#LISTEN I know Caseys haven’t even appeared yet

[hasello]

I’m not sure if it has been said or not, but could I get everyone’s pronouns?

You are so real for asking this and I feel lowkey stupid for not thinking of adding them when I revealed the names, it was a perfect opportunity 👽 Also I will be honest, I am not the best at doing such headcanons (so I don’t mind you guys giving them your own headcanons!), cause I’m basic af and usually just go with the pronouns the characters use in their series 😭 but here are the vibes I get:

2003

Lee (he/him) he’s the most girlypop he/him known to a man tho

Raphie (he/him)

Don (he/him)

Mike (he/him)

April (she/her)

(Casey) Jones (he/him)

2012

Leo (he/she) she’s my babygirl!!

Raph (he/him)

Donnie (he/him)

Mikey (he/him)

Apes (they/she)

Casey (he/him) trans icon

RISE

Blue (he/him)

Red (he/she) hey, another girlie! (we need a duo name for the sisters!!)

Purple (he/him)

Orange (he/him)

Riri (she/her)

(Casey) Junior (he/him)

Cass (she/her)

The dads use (he/him).

Here’s the names chart

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Do you write for 2012? If so I wanted to know if you write Donnie but if not this can be for Mikey (aged up if you want to put it)

Date night for reader and the turtle (2012/of your choice) , reader teasing the turtle under the table as the waiter/waitress is trying to talk to them to hear their order but some words coming from their turtle boyfriend is slightly slurred (reader can be female bodies but overall gn 🤷‍♀️). After date night (turtle of choice) drags reader to their shared bedroom and then the fun starts 👍

If requests aren't open ignore me 🙌 byeee ✨

Table Tease (18+)

2012!Donatello x reader

A/N: I do write for 2012, I just haven’t done a lot for them yet😅 I’ve changed it from a date night to a family dinner setting, but otherwise it’s the same. Hope you like it💜

---------

All characters are aged up.

Warnings: Spelling, public foreplay, turtley anatomy.

---------

What do you do when you’re in the mood, but your boyfriend is in a deep discussion with his oldest brother? You know what, double that. What do you do when you’re in the mood, but you and your boyfriend are sitting at the dinner table with all of his family and closest friends, eating pizza? Well, your first instinct was to push it away. You were an adult after all. You were perfectly capable of pushing any needs away for a more appropriate time. And that was what you decided to do, turning towards Donatello, so you could follow along in the conversation he was having with Leonardo. But you quickly found that your attention wandered, turning their conversation to background noise as you took in your boyfriend's appearance next to you.

You had been with Donnie for so long, yet his face, body and personality never seized to amaze you. His brilliant mind inside of his beautiful head. The way he saw the world and his intricate thoughts had always fascinated you. Almost just as much as his body did. You had always found yourself drawn to Donnie. His tall standing stature and his strong muscles. Even the small details, such as the vein on his neck that would stand out on his neck when he was concentrated, or the veins that ran down his forearms and over his hands.

His hands… If there was one thing that could send you into a dream zone, it was Donnie’s hands. The amount of times you had caught yourself staring at his hands, thinking about all the things they had done to you in the past was too many to count. And now, at the table with Donnie’s family, that was exactly what you did. Watching his hands move as he talked, remembering what they did to you last night. How they had held your legs open for him, giving him all the space he needed before devouring you with his mouth, while using his skilled fingers to bring you closer to the edge. You rubbed your legs together at the thought. Suddenly it seemed very hard to push those before mentioned needs away. And with that, an idea came to the forefront of your thoughts, bringing a smug smile to your face.

Unable to contain yourself any longer, you slowly let a hand slide under the table, before it made its way to Donnie’s knee. For you to place your hand on your boyfriend’s knee was nothing new. It was just yet another way for the two of you to show affection, just like a couple normally would. It was therefore that Donnie’s reaction to your hand was so stubble, with a sweet smile shut in your direction, before he continued his talk with Leo. He even moved his knee closer to you, enjoying the feeling of your warm hand against his skin. But you had no intention of just letting your hand rest there.

A few moments later, while you acted like you were listening to a conversation between Raph, Mikey and Casey, you moved your hand further up Donnie’s leg, letting it rest on his thigh. His leg jumped a bit at this, as a reaction to a surprise. But Donnie did not move his leg away. Instead he gave you a look out of the corner of his eye. He knew what you were doing, but he had no intention of stopping you. So therefore you let your hand slide up even further, just to the point where Donnie’s thigh met the rest of his body, your pinky finger grazing softly against his plastron. Donnie shuffled slightly in his seat at this, a small sigh flowing through his nose as he strained his concentration on Leo’s words. You bit back a smile, nodding at something Mikey said.

Your hand slowly moved across the lower area of Donnie’s plastron, until you found the slit of his already sensitive cloaca. As your pointy and middle finger slowly traced his slit, you felt him tense up slightly, his breath becoming ever so slightly heavier. You could feel the effect you had through his cloaca, the feeling it retract and twitch under your touch. You noticed how Donnie had stopped talking, and was now nodding at whatever Leo had to say, before answering with one or two words. That was when an idea made its way into your head.

Your fingers played around on the outside of Donnie’s cloaca, teasing him ever so slightly with each touch, just waiting for their moment to paunch. That came when Donnie calmed down ever so slightly, getting a little used to the feeling of your fingers against him. Then, finally, Leo ceased to talk, giving Donnie the que to talk. And as he opened his mouth, your fingers did their move. Your two fingers moved through his slit, smoothly sliding through his slice.

“I agree, that move is too slow. It should be more like-”. Donnie stopped mid sentence, his last word being stretched out and slurred. Leo looked at his brother in concern.

“Donnie? Are you okay?”, Leo asked.

“Yes!”, Donnie quickly answered, holding up his pizza slice for his big brother to see, his speech continuing to be slurred ever so slightly. “It’s just, you know, when that bit of pizza hits the right spot”. He punctuated the last word with his knee nudging against yours. In turn you asked Casey about the thing he was talking about, before thrusting your fingers into Donnie’s slit once more, threatening to make the poor guy drop on the spot. This made Donnie hide a moan with another bit of his pizza slice.

You continued your torture on Donnie, until you felt the familiar hardness against your fingers. Donnie took in a big breath, bracing himself for the drop. But then, just before he could allow himself to slip out, you removed your fingers, wiping his slick off on his thigh. Donnie snapped his head towards you, his eyes boring into you and your smug smile. Leo once again asked his brother in concern if he was okay, forcing Donnie to turn his attention back to their conversation. How Donnie was gonna make you and your smugness pay for that.

As people finished their food and got ready to leave the table, you knew you had to act fast.

“Well, that was fun”, you smiled as you stood from the chair. “Thank you so much for dinner, but I should probably get home now-”.

“Oh no, you don’t!”, Donnie exclaimed, jumping from his chair, grabbing on to you before you could walk too far. The shocked expression on everyone's faces brought him back to reality, remembering that the two of you weren’t alone. Flustered and unsure of what to do, he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder, before running to his bedroom, leaving them staring after you in confusion.

Once inside Donnie’s bedroom, he slammed the door shut with a loud bang, using his foot. He wasted no time before throwing you onto the bed with a yelp. He climbed on top of you, holding your arms down by your head, and forcing your legs apart using the knee you had felt on a few moments ago. You giggled up at him, already knowing what danger you were in.

“What do you have to say for your defense?”, Donnie smiled mischievously, his face mere centimeters from yours, his thumbs stroking your wrists, and using his other leg to spread your other leg open for him.

“Upsi?”, you smiled innocently, giving your shoulders a small shrug.

“You just fingered me while I was talking to my brother, until I almost dropped right under the table, in front of my whole family, and all you have to say is; ‘upsi’?”, Donnie asked, giving you one last chance to redeem yourself.

“Yup!”, you nodded with a big smile, almost eager to see what your boyfriend was going to do about it.

Donnie tsked and shook his head from side to side, bringing your wrists to one hand, allowing his other hand to move down your body, feeling your sides as he moved his hand down to the button and zipper of your pants. “That was not the answer I was looking for, (Y/N)”.

“It wasn’t?”, you said, acting oblivious, fighting a satisfied smile as Donnie’s hand ran down past your pants and into your underwear. “I had no idea”.

Donnie’s hand grazed your sensitive folds, just like you had done to his cloaca just a few moments ago. At the feeling of your slick against his finger, Donnie smiled down at you. “Already wet?” He smoothed his finger against your wet folds, enjoying the way you curled your legs up around him. “Is that from teasing me during dinner?”

“Maybe”, you sighed, slightly grinding yourself against his finger to gain some friction.

Donnie removed his finger from your pants, causing you to whine, until he moved his attention back onto your pants, letting go off your wrists to use both hands to pull them down along with your underwear.

“Luckily for you”, Donnie said as he threw them onto the floor, before moving to pull your shirt off of you. “I feel like we’ve been through enough foreplay already”. He threw your top and bra onto the floor. “So lay back and let me fuck that tease out of you”.

Fair to say, your idea worked on Donnie like a charm.

[jerzwriter]

Proper Movement

Book: Open Heart (Post Series)

Pairing: Tobias Carrick x F!MC (Casey MacTavish)

Rating: Mature

Category: Fluffy lite smut (lite, don’t get too excited lol)

Summary: Tobias & Casey are moving into their new place, and their neighbors have a few things they need to learn…

Warnings: Cursing, sexual content, slightly nsfw

Words: 1047

A/N: A mini-fic created in response to this anon ask.

A/N 2: Participating in @choicesfebruary2022challenge – Day 26 - Romance

CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS

Tobias couldn't help but smile as he walked into the kitchen. Casey was perched on the new granite countertop, arms stretched, placing odds and ends they’d likely never use on the top shelf. With her air pods on, her hips swayed seductively to the music only she could hear. He silently leaned against the wall and watched her, the voyeuristic stoking his arousal even more. He couldn't believe how lucky he was.

He quietly approached her from behind... the unpacking could wait. He was almost there, his arms just about around her waist, when the doorbell rang, startling Casey. She swung around and accidentally knocked her boyfriend to the floor, toppling on top of him.

“Oh, my God!" she gasped. "Are you OK?”

“Yeah, nothing's broken,” he groaned.

Casey pushed herself up and grinned when she felt his erection rubbing against her.

“You’re right,” she teased, “nothing is broken at all.”

Stradling her leg over him, she playfully rubbed against him, a lustful gleam in her eyes.

Having completely forgotten that there was someone at the door, Tobias hungrily ran his hand up Casey’s back until a fistful of her blonde tendrils were clenched in his hand. Mutual moans filled the room as her lips crashed into his, and she pulled his shirt over his head.

DING – DONG!!!

“FUCK!” Tobias protested.

“Yeah,” Casey groaned, “that’s what I want to do!”

“Can you get rid of whoever it is, baby? When you come back, we’re christening every surface in this kitchen.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she grinned.

His eyes soaked in her every movement as she tucked her dainty camisole back into her tight denim shorts, the ones that hugged her hips in such a way that….

She smiled when she caught him staring, so mesmerized he didn’t realize she was staring back.

“I’d go,” he said in a pained voice, “but….”

“But you've got a little situation here,” she giggled, running her hand playfully along his length. “I’ll be right back!”

DING – DONG!!!

“Geeze!” Casey yelled, “I’m coming! I’m coming!!!”

“Not yet,” Tobias yelled after her, “but you will be.”

She was still laughing when she opened the door. Even standing at five foot nine, she had to look up to see the handsome face standing in front of her.

“Hi,” she said with a smirk still meant for Tobias on her lips. “How can I help you?”

“Oh!” The stranger answered, clearly taken aback. “I had just seen the, uh, moving truck today. I thought I’d stop... you, know and… let me start over.”

He stood straight, making him appear even taller, and extended his hand, “My name is Calvin, I live next door, and I thought I’d introduce myself to my new neighbor.”

“Oh, hi!" Casey smiled with an extended hand. "I’m Casey. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Oh, trust me, the pleasure is all mine. Are you new to Boston?”

“No, I’ve been here several years.”

“Oh, too bad.”

“Why?” she giggled, “hoping you’d have a transient neighbor?”

“Quite the contrary,” he laughed roguishly. “I was hoping that I would be able to show you around town. I still could, you know? I’m sure you haven’t seen all of it.”

Inside, Tobias leaned up on his elbows, rolling his eyes as he listened to the exchange.

“Well, thank you for the offer, but I think I’ve seen all that is necessary.”

“Sure, well, I know how moving is, your place is probably upside down, so if you’d like a place to just have a quiet coffee or glass of wine, you’re more than welcome….”

“Well, thank you, Kyle, was it?”

“Calvin….”

“Oh, of course. I’m sorry, Calvin, that’s very kind of you, but I sort of left something turned on in the kitchen and….”

“Oh, dinner on the stove,” he smiled.

“No, boyfriend on the floor.”

Before she even finished the sentence, the sound of Tobias’s laughter barreled down the hall.

Casey noted how much shorter Calvin looked when he wished the ground would swallow him whole. Eager to put him at ease and far more eager to return to the situation in her new kitchen, she smiled brightly.

“I’m sure we’d both be delighted to have a beer together someday, but, for now….”

“Yes, you left something… turned on.”

“I did,” she chortled. "But it was lovely meeting you.”

Tobias was beaming when she returned to the kitchen.

“You, baby,” he whispered as she straddled him again, “are something,” he pulled her in for a kiss, “else.”

“I am, aren’t I?” she teased.

“Mmm-hmm,” was all he could get out, his lips already consuming hers, his strong hands already unclasping her bra, he was about to pull that camisole off with his teeth when…

DING – DONG!!!

“FUCK!” Casey yelled.

“Yeah, we will be!” Tobias said, jumping to his feet.

“Where are you going?” Casey asked.

“I’m going to tell this guy to fuck off so we can….”

“Fuck.”

“YES!”

Tobias's eyes were wild when he pulled the door open.

“Look, dude, I know that she's….”

“Hi,” a pretty young brunette smiled. “I saw I had a new neighbor, and I wanted to come over and say hi. I’m Isabel, and I just….”

“You are just interrupting us trying to have sex in our new home,” Casey smiled. “Do you think you could come back tomorrow when we’re, I don’t know… satiated?”

“My future wife is so cute,” Tobias laughed, “she thinks we will actually be satiated.”

“I’m trying to be polite!" Casey whispered. "And I’m not your future wife yet.”

“Just a matter of time,” he answered confidently.

Isabel’s eyes ping-ponged between them as they bantered.

“You know, I feel like I’m interrupting….”

“You are!” They yelled in unison.

“I think I’ll just come back another time.”

“Please do,” Casey gasped as Tobias kissed her ear.

“Yeah, we look forward to meeting you,” he said as his foot slammed the door behind them. The moment it was shut, he had Casey pressed up against it, his mouth running over her lips, her neck, her chest.

“You don’t really, do you? Look forward to meeting… either of them?”

“Either of who?”

Casey smiled as she sunk down to the floor.

“I didn’t think so. So, shall we christen the kitchen?” she asked.

“Nope,” he said, unbuckling his pants, “the foyer needs to be initiated too. May as well start here."

Permatags: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @anonymousrookie @bex-la-get @binny1985 @bluebelle08 @bluerosesbloom @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @danijimenezv @darkswagamerpiratecowboyclown @differenttyphoonwerewolf @dorisz @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @lady-calypso @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @mainstreetreader @parisa-kh @peonierose @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @rosebudde @schnitzelbutterfingers @secretaryunpaid @sillydg @spookycolorpeanut @socalwriterbee @thegreentwin @trappedinfanfiction @txemrn @writer-ish @youlookappropriate @zahrachoices @kachrisberry @fayeswiftie

OH Tags: @aishwarya26 @onikalover @peonyblossom @toadfrog26

Tobias Only: @icecoffee90

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[thebookreader12345]

Stories

Pairing: Blake Gallo x reader

Summary: Being the youngest member at the firehouse, Y/N wants someone her own age to fill the open spot on truck, and when she meets Blake Gallo, she instantly knows that he’s the one

Requested: No

Warnings: mentions of death by fire

Word Count: 1,408 Words

Note: Pulls from the events of Chicago Fire, Season 8 Episode 2, A Real Shot in the Arm

“Casey! Hey,” I greet. “I was just wondering how the search for the new firefighter for truck was going.”

“I haven’t found the right person yet if that’s what you’re asking,” Matt said.

“That’s great. Well, not great because we really need a new member and all but- okay the reason I asked is because I was hoping you would consider getting someone around my age,” I tell him.

Matt laughed and shook his head. “Now why would I do that?”

“Because, no offense Captain, a lot of the people in this house are way older than me, and while I appreciate everything you and the rest of Firehouse 51 have taught me, it would be nice to have someone I can really connect with. All I ask is that you consider it,” I exclaim. Just then, the alarm blared throughout the firehouse, and someone came over the speaker.

“Truck 81, Ambulance 61, person trapped, 9724 North Dayton.” Matt and I sprung into action immediately, running from our spot in the sleeping corridor to the apparatus floor where we put on our gear. After that, we climbed into the truck along with everyone else and sped off towards the scene. At the address, we found a guy tangled up in some rope hanging from a building. There was another truck company there, but apparently, their ladder wasn’t long enough to reach him. As I was standing around waiting for orders, a younger firefighter whose coat read Gallo ran over to me.

“Can you give me a hand?” Gallo asked.

“Uh, sure,” I respond. Gallo lead me over to a ladder, and we both picked it up, bringing it over to the side of the building. He then started climbing the ladder to get up to the balcony, and when he was at the top, he turned around and gave me a smile. 

“You coming?” 

I returned the smile and stepped onto the first step of the ladder. “Definitely.” It came to me soon after about what Gallo was trying to do. He was going to scale the balconies so that we could get up to where the man was quicker than the ladder on the truck. I grabbed onto the balcony above me and pulled myself up, then attempted to grab the rail at the top, but I missed, and my hand fell away from the metal. I let out a small shriek as I hung one handed from the balcony. If I let go, I would fall to my death. And I couldn’t reach the top railing any more since I was hanging down. That’s when Gallo appeared above me and offered me his hand. I reached up as high as I could and grasped it, resulting in him pulling me up and over the balcony. Gallo instinctively pulled me to his chest, and when my feet touched solid ground, I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I breathe out.

“No problem. You okay to keep going?” Gallo questioned.

“Yeah. I’m good. Lets go,” I murmur. Gallo and I scaled the rest of the balconies fairly quick, and just as we got to the one at the same height as the man, Matt and Kelly started climbing up the ladder. There was a balcony separating Gallo and I from the man, meaning we had to jump across. I climbed onto the ledge and grabbed the pole connecting the next balcony to the wall before leaping over the gap. Gallo followed my lead, and now we were both right by the man hanging from the roof. Gallo jumped into action and slid himself between the poles connecting our balcony to the wall, and then wrapped his legs around the man to keep him in place. I came up from behind and hooked my arms under Gallo’s armpits to keep him steady, and to make sure he didn’t fall. Seconds later, Matt and Kelly appeared on the ladder and helped get the man down. As soon as we all got to the ground, I pulled Matt aside. “Look, I know I don’t have any say in picking the new firefighter, but I think you should consider him,” I say and gesture to Gallo. “He saved my life, so he’s already earned my trust. And yeah, he may be daring, but inside, all of us are. I think he’d be a great addition to Firehouse 51.”

