#and Danny could only thought: Well../some/ help in the shower would be nice (even if just a chair was enough)

[mcdannowave]

And you’re his ‘Sunshine’ 🌈

[clockwayswrites]

Didn't write the rest of this scene I've shared bits of or anything.

WC: 913, Masterpost Sometime after Danny meets Red Hood, before he plots.

Jason actually stopped on the stairs when he saw Danny. He was going down and Danny coming up, but the sight made Jason freeze rather than just stepping to the side like he normally would. Danny looked beyond exhausted. His usually perky hair was limp, the bags under his eyes were impressively dark, and he tripped over every step. Jason was half worried that while he had been away, Danny had gotten turned into a zombie.

Considering it was Gotham and the city already had Grundy (and Jason himself), it was a disturbingly valid concern.

“Midterms,” Danny mumbled several long moments after he had caught sight of Jason standing on the next landing up.

Okay, midterms made sense too.

(Nice not to have to clean up a zombie outbreak as soon as he was back in town.)

“Just starting, in the middle of, or over?”

“Over, thank the Ancients. Last paper turned in,” Danny said with a dramatic motion that made him wobble dangerously against the railing. Jason closed the gap between them nervously. “I’m gonna go… go… what’s the word?”

“Eat? Shower? Sleep?”

“That!” Danny snapped his fingers. “All of that. In some order, I guess.”

Jason reached out and gently took Danny’s arm. “Okay, Tuesday, I don’t know if I trust you not to slip in the shower and smash your pretty face in right now.”

“You think my face is pretty?”

Ignoring his blush, Jason moved past that fact quickly. “So how about you come up to my place. You can shower while I make you a snack and then you can lay down for a nap. When you wake up, I’ll have dinner ready.”

“Mm, dinner. I like dinner. I miss dinner,” Danny said dreamily.

Jason decided just to get them moving up the stairs. “When’s the last time you ate something more than granola bars and soup, Danny?”

“What day is it? Wait! I know this. Physics. T-R. Thursday!” Danny said. He was clearly very proud of himself.

“Food, Tuesday.”

“Yes please.”

Holding back a sigh, Jason carefully directed Danny up the stairs to the top floor. His things wouldn’t exactly fit Danny, but he was loathe to let the other out of his sight right then. He’d just make sure to grab sweats that had a drawstring on them. After Danny was asleep, he could make a quick run to the store to get some fresh things for dinner.

It was a bit of a juggle to keep a watchful arm around Danny and get his door unlocked and then relocked, but Jason managed before guiding Danny through the bedroom to the full bathroom.

“Stay.”

“Yes sir,” Danny quipped, words interrupted by the large yawn he took.

Once Jason was sure Danny would stay standing he pulled away to go dig out some clothing and a fresh towel, only to turn around and run into the dresser himself like he was the one sleep deprived. It was just that, well, Danny had started to strip and was already down to his boxers. It was a lot of skin on display and Jason couldn’t help but watch the play of freckles and scars across the shoulder blades.

That was… there were actually a concerning number of scars, for a civilian.

And the type of scars… a lot of those looked like burns and electrical scars. Several puncture wounds too. What was Danny getting into? Jason gripped tightened on the clothing in his hands. They needed to step up training.

“Clothing!” Danny cooed sleepily.

Jason shook himself out of his thoughts and delivered the clothing into Danny’s grabbing hands. “Be careful in the shower. I’ll be outside the door in case you fall.”

“I’m fine,” Danny said. “I’m not even bleeding!”

That really wasn’t reassuring.

“Still, be careful, Tuesday,” Jason said, making a quick exit as Danny started to pull down his boxers. He didn’t want Danny to remember all this after some food and sleep and feel like Jason had invaded his privacy or anything.

While the shower ran, Jason considered just what he could do for the snack. He thought he had some waffles he froze and he had to have some breakfast links in the freezer too, so pigs in blankets would be easy. No fresh fruit, but he had froze so a smoothie for vitamins and fluids. He might add some powdered mix to it also. Then he could tuck Danny in for a nap before he ran a quick trip to the grocery. A soup and some fresh bread would be nice and easy to keep warm for as long as Danny slept.

The shower shut off, Jason tried not to worry about the sounds of bumbling about, and then the door opened with a whoosh.

“Ta-da! I am still mostly alive!” Danny said triumphantly.

“I’m proud of you, Tuesday, a real accomplishment there.”

“Do I get a reward?” Danny asked, a hint of that feral smile that Jason had seen as Red Hood playing across his lips.

Jason cleared his throat. “Sure, you in a blanket, pigs in a blanket, and a smoothie.”

Danny hummed before nodding. “Deal.”

“So glad you agree,” Jason drawled as he deposited Danny on the couch and draped a red throw blanket around his shoulders. Jason leaned in a little to catch Danny’s eyes. “Now, stay.”

Danny wavered for a moment, leaning forward close enough to touch before he just slumped back into the couch with a wide yawn. “’Kay.”

-----

AN: I know you all have seen a few bits of this before, but finally got the rest of the parts done around it! There should prob be more after the last bit here, but wanted you all to finally have some Not!Writing again! Sorry for any issues, my fingers really are not doing what they should atm.

I no longer tag, but you can subscribe to the masterpost to be notified!

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Halloween prompt no. 24

Danny was...well, he wasn't okay. He had just lost his family in a impromptu ghost weapon beta test gone wrong. (he also lost Vlad but he wasn't really sad about that one). With his friends help he went ahead and destroyed everything his parents ever made, thier lifes work gone in only a few hours. Anything useful was shoved into the Emergency Op Center along with all of Dannys stuff.

After some tearful goodbyes Danny left the dimension for the last time. With the stable portals gone the natural portals should gradually stop appearing within a year or two and then it will be like this whole event never happened. Danny should be glad. Proud even, for defending the city for so long. He saved the world a few times! That was awesome! So why did he feel so guilty? Logically there was nothing he could have done to save them. He didn't even know...

Arriving in a new dimension was easy. He flew the ops center- in its jet form - low to the ground, making sure to keep it invisible and intangible. He eventually and accidentally flew underground into a cave with no entrance or exit.

