#rafaels head is there but i'm not tagging him

[everyamelda]

[kykyonthemoon]

hiiiiii i love the stories you make. Can you please make rafayel x ballerina reader where reader gets taken care of by rafayel after accidently twisting her ankle during practice?? tyyy 💗💗💗💗💗

Dear Anon-san,

Thank you so much for your request. I also apologize that it took a while to finally get to you. Hope you enjoy this piece, and I'm looking forward to your continued support <3

His Little Ballerina

── .✦ Rafayel x Female Reader|MC

── .✦ Tags: soft, sweet, physical hurt/comfort, fluff, healing, reader is a ballerina

── .✦ Word count: over 1k

── .✦ Ky Ky's note: This is also my first fic after being accepted into oracleofstars network. Yay!!!

── .✦ Masterlist ♡ Request a fic

When he came to pick you up at the hospital, Rafayel's face was already so pale.

Long story short, he had just received a text from you stating that you were at a hospital near your place and needed a ride home. You had accidently fallen while executing a simple pirouette, causing your ankle to twist. Rafayel crossed his arms as he watched you sit there with a swollen ankle, his countenance confusing..

"You can yell at me after you drop me off, okay?" You said. But he did not seem any content. You knew he was genuinely concerned about you, especially after he told you over and over that you were unable to practice ballet right away since you were still a bit unwell.

He had met you for the first time after your play. While everyone was praising your charm, Rafayel was the only one who pointed out the problem with your ankle.

For a Lemurian, witnessing your struggle while dancing reminded him of the agony a merman must go through when he abandons his tail to learn to walk on land. 

Therefore, you totally understood his response when he saw you were constantly getting injured on the practice floor. You did not defy Rafayel, but you felt awful for causing him so much tension.

“You only listen to me when you're in trouble, right?”

Even though he grumbled, Rafayel helped you up, holding your bag and pointe shoes on one shoulder. When he saw your few struggling steps, he winced. Then, he leant down and picked you up. 

"Eh? Rafael?! Put me down.”

Your face turned red. However, Rafayel continued to carry you in his arms and walk away. He said:

"You heard what the doctor said; from now on, you must rest and let me care for you. That means I shall become your legs.”

“But… Is it necessary to carry me like this? You can just give me a piggyback ride…”

Rafayel shook his head: “I won't do so. Carrying you like that would make me seem no less like a turtle!”

You sighed and gave up. You allowed Rafayel to take you to the hospital gate in front of a large crowd. You felt so embarrassed while he kept that serious expression on his face.

You expected him to stop carrying you after you left the hospital, but Rafayel walked instead of calling a taxi. You rolled your eyes and asked:

“Are you going to carry me all the way home?”

Rafayel took a short peek at you before returning his attention to the road ahead. “Your place is nearby. We can walk home.”

You shifted your body somewhat uncomfortably. Rafayel's arms closed around you even more. You nestled myself into his neck and whispered: "People are looking..."

At that moment, a child who had just left the candy store noticed you and Rafayel. She asked:

“Miss! Are you a princess?”

Rafayel's footsteps slowed down a bit so the child could keep up. That was when you discovered you were still wearing your tutu with a flared skirt. People from the studio took you to the hospital; however, because they were busy and knew Rafayel was on his way, they departed right away. 

"So, you must really be a princess to be carried like that, right?" The small girl inquired innocently again. 

Rafayel came to a complete halt. He grinned at her and said:

"Correct, kiddo. She is a princess.”

You used a hand to hit him on the shoulder and said to the child:

"No, no. It's not true. I'm not a princess..."

But it seemed that the child ignored those words. She noticed your twisted ankle and asked:

“Is Her Highness injured?” 

"Yup." Rafayel responded on your behalf. “She just fought a terrible monster, and it injured her ankle.”

The child's eyes were glowing, as if she really believed Rafayel's narrative. She spoke again:

"What a pity! So you came to rescue the princess? Are you her prince?”

Your cheeks felt heated. Perhaps it was because the sun beamed in this way. You were ready to urge Rafayel to stop teasing the child, but perhaps he, too, was caught up in this fabricated setting. 

“A prince? I am not a prince.”

“So who are you?”

Rafayel smirked, he said while looking at you, as if those words were just for your:

“I am the God of the Sea. I am her God of the Sea."

“Whoaaaaaa!” The child cheered, and you held your breath as you caught Rafayel smile at you. The sunshine appeared to cast an aura over him. You could only adore him silently, fearing that a single breath might cause him to vanish. 

At that moment, the girl's mother summoned her back. She placed a little bag of sweets on your lap, atop your flowery skirt, and declared:

"For you, Your Highness. Perhaps you need them more than I do. I pray Your Highness gets better soon!"

After saying that, she ran away. You just had time to say thank you, almost like a shout behind her.

Rafayel grinned all the way home, and you felt happy with simply a bag of sugary treats. You poked his cheek.

"See how delighted you are. She handed me candies; you won't be getting any of them!"

“So unfair!” Rafayel yelled as he kept strolling down the pavement while holding you in his arms. “I'm having a hard time carrying you home. How come you're so blind to see it?”

“Then why did you walk home instead of taking a taxi?” You softly pinched his face and noted the way he pouted.

“I'm exhausted, and dehydrated. Yet you're far from being gentle with me after all!”

You giggled and replied, “You just told that kid I am a princess. So you must serve me in the next few days, right?”

Rafayel did not respond. You figured he was reluctant to confess you had him in the palm of your hand, even if this was not something new for either of you.

“If you stay silent, it means you agree.” You said cheerfully. “Come on, my God of the Sea! I want to go home and have seafood for dinner!” 

Rafayel exhaled. “I give you an inch, you will take the whole yard.” However, he still smiled pleasantly. The afternoon sun imprinted both of you on the road, while your shadow just kissed his, on the cheek.

Mood board from my photo in game & Pinterest.

[verinarin]

I need to repost this since the tags didn’t work T-T, but omg thankuu sm for asking and I love you (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵), anyways since you didn't specify on fluff/smut this would fully be fluff but I will make a full on smut on this specific trope lololol

spicy fluff | Someone flirted with you on his exhibition, he does not take your friendliness kindly

You're currently stuck in between a whiny Rafael and a wall, his breath warms your neck as he rests his arms beside your shoulders, leaning down to hold intense eye contact with you while caging your body like a prey, "Miss bodyguard, you're my bodyguard right ?" he voice softens but there's a distinct emphasis on the word 'my bodyguard’

“Yes Rafayel, I'm your bodyguard." you sigh as you try to make sense of how this happened in the first place, you were idly chitchatting with a person who was admiring Rafael's painting at the exhibition.

The guy made some silly jokes which made you laugh and then all of a sudden Rafael whisked you away to the closet filled with canvases and other works of his, "So if you're my bodyguard why didn't you stay beside me, what if some crazy stalker tackles me to the ground?!" he frowns, it took you quite the mental strength nor to laugh in front of his face

It is clear as day that it's not your work ethic that he's questioning, but rather the fact that you were idly talking with someone else, he's jealous

"Well I don't think someone is going to tackle you to the ground princess, I already did a thorough background check on all of your guests." you chuckle, his face turns into a pinkish hue as he mumbles a curse

But something didn't feel right, you could see a mischievous glint reflecting from his eyes. He leans in closer, way too close that you can feel his soft lips against your neck,

"Well that doesn't change the fact that you should've been by my side during the exhibition." he mumbles against your neck, you can feel his sentences forming a silent spell on your neck, like a siren his voice lingers in your ear, guiding you to meet his wants

You want to move away but before you can he gripped your wrist and pins it over your head while his other hand holds your waist tight, keeping you in place, "Miss bodyguard I think you need repay the for the lost time by indulging me, I don't pay cheap money for your service y'know ? he whispers beside your ear, you body shudders at the electrifying feeling

"Rafayel, are you jealous ?" you ask teasingly, he scoffs before dragging your body closer to his own, your chest presses against his before he replies, "What do you think?, it's open for interpretation,"

"I think that you're jealous and you're trying to mark my skin before letting me out so the guy from earlier would back down," you deduce as much, he seems to be pleased with your answer,

"Well I know you're a smart one Miss bodyguard, but the question I'd like to ask is would you let me be childish enough to mark your skin with my love just because I'm jealous" he asks as he kisses the side of your neck

"Yes you can, but promise me you won't do it too hard," you huff which he replies with a chuckle of his own "Can't promise you that, sorry." he smirks against your skin before latching his teeth on the poor skin

Well let's just say you have freshly tinted purple marks on y while standing beside him who's conversing with his guest, how embarrassing !

[adarafaelbarba]

“are you frustrated with me?” “never”

With Rafael!!

I love your work 😭

A/N: Thank you so much for the love, hun 🥰 Always makes me really happy when my writing can resonate with people ❤️

Rafael could never find reasons for you frustrating him. He loved everything about you, from your smile to your soft words and gentle hugs.

You knew his coffee and food orders by heart, you listened to him rambling, and helped him with his closing arguments when he was too stuck in his own head, even when you had no background in law.

So when you stood there, in front of him, tears in your eyes, asking if he was frustrated with you, well, quite frankly, it broke his heart.

He shot forward and pulled you in for a tight hug. "Amor, you could never frustrate me, I'm sorry my work is getting in between us, let me make it up to you, we can go to that new Korean barbeque place you've been wanting to try out."

That made you scoff a little, a teary laugh following close behind. Rafael might be a big fan of sushi, had even tried his hand at fried rice. But unlike the spicy food he'd grown up with from his mami and abuelita, spicy food from Korea was something he was not used to at all, and he'd been saying time and time again how he wasn't sure he could eat it without getting nauseous.

"We don't have to--", you tried, but he simply shook his head and kissed your forehead.

