont get me wrong if it does not seem like that (there are several reasons to watch it and I want it to become more popular so pls do)

Well, I started watching it right at the beginning, June/July last year when the first episode aired and BOI it blew me away, like, i did not expect anything major BUT lemme just say it destroys every other show its just that good (I love the girls it focuses on individually and together, the boss is full perfection, the main ship (a bi girl of colour and a proud muslim lesbian) was breathtaking, the storylines were on point and emotional and it just idk maybe they set the bars too high)

So the second season started airing beginnign of june and you know, I WAS worried before that they could not keep up but I had SO MUCH faith (but it also seems like the writers were kind of replaced and man that shows) the first few episodes were fire alright which is even worse bc i had lost all my worries and knew I was gonna be fed the whole season but little did I know …

You know I really hate complaining too much about something about a tv show that is there to enjoy and make me happy so I’ll stop thinking about it after this post but I do get the frustration so much (but death threats and bashing the whole show is not helpful whoops I said it) 

Just a few short notes on things that anger me a little (I’m probably forgetting thigns but anyway):

1. Jane (she is one of the three main girls) I really like(d) Jane a lot and I feel like I can identify with her, we are very much alike in many ways and this especially showed in season 1. I dont “hate” her at all after this season, not even dislike her, but she they used her for almost all (?) the controversial topics as the one who makes rude and subtle offensive comments, which is not bad in itself bc she learned from it mostly all the time and apologizes but it was just too often and much for me. in the first season Jane seemed at least trying to be more understanding even when she could not really and she was relatable with her concerns and her feelings and this was not really the case for me this season. I felt like she did not own up enough for some mistakes and it did not give me this tbt feeling of happiness and goodness and wholesomeness I had after every damn episode last season????

2. Screen Time (Jacqueline/Alex/Adena) You could probably talk about everyone of them in detail now but I dont have the energy - let me just say Adena and Jacqueline are my favourite characters so maybe I am biased and I know that this whole post need to be edited probably after I rewatch the season bc I can easier give feedback when everything is fresh in my mind but you know, all we fans wanted was to have backstorys (and bc he didnt really get one either this probably applies to Oliver too) not even much, just maybe like the episode in season 1 when we got to learn more about Jacquelines family and her past in general (still crying), it was so well-written bc it was not just something thrown in there but integrated in the storyline, it had purpose, it was emotional, it gave insight into her character and I honestly saw her with different eyes after that (and loved her even more), now those 3 or 4 just are really pushed to the sides. You dont see Adena without Kat really or talking about her character without it being about her sexuality and Kat (oh hey a gay one complaining about that??  yes bc even tho I answer I am gay after someone asks me “how are you” theres more to a person and especially to someone as interesting as Adena. I love hearing non heteros talk about their love life and everything surrounding it but at least then let Adena talk about how her coming out was, what she finds interesting in other women, if she ever struggled with it (i know they tried to cover some things but naah idk i just expected more) or just talk about something else, let us see her going to the movies with friends, a childhood throwback when she was in art class, let her talk about what she likes about some types of art. AND HER WHOLE CULTURE? I am a white western woman and I never see muslim representation on tv and I feel like still havent? i forgot at some point?! there are so many non-white people watching it hoping to be represented and ofc you cannot please everyone but now it just feels like Adena is just a proud lesbian you know. And Alex? what who was that again?

3. the storylines - sooo first of all, I liked the storylines more than most people probably from what I have seen on the tag. I think some of them were hard to put in just one episode and try to talk about everything important and still have  show going on, which is why it did not work all the time  have less storylines but make them work would be better. I really did appreciate that they tried to have a lot of stuff covered and they tried to put different points in there but there were a lot of het relationship and other drama stuff to be shown so the storys were often pushed too hard to the sides. this I say having the gun episode in mind the most i felt really unsatisfied after it and I was really looking forward to it bc i think its important and brave for them to talk about it (anyway watch one day at a time, the episode on the same matter is pure gold) . idk its alright its not the same feeling its less spectacular but I’ll stop whining about that now.

4. KADENA - I’ll try to be objective here , i do get that you cannot have a happy relationship without anything going on for 10 episodes (ok you can I would love that but maybe its less wise when it comes to viewers idk?? i stan unpopular shows so who am I to know) BUT come on, not like this?? they started of as PERFECT alright and then it all went downhill, you know cheating and stuff idk, I am not happy with it, could be more original, could be less meh but whatever I was like “ ok I’lll roll with it maybe its gonna bring a new light in this, let them grow, let them learn” but man idk. it was all a mess and once they made up and everything was fine (after 3 epsiodes of pure stress for my weak heart) after 5 minutes there was something new? almost any interaction was either them arguing or making up. I liekd their conversations mostly I really did but I was tired of drama all the time, after this season I’ll just say it: If they want to continue it like that until the end of season 3 I’d rather have them not together anymore. its no fun, its stress for them and even more for me and it would not seem realistic when they make them endgame at the very last minute (which I assume they will bc they promote it like that) without using multiple episodes and time passing to really let them grow in the relationship, without that it would just feel like one day after the finale of season 3 they would have somethng else coming up to fuck them up again. I was really baffled with the finale bc I WAS NOT expecting that they really wouldnt resolve it at all let us suffer like this (I remember that Nikohl i think said that it would be like that but someone else also said recently that it really feels like a finale and that the fans would feel assured but excited for the next season but excuse me? tbt fans who are happy about that end are great. would love to meet one one day. but where they at?? suttard fans all 3 of you I am happy for you honestly. and for sutton. richard idc. i am bitter tho. 

I STILL HAVE SO MUCH HOPE FOR SEASON 3 (pls let the old writers come back, listen to the fans, there are not too many instead of trying to make it more appealing to the general public what about pleasing us again with friendship, gayness, depth and happiness?)

(& remember: I.love.this.show. i do. I would recommend it even when there would only be season 2. but it would not be my fave anymore. its like as if taylor would have the same albums with the same music, same career, same backstory BUT her not really caring about her fans. I would still love her as an artist so freaking much. but would I jump off building for her?? naah maybe if there were a balcony and a pool who knows 

Thanks for coming to my TED talk