#Frankie might look like the Re-Animator bed

[okiidokii]

I thought Gore-gornaizer was a one-off Draculaura doll (I think so did the rest of the Fandom), but with the revelation of Cleo, I wonder if and how the rest of the main cast in Goregonaizers will look

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Re-Watch 7x11: Hostiles and Calamities

Next up is my rewatch of 7x11, which is mostly Eugene at the Sanctuary.

So, we start with the Saviors arriving with Eugene at the Sanctuary (this picks up after Negan decided to take him Alexandria in 7x08, because Eugene admitted he’d made the bullet Rosita tried to assassinate Negan with.)

Actually, we first see Dwight and some other Saviors find Joey who Daryl killed when he escaped in 7x08. Joey’s sandwich is smashed on the ground beside him and you can prominently see the smashed tomato, which is symbolic. 

There’s also a puddle of blood and of course they’re next to all the motorcycles. The setup reminded me a lot of the bike and puddle of blood we saw in 6x02 when the Wolves attacked Alexandria.

Then Laura shows Eugene around. This is where he gets the jar of pickles. She has an interesting line that you’ll like, Frangi. She says, “beer, break, cut your head.”

He goes out to talk to Negan and Negan asks for a solution for how to keep walkers from eventually falling to pieces on the fence and Eugene gives him the idea of melting down scrap metal and pouring it over them, especially over their heads so no one can stab them and put them down. I’m still not sure what to make of this theme, but it’s repeated many times around Eugene, so I’m sure it’s important.

Okay, onto the good stuff. Negan says something like, “what do you say to me for doing you this favor?” (paraphrasing) and Eugene says thank you. Then he says, “Seriously, thank you.” So there’s Sirius reference #1.

As a reward, Negan sends three of his wives (Frankie, Tanya and Amber) to hang out with him. This is where we get tons more Sirius mentions. I counted three. Two on their own, those close together in the dialogue. The third time he said, “Serious as sepsis.” Which really mirrors the one you always bring up, Frangi, that he said while playing cards on the way to Alexandria. I believe one of the ladies asked him, “Serious?” Or “Seriously?” And that was his answer. He was talking at the time about how he could use household cleaners they had lying around to make a bomb.

Then he goes out to demonstrate his “bomb” for the three women. Remember that he’s humming the 1812 Overture. I remember everyone discussing this in detail when this episode first aired. Honestly, we had no way to really appreciate what this might mean. Now I can see that it was clearly a foreshadow. So I reviewed some info on the 1812. It was composed by Tchaikovsky to commemorate the successful Russian defense against Napoleon’s INVADING army.

So here’s what I’m thinking. This is probably a foreshadow of where we are now in the show. It either foreshadows TF fighting against the helicopter group or possibly against the invading walker situation at the hospital. (The Sirius references come because Beth’s return will happen somewhere in there.)

So, remember how in 10x15, Luke was making something? I totally didn’t get what that was at first. I saw someone, somewhere online say, “obviously he’s making a bomb of some kind.” And I was like, “…oh. I totally didn’t get that. I thought he was trying to put together a power source for the hospital.” Lol. But given that he had Carol and Kelly go find him wiring from a car, it makes sense that he’s constructing a fuse of some kind.

So I’m wondering if this sequence with Eugene foreshadows Luke’s bomb which will ‘successfully defend’ them from the invading army of walkers. The only weird thing is that Eugene isn’t actually present at the hospital. BUT. It did cross my mind that Eugene doesn’t represent himself directly in the analogy in S7. Maybe he represents Beth. She’ll somehow bring the final component they need to make the bomb and help lead the walkers away.

Or something. Damn TWD’s vague possibilities of interpretation!

Moving on.

Next we see Dwight go search in the cabin for Sherry. I don’t think I need to say much about that. Tons of symbolism, but we all already know what it is. 

The three rings laying in his hand symbolize the helicopter group in some way, which probably means the people in FTWD will run into them at some point. (I know Al already has, but Dwight hasn’t, technically.) 