"I can get the least spicy option on the menu, lets go out, my treat, amor."

~~~

Tagging:

@plaidbooks @storiesofsvu @cycat4077 @thatesqcrush @alwaysachorusgirl @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @bisexual-dreamer02 @misscharlielulu @xoxabs88xox @muchadoaboutcj @beatrice-san @meetmeatyourworst @thats-jaywalking @cursedashes @mysoulisasunflower @crazy4chickennuggets @imaginelover88 @beccabarba @itsjustmyfantasyroom @detective-giggles @guitita @ladylionstar @achataa @nessamc @peauxheaux @silversprings-mp3 @polkadotpenguin16 @pepperbstark @im-a-slut-for-this-man2 @chickensarentcheap @irishavengersassemble

Wanna be on the tag list? Fill out this form to be part of the team 🥰

[kenobifitz]

Favorite ever L&O SVU fic of yours and if someone else's? Let's start a chain. Tag someone else!

hello anon and thanks for the ask🧚‍♀️

there are so many amazing writers in the SVU fandom, i mainly read barisi/rollisi fics so these are some of my recs for those if you're into them :)

two of mine (which im surprisingly proud of not gonna lie)

absolution (if you want some barisi smut with religious guilt and virgin!sonny in the mix)

He could lie. Say it’s just him wanting to impress Rafael for their first time together. But no. It was his first time. Ever. Sonny Carisi was a virgin.

is it casual? (if you want an barisi au where sonny is a hot gym teacher and lots of pining)

Rafael gets dragged into a spin class and meets a ridiculously hot gym instructor in tight spandex shorts.

nooow, onto the recs, gonna try to put a few and im probably forgetting a lot of them because of the amount of crazy good fics in the fandom.

barisi fics:

Established Dom!Barba & Sub!Carisi by the amazing spectacular @request-remand

really good barisi smut with the feels, honestly just read all of their fics they're all amazing

you didn’t have to look at me like that, like i mean something by lousdrafts ( @fwtxl )

Rafael barba is a pining idiot who doesn’t think sonny would want him, but surprise he does!

Or 5 + 1 times they almost do something about the ever building tension and when they finally do

love love this one, lots of pining 🫶🏼

The Cabin by @margoblack

During a snowstorm, Carisi and Barba crash their car and are seemingly rescued by a pair of strangers. However, as they recover in a remote cabin, they begin to suspect that their rescuers might not be as helpful as they seem.

Margo has so many good fics if you like romantic comedy (funniest writer fr) and angst

Every Homily A Love Letter by @barisistill

Sonny is a priest AU.

This one just...god it's so beautifully heartbreaking. *praying for an update pls* but yeah I'm a sucker for religious guilt and this one hits all the right buttons.

So. The cat. by @ae-nar

“Hi there, sweetheart,” he says and watches as the cat’s ears twitch. He brings his right hand up slowly and puts it in front of the cat for it to sniff. It barely opens its eyes, which makes Sonny worry for its survivor instinct, aren’t cats supposed to be on constant lookout? He’s always been more of a dog person, if he’s honest, so he really doesn’t know what he’s doing. The cat, seemingly satisfied with Sonny’s scent, lays its head down. Is it going back to sleep? What is Sonny even supposed to do?! He doesn’t remember emergency protocol for finding a cat in Barba’s open office at ass o’clock! “Who are you?”

Alternative Universe where Barba can transform into a cat and it's so fucking adorable I loved it!! (Also read their Barmaro to Barisi pipeline series, really good character study)

Serve and Protect by GenuineSnoof

Liv and Rafael don't see eye to eye about their latest case. Rafael feels forced to take matters into his own hands.

honestly, badass Rafael all around!! with worried sonny, hurt rafa, established barisi like come ooon, i love it.

Late Night Phone Calls by OreoLuvr13

Rafael thought that he was done with getting Liv's late night phone calls when he left the DA's office. It turns out he was wrong. Liv is calling and Sonny isn't home. A Barisi missing scene from 19.19-Sunk Cost Fallacy

im a sucker for post 19.19 fics, so this one hits right.

rollisi fics:

The Things We Can't Forget by @electrictoes

When Carisi's sister shows up at the precinct, the case she presents the squad with brings old demons back to haunt him.

i would put all their fics here but i cant so this one has to do, just delicious hurt/comfort, but really go read all theirs, good rollisi always

Admiring the View by Niklet

"She used to roll her eyes when she heard other women talking about how they’d fallen in love with their best friend. And then it had happened to her. Although now she thought about it, she wasn’t sure which one of “best friend” or “falling in love” had come first."

can u tell i love sonny too? yeah

Obvious by SwordsandPens

A stranger to them, who had not witnessed the years of partnership and friendship and near misses….could see that Carisi had feelings for her. Of course, Amanda wasn’t naive. She knew that no matter how professional Sonny was, there was a way about him; a subconscious perk in his body when she entered a room, and he was always close by; an arm's reach from her, most of any time they were together. But they’d always been like that, hadn’t they?

like they were obviously in love for a whileeee

you got plans? don't say that by bcofl0ve

they make out in the courthouse hallway and carisi comes in his pants and then they fuck in the bathroom that's it that's the plot

good ol' rollisi smut

anyways that's all i have for now, there are a lot im probably forgetting and anyone tagged here please feel free to share your recs if u want🫶🏼🫡

[landinrris]

WIP Friday (one day I'll make it to Wednesday 😅)

I was tagged this week by @magnificentbirb 🫶 This is once again from the followup to the vampire au that I've been working on because I'm not giving up spoilers for Fine Line since I'm working two chapters ahead. Instead, have a random bit of me putting Lando in some context-less peril that will eventually make sense 🤭 Forever tagging @f1-birb to share some of her eternal WIPs, @cosmicscuderia, and @phebess

The suddenness of the intruders is a blinding overload on Lando’s senses. One moment he’s speaking to Rafael and the other gathered council members and local vampires, and the next, the room is full of smoke, a flash bang of sound explosion that leaves Lando’s ears ringing. He hears the sound of flesh ripping— viscera slopping across the floor. Specific enough that it still haunts him from Texas.

Lando whips his head to the side and sees who he’s pretty sure is one of the other guys who was in the room fall with a punched out gurgle. He doesn’t see the assailant— they’re moving too quick and even Lando has his limits.

Someone grabs his shoulder, and Lando rounds on them without thinking, twisting their neck until he hears the sickening crunch of bone and the weight is dropping to the floor. Evidently, it is the wrong thing to do because suddenly it’s like five more pairs of eyes turn on Lando in unison. He doesn’t know if they’re good or bad eyes.

Someone yells something in a language that he doesn’t understand, and the next thing he knows, he has two guys on him. Two guys, who Lando can tell by their hands are capable of overpowering him even in his heightened physical state, grab his arms. He lashes out at one of them, teeth bared, and strikes the soft forearm of whoever’s holding him. He gets a strangled cry in response.

The other person knocks his legs out from under him, his knees slamming against the concrete floor none too gently. Lando doesn’t know why they don’t just break his neck— surely that would be easier. It never takes him long to recover from that these days.

But they don’t break his neck. They press him down with too much force until his chest is against the floor— someone’s knee pressing painfully down in between his shoulder blades to keep him pinned. His arm that had been grabbed is stretched out to the side, the heel of a boot digging into his wrist. Someone fists a hand into his hair and yanks his head back painfully enough that Lando grunts, a strangled noise ripping itself from his throat.

The body above him says something in Spanish, though Lando only catches the condescending-sounding, “That’s it.” Only, it’s nowhere near as loving as when Carlos murmurs it to him when they’re alone. Now, it’s accompanied by the guy above him prying his jaw open and shoving the equivalent of a mouth guard into his mouth. Lando tries to fight back, but it’s useless pinned as he is. The person above him releases their grip on his hair so quickly that Lando almost smacks it into the floor when he let’s go.

His mouth feels uncomfortably full— well beyond trying to produce anything more than noises. His jaw already aches at being held open, pressure he ordinarily would only feel in very different circumstances— ones much more desirable than this one. Lando wonders where he’s being taken too, because they have to be taking him somewhere with all of this effort. And why him?

Before he realizes what’s going on, a thin sleeve is being forcibly slid over the wrist of the hand under the guy’s boot. It’s a thick material, but not so thick that he can’t feel the heat radiating off what are essentially handcuffs that follow the sleeve around his wrist. With a jolt, Lando realizes the handcuffs are silver— that the sleeve is to likely protect him from any outright burns. If anything, Lando grows more confused.

He must make a confused noise through the haze of worry and confusion because the guy leans close, hot breath fanning over the side of Lando’s cheek, and says in stilted English, “A warning.”

A shudder travels up Lando’s spine at the implication. If he struggles too hard, he’ll quickly experience the full effect of the silver.

So, he doesn’t fight them when his other arm is extended enough to copy the same procedure before both are yanked up and behind his back to clasp them together. The relief of the full body weight of someone clearly much bigger than him disappearing nearly makes him forget for a moment what’s about to happen— that he’s about to seemingly be moved somewhere. His shirt collar digs into his throat as he’s yanked back to his feet, the silver of the handcuffs digging dangerously into his skin.

It’s a warning indeed because even the incessant heat makes him scared. He’s only touched silver for a few seconds a couple of times, but those few seconds have always been horrible. A searing pain he’d never felt before and every time, hopes never to again. The fact that the only thing that saves him now from the metal digging into his skin and leaving angry welts is a couple of thin pieces of cloth makes him not want to move an inch.

When he’s upright again, he’s able to take in the carnage of those around him. Several vampires lay unmoving on the floor, including the one whose neck Lando broke. If only that were permanent. A couple others whose names Lando doesn’t know have holes in their chests, unworthy of capturing apparently. Someone comes up to Lando with a nasty bite in his arm, smiling a vicious smile and pokes the bit of guard in Lando’s mouth that he can’t close his lips around.

“Not so tough are you now, pequeño?”

Lando jolts forward towards him doing his best impression of a snarl, and relishes in the way the guy jumps back. The heat that travels up his arms is worth it.

[alj4890]

Comfort

(Ethan Ramsey x F!MC) in a Choices Open Heart One Shot

As requested by

@hopelessromantic1352 with the prompt "You can't keep doing this."

A/N Here you go my sweet friend. Thank you for sending these requests to me to help with inspiration. I know you specifically wanted this one with both Ethan and Chris, so I'm going back to book 1 for you so that Tobias won't steal her away 😉

I was also inspired by the Dr. Who gifs below for this one. For those who don't know, Karen Gillian is my FC for Chris Valentine. Don't worry, I'm not making Matt Smith my FC for Ethan 😂 This interaction though reminded me of something Ethan and Chris would have done and it fit my idea for the above prompt.

Masterlist

