#so I got to try and sleep in a freezing house while saws and hammering were going nonstop and not enough phone charge to cover it with audi

[voluptuarian]

Currently so out of sorts I'm going back to bed just to try and soothe the savage beast down to a liveable level

[impalas-r-important]

Branch Out - Chapter 2

Summary: Y/N left everything she's ever known, and Dean just wants to be left alone. With both of them trying to heal from heartache, they might just end up finding what they need in the last place they'd ever look.

Word Count: 6550

Pairing: Dean x Reader (eventually, maybe?)

Warnings: I don't think there are any for this chapter, but if you think i should add one, feel free to let me know!

Read Chapter 1

Branch Out Masterlist

My Masterlist

Saturday was a welcome break from work, but there was no sleeping in. A delivery truck brought your bed frame, a small kitchen table, and a coffee table early in the morning and you were over the moon about not having to sleep on the cold floor anymore. You figured the tables would be fairly easy to put together, so you left those for last. You emptied the box with the bedframe and did your best to carefully lay out all the pieces so they would be easy to find as you went along. Before you started, you grabbed your radio and shuffled through your CDs, deciding on The Eagles to be today’s soundtrack.

You threw half of your hair up in a bun to pull the small pieces from your face, rolled up your sleeves, and looked around for the instructions. You couldn’t actually remember seeing any kind of paper as you unpacked the pieces, so you dumped out the box. Nothing. You looked under every piece of wood, and in every corner of your tiny house, but came up empty handed.

“Fan-friggin-tastic…” You grumbled and stared down the lumber and hardware, trying to make sense of this now seemingly impossible puzzle.

Hours had passed, and you had only managed to put together a pathetic amount of the bedframe. The stupid bits and pieces that were strewn across the floor taunted you with every wrong part you picked up. Before any vital pieces ended up getting thrown into the fireplace out of frustration, you decided it would be best to take a break and make some lunch. You needed to make a run to the grocery store and stock your fridge and shelves, but you’d need to wait until you got your truck back, so you kept your fingers were crossed that Bobby would be able to get to it today.

You settled on a protein shake and a banana for your meal and were sitting on the kitchen counter when two quick knocks at the door interrupted your thoughts. You turned the music down a notch and wove your way through the maze of wood that had taken over your living room. You were expecting to see Sarah standing on the other side of your front door but were surprised to find Dean. One hand was slipped into his coat pocket and his shoulders were slightly rounded, showing that he didn’t really want to be here right now.

“Oh,” you did your best to not sound massively surprised but did a bang-up job, “hi.”

“Hey,” he cleared his throat, and a tuft of breath flew from his mouth in the cold air, “I just wanted to say sorry for being kind of a dick last night. I’m not really a people person and I’m definitely not used to having neighbors.” His eyes, which were glued to the ground made their way up to meet yours. “The bars were good though. I ate them all last night. I figured you’d want this back.” He extended his arm holding the plate you had placed the treats on to take over to him.

You tried your hardest to stop the smug smirk that was pulling at the corners of your mouth. “That’s actually a disposable plate.”

“Oh,” he looked down at it, “it’s one of the fancy plastic ones though, so I wasn’t sure if you wanted it back or not…” It was definitely not fancy, but the thought of him scrubbing the sticky blueberry mess off of a cheap plate was completely endearing.

“Well, good as new then.” You smiled and took the plate back from him, making a mental note to only give him paper plates from here on out if the situation arose. You stepped just inside the door and tossed the plastic onto the kitchen counter.

Dean raised an eyebrow as he snuck a peek at the mess that was you house at the moment. “Whoa, did a bomb go off in here?”

You looked around with a sigh. “No, but I’m about ready to blow the whole place up and just start over.” Stepping out of the way, you signaled for Dean to come in out of the freezing cold. He stomped his boots off on the front porch and stepped inside. “I didn’t bring any furniture with me when I moved, so I ordered some online. This mess,” you motioned vaguely around the room, “is supposed to be a bedframe but some genius forgot to put the instructions in the box.”

“How long have you been at it?” Dean stepped closer to the junk yard that had become your living room.

You really didn’t want to answer that question because you figured he’d just tell you what you were doing wrong. “Not that long.” Lying had never been something you were good at. Dean took one look at the guilty look on your face and saw right through it.

“So, all morning?”

“All morning.” You admitted and crossed your arms in shame. For a short second, you could have sworn that you saw a hint of a smile on Dean’s face. He was probably laughing at your miserable handy work.

“Well, for starters, you should put the bedframe together in the bedroom. Not the living room.” He walked around the wood pieces and began organizing them into piles.

“The bedroom is really small, so I figured it would be easier to put the big pieces together out here and then put the whole thing together in the bedroom.” You watched with some distain as he easily began to piece together the headboard. “You don’t have to do that, you know…”

“Do what?” He asked but didn’t look up from his crouched position on the floor.

“Help.” You shrugged. “I heard you loud and clear last night that you aren’t looking for friends.”

Dean paused for a moment. “Maybe I’m just staying for the good music.”

“You like The Eagles?”

“Who doesn’t?”

“One of my dad’s rules to live by is that you should never trust people who wear socks to bed or people who hate The Eagles.”

“Your dad sounds like a smart man.” There it was again, an elusive smile from the self-proclaimed loner. You were sure you saw it this time. “But I do have to say that no one beats the mighty Zep.”

You could respect a guy who loved the classics. “Wow, the good taste in music almost makes up for the crabby attitude.”

Dean knew you were teasing and gave you a fed-up look. “Do you have a drill?” He asked.

You picked up a screwdriver from the counter and held it up. Dean shook his head. “No, an actual drill.”

“I have a hammer…”

A chuckle escaped from Dean’s chest. “You were planning on hammering these screws into your new furniture?”

“I was working with what I had. Don’t judge me.”

Dean stood and amusedly shook his head as he made his way to the door, leaving it open while he walked to his truck and pulled a drill from the toolbox that was in the bed. As you watched, you noticed that your driveway had been cleared of the snow from last night’s flurry and couldn’t help but find that odd. You didn’t hear a truck outside your house this morning.

Dean skipped a few steps up the stairs and hurried inside, taking off his coat once he had shut the door after him. “Can I put this here?” He laid his it over the back of a chair that had been here when you moved in.

“Yeah.” You took one more peek out the window at the plowed path to your house from the road. “Hey, weird question, but you wouldn’t happen to know how my driveway got cleared, would you?”

“You ever heard of a snowplow?” His words dripped with sarcasm, but you were well versed in the language as well.

“A snowplow? Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell. What’s that?” You exaggerated every word, but Dean still looked up at you with furrowed brows before realizing that you were joking.

“I just didn’t realize the plows would come this far up the mountain. I promise I’m not as dumb as I look.” Kneeling a few feet away from him on the floor, you held the piece of wood his was trying to secure in place steady.

“The driver is a buddy of mine, He’s a good guy so he probably just wanted to help out the new girl.” Dean explained. You couldn’t help but feel lucky that you had found a place that was full of kind folks. The headboard was put together in a matter of minutes and Dean carried it into your bedroom with ease before picking out the pieces for the footboard.

“Thank you, Dean. I know this is probably not how you wanted to spend your Saturday afternoon.”

“I like to build things. I built my cabin, so a bedframe is a piece of cake.”

“I guess that’s pretty impressive.” Casually playing that off made Dean slightly smile again. You could tell he was feeling a little more comfortable.

“What are you doing up here all by yourself anyway?” He quickly wiped any traces of emotion from his face.

You shrugged. “I just needed a new start and this place fell in my lap, so I jumped. I might be a little in over my head, but I have to start somewhere, right?”

“Why’d you move?” You thought it bold of him to ask the hard-hitting questions but admired his straightforwardness.

You took a moment to carefully word your response. “Sometimes you just need to take yourself out of an unhealthy situation even if it’s the only thing you’ve ever known.”

Dean was surely picking up on your lack of details. “I can respect that.” His eyes fell to the bruise on your arm that he had first noticed a few days before. You self-consciously rubbed the sore spot and felt grateful for the phone ringing that stopped the conversation from progressing any further.

You looked to see that Bobby’s shop was calling and brought the phone to your ear. “Hey, Bobby.”

Dean watched as you slowly paced back and forth by the window. He had felt ridiculous this morning for washing a stupid plastic plate just so he could have an excuse to come over and apologize, but he was glad that risk paid off, even if you did think he was clueless.

As he put the last few screws in the footboard, Dean couldn’t help but overhear the conversation you were having on the phone. You sounded a little disappointed and Dean assumed that Bobby had called with bad news.

“How’s the truck?” Dean asked once you had joined him on the floor and began picking up the spare screws.

“Apparently my truck is an ‘old piece of crap’, and the only battery Bobby had that would fit ended up being a dud. He ordered a new one, but it won’t be in until Monday.”

While Dean agreed that your truck should probably be retired, he felt empathetic that you’d had so many problems with it since moving in. “I’ll give you a ride to work.” The words flew from his mouth before he really thought about what he was saying. That wasn’t normally something he’d offer to do. “If you want, that is.”

“Dean, I can’t ask you to do that…” You were sure at this point that he thought you were just some helpless stupid girl that didn’t know how to do anything for yourself.

“Well, you didn’t ask. I volunteered.”

“Still, you’ve done so much for me in the short time that I’ve been here, I feel like I’m just mooching off of you at this point.”

“I’ve barely done anything.” Dean brushed your statement off, but you knew you were right.

“You gave me a ride on my first day, fixed my battery, you’re here wasting your Saturday helping me put together furniture, and now you’re going to give me another ride to work on Monday. That sounds like mooching to me.”

“Your house and City Hall are both on my way to work. I haven’t been the most welcoming person in the world, so let’s just call it even.”

You could tell that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so you got up and went into the kitchen. You opened the cabinet and pulled out another plate of blueberry pie bars and took them to Dean. He gladly accepted.

After pulling back the plastic wrap and shoving a whole bar in his mouth, he mumbled, “Now we’re definitely even.” He rubbed his hands together to brush the crumbs off and finished his bite. “You had these the whole time and you weren’t going to share?”

“That recipe makes a lot. I figured I’d take half to you last night and the other half to work on Monday, but my co-workers aren’t here helping me put together furniture, so bon appetite.”

He put another in his mouth and nodded in approval. “You can keep the plate this time.” You couldn’t help but tease Dean. He stopped midchew and gave you a jaded glare which you did your best to ignore and instead focused on suppressing your laughter. Dean was still trying to hide his smiles, but you caught a glance anyway.

“It’s not a waste, by the way.”

You tilted your head in confusion.

“You said I was wasting my Saturday by helping you out. But I don’t mind.” He briefly looked up at you but continued before could say anything else. “Help me move these.”

After carrying all the pieces into the bedroom and putting them together, Dean helped you lift your mattress onto the frame, and you threw yourself onto the bed.

“So. Much. Better.” You closed your eyes and inhaled through your nose before giving a comfortable sigh. You knew your back would appreciate the little bit of give that the frame allowed. Dean was leaning against the door and you caught his eyes as you sat up. He quickly looked away when you noticed him staring.

“I saw two other boxes out there. Do they need to be put together too?” Dean almost seemed excited to dig into the next project.

“Yes, but if you have somewhere you need to be, I think I can handle it.”

Dean checked his watch. “It’d give me a good excuse to not go to Jo’s party tonight.”

“Jo, that’s Bobby and Ellen’s daughter, right?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, parties aren’t really my scene.”

“I’m with you on that one.” You were quite the introvert yourself and could relate to the feeling of social dread. “Well, if you’re sure, then be my guest.”

You followed Dean into the living room, and he dragged the bigger of the two boxes over and began to pull out the contents. A growl from your stomach and a glance at the clock told you that it was dinner time.

“Are you hungry?”

Dean shrugged. “A little.”

You opened your cabinets and fridge as if there would be more food than there was earlier. “I’m low on supplies, but I’ve got stuff for turkey sandwiches. Is that okay?”

“Sounds great.”

You threw together two sandwiches and Dean already had half the table put together by the time you were done. You handed his plate to him and sat down on the floor against the wall next to the fireplace. Dean shook the wood dust from his pants and joined you.

“So, accounting, huh? Was that always the dream job?” All of Dean’s questions were posed as if he was only making nonchalant small talk, but the way he intently listened told you that he actually cared about your answers.

“No, but it pays the bills, and I don’t mind numbers. I don’t always love it, but I really like the people I work with here.” Dean was still working on a mouthful of food and you figured it was your turn to ask the questions. “Did you always want to be a lumberjack?”

Dean scoffed. “I’m not a lumberjack!”

“That’s debatable. Sarah said you work at the sawmill, I’ve only ever seen you wear plaid, and apparently you’re the wood whisperer.” You motioned to the almost completed table.

“Well, yeah, but I don’t go prancing around the woods with an axe on my shoulder.”

“Whatever you say.” You figured if he wanted to share more details with you, he would.

“I don’t just work at the sawmill, I run it.”

“How is it being the head-honcho?” Although you did a lot of paperwork for you job, you didn’t envy the workload of a CEO.

“Awful.” His answer was blunt and straightforward. “My dad pulled me into the family business a few years ago and I took over when he got sick.”

“I heard about that. How is he doing now?”

“He’s good. I think he and my mom are hoping to move back soon.”

“What would you be doing if you weren’t working at the sawmill?”

Dean was a little caught off guard by your question. “Why does it matter?”

“Because you can’t go through life hating most of it. That’s just going to make you miserable.” You were speaking from experience.

Dean’s eyes examined yours as if he was trying to find an ulterior motive behind your questions. “I worked as a mechanic for a long time and loved it. I always thought I’d take over for Bobby when he retired down at the shop.”

“Maybe when your dad gets back you can switch over?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Dean’s hesitancy to open up when his dad was brought up told you to drop the subject.

After you both were finished eating, he stood and offered a hand to help you up. “Let’s get this thing finished so you don’t have to keep eating on the floor.”

You spent the rest of the evening handing Dean the hardware he asked for and listening to oldies. Maybe he wasn’t the most talkative guy in the world, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence that fell between you two. It was actually nice to be in the company of someone who wasn’t going to push for every detail of your life story.

After breaking down the empty carboard boxes that were the remnants of a long afternoon’s work, Dean pulled on his coat.

“Thank you for all your help today. The place is finally starting to come together.” Although you were still without a couch, your home started to look more livable.

“Don’t mention it. So, I’ll see you Monday morning then?” He asked before he reached for the door handle.

You nodded with a smile and handed him the plate of blueberry bars. He excitedly took it from you and gave a soft smile.

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Night, Dean.”

Monday morning slowly crept up after a Sunday spent mostly in bed. It had snowed most of the day and night so you bundled up as much as you could. A peek out the window showed that your small driveway had been plowed again. You put a reminder in your phone to get a thank you gift for the plow driver who was a guardian angel in disguise. Dean pulled up just a few seconds later and you hurried out to his truck.

“Mornin’.” He greeted.

“Hey yourself.” You buckled your seatbelt and extended your hands towards the vent like you had done the last time Dean gave you a ride. His truck was much newer than yours and the heater worked like a charm.

“What’s on your agenda for today?” He asked as he backed out onto the road.

“Expense reports. They’re as thrilling as they sound. And also, I’m covering the front desk solo. Sarah texted and said she woke up with a fever, so she’s taking a sick day.”

“I’ll have to ask Sam how she’s doing.” A few minutes passed as you slowly made your way down the slick road. “So, listen, it’s supposed to snow all day. I’ll come and grab you after work and take you down to Bobby’s place.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that. It’s like a ten-minute walk.”

“It’s a good excuse to make sure I don’t get pulled into some long boring meeting at the end of the day.”

“Well then in that case you’re welcome.” You gave a cheeky grin which was returned.

Thankfully, the ride to work was short. Driving in the snow gave you serious anxiety so the sight of City Hall was a welcomed one.

“What time should I come pick you up?”

“I’m off at four, but I can stay later if you can’t get out that early.”

“Four is great. One of the perks of being the boss is that I can make my own hours.”

Ellen waved to you as she walked in, so you quickly said goodbye to Dean and joined her. Dean waited to make sure you got inside okay before taking off.

“Did Dean give you a ride today?” Ellen looked at you skeptically.

“Yeah, my truck is still in the shop, so he volunteered to drop me off on his way to work.”

“Hmm. That’s weird.” She took her hat off and shook the snow from it. “It’s been years since I’ve seen Dean socializing with anyone that’s not in his little circle.”

“Honestly, I think he just pities me because I’m new and clueless when it comes to snow.” Shrugging your coat off, you set it on the back of your chair and placed your bag underneath your desk.

“I never thought I’d see him speak to another girl after what Cassie did to him.” Ellen shook her head and raised her eyebrows.

“Cassie?” This was the first you’d heard of her.

“Yeah, she broke his heart pretty bad a few years back.”

Garth appeared from around the corner and called Ellen back to his office. You knew that Dean had a rough few years but hadn’t heard many details aside from his dad getting cancer, which was a hard enough situation on its own. While you wanted to know more, you didn’t want to dig for info where it was none of your business. If Dean wanted to tell you about Cassie, he would do it on his own time and you would just have to respect that.

Dean arrived at the sawmill and made his way to his office on the upper level of the plant. Not ten minutes after he began his day’s work, Sam entered and sat down in one of the chairs across from Dean’s desk.

“Where were you Saturday night? I thought you said you were going to Jo’s party.”

Dean shrugged. “I got busy and didn’t realize what time it was.”

“Busy with what? I’m sure there’s not that much to do up that mountain of yours.”

“Just busy.”

Sam was used to his brother’s antics at this point and knew it was futile to push for details.

“How’s Sarah doing?” Dean asked, hoping to delay the morning managers meeting as long as possible.

“She’s alright. Woke up with a fever, so she’s just going to sleep it off.” A lightbulb went off for Sam and he frowned. “Wait, how did you know that Sarah’s sick?”

“Crap…” Dean thought to himself. He knew he was busted. “I don’t know. I just heard it through the grapevine.”

“I didn’t tell anyone about her and I’m pretty sure the only people she told were the people at work…” Sam thought long and hard for a few seconds until he realized what must have happened. “Y/N?”

Sam had always been too smart for his own good and Dean had always hated it. “I gave her a ride to work while Bobby has her truck. That’s all.”

“Is that what you were busy with on Saturday too?”

Dean sent messages to Benny and Cas, instructing them to quickly come up to his office to start the morning meeting and hopefully get Sam off his back.

Sam took Dean’s silence as a yes. “What did you guys do all night then?”

“We had a pillow fight and painted each other’s nails.”

Sam had a special bitch-face reserved for Dean and was throwing it his way now.

“We put together furniture and ate sandwiches on the floor. There, now you know. Happy?”

Cas and Benny walked in together.

“Hey fellas, what’s the news?” Benny greeted.

Dean knew from Sam’s devious grin that the end of this conversation was nowhere in sight. “Dean wasn’t at Jo’s party because he was with the new girl in town.”

Cas quickly turned his head and looked at Dean as if he had lobsters crawling out his ears. “This Dean? Our Dean?”

Sam nodded and Benny laughed as he took a seat. “I heard she’s real pretty! It’s about time you find a good one. Nice job, brother.”

Dean groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “Listen, I helped her out with one thing. I barely know her, so cut the crap or I will fire all of you asses.”

Cas, Benny and Sam all exchanged mischievous looks but dropped the subject to avoid Dean’s angry side coming out for the rest of the day.

The day was slow for you, but it gave you plenty of time to finish verifying payroll hours for everyone. Sarah’s energetic personality was definitely being missed as you began to feel drowsy around two thirty. The bell to the front door dinged so you stood to find Sheriff Mills and her son.

“Mom, you promised that you wouldn’t have to work today.” The little boy moaned.

“I’m sorry, honey. The Mayor just has to meet with me for a few minutes and then I promise I’m all yours, okay?”

“Hey guys! Can I help with anything?” You greeted.

“Y/N, hey. How are you settling in?” Jody gave a warm smile and did her best to ignore her son who was tugging at her sleeve.

“I’m finally getting everything set up, so I’d say pretty well. Who’s this handsome fella with you?”

The little boy blushed a little as you leaned on the counter and smiled down at him.

“This is my son, Owen. It’s technically my day off, but do I ever really get a day off as a Sheriff?”

Owen continued to pull at Jody’s sleeve and beg to leave.

“Hey Owen, do you happen to like hot chocolate?” You had always been good with kids and figured you try to help Jody out while she met with Garth. You were pretty much done with your work for the day anyway.

Owen nodded shyly. “Well, I don’t want to brag, but I make a mean breakroom hot chocolate. You want to help me make some while your mom meets with the Mayor? If that’s okay with her, that is.”

Owen looked to his mom for approval and she nodded. He ran behind the front desk and Jody mouthed a silent, “Thank you,” to which you smiled and led Owen back to the breakroom.

After making two steaming cups of hot chocolate, you took pushed together two empty desks and taught Owen how to play paper football. After showing him how to fold the paper and a few practice rounds, you began to keep track of points. The winner would take home a medal that you made from paperclips and an eraser.

Time flew by and before you knew it, over an hour had passed. You heard someone come in the door and looked over to see Dean. He had arrived a few minutes early and decided to wait for you inside rather than in the cold car.

“Am I crashing the party?” Dean leaned on the front desk.

“Dean!” Owen side-stepped the desk and ran to wrap his arms around Dean’s waist.

“You’re just in time for the final round of paper football. You in?” You held up the small piece of folded paper with a playful grin.

“Step aside, let the master show you how it’s done.” Dean ripped off his coat and set it on your desk. “What do I get when I win?”

You held up the eraser necklace and Owen excitedly added that he helped make it.

You and Owen were neck in neck in the first round, but you scuffed your last shot on purpose and made a big stink about it. Dean ruffled Owen’s hair as he knelt down at the end of the desk and lined up his shot perfectly. Owen held his own but missed his last shot and Dean knew that he could win if he made the next one. He set his paper up perfectly and you couldn’t help but giggle at the exaggerated sigh of concentration that he let out. Dean’s eyeline moved from the game quickly up to you as he gave a quick wink and under-shot his chance on purpose, giving the win to Owen if he made his next shot, which he did.

Jody paused before entering the room and watched from just out of sight as Owen jumped up and down in triumph. Ellen joined and leaned on the wall, watching as you helped Owen up onto the desk and presented him with the make-shift medal that you had thrown together. Dean put Owen on his shoulders and did a victory lap around the desks while squeals of delight filled the air.

“Are my eyes deceiving me, or is Dean Winchester acting like he’s been properly socialized?” Jody tilted her head to look at Ellen who was smiling knowingly.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him like this. Ever since a little bird flew into town, he’s seems to be a little less crotchety.”

Jody and Ellen watched the smile that you and Dean shared once he put Owen down.

“Mom!” Owen ran over and proudly showed off his medal.

“That’s great, hon!” Jody looked up as you and Dean approached. “You guys are lifesavers; I really owe you one.”

“We had fun, huh?” You nudged Owen with your arm causing him to blush and avert his eyes. You smirked and turned to Dean. “I’ll go grab my stuff and then we can head out.”

Dean knelt down and held his hand out for a high-five. “Good game, kid. That’s well-deserved.” He pointed at the eraser hanging around Owen’s neck.

“I like Y/N. She’s fun… and pretty.” Owen whispered to Dean. Jody instructed her son to grab his coat and said goodbye to everyone.

Dean was leaning against your desk when you came out from the back.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Ready.” You smiled in response.

Once you were in Dean’s truck, you asked, “how do you know Owen so well?”

“When my parents moved away, Jody kind of took me and Sam under her wing and made sure we were taken care of. We were over at her house for dinner a fair amount, so Owen and I are pretty good buddies.”

“Jody seems sweet. I like her.”

“She’s one of the good ones. A lot of people here are. Ellen has always been a surrogate mom to me as well. My dad and I don’t always get along, so Bobby and Ellen kind of adopted me when I was pretty young.”

“I’m sorry about your dad.”

“Don’t be. We all have our issues.”

Dean pulled up outside Bobby’s shop just a few short minutes later. “I’ll come in with you and make sure everything’s working okay. I gotta talk to Bobby anyway.”

You and Dean rushed inside out of the cold and Jo looked up from the front desk. “Hey Dean!”

“Hey, Jo. Your dad around?”

“He’s on the phone but should be done soon.” She turned her gaze to you. “You must be the new girl.”

“Yeah, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to finally meet you.” You offered a smile to Jo, which was not returned.

“We’re just here for her truck. You got the keys?” Dean picked up on Jo’s attitude and tried to hurry the conversation along.

She shuffled through the box of keys that was on the desk and pulled one out, reading the tag to make sure it was the right one before tossing it to you. You caught it easily and thanked her.

“What do I owe you?”

“We’ll send you the bill.”

“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll just head out then.” You turned to Dean. “See you around. Thanks again for the ride.”

Dean nodded with a shy smile and watched as you got in your truck and left. He wasn’t sure why, but part of him was hoping that the truck wouldn’t start up, so you’d have to ride back with him, but he knew Bobby was too good of a mechanic for that. The rumble of your engine starting up signaled your official exit and Dean hastily made his way back to Bobby’s office to avoid Jo’s impending interrogation on why he had ditched out on her party.

You had gotten to work a little early the next day and were at your desk when Sarah came in.

“Hey, how you feeling?” You had texted her the night before to see if she needed anything, but she said Sam was doing a great job at playing nurse.

“Much better. I think it was just one of those twenty-four-hour bugs. How was yesterday?”

“Slow and quiet. It was weird without you here. Jody brought Owen in and we had a paper football tournament, which was pretty fun though.”

“I’m sorry I missed out!”

Ellen walked out from her office and sat at an empty desk next to you and Sarah. “Are you still good for Thursday, Y/N?”

“You bet!”

“What’s Thursday?” Sarah wondered.

“Ellen, Garth and I are heading to Baker for a convention on the new tax regulations for this year. We’ll head down Thursday morning and come back up on Saturday night.”

Sarah’s face dropped. “No, not this weekend! Saturday is Dean’s birthday and we’re throwing him a surprise party down at The Salty Hunter. I was going to invite you both today!”

“Oh, shoot…” You felt bad that you’d miss Dean’s birthday when he’d been so helpful to you lately.

“Well, maybe we can try to be back for the party?” Ellen suggested. “We’ll head out as soon as we can.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.” Sarah pointed a finger at you both.

“What’s The Salty Hunter?” You wondered.

“That’s the bar on main street. Rufus, who owns it, used to be a hunter so he named it after himself. He’s a character but a good guy.” Ellen explained.

That night after work you went grocery shopping and then headed home to make some dinner and watch something stupid to unwind before bed. You changed into pajamas and a t-shirt and settled down at your new table. Before you could take a bite of your pasta, someone knocked on your door. You peeked through the curtains to see who it was and saw Dean standing outside, shaking his leg to try and stay warm.

You unlocked the door and the wind helped it open. “Get in here, it’s freezing!” You ordered and Dean gladly complied.

