kirankhr

[kirankhr]

[kirankhr]

Imagine after Carole dies, icemav gets full custody of Bradley and one day, baby Goose pulls Ice aside and asks if they can draw moustaches on themselves to honour Goose’s birthday...“so dad doesn’t think we forgot him.”

Ice is like sure. The kid’s only nine. it’s the first thing that made him smile in weeks. He's not going to fight the idea and hey, maybe Maverick would laugh about it. Unfortunately Ice gets deployed.

Cut to months later, Goose’s birthday long gone, and Mav and Bradley are at the hangar to pick Ice and Slider up, both finally home.

Ice walks off the carrier with a full moustache.

Bradley screams in joy, "Is that REAL?!"

While Mav's just 👁️👄👁️ …then 👁️🫦👁️

Slider is like please. Not right now. I just want my bed

[kirankhr]

Ice: I’m not looking for trouble. Mav: What a horrible way to live.

[kirankhr]

Ice: Okay, the new enlistees are on a tour of the base right now. Can you guys make sure that you smile and wave, and don’t act weird or off-putting?

Slider: You hissed at one of them.

Ice (putting his hands up in defense): I thought it was funny!

Mav: You made one cry!

[kirankhr]

The funniest thing about Icemav is that they are the fidgetiest boys. You expect it from Mav, but it's less expected from Ice, even though arguably Ice might be worse than Mav -- he certainly steals more stuff to fidget with than Maverick does.

Mav is always moving. Always darting around. He talks with his whole body. Shuffling his feet. Bobbing his knees. Openly assessing every room he's in (and he tends to do this when he's in a situation he wants out of -- such as at the very beginning when they're yelling at him about taking Penny up in a jet -- because it means avoiding eye contact).

Ice is a primetime fidgeter. He's looping pens around his fingers, flipping quarters up and down his knuckles, swirling his iced vodka, screwing around with his watch. He may not be jumpy like Mav is, but he sure as hell isn't still.

Worse is that the more time they spend with each other the more they start to pick up where the other left off. Mav starts making origami out of Ice’s gum wrappers, and Ice now has a tendency to “walk-and-talk” when before he didn’t have the urge to do that — he’s just gotten used to doing it with Mav.

Seeing them sit together at a booth? The two of them can't stop. Think Goose and Slider would accuse them of being human oscillators. Goose would probably nudge Mav in the shin to get him to stop bobbing his leg, and Ron would grab Ice by the shoulders and shake him.

When they finally get together? Well. They match each other's energy and then compete over it. Ice touching one place, Mav grabbing another, just constant. At the same time, though, they also would try to settle the other. They know what's just fidgeting and what's a stress tell, even though they wouldn't have the words for that yet. Mav's hand coming up over Ice's if he's whipping a pen around his hand real fast, stilling him, maybe even replacing the pen with his hand if they're in a safe place to do so. During an argument when Mav starts trying to check out because he doesn't want to get yelled at and looking anywhere but at Ice, Ice can say, "Mitchell. Look at me," because he wants to make clear he's not about to start screaming but they do need to get through this.

Carole’s the only one who thinks to ask them directly about it when they all — Slider, Goose, Little Goose, Ice, Mav, and Carole — are all out to brunch together on one of their few mornings free.

“Are all pilots this twitchy?” Carole teases them. “Is it a requirement?”

Both Ice and Mav say at the exact same time, in damn near perfect sync: “The best ones are.” Carole and Goose burst out laughing. Slider points at them. “You two. Have been spending WAY too much time together.”

They both just shrug. Truth is, they don’t even know the half of it (though Ice imagines they’re figuring it out). As it stands, Ice hands Mav another gum wrapper, and Mav takes the pen for the check and gives it to Ice to twirl, and they remain content to fidget until they get the receipt back and can all head home.

[kirankhr]

First private kiss, letting themselves take their time and enjoy it

[Click for better quality, reblogs and tags appreciated]

[kirankhr]

thinking about kid logic and how to kids, everything is black and white for the longest time. they don’t have critical thinking skills and its easy for them to just accept things because they have no reason to question it. 

therefore, thinking about bradley’s family realising it one day when he’s with carole and maverick, and bradley just pipping up with,

“uncle mav, when you marry uncle ice, does that mean you’re gonna be maverick man too?”

and (after maverick’s brain stops short circuiting because marry ice marry ice marry ice marry ice marry ICE?!) he just calmly swallows, and asks in an incredibly high pitched voice because he’s still in shock,

“why would i be maverick man?”

and bradley, giving him the obvious look of ‘don’t be silly uncle mav…’ tells him, “well if uncle ice’s surname is man, when you marry him, you gonna be like momma and copy his name. like how momma is momma goose. and i’m baby goose. so you gotta be maverick man like uncle ice is ice man.”

and naturally, once carole and maverick have caught on to his child logic, carole is just cackling in the corner, and maverick is incredibly red because he’s still not over bradley’s incredibly calm assessment that his uncle mav and his uncle ice are going to get married one day (they’ll save explaining why that won't be happening (anytime soon) until he’s older), and maverick has to explain that uncle ice’s surname is actually kazansky and his full callsign is iceman, not just ice. they just call him ice because it’s easier, like how bradley calls him mav because its easier than maverick. 

carole is still no help because she’s already planning the icemav wedding in her mind because ‘excellent idea baby goose!!!”, and maverick then has to explain that actually, bradley’s surname isn’t goose, it’s bradshaw. and momma and daddy’s names aren’t momma and daddy goose, it’s carole and nick bradshaw. 

bradley’s exclaimed shock of WHAT still echoes in maverick’s ear 30 years later whenever he thinks about how he had to explain to a 5 year old bradley that his surname isn’t a cool one like goose, but rather just a normal surname like bradshaw, and that momma and daddy have different names. 

rumour has it adult bradley is still feeling betrayed to this day. 

(slider exclusively refers to maverick as mr man once him and ice do get married purely to be annoying for a long time.)

((maverick does kick him in the shins at least twice.))