It was too much. All of it was more than Chris could take. Tears blurred her vision as she finally had a chance to react to the mayhem she'd just finished being a part of.

Ripping off the surgical scrubs covered in Rafael's blood, she dashed blindly down the corridor. Her breaths hitched as sobs threatened to spill out. All she could think of was running away from the absolute hell of the subway accident. She needed to get as far as she could before losing her strained hold on her emotions.

Ignoring the alarm of the exhausted nurses and doctors, she ran past them without saying a word.

She stumbled out of one of the side doors of the hospital and barreled into a familiar solid form.

Ethan grunted on impact. He grasped her arms once he recognized her.

"Chris?" He leaned down closer to see her more clearly in the darkness. "What happened?"

Tears began to spill down her cheeks. Of all the people in the world she could possibly bump into at this moment, it would be him.

"I have to go." She choked out, wrenching herself from his grasp.

He grabbed her once more to stop her escape.

"Are you all right?" He demanded in a harsh voice while giving her a slight shake.

There were few things in this world he could not tolerate and seeing Chris in this emotional state topped that list.

"No!" She cried out, her voice echoing across the parking lot.

In a jumble or words and sobs, she managed to tell him about the rush of patients they had in the emergency room.

Once her ability to speak became impossible, he gripped her hand and took her back into the hospital.

"No. I don't want to go back inside!" she struggled against his hold.

She stilled as he led her up the emergency stairwell towards the roof.

He chose a spot overlooking Boston and sat down.

Ethan glanced up and saw she was immobile once again with tears falling in steady streams down her cheeks. Taking her hand, he tugged her down.

She collapsed beside him and buried her head against her knees, her body wracked with silent cries.

He'd seen her like this before. When Delores died, she'd been unable to stop her tears. He'd found her alone in the locker room, silently crying at the unfairness of it all.

Setting his hand on her shoulder, he gently pulled her closer to his side.

"You can't keep doing this, Chris." He told her. "If you keep taking death to heart like this, then being a doctor will destroy you."

She wiped her eyes, and settled her chin on her knees.

"I know that." She said in a voice cracking with emotion. "But it was so much, Ethan. Everywhere I turned there was someone in the midst of dying or who was screaming in pain. I wanted to fix it all but I couldn't."

"Did you help them?" He asked.

"If you can call it that." She said bitterly. "I assessed, tagged, and moved on like Zaid told me to."

He squeezed her in a side hug. "I never doubted for a moment that you did the right thing."

His comforting touch and praise tore at her heart.

"Don't." She pleaded. "Don't be nice to me right now."

Chris could feel the tears rising once more. After all they felt for one another, his quitting, and now showing up when she needed him most; she thought she would truly break if he was kind to her.

She rested her head on his shoulder, nuzzling close to him once his arm dropped. "Please sit here with me, but don't be nice."

Ethan leaned his head against hers and snorted. "Everyone complains when I'm not nice and yet here you are demanding the opposite."

Chris bit back a tearful smile. "I think this is one request of mine you're willing to give in."

"I think we both know I always give in to what you want."

"If that were true, you wouldn't have left Edenbrook." She mumbled. "And you wouldn't have left me."

He cursed. "Chris, you know why I left Edenbrook. And as for you..."

He trailed off.

She looked up at him.

"As for me?"

He met her red rimmed eyes and felt his will falter. He'd once had such plans to protect and guide her career forward. He was going to not only show her how to be a doctor but watch as she became a great one. He'd ended up doing nothing but letting her down in the end. He'd failed to keep his unexpected feelings for her in check and he'd failed her as a mentor.

Seeing the quiet anguish he was under, she nestled her head back on his shoulder, leaving the issue alone for once.

He swallowed the words that were demanding to come out. He wanted to tell her he'd never leave her. He would always want her.

He loved her.

I'm not worthy to tell her anything like that, he thought to himself. Not now, possibly not ever.

"What are you doing here?" She asked after a long stretch of silence.

"Marlene left me a message saying that the hospital needed all the help they could get." He answered, grateful she wasn't pushing him into revealing more of what he wasn't ready for.

"What took you so long?" She playfully nudged him with her elbow.

A hint of smile appeared on her face when she heard his exasperated groan.

"I was out of town, Rookie." He grumbled.

"Having a good time?" She asked.

"I wouldn't say that." He muttered. "I went to see my dad and then I went on to--"

He bit his tongue. He couldn't get her hopes up that his visits to Mrs. Martinez's family would come to any good.

"To where?" She asked.

"Nowhere in particular." He lied. "I needed to drive and clear my head."

"I think I need a vacation like that." She mumbled. "I wish I could forget and leave everything behind for a while."

He wrapped his arm around her once more. "It's a pipe dream. There's no way you can fully leave everything behind, no matter how badly you want to."

"How badly did you want to?"

"More than anything."

She slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him.

He held her, taking every bit of comfort she was willing to give him. It's ironic, he thought. He'd brought her up here to comfort her. He had no intentions of letting her know his own struggles.

Ethan should have known that out of everyone he knew, Chris would know what he was feeling. Not only that, she would also give him exactly what he needed from her in this moment.

Neither was sure how long they sat there, holding one another. The soothing hum of the city below them and the stars above were all they needed as they sat together in companionable silence.

When the first blush of dawn began to light the sky, Ethan whispered that he'd take her home.

He got up first and offered his hand to Chris.

She lifted her tear stained face up to smile softly at him.

Taking his hand, she stood up and was pulled into his embrace. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead when she slipped her arms around him again.

"You're going to be okay." He said, lips brushing hers with each word.

She nodded, her eyes meeting his after one last sweet kiss.

"We both will." She vowed.

Together, hand in hand, they went off to face another day.

[hyperfixating-on-main]

First Sentences of my Ten Most Recent Fanfics

Inspired by @musing-and-music

To Seduce a Prince (Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Utena Tenjou/Anthy Himemiya, Rating M) Her pillow smelled of roses.

Night Terrors (Jujutsu Kaisen, Ryomen Sukuna/Megumi Fushiguro, Rating E) The shadow of Ryomen Sukuna was a black hole, darker than night, sucking in air and sound.

while i'm still out here in the rain (Law & Order: SVU, Rafael Barba, Rating T) The drooping of his head wakes him.

The Rose Bride's Champion (Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Utena Tenjou/Anthy Himemiya, Rating G) Marching to the greenhouse under the spring sun, Tenjou Utena determined that dueling the members of the school council was getting old.

In the Depths of Devotion (Hellsing, Alucard/Integra Hellsing, Rating M) The clock stood tall against the wall, its shadow looming like extending skeletal fingers; the arms ticked, caring little for the theatrics of their holder.

The Silent Courtship of Mrs. Balaur (Dracula, Dracula/Agatha Van Helsing, Rating T) Vampire bats squeaked past the carriage.

Hafuri (Noragami, Bishamonten/Kazuma, Rating G) “Be my hafuri again .”

The Scent of Lilies (Omori, Basil & Sunny, Rating G) “Hello?”

Exposure (The Mortuary Assistant, Rebecca Owens/Raymond Delver, Rating M) Raymond’s groans filled her ears.

Attachment (Mahoutsukai No Yome, Elias Ainsworth/Chise Hatori, Rating M) He observed her from the armchair as one who consumed sight for nourishment.

Tagging @lotus-ignis @dirthavarens @captainbobbin

[guardian-angle22]

Hi, if you don't mind can u tell me what tags do u use to block Carlos carrying gun photos/gifs (And 'he is looking hot' comments)? Because I don't want to miss out on his other photos or gifs. For the time being I have unfollowed other blogs and only following u. Because I know I'll get only filtered posts on my dash. So thank you for doing my work for me.

I wish I had a better answer for you than what I currently do, but the honest answer is that very few people use content warnings for guns in our fandom (or honestly just in general? previous fandoms of mine didn't either that I remember).

So as a result, when things like that happen where the only thing in his tag seems to be gifs or pictures of him with his gun I just add a content filter for 'rafael silva' and 'carlos reyes' temporarily. That way I can click the posts if I feel I'm okay with potentially seeing the gun content, or just scroll past if I'm not at all in the head space for it. Then usually the next day (or next few days if it's during an episode airing), I'll go in and remove the filter.

Maybe if there are people who do use content tags they can reply to this post and let you know that it's safe to follow them in the comments? I would genuinely hate for me to be the only person you follow in fandom, when there's so many great people out there posting things you would really enjoy.

[thebestdefence]

I'm making this a proper wishlist post now instead of just in tags.

I would REALLY love for there to be a case where two people need to go undercover but only the other muse in the thread is able to do it (others have been seen maybe?).

Barba volunteers as he's familiar with the case and there is no one else able to go undercover. The others probably don't like the idea, don't think he can do it maybe, worry about him, but know they have no other choice.

Rafael then shows up at wherever they need him, completely 'in character' and looking/acting like this/this/this.

I can only imagine how the rest of the squad would react to seeing him be completely opposite to the Rafa they know and looking so different.

Can't get this thought out of my head since seeing those gifs.

[vivaciousoceans]

I was tagged by @narvaldetierra and i'm going to follow suit and post the first 10 lines of 5 posted fics, and 5 works in progress Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people I've been very busy this month and really this year and haven't had much time to write. Which is a stark difference from, like, the last six months of last year when I was writing like a madman. Unlove You, Law & Order: SVU, Olivia Benson x Rafael Barba

“Rafael, this is the millionth time I’ve called you. I know things have been rough lately, but it’s a total dick move to just not show up to work without saying anything. You missed that meeting we’ve had on the books for weeks, by the way. Just… call me back, please?” Rafael locked his phone as Rita’s voicemail trailed off. She sounded pissed—and worried—but mostly pissed. Not that he could blame her.Rita had always been there for him. From their days as ambitious law students at Harvard to the chaos of his career in Manhattan, she had been his rock. She’d pulled him back from the brink more times than he cared to admit, and even now, she refused to give up on him—even when he was giving her every reason to.

a very special christmas , Law & Order: SVU, Olivia Benson x Rafael Barba

