#shannon might be dug back up

[gayhoediaz]

brilliant tags from @extasiswings ✨

#it's SUCH a choice #and I think Eddie's conflict was at least in part that...he doesn't think he can have buck in all the ways he wants him? #| think a big part of him is still sitting at the table in that restaurant #when Shannon said 'it's not you it's me' but what he heard was 'you're not enough' #so in a sense he and Buck are caught in this purgatory where it would be so easy to cross the line to explicitly romantic #and Eddie wants that #but he won't risk it #so...he's alone and he's not alone because he has ALMOST everything and he's been telling himself it's enough and he doesn't need more #only Pepa had to go and make him confront the looming possibility of 'more' #buddie #911 spoilers #*fleabag voice* this is a love story

the fact that eddie didn’t mention buck when pepa said he was alone is so loud as well. i don’t know, man, if i had a friend i was that close with and who practically co parented my child and i only had platonic love in my heart for them, my knee-jerk reaction would be to say something like “i’m not alone, and chris isn’t alone - i have great friends, buck is around all the time, he’s amazing. maybe i’d like a partner someday but this is enough right now.” because there is nothing weird about that imo.

but eddie can’t say that - they haven’t talked about each other much at all - ever, really. the only time we have ever heard them call each other ‘best friend’ was after the tsunami when buck was on the phone with maddie.

and i am just simply in love with how loud this show manages to be - without really saying anything at all. not only when it comes to buck and eddie - but all of it. this show is always, constantly leading us to the water but they’re never gonna point to it and tell us to drink.

and i think that’s beautiful.

[try-set-me-on-fire]

I have been crying on and off about that Tommy MCD fic idea since you posted about it. The way you write emotional devastation is soooo good. It always punches me in the gut.

Thank you thank you here’s some more of it… using this as my fuck it Friday post, thanks for the tag @eddiebabygirldiaz, tagging @colonoscopys @homerforsure @chronicowboy @shitouttabuck @bigfootsmom @daffi-990 @butchdiaz @ anyone else who has stuff they want to share!

Going to put a lot of this under a cut because one its long two it’s a major character death au and there’s a bit about past contemplation of suicide. But it’s kind of happy generally I swear! This is Buck and Eddie getting together sort of!

For more of this au I’ve been tagging it ‘the seconds ticking killed us all a million years before the fall’ (lyrics from standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand)

I’ve hated and thought this scene was pretty good in turns over the last few hours so whatever here you go!

Eddie thinks the creaking on the front porch might be a raccoon, at first. It’s light, comes and goes for several minutes. He should probably go shoo it away, but it’s two am and he’s sore all over and can’t be damned. He’s settling further into the couch and his various ice packs when the raccoon knocks. Hesitant, hesitant, loud, loud, louder. Eddie stands up with only a slight groan, ice packs flopping all over the place, and goes to the door.

Buck stands on the other side of it.

If Eddie hadn’t been so exhausted yet in too much pain to fall asleep, he thinks he might have expected this. If he was a little more exhausted, a little more hurt, he might have admitted to hoping for it. As it is, all he can do for a moment is blink at the apparition before him. Buck is pale, wild eyed, looking somehow thinner than when they’d last seen each other not that many hours ago. His hands come up to hover near Eddie’s shoulders as Eddie is also reaching out, so he ends up with his fingers colliding into an awkward fist against Buck’s elbow.

“Eddie.” He sounds wrecked. “I’m- I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s alright,” Eddie says, soft, shaking his head. “I’m okay, Buck. I’m still okay. Like I promised.”

Buck makes a terrible little noise and steps backward, and again, off the porch. Eddie follows, hands out, trying to make sure he won’t trip. “Eddie,” he says again, “Eddie.”

“It’s okay,” Eddie says, keeping his voice low, calming, less likely to wake any neighbors. “Buck, it’s okay. Do you want to come inside?”

Buck looks up behind Eddie, where the door is wide open. Light spills through, shining in his eyes, in the unshed tears there. “I don’t want to… waste… any time I have.”

“What-”

Buck kisses him. The sound Eddie makes is more frightened than anything, even as his arms come up around Buck, to hold him close, to hold him up. It’s not- it’s wet, and Buck’s fingers almost hurt where they’re dug into the sides of Eddie’s head. Their faces are pressed too hard together, noses crushed into cheeks. Their lips are barely even aligned. Buck gasps a hitching breath into his mouth and Eddie pulls back. Not away, just enough to speak.

“Come inside,” he pleads. “Buck, come inside, just- please, come inside.”

Buck doesn’t let go of him, doesn’t give him an inch, but lets Eddie pull him into the house. Eddie’s not sure how he manages not to trip going blind and backwards, but they make it through the door, down the hall, to the living room. Eddie’s not even sure if he’d count what’s happening as kissing, but Buck’s mouth presses into his over and over as they go.

“It’s okay,” Eddie says, between the moments of contact. “It’s okay,” he says as he kicks a shoe or something out of their path, “It’s okay,” as sits back down on the couch. Buck climbs on top of him immediately, and Eddie hopes the combined weight of them doesn’t pop the ice pack that ended up crushed under his thigh. It is kissing, now, the desperate kind of making out Eddie remembers with Shannon in the day or two on either side of his deployments. Eddie slides his hands to rest firm against Buck’s lower back to anchor him — or maybe both of them — and follows Buck’s lead as their lips slide together, as Buck gets his mouth open and chases his tongue, as they gasp raggedly for air without ever breaking apart. He’s not sure, but he thinks Buck is crying. Eddie isn’t, barely. Buck needs someone solid right now, someone who will let him take what he needs and be okay if this is it, if this is the only time they have this. Because Eddie’s not fooling himself. He laid there at the bottom of that pit under all that rubble and heard Buck’s scream, first wordless, and then Tommy, and then Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. He knows that this might all be too much, too soon, too mixed up, and if Buck pulls away from this kiss and never comes in for another one that’s okay. He wishes, maybe, that it could have happened different. He wishes Buck had been smiling, and it had been gentler, on a bright afternoon, on a good day. But it’s okay.

It goes until Buck’s elbow catches a bruise and Eddie can’t stop a small, pained sound from getting out. Buck jerks back like he touched a hot stove, eyes open to near circles as he looks Eddie all over. Eddie knows it's sort of a rough picture, all purple and blue and a fresh line of stitches cutting a half moon around his temple from forehead to just under his mole. Buck’s fingers come up to trace it, not quite touching the skin. Just the shape, in the air.

“S-sorry,” he whispers. “I’m so- I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Eddie says again. He wipes a thumb under Buck’s eye, though it doesn’t do much to clear away the still falling tears. Buck leans into the touch, though, and then in further, head cradling against Eddie’s shoulder as he slides half off him onto the couch. Eddie slides his fingers into Buck’s hair, wraps his other arm around him as Buck coughs muffled little sobs into his t-shirt.

“S-sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Buck.” His hair feels a little limp, greasy. Eddie wonders if he went home at all, took a shower, ate. His own fridge is kind of dire — he was planning on going to the grocery store after work until a building collapsed on him — but he could probably scrounge up something. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I scared you.”

Buck scoffs a single, wet laugh. “No,” he says, voice thin, scrubbing at his face as he sits more upright. “It’s not- you didn’t do it on purpose. That’s the job, right?”

The job that killed your husband. Why would you want to do this a second time? I care for you so much and I’m so sorry you reciprocate. “Yeah. Still.”

Buck inhales and exhales, shaky, and nods in thanks. He makes a face and pulls another ice pack out from under him. It’s all floppy now, probably too warm to be effective. “God. Let me…” He stands, gathering up all the ice packs he can see and heading towards the kitchen.

“You don’t have to-”

“I’ll be just a minute.”

Eddie sighs, leaning back into the couch and listening to the freezer door open and its contents get shuffled around. The soft hiss of it shutting, Buck’s footsteps, Buck in the doorway sheepishly holding an armful of frozen vegetables. Eddie arranges peas and carrots over the worst sore spots as Buck sits back down beside him.

“Did you take anything?”

“Yeah, just before you got here.” Extra strength ibuprofen, so he won’t be good to take anything else until morning. Wasn’t going to be a problem when he thought he was just going to sleep, though he wishes he’d taken a smaller dose now so he could spread them out, time it better to however long they’ll be talking here.

“Good.” Buck sighs, looking at him with furrowed brows. “Sorry I… I didn’t mean to be so dramatic, coming here.”

Eddie laughs, startled and genuine. “It’s, uh, been a dramatic day.”

Buck hums agreement, a tired and beautiful smile pulling at his lips. He flops his head sideways onto the couch. “I kind of had a… an idea.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm. Of what I was going to say. Because…” he searches Eddie's face. “I'm not- I'm not making it up, right? There's something here? You feel it too?”

Eddie can barely breathe. “Yeah, I- it's not just you. But- Buck, I understand why you wouldn't want to do this, why you wouldn't want to take the risk. I- I have feelings for you,” it feels like a childish way to say it even as the words leave his mouth, “But I… you're my friend. I think you're my best friend. And I am truly fine with that. You don’t have to… it’s okay.”

That smile. “That’s the thing. That’s what I’ve been thinking about. N-not just today. Though, I guess- you scaring the shit out of me made it more- more real.” He chews at his lip for a moment. “I… spend a lot of time wishing… that I had more of it, with Tommy. That we had longer together. Or at least that I- that I’d made sure every minute counted, you know? B-but I think maybe I did? I loved him so much and we- it was good, what we had. Just because it ended, that doesn’t mean the rest wasn’t worth it. I’d love him again, knowing what was coming. And, so…” he takes a deep breath. “So I’ve been thinking that… even if I… even if something bad could happen- I don’t want that to stop me from having something good, now.”

“Buck-”

“Hold on,” Buck says, a hand up, a wry smile. “I have a part two.”

“Okay.” Eddie’s turned towards him without really noticing, both of them sitting one leg folded up on the couch so their knees touch.

“I’m not… going to stop loving Tommy. And I’m, uh- kind of a fucking mess, as I just demonstrated. I don’t- know that I’m- going to be any less messy any time soon.” There’s a furrow in his brows that Eddie wants to smooth out. “I don’t know that starting something would be fair to you.”

“I-”

“You’re a very kind man, Eddie.” Buck says it very softly, and one of his hands comes to rest so gently on Eddie’s leg. “I think you’d let me fall apart here forever, but I want- I want you to really think if it’s worth it-”

“Buck.” Eddie’s voice is sharp enough that Buck blinks several times, quick. “Don’t- you’re worth it. Your pain isn’t- it’s not some kind of chore to me. I haven’t been just- hanging around, waiting until you’re a fun guy. I like you, Buck, right now, not- not some other perfectly okay version of you.”

Buck’s fingers twitch against Eddie’s thigh. “You’re a very kind man,” he repeats.

“I don’t even know if that’s true,” Eddie sighs, the material of the couch soft where he rests his cheek against it. “I just…” He thinks back to that first day Buck showed up at the station, and then to every day after that. “I think I always just wanted… to make your life easier.”

“Oh.” Buck shuts his eyes, whistles a breath through his nose. “You- you do. You do, Eddie.”

They’re quiet, at an impasse. The whole world is quiet, here at nearing 3 am with all the colors purple dark outside of this lamp lit room. Eddie can hear crickets and frogs if he listens hard enough. “Tommy was my friend. I’ve felt… guilty.”

Buck opens his eyes again. “For liking me?”

Eddie smiles a little at the phrasing — Sophia’s 8th grade voice saying like-like in his head — and nods. “It feels… disrespectful. He loved you so much, I don’t- I don’t know how he’d feel about it.”

Buck scratches a nail absently against the fabric of Eddie’s sweatpants. “We talked about it, a little.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. The jobs we have, you know? It’s not like- it’s not like we never got hurt, never thought about what would happen if one of us…” Buck shrugs, and his smile aches this time. “I told him if I died he had to be sad forever, only love me the rest of his life.”

Eddie laughs. “Mm. Reasonable ask.”

Buck nods, smile getting bigger, almost a grin. “I didn’t mean it, but… You know, I think he would have. He was teasing when he promised, but… he was serious, too, I think.” He sighs. “He told me he was scared I wouldn’t let anyone love me. He said I-” Buck’s voice cracks badly enough he has to wait a few moments to continue. “I’m too easy to love. I shouldn’t- I shouldn’t go without it.”

Eddie feels a little wide eyed. “That’s…”

“Isn’t that just annoyingly romantic?” Buck laughs, wiping his eyes. “Reasonable ask. Jesus.” He scrubs harder. “I think he… he wanted to make my life easier, too. You’re… you’re so alike, sometimes.” He winces. “No, that’s- I don’t mean- that’s not why I-”

“No, it’s… I know you’re not trying to replace him.” It’s not like he hasn’t had the thought, himself. He and Tommy got on so well in part because they were alike. Shared hobbies, both army, both carrying around a complicated relationship with their families and their sexuality. But they’re their own people. And- “I wouldn’t want to… try to be that, for you.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to.”

There’s another quiet minute. Hesitantly, Eddie rests his hand palm up next to Buck’s. Buck slides their fingers together, and they fit as well as any hands do. “So… what do you want to do? What do you want to happen?”

Buck squeezes. “I… I’m not sure.”

Eddie nods. “Has there… am I the first person? After?”

Buck’s eyes get a little calculating, like he’s not sure he should say whatever comes next. “I hooked up with a girl, a few months in, uh, a little before I came to the 118. In a bar somewhere, I don’t even remember… And then I went home and, uh-” he winces, glances to the side. “I almost killed myself.”

“Buck-” Jesus, jesus-

“No, no-” Buck squeezes tighter, sits up a little straighter. “I didn’t. I didn’t and I wouldn’t. I- I’m safe, I promise, Eddie. It wasn’t- it wasn’t even actually an attempt, I just… thought about it.” He swallows. “It was close, I guess.”

Eddie’s clinging more than holding his hand. “Buck- if- I don’t want to-”

“No,” Buck shakes his head, firm. “I didn’t tell you because I- I thought if we-” his other hand wraps around the two of theirs. “I don’t want you to think if we move forward you’re putting me in danger. You’re not. I- I wasn’t doing well back then, it was hardly even about- it was a lot of things. I’m going to be okay, I swear.”

“If- If you’re ever not-” words feel like physical objects in Eddie’s throat, choking and uncomfortable. “Promise me you’ll tell someone, Buck. It- it doesn’t have to be me, just- promise me.”

“I promise,” Buck says, solemn, serious. His thumb rubs gently at the back of Eddie’s hand. “I’m sorry, I- I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“No,” Eddie disagrees immediately. “It’s… I asked. I want to know. I-” they complete another loop on this circle of a conversation. “I told you, your pain isn’t a chore. You don’t need to hide anything from me.”

“Right,” Buck sighs.

“Buck.”

“No, I-” Buck laughs a little at Eddie’s admonishing tone. “That was a right, I understand, not a yeah, right. I just-” he takes a hand away from the tangle they’ve got going and runs it through his hair. “God, I’m tired.”

Eddie nods. He’s exhausted, down in his bones. “Okay. I’ve got two things to say that don’t really go together, this time.”

“Okay,” Buck smiles at him, eyes crunched up and fond. “Hit me.”

“First, I think…” Eddie sits up straighter, too, takes a deep breath. “I like you, Buck. I- care for you. I- I-” Truth has to go both ways. Fuck it. “I’m in love with you. You should probably know that.”

Buck nods, eyes wet again. “Okay.”

“But I think if we… If you want to try being together, we should take it slow, and if you need to back out, that's okay. You’re my friend, and I swear to you that’s more important to me than anything else. So… So we have to just keep being honest with each other, even if it might hurt.”

“Alright,” Buck nods again, wiping his eyes. He manages a smile. “Was that the second thing, or…”

Eddie shakes his head, lips quirking up. “No. The second thing is, you wanna come sleep with me?”

Buck throws his head back laughing, almost losing balance where he sits. Eddie grabs his elbow to make sure he won’t fall over. “Eddie-”

“It’s late,” Eddie explains, not bothering to keep the adoration out of his voice now that he doesn’t really have to. “You shouldn’t drive home, my bed’s more comfortable than the couch.”

Buck laughs again, resting his elbow on the couch and his chin on his hand. He looks at Eddie, and Eddie thinks there’s plenty of adoration in that gaze, too. He shakes his head, though. “I think I’ll still take the couch tonight, if that’s okay.”

“Of course it is.”

Buck raises their still clasped hands and kisses Eddie’s knuckles, holding his smile pressed into the skin there for a few moments. “And in the morning we can start to… figure out the rest of it?”

“Yeah,” Eddie whispers. Smiles once, twice. “See you then. Looking forward to it.”

Buck ducks his head, though his smile is still visible. “Yeah. Me too. Go- get some sleep, Eddie. I’ll-” he laughs, looking around them. “I’ll put away your peas.”

“Oh,” Eddie lifts up a bag of mushy vegetables. “No, I can do it, don’t worry about it.”

“Eddie.” Buck stands, gently taking the bag, and hesitating only a moment before he bends down and carefully kisses his cheek. From only a few inches away, eyes soft and close and blue, he says “I want to make your life easier, too.”

Eddie swallows hard, rests his hand against Buck’s cheek for just a second, and nods, momentarily incapable of words. Buck is halfway to the kitchen when he manages to say “Goodnight, Buck.”

Buck turns in the doorway. Smiles. “Goodnight, Eddie. See you in the morning.”

[hypnotisedfireflies]

I miss Lachie! I specifically miss Tess and Lachie, their family friendship warms my heart every time. Would you perhaps consider giving us a snippet of the two of them? Perhaps a late night conversation while they’re camping out on their way towards Jackson? (I’m desperate to hear anything more about their road trip)

(Also will Lachie make any appearances in IO???)

Hi anon! Thank you for your ask (and giving me the chance to pop back into Driftersverse!)

I don't think Lachie will be appearing in IO. I tend to keep the OCs to their respective universes, DD/SQ, IO, Charro, etc. But who knows??

Hope you like this little ficlet. It's set during the events of TLOU while Ellie and Joel are off Ellieing and Joeling and Tess is making the trip across country with Lachie. This is as they begin to reconnect after the Firefly crew has perished, and Lachie is experiencing the earliest trouble with his lungs that later leads to something worse.

Autumn, 2023 Wisconsin.

In Little Hope, Wisconsin, Lachie did something that he hadn’t done in years.

Dear Mum, Dad and Col.

Lachlan Maynard had penned letters on scraps of paper up and down the USA and posted them in every undamaged mailbox he could find.  He was very careful to address them neatly and correctly.  If everything got back on track – one day, eventually – those letters might make their way home.  Somebody had to empty the mailboxes eventually, right?  And when that happened – if, if that happened – then Lachie wanted that chance of some small piece of him finding his way home, even if he was long-dead and nobody remembered his name anymore.

Some time ago – when exactly, who knew – Lachie had stopped.  The hope that those letters might one day find their way across the ocean had not dwindled (however increasingly unlikely it seemed) but there were fewer things to say.  Sometimes, he didn’t really want his family to know what he’d done.  It was increasingly difficult to explain or justify the confusing nature of the Firefly cause, which sometimes seemed so righteous and other times seemed like a poorly organised terrorist chapter. 

There just wasn’t much he wanted to write home about anymore.

But on this bright, golden autumn day in Little Hope, Lachie felt the urge tickling his fingers once again.  He dug around until he found a pencil.  Lachie sharpened it carefully with his smallest knife and lifted the shavings to his nose.  He breathed them in.  Fresh, new pencils!  His cousin, Shannon, had a box of Derwents that she only used for special occasions.  Nobody else was allowed to use them, but sometimes Lachie liked to lift up the tin lid and have a good, long sniff. 

I am in Wisconsin, he wrote.

“Lachlan.”

He looked up.  He was sitting on the bonnet of the truck to soak up the sunshine.  Tess only called him by his full name when she really wanted his attention.  He looked right and saw her standing against the vibrant backdrop of autumn leaves.  Many were still doggedly clinging to their branches like they could outlast winter.  Lachie could feel its cold, deadly little talons digging deeper into every day.  It made him cough in the mornings.

“Everything okay?”  Lachie pined the paper to his thigh with the side of his hand.  The wind buffeted up a little whirlwind of dry, crackling leaves.

“Your … friend,” she said with as much tact as he could expect, “has a much warmer jacket than mine.  I’m gonna take it.  I just wanted to … tell you before I did it.”

“Oh.”

Lachie glanced at the low ditch on the side of the road where Toni lay.   She’d fallen and suffered a terrible gash to her leg the day before, and had died in the back of the truck during the night.  Catastrophic blood loss.  Lachie used to think Toni was all right, but Toni hadn’t liked Tess, and Toni had made it clear – loudly and often – that Tess would be easier to transport with her vitals preserved in jars.  Dev (before he got himself ripped up by two clickers) told Lachie Toni’s prejudice was rooted in fear, and she was convinced Tess would turn eventually.  Some of the others were, too.   Toni also wanted Tess on reduced rations, and she wanted her restrained at all times. 

Tess gained her full freedom when the numbers of their team dwindled so pitifully that they desperately needed the extra, free hands.  Toni mouthed off only once more after that.  Tess decked her with two hard, savage hits, breaking the other woman’s nose.  The others just looked on – Toni had said some shit, after all.  And Lachie grinned as he gathered up some supplies to treat the injury.  He suddenly felt just that little bit safer.

Tess never had held back.

“I’ll help you,” he suggested.

Lachie jammed the paper in his pocket and pencil behind his ear.  He followed Tess to the ditch and helped skin the thick, fleece-lined jacket down Toni’s arms. 

“You want her boots?”

Tess considered it.  “No, they’re too small for me.”

“Let’s take her jumper too, just in case.”

“Jumper,” Tess repeated, grinning at him.

“You know what I mean.”

“What happened to your accent?”

“It has its moments.”

They completed the grisly task of stripping Toni for the last of her worth and then covered her body with leaves.  The ground wasn’t too hard yet.  They could bury her.  But Lachie didn’t see the point in going to that effort.  They needed to conserve their calories.  And Little Hope was a nice enough place in the world to become bird food.  Toni could do worse.

“Guess that makes you two even for the hard time she gave you.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Tess muttered, shedding her own jacket and dressing in Toni’s.  She emptied the pockets of meaningless trinkets, then turned up the collar.  “Thanks for making that easy.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“I know she was your friend so … I’m sorry.”

Lachie squinted as another squall twisted a pile of leaves up into a new dance.  “It doesn’t matter.”

The breeze lifted Tess’s hair.   She had long, silver strands throughout now.  It was still kind of hard for Lachie to believe she was really standing there, really alive.  He’d never had any doubt that she’d made it through the years – if anyone could, it was her – but the fact that their paths had crossed again was a miracle he couldn’t overlook.  It was almost more incredible than her surviving becoming infected, for fuck’s sake.