In his defense, he was a bit busy staring at this absolutely ginormous manor and couldn't look away from it. As it turns out the cave was rather large and Danny got to work moving his stuff out of the jet and into the cave. It was a pretty nice set up for a fourteen year old living alone. The headboard of his bed was pressed up against one wall of the cave after he smothed it out with his plasma blasts, giving it this cool melted rock look. He also makes sure to set up a lab to himself with electric generators to power everything.

By the time he was done he had a tiny section of the cave tooking like an actual home. In all fairness this place was massive and it would probably take some time to fill it out, even with his ice powers making multiple floors and whatnot.

His only real problem was there was no place to take showers or do laundry. Or charge his phone. Okay, maybe he had more than a few problems left to solve. Baby steps.

He thought back to the massive mansion who was now his neighbor and had an idea. "Hope they don't mind me sneaking in too much. Meh. I doubt they'll even notice."

Oh how wrong he was.

[imtooscaredforthis]

Unknown Caller

Ghostface x Reader Smut

Summary: Late at night, you start getting texts from the serial killer and your stalker, Ghostface.

Mentions of: Threats, Death, Stabbing, Sexting, Phone sex, Knife play, Oral Sex, Voyeurism, Recording w/out Consent and Danny being super horny

Word Count: 2.4K

With an exhausted groan, you collapsed back onto your bed, letting the mattress suck you in. It had been yet another long, shitty work day, leaving you mentally drained and wanting to sleep.

The only thing that kept you from sleeping was how gross, sticky, and sweaty you felt from walking around in that shitty waitress uniform. It was a summer day in Florida, after all. Of course you would be burning your ass off. And somehow, the urge to take a shower overpowered your fatigue.

So after an extra moment or two of laying down, you got up, grabbing your phone and a towel, heading into the bathroom and locking the door behind you, just in case any unwelcome visitors came in. You knew exactly who that visitor was.

You tried to shake the thought of the masked murderer, not even daring to think his name. The last thing you needed tonight was having him come around. Maybe he would just give you a break for once and leave you alone. Maybe…

Sighing, you tapped at your phone, playing some music and stripping down. Stepping into the shower, you turned the heat all the way up, letting the hot water pour down onto your skin until it turned red. You washed off all the stress and trouble from the day, finally being able to relax.

Once you got out of the shower, you slipped on a black lacy bra with matching panties, using a robe to cover it up. You had grown used to spending the nights alone, with no one to take home, no friends to speak with.

You lost them all, since they all thought you were being crazy and paranoid about being stalked by Ghostface. Even after one of your dear friends died, (the only one who believed you) they still thought you were crazy. In fact, they thought you killed him. And the cops were no help either, thinking all the threats were just some prankster or copycat.

So now, here you sat on your bed, scrolling through social media, when you got a text.

Unknown: Evening, gorgeous

You stared at the message blankly, feeling your heart drop in your stomach. It was him.

You cast a protective glance over at your bedroom window, which had the curtains drawn and the blinds shut, as an attempt of giving yourself some sort of privacy from the stalker. Was he out there? Waiting outside the window to peek, or behind your door to jump out at you. Even though he’s been doing this for a while, you’d still never get used to it.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you began to type up a message to respond to him. You learned the hard way to answer his texts and calls.

(Y/N): What do you want to torture me with now?

Even though you were still quite afraid of the killer, there were times where you found him a complete nuisance, and got the guts to told him. This was one of those times.

Unknown: C’mon, don’t be like that. I have fun with the games we play. But I want to try something different tonight.

(Y/N): Like what?

Unknown: Like how I can see what you’re wearing and can’t help but wonder if you put all of that on just for me

You felt your face go a bright red, looking around and grabbing the hem over your robe, moving it over, attempting to cover up your body.

Unknown: There’s no use in covering it up now, I’ve already seen everything and it’s gotten me so hard

Looking at the text, you blinked a few times, making sure this was real. Maybe it was just some weird sex dream. You pinched yourself. Nope. This was real. The feared serial killer of Roseville was sexting you.

Unknown: You look so cute like that, all surprised and scared, it makes me want to cut you up and fuck you until you can’t walk.

Unknown: You’d like that, wouldn’t you?

Your mouth went dry as you tried to think of something to text him back with, your body running hot with arousal. You can’t believe this is turning you on. It really shouldn’t be.

Unknown: There’s no need to be so shy, (y/n). You know we can be honest with each other.

(Y/N): Yes I would

Unknown: Good girl

Unknown: My cock is just throbbing thinking about how nice and tight you would be, how good you would squeeze me, how I’d love to fill you up with my cum. And you’d love every second of it, wouldn’t you, baby?

(Y/N): Fuck yes

You rubbed your thighs together, feeling how drenched you were getting, a silent moan leaving your lips, not even realizing he was paying attention to every little detail.

Unknown: Shit, that was so hot. I’m really turning you on, aren’t I?

Unknown: You want to touch yourself don’t you? Want to get off on the dirty things I’m telling you? Well you can’t. Not unless you beg for it like a good girl.

You would object, but you knew you were too far in to stop yourself. It had been quite a long time since you had done something like this, and a part of you felt desperate. So, you did it. You begged.

(Y/N): Please, Ghostface. Please let me touch myself.

Unknown: Good. Go ahead, but take off that robe. You won’t be needing it.

Moving your arm out, you shrugged the robe off your shoulders, spreading your legs ever so slightly. Might as well give him a show.

You ran your hand down your stomach, moving it down to your hips, and then your thigh, while your other hand stayed high on your chest, running your finger over your clothed nipple. After a moment or two, you dipped your finger under the fabric, running it up and down your drenched slit. You played with your clit, leaning back and moaning softly.

Unknown: Fuck, I just want to run my knife all over the curves of your body

Unknown: Put two fingers in

You did as told, pushing two fingers into your opening, thrusting them in slowly. You didn’t even notice the distant flash of a camera recording you peeking out from behind your window.

You shut your eyes, biting your lip and arching your back, as you began to pick up the pace. The sound of your phone chiming managed to make you open your eyes, and snap out of your little fantasy, looking down at your phone.

Unknown: You look so fucking hot right now, I want to come in there and ruin you

(Y/N): Why don’t you?