Her apartment was still, quiet—for the third Christmas Eve in a row. Noah was down in Woodstock, spending the holiday with the McCanns. Olivia had told herself she didn’t mind; he was happy, excited to be with his half-brother, and that’s what mattered most. Besides, they’d have Christmas Day together—just the two of them, like it used to be. But as the hours dragged on, the stillness wrapped around her like a heavy blanket. The tree in the corner blinked with colorful lights, a cheerful contrast to the silence. Noah had insisted on decorating it earlier in the week, chattering excitedly about Santa and gifts as Olivia helped him hang ornaments. He’d even insisted they hang mistletoe, brushing off her protests that it was unnecessary.

Holding On, Letting Go, Law & Order: SVU, Olivia Benson x Rafael Barba

The precinct was engulfed in a sea of chaos and despair, with uniforms scrambling through the aftermath of the shooting. Time seemed to slow during the incident, and now the world seemed to be passing Olivia by in spades. She could still hear the shots from the gun ringing out in her head as IAB questioned her. “How did Jenna get the gun through security? How was she able to fire off so many rounds? How had she seemed before the shooting?” The words swirled in her mind, creating a relentless spiral of confusion and guilt. She should’ve known something was wrong with Jenna, she was far too calm despite the nervous energy she could feel radiating off the young girl.

art of persuasion, Law & Order: SVU, Olivia Benson x Rafael Barba

It wasn’t the first time they’d argued in front of him. Then again, Noah wouldn’t really call these arguments—at least not in the way some of his friends at school described their parents fighting. Those sounded scary, sometimes mean. His mom and Uncle Rafa? They just… talked a lot. Maybe too much. Ever since Rafael moved back to New York last year, things had changed. Slowly at first. It started with him tagging along to the park on Sundays, then coming over for spaghetti night. At first, Noah hadn’t thought much of it. Uncle Rafa was always kind of just around when he lived here before—so were the rest of his mom’s squad.

young, dumb, and full of... you know the rest, Law & Order: SVU, Olivia Benson x OC

The music thudded through the room, bass-heavy and relentless, rattling the cracked windows and Olivia’s already frazzled nerves. She shifted on the sagging couch, crossing and uncrossing her legs, the hem of her dress riding up just a little too far. She tugged it back down half-heartedly, her nails grazing the cheap, scratchy fabric. The laughter and shouting around her felt like static, voices overlapping and slurring together into a single, deafening roar. She drained the last of her beer, the warm, bitter taste only adding to her irritation. She shouldn’t have come. She knew it the second she walked through the door. The sea of bodies, the too-bright neon lights strung haphazardly across the room—it all felt suffocating.

Some of my WIPs

Untitled, Law & Order: SVU, Olivia Benson x OC

The motel room door clicked shut behind them, cutting off the rush of the city. Olivia didn’t bother turning on the light—what she wanted didn’t need ambiance. She paused, setting her bag down on the night stand, before kicking off her shoes. He was still by the door. Waiting. She turned, slow and deliberate, letting her gaze sweep over him. Even in the dim light she could make out the sharp lines of his body, the angle of his jaw, the confidence in how he stood. He looked younger than she’d normally consider—mid-thirties, maybe—but he’d carried their conversation with ease. He hadn’t flinched when she leaned in, hadn’t babbled to fill the silences, hadn’t looked at her like a novelty.

Affair Fic, Law & Order: SVU She knew better. She had counseled hundreds of victims over the years, taken all the classes—she knew better. Yet, she couldn’t ignore the hollowness creeping in as the verdict echoed through the courtroom. Not guilty. Not guilty. Her stomach twisted, and for a fleeting moment, she wanted to run, to flee somewhere he could never find her. Guilty. Guilty. Just bittersweet enough for the universe to throw her a bone. For a moment, she felt hope. But then, the hollowness returned. She had expected to feel elation, maybe even relief, but instead, there was only emptiness. The people around her erupted into cheers, but their voices were distant, muffled by the thunderous pounding of her heart in her ears. Untitled, Abbott Elementary, Barbara Howard x Ava Coleman It was supposed to be just a quick drink with Melissa, something to take the edge off before she went home. Then Ava had invited herself, and Barbara should’ve known then that the night was going to be a disaster. They’d been on the subject of Melissa’s newfling when Ava had basically begged to hear all of the sordid details about their trysts. Barbara had tried to tune them out, hating the way heat rushed to her cheeks and spread throughout her body. Conversations about sex always seemed to make her uncomfortable. Melissa jokes that she’s a prude, but that’s just the way she’d been raised, southern baptist, sex was purely utilitarian, an act between husband and wife, to fulfill God's command to be fruitful and multiply. Untitled, Law & Order: SVU

He hated these events. The annual Widows and Children’s Benefit for the NYPD was meant to be a night of charity and camaraderie, but for Rafael Barba, it felt more like a punishment. As one of the few Hillman & Calhoun partners with a passable relationship with the department, his attendance wasn’t optional. Swearing softly under his breath, he tipped back his glass of scotch, relishing the burn as it slid down his throat. At least when he worked at the DA’s office, these nights had their moments. Back then, the 16th Precinct would always make an appearance, and in the days before—and sometimes after—Olivia started dating Tucker, she and Rafael often ended up as each other’s unofficial dates. He missed that. He missed her. Untitled, Law & Order: SVU, Rafel Barba Olivia Benson

When he suggested they get dinner once he was back in the city, Rafael was almost certain it wouldn’t happen. There were too many ways it could fall apart—some last-minute catastrophe at work for Olivia, an unavoidable professional obligation that kept him in Iowa. He half-expected her to change her mind entirely, decided that she no longer wanted to maintain a relationship now that they no longer worked together. That their semi-frequent communications had been nothing more than a pleasantry. Things had been... complicated ever since he left the DA’s office. The way he walked away—sudden, the whole affair just an overwhelming sadness—had created a rift neither of them could ignore.

tags: @anneowl2803 @little-tayy @barisistill

[dumbyukistuff]

"You think one glass can make me lose control? I'm pretty sure my alcohol tolerance gets higher with every year here." He smiled, faking confidence, as his words were true only after a full night's sleep and a proper meal.

But he couldn't just give up that easy, right? Or could he? It was painfully obvious that he was going to break eventually. To willingly place all that control in the hands of a creature that hunted people for blood. Flaviu could act all charming now, but he was a beast, a freaking monster. One that Rafael wished to become too. Someday.

"Oh no, of course not." Flaviu shook his head and sat on the only armchair in the room, visibly relaxed. "But to be honest... You already lost it." His smile would be charming if not for the dangerous fangs catching Rafael's eye. "And it's not about the alcohol."

Flaviu was right. Of course, he was. Painfully. And Rafael had nothing to say for his defense. He could disagree only to do so, but that wouldn't change the thing. His excuse earlier, the glass in his hand, even the fact that he was still standing a few meters distance from the vampire instead of sitting on his lap, kissing and undressing him... All of that was just a useless act. The last straws of his cultivated restrain had to finally break as whatever he would say or do right now would only move everything further in time, not stopping it. Of course, he could say 'no', and the vampire would probably respect that, but they both knew he wasn't going to. There was only one way this night would go.

"I fucking know it's not," he finally said, tilting his head back to finish his drink in a few mouthfuls before he put it back on the dresser with a sharp click of glass on the wooden surface. "You promised to make me stop thinking, so end that charming crap of an act and just go on with it finally."

______________________________________________________________

Hi, hello, my lovely readers ^^

This time I present you with an original story written by me and my dear foxy friend @acevasion. It's an erotic story with horny vampires and their equally thirsty human pet so you can expect a lot of biting and blood-drinking paired with sub/dom dynamic.

Just read the tags and if you're in enjoy :3

[crimswnred]

I know that the boys talk about the girls in the beach hut scenes and in the exclusive chats that we can have with them, but I'm too gay to pay for that type of content. What information do we have about Willow's personality, other than the fact that she is a candle maker? What was her involvement in the pre-casa drama and what scenes we can play to learn more about her? Would love it if you can direct me to a scene or blogpost, because the tags make it hard to find what I'm looking for. Has anyone uploaded Bryson's beach hut episode or the chat with Rafael?

first of all you're the funniest person alive and also so real for that.

I don't think we learnt much about the OG girls except what the boys were willing to tell us and even then it was all basically all about Daphne and Geri.

here are some stuff that might be useful:

here you'll find Bryson's beach hut episode.

(actually, Jessie uploaded a video for all of the boy's beach hut confessionals so you might want to go and check her blog out)

you can pay for the girl's beach hut episode although I wouldn't recommend you doing so, as it rewards fusebox and their shitty marketing plan (and it doesn't really have much interesting stuff tbh)

I picked the extra time with all of the boys in their dates and no one said much about Willow

(I'm on a Raf's route, keep that in mind) in all my gems' choice, everything that was brought up was either Bryson/Geri/Joyo love triangle or Rafa and Daphne's relationship.

and here's what *I* personally know about Willow:

she was coupled up with Bryson at the first recoupling after Joyo stole Geri.

she didn't like the boys lied to Cassiuss so Rafael would have time with Daphne and turn her head back to him.

after Bryson flirted and danced with Geri in a challenge, she got mad at him (as she should because he literally pied her off).

she was not in good terms with Bryson when the boys left to casa.

she doesn't believe Rafael is really that serious about Daphne.

she's described by the boys in their beach hut confessionals as: smart (Rafael), the sweetest person ever (Joyo), creative & ambitious (Alex).

she said she wasn't really feeling Bryson and was excited for new boys, but then she said she didn't want him to twist, so ??

🚨 IF ANYONE ELSE KNOWS ANYTHING MORE PLS DROP IT HERE 🚨

[silver-rings-and-rabbits]

Open Heart 2 - Chapter 5

Influence

A/N: Points to anyone who can guess what songs I'm referring to later in the chapter

It was a few days after that when Elijah and Matthew decided to go out before their afternoon shift. Elijah followed a certain food truck on Pictagram whose gimmick was that they set up in a different location each day and would post a riddle for fans to work out their location. Elijah insisted that the truck was near the Boston University campus and had invited Matthew to help him find it.

Matthew steered Elijah’s wheelchair through the crowded streets, wishing he had thought to bring sunglasses, as Elijah read through the clues on Ghost Peppers Pictagram page, when they ran into Rafael.

“Oh…hey!” Matthew gulped as Rafael offered him a slightly nervous smile.

“Hey guys…what are you up to?”

“Looking for a new food truck. It’s about being in the right place at the right time.” Elijah explained the social media riddle. “What about you?”

“It’s my day off and Sora’s at work, so I’m just taking a walk,” Rafael said. “Do you…mind if I tag along with you?”

