#sick ricky bowen

[rickybowensfever]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Characters: Ricky Bowen (HSMTMTS), Lynne Bowen Additional Tags: Sickfic, Sinus Infection, Sick Ricky Bowen, Sick Character, Fever Summary:

While in Chicago visiting his mother on Spring Break, Ricky comes down with a sinus infection from traveling and she takes care of him. [Set during Season 2, Episode 9 "Spring Break"]

[ginaporterr]

@rinacentral — EVENT 1: FAVORITES ♡ favorite song GINAPORTERR'S 1K CELEBRATION ♡ @glitterjuj asked: maybe this time or LOVE YOU FOREVER

[taylorkellyreporting]

remember when all nini got for valentine’s day from ricky, her boyfriend, was a song because he spent all of his money on chocolates he bought for gina?

[squishymar]

Here are recent Ricky Bowen tweets from my famous au <3

[rainforest-daisies]

A Christmas party

Character: Ricky Bowen x reader

Synopsis: it seems like each time nini and Ricky are in the same room, its like they fall in love all over again.

TW: none? Maybe some angst, also me being biased about Gina being my favorite character<3

A/n: for @fbfh !! This took me ages, so sorry for the wait! But i hope you enjoy!

They were at it again.

This was the second year they had fought during the Christmas party. They seemed to have something against each other, but it got even worse after EJ and nini got together.

Even after you and Ricky started dating, you could tell it was tense between them. It was because of nini.

All of it was because of nini. You two got together because him and nini broke up. You said ‘I love you’ first because he didn’t want to hurt like nini did. He didn’t want you to move on like nini did. He hates EJ’s guts because of nini. 

It always felt like a competition to win her. And Ricky still participated like it was a carnival game. A sick, misery filled, tormenting carnival game. But maybe you were reading your relationship wrong. 

Going to every family event together, Staying the night at his place when he was having a rough day, holding hands and kissing each other like a young couple usually would. You even asked to be his date to prom for goodness sake. Is that not enough to show him how in love you are? You’ve been trying for months to let this go, yet every time she would be there, you felt insignificant to Ricky.

No matter how you touched him, comforted him, kissed him, no matter how much you loved him, He would never love you the way he loved her. 

You were sat next to Gina on the floor, legs crisscrossed, with a Pepsi can sat between you both. You watched as ricky sang as loud as he could, ‘battling’ with EJ. Nini was right in front of them both, and you couldn’t see her face, but you were sure she was looking directly at ricky. 

You were jealous, Gina could tell. Even if you told her you weren’t, she wouldn’t believe you. Ever since she came to salt lake, you got along better than you had with anyone. You were one of the few she actually trusted. And She knew you and Ricky weren’t destined, but you were her best friend. she would never tell you that. The days she would see your eyes slightly bloodshot from crying tested her patience, each time she got closer to screaming at him and nini.

You had enough of this, Watching them fall in love with each other all over again, being forgotten by your boyfriend once more.

“Im gonna go get a cupcake of something…wanna come with?” Gina had perfect timing, trying to pull you away from the scene everyone was looking at. You nodded, pushing yourself up from the floor. Rickys eyes met your back, quickly looking to your shoes clicking on the floor. He could see the slight slouch you held yourself with, your Pepsi can grasped in your hand. 

Somehow, while being distracted, Ricky knocked over a table, which fell on the karaoke machine, which stopped the music. The machine cord creates sparks, which makes chaos ensue. You and Gina turned around, gasping when you saw someone pouring their drink over it, thinking it would stop the sparks. It most definitely didn’t stop them.

“Great! You ruined Christmas. Thanks a lot.” You looked directly at Ricky when those words came out of your mouth.

His skin was tinted slightly red, eyes wide from embarrassment. Did you just say what he thought you said? No. It couldn’t be his fault that you almost had tears running from your eyes. Because it never was. It never was his fault.

[haven-of-dusk]

Apologies everyone, but I'm writing a Caswen thing and my head is thus spinning with headcanons, and I need to share/dump them somewhere so...

Physical touch is one of their biggest love languages. Ricky has always enjoyed it immensely, but realized very quickly that EJ was a little uncomfortable with it due to his history, so Ricky eased him back into it slowly, and now anytime they're able to they'll usually be draped around each other in some way (arms around the shoulder, heads in lap, cuddled on a couch, leaning while standing, waist holding, etc).

Related to the previous one, EJ adores Ricky's curls and can play with them for hours. And it works out well since Ricky LOVES when EJ does so. And no one else. Ricky was practically hissing like an irate cat when Seb once tried.

Once married, they go by Richard and Elton Bowen, though their official name is Caswell-Bowen, having dropped the Caswell part until Cash dies and EJ feels he can reclaim the name from his father's abusive legacy.

EJ eventually worked his way up to a couple masters degrees in English and Education (with minor focus in film studies) and became a professor at a highly acclaimed college. Ricky got to a masters in psychology (with a lot of help from his husband) and now works for a local practice, while also teaching piano lessons in his spare time.

For one Valentine's Day, they both forgot to get presents, and thus both showed up with guitars in hand to use a ballad as a substitute. It was a very adorable afternoon.

EJ is the only person allowed to call Ricky 'Dick Bowen'

Ricky is a habitual sweatshirt stealer. EJ occasionally retaliated by stealing Ricky's own sweatshirts. Ricky also has pretty much permanent ownership of EJ's letterman jacket.

EJ is the little spoon most often.

EJ introduced Ricky to knitting (with a little help from Gina), which Ricky quickly fell in love with and now they can occasionally be found having quiet moments near the waterfront where EJ reads and Ricky knits.

Big Red and Gina had a feud about who would give the toast at the wedding, before it was eventually decided that they couldn't agree and the task was given to Maddox instead.

They struggle with movie nights because one or both of them usually falls asleep.

EJ is the only other person in the friend group to know Big Red's real name, which Big Red only agreed to because Ricky practically begged.

Ricky is indecisive as to what his favourite part of EJ is, but it's somewhere between his eyes or his smile.

Ricky once got sick right before a group skiing trip and EJ decided to stay behind and tend to him for a full week. He even rigged up a call button like in hospitals. (To be clear, this was an above average case of the flu)

Ricky is a fantastic cook, EJ is a fantastic baker.

It's an ongoing debate/competition which one of them has the bigger/better heart eyes.

[winterswhumpblr]

Ricky Bowen Whump List

Played by Joshua Bassett

From the Disney+ show 'High-school Musical The Musical The Series'.

A/N: This whole show is based on the drama club at East High, so there is a lot of singing and performing. If you enjoyed Glee, you'll probably enjoy this show. If you're not into singing in media, however, then this isn't the show for you.

S1.1: nervous, confused, upset, told upsetting news, (flashback: in shock) sad, annoyed, anxious, told potentially upsetting news regarding his parents, (flashback: in shock, eyes wide, stuttering, anxious) nervous, discussing strained relationship with parents saying 'I love you' to each other, upset, sad,

S1.2: upset, arguing with ex, looks sad, talks about how things at home are weird at the moment, looks sad

S1.3: sad, worried, upset, causes another student to bleed on their lip, feeling bad and guilty, told some harsh things, looking sad and upset

S1.4: upset, stressed, finally seeing his mum after ages, finds out his parents are divorcing and his mum is moving away, upset, emotional, sad, rushing to rehearsals, goes in late and gets told off, looks visibly not ok, talks about how his parents are splitting, upset, looking not ok, told to go home, stays the night at a friends, talks about struggling to cope when everything is different, struggling to sleep, staying over at his ex's house, looks on the verge of tears, upset, leaves and wanders around alone at night, ends up going home, upset, on the verge of tears,

S1.5: looking after his dad, clearing the house, lashing out at someone else, feeling bad, mentions of him liking theatre because it gives him somewhere else to go as a respite,

S1.6: stressed, gives an idea and it gets rejected by everyone, sad, stressed, upset he might not be able to continue the show,

S1.7: Mentions of his mum wanting him to contact her first, stressed, calls his mum and a different person answers, confused, stressed, anxious, being checked up on, discussing his feelings, stressed, anxious,

S1.8: spaced out, stressed, semi stressful back and forth with ex

S1.9: panicking, seeing his mum and her lover together, in shock, anxious, freaking out, anxious, concern for him, shaking, visibly looking unwell, freaking out, anxious, looking sick and pale, letting the understudy be the lead instead of him,

1.10: pacing, stressed, anxious, upset, confrontation with his mother, upset, sad, anxious, concern for him, "I'm really not my best", anxious,