The camera focuses on a particular cigarette Dwight pulls out. It has a red ring of something near the top. I think it’s meant to be lipstick. It’s Sherry’s cigarette and he kept it. But the paper of the cigarette itself has a green ring around the bottom. Resurrection themes (because he’ll find Sherry again, which we already know he will in this season of Fear) but also reminded me of a can y@wdway found while re-watching Still, recently. I’ll post her findings either later this week or early next week.

Then Tanya and Frankie come to ask him to make a suicide pill. At first he says no and we get another “are you serious” reference. That’s 5 in a single episode around Eugene.

But he reconsiders and asserts himself as being important and takes all the cold medicine, bed pan, stuffed animal sloth, etc from the one Savior lady. He calls her #16. Don’t know if that’s important, but I’m hoping it points to Beth’s return in a season finale.

So I looked up sloth symbolism and not tons jumped out at me. They spend a lot of time in trees and such, and have some things in common with owls, so some possible symbols. But one thing did catch my attention. They say a sloth only consumes what it needs to survive and is very measured about what it takes in and its waste. 

I know it’s weird because we’re talking about sloth bowel movements, but the way it was phrased in the article I read made me think of Beth’s line to Dawn when Dawn was trying to convince her to eat. She said, “I don’t need much.” I just wonder if the all the bed pan symbolism might play into this in some way. We’ve always associated it with Grady, and therefore Beth, but this could be another aspect of it. And Eugene did take a bedpan with him at this part. Just some food (hehe) for thought.

Um…at one point, Negan calls Daryl a puppy. And I’m not sure if that’s meant to be a Sirius reference, or maybe a way of showing symbolically that Negan truly doesn’t understand Daryl’s nature. (Because he’s a cat, not a dog.)

Negan knocks on Eugene’s door to the rhythm of a Shave and a Haircut. This, combined with Laura calling him Haircut at the beginning draws a lot of attention to his hair. I can’t help but wonder if that’s a Sampson thing. A way to name him Sampson or a pre-Sampson, if you will.

(I should have posted this yesterday. It applies more to 7x10, but I didn’t see it.)

@wdway​:

I enjoyed your review, @twdmusicboxmystery. A couple of things popped into my head like when you were talking about Rick getting Michonne another cat my mind went to she had a child that she lost and he will give her another child. Something we could not have foreseen back then.

About the Smokey and the Bandit tractor trailer can't remember all the discussions which we've had on this subject but the funny thing is that David, Aaron and I were had this strange discussion about Coors Beer last night and I made the comment that in Smokey and the Bandit that's what they were hauling, they were bringing Coors to whatever state, I want to say it was Georgia but not totally sure about that. So this tractor trailer is actually a beer/cold reference. I also feel since it was disconnected from a trunk that means this particular symbol was frozen/ not moving at that time, as the symbol of Sirius it is not on the move, would not appear, get to its destination anytime soon.

@frangipanilove​ 

I did a post that deals with the Smokey and the bandit trailer in august last year, here’s the link if anyone’s interested: https://frangipanilove.tumblr.com/post/187351457970/blue-clues-shanes-22-necklace-truckers A lot of this post deals with other elements from 7x10 as well.

[something-tofightfor]

Restart - Prompt Request

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader, mention of Billy Russo x Dinah Madani

Word count: 5000 (whoops.)

Rating: M (Language, a little bit of zest at the end)

Author’s note: For the wonderful @drinix, who came up with four GREAT prompt choices... and an additional request that I can’t spoil just yet. 

First: This is an AU. Billy’s still scarred due to the fight with Frank, but instead of Frank only coming back because Madani called him, Frank came back when he found out that Billy was still alive but didn’t remember anything… and helped him fill in the pieces, because he realized that by giving him the TBI, he got his revenge, and Billy paid for what he allowed to happen with the Castle family.  

This takes place roughly two years post events of S1; Frank and Billy have been working with Curtis for roughly 8 months to re-establish Anvil based upon Curtis’ standing within the community, Frank’s expertise and will to fight… and Billy’s offshore money, which he was able to get to through a few employees that remained loyal to him… this is also how he was able to pay for a lawyer to help him avoid jail time BECAUSE…. 