“How’s the truck working?” He rubbed his hands together to thaw his fingers.

“Like a charm. Bobby really knows his stuff.” You grabbed the blanket that was slung over the back of a chair and wrapped it around yourself as you sat and offered Dean the other chair at the table.

“So, uh,” he traced the woodgrain pattern on the floor with his eyes as if he was afraid to look at you, “I don’t know if you have any plans on Saturday, but some friends and I are getting together down at the bar if you want to get to know a few more people. It’s nothing big.”

“This little gathering wouldn’t happen to be for your birthday, would it?” You raised a knowing eyebrow. “Sarah told me about it today.”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s not really a party or anything. I just thought it would be good for you to get out of this tiny cabin. I’m not even supposed to know about it, but Sam told me.”

You were surprised that Dean went out of his way to invite you, and the gesture made you feel even worse that you might not be there.

“I’m going to try my absolute hardest to be there. Ellen, Garth and I are actually going to be at a tax thing from Thursday until Saturday but we’re making it our goal to be back in time.”

“Like I said, it’s not a big deal, so don’t stress about it.”

“Birthdays are a big deal, so don’t play it off all casual. Plus, I already have the perfect present picked out for you, so it would be a shame if you didn’t get it.”

An inquisitive look lit up Dean’s emerald eyes. “The perfect present, huh? You sure you know me that well?”

“I am one hundred percent sure it will be the best present you’ve ever gotten from me.” Considering that you’d never given him a present before, you weren’t wrong.

Dean pushed his jaw slightly to one side and pressed his tongue to his canine while fighting a grin. “You’re funny, you know that?”

You scrunched you nose and stood from your chair. “Have you eaten? I’ve got extra.” Before he answered, you were already dishing him up a plate of spaghetti.

“No, I just got off work. Late day at the office.” He dug right into his food when you set it down on the table. “Are you planning on getting a couch or something?” He looked out into the barren room.

“No, I think I like empty, minimalistic look. It’s very modern.”

At this point, Dean had a pretty firm grasp on your dry sense of humor and just shook his head. He scarfed down his food and went back for a second plate while you cleaned up the kitchen a bit. He washed his own plate when he was done and placed it in the drying rack.

“Well, I didn’t mean to interrupt your night. I would have just texted you to invite you, but I don’t have your number.”

You held out your hand and Dean reached into his pocket and gave you his phone. It was an old, sturdy Nokia flip phone and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Look at this dinosaur. I haven’t seen one of these since… I don’t know, middle school?”

“It’s not that old.” Dean tried to defend himself. “I tried the fancy smart phones, but I hated them. Who needs a phone for more than just calling and texting?”

You flipped it open dramatically and saved your number before handing it back to him right as it began to ring. “It’s Sam, I should probably get this. Thanks again for dinner. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“You didn’t. I always make way too much pasta anyway.”

Dean gave a grateful smile and a small wave as he answered the phone and left.

Chapter 3

[abused-sides]

Ghost Parade

    Synopsis: Ghost/Demon AU with human Logan, abused, who just ran away into the house Janus and Remus haunt. The others will exist in this au as well.

    Read on Ao3

___

    Something was off from the moment Logan moved in. 

    He’d arrived at the house feeling heavy, lethargy dragging his movements and his eyes lidded. The moon shone down on the driveway, still wet from the earlier rain. He turned off his car and found his overnight bag— thank God I packed this —before heading up the drive. 

    His hands trembled as he found his keys. When he stepped into the house, it was cold. Wind blew from the open door, forcing a violent shiver through Logan’s hunger-panged frame, so he stepped fully inside and slammed it close. It echoed through the house. 

    Something fluttered to the ground— a folded piece of paper. Logan set his overnight bag down and picked up the note. 

     Went ahead and cleaned the place up for you! I’m right next door if you need anything. 

    —Patton

     Logan shoved the note in his pocket. He dragged his bag into the living room, waiting until he reached the carpet before shimmying out of his pants and collapsing on the ground. 

    His ribs ached with fresh bruises. Every time he drew in a breath, his body rattled like everything was a step away from coming loose. He wanted to find the blanket he’d stuffed in his bag, but couldn’t convince his limbs to move. He fell asleep like that.

    He woke up in the middle of the night to something soft being settled over his shoulders. He was too cold to be scared. He pulled the blanket tighter and fell back asleep.

    The sun streaming through his curtainless blinds woke him. He propped himself up on one hand, the other rubbing his eye as he yawned. 

    He stared down at the blanket. 

    Must’ve done it in his sleep. It got freezing at night. 

    After waking up a moment, he trudged back outside to bring in some boxes. He had four boxes total, most of them clothes. It didn’t take long to bring everything inside. 

    He decided to fold his clothes and line them along the living room wall. He didn’t have any furniture, and he sure as hell didn’t have the money for any, so he planned on staying in the living room until things got settled. Until he was safe. 

    He dumped his box of clothes on the ground. The doorbell rang. 

    His heart hammered, drowning out any other noise. His palms sweat. The room spun. 

    “Hello? You up yet?” A sweet voice called. “I brought breakfast!” 

    Logan blinked. That didn’t sound like them. 

    He shakily rose to his feet and crept over to the door. He peeked through the peep hole. 

    A short, freckly boy with brown skin and curly hair stood on his doorstep, arms piled with tupperware. 

    He cracked the door open. “Hello?” 

    “Hi! You’re Logan?” 

    “Yes. Do I know you…?”

    He shook his head. “Nope! I’m Patton. Talyn told me you were coming and I know the house pretty well, so I’ve been taking care of it. Just wanted to drop in and make sure it’s treating you well!” 

    Logan hesitated, then pulled the door open while clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah, sure. What’s…?” 

    “Breakfast!” He strided through the foyer, the living room, into the kitchen, where he lined the containers up on the counter. “I wasn’t sure what you liked. I made toast, eggs, bacon… I think I have some waffles here somewhere…” 

    “That’s…” Logan swallowed. His chest was tight. “That’s really sweet, but I couldn’t—”

    “Have you eaten today?” 

    Logan paused. 

    “Come on, I made too much! Please, take as much as you want.” 

    Patton poked his head in the living room, looking around. “Still as neat as I left it. I can tell you’re pretty neat, too.”

    Logan blushed. “I’m sorry about that, I was about to—”

    He stopped at Patton’s side. 

    His clothes were folded. 

    Neatly, colour coordinated. 

    “Uh…” 

    Patton smiled and urged him towards the kitchen. Logan nibbled on a piece of toast, ignoring his growling stomach. “So how are you liking it so far? It’s treating you well?” 

    “It’s… yeah? It’s been okay. I got in late last night. It gets cold.” 

    “Yeah, that turns a lot of people off. But it’s got a lot of good qualities! Just a little cold sometimes.” Patton hopped up on a bar stool and swung his legs. “This is a really good house, Logan. A lot of people have wanted to live here, but couldn’t.” 

    He frowned deeply. “What does that mean?” 

    “They couldn’t stomach it. Not that I can blame them, but they were squeamish. Are you squeamish?” 

    Logan stared. 

    “I’m getting carried away,” he said softly. “I’ll leave you to it. Uh, just return those tupperwares whenever! And if you need help finding a job, let me know, too! I’ve got a home bakery next door, I could use an assistant.” 

    Logan nodded slowly. He followed to make sure Patton left, and locked the door behind him. 

    He checked the food before he continued eating. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually be able to notice if it were drugged, but he had to try. He also couldn’t turn the food down. His stomach clawed itself to shreds, screaming for something. Logan ate himself sick. 

    He spent the first two hours after unpacking, then headed into town to look for work. It wasn’t easy without a phone or laptop. He eventually found his way to the library, and spent all day sending out resumes and filling in applications. After exhausting every opportunity, he found a quiet cafe and waited out the rest of the day, eyes alert. 

    He got home around eleven. A mattress laid in the centre of his room, and he could have cried if he wasn’t so confused. 

    He plucked the note off the pillow. 

     Noticed you didn’t have a good place to sleep, and that simply wouldn’t do! Hope you don’t mind me coming in, I wanted to surprise you. And don’t you dare think about repaying me— just get me that tupperware back and maybe send over one of your resumes. 

    —Patton

     Logan wiped his face and tossed the note on the ground. He plopped onto the mattress.

    Something rustled underneath him. He flip-flopped around for a moment before finally pulling out the rose he’d landed on. It was crumpled now, blood red and otherwise immaculate. There were no thorns. 

    Logan blushed. 

    No. Patton wasn’t flirting. There would be no reason for him to… 

    Was there? 

    Logan buried his face in the pillow. He was too tired to pick through his parents’ lies. He fell asleep. 

    Voices drifted into his dream. 

    “That was dangerous and you know it.” 

    “I couldn’t help it! I looove him!” 

    “Remus. You’re going to scare him off. That’s not what you want, is it?” 

    “No… It’s not.” 

    “No more roses. Got it?” 

    “Yeah, Jan, I got it.” 

    Logan forced his eyes open, and could’ve sworn he saw two figures on the staircase— one draped in flowing black fabric, the other sat on their haunches, eyes glowing green. 

    Then sleep dragged him back down.

hey... anyone wanna... talk to me about this au? 👀  please reblog btw!

[cpd5021]

Love Drunk

Happy almost Valentine’s Day! Here’s a long, annoyingly fluffy Upstead one-shot inspired by the song Afterglow by Ed Sheeran. Written for the “Upstead Valentine's Love Songs Challenge” on @upsteadofficial. Enjoy! 

Hailey slumped back in her chair, rubbing at her face and never feeling so thankful that it was a Friday. The past week had been long to say the least and Intelligence had been hammered with case after case. But finally their work week was over and she was about to go home. She glanced over to Jay’s desk, only to find him already looking her way with a soft smile spread across his mouth. 

“What?” 

She mouthed quietly, squinting her eyes at him when his smile increased. He shrugged and shook his head before shutting down his computer and standing to stretch. They made their way into the locker room and found Kim and Adam exchanging a playful banter over the fact it was Valentine’s Day this weekend. Hailey rolled her eyes, laughing when Adam made a comment about the discount candy he’d be buying on Monday. Every time she looked Jay’s way she caught him looking at her, an almost mischievous look behind his eyes. 

Finally they made it out to his truck, Hailey jogging to get out of the freezing wind and letting out a sigh of relief when she was tucked into the warmth of his cab. Jay climbed into the drivers side, sending her another grin as he pulled them out of the lot. 

“You’re up to something.”

She stated, eyes boring into him. He shrugged again, reaching to adjust the heat and giving her a wink. 

“Can you make sure my bag is back there?”

 Jay asked, motioning towards the back seat. It wasn’t an odd request, seeing as they usually packed a bag to stay at the others house on the weekends. But when Hailey turned to look into the back seat she spotted not only Jay’s but hers as well. She shifted back around and stared at the side of his face. 

“It is. And it would appear mine is as well.”

She watched his mouth creep up into a grin again and he sent her another wink. 

“Huh...weird.”

He shrugged again and she playfully smacked his shoulder. 

“Why is my bag in the back Jay?”

She pushed when he wasn’t going to answer. 

“Well, it’s your overnight bag.”

He stated simply, turning them into the parking lot of Portillo’s to grab them some dinner. 

“Yes, thank you. But why do I need it?”

She tried to sound annoyed but really her tone was light and held a hint of excitement. 

“Because you’re staying somewhere overnight.”

He grinned her way once more before pulling up and ordering their usual.

“Somewhere? So not your place?”

Hailey angled in her seat to fully face him now, becoming more curious by the second as to what he might have planned. 

“Not my apartment…”

Jay paid and passed the bag of food her way, then pulled into a spot for them to eat. 

“So where?”

Hailey asked, handing out the meals. Jay chuckled her way and she rolled her eyes in response. 

“You ask a lot of questions, you know that?”

It was Hailey’s turn to chuckle as she shook her head at him. 

“Just trying to catch up.”

She shrugged, opening her sandwich wrapper. 

“How about… you just enjoy the surprise.”

He kissed her mid sentence and she smiled into him before he pulled away. Hailey gave him a hesitant nod and they settled into eating. Once Jay was done he pulled them back out of the lot and pointed them in the direction of the expressway, only peaking Hailey’s curiosity more but she did her best to keep quiet. Jay turned on the radio after a while and Hailey settled back into her seat, letting the soft lyrics of Ed Sheeran fill her ears as the lights of the city began to fade from view. After a while she felt her eyes getting heavy and rested her head on her hand, propping it up against the window. Jay’s hand reached over and took her free one, tracing lazy circles over the back of her hand and the gentle touch lulled her to sleep. 

Hailey woke when the truck came to a halt. Rubbing her eyes she glanced at the clock on the dash and felt disoriented when it read just after 10pm. Jay’s hand squeezed hers and she looked his way before letting her eyes finally take in the sight before them. They were parked in front of a cabin, seemingly in the middle of the woods, with a string of white Christmas lights illuminating a covered porch. Her gaze drifted back to Jays and she smiled back at him when she saw him grinning her way. 

“Come on…”

He nodded and jumped out of the truck. Hailey climbed out of her side and met him at the front of the truck. Jay came to stand behind her as she took in the small house, unable to contain her smile at the almost magical sight before her. His hands rested on her hips and he placed a kiss on top of her head. Hailey leaned back into his touch, placing her hands over his as they wrapped around to her abdomen. 

“Jay…”

She couldn’t finish, still in awe over his surprise. She assumed this was his family's cabin, something she had heard about once but never seen. 

“I know it’s kinda cheesy, but I wanted to do something nice for you for Valentine’s Day and you don’t seem like the candy and teddy bear type.”

She laughed against him, squeezing his hands in hers. She definitely wasn’t that type. But this? This was perfect. 

“Are we here all weekend?”

Hailey turned in his arms to face him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she spoke. 

“If that’s okay with you.”

He smiled, looking relieved that she was appearing to like his surprise.

“The whole weekend, just us...no interruptions?”

Her voice dipped lower as she spoke and his eyes darkened in response. Hailey stretched up onto her tiptoes to give him a kiss and his arms pulled her in tighter to deepen it. They stayed locked together for a moment, letting their lips dance together in a slow pace, before Hailey pulled back to look up at him.

“Can I see the inside?”

She bit her lower lip, grinning when he moaned a little at the sight. He took her hand in his and led her up to the steps of the cabin. Snow was starting to fall around them and the sight of it under the glow of the string lights was beautiful. 

Inside the cabin, Hailey found herself awestruck once again at the beautiful simplicity laid out before her. Worn down furniture, an old handmade quilt draped over the back of the couch and a brick fireplace that was screaming to hold a crackling fire. She turned to face Jay and pulled him into another slow kiss. When they separated, he pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes beaming with happiness. 

“Thank you.”

She whispered against his lips before placing a quick kiss against them and then pulling away. 

“For what?”

He asked, following after her as she trailed around the small room. 

“For this surprise. It’s perfect.”

She grinned his way as she went on to explore the tiny kitchen, just enough room to cook a meal and perfect for her and Jay. 

“You’re perfect.”

He sent her a cheesy grin when she rolled her eyes at him. Jay stepped back out to grab their bags from the truck and tossed them onto the dining table when he returned. 

“How about you take these to the bedroom and then take a hot shower and I’ll start a fire.”

Hailey quirked an eyebrow at him, trying to picture Jay bent over the fireplace. It was almost something she wanted to stay and witness but instead she gave him a nod and took the bags down the hall. For such a small, simple cabin Hailey was surprised when she stepped into the bathroom to find it completely remodeled, huge walk in shower and a soaker tub big enough for two included. She located some towels stacked in a closet and then turned the water of the shower on, quickly undressing and then stepping into the hot stream. Her body began to melt instantly and she was pretty sure she could happily stay in here for the rest of the weekend. 

She half expected Jay to join her but when he hadn’t appeared by the time she was done, she shut the water off and wrapped a towel around herself. Padding into the bedroom, Hailey smiled when she noticed what appeared to be another handmade quilt laid over the bed. She rummaged through her bag in search of pajamas but came up empty handed.

“Hey Jay, did you pack me some of my sleep clothes?”

She called, jumping slightly when his response came from the doorway of the room. 

“No.”

He smiled, making his way across the room and digging into his own bag. 

“I packed you mine.”

Hailey couldn’t help but grin up at him because it was usually his shirts she was sleeping in anyway. Once dressed, she followed him back out into the living room and they settled onto the couch together. Jay leaned back into one corner and Hailey tucked herself into the side of his body, letting his arm pull her in closer. They stayed silent for a while, just enjoying the crackle of the fire. 

“I gotta be honest, fire starting isn’t a skill I pictured you having.”

Hailey teased, dancing her fingers up and down his chest. He scoffed underneath her, causing her to chuckle. 

“I’ll have you know, starting fires is something I’m very good at. It being in the fireplace is just an added bonus.”

Hailey laughed against him, resting her head against his chest and letting her eyes flutter close when he kissed the top of her head. 

“This really is perfect.”

She said after a while, feeling herself completely relaxed now. 

“We’ll have to run into town in the morning for some groceries. I didn’t want to wake you up until we got here. But the town is kinda cool so we can walk around a bit if you want.”

Hailey tilted her head up to look at him, smirking when he met her eyes. 

“Building fires and grocery shopping. I’m learning all sorts of things about you now.” 

He scoffed again and rolled his eyes down at her. 

“Come on, you gotta give me some credit…”

He tried to give her an annoyed look but it fell flat when she smiled up at him.

“I’m just saying, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go shopping. Any other hidden talents you want to share with me?”

Hailey’s voice lowered as she finished speaking and she watched as Jay’s eyes darkened, immediately picking up on her train of thought. Without saying another word he shifted them on the couch and then scooped her up, carrying her down the hall and into the bedroom as she squealed with the sudden movement. 

 ****

When Hailey rolled over she noticed she was alone in the bed. After a quick stretch she climbed out of bed and pulled her discarded shirt on from the night before. She found Jay in the kitchen, standing over the small stove and cooking what smelled like bacon and eggs. She walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his bare torso and pressing a kiss into his shoulder blade. 

“Morning.”

She whispered sleepily against him before going to perch herself on the counter by the kitchen window. Jay turned around, handing her a cup of coffee that she happily accepted. He stepped back towards the stove but his eyes were locked on her, watching as she sipped from the mug. Hailey felt her cheeks blush under his intense stare. He walked back over towards her, reaching up and tucking a loss strand of hair behind her ear, his eyes tracing all over her face. 

“What?”

She questioned, darting her eyes down towards her mug, suddenly feeling self conscious. Jay placed his fingers under her chin, tilting her head back up to look at him. 

“You’re beautiful.”

He gave her a quick kiss and then went back to finishing their breakfast. Once they ate, Hailey found herself staring out the window above the sink as she cleaned up the dishes. The sight of freshly fallen snow against the forest backdrop was truly breathtaking. Jay came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head against her shoulder. She grabbed the towel and dried her hands before turning in his embrace and sliding her arms up around his shoulders. They kissed slowly, both content with a lazy pace as they had no fear of being interrupted. Eventually though, Hailey trailed her hands down his bare chest and into the waistband of his grey sweatpants, escalating the moment into something more. 

Sometime later, Hailey was once again laying in bed but this time Jay was with her. His fingers trailed patterns over her bare back and her eyes were closed, just enjoying the touch. Her stomach let out a tiny growl and she felt Jay laugh beside her. 

“Hungry?”

Hailey grumbled into the crook of her arm before replying. 

“A little. But we just ate…”

Jay laughed again and she picked her head up to shoot him a look. 

“Well...in one context, yeah. But breakfast was a while ago.”

Hailey smacked his chest, shaking her head at him as she hauled herself out of the bed. She made her way over to where their bags were and pulled out some clothes.

“As fun as it would be to lay here all day and listen to your amazing jokes...I really am hungry. For food. And I believe I was promised a Jay Halstead shopping trip last night.”

She pulled on some jeans and a blue flannel button up as she watched him get out of bed and dig his own clothes out. Once they were both dressed and her hair was pulled into a ponytail, they made their way outside and scrambled into his truck. 

The drive into town was surprisingly short. Hailey felt like they were in their own little world so to realize that they weren’t actually that far from civilization made her chuckle. The town itself was quaint to say the least, with a few stores littered here and there and only one stoplight hanging in the middle of it all. Jay pulled them into the parking lot and Hailey jumped out, eager to see what shopping with Jay was actually like. He picked up on her excitement, playfully rolling his eyes as they made their way into the building. She decided to let Jay push the cart and he followed along after her as she trailed up and down the isles. Hailey had made a loose mental shopping list on the way and plucked the things they needed off the shelves, tossing them into the cart as Jay pushed along behind her. She turned to add a few things to the cart and caught him picking up a box of fruit snacks, giving her a sheepish look before letting them fall in with the rest. They wandered up and down the rest of the isles before Hailey decided they had everything they needed. Jay took a quick detour down one of the isles and returned with a box of hot chocolate. She raised an eyebrow at him but he simply winked in return before they headed to checkout. 

“So, was shopping with me everything you had hoped for and more?”

Jay teased once they were back in the truck. Hailey shook her head at him, letting out a chuckle and refusing to answer. The whole shopping trip had felt oddly domestic, something she wasn’t quite used to with him yet but something she had enjoyed every minute of. Jay drove them down the main street, pointing out the little shops here and there. He nodded towards a tiny diner, the only restaurant in town and his eyes shined with fondness. 

“We’ll come get lunch here tomorrow before we leave. My mom used to take Will and I there every time we came up. They have the best pancakes.”

Hailey glanced at the diner before looking back at him, smiling at him inadvertently sharing something about his childhood. Fond memories weren’t something either of them seemed to have many of but she was happy he held onto some good things from his past. 

“Pancakes for lunch?”

She teased, breaking the silence they had fallen into and pulling Jay back into the moment.

“Well, I have zero intentions of getting out of bed early tomorrow and they serve breakfast all day.”

He sent her a wink and then pointed them back towards the cabin. 

As Jay hauled their few bags of groceries in, Hailey found herself wandering around the back of the cabin looking around in awe at the scene laid out before her. It truly was a little piece of paradise, their own little corner of the world. She pictured a younger Jay and Will running around the yard playing and felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth. Lost in thought, Hailey jumped when Jay came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. 

“It’s pretty great, isn’t it..”

Jay stated, placing a gentle kiss on top of her head. She leaned back into his embrace, nodding against his chest. 

“Did you come here a lot growing up?”

She felt Jay let out a slow breath behind her before he answered. 

“Yeah, we’d come up a few times a year. I’ll bring you back in the summertime. There’s a little pond over there that’s perfect for fishing.”

Hailey smiled and turned in his arms to look up at him, her arms finding their place around his shoulders. 

“You fish?”

Jay’s head fell back slightly as he chuckled and when he looked back down there was a playful glint in his eyes. 

“I’m just full of surprises. It’s almost like you haven’t known me for all these years.”

His tone was teasing and Hailey smirked up at him before darting her eyes back down.

“Yeah well...this is kinda different.”

Jay tilted her head back up so she met his eyes, a quizzical look on his face. 

“How so?”

Hailey played with the buttons of his shirt, feeling suddenly embarrassed by the conversation. Not that she really had reason too, but the last two days with Jay had her mind wandering to the future and it was something new for her and it left her a little uncomfortable. 

“Just...us. I don’t know. We don’t get time alone like this, it’s nice.”

Jay dipped his head down to look at her, giving her a small smile. 

“She says with uncertainty.”

He spoke in a light tone but she could tell there was some unvoiced worry under his words. 

“I love you Jay.”

She wasn’t sure what made her say it so suddenly. It wasn’t the first time they had said it, but as the words left her mouth she felt something inside of her shift and she knew then that he was the one. The one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, to wake up every morning with and go to sleep next to every night. She glanced back out into the yard and suddenly it wasn’t a childhood version of Will and Jay running around but her own children, their children. The thought overwhelmed her and she felt tears gather in her eyes. Jay cupped her face between his hands, kissing her forehead and lingering there before pulling back to meet her eyes, letting her know he understood exactly what she was thinking and feeling without her needing to say another word. 

“I love you too Hailey.”

Hailey pulled him down into a kiss, smiling against his mouth as his strong arms wrapped around her. They stood like that, frozen in time and completely lost in each other, until Hailey felt huge clumps of snow hitting her head. She pulled back, smiling up at him again as more snowflakes danced around them. Jay took her hand, leading her back towards the cabin. They made it about halfway before Hailey had an idea, dropping Jay’s hand and quickly bending to scoop up some snow. Jay sent her a warning look but was unable to control the smile from reaching his eyes when she chucked the ball of snow in his direction, hitting him squarely in the chest. 

The only sound was their crunching boots in the snow, mixed with squeals and laughter as they battled it out, tossing snow back and forth until they were both soaked and freezing. Eventually Jay conceded, holding his hands up in surrender and making her send him a smug look. They hurried into the cabin, pulling their soaked clothes off and draping them by the fireplace. Hailey headed down the hall, intending to take a hot shower to warm up but Jay scooped her up from behind and raced her down the rest of the hall, tossing her onto the bed and immediately hovering over her as their lips melded together once again. 

When Hailey and Jay re-emerged from the bedroom darkness was falling outside. Hailey glanced out the window and was surprised to see how much snow had accumulated over the last few hours. Jay was in the kitchen, turning the radio on and letting it play softly as he pulled out the stuff for dinner. Hailey joined him, working beside him to chop up the produce and then making her way to the stove. They worked around the kitchen like it was the most natural thing and Hailey found a smile on her face that seemed to be a permanent feature now. They leaned against the counter, waiting for dinner to finish cooking and Hailey heard a song playing on the radio she recognized as something by Iron & Wine. Jay came to stand before her, taking her hands and surprising her when he pulled her away from the counter and started moving them together in a slow rhythm. 

“And now we’re dancing?”

Hailey grinned up at him, shaking her head playfully. 

“And now we’re dancing.”

Jay replied, tucking her head under his chin. Hailey let her head rest against his chest and her eyes wandered to the kitchen window. She could see the snow coming down hard as they swayed back and forth. She listened to the soft music and the steady beating of his chest, feeling that no matter what was going on in the world around them that she would be okay as long as he was here with her. Whether they were tucked into this little nook of the world or back in Chicago, it didn’t matter as long as Jay was by her side. Jay was the reward for everything she had gone through in the past, the breath of fresh air when she felt like she was suffocating, the light at the end of the tunnel, and the safe place to come home to when nothing else was right. Jay was home.

[kiapet2]

The Heaviness We’ve Known

Patton had a lot of ideas for what he might do for his weekend by himself, but having his ex-husband’s son show up on his doorstep sure wasn’t one of them.

Pairings: Parental Moxiety, Divorced Moceit, Parental Anxceit

Word Count: 2016

Warnings: None

Crossposting this to Tumblr since there seems to be a good Sanders Sides fanfic community here.

AO3 Link

Patton had a lot of ideas for what he might do for his weekend by himself, but having his ex-husband’s son show up on his doorstep sure wasn’t one of them.

