operose-reblogs

[pohlepen]

for all of frankie's downfalls and undesirable traits and toxicity, she was a really good nurse. and she loved it!! she worked hard, was a team player (picked up all the holiday shifts so people could be with their families), and i think her childhood trauma and adult mess of a life made her extra sympathetic and understanding of people going through the worst possible moments of their lives. no matter how unhappy the patients were to be there (because really who tf wants to to the ER) or however upset and angry they were, she never took anything personally and let it go at the door when she went home. however sad or fucked up or traumatizing the cases were, she was able to compartmentalize the grief and fear and continue on doing an effective, GOOD job. she liked being a "fixer" and she genuinely enjoyed caring for other people in a tangible way and being useful. absolutely there was a thrill factor and adrenaline junkie kind of enjoyment to the unpredictable aspect of the job too, but her main source of enjoyment was being able to be hands on and directly helping people. the happiest she ever was in life was working at the hospital and i don't know what exact moment triggered her into caring more about herself than everyone else, but i know that inkling of selfishness was always present within her. even at her most selfless, i would still say the majority of her was selfish. being good at her job didn't make her a good person and maybe it was supposed to but 🙊 who can say? idk, this is just a rambling.

[depravity-disposed]

What if there was a pred who ends up eating too much people and gets indigestion for a really long time?

(Using LLex and his girl for this)

A classic case of his eyes being too big for his stomach.

A meal had been skipped the night prior, leaving him with an empty and aching gut twisting with hunger by the time that morning had rolled around..

At that point, anything was fair game. Especially the giant bass unintended in a fish tank he passed on his way to school...

It’s pleasant thrashing welcoming at first, at least better than the hollowing ache hunger, slowly progressed into a nagging feeling of indigestion as the morning slowly ticked by into the afternoon...

Inside, sat the remains of a half digested fish no where near headed in its way out. His belly had been rumbling softly this entire time, getting the occasional love pats from above whenever a particularly active churn would rock him, but all and all, he thought his stomach had been doing just fine, since it was well versed in processing whole catches such as these...

The calm burbling suddenly picked up into sickly sounding gurgles as LLex realized his mistake. LLex spending the rest of his morning until lunch time discreetly cupping his bloated belly, trying his best to suppress any noises that were trying to embarrass him in front of the whole room... the ache came on with a force, and despite his efforts, his body still found his choice in breakfast a bit more challenging than the others, and, to make matters worse, now there was a torrent of gas beginning to bloat his poor belly too...

With the lunch bell finally ringing, He felt some relief as he waddled over to the field he and Mye had planned to meet that day...

Cradling his tender tummy, LLex plopped himself down on the blanket next to her, whining in discomfort at the contents of his stomach moving abruptly.

“Still bad huh?” Mye read the room.

“Extremely.” LLex tried not to belch as a hiccup forced itself out.

“Did you go to the nurse?”

“I did,” LLex Grunted as he rolled over to dig in his bag, pulling out a sticker with a healing sigil on it, “all She did was give me some glyphs...”

”how come you haven’t used any?” She asked the obvious.

“Cause I have a feeling that if I take this belt off, I’m not gonna wanna put it back on.”

A glance down at his figure made sense to her. The belt hugged his belly like a vice and no doubt looked uncomfortable for him...

“Well.. you wanna use it now? Nobody come out here anyways.”

LLex pondered for a minute before shrugging and offering a crude answer, “Fuck it”, and plopping down on his back like a beached whale.

Rolling up the skirt of his tunic revealed a mini blimp of a gut, gently rising and falling with his shallow breaths and jerks whenever a spasm produced a violent hiccup. The unwanted pressure on his middle made him groan as maya applied to glyph to his side, making sure it was properly on so it could work as best as it could...

LLex feeling the warmth of it’s magic flowing through his upset guts felt wonderful, the blue hue of it’s aura illuminating the surrounding patch of skin for a brief moment before settling beneath his coco brown skin... in an instant realaxing the muscles in his core he had net even know were tense in the first place...~

His love giggling softly from the way his expression softened up, leaning down and planting a kiss on his forehead.

“Better~?”

“Better.....~”

He belched.

[honeypirate]

Easy Living part two

Part one

Obi Akitaru x Fem!reader

Obi Akitaru falls in love with the girl at the rock show

Also ducks survived the cataclysm

Song one

Song two

Song three

Song four

Song five alternate version

Obi didn't see you outside of the office where you were doing paperwork. He thought you were avoiding him but you interacted with him during office hours so he couldn't really convince himself at first. You had said you were too tired to eat with everyone and just wanted to rest, which is how you got out of family dinners and could sneak in and eat after everyone leaves.

After a week and a half of this, he plans to find you and talk to you. Oh how he missed your jokes and your presence. You get back from your physical therapy and he meets you at the door “come with me” he says and takes your good hand “we’re going out”

You get ice cream, and just walk the town for a while. You figured he would want to talk soon but to be honest you havent quite dealt with your feelings yet. You didnt know what to say. Hey sorry Captain I’ve been avoiding you a little so i could squash all the romantic feelings i have for you since you only want to be best friends. No hard feelings? Also I feel like a failure because Im useless right now?

No. You couldn’t be that honest, but you would be honest enough

He stops by a bench next to the trees that have started to bloom in the warm spring air. You sit beside him, a little farther than usual and he sighs “talk to me. Please” he says softly and you swallow “about what?” you ask, your voice a little shaky and nervous. “y/n” he sighs “okay, i’ll just ask. Why have you been avoiding me after we had tea?” he leans his elbows down on his thighs and looks over at you.

You swallow hard and look down at your toes, giving your ice cream cone you were nursing a lick to buy some time.

“Obi, i’ve just been really tired. It wasn’t you. I promise. As you said, we are best friends forever. Please dont think im avoiding you i promise im not really. It’s just so hard to not use my arm, i cant do my job like i need, i feel like im useless. And youre my Captain! i dont want to be less than you deserve as a team member”

He brushes your hair back behind your ear and you gasp, looking from your toes into his eyes. “I’m your friend first remember? And so here I am, asking you as a friend, please dont think you have to avoid me. I dont think less of you because youre injured, youre not broken or ruined, youre just hurt. And you’re perfect the way that you are at any moment so dont even start with thinking you’re less than anyone. Youre incredibly strong and smart always. Let me be there for you. Right now as a man and not as your captain. Okay?” you feel your heart rate beat erratically in your chest and you kick yourself form coming along. Those perfect things he said to you from the perspective of a f r i e n d. God you loved him so much it hurt. Hurt because he doesnt love you back. More than a best friend anyway.

You do your best to go back to normal, you talk to him more, forcing yourself to attend dinners and joke like normal, ignorning the growing cracks in your heart.

A few weeks later, after a mission you werent allowed to go on, Obi announces a celebration “Since we just had a successful huge mission, we will be celebrating and inviting the companies we have friends in. so the 5th, 7th, and 2nd, will all be attending.” you dont deny that youre excited. You love celebrations because it meant the best barbeque plus you cant wait to talk to Hibana and Konro.

That night after your physio you talk to Maki and Vulcan, planning to take care of the entertainment for the night. Vulcan on the drums, Maki on the electric guitar, and you on vocals. You spent the next few days preparing and getting all the music sheets for them from songs you all put together. A list of 8 songs that everyone would enjoy, or so you hoped.

Your arm didn’t have to be in a sling anymore, it was healed but the muscles were tight and the scar tissue hurt. you had to work through that but your physical therapist said you would work that slowly and it would be almost 100% again.

When the day arrived for the celebration you felt nervous as hell. “Are you excited to do this?!” Vulcan says and pats your good shoulder and you laugh “I’m nervous and excited” Maki squeals as she does a sound check on her guitar “this is going to be so cool!”

When you guys move out to the stage, you get everyone’s attention by tapping the mic, a squeal going through the speakers before Viktor adjusts some settings on the computer.

“Hey guys. We put together a little entertainment for you all. Hope you enjoy it” you look around at everyone as they make their way over to the stage. Obi’s eyes were wide and he was grinning ear to ear, you didn’t tell many about this so it could be a surprise and you knew that was a good choice with the look in his eyes. He made his was to front of the crowd, whistling loudly as Maki began to strum.

Vulcan hits the drums as you begin to sing

“Scar tissue that I wish you saw

Sarcastic mister know-it-all

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause

With the birds I’ll share” after the first verse your eyes flick down to Obi and he has the biggest smile you’ve seen. It makes your heart flutter as you wink at him as you sing the chorus

“With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'”

The end of the first song everyone cheers loud and you feel proud as you laugh with the excitement and atmosphere. Obi is your loudest cheerleader.

Vulcan leaves the drums to stand by the keyboard for the next song as Maki plays the chords.

“You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

Sail away, kill off the hours

You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, find you a lover

Go away somewhere all bright and new” your eyes flick down to Obi and you smile softly

“ I have seen no other

Who compares with you”

Some people hold up lighters and those with fire abilities hold some fire up and sway side to side, the atmosphere is light and easy, a moment where no one is thinking about infernals and government problems.

You sang the four softer songs Maki chose first before taking a water break then going back on stage to finish strong with four songs you were excited about since you knew they were some of your and Obi’s favorites.

You look down at Obi when the music starts and the recognition in his eyes makes you grin. You know most people in your company know this song because of Obi. “You show us everything you've got

You keep on dancin' and the room gets hot

You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy

You say you wanna go for a spin

The party's just begun, we'll let you in

You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy

You keep on shoutin', you keep on shoutin'”

You feel your body feel with pride when the crowd sings the chorus and you realize more people know those song then you thought

“I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day x4”

The cheering at the end of this song makes you laugh before you take another drink of water and move on to the next few songs until you end with the last two you were excited about.

“Okay everyone. Two left” you smile at the boos that are scattered “ We’re glad you liked this show and hope you had fun here. There’s extra food so if you’re hungry make sure you fill up” You wink at Obi again as you begin to sing the song as he whistles loudly when the guitar begins, throwing his fists in the air doing his devil horns.

“This is a thing I've never known before

It's called easy livin'

This is a place I've never seen before

And I've been forgiven

Easy livin' and I've been forgiven

Since you've taken your place in my heart”

This one was one of your favorites and you got into it dancing around on the stage. When it ends you laugh and smile as they cheer. “Okay guys. I dedicate this last song to the companies here tonight thank you all for making this not a complete failure. I was nervous but now.. this has been a dream come true of mine honestly. Anyway. For you” you look down at Obi and he nods and then whistles again when he recognizes the song

“A company always on the run

A destiny, oh it's the rising sun” the crowd cheers and you get goosebumps

“I was born, a shotgun in my hands

Behind the gun

I'll make my final stand, yeah

That's why they call me” you look down at Obi and he sings with you

“Bad company

I can't deny

Bad, bad company

'Til the day I die

Until the day I die”

Your voice fades out and Vulcan and Maki finish their notes and the crowd goes nuts. You bring Vulcan and Maki up and you hold hands and bow before waving and exiting the stage.

A few pats on the back and many people telling you how great that was was a little overwhelming and Obi could tell. He pushes through the crowd and takes your hand “gotta borrow this rock star for a moment excuse us please” he says and takes you with him behind the stage where he could let you take a breather.

“Looked a little overwhelmed with the loving crowd” he says and leans against the side of the wall behind the stage. “Just a bit. Thank you Obi” he hasn’t stopped smiling and his eyes are filled with stars for you. “I didn’t know you could sing Little Duck” he says and you chuckle “there’s a lot you don’t know about me Obi” you say with a smirk and drink of your water bottle. “And I love discovering new things about you.” he says softly and you feel your cheeks flush under his soft gaze “is that right?” You ask in a flirty tone and you cock your head with a smile. “Yes. It is” he says and you stare into each other’s eyes for a moment, soft smiles and a warm feeling growing in your bones.

“Hey y/n I brought you some food since we missed out” Vulcan says and hands you a plate “you’re a lifesaver Vulcan thank you!” You say and take it with a grin. Obi kicks himself for not thinking of that and scowls at the weird jealousy he feels spike in his heart at the way you smiled at Vulcan. He shakes his head and excuses himself to go talk to Hinawa.

“That was weird” Vulcan says and you raise an eyebrow in question, mouthful but he understood you “he looked at me like I just flirted with his girl. How weird is that?” You laugh and your cheeks dust slightly pink “I’m sure there was something else on his mind, we’re just friends” you say and take another bite of your barbecue, moaning a little about how delicious it is. Vulcan just shrugs “that was really amazing. Great idea y/n! It was so fun. If you ever wanna jam again I’m down” you smile and nod “I’ll take you up on that sometime”

“Are you sure you don’t have feelings for her?” Hinawa says, acting like it’s annoying him that he has to have this conversation to hide the fact he finds it entertaining that his Captain is so blind. “She’s been my best friend for so long. Wouldn’t I have had feelings for her before today?” Hinawa sighs “are you sure you haven’t?” Obi feels like his mind expands as he connects the dots. “Well damn” Obi says with a slight smile teasing the corners of his mouth and Hinawa shakes his head.

After that night you didn’t see Obi outside of work for a week. It was weird. Like the tables have turned and now you don’t know why he’s avoiding you. He calls you into your office and you feel a little worried.

“You wanted to see me sir?” You said as stood at attention in front of his desk. Outside of this room you felt like he was your Obi but every time he calls you into his office you feel completely different. The atmosphere he held in that room for you, powerful and commanding, you were intimidated and slightly turned on but you never would allow yourself to think of that.

“I wanted to check in on how your therapy is going” he says, his face was stoic and level, but you see there’s something in his eye, something has changed. “It’s going well Sir” you raise your arm and show your limited range of motion “she says I’ll be back to good and cleared for duty soon, since I’m well enough now to have more frequent appointments.” he nods and makes a note on his small pad of paper. “Are your ignition abilities okay? Do you need training there?” You shake your head “no Sir. My abilities haven’t been effected” he nods once and then smiles, a soft smile that shows way more emotion from him than your used to “that’s all. I’m glad you’re doing well. Dismissed” “thank you Sir” you salute and then turn and leave, feeling extremely confused at the emotion you saw in his eyes.

You chew your lip as you pace the walkways of the company, pacing and thinking, (more like overthinking amirite) and trying to decide if you should talk to him. You somehow end up in the tallest room of the building, looking out over the town and the sunset. You get a flashback to your first day as a fire fighter, walking back to the truck with your team you were in the back of the group by Obi and he stopped to look at the sunset for a moment. “Remember y/n, take a moment to appreciate the beauty around you. It’s always taken for granted” that’s what he said to you that made you admire him. The original seed your feelings grew from. You smiled and turned, running down the steps to try and find him, to tell him.

“Hey Arthur have you seen the Captain?” You asked when he was the first one you saw “oh yeah. He just left with the girl from the flower shop” you raise your eyebrows “left with Margret? Why?” He shrugs “I don’t know. Probably a date. She seemed really happy” you laugh once in shock “huh” you say and he just shrugs, going back to his pretending to be a knight with his plasma blade as you walk out of the room.

You pace the halls again until you eventually give up. You won’t tell him. He’ll never know. You hope he’s happy with Margaret, she seems like a lovely woman.

Every day being around him sucks, you wish you could take some time off to go away for a little bit so you wouldnt have to see him, wouldnt have to feel the pain anymore. It made you look forward to your physio appointments but even those are ending soon, only two left before you're cleared. Dont get you wrong, you are excited to be cleared to work again, paperwork was beginning to annoy you, but you were going to miss the excuse to get out every once in a while so you wouldn't have to see him anymore. At least until you have gotten over him.

He notices you pulling away, avoiding him again. He doesnt understand everything was going so well. He was planning this big confession and spent forever with the florist planning the perfect bouquet and getting her help on what girls would like in a confession, he has the whole thing planned out but now you wont even look at him uness you have to. He’s so frustrated! When did communicating with each other get this hard?

You get back from physio and he meets you at the door again, this time hiding his emotions and just giving you a look that tells you to follow him. He takes you to the same empty room you were in yesterday, at the very top of the company. “Captain?” you ask softly, your eyes on the ground and your hands gripping the strap of your bag that is across your chest hard enough to lighten your knuckles. “Little duck” he whispers softly, his voice held something you couldn't place, something you never heard from him before, and when you realize what it is your eyes meet his. It was pain.

“My little ducky” he says softly “why?” you feel your walls break, your hard work to build them up and forget about your love for the captain turned to ash as you cover your face with your hands, tears burning your eyes. “I.. I just” you swallow hard and pull yourself together, you wont cry in front of him. You sniff and grit your teeth, dropping your hands and controlling the emotions on your face “I hope you are happy with Margaret” you say and look behind him, knowing if you saw his pain you’d for sure cry.

“What.. who the hell is margaret?” he says and you furrow your brows as confusing fills your mind. You look to your feet “Arthur said you’re dating Margaret, the florist” he laughs “her name is Margaret? I thought it was Molly, that’s awkward. But no, I am not dating the florist. Why would you believe aAthur? He thinks he's a knight ninja king or something”

“I uh, i gota go” you say and turn to leave but he takes your hand, pulling you to his embrace. “No you dont” he whispers and gently holds your head to his chest. “Tell me. I need you to tell me what is going on. Right now on this roof we are going to tell each other everything we’ve been hiding, starting with how you have been avoiding me again” you feel your eyes burn again, this time because of how frustrated you were with your stupidity..

“I feel so stupid i dont want to say” you mumble into his chest and he laughs “my precious ducky, please tell me” he says softly and you pull back, deciding to look into his eyes when you tell him the truth. “I couldn't deal with being around you knowing how much I love you since I thought you were with someone else. It hurt too much to see you. I thought i lost my chance”

He laughs softly “how could i fall in love with anyone else when the best woman is right in front of me?” you look up at him with a shocked expression and you almost turn to look behind you to see if there was anyone else there but you controlled yourself. You just cleared your throat and asked “what?” he laughs and cups your cheek, his strong callused hands holding you gentler than you could have ever imagined after seeing him crack a jar of pickles when he was opening it.

He leans down to your ear and whispers “I love you. I've loved you since the beginning. My little ducky” you gasp and turn your face to connect your lips to his. You melt into him as his strong arms wrap around your waist, lifting you to his chest as he kisses you deeply, his tongue swipes at your lip and you meet him with your own, making him hum in approval as you runs your fingers across his short cut hair on the back of his head, the shaved hair tickling your palms before you move higher to get his longer lengths in your fingertips.

You didn't even remember him picking you up until your feet touch the ground again. “You love me?” you ask when you pull back, right up against his lips and he sighs softly, pressing his forehead into yours. “I love you y/n” he says and you feel your stomach flip as a slow grin spreads over your face before your hands move to his shoulders as your bag falls to the ground and you jump, wrapping your legs around his waist as he catches you easily with a laugh

You kiss his lips again, overcome with happiness, pecking them a few times quickly before peppering kisses around his face “i love you” you whisper between kisses and he laughs as he holds you tight, his heart fluttering to know you feel the same. You pull back and smile down at him “i'm sorry i was such an idiot” you whisper and then hop down from his arms. “you’re not an idiot sweetheart. If i found out you were dating someone else and not me, that would hurt. I would have to avoid you for a while too. I dont want you to be with anyone else but me” he says and you blush, your heart melting as you take his large hands in your own “so when ya taking me out on a real date big guy?” you ask with a blush and he smiles “since you asked, sweetheart, that’s kind of the reason i was with Maggie to begin with” “margaret” “yeah margaret. She was helping me plan the perfect way to confess to you, i had this whole pan. So this friday, you and me, 7pm. I have a reservation downtown and will be getting you the best bouquet of flowers you ve ever seen so get ready” you laugh a little awkwardly “sorry for ruining your plan” you say and he smiles, kissing your forehead “you haven't ruined anything. you love me, nothing is better than that. Plus this means i can kiss you sooner than i was hoping” he leans down and presses his lips to yours softer than before shooting tingles down your spine “and it’s so much better than I imagined” he admits and you grin “then dont stop” you whisper and he smirks “anything for you sweetheart” he says before his lips are crashing into yours again

BOONNUUSSSSS

“So whats this about a duck”

Shinra asks at dinner and you groan as Obi laughs hard. You look pointedly at everyone there “okay but this does not leave this table and if it does i will beat ALL of your asses, so its more incentive for one of you to not say a thing because imagine how the rest of you will feel about the one who spilled” they all nod with a laugh and Hinawa rolls his eyes, knowing you’d never dare to beat his ass.

“Back when Obi and i were greenies” you look to him and he has a shit eating grin on his face as he lays his hand on your knee under the table. “We were just normal fire fighters, so calls like getting a cat out of a tree was nothing new. But this was a call about a duck. I answered the phone and it went a little bit like this” you put your hand to your ear like a phone

“thank you for calling the Fire Defence Agency, my name is Y/n how may i help you today?”

your voice changes to sound like an older gentleman “yes, my duck is stuck, please help.”

voice is yours again “your duck sir?”

“Yes. Herbert the duck. He cannot fly. Come immediately. 2836 the street name rd”

“Then he hangs up. Obi and i were the only ones there since we were greenies and had to man the phones during lunch hour so we roll out and get to his house and sure enough a duck is stuck on top of this mans roof” you hold your hands up and try to shape it out for them “he had this house where the top was sort of curved like this just above his front door” you bring your hands up and around in an arc. The truck we have doesnt have the laddder but it’s not too high so Obi puts me on his shoulders and as i go to grab this little bastard he screams in my face and pecks my eye” Obi is laughing remembering it “hush let me finish” you say to him with a smile

“So this damn Herbert the duck, my eye is watering and it hurts and i'm cursing up a storm as Obi laughs his ass off and tries to hold me steady. i get a hold on Herberts back, holding down its wings so i can easily lift it into my arms and as i pull it towards me he pecks my OTHER EYE” Obi is holding in cackles, he knows whats coming and can hear the mans voice as clear as day in his head “then Obi brings me down and im crying uncontrollably, my eyes burning as this duck watches me smugly hand him over to his care taker and then the gentleman goes”

You change your voice to mimic the mans again “watch out, he’s a pecker” Obi is laughing so hard along with Vulcan and Shinra, the rest chuckling along with.

“And i'm standing there, eyes leaking unctronably from being pecked in both eyes, and he just takes his duck and walks inside his house. I had to go to the doctor and get vaccines for all these diseases that ducks apparently have.” Obi catches his breath and wipes his tears “you should have heard her on the way back from the doctor, two eyepatches on and going on a tangent about how ducks should have gone extinct and left the geese since they are much cuter. I couldn’t stop laughing the whole drive home”

You slap his arm playfully “you saw that picture at the museum they look so cute and kind!” he smiles and holds your hand “I wonder how Herbert the duck is doing” he asks and you smile “probably not as well as I am” you smile around the table at your team and friends, all smiling and still chuckling softly imagining your story.

(Later)

“I can’t believe that one of the first things you liked about me was my tangent about ducks” you say as you crawl into bed beside him. He laughs and wraps his arms around you, hugging you to his chest “you were so cute and funny. I knew I needed to keep you around me because you made life fun and wonderful because that’s who you are” you kiss his cheek as he continues, rolling over and holding you “I knew I wanted to have you forever but I was too dense to realize I loved you” he nuzzles into your neck and lays on your chest, his weight and warmth comforting. “I love you” you whisper and he kisses you neck softly “I love you sweetheart”

[kpopfanfictrash]

Do you have any fanfic resources you could recommend? I don’t really know the terminology and the last thing I wanna do is bug people but google is giving me some really random answers. And I don’t thinkle drabble is what its telling me...

Hello! I don’t know of any specific fanfic resources, unfortunately. The best advice I can give is to look at well-known fanfic authors, see what they do and then copy their format (format only! lol) until you learn. Unfortunately, I feel like most writers on this site simply learned by trial and error. Some tips to start you off!

Posting on Tumblr:

Add a read more. This is a courtesy to readers and people searching in the tags, so they don’t need to scroll for ten minutes past your giant-ass fic.

Tag your story appropriately (and ONLY with relevant tags!). I.e., if you are posting a Jungkook NSFW story, your tags might be: Jungkook fanfic, BTS fanfic, Jungkook smut, BTS smut, Jungkook one shot, BTS one shot, Jungkook, BTS... and so on. DO NOT tag as “Yoongi” unless Yoongi is a main character of the story. 

Above the read more, include the following: author (your URL), pairing (example: jungkook + reader), rating (NSFW or SFW), relevant warnings (explained further below), genre of writing (example: college!AU, enemies to lovers) and any author’s notes you want the reader to know before reading

Create a masterlist. This is a text post on your blog where you’ll give a brief description each story and link them. Place a link to this masterlist in the bio of your Tumblr page. This will allow readers to find your work more easily.

Create an FAQ. As you grow in followers, I can’t stress the importance of this enough, both to you as a writer and to your readers. Create a text post with frequent asks and answers to these questions! 

Terminology:

Drabble: a drabble is technically 100 words. Or, that’s what it used to be in the beginnings of fanfiction. Now, the term drabble has taken on a mind of it’s own and each writer seems to have their own definition of what it means. I’ve seen works with as high a word count as 5,000 tagging their work as drabble. (rip lol). Overall, a "drabble” means a shorter piece of writing.

One shot: a story posted all at once. All “chapters” are posted within the same text post. A one shot can vary in length (my longest one shot is over 40,000 words). An example would be my fic, The Art of War More.

Series: a story posted in multiple chapters at different times. An example would be my fic, Raise the Barre.

NSFW: Not Suitable For Work. ALWAYS mark a story NSFW if it contains themes which are 18+. Examples are: explicit sex, graphic depictions of violence, extremely sensitive or triggering topics. 

SFW: Suitable For Work. Does not contain the topics listed above. In terms of movie ratings, this would be G/PG/PG-13 rated.

Warnings: this varies depending on the author and can be listed as two different sections (sexual warnings and trigger warnings). Overall, these are intended to give the reader a heads-up on any potentially triggering topics. I.e., character death, self-harm, eating disorders, abuse of power, etc. Sexual warnings are a bit more loosely defined, but they are intended to let the reader know which sexual acts are performed (so they can decide whether or not the fic is to their taste). Examples might be: oral sex (male), withheld orgasm (male), dirty talk, thigh riding, etc.  

AU: Alternate Universe. This is basically any story or concept which is not reality. I.e., if you are writing fanfiction for BTS members, an AU is any story which takes place in a universe where BTS are not BTS. There are hundreds and thousands of AU’s. They can be anything from nurse!AU to college!AU to witch!AU to living Monopoly!AU (lol) 

Canon: the opposite of an AU. A piece of writing within the concepts of current reality. I.e., you are writing the BTS members as BTS members.

Idol-verse: Another (more common within BTS fanfiction) word for canon. This basically means you are writing a member as a k-pop Idol.  

Reader Insert: fanfiction where the main character’s name is either left blank (______), or written as Y/N. The reader is intended to fill in their own name as the main character. These stories are written in second person, using “you” instead of “she/her” or “I.” 

Y/N:  Your Name. Used in reader insert fanfiction instead of the main character. 

MxM: Member + Member (I’ve occasionally seen this referred to as Male + Male, but that’s not really accurate). Fanfiction written about two of the members as love interests, instead of an anonymous reader. 

I would also recommend joining writing networks and/or discord chats re: tumblr writing! There, you can make friends and meet other writers who can answer your questions in real time as they pop up. Best of luck, babe! Happy writing :)

[m34gs]

😊😊😊😊 Hello!!!!!

Got a little (hopefully not too weird) question for ya:

Let's turn back the clock and human verse it. Middle ages, maybe fantasy setting (you choose) but, what trades do you think Ichigo/and or Grimmjow would work at? Blacksmithing? Mason? Farmer? Court musician? Something completely different? Would it be more fantastical? I know in the mythical au you wrote about Grimmjow being a dragon slayer--would it build off that or are you thinking of separate/different au?

What are your thoughts? I'm a sucker for this time period, or something like it anyway.

How would they meet? Does ichigo work with others or does he have a more solitary job?

How would they meet? Does Aizen play a factor in this senario at all? Who else is in this au? I hope this all makes sense lol

🧡💙🧡💙 Have a good night!!!💙🧡💙🧡

Hi there friend! This isn't a weird concept at all; I love it! Thank you so much for asking me this!!!!!!

Ok, so! I am a sucker for fantasy, so I absolutely would put them in a fantasy setting! Very much love that. As for occupations and casting...welll...

Grimmjow would be a foot-soldier. Some stupid rule says you have to be nobility to be a knight (I know it's cliché, but I'm a bit of a sucker for those kinds of rules that seem pointless, I find them very relatable to today's society) and he was born to a poor family who basically sent him off to be fodder for the enemy because it meant they would get rewarded with one less mouth to feed. He doesn't have a strong sense of 'family' or 'trust'. To him, the only one he can trust is the sword in his hand, and even then he knows better than to think it would never cut him. He ends up being ruthless and surviving because of his lack of trust in others and his will to spite the family that cast him out. Aizen is a noble of some kind, and he sees Grimmjow's potential so he takes him in, keeps him, trains him like the other knights he's collected, only Grimmjow doesn't get that title because of that stupid law. This drives a wedge between him and the knights Aizen trains and keeps (I'm thinking this is where I would cast the other arrancar).

Aizen is well-respected among the other nobles (because he lies. You know, like a liar. lol sorry I needed to throw that meme reference in there). But, anyway, for the other nobles I would cast most of the captains of the Soul Society. They have varying degrees of wealth but the fact remains they are all still nobles.

Now, for Ichigo...his family lives in woods that are allegedly haunted/cursed. (spoiler, it's just them and some windchimes and various illusions/traps they've set up over the years to keep the nobles out and protect the forest from being deforested). His mother is a witch (that's right, 'is'. Because in this AU? She's alive and well because I said so :D lol), and his father is a farmer who fell in love with her. Ichigo and his sisters inherited some of their mother's magic and she taught them how to use it.

Aizen is on a journey, bringing with him Grimmjow and a couple others for protection. On the way, they are robbed by clever thieves(Kisuke Urarhara and Yoruichi), and Grimmjow is tasked to track them down and reclaim what was stolen. He goes after them and follows them to the haunted forest, because of course they are friends with Isshin and Masaki.

This is where Grimmjow stumbles upon Ichigo. And mistakes him for one of the thieves. He attacks and Ichigo promptly kicks his ass because he has the home field advantage. Then, when the misunderstanding gets slightly cleared up, Ichigo feels guilty for wounding Grimmjow, but the boy's healing magic is absolute shite (his mother tries to teach him, she really does, but he's always been better at other kinds of magic). So he brings Grimmjow to his mother. And wouldn't you know it, Masaki is just so darn happy her son has brought home a man because LOOK ISSHIN OUR BOY HAS A FRIEND AND MAYBE EVEN A HUSBAND. And Isshin is right there with her, eagerly talking about how strong Grimmjow looks and how he can protect their boy. And Ichigo is like excuse me protect me? I kicked his ass? And then he gets a scolding because kicking asses is rude. And Grimmjow is wondering what the fuck is wrong with these people.

I think in this AU, Orihime would be a member of Unohana's household, learning how to heal, much to the dismay of her parents and older brother. (Fun fact: the first people to work as nurses in hospitals? The poor, the prostitutes, the lame, the disabled, the beggars. It was a job that was looked down upon and considered one of the lowest of the low positions. Which is why it was a big deal when noble ladies started going into the profession. People were scandalized.) Unohana is one of the less well-off nobles, but she doesn't care so much because she uses what wealth she did inherit from her family to heal others.

Chad is the blacksmith. Hands down. He is the best around. Tall, strong, silent, and he does quality work. Regardless of the fact he's not a noble, he is very well off because nobles from all around are willing to pay good money for his work.

Uryu is a scholar, studying anything he can find that's interesting. He's studying under Mayuri, though he secretly thinks the man is a freak. And Mayuri does all sorts of experiments on all sorts of people (there's no ethics board in this time, you see. Anything and everything is legal when it comes to the pursuit of knowledge, as long as you have enough money to buy off the right people).

Kenpachi is the battle-crazed lord, and the only nobility who knows of the Kurosaki's living in the forest. He was wandering around one day, bored out of his mind, when he happened across Ichigo and his sisters in the forest. Ichigo immediately goes into protective big-bro mode, and Kenpachi doesn't wanna clear up any misunderstanding if it means he can have a fight instead. He doesn't tell anyone; partially because Ichigo was the best opponent he has ever had, and partially because he doesn't care enough about the other nobles to have conversations beyond the usual 'how are you' 'I am well' exchange. Actually, you know, Kenpachi's entire household knows of the family in the woods (they like to prove their courage so many of them had ventured into the woods that were 'haunted'.) but because Kenpachi tells no one, they also tell no one.

Byakuya, in a twisted turn of events, is the only captain who is not a noble. He is a merchant. His trade? Silk. And he still carries himself with grace and looks down on others, but this time it's because he and his ancestors literally clawed their way out of the ranks of the poor by being cutthroat businessmen. He still adopts Rukia as his younger sister when he finds her, after his wife perishes. Renji is a mercenary hired to protect Rukia, and he is totally in love with Byakuya.

These are my thoughts! What do you think? Anything you would add? Do you have more ideas for other characters and the roles they could play in this au?

[narisjournal-blog]

A Way With Words

Fandom: Cobra Kai

Pairings: Samantha Larusso x Robby Keene, Robby Keene x Miguel Diaz (platonic)

Word Count: 3490

Warnings: sexting

Notes: So in this fic Sam and Robby are together, and there are some strong Kiaz vibes. I’ve made it platonic, but it could get dirtier. I’m not comfortable posting that, though as they are underage.  Please let me know what you think, I’m needy.

This would take place in season 2 after the Lawrusso double date, imagining that Sam and Robby didn’t go to the party and the shit didnt hit the fan. Thanks for reading x

A Way with Words

Robby stood at the door to Jonny’s place taking in what lay before him. His father had clearly attempted to clean but there wasn’t much you could do when so much was ingrained. The couch was old and stained, the walls an off-white that made it feel darker, and there was a constant musty smell that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. At least he had got rid of all the empty beer bottles, Robby thought.

‘I know it’s not much, not compared to the Larussos,’ Johnny said, a hint of shame in his voice. ‘But it’s home. It’s safe. You know you’re welcome any time.’

Robby sighed as the door closed behind him.

‘How long do I have to stay here?’ He asked.

He looked round and he knew from the look in Johnny’s eyes that he had hurt him.

Johnny shook his head, resigning himself to the abuse he probably deserved.

‘Just a couple days. While The Larussos are away.’

Robby gave a wry smile. ‘They don’t trust me with their daughter.’

‘Definitely not,’ Johnny laughed.

Robby rolled his eyes.

‘Oh come on, like you weren’t gonna make a move the second her parents left?’

After a beat, Robby shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

Johnny gave him a slap on the back.