Madani is still trying to make his life a living hell, but instead of running scared from her, Frank, Curtis, Billy and You are doing whatever is necessary to clear his name and help him reestablish himself. Frank and Billy are still very tense with each other, but the beginnings of a friendship are there - and their working relationship is great. 

Author’s note II: This one might just become a short series. We’ll see. 

Summary: Billy may be back in your life, but there are a lot of things standing in the way of you leading the happy, stress free life that you want to have with him.

36: “I’m so in love with you. ”

65: “Did you do something different with your hair? ”

152: “Stop texting me weird stuff so late at night. ”

182: “I’ve wanted this for so long. ”

She’s waiting outside our place for the third time this week. He isn’t even here. “For the last time, I’m not interested in talking to you. He’s paid the price for what he did as far as I’m concerned, so I have nothing to say to you about… before.” You crossed your arms over your chest, flexing the fingers of your left hand as you did so, and you knew that the engagement ring on your finger had caught the light - and her attention. “Special Agent Madani, I’m sorry that you feel as if Billy hasn’t paid for what he did, but the documentation came out, you had your day in court. Rawlins, Wolf and Bennett were the ones behind everything. Even Frank testified that they thought what they were doing overseas was legal. They used him because they knew they could, and he was doing what he thought was necessary to survive. He’s paid restitution, he spent a year under lock and key in a hospital. Billy did some bad shit, but he was just caught in the crossfire.” You raised an eyebrow, knowing that your choice of words would get to her, but you didn’t care. It had been months of the woman’s badgering and you were sick of it.

“He shot me in the head, and you have the nerve to defend what he did by saying that he’s not responsible for his own behavior?” The woman was glaring at you, one hand on her hip, the other pushing back her hair to expose the scar on her forehead. “He used me and then tried to kill me, and you’re walking around with him and with that ring on your hand like he’s a catch, like none of it -”

“You thought he was a catch too, Agent Madani, when you were fucking him at every opportunity… or, wait? Weren’t you just doing it for information?” You stepped closer to her, hands at your sides. Keep calm, she’s a Federal Agent. “You’re pretty upset for someone that didn’t really care about him, aren’t you? Those long nights and mornings waiting at his bedside just so you were the first and last things he saw each day? Where’d that get you, Agent Madani? He doesn’t remember you. No amount of badgering me - or him, or Frank is going to change that. Can’t you just let him be?”

She was pissed, you saw the coldness flash in her eyes, the set of her jaw. “He’ll turn on you, too. He’s like a cornered animal when he’s scared, and I’m going to make him more scared than you could ever imagine. He doesn’t deserve happiness after what he did to me or to those people.” You threw your head back and laughed, shaking your head. “This is funny to you?”

“Billy is so much more than he ever let you see. You saw him at his worst, Agent Madani. You saw the broken parts of him, the hopeless ones. You saw a Billy Russo that had given up on ever being truly happy, and was just trying to survive.” She smirked.

“If he doesn’t remember me, how do you know that? How do you know what he was like with me?” Without missing a beat, you threw your hands into the air, shaking your head.

“I know it because even though I wasn’t with him at the time, I was still around after he came back from Kandahar. I saw him with women - even the ones that weren’t like you, the ones that actually liked him and weren’t trying to use him. He never let them in, he never gave them anything more than his body.” Dinah was sneering, her eyes glittering.

“What makes you so special? How can you love a monster like him? At least his appearance matches his heart now, not that he has one… but he’s sure got scars.” How dare you. “He gonna pay someone to edit out the scars in your engagement photos? What about the wedding ones? Billy Russo looking anything less than perfect is a big no-no, hmm?” Fuck you, Madani.

