#The closest I would get to be is Shawn...

[sanakiras]

TREAT YOU BETTER

PAIRING — lee chan x fem!reader

WORD COUNT — 3.7k

SYNOPSIS — your boyfriend of five months has been treating you like hell, and one of your closest friends, lee chan, refuses to let it go on any longer, taking matters into his own hands.

TAGS — college au, best friends to lovers, cheating, explicit sexual content, mutual pining, mentions of reader struggling with low self-esteem, cheesy stuff, yes i did come up with this after accidentally listening to treat you better by shawn mendes, this didn’t turn out as good i hoped it would but oh well!

NOTE — first fic here. he looks so good in the wait m/v so i wanted to write something for him :D my beloved

the slam of the door behind you rings through your ears. you try to wipe your cheeks dry, hoping you don’t look like the tearful mess you are.

your voice feels raw from yelling for the past hour or so. it’s been going like this for the past two months at least twice a week, and you’re exhausted because of it.

as the rain pours, you notice the familiar car driving towards you, bright lights feeling heavy on your eyes. you open the door without hesitation to let yourself sink into the passenger’s seat, taking a few deep breaths, all without looking at the driver.

but the quiet sobs escaping you are enough to give it away.

chan has his one arm leaning on top of the steering wheel, the other gently touching your shoulder to make you look at him, but you refuse.

“i’m fine,” you stutter out, sniffing from the cold, “really.”

of course you’re not fine. both of you are more than aware of the toxicity of the situation. you getting into arguments with your boyfriend several times a week, resulting in you calling chan and staying over at his apartment for a night, only to hear you make it up to the guy the next day when you weren’t even in the wrong to begin with.

“we have a different definition of that, then.”

“it was just an argument. we’ll work it out in a couple hours.”

“it’s not normal.” he says, trying to get it through your thick skull without raising his voice. “it’s not normal, baby.”

you sniff, trying to somehow get rid of the pain beating against your forehead. “he can be so mean, and then… then he’s so sweet again.”

chan wants to rip his hair out of his head. five fucking months of this have passed at this point, and he doesn’t know how much more of it he can take. he’s not sure how to handle the situation the right way, either.

he’s been in love with you for years. years. since sophomore year in high school. it was never his intention to fall in love with you, nor did he think he would, but he did, and god did he fall hard. embarrassingly hard.

nevertheless, he was always too afraid to make a move. too afraid that you’d reject him and he’d be out of your life forever like he was never there in the first place.

but he’s grown up now. third year of university, twenty-two years old, longer hair, a leather jacket and a solid bunch of experiences. some great, some he’d rather forget.

and so five months ago, he’d finally mustered the courage. he was finally going to own up to his feelings and tell you the truth.

only for you to excitedly come up to him, telling him you’re seeing this guy. and it made his heart sink in his chest, but he pushed his feelings to the side for your happiness.

or so he tried.

your boyfriend treats you like shit. he was sweet in the beginning — they always are.

then the cracks in the façade started to show.

it’s not that you don’t see it. you do — but it’s difficult to leave when someone knows just how to keep you where they want you. every time you tell yourself you’re gonna break up with him, he sweet-talks you and says things can be fixed, and that going through a rough patch is normal.

but chan knows better.

he just needs you to know better as well.

it breaks his heart to see his favorite person let herself get hurt like this. he becomes a little more torn with every sob leaving your body, every tear spilling from your eyes.

he gently puts the buds of his fingertips on your chin and jaw, slowly turning your face to him so he can look you in the eye.

the tears are still quietly running down your cheeks, your face numb, now devoid of any emotion, ashamed to have him see you in this state.

“you’re killing yourself like this.” he whispers, voice laced with concern. “he’ll never make you happy.”

you sniff from your breakdown. “maybe it’s me. maybe i just need to stop giving him such a hard time—”

“don’t even think about finishing that sentence.”

“please, chan, just… just go and get me somewhere else. all i need is some breathing space — please.” you beg him.

he wants to scream, wants to tell you to break up with him for good, wants to walk into that damn house and do it himself — but he can’t.

instead, he obliges, driving you to his place.

his cozy one-person apartment feels like the best place in the world to you — the one place where you can get away from everything else.

you watch chan as he locks the door behind him, then leaning against it for a moment as he watches you sit on the armrest of the soft chair. “you okay? want some tea?”

the corners of your lips curl up at the suggestion. he knows you awfully well. “that’d be great.”

his lashes flutter before he nods, kicking his shoes off by the door.

once he’s busy in the kitchen, you bite your lip as you recall the way he softly talked to you in the car, eyes trailing past the curves of his arms and the sharpness of his jawline.

he’s dated more than you have. not much in high school, but definitely during the past three years he’s spent at college. though it doesn’t surprise you. he has such warmth to him, with the beautifully infectious sound of his laughter, that big smile and some of the prettiest eyes you’ve ever seen.

it wasn’t until recently you began to see him in a different light. whenever you saw him with a new girl, arm around her waist or over her shoulders, you secretly imagined yourself next to him more than once. you can’t believe you didn’t take notice of how handsome he was before.

but you’re too much of a coward to tread over that line of friendship, too much of a coward to see if maybe, just maybe, your feelings are requited.

“wanna stay here for a while?” he asks, hoping you’ll at least spend the night here before you go back to your boyfriend, as you’ve done countless times before.

“yeah. don’t feel like going back yet.” you smile, trying to somewhat make light of the situation.

“then don’t.”

you sigh at his response. “it’s not that easy.”

“why not?”

“because i don’t wanna throw something away the second things get hard.”

“there’s a difference between hard and unbearable. your case is the latter.”

feeling backed into a corner, even though he hardly means to do so, you turn the topic on him. “you’ve had some rough experiences with past girlfriends too and you stuck around.”

god. if only you knew he ended up leaving them because he never enjoyed being with them as much as he enjoyed being with you. “you’d be surprised.” he mutters under his breath, pouring two cups of tea, making yours exactly as he knows you like.

when you stay quiet, he tries to think of a way to get it through your head that you need to break up with your resident ass of a boyfriend.

“can i ask you something?”

“sure.”

“what’s it going to take for you to leave him?”

the question makes you look up before using a tone that almost sounds like you’re scolding him. “chan.”

“i’m serious. he’s treating you like shit. you call me crying every week.”

“it’s just—”

“no, it’s not ‘just a tough time’. you know it isn’t.” he interrupts, jaw clenched tight but voice controlled. he will not yell at you like that piece of trash does. “he’s a controlling, manipulative asshole. it’s not gonna get better. if anything, he’ll just treat you worse in the future.”

“yeah, well, not all of us have people lined up.”

the words have left your mouth before you can comprehend it, leaving you to lower your head in regret. not that it’s any less true. to you, anyway.

“what, and i do?”

“don’t you?”

he’s not sure what baffles him more — you thinking that he’s got girls lined up to date him or you thinking that you don’t have anyone else out there that would be willing to date you.

“what’s this really about?” he sits down on the empty coffee table, facing you directly. “what does my dating life have to do with yours?”

“nothing — it doesn’t. i never said it did.”

“then why the comment about me having people lined up? which i don’t, by the way.”

the answer sits at the tip of your tongue, but you can’t bring yourself to say it without looking away from him. “maybe not. but at least you won’t end up alone. i can’t say the same for myself.”

and there it is. the sole reason you’re still with the guy. your crippling fear of ending up alone, your heavy insecurity that makes you believe no one could possibly want you.

the last thing he wants is for you to get hurt — but he’d rather have you suffer through your first heartbreak than end up with someone who walks all over you like a doormat.

“please don’t take this the wrong way, sweetheart, but if you think that low of yourself, you’re a little stupid.”

the comment makes you snort. “well, it’s certainly fitting.”

he wipes some of your half-dried tears away, his one hand remaining to cup your cheek, an alarmingly intimate gesture.

“aside from the fact that there’s nothing wrong or shameful about ending up alone... i need you to know that you’re worth it. you’re gorgeous and intelligent and—” he halts for a moment, in a way confessing his love for you, not caring how cheesy it sounds, “—you deserve everything you want. ‘cause you’re one in a million.”

fuck, has he always looked at you that lovingly?

his words catch you off-guard for a moment before you press your lips together. “as much as i think it’s sweet of you to say those things, you’re only saying them ‘cause you’re my friend.” you interrupt him, having made up your mind.

after which chan shakes his head, gently twirling a strand of your hair between his fingers. “i’m saying it because it’s true. any guy would be lucky to have you in his life.”

“i don’t think ‘lucky’ is the term my boyfriend would use.”

“yeah, ‘cause he’s a fucking dick.” he immediately comments, adding the next part with a softer tone. “if you were with me, i sure as shit wouldn’t be acting like that.”

that last sentence catches your attention, and chan realizes what he just said, suddenly very aware he’s treading on thin ice now.

but it had to come out one way or another.

though you seem to be going along with his words, not showing any signs of being uncomfortable with it. “and who’s to say you wouldn’t break my heart?”

he sees the intrigue on your face and decides to lean in closer. “if i broke your heart, i’d be breaking mine as well.”

“i’m not convinced.” you murmur, just loud enough for him to hear, and chan feels his heartbeat quicken.

every rational thought going through his mind is thrown out of the window the moment he catches you staring at his lips. it’s enough for him to put his hand on your lower cheek and smash his lips against yours.

he kisses you like he always imagined he would. perhaps a little too enthusiastically, but he’s waited too long for this moment to care.

and you’re kissing him back.

you both get hot from adrenaline and arousal. his hands roam down your hips, but when you start pulling on the collar of his jacket, he finally has it in him to break the kiss.

“are you sure you want this? i don’t want you to feel pressured—”

“i’ve wanted this for so long, chan. take it off, please.”

maybe he should pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming. you’re underneath him, lips swollen, gazing at him like he’s your whole world and more.

he leans down again to pick you up, ensuring you’ve got your legs wrapped around his waist so he can carry you to his bedroom.

once he lays you down on the soft bed, you watch him take off his jacket and throw his shirt over his head, leaving him with his chest bare, elastic waistband of his underwear visible.

he’s a dancer in his spare time, but you know he’s been hitting the gym recently as well, and it’s paying off, noticing his bigger biceps and toned abs.

then he chuckles from the way you’re observing him, and that smile — that beautifully big smile is what you fell in love with.

one of many things, really.

you remove your basic long-sleeved shirt, exposing your skin before him, enjoying the way he’s looking at the black bra you’re wearing underneath.

you’re seated at the edge of the bed, at eye-level with his chest, which you kiss softly.

he follows your actions like a hawk, unable to keep his eyes off you. he proceeds to move your hair behind your shoulder, his right hand finding your jaw when he kisses you again, lips trailing down to your neck and collarbone.

his touches are slow and sensual. at the end of the day, it’s your first time together, and you both notice the pressure and tension that comes with it.

you’re both aching to touch each other more already, but it feels so much better like this.

he gently pushes you to lay on your back, hovering over you to kiss down your chest and stomach, smoothly pulling down your skirt before his fingers hook onto the fabric of your lace underwear.

“what’d you want me to do, pretty girl?” he asks while getting rid of your panties, looking you in the eye as he does it.

the nickname makes you shiver. “you can do anything you wanna do.”

“wanna eat you out. bet i’m better at it than that motherfucker.”

“not hard to beat when he never does it at all.” you mumble to yourself, but he hears it.

“are you kidding? has he ever even made you cum?”

you just give him a deadpan stare that has a hint of embarrassment to it, which is enough for him to know the answer.

just being aware of how bad that fucker treats you makes him want to prove to you that he can make you feel so, so much better. and that’s exactly what he’s gonna do.

he wastes no time, spreading your legs so his tongue can get to work. you shiver at the feeling of his mouth on you, biting your lower lip to not squeal already from sensitivity.

“no. none of that. i wanna be able to hear every sound you make.” he says after taking your hand away from your mouth. “you can pull on my hair if you like.”

“do you like that?”

“yeah, i enjoy a bit of pain.”

that makes you giggle a bit. “you masochist.”

to which he responds with a gentle pinch to your skin. “keep it in mind for next time, baby.”

fuck — you definitely will.

your hands run through his soft black hair. you’ve locked your legs behind his head, hips bucking up a little every time he hits a spot that feels good, his warm breath and wetness of his mouth on your pussy turning you on like crazy.

chan is pretty sure he’s descending into heaven when he hears you moan his name for the first time. he doesn’t know how many times he’s fucked his fist imagining that sound.

so he adds a finger to the warm and wet mess between your legs, sliding in easily, biting his own lip as he watches your reaction to it. you’ve got your head thrown back, one hand fisting the sheets, the other still holding his locks.

then he moves to a second, and not much later he’s got three of his fingers pumping in and out of you, arching them a little to find the right spot, rubbing and sucking on your clit.

“does that feel good?” he asks, just a bit out of breath, which is nothing compared to the writhing mess that’s you. he keeps messing with the pace, edging you a little every time, making you go crazy.

“please, channie, please let me cum—”

“i will if you answer me, baby.”

you whine, nodding at him desperately. “feels s’good, so fucking good.”

“want me to go faster?”

“please. god—need you inside me so bad.”

even he can resist so much. you’re so good for him, so he increases the pace of his fingers, relishing in the way you start squirming underneath him, trying to push him away and pull him closer all the same.

then you pull on his hair almost violently, making him moan against your pussy as you hit your first climax in a long time.

and he doesn’t stop yet — only once he sees you’ve regained focus does he pull his fingers out of you, sucking on them to savor the taste right before kissing you again, your trembling body aching for him.

he only breaks the kiss to reach for the drawer in his nightstand, grabbing a condom out of it, getting off of you to push off the last pieces of clothing still on him. the realization of the fact that your best friend is about to fuck you after god knows how long finally begins to dawn on you, and it makes your heart beat that much harder.

once he’s slipped the condom on, you move your hands to his neck and shoulders, biting your lip when you feel him push your legs behind his waist.

you gasp when he bottoms out of you for the first time. his head is buried in the crook of your neck as he finds his rhythm, sucking at your sensitive skin, not giving a damn whether he leaves marks on someone that’s technically not even his.

yet.

“do you remember that time we went to senior prom together?” he asks breathily, not slowing down even a little bit. “you were wearing that pretty blue dress. god, i wanted to take you home that night more than anything.”

you remember that. it was just before you two graduated high school together — he looked so dashing in his suit. you’d even imagined kissing him underneath the basketball bleachers like some cliche rom-com.

“so why didn’t you?”

“was too much of a pussy to do it.”

you bring yourself to chuckle inbetween your moans. “that’s a shame. i would’ve let you.”

just knowing that his feelings are reciprocated turns him on. he lifts his head up a little, kissing the front of your neck, your jaw, your cheeks — everything, only halting for a moment when he fucks you just a little faster, watching the way your eyes roll back from pleasure.

your hands run over his strong back as he pushes in and out of you at a steady pace, your lip nearly bleeding from how hard you’re biting it.

he hisses and relishes in the burning feeling of your nails digging into his shoulder blades.

“chan—god, harder, please—”

“i know, baby, i know, i got you.” he breathes out, changing up the position by hooking your legs over his shoulders.

it hits the exact right spot when he fucks you again, harder and deeper this time, your hands desperately clinging onto his skin, teeth sinking into your lower lip until they're nearly drawing blood.

beads of sweat roll down his muscular back. he feels you’re getting closer to hitting that release, so he moves one hand down to rub your clit again, aching to see you fall apart underneath him.

“fuck, ’s too much, channie—” you whine, throwing your head back in the pillow for a moment.

but he shakes his head, continuing, knowing you’re close. “you can do it, pretty girl. cum for me again. i wanna feel it.”

and he discovers that begging you works wonders, because it’s enough for you to come undone, clamping on his dick, making it feel so tight that he spills his own release into the condom mere seconds after.

with a layer of sweat on your foreheads, he feels how sensitive you are when he pulls out. he throws the condom in the trashcan, turning his face back to yours and kisses your lips more softly this time.

“how do you feel?”

“a little worn out.” you sigh, proceeding to show a smile. “but better.”

“good. how do you feel about taking a bath?”

“sounds nice.”

chan can’t help himself and leans in to kiss you again. he’s already getting awfully used to this, but one issue remains. “i wanna be with you. i meant everything i said tonight.”

the sentiment warms your heart. he’s always had that effect on you. “i know. i wanna be with you, too.”

he nods, happy with your words. “you go on ahead to the bathroom. i’ll clean things up here.”