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

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet our new candidate, Blake Gallo,” Matt spoke and gestured to Gallo, who was at his side.

“Well, if it isn’t my knight in shining PPE,” I announce. “It’s nice to finally get to officially meet you, Blake. I’m Y/N. Y/N L/N.” Blake shook my outstretched hand, and as soon as our skin touched, I felt butterflies in my stomach.

“Y/N was our previous candidate, so she is going to be keeping an eye on you. Y/N, I want him on a short leash,” Matt ordered.

“You got it, Captain. Come on, Blake. Let me give you the tour. Oh. And welcome to Firehouse 51,” I add and give him a small smile. That night, after our first shift, I invited Blake over to Molly’s to get better acquainted with him. We were sitting at a table with two beers in front of us, and Blake was telling some funny story about his last firehouse. I laughed and took a sip of beer, enjoying the liquid’s taste as it went down my throat. For awhile, we just talked, and I felt so comfortable around him already even though we just met a few days ago. “So,” I say and take another swig of beer. “What’s your story, Blake?”

“My story?” Blake questioned.

“Yeah. Your story. Every person has one, and they’re all different. Our stories are what make us unique.” Blake still seemed confused by what I had said. “The reason you became a firefighter,” I clarify. Gallo hesitated, and I could tell that he had a big story, but by the looks of it, it definitely wasn’t a happy one. “You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable. We just met. I don’t want to push you.”

“No. It’s uh, it’s fine. When I was 12, there was a fire at my house. I hid in the closest when the smoke started making it’s way into my bedroom. When I was finally rescued by firefighters, I found out that the rest of my family was dead. I lost my mom, dad and little sister that night,” Blake confessed.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I also want you to know that you’re not the only one,” I tell him.

“You mean.....” Blake trailed off.

I nodded. “I was 16. My older brother, he was 18. It was the summer right before he was going to start college, so my parents wanted to have a nice family vacation to send him off. We rented a log cabin in Wisconsin right on the lake, and we were going to spend the week there. The last day of the vacation, my brother and I went into town to see if we could find any neat souvenirs, and when we got back, the cabin had been burned down. There were firefighters everywhere, along with two body bags. My parents, they didn’t make it. It happened awhile ago, but the pain never really goes away.”

“Yeah. I know the feeling,” Blake agreed and downed the rest of his beer. “Listen, I know we just met and all, but uh, I um.....” It seemed that Blake couldn’t find the right words to say. Finally, he took a deep breath, and looked up at me. “Would you maybe want to go on a date sometime?”

“You do know that there aren’t supposed to be in-house romances, right?” I ask, a playful tone hidden in my voice.

“But I thought Severide and Kidd were-” Blake cut himself off when he saw me trying to hide my smile. “There’s no rule, is there?”

“Oh, there is,” I admit. “But so many people have broken it that Boden doesn’t care anymore. And I would love to go on a date with you, Blake Gallo. How does after next shift sound?”

“That sounds great,” Blake replied. “I will text you with the details when I have them.”

“I can’t wait. I’m really excited to see where this goes,” I disclose.

Blake smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”

____________________

Tag List:

@prettypyschoinpink @securityfriendly-jay @scarletsoldierrr @lorenakaspersen @virtualreader @carnationworld @caitsymichelle13​ @anotherfan07​

[serenasoutherlyns]

Not a Summer Crush Part Five

a/n: i haven't been doing this on purpose, but i keep alternating, long chapter followed by short chapter. i think the longest is 6k words and this one is 2.5k-ish, my apologies for its shortness. but!! this one has everyone's favorite Rita Calhoun, jealousy, Serena Southerlyn's meddling tactics, middle school, and even graduate school. enjoy, and remember any feedback is appreciated more than you all could ever know.

Part Five

When Alex got home from work that evening, she finally had a moment to process that day’s moment on the courthouse steps. She texted Serena, trying to fit all the pieces together in her head.

Alex: What the hell?

Serena: ?

Alex: Serena!

Serena: Yes?

She gave up on coherent texting and decided to call her friend instead.

---

Casey was confusing herself again. Having second thoughts was not how she would put it. No, she was still sure of what she wanted (as sure as she was going to be, doing something very new and all), it was the methods that were bothering her. Namely, that she felt like she had none.

Alex had been difficult early on. The beginning was, in most respects, the most difficult time of their relationship. They had both been in rough patches, trying to be different people than they’d been before, and Casey thought, hoped, they’d both been successful. Alex had found a sense of balance and justice that guided her to powerful places. And Casey could look around her life and point lots of little things out: the tennis racquet beside her softball bat, their well-stocked kitchen, the literary journals lined up in a row on her bookshelf, little markers of stability and self-assuredness that reminded her how she’d changed and stayed the same over the years. She hadn’t felt this untethered since she kissed Alex for the first time.

“Casey, it’s called having a crush,” Rita said after she explained herself over a scotch.

---

“What’s going on, Alex?” Serena’s voice came over the speakerphone as Alex set it down on the countertop.

“Do you want to tell me why you asked my second chair out on the courthouse steps in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday?”

Serena laughed at her. “I don’t think I did,” she said.

“Hey, Caroline,” Alex mocked Serena’s slightly husky voice, “Won’t you please reserve me a spot on your dance card this weekend?” She said as she popped the cork out of a bottle of wine with an angry pop as punctuation.

“I don’t talk like that,” Serena said. “And all I did was tell her I wanted to dance, I don’t think I asked her for anything, in fact.”

“I don’t remember it like that.”

“So it’s on your mind, huh.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh my god.” Alex thought of what to say as she sipped.

“I mean,” Serena filled the silence, “If you aren’t going to, I will, you know?”

“Serena!” Alex all but yelled into the phone.

“Uh-huh,” she replied, “that’s what I thought.” She paused for a moment, then said, “I wasn’t

asking her out, I was giving you a reason to go dancing with her again.

“I don’t follow.”

“Sure you don’t. Look, I’ll make a groupchat with you, Casey, me and Caroline, and make plans in there, thus implying that all of us are going. It’s simple.”

“What?” Alex asked, actually not following her friend at this point.

“Just let it happen, Lex. Where is Casey, anyway?”

Alex swirled her wine around. “Rita absconded with her after work today. She said it was something about a case.”

“I don’t think they’re opposing one another on anything right now,” Serena said.

“I’ve learned not to ask questions,” Alex said, referencing the schemes Rita and her wife liked to pull occasionally. Then, realizing what she might be implying, she said, “Remember Sophie’s birthday last year?” and was answered with Serena’s light laugh from the other end of the call.

---

Casey’s eyes widened. “Yeah, I guess so.” Rita was surprised that Casey didn’t fight her on it. She decided to push.

“So, when are you going to ask her out?” Casey looked at her.

“We haven’t like, set a date,” she said. “Do people usually set dates for that kind of thing?

“They usually have a plan of some kind, I think. I mean, I do.”

Rita’s phone buzzed three times, two texts and a photo from Pippa. She didn’t hide her nerves fast enough for Casey to miss it. She shot her friend a look over her glass, saying, “you have a plan, right?”

Rita rolled her eyes. “Stop deflecting.” This time it was Casey’s turn to get the notifications.

New Groupchat (4)

Serena: So, Saturday night, right? Where?

Caroline: Why don’t you meet me at my apartment? The place is kind of hard to find.

Serena: Works for me. Alex? Casey?

Casey had no idea what the texts were about, suspected Serena of some kind of scheme.

Casey: Sure? But what are we doing?

Serena: Dancing!

Caroline: Dancing. Ashley’s on the road so I needed another partner.

Alex: We’re going dancing on Saturday.

Casey looked up from her phone to find an expectant Rita looking at her. “Apparently, I’m going dancing on Saturday.

“With Caroline?”

“And Alex. And Serena.”

Rita smiled wryly. “Good luck.”

---

“Okay, okay, order, order,” you said quieting the room of middle schoolers at the end of practice. “Remember, I can’t be there with you this weekend at the competition, and I have to leave early tonight,” you said, to a chorus of sighs, “I know, I know, I’m sorry. But you’ll all do great, I know it. Listen to your teachers, stick to your plans, and do your best.” The adoring eyes of the team were all on you. “And, if you win, I’ll buy you pizza. Deal?”

Nothing motivates tweens like a pizza party, but you weren’t worried about their performance. If nothing else, you knew Ophélie was a zealous team captain, putting it delicately. She had learned to be persistent from you, which was great at a competition, more annoying when she had chores. You gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek as you said goodbye to the team, despite her “no affection in public rule” (because the nature of the adolescent is to be embarrassed), and sent a text to Casey letting her know you’d be out soon.

When you saw her waiting for you outside the school building, your heart skipped a beat. It was that same feeling that you’d felt when Alex was in your apartment-- an intimacy that should’ve felt unusual, out of place, instead felt perfectly natural and comfortable. You hugged in greeting, grateful that you’d all decided that would be acceptable affection for colleagues.

“You know,” you said, “You really didn’t have to come meet me here.” Casey shrugged.

“I wanted to. Nice sweater,” she said, teasing you. It was one of those summer evenings where the sunset had brought a cool breeze with it, and you’d stolen one of Ophélie’s uniform cardigans. It was simple and navy blue, but the school logo embroidered on the breast gave it away. The two of you walked together towards the nearest subway station.

“Thanks,” you said, in an unserious tone. “Where’s Alex?”

“She’s already at the bar,” Casey replied, “I was told to retrieve you before the announcement.”

“It can’t be any big surprise,” you said, wondering. “She’s been agonizing over these applications forever.”

“She’s Gillian. She agonizes.” You looked up at the buildings, lights beginning to come on in the apartment buildings and off in the offices. Casey looked at your lifted head and the way it created a line, sloping and elegant, jawline to neck to collarbone. She pushed one palm with the opposite thumb and bit her lip, thinking about her conversation with Rita. She was right, they needed a plan, or one of these days she was going to kiss you without thinking.

Your voice snapped her out of it, but she didn’t hear what you said. “Casey?”

“Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you were excited to come dancing again this weekend.” The two of you walked down the stairs to the subway station, you in front, looking over your shoulder as Casey answered you.

“Oh! Yes, I definitely am. I didn’t know that Serena could dance, Alex told me it was her idea.”

“Apparently she studied abroad. I’m glad she asked, though.” That gave the knot of jealousy in Casey’s stomach a tug. She had no right to be jealous, but she couldn’t help but feel it. Serena is beautiful, and single, she doesn’t work with them, she’s super smart and funny, and apparently she knows how to dance.

“I’m glad we’ll have enough people to switch up partners a couple times,” Casey said, assuaging the jealousy.

“That’s the best part,” you agreed.

---

You made it to the table just in time to hear the announcement.

The third announcement. It would appear that Rita had somehow gotten ahold on all of Gillian’s acceptance letters and was withholding them from the rest of the group (except, of course, for the honoree herself, who was happy to go along with the plan, not that she had much of a choice). Glasses were raised and congratulations expressed as Rita said, “the third acceptance is… Yale!”

Polite applause came around the table. Gillian smiled bashfully as everyone told her how proud they were. Of all of you, she was the only person smart enough (or crazy enough) to go back to school after navigating the complex legal world of New York City.

“Which ones did we miss?” Casey said as the two of you slid into the two open seats.

“She got into Columbia,” Serena said, “which means she could stay in Manhattan. A few glasses around the table were raised again, encouraging her to stay close.

“And Stanford,” Alex added. You shot Gillian an excited look, happy at the mention of your alma mater.

“How many more letters are there?” You asked. Rita checked the pile of envelopes in her hand.

“Two.”

As soon as Sophie noticed that neither you nor Casey yet had a drink, there were whiskeys in your hands. As soon as Serena remembered that you were returning from coaching a mock trial team, and remembering what she knew of Casey’s feelings about kids, she began to ask you questions. How was the team, what case are they presenting, do they love you, (truly who wouldn’t). She was almost tiring you out.

“Is she always this persistent?” you asked Alex, smiling at Serena as you did so. You had to know if your eyes were deceiving you, your wishful thinking getting the best of your powers of observation yesterday when you saw her jealous look.

You were correct.

Almost faster than could be perceived, Alex’s eyes narrowed, looking into Serena’s, not yours; as if to say what the hell are you doing. Raised shoulders, her fingers pressing slightly into the table, her tongue in the back of her throat: you’d seen enough jealous boyfriends (of women you were about to dance with, if you’re honest) in clubs to know what it looked like.

Well. That was going to be good information to have at your disposal. If nothing else, for

confirmation: that you weren’t crazy, that there was something there to notice, from both of them.

---

You would’ve considered your offer of your apartment more thoroughly had you initially understood that there would be four of you going out that Saturday night. You weren’t sure, at first, if Serena had been asking you out. Honestly, you would probably not turn her down if she did. It would certainly be a simpler path to take, and there was no denying that Serena was beautiful and smart. Of course, your affections were otherwise engaged.

But, since she had invited Casey and Alex along, you considered it more likely that she was “creating some amount of opportunity,” (a real thing you’d really heard her say once) than making a double date. It would make sense, you thought, if Alex had told her how she was feeling; and the more days that went by, the more little tender interactions, the more often you noticed her resting her eyes in your direction, the more confident you were that you weren’t making up the chemistry.

Casey was a little harder to read, but you had noticed she’d seemed slightly… preoccupied the last few times you’d been alone together. One thing you knew: their marriage was rock solid. Neither of them would do something without the others’ approval. You could only hope they had a plan. You didn’t-- unless trying to seem as desirable yet appropriate as possible could be considered a plan.

There were four people in your apartment. You couldn’t remember the last time you had people over to your place rather than Ashley and Ramin’s, so it felt especially cramped. You were each drinking a glass of wine (from Ramin’s fancy stash, you were not going to let them know just yet that the only wine you bought was two buck chuck), you and Serena were sitting on the barstools at your counter while Alex and Casey sat on the couch. You had your music collection on shuffle, which led to a few laughs at the funny combinations.

It was your turn to feel jealous, or maybe to yearn. You hoped that one of them would see the new collection of books sitting on your table: Marriage and Other Alternatives, More Than Two, and What Love Is (and what it could be). A quiet buzz of anticipation (or was it the wine?) pleasantly lodged itself in your mind as the four of you slung your bags over your shoulders and headed out for the night.

---

Pippa Cox touched her lipstick up in the mirror before returning to the table she was (finally) sharing with Rita Calhoun. For such a smart woman, Pippa had often thought, Rita was prone to running from her feelings. Having gotten her on this date was a feat indeed, even though she knew (the glances, the blushing, the way she would drift into her space, natural as anything) that they shared feelings. As Pippa sat down, Rita smiled.

Unfortunately, as Rita reached for her glass, her phone buzzed in her purse. She shrugged-- what was the point of texting when she was on a date? If it was a client, they would call her secretary who would call her. No need to fret.

“It’s nothing, I’m sure,” she said, reaching across the table to take Pippa’s hand in her own. She knew how difficult it had been for her to get back into dating, to trust anyone with her heart, which was part of why she had been so apprehensive to pursue her even though the attraction was there. She’d pinched herself when Pippa had been the one to ask, happy to be the pursued for once.

“Good,” Pippa said, “because I want you to myself tonight.” Rita nodded, bit her lip, and smiled. There was another buzz, then another, then another. Three in a row? The only people she knew who texted like that were Casey and Serena, both of whom had plans tonight.

Plans together, with Alex. Involving Caroline. She sighed, hoping that she wasn’t about to do something to hurt Pippa’s feelings. Pippa, to her credit, looked curiously at Rita’s bag as she opened it.

Notifications: 4 new messages.

Serena: This experience is simultaneously adorable and infuriating.

Serena sent a photo.

Serena sent a video.

Serena: I’m tempted to leave and let them figure it out.

Rita laughed to herself. The picture was a selfie of you four sitting at a booth, you and Alex on one side and Casey and Serena on the other. Serena had her head leaned on Casey’s shoulder, who looking across the table, while you were pressing a kiss to Alex’s cheek. Alex had a contented smile, and your table had evidence of more than a couple drinks for each of you. The video was one of you and Alex. You were holding one of her hands with the other wrapped around her waist. Alex looked terrified, poor thing, every body part was flying in the opposite direction. The sounds of Casey and Serena encouraging you both mixed with the horns and drums coming from the stage. Rita agreed with Serena, it was adorable and infuriating.

Rita: Well, that’s cute and maddening for sure.

Serena: I’ll send updates.

Rita: Tomorrow. Please don’t interrupt *my* date again, thank you.

Serena: OMG did she finally ask you out!?!??

Rita: TOMORROW.

Rita put her phone down, answering Pippa’s curious look with a wave of her hand. “Serena drama,” she said, and Pippa gave an understanding nod. “I made her promise to leave me alone for a while.” Pippa leant across the table and pecked Rita’s lips.

“Good.”

---

tags: @addictedtodinosaurs @nocreditinthestraightworld @cmmndrwidw @hi-i-1 @lesbianologist

[anotherbeingsworld]

Rainy Days

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x F!MC (Casey Valentine)

Rating: G/Fluffy goodness.

Summary: Bryce and Casey spend their weekend with a new idea.

A/N: Hellooooo, I am finally back on writing!! (In one way or another lol) , after a month of not writing - I present a short drabble due to Bryce's absence and I apologize beforehand if there is any grammar error since English is not my first language! I have some fics which are in progress, hopefully, I can post more since I am on holiday and I manage to finish the semester in one piece! A huge thanks to @ambrosykim for listening to my rambles 😌😌 Enjoy! 💖

//Tags below the cut!

MASTERLIST

The rain started to fall for the fifth time of the week as the sound of it gave a soothing feeling to her as she took a seat on the couch of Bryce’s apartment that day. Casey decided on staying for the weekend as they haven’t gotten to grace each other’s presence due to their workload at the hospital. Bryce was busy due to an outstanding number of surgeries while Casey was occupied with more cases from the diagnostics team.

They initially decided on a weekend filled with adventures but, a day inside sounds perfect. Good movies and good company are always worth it, yet Casey found herself much more interested in the raindrops, than the movie itself.

“Casey!” He suddenly surprises her, making her let out a scream before jokingly punch him with her elbow.

“Bryce, I’m not into surprises like that!”

He lets out a satisfied happily, as he took a seat beside her.

“I know – it’s just very fun to irk you there. Plus, you were so focused on the rain there, what’s on your mind there?”

Her eyes seem to focus on the balcony once more, before tilting her head to face him. A smile appears on her face.

“I’m just thinking about work stuff, the hospital, Suzette, and just it feels like a mess sometimes in my head but it’s good to take a break for once.” She stated as both of them resume on their activity of rain-watching as he turns the movie off. They sat in silence before she perks up another question as they are in each other’s embrace.

“How have you been Bryce?”