Elijah glanced back at Matthew. He wasn’t sure what to say. Although it hurt being reminded of what he had lost, he missed Raf as a friend too. And besides, Sora wasn’t there.

“Not at all,” he said. “No one knows Boston quite like you.”

Rafael chuckled.

“I’m sure there are a number of people who know Boston better than I do,” he said, falling into step beside Matthew.

Elijah directed them with the help of his phone, and Rafael had some fun anecdotes from his college days, until a shrieking crash tore their eardrums and they looked over to see smoke rising from the BU bridge.

“What the…? Come on!” Rafael said, before running through towards the smoke determinedly.

“Raf, wait!”

Matthew and Elijah rolled up to the bridge, where Raf was surveying the scene. Dazed victims pulled themselves out of the cars, neither of which looked worth saving. Broken, twisted metal and shattered glass surrounded the scene. Rafael followed a set of tyre marks leading away from the crash and to the broken rail of the bridge.

“Oh no,” Matthew whispered as he joined Rafael at the railing. Through the glare of the sun on the fast-flowing water, he saw a car dangling in mid-air. The only thing stopping it from plummeting into the river were the tangle of cables that held the car, still attached to the bridge. A flash of movement from inside the car made Matthew feel sick; someone was still inside.

“Elijah, call 911,” Rafael said, calmly. He was inspecting the connected cables.

“Oh god, Rafael, you can’t be thinking of going down there,” Matthew gasped. “You don’t have any gear! You’ll slip, or your weight will cause the car to fall…please, just wait for the responders!”

Behind them, Elijah was on the phone, begging the emergency team to hurry. Rafael shook his head, squeezing Matthew’s arm in a gesture that was meant to be reassuring.

“I can’t. The cables aren’t gonna hold. I’ll be back in a sec,” he said, in that casual manner of someone leaving the table to use the bathroom.

“Hey, hold up!” Elijah came off the phone just in time to catch the last comment. “Even if you do make it down there, how the hell will you make it back up?”

“I just have to try, Elijah,” Raf said, undeterred. “Like you said, right place ,right time.”

And with that, he jumped onto the railing, grabbed onto the cable and lowered himself off the edge.

“No!!”

Matthew could hardly bear to watch as Rafael clung to the cables and slowly lowered himself towards the car. The cables shook and creaked ominously.

Matthew’s heart pounded and he could almost taste blood in his mouth as he frantically searched for something – anything – that could help. It came in the form of kayaks attached to the roof of one of the crashed cars: they were held together with a long, strong rope. He tugged it free, kindly assisted by one of the onlookers who wrestled the kayaks away, and ran back to the edge of the railing as Rafael reached the car. Matthew tied a firm knot to the edge of the railing and threw the rest of the rope down into the drop. It just reached the edge of the car where Rafael was very carefully helping a teenage boy climb out of the hatchback. The kid clung to his shoulders as soon as he was free.

A loud creak, much louder than before, sounded above Matthew’s head and he jumped, looking up with horror to see the cables snapping loose.

“Rafael, the rope! NOW!”

Rafael leapt. The boy’s scream was loud enough to hear from the bridge…but Raf clung onto the rope as the cables snapped off completely and the empty car plummeted into the river and was swept away.

“Did they make it? I can’t see!” Elijah gasped. He was shaking in his seat.

“They made it.” Matthew’s voice was barely above a whisper. Tears glimmered in his eyes.

A group of onlookers rushed to pull up the rope, and the boy was instantly pulled off Rafael’s back and carried away from the wreckage. Elijah wheeled after him to check for injuries as Matthew helped Rafael over the railing.

“What the hell was that?!” he exploded as soon as Rafael was back on his feet.

“I—”

“You could have died! You could have drowned…you just climbed over…and the rope…you jumped…”

Rafael didn’t know what to say at Matthew unravelling. He was always so calm and put-together. Not knowing what else to do, he gently held his hands in the hope of calming him down.

“Matthew, I had to,” he explained. “That kid could have died. I could never leave someone to die without trying to help first.”

“Raf…”

For a second, Matthew looked angry, until it gave way to pain. He wrenched his hands out of Rafael’s and threw his arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Rafael was surprised, but wrapped his arms around Matthew in return. He couldn’t remember the last time they had been so close. Matthew smelled the same as he always did.

The wail of a siren broke them apart.

“I…um…I’m gonna check if anyone needs medical attention,” Matthew said. Rafael nodded, and he went back to the crowd, stopping first at someone who had been cut from the glass. He had always been able to put his patients before any distraction…but he still tingled from Rafael’s hug, and he couldn’t shake the image of Raf dangling above the river…or what if the cables had broken slightly too early…

Around twenty minutes later, Matthew regrouped with Elijah after they had done as much as they could for the injured. The boy in the car had minor injuries, but was mostly very shaken up. One of the witnesses had offered to drive the front-seat passengers to hospital as soon as they were initially tended to. The back seat passengers were walking wounded and were being tended to by the paramedics. Rafael had reported to his supervisor and was now walking over to them, looking pensive.

“What did they say?” Elijah asked. “Are you getting a medal for bravery or something?”

“Actually they gave me a suspension.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Rafael shrugged. “She, um, said I was a liability and I should have waited for the first responders.”

“Oh geez,” Matthew said, gently. “Are you OK?”

Although he privately agreed with Raf’s supervisor, suspension from work was a big deal. Rafael gave a sheepish smile, but he was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I’m alright, I chose to take the risk. To be fair, it was hardly a first-time offence.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, nonchalantly. “Anyway, you guys want to keep looking for that food truck?”

Matthew didn’t believe that Rafael could just carry on after the events of the morning, no matter how much he said he was OK as they walked to the food truck, which was tucked away in a side street near the college campus. It served fantastic wraps and burritos, cooking the meat fresh in a large pan and spicing it to order, but Matthew ate his food without really tasting it as Rafael and Elijah chatted about what had happened. Rafael predicted his family would be afraid and Sora would be mad. He played it off as a joke, but none of them really believed it. Matthew couldn’t let go of last year: Rafael being rushed into the OR, covered in his own blood.

It remained on his mind throughout his shift, and was brought up short when Ethan suddenly called him by his old nickname.

“Rookie. Do you have anything to say?”

Matthew panicked and wondered if his distraction had been so bad, he’d missed a patient or a diagnosis.

“About what?”

“About this.”

Ethan marched down the hall. Matthew rushed to keep up and they reached the diagnostic patient room to find it swarming with people. Camera crew carefully balanced equipment on their shoulders as Baz and June tried to avoid knocking into them. A technician measured the views on a livestream feed. A make-up artist stood nearby, a hairbrush in hand. And lying in bed in the middle of it all was Gwyneth Monroe.

She was certainly pretty, but her face had a sunken-in look of someone who had lost too much weight too quickly, and a few spots had broken out on her skin. Her eyes were shadowy with exhaustion, but she still managed a bright smile as Baz and June chatted with her.

“Dr Ramsey, I just—”

“Save it,” Ethan said, shortly. “We’ll discuss it later. Right now we have work to do.”

The two of them shuffled into the room, fitting awkwardly around the camera crew.

“I’m a long-time subscriber,” June was saying. “Frankly, your five-step morning skincare routine changed my life.”

“Really?” Gwyneth looked thrilled. “That’s such a compliment from someone who’s skin glows as brightly as yours.”

There was a lot of noise and clatter in the room, and Ethan ended up shouting for everyone except the doctors to leave, but Gwyneth insisted her fans came with her everywhere.

“Gwyneth, you have a right to privacy, it doesn’t mean you can’t still be honest with them. Your fans understand that, right?” Matthew said, as Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose.

“True…” Gwyneth considered…then turned to the cameras and gave a sentimental speech to her followers about truth and openness and how much she appreciated them, then allowed her crew to turn the cameras off. The doctors waited with varying degrees of patience for the room to empty.

Ramsey insisted Matthew take the lead on the case. Gwyneth was thrilled to meet him in person, and she thanked him for his message which, though he was pleased to hear, probably wasn’t making the situation with Ethan any better. Gwyneth explained she had lost twenty pounds in three weeks, her energy was tanked, and she was tired and dizzy all the time.

“It’s not a psychological thing, I swear,” she insisted. “I’m not doing it to myself.”

“I believe you,” June said. “But there is a lot going on in your life, which can affect you without you even realising. We can have a talk about it.”

“How have you been eating lately?” Matthew asked.

“I try to eat as much as I can, three times a day, like normal. But I don’t always want to finish it, and then I usually throw it back up.” She sighed heavily, leaning back into the pillow. “Be honest, Dr Valentine. Do you think it’s cancer?”

“Honestly, it’s too soon to tell for sure. But we’ll run all our tests to pinpoint the cause as soon as possible,” Matthew said.

After some more questions, the doctors filed out for the camera crew to come back in. Gwyneth called Matthew back before he left.

“I was given some all-access passes for the Boston T-Party music festival, but I’m too sick to go. I know you’re probably busy, but I could pass them to you if you want?”

“Gwyneth, that’s very kind of you, but—”

“Seriously, it’s no problem. I’d rather they don’t go to waste,” she said, as the camera equipment was set up. “Just drop me a message if you want them!”

“I will,” Matthew said as he closed the door to her room.

“Test for the works,” Ethan ordered the doctors as soon as it was closed. “I want her cured and out of here, ASAP.”

Baz seemed slightly amused as he walked away with Ethan, discussing the possibility of an auto-immune response. Matthew turned back to June.

“I didn’t realise you were a fan.”

“Oh, I’m not. I didn’t even know who she was until this morning.”

“Then why—”

“For someone who values honesty, she can be very tight-lipped in interviews: I read up on her when she arrived. And since we need her to be honest with us…”

“June, that’s…” Matthew trailed off. June looked at him expectantly.

“It feels wrong,” Matthew finished with a sigh.

June raised an eyebrow.

“Is it though? Patients withhold the truth all the time, whether they mean to or not. You don’t think it’s unethical to do everything we can for a diagnosis, do you?”

“No…”

“Trust me,” June said. “It’ll be easier to do our jobs if the girl trusts us.” And she strode down the hall, the same way Ethan and Baz had gone, all business.

Matthew pushed his hair back as he followed the team. Maybe June wasn’t wrong, but something about the way she was going about it left a bad taste.

Ethan caught up with him later and gave him an exhausting lecture on soliciting patients behind his back and how, when you start making exceptions to your principles, the exceptions become the rule. Matthew remained adamant that he had reached out to Gwyneth for her sake, but the lecture was a downer.