Unknown: It’s tempting, but I need to do one thing first.

Unknown Number is calling…

You picked up, slowing your fingers. “Why’d you- why’d you stop?” He questioned between groans, his voice strained. So he was touching himself too.

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to-”

“Keep on going. Don’t stop. Add a finger.” He instructed.

An image of Ghostface stroking himself popped into your mind, making you pick up the pace. A string of mewls and whimpers left your mouth as you went even faster, feeling yourself grow close.

“You sound- shit, so nice babe. Makes me want to- even more-”

“Fuck, I’m g-going to- ah” Your body froze up, feeling yourself clench around your fingers.

It seemed like he was close too, considering how much he was panting, low groans and grunts. There was a brief silence on the other line, and you wondered if he hung up on you. But then, he spoke. “I’m coming in.”

He ended the call and you felt your heart leap in excitement, calming down from your high, and preparing for him to come in. You looked from the window to the door, wondering where he’d be entering.

A few minutes went by, and he still hadn’t shown up. A part of you wondered if this was some sort of sick game to humiliate you. If he was just going to leave you all alone.

“Miss me?” A familiar voice whispered into your ear, making you jump.

“Jesus don’t scare me like that.” You muttered, turning to face him.

“Why so grumpy? Is it because I kept you waiting? So impatient, so needy. I love it.” He grasped your chin, tilting your head and making you look up at him. He ran a gloved finger over your lips, tracing your cupid’s bow.

You felt your body grow hot at the contact, your thighs clenching together. He noticed, moving his hand away to finally give you what you so desperately craved. Grabbing your shoulders, he pushed you down on the bed, straddling you.

Slowly, he ran his knife over your skin, tracing it from your throat, down to your collar bones, and to your chest. It seemed he was being merciful tonight, because you could barely feel the blade against your skin, only a light tickle.

Moving his weapon to the middle of your chest, Ghostface sliced open your brassiere, splitting it in half and revealing your breasts. Well, there went your good underwear.

He ran his finger over your nipple, watching it harden under his touch, pinching it softly. The killer studied your expressions closely, taking in every single detail. The way your lips parted slightly, the way your cheeks heated up, and the way your eyebrows knitted together. God, you were so adorable.

Ghostface shifted his attention to your panties, cutting them off on the side, and pulling them down to your ankles slowly. He moved his hand back up to your opening, running his finger up your wet slit, feeling how soaked it was.

“So wet, all for me? I must’ve really left you waiting. Guess I better get to it then, huh?” His voice was smug, low, and full of mischief. You knew he was playing with you.

He rutted against his hips against you, making you whimper slightly. You knew he wouldn’t do anything, until you said it. “Please, fuck me, Ghostface.”

“Danny.”

You felt your eyes widen at his words. “What?”

“Call me Danny.” In all the time that you had known him, you never got a name out of him. But he was telling you it now. Why? Why was he doing this?

You were too busy processing what just happened to notice the sound of his buckle clicking, and his knife dropping onto the floor, while he was now holding his phone instead. The flash of a camera burned into your eyes, making you look up at him and snap out of your thoughts.

“What’re you doing?” You asked, squinting at the light and covering your eyes with one hand trying to hide the glare.

“Makin a little movie.” He grabbed your hands with his free one, moving them from your face and pinning them above your head. “And you’re the star. Aren’t you excited?”

“I- shit-” Before you could even respond to what he was saying, you felt his cock press up against your soaked folds.

He moved his camera down to your breasts, watching your chest heave, before moving it back up to your face. “Now what’s the magic word? C’mon, you know what to say. You’ve been saying it all night.”

“Please, Danny.” You begged, bucking your hips up against his hardened member. “Please what?”

“Please just fuck me.” You rolled your head against the pillow. He was driving you crazy at this point with how much he was teasing you and making you beg.

Finally, he gave you what you had grown desperate for, entering you with a rough thrust. It was painful at first, the killer not showing any mercy, but you forced yourself to grow used to it.

You moaned out, the feeling of fulfillment overcoming your already sensitive hole. You arched your back, grabbing onto his forearm, digging your nails into his muscle under his robe.

Tears began to stream down your face as you babbled, incoherent words slipping from your lips. It was too good, and you couldn’t think of something, anything, to say to describe it. He was fucking you stupid.

He zoomed in on your tears, watching as your eyes rolled to the back of your head. “Damn, baby. Is it really that good? Do you love getting fucked by my cock that much?”

You didn’t speak, not even sure if you could. He pinched your nipple, making you yelp. “Y-yes! Its- it’s so g-good.”

Danny moved his free hand to your clit, thrusting even deeper, until he hit just at the right spot. You cried out, clenching around him. Moaning out for him to please never stop, to keep going.

“Oh baby, you think I could stop? Not with the way you’re clenching around and calling out my name, begging for- shit.” He grunted, feeling your walls begin to massage him, you were getting close. And so was he.

He nestled his head into the crook of your neck and shoulder, pulling his mask up his face, and biting down, breaking your skin and drawing your blood, his movements growing even harsher. While you dug your nails into his back, reaching your orgasm, Danny not too far behind.

The half-masked killer wiped the blood from his lips, grinning down at you. “There, I marked you as mine. You’re my little slut, got it? Say it.”

You nodded, eyes still shut, your mouth open with only moans and gasps escaping. You forced yourself to speak, voice all hoarse and raw. “I’m your slut, Ghostface- Danny- whatever, I’m all yours.”

“That’s it. Such a good girl. Fuck-” His thrusts grew sloppy, and he rubbed at your clit even harder, making you climax once again with him. He pulled out, releasing on your stomach, and ending the video.

He pressed a rough kiss to your lips, before readjusting his mask, cleaning himself off, and fixing his clothes up. All the while you laid there, nude, panting, and coming down from the intense high you just had. You felt another flash blind your eyes, and the sound of a camera clicking, knowing he just took another picture.

Moving aside your curtains and blinds, Ghostface unlocked your window, pulling it up and stepping through. “This was fun. Let’s do it again sometime. See you soon.”

[quirkless-accident]

Danny (who had been portaled to the bnha world for some time now) meets hound dog. Discovers/accepts that his parents are not as nice as he led himself to believe.