“I am quite okay, and still in one piece which is a win for both of us! All the surgeries were packed but it has been fulfilling despite the sleep deprivation from being on duty for too long.”

She lets out a chuckle as the silence commences once more before an idea appears in her head. She immediately stood up from his embrace, as she took out the rain jackets from his storage room.

“I got an idea.” She exclaims happily before tossing the rain jackets his way, as they exit the apartment.

Casey founds herself smiling as they walked down the flight of stairs in their rain jackets as both of them stood upon the sidewalk of the apartment, a few inches away before exposing themselves to the rain.

“So, care to explain?” A laugh escapes his lips while Casey is gesturing the rainy sidewalk in front of them.

“We are going to have fun, and not think about work right now. It’s more directed towards me, but let’s show the people how to have fun even in the rain!”

“It's time for Party God Bryce Lahela to appear once more despite the chance of both of us getting hyperthermia” He summons as they both prepare themselves for some unexpected fun.

“We are wearing rain jackets, Bryce! In a count of three, let’s do this.” Both of them held each other’s hands, as they commence the countdown.

3…

2…

1…

A big splash was heard, as they started to dance and finally having some fun in the rain. She wished she could capture this moment, yet there were some moments that better be enjoyed without any interruptions as it should.

There were weird looks given by the people across the road, as there were kids who were looking at them with bright eyes. Yet, they didn’t care – it was them against the rain and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“This is a great idea Cas.” He stated as they sat upon the stairs outside of the apartment, accompanied by the drizzles of the rain itself.

She lays her head on his shoulder,

“It’s worth the hyperthermia then?” She jokes as he nods happily.

“But, speaking of hyperthermia – let's get ourselves dry before it gets much worst.” She nodded in agreement, as they walked back inside.

After they were both finally dried off, they decided to order some take-out for the night. She loved his cooking as he has been practicing since the year before – but, an excuse for a chipotle takeout is always acceptable.

The rain was seen still pouring as the stars above appear, both of them enjoying each other’s company. It was his turn to stare at the balcony, where the rain is falling heavily.

“I get it now – why there are times where the world around you disappears every time it rains.” He begins as Casey prepares the takeout on the table.

“And?”

“It gave you that sense of calmness. And, when we were dancing or playing – it feels like entering a world where there was freedom from all the responsibilities in the world… and I liked it.” His reply causing a wide smile to appear on her face, somehow the smile he knows all too well as there was a hidden agenda behind the mischievous idea behind the smile as well; we will never know.

“Maybe sometimes we can do it again?” She suggests as he nods in agreement upon the idea as she ends up running towards his arms filled with enthusiasm upon their future dates. He caught her just in time, as they stayed upon each other’s arms filling the void of their missing moments together – as the rain become the soundtrack of their little moments together both in and outside of the hospital.

THE END.

Tags:  @bitchloveskcbaseball , @mvalentine , @storyofmychoices , @princess-geek , @lahellacute ,   @annekebbphotography , @mrsbhandari , @dcbbw , @choicessa , @fantasyoverreality98 , @baltersome , @ofpixelsandscribbles , @thundergom @starrystarrytrouble ,  @kelseaaa  , @choicesficwriterscreations  , @lalizah , @drethanramslay , @eleanorbloom , @openheartfanfics , @brycesgirl  ,  @freckles-spangledvampire , @agentnolastname , @robintora , @adriansbiss  (comment if you want to be tagged or removed 💜💜)

[aliaslua]

In broad daylight

Chapter 01: Out and about

Raphael is still learning to cope with his new life. On the rainy evening after Michelangelo's first national interview, the big and solitary turtle brother decides to go on a walk and while he tries to adapt to a world he never wanted to be a part of, he meets a human woman that changes his path.

This is an AU that diverges from cannon after the events of Out of the shadows. Instead of choosing to keep living hidden in the sewers, the family of mutants accepts chief Vincent's suggestion of trying to live a normal life among humans. This is a compilation of events that unfold after the fact, tales about the turtles and the humans that cross their paths.

This series may contain mature themes (Trigger Warnings will be included before every chapter), if you’re a minor please don’t interact.

TW: None

You can also read it in AO3

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

It took Raphael two years to finally decide to walk on a sidewalk alone. It was the first time he was alone in... Well, Michelangelo called it “upstairs”, Leonardo called it “the real world” and Donatello just called the streets of New York by their common name. Raph didn’t called it anything since names carry meaning and that world and its residents were a mystery to him. When he had to describe the world above him, he called it “outside”.

He was 19 when he was outvoted and then convinced of accepting the idea of coming out into the world. Now a grown 21 years old man-turtle, he still felt his palms sweaty and his fingers cold as he held the knob of the door that led into the streets of New York. A shaky breath left his mouth when he finally opened the alley door.

It wasn’t the first time he walked among humans but in every occasion he had to (knowing he would only do it if he was obligated) he had Casey holding one of his shoulders or April holding one of his fingers. Now, the world presented itself in front of him and he was alone. Despite his anxiety, the landscape wasn’t as intimidating as he once anticipated, there was no big crowd filled with scared looks of disgust, only the concrete street and light rain drops. He didn’t know exactly what he expected, actually. It was too late in the night to be walking the street alone, no human would dare to bet their safety to wander around an ugly and stinky street. Raphael wasn’t human and he would bet his life knowing no one ill intended would dare to cross his path... No one would even dare to ask for directions or to wish him a good evening. No one would dare to approach him. He had learned sooner than later that even well meaning humans would avoid being alone next to him and despite his efforts to understand them there was a deep part of Raph that held a grudge against it.

The second oldest brother would rather spend the rest of his life avoiding contact with this reality. It took maybe two or three minutes after he started to walk down the street for him to regret that decision as he felt the warm thick air of the night against his skin. He kept his pace despite that, determined to reach at least one mile before coming back home. The streets were still empty and he could only hear his heavy steps on the ground and the distant sound of cars. There was a time he loved this city... A time when all he wanted to was to roam around hidden in the roof tops and the dark shadows of the alleys, a time when he could watch this world and not be a part of it, when he could be invisible, a mere observer. Maybe he still could, he thought, maybe his outfit made him look human enough from a distance... Raphael liked the clothes, he liked he was now able to hear Knicks' shirts that fitted him perfectly thanks to his new access to tailor-made clothing, he liked his loose trousers and the dark colored sweaters that covered his shell, he liked his sneakers and his watch. Life out on the surface had brought him many new luxuries: now the lair had tiles and furniture and a long corridor that led to a door facing the streets, it didn't smell bad anymore thanks to modern isolation and he had his own bed, a king sized bed, with many pillows and clean white bed sheets. Raph sighed loudly once again, maybe Mikey was right. Maybe life could be more than he perceived to be.

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"Turn it on!"

The crowd cheered lively as the host turned in his chair.

"Good night, ladies and gentleman." He started talking in a pleasant voice "Tonight, in a exclusive interview... An absolutely unique moment in history. It's an honor to be here, sharing this moment with you as we receive with a warm round of applause please welcome... Michelangelo Hamato!"

Mikey walked into the stage with the biggest smile as the applause kept going, he was wearing a well fitted set of blazer and pants and he looked nothing like the wild and anxious brother they new. He waved to the crowd with such confidence that the absurd size difference between him and the host looked funny instead of terrifying, he even flipped the edge of his blazer behind him as he seated in the two-seater sofa and crossed his leg, showing a shinny elegant shoe.

"Michelangelo.... May I call you Mikey?"

"Yes, please."

"It's an honor... and I mean it, it's an honor to have you tonight."

"The honor is all mine, Jim."

The crowd cheered once again.

"Now... Mikey, I've to start saying... You're a sight to be seen!"

"Thank you!" Loud claps echoing from the crowd.

"How tall are you?"

"I'am 6'5"

"Taller than Micheal Jordan!"

"... And the smallest in the bunch!" Mikey commented with a big smile and the host returned the smile with wide eyes.

"Must be a very tall bunch!"

"A very big bunch!"

"Yes indeed!" The crowd laughed along with the host as Mikey shared a wide smile again.

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

Ten minutes had passed since Raphael started his walk and three minutes had passed since a man with a dog on a leash had walked past him, completely unbothered by his presence. Had he made it? Has he invisible? Comfortable enough with the prospect of an empty city that slept while he walked, Raph took his headphones and pressed play in the link Donnie had sent him, the cellphone opened a new tab and a podcast started playing. Soothing was followed by a female voice that introduced the name of the show.

"...As always, thank you all for listening. In today's episode we'll be discussing the new revelations in the law case that wrecked the nation: the case Sacks vs Hamato, that absurd demonstration of pure capitalist greed that tried to condemn four literal teenagers to pay an equally absurd amount of money - and prison time!- for materials damage caused to the Sacks company-" "...and illegal espionage." A second voice complemented "Yes, thank you Sabrina. We have already discussed the legal implications that case could open for the judicial system here in America and all the possible outcomes in the Thirteenth episode of the first season of this podcast, if you haven't heard it yet, I heavily suggest you do so you can follow the argument of the developments in this case. Now, Sabrina... Yesterday we saw the final outcome of this case and the hearing that decided the sentence ended with an incredible emotional speech from Donatello - we know he was one of the brother's more involved with the whole process" "Yes" "... And now they're free! Of all charges!" "...Yes Gabi what we saw today followed by Michelangelo's incredible interview in the Late Night Show back on Thursday was, honestly, a beautiful strike against bigotry in this country..." "Absolutely, I mean... The judge of the case himself assumed that the charges were unfounded and biased..." "Yes! And now we have a established background to be able to-"

Raphael stopped the audio, unable to disguise his contempt. Geez , is that the kind of thing Donnie spends his time listening to? Wasn't real life already a bore? He let out a grumpy sigh and put his phone away. A human figure across the street started to stare indiscreetly at him and Raphael felt his heart shrink before making a blunt turn in a different street. The rain had stopped and the night wind was starting to feel colder, just like Raphael's heart as he tried to escape whoever it was that was trying to identify his figure.

A bright blue light appeared at the end of the new street Raphael just walked into. An all-night convenience store. Raph had been in a place that before, he and Casey had brought snacks and a couple of beers. He felt his mouth water at the idea of a cold beer. He had cash - more than enough. Maybe if he promised a fat tip they would let him get in. He shift his height between his feet as he observed the inside, the neon blue light was coming from a weirdly shaped advertisement placed above the entrance, perfectly contrasting with the ugly green light inside the store, some shelves appeared through the glass window and door, but he could tell that the place was empty - or almost that. In his head, Raphael had decided to take that chance and he was determined to perceive, his body, otherwise, didn't seem as thrilled with the idea. He waited outside as the rain started to pour once again, trying collect the mental strength to got in when a skinny old man opened the translucent door

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"Mikey, your last name is now worldwide known since the start of the trial, tell me: is it Japanese? Was it inherited from you father...?"

"I don't know, actually... We made it up!"

"What?" The human man asked as the crowd giggled

"It's exactly that, actually. When we came to the surface and Sacks decides to sue us the judicial system needed a surname to use... Apparently!"

"So you just made it up!"

"Hell yeah! Wouldn't you like to come up with your name?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"What would you call yourself?" He host made a surprise expression as Mikey changed the dynamic

"Jim Linotax!"

"...Oh, it's a pleasure, Mr. Linotax!" Michelangelo said, offering a handshake as he managed to pull more laughs from the crowd

"Michelangelo... It's a unique name!"

"I heard once it was very popular in the sixteen century."

"Oh, really?"

"Oh yes."

"And all your brothers have renascence names, is that right?"

"Yes. Thanks to old dad."

"How 's that?"

"Well, you see, when you grow up in a tiny sewer house you have more concerns than you weirdly specific name..."

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"Are you gonna steal?" The tiny man asked and he seemed to fight the same nervousness as Raph. The turtle-man on the other hand, felt all his limbs stiff and his hands go numb at the sound of that old man directing calling to him. He made a genuine effort and reached his pockets for the dollar bills.

"I-I just want a couple of beers."

"Go AWAY! Go away! No beers here for you!" The man started to yell as Raphael finally caught up his accent. It was stiff and hard in the h's and o's, he couldn't decipher where it was from.

"I just want to buy something! I am a client!" Raphael responded too late to recognize his anger.

"Nothing here for you! Go away!"

"I HAVE THE MONEY!" Raph screamed back at him, waving the bills in the air. The world started to feel out of focus as he realized people had gone to their apartment balconies and were looking at him through the windows in the buildings surrounding the store. Had he woke the whole street? Did he hear someone saying they were calling the police? No, please... The last thing he needed was a scold from Leo for causing a scene... All he wanted was a beer. Fuck, fuck, fuck. More and more lights started to turn on as the buzz around him got bigger and louder. He felt his heart sink and his hand hurt from the tight firsts he could not undo. Something inside him couldn't decide between the want to murder that man and the uncontrollable desire to scream and shout. "No more roof climbing." Leo had said "We're like humans now. We can't just go out jumping through people's houses." He couldn't just vanish away, despite the burning desire to just escape that situation.

"Look," Raphael managed to say, after two or three deep breaths "... I am sorry. I just wanted to buy a beer... I am leaving now."

"Hey! I finally found you!" An unfamiliar voice shouted from the other side of the street. Raph turned to look and almost knocked over whoever it was. Their bodies bumped into each other but only the smaller of them reacted to the impact, he felt a tiny pair of hands grab his arm."OooOOooww! That was close... Hey, we've been looking for you! Did you get the drinks?"

"NO DRINKS HERE FOR YOU!" The store owner screamed once again.

"Damn... Ok. We can go somewhere else!" The female voice had a sharpness to it, finally Raphael finally looked at her.

Nothing in this world could have prepared him for the vision of the young women holding his arm. She was short (but most people usually are in comparison to the mutant), had a luscious curly hair, tied in two pigtails that ended in the back of her neck. She was wearing a very revealing blouse and high waisted pants that matched in color. She was clearly dressed up, with sparkly high heels and long elegant earrings and she was holding his arms with a casualty he had never experienced before.

"C'mon!" She said and turned her head to him, showing a full face of makeup and bright brown eyes "Let's get the hell out of here."

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

The crowd followed Mikey and the host as they laughed at the childhood story the turtle just shared.

"Mikey, unfortunately our time is almost over... I just wanted to thank you once again for coming tonight, for coming out into the world."

"The pleasure is all mine Jim, really... I've spent all my teenage years watching you on TV... I never thought I would be here tonight, I never thought I'd have the pleasure of meeting such a welcoming audience (loud cheering noises) and I never thought I could be part of this world."

There was an almost child-like honesty in his words making the brief moment of silence that came after especially touching.

"He's killing it." - April whispered to the TV

"100%" - Leo's voice came after

"Thank you, Michelangelo... I hope we can have all your brothers soon!"

"You can count on it!" Mikey answered, excited

"You can NOT count on that" - Raphael responded at the TV

━━━━━━ • ✿ • ━━━━━━

"I thought you guys didn't walk the streets... I've red the interview your brother gave to the New Yorker... He said you probably would wait a while until you decided to stroll around." The woman said as they walked back to the lair's alley door. She had told Raphael her name was Clara and they had held hands until they turned the corner and were out of sight from those judging eyes. She was smaller than most humans, Raphael later realized, maybe 5'1 or 5'2 and had a high pitched voice that made the turtle think about those weird anime dubs he used to watch as a kid. The strangest thing about his savior was that she seemed strangely familiarized with his presence. He ignored her comment as they kept walking in silence for a while. Raphael couldn't stop thinking about how long it would take for him to finally reach his destination and how could he respectfully ask for her to back off. Not that he wasn't grateful but her presence alone made him incredibly uncomfortable. She was too small, too elegant, too beautiful to walk just like that, beside him.

"I guess it is equally strange to you, right? To be here, in the real world... Out and about." Clara walked casually with both hands in her pocket as she looked up to the streets lights, Raphael wondered if she actually expected him to answer "... Is it weird for me to be like this? I mean... I thought you could use some help back there. But I don't mean to be inconvenient... Is it ok if you just walk with me closer to the next bus station? It is a bit late and I guess you're the perfect body guard..."

They kept walking, Clara and her tiny hands in the neon green pockets of her pants and Raphael with his stiff steps and dark clothing, all he wanted was to walk home without meeting everyone else, lock the door behind him and drink until all the memories fade away... But it didn't seem his wishes would come true as a pair of men jogging appeared at the end of the street, just in front of them. They looked at the strange couple and one of them startled at the vision. Clara looked at them and waved.

"Good night to you!" She said with a calm tone.

"Are you alright??" One of them asked from far away, still trying to figure out Raphael's image.

"Yeah!" She answered immediately "Why wouldn't I be?" Then she gave them a wide welcoming smile that made Raphael's heart beat uncontrollably "Good night to you." Clara then said, just as she turned one corner, grabbing Raphael's arm.

She then let go of him and offered a warm smile "It's ok... I don't think they will bother you. The bus stop is just right there turning the other corner... Thank you for bringing me here. Good night!" And just like that, she turned her back to him and started to walk away. Each step pressing Raphael's heart against his chest.

"WAIT!" The worlds came out of his mouth before he could stop them. She startled at the unexpected sound and immediately turned to him

"What?"

Raphael waited a minute so he could gather all the emotional strength to ask: "Can you walk me home?"

Clara smiled as she approached the mutant once again: "Is it too far?"

Raph took a minute to answer but instead said: "I'll pay you a cab when we get there." Clara hums and adds:" You sure? I leave pretty far." Raphael only nodded. Then she gave him the same silence answer. He couldn't mentally trace the path he had taken that night but he knew it was almost morning. The rain had stopped long ago but the air was much colder than when he left the lair, he was actually getting cold and wondered if she felt the same. They kept walking in silence until it finally hit him:

"What were you doing in the streets so late at night?"

"Oh..." She seemed surprised by his question, her voice a comparison that made him realize how low he sounded "I was on a date actually..." She said showing her teeth in a straight smile that indicated self-awareness, well that explained the clothing. "The guy turned out to be a prick, so I bolted! I was completely lost when I heard all the fuss the store guy was making... Thank god I found that mess, actually... I was getting pretty scared."

Silence as they got closer and closer to the lair's street door.

"... It was a complete coincidence to find you, actually... I was watching the rerun of your brother's interview today... I am actually in love with him! "she said in a ambiguous tone "Can you introduce us? Do you think I have a chance?" Raph finally laughed. Not at the idea that Mikey was charming enough to acquire the interest a woman like Clara, but at the absurd fact she thought she had to ask if she had a chance. With Mikey?

"He's also a prick." Raphael responded sharply but with a captivating tone to his voice. Then... She laughed. Raph couldn't contain his own grin.

The first sunbeams were about to appear at the horizon and when the red-wearing turtle finally reached the large metal door, he felt a relief like never before.

"I'll call a cab and get inside… So you know… The guy doesn’t bail because of me."

"Ok." Clara said, a light smile in her cheeks. "It was nice to meet you..."

"Raphael." He added after realizing she never asked his name did she knew it already?

"Hope to see you around soon."