“okay.” you tell him, pressing another kiss to his cheek before leaving the bedroom, feeling utterly lovesick.

he shares your feelings — it’s like he’s reliving that exciting feeling of seeing you the first few days after he realized he was in love with you.

there’s something that pulls him out of it, though. a certain vibrating sound. what is that? he thinks to himself.

and after looking around the room, he discovers it’s a phone receiving a call. your phone, to be exact, sitting in the back pocket of the jeans you discarded earlier.

the screen of your cellphone lights up, and he picks up the device, about to let you know someone’s calling — but his voice gets caught in his throat when he notices it’s the asshole who made you cry in the first place.

scoffing to himself, he taps the red button and declines the call.

thank you for reading. let me know if u enjoyed it x

® SANAKIRAS — do not repost, remake or copy my work in any way whatsoever. translations are not allowed.

[arrowheadedbitch]

Okay, we were talking about multilingual Shawn in the discord server and I just wanted to share it with all y'all

So, we decided Shawn should be fluent in (I know it's an unrealistic amount, let us live) 13 languages so he can say he knows a baker's dozen languages

Which leads to everyone else going "what the fuck does that mean"

There are some languages the we know he knows in canon and some that are more unclear, and then of course the rest of the languages are just complete fanon

We mostly chose languages we failed to learn lol

So, here's the list we chose.

English, Hebrew, Thai, Hindi, German, Argentinian Spanish, French, ASL, Welsh, Russian, Italian, Polish.

When he tries to speak two languages that are even semi similar, he ends up speaking a weird conglomeration of both by accident

"he tries to hold a conversation and ends up switching languages everytime he doesnt know a word" -J

But these are the languages he can speak, and just the fluent ones at that!

I think he has a completely separate list of languages he can read and it mostly does not coincide with the ones he can speak lmao

"Someone calls him stupid a little *too* rudely and he is not in a great mood today so he starts cussing them out in all the languages he can to prove a point" -me

He absolutely forgets words in English and can only remember it in pretty much any other language

But he uses it to further his "dumb" persona, no moment wasted

When he forgets the word in English, he'll just say whatever word he thinks is probably closest and let's someone else correct him

Then he goes "I've heard it both ways"

" It was the- um *fuck, I can only think of the word in French, but they don't know I know french!* uh, jigsaw!"

"You mean *hacksaw,* Shawn?"

"...I've heard it both ways."

"NO YOU HAVENT"

A foreigner comes up to Shawn asking what the word for something in English is but he *also* forgot the English word for it so he's just sitting there staring at it like *Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

He probably learned pineapple individually in every language he could get his hands on 💀

He probably learned curse words first lmao

He can say curse words in languages he doesn't even speak

Like "I can speak 13 languages, but I can say hello in 8 more and I can say fuck in 29"

His greatest accomplishment (in his eyes) is the acquiring of so many swears

"My goal is to be able to call my dad a bitch in every language known to man the day he dies"

#LetShawnSayFuck

Also we had to look it up and he wouldn't be on an FBI watch list for knowing 13 languages, but if the FBI ever found out he would NEVER know peace again (not that he leads that peaceful a life) because they would NEVER stop trying to recruit that man

He would be on a list labeled "PLEASE recrute this man, someone FOR THE LOVE OF GOD hire this guy, PLEASE" so not quite a watchlist but close enough

Now, to tag the people who were part of the convo! @j-snapdragon @thespiritssaidso and majesticrhyhorn but idk if they have a tumblr

[pinazee]

And down the stretch comes murder

I wanted to take this moment to highlight the adorable child actors they got- Liam James and Carlos McCullers II. They are so perfectly cast as Shawn and Gus and they do such an amazing job! Im so impressed by them 👏👏

The whole spitball incident really highlights the differences between Shawn and Gus’ ethics. Shawn feels guilty for thinking he got the wrong spitter and ruined Jimmys life while Gus actually did it and feels no remorse at all. Perhaps it’s because Jimmy tortured Gus more, but it’s also come up a few other times i believe, that Gus is not above revenge nor is always willing to do the right thing if it interferes with his safety or his own code of justice, whereas with Shawn it’s like he can’t rest until he’s made things right. This, in addition to the ways he looks out for people (helping Lassie solve a case without him knowing, helping juliet find some kids without getting paid, standing between Gus and a gun), I think is why i tend to be more drawn to Shawn. I love tender-hearted morally just characters. Im not saying he’s always riding the high horse (pun intended), simply that at the end of the day you know he’s going to do the right thing. Don’t get me wrong, i love a morally ambiguous character too, and if I’m honest Gus’s outlook is certainly more realistic, but if i had to pick a favorite, i want the reliably good and wholesome over the self-serving. Not that im saying Gus is selfish at all, but of the two Shawns more our hero, even compared to his own cop father. I think Juliet is the only one who comes closest to matching that above and beyond heroism. I think the only reason she’s a step below is because Shawn simply notices others more. Thats all. If Juliet had Shawns abilities she’d be just as on top of it as him, probably more so. Actually she might get overwhelmed by seeing it all and not being able to help everyone. I think it’d be really hard for her to ignore sometimes. Which, okay I’m going down a tangent, but do you think Shawn had to learn to shut it off sometimes or like, learn to walk away? Cause i imagine day to day Shawn’s seeing people dealing with grief, abuse, or pain and with as kind as he is, it must be hard for him to ignore. Like if you’ve ever seen Daredevil, I’m imagining a less dramatic version of that haha

Henry will take any opportunity to point out Shawns failings or try to make him feel less than. Shawn tells him he’s there for a case and instead of asking him about it, Henry goes right back into you never could be a good handicapper because you lack the patience and follow-through it takes to put the time in and research. Also, the line “i let him talk to me” just doesn’t sit right with me even if the guy did turn out to be a skeeve. This kind of stuff makes me think Shawn either learned how to respect people from his mother or refused to treat people like his father. Probably both, though i hate to give her credit for anything haha

Look at his smile when he sees Lassie feed the horse. He’s so warmly amused by him. I wasn’t a Shassie shipper originally (as i just didn’t ship ppl in ye olden days) but i think I am now. I see it guys, I get it haha

These scenes are what makes the episode for me! I love them! We get to see both Shawns interacting and how he utilizes his vast memory, taking a peak into his mind palace so to speak. Plus he literally answered that common question of if you could go back in time what would you tell your younger self? (“Think big!”) I know they never really intended for this to be like a deep scene (nor expected certain fans to overanalyze it haha) but i like how he approaches the kid version of himself with a certain degree of amusement. Like I imagine if i was seeing my young self I’d probably be rolling my eyes at my sheer stupidity, but Shawns a lot kinder to himself haha Also little Shawns line “I thought I’d be bald by 20” was fucking gold! I wish I had better words for why this works so well but all i have is that it does and its brilliant.

Nice try Psych, your Canada is showing ;)

Heres some completely irrelevant info. The difference between a dreamcicle and a creamcicle: both are orange flavored, but dreamsicles had an ice milk center while a creamsicle was ice cream. And dreamsicles are no longer made.

I like this addition to the background. Its so cute. (Sidenote: this screenshot makes it seem like Shawn is the babyfaced assassin)

P.S This is the second episode ive seen him hold this frog. That is all.

[apomaro-mellow]

Hot for Teacher(s) 4

Part 3 / AO3 Link

Steve nearly felt guilty over how excited he was. Robin had been right, it had been a while since he'd been out. He and Mr. Munson (no, it was Eddie whenever they weren't at school) had arranged for a date the day after Thanksgiving. And Steve was counting down the days. He was thinking of it as he put the turkey in the oven (just a breast, a whole thing was too much for just him and Shawn), he was thinking of it as they both said what they were grateful for, when they sat down for pie, ice cream, and Charlie Brown.

The only time Steve didn't really think about it was when Shawn fell asleep on the couch and had to be carried to bed. He tucked him in, scenting him and then kissing his forehead. It wasn't like they were lacking in quality time, since it was only the two of them, but having a whole day together like this felt special.

Still, the next evening he happily dropped Shawn off at one of his friend's house for a sleepover. Robin would have volunteered but she was still out of town with her family.

Once his pup was taken care of, Steve returned home to prepare. Getting ready for a date was like stepping into a well loved shirt, familiar, comfortable, and nostalgic. He had missed this. Styling his hair not just to be professional, but to turn heads. Picking out jeans that he knew showed off his round ass and thinking very hard about how much of his neck should he let show. How close should he let Eddie get tonight?

Then he remembered the scheduled activity and decided to wrap a scarf around his neck. He imagined a very tantalizing scene where he unwrapped it seductively and brought the alpha to his knees. Eddie picked him up at 8 o'clock on the dot.

"Your chariot awaits", Eddie said, holding out his arm.

It was all very cordial and Steve was smitten. Eddie led him to his van and opened the passenger side door for him. Now Steve got them started with small talk not just because it was comfortable and expected, but he also had the idea in his head that he shouldn't spend the night talking about his kids. Not his birth pup nor the ones he taught. He knew he was guilty of gushing and not everyone cared to the extent he did about the children he saw everyday.

The small talk got them all the way to the venue, during which Steve learned Eddie's closest family was his uncle, his favorite part of the meal had been mac and cheese, and that he also watched Charlie Brown for the holiday.

"Shawn's turkey came out looking really good", Steve complimented as they walked inside the skating rink. It had been hanging on their fridge since he brought it home.

"Thanks", Eddie said, genuinely appreciating the compliment. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm goin' through the instructions too fast or without enough detail for some of them but when most come out well, I figure hey, maybe I'm actually good at my job."

They went to the counter and got their ice skates, then sat down to lace them up. Steve hadn't gone in a few years, he wanted to take Shawn sometimes but wasn't sure if he was ready for it. "Ready?", he asked, holding out a hand.

"Y-yeah", Eddie wobbled a bit.

He took Steve's hand, panicking internally. When Steve had asked him to go ice skating, he'd accepted without a thought. It didn't matter that he'd never stepped foot on ice with purpose before. Steve's eyes were a deadly weapon. Eddie couldn't resist. He knew he was going to embarrass himself, stumbling and crumbling to his knees or falling to his ass.

And that happened. Each time, Steve kept a hold on his hand to keep him from falling too far and was smiling dearly the whole time. But Eddie knew he couldn't be having fun babysitting a grown man.

And then Eddie slipped in such a way that they tangled and he fell right on top of Steve. His horrible, traitorous brain wasn't thinking of how to pay for any broken bones. No, his inner alpha only noticed how good Steve smelled this close and how if he nudged that scarf down he could get a better whiff.

"Shit, fuck, sorry, are you hurt? I've never skated before, I shoulda told you that-"

"Eddie, hey, relax", Steve was still smiling and Eddie wondered if he'd hit his head in a dangerous way. Then Steve sat up and kissed his cheek. He got to his feet, pulling Eddie along. "I'm having fun, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah okay yeah", Eddie nodded.

"Let's see if this helps", Steve linked their arms together.

Eddie felt more steady, for sure. Yet at the same time he'd been knocked flat on his ass.

"You're probably pretty used to cleaning up bumps and scrapes, huh?"

"I am", Steve said. "Enough to know most of the time what they really need is a little attention, a quick kiss, and then they're off again."

"Don't I know it. Can't tell you how many times I see tears over the tiniest cuts, bless their little hearts", Eddie sighed.

They were able to go a couple rounds and Eddie slipped a few more times but didn't fall down again. The plan had only been to go skating but both were clearly ready to see where the night took them.

"I don't need to pick up Shawn until 10 tomorrow morning", Steve had said as they walked towards a food truck selling hot chocolate.

"So, it was just you two for Thanksgiving?", Eddie asked, starting to read between the lines of whatever Steve told him.

"Yeah, um", Steve cleared his throat and swirled his cup as they strolled through the twinkling lights of the town. Of course, everyone had already moved on from Turkey Day and was prepared for Christmas. "I'm not all that close to the rest of my family. Robin is like my sister. And honestly my students are almost like my kids, but besides that..."

"Is it okay if I ask about Shawn's sire?", Eddie asked timidly.

And maybe if this had been a couple of years ago, Steve would've bristled and told him it was none of his business. But now he could see it for what it was. Eddie wasn't trying to compete with some unknown alpha. He was interested in Steve, and was just trying to see if Steve was genuine in his own interest.

"His name was Billy, or is, I don't know why I said was, last I checked he's still alive. But I haven't checked since we split two years ago. Long story short, he was a grade A asshole. And he knew that, but it didn't stop him from getting worse. Our last big fight I kicked him out for good and he hasn't been back."

The day Steve realized that Billy's scent no longer lingered around them, that his pup only smelled like one of his parents, he finally felt free.

"I'm glad you and Shawn aren't around him anymore. I know a thing about messed up dads", Eddie admitted.

"Really?"

Eddie nodded. "My dad was a piece of shit. Nearly got killed and incarcerated because of him. My Uncle Wayne was the real man in my life to bring me up."

"You know that makes it all the more meaningful that you've taken such a nurturing job, right?", Steve beamed at him.

Eddie stopped on the sidewalk, Steve pausing with him.

"I really wanna kiss you right now."

"Then what's stopping you?", Steve grinned.

"Uhh, not sure what to do with my hands right now?", Eddie said.

"You're adorable", Steve took the half finished drink from his hand, set both of theirs on the sidewalk by their feet, then grabbed his hands and made Eddie hold him close. "Right here is perfect."

Eddie did his best to let his nerves go as he leaned in for a kiss. As far as first date kisses went, it was pretty perfect. They were only broken out of their own little world when someone walked by and whistled at them.

"I should probably be getting you home."

Just as he said that, snow began to lightly flurry down and Steve agreed. They walked hand in hand back to Eddie's van and he drove them back to Steve's neighborhood.

"-and he remembered what I said at the beginning of the year about classification and I kid you not, I almost cried", Steve said. "It was such an off the wall conversation, I never imagined he'd recall that."

"Just goes to show how great a teacher you are."

"You ever have moments like that with the little ones?"

Eddie smiled. "I think my favorites are when one of them has a question and another answers it for them. You can really tell who's listening. And it keeps me from havin' to repeat myself too much."

"God, I wish I could go a whole week without having to say 'no, you can't borrow materials from the Chem Lab'."

"You got a bunch of Dexters running around?", Eddie chuckled.

"Dexters, Jimmy Neutrons, and whoever that kid with his time traveling dog was."

"...Time traveling dog?", Eddie's face screwed in confusion. "Do you mean Mr. Peabody and Sherman?"

Steve snapped his fingers. "That's it! These three kids came in during lunch and held me hostage through this whole discussion about time travel and that's all I could think about."

"Don't say held hostage like you didn't enjoy it thoroughly." Sometimes Eddie longed for such in depth conversation with his students but there really wasn't much to discuss when you were reading things like Zak Wants a Yak.

"Sorry, I made myself promise I wouldn't talk about work this much", Steve said as they came up to his house.

"Funny, I made the same promise to myself, but here we are. I like hearing you talk about your students though. You light up the same way you talk about Shawn." Eddie grabbed Steve's hand and kissed his knuckles. "And we could keep talking if you'd like to invite me inside?"

"I'd love to, but-"

"Just to talk, I promise."

Steve bit his lip, thinking about how long it'd been since he'd been alone with an alpha he was interested in romantically. He thought about Eddie's scent lingering.

"Alright, to talk."

Steve made them both coffee, just to have something to sip on that wouldn't give Eddie an excuse to stay for too long, they settled on the couch, and they talked.

Steve about how he was disowned by his parents for getting with Billy and how he only started talking with them again when they split, able to see his ex for what he was.

"I just felt so stupid. My parents were actually right for once. You know he didn't even show up when Shawn was born?"

Eddie's jaw dropped. "He didn't show up for the birth of his kid? What was he doing?"

"Some bullshit. The hospital ended up using a volunteer alpha to keep me calm during it. And then he had the audacity to be upset when me and Shawn smelled like someone else."

"You're not stupid for not seeing it sooner. People like that are really good at keeping an attractive front."

Eddie talked about how he had dreams to be a musician, then a music teacher, before eventually finding his way to elementary.

"You always think you're gonna be the one to make it. But things just never worked out."

Steve gazed at him, taking in his profile. "I don't know. I'd say things worked out pretty well for both of us in the end."

As they talked, they got closer and closer on the couch, and checked the clock less and less. The last time Steve checked it was two in the morning and they were talking about how neither of them liked remote learning days. The last thing he remembered before his eyes closed was that Eddie liked watermelon but not watermelon candy.