****

He was dragging his feet toward the end of shift as he walked to the ER. Esme was there with a group of interns. She was being complimented by Zaid, which was no mean feat.

“What’s going on?” Matthew asked, walking over. Esme suddenly appeared slightly flustered.

“Esme noticed a misdiagnosed aortic dissection,” Sothy said, with a grin. “Dr Mirani thought it was acute coronary syndrome and almost killed the guy!”

“I beg your pardon?” Zaid was right next to Sothy.

“He’s saying you almost killed the guy!” Gary said helpfully.

“I got that, thank you Dr Garrison.” Zaid gave the interns a scathing look, except for Esme to whom he muttered ‘well done’ as he left. The interns broke into excited chatter, and Mitch looked Esme up and down.

“Why don’t you come hang out at Donahue’s with us?” he said. “Zaid owes you a favour. That’s hell impressive.”

“Heh, well.” Esme tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Matthew hadn’t seen her smiling so much before. “I mean, I would but I still have some patients to check up on…”

Matthew thought of his empty bed, and then Esme’s first day when he told her to be more social. He cleared his throat and the interns looked over at him.

“Ortega, go celebrate. I’ll check in on your patients.”

“Really?” Esme blinked. Matthew rolled his eyes as he reached for Esme’s charts.

“Yes, really. You’ve earnt it.”

“Sweet!” Mitch fist-pumped. “Come on, Esme!”

The interns headed towards the locker rooms as Esme passed her charts to Matthew.

“I’m not about to take away an opportunity to be more social when I was the one who told you to make friends,” he said. “But remember I might not be around to bail you out all the time.”

“Understood,” Esme smiled. “Thanks for this, Dr Valentine.”

She hurried after the other interns. Matthew dragged his feet back to the wards.

****

The next morning was a Friday. Matthew and his friends had the day off and he was woken in the morning by chatter and laughter in the living room. Upon investigation, he was surprised to see Rafael sat on the sofa, playing video games with Elijah. Spooky was perched on his knee and Jackie leaned against the back of the sofa, watching with amusement.

“So if I want to jump, I press ‘A’…I think I died…”

“That’s because you just jumped off a cliff, dude.”

“Rafael?” The three of them looked up. “What are you doing here?”

“Sorry if we woke you, Matthew,” Rafael said. “Elijah invited me over to hang out.”

“I told you last night,” Elijah said, then smirked. “I mean, you were like a zombie when you came home so maybe you don’t remember.”

“Huh.”

Matthew did remember, now that he thought about it, and he didn’t mind too much. If it got to be too much, he could always go hang out with Bryce.

The morning started off lazy. Sienna and Aurora shuffled out of their rooms. Matthew did a walk of shame, carrying all the dirty cups and plates he had been hoarding from his room to the sink; Jackie had been looking for her Harvard University mug for two weeks. Just before 11AM, Matthew’s phone rang and he answered it to find Gwyneth asking him if he was going to need her Boston T-Party passes. The festival started today.

After a rush of confirming the details, confirming wheelchair access, getting Kyra and Bryce in on the plan, hastily booking train tickets, and a mass getting ready session, they were at the festival grounds in Cambridge by mid-afternoon along with thousands of other festival-goers. The mid-July sun was hot. Matthew was wearing his denim jacket for the occasion, but wondered if he might have to take it off.

Still, he was determined to have fun. He, Elijah and Kyra made a beeline for the lawn games, specifically the giant jenga.

“Whoever makes it fall has to buy a round!” Kyra suggested. The boys agreed and soon enough the tower was wobbling precariously as the bricks were removed. A group of strangers wandered over and joined in, giggling as the tower became more and more unsteady, until Kyra finally sent it crashing down. She laughed and protested but gave Matthew and Elijah five bucks each to buy a drink. One of the girls who had been watching tried to hit on Matthew, but he politely declined. Still, it was good for his ego.

He bought himself a large frozen lemonade – a delicious treat he didn’t get to have very often – and spotted Sienna sat in a shady spot.

“Hey,” he said, sitting beside her. “You alright? I saw Raf carrying you on his back earlier.”

“Oh yeah, my feet were hurting so he offered to help.” She rolled her eyes, though she was slightly amused by it. “But I didn’t want him to spend the whole day carrying me around.”

“Are you sure you’re ok? If your feet are hurting that badly?”

“I’m alright, really, just that work has been crazy busy. Interns are tough. Mitch is great though! He keeps telling me how lucky he is that he’s my resident. It means a lot to me.”

“So he should,” Matthew said. “I’d have loved to have someone like you as a resident. I’ll never forget how you stuck your neck out to save a stranger from Dr Ramsey’s tirades.” He tugged at the end of her plait fondly and she laughed.

“Thanks Matthew. Um…” She hesitated, biting her lip. “I’ve actually started talking to Danny again.”

“Oh really?” Matthew’s eyebrows went up. “Like, you think you might be ready to date again kind of talking?”

“It was a few weeks ago when we ended up next to each other in the queue for coffee and I guess it got the ball rolling again. We’ve been texting and chatting a lot and it feels kind of like it did before.” She smiled shyly. “I don’t know where it’s going, but I like it.”

“Go for it,” Matthew encouraged as Aurora walked up to them with a large plate of dumplings.

“I got a medium variety and discovered the portions are enormous,” she said. “Do you want some? Please have some.”

The three of them piled in. The dumplings were delicious, filled with tender chicken, and roasted vegetables, with fresh dough. A couple walked past, somehow making out at the same time as walking.

“When are you transferring to Mass Kenmore?” Sienna asked Aurora as they relaxed on the grass.

“Ten days,” Aurora said. “I still don’t know how to tell my aunt. What if she tries to change my mind?”

“She’ll trust you to make the right call though, surely?” Matthew said. “You’ve had your issues in the past, but you’ve been better since you were upfront with her last year.”

“And she’ll see how much it means to you,” Sienna added.

“True enough,” Aurora smiled. “OK. I’ll worry about how to tell her later, and just enjoy the rest of today.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Matthew said, loudly.

They continued enjoying the games and looking at the live-art installations (Bryce had a great time with some scantily clad dancers who took a shine to him) and spent too much money on merchandise, until the sun went down and the main acts started to come on. A security guard took them to the VIP area: a roped off area right at the front of the stage, away from the main crowd. Some other influencer-types were there, with expertly styled hair and make-up, even on the boys. They were focusing on their phones, taking videos of each other and themselves, ignoring the doctors and only slightly focusing on the main stage. They made Matthew feel old.

“Primo viewing!” Bryce howled, throwing an arm around Matthew’s neck. Matthew grabbed Jackie and the three of them jumped around in a circle, shouting and cheering along to the music. The song made Matthew feel light and bouncy, like the sea of dreams the band was singing about. On the stage, four men stood in a line whistling the tune into the mics before the lead singer resumed the words.

“Don’t know what this song is, but I love it,” Bryce said. “Remind me to look these guys up.”

Matthew closed his eyes, feeling the warm evening breeze through his hair, the warmth of his friends and their arms around his shoulders. The music filled his body and, behind him, the excitement of the thousands-strong crowd was palpable.

He didn’t keep count of how many songs played but then the music slowed down and took on a chill tone. A young woman stepped up to the mic and sang in a sweet soprano about losing her way on a trip meant for two. Matthew glanced at the crowd behind him, and then over at his friends. Sienna was sandwiched between Bryce and Jackie. Elijah was rolling around with Aurora and Kyra. Rafael stood slightly off to the side, watching the singer. Without really thinking about it, Matthew walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Oh, sorry, am I blocking your view?”

He was always kind like that.

“Do you wanna dance?” Matthew asked quickly, before he could lose his nerve.

Rafael’s eyes widened, and he scratched the back of his neck as his eyes darted to the stage, but the hesitation lasted only for a second before he said “sure” with a smile.

It was a little awkward at first: Rafael kept a slight distance between them and Matthew didn’t want to overstep any more than he already had done as they danced around each other.

“Hey.” Matthew indicated for Rafael to come closer to talk. “You sure Sora won’t mind?”

“I’m sure,” Raf said, confidently. “We’re friends. Friends can dance.”

He rested his hands on Matthew’s waist. Matthew’s hands came to his shoulders.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Matthew said.

“If you’re asking about my suspension, I’m not worried about it,” Raf said, cheerfully. “Besides…they were probably right to suspend me.”

Matthew didn’t believe it: Rafael loved his job. And the reassuring smile he was offering didn’t reach his eyes.

“Why don’t you tell your bosses you’ll stop? That you’ll do as they ask?”

“We all know that wouldn’t be true. I am who I am, for better or worse. I can’t imagine being any different.”

Matthew remembered how Rafael had once shown him around a night market, greeting everyone they met. How he enjoyed volunteering at the community centre and how he always did his best to comfort his frightened patients. How he’d just spent an hour carrying Sienna on his back because her feet hurt.

“I don’t want you to be any different.”

“Good. Because I think you’re stuck with me as I am.”

“I was in Chicago, you were gone tomorrow…”

As the singer moved into the second chorus, Rafael pulled Matthew closer. He was warm and reassuring and Matthew had always felt very safe in his arms. And as he held on to him now, Matthew could somehow hear his heartbeat. He closed his eyes and leaned his head on Rafael’s shoulder to listen. Rafael didn’t move.

But time stopped for no one. The song came to an end to be replaced with a more upbeat one. Matthew suddenly remembered where he was and pulled away. They looked at each other awkwardly.

“Thanks,” Matthew said softly.

“No problem,” Raf replied, just as gentle.

They both hesitated for a second, and then Matthew joined Bryce, Jackie and Elijah, and Rafael joined Sienna, Kyra and Aurora, and everything was back to normal. Matthew joked and laughed alongside everybody else as if nothing had happened, but he kept thinking about Rafael pulling him closer. It was a reflex…just a reflex he told himself. He missed him so much. Matthew was realising he couldn’t be without his friendship. But he would have to draw some very strong boundaries. Their shared dance would have to be enough.

“Matthew, can you get more patients with VIP perks?” Bryce asked, loudly. “Get someone who can lend us a ski lodge for the winter!”

“Hang on, Elijah won’t be able to ski!”

“Not with that attitude I won’t!”

They all laughed at that, and then Bryce held up his phone and indicated for everyone to crowd into the frame.

“OK…hold it…aaaaand got it!”

Bryce lowered the phone and started tapping at the screen. “I’ll send that to you all now…huh?”

He froze, staring at the screen. Then his forehead creased between his eyebrows.

“Bryce, are you OK?”

“Yeah…um…” Bryce shoved his phone into his pocket. “I gotta go, actually. Have to…um…study.”

“Since when can scalpel jockeys read?”

“But the main headliner is about to come on!”

Bryce didn’t hear them. He was already dashing out the gate and towards the exit.