‘Come on, you can suffer a few days with your old man. I think you’ll find a lot more freedom here.

‘Where shall I put my things?’

‘Right through here,’ Johnny said, leading him to the small spare room.

‘I’ll be through there. Make yourself at home.’

He left and Robby slumped down on the bed.

This is a good thing, he told himself with his head in his hands. He’s trying. That’s more than he ever has before.

He had been really resistant to the idea when His father and Mr Larusso had finally sat down to talk and come to an agreement that Robby could stay with his Dad while the family were away. Even Johnny agreed it was better for Robby to live with the Larussos for the time being because he really didn’t have that much to offer in terms of comfort or luxury.

Robby had felt disappointed that he wouldn’t get to spend the time with Sam. It was so rare they got any time alone and he had thought maybe things might heat up a little while her parents were away.

Apparently Mr Larusso was well versed in teenage boy thinking.

He started to unpack his bag when there was a knock at the front door.

‘Carmen?’ Johnny’s voice said.

‘Johnny, I’m so sorry to do this, I know it’s a lot but it’s an emergency.’ She sounded upset. Carmen? Robby thought, trying to think if he knew her.

‘Hey hey, slow down,’ Johnny said. Robby continued unpacking clothes, thinking nothing of it.

‘Are you ok? What happened?’

‘It’s my mother. She collapsed and they don’t know what’s going on, they think she may have had a heart attack. She’s in hospital out of town and’ Johnny cut her off.

‘Yaya? Oh my God I’m so sorry.’

‘Can Miggy stay here for tonight so I can be with her? Please?’

Miggy? Who the hell was... and then it dawned on him.

Miguel.

Instantly Robby’s fists clenched and he rose to his feet.

Why did he think it would be any different? He started throwing his clothes back into his bag haphazardly.

‘I uh...’ Johnny’s voice continued, sounding uncomfortable. ‘I kinda have Robby...’

‘Please, Johnny. We’ve got no-one else.’

‘Mom, come on. I’ll be fine on my own.’ Miguel’s voice.

Carmen snipped at him in rapid Spanish, then quickly switched back to English.

‘He’ll be no trouble, and I’ll pay you for food,’ she added.

‘You don’t have to do that, I...’

Robby knew what was coming. ‘Yeah, sure he can stay. I’ll just have to talk to Robby, since you guys aren’t exactly best of friends.’

‘I don’t want any trouble,’ Miguel mumbled.

Robby slammed his fist into the wall and instantly regretted it as pain shot through his whole wrist.

He sat back on the bed nursing his hand.Swirling around with the anger, he could feel the hurt and the disappointment tightening his throat. His eyes burned and he shook his head to try and control it.

Why did he ever believe it could be any different?

There was a knock at the bedroom door. He stood, throwing his bag back over his shoulder.

The door opened. Johnny looked so awkward, it was pathetic. Like he was trying to pretend the decision was hard.

‘Robby, you probably heard. Miguel’s-‘

Robby cut him off.

‘Yeah I heard. I should’ve known.’

He flexed his hand to see if the pain was easing but it throbbed once again and he winced.

‘Are you ok?’ Johnny nodded to Robby’s hand.

‘Yeah I’m just peachy,’ he retorted.

‘Did you punch a wall?’

Robby didn’t answer.

‘Oh for God’s sake.’

‘Yeah well I should have known it was stupid to think I was your priority for once when you just jump at the chance to help your favourite son,’ Robby said.

Johnny scoffed. ‘Oh will you quit being such a baby. The guy’s going through a hard time, would you just put your hate to the side for one night and be a civilised human being?’

‘Whatever, I’m going back to the Larussos,’ Robby said and made to barge past Johnny.

He forgot just how strong and stubborn his father could be. Johnny grabbed his arm and shoved him back into the room. He stumbled backwards and then found his balance to pull his fist back.

‘The hell you are. What, you just give up? This is your problem Robby, you make it so hard. I know I haven’t been perfect but I’m trying, ok? Any time I try to do right by you, to be there for you or whatever, it’s like you’re just waiting for me to fuck it up and then you shut me out again.’

‘What am I supposed to do? I can’t rely on you,’ he said.

‘Come on just take a second to calm down. Find your centre or whatever that bullshit is that Larusso is teaching you.’

Robby had been caught off guard with a blow he never expected from his father. And he was right, he did need to calm down. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing.

He could feel his body calming and he hated that his father was right.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Johnny’s pleading face. Robby felt his defences ease.

‘I guess I’m just disappointed, Dad.’

Johnny’s eyes fell to the floor.

‘I get that, you have every right to be. But I can’t turn him away at a time like this, Robby. It’s the right thing to do. Deep down you know it.’

Robby sat back on the bed, resigned.

‘No fighting, alright?’ Johnny added, pointing at Robby.

‘But I-‘ Robby began to protest but he got cut off.

‘No fighting. My house, my rules.’ Robby exhaled.

‘I’m gonna go see if he’s alright,’

Johnny added then left.

Robby flopped back on the bed and ran his hands through his hair. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to see a text from Sam.

‘How’s it going?’

He wrote back. ‘Not great. Your ex is staying too.’

Almost right away she was ringing him.

‘Miguel is staying with you?’ She asked sounding perplexed.

‘Yeah. Weird right?’

‘How come? Like was it planned, did your dad know?’

‘No, it’s an emergency. His grandma is in hospital.’

‘yaya? Shit...This is going to be really hard for him.’

Of course she would sympathise with Migue, he thought rolling his eyes.

‘Do you think you can be nice to him?’

‘I’m not an asshole Sam.‘

‘No but your defences are up when you’re around your dad and Miguel. You know I’m right.’

Robby sighed. She was right. After what seemed like a long silence, he spoke again.

‘Ok. Tell me how.’

‘Just try and empathise, Robby. I know it’s hard because it’s him, but just try and think about what he’s going through. ‘

Robby sighed.

‘For me?’ She added in that way she knew would make him melt.

‘Sure.’

‘I miss you’ she added, changing the subject swiftly. ‘I was kinda hoping we might get some alone time this weekend.’

‘Me too.’

‘It’s no fun all alone in this big empty house. I miss kissing you.’ Sam’s voice was soft, playful but almost shy.

‘Maybe I can come over tomorrow?’ Robby posed.

‘I can’t stop thinking about all the things we could do if you were here.’

Robby, heart pounding, drew breath to ask for more detail, but he was interrupted .

‘Robby?’ He heard Johnny shout. Then a knock at the door before it pushed open.

‘I’m getting pizza, do you want some?’

Robby sighed. ‘Sam, I gotta go. Text me. I wanna know.’

He hung up.

‘Uh yeah, I’ll go for pizza.

‘Pepperoni?’

‘Sounds good.’

‘Ok, well can you come out here and keep Miguel company while I’m gone? He’s pretty down.’

Robby couldn’t stop himself rolling his eyes. He stood and headed out the door nonetheless.

‘Is he crying?’ He asked with disdain.

Johnny slapped the back of his head on his way past.

‘Don’t be a dick,’ was all he said.

‘Ow!’ Robby rubbed his head, shocked at his father’s response.

‘Back soon,’ Johnny added as he left and closed the front door behind him.

Robby stood at the far side of the room trying to compose himself.

He looked across at Miguel, who was sat on the couch staring in the vague direction of the TV, although it wasn’t on. The boy looked so vulnerable, brown eyes wide with sadness.

Robby approached him.

‘Hey you know you’re supposed to turn it on first, right?’ He said.

Miguel seemed to snap out of some daydream and gave a faintly sarcastic smile.

‘You’re funny,’ he muttered. There was a long pause before Robby spoke again. He was surprised to realise he actually felt nervous.

‘Hey, you want a beer?’ Robby asked.

Miguel furrowed his brow in confusion. ‘We’re not...’ Robby raised an eyebrow.

‘Sure,’ Miguel shrugged, not wishing to argue.

Robby went to the refrigerator and grabbed two of Johnny’s Coors Banquets, looking around for a bottle opener. He opened them both and handed one to Miguel, who took it cautiously. ‘Are you sure? Won’t Sensei be pissed?’

‘Not at you,’ Robby said pointing the bottle to Miguel and sitting on the couch next to him. ‘You can get away with anything right now. I’m using you as a human shield. To your Grandma,’ He added, taking a big swig.

Miguel sighed, raised his bottle and said ‘to Yaya,’ then drank. He pulled a face at the taste and Robby laughed.

‘Yeah it’s shit.’

‘Why are you drinking it then?’

‘Because I can,’ Robby shrugged, taking another big swig.

They drank in silence for a while until Robby knocked back the last of his beer and stood to put the bottle on the table.

He didn’t realise his phone had slid out of his pocket - the shorts he was wearing were tight and had terrible pockets. He always managed to lose his phone when he wore them.

Robby was looking through the cupboards to see if there was anything decent to eat when he heard Miguel exclaim.

‘Woah, dude. You should really lock your screen.’

Robby whipped round to find Miguel holding his phone and reading something.

‘Hey!’ He yelled. ‘Give that back.’ He volted over the back of the couch to try and catch Miguel in a headlock so he could grab his phone back but Miguel was too fast and on his feet before Robby landed.

‘I miss your lips against mine,’ Miguel read, mocking in his tone. ‘I’ve been thinking about the way-’ Robby had grabbed him and pushed him to the wall but Miguel still managed to hold his phone out of reach and finish reading.

‘About the way you pressed me against the wall when you kissed me. I wish we hadn’t got interrupted.’ He laughed but relented and let Robby snatch his phone back. Robby considered punching him in the stomach for good measure, but thought better of it.

He opened the message from Sam and read through it again.

‘That’s private,’ he said, cheeks flushing against his will.

‘Well you certainly made an impression on Sam,’ Miguel added.

Robby was trying to think of some retort, but his mind was still half on what Sam had said.

‘You shouldn’t have read that,’ he said, glaring at Miguel.

‘Ok, I’m sorry. Come on I’m not trying to start anything... it was just there. I need something to take my mind off things anyway.’

‘And my private conversations are what you chose?’

Robby read the message again. He didn’t know where to go with that. He tried to think of what to say back to her but kept drawing a blank. He’d never been that good with words.

‘Are you ok?’ Miguel asked, actually sounding like he meant it.

‘Yeah. I just...’

Robby looked up and saw Miguel was staring at him, so he looked away quickly. He wished it wasn’t Miguel that was here right now. He really didn’t want to mess this up with Sam.

‘Look I’m sorry, but you don’t need to be embarrassed.’ Miguel continued to watch Robby. ‘Are you gonna reply?’

‘What? No that’s none of your business! I’m not talking about this. Just keep out of it ok?’

Robby stormed back to his room and slammed the door.

Miguel rolled his eyes and sighed, taking another drink of the awful beer. He had thought they were getting somewhere, but Robby was just so highly strung it was impossible.

He was trying to work out if he should feel jealous when Robby’s door opened again slowly. Miguel looked round and Robby stood half in half out staring at his phone still.

He looked up.

‘Should I reply?’ He asked.

‘Dude, yes. You have to reply. You can’t leave her hanging like that.’

Robby bit his lip, thinking.

‘What... what though?’

He walked back over to sit beside Miguel again.

‘Just tell her what you want.’

Robby looked up at Miguel, doubt in his eyes.

‘Look, if you were with her right now, what would you do?’

Robby shifted uncomfortably.

‘You do know what to do, right?’

‘Oh fuck off,’ Robby retorted. ‘It’s just not the same. Like, if I was with her, it would just happen. I get a read off her energy, you know?’

Miguel laughed. ‘You are so Miyagi-do.’

‘Just help me ok? What do I say?’ Robby pleaded.

‘Pick up where she left off.’

Robby’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard but nothing came.

Miguel sighed and held his hand out for the phone.

‘What are you crazy? I’m not giving you my phone again.’

‘Look I’m not gonna send anything, I’ll just start you off, ok? Come on. I have a way with words.’

‘Oh like you have a tonne of experience or something?’ Robby scoffed.

‘No, I just...’ he sighed. ‘I read a lot of fanfiction. Don’t,’ he added when Robby laughed. ‘You can learn a lot from fanfiction. Come on.’

Reluctantly, Robby handed over his phone.

He watched over Miguel’s shoulder as he typed and laughed in disbelief at the explicit picture Miguel was painting with his words.

‘Oh my god,’ he said. ‘I can’t send that.’

Miguel didn’t answer while he concentrated.

‘Ok I’ve changed my mind. Give me my phone back. That’s straight up porn, there’s no way I’m sending that.’ Robby tried to grab his phone but Miguel instinctively dodged and held it out of reach again while he finished typing.

‘No come on I said I changed my mind,’ Robby tried again, grabbing Miguel this time and shoving him to the floor, straddling him with his arm across his chest to hold him down.

Miguel gasped and looked at Robby with guilty eyes.

‘What?’ Robby asked, not catching on. Miguel looked down at Robby’s phone, the message bar now empty. It had sent.

‘Fuck,’ Robby said, grabbing his phone back but not letting Miguel up. ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’

‘I’m sorry, you knocked me. I didn’t mean to - I’m sorry,’ Miguel garbled, flinching away but also trying not to laugh.

Robby pressed his arm into Miguel’s chest harder, which made him cough. The cough turned to laughter and Robby wasn’t sure why but he ended up laughing too. It was so absurd and he didn’t know what else to do.

That was when the front door opened and Johnny came in.

Robby realised he still had Miguel pinned and quickly let him go.

‘Were you guys... fighting?’ Johnny asked, not sure what he had walked in on.

‘We we’re just messing around,’ Robby said quickly, glancing at Miguel who was brushing himself off and standing up.

Johnny narrowed his eyes looking from one boy to the other. ‘Whatever. Come give me a hand with this Robby,’ He added and handed him the pile of pizzas.

Robby looked again at his phone, still in shock at what had just happened, gave another glance back to Miguel who was trying not to laugh again. He shoved it in his pocket, and put the pizzas on the table.

Johnny was at the fridge.

‘Did you drink my beer?’ He asked.

‘Sorry sensei,’ Miguel said quickly. ‘It was my idea. I needed something to take my mind off Yaya.’

Johnny looked at them both again, suspecting there was some kind of conspiring happening.

‘Alright...’ he said, looking from one boy to the other. ‘Just nobody tell Carmen alright, I don’t wanna be on her bad side.’

He grabbed a beer, opened it and threw himself onto the couch.

‘You guys wanna watch a movie?’

Robby handed a pizza box to Miguel, grabbed the other two then leaned in as he walked past.

‘He’s totally trying to bang your Mom,’ he muttered, grinning.

***

The three of them had settled into the film and the pizza, all crammed onto that couch. Robby and Miguel had spent half the time pushing each other and complaining that the other was taking up too much space.

Robby felt his phone buzz in his pocket and instantly remembered what had happened. He shared a worried glance with Miguel, who also felt it buzz.

He pulled his phone out to look. It was from Sam, of course.

‘Robby that was hot,’ was all she said. Then the three dots appeared to show she was writing back.

Robby tapped Miguel’s leg, although he was already reading it. They grinned at each other. Miguel shrugged as if to say ‘I told you.’

After a few minutes her message came through. Robby didn’t even try to hide it from Miguel now. His heart raced as he read through her words, telling him what she wanted. Miguel exclaimed and tried to pretend he was coughing so Johnny wouldn’t catch on.

Robby shifted awkwardly. Part of him wanted to go to his room and be alone, but then he also still needed help. The cursor blinked at him.

Miguel, who was now leaning quite heavily into him to see what he was writing, held his hand out. Robby gave him his phone with no hesitation this time.

‘If I was there with you now I would...’ he typed then handed it back.

Robby sighed. He started typing something out as Miguel reached over and grabbed a couple of slices of pizza. He held one out to Robby.

Robby took it absently. He was staring at the screen again.

He looked up helplessly at Miguel. Miguel nodded encouragement and Robby added more to his text.

‘What are you boys doing ?’ Johnny asked, noticing their focus had shifted.

‘Homework,’ Robby said quickly.

‘Group chat,’ Miguel said at the same time.

After a beat, Miguel clarified. ‘It’s a study group chat.’

Johnny shrugged it off. He didn’t believe them but they weren’t fighting so he honestly didn’t care.

Robby sent his message after a nod from Miguel. He left his phone unlocked on his knee and they both stared at the TV while they waited.

After several minutes, a picture flashed up on Robby’s phone. Sam had sent a selfie in her underwear.

Robby gasped and grabbed his phone quickly and locked it, but not before Miguel had seen.

Miguel just gave him an approving slap on the back.

Robby cleared his throat.

‘Yeah I’m gonna get a shower,’ he said, standing up a swiftly and leaving the room.

‘Is he alright?’ Johnny sighed.

Miguel grinned in that knowing way of his.

‘He’s fine, trust me. He’s just really excited about this homework.’

***

If anyone wants to be tagged in future writes then let me know.

[appalachianwiine]

Swim - Chapter 8 - Only Twenty Minutes to Sleep

Only 20 minutes to sleep

But you dream of some epiphany

Just one single glimpse of relief

To make some sense of what you've seen

“Epiphany” by Taylor Swift

“It hurts daddy.” Lydia whimpers, snuggling closer to his chest. It’s four in the morning and he’s been here most of the night. Lydia laid on top of him, crying and sleeping and complaining. She’d thrown up most of her meager dinner and had refused all attempts to get her to eat anything else. Even the offer of waffles had been refused, all she wanted was to be held.

“I know kiddo.” Daryl whispers, kissing her sweaty hair. She’s got a strange smell to her now, one that makes Daryl think of a hot bedroom in the back of a trailer in northern Georgia and a hacking cough that wouldn’t go away. One that means she’s sick. 

“I want to go home now.” Lydia whimpers, she’s clung to him like a monkey, she’s got to be more exhausted then he is, but she hasn’t slept much, every time she drifts off they come in to do vitals and she starts crying again. He reaches up to rub his eyes, god he wants to go home. Have a hot shower, his own bed, some real sleep. But they can’t. 

Instead he presses another kiss to her hair and says; “want something’ t’ drink?” 

“No.” She mutters. “I might throw it up.” 

“Okay.” He whispers. “Want a story?” 

“No.” 

“A song?”

“I guess…” 

“Down in the willow garden,” he beings quietly. “Where me and my love did meet.” He feels her small hand go to his elbow and start rubbing it in circles. “There we lay a’ courtin’ my true love fell asleep. I had a bottle of the burglars wine but that my love did not know…” 

It was a macabre song really, but he hadn’t really thought of that when he started singing it to her years ago. He just remembered it from his own childhood. The heavy smell of red wine on his momma’s breath as she knelt next to his bed singing the same thing. Her stroking a few dark locks from his face as he did to Lydia now. . 

“There I murdered that poor lil’ girl down on the banks below.” He supposed it should’ve been kind of obvious, but it was this or Merle Haggard - who wasn’t known for his lovely lullabies to little girls. 

From on his chest he hears her tiny voice join in “I stabbed her with my dagger, which was a bloody knife. I throwed her into the river which was a terrible sight.” 

It was even creepier coming from her. Though, if he was honest most songs were. She had that quality about her, even on the best of days, when she would sing her eyes would glaze over, and she took on an almost hypnotized look. Even ‘Row row row your boat’ was a little unnerving when she sang it. 

“My daddy always told me.” He continued, rocking gently from side to side “That money would set me free. If I would murder that poor little girl who’s name was Rose Connolly.” 

His mothers face drifts before him, a little blurry from time, but as young and beautiful as he remembered. Dark curls framing blue eyes, the ghost of a bruise across one cheek. He hummed a little and rubbed her back before starting the last verse. 

“Now he sits by his cabin door, wiping his tear stained eyes, a thinkin’ about his own dear son, upon the scaffold high. My race is run beneath the sun an-“ 

Lydia pushes back suddenly, making him start and he has just enough time to push her hair back before she starts heaving. 

Shit. 

He doesn’t have time to get her to the bathroom, bile and spit she’s able to throw up lands on his chest and the sheets surrounding them. 

“I-I’m sorry.” Lydia sobs, coughing and sputtering tears pouring from her eyes, a little vomit dribbling down her chin. 

“It’s okay.” He whispers, leaning over to push the nurses call button. “It’s okay, I can change.” 

“You ain’ mad?” She sobs. 

“‘course I ain’t.” He whispers, lifting the edge of his shirt to wipe the vomit from her chin and reaching out to wipe her tears. “Yer sick baby girl it ain’ yer fault.” 

The night nurse comes in and flicks on the light, the bright light makes him blink and squint. Fuckin’ fluorescents. 

“Everything okay?” The nurse asked. 

“Nah, I think - we probably need a sheet change.” He muttered, looking around. Most of it was on him, but the sheets and. Bedding had a few dribbles too. 

“Oh sweetie, you get sick?” The nurse asks. 

“Y-yeah.” Lydia nods. “I need new pajamas.” 

“Okay, how about daddy gets you sorted and I’ll change the sheets.” The nurse says.

“Kay.” Lydia sniffles. 

“C’mere kiddo.” Daryl says, sliding out of the bed and picking her up. She wrapped her arms around her neck and wrinkled her nose. 

“You got sick on you.” She mutters. 

“Yeah, looks like I’ll need t’ change too.” He says, carrying her into the bathroom. “You wait here, I’ll bring ya yer pajamas.” 

“Okay.” She lets him set her down on the toilet lid. Daryl shuffles out of the bathroom and over to their suitcases. He pulls out Lydia’s Aladdin night gown and a clean t-shirt and pants for himself and returns to the bathroom. 

Changing Lydia around the PICC line is a bit of an ordeal even while she’s disconnected. The long tube hangs loose and every time it moves too much she whimpers and pulls away. He’ll have to get it bound up before they got back in bed. He reaches for the hairbrush on the back of the toilet and combs through her sweaty hair, no vomit in it, which is a good (he doubts she’d tolerate a bath right now), but he braids it back just in case it happens again. 

“You wanna go on out and wait?” Daryl asks. 

“No.” She sniffles. “Carry me.” 

“Baby girl.” He sighs. “Yer clean an’ I ain’. I don’ wanna get ya dirty again.” 

“You won’t.” She protests.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “I will.” 

“You’ll come lay with me after?” Lydia pouts. 

“Yeah.” Daryl nods. “I’ll lay with ya after.” 

“Okay…” Lydia sighs, shuffling out of the bathroom. 

He figures he may as well use this opportunity to grab a much needed shower. He hadn’t showered in far too long, and he peels off his sweaty clothes aware that the vomit isn’t the only reason they smell. He doesn’t wait for the water to warm up before stepping under it. Even cold it feels damn good running over him. He reaches for the hospital issue bar of soap. He lathered his hair first, feeling the grease underneath the lather. It could really use a second wash but he doesn’t want to push it with Lydia. After giving his skin a quick scrub and rinse he steps out, drying haphazardly with the towel and pulling his clean pajamas on. He puts the dirty ones in the hamper in the corner, he’ll have to find the hospital laundry later today. 

“I don’t wanna!” Lydia is protesting, clutching the end of her PICC line tightly and scowling at the nurse. 

“What’s up baby girl.” Daryl frowns, glancing at the night nurse. 

“She needs fluids.” The nurse sighs. “She’s not keeping anything down and she’s getting dehydrated.” 

“They make me pee.” Lydia scowls. 

“You need to pee.” Daryl mutters. 

“Do not.” 

“Lydia.” He sighs, he’s bone tired, he doesn’t want to fight with her over this. 

“If they give me those and I pee they give me the medicine again!” She protests. “And that tastes bad and made me feel sick!” 

“Shhh,” Daryl says, aware that she’s shouting. “Baby girl this isn’t for the medicine.” 

“They won’t give it to me again?” Lydia scowls, not bringing her volume down any. 

“They’re gonna give it to you again.” Daryl sighs, telling her otherwise won’t do any good. “But not right now. Right now they just have to get you hydrated.” 

“No medicine ever again!” Lydia snapped

“Lydia.” He can feel a headache starting behind his eyes. “You have to get the medicine again. You’re sick baby girl we - we talked about this. But right now the IV will help you feel better, I promise.” 

“I don’t want medicine.” She whimpers. 

“I know.” He says, sitting down on the edge of her bed. “I wish you didn’t have to have any medicine. But you do, just not right now okay?”

“O-Okay.” Lydia mutters. 

“Can they give you the fluids?” Daryl asks. 

“You have to hold me.” Lydia says. 

“Of course I will.” He promises, sitting back up against her pillows and letting her crawl on his lap and pull the covers over both of them. “They need your arm baby girl.” Lydia grumbles but sticks her arm with the PICC line out of the blanket. 

“Thank you Lydia.” The nurse says, pulling the end of the line up to connect the fluids. “There, all connected. Feel free to press the button if you need anything.” 

“Go away.” Lydia mutters, pulling the blanket up over her head and her arm back into the cocoon.

“Thanks.” Daryl says, rubbing Lydia’s back. He can hear her sniffling underneath the blanket. “‘S okay t’ cry.” 

“You smell funny.” She mutters, poking her head out at him.

“What?” Daryl frowns. 

“You smell funny.” She mutters, sniffing at his shirt. “You don’t smell like daddy. You smell like… soap.” 

“Oh.” Daryl says. “I had t’ take a shower’s all. Forgot my soap.” 

“I don’t like it.” She mutters. “I like daddy smell.” 

“Sorry kiddo. I’ll get my soap as soon as I can.” He promises. He’d never given much thought to how he smelled before, but he supposed he had used the same soap for years. Hell he couldn’t even remember the scent off the top of his head, he usually just grabbed it off the shelf in the grocery store and went on his way. 

“Good.” Lydia mumbles. 

“Try to sleep okay kiddo?” Daryl whispers. 

“Okay.” 

Daryl must’ve fallen asleep at some point too, because the next thing he knows the day shift nurse is in their room and light is flooding in from the windows. Lydia whimpers on his chest and curls herself into a smaller ball, just the PICC line drifting out from under the blankets she’s pulled tightly around her. 

“Wha’ time is it?” He mutters, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand.

“A little after seven.” The nurse smiled apologetically, it’s Sasha again. The shift change has already happened. “Sorry to wake you.” 

“‘S fine.” Daryl mutters, it’s not like it’s her fault anyway. “You uh - you need her vitals?” 

“Yeah.” Sasha nods. “Dr. Rhee is going to come talk to you in a bit, but I’ll get vitals out of the way first.” 

“Biopsy results?” Daryl’s awake now. Those were supposed to come in today.

“I think so.” The nurse nods. “But it could be about the next dose of chemo too. She’s due for that today at around one.” 

“Oh.” Daryl glanced down at the lump which is Lydia, she wouldn’t be thrilled about that. He pulls at the blankets. “Lyd.” 

“No.” She moans. “No pokes.” 

“No pokes.” Sasha says. I just need your temperature and your blood pressure and your oxygen levels okay?” 

“No.” Lydia mutters. 

“What hand do you want me to put the pulse oximeter on? Your left or your right?” Sasha asks, pulling the machine over. 

“Left.” Lydia mutters, offering her right hand. Daryl has to repress a smile, she’d never been good with left and right but he was pretty sure Sasha would tell her rainbows came out of her ass if it got her to cooperate.

“Left it is.” Sasha smiles. Clipping the monitor to her finger. “And how about blood pressure?” 

“Left.” Lydia mutters, exposing a little more of her right arm for Sasha to put the cuff on. 

“Alright.” Sasha says. And do you want forehead or tongue temperature?” 

“Tongue.” Lydia mutters, poking her little pale face out from underneath the blankets and opening her mouth. 

“Thank you.” Sasha smiles, poking the thermometer under her tongue and holding it there for a moment before pulling it out. “Fever free, good job kiddo.” 

“Thanks.” Lydia mutters, letting Sasha remove the pulse oximeter and the blood pressure cuff then retreating into the cocoon of blankets again. 

“You want something to eat?” Daryl asks quietly. 

“Waffle.” Lydia mumbles. “Plain.” 

“No butter or syrup.” He repeats. “Your tummy feeling better?” 

“Kind of.” She mutters. “Still feels like I’m on a tire swing.” 

“You gonna let me out of bed to go get it?” Daryl asks. 

“Fine.” She crawls off of him and curls up in the middle of the bed. “Hurry daddy.” 

“I will.” He promises, sliding into his boots and shuffling out of the room. Across the hall Henry’s door is open, the blinds are up, and the bed empty but unmade. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but he tried not to linger on it.

He gets a waffle for Lydia and a cup of black coffee for himself. He knows he should eat something but he doesn’t really have the energy or appetite to get anything down. Especially not with Lydia’s biopsy results hanging over him like this. This would mean a treatment plan, a timeline, a discharge date, a real tangible plan that could get his daughter well again. 

When Daryl returns to the room he finds Dr. Rheesitting on the end of the bed, letting Lydia hold her stethoscope to her swollen belly. 

“Daddy guess what!” Lydia says eagerly. “There’s a baby in there and I can hear him!” 

“Really?” Daryl frowns. 

“Yeah I use the listening thingy and I can hear his heart.” Lydia grins.

“Alright Lydia.” Dr. Rhee smiles. “It looks like it's time for your breakfast. How about I take that and go talk to your daddy while you eat?” 

“Okay.” Lydia frowns, handing the stethoscope back to Dr. Rhee. “He’ll be back soon?” 

“Yeah.” Dr. Rhee says. “Mr. Dixon if you’ll come with me?” 

“Oh uh, yeah sure.” Daryl nods, handing Lydia her waffles and following Dr. Rhee out of the room and down the hall. “Are we uh - going to that - that same room.” 

“Yeah.” Dr. Rhee says. “It’s a little more private.” 

“Is this about her biopsy results?” Daryl swallows, remembering what Carol had told him about that room.

“Yes.” Dr. Rhee nods. “We got them back this morning and I wanted to discuss the new treatment plan with you, we’ll be starting it today.” 

“Today.” Daryl swallows. “Isn’t she still on - on that other chemo?”

  “She is.” Dr. Rhee nods. “But we’ll be adding some new ones.” 

Ones. Plural. Daryl's stomach sinks father. 

Dr. Rhee holds the door open for him and he steps into the room, there’s a stack of papers on the table. She’s prepared this in advance. He takes a seat in the same chair he sat in the other day and takes a drink of his coffee, ignoring the burning sensation it sends down his throat. 

“So,” Dr. Rhee says, pulling some of the papers towards her and shuffling through them. “We got the results back from Lydia’s bone marrow biopsy and we were initially correct. She does have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.” 

“Okay.” He says slowly. “Like… that’s it?” 

“No.” Dr. Rhee slides the paper over to him, the text is small, and even though she’s highlighted portions of it it sort of dances around in front of him. “Lydia has a rare mutation we don’t often see in acute leukemia. It’s called the philadelphia chromosome. Essentially what it means is that two of the genes in the Leukemia cells have switched places. It also means that Lydia’s Leukemia is very high risk and will need to be treated aggressively. We’re going to do this with three different kinds of chemotherapy and a geneblocker called Distautinab. Distautinab is a newer drug and when used in conjunction with it’s predecessor Imatinib we’ve seen cure rates go up dramatically.” 

“Dramatically what - what does that mean?” Daryl swallows. 

“Well currently we’re at about 80 percent for this particular subtype of leukemia.” Dr. Rhee says. 

“Eighty percent.” He breathes. “And this - um - this is what subtype?” 

“Ph+ ALL.” Dr. Rhee says. 

The name triggers something in the back of his brain, he’s so exhausted that it takes him a moment to come back around to it. Carol. That’s what her daughter had. Carol’s daughter was dead. 

“Um Carol -“ 

“Yes,” Dr. Rhee says. “This is the same type of leukemia that carol’s daughter Sophia had. However Distautinab was not available for use in children at the time Sophia was treated.” 

“And Lydia.” He mutters. “What am I - what does this entail?” 

“A treatment plan of about two and a half years.” Dr. Rhee says. 

“Two and a half years.” Eh breathes. 

“Yes, though a period of that will be what is called maintenance Chemotherapy. It’s about a year of active treatment all together and a year and a half of maintenance. During active treatment she’ll have periods of chemo infusions both inpatient and outpatient, but during maintenance barring complications she’ll be at home taking daily oral chemo therapies.” 

“I - okay.” He mutters. 

“Do you need a minute?” She asks. 

“Please.” He breathes. 

“Alright, I’ll give you sometime.” Dr. Rhee stands and exits the room, Daryl fumbles for his phone in his sweatpants pocket. It’s not yet eight o’clock, the school day shouldn’t have started. He finds Carol’s number in his phone and hits the call button. 

“Daryl?” She picks up almost immediately. “Is everything okay?” 

“I - Lydia’s biopsy results.” He manages. “They’re  they’re not good.” 

“Okay.” Carol’s voice is blessedly steady. “What happened?” 

“It’s um - that chromosome thing. Lydia’s got it.” He mutters, running a hand over his hair and leaning against the table. He feels like he’s going to throw up. 

“Oh.” Her voice is almost silent on the end of the line. 

God this had been stupid of him. He shouldn’t have called and told her that. Her daughter died from that. He opens his mouth to apologize. 

“School gets out at 330.” She says, unknowingly cutting off his attempt at apology. “I can leave right after and be there by 430 okay?” 

“You don’t have t’ do that.” He says. 

“I’m going to be there by 430.” She says. “You - this is a lot to process. It’s hard. Have you gotten your treatment plan yet?” 

“No.” Daryl admits. “We-we’re about to discuss that she’s got a - a folder.” 

“Okay.” Carol says. “Look, I won’t promise you everything is going to be okay, but things have changed, three years is a long time in the world of cancer. And even if they hadn’t, you’re not alone in this Daryl.” 

“Two and a half years.” He chokes out. “She’s - she’s gonna be going through this for two and a half years.” 

“Yeah.” Carol says. “And so are you. This is your fight to Daryl, and you and Lydia aren’t alone here. I have a half an hour until class starts, are you okay?” 

“I- no.” Daryl says “She had a really rough night and now, now I’m going to go in there and condemn her to more and - and I know it’s going to save her life but she doesn’t know that. She doesn’t understand that.” 

“She understands more than you think Daryl.” Carol whispers. “She’ll be okay, she’ll get through this.” 

“We don’t know that.” Daryl whispers. 

“She has a father who’s fighting like hell for her.” Carol says. “That’s gonna make her okay. Not every kid has that. I’ll be there at 430 okay? I’ll bring dinner.” 

“Yeah.” He nods. “I uh - I should go. I need t’ - i need t’ know what’s gonna happen.” 

“Okay.” Carol says. “You want me to call at lunch?” 

“No.” He says. “I - she’s due for chemo around then, she likes me t’ hold her.”

“See, you’re all she needs.” She says. “I’ll see you tonight.” 

“Yeah.” He hangs up the phone and rests his head in his hands. 

“Ready?” Dr. Rhee steps back into the room. 