[kirankhr]

That’s what I’ve been saying!!!

do they know it’s legal now

[kirankhr]

Everytime you think about writing Icemav fic, that’s Val Kilmer speaking to you. Continue his legacy

[kirankhr]

tg/tg:m incorrect quotes while we wait for tg3 pt.2

-----

Jake: I know I have a nice ass because everytime I walk by I hear someone say, "What an ass"

Bob, whispering: ... Should we tell him?

Bradley: Nah, he's right he does have a nice ass.

-----

Ice: What's a conspiracy theory you guys believe in?

Goose: Everytime Mav pulls some dumb shit-

Ice: What?

Slider: Damn Mav's dumb shit got his ass before he could finish.

-----

Mav: 'God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers' When did I sign up for the war ?

Ice: When you joined the navy ?????

-----

Ice: I swear on your lives, I'm straight.

Goose: FUCK I CAN'T BREATHE, TELL CAROLE I LOVE HER

Slider: The light..... it's getting closer

Mav: My heart! I think it's failing!

-----

Jake: I've only said 'I love you' to two people in my entire life: Bradley and a guy in a dark club who I mistook for Bradley.

-----

Ice: God, give me patience.

Goose: I think you mean “Give me strength”?

Ice: If god gave me strength, Mav would be dead.

-----

Bob: Adulting is hard, how do I quit?

Bradley, Javy: Time travel

Jake, Natasha: die

-----

Ice: Just saw my bf for the first time in a few months and he has a massive wound on his leg. He just glanced at it and said "brick fight"

Ice: When pressed: "nobody was mad, just a good old fashioned brick fight" ?????

-----

Mav: My favourite thing to do is say the dumbest, most cringey shit then watch the five stages of grief flash through Tom's eyes as he realises with horror that he still wants to kiss me.

[kirankhr]

𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 5,067

𝐀𝐎𝟑

𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: when she went missing, disappeared without a trace, it was almost like a deep seated black hole found it's way into rhetts chest, as he recalls all his time spent with her admist trying to find answers, the deep seated energy of the cursed lands they live on come apart to make way for lovers to find each other again.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: blood, car crash, supernatual elements, death.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: here it is, may or may not have felt my heart break just a little bit, but i really hope you've all enjoyed this series as much as i have. there's a lot here that's been left unanswered, because i wanted it to reflect a very real part of grief and loss. all i can say, is i hope you've enjoyed reading a house in nebraska series.

47 hours, it had been 47 hours since he’d last slept.

the wounds in his face had grown to their worst extent, the bruises across his face and their dark coloring only amplified but the lack of sleep, leaving his eyes sunken and his mind woozy.

his encounter with the shadow in his hallway, the images he’d been shown, he had not been able to stop thinking about them for even a split second.

each time he’d tried to close his eyes all he could see was that image of being held under water, hands around his neck brushing against his skin as his screams only produced bubbles.

it seemed that whatever force had chosen to show him this vision was insistent, desperate.

The only time he’d left the house, he’d been met with a series of stares and odd looks, the wounds and bruises on his face being more than enough of an attractor, but the troubled look on his face and reddened eyes from lack of sleep was more than enough. He could only ignore the way he was stared at, keep his head down and avoid any and all conversation for the time being.

Part of him could already feel the way the town was beginning to isolate him, word travelled quick, and he had no doubt within him that the fight he’d been the center of only a few nights ago had already made it’s way to the ears of every member of this community, painting him as unstable, presently not helped by his demanour.

When he’d stopped to fill his truck up, even there he felt the looks, the staring.

Going inside to pay, the woman at the counter seemed nervous to even hold eye contact with him, her fearful response to him only able to pull a small huff from his lips as he filed through the bills in his wallet in order to pay for his gas.

Throwing them against the counter, he watched the woman place it into the register and gather up his change, his busted lip doing nothing to hide the frown on his face as she held out the change for him.

Just as his hand reached out, the woman, seemingly desperate to avoid their hands touching in the slightest, allowed the coins to drop out of her own hand and drop onto the floor.

Whether it was purposeful or not, rhett decided he didn’t want to waste any more time, reaching down to pick up the coins bit by bit, letting out a soft grunt from the still tender muscles and bruises over his body being strained.

Even over the sound of his own head thrumming, he’d heard the gasp clear as day, soft and yet sharp, his head flew back up quickly to look at the woman, standing up at he saw her gaze to be aimed towards his chest, his hand coming up to feel for anything, looking down to try and see what had shocked her.

His blood ran cold as his fingers grazed over the cool metal of the cross necklace that had fallen from under his shirt.

Looking back up at the woman, the pair of them seemed to have a moment of complete silence exchanged between them, her eyes staying trained on his as if he might strike any second.

The seconds felt like eternity as they stood across from one another, only ending when rhett quickly turned and left, tucking the cross back into his shirt and going for his truck.

maybe that was why despite everything he’d been taught about the dangers of driving while sleep deprived, he was drving either way, his hand gripping the leather steering wheel with the look of a man who knew exactly what he was looking for, even if he himself had no clue what he was after.

the roads were dark now, no full moon in the sky to light his way this time, he could only see what was a few meters ahead of him with the yellowed head lights.

-

her feet were placed on the dashboard, eyes shut as she allowed the wind from the open window to brush across her face, some small escape from the july heat that was glaring down on the small town below.

his own eyes were trained in the road, silence overtaking the pair as they travelled, neither of them knew where they were heading, just that a drive had seemed to be what they needed; maybe they could find some peaceful stretch of field hidden from view, lay on the grass and watch the clouds.

as much as he shouldn’t take his eyes off the road, he couldn’t help himself but look upon her, the picture of an angel being kissed by the sunlight sitting right here in his dingy messy truck.

he didn’t deserve that.

the way he’d lived his life thus far hadn’t constituted being so blessed with her, he hadn’t held himself in a way that was deserving of such a beautiful creature sat beside him.

“eyes on the road angel.”

even with her eyes shut, somehow she’d known he was staring, her nickname for him used affectionately yet still carrying a warning tone.

he could only let out a smile and keep driving, turning his attention back to the road.

sometimes he’d have sworn she had eyes on the back of her head, the way she always seemed so aware of her surroundings, like she saw with more than just her eyes.

he was convinced that she was gonna outlive him purely based on that alone, like she was protected.