It was supposed to be a quiet night, just Patton and his empty house. It’s the twins’ week with Janus, which wouldn’t be so bad except that Logan is off at another one of his conferences. Patton knows they’re a great opportunity and all- especially considering the university usually pays for them- but do there really need to be so many?

But Patton should support his little brother’s career, so he told Logan it was fine, he’d just watch rom-coms and catch up on sleep. He’s settled in to do just that when he is interrupted by the hammering at his door.

“Hey,” Virgil says when the door opens, giving a lopsided smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Can I come in?”

Patton blinks. “Oh, um, of course,” he says, and Virgil barely waits for the response before he’s stalking past Patton and into the house.

It seems like every time Patton sees Virgil the boy has shot up another few inches. His hair, purple this time, is half-hidden under a hoodie pulled up against the spring night’s chill, and as Patton watches he heaves a bulging backpack off one shoulder and onto the foyer floor.

“Virgil,” Patton says, “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here? Janus never told me he was going to-”

“He didn’t bring me,” Virgil snaps, kicking his shoes off with more force than seems necessary. His socks are mismatched, as if put on in a hurry. “I came here myself.”

“You walked all the way here?” Patton says. “Virgil, that’s not safe.”

“I took a bus.” Virgil flops down onto the stairs. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m fine.”

Patton opens his mouth to argue, but a closer look at Virgil makes him hesitate. The boy is slumped against the wall, his hand rubbing up and down his arm as if trying to soothe himself. Virgil isn’t one to risk something like this for no reason- whatever happened, it must have seriously freaked him out.

Patton sinks down to the stairs next to him.

“Talk to me,” he says softly.

Virgil turns his face to the wall. “I just- I can’t stay there anymore, alright? I can’t. ”

“At home?”

Virgil nods.

Patton shifts so he’s kneeling in front of Virgil and places a hand on his knee.

“Virgil, could you look at me for a moment?”

Virgil nervously turns to face him, and Patton meets his eyes.

“I’m going to ask you something, and I need you to be completely honest with me, alright?”

Virgil nods again, his eyes widening.

“Did your dad hurt you in any way?”

Virgil reels back in shock. “What? No!”

Patton feels his shoulders sag in relief, and he sits heavily back down on the stairs.

“Okay. That’s- that’s good.”

Virgil runs a hand through his hair.

“Look, it wasn’t anything like that. I just... we were arguing again and I couldn’t stand it anymore so I just packed up my things and- and left. And I’m not going back. I want to stay with you.”

His voice cracks at the last part, and for a moment Patton has a flash of the Virgil he first met all those years ago- a timid, gap-toothed little thing who had glared at Patton fiercely from behind his father’s leg. It had taken all of two seconds for the kiddo to lodge himself securely into Patton’s heart; the whole step-dad thing hadn’t seemed to matter, back then.

Then his marriage fell apart, and suddenly it mattered a whole heck of a lot.

“Kiddo...” Patton says, pained.

Virgil jumps to his feet. “Look, I won’t be, like, obnoxious or anything, all I really do is listen to music in my room anyways, and I know taking care of a kid is fu- is freaking expensive but I can get a job and I babysit the little terrors all the time so I can do that here and-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Patton says, knees creaking as he also stands, “None of that. I’d love to have you live here. But I’m not sure Janus would approve.”

Virgil scowls. “He can go choke for all I care. I’ll never know what the hell someone like you saw in that bastard. ” He spits the last word out, eyes flashing.

“Now kiddo,” Patton admonishes, “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but there’s no need to use that kind of language. He is still your father.”

Patton knows it’s the wrong thing to say when Virgil’s face shutters closed, shoulders hunching as he draws back into his hoodie.

“Whatever Dad, if I wanted a lecture I would’ve stayed home.”

Patton holds back a flinch at the mocking title. Virgil doesn’t mean it, he reminds himself. The kiddo’s just having a hard time right now, and Patton’s the nearest target.

He forces a smile onto his face. “Well, this is a cookie situation if ever I saw one. Gimme a sec.”

Patton goes into the kitchen and grabs his cookie tin, the one Virgil used to teasingly call his “old person box”. He brings the tin into the living room along with a jug of milk and some glasses, laying everything out on the coffee table.

A slight smile pulls at the corner of Virgil’s mouth as he runs a hand over the tin. “I didn’t know you still had this”.

“Of course!” Patton says seriously. “Cookies are a vital part of any household.”

He nudges the tin closer to Virgil, giving him a wink. “Go ahead, take as many as you want. I won’t tell on you.”

Patton keeps up a steady stream of idle chatter as he and Virgil drink milk and eat more cookies than is probably healthy. Finally Virgil lays the cookie he’s nibbling down and glares at it like it’s the source of all his problems.

“You’re going to tell my dad, aren’t you.” It isn’t a question.

Patton sighs. “I’ve got to, kiddo.”

He holds up a hand to forestall Virgil’s protest. “I know you’re not on good terms with him right now, but he’s still your legal guardian. Keeping you here without his okay is kidnapping, and I’d rather not lose our visits.”

Patton can see Virgil’s shoulders rising nearly to his ears, the boy retreating into himself despite all of Patton’s efforts to draw him out.

Patton smiles again in what he hopes is a comforting expression.

“I’ll just call and talk to him, alright? We’ll try to work something out.” And maybe Janus will be able to tell him what the heck is actually going on.

He reaches forward to pat Virgil’s shoulder, freezing and withdrawing when Virgil pulls away from the touch.

“Why don’t you finish your milk and cookies, alright? I’ll be quick.”

Patton carries his own glass back into the kitchen and then reluctantly pulls out his cell phone. The number isn’t in his contacts, but he still knows it by heart.

“Hello?” a familiar voice says after the first ring.

“I have something of yours,” Patton says.

Janus hums, nonchalant. “I take it Virgil arrived safely then?”

It’s been a while, but Patton still recognizes Janus emotionally deflecting when he hears it. He puts on his Dad Voice, perfected over years of dealing with the twins.

“What’s going on here, Janus?”

A sigh. “There’s been a... slight disagreement.”

Patton runs a hand down his face. “I take it he ran away? I can take him back, but first let me-”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Janus says flatly.

“Please tell me you didn’t throw him out.”

“Of course not!” Janus hisses. “You of all people should know I would never.”

“Of course I do,” Patton says, “But what am I supposed to think here, Jan? Nothing about this situation looks good.”

Janus sighs again, heavier this time. “I’m aware.”

Patton waits as the line goes silent, Janus clearly thinking over his next words. Finally he says, smooth and matter-of-fact,

“Virgil has made it quite clear that I am a terrible excuse for a parent and living with you would be preferable to our current arrangement in every way.”

His voice takes on a bitter edge. “It must be comfortingly easy to idolize someone when you only see them at their best.”

Patton’s stomach drops. “Janus, I’m so sorry, I never meant to-”

“Oh, do be quiet.” Patton can almost hear Janus’ dismissive hand wave. “It’s hardly your fault he’s behaving like a naïve child.”

Patton winces at that.

“Nevertheless, while I absolutely adore Virgil’s current actions, he’s old enough to make the choice of guardians for himself. Of course, if you are unable or unwilling to provide for him I will pick him up immediately, but-”

A note of vulnerability creeps into his voice. “I think this might be what he needs, right now.”

Patton’s heart clenches.

“Of course,” he says softly. “He can stay as long as he wants.”

Janus lets out a relieved breath. “Thank you.”

“Janus,” Patton says hesitantly, “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, and I know it’s not really my place, but, if you need someone to talk to...”

“That won’t be necessary,” Janus says, and it’s the sound of a wall slamming back into place. “Virgil should have an overnight bag with a change of clothes and his anxiety medication. I’ll bring over the rest of his things tomorrow.”

Patton closes his eyes against a familiar pain. “Alright. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“I guess you will.”

The silence stretches between them, raw and gaping.

Then, so quiet Patton almost thinks he imagined it: “Take care of him?”

Patton smiles sadly. “With everything I have.”

“Thank you, Patton.”

The line goes dead.

Patton leans his head against the wall for a moment and lets himself breathe. He turns when he hears Virgil’s footsteps, hastily scrubbing at his eyes and putting on a bright smile.

“Looks like you’ll be living here for a bit, kiddo! You can stay in Logan’s room for now.”

“I’m sure he’ll be happy about that,” Virgil quips, smiling slightly as he tries and fails to feign cool nonchalance. He looks so much like his father that Patton nearly bursts into tears again.

He winks instead. “That’s what he gets for going off sailing!”

Virgil raises one eyebrow. “Sailing?”

Patton grins. “You know, since he has that scholar-ship!”

Virgil’s smile comes out completely and he quickly covers it with one hand, only managing to make himself look more adorable in the process.

“Guess I’ll move my stuff up, then,” he says, grabbing his bag and dashing up the stairs.

“Don’t touch the chemistry sets!” Patton calls after him.

This could be good for both of them, Patton thinks, smiling as he hears Virgil rummaging above. The house has seemed so much emptier since his baby brother went and grew up on him- not that Logan hasn’t always acted like someone ten years Patton’s senior, he thinks fondly. And of course, any time he gets to spend with Virgil is a blessing.

Virgil’s footsteps are slower coming down the stairs, and they come to a halt as he reaches the bottom and nervously meets Patton’s gaze.

“So... what happens now?”

“What happens now is that I’m ordering pizza and then we’re watching a movie,” Patton says, holding up his phone. “What toppings do you want?”

Virgil’s nervous expression resolves into a smirk. “Hawaiian.”

“Heresy, from my own stepson!” Patton gasps, letting a hand fly to his breast.

Virgil snickers, and this time he doesn’t pull away when Patton closes the distance between them and draws him into a hug. He’s so much taller than Patton remembers, but despite everything he's still Patton’s little boy.

“It’s gonna be alright, kiddo,” Patton whispers. “I’m here for you.”

Virgil’s arms tighten around him.

“I know, Dad. I know.”

[barbasbodaciousbeard]

Abuelitas, Tantrums, and Ropa Vieja

Summary: With Lucia back from Florida and the squad aware of Rebecca and Catalina, Rafael decides it’s time to introduce them over his abuelita’s ropa vieja. Since he’s been able to maneuver his schedule to spend most days working from home, he assumes a trip to Whole Foods will be no problem, but Catalina isn’t used to hearing no from papi.

Pairings: Rafael Barba x OC

First Part-Second Part -Third Part - Fourth Part - Fifth Part

“Mami, I need to tell you something. Do you remember Rebecca?”

Rafael’s hand was squeezing hers. Now that Liv and her squad knew, Rafael was acutely aware word would travel. There was no logical way for news to reach Lucia, but he wanted to introduce Catalina to her, see the three most important women in his life in one room. He was, however, afraid of what she would say and how she would respond. Once she realized she loved Rebecca, pressure to get married would mount, and he was determined for them to take their time. There was also the possibility his mother would react poorly, questioning paternity or Rebecca’s motives. He couldn’t decide which option made him more nervous. 

“I did go see her while you were in Florida. And we’re together again. She forgave me. But mami, there’s something else.” His eyes flickered to the ceiling, the corner that would be under his sleeping daughter’s bed. “Mami, when I ignored her? She was pregnant.”

She could hear Lucia holding her breath, and Rebecca leaned to press a gentle kiss to Rafael’s shoulder, hovering there. His voice was less like the confident or penitent Rafael she’d seen; instead, he sounded a lot like Catalina did when she was afraid she’d be in trouble. He’d asked her to sit with him as he called his mom, and he held her hand like an anchor, green eyes fixed ahead. 

“Yeah, really. And she’ll be three in August. I moved in with them, not back to my place. Rebecca named her Catalina….Yeah, for abuelita. We want you to come over for dinner. Meet her….Rebecca tried to tell me. It’s not her fault you didn’t know….Mami, she didn’t know how to contact you. Trust me, she’s ecstatic for us to be here. And Cat looks like a Barba. EVerybody says she looks just like me….Yeah. Five is perfect. Becs will be home from school and I’m home with Cat all day….Eres una abuela ahora, mami….Si, yo soy un papa….Te amo. Nos vemos mañana por la tarde.”

He hung up, tongue between his teeth as he texted his mom a selection of pictures and videos. The ones from Christmas eve, New Years Eve, and nights in. Rafael was proudest of one Rebecca had sent him. She’d gotten home, neither Rafael or Catalina noticing her, and when she came to the living room, he was at his writing desk, face serious and Catalina making the same face at her easel beside him. Rebecca’s favorite picture of the father and daughter was from when he’d fallen asleep reading Catalina a bedtime story, curling up in his sleep on the child sized bed with their daughter against his chest. He sent mami that one too.

“Sounds like it went well.”

“I think she’s processing. She hasn’t thought I’ll ever have a partner or a child. But, she’s been playing step grandma to Enrique’s grandkids. I think she’s over the moon to have her own now. He’s in Florida another week or she’d be bringing him.”

“Catalina will be excited.”

“She’s been asking about meeting grandma. I’m making abuelita’s ropa vieja.”

“So I’m not even cooking?” she grinned. “It’ll be a good night.”

“We split it!” he defended, wrapping around her and propping his chin on her shoulder. “Mostly. But not when people come.”

“Exactly. Also, I want to try your abuelita’s ropa vieja.”

“I wish she could have met her namesake.”

“Me too.”

“She’d have liked you. Not how I ended up. But she’d have liked you.”

“She’d be proud of you, Rafa.”

“I was supposed to be a judge,” he shrugged. “Mami is disappointed too.”

“She’d happy that you’re happy, baby.”

“I know. But she can still wish I were an ADA or DA. She used to tell me to stick close to Alex too. And call me el juez.”

“She’d have changed her mind if she knew what he’d done. Rafael, she’s watching over you. I know she is.”

“Gracias, mi amor. Vamos a dormir. It’s late.”

The next day, Rafael saw Rebecca off to work, and it occurred to him this would be his first day running errands with Catalina while she was gone. He’d taken her the park and to the sitter or her uncles’ house. Now, as he bundled her up to go buy everything he’d need to cook dinner, he wondered if grocery shopping with a toddler would be as bad as the parents he’d seen in the past with children screaming for whatever had caught their eye. Then again, he hadn’t seen Catalina throw any fits. He had the collapsable bag and Catalina’s hand in his as they started towards the Whole Foods that he was thankful was within walking distance. Each time they left, he watched her like a hawk, but like clockwork, she’d asked him to carry her after a block.

“C’mon, mija,” he smiled softly, settling her into the cart carefully before he made his way to the meat counter. He hated grocery shopping normally. Rebecca had always teased him for how often they ordered food in. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy cooking, he just didn’t have time. Since finding out about Catalina and having the time to cook, he’d gone back to making the recipes he’d learned growing up and figuring out new things Catalina could help make. Grocery shopping remained unbearable, though, and he always ordered them delivered. Today, there wasn’t time, but he found that it was much more bearable as Catalina told him her favorite snacks and chattered away. He gave her Oh yeah?s and Very good, mijas st the right times, even adding the box of frosted cereal to the cart. He did not expect to lock eyes with Jack McCoy across the wine aisle, freezing with his hand on the bottle of red in the cart. 

“Rafael,” he greeted, shaking his hand. “I didn’t know you were back.”

“Jack. Yes you did,” he chuckled. “I went up against your ADA.”

“I suppose you did. But not my ADA. I retired.” The older man’s eyes went to Catalina, watching her father and the stranger. “She’s got to be yours.”

“She is,” he said, and Jack could see Rafael’s chest puff out with a pride he’d only ever seen in court. “Mija, this is papi’s friend, Mr. McCoy. Can you introduce yourself?”

“Hi, Mr. McCoy! I’m Cat!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cat.” The smile he gave Rafael was knowing. “It looks like leaving the DA’s office was the right move for you. In Whole Foods on a Friday? Defense work? Or stay at home dad?”

“Both. Innocence Project. I meet with clients on Mondays. Other than that I work from home and Cat goes to the sitter or her uncles for court days. I might give it all up to teach, though. I’m doing a class right now.”

“I didn’t know you had somebody, Rafael. She’d have been born after your trial.”

“I didn’t know until December. Her mom tried but I cut everyone off. Showed up to try and win her back. Got a two for one.”

“Fatherhood looks good on you.” 

“Thanks, Jack. I’m happy.” Jack clapped a hand on his shoulder as he passed, and Catalina looked up at her father. He smiled, kissing the top of her head. “You know papi loves you?”

“I love you too, papi.” 

He gathered the groceries, nerves high as he realized Catalina was getting tired. It struck him that it meant he’d be toting her on his hip and the groceries in the bag on wheels. They stood in the line, and she was reaching for every snack nearby. Each time, he took her hand and kissed her fingers, whispering a no softly. Each time, Catalina got increasingly annoyed, and one of his own expressions, mouth in a straight line and brow furrowed, looked back at him. She grabbed a packaged cookie when his wallet was out, and he sighed, taking it from her hand and anticipating the whimper that escaped her. 

Rebecca said he had to work on standing firm and telling Catalina no. It was fine when he had her, but the sitter, Al, and Rebecca were getting to deal with come aparts when she didn’t get her way. He was able to get his card put away before the wail escaped her. Free hand on the handle of the cart, he took her hand and was able to at least get her away from the register before she fell to the floor. Now he saw what Rebecca had warned him about. 

“Cat,” he said softly as he squatted beside her. “Come on, mija. Get up. We’ll go home and have lunch.”

“Cookie.”

“No, mija, you can’t have that. You have to eat lunch first.”

“Cookie.” 

“We can have cookies at home.”

Rafael didn’t like the way his face was heating up as he knelt, able to see the people around him looking. Were they judging him? Did he look like he was as bad at this as he felt right now? His first time not taking her to the park, and she’s screaming? He was also suddenly struck by memories of his own childhood the few times he’d cried. It infuriated him to think his father did anything but accept the red hot embarrassment that was a part of this. Rafael could handle the stares; he could never raise his voice, much less his hand, to her. But, he felt frustration build as he went to lead her out, and Catalina dropped as though her body were lead. A woman stepped past and he sent a tight lipped smile and received an understanding one in return. Dios mio, this must be part of the deal. 

“Mija,” he begged, desperation evident in his voice. “Please. We have to go home.” Does fatherhood still look good on me, Jack? God, McCoy could walk by at any moment. He wanted to just pick up Catalina and carry her screaming home, but when he went to, he received a sharp, definitive no. If there were two goals he had for Catalina, they were to know she was in charge of her person and that no one should ever hurt her. Keeping his temper in check was easier than he expected, but now, he recognized the former goal meant dropping to sit on the cold concrete floor of Whole Foods, back against the wall and Catalina laying beside him as he hammered out a text to Rebecca.

What stops a tantrum?

You have to wait it out or put her in the stroller.

I didn’t bring the stroller.

I told you. Always bring the stroller. You okay?

Fuck, she had. Just not this morning.  

Can’t triple chocolate chip cookies be lunch?

Did you tell her no?

Yeah. I want to take it back.

She’ll be fine. Tell me what’s happened.

She’s sleepy I think. Wanted snacks in line. I said no every time. Then she picked up the cookies while I was paying. I took them out of her hand and she lost it. I’m sitting on the floor by the wall while she screams. I’m a terrible father.  

Within moments, his phone rang, and just the sight of Rebecca’s contact photo calmed him slightly. 

“Please tell me I can just say yes.”

“She’s nearing the end of wailing,” she said, and he could hear the chatter of her students in the background. “Hear how the wail dies out instead of ending strong?”

“I don’t want to say no.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, hating the way his voice sounded: whiny and desperate.

“C’mon, papi, you gotta hold out. When it ends? She’ll take a nap and move on.”

“Or I could just buy the cookies. She’s crying. It hurts when she cries. I don’t like it.”

“Trust me, you’ll realize which cries are ‘I didn’t get my way’ and which cries are ‘I’m in emotional danger.’ I know it’s hard, baby.”

“I’m so bad at this. Everyone keeps staring.”

“If they have kids, it’s sympathetic. If they have kids and it’s not sympathetic, they’re dicks. Did you try picking her up?”

“She said no. So we’re sitting here.”

“This too shall pass. Welcome to the reality part of fatherhood.”

“I like being new and always the good guy.”

“When you give her lunch, she’ll forget she didn’t get the cookies. Probably before then.”

“What if we make cookies?”

“Whatever makes you both feel better.”

“Te amo, hermosa. Thank you.”

“Glad to coach you through. I love you. You’re an amazing father, okay? No one is good at tantrums.” He hung up, and when he looked ahead he saw McCoy give him a sympathetic smile. Of course he really would see Rafael on the floor now. He gave a salute and tired grimace. It took another few minutes for Catalina’s crying to stop. She looked at him with tear stained cheeks, and Rafael felt like an asshole. 

“Ready to go home, mija?” She nodded, sniffling as she held her arms up. He grunted as he stood from the floor, displeased with the way his knees cracked. Once she was settled on his hip, he pulled the basket behind them as they walked. Catalina looped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder, and he smiled to himself. So it really was temporary. She was definitely tired now if she wasn’t before. He laid her on the couch when they were home, letting her sleep as he created the sauce for the ropa vieja and put the meat in to cook. It smelled like abuelita’s apartment on the cold nights he’d hidden from his father there, and she’d helped him study and fed him the comforting dish. He could still remember sitting at her table, feet dangling the day she saw the deep purple bruising along his side when he reached to get a dish for her. He hadn’t had to go home for a month.

He was always afraid some part of his father would burst forth. It had been two glorious months of being able to be a father, but he still found himself considering the possibility he’d change into some caricature of the elder Barba. The idea of raising his voice to Catalina was enough to make his stomach churn, and he knew he’d never do anything to hurt her or make her feel like he had. 

But surely his father never thought he’d beat his own son? Surely he’d looked at newborn Rafael, small and delicate, and had the same urge he did to protect his child? Whenever the thoughts got bad, every couple of weeks, he’d curl up beside Rebecca and tell her. That was certainly a difference. His father was always rage and disappointment; Rafael couldn’t imagine he’d expressed how he felt to his mother often, especially fear or happiness or sadness. Rebecca thought his desperation to be different was enough proof he wouldn’t end up like him.

When Catalina was awake, the rest of the day went by in a blur. He settled at his desk to grade papers, and halfway through, Catalina climbed in his lap with a notepad, doodling as he marked. That was how Rebecca found them when she got home, pressing a kiss to the top of their heads. It looked like they’d weathered the tantrum just fine. She’d worried about Rafael all day. In the time since they were last together, she’d gotten tougher. He’d gotten more emotional, and she knew this probably brought up a lot he didn’t want to think about, but she was confident now he’d talk to her about it before bed.

“Looks like everyone survived,” she teased gently. 

“Yeah. I just sat there until she was ready.”

“It sucks, I know. That’s why you always take the stroller. Maneuver her in.”

“Does this happen a lot?”

“She’s two, Rafael. Testing boundaries. And then papi never says no.”

“Papi said no cookies,” Catalina said seriously.

“Did you get cookies later?”

“Yes,” she admitted with a sheepish smile.

“So when mama or papi says no, it isn’t always so bad?”

“No.” Her admission was reluctant, arms crossed in front of her and face serious. He laughed, closing up the folder. 

“Well, papi’s mami will be here soon. She’s your grandma. Abuelita.”

“Abuelita,” Catalina repeated, nodding. Rebecca took advantage of being home to sit with Catalina, who was determined they needed to draw together, as Rafael finished cooking. When his mother arrived, he nearly ran to the door, wrapped in an apron. Lucia had only seen her son on video calls while she’d been in Florida, and she realized when he opened the door that cameras couldn’t relay the way her his shoulders and jaw held less tension and his mouth sat in the slightest smile instead of a straight line. The sight of him in a polo shirt and jeans, with bare feet and an apron messy with the ropa vieja she could smell, was jarring in the best way.

“Mami,” he grinned, wrapping her in a hug. He’d always been her son when they were together, soft and sweet and doting, but he’d never seemed so calm. 

“Mijo,” she smiled, leaning back and gripping his forearms. “You look good. And it smells like abuelita’s recipe?”

“Sí. I think I haven’t made it for Rebecca before. And definitely not for Cat.”

“Let me see her.” Lucia was ecstatic, and she could just see the little brunette peaking around the wall. It warmed her heart to see Rafael go and kneel, hushed whispers between them before he picked her up with ease. He’d never been the best with children, but it seemed age, circumstance, and Olivia’s son had done enough to unlock the paternal part of him his mother had always known was hidden. Catalina’s arms were wrapped around her father’s neck, watching Lucia with curiosity. 

“Catalina, this is your abuelita.” His voice was gentle as he spoke, and Lucia leaned to look at her. It was like looking at Rafael when he was the same age. Her mouth was different, more like her mother’s, but the curls and eyes were him. The look as she inspected this new guest in their home was all Rafael as well. 

“Hi Catalina. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, abuelita.” Lucia could see the way the little girl focused on the word.

“I made you your papi’s favorite treat. They’re called pastelitos de guayaba.”

“What are those?”

“It just means guava pastries. Your papi used to eat them all when his abuelita and I made them.”

“I’ll share with him,” Catalina said seriously, wiggling in her father’s arms. He knew well enough to know that meant she was comfortable and let her down. “Gracias, abuelita.”

“Is papi teaching you Spanish?”

“Yeah! I ask him words and stuff. And I can count to ten!”

“Wow! You’re smart like him. Can you introduce me to your mami?”

Rafael put the box of pastelitos in the kitchen, turning the heat just high enough to keep everything warm before going to the living room. He watched Catalina, her abuelita’s hand in hers, march up to Rebecca. His abuelita was here; he could feel her presence. It was there in the patience with which his mother was already doting on Catalina, in the smell of the ropas viejas wafting through the house, in the way Catalina was proudly introducing her mother and grandmother. His abuelita had always been home and safety, even when his mother couldn’t provide the latter, and he had both now. He only wished she could see her namesake in the living room, now walking to introduce Lucia to each stuffed animal. He was incandescently happy for the first time, and Rebecca had finally gotten him to believe that would be enough for abuelita. 

When everyone came and sat around the kitchen table, plates piled with beans and rice and beef, the last part of him that felt like it was racing, desperate to prove he could be a good father, stilled. Today had included a tantrum in the market, but he’d weathered it without even raising his voice to Catalina. He was doing work that wouldn’t catapult him to judge, but it made him feel good. He was settled down with Rebecca and a daughter and could finally acknowledge he wasn’t his father. A combination of cherry picked defense work, the Innocence Project, and teaching were allowing him a serenity he hadn’t thought he’d get in his forty-nine years. In August, he’d reach fifty, and he was grateful to realize he’d reach it genuinely happy instead of mistaking success for happiness.

“¿Estás bien mijo?” Lucia had asked while Rebecca was feeding Catalina.

“Sí mamá. Estoy feliz.”

“Puedo ver que lo eres. Cuando te vas a casar con ella?”

“Tan pronto como puedo. Dale tiempo.”