You turned away from her, using your key to unlock the front door of the Brownstone that you’d moved into a few months prior - just before the end of the trial - before turning to look over your shoulder at her. “You assume that I - we - think that the scars make him look less than perfect, Dinah.” You licked your lips, shaking your head. “He’s a soldier. He could have gotten worse overseas.” A thought entered your head and you turned to face her, holding the door open and leaning against the frame. “That’s just it, isn’t it? His scars - like yours - are a constant reminder of what happened… but you have all of your memories, you see them every time you look in a mirror.” You shook your head. “Billy’s scars aren’t just a reminder of what happened, they remind him of what he lost and what he did, even if he didn’t remember details.” Raising an eyebrow, you cut her off before she could speak again, quiet rage in your voice. “He deals with that every day, too. Every single time he looks in the mirror, or someone recognizes him on the street. But if you think for one minute that I would ever let someone like you tell him that they make him imperfect? That he isn’t a good man? You’re dead wrong.” Stepping inside of your home, you left Dinah Madani - SAC of the New York Homeland Security field office standing on the sidewalk with her mouth hanging open.

---

Two hours later, you were fresh out of a shower, hair pulled away from your face as you sat in bed with your laptop. Billy was gone - on the other side of the country opening the second facility - Anvil II - and he and Frank had been gone for nearly two months. It was the longest he’d been away from you since he’d been sequestered for the trial, but you reminded yourself every morning that it was worth it. Billy had been through a great deal - and eight months ago you never would have even guessed that Frank would have agreed to travel with him alone, so you were more than willing to miss him if it meant that he was working closer to having his best friend back.

He’d sent you updates of the facility’s opening - pictures of the space, pictures of the two of them in training gear from head to toe, pictures of the Bay Area, somewhere he’d promised profusely to take you to after things smoothed out and you were more settled. Unlike the empty promises Billy had made to you in the months leading up to The Incident, as you both called it, you trusted him. Billy had truly changed, and it seemed that 13 months in the hospital and the following trial had given him the motivation to become a better version of himself than he had even been before anything had happened in Kandahar. Tapping through your documents, you began working on the press release for Anvil II, making final edits before you sent it over to the West Coast office.

Even before Billy had proposed, he’d brought you on board to work as his marketing specialist, much to the delight of Frank’s wife Karen. Though the blonde hadn’t wanted the job, preferring to stick with her newspaper career, Frank had hesitated, but Billy had been firm. Anvil was coming back, and since you’d been around for the inception of the company in the first place, he’d wanted you back on board for the second round. Sighing, you closed your laptop and slid it onto the nightstand, picking up your phone. There was a message from Billy, and you opened it eagerly. Wonder what he’s up to. It was a picture of a crab holding a knife captioned ‘think he’s got anything on me?’ You laughed, shaking your head and dialing the phone. I want to hear his voice.

He answered on the second ring, voice soft as he greeted you. “Stop texting me weird stuff so late at night, Russo.” He laughed and you continued. “What made you think I was even still awake? It’s after midnight?”

“You just sent that email in, and I opened it. Figured you could use the distraction.” He’s still at the office? It’s after 9. “Working late tonight, even Frankie’s gone already. Karen surprised him yesterday and showed up.” Oh. So … I didn’t know that was an option. “I miss you.” His admission caught you by surprise, and even though Billy was much more open with his feelings and emotions than he had ever been before because he understood now that every moment was important, it was still a shock when he said things like that.

“I miss you too, Billy.” Your voice was quiet. “I wish you were here.” Way to sound needy. He sighed into the phone and you knew that he was leaning back in his chair, one hand running through his close cropped hair.

“We open in a few days, and then I’ll be home. No more than 10 days left out here. And after this, it’s just back to normal, you know? I think Frankie might be thinking about getting out of New York. Karen too… he could work out of this office, and that way I wouldn’t be a constant reminder.” Billy sounded sad. “It’s gotten better, but it’s still not going to be the same, it never will be. I fucked up with him, I know it, and I can’t make it better.” Oh, Billy. Your heart ached, knowing that despite his best efforts and Frank’s willingness to work with him - to help him - that he was right and things wouldn’t ever go back to being completely normal. “He says it’s fine, and that we’re going to move past it, but I feel like he’s always going to hold it against me, and I get it, but…”

“Hey. This is going to take time, Billy. It’s not going to be easy, but you’re both committed to this. Anvil’s going to be… it’s therapy for you guys. And it’s necessary. He stuck up for you when he didn’t have any reason to, Billy. He came back here for you. I think you’re overthinking it. Talk to him.” He agreed with you, and you spoke for a few more minutes before you yawned. “I should get to sleep, Billy. It’s almost 1, and I’m exhausted, Madani was here again tonight when I got home, and -”

“What did she want?” His voice was hard and it woke you up. “How many times am I going to have to tell her to leave you alone? You have nothing to do with her, with the two of us.” You paused, eyes widening. “You can’t answer her questions, so why is she so …”

“You remember.” It wasn’t a question and you heard him sigh before he agreed.