“We should make camp,” Lachie suggested.  “I reckon we’ve come far enough today.”

Tess was scanning the handful of crumbling old buildings.  This must have been a charming little town, once.  There was next to nothing here, but it had a postcard-selling vibe. 

“You feel up to trying a building or two?”

“Sure.” Lachie shrugged.  “What are we looking for?”

“I want to get you out of the cold, for starters,” Tess said, already pulling out her handgun and checking the load.  “The coughing in the morning’s getting worse.”

“Nah, that’s just – yeah, nah, that’s nothing,” Lachie tried to wave it off.  “That’s just – I had asthma kind of bad when I was a kid and sometimes it acts up a bit, that’s all.”

“Well, the cold can’t be helping.  Let’s find something with a bit more shelter tonight, okay?”

He was kind of stoked that she gave a shit.  Tess had looked out for him when they were in Indy, too.  He was definitely just an afterthought behind Joel and Tommy and Rachel, but the fact that she’d given a damn at all had meant something to him then, and it still did now.  And well – hey.  It was probably just strategy on her part.  Two of them stood a better chance of making it cross country than one alone.  But then she met his gaze and he recognised a softness entirely separate to survival. 

“Okay?” 

Lachie nodded.  “Yeah, okay.”

“Let’s try that one first.”

“You’re the boss.”

Tess, who had already turned away, stiffened.  Lachie looked on ahead.  Had she seen something?  And then Tess snapped the cartridge into place and plowed on ahead to the building.

“Come on, move.”

The town had been abandoned by living, dead and infected for a very, very long time.  The general store had been turned over of absolutely everything of value and there was a single, crumpled human who had perished at some phase of infection.  They were almost skeletal, their body and ragged clothing ruptured by powdery, dry fungal plates. 

At the back of the general store was a room claimed by the sky.  Half the roof was missing.  Tess and Lachie built their fire here, where the smoke could pour up into the air, and the walls around them would provide some warmth against the coming night.  Lachie pulled out two FEDRA-issued dinner ration packs.  The grade was excellent.

“Do you want Butter Chicken or Beef Ragu?”

“Have we got any of the Chicken Italiano left?”

“Nope.”

“Ragu, then.”

They prepared the meal packets in boiling water and ate inside their sleeping bags on two sides of the fire.  Tess had been right.  He felt warmer with the wall against his back, and there was no wind in the old structure, save that which whistled through the cracks.

“You know what really pisses me off about these?”  Tess said, poking around her bag with a fork.

“That they’re better than what ration cards could buy?”

“Yes,” she answered, sounding mildly annoyed that he guessed right. “The shit we used to eat in Boston sometimes, you know?  We knew what they were feeding the soldiers was better than what we got, but this is something else.”

Always we.  We did this, we did that.  Tess couldn’t name Joel, but he was always moving in and out of the conversation. 

“Fireflies didn’t have this stuff most of the time either,” Lachie admitted.  “Think we were eating better than most civilians though, if you were stationed outside the zones, that is.”

“Like you were.”

“Yeah, like I was.  Funny when you think we were only a few miles apart for years.”

Tess didn't respond.

“Anyway,” Lachie continued.  “Fireflies were raiding stuff all the time, but when they got their hands on premium rations like these, they stockpiled them for the big ticket events.”

“Like a cross-country trek?”

“Yeah. Build up the strength, that sort of thing. Speaking of.  We should reach that Firefly supply cache tomorrow, all things going well.”

“White Earth Reservation?”

“Yeah?” Lachie shot her a suspicious glance. “How'd you know that?”

“I've been listening. My ears weren't handcuffed.”

“This is gonna be awkward for awhile, isn't it?”

“Till the day you die, Lachlan.”

He coughed softly and set his meal aside. They'd argued about this many times already:  he'd plead his sorry case and she'd stonily stared him down.

“White Earth Reservation,” he confirmed, pulling out a map.  He held it up to Tess and followed a general route along the top of the country with his finger.  “So we’re … like … hereabouts.  We come up north into Minnesota – avoid Minneapolis, I’ve heard shit from there that’d make your hair curl – and come at the Reservation this way.”

Tess was studying the map with great interest, so he passed it into her custody. “Is anyone stationed there?”

“Supposed to have been deserted for a few years. Unless they sent someone up there from the east, I dunno. Seems unlikely, though. So yeah, nah. We'll scoop in and grab the gear, then go down through the Dakotas.”

“To Salt Lake City?”

Lachie held his breath while he calculated his answer. He sighed and picked up his chicken. That had been the original mission. Evacuate Massachusetts, empty the final Firefly caches cross country and regroup with the dwindling remnants of the cause out west. Deliver the subject - Tess - to Salt Lake City for further study.

There was nothing in that mandate about locating Tommy Miller out in whoop-whoop Wyoming or reuniting the subject with her spiritual husband.

“Maybe after,” Lachie mumbled around a mouthful of rations. “See if that dickhead Tommo’s all right first, maybe.”

“How… how was he last time you saw him?”

“I didn't know there was a problem till he fucked off without saying goodbye. I knew he wasn't happy but … shit, is anybody? You really think he's in trouble?”

“Maybe.”

“This trip was really for Joel, huh? He needed to know what was what.”

“It was for us both,” Tess quietly answered. “I don't know if we ever meant to stay so long.”

“In Boston?”

“We had an apartment,” she continued, eyes on the fire. “Living every day in a fucked up dollhouse for thirteen years.”

“A lifetime.”

“A parody.”

“Why didn't you leave?”

“Go where?”

“I dunno. Tommo said you'd come from some place up in the mountains. South? Could've gone back, tried for it. If anyone could've made it, it was you two.”

Tess shook her head slightly. “Bit past happy endings by then, Lachie.”

“Well,” he finished his meal. “Guess it's a good thing it's now. Hey Tess? Can do shitloads with now.”

“You're still painfully optimistic.”

He laughed a little. Sure. It was easy to have hope in and for other people. The heat was off.

He waited until Tess was asleep before digging out his letter again. He deliberated over the cordial lines and wondered what he could add. So deep in concentration was he that the bottom of the page caught on an ember and smoked. He swore softly and smothered both flame and another coughing fit.

Going to Yellowstone.

He didn't write any more until the following morning. Tess helped him sit up as a more aggressive spate of coughs woke him.

“This is asthma?” She asked, passing a flask of water.

“Woodsmoke doesn't do me any favours,” he managed, rubbing his watery eyes.

Tess didn't seem convinced. She did most of the packing up and loading while Lachie got himself together.

“I'll drive,” Tess announced.

“Yeah, no worries.”

“You ready?”

“Yeah, just give me a sec.”

Lachie looked down at his measly letter. He glanced at Tess, who was circling the truck and checking the tyres.

Catching up with some old mates.

He pushed the letter into a mailbox as Tess turned the ignition over.

[crimsonblackrose]

.

So choking your successor is a right of passage for Cobra Kai? WTF

I like how everyone is sitting around while Miguel reads his college essay. Even Robby. Rosa: It's the greatest story since Don Juan DeMarco. (film)

Johnny knowing water doesn't do well with waterworks, realizes the water is coming from the ceiling and moves the computer out of the way. Also points out it's a sewage pipe.

Their landlord's name is Sully. (or their maintenance guy)

Family of 5 nearly 6 down to two bedrooms with lots of financial concerns. I love that Carmen is like yup big family. I love that Robby is a part of it. Though, theoretically he could go stay with Shannon for a bit.

I'm sorry, her grandfather is still alive?

Gary gives Miggy a brochure for a valley university

Johnny has shown up at LaRusso's to get a blow up mattress.

Chozen has been watching all the reality TV: Selling Sunset, property brothers. Chozen is also a fan of the uncrustables like the kids.

Amanda wants Chozen gone

LOL they just help themselves to what's in Daniel and Amanda's fridge. I guess Johnny likes those uncrustables too. And Chozen likes Diet Dr. Pepper.

Kreese knows that Johnny defeated five of Kim's students.

OMG we have not seen Brucks in ages. And I can't believe Kyler and Brucks are checking out the same school. I'd figure both were rich and would go somewhere more expensive.

Brucks goes to MIT (and got all new teeth) Kyler goes to the local community university. That actually makes sense, for Brucks, he occasionally knew like really high level SAT stuff.

Chozen just pretending to be a realtor and looking at houses with Johnny, not something I ever expected, but I love it.

Johnny you need 5 beds. Not four. You have three kids and a mother-in-law. Plus potentially Amanda might shove Chozen off to live with you.

Johnny too honest. Let Chozen do all the talking.

Master Kim fought off invaders with an eunjangdo

For a guy who had to fight over a pit of snakes while a POW and threw his captain into a pit of snakes, I'm surprised how much Kreese likes snakes.

Kyler is being bullied by a Mr. Zenker frat bro.

Hawk has been nicknamed Spikes.

Look at Johnny using not only the recommendation Miggy gave him back in like season 1 (Make a fist and don't punch) but also Miyagi-do just breathing.

Awww Johnny finally found an old fan who say his '83 fight, named Little Stevie and who also thought Dutch was cool.

Apparently Johnny was also prom king.

Kreese apparently feels a lot of pain from Johnny hating him and only feels fear when he fears for Johnny.

Well damn. Kreese killing the Johnny he cares for in his head so he doesn't have weakness any more.

Kyler pouring stuff on his bully's head...who knew I'd ever cheer on Kyler????? Proud of him. And the fact Miguel wouldn't stand to see him bullied and is standing back to back with him to fight.

NICE! Kyler defending Miggy from the guy trying to break glass on Miggy and Miggy knocking it loose so Kyler could hit the guy with it.

Chozen doesn't get paid. So you're just using free immigrant labor?

I mean, Johnny has a point there, but Chozen's also like on vacation.

LOL Bruicks is in Midwest Industrial Training. I mean he's said smart stuff before so they totally got me on that.

Look at Kyler telling Miguel to chase after his dream.

Aw Kyler got into a different house.

lol they dug out this outfit again.

Daniel did not offer a job. Oh no, Johnny.

We can give him a job refilling popcorn machines like Robby.

He thinks I offered him my job.

she thinks a baloney sandwich and junk mail.

I mean it was empty last time.

I love that Johnny sold a car while Daniel was trying to figure out what type of job to give Johnny and that Amanda immediately was delighted that he did such a good job.

I mean it's what...August? School just started back up? Why can you see their breath in Korea? Are they on a mountain peak? Even then??????

[kotlc-deleted-scenes]

Nightfall B&N Exclusive Edition Short Story

If you haven’t read Nightfall yet, SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! Even the rest of this paragraph isn’t safe, so if you snuck back here because you’re channeling your inner Silveny (KEEFE! KEEFE! KEEFE!), you might want to wait. Don’t worry, the bonus Keefe hilarity will still be here when you’re ready! And now that I’ve sufficiently warned you—*pauses to give you one last chance to flee*—the pages you’re about to read cover what Keefe was up to during his recovery. So imagine these scenes happening at the same time as all the crazy stuff Sophie & Crew are doing during chapters 36–60 of this book. Hope you enjoy!

—Shannon Messenger

+ DAY ONE +

“Look! I’m all better!” Keefe promised, waving his arms and almost knocking over the ugly lamp on the table next to the bed. Not that he cared—he had big plans to trash all of Alvar’s stuff as soon as he was done hiding out there.

“I might be willing to believe you,” Elwin told him, “if you weren’t gritting your teeth every time you move.”

“What? This is how I smile now!” Keefe tightened his jaw and raised one eyebrow. “See? It’s my brooding, mysterious look.”

“Is that what you’re calling it?” Ro asked, plopping next to him and bouncing the mattress so hard that Keefe almost let out a yelp. “All I’m getting is wannabe bad boy.”

Elwin snorted a laugh.

Keefe glared at both of them, wishing he still had some of his favorite elixirs handy. He’d managed to slip some Hush Slush into Ro’s dinner the night before and wiped out her voice for eight glorious hours. But somehow she’d managed to find all of his stashes—even the extra well-hidden ones.

The princess was good.

He was pretty sure she’d also put Gurgle Gut in his breakfast for payback—though if he was right, at least she’d suffer as much as he would when the gurgles broke free.

“I’m fine, okay?” he told Elwin. “I can live with a little pain.”

“It’ll be a lifetime of pain if you don’t listen to me,” Elwin corrected. He flashed a red orb around Keefe’s torso and squinted through his glasses. “Just like I thought. You’re worse today.”

Keefe tossed back his covers. “Fine. Then the bed rest isn’t helping, so I don’t need to—”

He managed to get one foot on the floor before Ro bodyslammed him back to the bed, triggering a throbbing spasm that felt like a gremlin was chomping on his lungs.

“Both of you need to take it easy,” Elwin warned, “or I’m bringing Keefe to my house and putting Bullhorn on guard duty.”

“Um—he’s, like, two pounds of fur,” Keefe told him. “I think I can handle him.”

“I’d love to see you try.” Elwin dug through his satchel and pulled out a deep purple elixir. “But I’d rather you just take another dose of tissue regenerator and get some rest.”

“I can always pry those pouty lips open and pour it down your throat,” Ro added with a smile that showed every single one of her pointed teeth.

Keefe reached for the vial. Years of dealing with his dad had taught him it was easier to pretend to cooperate. So he chugged the medicine, even though it stunk worse than Alvar’s stuffy apartment.

Side note on that: He was pretty sure he didn’t want to know why the whole place reeked like rotting toenails. Or why Alvar had felt the need to cover every surface with mirrors.

“Try not to look so miserable,” Elwin said, taking the empty vial. “It’s only for a week.”

“Uh, do you realize how many times Foster can almost die in a week? Especially when my mom’s the one calling the shots?” Keefe countered.

Elwin sighed. “I know. But you need to get your strength back.”

“Plus, she doesn’t want to see you,” Ro reminded him. “Hey, don’t look at me like that—you know it’s true.”

It was true.

And it made Keefe queasier than the Gurgle Gut.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the burst of emotions Sophie had hit him with as she left the healing center. There hadn’t just been anger. There’d been hurt. And a deep, overwhelming disappointment that had made it hard to breathe.

Elwin patted him on the shoulder. “Give her a chance to cool off—”

“I don’t have time,” Keefe interrupted. “She could be heading to Nightfall right now.”

“If she is, I’m sure she can handle it,” Elwin told him. “I know we love to tease Sophie about all of her emergencies, but the truth is: She’s a survivor. And she has lots of powerful family and friends to back her up.”

“I’m supposed to be one of them,” Keefe argued.

“Then take care of yourself. The more you rest, the faster you’ll recover. And if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll check on her every day and give you updates—but only if you promise to stay in bed.”

“Fine,” Keefe mumbled, slumping down under the covers.

“Oh good!” Ro said. “We’re moving from denial mode to sulky boy. This’ll be fun!”

Keefe shot her a glare.

He wasn’t sulking.

Okay, fine, maybe he was a little—but he was also scheming.

First chance he got, he was sneaking out of Alvar’s apartment and heading straight to Havenfield.

He didn’t care what anyone said. Sophie needed his help.

+ DAY TWO +

“You have ten seconds to float back to bed,” Ro warned, without even glancing over her shoulder, “or I’m tying you down and covering you with flesh-eating bacteria.”

Keefe ignored the jolt of pain in his side as he pumped his arms, swimming through the air. “You expect me to believe you have flesh-eating bac—”

Ro leaped across the room, blocking the window he’d been levitating toward, and pulled a small black bottle from her breastplate. She poured a single drop onto her finger, and the  dark blob immediately dissolved her skin into a bloody hole.

Keefe went back to bed.

Ro grinned. “Good boy.”

+ DAY THREE +

“If this is a trick . . . ,” Ro said, not bothering to finish the threat. The hand by her sword said the rest.

“No trick,” Keefe promised. “I seriously need your help. You found my prank stashes so easily that I’m hoping you can do the same with whatever my mom hid at Candleshade.”

“But why the sudden hurry?” Ro asked.

“Because Elwin’s here now, and you’ll need him to leap you there, since I’m still not allowed out of this stupid bed.”

“You’re not,” Elwin agreed. “And by the way, neither of us are leaving until you take a sedative—and I want to see you down the whole dose.”

Keefe clutched his heart. “Elwin, Elwin, Elwin. After all we’ve been through, do you really not trust me?”

Elwin held out a round, clear vial. “Nope.”

Ro snickered.

“Fine.” Keefe reached for the elixir. If that’s what it took to get Ro to Candleshade, he’d deal with it.

“You really think your mom hid something important there?” Elwin asked as Keefe gulped down the sticky, sweet sedative.

“I hope so.”

Along with the lovely news that his recovery was still taking forever, Elwin had also let Keefe know that Sophie had apparently already gone to Nightfall, and that her family hadn’t been there.

Elwin didn’t have any other details—except that everyone was safe. But Keefe knew Sophie had to be panicking.

He needed to get her another lead to help track down the Neverseen.

“I’d have a way better chance of finding what you’re looking for,” Ro said, “if you let me smash the place.”

“Fine by me. Make as big of a mess as you want. And bonus points if you destroy my dad’s statue.”

“WOO HOO! Things just got interesting in elf land!”

Ro said something else, but Keefe didn’t catch it. His ears had started ringing, and his head had gotten way too spinny.

He sank into his pillow, feeling a hand gently squeeze his shoulder.

Then he was lost to his floaty dreams, most of which focused on the gold-flecked brown eyes he could never get out of his head.

+ DAY FOUR +

Plink! Plink! Plink!

Ro stomped into his room. “If you make that noise one  more time I’m going to shove those pieces somewhere you’re really not going to like.”

“What, this noise?” Keefe asked, jingling the four weird bits of twisted silver and gold that Ro had brought him back from Candleshade.

He’d been trying to fit them together for hours.

In fact, he’d been ready to throw them across the room. But now that he knew the noise annoyed Ro . . .

“Sorry,” he told her. “I need to find out what these are, and since someone isn’t letting me get out of bed, it’s not like I have anything else to do.”

Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink! Plink!

Ro’s groan rattled the walls.

+ DAY FIVE +

“You are never going to figure that out!” Ro screamed as Keefe continued the plink-plink-plinking.

“You’re just mad because you couldn’t figure it out either,” Keefe shouted back.

She’d been so smug when she’d wrenched the pieces from his hands to give it a try that Keefe had laughed himself hoarse when she’d failed. And since then, he’d managed to fit three of the four pieces together. But the last piece was ridiculously stubborn.

Ro stalked into his doorway with a bottle of blue nail polish  in one hand and half-painted claws on the other. “No, I’m mad because you’re only doing this to try to fix things with yourlittle girlfriend and it’s not going to work.”

Keefe jingled the pieces extra loud.

But after several seconds he had to ask, “Why isn’t it going to work?”

Ro snorted. “Wow, you really have it bad, don’t you? Nope, no need to deny it. It’s so obvious it’s actually adorable. Especially since she’s totally clueless about it. You know that, right?”

Keefe rolled his eyes.

And he was all set to argue—but for some reason “Yeah, I’m an Empath,” slipped out.

“Ohhhhh, that’s true. Wow, I didn’t even think about that.” Ro giggled as she crossed the room and sat beside him on the bed. “That must drive you crazy.”

“Pretty much,” Keefe mumbled.

It wasn’t even the worst part—but he managed to stop himself from bringing up that.

“You get why, though, right?” Ro asked, slicking blue paint across another claw. “Why your girl doesn’t get how much you liiiiiiiiiiike her?”

He sighed. “Because she grew up hearing every less-than awesome thought anyone ever had about her—even from her parents and sister and stuff. So now some part of her always assumes that everyone has those kinds of thoughts about her, even though she can’t hear them anymore.”

Ro blinked. “Okay, I was not expecting you to get all deep on me.”

Keefe shrugged. “It’s true.”

“Not saying it isn’t. Huh, I never thought about how brutal your elf-y abilities could be. Add it to the list of reasons I’m glad I’m not one of you. But that’s not what I was talking about.”

He had a feeling she was never going to let him live it down if he asked, but . . . “Okay, Miss Smarty Pants, what’s your theory for the Great Foster Oblivion?”

She held up her hand, blowing on her blue claws. “That’s your problem right there. You make everything a joke. It sends way too many mixed signals—especially for a girl with all that complicated stuff messing with her head.”

“Maybe. But Foster’s not ready for more than that—trust me.”

Once again, he stopped himself from cluing Ro into the whole square-that-was-now-a-triangle mess. But with how observant she seemed to be, she’d probably figure it out on her own soon enough.

“Well, all I’m saying is: If you’re looking to earn her forgiveness, ‘Here, Sophie, have this creepy thing from my mom’ isn’t going to do it. Especially if you parade in there like you just saved the day. She doesn’t need a hero. She needs a friend. So if you want to say you’re sorry, get her a real present.”

He really hated that she had a point.

And somehow he managed to stop himself from saying  presents are Fitz’s thing. Instead, he admitted, “I don’t know what to give her.”

“Then maybe you should figure that out.”

Yeah, maybe he should.

“And don’t look at me,” she added as she sauntered for the door. “Unless you want weapon advice, I have no idea what makes you elves swoon. But please, for the love of all that’s breathing, don’t let it have sparkles!”

+ DAY SIX +

“I’ve got it!” Keefe shouted, raising his arm and pumping his fist—which didn’t hurt anymore. Even when he waved both arms around.

“You figured out what to buy for your little girlfriend?” Ro asked, peeking her head into his room.

“No. Well . . . kinda. But I was talking about this!” He held up a small gold-and-silver square. “I got the last piece to fit! I can even take it apart and put it back together. I know the trick now.”

“Okay, but . . . what is it?”

“I have no idea,” Keefe admitted.

Ro smirked. “Good thing you’re not trying to swoop in and save the day anymore, ’cause that’s definitely not going to do it.”

“Hey, this is still important,” Keefe argued. “My mom hid it for a reason.”

“I’m sure she did,” Ro agreed, twisting her nose ring. “But let’s hope your gift idea is more exciting.”

“It is. It’s going to take me a little while to make it—but it’ll seriously top every gift she’s been given before.”

His fingers were already itching to get started on it.

But first he needed to get out of that bed, so he was more than a little relieved when Elwin finally gave him the all clear during his evening checkup.

“I still want you to take tonight to rest, though,” Elwin warned. “You’re not off bed rest until the morning.”

“Be glad,” Ro told him after Elwin left. “Now you have some time to figure out how to make your girl forgive you.”

Keefe shrugged. “I already know.”

“Groveling?” Ro guessed.

“Oh, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of that.”

But afterward, he had a plan.

From that point on, he only had one goal: to be whatever Sophie needed.

Not the hero.