Raph nodded with uncertainty and grabbed the metal knob. Clara's last words engraved in his brain as he crossed the long corridor that led to his underground home.

[fantasyoverreality98]

Mess Is Mine

Pairing: Bryce x MC

Summary: Casey finds comfort in Bryce when memories of the attack at the hospital come back to haunt her.

Author’s Note: It’s been a while since I posted a Bryce fic, but here we are. This one was a bit of catharsis and I needed to write some angst, pronto. Not sure when I’ll be posting any writing next since school is trying to bury me alive, but thank you to anyone who takes the time to read, I hope you enjoy it!

Warning(s): Angst, that’s pretty much it

Tag(s): @anotherbeingsworld

Word Count: 1,702

---

Casey tensed at the sound of a knock on her bedroom door, turning onto her side so that her back was facing it. She stared at the wall and tried to focus on her breathing.

“Casey? Are you okay?” Sienna’s voice sounded so small, so far away. “Everyone’s worried about you.”

She chewed on her bottom lip, clenching her jaw when she remembered the panic in Danny’s voice before he’d been taken out of the room. The tears threatened to spill, but she cleared her throat before speaking.

“Fine. Everything’s great.”

Silence. She held her breath and waited for an answer, but it felt like an eternity before she heard a heavy sigh. The way Sienna’s voice sounded made the lump in her throat feel even heavier than before. “We’re here for you. You don’t have to deal with this alone.”

Tears blurred her vision as Casey turned to look up at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. Once, she had been confident, so sure of herself and where she stood as a doctor. Now…now she wasn’t so sure.

After a few minutes passed without an answer, Sienna seemed to give up, the sound of her footsteps on the floor creaking ever so quietly in the quiet of the apartment. Casey waited until she was sure no one was around before she sat up and threw on a coat, taking one quick glance at herself in the mirror before she stepped out of her bedroom.

It had to be almost midnight at this point. A few city lights flashed outside before her, and Casey paused to listen for the sounds of her friends. Everyone seemed to be in their rooms now.

Taking a deep breath, Casey walked towards the front door, biting her bottom lip as she slowly opened it and slipped outside without a word. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked along the quiet streets, trying to think of a way to deal with the grief that weighed down on her.

She had no idea where she was going, but somehow, she found herself walking in the direction of Bryce’s apartment. The building loomed in front of her and her steps faltered. Casey shook in the chilly spring air, searching the windows for any signs of life. Everyone looked like they were asleep.

This was a terrible idea. She never should have come here.

As she turned to leave, a small vibration from her coat pocket stirred her from her daze, and she pulled her phone out to see a text message from Jackie.

Where did you go? We heard you leave a while ago.

Tears blurred her eyes when she thought about having to explain herself to her roommates. No one understood how it felt to live with this guilt weighing down on her.

The truth was, Casey had no idea how to survive surviving.

Sniffling, she told Jackie she was at Bryce’s before she shoved her phone back in her pocket and turned back around, marching to the apartment building. Bryce’s voice filled the quiet night after a few buzzes to his apartment.

“Mm?” His voice had a richness to it that came from waking up from a deep sleep. “Who is it? It’s—” There was silence for a second. “—It’s almost one in the morning.”

“Bryce?” Casey’s voice trembled, the fear she’d been engulfed in for the past several months finally rising to the surface. “Can—can I come in?” If she spoke one more word, she would collapse on the steps.

When there was no answer, she sunk to the ground, leaning against the brick wall as she tried to catch her breath. The world felt like it was closing in as Casey closed her eyes.

Everything had been fine earlier in the week. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d really, truly cried. The time for thinking about the attack should have come to an end.

But if there was one thing that Casey had learned, it was that grief had a funny way of appearing at the worst of times.

“Casey?” The sound of Bryce’s voice startled her, and her eyes flew open, glancing up at him. “What’s wrong?”

No words came. Instead, she opened her mouth, and a hideous cry tumbled out. She hated it when people saw her like this, but she didn’t know who else to turn to. Bryce had always been the one who knew how to make her feel better.

Without a word, Bryce took a seat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. Casey sniffled, resting her head on his chest so he couldn’t see her face. It was not a pretty sight.

“Thinking about the attack on the senator again?” Bryce’s voice still had a bit of hoarseness to it, but it was starting to sound normal again. “What are you doing out here? It’s really late.”

“I didn’t know where else to go,” Casey said, bunching the front of his shirt in her fist.

Trying to explain her feelings was impossible. She didn’t know why she felt the way she did, and nothing seemed to fill the void she’d felt inside since that day in the hospital. Remembering the fear she’d felt for Rafael made it worse. If he hadn’t survived—

Bryce hugged her against him, the faint scent of his cologne clinging to his skin.

Neither of them spoke for a while, sitting in silence while the distant sound of electricity hummed in the distance. For a moment, Casey could almost forget about everything. Here, in Bryce’s arms, things felt right. She felt like she could do anything when he was by her side.

“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced in the middle of the night,” Casey whispered, laying her hand on his chest.

He ran his fingers through her hair, stopping when he reached a small knot and instead tucking the strand behind her ear. “You don’t have to apologize. Honestly, I—” Bryce cleared his throat, his body tensing underneath her. “I still think about that day too. I felt so helpless when I heard what happened. Everyone was panicking, and I couldn’t go to you right away. Maybe if I—”

“Nothing you could have done would have changed it.”

No one liked to admit it, but they’d all changed after that day. Ethan rarely left her alone now, and she could see the worry set on other doctors’ faces when someone walked into the hospital who looked even somewhat disheveled.

Casey couldn’t be inside a hospital room without having a sure way to escape at any moment’s notice. She missed the way things used to be, back when she could live her life without experiencing constant fear.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered, resting her head on Bryce’s shoulder. “I’m scared.”

More tears threatened to spill over as she pressed herself closer to him, afraid what would happen if she let him see the weakness. It amazed her that Bryce hadn’t run far away yet. She wouldn’t blame him if he decided that he never wanted to see her again.

“C’mon.” Bryce slowly got to his feet, pulling Casey up with him. He helped her into the building, pulling her to his side when she shivered at the chill lingering in the air. “You can stay with me as long as you need to, okay?”

The apartment was quiet when they entered, feeling empty without Keiki’s presence. Casey missed the teenager a lot more than she cared to admit. Spending so much time with Bryce and seeing the way her interacted with his sister had introduced her to a whole other side of him. A side that made her fall even deeper in love with the man.

“I don’t know how you haven’t given up on me yet.” The words slipped past her lips before she took a moment to think them through.

Bryce locked his apartment door, standing with his back to her for several seconds after she spoke. His shoulders fell, and he turned to her with a heavy sigh. “I’d never give up on you, Case. I—”

Her heart started to pound in her chest, the heaviness that had weighed down on her for so long lifting for a brief moment.

The tenderness in his eyes made her want to cry, but for an entirely different reason. For months, she’d wanted to say the three words. But she wasn’t sure if he felt the same way.

Finally, Bryce exhaled, giving her a glimpse of that beautiful smile before he grew serious again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Casey didn’t hesitate to say it back, so overcome with emotion she broke down once again in the middle of the living room.

Bryce rushed to her side, holding her in his arms as the two of them stood in the same spot for a long time. By the time she calmed down enough to properly breathe, it was a struggle to keep her eyes open.

“Is it okay if I sleep here? Just for tonight?” Casey hated to impose, but she no longer felt brave enough to walk the streets in the middle of the night.

Bryce nodded, taking her hand to guide her to his room. “Of course.”

They lay in silence for a long time, listening to the sounds of the other breathing. Casey could feel the steady beat of Bryce’s heart beneath her as she cuddled into his chest, using his presence as a reminder that she was real.

She was here. She was still breathing. She was alive, even if it didn’t seem like it at times.

“I’m here.” Bryce’s voice echoed in the silence.

Casey closed her eyes and nodded, sighing when he laced his fingers through hers.

The two of them stayed awake until the sun came up, wrapped in each other’s arms until morning. As sunlight streamed through the blinds, illuminating the bedroom, Casey finally managed to close her eyes, telling herself that, somehow, she would get through this.

And Bryce would be by her side the entire time.

[aibafiles]

RWBY Score Breakdown - Midnight (V8C6)

Okay!! This is something I've wanted to do for quite a while this volume. What I’m hoping to do is a series of posts breaking down the musical score of each episode, looking at character themes & leitmotifs, their instrumentation, how they interact with each other, and how they’ve developed. I was going to start with the second half of the volume (and then maybe work my way back) but I decided I really wanted to cover 6 and 7 first, so here we go!

As a quick aside, I’m relatively new to RWBY and its music. I got caught up between volumes 6 and 7, and spent an even longer time trying to familiarize myself with RWBY’s huge backlog of music and dozens upon dozens of leitmotifs. I think I have a decent ear by now but there’s always stuff I want to go back and pick apart! I do have some experience studying theory & composition, but I am by no means an expert, and if anyone wants to chime in and correct me on something/point out a detail, please do so! Also, this is my own interpretation of the music and in no way a definitive statement on Alex Abraham or Jeff Williams’ intent. (Or any of the other new composers brought on this volume!)

(I don’t think I can work audio examples into this post so this is more of a “pull up the episode and listen along, if you want to” kind of deal. Or hopefully I’m descriptive enough that you can just read it if you’d prefer not to.)

So, Midnight starts us off with some slow strings that lead into Cinder’s leitmotif—but it cuts off before we can reach that last note. It’s still incomplete—put a pin in this; we’ll come back to it. We cut to Atlas, where we hear a really nice jazzy rendition of a piece from way back in Volume 2, when Cinder returns to the dance. (Alex actually responded to a Reddit post about this particular callback and described it as a “maybe? it could make sense in a meta way” decision. I think it’s fitting for another place with a fateful stroke of midnight.)

And then...the new song! I'm mostly here to talk about the score so I won't dwell on it for long, but it is worth noting that this song's melody borrows heavily from Sacrifice (here’s a quick comparison!). It's almost an exact match save for one interval. I’m unreasonably excited for the full version of this song. I can feel the guitars begging to kick in after the episode version cuts off. But I digress...

The next music we hear is a piano variation of Cinder's leitmotif during her training montage with Rhodes. Cinder’s theme is one of the most abundant and easily recognizable in the series. Her leitmotif, as we’re used to hearing it, is typically a perfect fifth up, major second down, and a tritone down. The tritone is a very dissonant interval that is rarely used to end a phrase because of its unresolved sound. That sound is perfect for someone like Cinder (see also: Raven) because it makes her feel harsh and sinister. But in this episode, she hasn't become that person yet, so we get this variation. Instead of her usual tritone, the last note is a step lower, making it another perfect fifth. She’s landed on that last note she didn’t reach at the start of the episode. It’s a friendlier, more hopeful sound that hasn’t had the chance to warp into something twisted yet.

This Cinder variation moves to the strings, and the piano changes to something else: a version of the music from the beginning of Chapter 1 this volume, when we saw young Cinder scrubbing the floor. We can associate that piano with her old life in Mistral, trapped and toiling away endlessly. In a sense, Cinder is still in a very similar position here—but she has some kind of hope now, and this piano line has moved into a major key. Both her established leitmotif and this new idea are coming together, her past meeting her future. And both of them are the sweetest we may ever hear them.

And then it all crashes down. As far as I can tell, Casey’s vocal line when Rhodes walks in on Cinder isn’t based on any established idea. But it does sound sick as hell, as does Awake, which you should absolutely listen to the full version of if you haven’t already.

Back to the present with Hazel and Oscar! The bulk of this scene uses some musical ideas for Hazel established back in Volume 5 in the low brass and strings. There's also the slightest hint of Ozpin in the bells (? I think? it’s tricky to pick out the instruments here) around "I know how you see me."

When Salem gathers everyone, we hear a few different ideas associated with her—her slow, menacing leitmotif in the low strings, and a creepy choir chant. This phrase the choir sings has actually been around since the very end of Volume 3, but hasn’t had much use until the Atlas arc. It was subtle back in the confrontation in Ironwood’s office last volume, and over the course of Volume 8 it’s grown more and more prevalent as we get face-to-face with Salem. To me, this theme feels like it represents the immediate threat of Salem’s presence. She’s right here, and she’s about to do her worst.

But before that, she turns to Cinder, and her eerie choir morphs into something else. It's a bit tricky to make out over all the dialogue and sound effects, but this is Cinder's new song. Salem's own choir is turning these lyrics on her, all the while manipulating Cinder back into her good graces. The music builds and builds, and as Salem takes Cinder’s hand, the melody of "no one's ever loved you" echoes behind them. The scene finishes with Salem in the low strings/brass again.

Salem strikes Atlas. The melody the choir sings appears to be based on the piano from Chapters 4 & 5 when the Grimm rivers appears in the tundra, but now it’s loud and out in full force. (Interestingly, this melody shares some similarities with Lusus Naturae and Cinder’s new leitmotif from Volume 5, both of which are four-note, dissonant descending phrases. While the latter was simply intended to be an additional idea for Cinder to add variation, there was some past speculation about it representing her Grimm arm. All three of these ideas would have an association with Grimm of some kind, although I can’t say that’s necessarily intentional. But it is neat!)

The episode ends with one last version of Salem's leitmotif on a haunting piano, accompanied by the massive low strings that signify Monstra's presence.

Next up: War! There’s a lot going on in there so it may be some time, but thank you for reading!

[mdotmaro]

Winging It.

Chapter 2

Author's Note: I am so ecstatic at the reviews you all have left. I appreciate every kind word and am only mildly afraid of constructive criticisms :). I am going to continue this story along with a vague idea of what happens next. Confession time: I see much of my own relationship with Casey and Derek. No, not step-siblings, just their connection. The club scene with the drunken dancing and then kissing… yeah, that actually happened to us. Extra fun fact is that I was his boss at the time :P ANYWAY! Onto the main event.

"So, the glory of the stage wasn't all that in the end?" Lizzy assumed as she carefully packed Casey's dishware into the appropriately labeled boxes. Marti was on bathroom duty, and Nora was working on linens while Casey was backing her clothes and shoes. Casey's announcement to leave New York and go back to school for business with a minor in dance was warmly welcomed. Nora admitted that she was selfishly glad that Casey would only be a few hours away by car instead of a plane ride away. Marti was more curious about what happened. The now ten-year-old went through Casey's bathroom with precision to see if there was any clue her step-sister was hiding.

"Did Jessie do something stupid?" Marti asked from her perch on the bathtub. Casey gave a short laugh.

"No, he didn't. Even if he did, it doesn't matter. We broke up months ago. He was just a summer romance." Casey said with a reassuring smile. Marti narrowed her eyes, not entirely convinced. Casey desperately wanted to change the subject, so she moved to Lizzie, who was tapping up the last kitchen box.

"So, speaking of summer romances. Have you heard from Oscar, Lizzie?" Casey asked abruptly; Lizzie slipped and cut off a much longer piece of tape than was needed. She glared at her older sister, who mouthed 'sorry' to the now blushing teen. Lizzie cleared her throat.

"Oscar lives in Parkhill, and we have a date over at the skatepark over there. He is going to teach me to skateboard." Lizzie said and quickly picked up the box and scurried off downstairs to the car. Marti came out of the bathroom with her box and a confused expression.

"But Lizzie already knows how to skateboard. She taught Edwin and me," Marti said, and Nora giggled and took Marti in a light hug.

"Yes, but Oscar doesn't know that," Nora said with a smile, and Marti shrugged, still not understanding but not invested enough to keep asking. Casey, Nora, and Marti went downstairs for the last time and finished packing the moving truck. Casey would fly back with the girls, and after a weekend at home, she would go to Queens to start the Summer semester.

Normally Casey loved falling asleep on long flights, but her heart was beating too fast for her to relax. Derek had left New York from his short trip to see Casey two weeks ago, and they were still 'Winging it,' so to speak. They talked nearly every night, more or less the usual banter and teasing, but there was something else there. It was impossible to tell how the family would react to the eldest step-siblings 'winging it,' so they had both agreed not to say anything until they were sure. Casey was relieved she could convince Nora and George that she could live by herself in a dorm instead of in an apartment with Derek. They were afraid of her being alone, but she quickly reminded them that she had lived alone in another country for six months and did just fine.

Besides, the idea of them living together so soon after they...they kissed. Casey absentmindedly touched her lips in the memory of those hot at heavy sessions at the club and in her room. She unconsciously clenched her thighs together. They didn't move past the over clothing caresses and kissing. Casey had tried having sex with Jessie, and by tried, she means tried to go for longer than a few seconds because it was just too painful. Jessie wouldn't pressure her to go any further than she was willing, but coincidentally after the third time they tried having sex with no success, Jessie came over to say things were not working out.

Casey had been relieved, but now what? Derek, Casey imagined, had a lucrative sex life in university, and now that they were... whatever they were. How could she tell him that sex was so painful for her?

"Casey. Your cuticles are bleeding." Lizzie said, snapping Casey out of her intense thoughts. She had been peeling the excess skin at her cuticle, and sure enough, little garnet bubbles of blood had appeared around her nails. Casey quickly wrapped her especially mutilated middle finger in a napkin and applied pressure.

"What's wrong?" Lizzie asked and then peered over to the aisle across from them where Marti and Nora seemed to be sound asleep. "It's just me. You can tell me, and then it could make up for totally throwing me under the bus earlier." Lizzie teased and poked at Casey's side. Casey gave her little sister a guilty smile.

"Sorry again about that," Casey sighed and contemplated telling Lizzie everything. Her little sister was extremely mature for her age, but she adored Derek like a blood brother, and Casey knew that this would be jarring even if Lizzie acted supportively. Casey decided on half-truths.

"I am nervous about having sex," Casey whispered, and Lizzie furrowed her brows.

"But you and Jessie never?" Lizzie asked, and Casey let out a heavy sigh.

"We tried, but it was just too painful," Casey admitted, and then Lizzie shook her head.

"From what I have researched, sex is not supposed to hurt. You are not really even supposed to bleed because of your 'broken hymen.' If it hurts that much, he is doing it wrong." Lizzie explained, and Casey couldn't help but smile at her sister. Of course, she researched sex. A quick flush of panic ran through Casey, and she looked at her baby, 14-year-old sister. Had she already had sex? Lizzie laughed at her expression.

"Relax, I haven't had sex yet. Not really interested yet, but I have plenty of condoms when I am ready, and I will make sure I have mom or George take me to get the pill. Casey stared at Lizzie, quite impressed.

"Have you told Nora and George about your well-calculated plan? And where did you get condoms?" Casey was trying to keep her volume down not to alert the other plane passengers. Lizzie shrugged.

"George kept having to leave the conversation to go outside and get some air, but mom was glad I am being responsible, and I got the condoms from Edwin," Lizzie explained. Casey had a brief moment to imagine sweet George trying to compose himself at the idea of his stepdaughter having sex. Casey was sure that he would need therapy after Marti hit puberty.

"And where did Edwin get condoms?" Casey asked incredulously and then realized at the same that Lizzie said

"Derek," they both said in unison. Maybe it was naive, but Casey, the thought of her little siblings being open to the idea of having sex made her queasy. Casey's finger stopped bleeding, and she tucked the bloody napkin into her now empty bag of pretzels.