He dreamt of the day Shawn was born. He saw the ceiling, felt the tiny pup in his arms, smelled blood but also an alpha who wasn't Billy.

Steve was awakened by his alarm. Eddie straight up jolted out of their embrace and collapsed onto the floor. Steve laughed softly as he rubbed his eyes.

"Who has an alarm set for the weekend? And on break of all things?", Eddie groaned.

"I don't like sleeping the day away", Steve yawned and stretched fully on the couch now that he alone was on it.

Then he remembered why he needed to be up this particular morning.

"Shit!", he sat up and checked his phone.

"Shit?", Eddie asked.

"Shawn", Steve answered as he rushed to get his shoes on.

"Shit..."

"I gotta go-" Eddie had grabbed his face and brought him in for a kiss, one that Steve needed.

"I know. And I know I shouldn't've overstayed my welcome last night."

Steve shook his head. "You didn't. I wanted you here. I haven't done anything like that in ages."

"What? Have a nerd talk your ear off? Well next time I can give you the entire synopsis of Star Trek.

"Promise?"

They kissed once more before Steve had to go and pick up Shawn. As much as Steve tried to play it cool, Shawn noticed something was up the moment he got home. The pup's nose picked up on the scent that someone else had been here. And Steve knew that he knew but as long as he didn't know who...

"It kinda smells like Mr. Munson in here."

"Does it?"

"Yeah."

"Hm, well, I started using the same cologne as him, that might be it", Steve said. "Ready for some leftovers?"

Part 5

Tag Team

@anne-bennett-cosplayer @aol19 @lololol-1234 @hippieg1rl420 @gregre369 @attic-cat-blog

[scekrex]

Hiya

I just got another idea for Adam and Reader. My intrusive thoughts didn't let me down again :p

So imagine a Reader meeting Adams friends for the first time, they get along, talk for most of the time with shakes and then one of them asks the reader a question. The question is ”How did the two of you actually started to date?” Adam and Reader glance at each other, Adam is more smug than not, but Reader is really embarrassed. That's because they met in the weirdest way, Reader has gone to ask his crush out, but was rejected and his intrusive thoughts get the better of him. So he asked the first person he saw on a date and that was Adam.

Hope you'll like it :p

Omg I adore it, this is low-key me coded hehe also might re-use the friends of Adam that I've described in this fic in the future.

I could treat you so much better I've known you forever figured you out

pairing: Adam x male!reader

warnings: language

note: beta read by @drxgonspine

While your boyfriend was known for making questionable decisions, he definitely knew how to pick his friends because the people that surrounded you were the most relaxed angels you had ever met. The dudes’ vibe was so chill that you seriously considered hanging out with them more often.

They were a group of four. On one end of the couch sat Glenn, a blonde, quite tall dude who was built to look broad, he seemed to regularly hit the gym. Glenn’s face was peppered with the cutest freckles you had ever seen and his short, fluffy looking hair was slicked back. He was extroverted and loud, yet not loud enough to cause the situation to feel unnatural or cringe, if you remembered correctly he was also the drummer of Adam’s band - at least you were quite sure you had seen him on stage before.

Next to Glenn there was Nathan, though he had introduced himself as Nate. Nate was rocking a wolf cut, his black hair framed his pale face in a handsome way. His eyes held a lot of curiosity in them and you noticed that one of his legs was constantly bouncing up and down. He was about half a head smaller than Glenn and was wearing a lot of jewelry - you made a mental note to ask him where he bought it.

On Nate’s other side sat Jesse. The dude’s buzzcut was dyed a bright pink, he was about as tall as Glenn and carried himself would cause strangers to think of him as arrogant but once you got to know the man, he was a total sweetheart. His ears were pierced and a tattooed snake was wrapped around his neck.

And last but not least and therefore on the other end of the couch there was Shawn. Shawn was easily the smallest out of all of them, he was about two heads smaller than Nate, wore his long brown hair in a man bun and seemed quite confident - all of Adam’s friends seemed quite confident. Shawn was not only one of Adam’s closest friends, he was also the bassist in your boyfriend’s band.

Adam patted his leg, “C’mere babes.” A sly grin was on his lips as you made your way over to your lover to sit down on his lap - the dudes sitting on Adam’s couch left no room for you and therefore the brunette’s lap was the only seat available for you. Not that you minded, you liked being close to Adam, his friends’ company did not change that.

Glenn leaned forward, his arms resting on his legs as he looked at the two of you, “How did you even manage to pull Y/N, dude?”

Nate next to him added, “Y/N’s a fucking treat, ain’t no fucking way Adam pulled him, it must’ve been the other way around.” Adam rolled his eyes at that - if only they knew. But they didn’t and the fact that Adam would get to finally tell them how you and him met caused the brunette to grin the most smug grin you have ever seen on his lips as he looked down at you.

You looked up at the tallest man in the room from the corner of your eye and groaned in annoyance and embarrassment as soon as you saw the grin on his lips, “Fucking forget it.” You kept a careful eye on Adam’s body language and when you heard the brunette inhale deeply, you covered your face with your hands and mumbled, “Oh dear God please have mercy with my soul.”

But the first man ignored your silly little comment and told his boys the story anyway.

-

The weather was amazing, it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt but not warm enough to feel all icky and sweaty - a typical day in heaven. You were walking next to Zack - one of your best friends - as you sipped on a milkshake you had bought a couple minutes ago. That was until your redheaded friend pointed out that your crush was walking right towards you.

“You know what? I’m just gonna ask him out,” you hummed around the straw in your mouth and before Zack was able to stop you from doing so and getting your heart crushed, you were already gone. Confidence was the word that would describe your body language best in that moment, your back was straight and you had a soft and natural seeming smile on your lips.

“Hey,” you greeted the taller man with a fist bump, “Nice to see ya out here, whatcha up to?” The male in front of you smiled back at you, apparently he was just as happy as you. “Oh y’know a lil bit of this, a lil bit of that,” he answered your question without actually giving you an answer - to be honest it was nothing that really bothered you.

Liam did that a lot. “What about you?” the male you were interested in asked. You breathed in, there was no point in tiptoeing around it, not when you had been so confident about it just a couple moments ago. Where did that confidence go? You did not know. Oh fuck, this was so much harder than you would have thought. You exhaled before your eyes met Liam’s.

“I actually wanted to speak to ya,” you began to lead the conversation in the direction you wanted it to go. “See, we’ve known each other for I dunno how long - fucking long though - and I wanted to ask if you would be interested to go on a date with me?” The smile on Liam’s lips disappeared the moment those words left your lips, his expression soured a little and while he did seem sorry, he also seemed slightly disgusted.

“Dude, I can’t date my brother from another mother,” Liam responded. He tried a little too hard to play it cool, instead of just rejecting you like any other of your friends would have done it, he made you feel kinda bad about it. Because you were unbiological brothers, at least that’s what you called each other. And the thought of that caused you to feel slightly disgusted by yourself.

“I have to go, I’m about to meet Harper,” Liam’s eyes darted over to where Zack was impatiently waiting for you to get your ass back to him. “Tell Zack I said hi,” and with those words he brushed past you, accidently knocking his shoulder against yours as he did so. Great, that had gone according to plan. What had caused you to think asking Liam out would end up with a good result?

“I swear,” you growled, your mood was ruined, your milkshake empty and Zack had that certain look in his eyes that was supposed to tell you that ‘Dude I fucking told you, next time you’re gonna listen to me’. Not that you would listen to him ever - hell fucking nah. “I’m gonna ask the next dude out that we meet,” and God must have been listening because just as you had finished that sentence, a familiar tall man rounded the corner and walked into your view.

Adam.

Fucking great, you and your big, stupid mouth. You were not in the mood to get rejected again . not that you had ever talked to the first man before. You had visited a couple of his concerts, had seen him walking through heaven’s streets with Lute by his side more often than you remembered. And now you were going to talk to him - ask him out even.

“What did you say?” Zack grinned as he spotted the first man. That comment earned your best friend a slap on the back of head, making him hiss. Not that you cared about that, you had more important things filling your head - the thought of hitting on Adam like those cringy fangirls you hated so much, oh fuck it.

You had been able to ask Liam out, you would survive it to ask the first man out as well. Adam was someone you were able to avoid if things would go south and you would embarrass yourself in front of him.

So before your mind started to overthink it all you closed the distance between you and him, the cocky grin on your lips told Adam everything he needed to know and if he was being honest he wanted to see where this would go. So he let you shoot whatever shot it was you had in store.

“Hey handsome,” you physically cringed at your own words, a shudder ran over your back and you flinched at the awkwardness that had just left your lips. ‘Hey handsome’? That was everything your stupid brain was able to come up with? At least the chances of getting rejected twice within less than thirty minutes was higher than it had ever been before. But a soft chuckle made you look at the first man who seemed visibly amused by your sad excuse of a flirt. You swallowed the last bit of pride you had within you and just got it over with.

“So whatcha doing tonight?” Oh so that was what you were aiming for. The grin on the brunette’s lips only widened as he took a step closer to you.

His wing wrapped around you and his arm came to rest on your shoulders, “Well now it seems as if I’m having dinner with a motherfucking hottie.”

-

Jesse snorted at Adam’s story, shaking his head in amusment, “Adam can be fucking happy that this Liam dude clearly has shitty taste.” Glenn agreed with his friend by humming as he was chewing on some chips. Your face was still hidden behind your hands, the first man seemed still very proud of his little story,

“We had lunch and then we fucked - it was absolutely fucking amazing. You should’ve seen him - bros I swear there’s nothing more beautiful than this man naked.”

The taller male who’s lap you were using as a seat squeezed your hips, causing you to squirm, “Stop that.” But it was Adam, he did very much not stop - in fact, he made it worse by nuzzling his face against the crook of your neck and blowing air against the sensitive skin.

“You fucked and then started dating?” Shawn questioned, slightly confused as he frowned at the couple. Adam pressed a quick peck to your neck before he backed off to answer the question Shawn had just asked. “Oh nah bitch, shawty and I didn’t start dating until decades later. For the longest time we’ve been just fucking around.” That caused even more questions to form inside Shawn’s head, “And how did that happen?” But the brunette shook his head, “That’s a fucking long story.”

[j0eyj0rdis0n]

SLIPKNOT IN A FANTASY KINGDOM AU

SID WILSON - Jester

I mean... Let's get real. This guy is funny as fuck.

If I didn't headcanon him as a jester then something would be mentally and morally wrong with me.

JOEY JORDISON - Farrier

I think this one is for my own personal enjoyment but he just seems like he'd enjoy putting on horseshoes??

We all know he was an animal lover so this is certainly fitting in that sense

PAUL GRAY - Butcher

Paul could've certainly did this IRL when he was alive and most of me believes he would've been really good at it.

And to honor his legacy as the pig, this is only fitting.

CHRIS FEHN - Hunter

Chris on the hunt scares me in my head. So I had to do it. It had to happen.

Imagine him fucking chasing after you?? Helllllll no.

JIM ROOT - Blacksmith

He works with motorcycles so this is the closest we'd get in a kingdom fantasy sense

He can still be sexy and sweaty just without the grease from a bike

CRAIG JONES - Banker

I feel like at one point he was in charge of the bands finances, whether that's true or not I really don't know, but I want to assume it was true

He'd kill it as a banker and you can't change my mind

SHAWN CRAHAN - Judge

After all these shit decisions with the band, this would be so fitting! And it would give Mick a very intensive job.

As you can tell, I'm not happy with Shawn at all. He'd be corrupt and that's the end of the story.

MICK THOMSON - Executioner

Big man. Biiiiiig man. This is the perfect job for a big burly man.

And seeing him come up to fucking murder you with that black hood on? Terrifying.

COREY TAYLOR - Sheriff

Going along with Shawn in corruption, he'd make the perfect Sheriff! I'm also not happy with him.

But he does lay down the law most of the time so it's a fitting job regardless.

[thespiritssaidso]

Alcohol as Sanitizer

Summary: Shawn gets stabbed in an alley, and the closest place to go and perform first aid is Henry’s house

Notes: first time writing whump like, ever. I hope this pleases the whump gods.

Day one of the Whumperless Whump event, here we go…

—————

Shawn quietly slipped the window to his dad’s living room open, leaving behind a partial hand print stained in blood. Gently, he eased himself inside, sitting for a moment on the hardwood, bicep aching as he caught his breath. He got up soon though, and shuffled towards the kitchen where he knew his dad kept the first aid kit.

He had been minding his own business, walking down an alley as a shortcut to his apartment, when someone tried to mug him. He had gotten away without his money getting stolen, but at the price of getting shanked in his left arm. Thankfully, it wasn’t deep at all, a graze really, but it was bleeding pretty badly.

He kept his footsteps light, being sure to step on the floorboards that had settled more than others. One of them threatened to squeak, but he changed his direction and the unruly board went silent once more. He continued.

Once at the kitchen, he started rifling through the cupboards, taking out gauze and extra large bandages. Although he couldn’t find the antiseptic, or even any rubbing alcohol of any kind. He frantically searched the kitchen, digging around drawers looking for the sanitizer.

Shawn stopped at the liquor cabinet. Yeah, it was technically alcohol, and it would clean the wound, but was he that desperate? A sharp sting in his cut said yes, yes he was.

He grabbed a bottle of single malt whiskey, unscrewing the cap with his teeth and spitting it out onto the counter. Holding his arm over the sink, he gently poured the golden liquid onto a cloth, and dabbed it on his open wound.

Shocking pain bloomed, stinging like a thousand wasps. He grit his teeth and kept going, occasionally letting out a soft grunt as he made sure to clean every spot.

It was over soon, and he softly gasped a sigh of relief. He finished bandaging himself up, and put everything away where he had found it. Alcohol and the box of bandaids went back in the cabinets, crumpled and empty bandaid casings going into the garbage.

That morning, Henry Spencer would wake up and find a missing roll of bandages, a near empty box of bandaids, a half empty bottle of Glennfidich that he was sure he had left nearly full, and a bloody half-handprint staining his living room window.

—————

ao3 link

[tameodesza]

Closure

Summary: They were lovers once. Two halves destined to entwine. But life had a way of beating them down, cracking their happy façade, leaving two broken halves that could never fit again. AO3 link

The scent of fresh baked goods and roasted coffee wafted pleasantly through the air. The clinking of porcelain coffee mugs and pastry dishes blended harmoniously with the lively chatter in the quaint cafe. Smooth jazz flowed softly from large speakers, adding to the ambience of the night. The energy was vibrant and inviting to anyone that walked by. 

But it was a mockery to the pair that sat at a tiny table tucked away in the corner. Their silence was as loud as the noise around them. The air between them was heavy to breathe, suffocating them with memories of a life they once shared.  

Eyes traced cracks in the worn-out wooden table. Coffee mugs remained untouched, resting in the center of the table like a line drawn in sand. Except they were a long way away from waving any white flags. 

They were lovers once. Two halves destined to entwine. Bret – an older man that took life too seriously. Shawn – a vibrant younger man full of life. They were polar opposites, yet they fit together perfectly like pieces of a puzzle.  

But life had a way of beating them down, cracking their happy façade, leaving two broken halves that could never fit again. 

Bret’s eyes slowly traveled to Shawn’s hands resting on the table. He took note of Shawn’s nails. Freshly bitten, a nervous habit Bret tried to get him out of.  

Shawn balled his hands into a fist and leaned back uncomfortably after noticing Bret’s gaze. He avoided the man's eyes as he whispered, “Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we fought harder?” 

Bret clenched his fist. "We fought, Shawn. We fought until we had no fight left. Until one of us took the easy way out." 

Shawn sharply darted his eyes to Bret’s. “You think ruining our relationship was easy for me?” 

There it was. A split second of Shawn’s combative nature that Bret had grown used to. He’d been on the receiving end of it one too many times not to recognize it. He pressed, “You didn’t try hard enough to stop it.” 

The quick comeback he expected from Shawn never came. Instead, an aching silence stretched between them. The noise of the cafe faded further into the background as they sank deeper into the abyss of unspoken words. 

Their eyes met again, and Bret tried his best not to look concerned when he saw the teary eyes Shawn was trying to blink away. “I,” Shawn’s voice caught in his throat. He let out a defeated breath and confessed, “I miss you.”  