Not the one taking charge of everything.

Just a guy ready to listen and help and be there for her.

A friend.

Until she was ready for more.

[trashyswitch]

7 Fluffy Balls of Joy

Chapter 6: 7 Puppies Becomes 6

Chase finds a house for one of the puppies to live in, and the three boys have fun with the puppy before its eventual departure.

There are a few swear words, but that's it.

This fanfic is for Shannon, the lovely person who asked for more ego content! I hope you enjoy, Shannon!

Chase was giggling and loving every moment he spent with the puppies. The puppies had grown to 7 weeks old, making them able to sprint everywhere, playfight with the other brothers and sisters, and bite everyone’s fingers till every layer of skin was shaved down.

Henrik was struggling to work with the puppies barking, growling and tappy tapping all over the ground. Looking after 8 dogs was a lot of work and a lot of training too. They were trying to think of ways to maybe get rid of a couple of them. Maybe keep Matilda and 5 puppies for themselves (Still gonna be a lot of work), and sell a couple.

“Hey Henrik?” Chase asked.

“Ja?” Henrik replied.

“Could I maybe ask my ex-wife if they want a puppy?” Chase asked.

“Of course!” Henrik replied. “See, see!”

Chase pulled out his phone and called his ex. While that happened, Henrik began to think about who else might want a puppy.

Suddenly, JJ ran to the middle of the room, with an army of puppies sprinting and barking at the man. JJ was visibly happy as he flopped onto the carpet and laid on his stomach. One after the other, all the puppies came flopping onto JJ and covered him in licks and little bites. Three of the puppies were growling and playing with JJ’s hands with their front paws and snouts. 2 of the puppies were jumping onto JJ’s back, and three of the puppies were pulling JJ’s socks right off his feet. JJ was truly the dog whisperer of the house.

Chase had to move to another room to actually listen to what his ex was saying, while Henrik was sitting with good ol’ Matilda on the couch. Matilda was a lot more calm and collected, compared to her rambunctious kids.

“Vhat’s it like being pregnant?” Henrik asked the dog.

Matilda looked up at him, and wagged her tail while her ears lifted.

“Was it painful?” Henrik asked as he started petting the somber dog. “Was it worth it?” Henrik asked as well.

Chase chuckled as he walked back into the room with the speaker on for Henrik to hear. Both his kids were pleading and begging for their Mom to get them a german shepherd puppy.

Their Mom sounded both entertained by this begging, but also slightly annoyed. “Are you boys gonna take care of the dog? Cause I’m not gonna be doing all the work around here! You boys need to help out as well!” Their Mom told them.

“Yes yes yes yes!” Grayson begged.

“we’ll do it, we promise”. Trey promised.

“We’ll feed him! And take him to go pee!” Grayson promised.

“And walk him and clean him!” Trey added.

It was around a dozen begs that the mother finally caved in.

“Alright. I think we’re getting a dog.” The mother decided.

Chase smiled as he looked at the puppies. His kids were really gonna get a dog! From his father!

“Alright, you boys need to help with buying things for the pup then. We’ll head to the store in half an hour.” She told them.

“Okay Mom!” One of them replied.

Chase listened calmly as his ex headed to a quieter spot. “So, when did you become a dog breeder?” She asked.

“Well...It’s a bit of a long story. But to sum it up: one of my roommates found puppies and brought them home. The puppies were maybe three weeks old and the mother was growly and untouchable…” Chase told her. “We didn’t know he brought them home until I got up the next morning. I just about dropped my coffee upon seeing the little pups!” Chase turned around and bursted out laughing:

JJ was being licked and bitten all over! But more specifically, JJ's neck was being licked non stop by 3 separate puppies, while four puppies were licking and nipping at JJ’s feet. His socks were completely off and placed aside, while the seven puppies overwhelmed his poor, ticklish roommate.

“Ohoho my god you have to see this!” Chase quickly turned the facetime option on and set up the camera while his ex answered the facetime call. When the call was answered, Chase had the camera focused on JJ and the puppies.

“Ohohoho lohohohord! Hahahaha!” she laughed. She brought the phone over to the kids, and showed the commotion over at Chase’s house.

The kids bursted out laughing at JJ, and made little funny comments.

“Hey Trey, you gotta be careful too if we get one!” Grayson teased.

“Says the one with the ticklish neck~” Their Mom mentioned.

“Hey!” Grayson reacted.

Chase laughed at this and walked over to JJ. “Hey Jamie! Need some help?” Chase asked. JJ nodded his head and let out a breath of exhaustion. Chase put down the phone and picked up the puppies. “Come here guys! Come here!” Chase called.

The puppies didn’t waste a second to sprint over to Chase and shower him. While Jamie was only panting from exhaustion. Chase was now the one overpowered by the puppies. “AaahahaHAHAH! Awww, ya little nutballs!” Chase fluffed each puppy’s head, causing every puppy’s mouth to open up and flop its head around. They all were wanting to play with Chase!

Jamie ended up getting up and showing the family the crowd as Chase was surrounded by puppies. “EEEEK! HEHELP! AAAH!” Chase yelled out, reaching his arms out to the camera. Right at the same time, one of the only named dogs that was Henrik’s, shoved her snout into his armpit.

“EEHEHEHE! Cahahareful Angela!” Chase told the pup.

“Is one of them named already?” Trey asked.

Chase got up and let the puppies nibble at his feet while he picked up Angela. “Yup! Dr. German over there already chose his dog and named it accordingly.” Chase told them.

“Schneeplestein, jou uncultured bas-”

Chase shot him a glare.

“-Uncultured fish!”

The Brody kids DIED upon hearing that. “Daddy the fish!”

Their mother chuckled. “Maybe you should draw that.” she encouraged.

Chase laughed. “Oho my god that would be awesome!” Chase reacted.

Feeling encouraged, Trey nodded. “I think I will!”

Chase smiled proudly. “That’s great!” He didn’t feel insulted by the idea of a fish Chase at all. He was just happy to know they were alright and had inspiration from their cool Daddy Brody.

A few minutes later, Chase ended the call and looked to JJ with a smile. “That wasn’t very nice, you know...leaving me surrounded by puppies when I was the one that saved you.” Chase teased.

JJ raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. ‘Little dog love Chase.’ he signed. The American sign language grammar was the strangest thing...but it worked despite that.

“True! That’s true.” Chase replied.

Then Jamie giggled and covered his mouth before signing the following words: ‘Chase fish with hat’.

Chase laughed and hit his shoulder gently. “Hey now! You be careful or I’ll draw you as Jamie the shrimp.” he teased.

Jamie chuckled and started fluttering his fingers closer and closer to Chase, to imitate the little shrimpies that clean dead skin off things. Chase squeaked like a little kid, and ran away. Jamie started chasing after him, signing the words ‘I clean you! I clean you!’.

“NOhoho! You’re sohohoho weihihihird!” Chase giggled, jumping over a few things on the ground. Jamie grabbed a blanket and managed to get close enough to throw the blanket onto him. This distracted Chase long enough for Jamie to grab onto him and start tickling him all over his middle and ribs. “AAAHAHAHAHAHA! JAHAHAHAY! STAHAP THAHAHAHAT!”

Jamie smirked and signed the word ‘no’...then resumed tickling him.

“Vhat zhe hell are you doing?” Henrik asked.

“Gohoho gehet Henrihihik, ya lihittle bahahastahard!” Chase argued, trying to push him away.

“So YOU can say ‘bastard’ but I cannot?!” Henrik asked.

“My kids were on the phone!” Chase shot back.

Jamie giggled and started sneaking up to Henrik in plain sight.

Henrik scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Not scary...Not to me. Leave.” Henrik tried to tell him.

Jamie started wiggling his fingers more and signing the word ‘tickle’ over and over and over again.

Henrik in response, started imitating his wiggling fingers. “Goooo tickle somevone else, vhy don’tcha?” Henrik teased.

Jamie took a moment to dramatically think and stroke his mustache. Then...he looked at Henrik with an evil smirk. ‘No’

Jamie sat down right beside Henrik and started digging into his side. Henrik, surprised by the sensation, curled away from the ticklish fingers. Immediately upon seeing his reaction, Jamie stopped and snapped his fingers at him.

‘Liar!’ Jamie signed with a huge smile on his face. ‘Liar!’

“Am not! I don’t lie!” Henrik reacted.

To prove his point, Jamie skittered his fingers on his side again. Henrik jumped and pushed his hands away. Jamie giggled. ‘Liar! Henrik liar!’

“Oooooh! I see Henrik is telling some little lies! Or Lügens, in your language.” Chase teased.

“Du hälst deinen Mund!” Henrik spat in German.

Chase smirked and imitated the classic bugs bunny meme while signing it for Jamie: “No”

Chase sprinted to Henrik and held up his arm. “Quick! Get his armpit!”

Jamie jumped at first, but didn’t waste a second to tickle his armpit.

Henrik hissed and quickly grew a wobbly smile. “Duböserkleiner- AAH JAHACK-!” Henrik pulled on his arm desperately as his armpit was pretty much dug into. Jamie smiled proudly as he basically struck gold.

Jamie decided to stop...he reeled backwards...breathed in dramatically...and…

ATTACKED as rapidly as he could! He was even making ‘ticki-ticki-ticki-ticki-’ noises as he tickled all over Henrik’s right side.

Finally, the dam broke right open and out came all the laughter. “JAHAHAMIHIHIHIHAHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHE!” Henrik’s hand was let go as Henrik laughed absolutely hysterically! It would turn out that Henrik was a super wiggly person whenever he was being tickled. Like, SUPER wiggly and all over the place!

Chase had to grab onto Henrik from under the armpits, and hold onto him across his chest, as if he was about to be pulled out safely from under a truck.

“CUHUHUT IHIHIT OHOHOUT! EEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Henrik ordered as he laughed. But Jamie was, and never will be, in the mood to listen to instructions. Especially if they were instructions coming from a LIAR!

“Hey Jamie! Watch this:” Chase leaned in...and blew a big raspberry onto Henrik’s neck. Henrik SCREAMED and snorted right back to back! “DAHAHAHAS IHIHIST ZU VIHIHIHIHIHIEL!” Henrik yelled, falling back into his first language.

“Really now?” Chase reacted, acting like he understood him.

“JAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHALT BIHIHIHIHITTE!” Henrik begged.

Jamie stopped tickling him for a moment and tilted his head. ‘You understand H-E-N-R-I-K?’ Jamie asked.

“No...I don’t. But I do know that ‘Halt’ is stop.” Chase told him.

Jamie gasped and snapped his fingers. He ran to the puppies, picked up his favorite, and brought it to Henrik. Jamie grabbed treats, and started placing them into Henrik’s belly button.

“OOOOooooh! You evil little genius!” Chase reacted as he grabbed Henrik’s arms and raised them up.

“No! NO! JAMIE BITTE! BITTE!” Henrik begged.

Jamie, understanding Henrik as saying ‘bite’, started making dramatic nomming expressions as he put his hands up against his own chest like a puppy.

Then, Jamie watched as the puppy ran to the belly, and hopped up onto Henrik’s belly. The puppy started sniffing for the treat, which tickled enough to make Henrik giggle already. But Henrik basically lost it the moment the dog’s tongue started absolutely covering Henrik’s tummy in doggy slobber.

“Ehehehehehew! Ihihit’s sohohoho wehehehehet!” Henrik complained in the middle of his giggles.

The puppy kept licking and nipping at the belly button to get the treat that was lodged in the buttonhole. Soon, the puppy successfully got the treat out. But what’s this? More treat smells were filling its little sniffer?

Jamie had giggled as the puppy’s head looked up to sniff the air more. The man had started hiding treats under Henrik’s side as well, to get the puppy sniffing and tickling there too. It didn’t take long for Henrik to feel a little wet nose shoving itself into his side to get to the treats.

“EEEhehehehehe! Hehehehehey! Thahahahat kihihitzehehelt, leetle hündchen!” Henrik giggled.

The puppy stopped for a moment and let out a ‘BOWWWOOOOWWW’ kind of yowl.

Jamie, Henrik and Chase all DIED at the sound. “Ahahahahaw! He’s more vocal zhan Jamie!” Henrik teased.

Jamie narrowed his eyes at him and threw him two middle fingers in response. Chase and Henrik wound up dying yet again at the reaction.

Chase then gasped. “How dare! There are children here, Jamie!” Chase reacted.

Well in response to that:

‘B-A-S-T-A-R-D!’

“BASTARD!”

Chase wounded up destroying both of the boys after THAT response. He had to teach them one way or the other to not swear! Or, you know, not give the kids any more ideas.

A couple days later, Chase’s ex-wife and kids showed up at the house and picked the dog they wanted. Funnily enough, they ended up choosing the same dog that made the “BOOWWWOOOOWW” sound a few days before! And the kids got to play with the dog for a few minutes or so to get to know the dog more.

But before the dog left…

Chase let the other puppies say their last goodbyes to the puppy. The kids insisted this be done, despite what a majority of the adults believed. The boys ended up coming up with the name ‘Marble’, due to the puppy’s multitude of colors.

Matilda soon walked up to her little puppy, and gave it a few little licks of luck and farewell. The little Marble had grown up so quickly and was now moving into a new family: a family of loving kids who would treat the dog like a king.

Farewell Marble!

[the-darkdragonfly]

NEW Story Alert!

"Storms don't come to teach us painful lessons, rather they were meant to wash us clean." - Shannon L. Alder

AU / Multi-chapter / Captain Duckling

Captain Killian Jones has been hunting the Queen Anne's Revenge for years. When he catches sight of her far off the shores of Misthaven, he take up the chase into the mouth of a fearsome tempest. Determined to met out his brand of justice to her captain and re-take the treasure which was pilfered from him, he instead finds something far, far more valuable. 

Princess Emma of Misthaven is traveling on her mother's flagship, The First Snow, when she is set upon by pirates. Taken hostage and left to drown in the brig of a ship, she finds herself once again at the mercy of lawless men, but something about their Captain intrigues her - she has never met someone like him before...

Check out my new story “Wash Us Clean” on A03 and FF now!

(Chapter One teaser below)

The rain tore down upon them in sheets.

Bellowing orders to his crew, Captain Killian Jones held the wheel, leaning heavily into the swells; sweat covered and exhausted. Waves swallowed the Jolly whole, rising from the depths of the sea to smash again and again against her hull, wood creaking angrily under the feet of her crew.

This storm was a fearsome creature. Appearing on the horizon as they chased they’re folly across the sea, it was on them in a matter of minutes. With nowhere to hide, the captain pushed hard and plowed ahead - straight into the face of it. Killian had been at the helm since the first gust of salt spray had whipped angrily across his face, signaling the start of the assault.

Lightning lit up the world, sharply contrasted the yellow painted gunwales against the black swelling waves, frothy across the peaks. Up, up, up they went again, only to crest and plunge back onto the surface again. Salt spray stung his face as he narrowed his eyes against the assaulting wind. Up and down they rode, rigging pulled taunt and straining against the wood, the sails snapping - wild and angry - at the tempest that rolled around them. The crimson flag above them snarling, curling and thrashing against the main mast like a vicious creature promising death and despair.

The sea was part of him, as much as it was part of the world. They had weathered their share of storms, the Jolly and he. But this storm was different. Never before has he endured this punishing wrath of waves, beating against the decks in a near constant drumming, drowning out his shouted commands and sending the crew into barefoot stampedes, sliding to and fro across the sodden planks; hands grappling at ropes and straps to keep from going overboard.

His Jolly hated storms; she groaned around him utterly dissatisfied with their predicament. If the sea was part of his soul, the Jolly Roger was his very own beating heart. He had loved her from the first moment he set eyes on her, all those years ago with Liam. Shipwrecked themselves, she had appeared to him, sitting docked peacefully in the calm bay, as a siren might appear to a drowning man.

He needed her, and he would follow her to the depths of the sea if fate would have him do so. She was the only home he had ever known. She has seen him through his greatest joys and his deepest, darkest, most consuming pain. The hook in place of his left hand gleamed against the dark wheel, illuminated momentary by another crash of lightning. With that hook, he carried a piece of her with him, always. She was the only thing he needed.

Another swell, the Jolly listed dangerously starboard, curling into the waves intent on drowning her. His shoulders shook, head bent low to press against the force of the storm, hook and fingernails together dug into the wood of the wheel, the leather soles on his boots sliding slightly from the pressure of keeping his ship steady; grunting as he threw his weight against the wheel once more.

Killian closed his eyes tight quickly, clearing them of the howling wind, salt stray and rain. Opening them to focus instead on the gouges he had scored in her wood, the first and only time he has ever hurt her intentionally. Navigational guides, a map of sorts which he had carved for a young lost lad who could have been his son if only...

Killian closed his eyes tightly again. Storms always made him think of Baelfire.

There seemed to be no end to this nightmare. Air darkly thick with salt and fear, quarterdeck lamps long ago extinguished to better navigate through the dim, the only light now came from the lightning guiding their way out of this watery hellscape. Their prey, a gallon, popped and bobbed ahead of them, tossed about as a childs playtoy in a pond. Sails heaving in a steady rhythm as they too rode the waves of the gale.

Fear snarled in Killian’s gut, but he would not let her go down. No matter the energy draining out of him as the seconds ticked slowly by, no matter the heavy assaulting torrent pounding down on them. No matter the fearful acceptance on the faces of his crew, many who had stopped momentarily in their battle against the angry sea to offer a prayer to a God before heaving the rigging taunt again.

No, Killian thought as he strained against the pull of the ocean, not today.

Time grew sluggish, the fingers on his right hand cold with wet and terror. Face determined, kohl darkening further the gleam in his eyes. Not today, he thought again hardened with certainly, pouring every ounce of remaining strength into holding firm against the wheel.

The Jolly seemed to shudder underneath his feet, as a dog might shake water from its fur. Sails billowing together and snapping once more against the hold of the rigging. Not today, she agreed.

Read the rest of “Wash Us Clean” on A03 and FF now! 

[wexhappyxfew]

Hey Shannon❤️ can you tell us something about Natia and Winters relationship? And also, how do you pick quotes for each chapter?

FRANCY!!! hello my friend! how are you doing? :D thanks for stopping on by, i've really been excited to answer this one especially because i get to focus in on Natia and Winters connection more than anything! it is one of the most highly important of the fic i feel, in many various respects and i'm super hype to discuss them! and the QUOTES!! oh i have a full little process i go through with that too hehe! let's jump into it! <3

Natia Filipska and Richard Winters in LANDSLIDE

From the start of writing Landslide, I really wanted to make Natia and Winters' connection one that showed how two, different leaders and leadership styles could still work together and in their own ways as well. In the beginning, we see Natia already take a dislike to Winters, but she has reason.

I feel that's something I enjoy most about writing Natia as well by the way?!?! She will always have a valid and detailed reasoning behind why she does certain things.

But the way I see it with Natia and Winters in their first meeting in Holland is very much their characters and their morals put on center stage. Natia has worked alone for a majority of the war, she's had to look out for really only herself and she's seen and gotten quite a lot of trauma just from various events in the war in general and so when team work is included, she's more reluctant to such a thing - this comes from both her training as well as what the war has forced her to do. But when things meet up in the end, she ends up being a pretty well off team leader.

Winters on the other hand is that sort of 'all-American-leader", who knows his men, knows how to work his men as a team and lead them, he's firm, he doesn't take any crap from people and most importantly, he makes sure no man is left behind. There's already a division there in general between how Natia leads and how Winters leads as well as level of experience in war. And with these differing opinions, that sort of sets them off even more.

Something I didn't want to do was make them *enemies* really because Natia already has a LOAD of enemies that she really is already dealing with and making Winters an enemy was never a goal. More of a challenge or a power with which she can put up a bit of a fight against. It makes for quite an interesting dynamic as the two start to slowly trust one another and learn how to then initially work together as well.

My initial goal was to show obviously there was a strong opposing difference and force when the two shared a scene together. FOR EXAMPLE,,,

" The Germans have merely retreated, they have not left Holland open to be taken by the Allies. I've fought enough of this war to know that. And I'm just trying to help where I can to save more of your men than get them killed," she said, taking in a tiny breath as she stood, beginning to sweat under the tense gazes of the American men who watched her. Natia had stood in this position before, she'd collected too many flowers that day for graves that shouldn't have even needed to be dug. It had been a slaughter, she hoped this wouldn't be the same for what it was worth.

" We're under British Command, Agent Fidel, I'm afraid we'll have to follow through. They wouldn't lead us astray though, I'm sure we'll be fine." Colonel Sink said to her, before nodding and going back to his initial discussion with the higher ranking members of Headquarters. Natia's gaze narrowed slightly.

" Agent Fidel." Captain Winters said, his voice dangerously low. Natia let out a huff and then moved over towards him, muttering to herself out of annoyance.

" It's walking into a trap." she said once she had moved over to Captain Winters, where the Map-Keepers presence lingered, " The enemy just doesn’t leave a country like Holland wide open next to the English Channel, letting it crawl with-"

" Agent Fidel." Captain Winters said again and Natia's eyes darted up to his, her mouth slowly clamping shut in the process, as her darkened gaze watched over his own.

" Might I remind you that here, you are not Colonel Sink or the British Command or the CO. I'm sorry to have to put you in your place and remind you of the your position. You are an assigned radio operator." Captain Winters told her.

This is a portion of Chapter 21 (Death’s Faith) and in this specific scene, we see this obvious tension throughout. Natia is someone who has been in war since 1939 while Captain Winters on the other hand first got his taste of war in 1944. Now, something I did not want to do is degrade completely Richard Winters and how he handled war because he held himself to his morals and his character throughout and I wanted to take that and insert that into the fic in a way that was my own.

Something important that I worked with here was that though he is firm, he still isn’t the point of going *over* who he is as a human and his personality. And I really tried to hit that fine line in the fic more than anything. Making Natia sort of go silent though in the face of Winters though I felt was an interesting touch that I only vaguely remember doing and I feel it is sort of a connection to Natia’s past with Agent Mortem and how this higher power silenced her previously and how Winters is a presentation of that in her eyes for the first portion of the fic.

But as the story progresses, we see Natia slowly breaking away from that idea and slowly start to form respect for Winters out of their long line of misfortunate circumstances they hold together. And sort of a realization that there were bigger issues than their own personal feuds and differences in a way compared to the war.

And I’m still really moving through the progression of that connection in the fic, but by the end, I have a feeling people will be really satisfied with the outcome of two leaders finally entirely seeing eye to eye by the end. Definitely one of my favorite connections throughout the book — and one of my personal favs is when we see Winters defend Natia against Lieutenant Dike HAHA! A major point for their friendship I will say!!