"Don't worry, things will happen naturally, and now if you want to bail, you can use Derek as an excuse," Lizzie tried to reassure. Unfortunately, her timing was awful, and Casey choked on her water that she had been drinking. Lizzie smacked her back hard, and a few curious passengers turned to check on the commotion. Casey finally regained the ability to breathe and nervously laughed at Lizzie.

"And what would Derek do?" She asked, trying not to sound shrill. Lizzie smiled at her sister.

"Oh well, he can play the role of overly protective brother," Lizzie said but then tilted her head in thought. "I mean, he wouldn't do it for free" She laughed. Casey gave Lizzie a small smile and let out a deep breath, and continued to look out the window. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself. She and Derek hadn't even been on an official date yet. Sure they had gone to eat in the city and run around central park and even went to an amusement park but had those counted as dates? I mean, they held hands through the corn maze, but Derek insisted it was because he didn't feel like chasing after her when she inevitably got lost.

Casey smiled at the memories. Something else that made her chest flutter was waking up next to Derek. She missed being held while she fell asleep, but it's not like they could do that right away at university. There were rules. Weren't there?

Edwin had just passed his driver's license and was glad to volunteer to pick them up at the airport. He had seemed to have grown several centimeters in the six months Casey had been away and now was slightly taller than her.

"Edwin, look at you!" Casey said as she attacked him in a bear hug. Edwin grinned and twirled so she could see his new and improved preppy wardrobe too. His jeans seemed uncomfortably tight, and his polo was maybe a bit snug, but his face was losing its baby softness, and he had a ghost of a mustache on his upper lip.

"I know, your little brother Edwino is all grown up and looking cool," He said, and Casey couldn't help pinching his cheek.

"Aww, you are so cute." She said, and he shrugged off her pinching.

"Casey, cute isn't cool. I am a man now." Edwin protested. Marti laughed as she passed her brother.

"Really, you're a man now. Why didn't we get the memo." She snickered, and Lizzie laughed as she went into the backseat to join Marti. Nora squeezed Edwin's shoulder reassuringly.

"Aw, don't listen to them, Edwin. We know you are a man, and speaking of which, we can start talking about when you can pay for your car insurance," Nora said, and Edwin gulped. Casey road in the back with the girls and Nora road shotgun. They were all talking animatedly, talking about school, Simon, and generally anything in the neighborhood. Casey was excited to see Emily. They had coordinated to see each other the next evening. Casey was hoping to talk to Emily about her and Derek, just to be able to talk to someone for advice. Emily and Derek broke up a week after graduation; things just seemed a bit forced. After having a crush on someone for so long, it was hard not to be crushed by the heavy expectation of a perfect ending. Emily actually was discovering a newer side of her sexuality and actually had a steady girlfriend, Ruby.

The house came into view, and before she could get swept up in the nostalgia, her heart dropped to her toes at the sight of the prince in the driveway.

"Wait. Why is Derek here? He isn't supposed to pick me up until Sunday?" Casey asked in a loud and almost shrill voice. Nora sighed.

"He was able to come down for the weekend. Isn't this great, Casey? The whole family gets to spend time together before you both go off to University. So, try to be civil, please." Nora pleased, and Casey sighed and nodded to her mother. George came out with a crying Simon. Casey had been right on her assumption that he had doubled in size. Poor George looked exhausted but smiled at his eldest step-daughter warmly nonetheless.

"Casey, it's great to see you," He said, and Casey hugged him and reached for Simon. The baby was pink-cheeked and bundled in a light green onesie. Casey started cooing at little Simon and rocking him lightly.

"Careful, he just projectile vomited on Derek," George warned after he kissed Nora. Casey chuckled.

"Knowing Derek, he probably deserved it," Casey said with the same cooing voice. She was surprised at how quickly the jeer came to her. Old habits, she guessed.

"Well, he is taking a shower now, so you'll have some time to get settled before you two go at each other's throats," George said and took her dance bag from her shoulder. Casey thanked him and went to sit on the couch.

"Oh hey, Casey, I hope you don't mind. We had to do a little room rearrangement with both you and Derek gone. We moved Edwin into Derek's room and Simon into his old room, and yours into a guest bedroom, so If you don't mind sharing the space with Derek's things. While you're here." Nora said and then clarified after seeing Casey's wide eyes. "Just his things; he will be taking the couch at night." Casey might have a nervous breakdown before the end of the weekend.

Simon started reaching out his tiny pale fists towards Nora, who happily collected her baby. Lizzie dragged Casey up to show her how she redecorated her room, and such was the process for the other two Venturi children. Casey retreated into her old room, now a guest bedroom, and exhaled against the door. She assessed the room. Gone were her ballet trophies and academic achievement awards. Now there was a pale yellow walled, neutral sandalwood furnished and fluffy white carpeted room. Derek's battered duffle bag was on the cream-covered bed. Casey swallowed thickly and thought back to her conversation on the plane with Lizzie. Derek had given condoms to Edwin. Did he pack any for this weekend? Was he expecting something to happen in their parents' home? She had only just begun to unzip the bag when a voice came up behind her.

"Snooping, Case?" Casey shuddered at Derek's warm breath on the back of her neck. Casey jumped and reflexively swung a pillow at Derek.

"Der-rek, you scared me." She shouted and then took an extra step back when she realized that he was shirtless and slightly damp from the shower. Derek had always been lean, but there was a new indent of muscles, especially at the v of his hips from piling more hours at the rink in university, and Casey forced her eyes to stay now lower than his collar bones.

"Yeah, but you were still snooping. What's up Casey, you seem a bit flushed?" He said with a level of sarcastic concern; he couldn't keep the mischief out of his dark eyes. Casey kept her chin held high.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't bring anything inappropriate that the kids could find, like how you gave Edwin condoms. He is fifteen, Derek," She said hotly. Derek caught on to her real question.

"Well, he's at that age where it's better to be safe than sorry, and though he is not as in with the ladies as I was, it's part of being a big brother," He said and took another step towards her. Casey was already leaning against the nightstand. There was no. Further, she could retreat to. "But don't worry, I wasn't expecting anything this weekend," He reassured and then smirked. "And in our parents' home no less, for shame, Macdonald." He teased and cupped her chin once she let out a relieved exhale.

"Oh, shut up. I just wanted to make sure you didn't have any ill intentions." She said but leaned into his touch nonetheless. She quickly glanced at the door. Thankfully she had thought to lock it. Derek followed her gaze, and with the minor level of privacy, he leaned down and kissed her pouty lips. Casey sank into the kiss; his wet curls brushed her forehead and ran her cool fingers down the side of his face. Derek's hands roamed up and down her sides, occasionally dropping to squeeze her outer thighs. The feeling made Casey release a shuddering gasp. Derek moved both hands to her face and kissed her firmly before breaking away.

"Think you can hold off with just that for now, Case?" He asked, a bit breathless. Casey looked up into his eyes and saw the restraint he was using, so she offered a small smile and let the tips of her fingers whisper down his torso and then stop at his jeans' waistband. Derek bit back a grunt.

"Sure thing, Der," Casey said and turned to head downstairs. When she didn't hear his footsteps trailing her, she saw him with his back facing her and his hands resting on his hips. "You coming?" She asked

"Mhmm, Just give me a minute," He said, and Casey bit back her giggle. Derek let out a breath.

"Oh, don't worry, Princess. I'll pay you back."

Next day

"I'm sorry, run that by me again. You and Derek?" Emily asked for the third time. They were at Smelly Nelly's, and Casey was picking at her salad.

"Sorta. It's just something that happened all of a sudden when he came down to New York. Now I just keep getting all flustered around him and even the thought of him." Casey explained and then gave up on her salad altogether with a groan and holding her head in her hands. "Pathetic, huh."

"Well..." In a high-pitched voice, Emily caused Casey's head to look up and give her best friend a desperate look.

"Emily! I am in a delicate state right now." She complained, and Emily giggled at her friend's antics. Same old Casey.

"Casey, I am your best friend, and so it is my solemn sworn duty to inform you that this is not all of a sudden," Emily indicated with outstretched hands. "You two have had this intense chemistry that you both were too stubborn and thankfully young to understand. I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to jump the gun before you told me and inadvertently caused you to blow it out of proportion." Emily explained and then took a sip of her mint tea. Casey was in open-mouthed shock.

"I don't blow things out of proportion." Casey protested. Emily pursed her lips into a knowing smile. Casey waved it off.

"I mean, this is wrong, right? He is my stepbrother; we've known each other since we were fifteen," Casey whispered. Emily sighed.

"It's not conventional, that's for sure, but as you said, you were fifteen when you met. You didn't necessarily grow up together like Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti have. Have you guys talked about it?" Emily asked. Casey nodded.

"We have; since we don't really know where this will lead, we didn't want to get everyone at home involved, especially the kids," Casey explained, and Emily nodded in agreement and then reached out to hold Casey's hand.

"Casey MacDonald, you are stuck in your very own version of 'Clueless.'" She teased; Casey couldn't help but laugh at that. She conjured up her best Cher impression.

"As if! Derek wishes he were Pual Rudd."

The weekend hadn't been such agony to get through as Casey had predicted. Thankfully with so many people in the house, it was easy to slip a gaze or two, and hand grazes without being noticed. All things carried on well until Sunday breakfast.

"Okay, Derek, now that Casey is going to school with you, be sure to look after her," George said before shoveling down some eggs. Derek was across from Casey at the table and gave a nonchalant shrug.

"I'm pretty sure Casey can take care of herself." He said through a mouthful of bacon.

"For once, you're right, Derek," Casey said with as much bite she could muster. "I will be fine, George, and I didn't need Derek to save me in New York. I don't need him to save me in Queens." She said proudly and continued to eat her avocado toast.

"I didn't know you went to see Casey in New York, Derek," George said, and Casey almost choked. Derek gave Casey a leveled look that read, 'Way to go, Space Case.'

"I take it back; Casey needs all the help she can get. She called whining about everyone being so mean to her, so I took pity and flew in." Derek said a nudged Edwin. "The theater girls were hoooot," and the brothers shared a chuckle. Lizzie made a disgusted sound, and Casey tried to keep the burning blush from rising from her chest.

"I should have let them rip you apart." She snapped. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Please, unlike you. I can handle a few catty girls." He said, and Casey chucked an apple at his head, he easily ducked, but Marti wasn't so lucky.

"Oww, Casey!" She shouted.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Marti." She said, and her stepsister grumbled by something along the lines of 'quit flirting.' Only Derek was close enough to hear, and he froze.

"What was that, Smarti?" He said, and she looked up at her brother, and her dark blue eyes said that she knew far more than they were letting on. Derek frowned at her; when did Marti start rebelling against Derek? Mari batted her lashes at him and smiled.

"Oh nothing, Smirk. I am just going to miss you and Casey when you go away." She said and threw her arms around Derek's neck and whispered so low that only he could hear. "I know."

[anna-justice]

Lost or Found - 12

Summary: As Jay, Hailey, Kim, Adam and Kevin start their junior year in the wake of a tragic summer, the past year of their lives comes back to haunt them. If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars, this is for you! *UPSTEAD/BURZEK High School AU

...

12 - Need You Now ...

Jay clenched his jaw as he took the man’s hand. He wanted nothing more than to sock him square in the face--a thought that was becoming a pattern--and tell him to get the hell out. But, that was a sure way to get himself thrown out, and he refused to let Hailey wake up alone in this horrible situation. So, he bit his tongue and played nice. “You too, sir. Wish it was under better circumstances.” Jay said, forcing a smile. It was true, he did wish that they had met under better circumstances, for two reasons. One being that her dad wasn’t a sadistic asswhole and two being that he wished he was in a position to beat the shit out of him. 

Eldon nodded, agreeing with the young man standing in front of him, none-the wiser of his bubbling hatred. He wrapped an arm around his wife and thankfully didn’t notice Jay’s not so subtle flinch. 

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife, Jay had once again sat down in the seat adjacent to Hailey’s bed while Anne and Eldon pulled chairs up next to her. Jay’s knee bounced nervously, he was wondering how long it took to buy a sandwich and where Trudy was. He wanted to leave and remove himself from the terrible silence, but the thought of Hailey waking up to face her father without him was as appealing as drinking battery acid. Instead, he sent a quick text to Adam, hoping he would come and share his wit and charm with the group.

Jay: Hailey’s parents are here…

Less than five seconds later, he replied.

Ruzey Ruzek: Are you serious?

Jay: Deadass

Jay: I’m gonna kill him if you don’t come stop me

Ruzey Ruzek: Don’t do that…

Ruzey Ruzek: A hospital is a terrible place to kill someone

Ruzey Ruzek: If you are going to murder him, put a little more effort in. For me?

Jay rolled his eyes, he was thankful for his best friend who was obviously trying to distract him. He also took notice of the fact that yet again, Adam had changed his contact information to something stupid. 

Jay: I hate you

Adam Ruzek: No you don’t

Adam Ruzek: You love me

Jay: Whatever

Adam Ruzek: Love you too bestie ;)

Jay: Stop being a little shit pls

Jay: This is not good

Adam Ruzek: I know

Adam Ruzek: Let me talk to Kim and then I’ll come down there

Jay: Thanks

Adam Ruzek: Ofc

Jay let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding, relaxing into his chair a bit more. At least with Adam here he wouldn’t have to bear the hostility alone. 

“So. Jay, tell me about yourself.” Eldon said, turning to face him. “Anne made it sound like you and Hailey are very close.” 

Jay leaned forward in his chair, deciding that a faked conversation was better than deafening silence. Plus, he couldn’t risk Hailey’s dad thinking he knew anything, he didn’t want to put her or her mom in harms way. “We are, she’s my best friend.” He said honestly, with a soft smile.

“I hope you have only pure intentions with my daughter…” Eldon threatened, a eyebrow cocked.

Jay fought off the urge to scoff, “The purest.” 

Eldon nodded, feigning relief. “Good.” Jay was convinced he was only speaking to keep up appearances. “You play any sports son?” 

“Baseball.” Jay said courtly, his own father wouldn’t own up to him being his son, he didn’t need anyone calling him that, let alone an abusive arse. 

“Hailey’soldest brother went to college on a baseball scholarship!” Anne said, piping in. Jay gave her a big smile, happy to transfer the conversation to her. 

“Really? Where?” Jay asked, genuinely interested.

Anne beamed,“Indiana State.” 

“Wow, you must be proud.” Jay said.

“We are.” Eldon cut in, a little too harsh for Jay’s liking. 

Just like that the almost friendly conversation was over and the silence returned, Jay was about to text Adam to ask him where he was when Trudy came bounding into the room holding a pizza box. Her jaw dropped and Jay stood immediately. Her eyes met his and then focused back on the couple in front of her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

…

Kevin sat in the locker room with Matt Casey and Connor Rhodes after their saturday morning practice. He hated that he couldn’t be with his friends at the hospital, but football season stopped for no man and he was counting on impressing college scouts a year early.

“You coming to the party tonight?” Connor askes. Kevin shakes his head and Connor rolls his eyes. “Of course you aren’t, you haven’t been to any in months. Matt?”

Matt shakes his head as well. “Can’t, I have a date with Sylvie.” 

Before Connor can respond, Kevin claps his teammate and friend on the back. “Man, you’ve been crushing on her for like a year now.” He teases and Matt smiles big. “Congrats.”

“Thanks.” Matt says, “I’m really excited, really nervous and really worried that I’m going to screw this up.” 

Kevin is taken aback by the blondes sudden outburst of transparency, Matt wasn’t usually one for sharing his feelings. Anxiety must be his truth serum. “Where are you taking her?” 

“Molly’s, you know it? I think it’s perfect, not too fancy but enough to make a good impression. Plus, the owner works with Wallace.” Matt explained and Kevin knew exactly what place Matt was talking about. He had gone there for Kim’s birthday last year with the rest of their friends. 

Kevin picked up his bag and waved goodbye to Connor who was heading out. “Sounds perfect man, she’ll love it.”

“Thanks.” Matt said, he grabbed his bag and followed Kevin out of the locker room. “I heard about Kim and Hailey, how are they doing?”

Kevin sighed, “Last I heard, Hailey hadn’t woken up yet and Kim was doing good, no hearing loss like they had expected.”

“Damn, that’s great about Kim, but Hailey’s not out of the woods yet?” Matt asked.

Kevin shrugged, “Not that I know of.” There was a hint of sadness to his voice unrelated to his friends current state. The balance in the group was off and Kevin was taking the brunt of it. When Erin was alive, there were six of them. He always had someone to pair off with whether it was Adam, Kim or Hailey. Now there were five and as happy as he was for his friends, it was hard being the fifth wheel. 

He and Kim had been friends for years, that’s how he was brought into the group, it just happened that he knew Adam and Jay and clicked with them well. He was a little jealous if he was being honest, not only did he not always have the time to be totally  invested like the rest of them, but any time he did he felt like he was being held at an arms length. Kevin wanted to have a person, like Hailey was to Jay (anyone who wasn’t blind could see it, and even then they probably knew) or Kim was to Adam. He had been interested in Nadia at first, but her obvious feelings for Jay caused his to fade fast. Besides it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, Erin got rid of her at the first sign of weakness. 

Kevin bid goodbye to Matt and made his way to his old jeep, still wrapped up in his own thoughts. He felt guilty placing blame on a dead girl, but he couldn’t help but think that all of this was Erin’s fault. He wasn’t usually the one to displace emotion, he grew up in a household where they were almost too out in the open. However, his hatred for Erin--or the dramatics that surrounded her for that matter--was increasing by the day. He had no idea how she got herself in the situation she was in and he sure a hell didn’t understand how she dragged the rest or them and their families into it.

When he got home he found Vinessa playing in the family room and his mom in the kitchen. He said hello to his mother and told her about practice before sitting down to play with Vinessa. She had a barbie in her hand, and Kevin knew for a fact that she didn’t have any barbies. Taking a closer look over her shoulder, Kevin realized that it was no normal doll. It looked exactly like Erin.

…

Jay dropped his gaze to his phone and shot Adam a quick text.

Jay: Abort abort

Jay: Trudy is here

Eldon slowly stands and gives his sister-in-law a fake smile. “Checking on my only daughter, since you were so forth coming on her condition when you called.”

Trudy set the pizza down on the small table near the door and took a step toward him. “You are not welcome here. You need to leave.” 

Jay looked back and forth between them, trying to decipher where this was going. “What are you going to do Trudy? Call security? I haven’t done anything…”

“Like hell…” Jay said under his breath, Eldon’s head whipped around and Jay realized that his thought that slipped had not been as quiet as he hoped. 

Eldon was seething, Jay was convinced that he had literal steam coming out of his ears. “What did you say?” He took a step towards Jay and Anne reached out to grab his arm.

“Eldon--”

He ripped his arm from her grip, “Don’t touch me.” Anne backed away, much to Jay and Trudy’s approval. “You have no right to speak to me that way.”