“Not really.” He sighs. “But yeah, lets do this I guess.” 

“So we’re going to start with the induction phase. That will consist of daily oral chemotherapy and steroids and weekly chemo through her PICC line.” Dr. Rhee slides a calendar sheet in front of him. “It will look something like this, though the dates will change based on her discharge date. We’re aiming for sometime next week, we just need to give her one round of inpatient chemo, check her counts and keep her fever free for 48 hours.” 

“We could be home next week?” That didn’t feel real to him, the idea that they could be home in a week. Hadn’t she just said that Lydia’s chemo was aggressive? 

“If everything goes well.” Dr. Rhee nods, tucking some of her short hair behind her ear. “We’re going to finish this round today and on saturday and then if all goes well you could be home by Wednesday. Now you’ll come back weekly for labs and chemotherapy, and if she spikes a fever above 100.4 you have to come into the ER right away.” 

“Okay.” He nods. “And that’s - that’s it? For two years?” 

“Well, no.” Dr. Rhee says. “Because of the type of leukemia that Lydia has we need to be aggressive in our treatment. This cancer likes to hide, so we’re going to do the induction phase, then we’re going to pull back on the chemo, to give her body a break and a chance to recover and then she’ll start three rounds of very aggressive chemotherapy. She’ll be inpatient for those, expect up to 30 days.” 

“30 days.” He mutters. 

“Yes. And she’s going to be a very sick little girl. But as I said the chances of a good outcome are high with this new drug.” Dr. Rhee says. “So if you’ll sign the paperwork I can get her chemo together and we can get ahead of this thing.” 

“Yeah.” Daryl nods, reaching for the papers and pen. “Jus’ - I want her t’ be a kid again.” 

“Kids are resilient.” Dr. Rhee says. 

“Yeah.” Daryl mutters. 

Can she still be resilient? 

[brooklynislandgirl]

———  BASICS! ♡

(PEN)NAME! ♡     Turtle, a tiny chelonian cryptid of your imagination.

PRONOUNS! ♡     she / her / they

ZODIAC SIGN! ♡     Pisces {sun, moon, and rising. I literally cannot get away from being a fishy!}

TAKEN OR SINGLE! ♡    taken

———  THREE  FACTS! ♡

1! ♡  Braveheart was the nickname of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, and not William Wallace no matter what the movie says.

2! ♡     All Cats are Dreamlands cats, but none of them shop at the Plateau of Leng.

3! ♡    Sharks have no bones.

———  EXPERIENCE! ♡

PLATFORMS USED! ♡  currently? Tumblr and Discord. previously? we don’t have the time to list them all but the nightmares still linger from: IIRC, AoHell, MSN, Eyechat, etc.

———  MUSE  PREFERENCE! ♡

GENDER! ♡    Neither Beth nor I have a preference for what gender other muses and muns happen to be, or lack there of. It’s always about how well mun/muse get along with one another. Beth and I can be fast friends with another muse or mortal enemies with them, so long as the muns involved can respect and befriend one another. So essentially, mun chemistry is a big factor. I have little time or patience for other muns who can’t be bothered to communicate, especially with the nature of the things I write. One thing I will admit to and I know that this is probably going to offend some folks, but I am honest with my own bullshit... I loathe Rule!63 and gender bending a character. If you play a trans character, that is great! Represent! If you play a non-binary character, that’s great! Represent! Transgender and Non-binary muns are also more than welcome here and I will die for you guys. But I see no inherent value in gender-bending an existing canon or OC muse. Unpopular opinion I know but like. I dunno it’s just not my D’jinni gig.

LEAST FAVOURITE FACE(S)! ♡   It is rare for me to dislike someone based on appearance alone but that being said.. Females FCs I greatly dislike: Nichole Kidman, Jennifer Connolly, Kiera Knightly Male FCs I greatly dislike: Woody Allen, Justin Bieber, pretty much most Youtube faces {Markiplier, Jack Septiceye, etc}, Stephen Collins, Chris Brown

MULTI OR SINGLE! ♡   I have done both. Certain verses work best single ship {Main Beth, Star Wars AU, Justified AU, Deadwood AU} Others are happily multi-ship. One specific verse is poly-ship and that’s pretty much the only one.

———  FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡    

FLUFF:  Listen guys, fluff can be great. Whether it’s brief comfort after a long angst, or a breath taken after something particularly intense has been written, or even a moment of domestic bliss can be amazing and character driven when treated with respect and care. And I am not opposed to that. Sometimes I will even really crave it. But I personally cannot sustain a fluffy thread for very long, especially if it’s random or not plotted out to some even slight degree. I also see a difference between Beth taking care of someone or {and this is speculation because it almost never happens} that someone takes care of Beth, and random fluff. Beth is a homebody nurturer and as such people find it ever so easy to take advantage of her good nature and her desire to genuinely make other people feel cared about. I, the mun however, am not Beth and while yes...I do try my hardest to be a nice, kind, and easy-going partner, have limits. If I feel you are taking advantage of me or Beth, I will talk to you. And if you continue to treat us like a door-mat, we will no longer be friends after that.

ANGST: I suppose a lot of what I write can fall into this category. Whether it’s main verse, SHIELD or Mage verses, or really any others, I gravitate toward drama, seriousness, pain, wounding, I mean.... She IS an ER nurse in most of her verses {or occasionally a COP/Secret Agent}. Most of her threads are interpersonal ones as well, and as such, are filled with the existential nature of what it means to be both human and maybe a little left of centre. Not only that, but given her background and history, there isn’t tons and tons of levity there. However, melodrama of soap-opera proportions, endless hurt/comfort on an endless lather/rinse/repeat cycle is also not my thing. If your muse is injured and needs help, or has emotional trouble, or symptomatic issues that can be worked through, that’s fantastic and sign me up. But there’s a line that should be watched carefully before it becomes ridiculous, and I would appreciate reciprocal attention from my mun partners. If Beth is going to be in your muse’s life, spare a thought for her on occasion. As I am a fiend for plotting though, I don’t see this as a bad thing, and something we can’t talk about to ensure maximum fun/enjoyment. I just need a little structure and direction to go in.

SMUT:  So. I mean. Who doesn’t love the thrill of romance, and the “kissing parts” of the story, to quote the Princess Bride? However if that’s your primary goal {which, good on you...do what you like. Fair winds and following seas to you}, you’re probably going to be disappointed here.  I do write smut, and I would like to thing I can write it well. Or at least well enough and adaptable enough to match my partner’s style/wants, etc. Beth is demisexual. She doesn’t experience primary physical attraction. In order to realise she might actually find you sexually attractive, she needs time to build up an emotional connection. And even if she does manage that, she might not know exactly how to express it. She is also qouiromantic meaning she cannot really tell if her feelings are romantic or platonic, something in between, aesthetically based, etc. She might never express any desires she may have, doesn’t have much in the realm of experience, has a lot of residual Catholic guilt, and a laundry list of other intimacy issues that are not easily overcome. We can talk about romance and shipping, but it’s not gonna be easy or fast and if that’s primarily what you’re looking for, we are probably not going to be a good fit together.

PLOT / MEMES! ♡  I absolutely require plotting for threads to go anywhere far, mostly because I tend to be a little scatterbrained and need some handrails and directions for where the story is going. However that doesn’t mean I need to plot out every single detail. Just...guidelines.  As for memes, yes!please! I will post them randomly as I find ones that interest me. Send me one. Send me a dozen. I am slow, and threads have priorities over asks but I will always answer them. Always. And if I don’t post a meme, but you see one on your dash that interests you? Pop the question in my ask and I will answer!

tagged by: the ever adorable Naynay and thank you darling.

tagging: Put on the eye patch and run out the long nines. You know you wanna.

[quackeroos]

ONE WEEK || Day Four

Pairing: tom holland x dying ex!reader

Summary: you were dying, and tom still loves you. now he plans on loving you ‘til your last breath, and maybe get you to say those three words back to him.

Warnings: swearing, angst

Words: 4.9k

*gif is not mine!

General Masterlist | Series Masterlist

EYES SQUINTING, Y/N WOKE UP with the sun shining on her face. The blinds were open, and she groaned at the blinding rays of light. She never really was a fan of the morning sun. Well, when it came to waking her up, of course. She very much preferred watching it set rather than blinding her eyes.

Her body decided to wake up, a little early than her usual wake up time. Stretching her muscles felt good, she could feel her joints pop and give her that relaxing feeling. Blinking, her eyes wandered around her surroundings. It was weird, nobody was with her. She expected to see Tom laying down on the couch and her sister on the little spare bed beside hers, but instead, she was all alone. Her hand reached for her phone and rang their contact numbers. It immediately went to voicemail.

She tried ringing Tom's phone for the fourth time, still no answer. "Where could he have gone?" she hears the door open, her head turns at the source, expecting a curly haired brunette walk out of the shadows. "Tom?" she called out. But instead of Tom, it was someone else.

"Bold of you to assume I'm a guy, N/n." a giggle escapes her mouth, it was only Jamie.

"You look disappointed, what's wrong?" her sister approaches her bed bringing along some of the stuff she got. Y/n shakes her head. "Never mind that. So, where have you been? And what's with all the paper bags?"

"Just thought of buying a few outfits for us. I even sneaked this pass your nurses." Jamie opens the lid of the takeout she bought. Pancakes and Waffles. A grin makes it way up to her mouth, but falters at the sudden realization. "You know I can't." sadness in the tone of her voice was evident.

"Oh nonsense! I say that today is your cheat day, and that my sister should have a bit of freedom. Now here, eat." She pushes the breakfast plate towards her and gave her the maple syrup. Y/n ponders for a moment. Should she or should she not? It looked so good, but it could risk her health even more. One sweet breakfast couldn't hurt, right?

Still having second thoughts, she reluctantly takes the fork and knife, digging into the maple syrup covered carb meal. The sweet taste melted in her mouth, and she loved it. She missed the flavour of every dessert, sugar, and fast food she ate. She hated her diet, oh how much she missed living normal. "Good, right? Tom told me you'd like it." This caught her attention. Her face looked up from the plate, a little drop of maple syrup on her lips.

"What?"

"What?" her sister parroted. Y/n wasn't at all phased. Her eyes squinted at her while Jamie still pretended to not say anything. "Just go and eat your breakfast, I'm taking you to a trip around the hospital after."

***

"Can't we just stay in the room? I really wanna finish my sit-com marathon."

"Oh, quit you're whining! You should get out of that room more. It's suffocating in there." Y/n rolled her eyes at her sister. She sounded a lot like their Mum, and Y/n could already picture it out in her head. Jamie did take after their mother's looks and a bit of her mannerisms, and on their Dad's side, she got more of his personality. She stifled a laugh while looking at her sister. Jamie gives her a confused look. "What are you laughing at?" she asked.

"Nothing. You just sounded like Mum." Jamie gives her a sarcastic laugh and continues pushing. Y/n hadn't taken this route before though. The siblings pass through a skybridge leading towards the other building of the hospital. Her head craned and looked up at her sister, "Where are we even going?" She asked.

A smirk appears on her face. "You'll see."

The once transparent walls were changed into colorful walls painted with rainbows, flowers, butterflies and stars. This must be the children's ward. Y/n thought. The two pushed through two doors, leading to what seems "An activity center?" The girl spoke aloud. The venue was filled with a mix of teens and children, sick children. "Why in the world did you bring me to an activity center filled with children?" Jamie only looked at her with a hint of excitement in her eyes. Music blasted through the speakers and two familiar faces walked out from the makeshift stage.

"What's up guys! /Hello everyone!" the two greeted, waving to the crowd of children who also seemed to be hyped up. "I'm Jacob and this is my good friend Zendaya." The kids reply in chorus, waving at them saying 'Hi'

"So today we have a very special surprise for you guys! Do you like surprises?" Another enthusiastic reply from the young crowd, which brings a smile to Zendaya and Jacob's faces. At a far distance, Y/n could see a mop of curly ginger-brown hair holding a camera. It was Harry. Y/n could smell something fishy. The smirk her sister gave, Jacob and Zendaya's sudden appearance, Harry filming. She didn't want to go with her gut feeling. Y/n wanted to leave but at the same time, she wanted to stay and see where this was headed. "So, do you guys like heroes?" Jacob directed the mic towards the crowd and everyone in the room replied with another 'Yes'

"You know what Z? I'm not gonna delay this any longer. Everyone please welcome, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" the doors burst open and music played as the figure made an entrance. He momentarily glances at Y/n. Although the person was masked, she could feel his smile radiating. She knew exactly who it was behind it. Spider-Man did a flip, making the children around him wow and cheer at awe. "Hey! What's up everybody?" more cheers from the audience. He removes the red mask and his long brown curls flopped on his forehead, making him bring his hand up and brush through it. It was a signature move he did that Y/n loved, she still does, she's not gonna deny that. The Kingsleigh Sisters stayed all throughout the little meet and greet. Some stories and laughs were shared between Tom and his fans. She could tell he loved it, his job, his fans, everything. And when it was time for him to go, Tom lifts his mic.

"But before that, I'm gonna sing a song for you guys. Some of you might know this, so go ahead and sing along if you'd like." Sam takes out a mic stand while Tuwaine hands him a caramel colored guitar. Y/n recognizes the familiar instrument. She could feel her heart clench. Thousands of songs were played with it, and so many memories held in that guitar, both good and bad ones. She then started to wonder, did Tom ever stopped playing after everything that had happened?

The man positioned himself behind the mic, his guitar hanging around him with a strap to keep it's hold. He played a few chords to see if it was in tune, before he talks through the microphone. "This song is called, Introducing Me." Y/n hears a few of them gasp, most of it coming from the teenagers.

Tom starts strumming the intro, biting his lip a bit and smiling as he does. A few of the audience starts to sing along with him, their phones raised up, ready to record everything.

"I'm good at wasting time I think lyrics need to rhyme And you're not asking But I'm trying to grow a mustache I eat cheese, but only on pizza please Sometimes, on a homemade quesadilla Otherwise it smells like feet to me,"

She remembers one time, when they went out on a date, Tom insisted not to order anything that has a lot of cheese. It didn't sit well with his stomach and he heavily dislike the smell. And like the song, he only accepts it on pizzas.

"And I, I really like it when the moon looks like a toenail And I love you when you say my name"

Tom looks up from the crowd and finds the pair of e/c he loved looking into. Although she was far, he caught her staring back. Y/n didn't know what to feel. At the exact moment he said those three words, he looked at her. Her heart starts beating to the same beat to the song.

"If you wanna know Here it goes Gonna tell you this The part of me that shows if you're close Gonna let you see everything But remember that you asked for it I'll try to do my best to impress"

The song takes her way back to high school. It was lunch time, and hundreds of students were there to witness it. In the middle of the cafeteria, he stood there on the table, facing her, serenading her in front of everyone. And here they are now, nine years later, in front of a crowd, doing the exact same thing that made her see what could be if she said yes to him.

"But it's easier to let you take a guess at the rest But you wanna hear what lives in my brain My heart, will you ask for it For your perusing At times confusing, slightly amusing Introducing me"

His little humming to the tune made her giggle, Y/n found it very cute, with his head moving to it, it was double the times better. When it came to the second verse, he strummed faster, the lyrics also matching with his pace.

"I never trust a dog to watch my food And I like to use to the word "dude" As a noun, or an adverb, or an adjective And I've never really been into cars I like really cool guitars and superheroes And checks with lots of zeros on 'em"

Tom walks towards the audience area, serving his fans with a few smiles for them and for the cameras on their phones. Harry followed behind his brother, documenting everything with his camera.

"I love the sounds of violins And making someone smile"

His goofy face made her smile. A sweet and genuine smile. It was more than enough for Tom to send him to the seventh heaven. The corners of her eyes crinkled, cheeks blushed and face fully glowing. How he wished he could see her like this every day. He continues with the chorus, circling the fans, and from time to time, he would glance at Harry's camera. The bridge part of the song came, and little by little, y/n notices Tom coming towards her. Jamie moved back to give the two their limelight, her giddy smile evident on her face.

"So, if you wanna know, here it goes Gonna tell ya there's a part of me that shows If were close gonna let you see everything But remember that you asked for it I'm trying to do my best to impress

But it's easier to let you take a guess at the rest But you wanna hear what lives in my brain, in my heart Well, you asked for it."

At this point, y/n was already melting in her seat. Tom continued strumming, his left hand skillfully moving from one chord to the other on the neck of the guitar, all the while his gaze was focused on her. The crowd of children, teenagers, nurses and guardians all directed their attention towards the two, not only them but their group of friends too, and Harry at the side still holding his camera with a grin on his face.

"For your perusing At times confusing Hopefully amusing Introducing me" He slowly kneels on one knee, a cheeky grin plastered on his face. The brown locks on top of his head flopped on his forehead and droplets of sweat glimmered in the fluorescent lights. Being a habit of hers, her hands lift up and brush through his hair. The brown locks slicked back and stayed with the few waxes left in its hold.

"Introducing me."

Heavy breaths came out of him, his hands were a bit sore, and his head felt a little fuzzy. But it was fine for him, because the butterflies he felt in his stomach and the immense pounding of his heart both in exhaustion and adoration made it alright. Tom heard claps in the background, but he never turned. He just wanted to be with her and the moment that they have right then and there.

"You're shaking, Tom." She spoke softly. He couldn't feel it himself, but Y/n could see him trembling a bit. Probably because of the exhaustion his body had intake. Tom only smiled and dismissed the fact. "It's alright. I'm not gonna pass out I promise." A soft giggle escapes her lips. "Is this the reason why I haven't seen and heard of you all morning?"

"Yeah. But that was only the opening act." A smirk formed on his lips and pushed back the stray hair on her face. He quickly left and went back to the stage, thanking everyone who came and the hospital for having them. Y/n was left dumbfounded and confused. What did he mean 'that was only the opening act' ?

***

Tom quickly went to go to a nearby restroom and change back into his casual clothes, hurrying as he fixes his pants and combs through his hair. Sam was outside, waiting with a bouquet of Yarrows, and Harry waited with his twin, holding his brother's guitar. "So, now what do you do?" He asked his sibling from the door, and it opened to reveal a fresh-faced Tom. His hand runs through his hair, grabbing the bouquet in the other.

"Phase One: Nostalgia"

***

Jamie helped her change into the clothes she bought her. Y/n shivered at the cold air that was hitting her skin. She wasn't used exposing her skin that much, unlike a few years ago. Now, it felt like she was living in the Arctic Ocean. The air in her hospital room combined with the cold London air was not helping her condition at all. "Why do I have to wear a dress?" she questioned her sister, irritation visible in her tone.

"Because...."

She waited for her to continue, but Jamie only kept silent and fixed her hair. "Because what?" she urged on. "Oh, you'll find out soon." Her eyebrow perked up. She had a gut feeling this had something to do with Tom. It had only been a few hours since she had last seen him. And with the last sentence he had told her, made her mind run in circles and her gut clench that maybe what Jamie was doing was all part of it.

It all connected, but she had to find out if it really was true. So she let Jamie do her hair while she sat comfortably in her wheelchair, watching the telly in her hospital room. The younger Kingsleigh was already half through when her phone beeped from her pocket. She skillfully holds all three strands in one hand while using the other to open her phone and read the text message Harry had sent her.

Curlz™ Tom's done changing. We're heading to the car.  Is everything set? 

Jamie Jamz 🍯🍓 She's almost done.  You got her exit permits?

Curlz™ Yup. Gtg.  We still need to set up everything before she comes.

Jamie Jamz 🍯🍓 See ya later curlios read 12:28 pm 

Jamie tucked away her phone and continued braiding the small section of her sister's hair. Y/n wasn't really a fan of her hair being tied up, she preferred it free from bands and bobby pins. But Jamie loved doing her hair, so on rare occasions, she lets her do hers. Once Jamie was done, she let Y/n look of her final look in the mirror. the sides of her hair were braided but it was loose, just as she requested. The remaining locks trailed down her shoulders felt free to her liking. "It's perfect. Thank you Jams."

"Glad you like it. Now come on, we gotta go. the car's waiting."

She blinks in confusion. "Wait, a car? I thought I wasn't supposed to leave before my surgery?"

"Nothing's impossible, darling. We've made a little arrangement. And besides, you have 48 hours before your surgery. Let's make the most of it, yeah?" Jamie excitedly pushes her wheelchair and they left the room.

***

Y/n couldn't see anything. After boarding the car, her eyes were immediately covered with a blindfold. She could feel Jamie at her side and another person beside her. She assumed it was the nurse that usually takes care of her, the one before Daisy. Harriet, she thinks her names was.

"Jamie, where the hell are you taking me right now?" She was getting impatient. They had been in the car for almost thirty minutes and they still haven't arrived at their destination, wherever it was. "Having some trouble with the directions. Don't worry, we'll be there in ten minutes tops." and in ten minutes, they did.

Y/n was carried down and placed on her wheelchair, Jamie pushing her to who knows where. She took in a deep breath. Oxygen, fresh oxygen. Not the air from the hospital or from the tanks, this one was pure oxygen. She had a guess, that they were in a park, maybe? The sounds of birds chirping, the smell of flowers, and the feeling of grass slightly hitting her skin made her think so. The next thing she knew, the cloth was removed from her eyes, and now she could see everything.

Her hunch was right, she was in a park. The park where Tom took her on their first date. "Surprise!" A deep voice said behind her. She turned her head around and found a pair of blue eyes looking back at her with a charming smile. "Harrison? I thought you had a photoshoot today?"

"We ended earlier than expected. And besides, I wouldn't miss this one for the whole world. Let's take a walk, yeah?" He grabs the handlebars and pushes her wheelchair, moving slowly to appreciate the view more. She inhaled a deep breath, nostalgia filled it. Memories flooded back in from their first date to their last one. Those were the only things that ran inside her head for the past few days. The smell of his hair, his cute laughs, dates, fights, kisses and everything they did together. Ever since Tom unexpectedly came to her room and back in her life, it was nothing but pure nostalgia and memories.

Now, she finally understood it. She really did miss him after all these years.

"Feels great to be finally out huh?" Harrison spoke. She hums in reply.

"Even if it's just for today, this is even better than the rooftop garden."

"And it's about to get even better." Harrison leaned down to whisper in her ear and his head nods forward. Her line of sight followed the direction and there she saw Tom, inside a big white playpen filled with dogs, there were at least ten or more of them in different breeds. Harrison can see the sparkle in her eyes, and he smiled when he saw the old Y/n at that moment.

The blonde pushed her towards the gate of the playpen, and when she was already near, dogs start to come up to her and their tails wagged in excitement. Tom notices her at the gate, cooing at the little ones while her hand reached out to them. He stands up, dusts himself off and jogs towards her. "Wanna come and meet them?" he asks her. Tom smiled when she nodded. He stuck his foot at the other side of the playpen and slid his arms under her legs and her small back. He carried her gently and placed her on one of the small cushions.

Dogs of different breeds and sizes came running up to her, smothering her with licks and pouncing on her. Y/n's giggles were the only things he could hear at the moment. Those beautiful giggles he loved to hear. It sounded so melodic; he couldn't get enough of it.

He couldn't get enough of her.

"Tom?" he was pulled back from his thoughts. Y/n was staring up at him, a golden retriever sat on her lap while a few other dogs laid under her hand as she scratched their heads. She patted the other cushion beside her, inviting him to sit down. As soon as he sat down a certain dog came up to him, running with a smile, tongue out. Y/n's face beamed up as soon as she saw her. "You brought Tessa!" The staffy's ears perked up upon hearing her name, she pounced on Y/n and licked her, tail wagging a mile per minute.

"Aww I've missed you sweet angel!" She cooed. Tessa barked; happiness etched on her adorable face.

"I figured I'd bring Tessa. She's been playing with that toy you brought her, never wanted to let go of if." Tom said from the said as he leaned in and scratches his dog's head. So close, her mind warned. His scent filled her nose. That familiar scent that was unique that reminded her that this was her Tom. "Would've been nice though if Haz brought Monty along."

"I'll ask him next time. In the meantime, let's eat." He pulls out a picnic basket from behind and opens it, revealing various snacks that she could eat without having to break her diet.

Her eyebrow quirked up, "You planned this out, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just happen to find this hiding behind my back."

"Whatever you say. Hey, do me a favour though, pass me that..." she points to the opened basket and one particular pastry was in view. The croissant.

His eyes squinted at Y/n, who was trying to contain her laughter. "Going for the old jokes huh? You pronounce it like that to you know!"

"Yeah. But it's not as lame as yours, Quackson." Tom rolled his eyes and lets out a sigh. Still as childish as ever. Tom took out a pack of dog treats and whistles. Dogs around the playpen immediately run towards Tom and it then are became a food frenzy. "I honestly still can't believe this. Where in the world did you get so many dogs? You didn't kidnap them, did you?"

"I asked a dog shelter I was sponsoring to lend them for a bit. They needed to go out and have a walk anyway, so I thought I might just let them play around. Honestly y/n, you think I'm that bad? And here I thought you knew me better than anyone else."

"Alright, alright, no need to get sappy on me Movie Star."

The corners of his mouth curls and he bites his lip to try and suppress the forming smile. Y/n could see this from her peripheral vision, and she turns around to face him. "What?" Tom just shakes his head and chuckles softly. "Nothing." She had still remembered that darn nickname. He hated being called like that, Movie Star, Big shot, most specially by his father. But with y/n, he didn't mind it. Well, just a little.

"You did great earlier, by the way. I'm glad you never stopped playing."

"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't too." he breathed out.

Y/n puts both hands on her lap. "I have a special request though, if you don't mind playing right now."

Tom waves his hand and moments later, Harrison jogs towards them with Tom's guitar in hand. "Wow, you really prepared for this."

Tom lets out a dry laugh. "Not gonna lie about this one. I was actually gonna do a concert for the kids earlier, But I figured I'd might as well do it for you instead." He puts the strap on and strums the strings, just in the right tune. "So, what song?"

"You choose. You know I'd enjoy anything you play."

And so, Tom positioned himself, sitting crisscrossed and facing her. She silently waits for him while he was choosing a song in his head. His face lit up and he starts strumming, humming the intro. Y/n immediately remembers the song and a grin makes it way up to her face. The song was her favourite, and Tom played it often, so it wasn't hard for her to recognize it. Tom matched her grin and continued playing.

"I'll hold the door Please come in and just sit here for a while. This is my way of telling you I need you in my life."

The next thing y/n did surprised Tom, in a good way. He never thought he'd be hearing her sing along with him again.

"It's so cold without your touch. I've been dreaming way too much Can we just turn this into reality.

And the two sang, hearts beating as one.

"Cause I've been thinking 'bout you lately. Maybe you could save me from this crazy world we live in. And I know we could happen cause you know that I've been feeling you."

A giggle escapes her lips as Tom repeats his humming.

From a far distance, Jamie, Harrison, and the others watched the two. They've never seen the two look so happy together. "It's as if they've never broken up in the first place." Sam commented. The others agreed with him. The two had been grinning, both obviously lovesick and comfortable with each other's presence.

Jacob nudged Harrison's side, asking him, "Do you think she's falling for Tom again?"

"No." All their heads turned to Jamie. "Because, even after my sister broke it off, she never really stopped loving Tom." Her head turns back again to the two. "She always had."

"There's no other love That I'd rather have you know."

And just like what he had done earlier, Tom never broke eye contact.

"There ain't no one there ain't no one else. I want you for myself"

He purposely made y/n feel like the song he was singing was meant for her. Honestly, it was for her. Every word that contained it was the message he wanted to tell her.

"I've been thinking 'bout you lately. Maybe you can save me from this crazy world we live in. And I know we could happen cause you know that I've been feeling you. I know you want me,"

She sang again.

"I've been thinking 'bout you lately. Maybe you can save me from this crazy world we live in. And I know we could happen cause you know that I've been feeling you."

"I know you want me too." The strumming continues and he moved closer to her.

"I know you want me too." Her reply came out more as a statement, but Tom continued strumming and humming.

He ended the song with one last strum. A half-smile was still etched on his face. "I'm glad you never stopped singing, Y/n."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't exactly dance, now can I?" She joked. "I might as well keep the next thing I love most before I lose it."

Tom puts his guitar to the side and offered some food from the picnic basket. Their time together continued, with more duets and playing with the dogs. When the sun was setting, Harrison texted Tom and informed him that it was time to take Y/n back to the hospital. Jamie came with her wheelchair and from that, Y/n knew that the day was over.

"I wish this never ends." Y/n says.

"Don't worry. As soon as you're done with your surgery and you get out of that hospital, we'll be doing this every day." Tom scooped her up and walked towards her wheelchair. He couldn't help but look at Y/n while he was carrying her. She looked like a bride, and he could hear the bells ringing inside his head.

At that moment, Tom had imagined everything. Him standing at the altar with Harrison by his side. His parents and Y/n's parents sitting at the front. Jamie walking down the aisle with her. Dressed in a white gown with beautiful laces that decorated it. Her veil covered her face, but he could still see the face of the love of his life.

It felt like Tom was looking into his future.

He sets her down and the grip around his neck removed once she sat. Jamie turns her wheelchair, "I'll see you at the room, Tom." she said before pushing her sister. Y/n looked back for a moment and waves at Tom. He waves back.

"Can't wipe that smile off can yaw?" Harrison teased, patting his friend's back.

"Nah. Not goanna come off any time soon."

"So, what's your plan now? You made Y/n the happiest she had been ever since she was admitted to the hospital." Tom quiets for a moment and stares off into the distance. He watched Y/n's car drive off before he spoke again. "Haz?"

"Yeah?"

"I've made up my mind. I'm gonna do it again."

"Again? What do you mean-" Harrison slowly realizes what he meant as his voice falters, blue eyes wide in shock. "Tom, are you sure? This is kinda big y'know."

He sighs. "I know." Tom turns to him, a sad look mixed with love and determination on his face. "But Y/n's time is running out, Haz. Her operation is in two days, her chance of survivability may not even make the cut. I'm not gonna take that chance."

Tom felt through his back pocket and took out a tiny velvet box.

-

day five of One Week

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[pynkhues]

3 7 22!!

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

I answered this one here, but I will say I forever want to write more scenes with just the girls, particularly pre-canon scenes, so I thought I might share a scene from my ridiculously belated prompt-a-thon fill which is 10 times Ruby’s danced, and this scene is about Beth and Ruby while Beth’s in labour with Emma, and Ruby’s pregnant with Harry. 

Below a cut to save your feeds!

-

“I kinda figured we’d just arrange the thing.”

She’s only half serious when she says it, but it’s worth it to see Beth’s head jerk, her eyebrows somewhere up near her forehead even as her cheeks are still flushed red, her chest still heaving.

“You have been watching way too many old romances,” she tells her, amusement thick in her tone, and Ruby shrugs, rocking the baby carrier beside her when Danny starts to whine.

“Please, you’re the one who made us go see Fiddler on the Roof three times at the Revival Theatre. If it wasn’t for that, I’d never even know about the whole matchmaker thing with your people.”

“My people,” Beth scoffs, red creeping up her neck. “Besides, the whole point of Fiddler on the Roof was that he had to learn how to let his daughters choose who they married. That they couldn’t just arrange -  - ah.”

Beth exhales sharply, squirming back into her seat, hands balling, white knuckled at the arms of the chair, and she has to be close, Ruby thinks, dropping her hand to Beth’s back, rubbing soothing circles there as she tries to catch the attention of one of the nurses. They barely seem to even see them though amidst the crowded waiting room, beelining to patients with - - what even is that? A rash? Ruby side eyes the nurse taking the man out of the waiting room, before turning her attention back to Beth.

“What was that whole do you love me song about then, huh?” Ruby says. “Him and his wife had been matched, and those two were in it, y’know?”

“It’s generational. The parents do what they have to so the kids can have it better,” Beth insists, but she hasn’t opened her eyes yet, her eyelashes matted together with her clumping mascara and tears, and Ruby sighs, sitting forwards as best she can with her own pregnant belly in the way. New plan, Ruby tells herself. They are never pregnant at the same time again. One of them needs to run point, and she can’t send Stan out with Kenny and Sara forever.

“Where’s Dean?”

“I called Boland Motors,” Ruby promises. “He wasn’t at his desk, and honestly that new secretary of his is - -”

Well, Ruby thinks a little dryly.

She’s something.

Beth squirms back in her seat, panting a little now, and the contractions really are getting closer together, even if her waters haven’t broken yet. Maybe they’ll have to pop that bag for her – they had to do it with Danny after all –her gaze darts sideways to check on him in his stroller, but he’s fallen asleep again.  

“So, how do you wanna do it?” Ruby asks, keeping her tone light. “We gotta get this thing on paper.”

It’s enough to make Beth twist her neck sideways, to peel open her watery eyes in confusion, and Ruby waits until she has Beth’s full attention before she gestures down to her own swollen belly.

“Stan Junior here is gonna be a catch. I’m just saying. Beth Junior there might want to lock it down.”

Beth’s laugh is strangled between her breathlessness, the pain of her contractions, but god, it’s music to Ruby’s ears.

“Oh, Stan Junior will definitely be a catch,” Beth agrees, the sweat curling her hair at her temples. The contraction seems to pass, and Beth smooths her own hand over her belly, still panting. “Lilies for the wedding?”

Ruby hums in approval, only to pause, squint a little below the bright glare of the hospital fluorescents.

“Wait. Do they get married at a church or a synagogue?”

“Neither,” Beth says, brushing her hair away from her face with a trembling hand, her eyes fixing briefly on Danny, sleeping in his stroller. “I feel like we should get a vacation out of it.”

“Oh, you’re planning a beach wedding now?” Ruby asks with a grin, the thing only faltering when the doors open again but - - no. Just a nurse, brandishing her clipboard. Still no Dean. Typical.

Beth hums, like she hadn’t even noticed, looking back at Ruby, her blue eyes bright, and there’s something that feels like Beth in it again, something warm, impish, as she wrinkles her nose, considering, and Ruby can’t help it, the way it feels like a key that unlocks her.

“White sand, the ocean,” Beth says. “We’d probably need to hire a marquee.”

“And a beach bar,” Ruby agrees, grinning a little when Beth rolls her eyes, waving a hand at her innocuously, before she says:

“Well, that goes without saying.”

And Ruby just laughs at that, sinking back briefly into her hard backed hospital chair (which is one-thousand percent not designed for anyone at all ever) before leaning forwards again, standing up two of her fingers like legs and walking them from one side of her belly to the other, over the arms of the chairs, and up the side of Beth’s twitching belly.

“Miss Boland, before you depart your mother, do you take this little man growing inside me to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

It really is magic, Ruby thinks again, the sound of Beth’s laugh. The real one she hears less and less often, the one that makes her throw her head back, her eyes crinkle, the sound a little low, a little husky, the one she knows Dean can never get out of her, and that at least feels like a truth. That Beth is still hers. That she’ll never lose her, not entirely, to Dean, no matter how many photo ops she goes to, no matter how many times she defers to him, no matter how much she dims her light to grow his.