The way I see it is Natia, the lone wolf, and Winters, the alpha, who slowly incorporates her into the pack after a bit of defense and defiance. It’s a really interesting connection that flows throughout the fic and I’ve been really enjoying it! :)

CHAPTER QUOTES

Chapter quotes I feel I have always done since I uploaded even my first fic which was Sunshine Soldier! I guess I’ve just always enjoyed that a lot, it gives a bit of perspective on the upcoming chapter that the readers are about to read!

I use Pinterest, Goodreads or just general sort of searched up themes on Google for quotes. And usually each quote is centered around a central theme ie darkness, grief; sadness, joy, etc..... and then I can go from there and get even more specific on chapter sort of tones and subplot themes.

For example, in Chapter 6 (The Curse of Silence) this is the opening quote, “Silence is the biggest gift and the worst curse.”. Agent Mortem played a huge factor in Natia being silenced for the first portion of the war and by the end, released from his reign, she’s allowed a voice that is uncontrolled and gets her in various amounts of trouble along with it. Yet silence did allow for Natia to dissect and understand Mortem enough to corrupt him and essentially “escape” him, though inherently get her into trouble in other instances. (which is a topic for a later discussion!)

But that’s sort of the general idea I go with every time I put up a chapter! :D Thank you so much for the ask Francy, this was so much fun to answer!! <333 I always enjoy these sorts of things where I can go in and give my own best, personal analysis on stuff in fic! 💛

[florenceandthemachine]

that original lifeline

chapter 3 / 4 - “there’s a hole where your heart lies” - 3.5k

in which things get worse before they can get better, even if they don’t get better.

read on AO3

“Firefighter Diaz, do you copy?”

Eddie tried to smile as he grabbed the mic hanging from his shoulder, but judging by Buck’s face, it was little more than a grimace. “Five by five, Cap. Over.”

“Alright, Chimney, report?”

“So... you’re sure none of them can see you?”

While there really were no ideal times for Eddie and Buck to talk in the station, the radio check proved to be as good a moment as any—sure enough, Eddie was already tuning out the static that was Hen making fun of Chim for his coffee order (not that he blamed her).

It felt… weird, to say the least, to be back at work less than twenty four hours after his son had lobbed the second biggest bombshell Eddie had ever had to deal with right into his lap, but after the theatrics they had gone to the night prior to try and act like everything was fine, Eddie didn’t have the energy for another weird day in him.

“Honestly, Eddie, I don’t know. You being able to see me, that’s already rare, but not impossible. But Chris seeing me? There are no records of a guardian being seen by anyone other than his or her charge—none. Honestly, the only way I can tell I’m still not here is because the rest of your team hasn’t tried to say hello.”

And thank fuck for that. Eddie had absolutely no idea how he would explain away Buck’s presence if the others started to see him, or at least, no idea how he would explain it and not wind up in a straight jacket. Like he could sense Eddie’s frustration (which, he probably could), Buck punched his shoulder lightly, smiling.

“But they haven’t, so stop worrying, Eds. I’ll figure something out, okay?”

Eddie only let out a laugh, looking up as the siren started to wail, only barely louder than Hen and Chim’s bickering. Going for his gear, he looked up to Buck before climbing the truck, voice pitched low. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

It was a missing kid.

Eddie hated missing kids.

It didn’t matter that his son was in school, it didn’t matter that the kid was three years younger than his own, it didn’t matter that he had a mother and sister all waiting for him to turn up—in the back of Eddie’s mind, right at the corner of his vision, his traitorous brain tried its very hardest to supply all the ways that Chris could go missing.

Even when he more or less found Hayden, it was a hollow victory; Eddie couldn’t see how it was anything close to a win when the kid was still trapped in a pipe forty feet below the ground, unable to do more than move his head. It was all he could do to ignore the low level of terror that pushed through his own stomach, and how fucking helpless he felt while they had to wait—for hours, fucking hours—to get a drill up and ready to go.

He had gotten close to having to step away more than once throughout the day, and now, the night, the only thing anchoring him to the present was Buck’s hand, on his shoulder, gripping his arm, pressing against his side. Chris was right, Eddie thought, Buck would be a good firefighter—he was calm under pressure, for one, and right now he deserved all the credit for keeping Eddie’s head on straight, especially when he stepped up to take the palm mic from a mom who was pushed well beyond her breaking point.

Yeah, Eddie could relate to that.

“Hey Hayden, my name is Eddie. I’m a firefighter, here with your mother and a whole lot of other people.”

He felt Buck’s hand on his shoulder again, and he took a breath, steeling himself.

“We’re all working to get you out of there, so stay calm, okay? It might get a little... noisy. Don’t be scared. We’ll be there soon.”

His smile was thin as he handed the radio mic back to Chim, swallowing heavily as he excused himself, making his way into the house easily. The mother had wasted no time in telling them to help themselves to anything that they had needed, and Eddie made a beeline into the bathroom, gripping the sink as he hunched over and tried to get a grip on his breathing.

He really hated missing kids.

“Eddie, you’re okay.”

Buck. Of course Buck was there, hand on his back, rubbing in small circles. “Chris is okay, he’s still in school, Carla is bringing him to Abuela’s after, and you know you’re going to get bombarded with pictures.”

He was right, of course he was right, but that didn’t make it suck any less. Eddie opened his mouth to respond before motion in the mirror caught his eye—the house was still full of cops, firefighters, and now, drill operators. Buck didn’t seem to mind, though, smiling at Eddie’s reflection anyway.

“You want me to go check on him? It might take me a bit to track him down properly, but—“

Eddie shook his head sharply, moving to grip the hand Buck had on his forearm. God, no, he couldn’t imagine being alone right now, couldn’t imagine the idea of sending Buck away to settle his own paranoia. He would be fine. He just needed to splash some water on his face and move on.

He did splash some water on his face, more frequently as the night dragged on. Those were the only moments that he let go of Buck’s hand, but that was a whole other story. Buck remained silent about it, after all, even if Eddie caught him smiling a few times as they watched the drill go down. He wasn’t even sure when it had started to rain—the 118 had basically been blocked off from all other calls until they could finish their day here. Eddie was getting antsy; honestly, the fact that Eddie was unwilling to let go of the hand of his guardian angel said more about his abandonment issues (after being on both sides of that story) than an hour of therapy could bring up.

Buck’s presence was always welcome, of course, but it could only do so much to calm Eddie’s nerves. The longer the night dragged on, the more Eddie felt like he had to do something, had to step up, and Buck started looking at him like he was about to do something incredibly stupid.

Which, well...

“Cap, I’ll go in.”

“Edmundo.” He had never heard Buck use his full name before, had never heard the other sound so pleading; but while it definitely was enough to get him to pause, it would take more to get him to stop. “I was talking to him on the radio. He knows my voice. It makes sense.”

“Like fuck it does.” Buck snapped behind him, but Eddie couldn’t turn around to gauge his reaction even if he wanted to.

“Suit me up. I’m going down.”

It was almost too easy to pretend that Buck wasn’t mad at him while he was getting ready, strapping on oxygen tanks and harnesses, was easy to pretend that the only reason Buck hadn’t smacked him upside the head was because they weren’t alone, but Eddie knew that was all it was.

Before he knew it—far too soon, honestly—he was ready to sink into the fucking earth.

Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to Eddie that going down alone really and truly meant that he would be going down alone. He had gotten painfully used to Buck being within arms distance of him, no matter where he was, so when he poised himself over the hole, strapped to a rope as wide around as his thumb—

“I can’t go down with you, Eddie.”

—well, he at least had an excuse as to why his face fell.

“No one can see me, but… but I still take up space. I can’t go down with you, what if there’s no room? What if I block you in, or block you from getting to the kid?” Buck sounded completely fucking wrecked, and Eddie swallowed as he looked around, painfully aware of all the eyes on him when all he wanted to do was bail out. He couldn’t do this on his own. He fucking couldn’t.

“Alright, Cap. Let’s go.”

He felt the winch start to wind up as Buck moved forward, and it was killing him to have to fight off any responses when Buck leaned forward and kissed his forehead, the brief contact sending a warmth through his bones that he wasn’t entirely sure was related to Buck’s angelic being.

“For good luck.”

-

Honestly, Eddie really needed to rethink what constituted ‘rock bottom’. Sure, okay, cutting his own rope had been stupid, but he hadn’t given it a second thought—if he had been pulled out, the kid would have drowned. Hell, Eddie was close to that himself, taking several hits off of the tank Bobby had given him whenever he needed a breath that didn’t taste like mud or metal.

“This is Diaz.”

Because he stayed down there, he was able pull the kid out of the pipe and at the very least, give him some freedom to take a deep breath in the tiny little aquifer that Eddie had dug into.

“Can anyone hear me? This is Eddie.”

He was absolutely clinging to that justification, too. Sure, he had no way of knowing how fast the water would rise, but the water in the pipe had surpassed where the kid was before Chim had made his appearance. Eddie cut his rope, the kid got to live. Hooray.

“I’m alive. I’m still alive down here!”

Handing the kid off to Chim had been cake. It probably didn’t hurt that when Eddie looked up through the hole, all he saw was light. Somehow, knowing that Buck was going to be pissed off at him gave Eddie hope.

“I’m still alive down here!”

And then the drill had collapsed, and any light, any hope that Eddie had, had been snuffed out just like that.

“Anyone?”

There was nothing. No light, no sound, nothing. Eddie went from the sound of pounding rain and muffled shouts to inky blackness and the sound of his own racing heart, and he couldn’t do much more than shout, hands dug into the dirt beneath him as he started to shake.

He had gambled it all—everything he had, his life, his job, his family, and he had lost. His family, fuck, how was Chris supposed to handle this so soon after Shannon’s death? How could Eddie have done this, how could he have stepped forward when he had so much of his own shit at risk, how—

“…idiotic, arrogant asshole…”

Eddie had to shy away from a sudden burst of light behind him long before he heard any words, covering his eyes with a gloved hand.

“Buck?”

“…completely moronic, you—you cut your own fucking line, Eddie! What the fuck were you thinking, you could have been crushed—“

“Buck.”

Eddie hated how weak he sounded, but he couldn’t bring himself to particularly care—not when the result was Buck’s hands on his shoulders, the light dimming enough that Eddie could see properly. Buck was pissed, no doubt about it, but the emotions took a side step to a look of concern, of worry, and just like that Eddie was gone, voice tight as tears carved new tracks in the mud on his cheeks.

“I’m—I’m so fucking sorry, I’m so sorry I put you in this situation and—and Chris, god, I’m such a terrible father, and—“

“Woah, woah, calm down, we’re not going to go down that road right now.”

It took some awkward repositioning on Buck’s part but they were both able to face one another, water lapping at their legs as it slowly rose. “You’re reckless, sure, but you’re not an idiot. Being stuck down here doesn’t make you stupid, as much as I hate to admit it. Now, what do we know?” Buck’s tone was bitter, but there was no mistaking the earnest truth in his voice, and Eddie felt his face crumple when Buck looked back to him.

“Well, we’re... about thirty five feet down. One primary entrance and exit point, now blocked by the drill. There’s no radio communications, no way to send a message, and if I had to guess, no way my GPS is picking up anything.” Eddie said, smacking the useless unit on his wrist. “The water is rising, slower than it was before now that the pipe is mostly flooded, but it’s still rising, and I.... I really hope you have some magic up your sleeve.” Eddie’s voice was mostly joking, but the look that Buck shot him quickly crushed any shadow of humor he was reaching for.

“I mean, the fire truck was easy. It’s a movable thing, it’s not fixed, it’s small in the grand scheme of things, but this... Eddie, even if I could move enough earth to get you out of here, I’d be just as likely to crush you. There has to be another way out.” Buck said, his hand easily bringing Eddie in closer, tendrils of warmth creeping under his wetsuit.

There wasn’t, and every soldiers sense in Eddie’s body was urging him to scream that truth at the top of his lungs until Buck understood it, but they had come too far for him to break down now.

Well, to break down again.

“Why didn’t you stop me?” Eddie asked after a long moment, face buried in Buck’s shoulder, Buck’s returning sigh more of an attempt at some levity than anything else.

“Because you’re an asshole with free will, and I can’t stop that. Your specific blend free will is just a little more self sacrificing than others.”

Eddie gave a short laugh, the sound weak and mostly humorless, allowing himself to settle into a moment of silence.

It was easy enough to be quiet when he wasn’t alone with the sound of his own breathing—Buck was still holding him close, his body alight, and Eddie let his breathing time to the pulses radiating off of Buck’s taller frame. The light seemed to dance along the walls of the cave, bouncing and refracting off the water, sinking beneath the murky depths. Buck’s focus seemed to stray to the water as Eddie felt his mind wander, but it was different now—the panic of the moment had given way to a heavy fog, starting to dull just the edge of his senses.

Honestly, the moment was kind of... peaceful.

It might even have been pretty, Eddie thought, his brain becoming a little more addled as he burned through the pocket of oxygen they had in their hidey hole.

Maybe this wouldn’t be a bad way to die after all. As long as he suffocated before he drowned, anyway.

“Buck, I need you to listen for a second.”

His words were slow, spoken between splashes of nasty water as he turned to look at Buck, who was still intently focused on the water, which was easily lapping at their shoulders.

“Eddie, shut up.”

“You—you have to tell Chris—“

“No.”

“Buck, I can’t, I—“

“No, Eddie, you don’t get to tap out right now. This is my job, it’s my fucking job, and I am very, very good at what I do. Even if my fucking charge cut his own fucking lifeline.” Buck snapped, voice deadly calm, and Eddie flinched back. “Now, I think—I think I have a plan. How’s that tank that Bobby gave you?”

A brief glance at his wrist confirmed what he already knew. “It’s yellow. Two minutes, tops.”

“That’s all I need. Come on, put the mouthpiece in. Close your eyes until I let you go, then we’re gonna have to swim for it, okay?”

“Buck…”

“Now, Edmundo.”

If Eddie had the energy, he might have felt afraid in the moment, but when he looked back at Buck all he saw was angel—in the semi-sacreligious, biblical sense. The glow under his skin, which had been growing all evening, was almost blinding now, the very air cracking around him. His eyes were alight like coals and his skin seemed to match the temperature as he grabbed Eddie, arms around his waist. Eddie hardly had the time to put his mouthpiece in before Buck slid them under the water, and then they were off.

The deeper they went, the more Eddie found himself wishing he had suffocated—especially if drowning was the only other option. He could feel everything, every rock scraping against his suit, every tear at his harness, and the pressure, fuck, the pressure, he couldn’t tell if his ears had popped or if the drums just burst entirely. He kept his eyes shut, as he promised, but by that point Buck was so bright that his flimsy eyelids couldn’t keep the light out, and it was all he could do to keep his breathing steady.

If he had dared to peek, he probably would have seen the indicator on his wrist start to blink red, but it wasn’t like that mattered. The air in his mouth had gone stale as soon as Buck let him go, eyes snapping open, trying to tell which way was up as he started to kick wildly. He made quick work of everything weighing him down—the harness, the helmet, the tank, the air long since bad anyway.

He could only barely register Buck’s light in the murky water, legs moving sluggishly beneath him, a stream of frustrated bubbles leaving his lips. His legs were starting to give out, each kick toward the surface weaker than the last, darkness creeping in around the edges of his vision even with the lake being lit up like a beacon.

Suddenly, Eddie was eleven again, and Buck was pulling him out of the swimming hole behind his parents house—only now, he wasn’t sure if he could make it, wasn’t sure if he would be able to surface before the darkness ripped his vision away.

He choked out another mouthful of bubbles as the water around him pulsed with light, and with a sharp tug around his waist he was suddenly launched forward, the cold water slicing across his cheeks like liquid daggers. The closest thing he could compare it to was being thrown from the truck, after the bomb had gone off—one moment, he was choking on his own exhalation, the next, he was hitting the shore, hard, sputtering and coughing even as he continued to drag himself away from the water.

Somehow, the worst part of all of this was the fucking rain—relentlessly pounding down on him, drowning out the sound of his own ragged breathing, his footsteps, he couldn’t even hear Buck stumble behind him anymore. His attempts at encouragement had just turned into ragged sounds, barely there words as he struggled to suck in another breath, blindly staggering away from the water and toward the steady pulse of red lights.

Back toward home.

Eddie could hardly believe it.

He wasn’t sure if it was the last kick of adrenaline or the afterglow of Buck’s warmth holding him up, but he started moving faster, feet scrabbling for purchase on the slick terrain as he stumbled. His breathing had started to become ragged as he dragged himself along, but he still felt his heart start to pound as he heard voices—Bobby’s voice, the familiar tone of orders being barked out, vaguely hearing his own name over the roar of the rain.

They hadn’t given up on him.

He heard more than he felt the moment his legs finally gave out, stumbling face first into the huddle of first responders, the burning feel to his skin finally ebbing into something more pleasant, more bearable, even as the rain started to sink into his bones. He wasn’t in great shape, to say the least; the only reason he remained upright for even a moment was because of the quick thinking of his teammates, reaching out for him as he stumbled.

“I’m—I’m pretty cold.” He got out as he went down, the sudden loss of warmth from Buck’s hands forcing him to focus on the present, even as the touch lingered, skin warm where Buck had pushed him forward.

Things moved pretty quickly after that. He was half pulled, half walked into the nearest rig, foil blankets tight around his shoulders as an oxygen mask was forced over his face and a blood pressure cuff started to cut off circulation to his arm.

He couldn’t tell where Buck was anymore, and how was that even possible? Buck had lit up the tiny-ass cave they were stuck in like a beacon, he had made the entire lake glow like a lighthouse, he had burned like—

Like a flame, Eddie realized, burning itself out.

No sooner did he make that connection did his entire body go cold, the lingering warmth from Buck’s touch snuffed out like a candle, and Eddie felt a noise he couldn’t own up to rip itself free from his throat as he started to shiver.

Fuck.

“Hen, he’s—he’s gone, fuck, I have to—“

“Eddie, stop, we got the kid, he’s okay, you—Eddie!”

His entire body was shaking as he tossed his mask aside and tore himself from her grip, making it only a few steps before he fell to the ground, tears mixing with mud as he cracked his nails trying to dig. “No! No, no, I can’t leave him—I have to get him, he’s—no, fuck, no!”

He only vaguely registered Hen calling for help over the sound of his own crying, voice broken as he continued to wail, the noises coming from his body sounding like something ripped from the depths of hell. Suddenly multiple sets of hands were pulling him back, wrapping him in shock blankets, strapping him to lie down on what he thought was a backboard.

There was already darkness starting to creep in at the edges of his vision, even as his eyes spun wildly in his skull, taking in Bosko, Hen, Chim, Bobby, Kinard...

No sandy hair. No pink lips. No blue eyes.

It wasn’t the first time he couldn’t see Buck, but this was different. He could still feel him, could still feel his presence, the good that he put into the world, and now…

He was gone.

Buck was gone.

And as Eddie finally gave in and passed out, blackness swirling out from the corners of his vision, he thought he would never be warm again.

[colossalsummer]

KOTLC book one READ ALONG part 4 of 5

I read the first Keeper of the Lost Cities book and annotated every page. Here are the highlights. (Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5)

Chapter 31

Astin: “You’ve broken a very serious law, Sophie.” 

Sophie, just trying to fit in at elf school and maybe get some new parents:

Ah beans not again

Chapter 32

…she couldn’t help wondering what the Councillors needed protection from. Alden was always saying how safe their world was. THANKS I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW

Chapter 33

Terik: “…I can sense potential.” I’m a Stupid Detector *pretending to scan* beep... beep... *points toward Dex* beep-beep-beep-bee

Chapter 34

Sophie: “What are we doing here?” Tiergan: “Breaking the law.” YEAH PUNK ROCK CHOOSES YOU BABY

Tiergan: “Do you miss your human life?” This is so sweet. I don’t trust very many people in this book but I really believe that he has her best interest at heart, 100%

Sophie: “What if I’m someone bad?” Tiergan: “I can assure you you’re not.”

She made it one whole month without unnecessary stress or worry… Just enough time for the eye lashes to come back in 👌

*Sophie blacks out* Then someone else grabbed her, cradling her in their arms. Keefe Keefe Keefe

Chapter 35

Fitz. Oh that’s fine too I guess

Elwin: “She’s tough. How else could she survive so many disasters?” Thanks. It’s my Human Upbringing™

Chapter 36

…Sophie could see an eagle-size golden pterodactyl trying to escape the leash Grady held. Please have fuzz please have fuzz

Grady: “They have fire-resistant fur.” YES! Pycnofibres! 

Unfortunately for the Ruewens, fire is humanity’s best quality.

Verdi’s mind told her she wanted a tummy rub as a reward. ⚠ Nerd alert ⚠ but I really like that touch is a high-value reward for a dinosaur. Young tyrannosaurs relied on some parental care, and it looks like at least the juveniles may have been covered in feathers (which may have shed as larger species aged). So it makes sense that a dinosaur that was used to humans, like birds that are used to humans, might appreciate preening and associate good feelings with touch! I know I’m overthinking the snot out of this but I’m very pleased with this tyrannosaur representation so far. Shannon Messenger is doing everything for me that Jurassic World refused to and I’ve never been so grateful.

I’m also hyperfocused on Verdi and the pterosaur because watching the Ruewens shut Sophie out is really agonizing and I just can’t deal

Chapter 37

Sophie blows stuff up so much I’ll bet she’s a firebender or pyromancer or whatever it’s called

Chapter 38

So let me get this straight. Alden found Sophie, a superbaby who would be sure to have an insane childhood, and placed her with the Ruewens—the most emotionally fragile couple he could think of.

Chapter 39

Number of times I wrote “OH NO” in this chapter: 9

Cancelled. As in started. Then stopped. This line shattered me like a freaking Fabergé egg

She dug out her iPod, shoved in her earbuds, and switched to her “angry” playlist. The screaming was jarring at first… SOPHIE IS A METALHEAD

Hey this magical world sucks I’d like to go home now

Chapter 40

Sophie: “How did you get into my locker after midterms?” PLEASE BE A BLACK SWAN PLEASE I’VE NEVER WANTED ANYTHING SO BADLY LORD ALMIGHTY

Keefe: “Necklace?” Sophie: “Yeah, you really didn’t have to do that.” Keefe: “Good, ‘cause I didn’t.” Oh okay not in love with me that’s fine

Alden smiled. “Human technology.” Shut up Alden

Alden: “They’re trying to stop the conspiracy theories from spreading any more than they already have.” Cool suppress critical thinking 👍 I love living here

Alden: “Humans die every day, Sophie. It’s not our job to keep them all safe.” Wowee

Alden on Everblaze: “Fintan called it the ‘fire of the sun on earth’.” Is it straight-up fusion??

Alden: “I’m afraid they may be trying to get you exiled—and trust me when I say you don’t want to go there. It’s a very dark place.”