Bret closed his eyes, dropping his head as he let out a deep breath. He struggled not to say it back. Had it been the old him, he would've given in. He would've opened his arms to Shawn. Embraced him lovingly, asking that they forget about the past. To start over. He would’ve forgiven Shawn for the hurt he put him through – just for their toxic cycle to repeat.  

But Bret wasn’t the same man he was years ago. He was different then, naïve to believe Shawn cared for anyone other than himself.  

Bret's jaw tightened, meeting Shawn’s eyes again with an icy glare. "Miss me? Or miss what we used to be?" 

There was a crack in Shawn’s voice. "Both." He swallowed thickly, a weak attempt to control his emotions. It wasn't easy when the man he’d loved sat across from him with dead eyes. He hadn’t just lost Bret as a lover, but also as a friend. 

Bret was so different from the men Shawn usually came across. Instead of the quick hookup Shawn was expecting, Bret spent the first few months getting to know him as a friend. It was...different for him. Weird, even, to have a man genuinely care about his thoughts and opinions. To ask him about his day or what’s troubling him. To give him advice to better his life.  

Shawn grew to appreciate Bret’s company. He’d told him things he hadn’t even told his closest friends or family. And by the time Bret finally asked him out on a date, Shawn was ready to open his heart to the man, along with his legs.  

Had he known what was to come, he would’ve cherished that friendship more than he had, as he’d never found a friendship like that again.  

Bret glanced down at their coffee cups, daring to cross that line. For so long, he wondered how he would react if he ever saw Shawn again. He figured he’d call him every name in the book, as if he hadn’t said enough years ago. Rub it in his face that he’s thriving without him. Maybe even ask him how Hunter’s doing just to be petty. Shawn deserved to feel even an ounce of the pain he’d endured. 

‘You need closure, Bret. Just hear him out.’  

That had been Owen’s advice. Of course it had. Owen and Shawn grew close over the years of their relationship. Owen was the only one in Bret's circle that believed they’d work. He didn’t care about the rumors that spread around town about Shawn being easy and a troublemaker. All he knew was that Shawn put a smile on Bret’s grumpy face. But since the breakup, Bret hadn't smiled the same. When Shawn reached out asking for help to get in contact with Bret, Owen couldn't refuse. 

Bret should’ve declined. He had every reason to. He’d grown so resentful and bitter festering over Shawn’s betrayal. 

He was bitter that he ignored the blatant red flags. Bitter that after the relationship ended, he wasn’t met with sympathy from his friends, but I-told-you-so’s.  

Bitter that Shawn allowed his clique of friends to sow doubts in his mind and fill his head with lies such as ‘You've changed since being with him, Shawn. You need to gain some independence.’ or ‘Bret wants you docile and submissive like his last wife.’ It took a few arguments of Shawn hurling those same words at him for Bret to figure out where they stemmed from. 

Above all, Bret was bitter that he trusted Shawn’s word when he told him he and Hunter were just friends. 

‘He’s no one to worry about, babe.’ 

And like a fool, Bret believed him. But Shawn had been really convincing. If Bret ever questioned their closeness, Shawn would accuse Bret of being jealous, of not trusting him. He’d cry in a way that always made Bret give in. He’d convince Bret that he was being paranoid. That he was reading too much into things, further leading to Bret's self-doubt. 

But there was no escaping reality when Shawn came home late one night after a Christmas party, teary eyed as he revealed that he and Hunter had slept together.  

“Have another drink, Shawn,” Hunter urged. “I thought you were drinking for both of us.” 

Shawn shook his head in refusal. “I shouldn't. Bret wouldn’t like me coming home smelling like liquor.”  

Scott rolled his eyes with a groan. He mocked, “Bret this, Bret that. God you’d think the guy was your old man. I’m surprised he even let you out the house tonight.” 

Shawn snapped. “He cares about me. Find you a man that’ll do the same.” His friends hooted and hollered in amusement at the sassy comeback. “Look, I’m just trying to respect my relationship.” 

Kevin chimed, “But does he respect you enough to let you be yourself? I mean come on, Shawn. You've never been this meek. One more drink won’t hurt.” 

Except one more drink turned into another, and it wasn't long before the night became a blur. 

Shawn still didn’t understand how it happened. One moment everything was normal. They were eating Christmas cookies, drinking spiked eggnog, dancing to classic Christmas songs, singing horribly on Kevin’s karaoke machine. The next moment he and Hunter were making out under the mistletoe oblivious of their friends rooting them on.  

Shawn wished at least one of them had stopped him. They knew how strongly Shawn felt for Bret, but they still encouraged him to hook up with Hunter anyway. But it wasn't fair to blame them. It was ultimately Shawn’s decision, and the moment Hunter led him upstairs and shut the bedroom door behind them, there was no turning back.  

Shawn had barely come down from his orgasm when the shame set in. But it was too late. The damage had been done. And he couldn't find it within himself to keep it from Bret. 

That had been a long night: Bret screaming. Shawn begging Bret to listen to him. Bret threatening to find Hunter and kill him. Shawn begging Bret to stay. Bret kicking Shawn out of his house, shouting in his face that they were done. Shawn crying on the front steps, only leaving when Bret threatened to call the cops. 

Bret still remembered how numb he felt watching Shawn pull out of his driveway. If it hadn’t been the cheating, it would’ve been something else. At least that’s what he told himself to better cope with the pain.  

Their relationship had been anything but peachy. Arguments, jealousy, petty revenge. The whole nine. But even all of that hadn’t prepared Bret for the heartbreak to come.  

Bret struggled to stay in steady relationships after that. For a long while, he indulged himself in men and women, trying to fill the void Shawn left in his heart. But he’d been too broken to love anyone else.  

No one could ever be Shawn. He’d never gotten over him. And that made Bret the most bitter of all.  

Now, years later, instead of hurtful words or petty jabs, there was only one question that rested on his tongue. 

“Was it worth it?” 

Shawn would’ve laughed if he didn’t feel like crying. He wished he could say it was worth it. There’d been too much pain and suffering for it not to be. But in reality, he’d lost Bret. He and Hunter didn’t even talk anymore. His friend group was in shambles. He’d lost it all for one night of lust. 

“No.” 

Bret should’ve been happy to hear that. He should’ve gloated over it. But no joy came as he looked at Shawn – really looked at him. His eyes were distant, face sunken with loss of sleep, baby fat slimmed to gaunt cheekbones. He looked as if one wrong word would send him spiraling. And Bret knew more than anyone how dangerous things got for Shawn in that state. 

Bret hated that he softened. Hated that Shawn still had a hold on his heart. It wasn’t fair to him. He deserved to spit in Shawn’s face and stomp on any dignity the blond had left. But he couldn’t do it.  

Bret reached across the table and gripped the base of his coffee mug. In doing so, knuckles brushed slightly against the side of Shawn’s hand resting nearby.  

Shawn inhaled. It was just the slightest of touch, but it took everything in him not to react, not to look hopeful. But there’s relief when Bret didn’t pull away.  

"We were fire and ice, Shawn. We never should’ve worked.”  

“But we did, Bret. For years, we made it work. Until…until I fucked it all up.” Shawn shook his head at the memory. “I never meant to hurt you.”  

“But you did.” 

There was a small pause, sorrow reflecting in both of their eyes. Shawn nodded. “I did. I will always be sorry for what I put you through.” 

Accountability. That was something Bret thought he’d never hear from the blond. Shawn had too much pride. They both did, which was one of many reasons they butted heads so often. But it was also one of the reasons why they loved as hard as they did.  

They stayed like that, hands touching ever so slightly. Their coffee grew cold and forgotten, neither making the move to part.  

There was a soft rumble of thunder and rain began to fall, tapping against the window as if to excuse the interruption.  

Shawn glanced at the window, looking past his reflection to see the street he and Bret once roamed hand-in-hand. Bittersweet memories crept to the forefront. 

Across the street was the bakery Bret took him for their first date. It’d also been where they shared their first kiss. 

They sat in the sweet-smelling bakery shyly holding hands under the table. Shawn was first to finish his cupcake, and with his hands no longer occupied, it only made sense to fill it with Bret’s.  

Shawn watched with hungry eyes as Bret finished his last bite, licking the frosting off his fingertips. “You missed a spot.” 

“Hm?” Bret looked down at his hand, finding it spotless. 

Shawn peered over his shoulder to check that no one was looking. When the coast was clear, he leaned forward and boldly licked the vanilla bean frosting off the corner of Bret’s mouth before pecking him softly on the lips.  

A few doors down was the fancy restaurant they frequented just because Shawn thought they had fire breadsticks.  

Bret grunted in his usual way as he looked over the menu. “This place is way too overpriced just to keep coming back for breadsticks.” 

Shawn was in the middle of eating said breadstick when he whined, “But they're so damn good, babe.” 

Bret had half the mind to scold him for talking with his mouth open like a child, but he smiled the way he usually did when Shawn melted his heart. 

Tucked out of sight, unless you looked hard enough, sat a unisex lingerie shop that led to so many fun nights. 

There was barely enough space in the cramped fitting room, but that didn’t stop Shawn from dragging Bret in for his opinion. “You like?” 

Bret choked on his words at seeing Shawn’s getup. Heart-shaped nipple tassels, elbow-length laced gloves, fishnets, tight leather mini skirt that barely covered his ass, and fluffy kitten heels he struggled to stand in. 

Bret hooked his fingers into the waistband of the skirt and hastily pulled Shawn forward. Shawn’s hands fell onto Bret’s shoulders to steady his balance. He was slightly taller now with the heels, but that didn’t stop Bret from diving for Shawn’s lips, tonguing him down until they were both out of breath. He panted, “I love it. But I want to rip it off right here.” 

“Wait for tonight, daddy.” 

Shawn almost smiled remembering how beet-red Bret’s face was when they walked in, and how rock hard he was by the time they walked out. 

They had some fun times. Wild, but fun.  

Now, he could only watch as happy couples, both young and old, walked by making claim of the same places he and Bret once deemed theirs. Much like the coffee shop they were sitting in – where they’d first met.   

Shawn looked away from the glass with thoughts of what could’ve been. He looked at Bret, following the lines in that face he’d known so well – aged from time and stress.  

Bret looked into Shawn’s eyes, never failing to get lost in the sea of blue. He wasn’t one for making wishes, but he wished things had been different. He yearned for a chance to go back to that night and stop Shawn from going to that damn party.  

“You’re seriously going to skip out on Christmas dinner? My mom’s been looking forward to this all year, Shawn-” 

“I told you weeks ago that there was a change of plans!” 

“For a fucking party!” 

“It doesn't matter! You chose to keep that from her because you thought I'd change my mind.  That’s your fucking fault your mom’s disappointed! Not me!” Shawn went for the front door but was blocked by Bret. “Move.” 

“If you leave out that door, I know exactly where our relationship stands.” 

It was a silent threat, one laced with an undertone that had Shawn second-guessing his next step. But when he turned around to see the aftermath of their argument – a flower vase Bret gifted Shawn for his birthday now knocked over from their tussle, a picture of them kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower now encased by a cracked frame where Shawn’s keys had been thrown, a hole punched in the wall they spent so many hours painting together – that Shawn knew he needed some space from Bret. 

He straightened his ruffled jacket and rushed past Bret without a word. 

Bret had intended on making up as soon as he heard Shawn’s keys rattle in the door. He wanted to apologize for his actions, plead that he’ll do better, maybe even squeeze in a round of sex if Shawn was up for it. But they’d never had the chance after Shawn’s confession.  

Bret couldn’t help but wonder if things would have been different had he loosened the reins a bit. It took some time and self-reflection for him to realize just how possessive and controlling he was of Shawn.  

He’d met Shawn at a point in his life where he’d given up on love. Where he accepted he’d be alone forever and thought he was ok with that. Shawn made him believe in love again. Gave him a purpose in life. Selfishly, Bret wanted to keep him to himself.  

Now with his mind no longer clouded by anger, Bret came to the conclusion that maybe he drove Shawn into the arms of another man. 

Bret cleared his dry throat. “What could I have done to…not make this happen?” 

The guilt felt like a punch to the gut. Shawn gave another thick swallow as tears welled again. “Nothing, Bret. You did nothing wrong. None of this was your fault. It was all me.” 

Bret flexed his jaw to refrain from wiping at the tears collecting in the corner of Shawn’s eyes. “We both know that’s not true. You did what you did. There's no doubting that. But our relationship was fucked way before that night. I wasn’t always the…nicest to you. Couldn’t have expected you to stay around.” 

“Bret. Please don’t say that.” 

“I wasn’t an angel, Shawn. Following you around. Invading your privacy. Fighting your exes. Blaming you for shit you hadn’t done. Taking my anger out on you. The…the abuse-” 

“You never hit me.” 

“Verbal’s just as bad as physical, Shawn. Throwing shit around in the heat of the moment, shit that could’ve hit you, was just as bad. None of it was ok. And… I’m sorry.” 

It took a lot of growth for Bret to admit that. For a while, he’d blamed Shawn for everything that’d gone wrong in his life. But he knew he played a role in it, too. It didn't excuse Shawn for what he did, but he regretted his actions that led to Shawn feeling the need to seek out comfort in someone else.  

Shawn wasn’t ready to hear it. He’d spent so long hating himself, being called a slut by Bret’s friends, being condemned by Bret’s family, isolating himself from his own friend group, that any accountability on Bret’s part wasn’t to be expected.  

Shawn shook his head, eyes focused on the wrist where Bret once wore a bracelet he’d hand-crafted for him. “We were both assholes to each other.” 

Bret gave a sad smile. That was something they could agree on. “We were, weren’t we? Love makes people do crazy things.”  

“Stupid things. Guess we should've taken up your mom’s offer on couple’s therapy, huh?” 

“We did, remember? We barely lasted a session after you stormed out calling the lady a bitch.” 

“Oh. Right.” Shawn nervously scratched behind his ear. “I’ve never been good at admitting I was wrong...but to be fair, she was a bitch.” 

Bret let out a humored breath, and Shawn’s eyes flitted to Bret's before letting out a small laugh of his own.  

For that short moment, it felt like old times. Back when things were simple. Back before their trust had been broken. Back before they’d hurt each other beyond repair. Back when they dreamt of what their future would be together. All before everything turned into a nightmare. 

The headlights of a beat-up Chevy grabbed their attention. It parked on the curb across from the coffee shop before the lights flashed on and off.  

Bret sighed as he unwrapped his hand from his mug. “That’s Owen.” 

They both knew what he really meant. This was it. Their time had come to a close.  

But Bret didn't move. Like a moth to a flame, he lingered a moment longer around the blaze that was Shawn Michaels. They were both entranced in their gaze, eyes pleading for the other to stay. And when Bret seriously considered it, he knew he had to leave. 

Owen’s headlights flickered again, and Bret stood abruptly from his seat. Shawn eyed the table in disappointment.  

“Thank you for the good times we shared.” There was a small crack in Bret’s voice, one he hid with a cough before saying, “Take care of yourself, Shawn.” 

Shawn held his breath as Bret walked towards him. He kept his eyes on the table, not trusting himself to let Bret go if he watched him leave. He exhaled once the man passed him. Bret was only a few steps behind when Shawn dared to ask, “Will we ever meet again?” 

Bret came to a stop and glanced over his shoulder, meeting the back of Shawn’s head – a blessing in disguise because if he’d seen his face, he may have ran back. 

He answered stiffly, “It’s probably best if we don’t. Goodbye, Shawn.” 

Shawn closed his eyes with a whispered, “Goodbye, Bret.”  

Bret’s steps blended in with the bustling noise of the coffee shop as he left. Neither man looked back. If they had, they would've seen the single tear that ran down each other’s cheek. 

Shawn sat motionlessly as his tears multiplied and slowly ran down his face. The bitter taste lingered on his lips, just as bitter as the cold coffee in his cup. 

[crazyk-imagine]

Life of the Party

Pairing: Sirius Black x Fem!reader

Characters: Sirius Black, Fem!reader, James Potter, Lily Potter nee Evans, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadows, Nymphadora Tonks (briefly mentioned), Harry Potter (briefly mentioned)

Warnings: Angst, this is random, during the first war, has bits of the sceond war involved, this probably doesn't track with the timeline, but certainly kept me entertained, not all information is accurate but that's to be expected, I had no idea where this was going, the last line makes me cry on the inside

Word Count: 2,601

A/N: Was I watching "Only Murders in the building" while writing this, giving it the murder mystery vibe, I feel it has? Maybe. No regrets though.

James took his time proposing

Voldemort slowly started getting stronger and then Peter joined him.