Beth props her own fingers up then, mirroring Ruby’s action and walking them up over the swell of her own belly, meeting Ruby’s fingers in the middle.

“My daughter is running a little late, but I believe I have the permission to speak for her this evening,” Beth says gravely, lowering her voice. “And she says ‘I do’. Now, Mr. Hill, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“He does,” Ruby says, face split in two with a grin. She lets her eyes slip shut and her tone lower in faux-seriousness. “Finally, our two houses united.”

“Well, our husbands’ houses,” Beth says wryly, and Ruby tilts her head, conceding.  

“That’s true. I think ours have been united a lot longer than this.”

She smiles over at Beth affectionately, but it just - - it floors her, the look Beth gives her back. Her eyes wide open, suddenly wet again, pupils darting across Ruby’s face like she’s - - like she’s looking for the lie, and when she doesn’t see it, she tangles her fingers with Ruby’s, quick as she can, mumbling something about a first dance and holds Ruby’s hand tight to her belly, swaying a little – as if to hide the fact that maybe she just wanted to hold her.

To be held.

And Ruby holds her hand back all the tighter.

7. What do you think are the characteristics of your personal writing style? Would others agree?

I am sure everyone would love me to stop talking about light and using ‘- -’, haha. 

But honestly? I actually don’t know how others perceive my style. Like I’ve said in other posts, I’ve been told my writing is extremely feminine by industry professionals, which I believe translates to being interested in women’s lives and writing fairly descriptively (masculine prose is usually v bare bones ala Raymond Carver and, of course, Hemingway). 

I think some of the characteristics of my writing is that it’s sensory and descriptive, that I like untidy endings, that no relationship is perfect. I think (and hope) I prioritise relationships between women, even with shipper fic, that my sex scenes (again, hopefully, haha) never feel pointless or isolated from the story, and I think I’m pretty good at metaphor, but others might disagree! Who knows! 

22. Do you reread your old works? How do you feel about them?

Y’know, I usually don’t? By the time I post something, I’ve usually re-read it so many times I lowkey hate it, haha, and reading it just makes me feel very self-conscious. I can see the machinery of my own writing I suppose. I can see the bits I’m proud of, sure, but I can also see the bits where I got lazy, the places where the pacing isn’t quite right, the parts where I think I’m too heavy-handed. 

That said, I did re-read all of C&C recently as I was building the timeline masterpost I posted about a month ago now, but also building a better story bible for myself to write new stories, and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed being in that world again as a reader? 

Particularly the last installment I posted of Playing House - ‘Animalia’ (otherwise known as the zoo chapter, haha) - I really, really hated when I posted. I’d had a few set-backs in my original writing professionally at that time, and then I had seen someone make an unkind comment about my fics which just sort of hit a nerve at a bad time. It meant I was extra critical of my own writing, and I loved the story in my head, but felt it wasn’t translating well onto the page. 

I got to a point where I was like - - well, whatever, I don’t want to look at it, and I know people like this ‘verse, so maybe they’ll overlook how crap it is’. I got such a lovely response to it at the time, but I still felt badly about it, and so re-reading it this time, and being like ‘hang on, Past Sophie, you’re an asshole, this is pretty good’ was a nice feeling, haha.

[youreverycolor]

An Unlikely Love: Fight For It, Pt. 2 (Rafael Barba x Anna Stein)

AN: Prompt #43 from 200 Prompts from @drink-it-write-it (“Do you believe in soulmates?” – “No.” – “Oh, well, that’s a shame, because I’m it. I’m your soulmate.”)

The conclusion of Fight For It. I hope you guys enjoy. Comments and reblogs are always appreciated. :)

Special thanks to @madpanda75, @thatesqcrush, and @misssirenlove for love, support, idea-bouncing, and generally being wonderful women.

Tagging: @danahart1 @nikkijmorgan @ele-esposito @dianilaws @sunnyfortomorrow @mommakat32 @lucifersadvisor @gibbs274 @oliviamariathegirl @evee87 @tropes-and-tales @garturbo @delia26 @neely1177 @jennisdirtyimagines @lostintech0011001 @letty-o @lucifersadvisor @sunnyfortomorrow @literallyprentissstwin @gibbs274 @dianilaws

Song: "Ours” by Taylor Swift

~*~*~*~

There was nearly a decade between Amanda Rollins and Anna Stein, but they could easily be mistaken for sisters, only a year or two apart. Of all the squad members, Anna was closest with Olivia, and so she might have asked if the lieutenant could use some time away from work, but she thought better of it. Olivia was Rafael’s best friend, after all, and he would probably want to talk to her over the course of the week. However, since the party he had thrown to celebrate Anna’s first semester grades, Amanda and Anna had also formed a fast friendship. Amanda was a lot of fun and up for anything without needing an explanation, as Liv might have asked for. As it turned out, she also had a copious amount of vacation time saved up. So, she bribed Carisi into taking Jesse for the week—with the use of her sitter for the daytime—and told Olivia a slight fib about a “family emergency back home.” By Tuesday night, she and Anna were on a plane headed to Tennessee.

Originally, Anna had suggested Vegas, but Amanda—a recovering gambling addict—quickly countered with Nashville. Anna had never been there, but Amanda said she would love it: all the fun of Vegas bars without the price tag, and the added bonus of hot cowboys. Amanda knew Nashville like the back of her hand; she had graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. The college was only about thirty miles from downtown Nashville, and Amanda and her friends frequently went into the city on weekends. So she knew exactly where to go and what to do, and Anna was more than happy to let her lead the way.

Although in some ways, Amanda had become a hardened New Yorker, she quickly reverted to her roots after only a day in Tennessee. She took Anna along for the ride, converting the native Californian to a Southern belle. During the days, they visited the Parthenon, Music Row, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. They took walks along the riverfront and even went to the Grand Ole Opry. Amanda had done most of these things already, but she was content to do them again with her friend, who clearly needed the distraction.

At night, they teased their blonde hair (Amanda joked that “the higher the hair, the closer to God”) and wore obscenely short denim skirts and cowboy boots while drinking on Honky Tonk Row. At some point, they found themselves in a karaoke bar, and Anna shocked the hell out of Amanda by singing the mysterious, little-known third verse of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” They talked about their families and how much they missed them; Amanda’s mother and sister had moved back to Atlanta and she rarely got to see them, while all of Anna’s family still lived in Los Angeles, where she also had lived until four years ago. But all the while, Anna did not bring up Rafael once, and Amanda didn’t ask about him.

But by dinner on Monday, Amanda’s curiosity got the better of her. They were sitting at a bar nursing vodka tonics and eating the best burgers Anna had ever had, when Amanda asked, “So, since we’re scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning, you gonna tell me why we came?”

“Sorry?”

“Well, as much fun as this trip has been—”

“So much fun!” Anna said. “It’s honestly been the best girls’ trip I’ve ever taken.”

Amanda smiled. “I’m glad you had fun, but I have to ask…”

Anna set her burger down in favor of a sip of her drink. “I don’t want to make it weird for you when you have to deal with him at work,” she said. “It really wasn’t that big of a deal anyway.”

“Okay, first off,” Amanda began, “unless you’re telling me about whatever weird kinks Barba has in the sack, nothing you could say would make me feel weird around him. And second, it must have been a pretty big deal for you to want to get out of the damn state for a week.”

“Maybe I just wanted to do something fun over spring break with a friend,” Anna replied, avoiding eye contact.

Amanda raised an eyebrow. “You know I’m a detective, right?”

Anna laughed. “You and, like, half my other friends.” She put her face in her hands and then turned on her bar stool toward Amanda and told her the whole story, starting with Rafael’s Spanish-laced tirade when he arrived home to the moment he stormed back out. Amanda listened quietly the entire time, the same as she did when investigating a case. Her face betrayed nothing—no doubt a skill she learned in her gambling days.

When Anna finally finished, Amanda took a deep breath. “You know, I can’t say any of this surprises me.”

Anna raised her eyebrows. “What?”

Amanda downed the last of her vodka. “Well, let me start by saying that you did the right thing getting out of there. A lot of women would’ve hung around waiting for him to get home. Took a lot of guts to do what you did.”

“What, run away?”

“You planning to go back?”

“Of course,” Anna said, a little taken aback.

“Then you didn’t run away. You decided that for the good of your relationship, you needed to take some time for yourself. No shame in that.”

Anna took a moment to process this. “It really was a stupid fight,” she finally said.

“Yeah,” Amanda agreed. “But, you know, all couples fight. At least you’re fighting about stupid things than about, I don’t know, whatever the hell my old partner, Nick, and his wife used to fight about.”

“I guess,” Anna said.

Amanda put her hand on top of Anna’s. “Anna, look at me.” Anna looked up, pushing a wisp of her hair away from her eyes. “You’ve gotta understand, Barba has been alone for a long time. And take it from me, when you’re alone that long, you get used to thinking you’re right all the time because there’s no one telling you otherwise.”

“I get that, but maybe we’re just too different. Maybe he’s been alone too long. Maybe I don’t take things seriously enough. Maybe it’s just too—”  

Amanda held up her hands. “Look, I get it. He’s a stubborn pain in the ass. Hell, he’s hard to work with, so I can’t imagine living with him. You’ve got a pretty big age gap, and you’re both really busy with work and school. So I would completely understand if you decided you weren’t right for each other.” Then she softened her voice. “But I told you once before, I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. And when I asked if you were planning to go back, you looked at me like I was nuts for even asking that question. That says something to me.”

Suddenly, the bartender came over with two shots of whiskey. “From the gentlemen down that way,” he said, gesturing to two young, extremely handsome men sitting at the end of the bar.

Anna and Amanda looked at the men, then at each other. “You wanna go talk to ‘em?” Amanda asked, a sly grin on her face.

Anna hesitated for a second, looked at the men again, and then took out her phone. “Give me a second.” A minute later, she put it away and grabbed one of the shot glasses. “Okay. Ready.”

They clinked their glasses, tapped them on the bar, and downed the shots. “Sisters, right?” Amanda asked, referring to their cover story.

Anna hopped off her barstool and the two of them linked arms. “Sisters.”

***

Rafael was miserable.

Anna had only texted him twice a day since she’d landed in Nashville the previous Tuesday: once in the morning, and once at night. It was largely the same message every time: good morning or goodnight, and that she hoped he had a good day. He appreciated that, despite her anger, she at least wanted him to know that she was safe. And he wanted to give her the space she had clearly demanded, so he didn’t message more than that. He wasn’t a jealous man who needed to know what his girlfriend was doing every minute of the day, after all. Anna had gone on a handful of trips with her friends over the course of their relationship. That wasn’t what bothered him. What bothered him was that this time, she did it to get away from him rather than to get away with other people. That made all the difference. He trusted Anna implicitly. But every night, after he’d finally dragged himself home to bed, his brain went to a dark place where she met some stranger in Nashville, some ridiculous cowboy, who made her realize that he wasn’t worth the effort.

And because of what? A damn pen.

The day after she left, he threw them all out.

He felt like a bachelor again, but this time it wasn’t self-imposed. Nevertheless, he had reverted to his bachelor ways, working as much as he could until the wee hours of the morning. On Thursday and Friday mornings, Carmen had found him asleep on his office couch in the same clothes he’d worn the previous day. He worked right through the weekend, up until Sunday night. The good news was that he actually seemed to have caught up on a good deal of his backlogged work. The bad news was that he couldn’t even enjoy the spoils because he had no one to enjoy them with.

He had lunch with Olivia a couple of times and didn’t mention what was going on. She noticed something was off, but he deflected, saying he just hadn’t slept well that week. It wasn’t a lie.

Since he had gotten caught up with work that week, he decided to take Monday off. He cleaned out his closet, donating a bunch of clothes he hadn’t worn in a year. Anna had said more than once that she wanted to get a rain shower head, so he went out and bought one and installed it. Carisi came over with Jessie and a pizza that evening. Rafael had never been comfortable around children, but he had to admit that watching Carisi play with Jesse made him want to participate. So he and the detective and Amanda’s daughter colored and ate pizza—and for a minute, he forgot about being alone. Then, he got the nightly text from Anna, and was reminded all over again that she wasn’t going to be next to him in bed.

By Tuesday, he was climbing the walls. Work was the only thing he knew would take his mind off of the long wait until she arrived back home, so he threw himself into it that day. He had to give his phone to Carmen so that he wouldn’t be tempted to check it every ten seconds. She gave him a weird look but took it anyway. When three o’clock hit, he gathered his things to head home. Anna’s flight was due in at four, and he wanted to be there when she got home so that he could tell her what he’d failed to tell her before she left.

***

The light in the bedroom was on when he got home. For a split second, he was terrified—was there an intruder? And would his briefcase be enough to knock said intruder unconscious? But then he noticed the suitcase against the wall adjacent to the living room.

His heart raced. She must have gotten back early.

He found her in the master bathroom putting her toiletries away. She was wearing old, beat-up jeans and a t-shirt, and her hair was in a messy ponytail, but to Rafael, she had never looked more beautiful. He stood watching her for just a second, breathless. He worried if he said anything that it wouldn’t come out right. The last conversation they had turned out terribly.

But as soon as she turned her blue eyes up and locked onto the green of his, words were the last thing on either of their minds.

She flew at him, leaping into his arms and knocking him backwards onto the bed. She kissed him everywhere; on his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, and, finally, finally, his mouth. He kissed her so deeply that he thought he might actually be able to drink her. She tasted like mint and smelled like ripe peaches. She had come back to him in a flood of living memories. She had come back to him, period.

He finally pulled back to look her in the eyes again, his own wet with tears. “Te amo,” he said. “Te amo, mi corazón.” He repeated it like a prayer, so many times that he worried it lost meaning, but to Anna, nothing ever sounded better.

Rafael made love to Anna for the next two hours, and every time he moaned her name, “I love you” wasn’t far behind.

After they were both finally spent, they lay under a throw blanket on the bedroom carpet; at some point in their lovemaking, Anna actually rolled off the bed and they just continued there, laughing and kissing all at once. She told Rafael about her trip and all the things she and Amanda had seen and done. He hung on every word. But there was one more story she had to tell, and she hoped that when he heard it, he would understand why she reacted the way she did when he arrived home.

“So,” she said, “I don’t think I mentioned, we had a cover story on this trip that we were sisters. We didn’t use our own names with anyone we met the entire time. It was like being undercover. So last night—”

He laughed. “Okay, I have to know. What was your UC name?”

“I was Ariel and Amanda was Aurora.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You seriously used Disney princess names?”

“Well, if you’re gonna go UC, no better cover than a mermaid and a narcoleptic princess, right?”

“Does that mean I get to be Eric?” When she gaped at him, he said, “We’ve been together for over a year. I think you underestimate how much Disney trivia I’ve picked up in that time.”

She drew in a deep breath and focused her eyes on his. “So, as I was saying, last night, we were having dinner and two really hot cowboys sent us shots of whiskey.”

He sat up slightly, alarmed. “Okay, why are you telling me—”

“Because you need to hear this,” she said, pushing him back down and propping herself up on her elbow. “Amanda wanted to go talk to them. And we ended up having a really good conversation. It was a lot of fun.” He looked stricken, and she softened her expression. “Raf, you know nothing happened, right?”

“Of course I know that,” he said, although he was glad for the confirmation. “I just—it’s not that I don’t want you to go on trips with your friends. But this time…I guess I wish I could have been there with you.”

She smiled and kissed his shoulder. “You were, Raf. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Right before we went to talk to them? That was when I texted you goodnight. Because I wanted to make sure I said goodnight before you went to bed—whenever the hell that was this week. I didn’t want to do it late and have you wonder if I’d forgotten you.”

He felt tears welling in his eyes again. “Anna, I never would have thought that.”

“Even still. You were on my mind every night and every morning. I wasn’t just texting you to let you know I was safe. I wanted you to know that no matter what happens, no matter where I am or how things are between us, I’m always thinking of you. And,” she added, “I’ll always come home to you.”

He sat up and wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, into her hair, and brought his lips to hers. When he pulled back, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She pressed her forehead to his. “I’m sorry, too.” Then, she grabbed his watch from the nightstand above them. “I know it’s not our usual date night, but I could sure as hell use dinner and a movie right now. How about you?”

He smiled at her and ran a hand along her hip, memorizing the curves. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll even let you pick the movie.”

***

Anna wiped away her tears, which had been flowing for the last twenty minutes. After they’d eaten, she and Rafael had settled in to watch her favorite movie, What Dreams May Come. The plot was simple: the two main characters, Chris and Annie, lose their children in a horrible car accident. Annie has a mental breakdown and is institutionalized until she and Chris manage to rebuild their lives. But four years later, Chris also dies. His afterlife is beautiful, and he is reunited with his children. But when Annie commits suicide and is sent to hell, Chris journeys there to save her.

Even though Anna had seen it a thousand times, watching the two characters reunited at the end of the movie never failed to turn her into a weeping mess. She didn’t even try to hide it. “God,” she said, “That scene where they’re in Hell and he’s about to join her there and—Raf? Are you okay?”

Unlike Anna, Rafael preferred people think he was born without tear ducts. But there was no mistaking the sound of his sniffling next to her. “I’m fine,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

She leaned over and turned the end table light on. As her eyes adjusted, she caught him wiping his cheek with his shirt sleeve. “You’re crying!”

“I am not—”

“Yes, you are.” She handed him a Kleenex from the box she’d judiciously placed next to her before the movie started. He took it and blew his nose. “I warned you it was a gut-punch.”

“When you said it was a movie about soulmates, I think I expected, well, the usual tropes. I wasn’t prepared for something that seemed…realistic.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Almost the entire movie was set in heaven, and this is the one you’re calling realistic?”

“That’s not what I mean. Usually, movies make it seem like soulmates are perfect together and never fight and read each other’s minds. But come on, who gets that?”

She laughed. “People in movies.”

“Exactly,” he said. “People whose lives are literally scripted. But I don’t think our lives are predestined. For instance, I don’t think whatever higher power there is intended for you to be assaulted so that I could meet you.”

She cast her eyes downward. “Well, I’m glad to know that, because if that were the case, I’d think God was a huge asshole.”

He shifted on the couch to face her. “You want to know what part of the movie it was that got me?”

“Of course.”

He took a deep breath. “It was when they finally explained what their double-D anniversary was.” In the movie, Chris and Annie had a special anniversary; it commemorated the day they decided not to divorce after their children died and Annie had her breakdown.

“Oh, I know. When he told her not to give up—”

“No, it wasn’t that.” He cleared his throat. “When I first heard them described as soulmates, I was internally rolling my eyes. But then, we saw them suffering in two completely different ways. He pushed the pain away, and she collapsed under it.”

“Life’s like that,” she replied. “People react differently to things.”

“Yeah. But that’s what got me. They weren’t on the same wavelength at all. They didn’t just push through everything together like it was easy. They had to make an active decision to do it. When they chose to stay together, even after the gargantuan amount of suffering they went through…”

She pushed her hair over one of her shoulders and tilted her head. “So you do believe in soulmates now?”

“You know,” he said, “I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility. But like I said, I think soulmates aren’t people who are perfect together.” He took her hand. “I think they’re two people who aren’t perfect together—maybe even two people don’t even make sense together—but who make the choice every day to come back to each other. They fight, sometimes blow up, maybe don’t even speak to each other for a week, but they actively choose each other every day.”

She moved closer to him, tucking her legs underneath herself. “That sounds…very plausible.”

“Plausible,” he repeated with a chuckle. “In what world am I the romantic in this relationship?”

She grinned. “We can share the title.”

“I was thinking about the fight we had,” he said, pivoting so fast that Anna was worried he was shutting down on her again.

“Okay?”

“It was a nothing fight, but it turned into this big blow-up,” he continued. “A lot of couples would have let it get into their heads and make it into something about the relationship itself.”

She picked off a piece of lint from his shirt and smoothed the fabric over his shoulder. “Well, we’re not other couples.”

 He nodded. “And I know how people look at us when we’re out together. They see you, this beautiful, young, vibrant woman, and then they see me—”

“A handsome, distinguished, slightly silver fox?” she offered, gently touching his hair, the silver in it just beginning to show.

He smiled and put his hand on her cheek. The softness of her skin was like her generous heart: it never failed to amaze him. “The point is, despite what people think or say, or when life makes love hard, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we work at this, even through the hardest days, because we want to. We choose each other, every day—even if we need to go to other states to do it.” He winked at her.

She lifted his hand from her cheek and kissed his palm, her heart beating so hard it might have jumped out of her chest. “Are you saying…”

He didn’t complete her thought, but he didn’t have to. She knew the answer when he gave her that half-smile she loved so much. It made him look like a man much younger than his years, almost timid, a little mischievous. “I know, I just destroyed my grumpy, cynical persona. Don’t tell the squad; I have a reputation to keep up.”

For a minute, he was afraid that she would think he was silly or—worse—being disingenuous. But then he caught her eyes with his, and they were sparkling. She crawled from her spot on the couch into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You know, in the movies, this would be when the boy asks the girl to marry him,” she laughed.

He pulled her to him, so that their lips almost touched. “Well, we’re not other couples,” he said, just before he closed the gap between them.

***

Two weeks later, Anna had fallen asleep on the couch hours ago while she was reading and he was reviewing case files. He couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t fallen asleep when she read on the couch. She would lay with her legs stretched across his lap and he would run his hands along her calves, sometimes massaging them if she’d had a particularly hard day at the diner. She thought it was for her benefit, but the truth was, he loved doing it. Knowing he could relax her into sleep just with the touch of his hands was an intimacy he loved even more than sex. And so it was that he found himself lifting her legs off of his lap carefully, trying not to wake her. Mercifully, she was a heavy sleeper. It would probably be a struggle to get her into bed later on. For now, he decided to just change into pajamas and do the rest of his work in the home office. But there was something he wanted to do first.

The fight they’d had was a turning point. It had been a result of nothing more than mishandled stress on both of their parts. It hadn’t been anything deeper than that. But it had scared him more than any other argument they had ever had. She had gone away on trips before that, but he hadn’t been lonely. Their apartment still felt like their home because he knew she would be back. But when she’d been away with Amanda that week, he had been afraid she would realize she was happier away from him. So their home had temporarily transformed into just a place to keep his stuff. It didn’t feel comfortable. It didn’t feel warm. It just felt like four walls he slept in. Waking up without her was excruciating, as was knowing he would have to fall asleep without her there. He’d missed her laughter, her smile, the way he could smell her shampoo for hours after she’d left the bed. He’d missed seeing her body wash next to his in the shower.

He had missed her legs on his lap.

He crept into the bedroom and turned on the nightstand light, the dimmest in the room, so as not to wake her from afar. Then he went into the closet and opened one of the drawers. She never went into his closet, saying that she was afraid she would get lost under a pile of ties and vests, never to be seen again. He reached deep within the drawer, toward the back, and found what he was looking for.

Anna had joked that, in the movies, after a boy told a girl she was his soulmate, he would ask her to marry him. Although he had deflected the comment with a kiss, for just a heartbeat, he thought she had somehow tripped, fallen, and landed in his sock drawer. He had managed to compose himself, but now, his overstimulated, paranoid brain needed to make sure she hadn’t actually found what he was holding.

He looked over his shoulder, and then carefully opened the velvet box in his hand. The ring he had bought was still there, the question within it. All he had to do was choose a day to ask.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Thirty-Six: A Yellow Cloth ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hōzuki Suigetsu, Hōzuki Mangetsu ] [ SasuHina, gun, alcohol ] [ Verse: Stockades and Stagecoaches ] [ AO3 Link ]

The rain just starts to pour as he walks in.

Given the weather (and the fact no one wants to be out in it), the saloon is actually fairly full despite it only being early afternoon. Patrons sit at tables and mull about on their feet, several gathered around the bar itself. Despite the glum atmosphere of dreary clouds and downpours, the spirits inside seem rather high. Talk is boisterous, and only emboldened further by drink...which seems to flow rather freely.

Part of Sasuke wants to indulge, but...he wants his wits about him. He’s not here to make merry and put his feet up. No...he’s here to work.

There’s only a slight pause in the room as he steps in. Otherwise, most are quick to get back to their business. He’s rather unremarkable, after all. Just a darkly-dressed man of no real note. He could be anyone: farmhand, ranchhand, cattle rustler, outlaw...but so long as he isn’t here to cause trouble, most people won’t mind what precisely he is. Even citizens who do things a bit outside the box have thirsts, after all.

...which is why Sasuke came here first.

Sasuke isn’t an outlaw himself. Far from it. The son of a man who struck oil on their land, he’s actually set to be rather well off. But as cushy as his life has been since the day they found the so-called ‘black gold’ as those in their industry call it, Sasuke has found it rather...boring. Unrewarding.

So he’s taken up a different means of employment.

He’s a bounty hunter.

Keeping his air mostly unassuming (and yet a touch unapproachable), he does indeed call for a bottle of whiskey...but he’s barely going to sip it. He needs to look like he belongs here. If he’s in any way out of place...they’ll likely bolt.

Of course, that’s assuming that the pair of men he’s after are even here. But the sheriff of the county did his best to offer clues, and suggested that this be the place Sasuke started.

“They’re a pair of slippery devils, but they have the vice of making time for drinks. Wait around long enough, and you’re sure to spot them sooner or later.”

These two - the Hōzuki brothers - are worth a pretty penny...so Sasuke doesn’t mind paying the waiting game. Sure, he doesn’t need the money...but the price upon a man’s head - dead or alive - typically indicates how dangerous he is to go after.

And that is what Sasuke is after. Adventure! Danger! Excitement! Anything but sitting and listening to his father talk about exports and accounts and...whatever other drivel Itachi has been instead soaking up like a sponge.

His brother can do what he wants. But Sasuke can’t tolerate it. After growing up with his comfortable lot in life, he’s eager to dive into the more questionable parts.

So far? He’s done fairly well. But this is his first double contract. Time to see what he’s capable of.

Clearing a shot glass with a yellow cloth, the barkeep eyes him a bit curiously. “Getting an early start, are we?”

“Nothing better to do until the weather clears up,” Sasuke replies blithely, accepting the bottle and cup the man hands him and exchanging it for the proper coin. Retreating to a solitary corner table, he uncorks the bottle and pours his first (and last) cup. Making to nurse it slowly, he barely takes a few drops before roving dark eyes over the crowds.

His initial sweep didn’t reveal anyone of interest. Seems they’re not here...not yet, at any rate. In the meantime, he keeps up his charade. It’s enough to convince anyone who gives him a glance. No one looks close enough to notice his cup never empties...nor does his bottle.

The afternoon crawls by, the weather eventually lightening a bit. Watching the storm lessen to a few trickles of water, Sasuke glances up as a pair of men enter the tavern.

...it’s them.

They immediately make a beeline for the bar, stocking up on several bottles before settling at a table not too far off from his own. Around them, the other patrons seem to hiccup slightly, giving them wary glances. It seems most either know - or at least suspect - who and what they are.

Keeping to his reclusive expression, Sasuke doesn’t make to pay them much mind...but he listens keenly as they speak.

“So how long until we’re gettin’ paid, anyway?”

“When the job’s done!”

“You mean it ain’t?”

“Not yet, little brother.”

“But we got the girl, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, we did. But we ain’t got the ransom yet! The girl isn’t what we’re after, it’s her papa’s money, numbskull!”

“I know that! But what’s the ransom got t’do with us? We’re just the muscle to rob the coach she was on and bring her in to t’boss!”

“We can’t get paid until Kisame arranges the deal. Honestly, Suigetsu...pay attention, would ya? We get a cut of the ransom, which means we can’t leave town until it’s over. I wanna make sure he don’t screw us out of our fair share, after all…”

The younger brother sulks over his beer. “Why couldn’t we just rob a coach with money in it ‘stead of some girl…”

“Her papa owns the biggest herd a’ sheep in the state. What with all them...textiles or whatever, he makes big money. More than they put on any plain ol’ coach. It’s a little extra work for a hell of a lot more cash. That’s why we took this job.”

“Enough to pay off our bounties?”

“And then some.”

“Sorry, gentlemen…”

Glancing up, the pair eye Sasuke as he stands with a cocked hip at their table. “...the hell do you want?”

“Ideally, for the two of you to surrender yourselves to the law quietly and without any fuss. But I’ve been doing this long enough to know that ain’t likely.”

After a beat, they both break out into laughter. “What’re you, some kinda...deputy?” the elder brother scoffs with a grin. “I don’t see no badge, officer.”

Drawing twin pistols and aiming each square at the men’s faces as the tavern goes silent, Sasuke smirks. “Technically I’m known as a bounty hunter. And I don’t make arrests...I bring in bodies. Alive...or dead. Whatever’s easier. Now...you have two options. Make a scene, and I shoot you both. Or you surrender, and I take you in alive. Either way, I get paid. I suppose I’d just rather this go the easy way, if I had a choice. And don’t both with funny business - I’ve got reflexes that’ll see you both dead before you can try to flip any tables or throw any smoke. Least if you cooperate, you’ll get a few more days before they hang you.”

Expressions no longer amused, the brothers exchange a glance. “...what if we offer you a third option, pardner?”

“...and what would that be?”

“Information on a fish a lot bigger than us,” the younger pipes up, clearly catching on. “You ever heard a’ Kisame Hoshigaki?”

Guns still trained on their brows, Sasuke perks his own. “...I have.”

“We just ran a job for him! Kidnapped some bigwig’s daughter for ransom - Hyūga! Listen - you let us tell you where he is, and you’ll get better than our two measly bounties. Kisame’s worth five thousand last I heard! And - and I bet the father’ll reward you real nice for bringing his little girl home! Kisame’s bounty and her reward...we give you the intel, and you let us walk. How ‘bout it?”

Sasuke considers that. Kisame is, indeed, a big name in the bounty world. Several other hunters he’s known have been killed trying to bring him down. But if he had insider info, the element of surprise… “...tell you what. You give me the information...I take you in, and tell the sheriff you assisted the law. Surely they’ll knock your bounties down for your civil service...maybe to something you can afford. I can likely do that much for you. But a paid bounty don’t mean you go rackin’ up another, y’hear?”

“Sounds fair to me, boss,” the elder agrees. “You, uh...mind lowerin’ your gun and shakin’ on it?”

“Does the word of a criminal have any weight to it?”

“I might be a lawbreaker, but that don’t mean I ain’t honorable to my word. Every man’s got a code. I follow mine.”

“...done.” Twirling one pistol back to its holster to free his hand, Sasuke shakes his new companion’s. “Now...you two and me’ll take a stroll to the sheriff’s. They’ll take record of your help, and I’ll go see about this Kisame feller. You can wait there until I confirm you told me the truth. Then we’ll see about getting your bounties paid.”

“Deal.”

Keeping his gun aloft, Sasuke nods them to the door before giving a salute to the bewildered barmen as they take their leave.

The station, thankfully, is just down the street of the small town. Sasuke explains their arrangement, earning a scowl from a deputy.

“We don’t like makin’ deals with criminals.”

“And I don’t like passing up a chance to bring someone far worse to justice and letting two small fry go once their bounties are paid. It’s a fair trade, and you know it.”

“Enough,” the sheriff cuts in wearily with a wave of a hand. “We’ll make the trade...but only once you bring Hoshigaki in. Until then, we’ll keep these fellers right here...where there’s no stagecoaches to hold up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Bringing out a map, the brothers point out Kisame’s location. “He’s holed up here, in this ol’ mine. Got the lady there, and he’s gonna arrange a meetin’ with her father for her ransom. He won’t be expecting trouble until then, and that’s a few days out at least.”

“Anyone with him?”

“Four or five men. Didn’t want to draw attention movin’ as a group. Just stay low and quiet. If you can get your hands on him first, the rest’ll roll over.”

Sasuke eyes the map carefully. “...all right. You two hold tight...I’ll be back in two days. See you sit here and think over your past decisions, hm?”

Looking resigned, they sit in the holding cell and watch as Sasuke makes his way back outside.

The day is aging, and the sky still dark with rainclouds. Best he wait until morning to get started. That way he’ll get there just as night falls...and that’ll give him an advantage. Mind whirling with plans...he rents a room in the local inn, and does his best to get some sleep.

                                                             .oOo.

     This is so darn random, but for some reason it was the only thing I could think of xD The image of the barman popped into my head, and the rest just kinda...happened, lol - I know it's a cliffie, but it's already super long as is for one of these entries, so...another time!      I've only written a western AU once before for another ship, but it's more fun than I thought it would be! I live pretty darn rural myself, so a lot of it's actually pretty familiar x3 And Sasuke as a bounty hunter is a neat idea. And ofc heiress Hinata!      Anywho, I've got lots to do tomorrow, so I better head off for the night~ Thanks for reading!

[doctorwhoclive]

Doctor Who - Clive

Prologue

In the final moments of the nightmare, just before he awoke, Clive Finch wandered though a multi-storey car park, cradling in his arms a sleeping newborn baby. 

“Don’t you worry now, we’ll be home soon,” he whispered softly. “Daddy just needs to find the car.”

He wandered back and forth, anxiously scouring the vehicles lined up under the florescent strip-lights, but no, none of them were his car. He was certain he’d parked it here, on Level 3, but now was having second thoughts.

It was then he had an idea. Carefully moving the baby up over his shoulder he used his free hand to rummage around in his trouser pockets. 

What he was searching for was the ticket the machine at the barrier gives you when you drive in. See, Clive had a novel way of documenting the level he’d parked on. He’d indent the side of it with his teeth. One little indentation for Level 1, two for two, and so on. It was something his wife Caroline had been mortified by the first time he’d done it, but over the years she’d grown accustomed to this strange habit, and as they’d never once had trouble finding their car she could hardly complain.

His fingertips traced his keys and the thin rectangular surface of his phone, but no ticket. Maybe he’d put it in his wallet. Yes, that must be where it was. 

He quickly retrieved the dog-eared brown leather wallet from his inside jacket pocket and flicked through the wad of credit cards, old till receipts, bank notes, and way too many half stamped coffee loyalty cards. But no ticket. 

Now not only was he unable to find the car, but he wouldn’t be able to get out once he had.

“Damn!” 

His loud cursing caused the baby to stir. Clive felt the little tremors and wriggles on his shoulder, before hearing the soft sniffs and groans that meant his time was running out. He had to get home quick. It had been hours since he’d left and Caroline would be worried sick. 

He’d have to call her. Call her and let her know he was just having a little spot of bother with the car, and not to worry. Quickly he retrieved the phone from his pocket. 1% battery, great. 

“Oh, please let there be enough to make one call,” he pleaded as he unlocked the home screen and scrolled through his recent calls. 