“what’d you tell him this time?”

his question caused the smile to fade from her face, her eyes opening for the first time in awhile since they’d started their drive.

she hadn’t answered at first, kept her eyes trained on the distance as she considered her next words, almost as if she was bothered by the question.

“he won’t even notice i’m gone, he’s working in that damn shed all day today.”

his brows furrowed at her answer, not wanting to face the risk of her father going looking for her, but he allowed her the favor of not digging further, trusting that she knew her father well enough.

even then, her eyes stayed open, her face carrying an unease to it until they’d finally arrived in the field of their choice.

a sea of yellowed grass stood before them, soft to the touch almost like a bed, easy and comfortable enough for them to settle onto and lay in each others arms, talking about whatever came to mind as they stared up at the sky, admiring the tops of the tree lines sneaking into the view.

“i don’t wanna die here.”

her words had taken him aback, his head lifting from its spot to look over at her, their hands touching as they laid there.

“huh?” his response showed his confusion, rising to his elbows as he allowed himself to turn on his side and look at her properly.

“what dya’ mean?”

“one day we’re gonna pack our things and leave.” she stated matter a factly, her eyes never leaving the sky until she finally rolled onto her side, her head remaining on the grass as she reached across the run a soft hand over his stubble.

“we could do it. just grab what we can and run.”

the lack of smile on her face told him she was completely serious, that her heart was set and nothing in this universe, including him, could change her mind.

his silence breathed anxiety across her face, her brows upturning and he stared back at her, waiting for the moment he dismissed her and called her nuts for thinking she was gonna get out of here.

instead, he leaned his face into her hand, shutting his eyes and breathing in the scent of her perfume before nodding his head.

“i guess i don’t have a choice but to go with you.”

his words brought a wide smile to her face, her excitement responding only causing her to launch forward and capture his lips, overjoyed at the silent pact they had made, the promise to each other that they’d run together.

run.

-

it was barely above a whisper, and yet when he’d heard it, the sharp hiss of that word from the back seat of his truck, he’d hardly had time to regain control as he let out a yell and turned quickly to see the empty back seat.

he’d fucking heard it; even if it was a whisper he’d known it was her voice, hissed out with a sense of urgency.

the wheels screeched, fighting back against his quick steering as he felt himself lurch to the side, his truck veering to the side quicker than he could control, his startled turn leading straight towards a tree in the side of the road.

unable to regain control quick enough, he’d watched his lights flash against the tree line, split seconds passing before his hands came up to his face, bracing himself for impact.

the last thing he heard, the sound of glass shattering and the crash of metal against bark.

the last thing he saw, the image in his rear view mirror.

as his exhaustion came back with a fiery vengeance, as well as the shock of his truck crashing into a tree, he could only fight back against the urge to pass out for so long.

yet as his eyes grew heavy, the pain beginning to go numb, he could see the image of something passing near his truck, his head lifting for a few mere seconds to see what was now standing a few meters away.

a pair of glowing eyes, staring across at him from the other side of the road.

Somehow even in his state, he knew it was the same pair of eyes, the same ones that had nearly caused him to crash only three days ago, now looking at the wreck with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

His chest burned with anger, his skin growing hot, so much so he was surprised that the blood over his face hadn’t begun to boil.

Summoning the strength from his anger, he managed to wrench the seatbelt off of him, the door swinging open, it felt like slow motion, the pain his his body screaming and begging for him to stop, yet he continued, practically falling out of the drivers seat and onto the dirt.

The coyote hardly seemed phased by his movements, just as last time, it stayed perfectly still and unmoving, staring him down with unblinking eyes, those same eyes that seemed to observe with the intelligence of something inhuman.

Crawling across the dirt, he found himself getting closer and closer to the animal, reaching his bloodied hand out towards it, only to find himself finally succumbing to the exhaustion he’d been fighting against for the past two days. Head hitting the dirt ground with a dull thump.

-

When he’d opened his eyes, he was no longer laying in the dirt, instead he had found himself standing alone in a field of yellowed grass, his vision limited apart from the moonlight.

It had taken him a moment, but he’d quickly recognised this place as the field they’d promised each other that they would run away together, even down to the flattened area of grass at his feet where they’d been laying, as if it was only that same day.

He felt stuck, unable to move from the spot he was standing, like his feet were being buried in the grass, like roughspun rope holding him in place with absolutely no means of escape.

Everywhere he looked there was only the dark tree line, a circle entrapping him. His mind was spinning as he turned, his heart beginning to race.

The sounds were quiet as first, cutting through the booming silence, the only bit of noise in this entire place, no rustle of trees or soft wind, only those sounds like a wounded animal, growing louder and louder until they began to melt into the sounds of human screams.

His head ached, the sound coming across as similar to nails on a chalkboard, blood curdling screeches against his brain making him kneel over and try to place his hands over his ears for any relief from the sounds that felt like they were now coming in all different directions, a chorus of the same scream all coming at him from every direction.

As quick as it had started, the screams let up almost instantly, dead still silence once again taking over the hellscape he found himself in.

Opening his eyes, he took his hands off of his ears and tried to look out into the darkness for any sign of what it was that was making the sounds before, only to find nothing but forest staring back at him.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see only small whispers of movement, a flash of white against the darkened treeline surrounding him, seemingly coming from any and all direction, only to disappear as soon as she looked directly at it.

He could feel the panic finally beginning to set in, his head whipping in any direction it could, desperately trying to lay eye’s upon whatever it was running against the treeline, taunting him silently.

His chest rose and fell heavily, his panting beginning to be the only sound that could be heard, no echo or brush of leaves against one another, just his ramming heartbeat and panting, his own head beginning to feel dizzied, his eyes growing heavy as his sight grew blurred.

Almost as if it was instantaneous, his head stopped looking around, his eye’s landing on a sight that seemingly ripped the dizziness from him, everything in that moment seeming to grow to a cracking standstill.