Jay took a moment to consider her next move, he had already gotten himself into to some deep shit so he might as well go full send. “You have no right to smack around your wife or your daughter.” The last part came out more spat than in sentence form and Eldon clenched his fists.

The way he saw it, he had two choices: lay the kid in front of him out and high tail it out of there, or, play dumb and make him look like a idiot. He went with the latter. “I don’t know what your talking about.”

Jay scoffed, glancing at Anne who becoming one with the wall. He felt a wave of guilt wash over him, there was no doubt that he had put the woman in danger due to his anger getting the best of him. “Sure, of course you don’t. You don’t anything about the injury that damaged Hailey’s body so bad that she needed a pacemaker?” He was almost yelling and a look of shock crossed Eldon’s face. He guessed that he thought no one knew. 

“I don’t have to stay here and listen to this.” Eldon grumbled, turning to face his wife.

Jay stood his ground, determined to have the last word. “Leave.” 

Eldon shot him a glare like he had never seen before and stormed out of the room. Jay let out a sigh of relief along with Trudy, who had jumped out of the doorway to make room for the brooding man. Anne began to gather her things, grabbing her purse and pressing a chaste kiss to her daughters forehead. Jay had forgotten Hailey was still there in the midst of all the craziness. Anne reached the threshold before Trudy spoke up. “You don’t have to leave with him.” Anne gave her a teary shrug and disappeared down the hallway. 

Trudy collapsed into one of the chairs they had abandoned so quickly. “I’m sorry.” Jay said softly, his guilt eating him up.

Trudy rann her hands down her face, “You didn’t do anything wrong Jay, you did what you thought was best.” Jay shrugged, her approval doing very little to calm the pit in his stomach. “But Hailey can never know they were here.” 

Jay nods, “Yeah okay.” He took a seat next to Trudy, placing his hand over Hailey’s. He wished he could erase the past few hours, and he wished Hailey’s beautiful blue eyes would open do the pressure on his chest would lift. He was ready for the nightmare of waiting to be over. 

Hailey felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks when she woke up, she opened her eyes and quickly shut them, groaning at the bright lights. 

Jay shot forward in his seat, “Hailey?” He gripped her hand a little harder and pulled his chair closer to the bed. 

She forced herself to open her eyes again, squinting. She recognized his voice and smiled softly. “Hey.” She croaked out, her throat dry from being asleep for so long. Hailey looked around the room and slightly nudged her head towards the pitcher of water beside her bed. Jay got the message and jumped up, getting her a glass. She gulped it down quickly, feeling a bit more like herself. Trudy announced that she was going to find a doctor, giving the two of them the room. 

“You scared me.” Jay said honestly, he had grown another set of balls since that morning. “How are you feeling?”

Hailey attempted to shrug, but it came out more of an awkward shake. “Okay, I guess.” 

Jay nodded, taking the next few moments to remind her what happened and explain their story. Thankfully Hailey remembered everything, right up to hearing his voice before she passed out. 

“How long was I out?” Hailey asked.

Jay sighed,“Since you got here last night, I’ll let the doctor explain everything.” 

“Everything?” Hailey asked, panicking a bit. She didn’t know the extent of her injuries and she had been in this position once before. It wasn’t fun. 

“Hey, hey.” Jay said, brushing a piece of tangled blonde hair behind her ear. “It’s gonna be okay, you’re going to be okay.” 

Hailey nodded, blinking back tears and deciding to change the subject. “How long have you been here?”

Jay grinned sheepishly, “Six this morning…” 

Hailey gasped, “When did you leave last night?”

“One.” Hailey was about to chew him out, but he beat her to it. “I know exactly what you are going to say and don’t you dare. I wanted to be here, I couldn’t have been anywhere else. I was going crazy at home when I was there.” 

Hailey blushed at his words, she hated that she was reacting to him this way because of their obvious situation, but she couldn't help it. The thought of him sitting in her hospital room for hours on end made her heart swell, as twisted as it was. 

“Let’s see what’s on TV…” Jay coughed, clicking the button on the remote. 

Hailey nodded, glancing past him. “Is that pizza?” 

Jay laughed and got up to get the box. He knew she probably wasn’t supposed to eat, but after his confession he would give her any distraction she wanted. 

Hailey turned her head to face the TV that was currently playing the local news. It was a press conference, the man speaking looked familiar and he was wearing a crisp uniform that she recognized. She had seen her uncle in it before. She read the heading on the bottom of the screen. 

Benjamin Severide - Office of Fire Investigation

Fire that potentially claimed the life of local teen Erin Lindsay has officially been ruled an arson.

Hailey’s eyes widened at the name. Severide. That was all the confirmation that Hailey needed, she knew she was right. Kelly’s dad worked in the very department that was controlling the investigation, if he was a part of it, they could make it go away. “Jay, look.” Jay glanced at the screen and by the look on his face, Hailey knew they were thinking the same thing. Someway, somehow, Kelly Severide was at the middle of all of it, and Hailey was going to find out exactly how.

[soheila-1996]

Wake up, Rookie- Part Four

Paring: Ethan x F!MC

Warnings: Coma. 

Word count: 2,115

Catch up here

Tags:  @dulceghernandez   @rookie-ramsey @choicesandanimeruleme @aylamwrites @ethansmommyissues @schnitzelbutterfingers @therookie @lilyvalentine @sitihania @cordoniaqueensworld @eramsey28 @lucy-268 @swimmingauthordreamerbonk​

Any feedback is always super appreciated! :) All characters belong to Pixelberry

(Harper’s POV) 

I just reach the elevator when Naveen catches up with me. I turn around to face him after pressing the button as he lightly grasps my arm. 

“Where are you going?” 

“To find Ethan,” I explain with a sigh. “He’s not picking up his phone and he needs to know what’s going on.”

“Okay, I’ll stay with Abigail,” Naveen says, I nod in agreement as he takes off towards her room and I wait for the elevator. On the way to the exit, I bump into Dr. Lahela. 

“Have you seen Dr. Ramsey?” I ask. 

Bryce nods his head, “Yeah, he er...he just...he’s just outside,” He says, obviously deciding against whatever he was about to tell me. 

“What is it?” 

Bryce sighs, “I’m not trying to snitch on him or anything but he,,, Ethan just had a panic  attack over Casey. She apparently-” 

“I know,” I say cutting him off.

“Is she okay?” He pleads. 

“She’s okay,” I nod, “I’ll go and deal with Ethan. Thank you for telling me about it,” With that, Bryce heads over to the elevator and I walk outside. Once outside, I’m able to see Ethan sitting alone on the bench, still looking rather distressed. 

I sigh and walk over to the broken man. 

I take a seat beside him. “She’s sable,” I tell him straight away, “ I see him visibly relax, “She’s okay. Abigail and Naveen are with her now,” I continue, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ethan turns to look at me and gives me a nod. I can see that he doesn’t want to talk so we just sit in a comfortable silence for a little while. 

I can’t help but to think back to the ring. I wonder if he’s mentioned it to Naveen. He’s never talked about getting married but Ethan never really talks much about his personal life anyway so I’m not that surprised. He does love her though; anyone can see that. Now we’re in natural light it’s easier to see how tired he looks, how broken he looks. I’m not sure how he thinks that not looking after himself is going to help Casey. She wouldn’t want him to be getting so overwhelmed to the point of a panic attack. 

“Are you okay?” I ask, I’m not sure why though. It’s obvious that he’s not but it just seems like the right thing to do. 

“Honestly?” I nod, “No.” He turns to me as his eyes begin to well up again. “I’m really not, Harper. I don’t….I just don’t know what to do.” 

“No one knows what to do in this situation, Ethan,” I reassure, “What you need to do now is go home, shower, sleep, eat. When was the last time you had something to eat?” He shrugs. “Ethan,” I sigh, “You need to look after yourself. She wouldn’t want you not taking of yourself.” 

“She’s in a coma, Harper, she doesn’t want anything. She’s completely unaware of everything going on around her,” He snaps. I don’t take it personally though. He’s going through a lot and sleep deprivation obviously isn’t making it any easier for him. “Sorry, I’m just-” 

“I know,” I interrupt nodding,” It’s okay, Ethan.” 

(Ethan’s POV) 

A little bit of time has passed. It’s actually kind of nice to be outside for once. I just can’t describe the amount of relief I just felt when Harper told me she’s alive. I’ve never felt that scared before in my life. 

“I- I didn’t actually realize how much I love her until today,” I explain, clearing my throat. “She means everything to me and nearly losing her...there’s still a possibility that I could and...I don’t think I would survive losing her, Harper. I just don’t think I could.” 

She simply nods and we sit in comfortable silence for a minute. There’s nothing really to say. Everything is so uncertain right now. There’s a  possibility that could happen again or she could never wake up. Even if she does; no one knows what kind of state she’s going to be in. I’ll be there either way but I have no idea how this will affect her life, her career.  I just wish that I could turn back time or swap places with her. 

“I found the ring, Ethan.” I turn to look at her raising an eyebrow, “It fell out of your jacket.” She says and hands it over to me. I reach in and retrieve the box from the pocket and rest the coat on my lap as I open it up, looking at the sparkling diamond inside. I gently take it out and look at Casey’s initials carved into the inside. “You really love her don’t you?” 

“Yeah, yeah I do.  I’ve had this for a while,” I explain nodding down at it. “I was just waiting for the right time, I guess.  Now that might not even happen.” My eyes begin to water as I put it back into the box and then into my coat. 

 “Don’t give up on her just yet,” Harper advises. 

“I’m not, Harper. I’m just trying to be...practical,”  I say, swallowing thickly. 

“Bryce told me what happened-” 

“So now he’s gossiping about me?” I ask, cutting Harper off. I’m overtired and small things are starting to get on my nerve. 

“No, he was concerned. He cares. You’re dating his best friend. I’m sure that if Casey could talk right now she’d ask him to keep an eye on you.” 

“I don’t need looking after,” I object. 

“Ethan, needing help isn’t a bad thing,” Harper sighs, “We all need help sometimes; whether we’d like to admit that or not. If Casey could see the state you’re in she’d-” 

“She’d be nagging my ear off to look after myself better- she does it anyway.” 

“She’s a smart girl,” Harper responds, giving a small smile and giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze. 

“Yeah, she is-” As I glance up I see Casey’s dad heading toward the entrance. I get to my feet. 

“What?” Harper questions, getting up herself as we head towards the door too just as Anthony goes in. 

“That’s Casey’s dad,” I say, nodding to him as he disappears into the hospital. We continue inside and meet him by the front desk. “Anthony,” I call out to get his attention. He turns around to face us both; his face tear-stained and his eyes still red and puffy. 

“Is she okay?” He panics and walks the short distance over to us. 

“Yeah,” I nod, “She’s okay. They got her back.”  

“Can I see her?”

“Yeah,” I nod, “I’ll take you up to see her now,” I say as the three of us head over to the elevators. On the way up I introduce Harper and Anthony to each other. 

Once we’re on the floor we slowly walk to Casey’s room as I explain to him what’s going on. When we arrive at her door, Harper leaves us as Naveen steps out of the room, quickly says hello to Anthony then also takes his leave. 

Like I had previously done just days before, Anthony goes to open the door but decides against it. I peep inside the window to see Abigail none the wiser to her husband's appearance as she sits beside Casey’s bedside, one of her daughters hands clasped tightly in hers.

It takes a few minutes for Anthony to feel able to go in and visit his daughter. Abigail stands up to greet Anthony. He stands frozen by the door at the sight of Casey. Abigail wraps her arms around her husband as they walk a little closer to the bed. 

The look on Anthony’s face is one that all of us have had when we’ve seen her for the first time. It’s hard to explain how it feels other than saying it physically hurts. It breaks my heart so I can’t imagine what it’s like for him or Abigail. 

I stay standing by the door as Anthony walks over to the bed; Abigail behind him, a comforting hand on his back. Anthony goes to run his fingers through her hair but decides against it. He’s scared of hurting her. 

“Ant, you can touch her,” I decide to tell him, much like I had to tell Abigail earlier today, “You’re not going to hurt her.” 

“Are you sure?” He asks, glancing at me in the doorway. 

 I nod, “She can’t feel anything.” 

Her dad nods and steps closer to Casey’s bed. One of his hands rests on her hand as the other runs carefully through her hair. 

“Hello sweetheart,” Anthony whispers as he bends over to place a kiss on her forehead. “You need to...you need to stop being a drama queen and wake up.” I can just about hear the crack in his voice from where I’m standing. “I’m not really sure what to say, Case. This isn’t something that I can kiss better unlike all the scrapes and bruises you used to get playing with your brother… I can’t make this better. Please, please wake up, Case. Please.” 

***

It’s a short while later now. Anthony and Abigail have left to go back to the house which left me once again, alone with Casey. I’m sitting in the chair beside her bed, her hand once again, clasped tightly in both of mine. I sit in silence for a little while and listen to the heart monitor beeping rhythmically; she’s alive. That beautiful but insanely annoying sound is what’s reminding me that I haven’t lost her. I don’t think I can ever come that close again. I just don’t think I could. 

My eyes briefly look over her face; she doesn’t look like her. She just doesn’t. The tube down her throat, the scrapes, and bruises littering her face...It’s easier to tell myself that this isn’t her, that I’ve got the wrong room but I haven’t. My gaze shifts to her chest rising up and down but that’s not as comforting as it once was. A ventilator, a machine, is forcing air into her lungs and that’s what’s making it go up and down. She’s not doing it on her own volition and that’s one of the hardest things for me, we don’t even know at the minute if she can breathe unassisted. 

I give her hand a little squeeze. I want more than anything for her to squeeze it back. I’d give anything for that to happen but I know it’s not going to and that breaks my heart. 

I clear my throat before I start speaking, “Your mom and dad were here earlier on they’re really worried. They’re both really scared which I understand completely,” I tell her, “ I don’t think that you realise how loved you are and how much you matter to people but when we care about people, we’re not always too good at showing it. That’s just human nature, I guess. Until this, I don’t think I realised just how much I love you and just how much I need you in my life,” I explain to her. I think back over earlier events; coming so incredibly close to losing her. “It all changes when you think you’re going to lose that person though. We need to make a deal that you’re not going to do that again. Come on, Rookie, open your eyes. I’m right here,” I beg her but like I ready knew, nothing happens, “You’ve been talking about going on a trip for a while now but work always got in the way of that. That’s something we’ll do when you’re back on your feet. We’ll get away from all of this. We’ll go anywhere you want.” It’s seems cruel in a way to be making plans when there’s chance that she may not even get to fulfil them. That we will never get to fulfil them together like we should be able to do. 

“I’m scared, Rookie. I’m properly terrified of losing you so you need to open your eyes, Case.”  A little bit a time passes before I’m regained some of my composure and start speaking again, “I was going to ask you to marry me the other night but this happened instead,” I say, gesturing to her laying unmoving, half-dead in the hospital bed. “We’ve never really spoken about getting married but I know that you liked to get married one day. When your mom was here, she was showing photos of you as a kid, pretending to get married with a pillowcase on your head,” I tell her, smiling sightly at the memory of the photographs, “I know things have been hard lately but I love you. I really, really love and I want nothing more than to be your husband one day, So you...you need to open your eyes and say ‘yes’. Come on, Rookie, you’re stronger than this. Open your eyes.” 

And once again nothing happens... 

[thecrownnet]

Photo: Dan Kennedy/ The Hollywood Reporter

'The Crown' Star Vanessa Kirby Hits Fall Festival Circuit With Two Buzzy Indies: "I Felt Ready to Lead a Movie"

After breaking out in Netflix’s hit global series and stealing scenes in 'Mission:  Impossible' and 'Hobbs & Shaw,' the British actress about to display her range with frontier romance 'The World to Come' and gut-wrenching drama 'Pieces of a Woman.'

Vanessa Kirby was two days away from shooting Mission: Impossible 7 in Venice — reprising her role as the glamorous gunrunner known as the White Widow — when Paramount halted production. It was late February, and Italy had just recorded Europe’s then-worst outbreak of the novel coronavirus, at the time not officially labeled a pandemic. Tom Cruise’s billion-dollar blockbuster franchise had become the first major Hollywood casualty.

Seven months on, and with the film industry appearing irreversibly changed, Kirby is preparing her return to Venice. But it’s not for Mission: Impossible (she starts shooting that later in September). With The World to Come and Piece of a Woman, filmed almost back-to-back in late 2019 and early 2020, the British star, 32, has the rare honor of having two films compete against each other in the Biennale, the first A-list film festival to physically take place since cinemas — and much beyond — shut their doors.

Appearing alongside Katherine Waterston and Casey Affleck in The World to Come — a frontier romance set against the rugged and patriarchal terrain of the mid-19th century American Northeast — Kirby plays flame-haired Tallie, who sparks an intense and liberating affair with a farmer’s wife, played by Waterston.

Photo: Andre Chemetoff/Cinetic

But it’s Pieces of a Woman — also heading to Toronto — and her quietly powerful and gut-wrenching turn as Martha, a woman dealing with towering loss after a home birth that goes wrong (shot in one hugely impressive yet frequently hard-to-watch half-hour take), that marks yet another new chapter for the actress, who already has condensed what many would consider a lifetime’s worth of career milestones into just a few years. A critics’ favorite on the British stage; Emmy-nominated and BAFTA-winning for her global screen breakout as Princess Margaret in the opening seasons of Netflix’s smash hit The Crown; part of two of the biggest action franchises around (she also appeared in Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw last year); and, for her next act, independent cinema’s newest leading lady.

Even before the reviews come in, Pieces of a Woman — also starring Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn and Sarah Snook — has found a fan in Martin Scorsese, who recently came aboard as executive producer.

“I haven’t stopped smiling,” says Kirby, speaking from the south London home she shares with her sister Juliet (a theatrical agent) and two close friends. “It’s such a mind-blowing thing.”

The actress was originally shown the script in L.A. by filmmaking couple Sam and Ashley Levinson (Ashley is producing the film for Bron Studios). Within 24 hours, she'd jumped on a plane to London, then Budapest, to meet director Kornél Mundruczó. “You know when you’re supposed to do something. ... It felt so right,” she says. “I wanted to show up and tell Kornél face-to-face how much I loved it and how much it touched me.” [...]

Photo: Pieces of a Woman/ Venice Film Festival

The Crown creator Peter Morgan recalls going “rogue” when he chose Kirby, overruling the other show execs’ preferred choice for Princess Margaret. She had turned up to the audition looking like what he describes as a “catastrophic mess”; fake tan smeared haphazardly on her shins and hands stained orange (she’d forgotten to wash them after applying the tan).

“But she had an electrifying presence. ... You realized you were in the company of a rare and special talent,” he says, adding that her chaotic appearance plus visible nerves evoked the essential vulnerability he was looking for. “It was very Annie Hall.”

Subsequent screen tests — and the public reaction — confirmed what Morgan first saw, that Kirby was a “high-impact booking,” much like the royal she was taking on. “There was no room in which you were not conscious that Princess Margaret was there.”