S2.1: finding out they're moving houses, stressed, sad

S2.2: sad, told he's unreliable,

S2.3: sleepy, tired, running, stressed,

S2.6: anxious, concern for him, talks about not being able to handle changes, lashes out,

S2.7: feeling upset, fight with his girlfriend

S2.8: stressed, fighting with his gf, stressed, yelling, upset, hurt by his gf, mutually breaking up with his gf even though he loves her, sad, upset, crying, going to his best friend for comforting, sobbing, being comforted, silently crying,

S2.9: sad, depressed, wallowing in bed, giving little clues as to what happened with his gf to his mum, sad, discussing how his mum hurt him last season,

S2.10: concern for him, looking visibly upset and sad, looking super sad, putting himself down, talking about his feelings slightly and how he hasn't been looked at lovingly in a while, helping a friend make up with their bf, lifted from a wire high into the air, rope snaps, he falls to the ground, groaning in pain

S2.11: wearing a wrist brace, stressed

S2.12: sad, sweet moment with Ms Jenn, looking dejected

S3.1: upset, in an argument, leaving,

S3.3: startled, scared, screaming,

S3.4: upset, argument, storms off

S3.5: told to act like a 'jilted' ex, acting up, mentions of him looking genuinely heartsick, discussing how he struggles saying what he feels, mind blown, gets filmed talking about his crush on someone,

S3.6: startled away, panic mode, rushing to fight what he thought was an intruder, concerned, helps his crush plan a surprise for her bf, looking dejected, crying silently in bed, turning away from others, looking sad, concern for him, wiping his tears

S3.7: forcing himself to eat 3 whole pizzas back to back for his birthday bucket list, in shock, throws up offscreen, not confessing his feelings for his crush for her sake,

S3.8: woken up startled for his birthday (super cute), upset, pissed, watches the trailer of the documentary, shocked,

S4.1: stressed,

S4.3: visibly looking stressed out about his future/college, visibly looking anxious,

S4.4: upset gf hid that they were dating in front of her mom, storms off, sad, upset, asked if he's okay, stressed, sweet moment between him and miss jenn,

S4.5: pacing, stressed, anxious, mentions of him looking terrible, looks like he'll have a panic attack any second, concern for him, ranting about all his struggles, super anxious, venting, "I'm tired of losing people", given advice and there's a mention of how a lot of people are worried about him but he never lets them and reach out too, crying, getting soaked with rain, sad, upset,

S4.6: sad, crying, told he'll need to work super hard to get into college, stressed

S4.7: pacing, practicing his speech to FL, finds out upsetting news, anxious, hurt

S4.8: anxious, out of it, concern for him, anxious, looks visibly not okay, panicky, pale,concern for him, talking about how happy the theatre has made him, crying, emotional, sobbing, stressed,

Side note - Genuinely, Ricky has become one of my favourite comfort characters. The acting for his character is superb, and his struggles are super relatable. It's a good show that deals with a lot of mixed topics, and there is whump for other characters too, but Ricky is the main whumpee who goes through it consistently.

[27emailsicantsend]

I’m going absolutely bonkers thinking about rina dating s4, so here’s a bunch of headcanons (for s4 and s5 if we get it) requested by absolutely no one but my own brainrot:

They’ve been secretly dating because of the documentary

On the first day of school, when gina comes to Ricky’s house, instead of being surprised to see her there, we hear ricky yell “dad, Gina’s here!” Then he opens the door and goes “hey you” as Gina wraps her arms around his waist and Ricky grabs her face before they give each other 3-4 happy mini kisses

They’re in Ricky’s room, Ricky is sitting in a chair scrolling on his phone and gina is plucking away at his guitar sitting on his bed. She goes “how do you do this? It’s so much harder than it seems” and he sits next to her and wraps his arms around her, using his hands to guide her fingers to play

We see their backs as they’re walking home, fingers laced, ricky has his skateboard in his empty hand and gina is dangling ballet flats in hers

On a different walk, gina is standing on Ricky’s skateboard and holds onto his shoulders as he holds her waist and guides her down a sidewalk. They’re just giggling as gina kinda wobbles and ricky goes, “steady… steady…. There you go”

We spend a whole episode watching plot B be gina and ricky running from the camera crew at the school. We see them coming up with different funny places to hide together

We get at least one scene of gina talking to mr bowen and ricky talking to ms porter where they tell each other’s parents that they were the “mom/dad they never had”

Red’s car breaks down (like troy’s truck), so ricky gets out and pushes while gina drives. They laugh hysterically the whole time

Maybe the car could break down after they have a day where nothing goes right (like things keep going terribly wrong), but the irony of it and being together while it happens makes it actually funny and enjoyable. The car breaking down would have been “the last straw”, but instead it just sends them into a giggle-fit

(This is outside s4/s5 but I‘ll give it anyway) Ricky gets gina chocolates every Valentine’s Day as a “mystery person” but by now she’s figured out it’s him. She plays along anyway because she knows it makes him happy to do that for her

Gina and carlos are debating about the choreography and gina asks ricky who he thinks is right. She then gives him a “look”. Ricky says “gina, obviously”. Carlos, half-jokingly/half-offended goes, “she changed you” and ricky gets a giddy smile as he looks at gina and he says, “I know”. This makes gina smile and blush as she shakes her head and walks away

Gina’s Lock Screen is both of them and Ricky’s is just gina

Them just hanging out in the kitchen after school, ricking leaning against a kitchen counter that gina is sitting on, sharing a snack

There’s a scene where we see Ricky talking to someone, Gina’s headphones around his neck

Gina comes over to red’s house and defeats both ricky and him in a video game

Ricky and gina drive to the same lookout point ricky was at 3x1 and sit on top of reds car, watching the sun set and looking at the night city lights, eventually sharing a kiss

Ricky and gina go to a pet shelter one day and play with a puppy outside, chasing it around and laying on their bellies in the grass with it

Gina gets sick with the flu so once she’s not contagious but still has to stay at home, ricky brings her soup every day after school and reads her favorite chapter book to her until she falls asleep

On thanksgiving, ricky comes to Gina’s house and she teaches him how to make her gf turkey cupcakes. But they get in a little flour war in the process and we get a recreation of the troyella paint “just wanna be with you” scene in hsm3 where ricky puts his hands around Gina’s arms and waist to stop her and she just giggles with flour on her nose (and flour on Ricky’s neck like the paint on troy’s)

Ricky and gina being big and little spoon watching hsm under a cozy blanket

The whole acting gang is hanging out at Ashlyn’s house for a party. Gina is sitting on the floor and ricky is sitting behind her, hunched over, legs to either side of her with his arms around her chest while everyone talks. He asks her if she wants a soda and she says “root beer please” and he says “ok” as he squeezes his arms a little tighter around her, kisses the top of her head, and then gets gets a soda for both of them

They’re laying down outside, in an L shape watching the clouds.. except only gina is watching the clouds. Ricky is rolled to his side, watching her with one arm propping his head up, the other playing with a curl in her hair. He does this as he just smiles and listens intently to gina talking about her favorite things because she makes him so happy

Gina always acts super tough but she’s only told ricky she’s afraid of scary movies (because of WITW). So while they watch, they’re both sitting on the floor under a blanket, ginas knees tucked close to her and ricky’s arms wrapped around gina to “protect her”

We can see the hsmtmts cameras watching ricky secretly through a coffee shop window. We see him get two drinks, walk outside and check both ways, say something (we can’t make it out though) and then gina runs around the corner to meet him. Cut away we see a ricky confessional where he goes, “dating? What makes you think that?” Then it cuts back to the same scene where we see gina give Ricky a little kiss before he hands her a drink, with a voiceover confessional of gina saying, “no, we’re definitely not dating”.