Only a few meters directly in front of him, there she stood, her white church dress flowing despite the absence of any wind, her back turned to him, only being graced with the sight of her hair against her back.

He’d tried to call out her name, yet the words were stuck in his throat, almost as if there was some other force keeping him from trying to call for her, imprisoning his own voice in his chest.

His instinct caused him to fight against whatever it was keeping him stood there, summoning what he could of his strength to finally pull himself to her, to grab her arm and run away out of this hellscape.

As his desperation grew, his mouth opened, a silent scream leaving his throat, veins developing on his temple from how hard he was trying to scream for her, tears beginning to well up in his eye’s as she stood only meters away from him, unable to hear him.

Finally, as if whatever force was keeping him stood still had finished having its fun with him, almost instantaneously he felt himself free’d from the confines of the ground below him, sending him flying forward onto the ground, gripping the thick grass instantly and trying to pull himself back up.

Looking up and ahead, where she had once stood only meters away, she was now stood in front of him, her eyes staring down at him with a look of helplessles.

Unlike whatever it was that had manifested in his apartment, she wasn’t drenched in water, now, here she was in front of him, just as beautiful as the last time he’d seen her, her skin practically glowing, her eyes still carrying that same look of mystery that they always had.

Here she was now in front of him, as if she’d never left him in the first place.

Even if neither was able to speak, Rhett still found himself able to at leasy reach forward and place his hand against her cheek, his rough hand coming across her skin only to feel as if he was touching a cloud, so soft and almost transparent as if she was made of smoke. Her eyes grew sadder as his hands barely brushed against her skin, her brows furrowing in the same that they always had, making him feel as if she knew more than he was ever capable of knowing, that her knowledge of this world seemed to greatly outweigh his own, a wisdom he could never hope to compare to, only matched up with a great sadness.

As he look back at her, his own brows furrowed, a pained look on his face, unable to express it in words; her hands coming up to ghost touches of her fingers against his cheeks, only able to find himself shutting his eyes and relishing the feeling he’d been craving for so long, the feeling of her heavenly touch against his skin.

He could only relish the feeling, feel his heart immediately calmed by her touch, only appreciate it for as long as it might last, allowing her to tell him she loved him in the only way she was able to.

Just as it had been so many other countless times, when his eyes finally reopened, he was no longer in that darkened field, now finding himself staring up at the night sky, the smell of his crashed turck accompanied by the now present sound of wind against leaves, the soft chirping of animals in the distance, sound returning to his ears as he lay against the dirt road he had passed out on, how long ago, he had no clue.

His body ached each time he moved, only able to let out a grunt as he slowly rose to his feet, blood already gathered around his nose, new injuries added onto the ones he’d previously incurred.

Staring at the dirt ground in front of him, his eyes glared into the spot where the coyote had once stood, tracks of small paw prints showing him where the animal had headed, a trail which seemed to call out to him, daring him to follow.

Only able to muster up what small bit of rationality he could, he held a hand against his aching rib, slowly beginning to follow the trail of coyote tracks presented to him, something deep in his stomach making it seem like this was the only reasonable course of action to take from there.

-

The woods hadn’t always been the most romantic place in the world, but there was only so many places the pair of them were able to sneak around without being seen, a small town of gossiping wives was a recipe for disaster anyhow.

At least here, as the sun reached through the cracks in the tree’s and down upon them, they had their only little slice of heaven here, alone and safe from the prying eyes of everybody else around them.

His lips molded against her’s in a way that suggested they had been shaped just for one another, his hands against her waist in a silent promise of safety, holding her softly against a tree as he continued to steal kisses from her, the soft giggles that sounded like bells sounding out as he moved his soft kisses to her cheek and forehead, unable to stop peppering his lips against the skin of her face.

Bringing her hands up to push him away softly, she could only smile up at him, her eyes seemingly pouring with a look of love and admiration, looking up at him as if he were blessing come to life and stood in front of her.

“I love you Rhett Abbot.”

Her words took him aback only for a second, her hand coming to rest on his cheek and run her thumb softly against his rough skin, her words only seemed to summon a deep warmth within his chest, a feeling of utter euphoria.

“You can say things like that to me, dandelion..”

His response made her head tilt, her brows furrowing only for Rhett to lean in and steal another kiss, his hands resting on her cheeks as he shut his eyes, letting his lips mold over her own all over again, pressing his body against her own.

Pulling away, he let his forehead rest against her’s, smiling deeply and keeping his eyes closed in order for him to appreciate the moment of serenity they were entrapped in.

“Now i’m never gonna let you go.”

His promise brought a smile to her face, letting her eyes remain closed as she inhaled his scent, the smell of woodfire’s on his flannel button down, the taste of bourbon on his lips, he was like her own personal aphrodisiac.

A mutual promise to one another, a vow of love and protection, stronger than any silver band or blessings read out by a priest, a unbreakable bond now shared between the two of them, never to be severed so long as they still breathed air.

-

The forest wasn’t filled in with sun anymore, it was almost completely dark, save for the moonlight shining in through the cracks in the tree’s, illuminating just enough for him to still follow to seemingly neverending coyote tracks before him.

Each step he took seemed to bring pain searing across his body, the sharp prain against his rips now presenting him with the feeling of a hot wetness against his hand, a feeling which he chose to ignore, some other part of him, desperation screaming out to him to continue following the tracks in front of him.

He had not idea what he was looking for, no clue what he hoped to find when he finally finished following the paw prints against the dirt ground, he could only continue, fight through the pain as he persevered.

It seemed that the further and further into the forest he became, he could only feel as overwhelming sense of fear beginning to take over, fear that didn’t feel like his own, like an imprint of emotions had been left behind, like the smell of smoke that never seems to be able to washed out.

Something terrible had happened on the ground where he was standing and he could practically feel it emanating from the ground below his feet.

Only continuing on, he wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted by whatever was seemingly trying to distract him, the eyes that he could feel watching him, the way he could have sworn he could hear his footsteps echoing around him, until they seemingly began to turn into footsteps of their own, like he was being followed.