Bonus: Danny sometimes slips to esperano cuz hound dog reminds him of wulf

Some of Danny's powers were tied to his emotions, and for the obscene amount of anxiety and anger he had, Aizawa thought it best for him to see Hound Dog. Because apparently even in a quirked world it's unhealthy to jump at every noise or get irrationally angry whenever there's a minor inconvenience.

And sure, some of those things could be attributed to the fact that he's been blasted to the future with a slim-to-none possibility of getting home, but if he's being completely honest that's the least stressful part of his life right now.

Because right now, he had therapy.

He's not sure what he's expecting. Maybe something condescending like his school counselor back at Amity who told him he was just an overdramatic teenager. Maybe something overbearing and loud like Jazz. He wasn't really sure, but he knew it hadn't been what he ended up getting.

"So anger in itself is not bad. In fact, it's there to protect you," Hound Dog was telling him.

"Protect me from what?" Danny asked, because this was definitely out of his realm of understanding.

"Protection from being hurt again, usually emotionally. Usually when the anger doesn't fit the situation, there's a consistent level of invalidation or gaslighting. Sometimes it's unintentional, but it doesn't make everything magically better. Have there been any instances where you've felt like that?"

He could name several. Most of them revolved around his family and his teachers. Every time he had to speak with his parents, no matter the topic of conversation, he felt this pit of anxiety in his stomach that turned into anger at the drop of a hat. His parents would always compare him to Jazz, and he loved his sister, but with her constantly around and showing off he felt like he would never be good enough. His grades weren't the best but they weren't bad, either. And sure, he wasn't super fit, but he had at least tried his best considering the only advice he's ever gotten from Tetslaf was "Be a man!"

But he couldn't go to his parents for anything. If it was any kind of negative emotion, they would tell him he wasn't feeling like that, or that he had no reason to, and they would turn around and continue working on their ghost bullshit. Sometimes they'd make promises and break them. For six years in a row they promised to throw Danny a birthday party and for six years they had forgotten. And when Danny stopped bringing it up altogether, well, they forgot altogether.

Most days it felt like they loved their work more than their children. And it hurt because he knew that with them, he was always going to be an afterthought.

He also spoke about the way they talked to him. They didn't treat him like he was fourteen. They treated him like he was five. It was incredibly frustrating when they would get him something from a cartoon he couldn't even remember watching, and be upset when he was disappointed with it. Once he had learned to make his own sandwiches they kind of just left him on his own.

"A major reason they could be talking to you like that is because that's the last time they truly knew you. Or it could be the last time they were able to control you. Sure, they're your parents and you have to listen to them-but once you start gaining independence, they no longer have any interest. It's a strong possibility that that's what's happening here. And it doesn't help that, from the sound of it, they have no problem crossing your boundaries."

Boundaries between his parents and himself were basically nonexistence. A fairy tail under the Fenton's roof. His parents made sure of that. Most of the time it was a physical boundary, like barging in when he was showering, or stealing food from his plate even after he tells them he hasn't eaten all day because Dash stole his food again. Sometimes it was both physically and emotionally, like driving up to the school and announcing to the entire town with their speaker system that Danny is their cutest wittle boy oh just look at him. If he had a nickle for every time he wouldn't be able to live down the embarrassment they caused him-even after he's asked them to stop it-he's be able to afford his own funeral. Or maybe new parents.

Hound Dog is a good listener, and he's easy to talk to. And now that he's broken the damn, Danny can't stop talking, even if he wanted to. Because it's nice to know that he's not the only one who goes through stuff like this. He's not the only one who jumps at every little noise because he's not sure if he's gonna be dragged inside another locker or shoved into another toilet.

The tears start coming when he realizes that he's never really felt safe at home. Even without the ghost security system, his parents have made it into a warzone-both physically and mentally. He steps on one wrong thing-physically or verbally-boom. He's grounded, with no chance of fixing whatever he fucked up. Hound Dog silently hands him a box of tissues.

There are too many instances to go into detail about. Too many times where his parents downplayed his experiences and manipulated his emotions. Too many instances where they told him he wasn't good enough because he wasn't somebody else.

And the realization hurts. It hurts to know that even though his parents love him, they don't care that they've hurt him. They don't even acknowledge it. And Danny has to stop the nagging in the back of his head, asking him if his parents ever really loved him at all, or if he was just another toy to get bored with. Jazz is better in the sense that she actually does care, and does try to help him sometimes, but she's too analytical. She tries conforming him to her textbook definition, and is worried more about being right than she is about Danny's wellbeing sometimes.

By the end of the session, three hours have passed and he feels exhausted. His chest aches a little less, and his head feels a little more clear, but he knows that the second his head hits the pillows he's gonna be out like a light.

Before he leaves, Hound Dog gives him The Gaslighting Recovery Workbook: Healing from Emotional Abuse, and tells him to pace himself, and to work on it when he's not in a bad mood. Recovery isn't linear, and there will be times where he's triggered or just having a bad day. And that's okay. Because healing from emotional abuse is new and scary and confusing and he's going to get frustrated. He just needs to keep it going.

He kind of wishes he could take Hound Dog back to Amity with him.

---------

After the first month in therapy, Aizawa notices the changes. Danny is still twitchy and nervous, but not as much. He's a little more confident when he answers questions, and he speaks up a little more each day. He doesn't quite have the same aversion to adults as he did in the beginning, and when he gets angry, instead of blowing up, he separates himself from the situation and comes back when he's cooled off.

It's a work in progress. And it's a lot of progress he's made in just a month. But Aizawa is proud of him nonetheless.

He hopes that one day, Danny can be proud of himself, too.

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

Oof, not this one hitting too close to home lol. And the gaslighting workbook is an actual book, my therapist gave me a copy of it to help me with my crippling daddy issues. So if any of yall cant afford therapy or if you feel like you need a bit more help, its a pretty good resource.

[redrobin-detective]

the end is where we start from

What we call the beginning is often the end / And to make an end is to make a beginning / The end is where we start from. ~ T.S. Elliot, Little Giddings

Danny was running, he didn’t know where to all he knew was who he was running from. He didn’t know if his parents were even coming after him, guns blazing and mouths sneering but he didn’t dare turn around to look. Maybe they weren’t even going to bother chasing him, maybe they were just happy the ghostly scum was out of their house. 