He found her number sandwiched between his mum’s and a Chinese take-away he’d called the night before. He was just about to select it when the light of the screen suddenly diminished, and with the darkness that followed came that little rotating circle in the centre, the one that looks like a white snake eating its own tail.

Dead

Clive sighed and confined the now dormant device back to his pocket. His thoughts were now becoming more frantic with every second.

Once again the baby gurgled and spluttered. Those cries of hunger were coming any minute.

“It’s OK,” he said to the infant, gently patting its back to try and soothe it back to sleep. “Shhh, don’t cry, I’ll get you home… somehow.”

It was then he heard the first crack.

He spun around, at first certain it had come from somewhere behind him, but no, nothing was there.

Then came a second, louder this time, and closer. Again he turned around, still trying to locate its source. He thought maybe some construction was going on. Were some workmen perhaps doing something nearby?

“Hello?” he called out, his voice echoing through the cavernous space. “Is anyone else here?” 

No reply. The baby was now making its first faint cries. The warm up for a full recital of screams.

The third crack Clive had no trouble locating, as with its sound he felt the ground beneath him shift. He looked down and to his horror saw the concrete floor had split apart.

He quickly staggered back to a safe distance, fearing that some kind of earthquake was taking place. 

But if it was an earthquake there’d be tremors, Clive thought. This is like something’s pushing up… 

To make things even more bizarre a thin mist had started pouring out up from this new opening. A cold white mist not unlike the one you’d see when you open a freezer door on a hot day.

Though every instinct was telling him to flee, Clive let curiosity get the better of him, and peered down inside this new crevice. 

Just a quick look, then we’ll get out of here, he thought.

It was as he leant over to get a closer look that a fat three-fingered hand, with long taloned claws lunged up out of the bright fog. Clive leapt back, and instinctively pulled the baby in closer to him.

“Bloody hell!” he exclaimed in shock. “What that!?” 

It was then the concrete floor began to crack in several other places, and just as before first came that cold mysterious mist, followed by similar long sharp claws. 

Whatever these things were they were burrowing up through the ground, and, if their hands were anything to go by, Clive didn’t want to stick around to see the rest of them. 

“Tell you what, let’s just get a cab,” he said as he quickly began moving towards the green illuminated exit sign at the far end of the level. 

Once there he gave the door handle a sharp tug. It didn’t budge. He tried a few more times each with increasing effort. 

“Locked?” he despaired. “We’re trapped!?”

The ground continued to be torn apart by the creatures. In a matter of seconds it was now being displaced to such a degree that even cars were starting to buckle and sink below. 

Clive felt helpless. All he could do was try and reassure the distressed child. 

“There there” he said, rubbing and patting its back. “It’ll be alright.”

It was then he heard it - the distant roar of a car. 

Oh thank god for that! Someone’s coming.

He looked to the ramp at the far end of the level as a black vehicle suddenly came careering down, before turning sharply and hurtling towards them at great speed. Clive’s warm fantasy of a rescue soon turned to stone cold dread as the vehicle grew ever closer, erratically swerving and bouncing as it navigated the now fractured and uneven concrete surface beneath it. 

It was just seconds away from impact when it suddenly screeched to a halt. 

Clive let out a sigh of relief as the car door swung open.

“Oh, thank god, we’re trying to get out of here and-” The words froze in his throat as he watched in amazement as Elvis Presley briskly exited the vehicle.

“Whoa! That was some ride, man,” Elvis said, taking a moment to dust down his extravagant white jumpsuit, embroidered with orange and red flames. 

“Elvis?” Clive said, astonished. 

“Well, sure, that’s my name - Elvis Presley. You heard of me?”

Despite the horror of the situation, Clive couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, course I have.” He replied, suddenly becoming immensely star struck. “But how can you be here?”

“Well, I dunno,” Elvis replied, removing his large gold framed sunglasses and casually tossing them back into the vehicle.  “One minute I’m somewhere, next minute I’m somewhere else, you know what I mean?” 

Clive didn’t know what he meant but smiled and nodded anyway. 

“Hey man, you wanna hear a song?” Elvis asked retrieving a black acoustic guitar from the passenger seat.

Under any normal circumstances, Clive would have answered a resounding ‘yes’ to that question. He would have liked nothing more than to have a personal concert from one of his all-time favourite musical legends, but as numerous strange clawed creatures were appearing from the ground perhaps now wasn’t the best time.

“Errr… maybe later, yeah? For now let’s just get in the car and get out of here?”

“Oh, this aint a car, baby cakes, it’s a hearse. Check it out.”

Elvis leant back into the vehicle and pulled a chord hanging infront of the rearview mirror. In doing so the the black curtains covering the vehicle’s long back windows slid back. 

“Go ahead, take a look."

Again, Clive let curiosity get the better of him, and moved around to peer inside.

There he saw a coffin, with a flowered wreath arranged in the shape of a name beside it. As he got closer to read the name a chill shot down his spine. 

It was his. Clive.

Aghast, he looked to Elvis who was now nonchalantly combing his slick black hair.

“B-but I’m not dead!?” he stammered.

“Oh, maybe I’m early. Well that’s OK, I can wait.” 

“Wait for what?” Clive asked nervously.

Elvis didn’t reply, instead continuing his personal grooming whilst humming the first verse to Jailhouse Rock. 

It was then that the ground around Clive’s feet was suddenly torn apart with tremendous force. His wide eyes looked down to see two of the grotesque clawed hands had now locked themselves around his ankles, tearing through his clothes and into his skin. 

Elvis glanced over as he writhed and fought to free himself. “Oh, looks like I didn’t have to wait too long,” he said with a smile.

As Clive was pulled down into the ground with incredible force he gripped the baby tight, and joined the infant in letting out a loud bellowing cry.

He awoke from the dream with a jolt. After his painful eyes slowly adjusted to the bright overhead light, he realised he was lying on a bed in some kind of hospital. He squinted, and slowly this new environment, with its tiled walls and cabinets filled with medical supplies, came into focus.

It was then the young woman’s face appeared, looming over him. Her bright yellow hair glowed like a halo. It took a second for him to focus on her features - her elf-like face with it’s investigative eyes, and thick black eyebrows angled into a concerned frown.

A nurse, Clive thought, somewhat relieved. He licked his dry lips before speaking. “Hello,” he croaked, his voice thin and raspy. “What’s going on?”

The woman’s big hazel eyes darted about, scrutinising every part of his round face. 

“I was just asking myself the same question,” she replied.

Clive tried to sit up but suddenly felt an overwhelming nausea. He laid back down and tried to recall what had led to him being in this unusual place.

“What’s happened to me? I remember being out with Caroline and Ben, we were shopping and then…” Suddenly it all came back to him in vivid detail. The mannequins that had come to life in the shopping centre, bursting out from the shop windows like they were escaping glass cages. He’d seen the people run and scream as those once-lifeless dummies had started murdering people. Shooting them with guns somehow growing out of their hands. 

“I remember now! I was shot!”

“Were you now,” the woman replied suspiciously.

“Yes, yes by a mannequin! A living mannequin! Oh, I need to find out if they’re OK. I need to find out if they got out of there.”

“Of course you do, let’s make that a top priority, but first we need to get to the bottom of something very serious.”

The woman produced a handheld device from her pocket. It looked like a few TV remote controls glued together with an array of protruding multicoloured wires. It made a high pitched buzz as she waved it over his forehead. Clive looked puzzled, it certainly didn’t look like anything the NHS would use. In fact, now he gave her a closer inspection, her clothes weren’t like any nurses uniform he’d ever seen before, with her long grey coats, rainbow t-shirts and quarter-length trousers.

“You are a nurse, aren’t you?” he asked.

“No,” she replied sternly before leaning in closer. “I’m The Doctor.”

Chapter 1

It was as Clive sat up on the bed that two realisations came to him. First, that the bed wasn’t a bed at all, but a long metal table with handles at each end. The second was that, aside from the white sheet that was covering him, he was completely naked. 

“I don’t have any clothes on!?” he announced, quickly pulling the sheet tightly around him. “Why don’t I have any clothes on?!”

The Doctor didn’t answer. Instead she was laid on the floor examining Clive’s toes with a magnifying glass. 

“They do look like human feet,” she muttered before wiggling his little toe. 

Clive pulled his exposed foot away, and promptly shuffled himself to the other end of the table.

“Shouldn’t I have some clothes on?! I mean, what kind of hospital is this?”

“Morgue,” the Doctor replied as she got back to her feet and began pressing buttons on her device. After a stunned silence from Clive, she eventually looked up and realised it might be helpful to elaborate more. 

“Oh, you’re in a morgue? Not a hospital. That’s why everything is so, morguey around here” 

To illustrate her point she grabbed the nearest item to hand, which turned out to be a gleaming silver hacksaw. She smiled as she held it aloft, but then in a split-second realised the horror of its purpose, and with a look of distain promptly put it back down.

Clive was shellshocked. “A morgue!?” he repeated as he took in his environment with a new sinking feeling of dread and confusion. “But that’s where they put dead people.”

He felt his throat tighten and his heart beat faster. “Oh no, this is awful… I need to let people know I’m OK. Where are my things? And where’s my clothes!?”

“Oh, I know just what you’re going through mate. I’ve been in your position.”

Clive shot her an incredulous look. “You’ve woken up in a morgue?”

“Oh yeah,” she replied in an oddly casual tone. “New Years Eve 1999. I’d been shot by a street gang in San Fransisco. Bit harsh. Actually, I keep meaning to check in on one of them. Ever such a lovely boy.”

Clive let out a nervous laugh. He was certain she was joking. People in the medical field probably develop a very odd sense of humour, he reasoned. She’d probably just worked a really long shift and this was how she liked to unwind, by having a laugh with the dead bodies in the morgue.

“So, Doctor, what’s happened to me?” he said, keen to anchor the conversation back to his alarming predicament. “I mean, how can I be dead and then alive again?” 

“Good question!” she said, hopping up on the table to join him. “Another good question is why does this say you’re a highly dangerous alien organism.”

Once again she waved the device around. It made a series of pulsing bleeps which intensified the closer it came to Clive.

“Well, I promise I’m not an alien organism.” He said half defensively, half jokingly. 

“I’m Clive Finch, 32 Victoria Street, Stoke Newington. I work as a site manager for a construction company. I’m as human and as boring as they come.”

“Well, this is telling me otherwise I’m afraid,” she said, holding up her device as if it were evidence in a court case.

Clive looked at it closely. The strange bundle of buttons, dials and wires, didn’t look like something you could rely on for accuracy. 

“Well, I don’t want to be rude but that thing doesn’t exactly look, well, top of the range?” He’d tried to choose his words carefully so as not to offend. It hadn’t worked.

“How dare you, Clive Finch!” she said, hopping back down off the table and pulling the device into her chest as if to shield it from the insult. 

“I made this I’ll have you know. It’s one of a kind. Not only can it detect alien organisms at a range of over five thousand miles, but it can also emit a gravity bubble that’ll suspend any object with a weight of up to 53g.”

Clive took a moment to think of an object that weight would apply to. 

“53g? So what, like an egg?”

Her boastful expression dissolved into a wounded nod of the head.

“Yeah, like an egg. If you wanted to suspend an egg then you could do it with this.”

She looked away, clearly keen for that to be the end of it, but Clive couldn’t let it go.

“But, why would you want to suspend an egg? I mean, why wouldn’t you just pick it up rather than have a thing to-”

“Yes, yes, alright,” she conceded loudly. “In hindsight it was a feature I could’ve not bothered adding.”

Suddenly the alien detector, with added egg lifting feature, made a new sound, a loud bleep not unlike a text message notification. The Doctor studied the screen before a look of concern appeared across her face. 

“Oh, that’s interesting. It’s now saying there’s three non-terrestrial lifeforms in this building.”

“Oh dear, another two aliens have shown up have they?” Clive joked.

“No, just one. Taking us into account, of course.”

“Us? Oh, that’s right because I’m not human. Yeah, I forgot. But wait, so that means you’re not human either?”

“No,” she replied. “But I’m very fond of humans. You were my first favourite species for ages actually, but you’ve recently been knocked off the top spot by baby Foamasi. Oh, they are so adorable. I mean, as adults they’re a nightmare, big horrible war mongering reptiles who just want to kill everything in sight, but the babies… The babies are just a joy! They’ve actually started to be traded illegally thoughout the galaxy as pets, which I am not happy about at all. But I’ll get back to sorting all that out once this is over with.”

War mongering reptiles..? Illegal Galactic trading…? For Clive, this latest explosion of nonsense was the final straw. 

There was now no doubt in his mind that this woman wasn’t a doctor at all. In fact, he was certain she must have just wandered in from the street, or maybe out of a nearby psychiatric ward. He decided then and there that he had to get away from her as fast as he could. Every second he spent humouring an unhinged person pretending to be an alien-tracking medical practitioner, was precious time he could be using to get home and see if Caroline and the kids were OK.

“Well Doctor, thanks for everything. I feel right as rain now so I think I’ll just pop off if that’s OK,” he said, as he eased himself off the metal table.

The Doctor instantly moved to block the doorway. “No no no, that’s a very bad idea. I can’t let you leave my sight till we get this sorted. You could be in grave danger Clive Finch. Best you just sit tight till we figure this all out.” 

“Right course,” Clive said sitting back down. He now realised if he were to escape he would first need to distract her somehow. He decided that given her love of alien-related things he decided to go with a ruse of an other-worldly nature.

“Oh look!” Clive announced, eagerly pointing to the far corner of the room. 

“I just saw something alieny over there!”

The Doctor spun around, stooping low to see where Clive was pointing.

“Where!?” 

“Just down there, it looked like a, err… little green man!”

“Fascinating,” she said moving in slowly to investigate. “Did it have a tail or legs, or did it just float in the air?”

Clive pretended to think for a moment. “Legs? I think.”

“How many?”

“Erm… Two?”

“Fascinating. Might be a baby Slitheen. Though what would that be doing here? It’s a long way from Raxacoricofallapatorius.” She rushed off with a childish excitement to peer in cupboards and draws. 

Whilst preoccupied with her search, Clive seized the opportunity to get away. He eased himself off the table and inched himself towards the door.

“You best stay back, it could be dangerous,” the Doctor shouted over her shoulder as she rummaged through the contents of the bin.

“Err… Yeah, right you are. I’ll stay over here.”

Clive tossed the sheet to one side and grabbed a nearby medical coat. Sods law it was two sizes too small for him, but it was better than trying to get home looking like he was wearing a toga. The Doctor was still far too consumed with her alien hunt to notice as he carefully turned the door handle and slipped out.

Once in the corridor he let out a sigh and then slowly began moving towards the lift. His head was pounding and his legs felt strangely numb, like the feeling you get when you have pins and needles. 

“Come on wakey wakey,” he said, gently slapping the sides of his calfs in an attempt to bring the limbs back to life.

He’d only managed a few shuffled steps when the lift doors opened and out stepped a tall woman in dark green scrubs. 

“Oh, thank goodness,” he exclaimed, relieved to see an actual member of the hospital staff.

“Right, this is gonna sound a bit mad but I just woke up in the morgue, because I died, but I’m not dead now, but I was, I think, for a bit.”

The woman stared blankly at him. Clive was suddenly worried he must sound, and look, a little crazy.

“Well, anyway I’m OK, so I’m just going to go home now but there’s a woman in there who isn’t quite right, up top, you know? So I dunno, you might wanna check in on her.”

Clive waited for a reply but the woman remained silent. It was then that he realised something wasn’t quite right about this hospital employee.

Firstly her big blue eyes, which looked oddly glazed like a doll’s eyes, hadn’t blinked once since he’d approached her. 

Secondly, there was her skin, which up close seemed to glisten with an artificial silver tinge.

And thirdly, there was the object she had in her hand, which Clive now realised was very similar (although much more high-end) to the device the crazy woman in the morgue had just been waving around in his face. 

“Oh, you’ve got one of those thingys too, eh?” he asked timidly.

It was then she held her device aloft and pointed it to his confused face. It made a low ominous hum before making a series of bleeps. 

The woman smiled, a big broad grin that also looked weirdly artificial.

“Vermin located,” she said in a deadpan voice. With a swift hand she then

reached into her pocket and produced a small black oval shaped object. Clive at first thought it was some kind of large pebble, but as she held it aloft its centre began glowing red.

“Eliminate vermin.”

Clive didn’t like the sound of either of those words. “Oh, I think you must be mistaken,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I’m not a mouse.”

It was then that the mortuary door flung open, and the Doctor came crashing out. She sprinted towards them, carrying in her hands a small fire extinguisher.

“Down!” she yelled, as she pulled out the safety pin and angled the canister’s thin black hose ahead. 

Clive did as he was told, and quickly ducked, instinctively covering his head with his hands. 

A moment later a thick jet of white smoke sprayed overhead, as the Doctor covered the woman from head to toe in the dry powder foam.

A short time later and the small canister’s roar became just a splutter, before petering out to nothing more than a timid hiss.

Feeling relieved that the attack was over, Clive looked up, but to his horror saw the Doctor was now poised to lob the empty extinguisher into the woman’s path. 

“What are you doing?!” he shouted, but his protest was ignored as she went ahead and flung it with all her might. 

Clive braced himself for the inevitable scream of pain upon impact but instead, bizarrely, he heard a loud clang. It was certainly not the sound you’d expect to hear when something metal hit flesh. He squinted into the white mist and, as it began to clear, saw the woman emerge twitching and stammering.

“V-v-v-v-v-eeeer-min lo-c-c-c-c-atttted.”

As it cleared a little more he then saw to his astonishment that there was a large split down the centre of her face. 

Clive shook his head. Was the dry powder foam making him hallucinate perhaps? He rubbed his eyes and looked again. To his amazement he was not hallucinating. The crack was still there, and now parts of the skin’s surface were splintering away, falling to the floor like flakes of old paint. The woman reached up, and with a firm hand tightly took hold of her jaw. With a sharp tug she pulled her broken face off like it was a mask, revealing behind it a flat black mirrored panel.

Clive was still trying to get his head around what on earth was happening when his vision was once again filled with the blonde woman’s face. She knelt down and grabbed his hand.

“Run!” she said with glee.

“Oh, I don’t think I can,” he said apologetically. “My legs have gone a bit funny.”

The Doctor’s face dropped, clearly disappointed that her plans for a dramatic exit had been scuppered. 

“Oh, alright then. Hobble?”

Chapter Two

With Clive hanging off the Doctor’s shoulder it took about a minute to get to the opposite end of the corridor.

“Well, this is winning the award for the slowest getaway ever,” the Doctor breathlessly remarked as she jabbed the button to summon the lift.

Clive felt bad, he wasn’t the lightest man and the strain he must have put on the young woman was probably quite significant. 

“Sorry, I do think I’m getting a bit more sensation back now.”

Both of them gave a worried glance behind them. Thankfully the woman was still frozen to the spot, holding in her hand the face she had just removed. 

Just as Clive thought things couldn’t get any stranger, the flat black mirrored panel that had been exposed behind the woman’s original face started to bubble and pulsate. Soon bumps and curves started to protrude from the inky blackness, bumps and curves that soon became cheekbones, a nose, eyebrows and a chin.

“It’s activated its secondary visual display, we don’t have much time!” the Doctor said, jabbing the button again.

“Secondary visual display? What the hell is it?”

“Mimic Droid. Working for the IPC.”

Clive didn’t understand anything in that sentence but decided to ask for clarification on the last thing. “IPC?” 

“Intergalactic Pest Control,” the Doctor answered matter-of-factly. “Very rare to see one actually. They’re a bit like albino alligators or Bigfoot, or purple carrots.

They scour the galaxy tracking down aggressive parasitic alien organisms, and then eliminate them before can destroy entire planets. Very helpful actually, has saved me some legwork in the past.”

“So, why is it trying to kill me!?”

“Because, Clive Finch, like me, it’s identified you as an aggressive parasitic alien organism.” She moved in closer and once again suspiciously looked him up and down.

“Are you one hundred percent certain you’re not.”

“Yes!”

“OK, well in that case you’re gonna need my help.”

The lift finally arrived with a ping, and after the doors slid open they hurried inside. Once in the Doctor eagerly pushed the button for Floor 0. 

As they waited for the doors to close, Clive and the Doctor anxiously watched the Mimic Droid. 

With its second face now fully grown, skin tones began to appear on the surface, followed by hair, teeth, and lastly came another pair of those piercing blue eyes. 

The repair was was complete.

She held aloft her old damaged face mask to examine it. There it was, twitching and blinking back at her, with a downturned mouth continuing to speak. 

“V-v-v-v-v-eeeer-min…” 

Swiftly she began scrunching it up like it were made of paper, and once satisfied it was fully crushed, let the pulverised remnants fall to the floor like grains of silver sand. 

She then turned her attention back to the Doctor and Clive. 

Panicking, the Doctor hit the button a few more times. “Anytime today please!”

“Vermin located,” the woman announced again, before holding aloft the strange black oval device. 

“What is that thing?” Clive asked.

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Watch out!” she yelled and pushed her body flat against the side of the lift. Clive did the same on the other side just as three laser blasts then impacted against the back wall, each fizzing and clanging on contact.

The Doctor was now frantically pressing the button. “Brilliant! From the slowest getaway to the slowest lift ever made!”

It was as the fourth laser blast was fired that the soft announcement came. Doors closing.

“Oh, finally!” the Doctor exclaimed, allowing the tension to leave her shoulders as the lift doors finally sealed shut.

Once they were in motion, Clive looked at the four smouldering holes in the back wall. If they’d burnt through metal like that he dreaded to think what they’d do to a human body.

“I’m not sure I can take much more of this,” he said, slumping into the corner.

“Sorry, my brain has just caught up - did you say mannequins came to life earlier?” 

the Doctor asked, suddenly adopting quite a light conversational tone. 

Clive found this transition to casual chit-chat more than a little bit jarring, but, realising what constituted as normal and abnormal was now somewhat up in the air, he went along with it. 

“Yeah, that’s right. Shop dummies with guns.”

“So, that must mean it’s, 2005?”

Clive nodded.

“Oh, great year. Cracking year!” A warm nostalgic smile grew across her face before being replaced by look of mild concern. “Actually, must try not to run into myself while I’m here. That’s always awkward.”

Clive was just about to ask what on earth she meant by that when, suddenly, there was a loud thud on top of the lift causing it to jolt sharply before grinding to a halt. 

“Uh oh,” the Doctor lamented. “Looks like we’ve got company.”

There then came a thunderous pounding from above, as if a jackhammer was being used to drill through the lift’s roof.

The Doctor and Clive cowered down low and covered their ears from the deafening sound. 

“What do we do!?” Clive shouted over the din.

The Doctor looked to the display panel and saw it was fluctuating between Level 1 and 0. Wasting no time she lunged towards the doors and began trying to prize them apart. Clive watched her efforts, his thoughts momentarily lost in the chaos of the situation.

“I know about your legs, Clive, but how’re your arms doing?”

Realising this was a subtle dig at his lack of help, Clive stumbled to his feet to assist. He’d only taken one step towards her when he saw layers of the metal ceiling come crashing down around him. Moments later he felt something grab the scruff of his lab coat and raise him up off the floor and into the air.

“Help!” he shrieked as he was pulled further up. The Doctor threw herself at Clive’s legs, grabbing them tight and trying to anchor him back down, but it was no use, since with complete ease he was hoisted up into the darkness above.

Chapter Three

Clive didn’t think this day couldn’t get any stranger. Since he’d woken up in a morgue, he’d been accused of being an alien, and been attacked by a creepy robot with multiple faces. However as he now found himself dangling in a dark lift shaft, face-to-face with a giant spider, he realised the day still had some strange surprises to offer.

“OH MY GOD!” he shrieked, as he thrashed around in the air trying to free himself from the creature’s grip. “THERE’S A GIANT SPIDER UP HERE!”

“That’s not a spider!” the Doctor shouted up from below. “It’s the mimic droid! It’s just taken a new form, look at the eyes!”

Clive did as she said, and sure enough its eight beady eyes glowed the same iridescent blue as the nurse who had attacked them just minutes earlier.

“I must have damaged its central server,” the Doctor continued. “It’s got the dimensions a bit wrong.”

“NO KIDDING!” Clive shouted back.

The creature’s large hairy fangs quivered as if in anticipation of a meal.

“Vermin detected,” it announced, before a compartment in its abdomen slid aside, and a small clamp extended brandishing its oval gun.

As the weapon once again glowed red Clive snapped his eyes shut. This was surely it, he was about to die - again! How unlucky could one person be in the space of twenty-four hours - first murdered by a deadly shop dummy, and now blasted by a giant robot spider.

“I don’t think so!” the Doctor yelled defiantly from below. 

Clive opened his eyes and peered down to see that she was now waving what appeared to be some kind of mini-torch in the air, which made a strange buzzing sound as the tip glowed with a bright yellow light.

The Mimic Droid’s weapon spluttered and sparked in response before leaping out of its grip. 

Its eight eyes narrowed at this setback, but losing the firearm was not going to stop it achieving its objective.

“Manual annihilation activated,” it announced, and lunged forward with its huge mandibles to grip Clive tightly by the throat. He let out a desperate gasped cry. 

“Doctor!” he wheezed. “Help!”

With a sense of urgency the Doctor quickly adjusted her peculiar device, before angling it up high again. Its bright light shone once more but this time it emitted a higher frequency buzz than before. 

“Hold on!” she shouted. A second later the heavy mechanisms of the lift overhead clanked and groaned to life before it jolted up, ascending higher and higher at increasing speed.

The Mimic Droid was so focused on squeezing the life from Clive’s neck that it hadn’t noticed the rapid speed that the lift was now making as it fired upward towards the top of the shaft. Clive, however, was painfully aware of the imminent impact.

What kind of rescue plan was this!? he thought. “Save me from dying by strangulation by squashing me to death!?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of falling. He landed back down into the lift with a thud before taking a desperate breath of air. 

The lift had stopped suddenly, and the force had jolted him free from the arachnid’s jaws of death.

He looked up to see the Doctor maintaining her position, holding the strange torch aloft as if it were some kind of magic wand. It buzzed and whirred as she kept her focus on the lift’s mechanisms above.

“C’mon! Just a bit more!” she said through gritted teeth.

Clive looked up to see the droid now wedged between the roof of the lift and the large gears at the top of the shaft. Its spider body strained and wobbled as it used its eight legs to try and push itself free from the press it was now stuck in.

The gears of the motor creaked and ticked as the pressure mounted.

“C’mon! C’mon!”

The immense strain it was under clearly started to effect its camouflage, and soon its body started to flicker - from hairy arachnid to metallic robot.

“It’s gonna work!” Clive said, sensing it was about to buckle at any moment. 

Seconds later the tension finally broke. The lift jerked upwards, and in doing so crumpled and flattened the droid with a loud crack. 

Clive looked up at the droid’s body, which was now nothing more than a tangle of scrunched up mechanics and circuitry, all squashed between the lift’s roof and the ceiling.

“Right,” the Doctor said, brushing off some debris from her coat and returning her device to her pocket. “Now we’re in real trouble.”

Chapter Four

As they entered Level 2 of the hospital car park Clive suddenly felt like he was going to faint.

“Can I have a second?” he asked, slumping against the hard concrete wall.

“No,” the Doctor replied sternly. “We’ve got to get a shift on, no time to relax.”

“But you’ve squashed it now,” Clive reasoned. “Whatever that thing was it’s as flat as a pancake now! It can’t have survived that.”

“I’m not worried about that one, I’m worried about the next lot.”

Clive gulped. “Next lot? You think there’ll be others? Like that one?” 

“‘fraid so. The IPC build good droids. That one will have had an SOS function hardwired into its mainframe. Prior to self-destruction it will have activated it and called for backup.”

Clive decided now was the time he’d ask the question that had been on his mind for quite some time now. “How do you know all this stuff? Who are you?”

“I’ll explain everything when we get inside. Now, where did I park it.” Her brow furrowed as she scanned the vehicles nearby.

“What’s it look like?” 

“It’s blue and white with a big light on the top,” the Doctor replied. “Let’s try this way.”

Still unsure what type of vehicle he was looking for, Clive trailed behind the Doctor as she darted and weaved in and around the cars in search of her own.

“Oh, where is it!? I’m sure I parked it on this level.”

“This is just like my dream,” Clive said, suddenly reconnecting his present circumstances to the narrative of his sleeping state. 

“I say dream, actually it was more like a nightmare.” 

Not picking up on the Doctor’s obvious lack of interest, Clive carried on. “I was in a car park and I had a baby, and there were these creatures coming up from the ground. Oh, and then Elvis was there.”

The Doctor suddenly spun around and rushed back to face Clive. “Elvis!” she shouted. “Elvis Presley? The King of Rock-n-Roll? That Elvis Presley!?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“How strange. I was just with him.” the Doctor replied, her mood once again shifting from serious to playful.

“You were with Elvis? Last week?”

“Yeah! Market Square Arena, Indianapolis. Last show he ever played. Huge show,18,000 people. Course that’s why The Master chose it. See, he’s a big Elvis fan, just like me. You’ll find mortal enemies often have way more interests than differences. Anyway, it was his plan to watch the concert before unleashing it to devour the audience, and then the rest of the planet.”

As was becoming a running theme, Clive grabbed onto the last part of what the Doctor had said and asked her to elaborate. “Unleash what?”

“The Telograde,” the Doctor replied. “The reason I’m here now.”

Clive’s head was spinning. Aliens, Elvis, shape-shifting robots… It was more than a little overwhelming.

“You know, thinking about it - can I just go back to being dead?” Clive asked, only half-joking. “It was a lot easier than being chased around by Terminators.”

“Terminators?” the Doctor asked, suddenly intrigued.

“Yeah, y’know. The robots who travel in time, to kill people?”

The Doctor looked mystified.

“It’s a film?”

“Oh, a film!” she said, somewhat relieved. “Well yeah, I suppose they are a bit like that, only these ones can’t time travel, and they’re only interested in killing vermin. Ooooh! Verminators! Shall we start calling them that from now on?”

Clive was just about to challenge her on whether this was really the best time to be coming up with funny puns when out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of light which left in its wake two car park attendants. 

This sight would have been a worry under normal circumstances, but here there was even more cause for concern, as Clive soon realised they both had the same glowing blue eyes. 

Then the Doctor noticed them too.

“OK, that’s not good.” 

Suddenly there was another flash of light, announcing the arrival of two more.

“OK, that’s really not good.”

“Vermin located,” they announced in unison as they began marching towards them. Clive and the Doctor crouched down.

“What do we do?”

The Doctor’s wide eyes locked eyes with a nearby motorcycle. Then she locked eyes with Clive.

“Really?” he asked apprehensively.

“Really!” she answered with a broad grin. 

Clive was starting to suspect that she was actually really enjoying all this, as once again she produced from her pocket the peculiar silver torch she’d used earlier to manipulate the lift. Pointing it to the ignition, she activated it. This time though its light was significantly dimmer than before, and the sound it omitted was nothing more than a faint and fractured buzz.

“Oh no!” the Doctor said, slapping the device against her hand before putting it to her ear. “Drained all the power! It’ll need to recharge.”

Seeing this as a moment he could be of some use, Clive quickly ushered her aside and began fumbling with a panel near the key switch. With a tug he pulled it away and reached in. 

“Misspent youth. Give us a minute.”

The Doctor peered over a top of a car to see where the wardens were now. She got her answer in the form of a laser blast which shattered the windscreen.

“How about twenty seconds instead,” she said, shaking the tiny shards of glass from her hair.

Clive worked as fast as he could, his fingertips pulling out the two wires he would need to trick the engine into starting. More laser blasts followed, each shot landing closer and closer.

“I think I’ve got it!” Suddenly the engine burst into life. Clive let out a joyous laugh. He’d been taught that particular skill by his Uncle Tony when he was thirteen years old. Tony had taught him some other interesting life-skills too - like how to pick a lock with a hairpin, how to cheat at poker, and how to use a magnet to always win on a fruit machine. It was only when Tony was imprisoned for a botched bank robbery, that Clive realised these skills might have been questionable. 

“Well done, Clive!” the Doctor said as she promptly mounted the bike. 

Clive got behind her, his arms gripping her waist. 

“You can ride this, yeah?” 

“Oh yeah, I had a great teacher. What was his name again? Oh yeah - Evel Knievel.” 

The Doctor kicked down the pedal and the motorbike roared away. Clive gripped even tighter as even more laser blasts ricocheted around them as they sped towards the exit.

“This is sooo 1999,” she shouted back with delight. “Hold on Clive!”

Chapter Five

The sun was setting as they pulled up on Victoria Street. Clive was overjoyed to see his home again. The little terraced house was his first glimpse of something normal since, well, since he’d been shot in a shopping arcade by a possessed department store mannequin. 

On the Doctor’s instructions, though, this was just a pit-stop to pick up some clothes and some supplies and then get somewhere safe. The Mimic Droids, in whatever form they’d adopted, would kill anyone getting in the way of destroying him, and being so close to his family was making the Doctor nervous. 

Rather than go into the house, Clive led the Doctor up a narrow pathway beside the property. From there they were able to access the garden gate and then get into his shed. 

Of course, this was a bit more than an ordinary shed, this was the head quarters for all his research into those mysterious men. The men who’d inexplicably turned up at every disaster and crisis in human history. 

He’d first discovered them whilst researching for his book on conspiracy theories. There, looking out from the crowd moments before John F Kennedy was assassinated, had been where Clive had first clocked those haunted eyes. They seemed to burn into him, and it wasn’t long before he was finding them everywhere, in every history book he looked in. Soon he found others too, incongruous characters out of place and out of time. One had wild curly hair and an overlong scar. Another had blonde hair and cricketer’s clothes. More and more came, each increasingly eccentric, and more anachronistic than the last. 

For Clive, it became like a never ending game of Where’s Wally, where he’d obsess over photos with a magnifying glass, working night and day to find those men. 

It had become an obsession, one where he’d lost countless hours and days in that shed, trying to understand more of these enigmas, these impossible men sometimes referred to in official documents as… the Doctor. 

Of course, what Clive didn’t realise as he walked into his shed with his new otherworldly friend, was that he’d never been closer to solving the mystery that had consumed him for so long.

Chapter Six

Clive entered the shed and quickly pulled down the blinds before turning on the light. 

“Welcome to my Head Quarters. Or the Mad House, as Caroline likes to call it.” 

As Clive rummaged through a bin bag full of charity shop clothes, the Doctor took a little tour of this cluttered environment.

“Do you live here?” she asked, first noticing the microwave and bin overflowing with empty ready meal packets.

“No, but I do spend a lot of time in here. Working.”

An array of photos and maps sellotaped to a whiteboard then caught the Doctor’s attention. “Well well well. This is interesting.”

Whilst she had her back to him, Clive took off the ill fitting lab coat and quickly slipped into some more comfortable grey jogging pants.