Carlos helps Ricky write gina a song for her birthday as a thank you gift for ricky helping him write one for seb s2

Instead of gina just “disappearing” when she leaves for a vacation, she stays in contact with ricky. However, because she has no cell service she writes him a letter every night. I’m the meantime, Ricky is leaving her a voicemail every night for her to listen to on the way back to slc

While this is probably just canon at this point, I’ll still leave it in since it isn’t “confirmed” technically: but I think we’ll get a rina cihtd on the school’s rooftop

Ricky asks gina to homecoming with a shirt that says “hoco?” and a bouquet of flowers. We get another coat check scene but this time he helps her put on her coat before they go home. At the end of the night ricky kisses Gina’s cheek goodnight after he walks her to the door. We get another “good night ricky” from gina

I put this in my “Christmas eve” fic but it’s my hc that ricky shows up to Gina’s house in her hat on Christmas Eve. He gives her a terribly knitted scarf that he tried to learn how to make from a YouTube tutorial, but she loves it and wears it every day

Gina joins the dance team and is upset because of how Dani has been treating her (in this version Dani is a bully to gina and won’t back down). She tells ricky kind of the same speech she gave ej (3x03) about not feeling “good enough” for so long, which makes her nervous she will screw up their next dance performance. Ricky parallels his line (3x03) by telling her how proud he is of her and he wished the whole world knew that. Gina giggles because she is like, “we’ve been trying to keep it from the whole world”. Later in the episode we see ricky in the front row of the audience wearing a “Gina’s #1 fan” shirt. At the end of the performance gina runs down the stage to ricky and kisses him. Then ricky says “I don’t care if people know we’re dating. I want the world to know how incredible you are and how proud I am of you”. And gina just says “I don’t care either, ricky bowen” with a huge grin on her face and wet eyes. Then he gives her another spin hug.

I take you rina rain kiss and raise you rina snow kiss on New Year’s Eve with fireworks

Anons (these might have all been bday anon I can’t remember) gave me these ideas but I’m obsessed so: rina goes to an amusement park with the crew and ride a Ferris wheel together, rina go to a haunted house and gina is the one who has to lead ricky through, and while ricky is teaching gina to skate, he falls and gina puts a bandaid on him and kisses the injury better

Ricky and gina are walking home and there is a bunch of dirty snow so ricky gives gina a piggy back ride the rest of the way

Ricky lets gina braid his hair one night while they’re watching movies

Once the secret dating is over, jetney rina and seblos go on a triple date to a restaurant and we see see zac, Vanessa, corbin, Monique, Ashley and Lucas hanging out a table next to them

Zac and Vanessa give rina advice about what makes Troyella the “it” couple (keeping them together all this time) referring to HSM3 and 4. However, the advice simultaneously works for rina as well. “They always come back to each other, no matter what”.

Gina gets ricky and her promise rings for Ricky’s graduation that they both wear on their pinkies because they’re each other’s “pinky promise”

[jaynedolluk]

BOOKS OF 2022

Yes, you read correctly. I'm a ninny and forgot to post this last year so I'm posting it now so I can get all caught up. (2023's list is coming soon)

I got books on Inside No. 9 and Blake’s 7 (two of my favourite TV shows) plus a book about Alice in Wonderland (inspired by the V & A exhibition) and one about how Disney was inspired by rococo art (based on the exhibition that I think was held at the Wellcome but I could be wrong).

Also read Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s book, More More More which examined the art of maximalist interiors and Runway Bird by Irina Lazareanu which was sort of a style guide to being a rockstar’s girlfriend. I read Growing Up. Sex in the Sixties which looked at sex in society/popular culture at this time and Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall. I read Zoe Howe’s guide to witchcraft, Witchful Thinking plus Lisa Kroger + Melanie R. Anderson’s 2nd book, Toil and Trouble, which looks at notable women in the occult in America. Plus Dress Code by Veronique Hyland

Also managed to bag a copy of the book of Velour (the drag magazine) when I went to see Sasha Velour perform. I read And the Category Is by Ricky Tucker which examines the ballroom drag culture + voguing plus How You Get Famous by Nicole Pasulka which looked at the rise of some of the drag queens from the Brooklyn scene + the impact of Drag Race.

Read The Queer Bible which has various LGBT+ celebrities talking about the different people who inspired them and a couple of books which looked at the rise of lesbian popular culture in the early 2000s – The 2000s Made Me Gay by Grace Perry and Girls Can Kiss Now by Jill Gujowitz.

I don’t tend to read that many novels but I did read some really good ones this year – My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Yinka Where’s Your Husband? How to Kill Your Family and The Albion Initiative (the final part of the Newbury & Hobbes series of steampunk detective novels with an occult twist). And I finally managed to get round to reading Shuggie Bain (which I loved) as well as tracking down copies of The Elementals (Southern Gothic horror novel) and Interfictions (which contains the story about Nancy Spungen called Rats).

I read memoirs by Joan Collins + Esme Young (from Great British Sewing Bee) as well as an excellent biography on Jayne Mansfield called The Girl Couldn’t Help It and an oral history about Antony Bourdain called Bourdain.

I do tend to read a lot of music books. I read memoirs by Kid Congo Powers and Miki Berenyi plus Bodies by Ian Winwood (which looked at how the music industry affects mental health mixed in with his own story) and Exit Stage Left by Nick Duerden (which looked at what happened to a variety of stars after their fame dwindled). Also read Southend on Zine by Graham Burnett which was a history of fanzines in the Southend area which included interviews with a lot of the zine makers + touched on the history of alternative music/culture in the area.

One of my favourite books this year was Millenium Gothic by Dorian Bridges (known as of herbs and altars on YouTube) which deals with her growing up as a goth in the 00s but also deals with her mental health issues including anorexia and self harm. Another couple of favourite authors returned with second memoirs, Emma Forrest with Busy Being Free and Amy Liptrot with The Instant. Also Ione Gamble (who does the Polyester website + zine) wrote a brilliant book of essays called Poor Little Sick Girls which I highly recommend.

[rickybowensfever]

sneak peak for tomorrow's sicktember post!

For everyone requesting more ricky bowen/hsmtmts fics, i know i've been focused on tsitp, but that's just my interest at the moment. Tomorrows #sicktember fic is featuring Ricky!

Day 4 is “Great. I Got a Cold for My Birthday.”

[rosesradio]

If you are still taking requests, could you maybe do a portbowell where Ricky is sick?? (ik sickfics are generic but literally no one writes this ship, and I can’t think of anything else)

you're good, sorry this took me like 4 days for no reason ! i wanna write more portbowell and i have a longfic idea like i said earlier but only like four people would read it...but maybe i will anyway...anyways here's a 550 word drabble for you <33

"Guys, come on! I was just recreating a movie trope, wasn't it romantic?" Ricky asked, though just as he finished speaking he sneezed--once, twice, three times. Not to mention his voice was particularly nasally, his nose pink to match. Damnit, this cold. It wasn't exactly the most romantic look…and he really wanted to be romantic enough. He wanted to just be enough. For Gina and EJ.

They'd already assured him of that once tonight. He'd walked all the way to Gina's in the pouring rain--in his defense, it wasn't raining when he left. He knew EJ was there, and yeah, maybe he was date crashing, but it had to be said. These feelings had been building for months, and now they were all on the table…and Ricky was glad to say the least, because that overwhelming burden was off his shoulders, and now he could try to relax.

"You could have had the same amount of romance with an umbrella, maybe?" Gina suggested, but she was smiling in spite of herself. She was just so cute, and the look of utter infatuation she was giving him now…he'd sleep outside in the rain if it meant keeping her this happy.

“I have no regrets,” Ricky shrugged, though he lit up with relief as EJ walked in carefully, holding a bowl of the chicken noodle soup he’d promised to make. "Thanks," he took the bowl from him, trying a spoonful before offering EJ a smile. Yep, this was most definitely from a can--and Ricky would know--but the gesture was sweet.

"Are you feeling better?" EJ asked, eyes concerned in a way that made Ricky's face flush as a hand moved to his knee. Ricky's clothes were soaked as he came in, so now he was wearing an adorable--or ridiculous--combination of Gina and EJ's clothes. EJ's sweatshirt was a size too big on him, which was fine by him as he snuggled into the warmth. Gina's pajama pants, however, showed a generous amount of ankle that would make any Victorian-era person hot under the collar.

"Yeah, I'm…great." Ricky smiled crookedly. "I'm sorry again for date-crashing."

"Don't worry about it," EJ replied, shaking his head. "We want you here," he frowned for a moment, his gaze contemplative before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Ricky's cheek.

"Yeah," Gina added. "EJ probably would've wanted to go over to your house if you hadn't come over here." she gave EJ a knowing look before kissing Ricky's other cheek.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ricky warned, even as he felt on top of the world with the gesture alone. "You guys could get sick…"

"Well then, maybe when you get better, you could return the favor and make us soup," EJ asked. "You know it's really hard work taking care of you, right?"

"All you did was heat up soup from a can, it took about seven minutes, if that!" Ricky argued with a laugh before taking in another spoonful. It was some pretty good soup. "You exhaust me, Caswell."

"Yeah, well, you exhaust me, too, Bowen." EJ replied, though with his tone, it might as well have been a love confession.