The main headliner was a large French-Canadian band who had a good selection of songs with moody, exciting lyrics. There was a woman with a voice like a bell who danced with the easy fluidity of water. Matthew would have been entranced any other day, but he was too occupied with Bryce’s sudden exit. It worried him, digging like a thorn into his stomach.

On the way home – the festival lasted all weekend but they would be back at work the next day – he got off the train a little earlier than the others and followed directions to Bryce’s apartment.

He lived alone, halfway up a tower block. Matthew hadn’t been there often, Bryce preferred visiting them, but Bryce had taken Matthew there just after Rafael had broken up with him, when they had accidentally run into him and Sora at Donahue’s.

“Bryce?” Matthew called, after ringing his doorbell several times. “Are you there?”

Nothing. Matthew frowned, wondering if he had the wrong apartment, though the number on the door was exactly the same, then he heard movement inside. “Bryce? C’mon, open up, I just want to make sure you’re OK. You were acting weird earlier, it’s not like you—”

The door opened to reveal a spunky teenage girl with rumpled clothes and messy hair glaring at Matthew.

“Needy much?”

“Oh!” Matthew reeled backwards, a little embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, I must have the wrong apartment.” But he got a glimpse of the room behind her and he was sure that was Bryce’s anatomy model stood on the counter…

“Ugh, Keiki, I told you to leave my neighbours alone!”

They looked up to see Bryce struggling down the hallway, juggling grocery bags, his keys jangling off his finger. He stopped dead when he saw Matthew and bit his lip nervously.

“Hi,” Matthew said.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Bryce fumbled, and then dropped one of the bags, spilling an array of vegetables. He hastily bent to pick them up, focusing a little too hard on the task at hand. Matthew knelt beside him to help.

“I was worried about you. You left pretty suddenly.”

With the vegetables back in the bag, Bryce could no longer pretend this wasn’t happening. He indicated for Matthew to follow him into the apartment where he went straight through to the cramped kitchen and started arranging the grocery bags on the counter, still avoiding Matthew’s gaze. The teenager flopped onto the couch and turned on the TV, flicking through the channels until she landed on a rerun of Seinfeld.

Matthew watched as Bryce braced himself against the sink, breathing deeply. He remembered Bryce helping him fight to keep his job last year, and then all the times he had listened to Matthew sobbing over his break up.

“Bryce, you know you can talk to me, right? I’ll help in any way I can.”

Bryce finally looked up at him, relief softening his expression.

“Thanks, Matthew.” He cleared his throat. “So, this is my kid sister, Keiki. She’s…visiting.”

“Like hell I am,” Keiki called lazily from the living room. “I didn’t run away from home just to go back. Or fly away from home.”

“Keiki!” Bryce scowled at her.

A trip from Hawaii to Boston was no laughing matter, and Matthew wondered what the hell was going on.

“Bryce? This seems pretty serious…”

“That’s my family for you.” Bryce spoke through gritted teeth. Keiki was looking at her shoes.

“Home is…complicated,” Bryce said, extremely reluctantly. He rubbed his lip and sighed, looking away. “To cut a long story very short…my family used to be a big deal. My dad went to jail for insider trading. Mom got off by testifying against him, even though she was right there helping him the whole time.”

“Jesus…” Matthew muttered. He just about remembered news stories from when he was at high school. He hadn’t paid a huge amount of attention, except that someone in his class had one day turned up in tears because their parents had invested in and now lost everything to the property-tycoons-turned-white-collar-criminals the Lahelas. He had read about people who’d had their life savings stolen and had wondered why people would be so comfortable ruining others for their own gain. He’d slowly forgotten the story after Mr Lahela’s arrest, until now. It was hard to believe one of his best friends was the son of that family.

“Dad got paroled a while ago. ‘Good behaviour’. Keiki lives with them in Hawaii.”

“I’m starting to see why she ran away.”

“My parents live in a massive compound,” Bryce snorted. “Keiki has a bedroom the size of this apartment, three swimming pools to choose from, and a horse she never rides. Trust me, she’s fine at home. This is just some stupid rebellion.”

“When did she arrive?”

“A few hours ago.” Matthew remembered Bryce frowning at his phone, minutes before his sudden exit. “I’ve been trying to get her on a flight back to Hawaii, but I don’t exactly have emergency flight money lying around.”

“You can’t call your parents?”

“No. No way.” Bryce’s eyes flashed. “I don’t speak to them, they don’t speak to me. And now I’ve got to figure out what to feed Keiki.” His shoulders sagged and he eyed the grocery bags as if they might attack.

“She’s not going to turn into a gremlin if you get it wrong. Just stick with something simple that you know.”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know. I don’t cook. These hands are for cutting people, not veggies. I eat hot food at Edenbrook as much as possible, then I can just have something light at home.”

Matthew hadn’t thought of it like that, but Bryce did always seem to have a big meal at lunchtime. Matthew wasn’t keen on the Edenbrook cafeteria, but it was easier when you lived with someone like Sienna who loved to cook and was usually offering to make everyone dinner. In fact, most of the roommates could cook. The only one who didn’t was Aurora.

“What exactly are you planning to do with those groceries then?”

“Hope for the best?” Bryce gulped. Matthew couldn’t help feeling a little bad for him.

“Do you need a hand?” he smirked. “I suddenly feel like I shouldn’t let you loose in the kitchen without adult supervision.”

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Bryce gasped, suddenly squeezing him in a massive hug. “And I know that was a jab, but I’ll ignore it for now because I actually could use a hand.”

They unpacked the grocery bags, which revealed a surprisingly wide variety of fresh, dried and tinned foods. Matthew suggested pasta, Keiki had no complaints, and Bryce was up for anything Matthew could cook.

“OK,” Matthew said, taking a chopping board out of the cupboard. “Can you sauté the vegetables? I’ll put the water on to boil and take care of the meat…” he paused. Bryce was blinking at him. “Where’d I lose you, buddy?”

“Sauté.” He emphasised the syllables: saw-tay.

“People always said Bryce was the smart one, but I just don���t see it,” Keiki called from the couch. Bryce whirled.

“And you know what it means, Miss Smarty-Pants?”

“Yeah, doofus. It means chop them into small bits, chuck them in a pan with some oil, and move them around until it smells good.”

Matthew couldn’t help smiling a little at the sass.

“Keiki, if you’re going to provide colour commentary, at least do it while helping.”

He half-expected her to complain, but she didn’t. She joined them in the small kitchen to monitor the boiling water and prepare the spaghetti. Matthew cooked the meat and Bryce was in his element, chopping mushrooms, onion and a red pepper. The smell of cooking made the apartment feel homey and Matthew realised he was hungrier than he thought. He wasn’t sure when he ate the dumplings with Aurora and Sienna, but it must have been a good six hours ago.

“So, Keiki,” he said. “What was it like growing up with this guy for a big brother?”

Keiki shrugged. “He skipped out when I was in elementary school.”

“I didn’t skip out, I went to college.”

“You must have been close at some point if you’ve come all the way here to stay with him now?” Matthew gently probed.

Keiki was quiet for a minute.

“I guess he used to be pretty funny.”

“Used to be?” Bryce was pretending to be offended, but his face was slightly guilty. Keiki had a point that she hadn’t seen much of him since he left.

“Jury’s still out, but all you’ve done since I got here is freak out and tell me off, so it’s leaning heavily towards a consensus,” She said, coolly. For once, Bryce didn’t have much of a comeback.

In the silence that followed, Matthew kept glancing at Keiki, comparing her to Bryce. He could see a clear family resemblance: the same brown eyes, the same straight nose, the same jawline. Keiki also had Bryce’s thick brown hair, except hers almost reached her waist. There was a quiet confidence there too, but also something guarded. That, and it had taken over a year and a surprise visit from his sister for Bryce to tell Matthew about his past.

The atmosphere relaxed again when they plated up three perfectly respectable bowls of pasta. Bryce quickly moved the mass of books and clutter off his small table so they could eat.

“This is delicious,” he grinned, wolfing down pasta.

“It’s pretty good,” Keiki agreed, giving Matthew a smile.

“You’re welcome.” Matthew smiled back.

They were quiet again as they ate, apart from a few questions from Keiki about work. Once they were finished, Keiki yawned and stood up.

“Got a bed I can crash on, Bryce?”

“Might as well take mine.” Bryce nodded towards his bedroom door which was ajar. Matthew caught a glimpse of the floor littered with socks and underpants.

“Don’t go snooping around in there,” Bryce added after Keiki.

“Like you have anything I’d want to see,” Keiki retorted. “Thanks for dinner, Matthew,” she added. “Good to know I won’t starve to death on my first night.”

“Go to beeeed!” Bryce groaned, and Keiki sniggered as she closed the door behind her.

Almost as soon as the door was closed, Bryce slumped forward with his head in his hands. Matthew didn’t say anything, wondering what he should say, but eventually Bryce took a deep breath and collected the plates to wash up. When they were done they collapsed on the couch.

“I’m sure you’re judging me super-hard right now,” Bryce said wearily.

“I’m not judging, but this is a lot to take in,” Matthew said. “You have a little sister you never told me about? I thought we were close.”

“We are! We’re close, but Keiki and I aren’t. Hell, I barely know her.”

He turned to Matthew as he explained.

“I always planned to go to college as far from Maui as I could. My parents and I were never that tight but I always meant to go back and visit, largely for Keiki. But then, in senior year, Dad went to prison and every detail of our lives got splashed over the news.” His face hardened now, his gaze distant as he remembered.

“That must have been hard,” Matthew said, softly.

“It was hell. My parents screwed a lot of people over with their scheme. Kids at school had families lose money because of them. And it didn’t stop when I got to college, everyone still recognised me. Everyone gave me crap for what they did. And I couldn’t even disagree with them, my parents did all of it.

“I couldn’t bear to see Mom or Dad after that, so I didn’t. I still called every week or so to say hi to Keiki but there’s only so much a college freshman can say to a six-year-old, you know?”

“When was the last time you spoke to her before this?” Matthew asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

“I sent her a text on her birthday back in February.”

“Oh, Bryce…”

“Yeah, I know,” Bryce sighed. He looked at Matthew sadly. “I must sound like such a bastard. Your sister…”

“My sister had cancer, Bryce. We were twins. The situations aren’t one and the same.”

Matthew patted Bryce’s back reassuringly, and Bryce looked relieved.

“It sounds like you were having problems with your parents before it all came out?”

“Well, they had a lot of expectations I didn’t meet. I didn’t know I wanted to be a surgeon at that point,” he added. “But, regardless, they wanted me to be a lawyer. For reasons that became very obvious once the feds kicked our door down.” He slumped against the back of the couch, and then smiled dryly. “Did you know I used to have long hair and a leather jacket?”