“These are all related to UFO sightings if I’m not mistaken,” she continued, as her eyes darted around the multitude of blurry saucer shaped objects and strange lights in the sky.

“Oh yeah, I was researching them as part of my hobby,” Clive replied whilst searching for a suitable top amongst the old musky smelling clothes. 

“I’d say it’s a bit more than a hobby, Clive,” the Doctor said, examining a mountain of dusty files stacked floor to ceiling. 

“Well yeah, suppose I might have got a bit carried away with it all. UFO’s were the first thing I got into, then I started looking into all the conspiracy theory stuff - JFK, 9/11, and then that led me to him. Or rather them.”

“Them?” the Doctor asked, genuinely intrigued.

“A group of men. They’re like a collective of enigmas,” Clive explained. “Eccentric anomalies if you like, that turn up whenever disasters strike. Everywhere you look throughout history, all through time, they’re there! It can’t be just a coincidence. I’m certain of it. I know there’s a pattern, or some explanation. I just have to find it!”

“Eccentric anomalies! Sounds like my kind of people,” the Doctor said, now leafing through a book on the Titanic.

Clive pulled a baggy dark blue jumper over his head. He was just about to tell her more when it occurred to him how crazy he must seem. He’d spent the whole day treating her like she was the mad one, and now the tables had turned.

“Sorry, I’m going off on one, aren’t I? You know I just realised, I don’t know your name.”

“Yes you do, I already told you it,” she replied, now revealing in a book on Yeti sightings.

“Did you?” Clive was certainly forgetful, but he was sure she never told him it. He wracked his brain, thinking back to that first meeting in the morgue. Once again the Doctor decided to give him a nudge.

“You asked if I was the nurse? Remember?”

“Yeah, and you said you were a Doctor.”

“Not a Doctor, the Doctor,” she corrected him.

Clive’s face dropped. He felt as if someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water over him. 

“The Doctor?”

She looked up from the book to give him a little wave. “Hiya!” 

Clive’s jaw dropped. He felt like he’d been handed the missing piece to a jigsaw puzzle, a jigsaw puzzle he’d been trying to finish for a lifetime. 

“It’s you? You’re him. But he’s…? And you’re…?”

The Doctor watched as Clive frantically began gathering together an assortment of papers dotted around before eagerly presenting them to her. 

She started leafing through them, her expression muted, as if her guard had suddenly come up. Meanwhile, Clive moved around her, examining her in a whole new light. This woman in her odd attire was The Doctor! She had to be. He felt so stupid for not joining the dots before.

“It is you, isn’t it? You’re one of them. See, I thought the title was passed down from father to son, but it’s not just a male inheritance, is it? It’s also passed from father to daughter. Or should that be from alien father to daughter.”

The Doctor looked up, and Clive realised that, though the faces might change, those piercing eyes were always the same.

The Doctor put down the photos and reached over to a book on the Hindenberg disaster, the hydrogen-filled airship that caught fire and crashed in 1937. 

“Page 112. Third photo down.”

Clive eagerly did as he was told and located the page. The photo she’d referenced was of a survivor of the crash being assisted to safety. As he looked closer he saw the face of that survivor appeared to be a young woman, with short cropped hair and a long grey coat. 

“It’s you!” 

“I tried to help,” she said, her tone now solemn. “I saved as many as I could, but the fire… it just got out of control so quickly.”

Clive sat down in his tatty office chair, his brain spinning. “I’ve got so many questions. There’s so much I want to know.” The Doctor took the book back and tossed it to one side.

“I’’m sure you do, but now’s not the time, Clive.” 

“No, please, I can’t wait, I’ve waited so many years, you have to tell me-”

“Later!” she interrupted, now becoming stern. “We don’t have much time so now is about figuring all this out, and to do that I need to understand your connection to all this.”

Clive got to his feet, suddenly agitated. He paced around before leaning against the wall. “I don’t know my connection to this! I wish I did. I woke up from a nightmare only to find myself in a real life one.”

This remark clearly caught the Doctor’s attention. 

“Your nightmare. Yes… The baby, the clawed hands, and Elvis.”

“Good memory. I didn’t think you were listening.”

“I’m always listening, unless I’m not.” It was then that an idea came to the Doctor. She quickly ran over to the white board and started pulling down all the UFO photos. 

“Hey, that’s years of research!” Clive protested.

“It’s OK, none of them are legit. Oh, apart from this one.” The Doctor paused to hold up at a faded photo of a black flying saucer. “But that’s not a spaceship, it’s just an alien drone delivering supplies to Mary Berry.”

Clive had just began getting his head around the idea that the nation’s favourite celebrity chef was an alien in disguise, when the Doctor thrust a pen at him and urged him to come closer.

“Now, draw me what the claws looked like.”

Tentatively, he took the pen. “OK, I’ll try,” he said, as he began sketching out the long talons sprouting out from the three-fingered clawed hands. 

Once he’d finished he looked to the Doctor. She gave him a worried stare before taking the pen and sketching in the rest of the creature's body around what he’d drawn. After she was finished she stepped back and Clive saw she’d drawn a terrifying worm-like creature. It had eight stubby legs like udders, each with long protruding claws and a strange circular mouth.

“What’s that?”

“That is a Telograde. A very rare and dangerous species. You have a cousin of it right here on Earth, only that one is a micro animal. This is substantial bigger.

Think of it like a great white shark in space, no, actually a Megalodon, drifting through the airless vaccum absorbing radiation and devouring anything that comes into its path.”

Clive scrutinised the drawing. “And that’s what these robot thingies think I am?”

The Doctor nodded. “Oh, and just for scale-” She drew a small stick man beside the large creature. “That’s how big we’re talking."

“But I’m not that! I’ve never even seen one of those things! And I know I’m big but I’m not that big.” 

“And yet your subconscious is showing them to you. What else did it show?”

The Doctor paced up and down in front of him as she worked hard to understand what all this meant.

“Dreams are full of symbolism, so what did everything in yours mean? There was a baby, that could represent something new? Something growing, embryonic maybe? What else… Elvis. Well he’s connected to all this through my experience with him, but you weren’t there for that. Think Clive, do you have any connection to him any at all?”

“No, apart from being a fan of his music when I was younger.”

The Doctor sat in the office chair and rubbed her hands over her face. “Alright, maybe the dream meant nothing. Weird coincidence. In which case we’re back to square one.”

A moment of silent despair passed between them.

“Actually, I do have his scarf.”

The Doctor looked up. “His scarf?”

Chapter Seven

Before they hastily left 32 Victoria Street, Clive couldn’t resist peering in through the lounge window. He hadn’t seen Caroline or the boys since the night of the shopping centre attack and was desperate to see that they were all OK. 

Just before they’d gone down the path towards the shed, he’d been relieved to see the car was back in the driveway and the lights were on in the house, but that wasn’t enough. He had to see them. He had to be sure.

It was just before he craned his neck to see inside through the lounge window that a moment of panic overcame him. What would they all be doing? He imagined they’d all be in mourning, all huddled together sobbing over his death the night before. But what if they weren’t? What if they were having a great time, laughing and enjoying themselves? They might even be glad to be rid of him…. It suddenly occurred to Clive that he’d not been much of a husband, or father, these past years. His obsession with conspiracy theories, and his research into the Doctor, had robbed him of so much time. Time he should have been spending with them. It made sense that they might now be unbothered by his death, or even relieved he was gone.

He felt a profound mix of sadness and shame as he apprehensively tip-toed up to look in. 

Of course there was no celebrations going on at 32 Victoria Street, and his sense of relief was followed by heartbreak as he saw a scene just like the one he’d first imagined. There was Caroline, slumped on the sofa, tearfully looking through photos of their wedding day. Ben and Michael were sat nearby, their heads hung low as they occasionally typed messages on their phones or answered calls. Death admin. 

Clive felt the overwhelming urge to run in there and embrace them all, let them know he was OK and apologise for the past. He could make a fresh start there and then. But he knew he couldn’t. Not now. Not with these robots tracking him. He made a vow that if he survived this he would change. He’d no longer be a ghost in their lives. 

The distant roar of the motorbike reached his ear, followed by the Doctor’s whispered call. “Clive, c’mon!”

He took one final look at his family before kissing the tips of his fingers and gently touching the glass. As tears welled up in his eyes he whispered one word before leaving his home for what might be the last time.

“Sorry.”

Chapter Eight

Roy was so immersed in the newspaper article about shop dummies coming to life that he didn’t pay much attention to the motorbike, or the two passengers it was carrying, as it pulled into the car park. He’d only worked at the storage facility for a week, doing the nightshifts, but in that time he’d got very familiar with the nocturnal comings and goings of people as they ferried their belongs in and out of the large building.

As Roy read that the death toll from the inexplicable attack in the shopping centre the previous night was now at fifteen, he had no idea that one of those fifteen fatalities was currently making their way towards the entrance, alongside a time traveling alien. 

If he had had any idea about the extraordinary nature of the pair he certainly would have given them more than just as cursory glance as they hurried past his desk and into the large loading bay.

Instead, he continued reading, taking great interest in one theory that tests to do with 4G network were responsible for the dummies reaping havoc on the general public. 

Even though the accounts sounded terrifying he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of the people who’d witnessed the bizarre attack.

Wish something that exciting would happen around here, he thought, before dipping a Jammy Dodger into his lukewarm cup of tea. 

It was at that exact moment four identical Irish Wolfhounds appeared in the carpark. Motionless and silent, their bright blue eyes glowed in the darkness as they observed the building.

Roy had no idea, but he was about to learn a valuable lesson - be careful what you wish for.

Chapter Nine

The Doctor and Clive moved through the maze of corridors searching for Room 237. Each corner they turned presented more rows of identical yellow doors, all tightly padlocked shut. 

Clive stopped for a moment to get his bearings. “Actually, maybe it’s the next level up. Sorry, all these corridors just look the same to me.” 

“Story of my life,” the Doctor muttered before wandering towards one of the doors.

“So, people keep things in these little rooms?” she asked, clearly struggling get her head around the concept.

“Yeah. People use them if they don’t have enough space for all their stuff. My shed is just the tip of the iceberg, I’m afraid. I rent one for the rest of my research. Have you never been to a self-storage before?” Clive asked in disbelief.

“No. I love the idea though, all these rooms full of things! I love things. What’s in this one?”

She waved her strange silver torch at the lock, and a second later it pinged open. The Doctor then eagerly darted inside. 

“Ooooh, look, this ones full of clothes!” she re-emerged holding a brown suede Fedora hat. “I used to have one of these!” she put it on but it was far too big for her, with the brim resting on the bridge of her nose.  

Clive removed the hat and put it back in the room. 

“You can’t just do that!” he said, checking no-one had seen before shutting the door and snapping the lock shut again. “That’s people’s private things. Plus I thought we were in a hurry?”

“Oh right, OK, yes sorry, let’s stay focused. Sometimes I get quite distracted. Show me a maze full of tiny rooms full of stuff and it’s gonna be incredibly hard for me to restrain myself.”

As they continued looking for his storage room a thought suddenly came to him. 

“That hat… one of the other Doctors wore one just like it! I have photos of him from 1975, when there was that sighting of the Loch Ness monster near the Thames. And accounts of him in 19th century London, when there were those sightings of a giant rat in the sewers.”

It was then the penny dropped.

“Wait, are you…? No you can’t be… or can you?! Are you all the same person?”

The Doctor said nothing but her silence spoke volumes.

Clive’s eyes widened. “Oh my god, you are aren’t you! But how can you be?” 

The Doctor stopped, taking a deep breath before answering. She’d been here before, many, many times, and knew it was best to defer the more complicated explanations about her identity, or rather, identities.

“I feel the answer to that might generate a lot more questions, and like you said we really need to get a move on.”

She walked on ahead. “237 did you say?”

Clive lingered for a moment before following her. She’s a shape shifting alien, he thought. His book on conspiracy theories was suddenly looking a lot more appealing to publishers. If he lived to write it, that was.

Chapter Ten

Clive had been rummaging around in amongst the piles of boxes and stacked up furniture for a short while when eventually he found it. 

“Aha!” he said, holding aloft a small wooden box. “Here it is. This is Elvis’ scarf, or so my grandfather said.”

Setting it down onto of a stack of dusty ring binders, he unclipped the brass clasp. The box opened with a creak and inside there lay a neatly folded white silk scarf. 

The Doctor produced a magnifying glass from her coat pocket and moved in closer to examine it. 

Clive looked over her shoulder as he continued to explain its origins.

“My mum would take me to visit him every Thursday in the care home. He had dementia, you see. I remember him giving it to me in secret. ‘Don’t tell your mum,’ he said, ‘but this is Elvis’ scarf and it’s worth a fortune.’ I asked him how he got it and he told me he’d been working at a venue Elvis performed in. He said he’d given it to him after the show. I believed him at the time, and I kept it in that box under my bed for years. It was only later, when he got really bad, that he started telling me other things, like how he knew The Queen, and how he’d written all the Beatles’ greatest hits. That’s when I realised it was all nonsense. Still, I kept hold of it. Didn’t have the heart to throw it away.”

The Doctor stopped her inspection of the garment.

“Well, I’ve news for you, Clive. This is 100% authentic.”

“You what?”

“No doubt about it. This is the scarf he wore at the concert I told you about, the last time I saw him - Market Square Arena, Indianapolis! The time the Master lured the Telogarde to Earth. The time Elvis and I saved the world by luring it into my ship and getting it to swallow a keg of nitroglycerin. Bit messy that. Very messy, actually. But how did Elvis end up with its DNA on his…” Her voice trailed off before her eyes lit up in a moment of sudden realisation.

“Oh, of course!” she exclaimed, once again slapping her forehead with the palm of her hand. “I wiped his memory but I didn’t wipe his clothes. Oh, what a rookie mistake! Gotta be so careful with alien DNA.”

Clive took a deep breath and decided he would attempt to summarise the madness before he developed a headache.

“So, if I’ve got this straight, you’re saying some bloke who doesn’t like you very much dumped a big alien worm thing into the middle of an Elvis concert in 1971, and then you and Elvis then went on some romp to kill the big alien worm thing, which ended up in it getting exploded and showering him with big alien worm thing DNA?”

She mulled over his summary before answering. “Well, I mean it sounds a bit daft when you put it that way, but that’s the gist of it, yeah.”

Clive took another deep breath and continued.

“And then my grandfather gives me the scarf years later and I become infected with big alien worm DNA?”

“Yes. But I what I don’t know is how. It would’ve needed to be exposed to your skin for a prolonged period of time. The dry residue would’ve needed moisture, something warm and-” She suddenly stopped as a very obvious realisation came to her. 

“Oh, Clive. Did you maybe wear this scarf and dance around in the mirror pretending you were Elvis?”

Clive looked a little embarrassed. “I used a tennis racket as a guitar.”

“Well that’s that then! It got into you through the pores of your skin and it’s been laying dormant in you ever since.” 

“But why’s it come to life now?”

“Good question. Let’s think… The night you were killed, just before the Auton’s gun fired your heart would’ve started beating so much faster than normal. That combined with the inevitable burst of adrenaline, plus the increased blood sugar and hormones must have activated it. And once it got started it set to work rebuilding your cells, repairing, renewing, and eventually jump starting your heart! Then you lit up, Clive. You became a loudspeaker to the universe screaming I’M A DANGEROUS WORLD-CONSUMING ALIEN LIFE FORM, and just like the me the IPC came running to stop you.”

“But I’m not any different,” Clive said, retrieving an old dressing table mirror from a nearby cardboard box to examine his reflection. “I look the same, I sound the same, I’m not a… Telograde.”

“Maybe not in appearance, but I’m willing to bet that like them you’re now immune to radiation and air deprivation. You wouldn’t bat an eyelid at being in temperatures of over 150 degrees celsius, and you could probably go without food for thirty years.” She glanced down at his rotund stomach. “Which might not be a bad thing.”

“Oh nice, kick a man when he’s down, why don’t ya,” Clive said, dropping the mirror back down and slumping down into an old armchair.

“How do I get it out of me, Doctor? I don’t want to be some weird alien-human hybrid. I wanna go back to normal.”

The Doctor closed the case and knelt down to look him in the eye. “I’m not sure you can, Clive Finch. But it’s not such a bad thing.”

“It’s not?” Clive asked, struggling to find any positives in his new predicament.

“No! I mean, not ideal, admittedly, but having this in you doesn’t mean you’re suddenly going to grow claws and eat a whole town. The change could be completely subtle. The Telograde DNA saved your life, what it does next I don’t know. You might live for a thousand years, or you might have superhuman strength. Or you might just have very crazy dreams.”

“Or I might grow claws and eat the whole town?”

The Doctor scrunched up her face and shrugged. It was then they heard the chorus of emotionless voices echo all around them.

“VERMIN DETECTED."

Chapter Eleven

The Mimic Droids’ hands burst through the corrugated metal walls of the storage unit as if they were tinfoil. Moments later they were inside, and this time they no longer appeared as humans, but rather in their true form - tall black and gold skeletal robots, with featureless flat faces. 

“Run!” the Doctor screamed.

This time Clive had no trouble complying with the instruction, and the two of them sprinted out of Room 237 and down a metal staircase leading back to the loading bay.

Once again their journey was accompanied by deafening bursts of laser fire.

“Why do they look like that now?!” Clive shouted over the assault.

“Since we squashed one of them you’ve clearly become an upgraded threat, which means they’ll be taking more drastic measures now.”

He knew the answer was going to be something awful but asked anyway.

“Drastic how?”

As they found themselves back at the loading bay Clive got his answer, as there, scattered on the floor, they saw an array of lifeless bodies. 

They stopped dead in their tracks.

“Drastic like killing anyone within the immediate area so they don’t have to waste precious energy mimicking human form anymore.”

She leant down to examine one of the corpses. It was impossible to tell the age or gender of the carcass, as the skin was completely charred. Strangely, though, the clothes remained perfectly intact. 

“What’s happened to them?” Clive asked, horrified at the sight. “Looks like they were all burned.”

“Organic matter incinerator. Only causes living tissue to burn.”

“That’s horrible.” 

“Yes, yes it is.”

She took a moment to observe the name on his badge, and though it could mean nothing to him, she gave her condolences. “I’m so sorry, Roy.”

As the Doctor rose, Clive saw that her face had become enraged. 

“OK, now I’m angry,” she said, pulling up her sleeves. “Nobody else dies tonight.”

It was then the clatter of the droids metal feet could be heard as they descended the staircase in pursuit.

“Come on, let’s move!”

The Doctor ran outside into the adjacent car park, where she promptly re-mounted the motorbike. “Let’s get back to my ship. I do my best thinking there. I’ll come up with a plan.”

She looked up, expecting to see Clive close by, but instead he was still lingering in the doorway, his head hung low.

“You’re right,” he called out to her, his voice laced with sadness. “No-one else should be put at risk now. That’s why I’m not running anymore, Doctor. Nobody else dies now, not for me.”

The Doctor dismounted and rushed back to him, her eyes pleading for him to reconsider.

“Clive, no, I won’t let you do this.”

“You know it makes sense,” he said, clearly resolute in his decision. “If they’ve done their job they all go away, right? It ends, yeah?”

The Doctor nodded solemnly.

“Right, well that’s that then. I’d ask you to get a message to Caroline and the boys but, well, I think that would only be a bit confusing, given that they think I’m already dead.” He let out a little nervous laugh before continuing.

“I’d rather you didn’t see what comes next, if that’s OK.” The Doctor felt a surge of desperation course through her whole body.

“Clive, please, I can find a way out of this. You mustn’t give up, please!”

“It’s my decision,” he said firmly. “I’ll do this next bit alone if that’s OK.” 

The Doctor felt stunned. She helplessly watched as Clive pressed a button, which activated the large roller shutter door. It lowered slowly, long enough for her to see the four droids appear behind him. Standing apart, weapons raised. A firing squad ready to kill. Clive gave her a sad smile as the tears welled up in his eyes.

“Goodbye, Doctor.”

Once it had fully closed the she was left alone. There was the briefest moment of silence before she heard the guns fire, followed by Clive’s muffled screams of pain from within. Then nothing.

“No,” she whispered defiantly. “I won’t let it end like this!”

Chapter Twelve

He had screamed more in anticipation of the pain that was to follow, but a second after the shots were fired Clive realised he was still very much alive. Still stood in the same position. Still breathing. He had felt something as the laser blasts had hit his body, but it wasn’t what he’d class as pain. More a tingle, a flutter across his skin, as if a warm stone had been briefly pressed against it.

He looked to the droids who, even though they were expressionless, seemed as confused as he was. Moments later, they spoke again in unison.

“Vermin resistant to weaponry.”

Clive felt relieved. “Thank you alien worm thing DNA!” he exclaimed. “You can’t kill me! Ha! I’m indestructible!”

His celebrations were short lived though, as the next announcement from the droids sent a cold chill down his spine.

“Superior fire power required.”

As Clive anxiously contemplated what that might mean there was another brief flash of light which left in its wake a new droid. This one was similar to the others with one major difference - in its hands it held a huge bazooka-like gun.

Clive’s heart sank. 

“Oh. Something tells me this is gonna hurt.” 

The gun fired a constant beam of white light which came at him with such power and ferocity it propelled his body backwards. He crashed into the wall before landing on the hard concrete floor. The pain inflicted by the weapon was immense, a burning sensation like being stabbed with a million hot pins over and over again. 

He writhed around on the ground, his whole body spasming in agony. 

As the blast intensified so too did the pain, and Clive knew that this was one death he wouldn’t be returning from. 

Chapter Thirteen

The Special Weapon Droid had never been to Earth before, but it had been programmed with information on the Category 4 planet. It knew about the ape-descended dominant species. It knew about the weather systems, its lunar cycles, natural elements, air density, and gravitational pull. 

Like the worker droids, it had a default cloaking model (for earth it was a white male in a suit) but it was instructed not to use it. This was very common. It was rarely needed to be in disguise on account of the substantial gun it was carrying. It was mainly called upon when hardy vermin needed extinguishing, and in those instances, a cleansing of the immediate environment would already have taken place, making discretion no longer necessary. 

In all its 9,876 missions, its time on each planet had been very short. In the nanosecond after it was activated at the IPC’s control station, it would teleport there, identify the vermin, blast it with its particle incinerator for as long as it took to eradicate it, and then teleport back to its recharge station. Simple. This Earth-bound assignment had begun just like all the rest. It had arrived on the planet and immediately identified the vermin - in this case a Telograde hybrid. As it opened fire on the creature it thought of nothing out of the ordinary. That was until the object appeared above it. 

It took a nanosecond to scan and identify it as a mode of transport on this particular planet. A simple land-based motorised vehicle. 

Although there was something about this motorised vehicle which the Special Weapons Droid didn’t understand. 

Why, if it was classed as a land-based, was it in flight? 

Before it was destroyed in the inevitable impact, it made a note of this error in the IPC’s database, and seconds before its vital signs diminished it received the following response: Thank you. Records updated. 

Chapter Fourteen

The Doctor leapt back off the bike just before impact. Where she landed gave her a front row seat as the vehicle continued its trajectory - crashing into the bazooka welding droid head-on, before hurtling onwards to knock down the remaining four droids like they were skittles.

“Yes!” she exclaimed with glee. “Like I said, Evel Knievel. Taught me everything I know.” She briskly got to her feet and turned her attention to Clive, who remained incapacitated on the floor. 

“W-what are you doing?” he whispered, his body still ravaged with pain from the attack.

���Yeah, sorry about that mate. I was all set just to pop off and let you crack on with your noble act of self-sacrifice, but then I thought, nah, that’s not my style. So I hope you don’t mind, but I’m gonna save your life.”

Clive was dumbfounded, and even though the agony was overwhelming he managed a half smile at the Doctor.

The droids were soon back on their feet, and with their special weapons comrade now destroyed, the Doctor knew they would first kill her, then request a replacement.

As the firing squad lined up to eliminate their new target, she wasted no time retrieving her alien tracker and her sonic screwdriver from her pockets.

“So, if I’m perfectly honest, this plan is a bit of a work in progress,” she said whilst attaching the two devices together. “But I’m hoping if I can boost the power on my little gadget here with my sonic…”

The droids raised their weapons as they took aim. The Doctor took this as a very clear signal to work, and speak, faster.

“Then I might be able to turn it’s questionable add-on feature into something more useful. So, fingers crossed.” 

She flicked the final few switches just as the core of their weapons began to glow red once again.

With a look of anticipation she then activated the device. It whirred and sparked to life and a second later all the Mimic Droids’ weapons flew out of their hands, ascending high into the air. 

The Doctor let out a laugh of relief. “Ha! That’ll teach you to have guns shaped like eggs!”

The droids looked helplessly at their oval-shaped weapons now spinning in the air overhead. 

Knowing the gravity bubbles couldn’t be sustained for long, she quickly twisted a dial to manipulate the weapons, guiding them to point back at the droids. 

They looked back to the Doctor, their faces a blank flat void, but somehow, even though they were unable to display any emotion, it was clear they knew what was coming next.

Every droid felt the full force of their own weapons as they flew backwards from the blast, crashing onto the ground with a tremendous thud.

The Doctor blew the end of her device as if it was a smoking gun.

“You’re verminated.”

Chapter Fifteen 

Clive knew he was close to death. In fact, where dying was concerned, he was getting to be quite a pro. With his lungs taking short breaths and his slow heartbeat thick in his ears, this was just how he’d felt in the shopping arcade, as he laid on the floor with Caroline and Ben by his side. Only now the echoey voice telling him to hold on wasn’t coming from his wife. It was coming from the Doctor.

“Stay with me Clive!” she pleaded. “Just one more thing and then we’re home and dry.”

He rolled his head towards her and spoke with great difficulty.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” he said, his voice nothing more than a thin murmur. “You should’ve left me.”

“Well, I said no-one else was gonna die tonight, and that included you, OK?” she said, pressing her first and middle finger to the side of his neck to check his pulse.

“But if I’m alive, they’ll just keep coming, they won’t stop.” 

“I know, but don’t worry, I have a crazy plan. Came to me at the very last minute. Happens like that sometimes. Well, actually, all the time.” 

The Doctor took off her coat and covered his shivering body before rushing over to one of the nearby droids. It lay motionless on the ground, still smouldering from the laser blast to its chest. 

“See, whilst you had a misspent youth with motorbikes, I had one with androids,” she said, tracing her sonic screwdriver around a panel at the top of its head. 

“And one thing I loved doing was reprogramming them. You see, the more complicated they are, the more complicated the things you can do with them."

The sonic did the trick, and a panel slid open exposing a small keyboard within the droids’ cranium. Without wasting a second she began feverishly typing.

“Take these ones for example, their brains receive information from the IPC’s database. But of course that means, if you know your way around, you can reverse it and send information back.”

Clive trembled. His breathing was now very shallow, and his eyelids so heavy that he felt like he had to sleep. The Doctor noticed his deterioration and quickly offered him some motivation.

“Stay with me now, Clive! We’re almost there.” 

He did as she said, making a concerted effort to open his eyes wide and concentrate on her voice as she continued to explain her plan.

“I just have to pop in and tweak something. First, I’m going to make the Telograde a protected species. Protected under Article 5 of the Shadow Proclamation, and then I’m going to backdate that new status making what’s happened here completely unlawful. Then I’m gonna make every alien right’s organisation, every Galactic Justice Department, aware that this has happened, and capitalising on their outrage, I’m going to demand an immediate response. Oh, and just to put the wind up them even more, I’m going to sign off with my credentials.” 

She hit one last key triumphantly, before turning to scour the loading bay. 

“C’mon, c’mon. Do it. Do it now.”

A moment passed but nothing happened. Clive looked to the Doctor, who was biting her bottom lip in anticipation. 

Another long moment passed. Still nothing.

Eventually, Clive let his head roll back towards the ceiling. Whatever she had tried had failed, and there was no reason to hold on any longer. He allowed his eyes to close, and listened to his heart as its rhythm slowed to just a distant thump, as gentle and as fragile as the flap of a butterfly’s wing. 

He was close to losing consciousness when her voice pulled him back from the void.

“Look!” she yelled. “It’s working!”

Clive dragged himself back from the brink and opened his eyes once more. It was then that he saw the familiar bright light, the same one that had marked the arrival of the droids, only this time it was here to signal their departure. 

Soon all four of their smouldering metal bodies had vanished, evaporated into the air with no trace remaining.

“Yes! It’s started!” the Doctor exclaimed with a childish excitement. “Now c’mon and do the rest.”

It was then a gold mist appeared around the scattered dead bodies. It swirled and danced over them like a sea of fireflies, till suddenly their blackened charred skin began to return back to its fleshy hues.

“Nanogene technology,” the Doctor explained. “Now that’s what I call effective damage limitation.”

Once they’d all been restored back to normality, the gold mist dissolved into the air, and time resumed as if nothing had happened.

Roy sat up, his face awash with concern about what had just transpired.

“I was laying on the floor. Why was I laying on the floor?” he asked, quickly getting back to his feet.

“You fell over,” the Doctor said. “Let’s just go with that.” 

Roy looked to the handful of Big Storage customers as they too started getting up from the floor, their faces mirroring his look of confusion.

“Oh, they all fell too,” the Doctor explained. “It was a mass fall.”

She helped him to his feet before her eyes narrowed.

“Wait a minute, are you Roy Hanson? The Roy Hanson?” she asked, moving in closer to him.

“I am Roy Hanson, yeah.”

“Oh wow, what a pleasure. Big pleasure. I’ve always wanted to meet you. First man on Mars. What a thrill.”

The Doctor shook his hand enthusiastically. Roy could do nothing but give her a frightened smile and pretend to go along with whatever was happening. It was then he noticed the lifeless man’s body on the ground behind her. 

“Why’s he not getting up?” 

The Doctor turned, her expression melting from joy to dread. She left Roy and sprinted towards Clive.

“No no no!” she said as she skidded down beside him to listen to his heartbeat. 

“Should I call an ambulance?” Roy asked, edging closer.

The Doctor looked deep in thought, her mind lost on why the nanogenes had failed to revive him. After a moment the answer came to her.

“Of course! They were only programmed to repair human life. With alien DNA he didn’t scan as human!” 

She cradled him in her arms and squeezed his cold hand tight.

“C’mon, Clive. If you can hear me stay with me! Stay with me!” 

Despite her efforts it was no use, and as the final breath left his body Clive let go, and allowed the darkness consume him.

Chapter Sixteen

Clive wandered along the empty beach and took a moment to enjoy the feeling of the warm soft sand under his bare feet. It was a beautiful day, with the glare of the hot sun offset with a cool breeze. 

He closed his eyes and took a lungful of the fresh ocean air, reclining his head euphorically as he listened to the soft sounds of distant seagulls, and the rustle of palm trees.

“Paradise,” he whispered.

“Yes sirree, you bet it is.” 

Clive recognised the rich Southern American accent immediately, and turned to see the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, now wearing an extravagantly bejewelled purple jump-suit, reclining on a nearby sun lounger. 

“Just pretty as a picture aint it. Oh, feel free to join me if you like.”

Elvis gestured to the empty sun lounger beside him. 

“Well, I don’t mind if I do,” Clive said, enthusiastically taking him up on his invitation. He would have assumed that a celebrity of Elvis Presley’s calibre wouldn’t want to be bothered by fan whilst relaxing on holiday, but he was happy to be proved wrong.

“Nice change from the last time we met, eh?” Clive said, as he thought back to their earlier meeting during the car park attack. 

Elvis lowered his sunglasses to shoot Clive a confused look.

“Sorry man, we’ve met before?”

“Yeah, in that car park. You were driving a hearse? And there were these creatures coming up out of the ground?”

Elvis looked deep in thought for a moment before shaking his head. 

“Hmm… Nope. I don’t think I remember that. Maybe you’re confusing me with someone else?”

Clive was gobsmacked that such a traumatic occasion hadn’t been committed to his memory, but decided not to press any further on the matter. 

It was then that Elvis reached under his sun lounger and produced an acoustic guitar.

“Oh, you don’t mind if I play a little?” he asked. 

“Oh no, please do,” Clive said, trying to downplay how excited he was.

Elvis strummed a few chords whilst looking up to the piercing clear blue sky above.

“I’m thinking Blue Moon might be appropriate, what d’you think?”

Clive joined him in looking up at the sky, but in doing so was alerted to something distinctly unusual. As there, instead of just a moon, he saw that two planets were visible. One a light sapphire blue colour, and the other a deep vermillion red.

Astonished, Clive got back to his feet and walked towards the shoreline to get a better look. 

“But that’s not possible,” he muttered.

“Oh, don’t go too close to the edge,” Elvis replied, momentarily taking a break from singing. “You don’t wanna fall off.”

Clive looked down and to his horror the sea had disappeared, leaving in its place the black emptiness of space.

“What!? Where am I?”

“You’re wherever they are baby.”

“They?” Clive asked, his voice laced with apprehension. 

It was then that the Telograde appeared the distance, its vast bulbous body undulating through the blackness as it eerily glided towards them. 

This was the first time Clive had seen one up close and they were a truly terrifying sight. With its caterpillar-like body, eight fat-clawed hands dangling underneath, and it’s wide open mouth, framed by a series of razor sharp teeth.

Clive looked around the small island but knew there was no safe place to evade the path of the gigantic creature.

As it opened its mammoth mouth he succumbed to the inevitable.

This creature was his destiny, and he could never escape it.

Chapter Seventeen

He awoke from the dream with a jolt and once again found himself lying under a bright overhead light. 

He felt his body. Thankfully this time he was still clothed. Perhaps they hadn’t got round to undressing him yet. Had he just arrived in the morgue? If so, some forensic pathologist might be about to get the fright of their life.

It was as he squinted to get his focus that a familiar blonde halo appeared overhead. A second later the Doctor’s smiling face came into sharp focus.

He licked his dry lips before speaking. “Died again, did I?”

She nodded. “But on the plus side, you’re getting good at this resurrection malarky. Only took you three hours this time. To put that in perspective, Jesus took forty.”

“Great. I’ll pop that on my CV,” he said with a wry smile.

Clive took in his surroundings. There wasn’t much in the small room, aside from a large wicker chair, a dressing table, and a tall silver dress rail, adorned with a variety of extravagant dresses. What was unusual, though, were the large illuminated oval tiles indented into the light grey walls, and the constant low level hum, like the pulse of something electrical. 

Clive sat up, relieved to discover he was in a comfy four-poster bed this time, not the cold metal slab he’d woken up on the previous morning.

“What kind of morgue is this?”

“Oh, it’s not! I don’t have a morgue. At least I don’t think so. Never checked, actually. No, this is a bedroom of an old friend of mine,” the Doctor examined one of the dresses from the rail.  