“I do. Some of it - a lot of it. It… I remember knowing she was using me. I remember not caring because I was using her, too. I remember not wanting to hurt her. I remember… how it felt to be with her.” I knew he would someday, but… “She was a means to an end, but I didn’t hate her.” There was a long silence and you weren’t quite sure how to respond when Billy continued, his voice strong and authoritative. “I’m so in love with you, it scares me. I probably shouldn’t be saying that right after I talk about Dinah, but it’s the truth. I never felt that way about her, not even close, and I wanted… no, need you to know that.” He paused, and you pictured him licking his lips, nose wrinkling. “It doesn’t matter what I remember about her, or what I don’t. I remember you, and I love you, and that’s all that I need to know.” It’s like he knows what I’m thinking. You’d never admit it to Billy, but your biggest fear was that he’d regain all of his memories and decide that you didn’t fit in with his idea of who he was or what he wanted. No matter how many times he told you that he knew enough to know he wanted to marry you, that he remembered why he’d left you in the first place, that he understood even while it was happening that he’d made a mistake, you still worried, still didn’t want to think about losing him for the second time. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Yeah, Billy, me too. Eight weeks is -”

“Entirely too long?” You laughed, agreeing with him. “That’s OK, I’ll make it up to you.” He lowered his voice, rasping into the phone. “Soon as I get home, I’m gonna take care of you - and that’s a promise.” You hung up, biting your lip. I think I knew he remembered more than he said he did. Sitting on the bed, legs drawn up to your chest, you put your forehead down onto your knees, sighing. He doesn’t want her, I know that, but… he did at one point, even a little.

It wasn’t that Billy had slept with someone else - you knew that there had been many in the time between you breaking up and the night on the carousel - but it was the fact that Madani was still around, still a reminder of what he’d done that was getting to you. No, it’s not even that. You got up, moving into the bathroom to brush your teeth before changing into one of Billy’s shirts and climbing into bed. Seeing her is a reminder that you lost him once, and she’s not going to let you forget it. Despite your thoughts, you fell asleep quickly and your dreams were of Billy - just Billy.

---

Anvil II opened with fanfare two days later, the local news picking up the story and running it, complete with video of Billy and Frank leading training exercises - but it was Frank that spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony, Billy standing behind him with an Anvil ball cap pulled down low over his eyes, the shadows partially hiding some of the scars. His beard’s back, too. It looks like it did before… You couldn’t help but smile as you watched the clip, Frank turning back to smile at Billy, the look on his face genuine. See? It’s gonna be fine, Billy. You’d watched from your office in the New York training facility, Curtis by your side and had immediately begun fielding calls from other cities, emails from people that wanted training or to discuss contracts.

Gotta leave that for now, that’s all Billy. You printed out multiple proposals, helped Billy’s secretary organize potential client lists, and come up with a new marketing campaign over the course of the remainder of the week and were exhausted by the time you headed home that Friday, already contemplating going to sleep as you sat in the backseat of your Uber. It pulled up to the sidewalk and you got out, instinctively turning your head and looking for Madani, who had showed up again on Wednesday, but she wasn’t there and you sighed in relief. Will it ever stop?

Unlocking the door, you were met with the sound of music and the smell of garlic. You immediately dropped your purse and keys on the floor, sprinting for the kitchen. He’s back? Indeed he was, and your jaw dropped as you saw Billy standing in front of the stove, stirring a pot with a wooden spoon and humming under his breath. “Hey you.” He spoke without turning around, and you stopped moving, gripping the edge of the kitchen island, staring at him.