He saw the entrance to Amity’s deepest woods and he darted for it. It was dark and thick and easy to lose yourself in so people usually thought twice before they entered. But people like Danny had little else to lose. The sting of branches swiping at him before he could turn intangible, giant, gnarling roots tripping him up before he could float over him. But he didn’t dare slow down because that would mean acknowledging what had happened.

Another missed curfew, another argument where he and his parents talked about but around each other. Another ghost showing up just as he got dressed for bed, another transformation to take care of it before he could get some sleep. Only the same old script flipped on itself when Mom opened the door, bringing in some tea as an apology for her harsh words just into time to see her son become a ghost. Her gun was drawn before the cup hit the floor and shattered, along with Danny’s heart.

Deep in the thicket of the woods, his human lungs burned and his living muscles ached but he couldn’t turn into Phantom now. Not when it was the stupid ghost’s fault he wasn’t welcome in his own home anymore.

‘What are you doing with my son, ghost?’

‘Mom, please it’s Danny I can explain, please would you just listen?’

‘You can’t be alive and dead at the same time! It’s impossible!’ Oh god my baby died and I didn’t even notice’

‘Mom, Dad, listen to Danny, he’s telling the truth. This is why he never-’

‘Jasmine, you’ve been deceived that’s what ghosts do! That’s what Phantom in particular is known for!’

“Jazzy, Danno, I want to believe you, but it’s a lot to take in. Let us run some tests to make sure.’

‘Danny! Danny wait! Come back!’

Eventually his human body ran out of steam, adrenaline and desperation can only take a person so far. His speeding gait slowed to a lopping jog before settling into a quiet, miserable walk. He squeezed his eyes shut and dared to look over his shoulder but, of course, no one was there. It was just him, the darkness and his own woes.

“What am I going to do now?” He asked quietly, weakly as he fought back panicked tears. All he could see was his mother’s angry, grieving face. His father’s confusion as he tried to make sense of it all while trying to keep the peace. Jazz’s frustration and futile attempts to shield Danny from the worst of the shouting.

He had nothing on his person, why would he? He’d been about ready to go to bed when his whole world came crashing down. His worn Star Wars t-shirt and sweatpants offered little protection from the gloomy October weather but Danny’s ice core more than protected him from the chill. He welcomed it if anything, it matched the ice growing in his heart. No money to escape with, no phone to call for help, no tools to contain any ghosts he battled. He hadn’t even had dinner last night, too busy fighting ghosts. For the first time, Danny was well and truly on his own. Not even dying had seemed so scary.

“I can handle this,” Danny said with false calm. It was pitch dark around him but a little ectoplasmic light brightened the area up. “I’ll just stay here for the night and then I’ll check in tomorrow. If things are still bad, I’ll grab my gear and go.” Where he’d go was a whole other question but that wasn’t important right now. He was still too raw to think about what he’d do if he actually had to abandon his human life. All he could focus on right now was the hurt pulsing through him.

He wandered around in the dark for a little while longer, looking for a suitable place to set up camp for the night. Eventually, he came upon a set of twisting trees that was perfect for his purposes. Lightening his weight, he climbed up halfway and made a little ice tent in the branches. It was lightweight but thick, covering him up and serving as a shield between him and the rest of the world. In his own little ice palace, no one else could hurt him.

“There we go, home sweet home,” Danny mumbled as he crawled inside with a dull thump. He’d left a little skylight open, so he could look up at the stars. If he didn’t think too hard about it, he could imagine he was out camping with his dad or stargazing with his friends. “No, stop it. You’re only making it worse,” he said quietly to himself as the annoying flush of sadness washed over him. He didn’t like to cry; it made him feel stupid and childish and exhausted. Jazz had lectured him about the cleansing release of neurochemicals and other junk but really he usually felt worse after crying. 

“This is fine, everything is fine,” Danny sniffled, shuddering as he curled in on himself. The only cold that could hurt him was his own. It really wasn’t a great idea to use his that much of his ice in his human form, it chilled his body too much to be healthy. That, combined with his light clothes, the chilly night and that fact that he was laying on a solid block of ice, didn’t help matters. If Sam and Tucker could see him, they’d be shoving him in the shower to warm him up and plying him with food and blankets. Jazz and her dozen kind of herbal teas that help with mood or digestion or whatever would shove one or two into his hands and hover until he drank some. Their nagging was annoying but it was helpful and made him feel so loved. Love he wasn’t feeling out in the woods all by himself in the middle of the night.

“This is fine,” he repeated, more choked up this time and gave into his desire to cry. His chest hurt from the force of his sobs and eyes burned from the salty tears. He was flushed and cold and miserable but eventually, after wiping snot away from his nose and hiccupping quietly, he was ready to sleep. He was so worn out from all the hurting and the crying that he slipped from wakefulness as easy as going ghost.

“Child, what are you doing?” Danny groaned at the vaguely familiar voice. His ghost sense went off, reminding him once more how cold he was. He barely had it in him to shiver right now. “Ghost child, awaken and explain yourself.” Cold metal poked repeatedly into his side until Danny shoved the hand away, sitting up with a miserable glare.

“Go away, I’m not in the mood,” Danny grumbled, turning away from Skulker to try and go back to sleep. “I already feel bad enough, I don’t need you making it worse.”

“That does not explain why you are in a tree in the woods,” Skulker said slowly, still hung on stupid details. “The last I checked, the human Lair you stayed in was still standing. I stopped there to show you my latest weapon but you weren’t there, I traced your signature here.”

“Congrats, pass go and collect $200,” Danny sniped back quietly, not putting any heat into it. He didn’t have much to spare.

“Why are you out here, all alone?” Skulker frowned, “humans are susceptible to the elements, I presume you’re no exception given your current state. Just this once, I will stay the hunt to return you to your human Lair and we shall resume at a later-”

“No, I can’t go back,” Danny gasped fearfully, he curled in deeper on himself. “My parents, they know about me, about my powers. They didn’t take it well, I can’t- I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“But those human children-”

“I’m not getting them involved in this, they’re already in too deep. Tucker’s still grounded from that incident with Desiree and if Sam’s parents caught me in her room at night I’d lose the other half of my miserable life,” Danny grumbled. “Just leave me alone or kill me and take my pelt. Either one, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I see,” Skulker hummed, “stay here, Child, I will return.” Skulker said before flying off.