He continued until his entire shirt had begun to be soaked with his own blood, the pain beginning to feel more like a dull numbness, to the point he hardly even recalled what had caused the open wound in the first place, a piece of metal from his truck? Maybe glass? He could hardly remember.

The coyote tracks seemed never ending, as if the animal had gone on for hours, it now felt like hours that he’d been trailing the damned thing, trying so desperately when he didn’t even know what he was being led to.

As much as he’d recalled her warnings about the animal, it now seemed like the only reasonable thing to do, at this point he would have done anything just to know what happened, even if he could never hold her in his arms again.

When the tracks finally came to a halt, it felt almost purposeful, the clearing in the sea of tree’s presenting moss covered rocks and a body of water that he could have sworn seemed familiar to him, and yet his brain couldn’t comprehend where.

Stumbling further into the clearing he’d seemingly been led to, he could see movement out of the corner of his eye, only able to whip his head around, laying eyes on the very same animal he’d been following this entire time.

Now seemingly perched on one of the many moss covered rocks littered around him, it stared down at him with those same eyes that had glared across at him so many times now.

Silence overtook the pair of them, seemingly just staring each other down, yet no where near in a way that told him the animal felt threatened by his presence, if anything, it was the other way around. “What do you want huh?” his words were croaked, his injury now making itself more known than ever, sending shockwaves of pain all across his body each time he moved, his hand resting against it, his body beginning to crouch slightly.

No answer, of course there wouldn’t be, it was an animal, why would it answer him.

And yet, he couldn’t help but feel like it was trying to tell him something, waiting for something to click in his own mind.

“What the fuck do you want!”

His scream echoed throughout the tree’s travelling across the forest, the coyote seemingly having no reaction, only allowing it’s gaze to travel away from Rhett’s own, seeming to catch something a few meters away, closer to the body of water.

The dread he’d been feeling since he stepped foot in the forest, the pit of fear deep in his stomach that had seemed to never go away, the source was there before him, his heart feeling as if it was beginning to shatter, heat travelling across his entire body as he could make out what it was.

“Oh jesus christ.” his voice broke, wobbling out of his throat as his lip trembled, silently he begged for it not to be what he throught it was, tears welling up in his eyes already.

“Please god no..” his prayers were useless, his words going unheard on deaf ears as he began to step towards the shape poking out of the water, a glimpse of white fabric, the sight of dark hair clinging to skin.

The closer he became, he couldn’t help the bile rising from his stomach, only able to keel over and let the contents of his almost empty stomach empty onto the ground, the dread causing such an adverse physical reaction he almost felt like he was dying.

Just as nearly came to stand right above where she was lying upon the grass, he felt his own body give way, the wound in his side seeming to finally claim what little of his strength he had left, only leaving him bleeding into the moss below.

Digging his fingers into the ground, he continued to her, crawling and dragging his body closer and closer, ignoring the way he could feel his own body beginning to give out at any moment.

His muscles burned, his head spun, yet he continued, finally coming to lay beside where she laid as well.

Even if she had been missing for nearly two months, she still seemed pristine, as if nature had barely taken ahold of her; by some odd force that he had little hope of understanding, she hadn’t changed in the slightest. Her hair was still wet, her eyes staring up at the night sky as if she was still making shapes out of the stars like she’d always used to, the red marks in the shape of hands on her throat seemingly the only stain across her skin, looking like a china doll made of the most priceless material on earth.

His heart ached in a way he’d never felt before, as if this was comparable to finding out she’d even gone missing in the first place, this was worse than the physical pain his body was going through, this was as if someone was ripping part of his very soul away.

Pure and utter turmoil, his throat only able to let out deep and guttural sobs as he placed a hand across her cheek like he had always used to, swearing that she still felt warm, like she’d been doing nothing except laying here waiting for him.

“I-I’m here now dandelion.”

He tried to comfort her, just as if she’d only scraped her knee and wasn’t laying dead before him.

“Its okay, you’re safe now.” his voice broke, taking her hand in his and bringing her knuckles to his lips to kiss her skin softly.

He let himself roll onto his back softly, keeping her hand interlocked tightly in his own, letting his eyes roll up to look at the stars above them, the pair of them now laying there staring up at the constellations that they’d have previously spent so long looking up at on those summer july nights.

“Lets just rest here for a moment.”

His voice was hardly above a whisper, the wound in his side ripping the last inkling of his voice away from him, his bloodloss making his skin white, his eyes hollowed.

Somehow, despite the pain in his heart, there was some small part of him that began to feel relief, even as his consciousness began to slip away from him, he gripped her hand tightly, feeling at least the smallest bit of satisfaction knowing that they were together again.

The forest had always seemed determined to bring her back to him, just like he’d promised so long ago, she was never going to be away from him for long, they’d vowed that to each other, that very same unbreakable promise, made in that very same forest.

-

Its so quiet here.

Nothing but the sound of peace, soft winds and the sound of grass swishing against itself.

The sun always shines on their skin, keeps them warm as they lay together, an eternity of peace, far from anything that could ever hurt them.

All they do all day is lay in each others arm’s and whisper prayers of devotion to one another, day and night, when the sun goes down and the moon takes its place.

Nobody ever found them; just as she’d disappeared so did he, his truck being the last evidence of his existence on this planet, the wreck on the side of the dirt road.

No missing poster ever went up for him, just as her’s were eventually taken down.

Here they’re protected from the prying eyes of all the others that would have judged them, here they only have each other.

And that’s closer to heaven than most people ever find in their life.

-

taglist: @peachyrue-777 . @definitelykyles .