There are no known reactions to the bloodroot poison... I made up my own, hence the murder mystery vibe.

This is partially inspired by "Life of the Party" by Shawn Mendes

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m telling you to take your shot, it might be scary.” You shrug, "maybe she's ready for you two to take the next step." You're just hoping that if you push him a little more, they can be even happier.

And maybe, James can finally shut up about wanting to have the same last name, whatever comes first.

James nods, taking in every word you’re saying.

“We don’t have the time to be sorry," you tell him.

The faint whispers of evil lurking around every corner are slowly becoming louder in your mind.

You hold your breath for a second.

“She’s right,” Marlene shrugs.

Dorcas shakes her head, not liking it when the two of you agree with one another.

The blonde shares a look with the girl closest to her. “Why doesn’t he just man up and ask her?”

The dark-haired woman shrugs, “I don’t know. You’re asking the wrong person.”

Sirius leans against you with his arm wrapped around your shoulder, "am I hearing that Prongs is going to be an idiot again? Still don't know how to pop the question, do you?"

James rolls his eyes. "Thank you," he says to you before running off. "Look at that, we're alone now."

“Are we invisible to you, you dolt?” Dorcas grabs Marlene’s wrist and hauls her out of your home.

“I think he's going to do it now.”

“He’s not.”

“You want to bet?”

The blonde nods, “I do. Ten pounds.”

“And a butter beer.”

Marlene scowls, “fine.”

They shake hands.

“You’re on.”

-

He sneaks around your home, making sure no one can see him. You shake your head. "Nice try, Sirius."

"What?" He pouts, following you after you brush him away from you.

"Don't push me away. I know you love me." He flutters his lashes as if that will further prove his case.

"I would love some peace and quiet. Besides, shouldn't you be checking on Remus right now? It's almost his time."

He sighs, "yeah. I just... wanted to see you before."

"Well, you did and now it's time to say goodbye."

"Fine, fine," he lets out a deep sigh, as if you've done something to him. "Promise me one thing?"

You stare into his eyes.

“You’ll tell me if you’ve been seeing things when I get back.”

You nod, gulping because you know what’s going to happen before then.

The corner of his lips curls upwards, thinking about being alone with you and hopefully asking you something he should have had a long time ago. "I'll be off now, little miss “life of the party”. I'll see you later?"

You rest your hands against the counter, preventing yourself from falling. You nod, "of course, Pads."

He smirks, shaking his head to rid him of his thoughts although he’s always fond when you call him by his nickname. "Alright, I'm off."

"Bye," you whisper, listening to his motorbike get farther from your home. You groan, raising one hand to your head. It's worse.

'The whispers get louder when the ticking stops.'

You want to forget it, but you can't.

His screams haunt you; you can't see his face, you don’t know who it is but it's more than enough to ruin your sleep, invading your mind at the most inconvenient times.

Your family's large grandfather clock chimes.

Nothing's going to work now, you know it. You don't know why you’re going in here but it’s the one place you believe to be in your best interest to reside in during this time.

You grab your wand from your boot and wave it.

The bookshelf moves out of the way.

A heavy breath escapes you.

No one but you know of your meek at home potions room. It's better this way, none of them will ask any questions or throw themselves into research.

By the time your clock chimes again, James and Lily will be the next future couple followed by a sweet little baby boy who will help carry on their family line.

Remus will be trying to finish his potion for the upcoming full moon.

Sirius will be the last of his siblings but not of his family's pureblood status.

And Peter-

“Come out tonight. Come out tonight,” you mutter, closing your eyes for a moment, waiting. "You found me."

"I never wanted this to happen."

"If you didn't want it to happen, you wouldn't have joined him. You wouldn’t have cowered into his grasp because you think he’s getting stronger."

"I- I'm sorry."

"Are you? Because I think you don’t have the time to be sorry. Or are you just saying that because of the bloodroot poison you put in my drink last week?"

Peter pauses in the doorway. "When did you know?"

"It's obvious when somethings not right with your body and you're stupid to think I wouldn't notice."

"You really want to fight with the person who could kill you?"

"You already have."

"It wasn't my choice."

"You didn't know whether you should have stayed on this side and when they found you, you chose to put that damned mark on your arm. You made a decision long ago. I'm just," you hold your breath, finding it hard to take a simple breath now. "Wondering what made you change?"

"Nothing," he mumbles.

"That's such a lie and you know it!"

His head snaps in your direction. "Everyone made me this way!"

You struggle to gulp down the saliva that filled your mouth.

"I was tired of being the joke of it all," he sniffs.

You don't know whether to feel bad for him or help him.

"I wanted the jokes to stop. I thought they would when we grew up, but they barely did."

"What jokes?" You whisper, now losing your voice.

"It doesn't matter now, what's done is done."

"Soon to be done. You're here to report to him that I'm dead, right?"

"N- no."

"You're distracting me, waiting until the end."

"Stop it."

"I hope you feel better."

"Better?"

"Thinking you chose the right side-" You take a step closer towards the table, your hand reaching out for it until you lose your balance and begin tumbling forward.

Peter reaches for you and holds you.

This is the last time he'll ever see you. And it hits him, what he's done to his friend.

There are no changing things now.

He adjusts you, cradling you in his arms as he sits behind you; the way a friend should comfort another one in need.

"Are you happy?"

He glances at you from the corner of his eye, staring at your side profile. "What?"

There's no more fight left in you and there's one thing you want someone to know, your last fighting words were something that will haunt your murderer. "Knowing you chose the wrong side."

"I-"

You close your eyes, not wanting your last sight to be of the secret you kept from your friends.

The grandfather clocks chimes once more and the whispers of his mind fill the silence.

Peter throws his head back, tears trickling down the sides of his face.

Nothing will ever be the same and no one will ever know what he's done.

Not until the end of the first war.

He carefully moves away from you and places you against the desk making it look as if you were sitting against the desk when you pass.

He kept it quiet of how you passed until the night he purposefully let Sirius take the blame for everything.

No one was able to truly move on after, most of all he and-

“She called herself the “life of the party” forever making a fool of herself,” he chuckles to himself.

"Pads, are you telling Harry the same story?"

The man in question turned around with his precious godson bundled in his arms. "No."

"Why lie when we all know it, Sirius?" Lily asks, holding her son's bottle as she tries to take the boy from him. "It's time for his bottle, Sirius."

"I can do it."

"No."

"Come on," he whines, with his bottom lip quivering.

It takes her back to every time when he would beg for your attention. She purses her lips, adjusting Harry in her arms. "It's almost nap time."

"Fine. James, sleep fort?"

"Of course, how else does one take a nap?"

She shakes her head at the two, knowing you would have something to say about it. "James."

"Coming, dear."

"I'll be here while you go help the man of the house."

"Hey."

Sirius raises his arms, "I'm kidding. I'm kidding."

He's left alone with his thoughts, something that's become more dangerous than before.

He thinks back to the story he was telling his godson, which was the night before your guys' seventh year when you decided to do some digging and found the bottle of fire whisky he had hidden, saving for a special occasion and ended up giving yourself a nickname.

You were so, so... drunk.

-

You smile and raise your hands, not at all careful to hide the bottle of fire whiskey. “It's time to be the life of the party.”

Everyone was confused as to why you did this, why you’d lost yourself.

"Someone needs to get her down from that table before she trips and breaks something," Lily hisses.

"We can use magic to heal her."

"Now is not the time to sass me, Sirius."

"Uh- nope, that one was me," Remus raises his hands.

"Someone please, help me get her down."

The three boys take a step forward at the same time.

"Come on, darling. It's time to come down."

You pout, holding the bottle close to your chest. "I don't wanna."

James snorts. "Can it, Prongs."

"I didn't say anything, Padfoot."

"Boys, please. Let's just get close to the table and then Pads can try and ease her down while we help?" The werewolf adds.

"Siri, come up and join me."

"Join you?"

"Become the life of the party with me."

“Sweetheart, I already am.” He holds his hand out for you to take. “Come and party with me down here.”

“No,” you tell him.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Prongs, Moony,” he jerks his head to the side. “Over here.”

They follow, leaving the red head to deal with you.

“Alright, boys. Moons, you grab the bottle while Prongs my boy,” he smacks the bespectacled boy’s shoulder. “You distract, pull her in with that odd charm that drew your rosy, red head in.”

“I feel like I should be offended.”

Sirius raises a brow, “are you?”

“No.”

“Then you’re fine. Ready boys. On three.”

“Please don’t try to use sports analogies,” Remus interrupts.

“Rude.”

“Hey,” James calls out for you. “Look at me.”

This gives Remus enough time to remove the bottle from your hands and for Sirius to pull you down.

“What made you want to get up on a table?” He asked, holding you in his arms.

“I wanted to get away.”

He glances up, knowing you probably don’t want the others to hear. “Get away from what?”

“The images in my mind.”

“Do you-”

“She needs to have something other than that damned whiskey in her system. Bring her over to the couch,” Lily tells him.

-

He never knew what you saw before that night and didn’t ask when you didn’t remember anything that happened.

This was one of the first few sights that haunted his mind, followed by his best friend and his wife a year after.

That’s why when he saw you for the first time, he was going through so many emotions.

His voice calling out to you wasn’t out of the norm but seeing him when you turned around after the light taps on your shoulder was certainly a surprise.

Your eyes widen at the sight of him. “Sirius?”

He throws himself forward, almost squeezing you with his might. “It’s been too long, darling.”

Your hands shake as you fist handfuls of his shirt tightly, wrinkling his shirt in the process. “I- you,” you push him back. “You shouldn’t be here. You- you- Sirius you can’t be here,” you whisper.

“You shouldn’t be either but here we are. Just focus on this.” He cups your cheek.

“What?”

His thumb brushes across your cheek. “We’re together again.”

“You should be out there, living your life and- and teaching Harry so much more.”

“I am right where I need to be.” He smiles at you, staring into your eyes. “I’m back with you.”

You gulp, “you’re still an idiot.”

“No, I’m Sirius.”

You shake your head and pull him in for another hug… until an echoing voice causes you to furrow your brows.

“Pads! Pads!”

“Oh no,” you mumble.

“What?”

“Pads turn your stupid head around.”

“Who’s calling me stupid?”

You’re happy you let go of him when you did otherwise, you’d be on the ground with the two idiots you find yourself lucky enough to call friends.

“I didn’t want to interrupt the two of you.”

“I know,” you assure Lily. “It’s okay. I’m just happy to see you guys again.”

She wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer. “Me too.”

“Don’t forget about us,” Marlene calls out.

You two spin around, finding her and Dorcas running towards you guys.

“Took him long enough.”

“Marlene,” you hiss.

“What? I can’t pretend like you haven’t been depressed since that night. Everyone missed you and then when the first war came and we came here, you were so relieved that he wasn’t here but longing for him to come to you and you know it. You can’t hide it.”

You roll your eyes.

“So, you did miss me?” He says, staring up at you with a stargazed look in his eyes.

You turn away, avoiding his gaze. “No.”

“Someone’s lying, and it isn’t Sirius,” he says, attempting to egg you on.

“Come on, girls.”

“Wait- no.” He chases after you.

-

All of you stop, staring around the cemetery.

“What do we do now?”

“We wander around in true spirit fashion.”

“I vote we leave James behind,” you say, raising your hand.

“I second that vote,” Lily and Marlene add.

“Lily pad,” James gasps.

“Dorcas, come on. Don’t do this to me.”

“I’m with the side that doesn’t whine and complain.”

“But I’m nothing without whining and complaining. I was the only male here till Pads decided to join us.”

“I can see why they didn’t want you around.”

“Pads! I’m offended now!”

“Oh, well.” Sirius shrugs.

“You two haven’t changed a bit,” you comment. “It’s nice. I’ve missed seeing all of us being like this.”

“Like what?” Lily asks.

“Being young, not worried about a war coming our way.”

“I think we can all agree on that.”

“Did you all hear Moons has begun to pursue Tonks?” Sirius says.

“No."

"No way.”

-

You lead the others towards Diagon’s Alley, feeling a butter beer kind of night is something you all need.

“Don’t give her any fire whiskey. Otherwise, her “life of the party” personality will come out.” Marlene teases.

“That was one time,” you defend yourself.

“Lies,” Dorcas says, coughing into her hand.

“You all suck.” You pout.

Sirius leans in, “how’s it feel?”

“Don’t be like that, Sirius.”

“What? So, Sirius? I can’t, that’s who I am.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

You stare into his eyes. ‘I missed you more than anything, Siri.’

“I do.”

His smile widens, “I knew it.”

You close your eyes, wanting this to fill the blocks you made in your memory.

Everyone needs a little happy scene they can think back to.

-

Taglist

@twinkletwinklenotastar

[not-ur-boy-toy]

Hartbreak Ranch Chapter 2

AN: Chapter 2 has finally arrived after a massive delay!! Not much romance going on so far for the two, BUT, it is getting there, I'm trying to not get too impatient, but gotta build it up... ;D If you'd like to be tagged in this series, please let me know as well! :)

TW: foul language, addiction mention as well as drugs mentioned (lightly)

Word count: 3.4k

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“Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my home?”.

The voice rang out through the living room as Shawn stood still as a statue. It was an odd situation. Shawn was in the middle of the room, in the middle of nowhere, by himself. He didn’t exactly blend in either, he couldn’t have been an ‘neighbour’ just coming to borrow some sugar. By any sane person’s mind, they would have thought he was trying to rob them. Shawn knew he should have answered by now, but his mind was elsewhere… Mostly admiring the cowboy in front of him.

“Oh uhh.. I-.. Well..-” Shawn stuttered out before being interrupted by the man who now stood in the doorway, his warm chocolate eyes now holding a dangerous glare. 

“Spit it out, I don’t need a story. Name and what the hell are you doing in my home” the guy repeated with a slight hiss, aggression now starting to build up in his tone as he moved  towards Shawn. 

This was all that Shawn needed to reply back as quick as possible. He had dealt with plenty of fights before. But, that was with a bodyguard who knew about his bad temper and sharp tongue. Cowboys weren’t his forte to fight with either..

“Sorry! Right, I’m Shawn, I’m guessing your brother, Owen, brought me here!” Shawn blurted out quickly, not risking to anger the other.

Shawn was praying that Owen would return fast, especially as the man stared Shawn down. It was hard to figure out what he was thinking, especially as the guy stayed quiet. Was he gonna punch Shawn? Beat him up? Or perhaps Kiss him?... Probably not the last one. The blond really needed to stop watching those romance films at 2AM. 

The doubtful look Shawn was given was surely about to seal his fate. His money winner face (literally) was about to get decked by an attractive, muscular guy and thrown out into the middle of nowhere again. Shawn backed up slightly, trying to give himself a bit of space in case things turned, however, fate was clearly on his side for once as he heard Owen’s chirpy voice from behind.

“Bret! Didn’t know you’d be here yet,” Owen laughed out as he walked over with a grin, oblivious to the growing tension in the room, “Shawn here is just stayin’ with us for a few days, I felt awful leaving him in town… His car had broken down and you know how far the closest motel is”.

Bret, which Shawn just learnt the man-who-was-gonna-beat-his-ass name was, stared at Shawn one last time before those same dangerous eyes softened as they looked at Owen. 

“You have too much of a soft heart, Owen… You know how I feel about bringing strangers home” Bret lightly scolded Owen, although Bret did receive an odd stare from his brother. One that clearly read that he didn’t actually know what the other was talking about at all.

“Don’t be such a grump, Ma and Pa don’t mind people being here.. Or well at least Ma doesn’t,” Owen chuckled out before looking at Shawn, “Oh! Sorry Shawn, this is my brother, Bret, don’t mind him, he can be quite the grouch after a long day”.

Once again, Bret and Shawn stared at each other, the tension building once again. 

“Nice to meet ya, Bret” Shawn hummed out trying to break the ice, however, his attempt was pushed away as Bret walked towards the kitchen instead, mumbling under his breath something about ‘lemonade’. Owen gave Shawn a small pitiful smile,

“Like I said, don’t mind him, I don’t know what’s up with him…”, Owen glanced over his shoulder to look in the direction Bret went before huffing and turning back to the blond, “Anyways.. Let me take you to the guests room!”.