Stay tuned for the finale.

[factoffictionwriter]

Tiva Fic Amnesty #7

A couple of pregnancy scenes. Just a peek into how our favorite couple might handle some of the stresses that come with bringing a new life into the world. 

Note: A well-meaning Aunt gave Ziva and Tali identical Baby Books at their Bat Mitzvahs (I think we all know an Aunt like this). 

Tony knew it was going to be a rough night when he opened the door to their apartment and found his very pregnant, very round girlfriend sitting in the middle of the living room floor hunched over the laptop. There were no lights on in the entire place, only the bright screen to illuminate her face. 

He took a deep breath before closing the door behind him, “Ziva?” 

Her head snapped in his direction, “We need a name, Tony. Our baby doesn’t have a name.” 

He sighed, “We talked about this, Ziva. We said we weren’t gonna name her until we met her.” 

“But we need to have some ideas. We can’t just expect to look at her and come up with a name out of nowhere. We have to have a list or something.” 

Here they go again. Another night like this. He glanced around their spotless apartment. He could tell she had spent most of her day cleaning, though the place had been practically immaculate when he left her this morning. Nesting, Dr. Brown had called it. Her irresistible urge to clean and prepare for the baby. Most days cleaning the apartment and reorganizing the piles of baby clothes in the nursery was enough to satiate them (first the clothes were organized by color, then by size, then by use, then back to color), but other days she paced around miserably as she tried to pinpoint what exactly it was she needed to be doing to prepare, though there was absolutely nothing left for her to do. 

At least she had already found something to fixate on tonight. But, of course, it had to be the one thing they had agreed not to spend too much time preparing. Tony had this irrational fear of naming their child. It was stupid, he knew it, but he was terrified that they would pick the wrong one and the kid would grow to resent him (like he almost had with his father. Nobody should have to be a Jr. Nobody.). 

Ziva had claimed to understand this, and they had decided that they would pick the name for their daughter in an organic way. Whatever they thought when they looked at her, that would be her name. Second trimester Ziva had been completely fine with leaving that detail to the last minute.

But clearly, 3 weeks from her due date and nesting out of her freaking mind Ziva wasn’t so cool with that plan. 

“What do you think of the name Leah?” 

He scrunched his nose, “Didn’t you tell me that Leah meant sick or weakly in Hebrew?” 

“It does.” 

“Let’s not tempt the fates. Leah is a no.”

“What about Sarah? It means ruler or princess.” 

He considered it as he moved to the wall and turned on the overhead lights, “Sarah could work. I like Sarah.” 

“I do too,” she whispered as she seemed to add that name to a list she had going on the computer.

“What did you say your mother’s name means again?” 

“Rivka? It means ‘a woman who takes a man’s heart’. But I could not name our child that. It is much too ethnic for a child growing up in america.” 

“But there is an english version of it, right?” 

She nodded, “Rebecca.” 

“I like Rebecca.” 

She scrunched up her face, “I am not sure I do.”

“Okay, no Rebecca.” 

She ran a flustered hand through her messy curls, “I have accumulated a decent list. We can go through them together in a minute. Can you go grab the baby book from the nursery? I think there is a page in there to document the names we are considering for her before she is born.”

He nodded and tossed his stuff into the corner, making his way down the hall and grabbing the book off the crowded dresser. He flipped through some of the pages was he walked back to the living room. She had really done a great job with this thing. There were pictures inserted on almost every page. Some of her, some of ultrasounds, others of the two of them together, posing in front of their apartment building and other significant places for their child. 

He flipped one final page as he cleared the hallway, stopping in his tracks as he looked down at the finely printed name on the paper. 

“Uh, babe?” 

“What?” 

“This page is already filled out.” 

“What page?” 

“The one for the baby’s name. Like her real name. Her official name.” 

“What are you talking about?”

He held the book in front of him for her to see as he crossed the room and sat on the floor beside her.

She took the book from his hand slowly, her eyes moving across the page several times before she processed what she was seeing. 

In black ink, typed in a font that was meant to look like the writing of a small child it simply said: 

My name is:

And beside it was a thin line where you were supposed to be able to write in your baby’s name. But there was already a name there, in careful script, lined all the way up to the left side of the space so that there was plenty of room behind it to write a last name. 

Tali

“Oh,” Ziva whispered as she ran her finger over the delicate letters.

“Do you know what happened?” 

She nodded, “This must have been the book my aunt gave to my sister. I remember sitting in our bedroom one day, less than a year before the attack. We were making fun of the way that Americans like to name their children after themselves.” 

He held a hand up to his chest and pretended to act wounded, “Ouch.” 

“I actually like your name, Tony. But some people can take the whole family name thing seriously. You end up with Charles White III or Malcom Brimington the VIII.” 

“Stanley Yelnats IIV.” 

She laughed, “If you want your movie references to keep going over my head, you are going to have to stop showing me so many of them. That is from Holes.” 

He smiled down at her, “I knew there was a reason I loved you.” 

“Anyway, Tali had insisted she was going to name her child after herself, whether it was a boy or girl. I told her she wouldn’t dare. It is common in the Jewish community to name your child after a loved one or a family member, but hardly ever after one of the parents. She dug out her book and pulled out a pen. She wrote her name in it, telling me that it was already done. Her child, boy or girl, was destined to be named Tali.” 

He sat up a little straighter, a whole bunch of different things coming together to click in his mind. 

“Tali DiNozzo,” He whispered so quietly he wasn’t even sure she would hear him. 

But she did. And she lifted her head up, her eyes finding his slowly, “What?” 

He cleared his throat, unexpected emotions making it feel tighter as he tried to say the name again, the name he knew would be their daughter’s, “Tali DiNozzo.” 

The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to blink away a whole new wave of tears, “Did we just…” 

“Name our daughter? I think we did.” 

She swallowed as she tried to gather up the strength to try it out herself, “Tali DiNozzo.” 

He smiled at the way it rolled off her tongue, so much more graceful than his. He knew he had been so against picking a name before the baby came, but even he couldn’t ignore what had just happened. They hadn’t picked the name. The name had picked them. And no name had ever felt as right coming off his lips as that one did. Accept maybe Ziva’s. He would consider them a tie. 

Ziva set the book down and turned the laptop screen up so she could see it better. She squinted at it for a couple of seconds before turning her eyes back to his. 

“Tali Elizabeth DiNozzo.” 

He clenched his jaw to keep back the next set of emotions.

“My mom.” 

Ziva nodded, “That was at the top of my list. Your mother had a beautiful name.” 

“Yeah.” 

They both took deep breaths simultaneously as they let the name sit between them. 

Ziva finally looked down, pulling the fabric of her shirt up so she could put her hand directly on her swollen stomach, “What do you think, Yakiri? Do you like your name?” 

Tony leaned forward and put his hand next to hers, bending down so he could whisper against her warm skin, “Tali Elizabeth DiNozzo. What do you think?”

They waited in tense silence, both staring at the bump, anticipating a response. 

They weren’t disappointed. 

A tiny limb, be it a hand or a foot, moved just beneath his palm, then again under hers. 

“I think she likes it,” Ziva whispered.

“I think so, too.” 

“We have a name.” 

“And she’s not even here yet.” 

She winked at him before leaning back and trying to lift herself off of the floor. He watched as she leaned left and right, trying to get her balance right so she could stand up. 

She failed. And soon fell back on her ass.

“Tony…” she whined as she looked over at him, the pathetic puppy dog eyes he always knew she had inside of her but never thought she would dare pull out were on full display. 

He sighed and lifted himself off the ground before offering both his hands to her and grunting sadly as he pulled her to an upright position. 

“Do you feel better now? We have a name… we have a nursery… we have the car ready for the transport home from the hospital. We are ready for this baby, Ziva.” 

She nodded, “I know we are. I just… I don’t know. I have a feeling that she’s gonna be here before we know it. I want everything to be…”

“Perfect.” 

She sighed, “When you put it like that, I sound crazy.”

“Not crazy. You sound like a Mom. It was bound to happen eventually.”

---

Convincing Ziva to ride home with him instead of with Gibbs was a challenge. She was still worried about the man she considered her father now that he no longer had his. She remembered how hard it was to lose Eli. She remembered how much it hurt to be the last one left. Gibbs was the last of his family. She knew that had to be weighing on him.

She practically saw the ghosts of Shannon and Kelly standing next to him during the funeral. She could feel him feeling their loss. Being the last one alive had a way of bringing back all those past deaths. All that past pain. She understood. And she wasn’t sure she should leave him to drive all the way back to DC alone.

But it was a damn good thing she did. Because when they stopped at a gas station just 45 minutes away from home so she could waddle her way into the bathroom for the 500th time that day (pregnant women can see like it’s nobody’s business. Tony had not understood that until this minute), she was barely gone 5 minutes before his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Her face was on his screen. He answered it hesitantly.

“Everything okay in there?”

“Don’t freak out,” she said, her voice so calm that he almost couldn’t believe he had heard her correctly.

“Why don’t you tell me what I’m not freaking out over before I make any promises.”

“Did you remember to put the go-bag in the car before you left home?”

“Go bag? You mean the hospital bag?”

“Yeah, whatever. Did you remember to put it in the car?”

His eyes widened as he tried to cran his neck to see into the trunk of the car, “I’m not sure. Why?”

“Because we’re gonna need it.”

He froze as he tried to get his lips to move and get out the words he was thinking, “You’re not-”

“I am, Tony. My water broke. I’m going into labor.”

He started fumbling with his seat belt, finding it suddenly impossible to unbuckle, “You can’t be. You’re what…. Two weeks early?”

“Oh, right. My bad. Let me just tell the baby. I’m sure she won’t mind waiting.”

“Sarcasm isn’t helping, Ziva,” he finally managed to undo his seatbelt, now he was fumbling with opening the door.

She sighed, “Right. Sorry. Just… get in here. I need you to help me stand up.”

He tried not to laugh at his own mental picture, her sitting on the toilet, her pants around her ankles and her stomach bulging. She was stuck. And laughing was not what he needed to be doing right now.

He opened the door too aggressively, drawing the attention of a few onlookers. He ignored them.

“I’m coming, Zi. Be there in a sec.”

He ran across the parking lot, ducking into the store and almost knocking over a display of cornchips in his dash for the bathroom.

He had it all planned out. He was gonna help her get cleaned up, lead her through the gas station as quickly as possible, and gun it all the way to the hospital. He cursed himself for driving the Hyundai instead of his Porsche. Though it would be much better to drive home from the hospital with the extra room. And he was pretty sure he could still hit 120 in this thing on a good stretch of road. Sometimes having a badge pays off.

He had really thought through it all… except for the possibility of other women being in the bathroom. He burst through the door and was met with four wide eyes as two women turned to face him. One reached into her purse and he had to hold up his hands out of fear of being pepper sprayed.

“No funny business. I swear. My girlfriend just went into labor and I-”

“Tony!” Ziva yelled from inside the farthest stall, “A little help here!”

[alj4890]

Prompt Request/Joey Tribbiani Friends Quote Prompts

(Thomas Hunt x OC*Amanda) with the prompts "Everything's gonna be fine. It's just a crush." and "These are just feelings. They'll go away." and a misunderstanding between the two. As requested by Anonymous.

(Thomas x Amanda) in a Choices Red Carpet Diaries/The Royal Romance one shot

A/N *Squeal* Nonny you must know how much I love secret crushes between these two. Let's have this one occur in Book 2 of RCD when Thomas is filming The Last Duchess in Cordonia. This idea got away from me. It probably should have been divided into two parts, but I couldn’t decide where to cut it. Anyway, let’s get these two together. 😏

@lxaah11​   @alleksa16​   @penguininapinktuxedo​   @blackcoffee85​   @stopforamoment​     @hopefulmoonobject​     @krsnlove​     @annekebbphotography​        @hopelessromantic1352​   . @sunflowergirl05​   @desireepow-1986​  @greywitchyshots​   @lilyofchoices  @moodyvalentinestories​  @emceesynonymroll​   @my-heart-beats-for-ya @aworldoffandoms   @ab1901     @lolablackwrites     @flyawayboo   @i-bloody-love-drake-walker   . @trappedinfandoms   @kate-mckenzie

Masterlist

Foolproof

Cordonia, private beach near the royal palace...

Maxwell and Amanda sneaked out of an exceptionally boring council meeting, grabbed their swimsuits, and escaped to the beach. As the sun began to set, the two were sitting on the sand, letting the waves wash over them.

"So," Maxwell began, reclining back on his elbows, "when are you going to Castelsarreillan?"

Amanda drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "I don't know." She averted her eyes from her closest friend's. "I don't think I'll go this time."

"Why not?" He asked. "You love all the behind the scenes movie magic."

"I've visited a lot of Thomas's sets. Missing this one isn't that big of a deal." She explained.

"Yeah, but he invited you to come." Maxwell pushed himself upright and spun around to where the waves hit his back and he could face her. He tilted his head in question.

"He only did that since he is filming here." Amanda explained. "It's just a courtesy."

Maxwell remained silent for a moment as he closely studied her face. With their years of friendship, he prided himself on figuring out what she really meant instead of what she said.

"Amanda," he pondered. "Did you two have a fight?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. Thomas and I have too good of a friendship to allow an argument to fester unresolved."

He softly gasped at what was truly going on. "Amanda, do you..."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Do I what?"

He leaned closer to whisper his theory, as if they were not alone on the private stretch of sandy beach. "Do you like like Thomas?"

"Like like?" She began to laugh. "Are we back in junior high again?"

"It feels like it." His dimpled grin appeared. "Especially if you aren't telling him you have fallen for him."

Amanda tried to deny it. She took one look at Maxwell's triumphant expression and flopped onto her back. Her fingers dug into the wet sand as the foam of the waves brushed along her sides. "Why do you do this to me?"

His grin grew even bigger while he teased her. "You love Thomas!"

She lifted her hands to cover her face and sat up spitting wet sand out of her mouth. She rinsed her hands in the next wave and tried to get the rest off her face. "Stop it! These are just feelings. They'll go away."

He continued to tease her in a sing song manner then ended up spluttering when she pushed him back into the water. "I suppose I took it too far."

"You suppose right." She tried to keep an irritated anger but ended up laughing at him. "Look, it's no big deal. I just don't feel like visiting him right now. Some time away will make me see that these feelings aren't that strong."

"This is such a big deal." He argued. "You need to tell him."

"Not gonna happen." She grinned at him and got up. Amanda held her hand out to him. "Let's get out of here. I'm starving."

Maxwell grasped her hand and jumped up. His mind was whirling with possibilities as they dried off. "We need to go."

"I'm hurrying." Amanda's muffled voice came from under her shirt.

"To Castelsarreillan." He corrected.

Her eyes were wide when she finally pulled it over her head. "Max, listen to me. I'm not going nor am I telling Thomas how I really feel." She bent down to gather their towels and sunblock. "Everything's gonna be fine. It's just a crush." She smiled up at him. "I'm pretty sure I'm not the first nor the last person to fall for Thomas Hunt."

"That may be true but he likes you." He countered.

"Yes he does, as a friend." She stressed. "And I'm fine with that."

Maxwell took the beach bag from her and slung his arm around her shoulders. A grin formed on his tanned face that made her somewhat nervous.

"You sure you're fine with unrequited love?" He asked.

"I am." She promised.

"And you're cool with seeing him and playing the part of a friend." He prodded.

"I'm not playing any kind of part. I do care for him as a friend." She explained.

"Good." He squeezed her in a side hug. "Then there isn't anything to worry about."

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Right. Nothing to worry about."

**************

The Royal Palace...

Five days later, Maxwell offered to drive Amanda back to St Orella.

"Not ready to go back to Ramsford?" She teased.

"Savannah and Bertrand are still going strong in the newlywed phase. I can't crash that love nest yet." His smile was warm as he talked about his family. "My work is done with them."

She laughed. "True. And I suppose after your work with Riley and Liam, there really is no need to hang around the palace."

"See. You get it." He carried some of her bags for her. "My matchmaking skills with love is both a burden and a pleasure."

"Dare I say it?" She taunted.

Maxwell grinned. "Dare, dare!"

"This might be your superpower." She giggled as a look of pure wonder came over his face.

"It is!" He put her bags in the trunk of his convertible. "Even you respect my awesome supernatural ability."

They drove out of the capital, each content with nothing but the radio as background noise. Maxwell's phone vibrated and he glanced at the text message.

"Eyes on the road, please." Amanda slipped on her sunglasses and reclined back.

"I am the epitome of safe driving." He muttered while texting with one hand.

"Sure you are." Amanda closed her eyes. "On that note, I'm going to take a nap so that when we die I’ll enter into the spiritual realm in my sleep."

"That's a good idea." He said, a smile forming as he read the response to his text. "Maybe I should give it a try."

She swatted his arm. "Can I trust you to get me home in one piece?"

"Always." Maxwell set his phone down after a few emojis and a GIF were sent. "You're my best friend. I’ll always do what I can to make life the best for you."

Amanda yawned behind her hand. "I know. You're great." She closed her eyes and sighed with the breeze blowing and the early morning sun shining down on her. "Thanks for offering to drive me home."

"No problem." Maxwell leaned over to make certain she truly had her eyes closed. Instead of merging left on the highway heading northwest to St Orella (a little over 490 kilometers away) he eased to the right.

Castelsarreillan. About 570 kilometers northeast from the capital.

He hummed softly to the music while he settled in for the next few hours.

*************

Castelsarreillan....

"Operation Stormy Night has commenced." Addison whispered.

Holly glanced up from her notes. "When do we begin step two?"

Jessica leaned forward. "Matt, Ryan, and Seth just left." She checked over her shoulder to make certain no one could overhear her. "They're going to get the rooms for everyone."

"Shannon told Chris." Holly muttered when a cameraman walked past. "He's on board and talking to one of the grips."

"I hid all the linens." Addison admitted.

When the two looked at her in shock, she shrugged. "There were three closets filled in that castle. I couldn't take the chance that he would stick her in a guestroom."

"We have to make certain we all lock our doors before we leave." Holly stressed. "If we don't, then--" she clamped her mouth closed when Thomas exited his trailer.

His foul mood seemed to cause a sense of cautious fear over the film crew.

"Holly? Have you seen where I put my--" he grunted in thanks when she handed him both his coffee mug and his notebook.

Once he was out of earshot, Addison leaned in to whisper once again. "I finished the dress last night."

"I can't wait to see it!" Jessica exclaimed in an excited whisper. She darted a quick look at Thomas. "Hopefully seeing her again will put you know who in a better mood."

"His mood has steadily grown worse each day when he realizes she isn't coming." Holly held up a calendar. "The past two weeks with him have been a--"

"If you three are finished, I would like to get back to the purpose of being here!" Thomas snapped. "Whenever you decide to grace us with your presence, Ms. Clarke."

Jessica winced at his tone and hurried to take her mark next to Chris.

Addison jumped when her phone vibrated again. "Matt got the rooms."

"Now we wait for step three." Holly mouthed.

******************

Nearly three hours later...

Amanda stretched and blinked a couple of times. She sat up, expecting to see the beginning of St Orella's rocky coastline, and gripped the door.

"Maxwell! Where are we?" She turned around to look behind her and saw rolling hills and forests. No Mediterranean Sea in sight.

"Hmm? Oh. Driving." He murmered.

"Yeah, I know you are." She snapped. "Where are you driving?"

"On the road." He replied.

"Max," she rubbed her forehead as that familiar ache pounded in frustration.

"Don't worry." He turned down a two lane road. "I know where I'm going."

"Care to share the destination with the trapped passenger?" Her tone was heavy with sarcasm.

"You'll see." He smiled innocently at her.

"If I see what I think I'm about to see, you and I are going to have--" she gasped when she saw the medieval spires of Castelsarreillan. "MAXWELL PERCIVAL BEAUMONT! HOW DARE YOU--"

"It's rude to ignore an invitation, Amanda." Maxwell scolded.

"You're," she stared at him, completely dumbfounded. "You're lecturing me on rude behavior?! What about you ignoring my wish to--"

"SHH! We're here." He hopped out of the car and walked toward where some trailers were set up.

Amanda dropped her head back. She gazed up at the gray clouds in the sky and silently cursed her luck for becoming friends with pushy, think they know best for everyone, people. She opened the car door and hurried after him.

*************

"Maxwell!" Addison ran up to hug him. "It's so good to see you again!"

He hugged her tight. "I brought someone with me." He winked at her and glanced back, grinning at Amanda coming up from a few yards back. "How goes it here?" He whispered.

"We’re all ready on this end." She whispered back. "Thomas has--"

"Addison!" Thomas yelled. "Where--" he cleared his throat when he noticed who was with her. "Maxwell? Er, good to see you." He glanced around. "Did you come--"

"Alone?" Maxwell finished for him. "Nope. Amanda should have already been here." He looked back over his shoulder. "Ah, there she is, talking to--" he grinned when Thomas brushed past him.

Addison and Maxwell watched the grumpy director walk over to where Amanda was. She had stopped to greet Shannon, cuddling the movie star's five month old baby girl.

"I knew it." Addison whispered. "I knew he like likes her."

Maxwell shared a fist bump with her and turned to greet Holly.

*************

"She's perfect." Amanda said, smiling down at the baby.

"We like her." Shannon teased. "I had hoped she would have Chris's blue eyes, but she got stuck with my brown."

"Which I'm sure he loves." Amanda said. "He's always said you have the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen."

Shannon's smile turned tender. "Chris says a lot of nonsense."

"Are you three staying at the castle with everyone else?" Amanda asked.

"No. With Sophie, we wanted a more structured setting." Shannon explained. "We rented a cottage near town and--" her lips curved in a smile. "Hello professor."

Amanda braced herself and fixed a smile on her face before turning around.

He nodded to Shannon and smiled back at Amanda. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to take me up on my offer to visit."

"We had some council meetings recently." She explained. She handed Shannon her baby back. The actress grinned and left the pair alone with the excuse of needing to change her daughter's diaper.

"I didn't want to bother you while you were working." Amanda gripped her hands together. "I've crashed so many of your productions, that I'm certain you get tired of it."

"If it bothered me, I wouldn't tell you every location nor insist you come along." He put his hands in his pockets, unsure if he should hug her or not. Too much time between greetings has probably passed, he thought.

She stepped forward and hugged him. "You're awfully sweet to indulge my need to see how the magic is created."

He wrapped his arms around her. "It's nice to share this with someone who enjoys it."

She stepped back and motioned with her head to where the next scene was being set. "Care to show me this next part?"

He chuckled and set his hand on her back as they walked over.

"Step four, in three--two--one." Holly muttered.

Maxwell's phone began to vibrate. He stepped away from Holly and answered it. "Hey Bertrand--yeah. I--well I didn't think--but--I can't just--fine."