[kirankhr]

girlhood is staying up late to read the top posts in an x reader tag

[kirankhr]

Magik #5 (2025) Marvel Comics

[kirankhr]

𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐚

𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐱 𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐛!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3,424

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: when she went missing, disappeared without a trace, it was almost like a deep seated black hole found it's way into rhetts chest, as he recalls all his time spent with her admist trying to find answers, the deep seated energy of the cursed lands they live on come apart to make way for lovers to find each other again.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: reader haunting the narrative, missing persons, religious themes, supernatural elements if you squint. narrative told through time skips and flashbacks.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: so the lewis pullman resurgence seems to have pulled me out of my cave, i can't promise ill be back to publishing on a regular occurence, but my ethel cain love has seemed to have pried this out of me. inspirations of a southern gothic nature, ethel cains music, and the movie lake mungo. if you guys get invested enough in this i'll release part two.

the dull hot wind is the only sound finding its way through the window opened only a crack, blowing the ripped white cotton curtains back and fourth softly, the peeling white paint around the window frame catching the early morning rays in a way that almost makes it look like a painting. 

even in the cramped single bed with a spring mattress that creak with every minute movement made, they’re so still that no sound emerges from its springs. in this moment, nothing exists outside of this old bedroom, nothing except the pair of them achieving what some might consider peace, or at least whatever semblance of peace they could find in between the hellscape of a small christian town they live in together.

she smells like bar soap and the old antique perfume she’s had for god knows how long that never seems to run out, the cotton dress splayed over her body practically soaking up the scent which he makes a point of resting his nose against, his eyes shut softly as he feel’s her fingers running across his scalp, his head resting on her chest as he feels the slow rise and fall of her breathing, the slow heartbeat seemingly matching pause with his own to create a song unlike any he’s ever heard before. 

maybe this is what they meant whenever they mentioned heaven, not some pair of pearly golden gates with a swarm of angelic choirs, maybe heaven was just this bedroom in her folks old farmhouse that they’d lived in for generations, maybe heaven was him resting atop her as she played with his hair absentmindedly and stared out the window to the field staring back at her with an overwhelming silence.

she felt like the mountains were watching her, like they were their own conscious being’s with such wisdom that would never match her own, guardians watching everybody live and die, countless stories they could never tell. 

his eyes finally opened to stare across at her, the concern on her face seemingly breaking him out of the trance he was stuck in; this is how it always was when he was with her, he’d spend hours in her arms only for it to feel like minutes, lying in the arms of a creature like her, sometimes it felt as if he was looking across at the face of god, yet he knew how much trouble such a statement could get him in with her ma and pa, if they even knew about the pair of them. 

so many nights climbing in and out of her window, fleeting moments and time spent together going down the drain quicker than he ever wanted it to, he wanted to get the fuck out of here, take her with him, go wherever his truck would take them. 

he could see the worry in her eyes, the way she stared out the window like she knew something was coming that she couldn’t stop, some unmovable and unchangeable fate that she couldn’t run from if she tried.

when her head finally turned to face him, he could see the look of concern in her eyes now changed to sheer horror, her mouth opening but no sound coming out as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

rising from his resting place on her chest, just as he lifted his hand to place a hand on her cheek, he felt his hand fall into nothing, darkness overtaking anything he could see as the sudden feeling of falling intruded upon his senses like a wash of ice cold water. 

-

4:02 AM

the red numbers across from him on his side table glared into his vision, the dull red light only filling up a small amount of his bedroom as he awoke with a soft gasp, his eyes looking around wildly for a few moments as he sat up quickly; trying desperately to find her in his bed where he could have sworn she had been only moments ago.

the reality of where he was came crashing down on him as his eyes flutter closed, the ramming thumping of his heart beat trying its hardest to crawl its way out of his chest as he lifted a hand to his face, the feeling of sweat across his skin bringing him back down to earth.

every time he had that dream, it always felt like he got closer every damn time, that maybe he’d finally be able to touch her and hold her.

maybe this time he’d be able to bring her back with him, out of his dreams and back into his arms where she belonged. 

everybody in town had tried to tell him that she’d skipped town, that she was probably my halfway across the country with a new name and a new identity. 

it wasn’t uncharacteristic of the people in this place to try and bury the memory of that they didn’t understand, try to pretend like it never even existed in the first place; they sure as hell never understood her, even he didn’t sometimes. sometimes when he’d look in her eyes, he had no idea what was looking back at him, what sort of secrets lied behind those pools and what was she trying to run from. 

the sheriff’s effort was minimal when it came to investigating her disappearance, extending as far as putting up a few missing posters with a photo of her standing smiling in the church choir, the smile on her face doing nothing to off set the look that was always ever present in her eyes, the picture always being more haunting than fond to him. 

it seemed that he was the only one who wasn’t content to just let her fade into obscurity, for the missing posters to just become another face in the crowd to be forgotten, the image of her continued to remain burned into his mind, his every waking moment taken up by questions of where she was, what happened, was she okay? 

it had been like this every day since she hadn’t shown up to church on sunday, concern seeming to rise with her folks when she’d remained gone since that morning, unsure if she’d even come home that night.

it wasn’t the missing church that had made rhett start to feel that pit of dread in his stomach, it was the fact that she hadn’t been to see him. 

as far as he’d been told, all her possessions were left behind in her room, nothing was missing save for the silver cross she always wore around her neck, the only thing she would never leave the house writhing, the cross he’d held between his fingers as she lay beneath him many a night, looking up at him like he was an angel. 

when she was officially declared missing, he’d be unable to hide his reaction, his jaw tensing when her ma had relayed all the details to him with a shaky voice when she’d come by to ask if he’d seen her, citing that she’d seen her chatting to him after church once or twice. 

if only her poor old ma had known just how deep their connection went, just how much her daughter’s disappearance was causing bile to feel like it was rising in his throat, a black hole growing larger and larger the longer she was gone. 

it like she’d simply ceased to exist, like she was there one moment and the next not. but he knew that didn’t happen, people don’t just fade out of existence and never return. she had to be somewhere out there, somewhere waiting for him. 

seven weeks later, and her absence was still a constant presence leering over him at all times, seeing her missing posters as he drove past the bus stop in his rusted truck, seeing her folks farmhouse up on the hill as he drove across the dirt road back to his own home. 

he’d taken the time to visit her folk’s every now and then, convincing himself he wanted to see how they were holding up, telling himself you would have wanted him to make sure they were doing okay; once every few weeks became once a week, which then became every three days. he’d bring them groceries when they needed them, even stayed to make sure her ma would actually eat, the grief of her lost daughter seeming to place her in a downward spiral. 