"You know, these might suit me now I’m a woman.” She took a green and pink garment off the hook and held it up against her. Upon seeing her reflection she grimaced. “Or maybe not.”

With some difficulty Clive sat up. “I had another weird dream. Elvis was there again, and there were these two planets, a red and a blue one…”

“Yeah, the dreams are interesting,” the Doctor said, continuing to peruse the garments. “The Telograde must be psychically linked. Now you’re part of their collective you share their experiences. Their past, their present. Fascinating.”

“I saw it,” Clive continued. “I saw that creature - the Telograde. It was terrifying, and enormous, and it’s in me, isn’t it. That’s who I am now.”

The Doctor stopped browsing and sat down on the bed beside him.

“You mustn’t think like that, Clive. The Telograde isn’t who you are. We’re not our biology, we’re so much more than that. It’s the things you say and the actions you make, that’s what really matters. What you did back there - that unselfish, brave act of heroism. That’s who you are, and that had nothing to do with anatomy or genetics. I promise you in the end its who, not what, you were that people will remember.”

It was then that an alarm clock sounded somewhere in the distance.

“Oh, it’s ready!” she said, rushing out of the door only to poke her head back in moments later. 

“Oh, join me whenever you feel up to it. First door out of here then take a left by the Helter Skelter, down the corridor, right at the Japanese rock garden, up three flights of stairs, and then take the tenth door on the left.” With that she was gone.

Helter Skelter? She had to be kidding, right?

Chapter Eighteen

Clive was realising that whenever the Doctor said something daft or just plain ridiculous, it always turned out to be true. So as he took the route she’d explained he did indeed see a Helter Skelter, and a Japanese rock garden. Not only that but he also saw a swimming pool, a library, and an indoor archery range. 

What kind of a ship is this? he pondered, as he continued to navigate the maze of interconnecting windowless corridors.

As he reached the door she’d instructed him to get to, he paused to wonder what strange environment lay behind it. Where would he find his shape-shifting alien friend? On a Crazy Golf course, perhaps? Ice-skating? Nothing seemed too absurd at this point. He took a deep breath, and went inside. 

The first thing that came to his mind, as he crossed the threshold into the vast cavernous space she’d directed him to, was bees.

The arched walls that loomed up around him were like fragments of a broken honeycomb - layered octagons which overlapped and dovetailed to encase the interior in a dome. Around its centre huge glowing orange stalagmites grew up from the floor, arching inward towards a central control panel. 

That low drone was louder here, as if this were the heart of a machine generating huge amounts of energy.

“Doctor?” he called out. “Are you here?”

Her head poked around from behind the central stalagmite. 

“Ah, there you are! Up and about, good stuff. Now, I’m sure you’ve got a few questions, but before we get into all the dimensionally transcendental stuff just give us a minute to finish this, yeah.”

Clive moved in closer, walking around the circular panel of levers, dials and switches. 

As he came closer to the Doctor he saw her hunched over a mini spindle, working to sand down the edges of a small green stone.

After a minute of two of intense concentration, she turned off the small machine and held the jewel up to the light. “Aaaaand I’m done,” she said proudly. “Pretty good, yeah?”

“It’s lovely. What is it?” 

“This is a very rare piece of emerald quartz crystal from Glasson Minor. I popped there to get it while you were having a nap.”

“Oh,” Clive said, pretending that he had any idea where that was.

“And aside from looking very pretty, emerald quartz crystal has one very useful property - it deflects bio-detection signals.” She screwed the stone into a small clear vial before threading it onto a thin gold chain.

“In short, it acts as a natural DNA blocker, making you, and your alien DNA, totally undetectable.”

She held this new custom made piece of jewellery out to him, and with a nervous hand he took it.

“So, I should put this on?” he asked tentatively.

“That’s the idea,” she said, retrieving her homemade tracker from her pocket. 

Clive looked at the small green stone for a moment before putting the necklace over his head. Aside from a wedding ring he wasn’t really into jewellery. He was just imagining how he was going to explain to Caroline his new accessory when the Doctor activated the device.

“Now for the moment of truth.” 

She waved it around him, but this time the device made no sound as she passed it over his body. 

“Look at that! You don’t register at all, it’s like you’re dead,” the Doctor jubilantly announced before rushing over to a keyboard on the far side of the console.

“That’s… great,” Clive replied, his half-asleep brain still trying to process everything she was saying.

“And now you’re effectively invisible,” she said, typing at lightning speed. “I can just hack into the IPC’s systems and make the Telograde their number one pest again.”

She hit enter and then let out a sigh of joy.

“Done.”

“So, as long as I wear this I’m OK?”

“Completely fine. Just don’t ever take it off, or a hoard of Mimic Droids will come to come to destroy you.”

Clive gripped the stone tight, suddenly it wasn’t just a fashion accessory, it was a lifeline. “I’ll keep it on, then.”

The Doctor placed her hands on her hips and smiled, clearly satisfied with how everything had panned out.

“Right! All’s well that ends well. How’s about a nice cup of tea and a custard donut to celebrate? I’ve got such a craving for custard donuts.”

Chapter Nineteen 

“It’s smaller on the outside!?” Clive said, gawping at the blue box he’d just exited.

“Yeah, that sentence usually sounds better the other way round,” the Doctor said stepping outside to join him on the street corner. 

Clive walked around the box just to see if it was some kind of trick, but knew it wasn’t. The Doctor’s ship was an entire city somehow squashed into an old police telephone box.

“Nothing about you makes the slightest bit of sense,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Thanks Clive. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They smiled at each other before taking in the scene. It was dawn on Victoria Street, the early morning sun had just started to melt the dew from the grass, as bird song mingled with the sounds of distant traffic and dogs barking.

A new day had begun.

Even though Clive had a thousand questions he still wanted to ask the Doctor, about herself and her impossible ship, suddenly all of them became insignificant at the sight of his home, and the thought of what was coming next.

“Not sure how I’ll explain this,” he sad, once again gripping the green crystal around his neck.

“Ah, you’re good with conspiracy theories,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. “I’ll sure you’ll think of something.” 

She wandered back to the Tardis before turning sharply.

“Actually, come to think of it - did I mention this is also a time machine? How about we get some answers, eh? First stop, moon landing? You know I’ve always been curious about that flapping flag as well."

The corners of Clive’s mouth turned up into a broad grin.

“Oh, you have no idea… NO IDEA! How much I’ve longed of an invitation like that. For a chance to know the truth. Uncover all those mysteries. See what really happened. Know the unknowable… But, I can’t. I was obsessed with not knowing but I’d be even more obsessed with knowing. I wouldn’t know where to stop. I’d never be satisfied. I’d just wanna see it all. But that’s not what’s important. What’s in there is important. Just before I died, both times, I realised that. They’re the ones I thought of, not JFK, or 9/11, or you. Them. I feel like I’ve got a second chance. I feel like a new man. Well, a new mutated part-alien man. I don’t wanna pass it up, not even for the whole universe.”

The Doctor nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile. 

“You know what, Clive Finch. I think you just knocked baby Foamasi off my number one spot.”

She turned once again, and took a few steps back into the TARDIS before spinning back around.

“Oh wait! No! Brain just catching up again - did you say you saw a red and a blue planet together in your dream?”

“Yes.”

She thought for a moment, tapping her finger to her lips.

“Yes! Must be Magaladorius Major and Kandoria! If a Telograde is in that star system it could wreak havoc. Clive! Your psychic link could have just saved millions of lives!” 

The Doctor got out her notebook and scribbled a long number, then tore the page and eagerly handed it to him.

“If you have anymore dreams like that you buzz me. Night or day. Past, present or future. I’ll answer and I’ll follow it up. Right! Better get out there now, there’s no time to waste.”

He watched her race back to the blue box, full of vigour and excitement for her next mission. 

“Doctor!” he called out, catching her just as she was about to re-enter her ship.

“You know a girl came to see me a few days ago. She was asking about you. I think I scared her off telling her she should be careful. See, I always thought you were an omen, a bad omen. But I got that wrong. You’re a good omen, because you do your best to make things better. To help people.”

“Thank you, Clive,” the Doctor said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

He’d slowly started to walk away when she called out to him one last time.

“Clive. What was her name? The girl who came to see you?”

He thought for a moment. It was something floral… Lilly? Poppy?

“Oh yeah, I remember now. It was Rose.”

With that he turned and walked up the driveway to the house. 

The Doctor lingered in the doorway of the Tardis for a moment, a wistful expression crept across her face.

“2005. Like I said, brilliant year.”

[jcmorrigan]

Hideaway

The F/O? XR from Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. The S/I? Rachel Sparks - fifth ranger of Team Lightyear with a big heart for justice (and no glasses in this ‘verse because I suppose Nebula would surgically augment my eyes to make sure Zurg couldn’t rip the glasses off and stomp on them, which is a Zurg tactic). This one was meant to nestle into the episode “Wirewolf,” based on that throwaway line where XR hears from another ‘bot that the air vents are the best hiding place. See, that was the episode in which I most wanted to hug my poor scaredyboi when he was being done a frighten. I was originally going to do a lot more with that ep as material, but this is all I ever got down.

Oh, also, I moved this around so it was after “42″ which is why Sparks is angsty

***

The air vents were actually quite spacious. Almost suspiciously so, in fact. Circular in shape from the interior, their diameter was enough to comfortably fit a self-described fun-sized robot at standing height.

           Which, at the moment, was the purpose they were serving. XR didn’t want to think of himself as cowering, though “hiding” he would admit to, just to himself. Sure, the vents were unlit and forged a winding labyrinth, but it was a whole lot safer in here than out there. Yes, there was a small chance that the energy vampire could find his way in here, but it was such a small chance that it wasn’t even worth entertaining. Definitely not worth entertaining at all.

           When the sound of someone – something? – crawling down the metal pipe reached XR’s auditory processing, he instinctively popped all eleven guns, aiming them at the source of the noise. “One step closer – wait, step? Wing-flap? Do you even – GET ANY CLOSER AND I’LL GIVE YOU ENERGY, ALL RIGHT. ELEVEN ROUNDS OF IT.”

           The reply of “Friendly fire me and my ghost will follow you around, singing Never Gonna Give You Up backwards, for the rest of your eternal life” gave XR a start. His eye-lights flickered into high brightness, illuminating the space before him, where Rachel was crawling into position.

           “Eheh…sorry about that…” The guns were folded back into storage. “Thought you were…somebody else.”

           “Yeah, I kinda picked up on that.” Rachel repositioned herself, leaning up against the curve of the wall and settling into a semi-comfortable sitting position. “Who built these vents, anyway? They’re HUGE.”

           “You know, I am not gonna look the gift horse-droid in the mouth here.” XR put one hand on his side, leaning cockily as he fired Rachel a coy grin. “So. What’s a nice gal like you doing in an air vent like this?”

           “Well,” Rachel began, “when you went missing, I figured you were hiding from NOS somewhere because you were scared out of your wits – “

           “Scared? Me?” XR was snapped out of his smug act, speaking quickly. “No. I am not scared. You’re thinking of some OTHER robot who always panics whenever energy vampires are involved.”

           “Riiiiiight,” Rachel replied with a smirk before continuing, “Anyway, I asked around and got the tip on the vents, and so then I started overthinking about NOS getting in here and cornering you in the middle of a dark, cramped air vent, and now YOU’RE probably overthinking about NOS getting in here and cornering you in the middle of a dark, cramped air vent, so, long story short, I thought you could use the company.”

           “I was NOT overthinking it,” XR insisted. Then, rather meekly as he tapped his metal fingertips together, “I…wouldn’t mind if you stuck around a bit, though…”

           This was good. It had been far too long since they’d talked like this. It felt right, natural, as easy as slipping on old shoes. While Rachel was well aware the break had been necessary for her to nurse her emotions, she now realized how much she’d missed this. How much she’d missed her friend. This was so much better, now that she was through with the thought of chasing his heart (metaphorically speaking, though she’d heard rumors of the LGMs having added a beanbag heart to his inner workings just to be cheeky).

           “So,” XR suggested, “as long as we’re here, and will be here for the forseeable future until everyone else manages to short-circuit NOSy…”

           Rachel knew that was absolutely not the pleasure they’d be allowed, but she let him carry on without interrupting.

           She hadn’t seen when, exactly, he’d retrieved the pack of cards; he flicked his hand and the entire deck was fanned out in it. “The usual?” he asked.

           “Deal me in,” she replied. “Let’s…not put a wager on this one, though.”

           “Deal.”

           Her first card: a three. The second was a two. “Hit,” she decided, seeing XR’s seven.

           As he handed her a card, she pointed out rather nervously, “So, we’ve…kinda been on a hiatus.”

           “Yeah, and what’s with that?” XR asked, suspicion rising in his voice.

           “I had some shit to work out,” Rachel said calmly. And if there was anything she’d learned after all this time, it was how to not clue him in by overreacting. Though, really, now that the drama was over, what was the harm in him knowing? “Might tell you later. I really just wanna know what’s been up with you.” A consideration on her cards. “Hit.”

           “Me?” XR replied. “Oh, you know…just…” An overly dramatic sigh. “Contending with the scars of heartbreak. Trying to erase the memory of 42 from my hard drive. Being unable to purge it. …Mostly because if I forgot about her, I’d probably try to go after her again, and boy, would that be awkward.” The look of suspicion returned. “But this is what you didn’t wanna talk about.”

           “I worked out my shit,” Rachel stated calmly. “It’s all good. You may proceed.”

           “It’s just…for all my life, all the decades I’ve wasted – “

           “You’ve barely been online for a year.”

           “ALL THE DECADES I’VE WASTED, I’ve been chasing one woman after another. Why? Who knows, really? The thrill? The allure of wanting everything I couldn’t have?”

           “This sounds suspiciously like lines you stole from a trashy romance novel,” Rachel pointed out.

           Without acknowledging that statement, XR went on; “And my nonexistent heart truly beat for no one, until I found her, and that was when I realized it didn’t just beat, but it bled – “

           “THAT IS FROM MY FUCKING FANFICTION.”

           The reply she received was a metallic wink. She stuck out her tongue in retaliation.

           “But seriously,” XR condensed, “42 is the first woman I ever wanted to actually commit to. And you’d think I’d like being free of what a lesser man might call the ‘ball and chain,’ but the usual routine just doesn’t do it for me anymore. We were going to be partners. And I really, REALLY wanted that. I can’t just go back to throwing out bad pickup lines at every pretty face now that I know what being happy with someone REALLY feels like!” He paused. “Hit or no?”

           It took Rachel a minute to realize he was referring to the game. She surveyed her cards. “Hit.”

           “You have something really low under there.”

           “You would know. You probably dealt me what you did on purpose.”

           “Actually,” XR said, matter-of-fact, “I turned my algorithms off completely for this one. I’m playing on luck and risk evaluation.”

           “So you’re saying you don’t have a perfect 21.”

           “I am saying I MIGHT have a perfect 21. You have no idea. But if I have a perfect 21, it didn’t get that way on purpose.”

           Rachel took the final card, nodded, and lay it down. “Done.”

           “There’s a pretty good chance you won this.”

           Rachel flipped up her cards, showing a total of 19. “Pretty sure I did win this.”

           “Well, what do you know?” XR remarked. “I turn off my algorithms, I give you a fighting chance – “

           He turned up a 20.

           “ – and you still lost.”

           “Dammit!”

           As the cards were reshuffled, Rachel asked, “What was she like? I mean, what did you like about her? I never really got to know her that well.” Maybe now she should, now that she’d sorted everything out. Put the final nail in the coffin and befriend 42, who it sounded like Rachel could get along with anyway. Once Rachel could act mature around 42 and not feel hurt, she would know it was all over, and all three of them would be free. Though, now that she thought of it, it probably wasn’t a good idea to bring up XR’s ex and ask him to describe her. “But if you don’t wanna talk about her, I get – “

           “She was more radiant than a thousand suns,” XR was already waxing poetical. “Bitter, at first, but that was part of the allure. There’s just something about kicking off a relationship with a good old-fashioned trading of insults that makes you feel alive. She was a CLASSIC romantic, too. A walks-on-the-beach kind of person. Yes, yes, I know she couldn’t WALK at the time, but that didn’t stop her, which just goes to show how much of a dreamer she was. But most of all, when I looked into her pixelated eye graphics, I felt like she KNEW me inside out, and I thought for the briefest moment that I knew her. Though, boy, did I have her wrong. She needed to fly free while I wanted to latch onto her like a remora. She wanted to touch the sky. I wanted to invest in a tandem bicycle. She wanted adventure. I wanted what I am realizing is a series of incredibly mixed metaphors.” The cards, he remembered. Two for him, two for Rachel.

           She peered at her hidden card, hardly registering it as she asked, “If you could have the woman of your dreams, now that you’ve been with 42…what would she be like?”

           “Well, she’d have to have a sense of humor,” XR mused. “This isn’t a REQUIREMENT, but if our relationship evolved out of a playful rivalry, that’d be bonus points. Somebody who’d go for a romantic night on the town, maybe dancing at the less shady clubs in Trade World, which are still pretty shady, but look better by comparison of what they’re next to. Someone who’d actually want to be on my team so we could be together all the time. And, of course, it wouldn’t hurt if she worshipped the ground I rolled on.”

           Rachel stared at him, dumbfounded.

           “I’D DO THE SAME FOR HER,” XR said defensively, thinking Rachel was floored by the selfishness of the last qualification. “If she was the right one, she’d be nothing short of ethereally beautiful, and I would let her know that every hour, on the hour. You could time me.”

           Rachel doubted that was literal, but she understood the sentiment. She condensed what XR had told her, just to be sure she had it right: “So you want someone who started out bantering with you, would become your friend and think everything you did was hot shit, laughed at your jokes, TOLD bad jokes, went along with you on pretty much every adventure, and would love to be taken out dancing on Trade World.”

           “Yes. Is there something wrong with that?”

           He couldn’t really be that oblivious.

           Except he was XR. He actually was that oblivious.

           “No,” Rachel said. “I hope you find the woman of your dreams.”

           If he’d managed to describe her perfectly, and he’d still never thought of her as an option, then the coffin really was closed.

           “Your turn,” XR said rather smugly.

           “Huh? Oh. Hit – “

           “Nooooo,” XR corrected, singsong, “I want to know what YOUR perfect guy is like.”

           “My perfect guy?” Rachel repeated, fiddling with the face-up card in her hand. “Well, I mean…I used to have this laundry list of requirements. You’re gonna love this, but back when I was growing up on Capital Planet, I actually thought I’d only ever be into humans.”

           A dramatic gasp from XR that Rachel wasn’t sure about: real or exaggerated?

           “Yeah, yeah, I know,” she brushed off. “Miss Inclusivity thinking she’d only ever go for a human. But I had a thing for guys with black hair. Raven fucking black. I was pretty much into your standard skinny white boy package. You can fill in the blanks. After I grew up a little, I realized that attraction could come in more than one exact body type, so my list got less physical and more about personality. Moral paragon, musical connoisseur, had to bolster my self-esteem…maybe be willing to play my therapist a little and remind me that I’m pretty when I don’t believe it…or, you know, all the time…”

           “And you think I’M selfish for wanting a woman to be enchanted by me,” XR said in a tone of mock disappointment.

           “You are,” Rachel argued, “but I never said I wasn’t, now, did I? The thing is…where I am now, less and less things matter.”

           “Fewer?”            “What?”

           “Whenever I use the word ‘less’ like that in my reports,” XR reminded her, “you change it to ‘fewer.’”

           “You KNOW I don’t give a shit when I’m TALKING OUT LOUD.”

           “‘Biek’ wasn’t out loud.”

           “WILL YOU LET THAT GO?” She did love this routine. “Anyway, FEWER and FEWER things mattered until it kind of just boiled down to one thing. If he’s someone I can get along with, someone who makes me feel like we get each other and can have each other’s backs, and we have a lot of fun together, then, if a spark happens, which it very well might, I’ll give him a shot.” A pause. “Oh, and also, he can’t want to have sex with me. That part’s important.”

           XR took a minute to process this before saying, “That’s it?”

           “That’s it.”

           “You have REALLY got to raise your standards.”

           “Trust me, I told myself the same thing SO many times.”

           “Why would you – “ It clicked. “OHHHHHHHH. You had a thing for someone. You had a thing for someone RECENTLY. I knew it. I KNEW it!” XR pointed at Rachel proudly.

           “It’s not Booster,” Rachel sighed out of habit.

           “I figured that out,” XR said proudly. ��You didn’t have the chemistry I thought you had with him at all. Which is probably good, since I still have no idea how old he is.”

           “The thing is,” Rachel admitted, “I kinda realized I had to…get over this guy. And now that it’s all over, I think…maybe I can actually tell you. Let you add this to your list of blackmail material you have on me.”

           “Would I ever blackmail you?”            “Evan already knows. He read it in my head. You telling him who I like will have literally no effect.”

           XR pretended this didn’t bother him for a full ten seconds before muttering, “Dagnabbit.”

           “You’re gonna get a good laugh out of this, though,” Rachel said with a smile. “I used to have a huge…crush…on…”

           Why was it suddenly so hard to say? Was it just out of hesitation, knowing that he’d lord this over her for fun? But he knew, now, where the limit was. She trusted that. Her throat seemed to dry up all the same, and her heartbeat was now strong, the feeling of it pulsing in her neck. After keeping this secret for so long, it was finally coming to light, and perhaps that was why this was as difficult as it was.

           “I appreciate the atmosphere of suspense you’re cultivating here,” XR told her, “but I kinda need to know the answer already.”

           “I – sorry,” Rachel squeaked, clearing her throat. “Okay. The punchline of my life is that this whole time, I’ve secretly been into – “

           “BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!” XR cried all of a sudden.

           “…What?” Rachel replied incredulously.

           “That…explains…EVERYTHING!” XR realized. “He talked you into accepting life on Team Lightyear really easily. You didn’t want him to go out with Bonnie Lepton because you wanted him for yourself! But you couldn’t tell him because after the Plasma Boy incident, you thought you’d be pressuring him into a relationship he didn’t want! What a plot twist! You arguing so hard to get me to help you bring him back if he ever went loco, your obsession with his sexier evil clone showing up everywhere, your feeling like the only rookie who didn’t earn his respect – it all fits! How did I not see this before? Oh, the tragedy! Oh, the star-crossed fate!”

           “You couldn’t be more wrong,” Rachel said, deadpan.

           XR took a moment to study her face. “You’re putting on an awfully cool cover if I’m right.”

           “That’s because it’s not a cover, and also, if I was going to tell you it was him in the first place, I wouldn’t be putting on a cover now.”

           “True, true…” XR relented. “Okay, proceed.”

           Rachel heaved a deep breath. “The guy I had a thing for is – “

           “WARP DARKMATTER!”

           Rachel leaned the back of her head against the metal wall, thudding it several times consecutively.

           “You said it yourself,” XR reminded her. “You have a thing for guys with black hair. And probably black souls to match. You wanted yourself some of that bad boy action, but he would NEVER have eyes for you!” If Rachel wasn’t mistaken, XR’s eye-lights were misting slightly.

           “IT’S NOT WARP DARKMATTER,” she groaned. “Are you gonna let me tell you or not?”

           “…Okay, it’s obviously not Warp Darkmatter,” XR realized. “Then who could it be…?”

           “Try someone a little less…tall,” Rachel urged him. “And…conventional.”

           She waited to see if he’d guess, but he simply made a “hmm” noise of deep thought.

           “Someone who always has to have the last word?” Rachel prompted. “Someone…not human.”

           “That doesn’t really narrow it down…”

           “Someone who thinks he’s hot shit.”

           “That eliminates a few more of the obvious candidates…”

           After waiting a little longer for XR’s next guess and not hearing it, Rachel sighed one more time. “The person I had a thing for – “

           XR’s jaw dropped. “NO.”

           She knew he had it. “Yes.”

           “All this time – “

           “Yup.”

           “For a YEAR – “

           “Yyyyyyup.”

           “I KNEW it was suspicious how you were always defending him!” XR proclaimed. “No one in their right mind would try to paint him as a misguided good guy unless she was head-over-heels for him!”

           Or maybe he didn’t have it. “…I don’t think we’re talking about the same person here.”

           “And you always were fascinated by that molting thing, and, let’s face it, he OBVIOUSLY wouldn’t do the do the way humans do – “

           “ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT EON?” Rachel screamed in newly ignited horror.

           “YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH POTENTIAL HE HAS FOR GOOD!” XR reminded her.

           “IT’S NOT! FUCKING! EON!”

           “And thank whatever deity exists for that,” XR said with a sigh of relief.

           “All right,” Rachel groaned, “you’re done guessing.” Though, as usual, XR’s sheer airheadedness combined with his lack of vocal filter had done its magic. She was no longer nervous, her heartbeat quelled. Playful frustration lent her confidence. “I’m gonna tell you. And you’re gonna listen.”

           “Okay. No more interruptions. We cut to the chase this time.”

           “The person I liked,” Rachel said slowly, deliberately, “was…hey, how about you give me a drumroll?”

           XR rose to the cue, rapidly tapping his fingers on the metal wall so the sound reverberated.

           Rachel put out an arm dramatically. “And the lucky man is - !”

           “Hey, guys!” Mira said from behind Rachel as her upper half phased into the vent.

           She’d meant to ask what Rachel and XR were doing hanging out in an air vent, but the question died on her lips immediately, for the moment she’d appeared, she’d startled them both so badly that they were now screaming bloody murder, instinctively shooting to each other to cling onto each other’s bodies chastely but tightly.

           It really was a shame they hadn’t worked out, Mira thought; they were a cute couple. A cute couple of dorks, to be specific.

           “So, uhhhh, we’re going on patrol,” Mira said once the screaming had died down, “and it’s kind of a whole-team thing.”

           “Actually,” XR said from his position locked within Rachel’s grip, “we had a better plan. You, Buzz, and Booster are really more skilled at the whole ‘vampire-hunting’ thing, and this Parsec guy seems like a real…vampire slayer. You know ‘em when you see ‘em, and he’s one of ‘em. Now, Rach and I, we are REALLY good at guarding these air vents and making sure nothing gets in the base through them, so we’re just going to stay right here and – “

           “Uh-uh.” Mira shook her head. “Not a chance.”

           “I just want it on record that staying in here was completely his idea,” Rachel said flatly, XR’s arms still locked around her.

           “I know it’s dangerous out there,” Mira pointed out, “but danger is what we signed up for when we became space rangers. It’s our job – “

           “To do dangerous things so no one helpless has to deal with them,” Rachel sighed. “I know. Come on.” She disentangled XR from her arms, waiting for him to do the same – which she now needed him to do for more reasons than one.

           For when they’d grabbed onto each other, her heart had leapt with excitement. She had thought she’d done a thorough job of murdering her feelings for him. But it wasn’t over at all. It was a good thing Mira had come along when she’d done so, because if she’d clued XR in while she still had feelings for him –

           “You can let go now,” she told him gruffly, even though she didn’t want him to, not ever again.

           She didn’t miss the light tremble in him as he got as much distance from her as he could in the cramped vent, his arms now to himself. “All right,” he said with a bravado-laden tone, “I’m nothing if not a team player.”

           “That’s a laugh,” Mira teased.

           “But if I get torn to shreds out there,” XR told Mira, arms folded, “you’re the one paying for my reconstruction.”

           “Done and done,” Mira said with a nod.

           “Wait a – “ XR did a double take. “You said that like you are VERY SURE I’m going to get shredded.”

           “Uh, yeah, we’re leaving in five minutes,” Mira said before vanishing through the bottom of the vent.

           “Let’s do this,” Rachel said resignedly, making to head out of the vent. Then: “Um…you should probably lead. You’re the one with lights.”

           “You got all the way in here without lights.”

           “I ran into a LOT of walls. I have bruises.”

           There was enough room for them to switch positions, but due to the curvature of the walls, it did involve XR temporarily skidding on the side of the wall and Rachel losing her balance completely and falling with a thud. Eventually, they were arranged in a procession of some dignity, XR now out front to light the path while Rachel crawled on hands and knees behind him.

           Yet XR didn’t move, standing stone-still. Or attempting to, anyway. His nervous shaking was now visibly apparent, even in the dim light.

           “XR?” Rachel said softly.

           “What?” he replied quickly. “Oh, no, no, yeah, I’m fine – “

           “I know what you’re thinking about,” Rachel informed him. “All that stuff you told me. I know you’re afraid of what he can do to you.”

           “Look, I don’t wanna go over it again and get it in my head right before any of it could ACTUALLY HAPPEN,” XR spat.

           “Just…do me a favor and look at me first.”

           He trusted her, and so he spun, treads still pointed forward but the rest of his body rotating to face Rachel.

           She dared to place a hand on either side of his helmet, telling him, “Look me in the eye,” as she did the same to him –

           Then she recoiled with a loud “AGH, FUCK!”

           Staring a robot in his brightly illuminated eyes was a bad idea, it turned out.

           “Can you turn down the brights?” Rachel grunted, eyes shut tight.

           “Heh…yeah…sorry about that…aaaaand you’re clear.”

           Rachel eased one eye open to test the environment. She could now just make out the lines of XR’s face, his eyes dimmed to the softest glow. Opening her eyes completely, she became aware that the spots of dark green and magenta swimming in her vision from the accidental bright-light exposure were stunning even in the dark. They were, however, temporary. “Now look me in the eye for real,” Rachel commanded, gently.

           Her hands hadn’t left him. He looked to her with a now-obvious vulnerability that she knew he hated showing.

           “I can’t promise anything for sure,” she said as she fixed her gaze directly on his. “NOS is a badass, and I am a fucking wimp. I’m probably going to lose whatever fight I get in. So I can’t say I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you, because knowing my luck, I’ll try, I’ll get fucked up, and you’ll need a backup plan. But you KNOW how I feel about letting you get hurt, no matter how many times you can get rebuilt. When we get out there, stay close to me. Because I’m going to do my ABSOLUTE DAMNEDEST to try not to let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”

           Dead serious, he said, “You sound like you’re going to try and fight an energy vampire mono-a-mono to stop me from getting a few paint scratches.”

           “Yes. Because that’s what I fully intend to do. I will fight him. I know I cannot win, but I will fight him.”

           A pause. “What do you want outta this? Your next order at Cosmo’s is my treat?”

           Rachel flinched, disgusted with the insinuation; “I’m not going to protect you because I want you to OWE me – “

           “I’m not saying you are. I’m OFFERING.”

           “Oh.” So that was it. “This is free, okay? You’re already helping me cover up my anxiety stuff and – and you make me smile all the time, so there’s that. But you need to let me do this for you. Because I – “

           Could she do it, now? Tell him the absolute truth?

           “ – I have a lot of friends,” she concluded, “but none of them are quite like you. You’re my best friend.”

           That was, absolutely, the truth.

           “And I can’t – “ Here, she faltered. She was about to say those damning words, “lose you,” but then that would give him the idea that that was a real possibility, and even though it was, she didn’t want either of them to entertain it. She was silent for far too long, looking for the politically correct rephrase.

           “Hey, you don’t have to finish that.” He actually sounded jovial; his teasing tone was more honest now, and Rachel could feel that somewhere along the line, he’d stopped shaking. She froze like a deer in headlights when she felt his hand wrap around her own on the side of the glass. “I know I rag on you all the time, and you rag on me, but I really lucked out with you, didn’t I? You’re the only one who does this. Gets all protective, I mean. And I get it. I get why. An adult robot outfitted with the latest and greatest Star Command technology SHOULDN’T need to have his back watched. And probably doesn’t, all considered. I mean, I’ve run into him THIS many times and I’m still here, soooooooo…”

           “If you think you’ll be okay out there,” Rachel said, “then that’s good. You’re capable. You’re a rock star. I’m STILL going to look out for you out there, though. Whether you want me to or not.”

           She twisted her hand as much as she could to be able to grasp his in return, firmly squeezing the metal, and this was probably going far too overboard, now that she realized how she still did feel, but as much as she liked the attention and the touch, she wasn’t doing this for that, she was doing this because knowing how afraid he was put cracks in her heart –

           “Just stay with me,” she reiterated, hardly able to get the words out, voice almost inaudible.

           “Fine,” XR teased, “but only ‘cause somebody needs to watch YOUR back out there.” She was starting to avert her gaze, her face falling from the gravity of the situation, and his free hand tapped her under the chin and lifted her head back up to see that he was now smiling with confidence that wasn’t falsely plastered on to hide the depths of fear, but rather shining through the ever-present fear. “Ya sap.”

           That got her to laugh.

           Mira’s echoing call of “FIVE MINUTES ARE UP!” from the entry to the vent labyrinth spurred them both to move. Following behind XR, Rachel knew she had a lot to think about. But the foremost thing on her mind was how she was going to make sure he was safe with NOS-4-A2 on the loose – something more easily done in fantasy than reality.

           But as soon as his lights, now on full brightness, alerted her to the vertical shaft she’d nearly fallen down on her blind trip into the maze and missed out of pure luck, the foremost thing on her mind became that and processing the worst-case scenarios that hadn’t happened.

[nyacat39]

Of Sapience and Sentience Ch 2

AO3: here

FictionPress: here

Last chapter: here

Next chapter: (Coming soon)

Chapter 2:

The blackened sky was littered with stars as far as the eyes of young six year old Casey, who was decked out in some winter gear, could see. The telescope that had been set up helped her get a better view of them was set up in the back of a relatively new green pickup truck. 

“Alright, see that cluster? That’s the sagittarius constellation.” A man with auburn colored short hair that extended down to what appeared to be recently trimmed sideburns, pointed out to the child with a gloved hand. He helped her keep the well used telescope steady as they moved it for a better view of the constellation.”

“What’s it make daddy?” The young child asked, her hazel eyes wide and glowing with childish curiosity. Her father chuckled before turning his brown eyes to the stars and pointing each one.

“Well, if you start there, and follow the path like this. You get yourself a centaur archer getting ready to fire his bow.” Casey’s Father smiled, at the wide eyed look his eldest child gave him.

“The Saggitus is a horse person?!” Casey exclaimed with an excited look as she turned back to look at the stars, picturing the image of a centaur galloping across the night sky as she did. Her father laughed and ruffled her dark auburn hair.

“Yeah he is, and he’s off hunting big game!”  

The two sat in the back of the pick up truck for a while longer just watching the stars and pointing out constellations until the young girl began to yawn.

“Well, well. Looks like this little owl’s ready to return to the nest huh?” The auburn haired man laughed slightly as the little girl pouted, and shook her head.

“Nu-uh, I’m still wide awake!” Casey tried to protest, only to yawn again and begin to rub at her eyes.

“Hey it’s alright to be tired. Daddy’s getting tired to you know, and I think mommy would like us back soon as well.”

“Cuz mama will kill ya for leaving her alone with Claire all night? Right?” Claire asked, as her dad picked her up carefully in his strong arms, covered by a black winter jacket.