He turned toward Amanda. "I have to go."

"Oh." Her smile dimmed. "Then we better--"

"I can come back for you this evening." Maxwell interrupted. "There's been a Bertrand meltdown at Ramsford. I gotta go save Savannah and Bartie from his rants over the new set of red pandas I snuck over."

"New red pandas?" Amanda asked. "Where did you--"

"I have my sources." He grinned at her. "I'll be back, if that's okay?" He looked inquiringly at Thomas.

"Of course. Take all the time you need. I was going to do my best to persuade Amanda into having dinner in the castle this evening." Thomas looked down at her and softly smiled.

"I haven't been inside Castelsarreillan since I was a little girl. Kiara's family prefers their more modern residence near their vineyard for court events." Her smile grew bigger. "I would love to have dinner here tonight."

"Great." Maxwell called out a goodbye to Addison as she came out of Jessica’s trailer. "I'll be back unless Bertrand finally kills me." He jogged off.

"What happened?" Addison asked, slipping her cell phone in her pocket.

"Red panda drama." Holly explained.

"Red what now?" Addison stared after Maxwell's retreating form.

"I'll explain later." Holly turned to Thomas. "We're ready when you are, boss."

He broke away from staring at Amanda. "Ready for...er, yes. Let's get to it. I don't like the look of that sky." He called out for another chair to be brought over for her and set it near his own.

She sat down and read through his notes that he handed her. As he waited on the touch ups to makeup and costume to be completed, he leaned over toward her. "I recognize that smile of yours. What have you seen?"

She looked up, startled at his close attention directed on herself. "I know the gathering storm clouds are a concern, but they are the perfect backdrop for this particular scene. It is nothing but frustration and building desire between the duchess and her servant."

He slowly smiled. "You're right." He turned his attention back to his crew and explained the scene to Chris and Jessica.

It only took three takes to get what he needed from the two actors. As everyone quickly moved cameras and equipment back into the nearby portable storage units, Matt and Ryan walked up.

"Amanda, long time no see." Ryan kissed her cheek. "Holly," he called out. "Prepare yourself. We are going out tonight."

Holly cocked an eyebrow. "You and Amanda? How nice."

He softly groaned. "See how little she thinks of me?" He chased after her.

Addison ran into Matt's arms. "Where you taking me Rodriguez?"

"We found a nightclub over in the next town that has passwords required for entrance." He explained. "We heard the owner likes sweets, so I think we have a pretty good chance discovering the hidden--"

"What's today?" Amanda interrupted them.

"Thursday." Addison replied.

"Then tonight's password is canelé." Amanda announced.

"Canelé?" Matt repeated. "What's that?"

"A French pastry." Amanda's eyes lit with mischief. "Since it’s made with rum, Thursday night's have specials on all rum based cocktails."

"I'm already loving this place." Addison tugged on Matt's arm. "We better hurry before Thomas finds something else for us to do."

"I heard that." Thomas muttered as he returned to gather his things.

Unrepentant, Addison giggled and ran off with Matt.

"You two want to join us?" Ryan asked once he returned with Holly. "It sounds like a fun place to go."

"Join you where?" Thomas asked reluctantly.

"He and Matt found a nightclub." Holly explained.

Amanda noticed his disinterest and decided to save him. "I had hoped I could tour the castle after we had dinner."

He smiled at her. "I have been hoping to do the same while here. I've been busy with..." He trailed off when he noticed Holly and Ryan leaning forward in interest. "Shouldn't you both go make yourselves ready?"

"And miss out on a boring, no offense Amanda, history filled evening?" Ryan mocked. "Perish the thought, Hunt."

Thomas ignored him and led Amanda back to the castle.

Holly and Ryan followed behind them. Ryan quickly sent a text, Step four complete enact step five on my mark.

****************

Inside the castle, Castelsarreillan...

"Oh." Amanda said softly as she looked up at the cathedral ceiling. The engaved wood beams met one another in a geometrical form that almost made one dizzy with its intricacies.

The walls were adorned with paintings and tapestries of Cordonian nobles from long ago. Wood floors shined under the various black and gold rugs with the Theron family sigil.

"It's just as beautiful as I remembered." Amanda said to Thomas.

He followed her gaze, studying the various decorations that would add more to the film. "It is."

Inside the main hall, Seth was making Jessica laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ryan asked.

"He thinks he could have made it as a court jester." She replied, laughing even more when he poured another glass of wine for the two of them.

"I'm telling you Iowa, we would have been living here with my talent." He grabbed Amanda's hand and pulled her to the center of the room. "Come on, duchess. Help me prove it to her."

"I don't really think I’m--" Amanda began.

"Seth." Thomas bit out. "Leave her--"

"Hear me out." Seth said. "Stand right there, Amanda, while I bring you a glass of our finest old grape juice." He leaned his head back and placed a full goblet of wine on his forehead. "Don't move." He ordered her.

Everyone held their breath as he slowly limboed his way to her.

With only two steps left, he sneezed.

The glass of wine hit her, breaking and splashing red wine all down the front of her white sundress.

"Amanda, I'm so sorry!" Seth covered his mouth while everyone else exclaimed.

She looked down at herself and tried to waive off his apologies. "It's no big deal."

"Are you hurt?" Thomas asked, when he saw that the goblet had broken at the stem.

She blotted at her chest with a napkin Jessica had brought over. "It's just a small cut." She held the napkin to the spot on her collarbone. She gave him a wry smile. "At least it's been thoroughly disinfected."

Seth quickly smothered his laughter when Thomas glared at him. "I am so, so, so sorry." He repeated.

Addison came downstairs at that moment. "Holly, can I borrow your--what happened?"

"I sneezed a wine glass on her." Seth explained.

"Oh no! You poor---wait, you did what to her?" Addison asked.

Seth shrugged, “I was showing off my acrobatic skills.”

“He left off the word, lack.” Holly corrected. “Seth was showing his lack of acrobatic skills.”

Addison struggled to keep from smiling. She grabbed Amanda’s hand. "Come on, I think I have some clothes you can change into."

Seth and Jessica quickly escaped before Thomas had a chance to unleash his temper.

"I guess we better take Seth with us tonight to keep Thomas out of prison." Ryan loudly whispered.

"A wise decision." Thomas muttered, going up to his chambers to clean up.

***************

Addison led Amanda to a sparsely decorated guest room.

"I keep some dresses on hand in case Seth does something or one of us has to give an interview." She opened up a closet while talking. "I think I have a dress that will fit you."

"I doubt it." Amanda mumbled. "There is no way I can fit into anything you, Holly, or Jessica can. I'm not remotely what one would describe as thin."

Addison grinned. "You have an hourglass figure that I would kill for." She pulled out a dark plum dress. "So many men love that old Hollywood glamour of curvy women like Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe."

"Who?" Amanda asked, laughing. "I need to meet these men."

"Thomas has been known to comment that actresses today shouldn't starve themselves. He's always on the lookout for the next Gina Lollobrigida or Sophia Loren." Addison continued.

"Yeah, but they were curvy and gorgeous." Amanda mumbled. "I'm afraid I have little hope in that department."

Addison placed her hands on her hips "What are you talking about? You’re beautiful! We all think so. Thomas says it whenever he sees you in the news."

"He does?" Amanda blushed. "I mean, he, you--" she closed her eyes. "Let's see that dress."

"Why don't you rinse off, first?" Addison started the shower. "Here's all you'll need." She set a bag of toiletries and makeup on the counter. "While you get ready, I'll try and clean your sundress for you."

She gave Amanda little opportunity to argue as she moved behind her to unzip it.

"Addison, shouldn’t I make sure the new dress will fit--"

"It'll be fine." Addison interrupted. She rushed out of the room, stained dress in her arms, and closed the door behind her.

Amanda walked over to the bed and held the dress up. "Oh no." Her cheeks turned red with how it was designed: low cut bodice, capped sleeves that hung off the shoulders, and knit material to hug every single curve she had.

"Addison!" Amanda cried out.

**************

Thomas returned to the main hall after his own shower to await his dinner date. His eyebrows rose when he noticed all his friends hurrying out the door. Farewells were shouted back at him.

"We'll see you later." Addison said as she dashed down the stairs. "Tell Amanda, I'm sorry, but I had to throw her dress away. It ripped while I scrubbed at the wine stain. She can keep that dress I let her borrow."

"Wait, what--" Thomas stopped speaking as the door was slammed shut.

He slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks and devoted his solitude to planning all that he wanted to discuss this evening.

**************

30 minutes later in the town of Castelsarreillan...

"Welcome everyone." Maxwell held the door open as his fellow conspirators filed in. "How did it go?"

"Perfectly." Holly replied. "You should have seen our performance."

"Seth especially deserves an award for his Cirque du Soleil talent." Jessica bragged.

Seth bowed. "Thank you. I would like to thank all the little people who I have knocked down to get where I am today."

Maxwell popped open a bottle of champagne. "And the dress?"

"Her new one is going to leave quite an impression on Thomas." Addison winked at him. "I based it on one from the 1961 movie, Come September."

Ryan checked the time. "In less than an hour, the grip Chris talked to will cut the power off in the castle."

Maxwell passed flutes of champagne around. His smile glowed as he held his glass up. "I don't know what I would do without all of you. I would still be trying to convince Amanda to tell Thomas."

"And we would still be suffering with a frustrated in love Thomas." Matt added. "Nothing like a few carefully planned mishaps to draw two people together."

"Better send the text." Holly reminded him. "It started pouring down on our way here."

"On it." Maxwell quickly tapped out a message to Amanda, claiming the storm had hit Ramsford earlier and flooded the main bridge."

*************

Back at Castelsarreillan...

You've reached the award winning author of The Royal Romance, please leave a message after the beep. If this is Amanda, get off the phone and tell Thomas you're madly in love with him. *beep*

Amanda's eyes were wide. "Maxwell! Get rid of that outgoing message! I need to know if I should have someone-" her phone died. "And he has my charger."

She gave up trying to reach her absent friend and hurried downstairs, hoping she didn't make Thomas think she was trying to seduce him in wearing such a dress.

Thomas glanced back over his shoulder when he heard her footsteps, then completely turned around once he saw her in that dress. He forgot about the storm growing worse outside. He thought he might have temporarily forgotten how to speak.

Amanda blushed. "I know." She motioned down at her dress. "This isn't something I would normally wear, but I can't find anything else that will fit."

"You should--"He audibly swallowed. "You should wear something like that more often."

"Really?" She smiled softly when he nodded. "Well, thank you, I think."

"You look, that dress is, the color and all is very becoming." He stuttered.

Her lips curved even more. "Thank you."

He shook himself out of staring at her. "Everything is ready." He placed his hand on her back to guide her to the table he had set, nearly jerking it away when he encountered her warm skin.

"Thomas, you didn't have to go to so much trouble." She thanked him when he held her chair out for her.

“It’s been a long time since we were able to have dinner without anyone else around.” He sat down across from her.

She decided to go ahead and tell him her predicament. “Thomas, I heard from Maxwell before my phone died. He is trapped at Ramsford most likely for the rest of the night.”

He filled her glass with wine. “You are more than welcome to stay here tonight. I don’t want you trying to get out in this storm if you don’t have to.”

“Thank you.” She picked at her food. “I wish I had my luggage with me.”

“You can borrow a shirt from me to sleep in and then we will deal with tomorrow’s clothes when we need to.” He smiled softly when she thanked him again. 

Their conversation over dinner centered around what they would each be doing the next few months.

“I was wondering if you might be willing to attend The Last Duchess premiere with me.” Thomas observed her closely.

“Of course.” She took another bite of the strawberry soufflé he had surprised her with. “I’ve always thought they looked exciting.”

He wondered if she had misunderstood why he wanted her to go. “I want you to go as my date for the evening.”

She paused with her spoon still in her mouth. “You...” She set it down. “Are you trying to avoid someone who is wanting to date you?”

“No.” His brow furrowed. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you...” she lowered her eyes. “Well, I...” she couldn’t get her thoughts together. “I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“I’m asking you to be my date for the premiere.” He repeated. 

“I see.” She still wasn’t clear on what he had in mind. “I would like to go with you.”

He seemed to relax once she said that. “After the premiere, I plan on taking some time away from Hollywood.” He lifted his wine glass to his lips. “I’m thinking of vacationing in Fiji.”

“Fiji.” She sighed with a smile. “It looks gorgeous in the pictures I’ve seen.”

“We could spend time there without anyone around and enjoy ourselves.” He added.

Her eyes widened. “We?”

He lifted an eyebrow at her surprise. “Yes, I’ll be able to give you the attention I should once I’m done with the film.”

“You want me to go with you to Fiji to begin a romantic relationship?” She asked, trying to keep the shock out of her tone.

“Yes. Amanda why are you--”

The power went out. They both stilled when thunder rumbled nearby.

“Thank goodness we had candles at the table.” She stood up and walked toward the direction of an end table she had noticed earlier that had a candelabra on it.

She returned with it, lighting the five candles by one of the lit ones. “Shall we look for more candles?”

Though he wished to continue their conversation, he decided not to do so and took the ornate silver candlestick she offered. “Where do you suggest we search first?”

She turned around and led the way to the study.

He smiled softly as he followed her. “Do you believe candles are stored in the desk or are you simply wanting to see what books are in there?”

Amanda laughed. “You know me too well.” She opened the door and stepped inside. “But, it doesn’t hurt to look here first for the candles.”

They found two more sets of candles in a small den and in the kitchen. After deciding that those were more than enough to get them through the night, they went upstairs to find a guestroom for her to sleep in.

“Why are all these locked?” Amanda asked when she tried to open the eighth door they had come to.

“I don’t know.” He muttered, trying the one across form her. “This entire wing is locked, save for my room.”

“I wonder why Addison locked the room I changed in.” She tried to open it again. “There weren’t any linens on the bed, but I’m certain we can find a closet with the--” she opened a narrow door and stared at the empty shelves. “Or not.”

Thomas stopped her from going toward another wing of the castle. “We’ve only been using this wing during our stay. If these are all locked, then I’m certain the others are elsewhere.”

“I guess I could search for a couch and--”

“You’ll stay in my room.” He took her hand and tugged her along. “I refuse to allow you to sleep on some narrow antique couch downstairs.”

Once inside his chambers, he knelt down before the fireplace and started a warm, cheery fire. He blew his candle out and decided to finish their conversation from earlier.

“Amanda, why were you so surprised at my plans to take you to Fiji?”

She set her candelabra down on a chest along with the spare candles they had discovered. “Thomas, you've never shown any...desire... for us to enter into an intimate relationship.”

“Never shown?” He murmured. “I’ve invited you to everything of mine.”

“You have.” She agreed. “But I assumed it was meant as a friendship.”

“Why would I insist you come to every location for weeks at a time if I only wanted us to be platonic?” He asked. “You’ve seen me with those I consider friends. I don’t try and spend every moment I can with them.”

Amanda’s lips parted in surprise. “I thought we were close friends. I never dreamed you were getting to know me with the intention to one day date.”

“We have been dating.” Thomas corrected. 

“We have?” Her brow furrowed in thought. “ But, you’ve never tried to kiss me.”

“I was attempting to follow the type of courtships you told me Cordonians have.” He told her. “The way you described the typical noble relationship, there seemed to be little physical contact. When you never kissed me, I assumed that was how it was supposed to be in the beginning.”

Amanda dropped her head back. “If I had known we were dating, I would have initiated a kiss.” She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “My previous relationships had that regardless of how serious it was.”

Thomas rubbed the back of his neck. “I see. Then this has been one misunderstanding after another.”

She sat down at the foot of the canopied bed and lowered her eyes. “Why didn’t you say anything before now?” She forced herself to look up. “I mean, why do you wish to get serious now?”

“I wanted to make certain that what I felt wasn’t fleeting. Living in different countries can strain a relationship, especially one that is weak to begin with.” He explained.  “I know without a doubt that I want to be with you.”

“So all this time, you---” she couldn’t believe it. “You felt what I felt?” She began to pace before the fireplace, trying to see what she had missed all these months.

“That all depends on what you felt.” He stepped closer to her, blocking her path. “How do you feel about me?”

She looked up into his dark eyes and moved even closer. “I want to be in a serious relationship with you.” Her hands settled on his chest when his arms wrapped around her waist. “You made me fall in love each time I visited you.”

“Good.” He lowered his head and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “You did the same to me.” He slid his hands down her back, urging her closer as he kissed her once more.

Amanda laughed in the midst of his kiss. 

He dropped his head down to kiss her neck and shoulder. “May I ask why you are laughing at such a moment?”

“I was worried earlier tonight that you would think I was trying to seduce you with the dress and being forced to remain here.” She tilted her head  to give him better access. “It seems silly now that I know you thought we were dating.”

He captured her lips again in a heated exchange. “I’m grateful that we have it straightened out.” Thomas gently cupped her cheek. “I think it is past time we made our relationship official.”

She wound her arms around his neck. “No waiting on the premiere then?”

“No.” He murmured against her mouth. “No more waiting on anything.”

*************

The next morning...

The group of conspirators returned to the castle. They had the grip turn the power back on and cautiously searched the downstairs. When they saw no signs of anyone having slept in one of the rooms, they made their way upstairs.

“It’ s so quiet.” Addison whispered. “Do you think they’re still here?”

“Knowing Amanda’s preferred sleep schedule, I bet they are still in bed.” Maxwell whispered back. He had her luggage in his arms. 

They all stopped outside Thomas’s door.

“Should we knock?” Matt asked.

“Maybe we should listen at the door in case they are--” Ryan let out a grunt when Holly elbowed him. “What?”

She rolled her eyes and knocked three times in quick secession. 

When no answer came, she knocked louder.

Thomas opened up his door some, yawning. “What is it?”

“We, um, were wondering if Amanda needed her bags.” Holly stepped back to let Maxwell hand them over.

“I’m sure she does.” Thomas mumbled, running a hand through his mussed hair. “Anything else?”

“Did you have a good time last night?” Addison asked.

“Yes, of course.” Thomas replied. He began to shut the door, pausing when Addison held it open. “What is it?” He bit out, irritated at her actions.

“Did anything happen last night?” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice.

“Yes, it did.” His lips curved slightly. “The power went out.”

“And?” Maxwell prompted.

Thomas quirked an eyebrow at him. “And we did what any normal couple would do. We retired for the evening.” he shut the door in their faces.

“I was really hoping for more detail.” Addison whined. “I just knew that--”

“It worked.” Ryan interrupted, smiling at the closed door.

“How do you know that?” Holly demanded.

“He said they did what any normal couple would do.” He turned toward his friends. “Couple. For the first time, Thomas referred to himself and Amanda as a couple.”

[s-horne]

29. Linaria Bipartita (notice my feelings for you)

On AO3

A loud moan woke Tony, though he had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a while. That usually happened when he’d been out drinking. He didn’t really do hangovers as such, but he found sleep was hard to come by once the sun was up. Once the afternoon came, though, Tony tended to crash. And crash hard.

Things were already feeling a little different, though. It might have been the bruises on the column of his throat, or the small spring in his step.

Pulling on a baggy sweatshirt that he didn’t think was his but that had a modestly-high neckline, Tony wandered out of the kitchen and into the living room. Hearing his houseguest moving around, he paused in the doorway and watched as Steve woke up slowly, his face scrunched up against the bright lighting in the living room. When Steve pushed himself up into a sitting position and caught sight of Tony standing in the doorway, he grimaced.

“Morning, Tony.”

Tony’s lips quirked up at the deep scratch of Steve’s voice. “Morning. How’s the head?”

“Shit. I feel like death warmed up.”

Tony snorted. His heart started to beat wildly in his chest and he could feel a flush already rising. Even with bed hair, bags under his eyes, and a pillow crease down his cheek, Steve was still the most beautiful man Tony had ever seen. “Yeah. You look like it.”

“Gee, thanks.” Steve yawned widely, arms above his head. The borrowed blanket that he’d had over himself slipped down and Tony couldn’t stop his gaze from wandering, eyes settling on the expanse of tanned, muscled chest. “Fuck, what the hell did I drink?”

“The bar?” Tony swallowed and looked away, hating the memories that flooded his brain and started to make his cock twitch with interest. There was nothing he wanted to do more than launch himself across the room and into Steve’s arms, but he could play coy when he felt like there would be something in it for him. And hopefully, there would be something in him very soon. “We’ll have to go back and make sure they’re still in business.”

“Ha. Ha. Pretty sure you helped. You little hooligan.”

Tony grinned and looked back at Steve. “Corruption. Peer pressure, I think you could call it.”

“Nope, it was all on you.” Steve shook his head before he winced almost violently and threw a hand up to his face. “Okay, don’t move your head,” he muttered to himself lowly, voice deliciously husky. “Bad idea. Bad, bad idea.”

Tony snorted again. “I could have told you that, dickhead.”

Steve looked a little surprised, but it faded into a slow smile. “You’ve been hanging around with Buck too much, if you’re talking back like that.”

“Problem?”

Tony loved the way that Steve looked at him, all gentle shock fading into soft pride. It was true that Tony had needed to be brought out of his shell and that Bucky, Sam, and Rhodey had been the three men to do just that. Their personalities were so different to anybody else that Tony had ever met in his sheltered life before moving to college, but it seemed that that had been a good thing.

After a few months of them literally taking him beneath their wings and introducing him to an entirely new world, Tony had started to trust that they were actually, genuinely his friends and had started to let a bit of his cheekiness show.

If it was going to have the added bonus of making Steve look at him like that, then Tony was all for it even more.  

“Nah, I think I kind of like it. Tiny Tony growing up.”

Tony narrowed his eyes, but he softened quickly when Steve shot him a wide grin, one hand still massaging his forehead.

“So, what did happen last night?” Steve asked through a yawn, which quickly turned into a groan.

And that stopped Tony in his tracks. What was the supposed to mean?

“You don’t remember?” Tony asked, trying not to let any sort of emotion colour his voice and give anything away. There had to be an explanation; it was probably just Steve giving him an out. Or an in.

Last night had been everything to Tony and Steve was saying that he didn’t remember it? There was no way that that was possible. Steve had been drunk, sure, but not so bad that he wouldn’t be able to recall… what they’d done.

“I don’t think so.” Steve scratched his stomach and rolled his neck, drawing Tony’s eyes to his body, flickering between the two spots as he tried to take in as much as he could. “Not even sure how I got back here.”

And, oh. That hadn’t been what Tony had wanted to hear. In fact, that had been the very last thing that Tony had ever wanted to be told. Nothing could have prepared him for the shiver that went down his spine at those few words, or the crushing pain that closed around his chest.

How could he have been so stupid?