her pa wasn’t handling it any better, spending his every waking hour in the shed out back, isolating himself from everyone around him and refusing to speak to anybody save for a sentence or two, most of all rhett. 

he could make sure her ma was okay at the very least, even if it meant sitting with her in the kitchen as she showed him through photo albums looking over childhood photos of her standing ankle deep in the lake down the hill from her house, her face frozen in a laugh as she held her white church dress up away from the water. 

the pain was like a hot knife searing across his throat, keeping himself composed even as her poor mother shed her tears for her lost daughter, joining his hand with hers in a prayer even if he never thought of himself as a particularly godly man. 

yet even now, sending off his prayers to a god he didn’t believe in hardly seemed like a fool’s act, silently promising that if he could find his way back to her, that he’d never question again, never stop going to church till he was too old to walk, and even then, he’d damn well crawl. 

when he’d first seen her standing in the family graveyard across the field, he’d thought it was his own mind playing tricks on him, convincing himself that the lack of sleep from staying up all night with a grieving mother had made him so weary to the point he was now seeing the flow of her white church dress in the distant darkness of the night. 

when he’d blinked, turning his head completely to face the eerie site of the uneven headstones sticking into the ground, there was nothing there, only the reeds growing out of the hollow ground flowing silently in the cool autumn wind. 

as he’d climbed back into his truck and slammed the door shut, he taken a moment to rest his forehead on the steering wheel, a deep sigh emerging from his ribs as he tried to reason with himself, assure himself that he wasn’t going nuts, a trick of the light shining down on the farm by the half moon was all it was. 

the land around here had a strange way of playing tricks on people, sometimes it felt like the ground itself was breathing, like standing in the back of a giant. the tree’s were ancient the mountains even more so, some used to say that there were forces at play that would drive even the most sane man to do unspeakable acts. 

maybe the land itself had swallowed her up and stole her from him, claiming its pound of flesh in order to keep some undisturbed force at bay. 

if that had been the case, he would have gladly allowed himself to be swallowed up with her. 

he truly hadn’t mean to go looking, he’d insisted with himself that it was purely because the police weren’t doing enough, having essentially filed her away to the depths of a cabinet to be forgotten. he told himself that if he just went a little further, he might finally be able to have her back in his arms safe and happy just like he always had. 

sometimes going looking results in more questions than answers, even worse so, answers to questions you’d never think to ask. 

he didn’t know what he’d expected to find as he stalked through the tree line near her families home, his eyes peering from top to bottom as he searched for any sign of her presence, any little detail that could give him insight into where she’d gone. 

even if it had turned up with nothing, he could at least find some semblance of peace knowing there was nothing to be found. 

and yet, he had done so little to prepare himself for the possibility that something would find him. 

hanging across a branch in the distance, catching the sunlight in a way that had managed to catch his eye instantly, swinging softly in the wind, was that exact same silver cross, swaying back and fourth with a soft almost silent jingling as the silver chain collided with itself. 

moving in an abnormal way for the noticeable lack of wind, he took little notice of its almost unnatural movements, only able to let out a pained sound as he wrapped his hands around the chain and pulled it from its place hanging on a thin branch. 

from its placement, all the way to the harsh movements, he couldn’t help but feel like she was calling for him, reaching out of the darkness and pleading with him to find her, a silent scream for help. 

-

12:38 am 

Running the delicate silver chain along his finger tips, he’d made little effort to fight back the emotion of finding the necklace, his throat on fire with the tears he let fall, he couldn’t even tell himself if it was because he was grateful to finally have a piece of her back with him for the first time in months, almost as if her energy was practically radiating off of the metal, or if he was more terrified of the implications that came with it.

He refused to ask himself the why’s and the hows of the necklace ending up hung on a tree in the woods, only promising himself that he’d return to those woods again tomorrow, try and see if there was anything else to be found that might tell him even a little bit more about what happened to her. 

Staring up at the dull cream coloured ceiling of his bedroom, he could only pull the cross over his head and let it rest over his heart as he held his hand over it and tried to fill his mind with happier memories of her, anything that could alleviate from the horrifying images that his mind was playing back like a reel, swimming in a pool of all the things that could have happened to her, trying to believe they weren’t true.

-

It had been a muggy night in the summer when they’d first crossed path’s, even though it was late in the evening, the small town was still brimming with the occasional sound of children yelling out, finally allowed to stay out a little later in the evening to do whatever it is that the young ones did nowadays.

He was hardly excluded from a summer night of activities just like everybody else, seemingly wanting to take advantage of the warm nights while they still could, before they were sucked back into a cold dark winter that brought with it early sundowns and frostbitten mornings. 

The warm summer evening’s brought with it a populace of folk trying to beat the hot night air by venturing down to the lake just down the road from the church, a freshwater sanctuary hidden by tree’s that went barely touched save for the summer months.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he’d spotted the group of teens running down towards the church as he’d passed in his truck, headlights clearing the dirt road in front of him, revealing what the moonlight couldn’t. 

In his defense, he’d hardly ever needed to pay much attention to the road at hours as late as this.

The stream of white suddenly in front of him had him slamming his foot on the brake so hard that it lurched him forward, a painful reminder of the seatbelt he’d clipped in earlier which dug into his collar. 

With wide set eyes and his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles went white, he allowed to headlights to make the image in front of him clearer, his heart ramming in his ears so hard he could barely even hear the rumble of the engine.

She’d might as well have been a deer in headlights, her white dress flowing against the soft warm wind as she held a towel closely to her chest, almost as if it would have been a barrier between her and the truck had he not stepped on the break soon enough.

Her wide set eyes focusing on him were quickly moved to the other side of the road, the sound of amused screeches of other girls ringing out as one of her friends ran across to grip her wrist and pull her the rest of the way across the road, playfully calling her an idiot as she urged her to move. 

Her friends amusement at the prospect of her being hit by a car wasn’t as distracting as the fact that as she began to run the rest of the way across the road and towards the lake just down the hill, she turned suddenly and looked back at him through his passenger side window, an unreadable look crossing over her features as the world suddenly seemed to move in slow motion.