[thewildomega]

Second Chance Ch. 5

Fixing himself something to eat and settling down on the couch to eat while he watched something on the TV, something about this giant alligator that had caught his attention he started eating. Finishing the supper he had made with the slab of beef in the fridge and some other vegetables he continued holding his bowl in his lap for sometime as he watched the movie. By the time the movie had went off he let outa sigh and stood to go clean up before taking a shower. Walking to the kitchen he stopped when he saw something outside. Stepping back a step he looked out into the dark night to see Y/n's truck parked in it's usual spot. When had she got home? He was sure her truck hadn't been there when he started eating an hour or so ago. Had she somehow came in without him knowing? Setting his bowl on the table he moved to the hall way and looked towards her bedroom door to see it still open like she always left it when she was at work. Nope, not in there. It was still early for her to be home, only around ten or so. Don't tell him she had went swimming, it was freezing outside, he had even started a fire with the wood he had caught her stacking by the backdoor earlier this week. 

"You do know I am willing to help out around here right darling?" he asked when he woke up to find y/n already up and moving about. She had told him the night before that she didn't have to go in until later today. Damn girl shouldn't have to work at all today after working the past three days on barely a wink of sleep. After they had gotten back from taking Nook to his new home she had had to wake up four hours later to go into work, probably not even that considering that like always, breakfast had been waiting on the table for him. She had gotten back that night at her usual late time and he knew she had been exhausted when she didn't even go for her nightly swim. For the following two days she had worked long shifts and when he got up out of bed to see her last night as she arrived home he saw the dark circles under her eyes. Still though she had remained as kind as ever, speaking him to him like normal even when he noticed her wince as she removed her boots from her no doubt sore feet. 

So to see her out here now, early in the morning unloading a pile of wood from the back of her truck he frowned. She didn't answer him when he spoke and he took a step down towards her when she seemed to finally notice him and pulled out one of the headphones that had been in her ears. The thing she said she used to listen to music on. Meeting her eyes he saw them a little less sleep deprived but still he could tell she was tired. 

"Good morning." you said with a small smile. Setting the piece of wood on the chopping block you grabbed your ax and moved to swing at it when something stopped you. Turning around you saw Edward had taken hold of the ax handle and was holding above your head. "Wha..."

"Why are you out here chopping wood?" he asked. 

Furrowing your brows at the question you looked up to him, still holding onto the ax. "Because it's going to be cold in a few days and I need fire wood." you answered even though you thought it would be obvious.

"I get that but why wouldn't you ask me to do it?" 

"Because I can do it and you are my guest." 

Raising a brow he huffed, "I'm pretty sure I don't really count as a guest anymore lass, not when I have been here for two weeks now." he told her, pulling the ax out of her hands. "Go in the house darling." he told her, moving to chop the wood. 

"Edward you don't have to do this. I really am capable of..." 

"I know you are but I am going to do it. I think it is you that needs to understand that I am capable of working as well." he spoke, looking down at her with a soft grin. Noticing her still reluctant he smiled and gave her a small nudge towards the house. "I am no stranger to hard work. Now go. Read a book, watch TV...eat something." he said and saw her sigh before she turned and moved towards the door. Watching her walk away he smiled and then moved to start chopping and stacking wood. 

He shouldn't have been surprised when he had finished and found her in the house cleaning. Over his time here in this world with her he had taken notice of one very clear thing, this woman never took a break. She was always doing something. It was like she didn't know how to take time for herself. Checking over the house just in case he confirmed that she wasn't inside and he knew she wasn't swimming when he saw her bathing suit top and bottoms hung over the rod in her bathroom. That strange feeling was back in his chest making him feel anxious. Humming he moved over to his boots and slipped his feet in them before opening the door and quickly stepping outside, shutting the door behind him to keep out the cold. Walking down the steps he saw her truck empty but heard music coming from somewhere and knit his brows. Walking around the house he looked to the barn in the backyard and noticed a light coming from under the door. He had taken a peek inside his first week here but wasn't able to see much through the small crack the lock allowed in the door. Moving closer he noticed the lock now hanging off the handle and not in place. 

Opening the door some he heard the music get louder and looked the inside over to see it filled with various things. Hearing a hammering along with the music he walked around the strange looking thing and towards the back of the barn all the while the lyrics played in his head. 

Come on now try and understand The way I feel when I'm in your hands Take my hand come undercover They can't hurt you now, Can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now

Because the night belongs to lovers Because the night belongs to lust Because the night belongs to lovers Because the night belongs to us

Finally finding the woman he had been looking for he stood there quietly, watching her. She had her back to him, her hands working on something. She looked to be building something... a table it looked like. Her over shirt laid discarded on the nearby counter with other tools and such leaving her in nothing but a grey tank top. While he would have normally noticed how form fitting the tank top was on her, something she didn't normally show off, his eyes focused instead on the other things. A cut in the shirt itself, along her left side that had blood staining the material a dark red. Fresh bruises forming over shoulder blades that disappeared beneath the shirt. Her stance that was favoring her right leg more than her left. A bottle filled with an amber liquid that sat half empty on the table she was building, the top no where in sight. 

Have I doubt when I'm alone Love is a ring, the telephone Love is an angel disguised as lust Here in our bed until the morning comes Come on now try and understand The way I feel under your command Take my hand as the sun descends They can't touch you now, Can't touch you now, can't touch you now

Because the night belongs to lovers…

Watching as she reached for the bottle neck he noticed the cuts and bruises along her knuckles. A deep frown had set across his face, his brows dipped down low at seeing the state she was in. She took a long drink from the bottle before sitting it back down and grabbing the piece of wood to take it over to what looked like a saw of sorts. He had been right about her favoring her left leg, a small limp giving her away. She had yet to notice him and when he saw her move to use the saw he quickly called out to her. "Y/n?"

Letting out a small gasp in surprise you dropped your hold on the wood and quickly turned to see Edward standing there. "You scared me." you spoke, quickly looking down and picking up the wood, biting your lip to hold back your whimper of pain as it throbbed through your body. "I thought you would have already been asleep." you said. 

Watching her place the wood under the saw and hit a button to make it start turning quickly he stood behind her, his arms crossed over his chest. As soon as the piece was cut she grabbed it and moved back over to where she had been working. She kept her eyes down, avoiding him it would seem. "What happened to you?" he asked. 

"Nothing." you answered shortly. Going back to work you were hoping he would let it go and go back in the house but you weren't that lucky. 

Stepping up beside her he curled his finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to his. Seeing the bruise staining the side of her cheek and up her temple he grit his teeth, noticing her busted lip as well. "This doesn't look like nothing darling." he spoke deeply. 

Looking into his yellow eyes for a moment you swallowed hard and quickly pulled away from him, focusing your eyes back down and curtaining your face from view with your hair. "I'm fine." you mumbled. Putting the board in place you grabbed the hammer and nails. Maybe if you went back to work and ignored him he would leave. 

Sighing he leaned up against the table, watching her try and brush this off. Glancing down to the bottle he lifted it up to smell it, "Damn girl, are you trying to burn a hole in your stomach?" 

Rolling your eyes you grabbed the bottle from him and sat it on the other side of you. Hammering the nails in place you looked around for your pencil and realized you had left it over by the saw. Sighing you grabbed the bottle and drank from it as you walked over to the work bench, feeling it burn all the way down. 

"I know that stuff can't taste that good." he said, continuing to watch her. She was swaying a bit, her movements slightly clumsy. She wasn't drunk but she was on her way to being so. 

"Doesn't have to taste good so long as it does it's job." you spoke, tucking your pencil behind your ear and moving to go grab another piece of wood from the stack. "You should go back inside, it's cold." 

Huffing he shook his head, "Says the woman out here with a tank top on." 

"I'm fi..."

"Fine? Yes lass you keep saying that but you are a horrible liar." when she didn't reply he watched her disappear behind a wall, listening as she moved wood around. "So want to tell me what really happened?" 

"It was justa fight at the bar... group of guys started arguing. I went ta try and break it up when it turned ugly and well.... whatever... doesn't matter." you grumbled, finding a piece that looked right you reached over and tried to pull it out when you lost your balance and tripped over some of the other wood that had been in the shadows. Falling to the pile you groaned and cursed through your teeth. 

Hearing a loud clatter of boards and then her noises of frustration he walked around the side of the wall and saw her laying on her back in the pile of wood, one foot caught under a few of the boards. Her hands were rubbing her face until one moved to lift the bottle of alcohol from the stack of wood, only a little of it left now. 

Going to bring the bottle to your lips you felt it get snatched away from you and knit your brows, moving your hand away from your face to look up at him. "Hey... give me back my..."

"You've had plenty lass." he told her, setting the bottle on the shelf out of the way. "Now come on let's get you inside." he said bending down to help her up. 

Being pulled up you felt the room spin but you still tried tugging your hand out of his, not ready to call it a night. "I said I was fine, I don't want to go inside yet and I don't need you telling me what to do." 

"Y/n you are drunk, hurt and cold. You are not staying out here anymore tonight." he told her firmly. 

"I am not drunk." Huffing you pulled and pulled but he wouldn't let go. "No, leave me alone." you growled. 

Knowing she wasn't going to give up easily he shook his head and finally lifted her up, tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of flour and turning to carry her into the house. 

"Hey. No. Ed you put me down right now. Let me go." you told him in your best angry voice. 

Smiling at the shortened name he moved over to turn off the thing that was playing music and then move to the light switch. "Now you ought to know that captains don't take orders from others darling." 

"Captain jackass!" you yelled and heard him laugh. Hitting against his back to try and make him put you down you dangled over his wide shoulder, his large arm wrapped over your thighs, just under your ass. 

"I've been called worse." he told her, taking her into the house and closing the backdoor before locking it. Continuing to hold her he unlaced one boot after the other, dropping them to the floor and then kicking off his own. Carrying her over to the couch he sat her down on it, pushing her gently back down when she tried to get up and then moving her feet to set up on the other side. "You sit here while I make you something to eat." he told her and saw her glare at him. 

"I'm not hungry." you grumbled. 

"Well that's too bad because you're going to eat." he said in a firm voice. Walking to the kitchen he made her a bowl of the stew he had made and grabbed a few of the crackers from her cabinets to help soak up the alcohol in her system. Carrying it back over to the couch he held it out for her, raising one of his brows when she at first didn't take it. Sitting beside her he found something to watch on the TV while making sure she ate like he had told her to. After a while he looked over to see her sleeping, her bowl sitting in her lap with almost all of it gone. Grinning softly he took the bowl from her and set it in the sink before moving to pick her up, this time bridal style in his arms and carry her to her room. He couldn't lie he enjoyed holding her in his arms, her head resting on his chest. Holding her with one arm he moved to pull back her blankets and then gently laid her down on the bed. Looking down to the bloody area on her side he cried his finger under the material of her tank top and lifted it up enough to peek at the injury. Frowning at the cut that he easily recognized as a knife wound, he moved to her bathroom to grab a rag and wet it with hot water. Ringing it out he went back to her bedside and then proceeded to clean the area, hearing her whimper a bit in her sleep. Once he was satisfied he tossed the rag to the sink and covered her up, turning the light off and leaving her door open so he could check up on her throughout the night.  Cleaning up the dishes and putting the stew away in the fridge he checked on her before moving to take a shower, with one last look at her before bed he made sure she was sleeping soundly before laying in his own bed. 

...........................

He had woken throughout the night to check on her and tend to the fire. Every time he had went into her room she was sound asleep. At one point he had nearly tripped over something and when he picked it up to see what had been laying in the middle of her floor he found it to be her discarded pants. Snapping his eyes to her he saw she had one of her feet sticking out from under the covers, her bare foot and calf visible to his eyes. When he woke up the next morning he saw her still sleeping, this time on her stomach with her head under the pillows. Chuckling he moved to the kitchen to make them both breakfast. 

Waking up with a groan you turned your throbbing head under the pillow and looked out to the sun lit room. Blinking you moved your hand up to rub your eyes and yawned. Thinking back to last night you sighed, stupid you had been so fucking stupid. First you had tried to break up a fight which hadn't ended well then you come home and embarrass yourself in front of Edward. God you just wanted the bed to suck you up but your bladder had other ideas. Rolling over you winced at the pain in your body and burn in your side. Looking to the floor and seeing your pants by your bed you felt your eyes go wide at the thought of Edward removing them but then quickly remembered taking them off yourself when you got uncomfortable in the middle of the night. Sitting up you swung your legs over the side and then stood and walked, slightly limped to the bathroom. There was a small bit of noise coming from the other part of the house but you wanted to clean yourself up before you faced him. Shutting the door you took off your tank top and bra, biting into your lip to stop the whimper when your side seemed to be set aflame. Looking up to your reflection in the mirror you frowned at the sight that met you. A dark bruise covered your cheek and up into your hairline, your lip was swollen slightly and busted. You couldn't see your back but you could feel the ache there from where you had been slammed into the beam by that man. Dropping your eyes to your side you saw the red cut that happened when you stepped into the way. Looking to your leg you saw the slightly swollen knee and well you didn't exactly remember how that had happened. All in all you looked and felt like shit. With a deep sigh you turned on the shower and moved inside. 

Looking up when he heard a small noise he saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned, "Good morning lass. Wasn't expecting to see you up so soon." he said with a smile even though she had her head dipped down. 

Glancing up at him from under your lashes you rubbed your arm. "Good morning." you said softly and bit your lip in thought. "I'm sorry about last night, for bothering you. You didn't have to.. to help me but thank you. I really am sorry." 

Knitting his brows at hearing her apologize so much he looked to her and saw her curled up some. Was is shame or embarrassment? "Darling you don't have to apologize to me, it was no trouble at all."

"Still though, I.. I'm not your problem and you shouldn't have to take care of me." you said, looking down at your feet as the guilt ate at you. 

Stepping over to stand in front of her he looked down at her. "You're right you're not my problem, you are my friend and friends help each other." he told her, her eyes lifting to his for a moment. Seeing the set in bruise on her face he furrowed his brows, anger filling him that someone had hurt her. Curling his finger under her chin to better look over it h felt a warmth spread through his chest, her eyes shooting away from him. "Beautiful woman like you shouldn't have bruises on her face." he said, moving his thumb up to gently stroke her discolored skin. 

Freezing you thought you had heard him wrong at first but then his eyes told you that you had heard perfectly right. A warmth spread to your face and you knew your cheeks were on fire, your ears to no doubt. Opening and closing your mouth a bit you shook your head and tried to find the words you were looking for, "I...I'm not..."

A round of knocks on the door cut her off and he stiffened. Feeling her face fall from his hand he looked down at her to see her turn towards the door, watching her limp her way over to it. Turning back to the stove to finish up breakfast he heard her speaking with whoever was at the door, noting she didn't sound like she was in danger by any means. Thinking about what had just happened he swallowed hard. He was well aware of his own feelings, he knew there was something going on between them, something that he couldn't explain. There had been many stories back in his world about certain people who had this unexplainable connection to one another, a soulmate and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was his, if maybe she was the reason he was sent here. He was younger, shorter both to more fit her the fact that he had literally shown up right hat her feet. Still though he had to take this slow, it was clear as day that y/n had been hurt, emotionally, mentally, hopefully not physically, she would need more time. Time to open up and come out of her shell. 

"...damnit y/n I just don't see why you..." 

Hearing the male voice he turned around some and looked to see the man from before standing in the dining room. He was an older man with black hair that was turning grey along with a goatee. He wore a dark green uniform that reminded him of a marine. Seeing the male look to him with a clear unhappy look he rose a brow. 

"What is he doing here?" Garth asked the young woman before snapping his eyes back to the young man. "What are you doing here?" Not waiting for the man to answer he looked back down to y/n and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You do know I was only joking when I made the comment about you taking in another wild thing right?" 

Rolling your eyes at the sheriff you saw Edward glaring at him and walked over towards the coffee pot, gently patting his arm on the way, silently asking him to just ignore him. 

Feeling y/n pat his arm as she passed he relaxed and felt the corner of his lip lift a little. 

"You are the reason my hair is going grey I swear it." Garth grumbled. Looking back up at the woman he placed his hand on his hip and watched as she filled his cup with more coffee. Sighing he looked down at her.

Meeting his eyes you rose your brows, "What?... Well are you going to arrest me?" you asked, both of you missing Edward tense up again. 

"I should... but no, I'm not. BUT. I want you to promise me you won't get into any more fights at the bar."

"I didn't start it." you said defensively. 

"I don't give a rats ass who started it y/n. Point is I got two guys in lock up that look like they have been through the ringer and one in the hospital that had a knife stuck in his thigh..."

"He pulled the knife on me first." 

Listening in on the conversation behind him he raised his brows at hearing what his little lass had done in the fight with three men. He hadn't really taken her as a fighter. One thing was sure she may be small but she sure as hell wasn't some push over. 

"Y/n." he said in a stern voice and saw her drop her arms. "Look I can't keep bailing you out every time something bad happens. One of these days you are going to get into it with the wrong people and I don't want to find you dead in some ditch." Seeing her look away with her brows lowered he moved his hand to her shoulder. "I'm not saying you need to let those fuckers walk all over you but just... be careful will ya?" he asked and saw her relax some before nodding. "Alright then. Well you just take it easy today. I've talked to Mel and he agreed you needed a day off." 

Sighing you looked up to him and nodded. "Thanks Garth." 

Humming he glanced across to the large man cooking at the stove and rose a brow. "What's going on here?" he asked quietly, waving his finger between the two. 

"Nothing Garth." you groaned from under you breath. 

"Hey there boy..." 

Boy?! Did he just call him boy? He should be the one calling him boy? Gritting his teeth he turned around and looked to the man but relaxed some when he saw y/n looking to him. "Yeah?" he asked, attempting to make his voice not show how irritated he was. 

"Where is it you are from?" the sheriff asked. 

"Out of town." he answered. 

Giving a grunt he went to speak but y/n cut him off. 

"Alright well thank you for the visit Garth, I am sure you have much work to do today." you said. 

"Now wait just a minute, I wanna talk to you down at the station, get some things sorted out..." he said, looking to the large man as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

Sensing the tension between the two men you started pushing Garth towards the door. "Well we already have plans for today so he's going to give you a rain check."

"Plans where?" Garth asked. 

"We.. we are going..." thinking you looked to Edward and then back to Garth, "to the fall festival." 

"You are going to the fall festival?" The sheriff asked in disbelief.

"Am I not allowed?" you asked, raising one of your brows at him.

"I didn't say that." looking to y/n and then the stranger and then back down to the small woman he sighed "Just be careful huh?"

"Always am." 

Huffing out shook his head and walked away, "And behave.", showing himself out. 

Once Garth was gone you turned to walk back to make your own cup of coffee, letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry about Garth he is just, well that's just how he is." you told Edward. 

"I don't think he likes me much." he said, flipping the pancakes he was making. 

"Don't take it personally he is just warry of new people." you told him. 

"He seems to think a lot about you." 

"I wouldn't say a lot but then again if it wasn't for him I don't know where I'd be right now." you said, your voice growing softer towards the end. 

Furrowing his brows he looked down to her and saw her stirring her coffee. Of course per usual before he could ask anything further on the matter she spoke up, changing the subject. 

"Want me to make you some tea... since you took my job?" you asked with a small smile towards the breakfast he was making. He had told you he didn't much care for coffee but you knew he liked tea. 

Grinning he nodded and saw her move to make him tea as he grabbed the plates. 

Taking both your cups to the table you saw him set a plate filled with food by your cup and snapped your eyes up at him. "I can't eat all of that." looking back to the plate holding the two pancakes, two eggs, three pieces of bacon and one piece of toast you shook your head. There was no way.

"Sure you can." he assured her, sitting down once he had grabbed the syrup and butter. Watching her sit down and start trying to eat he grinned. "So are we really going to this fall festival?" he asked, taking a bite of his food. 

"If you want to." you told him. 

"Sounds nice. What sort of stuff do they do here for a festival." 

"I don't know I've never been." you told him honestly. 

Humming he looked up to her, "Then I guess we will just find out together." he told her and saw her smile before they both ate in a comfortable silence. As he continued eating he thought about her and the things he had observed. He knew from what others said and how others reacted that she didn't seem to do things with others before him. The whole time he had been here he had not once seen anyone else around, no family of any sorts or even friends. He knew she loved books based on the amount in her home. She also seemed to enjoy music. Then of course their was her love for nature and animals, grinning he imagined how much she would enjoy meeting a Mink. She wasn't a materialistic person, something he liked about her. Other than that though it was becoming clear to him that she lived a very lonely life and while some chose that life she didn't come across as a person that wanted to live that way. 

When he noticed her getting up he snapped his eyes to her plate and saw she had only ate half of it. 

Noticing his look you quickly spoke up, "I'm going to put it up and eat it tomorrow." you said defensively and saw his eyes narrow playfully. "I promise." you smiled and saw him take another bite of his food. "Thank you for breakfast." you told him. 

"You are more than welcome darling." 

Wrapping up your plate and sticking it in the fridge you moved towards your bedroom. "I have a few things to do before we leave, I have to go check in with my boss and run a few errands. Put your dishes in the sink and I'll wash them when I get done. Be back in a few hours." you told him. 

Cleaning up himself he had been filling the wood heater while she went and got ready to leave. She had told him it was only an hour away so they should be getting there around four and from what she had said the festival lasted until ten at night. 

"I told you I would wash them. You cooked I would have at least cleaned up." you told him. 

Turning around he felt his heart thump a little harder in his chest. She was dressed differently than she normally did, having traded in her jeans and shirt for a pair of tight black fitting pants, a baggy looking grey long-sleeved shirt, a black pair of boots and a red scarf. Her make up had been done as well, something he had never seen her wear before. It wasn't caked onto her face like he had seen women before do, if anything it looked to be applied to help hide the bruises on her face. She looked nice in a casual way, cute but when he watched her move over to grab something and bend over he had to swallow hard at the way the black pants like things left nothing to the imagination. Seeing her stand he quickly adverted his eyes, feeling the back of his neck heat up a bit. 

"Ready?" you asked with a smile. 

"Lead the way lass." he said and followed her out to the truck. 

[rpf-bat]

Celebrate The End Of Things With Cheap Champagne

Pairing: Frank Iero x Reader

Genre: Angst 

Summary: @sirloin-steaks requested a Frank story based on the song “New Year’s Day” by Taylor Swift. 

It’s December 31st, 2006, and My Chemical Romance are ringing in the New Year, performing live in Times Square. Frank invites you to come out, and see the show. But, an after-party at the band’s hotel, takes a turn, that nobody saw coming.

Trigger warning for substance abuse. 

You stood on the deck of the ferry boat, watching the bright lights of New York City draw closer and closer. You used to take this ferry every day, from your hometown in New Jersey, to your job in Manhattan. But, that seemed like so long ago now. 

Once upon a time, your friend and former coworker, Gerard, would catch the morning ferry with you. But, after the September 11th attacks, he’d quit his job at your company, and started a band. His decision had puzzled you at first. But, the first time you saw My Chemical Romance perform live, you had understood. 

That was also the night that you met Frank. His guitar playing was electric, and you told him as much, after the band finished their set. It had been at some shitty dive bar - the only venues that would take them at the time. But, he’d told you that night, that he, and Gee, and the guys, were going to make it to the big time. You’d admired his ambition, and the two of you became fast friends. And he’d been right. 

Now, four years later, My Chemical Romance was one of the biggest bands in the country. Their album, The Black Parade, had just dropped two months ago, debuting at #2 on the Billboard charts. They had gotten popular enough, to receive a prestigious offer. Ryan Seacrest had asked them to play New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, tonight, in Times Square! 

Millions of Americans tuned in every New Year’s Eve, to see the concert broadcast, and watch the ball drop at midnight. It was crazy to you, that your dorky friends from back home in New Jersey, had gotten “big” enough to perform alongside glitzy pop stars, like Christina Aguilera.

You were so psyched for them. It would also be the first time you had seen them in a while. Frank was the only one of the guys who still technically lived in New Jersey. When he was home, and off the road, he would come over to your house all the time, to watch movies, or play video games, just like in the old days. But, the last time that had happened, had been months ago. He, and the rest of the band, had been traveling around nonstop, doing radio and TV interviews, to promote the new album. In February, they were supposed to embark on a world tour. 

“But after tonight’s show, we’ll have a little bit of time off, before the tour starts,” Frank had told you excitedly on the phone, yesterday afternoon, when he’d invited you to the gig. “I really hope we get to spend more time together, Y/N. I missed you.” 

You had missed him, too - more than words could describe. Your heart ached whenever you drove past his house, knowing that he wasn’t in it. You had things you wanted to say to him tonight - things you’d been waiting to tell him for a long time. 

Your heart hammered as you stepped off the ferry, and began walking towards Time Square. The streets were packed with people, all rushing towards the same place you were. You knew some New Yorkers had started camping out at three o’clock in the afternoon, to get the best seats. If Frank hadn’t sent you a VIP pass in the mail, you’d surely have ended up in the way back of the crowd, nowhere close to the stage. 

You showed your pass to the security personnel, who were looking through peoples’ bags at a checkpoint, near the entrance to the Square. They waved you through to a special designated area, in the front row, for friends and family of the performers. You were pretty sure the kid on your left was the fourth Jonas Brother. You felt remarkably out of place. 

But, then your phone beeped, alerting you that you had a text. A smile crossed your face, when you realized it was from Frank. 

We r about 2 head onstage, he said. I will see you after our set, I promise! There’s nobody I’d rather ring in 2007 with :)

You heard the crowd start screaming, and your head whipped around, as you watched the announcer stroll onto the stage. 

“Please welcome our next musical guest - My! Chemical! Romaaaaance!” 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Their performance was amazing. They were one of a dozen artists performing tonight, so they only got to do three songs, before they had to get offstage and make room for the next act (Gwen Stefani, apparently). But, they put their whole hearts into those three tracks. Frank was jumping around like a maniac with his guitar, despite the freezing cold. Ray even had a pair of “2007” sunglasses on. 

You screamed for them, like every other girl in the crowd. At this point, you thought with a frown, there’s probably ten thousand people, with a crush on the same man, that I’ve been pining for since 2002. 

...Then again, you considered, the ten thousand other girls, don’t have backstage passes. 

Your frown disappeared, when you walked backstage, and a pair of arms immediately circled you. 

“Y/N!” Frank grinned. “Thank you so much for coming out and seeing us tonight!”

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” you grinned, hugging your friend back. “You were amazing.” 

“Thank you,” Frank said sincerely, releasing you from his grip. “Are you ready to get out of this cold?”

“Where are we going?” you asked. 

“Back to the hotel,” he explained. “Ray’s not feeling so good.” 

“Oh, no,” you frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

“Hi, Y/N!” Ray greeted, waving at you with one hand, while he pulled a tissue from his pocket, with the other. He blew his nose loudly. “....Sorry,” he muttered. “How are you?”

“It’s okay!” you assured him. “I’m fine...I’m sorry you’re not doing so well, though. You sound awful.” 

“It’s this East Coast weather,” he shrugged, throwing the tissue in a nearby wastebasket. “I hate doing outdoor shows, in the wintertime.” 