“Great, can’t wait,” Danny murmured as he rearranged himself on his ice block. He still felt unbearably cold but it probably wasn’t enough to actually kill him. Probably. “Stupid ghosts, stupid powers, if I hadn’t walked into that stupid portal, I’d be be safe and warm in bed right now and only have to worry about passing pre-calc.” It felt like he’d barely fallen back asleep when he was forcibly awaken by something soft and heavy dropping on him.

He phased out of the tangle only to find a bunch of blankets and heavy winter coat that looked 2 sizes too big for him. “What the-”

“Wow you weren’t kidding, babe, he looks like a trainwreck,” he heard Ember’s gruff voice say. “Hey dummy, put on the stupid coat. I ain’t had nerve endings in a while but I’m getting cold just looking atcha.”

“You bring your girlfriend to harass me in the middle of the night with,” Danny eyed the pile with price tags still on them, “stolen merchandise.”

“Shut up, we’re crashing your pathetic little pity party so you don’t die before I can off you myself,” the rock star huffed. “If that coat isn’t on you in five seconds, I’m manhandling your skinny arms into it.”

“Jeez you’re worse than my sister,” Danny grumbled even as he pulled the coat on. It was big but fluffy, the extra layer instantly made him feel a bit better. “Happy?”

“Getting there. Techy, you brought the food or what?” Danny yelped as a large amount of food dropped in through his skylight. It was an interesting mix, a jumbo bag of peanuts, dijon mustard, a jar of pickled eggs, a couple bags of chips and a box of uncooked macaroni noodles. “Here, eat some human food.”

“What?” Danny questioned as Technus poked his head into the icy tree house. 

“Oh nice place you got here child but it needs more lights and a flat screen and, oh, I can set you up with a killer stereo system over eek!” the technology ghost yelped as he was pulled back and Poindexter replaced him. 

“Hey Danny, heard you were in a bit of a bind. Thanks to you, my Lair’s school is a better place now, bully free. You can cool your jets with me if you need to fly the coop.” Danny didn’t answer and instead opened one of the bags of chips, barbeque and ranch sweet. 

“You can also stay on my island for however long you need to recover,” Skulker grumbled, like it pained him to say. “It’s no fun to hunt you when you’re so weak. I want to defeat you at your prime not at your lowest.”

“No, no, come to my lair! Everything is beeping and flashing all the time and I have a Minecraft room!” Technus interjected.

“I guess you could come to mine if you have to,” Ember huffed. “But aren’t you also buddy buddy with the Yetis bein’ an ice core and all? Or Queen Dora? Pretty much anyone will open their lairs to you with your stupid, beaten puppy dog eyes.”

“You guys, I don’t know what to say,” Danny said softly, taken aback by the show of kindness. He took in the blankets, the coat, the food, their offers. They didn’t understand, not really, but they were trying. It meant a lot, coming from his enemies. “Thank you.”

“Well, yeah, us nerds got to stick together,” Poindexter grinned.

“You’re human and an annoyance but your existence has given my afterlife quite a thrill. I’m not ready for the hunt to end quite yet,” Skulker announced.

“You’re our favorite nemesis,” Technus exclaimed, trying to squeeze his face back through the packed skylight. “We fight, we banter but we also support each other when we’re down! Whenever I’m feeling down, I come into the human world and our battles have me back up and running in no time!”

“Huh,” Danny said, looking down with a small smile. If his enemies could put aside their grudges and help him when he needed it then maybe... “Thanks again really but uh, I think I should go home, check in with my folks. Probably shouldn’t have run off like that but um, if it goes bad...”

“You’re part ghost,” Skulker said with a sharp nod. “The Zone is as much your home as it is ours. Really should get around to making a Lair one of these days. Only weak ghosts and parasites leech off of others.”

“You know the way back from here?” Ember asked. “Need an entourage?” 

“Yeah I got it,” Danny answered, triggering his transformation. Poindexter squealed with delight as he phased out of his sad little ice cave. It looked cold and lonely which wasn’t what he needed right now. “And I’ll- it’ll be fine. I don’t think bringing a bunch of ghosts home with me will help my case.”

“Farewell, Child. May your spirits be higher on our next meeting. Having the support of ghost hunters will certainly add to the challenge of the hunt,” Skulker grinned. “I look forward to it.” He flew off and the others followed. Danny smiled, watching them go for a moment before flying in the opposite direction towards his house.

He was halfway home when the Fenton Assault Vehicle careened around a corner at an unsafe speed. Danny jumped as it went past, startled out of invisibility. He made eye contact with his parents before the RV skidded to a screeching halt and then hastily backed up. The window rolled down and he met the wide, teary eyes of his mom and dad.

“Uh funny running into you in a place like this,” he said shyly, looking down.

“Oh thank heavens, Danny where have you been? We’ve been worried sick!” His mother cried, jumping out of the RV and pulling him down into her arms. His father was on the phone, he heard Jazz’s name being mentioned, along with Sam and Tucker. “Baby, you’re freezing! Is this,” she paused, pulling back and delicately touching his wisp like hair. “Is that normal?”

“Sort of,” he said, leaning back into her touch. “It’s all kind of a long story. I shouldn’t have run off like that, I’m sorry.”

“No, you shouldn’t have but I don’t blame you,” Dad said, stepping out of the car and wrapping them both in a hug. “But Fenton men always make up for their goof ups. You were headed back home, right?”

“Yeah, home,” Danny sighed.

“Danny, I still don’t understand but I, we, love you and I’m sorry if we made you doubt that. We’ll work it out, sweetie, I promise. That’s what family does,” Mom said before ushering him and Dad into the car. “Now in you get, it’s too cold and too late for this and I do not want the neighbors complaining to the HOA again.”

Danny changed back in front of his parents for the second time that evening, this time intentionally. Their curiosity and happiness at seeing him overrode their earlier fear and confusion. He settled more comfortably into the backseat, warm and happy for the first time all evening.