He was dressed casually - a dark gray thermal and dark jeans, and you couldn’t help it as your eyes moved up his body. “Hey yourself, Billy.” You managed to get a few words out as your eyes made it to his shoulders, but then you gasped as you saw the back of his head. Holy shit. Billy finally turned to you, setting his spoon down on the counter top and crossing his arms as he leaned back against the edge of the granite. He cocked his head to the side, tongue poking out and into the corner of his mouth as he held back a smile.

“What?” He raised an eyebrow. “What are you lookin’ at?” You finally regained control over your body and released your grip on the island, moving around it and toward him. I’m not going to say anything, I’m not going to act like it’s…

“I’m just happy you’re back.” You sighed as his arms uncrossed and he stood straight up, reaching out to you and wrapping his long arms around you. “So happy.” One of his arms pulled away and you looked up, wondering what was going on.

“I’m gonna turn the stove off, since I plan on kissin’ you for the next few minutes.” His voice was low and sure, and you felt his muscles moving beneath his shirt as he reached over. Fuck, I missed him. And then he was back and focused on you, his hand settling on your waist. “Goddamn, I missed you.” You were lifted without warning, and he set you down on his side of the island, your legs parting instinctively to let him step forward. I may not say anything, but I’m sure as hell not going to ignore this. You brought your hands up to his face, fingertips tracing over his stubbled cheeks and jawline - not because you were calling attention to the jagged lines in his skin, but because you simply wanted to touch him.

“I like the beard, Russo.” He grinned, his face lighting up. “You should keep it like this for a while, it reminds me of when we met.” He nodded, and your hands moved upward as he leaned in, finally kissing you on the mouth. It started out gentle, but you hooked your legs around his thighs and pulled him closer, and that was all the motivation Billy needed.

He bit at your lower lip, tilting his head to the side and you felt his tongue moving along the small space between his teeth before he released you, taking a deep breath and then leaning in again, mouth hot on yours. Billy kissed you exactly like he’d been gone for two months, and there was both desperation and reverence in his kiss. He often kissed you like that - like he couldn’t believe that you were still there in front of him, that you were in his life, that you’d accepted him even after what he’d done… but it had never been a choice for you, not really. You sighed into his mouth, legs tightening around him as you finally did what you’d wanted to do since you’d seen him in the kitchen - you moved your hands up to his hair… and tugged on the length of it.

Although you’d wanted to cheer when you’d seen it, you hadn’t wanted to make him feel like his look for the past two years had been less than desirable… but the truth was, you were thrilled. No, it wasn’t as long as it had been, and yeah you’d miss being able to scratch your fingers against his scalp all over his head… but Billy’s hair was back. Upon visiting him in the hospital for the first time, you’d cried more tears at the sight of his shaved head than you had at the bandages covering his face. It was stupid, you knew, and he’d told you as much, his voice emotionless as he told you to leave, to let him die, that he didn’t want to remember.

Even as he’d healed, you thought as his lips moved from your mouth to your jawline and then to your neck, you hadn’t understood why he had kept his hair so short. Sure, it was easier for him to take care of, didn’t require any attention… but you - and his medical team - had discussed how maybe letting it grow out would bring memories back if he could see himself as he’d been. His face might have looked much different, but giving him back a part of himself had to help, right? But he’d been adamant that it stay short, and so you’d gone along with it. It wasn’t until the trial was over and Frank had started working with him again that he’d let it get a little longer, but this was a different story. “Somethin’ there you like?” He spoke into your neck, breath hot and damp against your skin, and you felt his teeth on you, causing you to gasp. You know exactly what you’re doing, you little shit.

You tugged harder, and he groaned, followed by a hiss that you recognized immediately. Got you. It was shorter, sure, but it was still Billy, the undercut, the slicked back locks on top…it was another sign that he was one (or maybe a few) steps closer to being fully back. His hair had been longer than you’d seen it since before The Incident when he and Frank had departed for San Francisco, but you’d figured that he’d get it cut before the opening of Anvil II. “What are you lookin’ at?” He’d pulled away, eyes bright and you dropped your hands, noticing that there was a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead.