"Enough, you two," Gina interjected with a grin. "You guys are lucky I'm even asking your opinion, but what movie are we watching?"

[wrestlezon]

aew dynamite 2/8/23 liveblog containment zone

wrestling!!

ooo starting it off with mjf new jacket. put that on the list of mjf outfits oh hes fighting takeshita right, its all coming back to me omg he got black and pink briefs too

[ mjf vs takeshita ]

takeshita dont fall for the handshake!! HE FELL FOR IT NOOO its cool seeing a rare MJF Match™ hes doing all the bits. ref shield im anti-spraytan. come on dude just dont have it wow the crowd is loud. what are they saying? lets go nashville nashville sucks??? BITING... unhinged takeshita is cool. im a little mad i got the uh. wrong ddt tickets for march though -_- ok i lied im pretty mad. im obsessed with how mad i am. im not going to get over it forever what a good bit that lead into the deadlift german suplex. takeshita is soooooo strong mjf so smug. your hubris!! ok im gonna need to see that midair corner flip thing again. what the. how did he end up on his feet so smoothly and nonchalantly hes doing a lot of this "psyche!!! IM FINE ACTUALLY!!!!!" stuff. its fun i like it. ARMBAR!!!!!!! BITING i think mjf is a good wrestler. i like to see him wrestle, which is rarely, because he rarely wrestles. takeshita bare knee attack. rolled ref shield part TWO his knee attack is silly looking im sorry aha! knee damage revenge!!! unless hes doing some sort of pretending-to-sell thing like how hes been doing this whole time ok takeshitas powerbomb thing ruled senton!! i am so scared every time i see one ok thrusting armbar? real mad he lost to garcia in the tumblr babygirl tournament huh

lmfao the catcall from the crowd when he put away his ring oh! its danielson omg takeshita bladed from the ring??? hes all blooded now LMAO NOO THE CAMERA CAUGHT THE BLADEPASS...

[ samoa joe video promo ]

samoa joe is just like "im gonna beat you up wardlow" joe i have to say thank you for giving wardlow a haircut

[ the bunny vs jamie hayter ]

the bunny!! she had a big match a while ago she had to cancel due to illness or injury, right? itll be cool to see this match hayter's hair buns look cool. theyre like lil animal ears. nekomimi ringrope leg choke :)c what is britt baker doing with this gatorade sign. advertisement? LMAO "how did u like that jamie" taking turns doing apron combat ohhhhhh thats a hayterade sign i get it now oof the bunny had hayter land right on her face huh that ended fast... <:( i hope shes good

[ backstage with saraya and toni storm ]

dang saraya pulling out the babygirl nice ok thats like 4 babygirls in short succession. cmon dont wear it out ladies youre gonna need to learn how to spraypaint Ls if youre gonna make this your thing. distance and speed im just being a hater u_u they will have to win me over from square one

[ backstage with mjf ]

hey nice its an mjf interview lmao ok the blood on the armwraps buddy? sick and twisted mjf hes damp. hes talking about picking up girls in his car but im kinda distracted by how he kinda looks like wolverine with his hair and beard where is this going mjf oh i see. he is telling a story about how he is a real scumbag badguy, criminal style im sorry hold on im not doing my part as an audience member and believing his fake story. give me a second to internalize it

[ ricky starks vs the JAS gauntlet ]

oh he has to fight all of them in succession? that would explain why this angelo parker match was short i dont know if they explained it on commentary i was still trying to suspend my disbelief enough to be angered at mjf's story about being evil and unforgivable matt menard got mopped up i love garcia :) i dont love sammy guevara but hes making garcia suffer and i can appreciate that part nooo i love rickys spear dont counter it with a headlock. garciaaaaaaa whoa stood up into big powerbomb. ricky is so strong i will say this every time someone slowly lifts another person up. sorry wait what the hell??? why do they have to do this to ricky. god

[ backstage with the acclaimed ]

bowens a little somber here

[ backstage with danielson and takeshita ]

uh oh. they locked him in is danielson gonna walk out with door fragments because thatd be cool his. tracksuit we've reached critical babygirl calls tonight. no more babygirl. dont ruin babygirl for me oh he just shouldered down the door regular style. thats fine too aubrey you could count slower. whats mjf gonna do? enroll in referee school and come back in time to count him out??? danielson appeared that was a really loud chair dropkick oh no hes blee-- DONT LICK THAT AUGH THANK YOU AUBREY blood on da camera lens its hard to pay attention to this match between the action and also the active commentary i can only ever pay attention to one at a time omg that tumble off the apron rush stop taking a shower during your matches lmfao mjf and taz are just chit chatting right now mjf is in casual chat mode its funny. hes not doing his mjf voice as much danielson looks sooooo red and pink right now. wild. good color what a match

oh mjf is so mad hes fighting off all the security!! good. nice

[ backstage with the uh. impractical jokers ]

i hate the impractical jokers btw. i cant handle that much secondhand embarrassment. so i am not enjoying this crossover i am enjoying the distant match happening in the background i didnt have time to get lunch before dynamite and my friend had connection issues during so we're just barely behind enough to skipping through the commercial breaks. im so hungry

[ ar fox + top flight vs the elite ]

wait is this the main event. this is going to be a hella long match dante with the verticality the three flipmasters are here and theyre fighting against the young bucks, also flipmasters. i dont think kenny is a flipmaster? but he sure can wrestle ive been informed that the acclaimed match also exists. im sorry acclaimed i forgot. to be fair im just afraid of them losing the belts lmao ar fox following through to senton on nick(?) back to back jumping outta the ring attacks those kinds of corner backflipping slams, i never know who is the one taking the brunt of the damage there HOW does dante just gain altitude while being horizontal matt jackson with the triple pin god lmao YES top flight teamwork moves :)c and then the elite win. well it wasnt gonna turn out any other way

[ hook video promo ]

this is an extremely quiet video oh its just a "hook is a cool guy" video

[ stokely backstage ]

hes mad at hook!? LMAO HOOK ok i get it. i like this

[ main event time! acclaimed vs gunn club ]

wow we caught up to live yo listen the gunns are in so much glitter right now lmao excalibur criticizing himself during pip... schiavone is right youll get another chance to pronounce picture in picture king i am zoned into this match. or zoned out of it. no reports man bowens really getting into it time for everyone to just lie down for a bit OH NO!!!!!!! THE REF GASP!!!!!!!!! BILLY GUNN OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no way billy goes back to them. they hit him with a belt yeah!!! kill them acclaimed!!!!!! slow count ref debuff NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ?????????????????????????????????????????????????

billy gunn holding bowens' hand............

[melodyplucked]

[ 🎵 ] is there a specific song or songs you associate with your muse? why is that?

honestly, there are a lot... in their own ways... but i'll give you three rn because... why not... i am ALWAYS happy to talk about songs i relate to ricky bowen haha.

smoke slow by joshua bassett-

in the whole like- "she holds my guitar as i pluck out a melody" aka the basis for my url... and the like- musician ricky and the Closeness he craves and the way music plays such a big role in his emotions... but akso like- just- "take your time while you're mine..." and his abandonment issues tm and how he's scared of anyone he loves leaving... and that feeling of like- holding on tight but- knowing this could be all he ever really gets... and being willing to take what he can get even when he knows deep down it's gonna hurt...

sk8er boi by avril lavigne...

in a few ways tbh- even beyond just- obviously he's a skater boy... and i tbh should get into that aspect of things more bc idk if i've written out that headcanon on this blog before about his competitive days or not... because that Was a thing for my ricky... and not one i talk about too much bc- musician!ricky is a big part of my thing... but like "he was a skater boy..." and then "but now he's a superstar, slamming on his guitar, does your pretty face see what he's worth" and just ... the whole aspect with ricky of how he's CONSTANTLY put down and either devalued or underestimated... like "no profitable skills" and like- "you can't zefron your way into this one" and how they all act like he's shit and doesn't deserve anything he gets... but- he grows up to BE SOMEONE and that whole aspect of my ricky's character just !!! means a lot. ricky's not particularly ambitious but- he wants to be loved gosh darnit.

brutal by olivia rodrigo

this song gives me ricky vibes- which is kinda funny because it's a liv song... but- ricky would love it... and relate to it v much so... and like- while i'm not necessarily going to point out certain lyrics exactly rn... just- the generalized... lack of faith from others... and ricky's anxiety and depression... and just- everyone's disappointed in him but they also expect him to do the things but he's never gonna get praised because he didn't deserve it anyway... and just- what's there to enjoy? when his mom left and no one who's supposedly his friend actually supports him. i'm so sick of seventeen and where's this whole "the best years of my life" aspect gonna actually kick in. because high school is kinda sucking... he's doing his best out here your honor. even if it's not good enough for anyone else... where is the youth he's supposed to be enjoying?