“Danno, where’s you get the jacket?” Dad asked.

“My other family, don’t worry, I’ll explain it all tomorrow.”

[ellieswhoreeee]

The Two of Us. pt 3

Author’s Note; Hello everyone! Welcome back :) Thank you once again for reading The Two of Us, i’m so excited for he directing this will be heading. The ideas are flowing! Anyways, i think this story will be less then 10 chapters. There will be conflict- with some angst so be prepared! Enjoy!!

Endgame Pairing: Ellie Williams x fem! Reader

Warnings: Violence, marijuana, swearing, ect.

———————————————————————

“Wanna hear a joke?” Ellie asked after a couple of minutes of silence. You smiled, somehow feeling nostalgic. Ellie used to have this pun book that she would carry around when you two were younger and randomly tell you jokes.

It was refreshing.

“Alright, hit me.” You nodded, looking over at Ellie who was next to you. Ellie was on Shimmer, riding gracefully. She was looking straight ahead, almost as if she was avoiding eye contact with you.

But she wasn’t. If anything she was nervous.

Suddenly, she leaned over towards you- and smacked you over the head. She retreated back to where she originally was and smirked at you. The look on your face told her everything. “What? You said hit me, so i did. You’re welcome.”

Funny girl. Of course, you couldn’t even be mad or negative. You let out a small laugh. “Ellie, i’m pretty sure that wasn’t the joke.”

“How’d you figure?” With another look that you threw at her, she understood what it had meant. She thought about something for a moment, and then remembered what the joke was. “What did the grape say when it got crushed?”

“I don’t know, something with raisins?”

“What? No- you really suck at this,”

“Shut up and finish the joke.”

“Nothing, it just let out a little wine.”

“Ellie, god that was horrible.” You chuckled out, and continued to grip onto Gemini’s reins. At the moment you were passing a small town. You had no idea what the name was since the vegetation was covering all the signs, growing onto the buildings and overgrown as shit. Everything was so green and lush, but the way it was abandoned made it look scary.

Which made you even more cautious for infected.

“Oh yeah? Well, i’d like to hear one of your fabulous jokes.” Ellie’s voice rang through your ears. You looked over at her, somehow she was now ahead of you. You stared at the back of her head, looking at her long neck, her hair that was tied back and her slender shoulders. Ellie made you forget about the apocalypse.

“Sorry to break it to you but my speciality is pick up lines.” You answered with a smile. You finally looked away from her and your attention fell onto the graffiti on the buildings. But the moment you felt Ellie’s eyes on you, you looked back.

Ellie’s eyes were sparkling. You didn’t know what that look on her face meant, it was the first time you’ve seen her like this. “Really? Alright, i’d like to hear what your ex’s fell for.”

“Ellie, they don’t count since they’re not really ex’s.” You frowned, remember the people who you used to… Well, “hang out with”. There was a time in your life where you denied the feelings for Ellie. Where you thought it was a phase and that you were mistaking your feelings as something else. You thought the interest was you just wanting to be her close friend because god, Ellie was amazing. It took you some time and talking to some friends to realize what you felt was more than wanting to be a close friend.

“Doesn’t matter. I want a good pick up line!”

She seems fine with it, why wouldn’t she? It’s not like it’s something serious. You got this. Playful attitude and it’ll all be okay.

You nodded, and cleared your throat. You stopped Gemini from continuing to walk. You waited for Ellie to stop Shimmer, so she could actually look at you. And she did, she turned shimmer around so she could stare at you. You two were in the middle of the road, out in the open. “Can i borrow a kiss? I promise i’ll give it back.”

Ellie’s face flushed- it couldn’t be helped. That was a good pick up line, she couldn’t deny that. The way you said it, the way you were looking at her and… God, she was helpless. Wait- what was she thinking? She had a girlfriend back home! She swore to get over after realizing you couldn’t have liked her back!

“What? Was that not good enough? Well, i do have seasonal pick up lines. Like, If a kiss was a snowflake, I would send you a snowstorm.” And with that you sent her a small wink, and leaned closer to Gemini’s neck. The look on her face was… Different. You couldn’t really understand her.

“Y/n-“ There was a scream- multiple screams and clicks that brought you back from your little world with Ellie. You felt your stomach drop at the noise. Infected really are a pain in the ass.

“Infected,” You warned, looking around in the town where the sounds seem to be coming from. You noticed a broken window from a grocery store. It was dark, and there was small noises coming from in there. “I thought this area would be clear.”

“They like to wander, remember?” Ellie reminded you with a hard look on her face. You jumped off Gemini, and decided to tie him to an old bike post. “What are you doing?” She asked with a frown.

You pulled out your handgun from your holster, checking to see how much bullets you had in the clip before looking at her. “We have to clear this place, we are on patrol.”

“This isn’t the checkpoint, what are Danny and Axel gonna think when we don’t show up on time?”

“Then we should deal with this quickly. Come on,” You urged, walking towards the broken window and jumped in without hesitation. Ellie quickly followed behind you, trying to catch up.

You get pretty impatient when it comes to clearing areas. She’s not sure where it came from. You were more hostile around infected- with good reason too but it was to the point you would jump in even if it killed you. That’s how bad it was.

From where she was she could see you silently bringing down one of the runners. There was three clickers strolling around the registers while there was some more runners strolling the isles. 7 infected in total- well now six.

She followed your lead, and decided to take down some of the runners quietly. It was much easier than showering them with bullets that you needed. But just in case, you kept your gun close.

After a couple of minutes, you two finished and decided to look around in hopes of finding something good. Which was rare, but it was still worth a shot. You body lead you to the back of the store where a door caught your attention. With your left hand you attempted to open the door but of course it was locked.

“Come on, let’s get going now.” Ellie walked up to you, watching you as you kept your attention on the door. You looked up, finding the entrance of the vent open. Bingo.

“Ellie, give me a boost.” Ellie raised her eyebrows at you, and it seemed like all she wanted to do was leave. First, Ellie promised Joel she wouldn’t take the longer routes and that she would start off with groups patrols but here she is, doing the longer routes and doing paired patrols instead. She just hopes that Joel doesn’t find out. “I’ll just check in there and then we can leave. I promise.” You reasoned, giving her a convincing smile.