To craft her Margaret, in which Kirby laid the largely unknown foundations that would support the royal’s more brash and defiant public persona in later life, she absorbed everything she could, seeking out footage where the princess thought cameras had stopped rolling, plastering her walls in photos and even listening to her favorite music on repeat (including a version of “Scotland the Brave” played on the bagpipes, much to her housemates' dismay).

“It was so exciting to play someone that was so complicated and so conflicted, who was really struggling with a sense of who she was,” she says. “But I also had to chart this journey carefully, across 20 years of a person's life, and try to make it believable and also set her up for the rest of the seasons that were coming.”

Photo: Robert Viglasky/ Netflix

Mission: Impossible came off the back of The Crown, sometime in the middle of season two. “I think Tom had watched it, because he watches everything,” says Kirby, who was surprised to be warmly welcomed into the “Mission Family” during her first meeting with Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie. “On my way home I rang my agent going, ‘I think I got the job, I’m not sure.’” 

[...] Kirby has also used the months of lockdown to consider her next creative step and dream: setting up her own production company.“I feel so excited by the thought that there’s so many female stories that haven’t been told. And so many that have examined the psychology of a man in a particular situation, but not the woman,” she says. “I feel like there’s so much opportunity for that and that we do actually have a responsibility. Changing that space is very important to me.”

This story first appeared in the Sept. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

It is also announced today that Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard, Mark Rylance, Sebastian Stan & Vanessa Kirby To Lead Brady Corbet’s Sweeping Immigrant Drama ‘The Brutalist’ (Deadline Exclusive)

[jackdawyt]

ICYMI: As my last video/post for 2019, I figured we should have a reflection on Dragon Age 4’s major news updates and uncover what we know about Dragon Age 4 throughout this year and beyond!  So, we can go into 2020 with the right expectations and understanding of the game’s development!

The Dread Wolf Rises:

To boot of this year - we had the most exciting announcement from The Game Awards in December - the official confirmation of the next Dragon Age project with the current given title: #TheDreadWolfRises.

The trailer, while enigmatic, showcased the next Dragon Age centring on the Solas’s plan to rise up and destroy the veil, fulfilling the Dread Wolf’s prophecy. At least that’s one interpretation of it.

The trailer seemingly was made for the fanbase of Dragon Age with the given title, because if you didn’t know what Dragon Age was, or anything about The Dread Wolf, you could totally pass up that trailer as a different game entirely. So, it was more of an ode to the fans that the next Dragon Age game is in the works.

Alongside the release of the trailer, the Dragon Age website was updated for #TheDreadWolfRises with Mark Darrah, Executive Producer & Matthew Goldman, Creative Director sharing a few words on the production of the next Dragon Age.

TLDR: Mark is excited to show more and Matthew states that this is the strongest team yet and they’re venturing forth on the most epic quest ever.

In a September blog post, Casey Hudson wrote that ‘I can confirm that indeed the Dread Wolf rises,’ alluding to the narrative and production of Dragon Age 4. Before we delve into the current development of Dragon Age 4, we’ve got to talk about the two initial iterations of Dragon Age 4.

Project Joplin:

Based on Jason Schreier’s expose’ into the past and present developments of Dragon Age 4 - the previous iteration of Dragon Age 4 was known as ‘Joplin’, like Janis Joplin.

Janis Joplin was one of the biggest female rock stars of her era, she revolutionized her genre of music for the next generation – clearly, this is something the devs were going for with the original Dragon Age 4 project – to revolutionize the Role-Playing Game genre.

The developers on Joplin were committed to avoiding the mistakes they’d made on Dragon Age: Inquisition. Veteran Mike Laidlaw was the creative director of ‘Joplin’ until the project was canned and reworked so ‘live service elements’ could be added. After the decided rework of Dragon Age 4, Mike left the studio in late 2017.

Project Joplin’s initial concept followed the next protagonist ‘playing as a group of spies in Tevinter, a large chunk of the narrative centred on heists. The goal was to focus as much as possible on choice and consequence.’

There was an emphasis on this ‘hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth.’

The developers talked about building systemic narrative mechanics, allowing the player to perform actions like persuading or extorting guards without the writers having to hand-craft every scene.

It was very ambitious and plenty of the developers were excited, stating that they put some of their best work into this project.

However, Anthem was in real trouble, and there was a concern that it might never be finished unless the studio did something drastic. EA and BioWare took that drastic action, cancelling Joplin and moving the bulk of its staff, including executive producer Mark Darrah, onto Anthem.

Project Joplin was reworked into Project Morrison with a skeleton team building the very foundations of the next Dragon Age.

Project Morrison:

The latest iteration of Dragon Age 4 that is currently in the works is known as ‘Morrison’, like ‘James Morrison’ – the lead singer of the rock band ‘The Doors’.

Jim Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock history. (Wikipedia).

Morrison is being built on Anthem’s tools and codebase of the Frostbite Engine, this will save time as Mass Effect: Andromeda, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Anthem were each built from scratch. With a pre-set already there, Morrison’s development can save a lot of time.

This new version of the fourth Dragon Age is planned with a live service component, built for long-term gameplay and revenue. It’s not clear how much of Joplin’s vision will shape Morrison.

Matt Goldman, art director on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then Joplin, took over as creative director for Morrison.

Many of the BioWare developers “know it’s going to change like five times in the next two years.”

Morrison will change its shape multiple times. However, “Dragon Age games shift more than other games.” So, it’s not uncanny for a Dragon Age project to undergo drastic changes in its development.

Live Service/Multiplayer:

It has been confirmed on LinkedIn that BioWare has hired a software engineer to work on a multiplayer component for Dragon Age 4, however, it’s unsure what exactly this multiplayer could look like.

Jason Schreier stated that “he heard some ideas for Morrison’s multiplayer include companions that can be controlled by multiple players via drop-in/drop-out co-op, similar to old-school BioWare RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, and quests that could change based not just on one player’s decisions, but on the choices of players across the globe.”

In 2018, Casey Hudson tweeted a statement on live service: “Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you’ll be relieved to see what the team is working on,” he wrote on Twitter. “Story & character-focused. Too early to talk details, but when we talk about ‘live’ it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story.”

It’s still unclear how much of this game will focus on live-service elements and multiplayer, it could follow something as simple as Dragon Age: Inquisition’s separate multiplayer mode, or it could transform the game completely. Take note that Morrison is still early in the works and it will change multiple times until release. That is for sure.

Production:

Now we get to the tea - The past and present developments of Dragon Age 4’s new iteration.

So, Project Joplin was canned in late 2017, with Project Morrison rebooting sometime after that with an essential, small team. The rest of the Dragon Age team that worked on Joplin, went to fix Anthem during its troubled development. Even Mark Darrah, the Executive Producer of Dragon Age was shuffled to Anthem’s production. All the while, Morrison lay low in very early pre-production stages.

In 2018, the majority of the news we got on Dragon Age 4 came out in January, with Joplin’s initial codename and Anthem’s reshuffling. However, with Morrison in deep pre-production, nothing substantial - production-wise - was heard on this project until The Dread Wolf Rises teaser launched at The Game Awards eleven months later in December. Of course, this trailer was hype hype hype!

In early 2019, BioWare resumed their focus on Anthem and its release date. After Anthem was released in February 2019 - according to comicbook.com - the core Edmonton team working on Anthem, returned to work on Dragon Age 4 in full-scale development following the reworks of Morrison.

Built on Anthem’s codebase and its pre-sets of the Frostbite engine, following a very enigmatic live service model – Dragon Age 4 entered its pre-production stages with a full-team. As Casey Hudson later confirmed in September:

“We have several other big projects in the works.  I wish I could tell you more about them, but they’re mostly super-secret right now.  I can say however that one of our projects has a large and growing team in Edmonton working through pre-production, and based on the progress I’m seeing, I can confirm that indeed the Dread Wolf rises.”

Key processes during the pre-production stages include:

Concept Art

Storyboarding

Level Design

Mechanic Design

Around June, an IGN Greece article resurfaced again, according to said article ‘an anonymous BioWare employee had given clues Dragon Age 4. Stating that the game will be released in 2020 and that the voices of the characters are already being recorded, which indicates an advanced stage of development.’

This article initially launched in 2018 and has many rebuttals, the first being the release date.

This 2020 expected release date has been debunked because according to EA’s 2019 earnings call, the new release window for Dragon Age 4 is at least April 2022, and any time after that. Perhaps Joplin’s initial release window was 2020, and the developer may have shared that, but as far as Morrison is concerned, the project is 3 years away.

However, voice work being in the works could be plausible at this stage. Alix Wilton Reagan has teased a few seasons of her in full mocap mentioning NDA’s and #dragonage and #inquisitor, this could just Alix teasing us, or using social media to its full advantage, or it could be something Dragon Age-related.

Surely the Inquisitor will make a cameo appearance and that could justify why Alix could be doing VO?

On top of both Alix’s tease and IGN Greece’s article, very recently Jo Berry, a writer at BioWare tweeted about voice over work coming in and it being fantastic, however, they have to remove the goofy robot text to speech which is awkward and funny to listen to.  

“When VO is coming in and it’s fan-tastic, but it means saying goodbye to that goofy robot text-to-speech that makes you all laugh.”

So, indeed voice work does seem to be going on for Dragon Age 4’s development at this stage.

In jest, BioWare hasn’t replied to my request for voice acting a character in Dragon Age 4, so I think because of that, we can assume that they haven’t started the majority of the main character’s voice work just yet, right?

Moving on…Throughout the months of August and September, BioWare moved to a new office space in downtown Edmonton. Once they had settled in, a few very interesting Dragon Age 4 titbits came to light.

Emily (Domino) Taylor posted a picture on Twitter, showcasing a post artboard for Dragon Age 4, as we can assume it’s Dragon Age! There’s a Grey Warden and their Griffon-friend showcased in the picture.

Griffons and Grey Warden’s confirmed for Dragon Age 4? It’s not too much of a stretch considering the drama at Weisshaupt and Last Flight’s ending, but alas, as we can see BioWare’s art division are getting ready to line up concept artwork for further production and development. Probably for 3D model creation and animation stages.

Regardless, it’s very exciting to see the start of official artwork developing for Dragon Age 4, I’ll be keeping an eye out to see how this board develops further.  

Another huge titbit that was revealed with BioWare’s office move, was when the mayor of Edmonton decided to visit and congratulate BioWare at their new offices. On one of the photos the mayor and his team took, there was a shot of an HD version of Solas on a TV Screen.

I personally believe that this is a shot from Dragon Age 4 or the prototype version of Morrison showing off Solas. There’s been no confirmation of where this shot comes from, and I’ve spent an entire video dissecting it. However, my point is, I don’t think this comes from Dragon Age: Inquisition, it’s way to HD, look at his face, the fur on his outfit, the outside environment. It’s very distinct, and I believe it’s the first shot of Dragon Age 4 revealed.

I’ve not seen any rebuttals to this, and I’ve openly asked multiple times online, however, no one has come up with anything. So, even towards the end of 2019, it remains a mystery. I think this is a Dragon Age 4 shot, let me know if you think otherwise!

Around the same time, Matt Rhodes, an Art Director, posted a short story on his Instagram stating that he’s “more excited working on Dragon Age 4 than any other project so far.”

Just after BioWare moved offices, Fernando Melo, a senior producer on The Dread Wolf Rises left the studio after 12 years.

As stated on his LinkedIn profile, a lot of Fernando’s job on Dragon Age 4 surrounded “help[ing] establish the vision for the game. Guid[ing] the team through EA’s concept and early production phases. Prov[ing] out the core concept and key innovations of the game”.

He signed off with an email sent to everyone on the Dragon Age team, stating that he left at the “least disruptive timing as it would likely get.”

Considering that Fernando’s job was ensuring the pre-production stages were completed efficiently, and with his departure being at a time where it’d be least hectic for the development of Dragon Age 4, it’s safe to say that the pre-production processes are wrapping up and the team can begin to enter full production.

Fernando said that “with a great game leadership team in place, a fantastic creative vision, and some of the best devs in the world. Morrison is well underway to becoming the definitive Dragon Age experience - and I’m incredibly proud and honored to have played a part in that. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the opportunity to experience the next DA as a fan this time around.”

So, with Fernando’s send off via email, the entire Dragon Age team has moved on from the initial pre-production stages to the main development of the project with an estimated release window of any time after April 2022.

Mark Darrah Major Hints & Teases:

Now we get to the most divisive news topics - the teases from Executive Producer Mark Darrah!

Mark has actually been teasing us since the beginning of 2017, when he dropped a video of an artbook that collated a plethora of Dragon Age concept characters, with many mysterious and ominous photos showcasing potential concept art and character designs.

A logo of a wolf, on fire encased in a tower, was all we had on Dragon Age 4 at the time. However, considering Project Joplin was canned at the end of that same year, I think it’s safe to assume this work went alongside that project, whether it will remain, we’ll uncover in-time.

At E3 2018, in a video interview with Game Informer, Mark Darrah said that Dragon Age 4 was going ‘swell’ with a cheeky grin.

At Pax West 2018, Dragon Age 4 was officially confirmed again since it’s reboot in development, the Triforce Quartet played Dragon Age: Inquisition’s theme as Mark Darrah confirmed that the next instalment is in the works… again.

Towards the end of November, Mark Darrah teased the entirety of Twitter with his Dragon Age remarks. Having tweeted the single words “Dragon Age”, he had PC Gamer and many other onion articles writing up on his huge Dragon Age 4 tease.

However, to be fair, Mark dropped an image that resembles Dragon Age, only we’ve never seen anything quite like it before.

Midnight snow, rocks, forests, a completely different landscape to any of the maps in Dragon Age: Inquisition, yet very familiar with its Frostbite Engine aesthetic… is this a shot of Tevinter, more than likely taken on Mark Darrah’s phone?

Well, I think so. It doesn’t resemble any location I can recall in Dragon Age: Inquisition… But you might say “there’s snow in Tevinter, which is the opposite end of Thedas’s Equator, that doesn’t make sense lore-wise.”  

Well, Mark Darrah replied to someone questioning if and why there would be snow in Tevinter, he sent them a link to this article that explains how there can be snow on the equator, meaning that Tevinter can have snow.

So, is this our second or first look of Dragon Age 4? Well, depending on if the Solas shot is viable, I’d say definitely, but I’ll let you make your own mind up on that. Speaking of Tevinter, Mark Darrah also teased that the working plot title of Dragon Age 4 is titled “Tevinter of Our Discontent”, which is a huge story reference that I’ll touch upon in a separate category.

However, back to the picture teases, and Mark Darrah also posted another photo…

A sun blinding a knight, very ominous, I don’t even know where to start with this one… I mean it could have some subliminal message about how Solas may destroy the veil, or it could have a rather obscure context that fits to Dragon Age 4’s narrative, but I honestly just don’t even know what this is…

On Dragon Age Day, Again, Mark Darrah posted another screenshot of Dragon Age 4 with everything redacted other than a pixel in the corner.

And, erm, yep. That’s super. Thanks for that, Mark.

If you’d like to see more Dragon Age 4 teases that may or may not make sense and will most likely leave you frustrated and clueless, why not give Mark Darrah a follow-on Twitter. He’s one to keep an eye out.

Story:

The next narrative surrounds the Dread Wolf rising and attempting to destroy the veil, it’ll most likely be our next protagonist’s goal to stop Solas from achieving this.

We will have a new protagonist, like every other Dragon Age game. It’s been confirmed copious times by many developers old and new that the Hero of Ferelden will never return in the future, so stop asking. And even if they did return, Patrick Weekes is in charge now.

Dragon Age 4 will be set in the Tevinter Imperium, if Trespasser’s ending wasn’t a good enough clue for you, Project Joplin was also set in Tevinter. Alternatively, according to PC Gamer, it was the newly announced Tevinter Nights book that confirmed Tevinter to be Dragon Age 4’s setting.

Mark Darrah confirmed and teased on Twitter that the working plot title of Dragon Age 4 is Tevinter of our Discontent, derived from Shakespeare’s “The Winter of our Discontent” which is the opening lines from the play - Richard III (3rd).

As a TLDR: the words lay the groundwork for the portrayal of Richard as a discontented man who is unhappy in a world that hates him. However, since his family were victorious in the war, they reign the nation once more, and so as winter dies, glorious summer is upon them.

There are plenty of references we can make to Solas and his scheme to destroy the veil, he’s woken up to a world that despises his name and people that revoke his actions as evil. He wants to correct this world and restore his ‘family’ so to speak. Perhaps, like Richard the 3rd, Solas’s glorious summer is what awaits him in the next game.

So, we have plenty of plot potential with this given title and I do have a separate video for even more thorough speculation on this topic. However, based on Shakespeare’s work being the main inspiration for Dragon Age 4’s narrative, we should expect tragedy to be one of the main themes of the plot.

According to Video Gamer, in 2017, Alexis Kennedy was writing freelance for BioWare, ‘working on a whole chunk of lore and backstory for the faction in the game that you would think of if you were thinking big old goth. You know, if you were interested in death.’

Instantly what comes to mind is Nevarra’s Mortalitasi – Death Mages that’s responsible for the mummification process of the dead in Nevarran culture. However, we’re not sure how much of his work went into the cancelled Joplin, considering the timing at which he worked on Dragon Age 4.  

According to Alexis’s LinkedIn page, he worked freelance at BioWare from February – August 2017. The end of 2017 was the same time Joplin was canned, and Mike Laidlaw left the company, so there’s a huge possibility that Alexis’s work has been shelved.

Even if Alexis’s work wasn’t shelved at the time, given his recent allegations and controversy, Mark Darrah confirmed on Twitter that BioWare no longer has a working relationship with him, so his work seemingly has been scrapped.

According to Dark Horse writers Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir who’re creating the comics. In a comicbook.com interview, they shared the collaboration with the BioWare writers, it’s a case of sharing notes on where the narrative is going, and how the comics can help reach that point for Dragon Age 4’s narrative.

So, if you want to see where Dragon Age 4’s narrative may go, or which characters could turn up, read the comics as they’re pushing the narrative forward.

According to Chelsea Fariello, Assistant Animator at BioWare, it seems we could have a Mabari War Hound companion, or at least NPC in Dragon Age 4, as she stated on Twitter that she was interested in what interactions people would want to see for a dog-like creature in a video game. With the hashtag Dragon Age. Perhaps Mabari War Hound, or even a Griffon? “What interactions would people want to be able to do with a dog like creature in a video game? I need to know…for reasons… #DragonAge “

The “creature” part in that tweet is what makes me think it could be a small griffon? If it’s a Mabari then it’s just a dog, however, if it’s a small griffon then that could make sense. That’s just my hot take.

On Dragon Age Day, Arby’s expressed their interest in opening a new branch in Thedas, could we see a new type of cuisine in Tevinter? It’s hard to say, other than the fact that John Epler loves Arby’s, not Wendy’s though. Don’t mention Wendy’s!

Weekes’s Tweets:

Adding to the story category, we have plenty of tweets by Patrick Weekes that hint at future elements for Dragon Age 4.