Without saying anything in response to that, Tony pushed himself from the door frame and headed into the kitchen. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard to fill with water and shook three Advil from the pill bottle – Steve would definitely need three after the night that he had. Apparently, he’d been even worse than they’d thought.

Taking a moment to enjoy the peace and to will down the emotions threating to spill up and out of him, Tony let out a long breath. He pressed his palms against the cool surface of the work station and revealed in the feeling against his overheated skin. He was going to need a minute. Or two.

There had been so much in the previous night’s events that Tony had longed for for months on end. It was as though all of his dreams had come true and things were finally going to fall into place. Except, apparently, they weren’t.

After a long moment more, he collected himself to head back into the living room. He’d have happily stayed in the peace and solitary of the kitchen, but he knew it would be suspicious. Once he’d gotten to the bottom of the situation with Steve and knew where he stood, then he could hide.

He had a feeling he was going to need to.

Tony headed back out to the living room where Steve was sitting on the edge of the couch and putting his socks on, looking around gingerly for his shoes. Tony held out the water and pills and Steve took them with a grateful nod, swallowing the painkillers quickly and emptying the glass before sinking back into the couch cushions with closed eyes.

Keeping his eyes on Steve, Tony lowered himself into the armchair opposite the couch.

“So, you really don’t remember anything?”

“Not really,” Steve said. He opened one eye and squinted over at Tony. “I remember getting to the bar. I think I remember meeting Clint’s friends from his chem class, and then Natasha ordered shots. I don’t remember much else after that. Did I miss anything important?”

“Well,” Tony started casually, stamping down on the fist around his heart and the lump in his throat, “there was the naked dancing on the bar top.”

Steve’s head shot up, mouth open and eyes wide, before he caught sight of the wicked grin on Tony’s face and rolled his eyes, fighting off his own smile as he sank back down.

“No, you didn’t forget anything important,” Tony said with a weak chuckle.

His heart was thudding wildly in his chest and he had to look away from Steve’s gentle smile, choosing instead to stare down at his lap. There was a thread hanging from the bottom of his sweatshirt and he had to twist his fingers together to resist the urge to pull and pull and pull. Things unravelled when they were pulled, he told himself. Tony licked his lips and dug his fingernails into his palm.

“Just the usual group night out. There were too many shots, too much dancing and far too much food. Sam got wasted and crashed pretty early. Bucky drew all over his face – I’m pretty sure it was in Sharpie, so it’ll probably still be on him this morning.”

Steve snorted and Tony’s lips turned upwards in a small smile at the noise.

“We met some of your classmates at one point, I think. They were from your life-drawing class. Maria, maybe? And someone called Scott. There was a blonde girl, too. Shannon?”

“Oh. Sharon. Did we stay with them?”

Fuck. Tony had hoped that he had been wrong on the previous night when he had caught longing looks from Sharon to Steve, but the forced causal tone that Steve had adopted told him that he’d read it correctly.

“No.” Tony swallowed harshly. Of course Steve wanted the beautiful girl. “No, they moved on somewhere else pretty quickly. Tash went with them, but you stayed with us. Said you didn’t trust me to wander off.”

Steve laughed and Tony pressed his lips together at the sound. He wanted to hear nothing but that every day for the rest of his life.

“Sounds like me. Was right, though, wasn’t I? You needed me.”

And wasn’t that true?

Tony cocked his eyebrow instead and smirked. “Oh, yeah? Mind I remind you who is in whose apartment and who cannot find his shoes?”

The blush that flooded Steve’s cheeks was dangerously cute and Tony looked away again.

“So, just a normal night then? We lost Clint somewhere along the way and Sam ended up with a dick on his face.”

Tony laughed, tight and brittle. “Sounds about right.”

Well, Tony thought sullenly, that and the best night of his whole life.

♡

“Hey, Tony.”

Tony looked up from the bar-top to see Steve standing close to him, practically caging him in.

“Hi.” Tony grinned at the hazy look on Steve’s face and the way he was swaying with the music. “You okay?”

“Yeah, ‘m good. Are you okay?”

Tony’s smile grew wider. Feeling the alcohol course through him and making him feel braver than usual, he didn’t stop to second guess himself before he reached a hand out and cupped Steve’s hip. At the touch, Steve swayed forward and buried his head into Tony’s neck.

“You smell good,” he moaned, his hand dropping his drink down haphazardly to wrap around Tony’s waist instead.

“Thanks.” Tony moaned as Steve began to kiss the column of his throat, his eyes falling closed and his hand spasming around Steve’s belt.

It was easy to forget where they were for a long moment as Tony gave into the feeling of Steve pressed against him, his hot breath being panted against his neck. The music was loud and the air thick around them, the occasional dancer bumping into them as they clamoured for more drinks, but it was all almost embarrassingly easy to ignore.

Steve let out a particularly loud groan and Tony rocked forward in response, seeking more friction. He tangled his hand in Steve’s hair and, with some difficulty, lifted his head until their eyes met. They only held the heated gaze for a moment before Tony surged forward, taking Steve’s lips with his and licking his way into Steve’s mouth almost desperately.

All too soon, Steve pulled away, though he didn’t go far. His lips dragged over Tony’s cheek, nose pressing against Tony’s temple and making him squirm.

“I want you.”

Tony felt his knees crumple at the words he’d longed to hear for so long. If it weren’t for the bruise he could already feel on his neck and the cool air making his swollen lips sting, then he would think he was dreaming.

“No,” Tony said, though he held Steve closer instead of pushing him away. Always closer. Always with him, never apart. “You’re drunk.”

“I want you. Please say you want me, too.”

Tony whimpered. “Can’t you feel me?”

“I want you to say it.” Steve kissed Tony once, twice, hips pressing him further into the bar.

“Yes,” Tony whispered. The words wouldn’t have been heard over the music if they hadn’t already been sharing the same breath. “Yes, I want you.”

It had been all Tony had ever wanted, since almost that first day of college. Steve was everything that Tony could have wanted; funny, kind, gentle, a bit of an asshole, gorgeous, and smart. There was no universe in which Tony would have pushed Steve away from him.

♡

“Good,” Steve said and Tony swallowed again, nails digging further into his palms. “Glad I didn’t miss anything important. And I’m sure someone has photos, right? Someone normally does.”

Tony winced minutely. Shit. He hadn’t even thought of that. Clint tended to fancy himself as somewhat of a photographer when he got wasted and tried to record everything their group ever did. Tony would have to cut that off pretty quickly and hope that any evidence hadn’t found its way onto social media already.

“Yeah,” Tony said, praying that his voice didn’t sound as strained as it felt. “I’m sure. He seemed to have his phone out every time I looked at him.”

“Wait.” Steve looked up suddenly and squinted. “Why did I end up here? Thought I’d have gone home with Buck.”

“Bucky had taken Sam back to yours before we went. The whole passing-out-on-the-bathroom-floor thing was kind of a downer so Bucky said he’d take him home. You and I stayed out for a bit longer and, I don’t know.”

You didn’t want to wake him up with loud sex with me, Tony thought bitterly. Bucky had left before Steve and Tony had started dancing together, never mind done anything more risqué, so at least that was one problem that he didn’t have to deal with. Tony lifted one shoulder in a causal shrug and shook his head.

“Don’t know if you had a key on you, anyway. You were a bit out of it and I didn’t want to go rifling through your pockets to find out. Easier to bring you back here with me, in the end.”

♡

The moan that Tony let out as his back hit the door was loud enough to hurt his throat. Steve must have felt it as well, as he pulled back to try and look at Tony.

“No,” Tony whined, cupping his hands together behind Steve’s head and bringing him back for another searing kiss, “kiss me.”

“Fuck.” The word was accompanied by Steve’s thigh sliding between Tony’s legs and pressing up against his crotch. “Tony, so good.”

“Come on, Steve. Come on,” Tony begged, grinding down on the leg between his and panting wantonly. “I need you.”

“No.” Steve kissed his way down Tony’s neck, pausing to suck another deep bruise into his neck. “Not tonight.”

“What? Please.” Tony threw his head back and let out another groan, movements almost turning to bounces against Steve’s solid thigh. “Fuck me.”

Steve pulled back only to catch Tony’s mouth in a searing kiss, leaving him breathless. “Not for our first time,” he said when they broke apart, holding Tony’s hips and helping him move against Steve.

That was a change of tune, Tony thought with a dark glare. In the club, Steve hadn’t had those same sort of thoughts. The alcohol was burning off in Tony’s system, but it seemed as though it was being replaced with a white-hot passion, a desperation to be close to the man he wanted. It was coursing through him and making his head spin, much like the tequila that Natasha had poured down his throat had done.

“You deserve so much more. So much better.” Steve kissed Tony again, tongues dancing together. One of his hands slid up beneath Tony’s shirt, fingers pressing into the dimples at the bottom of his spin. “Gonna treat you right. When we’re not drunk, not rushing. We’ll do it right.”

Tony didn’t want to do it right; he just wanted to do it. He wanted to feel Steve against him, feel their bodies moving together in tandem and to finally be connected with the one he’d pined after for so long.

“Will you do something, though?” Tony should have been ashamed at how desperate he sounded, but the wolfish grin on Steve’s face told him that he didn’t seem to mind.

“Of course, sweetheart,” Steve said and Tony’s eyes rolled back into his head when Steve shoved his hand down the front of his jeans. “I’ve got you.”

♡

“Personally,” Tony continued, pointing at the empty takeaway boxes on the coffee table between them, “I just don’t think you wanted to share your pizza with him.”

With cum-stained pants and hardly any energy, they’d stumbled into the living room and ordered pizza at 3 am. They’d shared sticky kisses over the greasy food until Steve had fallen asleep on the couch, one hand clutching a crust and the other stroking over Tony’s back.

“Huh,” Steve said, huffing out a laugh. “Don’t even remember ordering that, but it sounds about right.”

Tony didn’t answer. He wasn’t surprised. Nothing could surprise him anymore, he didn’t think.

Taking a steeling breath, Steve stood up on shaking legs and picked his jacket up off the floor. Searching through the pockets with a slightly nervous expression, Steve grinned triumphantly when he found his keys and pulled them out with a jingle. “Thank fuck those are still there.”

“Guess you were drunker than you thought you were,” Tony chuckled weakly. “I tried to tidy up but I have no idea what you did after I went to bed. Looks like you had your own private party.”

“Yeah. I guess I was. I hope I didn’t do anything stupid. I was not in a good place yesterday.” Steve’s smile faltered a little bit and he cleared his throat. “Thanks for bringing me home.”

“Do you want a coffee?” Tony asked suddenly. His heart was heavy and his head was still pounding. He didn’t want to be there anymore, didn’t want to hear how Steve didn’t remember what Tony would cherish forever. He didn’t want to talk about anything, really. “My head is louder than the damn club and I need caffeine.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.” Steve squinted at Tony, looking at him questioningly. “Hey, are you okay?”

Tony opened his mouth to brush the question off before Steve’s phone suddenly buzzed on the coffee table, the two of them wincing at the loud vibration that it made.

“Shit,” Steve said after he picked it up and thumbed the screen. “Bucky’s up and wondering why I never went home. I’d better go and show him that I’m still alive.” He took a step forward before he stopped and closed his eyes. He swayed back and forth on the spot for a moment. “Or maybe I should take another second… nope, okay. I’m good.”

Tony huffed a weak laugh. “You got this. You’re a big, buff man. You can handle your liquor.”

Steve smiled at Tony and shrugged into his jacket, shoving his phone into his pocket and waving his keys in Tony’s face.

“Thanks, again. For the pizza and the couch.”

“Yeah.” Tony’s mouth was dry and his knees weren’t going to support him for very much longer. “Anytime. You know that.”

The hug that Steve caught Tony in was the final straw. Tears sprung to Tony’s eyes and he twisted his hands in Steve’s jacket until his knuckles went white. It was for the best, he told himself when he stepped back and plastered on a smile. He was a big boy; he could handle it.

“Go. And take a photo of Sam’s face. I need to see it again.”

Steve snorted as he opened the front door. “Best hangover cure, right?”

Finally alone again, Tony wandered back into the kitchen. He made himself a cup of coffee on autopilot as he picked up his phone for the first time that morning.

He’d put it off, knowing what he was going to find. And sure enough, there were countless messages, though luckily none of them had made it into the group chat.

 Received from Natasha > Bruce told me. Way to go, shpil'ka! Get some.

Received from Rhodey > Finally!

> I’m happy for you

> Don’t ever tell me any details

> I will kill him if he hurts you

> I’m serious Tones. NO DETAILS

> NEVER ANY DETAILS

Received from Clint > ew.

> i didn’t need to see that

> no. seriously

> youre gross

> ew

Tony huffed out a humourless laugh. If things had been reversed, if he’d woken up in a different world, then he would have loved those texts. He’d have turned over to smother his laughs into Steve’s chest, typing out a cheeky and suggestive message just to see Steve’s cheeks flush a bright red as he would try and wrestle the phone away.

There would have been more teasing. It probably would have spilled over to the group chat as well, and then Bucky and Sam would have joined in when they’d put two and two together. Clint would send the photos that he’d taken of the two of them kissing, as dark and as grainy as they would be. Of course they’d have been stupidly unclear, but Tony would have chosen a favourite and made it his background, just to see Steve grin bashfully.

Tony would have taken selfie after selfie as well; one of their top-halves naked and pressed together, one of Steve pressing a kiss to Tony’s cheek, maybe even one of their lips meeting in a soft kiss.

 But none of that would happen. Because life didn’t always work out as it had been planned and things didn’t always go the way that people wanted. Instead, Tony took a deep breath and opened a new group chat, quickly picking out a handful of people that he hoped he could trust to dampen the wildfire of the rumour mill.

 Sent from Tony > Last night never happened.

Received from Rhodey > What?

> What did he say?

> Tony. I’m calling you

> Tones answer me. I’m going to kill him

Received from Bruce > What are you talking about?

> Did Steve say something to you?

Received from Rhodey > Answer your phone, you idiot. We’re talking about this

Received from Clint > i promise it did i saw it

Received from Rhodey > Tony. Answer. Your. Phone

Received from Bruce > He’s going to remember. I think Clint took pictures

Received from Clint > i took pictures lots of them

> i have the mental scars it deffo happened

Received from Rhodey > Tones. I’m coming over. Carol too

 Tony took a deep breath as his phone continued to buzz and flash in his hand. His head was still pounding to a loud and heavy beat, but it was almost drowned out by the pain in his chest.

Fuck, but how did he always get himself into messes? He didn’t want to talk to anyone, didn’t want to have to explain what happened or what he’d done. All he wanted was to be loved by the man he loved, to be wanted back and to be seen as more than a drunken fuck.

He wanted to be remembered. Sure, he could just tell Steve, but he didn’t want that. He wanted Steve to want to wake up with him, to want to kiss him when there wasn’t the stale taste of warm beer and cheap vodka staining his lips.

Jokes were never funny if they had to be explained, just like passion was never there if it had to be told about. It was clear that it had been a drunken thing and a drunken thing only. Tony would only look desperate if he tried to convince Steve what they’d done, or look like a liar if he claimed that Steve had promised him a sober fuck.

Tony just wanted to be wanted, that was all. That’s all he ever wanted.

Downing his coffee and wincing at the protesting thud his head gave, Tony willed his thumbs into typing out one more text before he threw his phone across the room and tried to force his body into sleep.

 Sent from Tony > It never happened.

[shineonmalcolmbright]

Shine On, Bright: Chapter Eighteen

Table of Contents

Present

Malcolm pushes files back into their rightful place but pauses to get a good look at the room Colette and Dani are in. The door opens for a second. He can’t make anything out and sighs before looking back at the box he just repacked. Real quick, Malcolm looks through a little finding aid he created for himself when he started and makes sure it’s back in the same order. At some point somewhere he learned proper archivist approaches. The initial format a collection is in is important and should be maintained that way because it describes the context of the archive.

Next, he pulls up a new box finished with that one, and starts with fresh paper. He labels the top with the box number he’s on and starts to look at the first few folders. Making notes on what is what before spotting what appears to be an out of place envelope sticking out.

For no rhyme or reason, he plucks it free noticing the folders it’s in between. It’s an orange envelope but looks more like one for mail and inside of it are some old photos.

He’s about to drop it back into place and wait till he gets there but it’s as if the photograph speaks to him. It whispers some words, but no, it’s not the photograph but instead a memory. Great, Malcolm comes so close to freedom by looking away. A ghostly hymn snatches him, trying to drag him straight back to final moments at the Overlook.

Regrets. . .I’ve had a few but then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption. . .

Sounds like the anthem an old cop would love.

Malcolm closes his eyes trying to banish the old ghostly hymn from his thoughts, his hand trembles not really helping him out with seeing the image. He holds it together as best he can with both his hands.

There’s Ian Turner.

Ian Turner is in this photograph.

But. It’s not Ian Turner who he’s thinking about and not Ian Turner who caught his attention, but a past that can’t give up. There’s two men in the photograph, there’s Ian Turner then there’s another police officer who Malcolm himself once knew.

Locked up in one of the front rooms at the Overlook Hotel. It was amazing how long those emergency lights stayed on. Even injured they kept him inside one of the front offices.

For some reason, they kept up sitting inside a pretty dark room and people were on the other side. Somebody had found a little radio underneath the counter. Other cops and paramedics out there, waiting around, checking out the scene, exploring the scene, doing whatever it was that they did. Those on break cranked up the volume listening to Frank Sinatra spit out words over a rusty speaker.

I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all and I stood tall and I did it my way.

Malcolm kept trying to not look at the cop across from him. His big off white sweater was still pretty wet from the snow outside. It soaked through, chilling him to the bone, but he didn’t say a word afraid somebody would point out he was a liar or he was making it up or he was exaggerating or trying to get out of this locked up room and away from this man because he didn’t want to admit some alleged truth.

“Hey Malcolm, over here,” said the cop.

He wore street clothes and didn’t look like an officer or a detective. It was impossible to define his role, but life moved at a strange pace out on the snowy side the hotel overlooked. Malcolm kept trying to count the cracks he saw all around the room but the cop snapped his fingers in his face to get his attention.

“I’m Detective Shannon.”

He left room for Malcolm to respond, but Malcolm wasn’t about to open his mouth to say any words other than maybe I have to use the bathroom. It’d be hard to find words to better define how corners and darkness moved throughout the Overlook.

Once people went around yelling: The devil made me do it.

The devil was easy to blame because they were such a delight.

If Malcolm dared, he could try: The Hotel made him do it. But there were two of them. His father and the other. The man who seemed to exist in between realities who claimed out loud, the hotel wanted Malcolm dead because the shining or so he assumed. Before Jessica and Ainsley could find him with actual blood on his hands, he cleaned it off letting it stay a secret.

Malcolm sat there staring at Detective Shannon doing his best to not react in any sort of way. Except the whole time, the detective stood in front of him holding eye contact.

“Hey, I’m trying to talk to you, kid.”

Malcolm sighed, people couldn’t casually drop the ghost word or psychic word or any of those surrounding details. He should’ve spent his time counting the cracks running through the room.

Outside somebody started to sing along with the radio and somebody cackled yelling to stop. Didn’t they know? Malcolm stared at the door, it felt as if he were in both rooms at the same time but he wanted to wriggle into the next room to be there physically and mentally as he listened to those joking around. It’s bad luck to sing My Way because many met their death right after singing it for karaoke and nobody else sang after but laughed and laughed as if there weren’t. . .

Detective Shannon stood up, staying in full view of Malcolm’s vision. He tried to pick at the wet threads of his sweater while the detective spoke. “Yeah, we just wanted to review your statement about your father’s arrest.”

Except Malcolm put his head down, he pushed the other room from his brain and hoped to combat any ghosts that might try and pry in. The grogginess that once weighed him down so much had been lifted for exhaustion and fatigue to stop him.

He muttered into the table, “I already told you everything.”

Weird to think. He ran his fingers across the tabletop. It all started here. His father had been interviewed and received the position to work at the Overlook. Somehow those moments were trapped up in the table. He could pick them free. His father sitting there, doing his best smiles and charming the man who hired him while thinking such terrible thoughts about him. Ones he wasn’t ready to accept or form and couldn’t break free from the moment he stumbled into them.

Detective Shannon leaned across the table. “Yeah, but, um. . .here’s the thing. The security guard who called us and was on the scene before they took your dad away, said that he overheard you and your dad share some parting words.”

It felt like an eternity out there in the world. He trudged through the snow without much protection. Jessica worried about frostbite as she carried Ainsley. All Malcolm had was a pocket knife, it wouldn’t do much in a fight against a fully grown adult and an ax. To think, he’d called Gil right before then right before the snap.

Martin’d been fine and somehow it all came together, the reason behind the danger behind every corner beyond the ghosts who called the Overlook home. He’d called out to Gil then realized at Martin greeted him that Gil wasn’t going to make it and he needed to put a stop to it.

They pulled Martin away, he acted normal all over again first simply blaming the hotel for the reason to why he lost it. He and Malcolm fixed the boiler in time not letting the place explode. But Malcolm wanted to stay hidden down there, wedged between dust, out of sight of his father, out of sight of the police who soon arrived, out of sight of all the ghosts like the crooked woman who crawled around there. Somehow if he ever happened to hear her she begged him to Jump.

And Detective Shannon repeated the word Martin Whitly said to Malcolm as he was pulled away. One last moment and in the boiler room out of all places. The words left the detective’s mouths because for some reason, Gil apparently told him or maybe it was somebody else. A lot of people were around that night.

“‘We’re the same.” Detective Shannon leaned across the table. Malcolm dug some fingernails into the wood welcoming splinters while a tremor ran through his other hand. The detective watched anxiety wound its way all throughout him before looking him in the eye and asking, “Why do you think he said that? That’s what I can’t figure out.”

Malcolm catches his breath losing the photograph. He folds his hands together hoping to stop his one hand from shaking. Somehow the chill of the past finds him in the present, which isn’t ok. None of this is ok. None of this is ever going to be ok. Malcolm buries half his face into the backs of his hands and is stuck sitting there with the photograph of Ian Turner and Detective Shannon watching him.

This isn’t ok. None of this is ok. None of this is ever going to be ok. Malcolm turns catching Gil as he’s walking by with some hot coffee.

Gil? Malcolm calls out.

“Yeah?” Gil asks, letting it slip even though this conversation started elsewhere. Then he sees Malcolm there. His face still buried in the backs of his hands as he’s looking at the photograph. Gil takes one look at this and shakes his head. “No, no.” He takes a sip of too hot coffee unable to find a happy medium. “No, look for something else Bright, and then give me a shout.”

Except Malcolm peers up at him. Not gonna happen.

Gil sighs, he blows on his coffee and starts to walk away. Just. . .let me have this one thing first before you make more bad decisions.