“You sounded great onstage,” you reassured him. “Nobody could even tell you were sick.” 

“The dorky sunglasses conceal how puffy his eyes are,” Frank confessed. “Poor guy didn’t sleep at all last night.” 

“Well, hopefully, I’ll sleep better tonight,” Ray chucked. “We’ve got two rooms at the Knickerbocker Hotel - one for me and Mikey, and one for Frank and Gerard.”

“Speaking of which,” you asked, “where is Gerard?” 

“Here I am!” chuckled a voice behind you, and you turned and saw your old friend Gerard, beaming at you. “Sorry, I was busy calling our cab. It’s so good to see you, Y/N! Thank you for coming.” 

“Thank you for inviting me!” you smiled back. “I’m really proud of you guys, getting to be part of such a major event.” 

“Oh, it’s surreal,” Gerard confessed. “I used to come up here with my mom and dad, and Mikey, every New Year’s Eve, to watch the show live.  I never thought I’d be in the show.” 

“We’re really lucky,” Mikey smiled, appearing beside Gerard, with a glass of champagne in his hand. 

“Ooh, where’d you get that?” Frank asked. 

“They’re giving them out to all the VIPs,” Mikey explained. “Would you like one, Y/N?” 

“I don’t think I qualify as a Very Important Person,” you confessed. 

“Nonsense,” Frank shook his head. “You’re very important to me.” 

“Yeah,” Mikey nodded. “You’ve been good friends with all of us for a long time. You can have whatever you want.” 

“No time for that,” Gerard shook his head. “Our cab’s here.” 

“C’mon,” Frank said, lacing his fingers with yours. “We have to go out through a secret exit, so that the fans don’t mob us.” 

“Oh, shit, really?” you chuckled. “I feel like a secret agent.” 

“Our lives have gotten so weird, honestly,” Gerard confessed. “I’m kinda glad that we’re gonna put some distance, between us and these crowds.” 

“Yeah, it’ll just be five of us, once we get to the hotel,” Mikey nodded. “Well...four. Ray is gonna go to sleep in our room, as soon we get there. But, the rest of us can party in Frankie and Gee’s room til midnight.” 

“Or later,” Frank grinned mischievously.

You smiled at your four oldest friends. “I can’t wait.” 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

“Ok, question,” you asked uncertainly, staring at the yellow cab in front of you. “How are we gonna fit five people in there?”

“It’s gonna be a tight squeeze,” Frank chuckled. 

“Well, hey, we’ve managed to fit in smaller places before, right?” Gerard pointed out. 

“True,” Ray laughed. “Remember when we were traveling around New Jersey, in our shitty little van?”

“We were all practically right on top of each other,” Mikey recalled. 

When the band had first started, you had gone with them, on weekend trips, to play a gig, in the next town over. You’d squished between the boys, somehow, and helped them carry their equipment into the venue. Watching them rock the faces off the local kids, had been so much fun. 

But, as time went on, they started getting offers to play at clubs across state lines. Day trips turned into months-long tours. You couldn’t commit to that - unlike Gerard, you still had a day job. And so, you started seeing the guys less and less. Then they’d gotten a record deal - and everything had gotten even more complicated. 

“That was….a long time ago,” you frowned. 

“Yeah,” Frank said wistfully. “I wish we had the chance to do that again.” 

“Well, now, most of the time, we don’t have to squish,” Ray pointed out. “We have a nice, roomy tour bus, with bunks and everything.” 

“You’ve come a long way,” you smiled weakly. 

You were quiet as you piled into the car. As the taxi started driving down the street, you stared out at the night sky, and the city lights flying by. Suddenly, Frank gently touched your hand, making you turn, and face him. 

“Hey,” he said quietly, giving your hand a squeeze, “are you alright, Y/N?” 

“Yeah,” you shrugged. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.” 

“Tonight’s supposed to be a party, remember?” he teased. “So, try and smile for me, okay?” 

“I’ll try,” you promised. It was far easier to smile, with him around. 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You could tell as soon as you walked into the lobby, that this was a five star hotel. A crystal chandelier, cast a soft glow over the pristine decor. 

“We already got our room keys earlier,” Gerard explained. “So, we can go ahead up.” 

You nodded, and followed him and the guys to the elevator. 

“I think I’m gonna crash as soon as we get upstairs,” Ray confessed, sniffling into his tissue again. 

“I don’t blame you,” you said sympathetically. The elevator dinged, as you arrived at your floor. 

“Since I won’t see you guys until tomorrow,” Ray sighed, “Happy New Year, alright?”

“Happy New Year, Ray,” you waved, as you watched him unlock his hotel room door, and head inside. “Feel better soon!”

“Thanks, Y/N,” Ray wheezed, closing the door behind him. 

“Alright, let’s head into our room,” Frank grinned, opening the door to the adjoining room. “What do you want to do first?” 

“Let’s turn the TV on,” Mikey suggested, immediately looking for the remote. “I wanna see the other performances. They’re still broadcasting live right now.” 

“Oh, true,” you nodded. “We can still watch the ball drop tonight, on this flat screen!” 

“I wanna look at the room service menu,” Gerard grinned. “Y/N, you can have anything you want. Just let me know.” 

“Thanks, Gee,” you grinned. “Should we get champagne to toast with, at midnight?” 

“I’ll get it for you three,” Gerard shrugged. “For me? I guess I’ll order a club soda. If they put it in a fancy glass, I can still clink it with yours when the clock strikes twelve.” 

“Yeah, that works,” Frank agreed. “Looks almost the same.”

You frowned. That’s right, you remembered. Gerard is about two and a half years sober now. 

You remembered going to see them, at their Englishtown show, during Warped Tour ‘04. Gerard had been a mess. You hadn’t seen him in two or three months, and you were shocked how much he’d deteriorated. You’d felt helpless. If you’d had more time, maybe you could have talked some sense into him. But, the very next day, he had to get back on his bus, and head to another gig, in Pennsylvania. 

Frank had called you on the phone, maybe a week later, and told you Gerard had decided to get clean, on his own. You didn’t know how, or why. You didn’t know fifty percent, of what went on in your friends’ heads anymore. 

“.....Y/N?” Frank called, his voice stunning you out of your thoughts. 

“Sorry,” you blinked. “Did you say something?” 

“Yeah, I said I’m going out to the balcony, to have a smoke,” Frank replied. “I asked you if you wanted to come with me?”

“Oh….yeah, sure,” you nodded, and followed him out. “Got a light?” 

“Here,” Frank said, pulling a lighter out of his pocket, and handing it to you. 

You took a pack of Marlboros out of your purse, and lit one. “Thanks,” you said, handing it back. 

Frank lit his own cigarette, and took a drag. You glanced over at him as you inhaled the nicotine, watching how the cool night breeze tousled his hair. 

“I thought you said on the phone, that  you were trying to quit,” Frank raised an eyebrow. 

“I should,” you sighed, exhaling smoke. “I know it’s bad for me.”

“Sorry for being a bad influence,” Frank laughed. “I know I got no room to talk.”

“It’s not your fault,” you shrugged, taking another puff. “I guess I’m just stressed tonight.” 

“About what?” Frank asked, looking at you curiously. 

“It’s stupid,” you mumbled. 

“Tell me,” Frank insisted, taking his free hand in yours again. Your heart raced at his casual touch. 

“I just…,” you sighed, unsure how to begin. “I never see you guys anymore.” 

“I’m sorry,” Frank frowned. 

“No, don’t be,” you shook your head. “I’m being selfish. I should be happy for you, right? It’s a good thing, that the band has gotten so successful, that you have fans in practically every city in the world, that want to see you.” 

“Yeah, they get to see me,” Frank groaned. “But, I don’t get to see my friends, or family - any of the people I love most - for months at a time.” 

The people he loves most. Your face reddened. Did you really fit into that category? 

“After tonight,” you asked, “how long will you be in town?” 

“The first night of the tour is February 22nd,” Frank explained. “The gig’s in New Hampshire, so we’ll be flying out the night before.” 

“So we have….slightly less than two months, to spend time together,” you calculated. “And after that, the next time you’ll be in my neck of the woods is…?” 

“Bamboozle Festival,” Frank replied. “That’s in May.” 

“Wow,” you frowned. “Are you playing all three days of the festival, or…?”

“Nah, just one,” Frank said sheepishly. “We’ll be in Jersey for a night….the very next day, we’ll be playing a gig in fuckin’ Maine.”

“The fun never stops, I guess,” you deadpanned. 

“I mean, it is fun,” Frank admitted. “I love being a musician. Playing my guitar, onstage, is all I’ve wanted to do, my entire life.” 

“Yeah, it’s your dream,” you said quickly, “that’s why I should just shut up, and let you…”

“You don’t have to shut up,” Frank interrupted. “Y/N, I want you to tell me how you feel.” 

“How do I feel, Frank?” you repeated, your emotions starting to get the best of you. “I feel like I don’t even know my friends at all anymore! I don’t want you to turn into a stranger, whose laugh I could recognize anywhere. I’m still working the same dead end job I had the day I met you….but your life has completely changed. You’re gone 80% of the year, and yeah, I know you text or call me whenever you can, but when I’m not there face to face, I still miss so much of your life! You used to be just….a guy next door, that I could listen to records and smoke with. Now you’re some….millionaire rock star. That coat you’ve got on right now is probably worth more than my first car, and you’ve probably got girls in every town, throwing their panties at you…” 

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t look twice at any of those girls,” Frank said, looking you in the eye, “if a certain someone, told me, that she wanted me to be hers, and hers alone.”

A certain someone….? you gasped. Did he mean…?

“Hey!” a voice interrupted, and you jumped, as the sliding glass door slid open, and Gerard stepped onto the balcony. “There you guys are!” 

“H-hey,” you stammered, taken aback. 

“Everything alright?” Gerard asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow. 

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s cool,” Frank mumbled, not looking at you at all, as he stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray. “What did you need?”

“We’ve got about five minutes til midnight,” Gerard smiled. “Figured you guys would want to come back inside, so we can count down the last seconds of 2006 together.” 

“Oh, right, of course,” you blinked. “Did room service already bring up the champagne flutes?”

“Yeah, they’re ready to go,” Gerard nodded. “....Wait. Where’s Mikey?” 

“We thought he was with you,” Frank said, looking confused. 

“No,” Gerard shook his head. “I went to the bathroom, and when I came back out, he was gone. If he’s not on the balcony with you guys, where did he go?” 

“I don’t know,” you shrugged. “Maybe he went to his and Ray’s room?” 

“Oh, yeah, that would make sense,” Gerard nodded. “Let’s go get him.” 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Gerard knocked loudly on the hotel room door. 

“Come on, Mikey!” he called. “We got three minutes til midnight, you’re gonna miss the ball drop, dude!” 

The door swung open, but instead of Mikey, a sleepy-looking Ray answered. 

“Mikey’s not in here,” Ray said with a yawn. “It’s just me.”

“Oh, sorry for waking you up, man,” Gerard apologized. 

“Wait,” Frank realized. “If he’s not in either hotel room, then, where is he?” 

“Maybe he went to go get ice?” Ray suggested. 

“Or maybe he went downstairs, to ask the front desk guy something,” you guessed. 

“Let’s split up,” Frank suggested. “You guys go down the hall and see if he’s by the ice machine. Y/N and I will look for him downstairs.” 

“Yeah, we can do that,” Gerard agreed. “Hopefully we’ll find him before the end of the year!” 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

“This elevator’s taking too long to get up here,” Frank said impatiently, hitting the down-arrow button a second time. 

“Wanna just take the stairs?” you suggested. 

“Works for me,” Frank shrugged. 

You followed him into the stairwell, your heart still pounding from the conversation on the balcony. What would have happened, you wondered, if Gerard hadn’t walked in when he did? 

Frank kept his eyes on the flight of stairs in front of you, not saying a word, as you walked past the sign, indicating that you were now on the second floor. 

“Maybe he didn’t go this wa...oh, fuck,” Frank gasped, coming to a sudden stop.  

Your blood froze, when you saw what he was looking at. Mikey’s unconscious body, lay sprawled across the bottom steps. He was face down….he didn’t even look like he was breathing. 

“Mikey, oh my god!” You ran to his side, flipping him over, so that you could see his face. “Frank, we have to help him!” 

The bassist looked deathly pale, and his lips had turned a horrifying shade of blue. You felt for a pulse. It was there, but it was disturbingly weak.

“Come on, Mikey, wake up!” you pleaded, shaking his shoulders. “Oh my god, what’s wrong with him?!” 

“I think he’s overdosing,” Frank realized, kneeling by your side. 

“On what?!” you gasped. 

“On whatever he went downstairs, to pick up from his dealer,” Frank growled. “Goddamnit! We need to call 911.” 

“Mikey!” a familiar voice called, and Gerard and Ray burst into the stairwell. 

“Oh, god!” Gerard gasped, when he saw his brother, lying eerily still in your arms. 

“I’m trying to wake him up!” you explained. “It’s not working...fuck, what do I do?” 

“He needs a doctor,” Ray realized, whipping out his cell phone. “....Hello? Yes, we’re having an emergency…...the Knickerbocker Hotel….umm, Six Times Square….please hurry….my friend isn’t breathing…” 

You shook Mikey’s shoulders again. His eyes fluttered open, but his pupils were like pinpricks. He gasped and choked, like he couldn’t get air into his lungs. 

“Come on, Mikey, hang in there!” you begged. Oh god, what if he died?!

You could see the headlines now. World Tour Canceled After Bassist’s Hospitalization. You’d wanted more time with Frank….but not like this, damnit! 

Since when did your oldest friend’s kid brother do smack?! 

I really don’t know anything about them anymore, you realized, tears clouding your vision as you listened to him wheeze. Minutes felt like hours. 

“Out of the way!” called an unfamiliar voice, and you gaped as two paramedics dragged a stretcher down the stairs. 

“Ma’am, we need to move him,” a uniformed woman barked. “Time is of the essence.” 

You let the EMT scoop Mikey up, and load him onto the gurney. 

“What did he take?” the second paramedic asked. 

“I….I don’t know,” you stammered. “We just found him like this.” 

“Ma’am,” the man pressed, “we’re not here to judge anybody. But, any information you have, can help us figure out what antidote he needs…”

“Here,” Frank said. “I found this next to his body.” 

He handed the paramedic a needle. Oh, god. 

“I see,” the paramedic nodded grimly. “Judith! Get this man two milligrams of naloxone, stat!” 

“Is….is he gonna be okay?!” Gerard gasped, tears in his eyes. “That’s my baby brother….”

“We’re going to try our best to save him, sir,” the female paramedic (Judith) promised. “We need to move him to the hospital, as soon as possible.” 

“We’re only going to be able to fit two extra people in the ambulance,” the male paramedic warned. “Who’s going?” 

“Me,” Gerard said immediately. “He’s my family!” 

“Who else?” the paramedic demanded. “We don’t have time to waste.” 

Mikey gasped for air on the gurney, his face growing bluer by the minute. 

“I’ll go,” Ray decided. “Frank, you stay here with Y/N, okay?” 

“O-okay,” Frank stammered. You clung to him,shaking, as you watched the paramedics drag your friend out of the hallway, to the ambulance waiting outside. 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

“.....Happy New Year!” the oblivious voice of Ryan Seacrest rang out from the television screen, as you walked back into the hotel room, wiping your eyes on your sleeve. 

Confetti was falling in Times Square, as the credits rolled. You’d missed the countdown. There had been no toast, no midnight kiss (although perhaps, the latter had been foolish to even hope for.) 

“This wasn’t how 2007 was supposed to start,” Frank sobbed, sinking down onto the bed. “Fuck!” 

“H-he’s gonna be okay,” you stammered. “The doctors are gonna save his life…”

“You don’t know that!” Frank cried, kicking a bottle of Dom Perignon off the coffee table. It shattered, sending broken glass and alcohol all over the floor. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Y/N,” Frank apologized, kneeling to pick up the shards. “I shouldn’t have done that…”

“Ssh, stop, you’re gonna cut yourself,” you warned, grabbing his hands. “We can clean that up later, okay? I understand that you’re only lashing out, because you’re scared…” 

“Of course I’m scared,” Frank wept, burying his head in your shoulder. “That’s one of my best friends.” 

“He’s my friend, too,” you said softly, stroking Frank’s hair. “I’m scared, too, but there’s nothing we can do now, but pray.” 

You sat down on the bed, and Frank sat with you, still sobbing into your shirt. You were choking back tears yourself. 

“I….I didn’t know he was doing that stuff,” you said guiltily. “I’m never around you guys anymore….I….”

“I didn’t realize the extent of the problem, either,” Frank confessed. “And I’m with the kid almost every day. I should’ve noticed, but I was too self absorbed, doing my own dumb shit…” 

“Ssh, it’s not your fault, Frankie,” you soothed. “We got him, to the people that can help him. That’s all we can do.” 

“It doesn’t feel like enough,” Frank sniffed, still clinging to you tightly. 

“No,” you agreed, your heart aching, “it doesn’t.” 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

You woke the next morning, to the feeling of warmth against your side. Your eyes fluttered open, and you realized that Frank was sleeping next to you. What?!

Your cheeks reddened as you stared at his sleeping face, so close to your own. “...Frank? Why are you…?”

Reality filtered back into your head, slowly, as you recalled the events of the previous night. Oh god….Mikey! 

Was he okay? You still didn’t know. You and Frank had sat beside each other on the hotel room bed, crying, clinging to each other for comfort. You supposed you had fallen asleep like that. 

“.....Huh?” Frank groaned sleepily. “Y/N…?” 

He shot up, jerking away from you, almost as soon as he realized, that your bodies were touching. “I...I’m sorry!”

“N-no, it’s fine…” you stammered. 

“Fuck….I need to check my messages,” Frank realized, groping for his cell phone on the bedside table. He sat up,and put his feet on the floor. “Owww!”

“What’s wrong?” you gasped. 

“I just stepped on a shard of the bottle I broke last night...fuck!” Frank swore. 

“Oh no,” you winced. “Is it bleeding?” 

“No, it’s just cut a little,” Frank shook his head. 

“Do you want me to call the front desk,” you offered, “and see if they can bring up some Band-Aids?”

“No, it’s not that serious,” Frank insisted, opening his flip phone. His eyes widened, as he clicked through his inbox. “Oh….oh, thank god…” 

“What?” you demanded. 

“Ray texted me, around like two in the morning,” Frank explained. “He said Mikey’s gonna make it. The doctors were able to reverse the overdose in time, and he’s gonna make a full recovery.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” you cried, tearing up from sheer relief. You had been so scared, that Ray’s text, would say that Mikey hadn’t survived. He’s gonna be okay. He’s alive. 

Frank, however, didn’t share your grateful smile. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked. 

“I’m sorry that you had to see that, last night,” Frank frowned. “We ruined your New Year’s Eve.” 

“It’s not your fault,” you shook your head. “I’m glad I was there, to help you find him. I wouldn’t have wanted you to go through this alone.” 

“I hate to ask you for even more help,” Frank grimaced, “but, we need to clean this shit up.”

“You’re right,” you nodded, leaning down to help him pick up the glass shards. “It wouldn’t be fair, to leave it for the hotel staff to pick up.” 

“Some bands dig trashing hotel rooms,” Frank sighed, grabbing a towel from the bathroom, to mop up the puddle of champagne. “Not me, though. I feel bad, making a mess, that some housekeeper is gonna have to deal with.” 

He’s a kind person, you thought to yourself, as you carefully placed the pieces of bottle into a waste basket. Not everyone would take the time to do this, after the night we had. 

“Shit, look at this,” Frank sighed, pointing down at the hardwood floor. “Nobody blew out the stupid scented candle, that Housekeeping lit before we checked in, to make the place smell pretty. Now, there’s dried wax all over the floorboards.” 

“You had bigger things to worry about last night,” you reminded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even notice the candle was still burning, with everything else going on. I would’ve reminded you to put it out.” 

“That’s not your job,” Frank said, pulling a guitar pick from his pocket. He tried to use it to scrape some of the wax up, but it didn’t seem to want to budge. “None of this is your job.” 

“What do you mean?” you blinked. 

“You said last night, that you don’t see us for months at a time,” Frank reasoned, scraping harder with his pick. “And then...last night, you finally see us again, and this happens.”  

“You couldn’t have predicted something like that,” you assured him. 

“We complicate your life, Y/N,” Frank frowned. “I complicate your life. You don’t need this fucking drama. The best thing I could for you, is probably just leave you alone. Stop inviting you to see us when we’re in town. I’ve grown apart from a lot of friends since I left New Jersey. Why can’t I just let this relationship go, too?” 

“I don’t want you to do that!” you protested. “Frank, our friendship is really important to me. I would be miserable if you suddenly stopped inviting me to hang out.” 

“I don’t just want to hang out with you,” Frank mumbled. “I want more than that.” 

“....Huh?” you cocked your head. 

“But it’s not fair, for me to ask you for that,” Frank signed. “Not when I know damn well, that I’m about to spend the majority of 2007, hundreds of miles away from you.” 

“Ask me for what?” you demanded. You suddenly remembered the words, he had spoken to you on the balcony, before your night had gone straight to hell. 

“I wouldn’t look twice, at any of those girls, if  a certain someone, told me, that she wanted me to be hers, and hers alone.”

“Nothing,” Frank murmured, picking fruitlessly at the wax on the floor again. “It’s stupid. Ignore me.”

“I won’t ignore it,” you insisted. “Frank, what were you going to ask me?” 

Frank looked at his shoes. 

You sat down on the floor next to him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “....Frank?” 

“I was going to ask you...to be mine,” Frank confessed. 

You gasped, audibly. No way….he really felt the same way about you, that you did about him?!

“But, it’s not right, for me to ask you, to make that commitment to me!” Frank said miserably. “Not when I’m just gonna disappear on you again. And...you saw, last night, what my life has turned into. What my band has turned into. I’m a mess….why would you want to be with someone like me?” 

“Frankie, I love you,” you said plainly. Now that you knew he returned your feelings, there was no point in hiding it anymore. “I’ve loved you for years.” 

He raised his head to look at you. His hazel eyes, swimming with tears again, stared into yours. “You….you mean that?” 

“Yes,” you said emotionally. “I’ve been in love with you for so long….but, you’re a famous rock star now. I’m still just an art school dropout. You can do so much better than me.” 

“Funny,” Frank chuckled bitterly, “I was about to say the same thing, about you.”

“Frank, there isn’t anybody better than you,” you sighed, and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him into a searing kiss. 

His lips met yours, hesitant at first, but then suddenly you were toppling to the floor, as he pressed himself against you, with four years worth of buried desire. 

Life was so short. You realized that now. 

His hands tangled into your hair as he kissed you over and over. “Be mine,” he gasped, coming up for air. “Please be mine, Y/N….even if it fucks up everything…” 

“Frankie, it’s okay,” you assured him, as you gazed up at him tenderly. “I don’t care if you’re gone a hundred nights. You’re worth waiting for. Just promise me, that when you do finally come home, I can….have you.” 

“Oh, you can have me any way you want me,” Frank breathed, leaning down to kiss you passionately again. “I won’t touch anyone else while I’m away on tour….nobody else is as beautiful as you. You’re the only one that I want.”

“You’re the only one that I want, too, Frankie,” you promised him, claiming his mouth once again. “I want you every day. Not just when you’re the toast of the town. Not just when times are good. I want to be there with you, through the bad times, too. I want to help you when you’re scared, or even when something fucked up happens, like last night... because I love you. I’ll stay with you, no matter what….even when it’s hard, or it’s wrong, or you’re making mistakes. I don’t care. I just want to be with you.” 

“I want to be with you, too, Y/N,” Frank vowed, kissing your eyes, your nose, your mouth. It was like he couldn’t get enough. “You’re the woman I choose….because, hey, there might be lots of women who’d love to be my New Year’s Eve kiss. But, you’re the only woman I know, who would stick by my side, helping me clean up bottles on New Year’s Day.”

[thiswasinevitableid]

Gift (Indruck)

A second fill for @crepuscularlives

16. we didn’t read the invitation that said this party was formal so we’re in our ugly christmas sweaters. SFW

Duck’s fully prepared for Aubrey, and maybe even Mama, to tease him for his Newton family christmas sweater. When he gets to the Lodge to find everyone dressed swanky, he thinks it’s some sort of elaborate prank. He decides to ask Barclay, since he tends to be less invested in pranks than the others. 

“Uhhh” Barclay points to a stray invite, “it said formal, see? We thought a change of pace would be fun.”

“Fuck. I just came straight from a family thing, didn’t think it’d matter.”

Barclay pats his shoulder with a warm smile, “Don’t worry about it, man, it’s not like anyone’s gonna toss you out for it.”

Duck grumbles something about not wanting to stick out as he turns, and spies an even uglier sweater across the room. It’s bright green and fire-engine red with, covered in old-school colored bulb christmas lights, blinking like fireflies. 

Somehow, it suits Indrid perfectly.

The Sylph waves when we spots Duck, coming over to join him by the drinks table. 

“Hello Duck, I’m glad this is the future where you’re here.” He ladles himself a mug from one of the two crockpots of eggnog. 

“Howdy, ‘Drid. Glad I ain’t the only one who went for the ugly sweater vibe.”

Indrid cocks his head, “This is the nicest thing I own.”

Duck groans, reaches up to hide behind a hat that isn’t there.

Indrids smile widens, “I’m joking. It was a, ah, what do always call it...ah yes, a goof.”

He laughs, relieved, “Jesus, you got me good.”

“It’s payback for the time you convinced me that squirrels were carnivorous.” 

Duck snickers at the memory of Indrid, in his moth form in the woods, eyeing the squirrels warily. 

He joins Aubrey, Thacker, and Dani by the fire, and Indrid wanders over to oin them, taking a seat next to Duck when the human scoots over to offer him it. Thacker talks about the library and the regrowing cities, and Indrid’s face turns wistful. Duck suspects only he can see it, Indrid’s glasses showing enough of his eyes from the side to make emotions clearer. 

(Indrid always sits across from people. The last few times they’ve met up, he sits next to Duck).

In spite of only some gentle ribbing about his clothes, he keeps picking at the sleeve of the sweater. It’s a little itchy, and he could have worn that nice green shirt with the pine tree tie that he likes. And every time he catches a glimpse of himself in a window, he’s back in space, watching an evil hivemind recreate it’s pattern on a mimic of his sister. 

“Is it bothering you a lot?” Indrid murmurs.

“N-no, uh, I, uh, just, fuck, it’s nothin,” He stops talking, flees Indrid’s red stare to refill his cider. He pauses to talk with Kirby and Ned, is looking around the room for a new spot to sit (and for Indrid), only for a tan hand to wave him into a hallway. 

“Here, try this.” Indrid ties a discarded gift ribbon around his wrist, and he’s no longer looking down at the wool sweater and jeans. He’s in a deep gray suit, with a green shirt and a silver tie. 

“Holy shit. Wait, do I look-”

“-different? No, I left your physical form intact. I can make disguises of different magnitudes. A simple clothing swap is easily done. And I, ah, I did not want you to spend a night with friends lost in frightening memories.”