Your heart slammed in your chest as you realized just how much you loved Billy, not because of what he appeared to be - but because of what he was, and you decided that you didn’t care about keeping quiet. “Did you do something different with your hair?” He grinned. “Like, use a new shampoo or something?” He playfully pushed you and you leaned in, kissing his scarred cheek, shaking your head as you pulled back, eyes moving across his face. “It looks great, Billy.” He exhaled, shaking his head.

“I’ve wanted this for so long, but…” Your hands went back up, pulling his head closer to you as you stared into his eyes. “I wanted to keep it longer, especially in the hospital, but I wasn’t there yet, not mentally.” He licked his lips. “I was a different person, and I didn’t want … I don’t want to be that person, not anymore.” You nodded, fingers combing through the strands as you pushed them away from his face and back into place, something that you’d done countless times before. “This is familiar, though.” He lowered his mouth to yours, kissing you hard. “I can’t do anything about these scars, and at this point, I don’t want to.” Your eyes widened. “They’re a part of me now, and a constant reminder of my mistakes, which I don’t want to hide from. Hiding from shit is what got me here. But I can control other things.” He smiled. “You were right about Frankie, by the way. He’s not leaving New York, he just needs a break. We talked for a long time.”

“Billy, that’s great, I told you!” You shook your head, laughing. “You two need each other.”

“Yeah, I guess we do. You’re right.” He paused. “But... Even if I’m not that guy anymore, I feel more confident like this, especially with you next to me.” He stood up straight, bringing both hands up to his head and running his fingers through his hair again, jaw set. That fucking look on his face, I can’t get enough of it, I can’t believe… “Frankie and I are the faces of this company, and this is what I want people to see.” You stared at him, heat coursing throughout your body as he effortlessly switched from your Billy to Lieutenant William Russo, Anvil CEO. “I made my choices. I made my bed, and now I gotta lay in it - this is who I am and who I’m gonna be, and I’m not gonna hide.”

You’d had long talks with him both in the hospital and at home about how he wasn’t able to remember everything, but that he remembered always feeling like he was waiting for things to go bad. Rawlins was unpredictable, and even though Billy had been confident in his actions, he was never confident in the other man or his expectations - or in his ability to deliver on the promises of protection that were made. Billy’s time with Anvil at first had been a facade; though he’d been invested in training people to do good when necessary, to provide help and assistance, to lead others toward success, it was, in reality, him hiding behind the company - and the relative safety it had brought him. The goal had been to eventually get out from under Rawlins and what had happened as a result of Cerberus, but everything had literally gone to shit before that could happen, and you’d watched from afar, from the safety of the sidelines - right where Billy had put you. 

You nodded, your eyes roaming over his entire body as you thought. “And that’s only possible because of you. Because of you and Frankie and Curt… and even because of those goddamn lawyers and Karen, too.” Ha! I can’t wait to tell them he said that. “This is my second chance, and I’m not wastin’ it.” He took your hand in his, his fingers playing with your ring before he laced his fingers with yours, squeezing tightly. “We got a long way to go, but this is a good start… and I’m not lettin’ anyone… or anything get in my way. Not again.”

Billy kissed you again, his free hand cupping your cheek. “Not going anywhere, Russo.” You shook your head once, your own free hand moving across his face, fingertips touching the crater on his cheek, just visible above his beard before moving up to trace along the curved scar next to his eye. “I hate that all of this happened to you,” you whispered, feeling your voice catch. “But I’m not going anywhere. Your fight is my fight now.” His expression was serious but the look in his eyes said everything, and in that moment, you knew your fears were unfounded - Billy wasn’t going anywhere, and you had nothing to worry about. “Now,” you cleared your throat, allowing yourself to smile again. “Now, take me to bed so I can pull on that hair some more.”

And just like that, his mood shifted again and Billy’s eyes darkened as he removed his hand from yours, scooping you up. Wrapping your arms around him and burying your face in his neck as you inhaled his scent, you let Billy carry you up the stairs to your bedroom, thinking of nothing except the way his hands and mouth were going to feel on you.

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