[heartsoulrocknroll]

AEW Dynamite 1/4/23 

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks -- Starks comes in hot out of the gate. Starks is on the apron, and Jericho springboards off the ropes, but Starks halts him with a big forearm! Jericho lands a suplex on Starks off the apron to the floor! Back in the ring, Jericho bounces Starks' head repeatedly off the turnbuckle! They trade chops and elbows in the middle of the ring!!! Sit-out powerbomb by Starks! Lionsault by Jericho, but Starks gets the knees up! Superkick from Starks! Cover, but Jericho kicks out! Codebreaker by Jericho lands!!! Jericho attempts a Judas Effect, Starks tries to counter into Roshambo, but Jericho turns the tables again and locks in the Walls! Starks crawls toward the ropes, but Parker stops him with a bat to the face!! Starks looks like he is out!! Ref lifts his arm. The arm drops to the mat twice, but he keeps it up the third time!! Roll up by Starks, and Jericho barley lifts his shoulder up! Starks lands a tornado DDT, takes out Mernard and Parker on the apron, and then lands a huge spear on Jericho!! Cover!!! 1, 2, 3!!! Wow!!!!!! Jericho loses again!!!!! Good match here and nice finish. Rating: 3.5

JAS comes out to attack Starks after the match! Action Andretti comes out to save Starks and avenge himself, with a burn still on his eye from the fireball. He gets a low blow from Tay Melo, and Starks gets powerbombed through a table. 

Hangman Page tells Schiavone that he is not yet cleared to compete, but he will be by next week if he doesn't get into a brawl with Moxley beforehand. Out comes Moxley! Moxley cannot get a functional mic. Lmaaoooo. Moxley says he is sick of the flowers and the sympathy cards and the candlelight vigil for Page just because he got knocked out. Page says he isn't mad at Moxley for knocking him out. That's part of what they do. Hangman says he is angry, because, when he came face to face with Moxley after the knock out, Moxley didn't let him get a word in before making a joke. Page wasn't there for revenge then, but he is now. Moxley says the only joke is that Hangman thinks next time is going to be any different. Next time, he is going to make sure Hangman doesn't get back up.

The Acclaimed (c) vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett for the AEW World Tag Team Championship -- This is a fine match. Good action from The Acclaimed and Lethal, but the mere presence of Jeff Jarrett, who is too senile to know which corner to stand in, takes it down many notches. Bowens with a nasty rolling elbow to the back of Lethal's head to counter Lethal Injection. Jarrett lands the Stroke on Bowens and covers. Bowens gets his foot on the rope, but Dutt knocks it off. The ref doesn't see this and calls for the bell. Wtffffff. Aubrey comes in to tell the other ref what happened and they restart the match. Bowens lands a superkick, but Lethal with a roll up! Bowens kicks out and rolls Lethal up for the three count!!!! Acclaimed retain! Thank god. Rating: 2.75

Hayter and Baker sit down with Renee. Baker asks how Saraya has not decided who her partner will be in their tag match when she has had two of the best wrestlers in the world, Storm and Shida, next to her. 

Bryan Danielson vs. Tony Nese -- Massive ovation for Danielson in his home state!!!! Danielson's elated smile at the crowd reaction has my heart overflowing!! Danielson puts on a clinic of hard chops and kicks. He lands the psycho knee, kicks Nese's head in, and then locks in an STF-esque choke to put Nese out for the win in a three and half minute squash. BEAUTIFUL!!! Rating: AWESOME SQUASH 

After the match, Danielson grabs the mic. He says he is feeling a little froggy and is ready for another fight!!!!! He tells MJF to get his ass out there!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

MJF's music hits! Max comes out, takes his gum out of his mouth and slings it, and greets Danielson, calling him "Brain Damage Bryan." Lmao. MJF says he is not going to wrestle Bryan tonight. "Unlike you Bryan, I don't get my rocks off by putting my body on the line to entertain these schmucks. I don't care about them at all. Cause you're a mark, bud. I'm fully aware I've got a big fat check in the mail whether I wrestle or I don't. That's what makes me a special attraction. These people clearly love you. They chant your name every single week. I'll give you credit. You're pretty solid. But I was just standing in the back while you were talking. With all due respect, Bryan, if Lance Storm and Dean Malenko were somehow able to procreate and have a child, it would still be more charismatic than you. Just cause you look like a goat, it don't make you the greatest of all time. I mean, you really look like a goat. Matter of fact, I wouldn't be shocked if back in 1981 in rural Aberdeen, Washington, mama Danielson, much like all the mothers here in Washington, couldn't find a human suitor." 

Bryan responds, "I'm glad we're making jokes, because in the back, all the boys talk about your mother and how many human suitors that she's had. In fact, probably enough human suitors to fill this whole arena. Hell, she might have had some human suitors who are in this arena right now. Who here has been Max's mother's human suitor?" Lmaoooo, go off, Bryan. MJF says Bryan is delusional. MJF says Bryan really buys the hype and thinks he's the best wrestler in the world, but that can't be true, because MJF is, and the Triple B around his waist proves it.  "I'm just curious, Bryan. Who died and made you the king of wrestling? Journalists who have never stepped foot in the ring, let alone stepped out of their mother's basement? Or even worse, these MARKS, who don't have one athletic bone in their parasitic bodies. See unlike you, Bryan, I am touted as being the best in the world by some people who have actually been in this business. (Asshole chant!!) Top names, guys that are putting me over, like Disco Inferno, Eric Bischoff, and the smartest man of them all and my number one fan Jim Cornette." Looololol. 

Bryan cuts MJF off and tells him to just shut up. "We've heard the spiel, we've heard it a million times. I hate you, and I think it's time for us to fight." MJF freaks out and quickly runs farther back up the stage toward the commentary table, yelling, "Wait, hold on, hold on one second, slow your roll. Jesus, Taz, the anger issues on this guy, can you believe this?"

MJF says, "You might not realize this, Bryan, but I actually came here as a favor for you. This ain't play wrestling, this is pro wrestling. In this company, wins and losses matter. If you want a shot at the grandest prize of them all, you have to become number one contender. I talked to that nerd Tony Khan in the back. He said if you were to wrestle every week on Dynamite and win from now until February 8th, you would be number one contender. I usually make my opponents jump through hoop after hoop to get a match with me, but I'll make an exception for you. If you can do that, I'll give you a match for the title at Revolution, no questions asked." Bryan says no, he will wrestle whenever he wants, beat his opponents, and then beat MJF for the title at revolution. MJF says, "That's not how this works. Tony Khan doesn't run this company, the EVPs don't run this company, I do, me. If you don't become number one contender the way I am telling you to, you will never wrestle me for this belt. It's my way, or it's no way, got it?"

Bryan: "I'll agree to your cute little stipulation if you agree to let me make the stipulation for our match at Revolution." MJF: "You wanna make a stipulation, so I can cheat in front of the ref? Go ahead, please, pick any stipulation you like." Bryan: "I don't think you understand. In this stipulation, you won't be able to do anything that gets you DQ'd. This is the true test of whether you're a great pro wrestler. My challenge is for a 60-minute iron-man match." After taunting from the crowd, MJF finally accepts. 

AWESOME SEGMENT HERE!!!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS MATCH!!!! THIS RULES!!!!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!!! 

Swerve Strickland vs. AR Fox – Swerve lands a DEATH VALLEY DRIVER OFF THE TOP ROPE ONTO THE APRON! OH MY GOD!!!!!! Swerve rolls Fox back in the ring and lands his stomp from the top for the pinfall. Great match here. Rating: 3.5

Saraya, Storm, and Shida sit down with Renee. Saraya very rudely announces that she has chosen Storm as her partner, turning her back to Shida to say this to Storm. Shida looks offended. Hope Shida kicks her ass! 

The Gunns have a funeral for FTR's career, with a large graphic reading "FTRIP May 2020 - December 2022" on the big screen. They talk about how FTR lost to them and lost all their titles. They bow their heads for a moment of silence. Lol, ridiculous. 