Patrick Weekes responded to Autumn Witch when asked on Twitter ‘to pick one character from Dragon Age that has never been a companion or advisor that you would like to see as a companion in DA-4? (For the sake of this post, Lace Harding is also not available.)’

Patrick said: “Oh that’s obvious, I’d go with (Reads parenthetical) THIS IS RIGGED.”

So, Scout Harding as a Dragon Age 4 Companion teased? I freaking hope so.

Patrick Weekes posted on Twitter that they just teared up reading a scene, so unless they’re cutting onions while writing, we should expect tears to be shed in Dragon Age 4. If I were to guess, I mean Solas is walking the Din’anshiral. Which means there is only death on this journey…

Weekes was asked about non-binary lingo & representation and if the players would have the option to not identify as a male or female in the next Dragon Age. They replied saying:

“No guarantees (it’s something that is very difficult in romance languages we get translated into), but our team is always looking for better ways to let players see themselves in our games.”

Other Dragon Age Projects:

According to EA’s 2019 Earnings Call, “there are plans for not only Dragon Age 4, but other Dragon Age products too.”

At a guess, this ‘other product’ could simply be a mobile companion app to coincide with Dragon Age 4’s launch. Or it could be the rumoured tactics game that we haven’t heard about since Mark Darrah’s tease in 2017.

On top of that, at a guess, it could also be an extension to the Dragon Age Keep.

Expectations:

There’s still a couple of years yet with an expected release window at any point after April 2022. However, that doesn’t mean the news will not be coming, just look at all the tidbits I’ve uncovered from developer tweets on the side.

Not to mention that BioWare generally start the marketing phases of their upcoming games two years prior to release, so if Dragon Age 4 were to release in 2022, we could actually see something in 2020. I’m not banking on that, but just for the doubters out there, we’ll easily hear something regarding this game in 2020, whether that’s a trailer or small tweet trials of news, we’ll be sure to get something, and I’ll be sure to stay on track of that.

if you have anyone saying there’s no news for Dragon Age 4, just gently send them my way and share this video in their dm’s!

[gumnut-logic]

6. Which scenes did you cut, and which were added in Gentle Rain?  (for @janetm74 )

Okay, I can cheat somewhat with this one as I routinely keep a file for chunks of text I cut out of fics while writing. So I actually have a few of the scenes this question asks about (probably a good thing since my memory is useless).

One thing I must say is that the clincher scene where Virgil collapses in Thunderbird Two in Chapter Twelve didn’t originally happen there. I knew he was going to collapse from about Chapter Two or Three onwards, it was a target scene I was writing towards. However, he was originally supposed to collapse in Two’s hangar and be found later. The problem with that was the condition he developed (which evolved as I wrote) would have killed him if that happened. He needed someone there to save his life (sorry, Gords). So he didn’t make it back to Tracy Island before he found he couldn’t breathe.

As for scenes cut out, there were several, most of which don’t make much sense reading them now and some are just lines, but here are a few.

One of the initial challenges was finding a way to get Em and Scott to actually meet beyond the initial incident. Initially, I had Scott eager to meet her, but realised pretty quickly that the eldest Tracy wasn’t going to be that easy.

Scene: Em’s hospital room shortly when Kayo initially introduces herself.

The woman opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a beep. She sighed. “Yes, I am Kayo. Please excuse me.” And she turned away, holding her wrist up.

There was a flicker of light and a familiar voice spoke. “Kayo, have you found her yet?”

“Scott, have patience.”

“Kayo-“

“You are aware that she can hear everything you are saying?”

Em had to smirk.

“I would be if you had told me.”

“I would have told you if you hadn’t interrupted me before I could say anything. And no I haven’t asked her yet.”

“Kayo-“

“Patience, Scott.” And there was the click of an ended transmission. Kayo turned to face Em again. “My apologies. As you can hear, he is recovering well.”

“Still an argumentative brat apparently.”

“It’s one of his strengths.” She took a step back towards the bed. “He was wondering if you would be willing to meet with him. He wants to thank you for everything you did.”

Em blinked. “What?” She shifted her shoulders. “Um, er, okay.” Oh so confident and professional of you there, Emaline. She kicked herself internally.

But then she realised exactly what she now looked like. She bit her lip.

-o-o-o-

Em initially reacted completely differently to Kip’s sudden presence in the Tracy’s living room.

“What you be doin’ here, honey.”

“It’s Em, as you well know. And I’m here as a guest. What are you doing here?”

“Same.”

And the conversation ended there.

The silence was ominous. The Tracys in the room stared at each other.

Alan arrived on the scene a few moments later having secured Tracy Two. He stared at the tableau. “Okay.” He held up his hands. “I’m just going to back away quietly.”

Penny stepped around Em. “Crispin, dear, have a seat. Emaline, I advise you to do the same.” The aristocrat walked calmly into the sunken lounge and took her own chair. “Alan, do be a dear and find us some tea. I am absolutely parched.”

Alan appeared quite happy to play Parker if it would get him out of the room. Grandma and Kip took a seat together almost directly opposite from where Em came to a halt inside the circle.

Scott made a note to create a space in the lounge for ease of access, for either TB imPatient or Em’s hoverscoot. He himself pulled up beside Em and reached once again for her hand.

She responded and shot him a worried smile, her fingers curling around his.

The motion did not go unnoticed, but frankly Scott didn’t care.

Penelope, of course, was a picture of respectability.

-o-o-o-

At some point Gordon was appreciating his brother, but I’m not sure exactly what scene this was cut from. has some good lines though.

Virgil was the kind of guy you could tell your deepest problems to and he would simply listen, no judgement, no censure. Sure, get him before his coffee and you may leave minus a body part, but the man would sew it back on for you later.

Gordon and Virgil were so different, yet it was what made it work.

Of course, everyone raved about the ‘bond’ Virgil had with his older brother, sure. But Gordon liked to think that he had something with the Tracy bear, too. Something a little different, a little unique. And he knew Virgil trusted him, despite the pranks and the jokes and snide remarks. They were brothers and it went beyond all that.

So when Virgil sat down beside him at the helm looking like death that hadn’t been warmed up...

-o-o-o-

Originally, when Kay left Virgil’s hospital room when she told him she couldn’t handle him giving his life to IR, Virgil lost it and had to be sedated. This proved to be completely ridiculous and OOC and was dumped (I think one of my beta readers nabbed me on that one). The scene I have has been partially rewritten, but the remnants are there.

“What the hell was I supposed to do? If Brains dies, International Rescue dies with him!”

Kayo had tears in her eyes. “And what do you think would happen to International Rescue without you?”

His heart stuttered and it had nothing to do with his injury. He reached out to touch her but she stepped away. That hurt even more. “Kay? Please?”

“No, Virgil, you have to understand this.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Without you, there is no International Rescue.” She swallowed and another tear drifted across her beautiful skin. He so wanted to touch her. “It shouldn’t be that way. I can’t share you that much. I want to share your life, you...you can’t give it all to iR. Please, Virgil.”

He reached for her again, desperate to touch her. “Kay!” She took another step back. Her head was shaking ‘no’, tears running freely. “Kay, no, don’t, please don’t!”

“It has to change. Things have to change. I can’t...I can’t...” Whatever she was trying to say dissolved into a sob and she turned away. “I can’t.” She ran from the room.

“Kay, no!” The machinery monitoring him screamed as he tried to get out of bed. A mob of nurses came running and he was buried under a sea of medical white.

“Mr Tracy, calm down!”

“Kay!” His face was wet. He struggled against hands. “Kay!”

“Mr Tracy!”

“Kay, please!” But his heart was hammering in his chest and he was gasping for breath. Spots danced in his vision. He couldn’t.

Please, Kay, I’ll do anything...anything...

“Mr Tracy, if you don’t calm down, I will be forced to sedate you.”

He stared at the blonde haired nurse so opposite from his Kay.

He let all his muscles go, falling slack back against the bed. A sound far too much like a whimper passed his lips.

Kay?

God.

Anything for Kay.

-o-o-o-

Words passed over his head, he ignored them, he needed to get to Kay.

But something flooded his system, a calming, sleep inducing cold. It wrapped around his mind and pulled him down. “No! Kay!” His voice was fading. He had to get to Kay. Please, Kay, I’ll do anything...anything...

But the cold seeped into his mind and took it away.

-o-o-o-

The Epilogue was rewritten a couple of times. I had an argument with it. In the process I killed off an entire original character, Frederico. Poor Frederico. I should revive him in another fic.

“Virgil’s a target?” Scott’s whisper was fierce. They were standing outside a meeting with the Colonel Casey, Lauren Davis and a representative of both the Western Australian Police and ASIO.  

John bit the inside of his lip. “Kayo tagged Em with one of Virgil’s trackers. The timing was just too perfect, too coincidental. Either the bombers were after Em or Virgil. Probability puts Virgil at the top of the list.”

“How did they get the frequency?”

“Unknown.”

“Re-scramble everything. I want everything changed. Start with the frequencies, but speak to Brains, I want everything upgraded, even the subcutaneous.”

John gave him a single nod. That was going to hurt. “Already in progress.”

“Have you told Kayo?”

“No, but I have no doubt she is fully capable of putting the pieces together.”

Scott nodded, but his expression changed, even more concern deepening his frown. “If they wanted Em or Virgil, why bomb a bridge?” He swallowed. “Why not just kill or capture? And it would have been obvious it was coming from Em not Virgil.”

The knot in John’s gut only twisted tighter, his brother was thinking out loud. “Perhaps they wanted to see how we would react? How important Em is to the organisation?”

There was so much anger in Scott’s stance, John fought the urge to take a step back. “Goddamnit.” He clenched a fist. “I want to know who, how and why. Full resources, John. Get Kayo and Penny on this. I want it fixed and I want them found.”

“FAB.”

-o-o-o-

Virgil found her in her office, hissing at one of their agents. “Frederico, so help me, if you don’t take this seriously, I’ll strip you of your IR credentials and throw you in the Atlantic.”

“Is that a death threat?” Virgil couldn’t help but smile. Frederico never took anything seriously, much less a death threat from his boss. He did, however, do an exemplary job at finding information to not be serious about.

-o-o-o-

But one of the scenes I had to cut quite hard was the scene where Em and Scott woke up in the same bed. Apparently, they were ready to take their relationship much further than I was and I had to draw their amour to an abrupt halt before it got entirely out of hand.

God, she was beautiful. Breaking off, he kissed her jawline, tracing it around to her ear and nibbling on her lobe.

Her fingers teased the hair on the nape of his neck, while her other hand slipped under his jacket, brushing across his shirt, around his ribcage to his back, fingertips digging in at his ministrations.

“Scott Tracy, you know how to drive a girl wild.” Her voice was rough and he took it as permission to continue a trail of kisses down her neck, nuzzling her collarbone.

His reward was a gasp at his touch. His left hand had found the bare skin of her back once more and was denting that softness enough to hold her close. His other hand was at her waist, satin between his fingers.

“You are one gorgeous man.” And her tongue was in his mouth again, urgent against his.

-o-o-o-

Please keep in mind these are all trash can scenes and were cut for good reasons.

I hope they provide a little amusement.

As for what was added to the fic...I write very haphazardly and by the seat of my pants most of the time. The whole fic was added after the first chapter really :D

Thanks for asking and for reading all that :D

Nutty

(Who should write more Em, I miss her)

[halstudandruz]

Non Observant Crew

*Not my gif*

Pairing: Matt Casey x Reader

Requested: Yes

Prompt: Firehouse finds out about your relationship in the worst way

Warnings: None

“I do have to say I’m surprised we’ve made it this long.” You said to your boyfriend, Matt Casey.

“It scares me a little to see how non observant my men are.” Matt joked grabbing the last dish out of your hand to dry it.

“Maybe we’re just super good at hiding.” You shrugged drying your hands off.

“Baby, we’ve made out around the house numerous times. I don’t think we are as inconspicuous as you like to believe.” He laughed.

“Fair enough.” You agreed walking into the living room falling down onto the couch. You and Matt had worked together for a little over 2 years, and you were quick to develop a serious crush upon meeting him, but with everything he had been through with Gabby you always kept your distance. Well up until he made a move about a year after Gabby left. Shocking you for sure, but you weren’t about to question it. With you working on Ambo 61 and him running Truck 81 you both had decided it would be best to keep it between you two. Atleast at first while you two tested out the waters. Severide and Sylvie being the only ones who knew. You had been keeping it a secret for close to 5 months now which is longer than you had planned and you were pretty impressed that you had made it this far, but you weren’t about to spoil your work. “Wanna pick a movie?” You asked as Matt sat beside you making him chuckle laying a hand on your cheek and pulling your face towards him so your eyes met his.

“We’re 5 months in. Are we really going to waste time pretending like we’re going to watch a movie?” Matt gave you a look before he pulled your lips to his. Swiftly picking you up off the couch, carrying you to his bedroom. Not long after you were curled up into Casey’s side sound asleep. Around 3am you heard a cracking noise from outside Casey’s bedroom door. You had let it go the first time trying to fall back asleep but not two minutes had past before you heard it again.

“Babe.” You whispered trying to shake Matt awake. He groaned, trying to pull you back into his chest.

“Matt. Baby. Wake up.” You continued to shake him until his eyes met yours blinking quickly trying to focus his vision on you.

“What?” He croaked.

“I keep hearing a noise outside your door.” You explained.

“It’s probably nothing lay back down.” He sighed going to close his eyes again until you heard it again.

“Matt! Listen, there it was again.” You scolded. He groaned adjusting himself to sit up beside you finally waking up.

“Do you smell that?” He asked noise crumpling before he quickly jumped out of bed swinging the door open recognizing the smell too quickly. Only to be met with flames engulfing his house outside the door. He coughed as soon as the smoke pouring in hit his nose. Heat filling the room in no time. You jumped up closing the door forcefully so no more smoke came in. You crawled over the bed to grab his phone off the nightstand throwing it to him. He dialed 911 as you called Kelly.

“Severide.” You heard Kelly’s groggy voice on the other end of the phone, confirming that you had woken him up.

“Kelly! Matt’s house is on fire and we’re trapped inside.” You blurted out.

“Wait what?” He asked instantly sounding more awake. Matt came over taking the phone away from you having hung up with the dispatcher now as you threw him a look. You heard a few quick explanations before he hung up with him as well.

“For a paramedic you think you’d be a little more calm.” He joked even though you knew he was scared as well.

“I’m perfectly calm.” You retorted backing away from the door.

“Okay, we're going to get you out of here.” He promised moving to look around the room.

“What do you mean me? I’m not leaving without you.” You panicked.

“[Y/N], it’s going to be fine we just-“ He began to explain.

“No, Matt, I’m serious. I’m not leaving without you.” You repeated making him sigh. Just then you heard sirens appear outside. Matt walked over opening his bedroom window yelling at the crew below. You heard a loud crack and something slam against the door. “That was the ceiling..” You thought out loud.

“Baby. Look at me.” Matt ordered reaching for your face. “We have to make this quick. You’re going to go out first.” He explained and before you could interrupt he continued, “and that isn’t up for discussion. I’ll be right behind you but we have to do this quickly okay?” He asked looking into your eyes. You nodded your head, heart beating quickly starting to cough from the smoke that was continuing to seep in from under the door filling the room quicker by the second. You could see the crew hurrying on the ground as you heard more pieces of the ceiling drop outside. Finally the aerial started to approach the window. Matt came behind you prepared to help you out as soon as the ladder reached you. Matt flawlessly lifted you handing you off to the firefighter waiting on top. Who tried to hand you to another guy below him.

“I got this just watch below me.” You told one of the men you recognized from another shift at 51. Upon reaching the bottom of the ladder you immediately looked up waiting for Matt to come out. It seemed like hours before he finally emerged crawling down the aerial to meet you. As soon as he reached you he pulled you into a tight hug kissing the top of your head.

“I told you we would be okay.” He smiled weakly looking around at the men attempting to disperse the blaze. Already knowing most of his stuff was sure to be ruined. He climbed down first helping you to the ground where a lot of your crew stood. Boden, Severide, Sylvie, Otis, Hermann, Cruz, and the rest stood around you guys. They helped the crew work putting out the flames. By the time it was all said and done, it was almost time to go in for your shift. Having walked through and confirming most of Matt’s possessions were completely gone he didn’t have anything to go with. Although you stayed at Matt’s most of the time you luckily still had a good amount of Matt’s clothes at your house. As he came home with you to take a quick shower and pack a bag before going to the firehouse. Knowing by now your cover was blown you had walked hand and hand in the firehouse. Matt being met with a lot of sympathies, Cindy and Sylvie as well as a few others all bringing food for him. Although Matt obviously wasn’t in the best spirits you had found a way to cheer him up. Taking bets before walking in this morning how long it would take someone to bring up the elephant in the room and who would be bold enough to do so. Fortunately the stakes were great whether you won or lost the bet. It was super entertaining watching the men squirm wanting nothing more than to say something. You were all gathered eating lunch when it finally happened.

“Hey Casey, if you need somewhere to stay you know you got a place.” Severide said walking past to his table.

“Thanks. I haven’t really sat down and decided yet what I’m going to do.” He sighed. You could see Otis and Cruz sharing glances.

“The stuff you do have is already at my place no point in moving it.” You pointed out causing Matt to raise an eyebrow at you nodding. Silence filled the room before Otis took a long deep breath.

“I can’t do it anymore.” He groaned throwing his hands up.

“Do what?” You looked at him smirking.

“Are we just going to go about our day like this is normal?” He gestured between you and Matt.

“Seems perfectly normal to me.” Sylvie commented taking a bite.

“2:45.” Matt whispered to you looking at the time on his phone before turning his attention back to the papers laid out in front of him.

“First of all, when did this happen? How did we miss this? It’s not like it was a one time thing, and we just caught them in the middle. He has clothes at her house.” Otis pointed out to everyone.

“Okay yeah what the hell guys?” Cruz jumped in. Making you and Matt finally laugh.

“It’s not our fault you guys suck at paying attention.” You shrugged.

“We do not!” Otis retorted.

“It’s been going on for 5 months and you still haven’t figured it out.” Casey casually added not looking up from the papers he was looking through.

“What!?” Most of the room yelled looking around at each other.

“Oh my god no…” Otis said contorting his face.

“What?” You asked confused.

“I don’t even WANT to know what you guys were doing in the gear room last shift.” He answered shaking his head in disgust.

“Probably for the best.” Casey smirked still not looking up making you giggle. A lot of your shift went by with you having to listen to the crew complain to each other about the subtle things they had missed. Casey was sat in his office when you walked in sitting on his bed.

“Do you need something?” He asked raising an eyebrow jokingly.

“Yes actually. It has come to my attention that I won the bet.” You explained.

“I am impressed that Otis cracked before Cruz, but what is your point.” He crossed his arms leaning back in his chair turning it to face you.

“Oh you know what my point is.” You smirked walking over to sit in his lap.

“I don’t know. I’d like to say we both won.” He replied, and he definitely wasn’t wrong. What happened sucked for sure, but you were glad to be able to be there for Matt.