Heading upstairs with suitcase in hand, Shawn followed after the cheerful man. The next floor of the house continued the rustic, homey feeling, having plenty of family photos dotted around, however this time, flowers in vases decorated the hallway on small, pine cabinets. Lavenders, some roses and a few other flowers that Shawn didn’t know were blooming from the elegant vases, filling the area with a soft, relaxing and refreshing aroma. There were five different doors, one on the left that was white with painted pink flowers and ‘Diana’ painted delicately across it, another next to it  was a pine door with painted on sunflowers, the third was a dark mahogany door with simple gold detailing. Across those doors were two other doors, one was a double door, clearly the master bedroom, and the furthest away was just a simple pine door. Owen guided Shawn past the doors until they reached the plain pine door. He opened the door with a soft smile, 

“This will be your room, if you need any blankets let me know… If you need me, my door is the one with the sunflowers”, Owen hummed slightly, trying to think if there was anything else he needed to tell the other. “I’ll knock on when supper is done” With one last smile, Owen left Shawn to get comfortable, heading to his own room.

The black boots Shawn wore clicked softly against the wooden floor as he entered the room that he’d call ‘home’ for the next few days. Compared to the rest of the house that the model had seen, this room felt rather… empty. There weren't any family photos, there weren't any carefully embroidered pillows or even any bright colours. Instead, the room had a simple double bed in the centre of the room, leaned against the right empty wall, the bedding was a cool white with a few fluffy pillows that looked like they were brand new and untouched. Two bedside tables laid beside the bed, both having a pull-cord lamp and one had a singular alarm clock that seemed to echo in the room. Next to the bed, there was another closed door which Shawn assumed was the bathroom. On the opposite side of the room, there were two panel doors, which once again, Shawn assumed was a wardrobe. A lounge chair sat in the corner of the room with a small table next to it, however there was nothing on it. No flowers, no leftover mug of coffee. This room truly felt abandoned, almost lonely compared to the rest of the house that Shawn saw. The only thing that was rather interesting to look at was the window which showed off the large farm from behind. He could see a few roaming animals around as well as an old barn by a few, large trees.

A soft huff left Shawn’s lips as he leaned his suitcase against the wall, admiring the view he had, “Just a few days… that’s all..” he quietly reminded himself.

Getting himself situated in the room didn’t take too long at all. Shawn had hung up his clothes which he deemed weren’t entirely appropriate to wear at a farm, his extra pair of shoes were lined up in the wardrobe, and he had made sure his cigs and bottle of vodka was hidden away in one of the bedside tables. He was gonna save them for when he met up with Ramon, Kid and Diesel, but desperate times called for desperate measures if he needed them. He even had some ‘extra’ measures hidden in his cig packs as well, something that relaxed him more than the cigs. But that was for extreme desperate times. Or fun times. Shawn’s shampoo and conditioner was lined up in the bathroom right next to his cherry and vanilla scented body wash, his hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste was also placed on the sink as well. It felt mostly like home now. Although, there was a small problem. Or well, two small problems. One was that there was no TV, did these people live like cavemen? And the second, his phone was getting pretty low and there was no plug socket.. He had double checked the whole room just to make sure! There was none behind the bedside tables, there was none behind the chair that could be hidden, there wasn’t even one in the bathroom! 

Staring at his phone screen, he weighed out his options. He could ignore his phone, save up the battery… But  having Diesel panic and get on his ass? Yeah, he needed to phone up his bodyguard. Shawn paced around the room as he held the phone to his ear, listening to the ringing before that familiar gruff voice appeared as Diesel picked up.

“Shawn? Everything alright? Are you at your hotel?” The questions instantly rang in from the protective man which made Shawn awkwardly chuckle.

“Yeaah… About that…”

“Shawn, please don’t tell me you’re lost”

The blond chewed on his bottom lip nervously, “Well… Not exactly lost… I mean, I don’t know where the fuck I am…” he started, “But don’t panic! I’m safe, I’m all good, just gonna be late for the photoshoot, y’know?”.

A deep sigh filled Shawn’s ear from the otherside of the phone, he could tell that Diesel was rubbing his temple.

“Telling me to not panic makes me panic more… and how late are you talking about?” the bodyguard questioned.

“Well, maybe a day or two… or more… I don’t know ‘kay?! My damn car broke down, but this guy is fixin’ it up” Shawn mumbled out before moving the phone away from his ear as he knew what was going to happen.

“YOUR CAR BROKE DOWN?! I KNEW I SHOULD'VE DROVE YOU HERE!” the voice bellowed down the phone as Shawn played with a strand of his silky hair. “Jesus fucking Christ Shawn, just-.. Are you at least somewhere safe?” Diesel asked with a loud huff.

Shawn moved the phone back to his ear before speaking, “Yeah, I’m safe, my phone is probably gonna die though, just gotta find somewhere to char-”

“AND YOUR PHONE IS ABOUT TO DIE?!”

A small hiss left Shawn’s lips as Diesel’s voice picked up again, “Let me finish my sentence, asshole! Givin’ me a goddamn headache, I get your point!” Shawn tried to argue back but the model was greeted by silence. “Diesel?” He hummed out, “... Big Sexy??” Shawn continued, believing the other was being petty enough to give him the silent treatment, “Kevin???”. Finally, Shawn glanced at his phone being greeted by a dead screen, “FUCK!” he hissed out in anger, throwing the phone on the bed without a care. Just what he needed. His phone dead, Diesel being pissed off and probably thinking he was dead… Shit, he really needed a smoke.

Grabbing his pack of smokes and his trusty lighter, Shawn made his way out of the room and down the stairs before making his way outside. He had no idea if they let people smoke on their property, they probably didn’t, but he was desperate for a fix. Standing outside of the house, Shawn took out one of the cigs and placed it between his thin lips before flicking his lighter a few times to produce a small flame. He held it under the cig before he breathed in deeply, relishing in the feeling of the harsh smoke filling his lungs before blowing it out of his lungs. The familiar taste of menthol was one that was always calming, something he had always chosen as a young teen, they were the cheapest, but they were perfect in his eyes. Sure, he enjoyed a good cigar, it made him feel confident- almost unstoppable. But a Marlboro blue cigarette? Nothing could beat that feeling of a soft burn, it reached an itch that some would call an addiction, but Shawn called it self-soothing. Another puff of smoke left his lips as he glanced around the farm. The sun was already starting to set. It was rather beautiful to see, watching pinks and oranges blur together as the sun started to dip behind the horizon…

Shawn was thrown out of his thoughts at the sound of footsteps behind him and a low voice filling his ears again.

“If you’re gonna smoke, at least have an ashtray nearby” Bret mumbled out as he placed a ceramic ashtray on the edge of the patio fence, “...Everything alright? I heard yelling” Bret continued as he stood at the top of the patio stairs.

Shawn turned around, cig still gently dangling from his lips, his baby blues meeting the warm chocolate ones in a stare, “I didn’t expect you to have one… But yeah, I’m fine, just peachy..” he huffed out, his eyes going to the floor as he kicked at a bit of dirt on the ground. He took another drag from his cig before moving over near the patio to flick off the ash that lingered on the edge into the ashtray. 

“Mhm, sure, peachy,” Bret answered back, his warm eyes never leaving Shawn’s lean figure. Shawn’s baby blues glanced back up at Bret, fidgeting slightly. He wasn’t one to keep his mouth shut, especially when it came to drama. Even if it was about himself. Or perhaps it was the way Bret looked at him like he was an actual person? Shawn wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t help but let the truth flood out.

“... My phone has died, I don’t know how long I’ll be here for, Diesel is pissed off at me like it’s my fault…” Shawn spat out the truth, his eyes looking back at the ground as he took another puff of the cigarette in his hand. Smoke flooded out his mouth before he continued, “Like, sure, maybe I shouldn’t have taken a small ‘shortcut’... Or actually listened to him… But still, fuck, It’s not my fault” He huffed out. Bret raised a brow. He wasn’t sure which part he was more shocked at, maybe it was the fact that this ‘Diesel’ was pissed off at him, or perhaps it was the way Shawn deflected.

“But anyways, I’ll be out of your lovely hair, you clearly don’t like strangers,” A soft, sarcastic chuckle left Shawn as he pushed the cig against the ashtray, “Thanks for the ashtray and well, that little rant” he thanked quietly.

“It’s fine… And don’t feel like you need to leave fast, you just caught me in a bad time” Bret awkwardly apologised, rubbing the back of his neck, “If you need to phone someone, we’ve got a landline phone you can borrow” he offered with a small shrug. 

“Ha, thanks for the offer handsome, but I don’t exactly remember phone numbers, got too many to remember” Shawn chuckled out again, he wished he remembered Diesel’s phone number or even Hunter’s… he knew part of Marty’s number, but even if he remember his number, they hadn’t even spoken in years… 

Bret was surprised at the name ‘handsome’, it was very sudden but he shrugged it off quickly, “I can get Owen to take your phone and charge it as the repair shop, I know there isn’t any plugs in this house- Never has been, never will, that’s the old man’s orders, but the shop has one” He offered again, hoping to ease the mans tension as well as an apology for their first meeting.

“I-... I suppose that isn’t a bad idea at all… Thank’s Bret” Shawn smiled softly, “I’ll give you it tomorrow, or Owen, whoever I find first, but thank you” his blue eyes took one more look around the ranch before looking back at Bret, “I’ll see you inside, if I stay out any longer I’ll be tempted to have another cig” Shawn tried to joke, gently shaking the box of cigs he held, but it was the truth. He would have had another cig- Or probably the whole box and his ‘fun sticks’ as he liked to call them as well. He gave Bret another small smile before heading inside of the house, brushing past the bigger man.

Bret glanced over his shoulder, watching as the man made his way inside the house. Questions continued to wrap around his brain about Shawn. Who was Diesel? Why would he be upset with Shawn? Where was he even heading to make a shortcut through the middle of nowhere? Even Bret knew it was a silly mistake to make. His thick brows furrowed together as he huffed, his eyes glancing over towards the sunset. He stayed for another moment, watching as the sun ducked behind the horizon, the sky getting darker and the warm air grew colder. He took a deep breath in, the smell of Shawn’s cheap cigarettes still clinging to the air as one final question ran through his head. Sure he had met other strange characters, like his soon-to-be brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith, but Shawn was a lot more different than him. He didn’t fit in, he didn’t fit in the town nearby nor the farm life itself by the looks of his clothes and the way he held himself. His hair and clothes were too perfect for a man who was stressed about being stranded in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t any out of place hair in sight or a crease in his clothes… Who the hell was Shawn?... Bret shook his head slightly, he was just simply overthinking about Shawn, that’s all.

Night had quickly arrived by the time Owen knocked on the guest door to announce that supper was done. The dinner table was on the biggerside, having about twelve chairs around the table and only a few of the chairs were being used. He met the patriarch of the Harts, Stu, and his Mrs, Helen. Much like Bret, Stu wasn’t as welcoming, but Helen was his saviour. She had welcomed him with open arms, Owen clearly took after his mother. He had met Diana who was sweet, she was the youngest daughter of the Harts. He had also learnt that the family was rather large, having twelve siblings all together, but most of the kids had moved out. The supper was something he needed, something relaxing, and soul soothing from how fresh and hearty the soup and bread he ate. He did notice Bret missing from the table, which must of been the usual as Owen’s voice perked up,

“Bret usually misses his supper, he’ll be checking on the animals making sure their water is good and they have food” He explained before taking a sip of water, “He’ll have it later”. That eased Shawn’s curiosity, leaving it without another question. 

After the meal, Shawn thanked them, especially for the welcomed hospitality before heading to the guest room. He changed out of his clothes, hanging them up before fully getting ready for bed. Shawn had a strict regime that he followed, he would wash his face before cleansing it, then he would moisturise as well. He had to keep his face looking young, obviously. He would then brush his hair before tying it up into a ponytail, he’d also have a whiskey over ice and even a cigar before brushing his teeth.

Usually after his little routine, he would stay up late in his penthouse, he’d sit on his large, comfy couch that was as soft as clouds and watch a few films before going to bed. On bad nights, he wouldn’t sleep. He’d instead sit outside on his balcony, watching the bright city of New York light up the dark sky, replacing the stars he couldn’t see. It was called the city that never sleeps for a reason. Yet, being in this home, he felt as if he wouldn’t have a bad night, that he could actually rest without an issue.

The guest bed wasn’t exactly as comfy as his bed at home, but he was used to other beds, especially when he travelled. It was the comfiest he had in awhile, he seemed to sink in like his own bed somewhat, and it didn’t feel like stone like a few five star hotel beds did. The room wasn’t fully pitch black either, which didn’t annoy him as much as he thought it would. The curtains that covered the window in the room were thin, letting in the natural light of the moon and stars outside fade in which tempted him to go and admire… but he’d leave that for a sleepless night. Even the sounds of crickets outside didn’t annoy him even if he enjoyed  silence when he slept. They chirped out a symphony that lulled Shawn to a somewhat peaceful sleep.

[obsidiancreates]

One Undead To Another (Chapter 4)

(Trigger warning for Shawn Corpse, blood, and lots of ghost-vs-vampire fighting.)

“What the hell is going on.” Jules’s gun is still steady- to the untrained eye. If Shawn was there he’d notice the slight tremble, the tightened grip, the shudder going up her spine.

Shawn isn’t there. He’s somewhere past the ghost, standing and staring at the group, looking quite frankly more lively than he ever did while actually alive. Well, he would be- if he wasn’t see-through. Mary’s body flickers in and out of existence at a faster pace than the lights do, his form transparent enough to make out the pattern of the wallpaper at the end of the hall behind him. 

Gus screams again.

“He’s in the basement, but I think you guessed that.” Mary looks Lassiter in the eyes. “You need to get moving. He’s having a bad time down there.”

The screaming pitches up, worse, for a moment. There’s too many voices- it’s impossible to tell if Shawn is among them.

Lassiter wants to get moving. Someone is dying down there- but he’s frozen. He saw Mary Lightly die. He saw Spencer hold Mary’s corpse and it’s the closest he’s ever seen Spencer come to crying and it’s burned into his brain forever so he can’t be looking at Mary Lightly right now.

Mary looks at someone over Lassiter’s shoulder. “They need a push.”

Lassiter and Jules whip around.

Mike McMillian and Zoe Sharp push all three forward into the hall.

Gus stumbles through Mary. Mary disappears. Gus passes out.

He wakes up as soon as he hits the ground, springs to life, and bolts. Bolts deeper into the house, and Lassiter and Jules follow because what else can they do? They don’t even remember the way to the basement, and Gus is a civilian and there are ghosts and they don’t know what’s going on-

“Wrong way!” a voice barks at them from the end of the hall Gus is blindly running down. He shrieks and reels back from the new ghost- this one wears an FBI jacket, and Jules vaguely regonizes him from a picture during her brief reunion with Scott Seaver- the dead agent who Shawn realized was killed by his own partner.

“He’s right.” Mary’s ghostly voice calls out to them from the opposite end- they turn to see him pointing. “Down this way.”

“We’re not following the ghosts,” Gus half demands, half begs.

“They said they know where Shawn is.” Jules looks at her partner. “We have to believe them.”

“... Dammit, O’Hara, why do you have to be right all the time?”

Jules grabs Gus by the elbow, and they follow.

Mary disappears as they walk through him- the lights are still barely clinging to life, and they get turned around more than once. Every time they are quickly redirected, and every time it’s a different spirit.

Nelson Poe, who gives Lassie a nod of recognition as they pass by him. Bianca the college co-ed, who cheers for them as they rush past her. Annie the scare-camp counsler, who quite literally pushes them in the right direction. At one point they hear a loud honk-bark, and turn to find Shabby The Sea Lion using his nose to point them in the right direction. Shabby even nuzzles Gus’s hand as he runs by.

As soon as they make it to the basement door the buzzing emptiness of the building intensifies by a million. Lassiter is shaking as he pushes it open, the rotting door literally falling off it’s hinges. It leads to a short hallway, and then a staircase so steep and thin and rickety it’s really more of a glorified wooden ladder.

The screaming is all coming from below them.

Jules is the first down. It’s a maze, a labyrinth of old dust-caked boxes and knick-knacks and abandoned belongings. Gloria the actress points the way first, and then Howie Tolkin, then Fire Chief Dan. Gus feels sicker and sicker with each spirit he sees because how and why and is Shawn okay or not?

Jules is the first to enter into the open space, and whatever she sees makes her scream. As soon as Lassiter comes within reach she grabs onto his arm, and then clings to him, and sobs.