“Did she tell you that herself?” The father asked while opening the door to set her down into the truck, his face in mock surprise.

“Nope! I heard her tell you before we left.” Casey tiredly smiled as she settled into her seat, slowly buckling herself in as her father tossed the keys onto the drivers side seat, a strange thing he did only on these nighttime stargazing trips they had… though probably related to the one time he dropped them outside the truck and had trouble finding them for almost an hour.

“You were listening in huh?” He chuckled as she nodded, the door closing between them… a bright light hit them and the truck soon after, nearly blinding the small family. “What the?”

Years from this moment, therapists would try to convince Casey that these were headlights of a car coming in and that everything that followed was just her young mind trying to make sense of what had happened. That everything to follow was just a six year old trying to cope… But that’s not the case. 

In reality, the light came from the sky above. She couldn’t see where the light came from exactly due to the roof blocking a good chunk of her view, but her father clearly did from the surprised, yet horrified expression on his face. 

“Daddy? What-” She began to ask, hand moving to unbuckle her seat belt so she could go and attempt to get a better look at what her dad was seeing, only to be cut off by her father.

“Stay in the car Cassandra!” He shouted, scaring the young child into frozen surprise as she watched him quickly run to the drivers side of the truck. Before he could even open the door, he seemed to be raising into the air. The only reason he didn’t go flying into the air right away was from a death grip he had on the door’s handle.

The same time this was happening, Casey had felt weird. It was like… something was trying to pull her up, but the seat belt across her lap kept her firmly to the seat which seemed immobile to whatever force was attempting to pull both her and her father into it. Fear began to build up in the child’s little chest as she felt the strange force attempting to pull her up… as well as watching her own father holding onto the truck handle for dear life.

“Daddy?!” She screamed with tears beginning to roll down her face, her body trembling in complete fear as she caught the terrified look on her father’s face as he struggled to pull himself back down to the ground. 

“Cas-“ he began, probably attempting to try and comfort her, probably to reassure her that he was going to be fine… but whatever he was attempting to say was cut short as the force attempting to pull them in seemed to increase in intensity. He lost grip with one hand on the now heavily damaged door handle… and when he attempted to pull that arm back down his grip finally failed him.

For Casey, she was screaming just as much as her father had begun to as he was sent into the sky. For her the force seemed to actually pull her up in the seat, making the seat belt dig into her covered skin and cutting through some of her jacket. 

To little Casey the whole moment felt like it went on forever… but it was only about six minutes. Six agonizing minutes until she couldn’t hear her fathers screams. Six minutes of feeling the seat belt digging into her legs, and right shoulder. Six minutes… and it all ended just as suddenly as it had began. 

The light vanished, as well as the force, making the little girl drop into her seat. Her screaming however never stopped even as the event did. Her tears continued to fall in large streams down her rounded cheeks. 

She never stopped crying, and she never left the truck the whole night. The only time she did was when her little body gave out and she ended up passing out from pure exhaustion. She only woke up again when she had been found by the police the next morning.

Her father, however, was never found.

….

Casey’s eyes opened wide from both the memory, and the tears that had been rolling down her cheeks in her sleep. Raising a hand up, to both rub at her eyes, and to wipe away at least some of her tears, the teenager was almost lost to her thoughts… had a growing familiar thought like voice not dragged her out of them.

“Your momentary shut down seems to have caused some form of mental distress. This one is unsure if it is normal for humans, or is something that requires immediate attention.” 

Turning her gaze immediately to the cage across the way from her own, Casey saw the pale grey skeletal like form of Iknar staring at her. His long tail slowly curling into a semi circle shape on the ground as he sat on his haunches in a position that reminded Casey of her stepdad’s two cats.

“Just… a bad memory from when I was a kid….” 

“An event from the past that still causes distress. Immediate attention is deemed necessary if this event continues to persist for you.” Iknar seemed to shift a bit, causing him to lean forward and Casey swore she pretty much saw a determined look in those reflective black eyes of his. “While this one isn’t well versed in care of other species like that of the nurse variant, this one will try to find the solution to fix this problem.”

“That’s sweet Iknar… But really, you don’t need to.” Casey waved him off with one hand, while the other was still cleaning up her face a bit. A small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she saw his confused head tilt.

“But… this past event seems to still have some form of effect on your well being…”

“It’s just… the last memory I have of my dad. Nothing can really be done about that besides trying to move on.” Casey explained.

“... What does this memory detail?”

“Little personal there, don’t you think?” Casey chuckled lightly. “I’ve known you for, what, a day now?”

“Twenty point zero five clicks, thirty ticks and counting to be exact.”

“... Assuming I know what that means, that’s still not a lot of time. This one’s kinda personal you know. It’s like, “Hey bestest bud in the world, wanna hear a depressing story of my past” kinda personal.”

“... Assuming this one knows what that means, this one would still have to point out the flaws within that line of reasoning.” Iknar explained, seeming to ignore Casey’s shifting of discomfort.

“Touche… but still… It’s just, you know… kind of hard to tell someone you don’t know all that well.” 

“But, if this memory causes you distress, or if it affects you at a particularly crucial point in time, it will simply be a hindrance if this one has no context clues to figure out what has caused said distress.” 

“... Can we just… drop this topic for now? Please?” Casey begged, trying to hold back the fresh tears that threatened to run down her cheeks as she felt unwanted memories starting to pop up.

“.... Very well, a change in topic would perhaps be the best answer to this situation, for now.” 

Casey felt momentary relief at those words… though the words that followed next…

“Do you remember how you were captured?”

Made what little relief she had crumble into dust as she felt a momentary headache forming.

“And now I’m changing the subject again.” Casey announced, rubbing two fingers against one of her temples.

“You do not remember then.” Iknar stated in confirmation, but Casey attempted to ignore it.

“What are you exactly?”

“... This one believes that the answer had already been given. This one is an-”

“Argoka. Yeah I know, but like… are you an…. “Incubator” Argoka or a “Producer” Argoka.” Casey tried to explain, using the terms she still found mildly insulting but knew they were the terms Iknar would be most familiar with… though there was a bit of a hesitant bite in her words at using the terms. 

“... Argoka are physically incapable of being either. We rely on other species assistance in producing Argoka larvae.”

That… That was not the answer Casey was expecting to hear. Like in her head, that really wasn’t what she expected at all. He… They? Didn’t have actual, biological genders?

“Sooo… you guys… are agender or something?”

“... That is something that wouldn’t fall into the categories of Incubator or Producer correct?” A quiet nod from the human. “Then yes, Argoka are physically “agender” as you have put it.”

“.... Can I still use the “He, Him” pronouns with you? I, uh… I kinda got it stuck in my head but I can… you know try to swap over to “They, them” if you’re uncomfortable with it.” Casey stammered, feeling a little bad for just assuming and not just straight up asking right off the bat. Then again she still didn’t really know all that much about aliens in general… hell for all she knew there were MANY more genders or pronouns out there then what she knew on Earth.

There was a bit of a silence for a while then, Iknar seeming to process her words with a slow blink before finally “speaking” again once those black mirror like eyes of it’s opened back up.

“... Argoka do not use these… “Pronouns”, but if they are important to Casey, then this one will accept whatever you decide to use.” 

Well… that’s… something, I guess? Casey thought with a blink of her own. The alien just basically gave her the go ahead to use whatever pronouns for it… Honestly it was a little hard to wrap her head around, like seriously what was their reproduction cycle like? 

Actually I don’t think I want to know… that’s probably a little too personal. 

“So…I think... I’ll keep using male pronouns… if you’re okay with that I mean.”

“If that is what you wish to use.”

Why the hell do you have to be so passive on some of these things?! Casey wanted to shout, but held back. His kind didn’t have pronouns… or genders, so really this was probably just as new to him as… well a lot of things were to her now. Casey soon just sighed deeply.

“Members of the ship are about to make their way here soon.” Iknar soon spoke up, adjusting back into the exact same position… in the exact same area where he would play “shut down”. How he remembered the exact details still left Casey quietly questioning if he had a photographic memory, but she didn’t feel the need to ask… though a couple other questions seemed to come to the forefront.

“Can… they hear you when you do your little… Telepathy trick?”

“Not unless this one includes them in the mind link. Which is a high improbability given multiple pieces of evidence.”

“And you can understand what their saying right?”

“Yes?”

“Could you give me a translation of what their saying? Like if they’re speaking, could you give me the play by play?”

“Yes? May this one inquire why?” She caught his eye looking straight at her from his “shut down” position, a calculated curiosity in it’s reflective depths.

“Eh, kinda just wanna know… maybe even mess with them a little.” Casey snickered slightly at the end.

“.... Very well, this one will relay to the best of this one’s abilities. Now cease communications with this one, they are about to enter in three ticks.”  If Iknar’s face was more like a human’s, Casey swore he would have a permanent “Are you serious?” Look on it every time they spoke.

Casey just grinned a little at the personal victory,as well as the mental image, before attempting to wipe it off her face a couple seconds later when she heard the door opening up. The multiple sets of steps convinced her it wasn’t the one that had the food last time, nor the large amphibian looking one… though she could tell one of them was probably the feathered insectoid from when she first woke up.

Turns out she was right, one of the two aliens that walked in was the feathered insectoid that she had seen when she first woke up, the color of the feathers were very distinct to her with their emerald color and dull grey tips. The other was new to her, kinda making her think of a Jellyfish with the tendrils that fell around a bubble like head. It seemed to have pale blue glowing spots on it, perhaps it’s eyes, while the body underneath it made her think of a stick bug with how thin and almost frail it looked, though compared to Iknar’s corpse like thin, this thing looked much healthier and naturally thin. The two fin-like wings that made up what she assumed were it’s arms though, were very pretty to look at as they seemed to change color in the dim light.

The insectoid’s mandibles made the same clicking noises as last time as it seemed to be addressing the Jellyfish creature.

“The Hearoshin is inquiring about you… or rather how much you would be worth once the ship arrives at its destination.” Iknar translated… though Casey could tell he wasn’t translating word for word, at least he was getting straight to the point.

The Jellyfish like being made a soft, almost echoing bubbling noise as it spoke… this left Casey even more curious on how these aliens all seemed to understand one another, when she could barely even pick up a base in their languages.

“The Kaimousshun said that it depends. Since you are a female of your species you’re less likely to be picked for Gladiatorial combat, your physique cementing that fact as well.” Casey barely held back a shout at that, sure she wasn’t the most athletic, barely finishing the mile run in twenty minutes without feeling like dying, and sure she had a little chub to her but it was a healthy chub! And who the hell said girls couldn’t be warriors?!

“So it is guessing you would be sold as either a pet, or a slave. Either way, since humans are a rare export they will be getting a large sum off of you.” Iknar concluded, not really knowing about her internal rage that was festering with how “Misogynistic” some aliens seemed to be.

“Fucking Jackasses….” she muttered out loud, sending a glare right into the eyes of the insectoid... Hearoshin was it? Said alien seemed to let out another squawking laugh before turning to the Kaimou… Jellyfish creature thing and clicking something back to it.

“The Hearoshin finds you amusing, seems to be questioning if it can’t just keep you instead.” As Iknar translated, Casey just watched the insectoid get slapped upside it’s slightly feathered head by one of the tendrils from the other alien. She didn’t really pay much attention to Iknar’s telepathic translation of what the Kaimousshun was saying, she could figure it out given the context clues she already had.

However, something else came to mind… or rather an important need did.

“Hey, feather head.” She watched as the Hearoshin turned its head to her with, not a look that read as annoyed to the human, rather more as surprised. Hell she was sure even Iknar was surprised but she didn’t really care right now, she had something more important to take care of after all. “I need to take a piss.”

The two aliens glanced to each other, the sound of clicking mandibles and bubbling noises starting up in a quiet tone… and quietly driving the human crazy.

“Look, I know you assholes can understand me, and while I have no idea why you abducted me… I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want me to get sick from being in my own piss and shit, nor would you want me to burst from holding it in. Like seriously, humans have needs man… or woman… I have no clue okay, just… can I use a restroom or not?”

The two aliens seemed to converse for a bit, allowing Casey to glance over to see Iknar… remaining impressively still and not giving anything away.

“The Hearoshin is a producer of its species, while the Kaimousshun is an incubator in regards to your earlier curiosity… and the Kaimousshun seems to be for the idea of taking you out. The Hearoshin seems to be more hesitant on it…. though it appears it’s losing the argument. Do not do something foolish Casey.”

Gee, thanks for the real vote of confidence buddy. Casey thought, arms wrapped around her as she squirmed uncomfortably. Finally the jellyfish like alien stepped closer on its stick like legs, fins shifting to the front of its body slowly as one of the tendrils on its… her bulbous head reached into a pocket of some kind, and pulling out what looked like a keycard.

Momentarily confused on just where the card was going to be placed, as each cage didn’t have any obvious looking locks or key holes on or near them. The confusion cleared up as she watched the keycard get held in front of the bars that were made of light, and a perfect circle was formed on the center bar of the cage. As the keycard was placed into the center of it, Casey watched it seem to spin once and the lights vanished, leaving behind one single metal bar that held a circular shape in the center of it.

The alien then used one of her fins to motion for Casey to “Come Here”, the vibrant colors shifting in gradient with each little flick due to the light. Slowly Casey followed the instruction given to her, and once she was out the Kaimousshun pulled the keycard away from the metal bar, causing the circular surroundings to fold back into it.

“... okay, that’s kinda cool…” Casey muttered, mostly to herself as the Jellyfish headed alien started to lead her out of the area. The insectoid alien not to far behind and giving off little clicks here and there… probably something involving irritation. However none of them noticed Iknar’s eyes being wide open and watching them as they walked away very closely until they were too far away.

….

“What is the estimated time of intercepting the transport?”

“Approximately 10 hours Commander. Though it depends on if the ship decides to change trajectory and vere off into a different quadrant or not.”

“Very well. Keep a close eye on the radar and inform me if anything changes Cleagan.”

“Understood sir.”

….

The Journey to the much needed restroom was practically a blur to Casey as she was more focused on being lead to the destination she desperately needed. The trip back however was met with wide open eyes as she took in the sights of the ship she was trapped on.

At first she had a mental image of probably a decent sized ship with few crew members, a cargohole, cramped hallways and only a few essential things for long travel… this was blowing her original idea away with the large, expansive walkways, the high amounts of crew members she kept seeing, and a few windows that showed Stars, planets and Constellations she didn’t even recognize that were blurring by as they traveled. There was minimal piping visible through the halls, but the ones that were visible seemed to be connected to doors that opened, and shut automatically after scanning a symbol that seemed to be stitched onto each uniform for the crew. The walls looked less like metal and more like something she would see in the hospital her mom worked in: Walls painted a casual, easy on the eyes color with sparse disturbances aside from the doors and window panels.

The floors still looked like metal… but were less bleak compared to the flooring back in the cargo hold with the cages.

Geeze, wonder what the crew quarters look like at this rate… or the cockpit for that matter… maybe even the mess hall. Hell I kinda want a grand tour now but that’s probably pushing my privileges. Casey thought, her hazel eyes taking in all the sights she could and even sneaking a glance or two at her escort’s weapon. Somewhere during the walk to her needed destination she had been left alone with the Kaimousshun, and said alien continued to keep a close guard on her as they walked back to her cage.

The thought to steal the gun and attempt to make a break for it did cross Casey’s mind a few times… but then the logical part of her mind that vaguely sounded like Iknar… or rather her probably doing an Iknar impression by this point, would point out the flaws with that plan.

You barely know how to handle a BB gun back home without shooting yourself in the foot, why would a Space Gun be any different?

You don’t know your way around the ship, how would you find the escape pods? Let alone know how to pilot one and find your way home on the first shot?

There’s a full fucking ship here, and you’re just one person. You do the math and figure out your odds of getting away easily.

Things like that would drag whatever fantasy of escape that crossed her mind, straight into the toilets and down the drain. Not to mention she would be abandoning her new friend, who was probably in a worse situation compared to her as he had to act dead… Then again in all honesty it is hard to tell with Iknar how he feels about his situation, but regardless it’s definitely worse.

As she was brought back to where her cage was, she was quickly reminded how much duller the lighting was in here compared to the rest of the ship. 

Guess it slipped my mind… She thought to herself, quietly waiting for her eyes to adjust a bit back to being in the dimmer room. Soon she was back in her cage and the light based bars were once again blocking her exit. Casey found herself letting out a small sigh as she watched her short time escort place the key back into the… pocket? Maybe? Behind her and soon walk away, probably to do whatever else her job entitled.

“This one is impressed.” Iknar spoke up as soon as the former escort left the area, his skeletal body rolling over from his side to his stomach and turning his full attention onto the human.

“By… what? My restraint on not attempting to do something so stupid I could have died?”

“No… but this one supposes that should be added if the possibility was indeed as high as you’ve made it seem.”

“... I can’t tell if you were being serious or sarcastic with that.”

“Regardless, this one was more impressed by you using your natural needs as a way to map out directions within this ship, and add a calculated amount of obstacles for avoidance in an escape scenario.”

“Uh… Yeah... totally what I did….” Casey lied, shifting a little uncomfortably and eyes unable to look into Iknar’s own as she spoke.

“Further planning will be needed, but this is a necessary first step.” Iknar continued on, clearly not picking up her lie and almost making the human feel bad about it. Almost being a keyword as she registered exactly what Iknar was talking about pretty quickly. Her face scrunching up in confusion for a moment.

“... Wait we’re actually making an escape plan now?”

“Is… escape not what you wish?” Iknar’s head tilted to the side.

“No! I mean, yes! I mean… Yeah I want to escape but-”

“Then this is part of the first step into said plan. This one has already taken the liberty to procure something…” 

Casey’s eyes widened as she saw within one of Iknar’s clawed hands was a keycard.

“That will aid in the steps to follow.”

“Okay when and how?!” Casey exclaimed, both in surprise and excitement… with a hint of worry in a small corner of her mind.

“After you returned. As soon as the Kaimusshun was placing it back into its pouch, this one reacted as quickly as this one could to procure it without being noticed. The opportunity to procure another one of these may not present itself as nicely or easily next time.”

“Okay, but how? I’m pretty sure your arms would have been noticeable… and aren’t that long.” Casey pointed out, staring at the lanky appendages of her friend, and also paying attention to the bladed parts of the forearms. Those would have to be angled to not get damaged after all and… 

Casey’s line of thought was cut off when her eye caught the swishing of Iknar’s tail, and realization hit her like a bag of bricks. After all it was pretty much as long as his body, it was also thin enough and the blade on the end was retractable after all.

“Oh right… I forgot about that for a minute.” Casey admitted, an impressed look settling onto her naturally tanned face.

“While this one doesn’t understand how you forgot a simple fact, this one is more focused on two things. The first being the need to formulate a plan of escape.”

“And the second?”

“If this has somehow gotten this one to the level of “Hey bestest bud in the world” to better understand the memory that was troubling you earlier.” Iknar stated, looking as serious as ever while Casey blinked in confusion for a moment before she remembered what happened when she woke up.

“... You’re still on that? I honestly nearly forgot…” Casey muttered, whatever joy she had gotten slowly falling back down the drain as she remembered exactly what her new friend was asking her about.

“So you still will not tell this one? Should the topic be changed once again? Perhaps back to the topic of escape.”

“... Well we still have some time to make plans before we reach… wherever it is we’re going… and my therapist would say talking about it can help…” Casey muttered thinking things through and glancing back over to Iknar, who shifted into a sitting position once again and was patiently waiting for her decision.

“Alright… Alright I’ll tell you. Not the whole thing! But you know, what I feel comfortable with.”

“Whatever you decide would be for the best.”

And with that it was a bit like a damn slowly cracking open as Casey told Iknar about her youth. Not once did he interrupt her when she spoke about her dad… and his abduction ten years ago. Started off small and on topic, but the more she talked, the more things began to spill… and still Iknar sat there listening to everything she was saying. 

She went from talking about her father’s disappearance from when she was younger… to the years of therapy trying to tell her that she had mentally replaced what “really” happened to her father as a way to cope, to how her life on earth went until she was abducted… which she still couldn’t remember in general. Honestly all of this started spiraling like this when she decided to give some context to the stories whenever Iknar would seem confused about something.

“... I… I still have no idea… I don’t… I don’t know what I said to mom… to Claire… to Frank before I… What was I even doing before it happened?” Casey asked, sometime during her explanation turned rant, tears began to fall down her face.

“... This is a normal result of the capture system on ships like the one we are on.” Iknar finally spoke, after what was probably an hour or two of Casey’s rant. The teenager sniffled and looked up at the Argoka, still sitting as he had from the beginning and looking like he hadn’t moved an inch.

“W…. what?”

“Scrambled memories and messed up brain waves. Common side effects if one is the subject of said capture system. Most species temporarily suffer from memory loss, while others will be disoriented to the point of having delayed reactions or thoughts. There are few species that will suffer both, but those aren’t as common.” The pale grey alien explained, tail swishing slowly behind him as if he was content. Casey blinked in surprise, one of her hands reaching up and cleaning up her face a little bit.

“Wait… so the reason I can’t remember ... and why… wow that… that actually explains a lot right now.” The human hummed a little at the end as it made more sense now.

Why she couldn’t remember what happened, why she didn’t straight up register the fact she was surrounded by aliens…. why she was only now having a major breakdown instead of after realizing she was in space, god knows how far away from home she was. 

“... You know I thought these guys were assholes before… they just graduated to fuckwads in my books because of this.” Casey admitted as she continued to clean up her face with her sweatshirts sleeve. Emotionally she wasn’t one hundred percent sure if she was okay, but damn did she feel better after crying for a bit.

“This one has no idea what those terms mean… but given the context, this one assumes they are given to beings that have caused harm to one’s being.”

“Close enough.” Casey shrugged.

“Then these… fuckwads, will need to be dealt with accordingly in due time.”

Casey had no idea what to think in that moment. On one hand she really wanted to laugh because this was the first time she heard him swear… but she was also curious by what “dealt with accordingly” meant… and also the feeling of not really wanting to find out in the end. Though she still found herself chuckling a little.

“Leave the swearing to me in the future buddy.” Casey snickered, not really caring that the Argoka had tilted his head once again. 

“... This one doesn’t understand the context of this “swearing” that you’ve mentioned…” Iknar’s comment just made her laugh a little more, actually getting a bit of the alien’s eyes to narrow in concern, the process and make him look more confused than ever. “Did… this one do something wrong?”

He may be smart in a lot of shit compared to me, but he’s also kinda an idiot as well in other areas.  Casey thought as she tried to calm herself down from her laughing fit. 

“Nah, you did nothing wrong! Trust me, you probably just made my day.” 

Iknar blinked for a moment, not completely understanding what he did… but registering that it was something good at least. Soon after though, Iknar’s head turned to quickly in one direction that Casey swore it could have snapped.

“Something’s coming…”

“One of the guards again?” Casey hesitantly asked, honestly getting a little scared from Iknar’s reaction.

“No… Another ship… and it’s rapidly approaching.” Iknar responded, shifting quickly from his sitting position into a quadrupedal stance, his bladed tail twitching with agitation as he focused his whole attention in the single direction.

“Huh? Wait, how the hell can you tell?” Casey questioned, her mind going off in two separate directions on just how he could tell. One leading to the “mind scan” thing he told her about when they first met… the other being simply “Alien Bullshit” and leaving it at that.

“Argoka’s sense of hearing is one of the greatest strengths of the hive.” Iknar explained, tone still completely even while his stance was tense, ready to strike, or flee at a moment’s notice if need be. Honestly, if his spiny back was arched, Casey was sure the alien would look more like one of her step-father’s cats with how he held himself.

“Can… You tell what kind of ship it is? Good? Bad?”

“No… useful information such as that is unable to be picked up yet…” As soon as he finished his sentence alarms began to blare on the ship, the already dull lighting gaining a red hue to the loud, almost fog horn like noise. Casey had to cover her ears with a hiss, while Iknar’s head twitched for a second, before straightening out with his reflective eyes narrowing deeply in concentration. “... They’re going to ram the ship.”

“So, Good I guess?!” Casey shouted, hands still over her ears to block out the noise. A sense of guilt and pity building in her heart as she watched Iknar’s body twitch slightly each time the alarms raised in volume, or perhaps from it being mixed with the frantic cries and roars of the various creatures around them.

“How long can a human hold their breath?”

“Uh… last I counted for myself… about a minute thirty two seconds…” Casey really didn’t like where this was going now that she really thought about it.

“.... Plans for escape have just hit the highest levels, planning will have to be made on the go.” Iknar explained, reaching one of his clawed hands out carefully with the keycard in hand, and began unlocking his cell. “When the doors are about to open, hold your breath. This one will alert you when something is about to come in.”

What Casey wouldn’t give to have those delayed reactions again… at least then she wouldn’t be feeling her heart pounding like it was trying to break out of her chest as a rush of anxiety and fear for what was coming fell over her whole body.

“Now.”

[prceteritus-a]

@hopegained asked:  ship: THEM bc i am Curious and i wanna bother u

Ship Meme || Not accepting!!

Under read more due to size!

- How do they fall asleep? Wake up? Any daily rituals? Most times they end up falling asleep with each other and waking up with Rayquelle in Eron’s hold due to the nightmares she has she seeks the comfort and warmth! DAILY RITUALS UH YEAH they try to go out at least once a day and have a ‘date’ and stargaze. It’s a way for them to relax, be in each others presence but not have to worry about others.

- How’s their team work? Do they share well? Ray is a very independent woman but since joining the resistance she has had to partake inmore team activities. Eron understands her Hesitance and works with it or around it so they can get their task done without making her uncomfortable. 

- Are they open about their relationship? How do they feel about public displays of affection? Ok so this is a big thing. In the beginning stages of their relationship no one knows hell not even they really do. Eron needs alot of trust because of the walls around him and the second layer around his heart and Ray respects that. He tore hers down before she go into his so thats something she has to accept. They don’t really come out about their relationship I think ever it just kind of becomes natural and people start to see the looks in their eyes when they look at each other. Public display of affection follows the same rules and I actually think Eron is the first to break that (I answered an ask like this) Where he would have to make the conscious decision to partake in PDA.

- First impression of each other? Was it love at first sight? NO IT WAS NOT! So when they first met they payed no mind to each other however, they don’t really count it because it wasn’t anything big it was her introduction to the resistance when she was found. The real start for them was when he found her stargazing in a spot he thought no one knew about. Eron was probably unfazed at her but Ray was curious. He looked scary, not gonna lie maybe mean? But biggest of all. he looked almost... like he’d seen so much and it hurt him and she wanted to alleviate that because she too had that for herself.

- Nicknames? Pet names? Any in-jokes? Ray for Eron: Love,Babe, Baby, Eldin, Honey, Dear, and her favorite My Stars Eron for Ray: Love, Babe, Baby,  (I’m sure more but YOU WONT GIVE ME MORE ALKDJ:LK)

- Any tasks that are always left to one person? Cooking is Ray’s thing she will fight for that!

- What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could? N O T H I N G! Both Ray and Eron treasure the other faults and all the only changes they want are to themselves. ( Ray also hates sometimes how he’s so tall she has to ask him to bend down for kisses sometimes)

- What do the like best about their partner? WOW uhm Ray loves everything but his heart is the best. He has been through so much seen so much yet still trusts her like he does and loves her like he does and that warms her to the core of her being. She wouldn’t trade it for the world.Now for Eron I don’t know if it’s what he likes best but i feel like it’s along the lines of a similar thing. She’s been a child of abuse and was flat out kidnapped yet still gives him so much even on her worst days. She always shows him hes loved and cared for and makes it known she treasures him above all else.

- Do they discuss big issues? Religion? Marriage? Children? Death? Yes they do. They’ve discussed marriage and children especially. They both would like them and also don’t want them.

- Who drives? Cooks? Does the handiwork? Cleans? Pays the bills? Handles the public? Drives; either Cooks; Ray Handiwork; either but usually Eron Clean; Both Pays the bills; Both handles the public; either

- Do they celebrate holidays? Anniversaries? RAY IS A FIRM BELIEVER IN HOLIDAYS YOU BET YOUR ASS ERON GETS SPOILED ON BIRTHDAYS WITH BOTH SEX AND FOOD AND PRESENS AND ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY OMG SHE GOES MAD WITH IT. She believes everyday you should celebrate your partner on days like those shes got the right to be everywhere with it

- Is there a wedding? What was the proposal like? Any kind of honeymoon? S o weddings. Ray wants to marry Eron thats a fact. Will the get married? Thats a hard question because i feel like in the canon verse they never feel really a NEED too. They dont need a ring to tell them that they love each other. But in any AU with them as a ship or in a verse where they do get married. They don’’t want anything big only those important to them  their marriage is for them not their friends and family. Its about them giving themselves to each other. The proposal would be cute and heartfelt and could be as simple as Eron kissing her neck and just “I want to marry you...” or her after a night of him grounding her form a nightmare she just “I want you and me forever... let’s get married Eron”  The honeymoon? They dont need fancy yet again just each other. Take it as an excuse to give it all into each other with no interruptions

- What do they do for fun? Do they have a favorite activity or do they like to switch things up? THey both stargaze, Love shooting blaster, she loves just domestic cuddling , and they always when able eat together

- Anything they both dread? Becoming those they hate and losing those they love honestly those are the biggest. Ray’s TRUEST fear is Embrent will return and kill eron and force her back under his thumb

- How adventurous are they? Eron more so than Rayquelle haha I could see him guiding her around her hand in his as they explore things though

- Do they keep secrets? Lie? Cheat? Rayquelles poker face is absolute shit. 

- What would make them break up? Would it be permanent? UHM HONESTLY THE FEARS BECOMING TOO MUCH AND EVEN THEN THEY’RE BOTH LOYAL AF SO IDK IFIT WOULD RESULT IN A BREAK UP

- What are their dates like? How long do/did they date? Do they ever feel the need to take a break from each other? The dates they have are usually very mellow and no stress consisting of mainly stargazing or holovids and cuddling.

- What do they fight about? What are their arguments like? How do they make up? Arguments are almost none existent minor little battles of wit do happen but for the most part full arguments don’t! BUT on the occasion they do they get alittle emotional. Make up consists of lots of just quality time. maybe some sex who knows.

- What does their home look like? Their room? Their home thanks to Ray is clean and tidy with a set spot for everything! The same applies for their room.Their things are in no set sides of room for the most part its where ever it works

- Do they share any interests or hobbies? GUNS, KNIVES, STARGAZING, BEING PARENTS TO JAEDEN AND EVELLYN HAHA

- Does their work ever interfere with the relationship? Not in a serious method. It does spark some fear in both parties and there are nights where they get genuinely upset the other isn't there and have a horrible time sleeping. Unable to get a lick.

- How do they hug? Kiss? Tease? Flirt? Comfort? listen they just soft bbs

- Any doubts about the relationship? Both have doubts because of their history but never about each other. The doubts stem of “They will leave me like everyone else” in Eron’s head and Ray is scared she will lose him like she lost her parents. The minute comfort finds her Embrent returns and kills Eron in front of her. But in Eron himself? She knows he loves her undoubtedly and that he will always. Now she can only hope he knows she feels the same. 

- How much time do they spend together? Do they share their feelings, or hold things in?

- How do their friends feel about their relationship? Their families? Leia and Luke I imagine love that they’re so good for each other. Family on Ray’s front wel uhm.... like i said leia approves haha. Everyone in the base loves it because it softened Eron and brought Ray out more and shes more sociable.

- Do they have kids? Grow old together? Split up? Well N love we both are kill happy for them in TROS SOOOOOO but i do want to write them being parents be it au or whatever UPDATE THEY HAVE A SON AND A DAUGHTER JAEDEN AND EVELLYN

- What are their vacations like? Together literally thats the thing. A vacation for them could be their bedroom. As long as they’re together

- How do the handle disasters or emergencies? Minor injuries? Sickness? RAY INSTANT PANIC ON EMERGENCIES! They are both nurses when the other is sick haha

- Could they manage a long distance relationship? IT WOULD WRECK THEM they probs could but like alot of them is physical interaction and with her nightmares it would wreck eron watching that with nothing he could do to help. Ray loves to hug and cuddle him to tell him she LOVES him and not doing that and watching him have a rough patch? nope wrecked

- Do they finish each other’s sentences? Pick up any phrases or habits from each other? Know when the other is hiding something? They know when the other is hiding something eron especially but ray has gotten good at noticing for him. Another thing is with finishing sentences. Eron could probably but he doesnt engage in it much but shell do it whenever she can!

- Do they ever get into trouble? Is it serious, or are they just mischievous? They dont get into trouble really

- What kind of presents do they get each other? Do they only do it on special occasions? Ray gives presents when she feel like it tbh. They range from hobby based to food and anything in between. If she thinks of eron when she sees it its gift material.

- Do they have any pets? Eron best get his woman her own BB unit

- Do they bring out the best in each other, or the worst? Do they have a fatal flaw? he brings out in ray allowing her to open up and she the best in him because they are actually

- What’s their greatest strength as a couple? Their weakness? The weakness is how much they self doubt themselves. they rely so heavily on each other that it may be SEVERELY detrimental if one dies

- How much would they be willing to sacrifice for the other? Any lines they refuse to cross? they would kill and die for another

- What are they like in the bedroom? Any kinks/fetishes/turn-ons? Anything they won’t do? They both have a think for oral so there’s a fair bit of it haha. Ray has an immense thing for praise in the bedroom so often when they have sex its very personal and intimate full of declarations of love and eron calling her a good girl ;) they can get kinky but like thats a whole other think im sure

- Who initiated the relationship? Who kissed who first?  When did they realize they were in love? Uhm ray accidently confessed so she started it, Eron probably kissed her first one of the they just stared at lips until someone took that plunge

- Any special memories? Do they have a special place they like to go to? Ray wants to take him to what she was told was her home so she can find out more about her childhood. Other than that none that i can think of in terms of places. OH! Their stargazing spot!!! Special memories though their first time kissing, with each other intimately, ALSO A memory eron will never forget is walking in on his lady cooing to their daughter promissing her so much in life.

- Are they party-goers? What are they like when they’re drunk? Does it happen often? They aren’t big party goers but they still enjoy a good drink with friends. Ray is HYPERSEXUAL when drunk and kind of a hyperactive person

- Do they let each other get away with things that would normally bother them? HAHAHAHnope they will not hesitate to call shit out

- Do they talk often? yes!

- Are the comfortable with each other? Anything they have to have their privacy for? They trust each other with their life and most things are open but there may be nights where they need the privacy on emotions and just need to be in their mind for a bit. the other always respects it.

- Any special dreams or goals they have as a couple? Any heartbreaks? Regrets? heartbreaks and regrets are still up in the air with them they still have time to grow but dreams? well ray wants to have a family. which they later get.