The truck didn’t start moving again until she was completely out of sight, disappearing over the hill and completely out of rhett’s field of view, seemingly entranced by the sight of her white dress shining against the field’s in the moonlight. 

The next time he’d seen her had been at the church at the top of the hill. Even if we wasn’t in attendance himself, he’d offered to fix the broken fence surrounding the almost decrepit building, something to keep him busy, probably didn’t hurt that it kept him in the church folk’s good graces, considering just how many of them were littered around the town. 

He was never one for religion, never saw much point in prayer, he’d been under the belief that life dishes out what it does, and that you could only move on and make the most of it for as long as he could remember. But it wasn’t his place to judge what people did to bring themselves any small comfort when it came to the ups and downs throughout, if somebody could gather any form of faith that made things make just a little more sense, he couldn’t blame them.

When that same white church dress came into his peripheral vision like a ghost, he couldn’t have not looked, almost like the wind was singing to him, urging him to look up from the particularly stubborn nail he was trying to pry out of the wood and catch sight of the angel stood at the entrance of the church.

The sounds of shuffling and footsteps seemed to signify that the service was coming to an end, the chattering sounds of voices beginning to grow louder and louder as people began to leave.

It was that same goddamn pair of eyes on him, just as they had been when she’d been stood in front of the headlights of his truck, only this time paired witha tilted head as she seemed to observe him from a distance, her expression once more unreadable, only before the soft smile came across her plush lips when they’d made eye contact. 

He’d stood from where he was kneeling like a reflex, taking a moment to adjust the cap sat on his head, never once breaking the eye contact shared between them, silent yet such an exchange of energy that speaking could never achieve, an unknowable interaction shared only between the two of them.

That was the day he’d finally learnt her name, when he’d heard the sound of her mother calling it from inside, finally causing a break in their eye contact as she turned her head to smile at her mother walking out and taking her daughters arm, the pair stepping down the small set of wooden stairs and onto the dirt ground. 

He’d made a point to look away, just as a matter of politeness, yet because he knew what church folk were like, especially with their daughters, and he could only imagine what it might look like if he was caught staring at her like a bobcat stared at jackrabbit. 

-

4:02 AM. 

[kirankhr]

bob: *stretching and his sweater rides up, showing off a little bit of his abs and v line*

you: i feel like a someone from the victorian ages seing a glimpse of an woman's ankle, holy shit-

bob: you say something?

you: i'm really am no better then a man.

bob: ???

[kirankhr]

I NEED Thunderbolts to stream rn before I go insane

[kirankhr]

“You know, your heartbeat isn’t all that different.”

As you look up at Luffy from your vantage point, your left palm resting on his chest as you turn your ear away from where you were listening carefully, he looks at you quizzically. Your smile is wide as you gaze at him, then you pat his chest gently.

“Why would it be different? I’m just laying here.”

He’s right about this, the two of you have turned in for the night and are just about to sleep, but every so often in these serene moments, you’ve sometimes wondered if you’d ever be able to catch a glimpse of something different in his pulse ever since the events that played out at Wano.

He has a heart that has stopped, started, experienced all sorts of arrhythmias… you have heard that in some ancient medical traditions, a thousand conditions could be gleaned from just close attention to the steady (or not so steady) rhythmic thump of someone’s heart, that you could learn so much about someone from every beat -

And yet, Luffy sounds regular, steady, just like he’s always been, which isn’t particularly upsetting nor is it exciting. 

However, the familiarity of it does put you at ease naturally. You press your ear against him again to listen and inhale slowly, then exhale, consolidating all your senses into just one.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

“Do you want to know what it sounds like when I transform?” Luffy asks. His palm comes to a rest on the top of your head, a soft caress of your hair accompanying the question. His voice is lower, quieter than usual, perhaps because he’s already sleepy since it is the middle of the night and he’s starting to wind down from the day.

“No, not now. I just…” your voice trails off as you close your eyes.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

Trillions and trillions of people have heartbeats just like this. But this one, his heartbeat, is the one you might cherish the most.

You’re entranced, pulling closer to him as you relish in this sound that reminds you that he’s here with you, always, connected. With two free fingers, you feel your own pulse in your neck. 

Not the exact same rate - yours a little faster, a little fainter, but you’re both still here. Together.

“Are you okay?”

Your mind naturally runs a mile a minute, a train of thought often too fast for him to catch up to before he decides to give up on trying to match it and decides to wrangle it into comprehension. An arm curls over your waist and he shifts easily until he’s atop you in bed. He’s careful to be light on your body as he supports his weight while he looks deeply into your eyes.

“What are you thinking?” Luffy asks, finally. Deep brown eyes run over your body; you’ve already had sex tonight - he could very easily indulge in more but rest is a good idea too sometimes, he figures.

Your arms wrap loosely around his neck.

“That I’m happy your heart is always beating.”

His eyebrows knit in confusion for a moment, but then just as quickly he eases into a smile and dips low to kiss you on the forehead, before letting just a little bit more of his weight rest onto you. His warmth and pressure is just as comforting as the sound of blood coursing through his body, as his indomitable spirit.

“I’m happy about that too. And yours, of course,” he says, cheerfully. 

“I love you, Luffy. Your heart better never stop beating,” you declare.

He laughs, letting his face bury into your neck as he nips at it, kisses sleepier and sloppier over time. His chest presses against yours and you feel it again, every beat after beat.

“If yours keeps beating, mine will too. They’re talking to each other, like best friends,” he teases.

His hands run the length of your arms, searching for your fingers; you slip your fingers in between his naturally.

“Like lovers,” you correct him in a teasing voice.

“Like lovers,” he repeats affectionately. His eyelids lower languidly, and he murmurs the words, “I love you.”

He’s dozing off, his heartbeat slowing against your body. Your body clings naturally around him even as he slips carefully to the side so he doesn’t suffocate you. 

“Love you,” he repeats again, drowsy. You press your head against his chest again, to let that steady heartbeat, one amongst trillions, but a sound so terribly precious to you, lull you to sleep.