Duck’s about to thank him when the words sink in. 

“There was a future where you told me. I, ah, you’ve mentioned what you saw at Reconciliation before, but not that detail.”

“Wasn’t scared so much as pissed.” Duck glances at his shoes, now well-shined loafers. 

“Understandable. And useful; the odds were not in your favor, believe me. But well-timed anger can change the course of fate. Just as choosing mercy--even when others urge for violence--can. Punching me also reset fate rather dramatically.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

Indrid’s smile is small, and stunningly fake, “It was for the best. I’m going to get some more nog. Would you like some?”

“Nah, still gotta finish this. But I do wanna try some of that salmon dip.”

“In true bear fashion.” Indrid’s smile turns genuine when Duck snorts and elbows him. 

They talk and mingle with their friends, Indrid making frequent returns to the nog bowl. Duck steps outside for air, comes back and spends a moment watching Indrid by the fire. Stern notices him, steps away from an animated conversation with a ghostly Boyd about art forgery to join him. 

“Quite the dapper costume change.”

“Thanks. ‘Drid did it for me.”

Stern follows Duck’s gaze, then casually sip his wine, “Have you told him yet?”

“Told, uh, told him what?”

“Duck, you spend more time with him than almost anyone else.”

“Half my friends live on another planet now.”

“And every time you look at him, your smile changes. His does too. According to Barclay, he talks about you like you’re the most fascinating thing on earth. Right, love?” He kisses Barclay’s cheek as the cook joins them.

“Yep.”

There’s a crash as Indrid loses his balance and knocks over a lamp, which Aubrey freezes mid-air.

“Shit, he’s hammered.” Barclay sounds surprised. 

“How much rum did you put in the nog?” Duck doesn’t remember the sip he had from Indrid’s cup tasting that strong. 

“I made two batches, one with booze and one without. Indrid was drinking the non-spiked one earlier. Wonder when he switched.”

“About the time Duck changed clothes.”

“...How did you not catch us durin the Pine Guard days again?”

Stern smiles, “Barclay can be very distracting when he wants to be. And none of you have ever asked exactly how much I worked out.”

He has a point. As does Barclay when he points out that Indrid should have someone take him home after the party.

When Duck offers him a ride, Indrid chirps excitedly, bonks his forehead on the roof of the car, and climbs in. By the time they get back to the ‘Bago, Duck knows he can’t just leave Indrid here.

“You’re staying?” Indrid bounces on the bed as Duck turns on the space heaters. 

“Just ‘til you sober up. I’ll stay out in the main cab so you can sleep.”

Indrid lets out a chirr that intensifies when Duck slips the ribbon from his wrist. It almost sounds perturbed. 

“I mean, uh, I can go if you really need me to.”

Indrid shakes his head, barely managing to get his shoes off before burrowing under to covers, “Please stay as long as you want.” 

Duck nods, excuses himself to use the bathroom, and comes back to Indrid chirp-snoring into the pillows. He’s such a cute, weird man. Duck will just sit down a second to make sure he doesn’t wake up and need something. 

The one small seat is taken up by a binder, which opens when Duck lifts it. Instead of the expected paper avalanche, he finds drawings, each in their own plastic slip. He flips through it as he settles in the chair. Interspersed with the drawings are papers labeled in one or two two words of Sylph, and Duck reverse engineers their likely meanings from the images that follow them. The section with all the plants and animals must be “nature,” the one with parties and state fairs “events.” There’s even a section that’s all elements of winter holidays; the Rockefeller tree with decorations that suggest the 1930s, a menorah in a window, candles on the table of a house that’s seen better days.  Towards the back is a section that has to be “friends.” There are one or two people who appear in images with Indrid. Including the kind that make Duck quickly turn the page. The further he gets in that section, the more familiar faces he sees; Barclay, Aubrey, Jake, Ned. 

He sees himself, returning from saving the world, battered but alive. 

“The odds were not good”

Tucked at the very back of the section, between the final empty pages and the binder, is a folded paper. Curious, Duck opens it. 

It’s him. With Indrid. They’re on Indrid’s tiny bed, kissing.

God that looks nice. 

Startled by his own thoughts, he tucks the picture back into the binder and sets the whole thing on the floor. Decides one of the paperbacks strewn on the floor is a better way to occupy himself then accidentally finding more personal images. 

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

The world is ending, everything is ripping away into the sky, everything he’s fought for is gone. He failed. He didn’t want a destiny, and he’s failed the fucking thing anyway and it’s all gone and there’s no future for him now but to be torn into ash-

“Duck, Duck wake up” 

He jolts, whams his head into the wall of the very intact Winnebago at the edge of the still standing Monongahela while a very alive, now-sober Indrid leans over him. 

“Owfuck.”

“Oh, oh no, I’m sorry, you were very clearly having a nightmare and I figured you’d like it to stop.”

“Yeah” He rubs his head, “yeah I did. Thanks. Sorry if I woke you up.”

“Given that in many futures our positions were reversed, I don’t have a lot of room to complain about someone shouting in their sleep.” Indrid sits down on the floor next to the chair, stays silent as Duck coaxes his breathing to even out. A hand hesitates in the air, then touches his arm, rubbing it reassuringly. 

No one else saw it. Not even Minerva or Leo, the only people who could understand the horror of seeing a thing unfold with scant chances of stopping it. 

Indrid’s hand brush lightly over his own before returning to his arm. 

No, not the only people. 

“Indrid, can I ask you somethin?”

“Of course.”

“The day we let The Quell through and saved the worlds did you, uh, did you see what woulda happened if Aubrey hadn’t blown the gate apart?”

“Yes.” The reply is quiet.

“Do you, uh, still see it sometimes?”

“Now and then, but I have far more bad timelines in my mind, and more failures in my past, for my nightmares to draw upon than you do. That is half the reason I drank so much tonight. Around the time of the winter solstice, my nightmares increase in frequency and intensity, Sylvain only knows why. Sometimes substances dull that.”

“Oh, ‘Drid.” Duck turns in the chair. Indrid’s gaze stays straight ahead, but his fingers shred a nearby scrap of paper. 

“The irony is, I love this time of year on Earth, in spite of the chill. I love the winter holidays, the gathering of warmth and light to hold one over until the spring returns. But my enjoyment of it is dampened by the workings of my powers and mind.”

“Fuck, guess I oughta count myself lucky I only got a few bad visions to remember.” The joke falls flat, and Indrid glances at him. 

“That vision is nothing to laugh at. I’m glad you had it all the same, glad you triumphed and survived.”

“Woulda really sucked to accept my destiny only to fail at the last fuckin second.”

He shuts his mouth to stop the next thought from escaping; Indrid doesn’t need to know that he sometimes fears that everything he’s done and wants to do now that fate is no longer hanging a talking sword over his head will somehow be hollow.

“You were so much more than your destiny, Duck Newton. You still are.” 

The sincerity, half-obscured in shadow and red lens, is too much. He doesn’t know what to say, or if he should say anything at all. 

“Guess, uh, guess you likin the holidays explains that section in the binder.”

“Yes. Wait. Did, ah, did you look through the whole thing?” Fear slips into his voice. 

“Uhhuh.”

“Even the, ah, the last page?”

“Yep. Some real beautiful drawin’s in there. Some mighty interestin ones too.”

Indrid nervously taps his fingers together, “Since you are about to ask, that future took place shortly after the cottonwood. You, you came by to apologize for punching me and to tell me you were glad I was alright and, and ask me to stay in Kepler and when I asked why, you did that. Just one little kiss. That’s as far as I got before the timelines changed. It’s, it’s alright, of course, that’s how timelines work, and you did eventually apologize.”

He did, two or three separate times, and each time Indrid brushed it off, insisting it was what needed to be done.

Duck sinks to the floor, turns on his knees to bring them face to face. 

“What are you-” Indrid stiffens as Duck gingerly pushes up his glasses. He’s never seen Indrid’s face like this, uncovered but still human, and it takes all the air from his lungs.

“Which eye did I hit?”

Indrid touches the right side of his face. Duck tips forward, balancing his fingers on Indrids thighs, and kisses the corner of his right eye.

“There. Now it’s a real apology.” He whispers in Indrid’s ear, close enough that faint, hopeful chirps reach him. He moves a few inches down and over, lips the barest strip of air away from Indrid’s own. 

“You, you don’t have to. Just because something appears in a future doesn’t mean it’s fated to happen.”

“What if I want it to happen?”

Indrid surges forward, cupping Duck’s face. His kisses re feather-light and sweeter than nectar, and Duck wants to drink them down, knows that after this taste he’ll never be full. 

“Duck I, h, I want” Indrid clings to him, his words turning to chirps nd clicks, as he’s so overwhelmed by a little kissing.

“Want me to keep, uh, ‘apologizin?”

“So very much.”

“Then take me to bed, darlin.”

The instant they hit the bed Indrid pulls Duck atop him, fingers fawning over his body as he kisses him over and over. When they stop to catch their breath, Duck remembers something,

“‘Drid, what was the other half of the reason you got drunk?”

“A problem of my own making. I did not foresee just how you would look in your suit, and I was trying to avoid an, ah, embarrassing bodily response. Alcohol helps my kind of Sylph in that regard.”

Duck chuckles, nips Indrid’s lower lip, “want me to put it back on?”

“Not just yet.”

“Want me to kiss you ‘til we fall asleep?”

“More than I’ve wanted anything for Christmas in a long time.”

Duck kisses him, keeps teasing their lips together as he murmurs, “then consider me your resent, darlin.”

[sweetwritertanya]

Stormy Night (Original)

Summary: A snow storm leads to you losing your chance to not only see your boyfriend, as it was planned, but also communicate at all with him as the blizzard worsens. Little did you know, that would be the last time you would ever spend a stormy night alone.

Warnings: HORROR! Nothing too bad, hopefully it just sends those spooky scary tingles down your back. No trigger warnings, no violence or anything of the sort. Tell me what you all think of it, if you can! Did it spook you a bit? Did you guess what was about to happen?

Word Count: 2345

“Hun, I hate this” you complain into the phone in your hand against your ear, pacing around in the living room and looking out the window to the dark threatening sky.

“I know, muffin, I know. I hate it too” your boyfriend reciprocates on the other side of the call.

“I mean, I had everything ready, I was going to make your favorite meal, went to the supermarket and got all the freaking ingredients and whatever, bought the expensive wine, booked the tickets to the play and…” you sigh heavily. “All for nothing.”

“We couldn’t have predicted this, Y/N. I mean, this storm came out of nowhere, not even the weathermen saw it coming” he tries and console you, like he always did whenever you were frustrated at something you couldn’t quite control.

“It just… sucks! I haven’t seen you in three months!”

You didn’t mean for the last sentence to come out almost like a sob, but your pent-up feelings surface quickly and you start snuffling as you try to keep the tears from falling.

“Fuck, baby, I know and it’s killing me too. I just want to hold you in my arms again and kiss the pout I know you have right now away” he confesses, sounding every bit as disappointed as you. A small smile comes to your lips when he mentions the pout that you, in fact, had been sporting the entire call. “If only I had booked a flight one day earlier, I could have been snowed in with you during the storm. Keep you protected and warm.”

“It’s not your fault you’re so busy with work. You know one of the things I love about you is how dedicated you are.” It’s your turn to console him and that somehow helps you feeling better, focusing on making him feel better instead of pitying yourself any further.

“The only thing I hate about my job is how it keeps me away from you so much” he murmurs, groggily.

“You know what? It’s fine. This is fine” you decide with a renewed determination, walking out of the living room you were at and making your way to the kitchen. “We’ll meet after the storm is all over and we’ll make it an even better stay! I’ll get refunded for the tickets, use the money to instead take us out for dinner so I don’t have to cook and we can have our own movie session at home. Which is better anyway, because we can get comfortable and snuggle how much we want without disapproving eyes all around.”

You gasp loudly and jump in place as a loud thunder shakes the ground, lightning tearing apart the cloudy sky outside. The wind seems to pick up in response and you can only see a blur of white snow falling out your windows.

“Y/N? M-ffin, are yo- o-y?”

The signal of your phone call weakens and you can barely make out what he is saying from the other side.

“Babe, I’m okay! Can you hear me? I’m fine, but I think I’m losing signal” you yell into the phone, hoping that he can still comprehend what you are saying so he doesn’t worry.

“I hea- you. Ok-y, you’re oka-. Cal- -morrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow! Love you!”

“Lov- -ou, bye muff-” And the call ends abruptly.

“Damnit…” you whisper in a sigh. “Was supposed to be spending the day with him and now I can’t even have a phone call or a video chat with him. Stupid weather!”

As you had predicted, both your wi-fi and even the television feed were struggling due to the conditions outside, so you weren’t even bothering turning them on. Taking out all of the candles you had available, which were mainly scented candles you received from people you barely knew, you left at least one in each room and picked the largest one to carry with you around the house, expecting the lights to go out some time during the storm.

When living alone in a small one-bedroom house in the outskirts of town, one could never be too prepared. Especially a woman living alone. So, you have thought of every situation you could find yourself in and came up with solutions that didn’t depend on someone else coming over to fix. The candles were a wise decision, as it turned out, since early in the evening, while you were trying to entertain yourself by reading a book in bed, the only lamp turned on by your nightstand went out and the moonlight was all you had.

“Figures” you dryly say, reaching for the lighter you kept on the first drawer and lighting the large vanilla and coffee scented candle.

Even though it was earlier than when you usually went to sleep, there was really not much you could do without the modern commodities you were used to, especially in the dark of the young night, so you just laid down in bed and covered yourself with the blankets, keeping the candle going in case you needed to go to the bathroom during the night and the lights weren’t back on yet.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t take much for you to fall asleep, even with the wind owling loudly outside and the occasional thunder. And yet, it was a loud crash coming from somewhere in the house that wakes you in a jerk, sounding like one of your plant pots had fallen and shattered on the ground. You grimace just thinking of having to get up and clean it all up, but the thought of just leaving your plant on the ground to wither guilt trips you into doing so.

With a grunt, you remove the covers and put on your slippers, picking the candle up and opening your bedroom’s door. Walking to the kitchen, much like you suspected, you find that the plant you kept on the windowsill above your sink had fallen to the ground and the window’s doors were blasted open with the furious wind, making you shiver from head to toe at how cold it was.

Automatically, you go and close the window before anything else, making sure to close the latch securely this time. It was such a mundane task, something you did every night before going to bed, that you almost missed it.

Just as you were about to turn around and pick up the broken pieces off the floor, your numb mind picks up something strange. You look back outside, frowning as you don’t quite understand what seems strange. It takes you maybe five solid seconds of staring for you to see it.

The footprints, on an otherwise completely immaculate white veil above the ground. The snow was falling so quick and so much that the tracks were starting to be covered up again, soon to disappear beneath a newly fresh layer of pristine snow. But you still saw them.

And they were leading straight to your window.

Your whole body freezes, heart stops and your breathing comes to a frightening halt. Blankly, you stare at the outside for a few more moments before the terrifying realizations hits you. Your silent hammer switches to a hammering beat against your chest, blood rushing loudly in your ears and sold sweats prickling up your skin as you slowly turn around and scan your house.

The dirt of the pot, it had been moved. A snow trail melting in your wooden floors, from your sink where the open window was to across the kitchen. Your eyes follow it and you fight back a fearful whimper once you notice the opened door to the small basement. A door you always closed and seldomly opened.

Your mind races, working in overpower as survival mode seems to set in. There was someone at your house. Someone broke in. Your first thought is to run to your phone and call for help, but your last phone call proved that the storm was interfering with means of communication. And you didn’t have a landline.

You slap your hand against your mouth as a shriek escapes you and you scrunch down to your knees when a creak comes from bellow. Your eyes start to swell up with dread and you force yourself to silently move away. The basement door was made of cement, which meant the creaking could only be made if someone was coming up the stairs.

There were only two options in your brain now. Fight or flight. You couldn’t call for help, hiding would do you no good when there were only a handful of places to do so, and even if you screamed in hopes that your only neighbors from across the street would hear you, the loud storm would drown you out.

The stairs creak again and you are maybe seven feet away from your front door. The door to the basement is still within your view and you wide scared eyes miss nothing at this second. So you see it. Even with the only light sources being the candle you left on the counter and the streetlight from outside, you see it.

The large grey hand with dark dirty nails that clutches around the side of the door, as if about to open it. And the sparkle of something metallic coming from the darkness.

Gathering all of the strength you could master in your panicked state, you stand up and run towards the front door, fighting with the latch to open just as you hear heavy footsteps that didn’t belong to you. Swinging the door open, you run into the blizzard with a shrieking scream that contended with the owling wind, barefoot and only in your pajamas, too caught up in the moment to even feel how cold it was.

You are screaming the entire path across the street, even as you hammer against your neighbor’s door so heavily you might actually break down their door.

“HELP! HELP, I NEED HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!”

The man from the mid-aged couple is the one who opens the door for you, looking half worried and half annoyed, the woman coming down the stairs hurled up in her robe with concern.

“What the hell is go-”

“Call the police! Somebody broke in to my house and they are there right now. Please, call the police!” you beg, starting to shiver as the cold starts to get to you.

“Dear God, let her in a lock the doors!” the woman tells her husband immediately, taking off her robe and giving it to you as you enter their home.

Thankfully, their landline telephone was still functioning despite the storm and the police was contacted. They arrive an excruciatingly long thirty minutes later, knocking at your neighbor’s door and asking what happened.

That’s when the weirdest thing happens. You walk with the officers back to your house, feeling more secure now that you had two people with guns next to you. The blizzard had almost erased the footsteps from you running away from the house, your door still swinging open and moving with the strong wind. Looking around, you don’t see any tracks other than yours leading out of the house. One of them goes inside the house first, the other keeping you safe outside.

“All clear!” the policeman yells from inside.

Frowning and uncertain, you and the other officer enter the house to inspect.

It’s mind boggling, really. How immaculate all of it was. The flowerpot that had fell to the ground was gone, no indications of any dirt on the ground, all completely clean as if it never happened. The window was still shut just as you left it, candle still burning on your kitchen’s counter. No snow or water trails on the floor anywhere.

They checked the basement and found nothing; it was just as you always left it. The policemen made you search for any lost valuables, any expensive items you might have had that could be stolen, but everything was in its place. Nothing was missing.

You beg them to look for fingerprints, namely on the door where you know you saw a hand. After a bit of pressure, they grant your request and gather all of the fingerprints around the spot you assured them the person had their hands. It would take a few days for them to come back with any result.

Obviously, you didn’t stay back in that house. In fact, you were almost entirely decisive on moving out as soon as possible. The only way you would even consider staying there again was if the police found and imprisoned the person who broke in.

They never did. The fingerprints they collected at the scene, as it turned out, were all yours. There was no indication of anyone ever having broken in. And with nothing stolen or damaged, they couldn’t continue the case and it was closed.

Up until months after you moved out, you were still bothered by vivid nightmares of that night. If you were ever home alone and it was dark, you would see grey nasty hands in the darkest corners. And you made sure from the on to never spend a stormy night alone ever again.

[werezmastarbucks]

guest

the reader opens up to her boyfriend about the demonic intruder haunting her at nights

tyler joseph x reader x kai parker

genre: horror

warnings: stalking

word count: 2950

music: ode to sleep by twenty one pilots, o come o come by tyler joseph

At night you put the drawer to the door and put your lava lamp on top. You fell asleep every time looking at the changing neon soft lights, to get woken up at three exactly, to the sound of his fists drumming on the door. Every night.

He’d come from the corridor, a tall shadow, as you once saw him, not in a hurry at all. He knew you wouldn’t run anywhere, not even through the window, because you were always afraid of getting too far out of it.

He’d walk down the corridor and to the door, and try to open it. Once he succeeded, and was inside your room, and you woke up, to see the silhouette standing above you. In the dark of night, he looked completely black. His eyes were vaguely glowing, and you were completely cemented in your place. People are generally divided into two groups when scared: those who scream, and those who freeze. There’s a legend that there’s also a thin layer in between, a group of people who fight, but you’ve never met one. The closest to that was your boyfriend.

You never told Tyler about the ghost hunting your house. You were scared to seem nuts; you had no proof and hasn’t caught it once, largely because the ghost was trying to catch you.

At school, you weren’t really the people’s favorite, so you just got through moderately peacefully by sticking with your best friend and your boyfriend.

What would you say anyway? Hey, Tyler. There’s this dude, he started manifesting himself at my house at nights. He’s invisible to everybody except me, and he always appears in the middle of the corridor, and walks to my room, and I don’t know what he wants to do with me, but he scares the shit out of me.

You were afraid he’d think you got some issues, and find someone better.

There wasn’t much you could do except put the drawer close to the door, and make it heavy, piling all your tings on top, and turn on the lava lamp to see when he comes.

Sometimes you thought it was all your imagination. You’ve heard that urban legend about a girl who thought her house was haunted. The things disappeared, and she heard voces constantly bothering her day and night. She saw shadow people lurking outside, trying to break inside the house, and one of them actually smothered her dog; when she realized she’s the only one seeing all of them, she took it upon herself to protect her family. That girl had a little sister, too, and didn’t want any harm to come upon her. Maybe she was a witch, or just had this thing that some people have. The kind of sensitivity for supernatural things. She was the only one who could defend her loved ones.

She got armed with a kitchen knife and attacked them the next time they tried to get inside. Strike, before they make a move. The girl allegedly spent a tough long afternoon chasing ghosts around her front yard, and killed all of them. To then discover they were, in fact, her family, and she’s been hallucinating the whole time.

That’s the kind of stories that were floating around in the town. No one would really believe you if you told what’s happening. Although your case was slightly different from that poor girl’s. The black shadow guy coming for you almost every night seemed to only have interest in you. It was like he was uncertain yet; that one time he actually got inside the room, he vanished, as you lay there, paralyzed by fear. You never managed to get rid of the sight of him, disproportionally tall, completely silent, watching you in bed. He seemed like he was about to bow, but you opening your eyes made him change his mind.

Other nights he was more persistent and you bet he regretted not having acted while he had a chance.

Usually he wouldn’t get past the door barricaded by the drawer.

You’d look at the lava lamp sending her orange, red, green and infernal blue light across the room, like it was a safe beacon of protective fire; as if it could actually stop him. While he hammered his fists on the door, pulling and twisting the handle, you held the blanket with your numb fingers. You were never religious so you never prayed. You had a strong feeling he wasn’t afraid of Jesus.

The worst thing was seeing the drawer move and wiggle when he pushed the door with his shoulder. Once, the lava lamp nearly tipped over, and you moaned with fear. Nobody heard anything in the morning, and that one time you screamed, unable to hold it inside anymore, you got in a big row with your parents.

Tyler took your fist and tried to undo it, to interlace his fingers with yours.

It was that hour after school when you’re not ready to go home yet, and the street seems gray even in the middle of the afternoon, and everybody looks like zombies.

Maybe I am going crazy after all. Thinking about stuff like that, and listening to depressing music, all those things at school weighing on you, made you feel like you were tied to the house, because the demon boy was there. You were afraid he’d do something to your family, too.

“You don’t seem like yourself these days”, Tyler complained, but his voice sounded pondering, as usual. He was a philosopher, this guy, always analyzing stuff and the words people say, reading into them.

“I don’t sleep well”, you said, putting your head on his shoulder. His soft black hoodie was warm even on the outside. His baggy clothes, his hands, like the lava lamp, seemed such a safe territory. You were scared he’d take it all away if you told him.

“Why?”

You knew Tyler had insomnia, too. He was suffering from regular headaches, turning into prolonged migraine, that started on the top of his head and cralwed down to the very base of his neck. You suspected he had some kind of injury he never spoke about. He did double work; taking care of you and fighting his own pain all the time. You knew it hurts even during the day. You read him when he suddenly put his head into his hands or stopped talking in the middle of the sentence. His silence was soft and dignified. He carried it well. You wished you could help him somehow. Sometimes he’d look so sad, such deep regret in his eyes, that you’d think it was something more serious that he let out.

Now you just needed him.

“I don’t know”, you shrugged.

“Huh. Doesn’t seem true”.

You hid a little guilty smile in the fold of his hoodie sleeve. Your arms vined around his shoulder, and you two watched the playground for some time, silently.

“Is something happening, Y/N?” he asked.

You felt bad.

“I don’t know”, you muttered again, like a dummy. “I’m sorry”.

You kissed his cheek as he tried to read you with his dark eyes. His ears caught your soft whisper.

I love you.

You heard the footsteps and rolled onto your back. Your elbows started hurting almost instantly as you tried to lift yourself up. Sleeping with the lava lamp on, you ruined your dreams completely, and you were sure the sleep wasn’t as healthy as it was supposed to be. You were dozing instead of sleeping, waking up every five minutes, horrible visions floating around.

You knew what came next. He stopped at the door, and for the hundreth time, you couldn’t believe it’s happening. How, in the rational boring world, do you get to have a night intruder vanishing in thin air, getting out of the darkness of your house like a vampire; why you?

The soft knock on the door didn’t, and wouldn’t wake your parents up. You were glad you didn’t have any pets; you didn’t want to imagine what he’d do to a dog barking at him.

Your heart pounding, you sat yourself, back to the wall, feeling the glossy smooth surface of a poster with your bare shoulder. Your own hand snaked up to your neck, holding the whimper inside the throat.

He knocked again, mockingly polite, as always. He never said a word, like he didn’t have a voice, which was way scarier.

Knock knock knock still sent a very clear mesage: let me in.

You just wished you’d get through your night routine as usual, and he’d leave again. You felt exhausted, old, thinking, you were slowly getting used to being haunted.

Suddenly, a hammering knock shuddered the door, and you jumped. The back of your neck started sweating. The lava lamp changed from orange to purple, the color you hated because it was too dark for the night. The people on your posters, smiling indifferently at you, they had no idea. They wouldn’t help.

Bang bang bang!

His hand was heavy. He was hitting the door like he was a drumming machine, at the fast pace as if trying to drive you crazy. The door stood, loyal and hard, but when he started colliding with it with his shoulder, it shook like carton.

Suddenly, the thing happened that hasn’t occurred before, and you put the hands to your mouth, feeling the blood pump in your ears.

The drawer actually moved.

He is getting stronger.

The lock clicked, and the door opened half an inch. Lava lamp tipped and fell on its side, banging on the wood, and you closed your eyes for a second.

You held your breath. The demon boy stopped. All of a sudden, there was whistling silence, and you heard the night wind outside. The narrow black line between the door and the wall was sucking the light out, the blackest you’ve ever seen, like space vaccum. Magnetizing your gaze.

You couldn’t sleep like that. The crack was big enough for him to watch you.

You crawled out of bed and listened again: nothing. Perhaps he exhausted himself opening the door. It seemed like he only had so much energy for one night.

Your knees were shaking violently as you stepped to the drawer and put the lamp back up. The jelly soft bubbles were drifting inside, like soulless clouds, casting neon colors on your face.