“I will need photographic evidence of this,” Matthew said, and they chuckled.

“Anyway, Dad and I would argue a lot, I’d sneak out all the time, he’d call me a disappointment, I’d tell him to shove it. On the other hand, Keiki was their perfect princess. She can do no wrong…be whoever she wants to be.”

There was no bitterness in Bryce’s voice, as if he had accepted the outcome a long time ago. However, Matthew wasn’t convinced: no one flew fifteen hours away from home for no good reason.

“Did you ask her why she left?”

“…Maybe? I don’t know. Probably not. The night’s been kind of a blur since she texted that she was outside my apartment.” Bryce looked uncertainly towards the bedroom. “I’ll try talking to her tomorrow. Properly.”

“Good idea,” Matthew nodded.

It was now past midnight so Matthew prepared to leave when Bryce caught his arm.

“Wait, Matthew…are you doing OK?”

Matthew hesitated.

“I saw you dancing with Raf at the festival. You looked sad.”

“Right.” Matthew pushed his hand through his hair. “There’s not much to say about it. I miss him. I’ve been trying to accept things and move on but…it’s been really, really hard. And I just feel pathetic about it.”

His voice had taken on a soft, sad tone that Bryce had been hearing quite a lot recently.

“You’re not being pathetic,” he reassured. “I know how much you liked him, and he was your first serious relationship. You take as long as you need to move on.”

Matthew was grateful for the support Bryce offered, but it didn’t make him feel much better. His broken heart ached in his chest, a dull pain that was never relieved. He was starting to realise that dancing with Raf had probably done nothing except reopen the wound. And yet, he couldn’t regret his stolen dance.

Matthew hugged Bryce goodbye and made his way back to his apartment, pausing to text the group to send him any pictures that they were happy for him to send to Gwyneth and – by default – her followers.

Everyone was in bed when Matthew got home. He went straight to his room but lay awake, staring at the ceiling as thoughts of Rafael, Bryce and criminal families filled his brain. After a little while, he picked up his phone and searched through the Boston T-Party line-up until he found the band that he and Raf had danced to. It was pathetic…but he felt like wallowing.

As the sweet song started up again, his mind wandered back to last September when Rafael had been on the operating table and Matthew had been breathing heavily behind a surgical mask, and then the evening was spent cuddled together on the hospital bed, comforting each other. Out of all the times they shared together, that evening had ended up being one of his most favourite memories.

The next song in the playlist had a verse where the singer broke down at the sound of someone’s name. Matthew thought he knew how they felt.

Across town, Bryce lay on his small sofa, his feet dangling off the arm rest. Not for the first time, he sat up and looked towards his bedroom door, but yet again he lay back down. If he had gone in to the bedroom, he would have found he wasn’t the only one lying awake.

Rafael had been lying in bed, drinking chamomile tea, as he looked through the festival photos his friends had shared. He paused on a selfie of Aurora and Kyra: he and Matthew had been captured dancing in the background. Matthew looked sad, but his own face wasn’t visible. He hastily moved on.

Sienna was tossing and turning in her bed, wondering if the bags under her eyes would ever fade.

Aurora had resorted to emailing Harper about her job transfer. It felt like such a cop-out, and yet she hadn’t known what to write beyond ‘Hi Harper’.

Kyra was in her childhood room in her parents house in Beacon Hill, tossing and turning like Sienna, until she jumped out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom. Fire raged in her chest.

****

The next day dawned warm and sunny. Matthew was up and out the door before his roommates were awake, throwing himself into his patient rounds. Gwyneth tested negative for everything so far, but Matthew tried not to let her get discouraged. Ethan wondered if a chemical in any of her beauty products was having adverse effects and suggested Matthew go through the many, many products she listed on her channel. He was still annoyed at him.

It would be pointless arguing with Ethan – especially when Matthew was the only person on the team with a Pictagram account – and his evening was spent diligently going through Gwyneth’s videos, keeping a spreadsheet of products used.

“I’m not getting anywhere with this,” he groaned aloud, his hand in his hair. He wondered if he should take a break, but then the next video started playing and the title gave him pause: A Wisconsin Delicacy…?

Matthew watched as Gwyneth introduced her friend, who appeared equally well-off and beautiful, and toured the viewers around the kitchen before making steak tartare. Matthew froze…and then was immediately back at Edenbrook, running another test.

****

“Taenia saginata!” he announced, triumphantly, to the diagnostic team the next day. He tossed the test results on the table and June started reading through them, with interest.

“Oh no, that poor girl…” Baz gasped, sympathetically.

“Am I evil for wanting to be there when you deliver the news on camera for all her fans?”

“A little, June, yeah!”

“Putting it on camera is her choice, not ours. We simply deliver the diagnosis,” Ethan said, smoothly. “Valentine, you cracked the case on this one. It’s all yours.”

Gwyneth looked up anxiously as the team walked in, every camera in the room turning towards them.

“Did you find something?” she asked.

“Oh, you’d better believe we did,” June said with a big smile.

“Go ahead, Dr Valentine,” Ethan said, helpfully encouraging.

“Here goes, Gwynners,” Gwyneth said to the camera. Millions of people were watching the livestream, comments coming in by the thousands.

Matthew couldn’t do it.

“I don’t think you’ll want a million people in the room for this, Gwyneth.”

“Oh god, is it that bad?” Gwyneth’s face filled with dread, her tears ready to spill.

“No, but it’s personal,” Matthew reminded her. “You may be a celebrity, but you have a right to privacy, and if your followers care about you, they will respect that.”

Gwyneth considered…and signalled for the cameras to be switched off. Matthew came out with it as soon as the livestream was cut.

“Gwyneth, you have a tapeworm.”

“Wait…what?!” Gwyneth’s voice rose to shriek as her camera crew exchanged shocked glances. “A…a tapeworm? Like, an actual worm? Inside me? Eating everything?”

“Pretty much,” Matthew nodded. “We estimate it’s about thirty-three feet long as an adult.”

Gwyneth looked like she might be sick as she stared down at her navel in disgust. Baz explained that taenia saginata transferred to humans almost exclusively through the larvae in uncooked beef, such as steak tartare.

“I didn’t even think,” Gwyneth gasped. “The symptoms didn’t start for several weeks after that.”

“On the bright side, you don’t have cancer,” Matthew said. “We’ll prescribe medication that will kill the worm and allow it to break down and pass through your system. We’ll test your stool again in three months time.”

Gwyneth was taking the news remarkably well. She admitted she was a little relieved that she hadn’t been on camera to receive the news – not that it stopped her going live on camera to update her fans as soon as possible – but now she could control how her personal details were shared. Matthew hoped she would remember her right to privacy more often.

He was in a good mood as he brought the discharge paperwork over to Ethan to give him the pleasure of signing it. A successful diagnosis and treatment plan always boosted his mood, and now that Ethan no longer had to deal with Gwyneth and her cameras, he was happy too.

“Ethan. The board wants to have a meeting with you.” Dr Banerji was walking towards them, his face stoic. “In light of the budget shortfall, they’ve decided the diagnostics team will shift it’s focus primarily to high-profile patients. Those who can pay for its charitable work.”

“What?” Ethan frowned. “That destroys everything the team should be about! I’m not doing that to your legacy. I’ll tell them I quit!”

“Ms Monroe’s case was a huge success,” Naveen said. “You quitting won’t solve anything. It’s out of our hands now, Ethan.”

Ethan gave Matthew a very quick look – too quick for there to be an accusation in it – before following Naveen down the hall. A chill was left in his wake.

Tags: @sazanes @rafasgirl23415 @ceruleansnake0

[sapphim]

he is just getting SO out of hand in the tabris origin I think it just needs to be shunted back to an au worldstate so he can go wild yk 🤪 plus I miss the ~drama~ in broken circle and arl of redcliffe

ah what if I switched rafael back to the surana origin again

[mx-pastelwriting]

hi ☺️ could i request a rafael barba fic where the reader turns up at his door one night (they’re in a relationship already and she’s gone round to cheer him up after a bad day) he opens the door and she’s dressed like a school girl and immediately starts role playing that barba is her professor and she’s come round to see if there’s anything she can do to make him give her an A for her class and obviously leads to smut 🥵 thank u!

Rafael Barba x GN! Reader

Summary: Request up top!

Warnings/Tags: Smut, Role play, Blowjob I wasn't comfortable with the idea of school girl outfit but everything else is fine.

Minors do not interact!

Tightening your grip on your coat, you make your way to Rafael's door. He had called you after court, and hearing his voice, you knew a night at his place was what he needed more than a glass of whiskey.

Knocking, you could hear a sigh before the door opened. His eyes lit up at the sight of you, but pulling the coat back, you watched as he melted in his doorway. "Let me make you feel better." You say he's kissing his cheek. His hands grip you. His breathing is unsteady. He pulls you in.

His lips rough against yours, he pushes you against the closed door, and breaking away, his eyes burn into yours, making you melt. Fuck, you walked all the way here in this." His voice made your head swim, as you knew he wouldn't let you sleep tonight.

Ignoring everything else, your hands run down to palm his growing tent, earning a groan from him: Please, sir, let me make you feel better, promise it'll to be worth an A+." Whispering right into his ear, making him scoff a laugh, He loved your little role-plays; they never disappointed, and letting him have an excuse to be rough.

Letting on with it, he pushed you to your knees and then pulled his hard cock out. Suck," he said, making your stomach swim. Taking him in your mouth, hands holding onto his cock and leg, he fucks your throat. Pushing your head into his cock, he lets out a moan.

Playing with balls, his moans became mixed with whimpers as you took over again. He stopped his hips, you tightened your grip on him, making sure to let him feel your throat. Your tongue plays with his cock as it glides back and forth on it. You look up at him, seeing a mess of a man looking back at you.

"Fuck." He groans, then pulls out of your mouth with a pop, making him spill all over your face, with his other hand having to catch himself on the wall.

Looking up at him with one eye open, he smirks before wiping his cum from the other, letting you see, "I'm not done with you yet. Bed now." He then follows you to the bedroom, already planning to call into work in the morning.

Hello, I hope you enjoyed if there is any grammar mistakes or misspellings sorry about that feel free to let me know in the comments, have a great day/afternoon/night!

♥ mx-pastelwriting does not consent to their fanfiction being copied, copied & credited, translated, used in videos and/or audios, screenshotted, used in AI.

Fanfiction is protected under copyright law when plagiarism is involved. If you plagiarize my work, either a piece or whole in any language, I will take legal action. Inspiration or the same idea does NOT apply to this, only word-for-word plagiarism in any language.