At first, when Gus stumbles out of the boxes, he can’t see why. There’s too much to see why. The room is filled, packed to the brim with jeering and shouting and screaming spirits, angry spirits. Five real, physical beings try to push their way out of a ring of candles, but the spirits won’t let them out. 

Gus sees Vlad the football player, reunited with his severed foot in death, kick an account-looking woman back into the ring. She hisses at him, and Gus sees red eyes and fangs and feels faint again. It’s too much, it’s too much, it’s ghosts and spirits and now vampires and it’s real and it’s happening and- and every spirit who guided them is here, sleeping and kicking and pushing and doing everything they can to keep those five figures- hissing, spitting, vampiric figures- from getting out of the circle because it looks like the spirits can’t get in and-

And-

Oh, god.

Oh, god.

That’s why Juliet is sobbing.

Through the transparent feet and tumbling vampires and flickering ring of candle he sees Shawn.

Shawn, lying on the ground, still and pale and with blood all over his neck.

Gus stumbles back- he throws up. He leans against an old bookshelf for support, and looks back, and Shawn is lifeless on the ground and when one of the vampires kicks him he doesn’t react and he’s-

He’s-

Someone is rubbing Gus’s back.

“He’s not gone.” Gus thinks he’s heard this voice before, maybe, but so long ago it’s not even really a memory anymore. He looks into the face of an old-ish woman who has Shawn’s eyes. She smiles at him- she has Shawn’s smile too. It doesn’t make him feel better. Shawn won’t smile anymore. He throws up again.

“Well? You’re here to help Shawn, aren’t you?” Mary stands between Gus and Lassie, and Jules who’s stopped sobbing and has instead become pissed. 

“He’s dead.” Lassiter’s voice is almost hollow.

“So am I, and I still don’t enjoy being left alone in dirty places with people I hate.”

There’s a shout, a roar really, and Gus has to jump away from the bookcase as the spirit of Private Starks shoves the bookcase and it falls and splinters apart and Starks looks at Gus with a grin, gives him a salute, and then moves to punch one of the vampires back into the circle so hard that he loses a fang.

“We’re keeping them in one place for you, detectives.” Mary gestures at the broken bookcase. “And now we’ve got you some stakes.”

“Can-” Jules looks Mary in the eyes as much as she can. “Can we save him? Shawn?”

“Depends on your definition but yes.”

“And they did this? To him?”

“They did- the one in the black pantsuit did the actual biting but they all played an essential part. … We’ll make sure they can’t come close to biting any of you too, if that’s why you’re hesitating.”

Jules sets her jaw, and grabs a shard of wood.

“O’Hara-”

“Carlton. In the last not even hour we have just learned that ghosts are real, that vampires are too, and that they hurt one of our own. And he’s here because we didn’t believe in him. I know this isn’t how we normally do things but- but Shawn is-”

“O’Hara. Pass me a stake.”

Jules only lets shock take her for a second before she grabs one, hands it to Lassiter, and they dive in.

Gus sinks to the floor, watching Lassie and Jules and spirits of people who’s murders he’s helped solve fight vampires- vampire who he’d met and talked with and told Shawn he didn’t suspect. Who Shawn met, who Shawn knew were bad news, who Shawn tried to warn them about and now he’s-

And he’s just laying there. Shawn is just laying there, in the middle of that circle, and Gus can’t stop staring and now he sees that Shawn’s hands are tied together and there’s blood around his mouth and staining the collar of his shirt and the holes are so big and Shawn is so pale and quiet and still-

“Someone has to pull him out of there.” The old-ish woman is back. She puts her hand on Gus’s. It feels like a lingering puff of air, the absence of a presence. “I’m sorry, Gus. But they won’t even notice you while they’re busy with Lassie and Jules.”

“I can’t go in there.” Gus’s voice breaks. The dam breaks, the tears start. “I can’t- he’s- I can’t-”

“You can. He’s not lost. He’s right there, and you know he’d never leave you like this. He needs you, Gus.”

“He’s-”

“Waiting. You have to get him out of there. Get him out of this house. Now! Go!”

Gus can’t see it, can’t see this possibility the old-ish lady is trying to make him see, all he sees is Shawn isn’t breathing and he’s still and quiet and it’s not right!

“So fix it.” She stands and pulls Gus up with her. “Grab a stake if you need it to feel brave, and fix it!”

Shawn-

His eyes flutter open for a second.

Gus has his hand around a shard of wood and is diving into the fray before he has a chance to even think about hesitating. “Shawn! SHAWN!”

Someone grabs the back of his shirt and he hears snarling, but as he turns around with what’s definitely a battle scream and not a panicked one, he sees Diddle push the vampire away andarm-swing-dance a blow right to their gut.

“Get your boy!” Diddle pushes Gus with his elbow. “And let him know ‘m glad you’ve got a friend like him when he wakes up!”

Gus swallows, and turns, and gets low to the ground to crawl. He drags himself across the disgusting floor, smudging whatever symbols are painted onto the ground, and up to Shawn.

He grabs both of Shawn’s arms and pulls. He pulls and pulls and he’s probably throwing his back out and he knows he’s going to need a gallon of icy-hot gel for his arms but he pulls Shawn out of that horrible circle. Just barely outside of it, Shawn’s foot brushing against one of the candles that hasn’t gotten snuffed and tipped over yet, but out of it.

It’s all Gus can stand doing before he pulls Shawn’s head into his lap. Shawn’s skin is colder than ice, and he’s ashen, and when Gus pries his eyes open they’re- they’re not the right color and they’re starting to look-

“Don’t you dare leave me here, Shawn.” Gus’s voice shakes with sobs. “Don’t you dare leave me alone out here! You-you owe me, Shawn! Not just money or-or snacks, you owe me more time! Wake up! Wake up, Shawn! Wake up!”

Shawn isn’t breathing. His heart isn’t beating. He is cold, and limp, and lifeless. He can’t wake up.

“I’ll buy you whatever stupid thing you want for the office,” Gus sobs. “I need you, Shawn. You can’t leave me alone! Wake UP!”

Shawn is still.

And then, his eyelids… move.

Gus sucks in a breath, tears still spilling.Shawn’s eyelids twitch again, and then flutter, and then open.

[dangermousie]

While I am not in the least shipping Chu Qiao with YY this time around, I do like him as a character a lot. And I think the main reason is he is a rare person who accepts responsibility for his fuck ups and outcomes of his actions or inactions.

Think of the scene when he visits Yan Xun in jail. YX, desperately, keeps asking him whether he did X, Y, and Z - all actions that contributed to the platform tragedy (not warning him, preventing his escape etc etc etc.) And YY admits to it all even though there are explanations or excuses for each and every one of these.

He provides none of those explanations or excuses because he gets something most people do not - that all those explanations and excuses would be insults to Yan Xun, that all they would be is attempt for YY to justify himself as not that bad, but none of them would change the ultimate fact - his actions and his inactions (even if different in gradation or kind from what YX believes they are) all led to Yan Xun on that platform, being broken over and over. Trying to justify himself would be trying to go "I am also suffering! see, I also have pain" to the actual victim.

The closest he comes to that is this:

But he stops after that one sentence escapes him. Because ultimately whatever he did or didn't do, he realizes it all comes to this:

He protects them from outside prison (the only way YX and CQ survive the waves of assassins is because of him) but once again, neither knows because for all his coldness, for all his passivity, YY understands what is fair and what is deserved for him, and does not deviate.

PS As I was telling @aysekira, I have pictured LGX as my Mo Xi from Yuwu for years and years but never could figure out who I wanted for Gu Mang. And now I am going - aaaaaaa just have Shawn Dou be Gu Mang in my head cast. The look, the vibe, hell even the fact that he's a little shorter than LGX all work. And hey, they totally were great at both jumping into beds or fighting to the death. So mmmm.

PPS I normally loathe love triangles, but rewatching PA made me realize something - I don't really hate the trope, it's just that it's almost never done to my satisfaction. It's always ML and SML clearly delineated so you know the outcome/importance so what is the point. Also, it's either an OTP and an annoying interloper who has no chance or FL is waffling and if she doesn't care enough to pick, why should I? BUT!!!!! The very few times it's done right, I lose my mind - this, Bu Bu Jing Xin, Lost You Forever. By that I mean, both choices have to have equal narrative importance and arcs and time (PA for example, is definitely a dual ML drama in the traditional, not "we are putting a fig leaf over a danmei adaptation" form), but also I am a sucker of there is a possibility for either depending on reactions and the world and/or FL loves both differently for different reasons during different points in her life. This is vvvvvvvv hard to pull off right but when they do, mmmmm!

PPPS I don't usually go "threesome would solve all your problems" (and here it definitely won't since YX's issues are not of the type to be healed by love) but it would be at least worth a try? Chu Qiao definitely has enough energy for both of her dudes, YY is icy enough he needs two people to melt him and clearly poor YX needs double the TLC. win win win, say I.

[magnoliacharmed]

Acting Up

18+, Stone Cold Steve Austin x Shawn Michaels | Bret Hart x Shawn Michaels one shot

[Also available on Archive of Our Own!]

Tags: Alcohol use, Referenced drug use, angry sex, facial, jealousy, light enemies to friends, a little bit of hartbreak

Word count: 3144

Summary:

Steve Austin is getting tired of Shawn Michaels' attitude backstage. --- “It was Bret that broke the Heartbreak Kid's heart. If I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even know you had one.”

Shawn was really fucking annoying. In every way possible that a human being could work Steve’s nerves, Shawn did it. When people pointed out how good of friends they could be, Steve took notice. They did have a ton in common, from being from the same state to drinking habits to taste in women. They really should’ve been the best of friends. 

But Shawn decided to Shawn it up backstage. He started throwing his status around making all kinds of crazy demands. His temper was at its peak and everyone suffered because of it. When he wasn’t ranting and raving he was half way to passing out due to his excessive use of pills. He could barely get his words out when he had to speak, his normally animated voice slurred and monotone. It was embarrassing. So no, Steve had very little interest in being friends with Shawn. That ship had sailed. Maybe one day down the line if Shawn got it together they could just drink a beer and watch some college football…

Shawn didn’t really give a fuck if Steve Austin liked him. That wasn’t his problem. All he had to do was go out there in the ring and cut a few good promos with him. If they got along after the fact, that was great. If they didn’t, fuck him. Shawn had enough friends. Friends who really liked him, too. Friends who hung on to his every word and were always willing to party all night with him. Even when his other friends left to go to WCW— well he didn’t want to think about that. 

Sure, he still saw Kevin and Scott and Sean around. Whenever WCW had shows nearby they all met up at the closest bar to catch up on life. It just wasn’t the same as it used to be. With the way WCW was on fire, they were so up in the clouds that little ol’ Shawn was not as much of a priority as he used to be. He actually considered jumping ship to WCW too and was strongly encouraged to by them. Then Vince McMahon got in his ear like usual singing sweet words and promising him the world, so he stayed put at WWF. With each passing day Shawn wondered if that was the right choice. 

He wasn’t the only one backstage thinking about leaving. Bret Hart had some shocking offers thrown his way by Eric Bischoff, offers that could have had him and his family set for life. McMahon started to counter with his own exorbitant counteroffers, which made Bret feel very wanted. They weren’t as good of a deal as Bischoff’s and it made Bret sit down to think about what he was still getting out of staying with the WWF. 

If you would’ve asked him earlier in the year…? With no hesitation or second thoughts, Bret would have said Shawn was the reason he’d stay. Despite the surface level similarities Shawn and Steve had with each other, Shawn and Bret had a lot more in common. Things they would’ve never realized they shared until late nights spent together. The pair of lovers didn’t know how well they got along until they were stuck in hotel rooms with one another. Night after night of forced proximity led them to taking steps further into the physical territory, something that scared Bret shitless. None of it seemed new to Shawn. He guided Bret through some clumsy first sessions that eventually led to the best and most intimate sex he’d ever had in his entire life. 

Of course as soon as Bret began to start falling for Shawn, Shawn began to act up. Bret couldn’t understand where the sudden switch-up came from. It’s not like he’d changed on him in any way. He wasn't as touchy as Shawn could be and would occasionally distance himself from him. That was just so any rumors wouldn't get started, not because he didn't care for him. Bret didn’t know how to react when Shawn got unhinged with him. He started claiming that Bret was just using him, that he was only around to use him as a toy. No matter what he said or did to convince Shawn otherwise he just couldn’t break through. So he stopped trying at all. As much as he liked Shawn’s personality and the way he arched his back up for him, all of that just wasn’t worth the drama. After their final explosive last argument the two of them iced each other out and only interacted when forced to. 

At this point in his career Shawn didn’t care about being well liked. He didn’t have to be well liked by everyone. He had his crew. McMahon was still surprisingly on his side no matter what problems he caused amongst everyone. His supply of drugs and alcohol was flowing. He’d be fine without boring Bret Hart. There were plenty of men around who wanted Shawn. They would fuck him six ways to Sunday all day and all night. Bret may have been an amazing lay but he wasn’t that good. Shawn could find someone else in a heartbeat. 

“Michaels, what the fuck? You’re still back here?” Steve appeared at the doorway of Shawn’s dressing room. He’d been walking around the arena looking for Shawn for what felt like forever. No one thought to tell him he’d still be in his dressing room because he was usually a lot better about getting to gorilla on time. 

Shawn took the last few swigs from his bottle of whiskey. His eyes bounded over to Steve, first to look at the pissed off look plastered on his face and then to look down at his oiled chest. 

“You dress like shit, Austin.” Burp. 

“Man, this ain’t a damn fashion show. It’s wrestling. Get your ass together and let’s go, we’re on soon.”

“I’m together, I don’t need anyone telling me to get it together. Especially not you.” Steve was hot when he was mad. Well, Shawn thought everyone was hot when they were mad. It turned him on to know he could make someone that emotional over him.

Steve was surprised at how alert Shawn still was after having that whole bottle to himself. It only served to make him more angry. It’s not like he was about to pass out or was stumbling over himself. He was barely fucked up! The alcohol only heightened his bad attitude. He just wanted to be defiant. And for what? Just to say he got him upset?

“What is your problem? You’ve been even more of a bastard these last few weeks and you’re starting to make my job a lot harder. What, you’re mad the ring rats ain't chasing after you like they used to?”

Shawn shook his head. The groupies had lost their appeal a long time ago. If anything, he liked playing the groupie now. He liked being the one in awe at someone so much bigger and stronger than him. His cock twitched at the thought of Bret tossing him on many a hotel bed. Unfortunately, Bret truly was the best there was. It pained Shawn to admit how hard he got when he thought of him. He was just so good at knowing when Shawn wanted to be fucked versus when he wanted to be loved . Shawn’s eyes got even glassier thinking about the way Bret got in his ear during some particularly intense nights—

“Michaels!”

Shawn felt reprimanded. Almost like he had to straighten his posture and stand at attention at the way Steve said his name. So bossy.

“Lemme tell you something, Steve. The rats like me just fine. They always will, as long as I keep giving this to them.” Shawn grabbed at his crotch and laughed out loud. Drunk idiot.

“Yeah, right. So it’s not the ladies, huh? Must be someone backstage, then.”

Shawn’s face flushed. The bad thing about being out of his mind so often was that his emotions were harder to conceal. He was sure his erection was already extremely noticeable. Now he was blushing so badly his whole face was red. 

“Oh it definitely is.” Steve laughed at him. “I knew it. The boys back there had been sayin’ some things but I didn’t pay them any mind. Now I know it’s true. Aw man, Shawn.”

Shawn’s chair hit the floor with a loud clatter when he got up to get in Steve's face. His breath was huffing out of his nose and his eyebrows scrunched up. He didn’t feel like being the punchline to anyone’s joke tonight. 

“So the fuck what if it's true?”

“So the fuck nothing, I don’t give a shit.”

Shawn was deflated at Steve's acceptance. He was itching for a real fight. The pent up anger deep within him had been coming to a head in the last few days. There was no way he would win with Steve one-on-one and he knew it. It was probably for the best that he didn't start something he couldn’t finish.

“Okay. Yeah, it was one of the guys.” Shawn cleared his throat and took a few steps back from Steve. 

“One of the guys…” 

Steve had to really think on that one. It would be easy enough to believe that Shawn had hooked up with Hunter since they spent so much time together. That was too obvious, plus they were still good friends. Could’ve been Undertaker. Steve wouldn’t have been surprised by that. He opened his mouth to give his final answer when he recalled the way Bret Hart spoke of Shawn one evening while they stood at the catering table. 