[caroline18mars]

A Man On Fire - Chapter 52

That's close enough” she calmly said as he kept on wanting to come as close to her as she would allow, she judded her hip pushing her hands even deeper into her pockets, this wasn't ok, he had too much time to think of a whole lot of excuses. “Coco..I..” he stuttered, “I know my own name, Jay, was there anything else?” she snarled, her patience was starting to run dangerously low “nothing happened..” he quickly said, his mouth awfully dry, “are you really sure about that? Because I'm not, if nothing happened then we wouldn't be here”. A shiver ran down her spine as he waited too long to answer again “it's simple really, either you start talking or I start walking..and the truth this time, I need..no I deserve the truth”. He bit his lip just a little too hard, this was ridiculous, fuck this, I'm out of here “Harper! no..wait!” he jumped in front of her wanting to head back to the door “I'm telling you the truth..nothing happened, she can say whatever she wants but I didn't sleep with her”. Harper looked up at him, she could tell if he was lying right? she could see it in his eyes, he wasn't that good an actor or a liar for that matter, all she saw in those blue pools was a crushing sadness, give him the chance to explain “I'm listening” she backed down a little. To her surprise he walked over to the nightstand, picked up the phone and ordered some roomservice “sit down” he said as he put the receiver down “please” he repeated when she hesitated, “you need food and a drink? Really? It seems to me you're just trying to buy time, Jared” she was cold, the cold in her heart started to spread through her body. “I'm not..it was Shannon..that last day with you in New York, he sent me a text in the plane..she was there, apparantly just dropping by..” she sat down just watching him, was there a spark in his eyes when he talked about that trollup? Nope. “I'm not gonna lie, we were together for quite a while, she was..a groupie, you know, the classic story, model agencies send models to shows, benefits, thrive on the fame of..whoever they can get their claws into, were we exclusive? No we weren't, we'd hook up when we were in the same town and then stay together until one of us had to leave again” he blurted out, it sounded too credible “oh, so I was just a testdrive inbetween hookups with her, right? I should've known, goddammit I can be so naïve, I always thought that love..real love is as simple to everybody else as it is to me, just one on one, simple, beautiful, true” Harper sighed shaking her head “I don't care if I sound old-fashioned..”. Jared couldn't hold back any longer and sat down next to her putting his finger over her lips “you're not a testdrive and Val is nothing to me alright? How many more times do I have to tell you that? You are..you..I would fly to the moon and back for you..what I feel for you is something I've never felt for anyone..”. There was a knock on the door “just a second” he had trouble disconnecting his eyes from her mouth before he got up and let his roomservice being rolled in, “you hungry? I ordered everything you like..”.

”Back and forth, back and forth, I keep giving my heart to you and every time I get it handed back to me, nicely diced and sliced on a silver platter, I'm done with that shit, Jay..isn't it too early in this relationship to constantly cheat? Obviously you're not 100% happy with me and I don't know what else you want from me” Coco took a sip from her latte and put it down again. “I didn't cheat..I swear! How many more times do I have to tell you? Yes I woke up naked with her next to me, I told her to leave over and over again, the last thing I know is that she did..I went to sleep and..the only thing I can think of is that she spiked my drink at the club..I mean she even stole the key to my room, she just can't be trusted” his heart jumped in his throat, please just believe me, it's the truth “if I wasn't competely happy and satisfied in our relationship, would I go to these lengths to try and explain, to try and convince you of the truth? I know you find it hard to believe, and I know that there's a lot of prejudice about the music industry with the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll clichés, but I swear I'm telling you the truth?!”. His question was met by her staring him down “if you are, then you've got a psycho on your hands..” she licked the milky moustache from her toplip “so what are you planning to do about it?” there, the ball was in his court now. Wait, did that mean that they..wowww “because I'm at the end of my tether with you, Leto..” she added “I'm not gonna keep doing this with you over and over again, so you tell me, what are you gonna do about it? If you wanna keep me you're gonna have to convince me that I'm the one you want, because let me be absolutely clear with you: I would absolutely leave you before I have to share you, so either you make a clean break with those past lovers or I walk”. How did he even deserve this creature? She got up and straightened her shirt “so if you're not gonna talk, I am” she started making her way to the door, “wait! Where are you going?” he shot up as well, “I'm going to talk to 'your Val', see what she has to say, what room is she in?”.

”Coco, if you go in there, it's gonna be drama all over again” he tried to stop her, “First, I'm never gonna be able to sleep with all this caffeine running around my system, if anything I want to walk off these lattes, second: so frikkin what? She's put me and you on the spot, I say we give her a cookie of the same dough, besides if you have nothing to hide then there's nothing to worry about, except for the fact that she tried to 'rape', intimidate and abuse you” she turned with a funny look in her eyes. She was right though, he hadn't done anything wrong and it was high time he got to spend some quality time with his lover, she seemed to be willing to listen to him. The fact that he actually had to call his brother to ask what room Val was in, lifted her mood a little, so it could be true after all that they didn't hook up, or maybe everything went down in his room..fuck it Harper, just wait until you heard her side of the story ,“528” he looked around and pointed at the door behind them and she didn't hesitate to knock on the door. Val opened the door and seeing them stand there a scowl fromed around her lips “Hello again Val” Harper didn't hesitate and pushed past her, “ah! Packing already I see?!” she let her eyes glide over the open suitcase, “no, I'm not packing” Val stuck out her chin to her, “well, you're not unpacking either, so in order for you to catch the first flight out of Rome at first light, let's not waste any more time so how about you show me the compromising pictures or a video would be even better” Harper gave the room a quick look around “where's your phone? Oh! There it is!” and strutted over to the nighttable.

“What are you doing? That's mine, give it here” Val quickly tried to snatch the phone out of her hands, “true, it's your's but I bet there's stuff on there that you're dying to show me, I'm here now, so come on, show me” Harper calmly said. Which was more than could be said about Val who started to get more and more aggressive and annoyed “show you what?”. Harper gave her a calm smile and shrugged “oh I don't know, how about the proof that you and Jared got it on last night, because spoilsport here” pointing at him, Jared's jaw dropped a little “is getting really old and alzheimery and says he can't even remember what happened so I want to see with my own two eyes what happened or didn't happen”. Coco could see Val swallow hard, she definitely didn't see this coming “I know for a fact that predators and psychopaths like you will go to any length to get their prey and they make absolutely sure to get it all on camera just to relive and relive the moment over and over again and to put it on your instagram and boast about it to your thousands of friends, so how about it? You know what they say: if you don't have the pictures to prove it then it didn't happen”. Was it nervousness that made her fondle her phone and clutch it tighter in her claws? “you're calling me a psychopath? That's rich coming from a loser like you and who are you calling old? Aren't you the one who didn't even know about social media or e-mail until a few weeks ago? Let me remind you that a lady never kisses and tells, that video is for Jared and me”. Jared stepped forward and snapped “I'm here so come on..show me! I want to see everything”, if there was any more proof she needed to know that Jay had been telling the truth, then this was it, she held her breath as she watched that pouting princess go bright red, “come on Val, I'm waiting here, show me the goddamn video”. Val crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head pretentiously “no”, and all it did was make Jared shake his head “so there isn't one, right ok..just a tip though should you want to post that video later, if it actually exists, just think about the fact that you might go and tell the police that you probably drugged and raped a guy, we could smear that out in the press and on your beloved social media, see what kind of story that'll give?..We're through, Val, we already were a long time ago and stupid old me thought we could still have a friendship, I want you out of this hotel by morning and hope that I won't press charges or you won't have a career to go back to”.

Harper felt relieved when he closed the door behind him, like a ton of bricks had been lifted off of her shoulders “some fresh air?” he certainly could do with some, “definitely”. They walked and walked talking things through, every time she dug her cold hands deeper into the pockets of her thin leather jacket he wanted to throw his arm around her but could he do that already? Oh fuck it, “hmmm, should you be doing that?..” she looked at his hand that rested on her shoulder, what? his heart skipped a beat, but then she nodded in the direction of a certain number of girls still flocking around the entrance of the hotel “I mean..do you really want to show them what we really are?” followed by a smile that could melt ice. “Hell yeah! Let's go” he pulled her even tighter against him, god, it felt so good to feel her against him until one of the girls noticed them and let out a high pitched shriek, “I'll let you handle this” she breathed and stepped out of his embrace with a slight smile. “What are y'all still doing here? Aren't you freezing? We definitely were during our nightly stroll” he openly talked with them, holding her hand tightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by anyone. “I just love your work..I do a bit of drawing and painting myself” one of them was brave enough to step up to her instead of Jared, “you do? Oh thank you that's so sweet! Wanna show me some of your work as well?” she asked the girl who held up her phone with shaking hands “relax sweetie, it's only me” she grinned to put the girl a little bit more at ease. The other girls seemed to have equal interest in her, asking him all sorts of questions. “Everyone want a last picture? Yeah? Harper, honey? You have to be in it too” that was his way of rounding up things, he wanted to go back inside and finally be alone with her again, he had missed the feel of her lips so so so much. “Oh, sure” she gave the girl she'd been talking to a smile and pulled her over to the group that was forming, Jared held up one of their phones, took the picture and finally they said their goodbyes, taking her hand again as he slowly started guiding her inside the hotel. “They were lovely..” she zipped open her jacket as the doors closed behind them, “they are..but can you just stop talking for one second?” he grinned, “huh?” she frowned, but then he cupped her face in his hands and pushed his lips on hers', he didn't care if the doorman saw or the fans that were staring at them outside, feeling her this close to him made the world around him fall away. Her head started spinning and when she lifted her arms to rest on his back she could have sworn she heard little bursts of laughter and excitement coming from outside, did it matter? No because she was in his arms again and this stupid battle was finally over.

[trashyswitch]

7 Fluffy Balls of Joy

Chapter 6: 7 Puppies Becomes 6

Chase finds a house for one of the puppies to live in, and the three boys have fun with the puppy before its eventual departure.

There are a few swear words, but that's it.

This fanfic is for Shannon, the lovely person who asked for more ego content! I hope you enjoy, Shannon!

Chase was giggling and loving every moment he spent with the puppies. The puppies had grown to 7 weeks old, making them able to sprint everywhere, playfight with the other brothers and sisters, and bite everyone’s fingers till every layer of skin was shaved down.

Henrik was struggling to work with the puppies barking, growling and tappy tapping all over the ground. Looking after 8 dogs was a lot of work and a lot of training too. They were trying to think of ways to maybe get rid of a couple of them. Maybe keep Matilda and 5 puppies for themselves (Still gonna be a lot of work), and sell a couple.

“Hey Henrik?” Chase asked.

“Ja?” Henrik replied.

“Could I maybe ask my ex-wife if they want a puppy?” Chase asked.

“Of course!” Henrik replied. “See, see!”

Chase pulled out his phone and called his ex. While that happened, Henrik began to think about who else might want a puppy.

Suddenly, JJ ran to the middle of the room, with an army of puppies sprinting and barking at the man. JJ was visibly happy as he flopped onto the carpet and laid on his stomach. One after the other, all the puppies came flopping onto JJ and covered him in licks and little bites. Three of the puppies were growling and playing with JJ’s hands with their front paws and snouts. 2 of the puppies were jumping onto JJ’s back, and three of the puppies were pulling JJ’s socks right off his feet. JJ was truly the dog whisperer of the house.

Chase had to move to another room to actually listen to what his ex was saying, while Henrik was sitting with good ol’ Matilda on the couch. Matilda was a lot more calm and collected, compared to her rambunctious kids.

“Vhat’s it like being pregnant?” Henrik asked the dog.

Matilda looked up at him, and wagged her tail while her ears lifted.

“Was it painful?” Henrik asked as he started petting the somber dog. “Was it worth it?” Henrik asked as well.

Chase chuckled as he walked back into the room with the speaker on for Henrik to hear. Both his kids were pleading and begging for their Mom to get them a german shepherd puppy.

Their Mom sounded both entertained by this begging, but also slightly annoyed. “Are you boys gonna take care of the dog? Cause I’m not gonna be doing all the work around here! You boys need to help out as well!” Their Mom told them.

“Yes yes yes yes!” Grayson begged.

“we’ll do it, we promise”. Trey promised.

“We’ll feed him! And take him to go pee!” Grayson promised.

“And walk him and clean him!” Trey added.

It was around a dozen begs that the mother finally caved in.

“Alright. I think we’re getting a dog.” The mother decided.

Chase smiled as he looked at the puppies. His kids were really gonna get a dog! From his father!

“Alright, you boys need to help with buying things for the pup then. We’ll head to the store in half an hour.” She told them.

“Okay Mom!” One of them replied.

Chase listened calmly as his ex headed to a quieter spot. “So, when did you become a dog breeder?” She asked.

“Well...It’s a bit of a long story. But to sum it up: one of my roommates found puppies and brought them home. The puppies were maybe three weeks old and the mother was growly and untouchable…” Chase told her. “We didn’t know he brought them home until I got up the next morning. I just about dropped my coffee upon seeing the little pups!” Chase turned around and bursted out laughing:

JJ was being licked and bitten all over! But more specifically, JJ's neck was being licked non stop by 3 separate puppies, while four puppies were licking and nipping at JJ’s feet. His socks were completely off and placed aside, while the seven puppies overwhelmed his poor, ticklish roommate.

“Ohoho my god you have to see this!” Chase quickly turned the facetime option on and set up the camera while his ex answered the facetime call. When the call was answered, Chase had the camera focused on JJ and the puppies.

“Ohohoho lohohohord! Hahahaha!” she laughed. She brought the phone over to the kids, and showed the commotion over at Chase’s house.

The kids bursted out laughing at JJ, and made little funny comments.

“Hey Trey, you gotta be careful too if we get one!” Grayson teased.

“Says the one with the ticklish neck~” Their Mom mentioned.

“Hey!” Grayson reacted.

Chase laughed at this and walked over to JJ. “Hey Jamie! Need some help?” Chase asked.

JJ nodded his head and let out a breath of exhaustion. Chase put down the phone and picked up the puppies. “Come here guys! Come here!” Chase called.

The puppies didn’t waste a second to sprint over to Chase and shower him. While Jamie was only panting from exhaustion. Chase was now the one overpowered by the puppies. “AaahahaHAHAH! Awww, ya little nutballs!” Chase fluffed each puppy’s head, causing every puppy’s mouth to open up and flop its head around. They all were wanting to play with Chase!

Jamie ended up getting up and showing the family the crowd as Chase was surrounded by puppies. “EEEEK! HEHELP! AAAH!” Chase yelled out, reaching his arms out to the camera. Right at the same time, one of the only named dogs that was Henrik’s, shoved her snout into his armpit.

“EEHEHEHE! Cahahareful Angela!” Chase told the pup.

“Is one of them named already?” Trey asked.

Chase got up and let the puppies nibble at his feet while he picked up Angela. “Yup! Dr. German over there already chose his dog and named it accordingly.” Chase told them.

“Schneeplestein, jou uncultured bas-”

Chase shot him a glare.

“-Uncultured fish!”

The Brody kids DIED upon hearing that. “Daddy the fish!”

Their mother chuckled. “Maybe you should draw that.” she encouraged.

Chase laughed. “Oho my god that would be awesome!” Chase reacted.

Feeling encouraged, Trey nodded. “I think I will!”

Chase smiled proudly. “That’s great!” He didn’t feel insulted by the idea of a fish Chase at all. He was just happy to know they were alright and had inspiration from their cool Daddy Brody.

A few minutes later, Chase ended the call and looked to JJ with a smile. “That wasn’t very nice, you know...leaving me surrounded by puppies when I was the one that saved you.” Chase teased.

JJ raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. ‘Little dog love Chase.’ he signed. The American sign language grammar was the strangest thing...but it worked despite that.

“True! That’s true.” Chase replied.

Then Jamie giggled and covered his mouth before signing the following words: ‘Chase fish with hat’.

Chase laughed and hit his shoulder gently. “Hey now! You be careful or I’ll draw you as Jamie the shrimp.” he teased.

Jamie chuckled and started fluttering his fingers closer and closer to Chase, to imitate the little shrimpies that clean dead skin off things. Chase squeaked like a little kid, and ran away. Jamie started chasing after him, signing the words ‘I clean you! I clean you!’.

“NOhoho! You’re sohohoho weihihihird!” Chase giggled, jumping over a few things on the ground. Jamie grabbed a blanket and managed to get close enough to throw the blanket onto him. This distracted Chase long enough for Jamie to grab onto him and start tickling him all over his middle and ribs. “AAAHAHAHAHAHA! JAHAHAHAY! STAHAP THAHAHAHAT!”

Jamie smirked and signed the word ‘no’...then resumed tickling him.

“Vhat zhe hell are you doing?” Henrik asked.

“Gohoho gehet Henrihihik, ya lihittle bahahastahard!” Chase argued, trying to push him away.

“So YOU can say ‘bastard’ but I cannot?!” Henrik asked.

“My kids were on the phone!” Chase shot back.

Jamie giggled and started sneaking up to Henrik in plain sight.

Henrik scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Not scary...Not to me. Leave.” Henrik tried to tell him.

Jamie started wiggling his fingers more and signing the word ‘tickle’ over and over and over again.

Henrik in response, started imitating his wiggling fingers. “Goooo tickle somevone else, vhy don’tcha?” Henrik teased.

Jamie took a moment to dramatically think and stroke his mustache. Then...he looked at Henrik with an evil smirk. ‘No’

Jamie sat down right beside Henrik and started digging into his side. Henrik, surprised by the sensation, curled away from the ticklish fingers. Immediately upon seeing his reaction, Jamie stopped and snapped his fingers at him.

‘Liar!’ Jamie signed with a huge smile on his face. ‘Liar!’

“Am not! I don’t lie!” Henrik reacted.

To prove his point, Jamie skittered his fingers on his side again. Henrik jumped and pushed his hands away. Jamie giggled. ‘Liar! Henrik liar!’

“Oooooh! I see Henrik is telling some little lies! Or Lügens, in your language.” Chase teased.

“Du hälst deinen Mund!” Henrik spat in German.

Chase smirked and imitated the classic bugs bunny meme while signing it for Jamie: “No”

Chase sprinted to Henrik and held up his arm. “Quick! Get his armpit!”

Jamie jumped at first, but didn’t waste a second to tickle his armpit.

Henrik hissed and quickly grew a wobbly smile. “Duböserkleiner- AAH JAHACK-!” Henrik pulled on his arm desperately as his armpit was pretty much dug into. Jamie smiled proudly as he basically struck gold.

Jamie decided to stop...he reeled backwards...breathed in dramatically...and…

ATTACKED as rapidly as he could! He was even making ‘ticki-ticki-ticki-ticki-’ noises as he tickled all over Henrik’s right side.

Finally, the dam broke right open and out came all the laughter. “JAHAHAMIHIHIHIHAHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHE!” Henrik’s hand was let go as Henrik laughed absolutely hysterically! It would turn out that Henrik was a super wiggly person whenever he was being tickled. Like, SUPER wiggly and all over the place!

Chase had to grab onto Henrik from under the armpits, and hold onto him across his chest, as if he was about to be pulled out safely from under a truck.

“CUHUHUT IHIHIT OHOHOUT! EEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Henrik ordered as he laughed. But Jamie was, and never will be, in the mood to listen to instructions. Especially if they were instructions coming from a LIAR!

“Hey Jamie! Watch this:” Chase leaned in...and blew a big raspberry onto Henrik’s neck. Henrik SCREAMED and snorted right back to back! “DAHAHAHAS IHIHIST ZU VIHIHIHIHIHIEL!” Henrik yelled, falling back into his first language.

“Really now?” Chase reacted, acting like he understood him.

“JAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHALT BIHIHIHIHITTE!” Henrik begged.

Jamie stopped tickling him for a moment and tilted his head. ‘You understand H-E-N-R-I-K?’ Jamie asked.

“No...I don’t. But I do know that ‘Halt’ is stop.” Chase told him.

Jamie gasped and snapped his fingers. He ran to the puppies, picked up his favorite, and brought it to Henrik. Jamie grabbed treats, and started placing them into Henrik’s belly button.

“OOOOooooh! You evil little genius!” Chase reacted as he grabbed Henrik’s arms and raised them up.

“No! NO! JAMIE BITTE! BITTE!” Henrik begged.

Jamie, understanding Henrik as saying ‘bite’, started making dramatic nomming expressions as he put his hands up against his own chest like a puppy.

Then, Jamie watched as the puppy ran to the belly, and hopped up onto Henrik’s belly. The puppy started sniffing for the treat, which tickled enough to make Henrik giggle already. But Henrik basically lost it the moment the dog’s tongue started absolutely covering Henrik’s tummy in doggy slobber.

“Ehehehehehew! Ihihit’s sohohoho wehehehehet!” Henrik complained in the middle of his giggles.

The puppy kept licking and nipping at the belly button to get the treat that was lodged in the buttonhole. Soon, the puppy successfully got the treat out. But what’s this? More treat smells were filling its little sniffer?

Jamie had giggled as the puppy’s head looked up to sniff the air more. The man had started hiding treats under Henrik’s side as well, to get the puppy sniffing and tickling there too. It didn’t take long for Henrik to feel a little wet nose shoving itself into his side to get to the treats.

“EEEhehehehehe! Hehehehehey! Thahahahat kihihitzehehelt, leetle hündchen!” Henrik giggled.

The puppy stopped for a moment and let out a ‘BOWWWOOOOWWW’ kind of yowl.

Jamie, Henrik and Chase all DIED at the sound. “Ahahahahaw! He’s more vocal zhan Jamie!” Henrik teased.

Jamie narrowed his eyes at him and threw him two middle fingers in response. Chase and Henrik wound up dying yet again at the reaction.

Chase then gasped. “How dare! There are children here, Jamie!” Chase reacted.

Well in response to that:

‘B-A-S-T-A-R-D!’

“BASTARD!”

Chase wounded up destroying both of the boys after THAT response. He had to teach them one way or the other to not swear! Or, you know, not give the kids any more ideas.

A couple days later, Chase’s ex-wife and kids showed up at the house and picked the dog they wanted. Funnily enough, they ended up choosing the same dog that made the “BOOWWWOOOOWW” sound a few days before! And the kids got to play with the dog for a few minutes or so to get to know the dog more.

But before the dog left…

Chase let the other puppies say their last goodbyes to the puppy. The kids insisted this be done, despite what a majority of the adults believed. The boys ended up coming up with the name ‘Marble’, due to the puppy’s multitude of colors.

Matilda soon walked up to her little puppy, and gave it a few little licks of luck and farewell. The little Marble had grown up so quickly and was now moving into a new family: a family of loving kids who would treat the dog like a king.

Farewell Marble!