Samoa Joe (c) vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Championship -- Darby with a suicide dive out of the ring to Joe on the outside before the bell!!! Darby smacks Joe's back with his skateboard! Darby lands a huge diving stomp off the stage with the skateboard under his feet, driving the board into Joe's back!!! Holy shit!!!! Darby lands a senton off a huge ladder onto Joe on the ramp! Darby tweaks his knee on the way down. Back toward the ring now. Joe slams Darby down back-first, uranage-style into the edge of the ring steps! Joe bounces Darby hard off the ring post, and Darby sells that shit like a pro, flying off the apron onto the floor and lying there lifeless!! Darby finally makes it back in the ring. Headbutt and kicks from Joe! Joe misses with an elbow, and Darby jumps onto his back, locking in a sleeper! But Joe reverses, jumping down onto his back and nailing Darby with a senton in the process! Chopblock and big double knee breaker drop by Joe! Joe with a vicious kick to Darby's chest and a senton onto Darby's knees, but Darby kicks out!! Single-leg crab by Joe, but Darby gets to the ropes! Darby escapes a Muscle Buster attempt and goes for a roll up, but Joe stops it, deadlifting Darby up to his feet! Standing switch and waist lock by Darby. Into the corner, and Darby keeps the waist lock on. Joe holds onto the ropes to resist, but Darby finally lands a German suplex!!!!! Wow!!!! Joe pulls the top turnbuckle pad off in the process. Darby with a pin attempt, but Joe kicks out and immediately transitions into a sleeper!! Darby with a slick reversal, rolling back into a pinning combination! Joe slips out at two! Darby lands an elbow and attempts a stunner, but Joe reverses into a sleeper! Darby does the Sting chest pound and escapes by driving Joe into the exposed turnbuckle!!! CODE RED BY DARBY!!!! COFFIN DROP OFF THE TOP FROM ONE CORNER, BUT DARBY ISN'T FINISHED!! COFFIN DROP OFF THE TOP FROM THE OTHER CORNER! Darby covers!!!! 1, 2, 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhh heck yeah!! 

Really great match here. Both guys were awesome. Love seeing them wrestle each other. Darby's selling was fantastic here, but that is nothing new. Rating: 3.75 

Sting comes out after the match and picks Darby up in a hug. My heart. What a nice moment for Darby here, winning the title back in his hometown. Two-time TNT Champion!!!!!

[arandomblackgirl]

MALE LEAD REACTING TO THE FEMALE LEAD LOOKING FABULOUS IS MY FAVORITE THING THANK YOU

[fbfh]

rocks at your window pt. 7 - ricky bowen x reader

disclaimer: this series contains smut and chapter by chapter warnings, so as with all nsfw works, ricky is aged up to 18+!! ricky and reader are 18 and in their senior year

additionally, we're working towards a ricky x therapy plot so he's going to start expressing some symptoms of mental illness and bpd but he does get therapy eventually and has a good support system but he gets worse before he gets better yk. Obviously I'm not a professional and this is for entertainment so while I have done my research pls take this with a grain of salt!! or several!! /lh

!! contains some spoilers for season 1 of hsmtmts, and previous chapters of this fic !!

wc: 4.5k

genre: angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, smut

pairing: ricky bowen x (afab she/her) reader

warnings: post school theater burning down, ricky is spiraling, one "look at me" but it's necessary and works, more of reader comforting ricky, ricky has a lil dissociation moment, op being gratuitously horny for the inherant beauty of theaters and rehearsal spaces, descriptions of a panic attack/some ptsd/mild trauma, square breathing to come down from said panic attack, brief trauma sharing, reader's dad was abiguosuly "scary when mad, reader's dad didn't show up to important events, ricky comforts reader, disgusting cursed backstage couches, fingering, protected vaginal sex, yet another mid fuck near love confession bc duh it's ricky, almost getting caught, I think that's it

summary: After a tragic incident renders the school theater unusable, you find a beautiful theater to perform the show. You're getting really excited about it, and Ricky is too. When tech rehearsals begin with a more than rough start, Ricky gets the opportunity to comfort you, to be there for you like you've been there for him.

song recs: 27 - fall out boy, I can't handle change - roar, at the ballet - a chorus line, bop to the top (kourtney's version) - dara renee

a/n: been reading my immortal again and in chapter 34 there's a line where Enoby tries to describe a dress that professor sinister was wearing as "kinda lik da one Amy Lee wears in this pic" followed by the http/ of a link and nothing else then she just continues on and I almost wept about that in public and I love it so dearly so fangz 2 Cici for proof reading, u rok, mcr rox. fuk off prepz.

tags @afidiofobia @aliyahsutherland @hopefullhearts @pikzel @demirunner @brinaslittlefreak @girlfriendwhoseawitch @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @matiere-detoiles @ifilwtmfc @uselesssapphickitten @nxstalgicnxbxdy @ggclarissa @n-slayaaaaa @stormi-ames @rainforest-daisies @sunshineangel-reads

It’s a bad dream. It’s another bad dream that Ricky can’t wake up from. Soggy ash carpets the formerly scuffed floors, as serious looking adults clad in reflective yellow and khaki drag hoses around and talk to Miss Jenn. Everything is ruined. It’s all destroyed. This is worse than anything, any flooded basement or mildewy props, this is the worst thing that could happen. There’s not one thing in this goddamn theater that hasn’t been tainted by destruction, there’s nothing left to salvage. He feels sick. He pulls out of this horrible spiral of thoughts when he feels your hand tug his arm gently, guiding him into the hall. You can tell by the look on his face how bad this is before he even starts.

“We’re gonna figure it out.” you start. He runs a hand through his hair, eyes still stuck on the ruins just through the doorway. 

“H-how can-” 

“Ricky, look at me.” you place your hand on his jaw, getting his attention back on you. His teary brown eyes are locked on yours, desperate for something to grab onto. You take a steadying breath, and he follows with a shaky one. “We are going to figure this out.” 

Your touch, your gaze, the unwavering confidence in your voice grounds him. He takes another breath, this one slightly deeper. 

“If a flooded basement didn’t stop Matilda, some scorch marks sure as hell can’t stop the Wildcats.” 

He nods absentmindedly at your words.

“Okay?” You ask. He nods again. 

“Yeah,” he breathes. He grabs tight onto your hand and you both head back into the smoky theater with everyone else, where Miss Jenn quickly gets everyone’s attention. 

“Hug your neighbor, take a moment,” she directs, still holding the deflated, scorched basketball in her hands, “let’s reconvene in the cafeteria after school to talk about options.” She addresses Nini and Ricky, then, when her eyes linger on the way Ricky is holding onto your hand with both of his, you as well. 

“Spread the word.” 

“Got it.” Nina says quietly.

“Of course,” you acknowledge with a small nod. 

He’s trying to breathe, trying to think, trying to do something, but he can’t. He’s trying to listen to Miss Jenn, but he can feel himself spacing out. His eyes are fixated on a soggy, burnt piece of neon tape that had peeled off of the floor, and his chest rises and falls automatically in shallow breaths. It’s not supposed to be there. It’s supposed to be downstage left, it’s supposed to be where he stands for Get’cha Head in the Game. That’s why it’s orange, because that’s where Miss Jenn said he’ll fly up in a harness and dunk a basketball in slow motion. She made it sound so easy, but they haven’t even done the choreography for that number yet. How the hell is he supposed to know where to stand if his strike tape isn’t in the right place. Strike tape? Or is it spike tape. Maybe-

“Ricky?” Miss Jenn calls, and he snaps out of it. 

“Uh,” he sputters, “yeah.” He hopes he didn’t miss too much in the few seconds he had totally spaced out. You don’t let go of his hand until you get to your next class. 

“We just have to get through today, okay?” He nods, agreeing carefully. You just have to get through today. Then everyone will be together in the cafeteria and Miss Jenn will know what to do. That will fix everything, and it will all be okay again. 

As soon as Miss Jenn proposes looking at other venues to host the show, you’re already pulling out your phone. You’d been thinking the same thing, and spent every free moment between classes not texting your castmates or helping console them googling neary (or nearby-ish) theaters and potential venues. You’re no stranger to this; when you were in Fun Home, the whole production had to change theaters twice. You were a kid and it was years ago, so you don’t remember what the reasons were exactly, but you all adapted and the run got extended by two months, so it all worked out. 

You skip past the ones you ruled out earlier, the first option on your list is the El Rey. It’s pretty close, and business has been slow, so it shouldn’t be too expensive to rent. 

“What about the El Rey?” Seb asks.

“I think that could work,” you say, “it’s not too far from here, and it doesn’t look like they have any shows or events going on right now.” You tilt your phone so Ricky and your other friends sitting nearby can look at pictures while Seb does the same. “It shouldn’t be too hard to rent out.” 