“If he wasn’t so pretty no one would’ve put up with his shit for this long.”

Realization struck Steve like lightning. Bret had said that comment with no semblance of jealousy in his voice. There was no hate either. What Bret did sound like though was a scorned lover. There was a lot of bitterness present within him. Steve didn’t even think twice about it at the time. It all made sense after a few minutes of thinking.

“It was Bret that broke the Heartbreak Kid's heart. If I'm gonna be honest, I didn't even know you had one.”

The anger started bubbling in Shawn again. He wasn’t even sure if it was at Steve or Bret this time. It came back with a vengeance. 

“Actually, it probably didn’t go that way. Knowing you, you probably did something to piss him off and he got tired of you. You broke your own heart.”

Steve’s raspy voice saying such perceptive words was enough to send Shawn over the edge. He was back in Steve’s face again and ready to get in that fight, ass whooping be damned. 

“Can’t even imagine the two of you together. I guess it does make some sense. Two crybabies in love with each other. I’m sure you were the one cryin’ more though. Even looks like you’re about to right now.”

“What is all this? You picking on me for a reason?”

“Yeah, because of your little love affair with Hart you’ve been even more of an asshole recently. You’re fucking everything up for me. If you don’t calm down soon I’ll make you calm down.”

“You can’t make me do shit.”

Shawn could not believe how fast Steve could move. He was thrown over the arm of the dressing room’s couch, face pushed into the cushion in a flash. One of Steve's hands pressed into his lower back while the other reached forward to push Shawn’s pants down, then his own. Shawn’s body squirmed with anticipation and the primal urge to run away. 

“Bret said you were pretty. I’d never really thought about it before, but he was right. You are pretty. From all that hair on your head to the tattoo on your ass.” 

Shawn was unable to handle anything Steve just said, from Bret calling him pretty to Steve agreeing with him. Shawn didn’t even think that Steve swung the other way and now here he was bending him over. In his self-absorbed mind he chalked it up to being so sexy that even straight guys wanted him. 

“What the hell is going on?!”

“Seems like you can’t function if you aren’t getting fucked right. If I gotta be the one to do it since Bret doesn’t want you any more, so be it. You’ll be on your best behavior by the time I’m done with you.”

Shawn pushed himself against Steve and wasn’t disappointed by what he felt. Steve's dick rested heavily between Shawn’s ass, a pretty picture Steve would be sure to remember. He’d had a few fumblings in his past with men but never anything with someone as attractive as Shawn. Along with his pretty face, Steve had to admit that Shawn’s personality got him going in that kind of hatefuck way. Even when he was being a terror, something about the way he strutted around like he was the Prince of the WWF made Steve want to put him in his place. Nothing would be better than beating Shawn in the ring and making him submit in bed. 

Shawn had a lot to say to Steve, he was going to give him a real piece of his mind as soon as we able to push him off—

The words died away immediately at the sensation of Steve pushing into him. It hurt at the start, the only thing lubing him up being the spit from Steve’s mouth that he’d rubbed on to himself. He was fucking huge. While he’d gotten used to Bret’s length over the months, Steve was a lot more girth. Shawn’s eyes crossed as Steve pushed himself deeper. The arch in his back threatened to fall. 

“You better keep yourself up the whole time.” Steve ordered him. He had no plans of being gentle with him. He wanted to see how much Shawn could take. It turned out that it was a lot more than he expected.

Shawn writhed below with every hard thrust of Steve inside of him. Heat bloomed across his skin and creeped up past his neck. It was a gorgeous sight to see him all fidgety and needy. Punched out moans were followed out long, dragging ones when Steve slowed down and went arched himself deeper. Shawn liked to whimper, he noticed. It was cute.

Shawn's long hair flung itself back when he raised his head to readjust his position. It was hard to keep himself steady on his elbows with the way Steve kept pounding him into the cushion. Eventually he gave up and let himself fall into it. The fight was drained out of his body, he was ready to get what he deserved. Steve’s fingertips dug deep into the tanned flesh on Shawn’s hips, his pace already stuttering. He was just so tight and… eager for him. Like he was everything he had been waiting for.

Shawn managed to get his arm under himself to stroke his aching cock. As soon as he touched it he was ready to come, he was so sensitive. With the movements of Shawn reaching down to touch himself he managed to push himself even farther back on Steve. The breaths he exhaled were shaky as he matched the pattern of Steve’s thrusts to his own strokes. It only took seconds for Shawn to spurt out long ropes of his come onto the couch below him. His legs almost gave out when he finally released. It didn’t help that Steve had fucked him right through it. Shawn mumbled incoherently to himself while Steve kept going. On top of the alcohol making him stupid, Steve’s dick was also contributing to his blank state of mind. 

Watching Shawn come was a sight to behold. His whole body contracted when it happened. His babbling after it was so weirdly attractive that Steve knew he was close too. All of a sudden Shawn was pushed off of Steve and onto his knees on the floor. 

Steve was a sweaty mess. Anyone looking at him after the fact might have though he just got done with an iron man match.  It dripped down from his head and into his eyes. He quickly wiped it away with his free hand while stroking himself with his other. There was no way he was going to miss the sight of this.

Shawn blinked at him with big, wet eyes. God, he really was a crybaby. The smile on his face could only be described as delirious. Steve groaned when he came, hot spurts covering Shawn's lips and cheeks and nose. The most impatient man in the world would have waited an eternity if that’s how long it took for Steve to finish stroking every last drop from himself. He got a lot of enjoyment at being able to stare up at Steve's body.

“Alright,” It was taking a minute for Steve to catch his breath. “You gonna stop being a dick now?”

Shawn nodded in a daze. He so badly wanted to walk out of the room with Steve’s come still painted all over his face and find Bret just to show him that someone still wanted him. Doing that would guarantee that he’d never get to feel Steve inside of him again, so he restrained himself.

“Good.” Steve walked across the room to find a box of tissues to clean himself up with, then threw it in Shawn’s direction. He was impressed he still had the wherewithal to catch it even after getting his world rocked. “Stick around after the show, we’re gonna get a beer.” 

“Okay.” Shawn could barely stand, let alone walk. He was happy he didn’t have to actually wrestle tonight. Steve waited for him at the doorway while he made his way over slowly. He was completely blissed out and easygoing and it made Steve laugh on the inside. Who knew it’d be that easy?

The two men talked casually with each other as they walked out of Shawn’s dressing room and down past Bret. He was standing in the hall building up courage to work things out with Shawn when he saw them exit the room. Instead of the usual look of contempt Steve had for Shawn, he instead looked relatively happy. Shawn himself was the most relaxed he’d seen him in a while, not since one of the last times they’d had sex…

Oh, shit.

Bret felt his heart drop into his stomach as soon as Shawn smiled his way. The skin by his former lover’s glittering blue eyes crinkled when he laughed at whatever story Steve was telling him. The Heartbreak Kid had struck again and with Stone Cold Steve Austin of all people. No, this wasn't over yet. Not if Bret had anything to do with it.

[pinazee]

American Duos

It is really hard not to gif this whole episode!

First of all, the era of the soul patch is upon us haha

let’s not forget Chief Vick put Nigel St. Nigel in his place. She a bad bitch and i stan her.

How incredible is it that they got Tim Curry, and his character is ICONIC. He is the godfather of the blueberry. (Here’s Nigel St. Nigel with the real real.)

James and Dulé are having so much fun, you love to see it! Also, i like to think Shawn was purposely being bad because he knew Nigel St. Nigel would have to push him through no matter what and wanted to see him squirm. Gus genuinely tried haha

Juliet was so adorable in this episode. We learn quite a bit about her- how competitive she is, that she was kicked out of cheerleading camp, and idk if they meant to plant this seed or not, but we learn that she does not like liars (shawn).

Gina Gershon fucking killed this role! She uttered every line with such perfection, i was really rooting for her character. Im glad she wasn’t killed. I actually kind of wish she could have come back as more of a love interest for lassie, after she’s cleaned herself up some. He comes to like her honesty and spontaneity, she loves his overprotective nature and the gooey center hidden beneath his hardened exterior. She could then go off to have a redeemed career and they’d part ways. (P.S that slap!!! Ahhahaha!)

this was definitely a competition between james and corbin to see who could get the closest to the other in the scene without touching. Who talks like this?? Lol

I need someone to explain what is going on in Shawns (or james’) brain here. Lemme just put baby in a corner here

P.S I want to know who this audience member was, giving 1000%, so i can send him flowers, or candy.

[oceangirl24]

Find the Word- We're back!

Thanks so much for the tag and for doing this @axolotlsupremacyowo!

Find the words you're given somewhere in your works. Then give the people you tag a set of words to find. No worries if you can't find them all.

My words: tile, gown, foundation, fuss, overlook, sniff, infinite, trouble, clay, personality

Your words:

chowder, clatter, visage, eternal, skeptical, irate, jaggernaut, lime, superhero

Tagging: @justanotherpersonwhowrites @tsunderesalty @mrsmungus @fattybattysblog @danceswithdarkspawn @udaberriwrites @the-orion-scribe @amberlide @stealing-your-kittens @violetrose-art @winterlovesong1 @aleksandriel @kayedium-writes @bees-and-sunshine @sliebman10 @mikaharuka @axolotlsupremacyowo

This is an open tag for anyone who wants to play. If you wanted be tagged and I missed you, throw something at me. If you'd like to be included in future tags, let me know!

The Return: The Christmas List

"Like, would you date someone Jon's age?"

"It would depend on the person." She could not be direct any more than he could be.

Shawn scratched his fingernail across the tile of the kitchen island, unable to look her in the eyes. "What if the person is Jon?"

The Return: Cult Fiction Revisited

The way Jon laid in the hospital bed was same the way he laid after the motorcycle accident. There were wires stuck to his chest coming up through the neck of his hospital gown. An oxygen cannula aided his breathing. The only the casts and bandages were missing.

Jon was as still and lifeless as he was back then.

Saudade: Fishing for Answers

It took Riley a long time before she could give voice to her fears. "That they'll start fighting and being unhappy with each other. I'm afraid they'll end up divorced."

Letting out a slow breath, Maya watched her breath dissipate in the cold air around them. She didn't want to admit that Riley's fear was attaching itself to her, but it was. If the foundations of two of the most solid relationships in existence could be shaken and cracked, what hope did her mom and Shawn have?

The Return: Questions and Answers Part II

"Yeah, I know the job's been bad," Cory admitted. He had been holding back his own concerns for the past several months, not wanting to alarm those close to him if he was wrong. "Listen, I'm only tellin' you this- Topanga would kill me if she knew- but sometimes I create problems at school that force Jon to come down and deal with."

Shawn didn't know whether to laugh or be upset. "Seriously?"

Cory gripped his knees with hands. "Yeah, I mean, nothing major that would cause real problems for anyone. I just make a fuss knowing he won't ignore me."

"You are kinda of hard to ignore when you make a fuss."

Saudade: Preparations

Shawn forced his attention away from the bike; they had to leave for the hospital now. He stood and pulled the key out of his pocket that Audrey had left him. The key was still on the same Pentagon keyring Jon had way back then. He checked the bike over once more to make sure everything was ready to run. That's when he noticed something was missing.

He smiled as he recalled the time he tried to take the bike to Audrey's but couldn't get it started because he overlooked a small but important detail-the key.

The Return: The Keys

"Cor, look around." Shawn gestured to the crowded place they were in. "Who don't you see here?"

Cory looked around suspiciously, then looked back at Shawn, and shrugged. "That blonde lady from the park," he said, repeating how Riley had referred to Miss Tompkins. He drew curious looks from both of the men at the table.

Shawn sniffed. "You're welcome."

Autumn in Philadelphia: Cory and Shawn's Miracle Soap: Tuesday

(the closest I have to infinite is eternal)

An ear-splitting scream shook the Matthews' house early Tuesday morning. Amy grimaced at the eternal shriek as she set a plate full of hot cakes down in the center of the kitchen table.

Birthday Wishes and Valentine Kisses: Accidental Discoveries

Shawn spun around ready to fight. This was an instinctual reaction to being approached from behind. Growing up in the Pink Flamingo Trailer Park taught him that being ready to fight was the only way to avoid being pummeled.

It was good thing he repressed the urge to blindly swing, however. If he had, he would have connected with Brad's stomach.

And he would have been in a lot of trouble.

No clay. Hmm...

Flashbacks: Better Days

While he favored the bikinis worn by the girls on MTV's Beach House, he knew Audrey would not be comfortable in one in public and they were also going to a family theme park for young kids, not the Jersey Shore. Begrudgingly he put the suit back and resumed searching.

At one point he thought he found the one- a pearlescent two-piece. He had to struggle to reach it as it was shoved in the back behind a bunch of one-piece suits with weird ruching and ruffled skirts. He was terribly disappointed when he finally got it into the light.

It wasn't even a bikini; it was an off-white one-piece.

No doubt Audrey would make this boring garment look like haute couture, but Jon couldn't stomach the idea of putting her into something so plain. He shoved it back where he found it and continued to look for something that matched her personality.

[makos-hotbox]

S H A W N from the knot that slipped

LARGE FONT VER.

/ — thank you for sending this moss :) first slipknot req finally lets go babeyyy! Also this is intended to be platonic! /

… 𝐇𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐃

`⌁ ◜ 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝! 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲! ◞

The room was filled with broken and out of sync music. Recordings of the guitars and other drums were heard as Shawn continued to try and find a good sound to play. You were sprawled out on the old couch in the corner. Half asleep as you waited for your only ride home to finish his workaholic state.

Since nine in the morning, you have been in the studio with the rest of the band. Trying to cook up a new song, and very slowly at that. Barely any work has gotten done as everyone was stumped. Now it was ten at night and you were waiting for Shawn to finish his idea.

He was your only ride back home since everyone left while you were in the bathroom. More loud drums filled the room for a period of time, driving you insane. It was late and you just wanted to go home, was that too much to ask?

Remembering the countless times you and Sid have smoked in this room, you said fuck it and grabbed the pre-roll that was stashed in your bag. You know… for times when one of your closest buddies is being too stubborn.

Shawn was watching as you shuffled around searching for your joint. He knew exactly what it was you were looking for and he didn’t care. As long as you would stay busy so he could piece together a good track. You sat back down on the couch and cracked open the window behind you.

Lighting up, you spent the next few minutes smoking in silence as various causes and banging were heard around the room. Nothing out of the norm, wouldn’t be the worst you’ve seen from a simple mistake. As you were spacing out, an idea sparked in your head.

While it was a bit dangerous to purposely irritate him more, you were never going to get home if you let Shawn continue to work. So while he silently looked over his notes, you took a long and deep inhale of smoke. Purposely blowing it all out with an exaggerated sigh. He only shot you a confused glance before you did it again.

And again, and again. Each time you did it, Shawn only grew more irritated. The constant obnoxious exhaling coming from you was driving him insane. Every puff was louder than the other, either a yawn or heavy exhale. It was annoying and that’s what you wanted. He couldn’t focus on anything, not even a simple rhythm.

Slamming his head down into the drum, Shawn groaned loudly as you exhaled smoke again. “You! Be quiet. Your breathing is distracting me.” He lectured, even pointing an insulting finger towards you.

“Oh, okay, yeah. I’ll just stop breathing.” You replied sassily, rolling your eyes.

“Thank you. That’ll be very fucking helpful.” Shawn commented with just as much sass. It was kind of funny, you had to hold back a laugh. Before you could give another remark, he started playing the drums again.

Turns out, he finished the first part quickly. No errors and exactly what he wanted. Shawn turned around in his chair to face you again with a grin on his face. Holding a thumbs up it quickly fell seeing you slumped on the couch with a bored look on your face as you stared at him. “You good?-“

“I wanna go home.”

“Well it’s not that la…” and it was. It was late. The clock struck midnight not too long ago and you were fighting sleep. Finally satisfied, Shawn decided it was finally time to pack up. Grabbing his bag along with yours, he helped drag you off of the comfy couch.

“Let’s get you home then, kid.” Shawn patted your back, leading you to his car. Helping you as you stumbled on your legs, both from the smoking and the lack of sleep.

You relaxed in the passenger's seat with a couple jackets laid out on you as blankets. It was more comfortable than you would have thought and that was more than enough. “Did you at least… -yawn- get your piece done?” You asked, watching out the window as he began to leave the studio.

“Of course i did. If I didn’t, you would be fast asleep on the couch.”

“Thought so…”

REQUESTS:: OPEN

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