You reached for the door to push it back closed, having no desire to look into the crack... as your fingers touched the wood, a violent push crashed on it, moving the door and the drawer together. You jumped away, unable to hold a yell.

He was getting inside.

You crashed into the opposite wall. The drawer now stood almost sideways, and door was open wide enough for him to slither inside.

“Go away”, you begged.

“But I love you”, a voice said.

Your knees gave in, and you slid down on the floor, grouping so hard you could come off as a big cat. Your arms wrapped around your legs. He sounded hollow, alien, as if he was standing far away, wrapped in a plastic bag. The door moved a little, and he showed his head inside the room. Seeing him, a human looking guy, was so catastrophically sobering that your mind went numb.

He didn’t have horns or black eyes, or sharp teeth of a monster. His face wasn’t distorted or disfigured; he looked like a usual boy. Only, there was this predatory hungry look about him. Sadistic smirk curled his lips when he looked at you sitting on the floor.

“Go away”, you asked again. He cocked his head, mockery in his eyes.

“That’s a pretty lamp”.

He moved so sharply you jumped again, throwing yourself into another corner of the room, like a cat that doesn’t think at all. Your joints were burning, working to escape, but there was nowhere to run.

He held onto the door, and with the other hand, he snatched the lava lamp from the drawer. You didn’t look, pressing your face into the wall, but there was a characterisical click, and the room went dark.

He stole your lava lamp and stole your beacon light.

The walls of his house were stiff and reliable. You liked to be in Tyler’s room because of all the things connected to him. You appreciated his constant musing; some people even said he was a bit slow sometimes. Tyler was a bit sad. But the saddest people are the most precious when you make them smile, and you made Tyler smile a lot.

He was funny when he swung his baseball bat, pretending to be a bad boy, about to smash some heads. He had a quirky sense of humor that always entertained you in a way that stuck with you. He was special, and he was good, and you were completely fine with others not getting him.

You were looking at the baseball bat put against the wall next to the book case.

Tyler came into the room with the towel on his head, rubbing hard his short soft hair, and then threw in right onto the bed. You stood up, sighing, and tried to find a place to hang it.

“You’re messy”, you noted. Tyler puffed, disinterested.

“You okay? You never get up so early on a Saturday”.

“Uh-huh”.

“What did you wanna talk about?”

There was hope in his voice; obviousy. He wasn’t fooled by all the badly masked secrets you kept. Like an owl, he watched you closely, but never intruded, probably, trained well by his folks: he knew how much it sucks when someone is trying to get under your skin. Even his mom thought he was weird, while he was simply sanguine; so she bugged him constantly.

He patted the bed next to him, inviting you. You liked to sit close so that your thighs touched, you connected to him.

“I need to tell you about what’s going on in my house”.

Tyler was quiet.

“There’s someone... uh”.

Anything you’d say, it would come out fucking stupid. Like in a movie.

“There’s this person who comes to my house at nights and tries to get into my room. I’m the only one who can see him. At first I thought I was sick, but last night, Tyler, he took something from my room, and it isn’t there. I think he exists”.

His face hardened. Tyler changed; the expression of his usually kind demeanor was something you’ve never seen before. It was hostile, and for a moment, he felt very distant.

“What does he look like?” he asked, his voice low.

You were taken aback by his question. No ‘are you sure’, no ‘you mean like a ghost?’, no ‘is this a joke?’.

His arm went up your shoulder, and he hugged you, bringing you close as if to keep this conversation quiet and between you. You were getting a strange sensation.

“Y/N, what does he look like?”

“Like a boy. A usual, teenage boy. You believe me?”

“You should see yourself nowadays. You look tired and horrified”.

Tyler never called you ‘honey’, or ‘baby’. His ‘you’s said much more than that. Sometimes they communicated way more tenderness than any nickname.

“You spoke quietly, and then he said he’d stay with you for the night. He got very upset you didn’t tell earlier. His frustration at it seemed very deep; like something made him profoundly uncomfortable. You’ve also never seen peaceful, quiet Tyler so menacing.

He took the baseball bat with him.

“Shithead!”

A sound of broken glass pulled you out of sleep, vivid and simultaneously, ghostly. You couldn’t tell if you dreamt it or not.

The room was dark; without the lamp there was no way of telling who else was in here. You searched for Tyler next to you, and he wasn’t in bed. The sheets were stil warm, and you had a sensation of his skin under your hand.

You sat in your bed, dizzy. As your eyes got used to the dark, you finally realized the drawer is moved away from the door.

There was something happening in the upstairs bathroom.

You jumped off the bed. You couldn’t lose him. Tyler was yours.

You went to the door and opened it wide, stepping into the darkness. Few feet away, the narrow line of light was indicating someone was in the bathroom. Okay, maybe Tyler just knocked something over because he’s sleepy.

“Come here!”

His voice was hissing like a snake. He was whispering, but it sounded like the rain noise. Something bumped against the door, like there was a swift fight.

“Tyler!” you called.

Silence. Then, a sudden burst of laughter of that hollow, distant voice again. Your feet carried you on, and you pulled the handle, opening the door. Laughter rang in your ears, fading away in the depth of the house and your own brain. For a second, you were blinded and frightened by the light.

Your lava lamp sat on the edge of the bathroom sink, and Tyler was holding onto it, panting, his back humped like he’s been trying to outpower someone. But there was no one else.

His neck was covered in black, something that looked like blood, or oil, but was complete, vanta color, and it moved, as if darkness was consuming, coming up to his chin. Tyler’s jaws pressed together, and then he turned and looked at you - with the eyes of a stranger instead of his own. Like there was somebody else inside.

[mojofun]

Caution - Keep out of children's reach. Yes Sirius, you too (Sirius x Reader)

Hello everyone. This is an entry for a writing challenge I’m taking part in, launched by the awesome @approved-by-dentists​ for reaching 400 followers; congratulations again :) The prompts I chose were <<So you’re telling me you read the instructions and still managed to get this result?>><<I did! Okay, I tried… Well, I tried to want to?>> and <<How on Earth did I ever get so lucky to be loved by you?>>

It’s a piece of fluff set in absurd situation and it came to me after a rather disastrous trip to IKEA (I’m still laughing). Anyway, enough with the chatter. I hope you enjoy it!

Gif not mine, credits to @snuffles-padfoot07​

<<Shit, Y/N’s home, Y/N’s home!>>

Alarmed whispers and jarring sounds of moving furniture were what welcomed the H/C-haired girl in the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, and occasionally -much more often than one might think- his best friend.

Suspicious, to say the least.

The young woman took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for whatever could be waiting for her in the house. Her preparation should have been a little more physical, however, as all the years she’d spent with her other half should have taught her.

Maybe she decided to have some faith in him, even just a little…

That trust resulted in her almost face-planting against the floor after tripping over something. Luckily, two strong arms caught her before severe injures occurred

<<Y/N! Are you ok?>>

She tilted her head upward, meeting the young man’s steely grey eyes, filled with concern. 

Well, at least for that she could count on him.

The thought brought a smile to her face, but it was quickly wiped off her face when she took in the state of the room

<<What the hell, Sirius?>>

Cardboard boxes, sellotape shreds, bolts and screws littered the floor, along with some tools like hammers and… Was that a saw?

Parts of what she guessed were supposed to be chairs and a couch completed the mix. All in all, it looked like a jenga game gone wrong.

The sheepish twenty-something wizard awkwardly scratched the nape of his neck, avoiding her gaze

<<Well, you see…>>

<<Yes, I do see! The living room is a mess! Did a bomb explode in here or something?>>

In the corner James was crouching out of sight behind what should have been the back piece of the sofa

<<No, wait; a bomb would have caused less damage than you two>>

<<I’m sorry! We needed new chairs after the, uhm… Accident>>

Y/N crossed her arms, pinning him with a glare

<<Oh, you’re talking about the time you got drunk, changed into Padfoot and chewed all the legs off the furniture?>>

He gulped guiltily, still not looking at her.

Merlin knows what would have happened if Remus had not intervened to restrain him

<<Uh, yeah>>

<<And?>>

<<We went to that strange stores muggles call I… I…>>

<<I… What?>>

<<Wait, it’s on the tip of my tongue…>>

<<Su->>

<<Prongs, what the hell was it called?>>

<<I… Ig… Ice…>>

<<Are you two talking about IKEA?>>

<<YES!>> The two Marauders exclaimed in unison <<How did you know?>>

<<I’m a muggle born, remember?>>

Sirius smirked

<<Darling, how could I ever forget? My parents’ reaction when they found out I’m dating you will be forever burned in my mind>>

It was Y/N’s turn to grin at the prospect of stumping her significant other

<<Really now? Is that the only reason you are dating me, Sirius?>>

He rushed to her side, taking her hands in his and spewing reassurances so fast that she had trouble understanding him

<<No, of course not. I love you, your beauty, your sense of humor, your intelligence, your kindness…>>

Sirius was a little flustered; Y/N giggled

<<Are you done, darling?>>

<<Uhm, yeah>>

<<Good. Now, shall we take care of this mayhem together?>>

Both boys nodded fervently, making the female chuckle

<<Awesome. Will one of you hand me the instructions sheets, please?>>

That simple question was enough to make them freeze like two criminals caught red-handed

<<I’m scared of asking, but I’ll take the chance… What happened to those papers?>>

Her boyfriend looked like the statues outside the Hogwarts castle; his best friend hesitantly lifted his hand, pouting at a pile of scraps in the corner

<<What the hell?>>

Y/N suddenly had the feeling that she would be repeating that sentence a lot more during this absurd conversation

<<Well, you see…>>

<<No, this time I do not see! Why would you do that?>>

<<What makes you think it was me?>>

The young witch cocked an eyebrow, crossing her arms with a snort

<<Please: I’ve seen you in action as Padfoot>>

<<Alright… I may have chewed them out of frustration>>

<<Very mature>>

<<They were unintelligible! I was going crazy! I mean, look at this chair!>> He exploded, pointing at the piece of furniture by her side.

At first Y/N merely glanced at it, not finding anything out of the ordinary. Then, she froze; her brain refused to elaborate what she saw, so she slowly turned around again and came face to face with… An unusual sight, to put it nicely

<<What the hell?>>

Yes, the feeling was right

<<What is this? It looks like something out of a modern art museum!>>

In spite of themselves Sirius and James laughed, unable to hold back. Her glare brought them back in line though

<<Would one of you care to tell me why this damn chair has eight legs?>>

<<The drawings->>

<<Wait wait wait wait wait>> She held up a hand, trying to prepare herself again <<So you’re telling me you read the instructions->>

<<We read them!>> 

<<And still managed to get this result?>>

<<I did!>>

For the second time Y/N pinned him with a  harsh glare, making him squirm uncomfortably

<<Okay, I tried…>>

Her scowl worsened

<<Well, I tried to want to?>>

In the corner, James was still hiding behind the back piece of the couch.

The woman let out a long, frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose

<<I can’t believe you two…>>

<<Hey, did you expect us to understand Swedish?>>

<<The English version is written on the back, you idiots!>>

<<Oh>> They gaped

<<Don’t “oh” me>> The exasperated female scolded, taking in again the chaos the living room had been reduced to

<<There better be no more surprises in the house>>

<<Well, we were thinking of tackling the bed, but->>

<<No!>> She hastened to stop them <<You know what? Why don’t you two go buy groceries or something and I’ll deal with this… Octopus chair and the rest of your bedlam>>

At that, the other guy immediately ran out of the house, leaving his best mate to face his unnerved girlfriend. He just gave her an enormous smile and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her

<<How on Earth did I ever get so lucky to be loved by you?>>

<<The real question is, what did I ever do to deserve you?>> She mumbled in his chest, making him cackle

<<You lucked out, darling>>

<<It wasn’t a compliment, you dumbass>>

The coal-haired wizard let out a belly laugh, pecking her on the forehead

<<I don’t care what you did, but I am grateful you did it; my life wouldn’t be even half as wonderful without you in it>>

The S/C-skinned witch raised her face to look him in the eyes, smiling sweetly

<<You managed to placate my fury, but it’s not gonna last long, so I suggest you apparate as far away as you can while I can still keep my killing instincts at bay>>

<<Roger that, my love. I’ll see you later!>>

With that, he was gone.

Y/N chortled, shaking her head in amusement

<<Whatever it is I did, Sirius, I am immensely grateful I did it too…>>

She pulled out her wand and got to work.

A couple of hours later the house looked fit to live in again. All pieces of furniture had the correct number of legs and there was no litter on the floor; it was spic and span.

That was the sight that greeted Sirius when he decided to go back home. It made him smile as he headed to their shared bedroom.

There, he found his girlfriend lying on the bed, taking a rest after working out the mess he’d made. To make up for it he’d bought her a bunch of F/F and a plushie

<<Y/N?>>

<<Mh…>>

<<Darling, could you wake up a moment?>>

Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, stretching and yawning

<<What is it? What did you do now?>>

Chuckling, the young man revealed his surprise

<<Well, I wanted to give you something to thank you for being so wonderful to me and tolerating all the trouble I stir>>

The smile she gave him made him melt. She accepted the flowers but, before she could move a muscle, he put them in a vase that was somehow already on the bedside table.

The plushie made her giggle

<<Dear, it’s ok. You are a wonderful boyfriend, you just suck at putting together furniture.

You really need to learn, though>>

He furrowed in confusion

<<Why? We don’t need anything else from I… Ic… Ig…>>

<<IKEA, Sirius, and yes, we do need one more thing>> She informed him with another yawn, getting back under the covers

<<What would it be, my dear?>>

<<A crib>> She murmured.

Four letters.

That was all it took for a wizard who’d faced countless Death-eaters to freeze on the spot

<<A c- A cri- Y/N?! Are you->>

A teddy to the face was his answer

<<Yes, yes I am. Now let me sleep>>

The H/C-haired witch did not see the tears pooling in her boyfriend’s eyes, nor the humongous smile stretching his lips.

He lay down beside her and slowly, cautiously, rested his hand on her abdomen

<<How on Earth did I ever get so lucky to be loved by you?>>

That was the last thing he said before succumbing to sleep.

Sirius did not see her smile either, but he did feel her squeezing his hand.

He was looking forward to their next trip to Ic- Ih- whatever the hell that store was called.

[temilyrights]

the case of us (chapter nine)

Jack Sloane x Reader

Word Count: 3690

A/N: *posts despite not liking my own writing* It’s been three weeks, sorry! My inspiration for this story has dulled which sucks as there’s only a couple of chapters left. I hope you enjoy, finally some angst back! Anyway, as always, feedback is welcome and very much appreciated :)

Read on AO3

Chapter Eight  Chapter Ten

It was a good morning. You’d actually had a full night’s sleep and were feeling refreshed after finally getting a break from two straight weeks of heavy cases. The traffic had been amazing, which was unheard of, meaning you’d also had enough time to stop off at your favourite coffee shop and still arrived to work 15 minutes earlier than normal. You were beaming. Despite the heavy cases, there had been an energy building between you and Jack the last couple of weeks. The soft smiles and touches growing more often. Ellie had noticed too. She kept sending you smirks from across the bullpen any time Jack appeared, and you knew she was holding back from asking questions. 

Your mind constantly played over the morning in the diner after she’d returned from San Diego, both of you lingering too long in a hug and the way her fingers had stroked the inside of your wrist at one point when you’d been eating. A smile brightens up your face as you think about it. You’d decided last night that you were finally going to do it. You were going to ask Jacqueline Sloane out on a date.

As you got off the elevator, wiping the remains of a pastry from your mouth and taking a sip of your coffee, you were surprised to see Ellie, Nick, and Jimmy all surrounding Tim and his desk talking in hushed whispers. 

Jimmy was the first to notice you, alerting the others to your presence with a too-loud “Y/N!” that had them all whipping around to face you. Your step momentarily falters in surprise before you continue on the route to your desk. 

“Fancy seeing you here.” Jimmy laughed and you could see the others physically cringe. Nick looked like he wanted to slap him over the head.

“In the bullpen of the place I work. How shocking...” sarcasm drips from your tongue as Jimmy releases a nervous laugh.

“What Jimmy means is you’re earlier than usual, that’s all.” Ellie jumps in.

“Ok well, whatever this is” you wave your hand in their direction. “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be involved so can we-”

“Hey, did you guys hear about Jack’s new girlfriend?” The others all groan, Nick releasing a few swear words as Jimmy says a nervous ‘oh boy’. Your head snaps around to stare at Kasie who’s just entered the bullpen. She freezes as she takes in everyone’s reactions, her gaze finally settling on you as she breathes a quiet ‘oh’. 

“Jack’s got a girlfriend?” Your voice is strangled as your heart drops into your stomach. She couldn’t, could she? You would have noticed; she would have said something. Had you been imagining everything for the last couple of weeks? Your mind swarms as your gaze turns to the team. 

Kasie, now frozen in fear, looks to the rest of the team for help as they all try to avoid both yours and her gaze. Finally, Ellie sighs meeting your eyes. “There’s a rumour going around...Agent Gomez saw Jack getting coffee with a woman yesterday after work, and they seemed pretty cosy. Apparently, there was even a kiss.”

“Right.” You lower yourself into your chair. Right ok. You take a deep breath trying to calm yourself as your hands skim over your desk and you attempt to keep yourself together, everyone watching you closely. 

“It’s just a rumour though I mean-”

“Whatcha guys talking about?” Jack’s voice chimes into the bullpen as she joins the group by Tim’s desk, flashing that megawatt smile of hers. For fuck sake. This is what you get for having a good morning. 

“Oh, just discussing the case from yesterday.” Tim jumps in before anyone can say anything. You’re still focused on your desk, unable to lift your head and see her but if you did you know you’d see her smile dim slightly, aware of the tension in the room and the obvious lie. 

Jimmy and Kasie quickly make themselves sparse, rattling off an excuse about needing to start work. You feign interest in your computer, listening but not joining the conversation between the team and Jack. She starts laughing and you automatically lift your head, captivated by the pure joy in her voice and face. You grimace and you’re pretty sure your heart breaks at that exact moment. 

Jack must notice your unusual expression as she makes her way over to your desk, perching herself on the edge. Your heart starts hammering. “Hey, you okay?” 

You offer her a small smile “Yeah. Just a bad morning I guess.” It’s a flimsy excuse but it may have worked if Jack’s eyes hadn’t found the coffee cup sitting beside you. She looks back at you, confusion clear because she knew that you only put in the effort to go all the way to Amour’s Coffee House on a good morning.

“Sure ok. Did you want to get lunch together today?” Jack bites her lip, subtitling playing with her hands and you’re surprised to see the nerves she’s usually so good at hiding. 

Did you want to get lunch? The opportunity to spend a whole 45 minutes (bar an interruption) with just Jack, you’d usually jump at the chance but...was she going to tell you about her new girlfriend? You don’t think you’re ready to hear the news from her yet, you need time to process, to be able to hide your obvious disappointment because she’d expect you to be happy for her. You should be happy for her. How did you get it all so wrong?

“I can’t today. Maybe tomorrow?” You offer and the way Jack’s face drops in disappointment is almost enough to make you reconsider. 

“Yeah no problem, anyway I should get back to work.” Jack stands, hands signalling in the direction of her office, her eyes still watching you closely, clearly confused by this whole conversation. You try to smile but it doesn’t meet your eyes. Jack just nods before turning and walking away. 

After she’s turned the corner you breathe a sigh of relief. Looking up, you notice that everyone’s finally sitting at their desks, they all offer you sad and understanding smiles. Nick goes to say something, but you cut him off before he can. 

“Nope. Whatever you’re about to say, don't.” 

“Y/N-”

“Nope. I’m not talking about this with any of you. It is what it is, let's all just move on.” 

----

You’d known you hadn’t exactly been subtle with your feelings towards Jack. You just didn’t know, apparently, the whole of NCIS knew as well if the pitiful looks you’d been getting the whole day were anything to go by. If there was one thing about NCIS you hated was how quickly gossip travelled.

“Poor Agent Y/N. She must be devastated.” You tense, stopping yourself from turning the corner into the break room as you hear your name. 

“And to find out from rumours as well? You should have seen her face when they told her.” You didn’t recognise the voices of either of the agents, but their grievous tones were enough to make your stomach crawl. 

“Poor girl. Such a pity really. I wonder what Agent Sloane thinks about it all. Do you think she knows?”

Your eyes are squeezed shut as you listen, so you don’t notice when Gibbs enters the break room from the other side. It’s not until he clears his throat, halting the women's conversation that your eyes snap open. He’s directing his piercing blue glare at them, and he doesn’t need to say anything, as the 2 agents quickly hurry out of the room. They duck their head in shame when they notice you but don’t apologise just hurry up their exit.

“T-Thank you.” You manage a small smile, stepping into the room and hoping Gibbs doesn’t notice the way your voice falters.

“Don’t mention it.” Gibbs surprises you by pulling you into a one-armed hug that you immediately relax into. “Coffee?” Gibbs asks as you pull away, sniffing and quickly wiping away the tear that had managed to escape. 

“Yeah, sure.”

Gibbs goes to get the drinks while you return to your desk and focus back on the report you’d been working on before you’d gone in search of food. Which reminds you that you still hadn’t eaten. Your stomach continues to make noises of protest and you swear you could smell grilled cheese which is obviously just your imagination, but it’s rude because it’s totally what you would have ordered if you’d gone to lunch with Jack.

The smell was only getting stronger and you look up to see if one of the others was eating only to be surprised to see Jack standing by Ellie’s desk talking to the younger woman. Your eyes zero in on the brown paper bag in Jack’s hand, there was a grease mark in one corner and your mouth waters.

Your eyes break away when you hear Jack’s laughter and heat prickles at your cheeks when you realise she’s laughing at you. “See something you like?” Her wicked smirk only makes your blush brighter as she saunters over to your desk and perches in her spot. You don’t know how to respond so instead release an awkward laugh that makes one of Jack’s brows shoot up and really it should be illegal to look this good. “I know you said you couldn’t do lunch, so I thought I’d get you something cause I know you haven’t eaten yet.” Jack’s smile is soft and caring as she hands you the sandwich.

“Thank you.” You grin, opening up the bag and pulling out the grilled cheese. You take a bite and moan as you savour the glorious taste of the strong cheese. “Oh, this is good.” You say after swallowing your mouthful. When you look at Jack you notice she’s got a light blush covering her cheeks. You frown but before you can question her Gibbs strolls over and hands you the coffee he’d gone to get you and then the realisation of why he’d gone to get you the coffee comes back as well. 

“Thanks, Gibbs.” The wide smile you had on your face disappears, replaced by a much smaller one as you accept the drink

“Oh, I see how it is, get me to get you food, Gibbs to get your coffee. Should we get Nick to do your paperwork next?” Jack laughs, rolling her eyes playfully at you. Her smile dulls, confusion clouding her face when she notices you’re no longer smiling. 

“Even if I was willing to do her paperwork, she’d double-check everything I’d written afterwards anyway.” Nick’s words erupt laughter from the rest of the team, and you feel your blush rising again.

“Just because I have standards.” You snark, sticking your tongue out at Nick who makes a noise of mock outrage. You can feel Jack watching you closely still but you avoid her eyes, instead, burying your face in the grilled cheese. You pay for that though when you take a too-large bite and it burns your tongue. 

“Ow! shit!” You splutter as you spit the mouthful into the trash bin behind you when you turn back around Jack’s already holding out your water bottle which you quickly accept and down half of it. She was always there for you, helping whenever you needed it. God, you don’t know how you’re going to be able to get through this without letting her know. 

“And that’s why we blow our food,” Jack says condescendingly but her eyes dance with humour. 

“Well, I didn’t do it on purpose, did I?” You don’t know where the words came from. Jack rears back in surprise, her mouth hanging open in shock at your sharp tone. You can feel your face heating up with embarrassment and you’re beginning to feel overwhelmed by how close Jack is as your mind screams ‘Girlfriend! Girlfriend! Girlfriend!’. The others are shooting you surprised looks and you gulp, shaking your head. “Sorry, I uh,” The concern in Jack’s face is too much and you feel tears building behind your eyes. “I’ve just gotta…” You stand up from your desk, Jack tries to reach out for you but you move too fast as you head away from the bullpen. 

“Y/N!” Jack calls after you, shock still evident in her voice, but you don’t turn around, just lower your head and keep walking.

You end up on the roof of all places. The soft breeze ruffles your hair and you begin to relax as you rest against the brick wall. Holding your head in your hands, shame rushes through you. You desperately needed to get control of your emotions before you fucked everything up. Frustrated tears begin to fall down your cheeks and you wipe them away as you release a loud groan. 

You needed to get a hold of yourself. Get through the day, go home and then you could cry. Let your emotions take control for a few hours and then peace yourself back together and be the friend Jack thought you were. Be supportive of her and her new girlfriend and not let your crushing disappointment show. Ever. 

The door opens from next to you and you quickly push yourself off the wall ready to make your exit when you notice it’s Ellie. You sigh and lean back against the wall as she comes and leans beside you. 

“Is she pissed?” You ask as you anxiously chew your lip, looking off into the distance instead of at the woman next to you. 

“No. She’s confused,” Ellie dips her head slightly. “And maybe also a little hurt.” 

“Oh.” You sigh. “I’ll apologise. I just needed to get out of there.” You don’t know how you’re going to apologise. Hey, sorry I snapped at you. I just found out you have a girlfriend and I’m terribly jealous and upset because I thought there was something between us? You couldn’t lie to her either. She’d see through it instantly. 

“She wanted to follow. Gibbs stopped her and then Izzy phoned again.” 

Your heart drops into your stomach, a lump forming in your throat. “Izzy?”

“Yeah. She’s been phoning all day.” 

Understanding rushes through you. “She’s Jack’s girlfriend.” It made sense. You’d mistaken Jack’s happiness of having a new girlfriend, of reconnecting with Izzy, as excitement for you. You’d been so stupid. Of course, it was Izzy. It was always Izzy. 

“What? No way. Jack’s been avoiding her calls.” 

You shake your head, trying to keep the tears that were threatening to fall again at bay. “They met up again when she was in San Diego. They went out for drinks.” 

“That doesn’t mean they’re now dating.” 

“God Ellie, I’ve been such a fool. I was going to ask her out today. I thought…” You trail off, wiping away tears as they trickle down your cheeks. “I really thought she might…” Your eyes blur with tears and Ellie pulls you into a hug as you cry into her shoulder. Ellie squeezes tighter as your cries grow louder. 

“Hey, It’s going to be okay. Maybe you should talk-”

“No.” You shake your head, pulling away from her arms and wiping the tears from your cheeks. “She can’t ever know.”

“Y/N-”

“No.” The venom in your tone surprises her. “I’ll be fine. Her and Izzy have a history if there’s a chance Jack can be happy; I'm not going to jeopardize that.”

“And what about your happiness?”

You shrug. “I’ve done this before. I can do it again. I’ve never been great at relationships anyway, maybe this is all for the best.”

“For the record, I think you’re making a mistake.”

“I’m making the choice I can live with. I can’t risk losing her Ellie.”