“Well-” Miss Jenn starts, seeming a little hesitant.

“My uncle Reuben’s the listing agent,” Carlos says, pulling out his phone to call him. One short excited conversation in Spanish later, you get the green light for the El Rey. 

Once Ricky’s beetle is stuffed as full as you can get it with salvaged costumes, props, and anything else you could fit, you start the drive over to your new theater. You have their website pulled up on your phone, and you start reading him some of the past events, shows, and concerts they’ve hosted. He’s not sure why he’s so excited if he hasn’t even been there yet, but you’re making it sound… magical. 

“Oh my god,” you turn to him, shocked. “This is the same theater where the touring cast of Into the Woods performed in 1989.” 

“Really?” he smiles at how excited you are. 

“Yeah! Oh my god…” you chuckle in disbelief, then look at him again. “This is going to be really, really great.” 

He smiles. He thinks you’re right. If anyone would know what makes a great theater, it would be you. A few minutes later, he pulls into the parking lot, recognizing the other few cars there, and seeing Nini and Kourtney help Miss Jenn unload the props and costumes from her car. You get out of the car, and Ricky watches you jog over to Miss Jenn, asking where she wants you to put stuff, while Carlos talks to his uncle, who’s unlocking the door. You head back over, grabbing a few boxes and walking toward the door. 

“She said to put them backstage and we’ll organize it all once we know what we’re working with.”

A few of your friends are right behind you, arms filled with boxes. Carlos opens the back door, and Miss Jenn passes around some flashlights before guiding you all into the building. You pass through the backstage area, past the dressing rooms, and into the wings, finally stepping onto the stage. Even in the dark, with miscellaneous old props and storage boxes, it’s breathtaking. The dust floats down gently in your flashlight beams, reminding you of the first snow of the season. 

Next to you, his flashlight beam sweeping over the dusty couches and empty chairs sitting on the tables, Ricky’s breath is gone from his lungs. A huge wave of emotion overcomes him, and he sees it. The inherent beauty in all theaters you had been telling him about. Next to him, Miss Jenn rests her hand on his shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. 

“Welcome home.” 

He feels it, he feels that he’s finally home. A little while later, everything has been brought in and stacked somewhat neatly. As they’ve been bringing in boxes, moving props, and sweeping up, there’s a tangible sense of togetherness growing between the cast and crew, one Ricky notices.  Miss Jenn now has her cast on stage while her crew tries to make sense of the lights, soundboards, and other backstage areas. 

The lights are finally up, you’ve cleared off the stage for the most part, and Miss Jenn gets ready for her welcome to tech rehearsal speech. No one has been able to get a hold of Gina, and Natalie is still recovering from getting her wisdom teeth out. She’d sent a selfie of her with her cheeks all swollen, accompanied by the caption, I lived bitches. Her sister texted on her phone a few minutes later letting the cast group chat know she’s totally knocked out, and will be asleep for a while, so you all sent her nice messages for when she wakes up. 

Miss Jenn gets everyone’s attention to introduce tech rehearsals, expectations for the cast and crew, and some words of inspiration, and the excitement is palpable. Before she can, a large sandbag falls suddenly, crashing less than a foot away from you. You scream, hands flying to your ears as you jump back, and Ricky pulls you close to him reflexively, one arm over your head, the other around your waist. 

Every muscle in your body is tense, and he can feel you shaking in his grasp while the shocked frightened noises from your castmates die down. He suddenly hates this theater. He looks up at the catwalk with a venomous glare, a warning not to scare you like that again. 

“Are you okay?” he asks quietly. You don’t answer. You’re staring into space, hand clutched over your mouth and shaking like a leaf, breaths fast and shallow. Miss Jenn takes one look at you, eyes widening in realization.

“Okay, Ricky, why don’t you two go backstage and run some lines while we… sort this out.” she gestures vaguely above you. He agrees, guiding you into the wings, while Miss Jenn gets everyone’s attention back on her. 

Ricky ushers you through the wings, past the dressing room, and into a secluded storage room. In the back behind the piano and table stacked with boxes, sits a couch, that like everything else in the building, is covered in a thin layer of dust. You sit down next to him, shaking and trying not to cry. A binder slips out of one of the boxes and falls to the ground, loose paper fluttering down, and you jump like a terrified alley cat. You cling onto him, and he rubs your back, hoping that will help. You haven’t said a word yet, and he’s starting to get worried. 

“Are you okay?” he asks again. You’re clearly not, and he’s struggling for words, for something that will help you feel better. He doesn’t notice you pulling out your phone and typing until his dings with a text from you, the familiar text tone he set just for you resonating in the quiet room. He checks the text you sent him. It’s a diagram for breathing exercises for panic attacks. That’s what’s going on, he realizes, you’re having a panic attack. He freezes for a second, mind racing. He realizes after a moment that freaking out isn’t going to help you at all. He takes a shaky breath, then looks at the diagram. 

“Okay,” he says, “you ready?” You nod.

He inhales, holds his breath, lets it out, and holds it again in four second intervals, counting you through it as you breathe together. He repeats the steps again and again, feeling your grip on his arm gradually loosen. He notices the changes, slow and gradual, as the breathing exercises start to work. The relief you both feel as he witnesses you progressively come down from this is unlike anything else he’s ever felt. A little while later, you think you’ve calmed down enough to talk about it.  

“Are you okay?” he asks, voice soft and tender. 

“Yeah.” you say. He’s never been more relieved to hear your voice. You take in a shaky breath, fumbling for the words you’re looking for. 

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, dude.” he says, nudging you gently. You pause, then let out a breathy, weepy laugh, remembering the first time you said that to him. It gets quiet again. You can tell him, you think. You’ve mentioned that your dad was an asshole in the past, so you’re sure it won’t be too much of a shock. Your therapist has said it’s good to talk about this stuff in places where you feel safe enough to. You don’t think you’ve ever felt safer than in a theater, than with Ricky right next to you. You take in a steadying breath.

“My dad, before he left,” you start. Your voice is so small, he’s never heard you speak so quietly, “he got… scary… when he was mad sometimes. Loud noises still make me kind of jumpy, you know?” 

He understands what you’re saying. More than he hates this theater for putting you in danger, he hates that someone ever made you afraid like that - especially someone who was supposed to take care of you. He’s never met him, and he’s sure you wouldn’t want him to, but Ricky really hates your dad now. 

“Yeah,” he says softly, still rubbing your back. You fidget with your fingers. It’s quiet again. 

“He never came to any of my shows.” 

There’s a retroactive, humorless laugh towards the end.

“I started giving my comp tickets to friends cause I knew he wouldn’t come.” 

Ricky somehow hates this guy even more. You look up, eyes moving around, taking in the details of the room.

“I guess that’s why theaters have always felt like more of a home, you know?” you chuckle, remembering how much normal stuff you missed out on to be at rehearsals so much. “Even when things were bad, they were still good. Plus, it was the one place he was guaranteed not to be, so…” 

At some point, you curled up against him, and your head now rests on his warm chest. His hoodie is soft under your cheek, and you feel close to him. It’s a nice feeling. 

“So, why did you stop?”

“Stop what?” you ask, snapping out of your train of thought circling around how nice he feels against you. 

“If theatre’s your home, why did you stop?” Maybe he shouldn’t ask, but you’ve told him so many times how glad you were to start acting again when you started at East High. You let out a dry laugh, a cynical tinge of hindsight present in your reply. 

“I thought it would be easier.” you state. It sounds so stupid to say out loud now, but it did make sense at the time. “Going from such a face paced, high pressure environment to normal life in a suburban town… I thought I could be normal. I thought I would feel more fulfilled if I really committed to letting myself be a normal teenager for a while, but…” You laugh again, this one warmer.

“I couldn’t stop.” you confess. “I did one summer completely free of any and all performing arts - I even quit dance - and I practically lost my mind. It was terrible. In a profession like this, it either drives you totally crazy or keeps you sane. I guess I need theatre to keep me sane.” You laugh again. “God, listen to me. I sound like such an actor…” you chuckle, hoping he doesn’t think you sound too pretentious. 

He understands. There’s a certain peace he’s noticed he only finds in rehearsal spaces. He wonders if that makes him an actor too. He hopes it does. He can sense how comfortable around him you are, and it makes his heart feel full, that you trust him when you’re so vulnerable. You trace your hand across his chest, then idly through his hair, and he feels like his heart is going to burst. It gets quiet again, the only noises are your soft breaths mixing together and his pulse racing under your fingertips. 

“Thanks for this…” you begin, but the words dry up in your throat as you look over at him, realizing how close you are, how alone the two of you are. It hits you how close you’re pressed against each other, how badly you want to touch him. Based on the way he’s looking at you, he’s thinking the same thing.

You can’t hold back from kissing him any longer. Besides, why should you? Life is short, who are you to deprive yourselves of the pleasure of kissing someone you’re really into? Especially in such an intimate moment like this, all cozy and tucked away together. You start to lay back, letting him pin you against the cushions of the couch, but a cloud of dust rises up on impact, followed by the noise of something that you swear was a rat scrabbling away. You clap your hand over your mouth, you and Ricky staring at each other in shock. 

“Nope.” you say.

“Nope.” he agrees, standing up. 

“Nope.” you echo, both moving quickly away from the couch. Before you can take a look around for another convenient place to make out for a little while, Ricky picks you up in one swift motion, setting you on the table full of boxes stacked nearly as high as your head that he can just see over. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you back in for another kiss. 

“Ricky…” you giggle when he bites your neck, moving his hand into your pants. 

He’s never felt closer to you than he does now, holding you tight in his arms while his fingers plunge in and out of your dripping heat as you sigh against his skin. No matter how many times you feel them stretching your tight walls and rubbing that spot that makes your eyes roll back, it never fails to amaze you how good his fingers feel inside you like this. They reach places yours could never, and maybe it’s the years of playing guitar, but they always seem to know just what to do to make you throb and squeeze around them. 

Soon you’re ready for more, you need more, and he can feel that. You watch in anticipation, breath bated, as he undoes his jeans enough to pull out his cock, hard and leaking for you, pulsing in his hand. He quickly rolls a condom up his shaft, just as needy to be inside you as you are for him, and lines himself up with your entrance. He works his way in, gently, slowly burying his cock inside you. He peppers your face with kisses until he’s all the way in, his pelvis nudging against your twitching clit. 

He starts to thrust slowly, settling into a rhythm and squeezing your hips in his hands. You wrap your arms around his waist, pulling him closer to push your tongue into his mouth. He makes you feel good, so good, and he’s barely gotten started. He ruts his hips into yours, giving you everything you need, fucking all the residual stress and sadness out of your sweet, pretty head. He’s careful not to go too crazy, toeing the line between comforting pleasure and overstimulation. 

You cling onto him so tightly, so vulnerable in his arms, batting your pretty eyes up at him and god, it makes his stomach twist. Your breath fans warm across his face with every little pant, every moan he draws out of you, and it feels better than the warmest shower on the coldest day. He’s dizzy with pleasure, burying his face into your neck to get high off the sweet scent of the perfume you’re wearing today - this one smelling like book pages and fruit. 

In spite of the way you cling to him and clench around him and moan his name, he doesn’t know how you feel, what you are. He wishes he had an answer, because he can feel it building up. You’re so tight and wet, squeezing him so pretty than any strength he would have had not to say it so soon is gone.

“I-”

“Ricky?”

You both freeze at the sound of Nina’s voice making her way through the crowded room. Ricky sees the instant your eyes get wide and you bite your lip, eyes locked with yours, and he has to try not to cum on the spot from how goddamn cute you look and how quick you clench and squeeze around him. He doesn’t hesitate, pulling your head down to his chest, below the line of the boxes as Nini finally walks past the piano and sees him obscured by boxes. Tucked into his chest, you’re out of her line of sight. You can feel yourself squeeze around him, pulsing, a breath away from cumming. You’re surprised at how turned on the protective gesture makes you, the feeling of his hand on the back of your head keeping you tucked away. He lets out a low hiss of air only you hear.  

“Um, Miss Jenn wants to know where you guys went.” she says. If Ricky hadn’t been so focused on looking relaxed and casual instead of like he wasn’t balls deep in the tightest wettest warmest cunt he could ever dream of, he would have noticed the shape her mouth made. He would have recognized it as the same tell she’s had since they were little and asked why she was lying, what she really wanted. Nini tries to look around the room for you, but Ricky jumps in before she can. 

“I think she went to the bathroom,” he gestures toward the doorway, “I’ll go find her and we’ll be there in a couple minutes. You can head back, and tell Miss Jenn.” He takes slow, shallow breaths, trying to keep a poker face, trying not to let her realize anything is going on. She looks around the room a little more. 

“...Okay.” she sighs. “Hurry up.” She looks back at him once before leaving. You both wait with bated breath until you’re sure she’s gone. 

“That was such a close call,” you breath, ethereal and glowing lighting his skin on fire wherever you touch and he feels it build up in a rush again. 

“Yeah,” he chokes out, hoping the wrong words don’t slip out instead, “It was.” He’s teetering on the precipice, the words about to spill out, practically edging himself by staying still when you throb and squeeze and pulse around him like that, so he does what anyone would do - he presses hot, wet, open mouthed kisses against your soft pretty lips, and bends over to fuck you within an inch of your life. He moves down your neck as his hips piston into yours, knocking all the air from your lungs. 

“Ricky!” You giggle, overwhelmed with the pace he’s set and the playful kisses he’s smothering you with. 

“Shh, peach, we don’t want someone to find us in here again, right?” he mutters into your skin, that sensitive spot below your ear, and you let out a shuddering sigh. You’re trying so hard to stifle your noises but the best you can do is dampen them. Everything he does feels so good, and he’s so… excited to touch you like this, to make you giggle, that it makes you light headed from all the attention. He pants, resting his head on your shoulder and nuzzled into your neck, overwhelmed by you. He squeezes his eyes closed and scrunches his nose when he smiles in disbelief that someone can make him feel so good, that he love someone this much, and god, he loves you so much. 

The nerve builds again, and he can feel himself getting dangerously close. It’s not the first time by any means, and he’s sure it won’t be the last. So fuck it, he thinks, throwing caution to the wind. What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t do stuff like this in a dusty storage room full of cobwebs and props unless you really like someone, right? And really liking someone is close to loving them. Maybe he should take a leap of faith. He takes in a breath.

“I love-” 

The words and air alike are knocked out of his lungs as you clench hard around him, cumming hard. You hide your face in his shoulder in an adorable attempt to muffle the sounds you're making, nails lightly scratching his back as you hold onto him for dear life. The breath he was going to use to tell you that leaves his mouth as a moan instead. You catch your soft, pretty lips with his, and shove your tongue down his throat to quiet both of you, and it’s enough to send him over the edge. He cums hard, drowning in that pleasure that only you can give him. 

“Fuck,” he moans into your mouth, panting against your skin as his hips rut and spasm against your sensitive walls, your throbbing clit. You gradually come down from your high, and manage to run into the bathroom to get cleaned up before walking back together, trying to be inconspicuous. Miss Jenn gestures for Ricky to come over to her so she can ask if you’re okay. During his brief absence, Nina shows up next to you. 

“You were gone for a while,” she starts quietly, trying to see if your story lines up with Ricky’s. You look over at her smiling, mouth agape, and point to Kourtney, who’s belting her heart on stage. 

“Oh my god!” you breathe, excited and trying not to interrupt, “Did you know she could sing like that?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Nina starts. She’s Kourtney’s best friend, of course she knows she can sing. 

“She’s amazing…” you smile, wondering why she didn’t audition initially. You hope she will in the future, you’re sure Miss Jenn could use someone like her in the cast as well as the crew. Before Nina can wrap back around to her initial question, you’re slipping away to get your water bottle from your bag. Miss Jenn catches your eye, silently and sincerely asking if you’re okay. You flash her a smile and thumbs up. You are now. She nods, then continues typing something on her laptop. 

On your way back, you catch a glimpse of her screen. It’s a total accident, but you don’t like what you see. She’s emailing Principal Gutierrez about using the school gym for the show instead of the El Rey. Your brow furrows. Why wouldn’t she want to use the El Rey? It’s beautiful, affordable, and available, it’s the perfect fit. The school gym? How would that even work? You pull out your phone to text your mom, determined not to let Ricky perform his first show in a gym when a beautiful theater is ready and waiting for you. 

One quick text to your mom  - who’s just as confused about that as you are - and she tells you she’s on top of it. You thank her, glad to have someone that great in your corner. You look over at Ricky, who’s currently sword fighting EJ with a wrapping paper tube. You smile. He’s so sweet, and he’s been through so much, the least you can do is make sure he has the best experience with theatre you possibly can - and that means performing right here on opening night.