Ellie wants to say more. She was convinced this was all a big misunderstanding because she’d seen the way you two looked at each other. There was just no way Jack didn’t feel the same things you did, and Ellie would bet her job on it. She doesn’t say anything though, knows there’s no use trying to fight you on this. She sighs. “Okay.”

“Okay.” You breathe a sigh of relief. “Let’s get back to work.”

Ellie nods. You send her off to the bullpen while you head to the bathroom, fixing what remains of your makeup and making sure you didn’t look like you’d been crying. You head to the good coffee shop down the street and grab some for the whole team, an apology for your outburst that they all happily accept. 

Taking a deep breath and squaring your shoulders, you ascend the stairs to Jack’s office. Every part of you was screaming that you should run in the opposite direction, avoid her for as long as possible until you could get over your feelings for her, but you knew she didn’t deserve that and you don’t think you’d even have the willpower to do it. 

Jack’s sitting at her desk, biting the hangnail on her thumb. She’s looking at a folder, but you can tell she’s not taking anything in. You knock lightly on the door, swallowing roughly when Jack looks to you, her eyes a sea of emotions. She doesn’t speak. 

Stepping further into her office, you place the coffee cup on her desk in front of her. “I’m sorry... about my outburst.” You can barely hold her eyes. Jack takes the coffee, taking a sip as she waits for you to continue. “I don’t know what came over me. It was totally unprofessional-” 

 “Unprofessional?” Jack’s brows shoot up, shock and hurt seeping into her tone. “I don’t give a crap about professionalism. I care about you.” Your eyes squeeze shut as your stomach flutters. “I care about what made you so upset.” Jack gets up from her chair, shutting her office door before coming to stand beside you. She grabs your hand turning you so you face her. Pulling together all the confidence you can muster you meet her eyes, removing your hand from hers. You miss Jack’s hurt look as you wrap your arms around your waist and take a breath. 

“I got some bad news this morning.” Jack’s eyes widen and you can see the panic rushing across her face as worse and worse scenarios run through her head. “I’m fine.” You rush to explain. “I just didn’t expect it and it shook me a bit. I took it out on you and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.” It’s the closest to the truth you could think of without giving anything away. 

Jack knows something isn’t quite right. You were never cryptic with her. “Maybe I can help? What happened?” 

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t help, not this time.” 

Her brows furrow in confusion. “Did you want to talk about it?” 

“It’s fine, really. I just need to forget about it and move on.” And be the friend you expect me to be.

Jack steps forward, reaching for your hand again. You squeeze your eyes shut as they fall to focus on the floor instead of Jack whose concern was only growing. “Hey,” Her fingers touch your chin, forcing your face up again to meet her eyes. “Y/N. Come on, talk to me.” 

You move your face from her reach. You definitely should have waited till tomorrow to have this talk when the wounds were at least a little less fresh and when you had a proper story prepared. “I should be getting back to work.” Jack’s hand tightens on yours, stopping you from pulling out of her grasp. You sigh. “Look, I am sorry for snapping at you. I really am but I’m fine. There’s nothing to talk about.” 

Jack looks at you closely, brows furrowing as she analyses you. “Why have you hardly looked me in the eye since you got in here?” 

You tense. You desperately needed to get out of this room. “I…” You clear your throat as you try to think of something to say. Jack’s mobile starts ringing from where it sits on her desk and you have to stop yourself from breathing a sigh of relief. However, when she doesn’t make any effort to move, still completely focused on you, you speak up. “You should get that. It could be important.” Could be Izzy.

“They’ll phone back if it is.” You could see Jack’s impatience growing as she crosses her arms across her chest. You force yourself to meet her gaze, guilt churning in your stomach when you see the hurt in her eyes. 

The phone stops ringing. The room is completely silent as you stare at each other. You don’t know what to say, how to get through this without letting her know about the pain you were feeling, about how disappointed and embarrassed you were because you’d been convinced she felt the same way. Tears begin building behind your eyes and you sigh. “Jack-”

The phone starts ringing again and Jack releases a frustrated sigh as she looks between you and her phone. “Don’t move.” She says and makes her way over to pick up her phone.

You needed to get the hell out of this room. You dig your phone out of your pocket and then turn to Jack. “We got a lead. I’ve got to go.” You speak quietly, as to not to disturb her call, signalling to the door. 

Jack shakes her head, rolling her eyes. Pissed at your obvious lie. “Sorry one second.” She removes the phone from her ear, holding it against her chest. “This isn’t over.” 

You don’t respond, just duck your head, and make your way out of her office. Everything was going to be fine. Jack would drop the subject soon, especially if you could act normal. Which you could. Easily. Tomorrow you’d bring coffee and pretend everything was fine and try to distance yourself a little. Not enough for Jack to notice but enough that you didn’t feel like you were drowning. 

This was going to be difficult, but it was the right thing to do.

[siegelst]

NOS4R2 2X05 SPOILERS BEWARE  Rating: 6/6

This episode was a crazy car ride for the 5th episode of Season 2. There was a lost of struggles and action throughout the episode and you do feel awful for Vic cause she is fighting for her son and you just want her to win this time.  this a fast pace episode with different perspective to help explain the story better which helped a lot cause so much is happening in this episode. Even bad stuff happen in this episode - this was the best episode in season 2. 

We do end up seeing the past of Wayne and Vic’s background and how her being the role of the mother went and how the pregnancy went which did effect me enough that i was holding my breath.

Lou and Wayne talk and Lou stress that neither of his parents are mad at him which is a great way to allow your kids to say the truth and not be afraid to do so. Please do this yall.

Sandglass man *his name is Jonathan. BECKETT* plays his part on the chessboard and how he uses his powers . Beckett tells the 2 FBI to shoot at the people in the cabin. what was a weird moment was the sandglass has ran out of sand the*tw: shots*  FBI end themselves. *end tw: shots*  

Chris get shot in the leg by the FBI.  Lou & Wayne get out of the house due to sleep gas.  Lou vs. Bing. Bing wins. and put kid in the wraith.  Manx is creepy as ever and people might hate him more after this episode.

Vic enters the game by the Shorter Way Bridge - sees Lou and finds Manx who then drive off with Wayne & hits Vic with his car.  they do a good job of combine flashbacks of Wayne’s past.  We then Manx hits her with a hammer. Why Vic keeps getting back up? idk I would just play dead XD. We do get a sense of Book!Manx in this episode cause every time he talks to Vic I just want to hit him with a shovel.

The episode every time it has a break it shows different point of views. the 1st - the camera follows Wayne around so we see his POV. The 2nd was Vic’s POV. 3rd was Bing’s POV &Wayne POV.  4th was Vic’s POV.  that was an interesting take cause so much is happening in this episode that we see the different perspective in both the good people and the villains pov.   Vic trying to talk and get her kid from the wraith was crazy pace we see the urgency of that moment.  It is fast and it is troubling to watch cause Manx is mean and Bing is sick mthfcker.  I could feel how fast pace shows how crises, urgency and unstablilty of how the situation is.

We see the very off childish manner of Bing - when Manx orders him to gas the kid so he can sleep to CL. Bing hates the kid cause Bing wanted to go to CL too and Bing himself doesn’t seem to see how double meaning when Manx said he was planing a feast for him. *the ONLY good thing he said so far*

 At Same time - Bing is having a terrible talk with Wayne.  Flashbacks happen to Vic and Wayne seemingly good childhood before he falls asleep by the gas.  Vic also hit Manx and attack the wraith before being shooed away by shots fired.

Wayne tries escape the car but useless - Lou is back -  tries to break into the car by smash the windows with only the front Windows do CRACK.

we go back to Vic’s POV and we see the part she sees Lou trying to get Wayne out of the car WHILE Manx is up and baiting her about how bad a parent she is before going after Lou. and Bing says NASTY stuff to Vic. Bing SHUTUP.

Lou Vs. Manx. Manx wins and tells kid that Lou might come with them to CL. NOOOOO. The fight between Manx vs. Lou - i thought was brutal and would defiantly traumatize Wayne, and I don’t see how Wayne even WANTS to be with Manx at all.

Manx seem to be baiting at Vic when he could just drive off.  It seems he is hoping to see her get out of hiding, and at the same time seem to know where she is at in the water. Chris SHOTS BING and Manx. but Bing ain’t dead. Manx drives off with Wayne - ditching Bing in the end and off they go to ChristmasLand, * Lou wasn’t in the trunk.*. they gone and BIng is wondered off somewhere with a loaded gun and gas. Bing seem SO surprised that Manx ditched him. Really hoe really?

Interesting Manx talks his time in 8 year coma and how he hears the kids in CL, he also turns it back to Wayne cause Wayne did call on Manx to pick him up. We do see him turn around and talk to Wayne and Wayne notice the car driving by itself. Wayne even says ‘he doesn’t want to go to CL which charlie tries to manipulate him. 

Vic chases car but she crashes into Beckett’s ugly car - hurting her bike/knife - and they end up in the hospital later on. Yikes.  We go back similar to the start episode cause Vic is calling for her kid and that just tugs at anyone’s emotions. Vic’s mum is back. yay. 

[The acting:  Just a critique on the kids acting because why? Critique helps you become better!

While i was rooting for Wayne a lot, I don’t really felt the ‘urgency or being frightened, or the ‘OHMYGOWD IM BEING KIDNAPPED HELP!’ when he was yelling for his parents and when he was warning them. it felt like he was warning them about wasps or something and not a serial killer who is about to beat them dead. I felt he was just saying his lines. If he could have just idk forget the other actors and try to believe he was really being kidnap and start screaming his heart out in the backseat it would have hit more for me. and i didn’t felt the urgency of when he discoverers Manx is beating his mum or when VIc got hit by Wraith or the White Car.   but Hey maybe it was that violent auror surrounding bing that probably kept him from going bonkers.  Manx hurting his dad though - i think i too would freeze if i saw that at a young age, it was disturbing. ]

This be the 1st time I will say this was a tiring episode because it felt like you went through what the whole McQueen family went through and you just tired but this was the best episode so far. I would put 2x05 as the top episode and 2x02 next. 

be interesting to know what Manx and Wayne talk about in the car and how Manx would try to control Wayne once they get there. Guessing the Christmas ornament Wayne saw in the tree ‘bat ornament’ would be his ornament?  

I also want to know what has Millie been up to when we weren’t at CL.

Season 1 seemed to be on moderate speed where as season 2 is speeding up rapidly.

[myhauntedsalem]

911 Operators Describe the Most Disturbing Calls they’ve Ever Taken

1. “Daddy’s Eye Fell Out”

“Had a call for a brother who killed his other brother with a hammer (the pick part) while the victim’s little daughter was watching. The daughter called us from another room and told us her daddy’s eye fell out.

Perp was apprehended, daughter taken by relative. Had to smoke after that one, and I don’t even smoke.”

– rainbowbrite0091

2. “I Need your Help”

“There was an old couple who lived on a run-down ranch house about 20 miles east of town. When the husband passed away, the woman would call 911 at least three times a week, asking for assistance with very mundane tasks not normally dealt to first responders. “I need help turning the thermostat up”, “I need help boiling water for my tea”, etc.

The woman developed dementia, and eventually, it progressed to the point where she believed she was calling 911 to ask her deceased husband for help. All of the dispatchers would recognize the address immediately, even though all she could say was “(husband’s name), I need help. Please come home and help me”

One day she called, and again was only able to repeat her husband’s (I’ll call him “John”) name. “John, I need help. Please come home and help me John.” By the time the first responders arrived on scene, they found the woman lying dead in her bed. The first unit on scene called dispatch to confirm that it was the woman herself who had called 911, as rigor Morris had already set in. We wrote it off as the fact that the heater in her house wasn’t working, and the ambient temperature in the room was about 50 degrees.

We continued to receive 911 calls from that woman, at that address for just over a year after she passed away. Even after her home was vandalized, and burned to the ground, the phone calls did not stop. “John, I need your help. John, please come home and help me.” We were obligated to send a response each and every time, but not once did we find anyone on or near the property.

Multiple calls to the phone company confirmed that the phone line had been disconnected, and the call was not coming from another address.”

– Nevadadrifter

3. Glass Breaking

“1979 NYC. Got a call from a crying child – a little boy – saying his mom and dad were fighting and his dad said he was going to throw the mom out of the window. I could hear a terrible fight going on in the background – woman screaming, things breaking, man yelling, etc. The poor kid didn’t know his address. We didn’t have the technology for call ID and would have to use reverse telephone books. A trace would take forever. Anyway while I’m trying to get the address I hear a horrific scream and glass breaking. A few seconds later the other operators in the room are getting calls about a woman lying in the courtyard who came out of a window. Very sad.

Worst of all is that I am sure someone else in this apartment building must have heard this fight but no one called for help until it was too late. Poor kid. Working 911 in NYC during the 70s/80s was a nightmare.”

– Mizcreant908

4. Alone in the House

“The single worst call I’ve ever taken though was a woman who was calling in that she was hearing weird noises in her house. While walking through her house she started screaming and told me there was someone in her house. There we a couple soft pops followed by a gargling sound. After the officers had cleared the house and found her, it finally came out during the investigation that her adult son had killed her while high and freaking out.

Gunshots don’t sound like you’d think on the phone, they’re rather soft. It’s an eerie sound, something so violent being so soft that if you aren’t paying attention you can miss it.”

– 4x49ers

5. Static on the Line

“My uncle works for dispatch in my town and he recently told my family of the weirdest call he’s ever gotten. He says that he had received a call from a landline one night and when he answered it there was only static on the other end. This happened two more times. Finally, he calls a squad to go check out the address from the caller ID. When the cops got there and walked into the house they immediately saw that there was a dead body. The person had been dead for 5 months.

The craziest part about it was that there was no electricity or any other utility working. So there is no way they should have been able to get those calls into dispatch. But if they hadn’t, who knows how long that person’s body would have stayed there.”

– Zombie_Dance_

6. A Long Raspy Exhale

“Christmas Eve night I answered 911 for a hysterical lady who was crying so hard she couldn’t breathe. I asked her what was going on and she told me these exact words “my boyfriend and I… we were watching a movie… I fell asleep. I woke up and he wasn’t here.”

I thought this was a little odd so I said, “okay ma’am, do you know where he may have went?” she wasn’t done. She said, “I found him.. in our closet, he hung himself.. with our bed sheets.” I walked her through cutting him down and starting CPR. when in the middle of it, he starts making this long raspy exhale that sounds exactly like something from a horror movie, it’s the rest of his air leaving his lungs. She starts getting hysterical again begging him, “oh my god, he’s breathing, please breathe baby, please breathe..” But I knew that’s not what he was doing.

Police/fire/ambulance got there and of course, the guy was way dead. I felt so bad for that woman. That’s really the only call that has ever stuck with me.”

– JeCsGirl

7. Halloween Night

“My mom was a 911 dispatcher in the early 90’s (I was 5 years old-ish) in Washington State. When I got older, I remember asking her about some of the calls that she could still recall. One in particular was pretty bad. She was working one year on Halloween night and around 10 or 11pm she had a call come in that a couple guys were driving around town with a dummy or something dragging behind their truck. The dummy was falling apart and pieces of clothing/plastic were being torn off and scattered around the city.

Being Halloween, it seemed like a prank but she had a patrol car try to find and stop the truck. As time goes by more and more people started to call in about it. Eventually the patrol car caught up with the truck and it turns out that it was a person.

The guys had gone to a store earlier and when they left, they had backed their truck into an elderly man whose clothes got caught in the rear bumper or whatnot. The two guys never even knew that they were dragging around another human being all across town, for miles.

The elderly man had passed away and those pieces of clothing scattered around town, was his clothing, flesh, and body parts. Still gives me chills.”

– Turkeyshoes

8. The Man in the Attic

“I worked dispatch for a total of three months, and in that three months I only received one call I would call creepy. It was the voice of a little boy, and I was trying to be calm because it felt like he was having a hard time breathing. I asked him if he was in danger and he said no, not anymore. I asked him why he had called and he said “well, the man in the attic finally killed my mom. I asked him if he could still see his mom and he said “no, the man took her to the moon” I asked him if he was alone in the house, to which he replied “no, I still have the mans dog here” I asked him what the doggies name was in the hopes I could keep the boy calm, the boy replied “his name is shaitan” I asked him to say it again thinking he said “satan” but he clearly replied “its shaitan”. By the end of the call, the police showed up and I still don’t know what ever happened with the boy and his mother.

But years later I was researching the Djinn/jinn and according to ancient texts, evil spirits like djinn are able to manifest themselves as a dog or other animals and guess what the djin were known as? Shaitan.

I still have a hard time sleeping at night when I think about this call.”

– Mr–Night

9. Possessed

“I was a 911 call taker 10 years ago when I received one of the creepiest calls ever. It was freezing that night, which usually equaled a calm, quiet shift due to even the criminals not wanting to go outside. Around 3am my call box popped up green and as usual I asked what was the emergency. A man starting frantically screaming that his still was possessed by a demon and tried to cut his heart while he slept. He had ran when the attack started and locked himself in his bathroom. I ask him a series of questions trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

I ask him a series of questions trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Everytime he tried to answer I heard what sounded like scratching and banging on the bathroom door. He whispered “There is a demon in my sister’s body, it has been battling me for days. It got free from the chains…” I swear what I heard next chilled me to the core. This unearthly voice began taunting my caller through the door. It didn’t sound like a 20-something woman. It was low and guttural, like she had gargled razor blades before speaking. She continued to growl and speak in a strange sounding language until police arrived. She let out a terrifying scream when the officers broke in, then dead end.

The call was over, I was shaking and had to know what happened? Even my supervisor (who had been listening to the call in real time) was pale and speechless when the line abruptly ended. Before my shift ended the commanding officer on my creepy call called in to tell me what they found. He told me he would have nightmares for the rest of his life.

Apparently, when my caller said his sister got out of her chains, he wasn’t joking around. She still had a chain tied to a bloody handcuff when the officers came in. Her whole body was covered in self-inflicted scratches, her one eye had popped a blood vessel and was bright red. Most of what she was wearing was also shredded and her skin looked like she had been drained of her blood. She was taken in for a psych consult and as you probably guessed, stayed there for a long time. The brother was okay except for deep gouges in his chest. His sister literally tried to dig out his heart.

There was some talk about arresting the brother but nothing ever came of it. I still can vividly remember that voice, it still makes my blood run cold.”

– QueenoftheNorth82

[adventuresofninnaly]

The adventure begins!

Ninnaly woke up in cold sweat. Nightmares again, this time about a giant, black dragon attacking Helgen. Why Helgen? Why Dragons?! There haven’t been any dragons in centuries, if there were any to being with! Only stories for children.

She noticed the sun had start to rise, so she sat up in the bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stretched her stiff body and yawning. She grabbed her worktunic and headed out of her bedroom, and down the stairs. She threw some firewood on the firepit, and casted a simple fire-spell on it. “Being raised by a former battle-mage surely had it’s perks.” Ninnaly said quietly with a slight smile on her lips. She sat down and started heating some water for her tea and grabbed a piece of bread. “I will try to remember buying some food later, before I go home from work” she thought. “but knowing myself, I’ll probably forget.”.

Ninnaly sighed and dropped down some lavender, a few juniper berries cut in half and a few drops of honey in her cup and poured some water on top. She started thinking back to her time in Helgen. She hadn’t been there in four years, since she first arrived in Skyrim. The innkeeper Vilod was nice enough to let her stay for as long as she needed, in exchange for helping him with his inn. It was Vilod who had teached her how to make the Lavender and Juniper berry tea. The honey was her own idea, being a sucker for all things sweet. Well, almost everything. She disliked sweetrolls. They looked weird, and was too sweet. Taking a sip of her tea and relaxed a bit in her chair.

“I should take a week and go visit old Vilod” She thought. “Would be a nice surprise for the old fool”. Taking a sip of the tea. “But that will have to wait until next month. I have to travel to Falkreath and deliver some alchemy ingredients to ‘Grave Concoctions’.” she exhaled and took a big gulp from the cup. “After that, I should have enough coin to buy myself a horse. Which will make my job so much easier, and I can carry a greater shipment”.

She sat down the now empty cup, took her waterskin, coinpurse and headed out. She was greeted by an amazing weather, for once it wasn’t freezing cold and raining. The birds chirped and the town had started to move. Adrianne had already started to hammer away at some order from the Imperial Legion. The children of Whiterun was already running around and playing tag. A great day, with other words.

Ninnaly headed to Arcadia’s Cauldron, grabbed the supplies and headed towards the gate. The pouch was fairly lightweight for once. Unlike that time she had accepted a request to pick up a shipment for Adrianne last month, down in Riverwood. Adrianne had forgot to mention that Ninnaly was supposed to bring Ulfberth with her, for the extra muscle. Oh well. At least now on the way back from Falkreath she could maybe get a foot in the newly opened shop in Riverwood and get a customer there too.

The trip to Falkreath was awfully uneventful, only a small fight between the Legion and the Stormcloaks. Ninnaly helped heal the wounded Imperial soldiers after the battle had ended. Ninnaly, being a half-elf, she didn’t sympathize much with Ulfric and his thugs. The leader of the small group asked if she wanted to join the Legion, but answered that she didn’t quiet make the cut. Ninnaly was both skilled in swordsmanship and spellcasting, but not enough at the time. The captain said he would recommend her, which may give her some extra leverage. After healing the troops and sharing a meal and some stories, the captain asked where Ninnaly was heading. “To Falkreath, gotta deliver a shipment.” “Is that so?” he said. “We were heading there ourselves, and as you probably can tell, that there are Stormcloaks in the area.” “Do you want company, miss?” He asked politely. “Yes, on the condition you don’t call me miss again.” Ninnaly responded teasingly. Together with the small band of Legionnaires, Ninnaly continued towards Falkreath. They continued to share stories, but keeping their guards up.

Arriving to Falkreath, the group of Legionnaires went their own way towards the Jarls keep. And Ninnaly went to ‘Grave Concoctions’. Delivering the goods. She was amazed of just how many kinds of poisons and deadly concoctions there actually is.

Happily leaving the ‘Grave Concoctions’ with a heavier coin purse, she went to the local inn, Dead Man’s Drink, to rent a room for the slowly approaching night, and get something to eat. A plate of potatoes, leek and a steak was laying in front of her, as someone approached her, and asked to join her at the table. “If you are here to flirt, you can go where you came from.” she said mockingly. “Oh no no no, I’m not interested in that!” the person said, “I’m Lucien Flavius. Scientist, philosopher, amateur wizard, and somewhat of a musician... but that’s more of a hobby, I guess.”. Lucien continued. “I am looking for someone to guide me through Skyrim. For academic purposes mainly, but the province of Skyrim is so fascinating! The flora and fauna. All the ruins, both Dwemer and Nordic. It’s architecture and politics.. “ He interrupted himself. “But, I’m not much of a fighter. I know a few spells, and can just about swing a sword. I would of course pay you, more than enough! That of course, is if you are willing to part ways with your current work. Pay would be no issue, I’m coming from a wealthy family in Cyrodiil, so gold is of no shortage.”.

Ninnaly sat quiet for a while, nibbling on her grilled leek. “I will do it. I don’t have any more orders as of now, and I certainly could enjoy some time on the roads!” She said. “And it would be a perfect opportunity to visit Vilod back in helgen. It’s only a days travel from here.” She thought for herself. “Splendid! Would 300 Septims upfront be enough for now?” Lucien said excitingly. Ninnaly almost chocking on her leek. “And compensate you for anything useful to my research.” He continued, waiting for her answer. “Y-yes, that would be enough.” She answered. “I’m Ninnaly, by the way.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lily! Let us get some rest for now and get on our way tomorrow!” “Wha.. No, Ninnaly.” She said, with a look of confusion on her face. “Don’t worry Lily! I just like giving people nicknames. Unless of course you have a problem with that.” Lucien said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. Ninnaly had never had a nickname. So she agreed to letting him call her Lily. Feeling a strange happiness about the ordeal she went into her rented room for some needed sleep. The following morning she stepped out into the main hall of inn and asked for some lavender tea and a piece of bread. “Good morning, Lily!” Lucien said happily upon seeing her entering the inn. “I have arranged a carriage to take us where ever we want to go. How does that sound?” “Sounds great, I’ll just eat breakfast and then we can travel to Whiterun. I need some things from my house, if that’s okay?” “Certainly! I have heard about the alchemy shop in Whiterun. I would like to visit it to buy some supplies, so that’s perfect.” Lucien said. After breakfast they left Falkreath for Whiterun. The trip was uneventful, it was spent getting to know each other better. Lucien came from a wonderful home in Cyrodiil, just as Ninnaly. So they were excited they had that in common. Arriving in Whiterun, Ninnaly was greeted with hugs by Lars Battle-Born and Mila Valentina. Her “best friends” according to themselves. “Hey guys, where’s Braith? She got in trouble again?” Ninnaly said with a smile, but also concern. “No, she’s sick. Just a cold, so she wanted to stay home today.” “I see, let me just get a few things, and meet me outside Braith’s okay?” Ninnaly smiled. “Friends of yours?” Lucien said with a smile on his lips. “My ‘best’ friends!” Ninnaly responded. “I usually play tag with them once a week. They really appreciate it. Most the adults are busy doing their work, and don’t have the time. But they like that someone can take their time to play with them.” “I see,” Lucien said. “so where do you live?” “Right here!” she said, unlocking the door to Breezehome. It had cost her a lot of Septims to buy it, and to add furniture to it. But it had been worth it. “I’m just going to get my sword and bow. Will you be a dear and take some lavender, a few juniper berries and the bottle of honey from the table in the back?” “Of course!” Lucien responded. “What is it for?” “It’s for Braith, one of the kids here in the town. A few snips of lavender, two juniper berries and a spoon of hone-” “For tea? Sounds awfully sweet if you ask me.” Lucian interrupted. “Yes, for tea. But it works wonders, and gets a sick child up on it’s feet in no time!” Ninnaly said while walking down the stairs. Now donning a short sword and a bow in her back. After exiting the house, Lucien was directed to ‘Arcadia’s Cauldron’ and Ninnaly went to Braith’s house. Saffir opened the door and greeted them. “Oh Ninnaly, how good to see you!” Saffir said, and gave her a quick hug. “Braith has gotten such a cold you could almost mistake her for a man!” she giggled. “I see. good thing I brought my miracle tea for her then!” Ninnaly answered.

After giving Braith the tea and some chit chat with Saffir, she headed out. Telling Lars and Mila to keep an eye on her house while she was away. Promising to bring them a gift in return.

Lucien stood by the gate and waited for her, and waved when he saw Ninnaly.

“All good? Is Braith okay?” He asked. “She will be. Just need to rest until tomorrow and she should be up in no time.” “Great! So, whereto now?” “Helgen.” Ninnaly said. “To Helgen we go.” -> Be sure to join in on the adventures of Ninnaly over at twitch to take part in her development, and decide her future!

*Edit: Corrected a few mistakes. cuz.. I’m a pepega.