She sighed, and nodded. She couldn’t say no to you. She leaned against the wall, and got in position to give you a boost. With one foot you stepped into her hand and she hoisted you up. You climed straight into the vent and crawled into the locked room. The room was bigger than you expected. You thought it was a janitors room but it was actually an office. It was nicely put together for a room that has been locked for what you assumed was years. You were about to walk closer towards the large desk when you heard something, but the banging on the door distracted you.

“Y/n! Open the door already!”

You sighed, and moved towards the door. Just as you were about to unlock it, an ear piercing scream sent you into panic but you weren’t fast enough to react to the stalker who had grabbed you from behind. You were so close to its mouth that you could hear it’s teeth chattering in anticipation.

You struggled against its hold, trying everything in your power to get it the fuck off you because god, this thing was disgusting. “Get the fuck off of me!” You grunted, continuing to fight off against the thing but you don’t remember where you put your knife. You were barely holding the stalker back, but you grip on its neck was the only thing keeping you alive at the moment.

Two gunshot rang out, and the stalker dropped behind you. You fell to the ground, feeling the sick to your stomach. “Y/n! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Are you bitten!?” Ellie jumped down from the same vent that you came through, and kneeled down to you. She grabbed your face and continued to check for bites- or any signs of injuries.

You couldn’t look her in the eyes. “Shit.” You closed your eyes. “I’m loosing my shit.”

“Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here.” She grabbed your hand and pulled you up from the ground. She unlocked the door and lead you outside where the horses were waiting for you. Almost as sensing something was wrong, Gemini leaned into you once you were close enough.

“Hey, buddy. I’m okay.”

Ellie decided to let go of your hand. Your skin was warm and somehow she was comforted by that. But then she remembers that it probably meant more to her than it did to you. It always did.

She could never read you.

-

“What took you two so long?” Axel asked once you two made it to the dam. You two walked into the building, and straight to the watchtower. Ellie went straight to the couch while you walked towards the notebook and decided to report what had happened.

“Infected, we were clearing the an area and lost track of time.” You explained briskly. Axel nodded, noticing something was off but decided to say anything. Danny and Axel left after packing up.

You looked over at Ellie who was lounging around on the couch that was in another section of the room. She was writing something in her journal. You were curious as to what she was writing. “Watcha writing there, El?”

She didn’t look up and just continued to write. But she was smirking. “Only writing that i had to save your ass… Again.”

You groaned, hearing her laughing from her spot. “Watch it, William. I swear i’ll haunt you from beyond the grave.”

“You’ll never get the chance because i’ll always be there to save your ass.”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “Oh, yay. My own personal prince charming. What’s next, saving me from an evil queen who placed a curse on me?”

“We’ll, it’s on my list.” She joked, finally finishing up whatever she was writing in her journal. She closed her journal and hides it back into her backpack. You decided to look into the other room, you were looking for something specific. After some scavenging you finally found it. A bong.

“Hey, El! Guess what i found!” You yelled from the other room. You looked at the beautiful glass piece in-front of you.

“Please tell me you won the lottery, i would kill for a cruise ticket!”

“Funny,” You walked into the room Ellie was in, and presented the bong to her. Ellie’s eyes widen.

“How’s you know that was here?”

“There’s always at least one at each checkpoint.” You replied swiftly, giving her a grin. “ Eugene is a very chartable man.” 

“We shouldn’t. Plus, we don’t have- wait, do you have some on you?”

You reached into your bag and pulled out a small bag of bud. You smirked and tossed her the bag. “As i said, Eugene is very charitable.”

Ellie was awestruck. “Jesus, y/n. Since when did you become a pothead?”

You hummed. “That’s a really good question- i’m not going to answer though.”

“Aw come on! I literally tell you everything.” Ellie slightly pouting at the fact that you were withholding information from her.

“Come talk to me when you’re 18.” You responded with a smirk on you’re face.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Quit being a dick. You turned 18 a couple of months ago and don’t know how to act.”

“Shut up,” You walked over to her and sat on the opposite side of the same couch as her. You pulled out your bottle of water. “So, inside or outside?”

“Outside, obviously. Only one bowl, deal?”

“Deal.”

-

After many hours of waiting, you and Ellie were finally replaced at the dam checkpoint, so you two finished running your routes while riding back to Jackson. It started out rough but at the end of your shift you were feeling better. You had made it through the gates in one piece thanks to Ellie- and she made sure you didn’t forget it.

As soon as you made it to the stables you let out a relieved sigh. You started to stretch out your limbs. “It feels so good being back.” You let out a yawn, after you jumped off of Gemini. Ellie followed after you and stepped off of Shimmer. She grabbed Shimmer’s reins and held out her other hand towards you. You were confused on why she was doing that. “Uh… Is this one of your weird ways of telling me i’m awesome?”

“Psh, you wish. Give me his reins. I’ll bring him in.”

“You sure?” She nodded without any hesitation, so you handed her Gemini’s reins. “I’ll wait for you outside, maybe today’s the day we finish the flood arc.”

Ellie looked just as excited as you- maybe even more. “I’ll hold you to that.” She grinned, which made your heart beat faster. You turned on your heels and waited right outside the stables for her. You shouldn’t get too excited. She’s you’re best friend, your best friend who has a girlfriend. She doesn’t like me back. She doesn’t.

You felt like you were being watched so you looked around, finally finding as Cat walking over to you. She was taller than you and way more intimidating. “Uh, hey?”

She looked unimpressed. “Hey? That’s all you have to say after everything you’ve been doing?”

“Woah! What the hell are you talking about?” You had no idea what she was talking about. You didn’t do anything wrong, at least you don’t think you did. You wouldn’t do anything intentionally.

“Don’t pull that crap. I know you have feelings for Ellie.” She had said it a little too loud, and that’s what made you uncomfortable. You hated how open she was about everything- not everyone can be like that. It was one of the things you envied and hated about her.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Cat. Remember… before anything that Ellie is my best friend. So whatever the hell you think happened- didn’t!”

She scoffed, laughing bitterly. “Right. You expect me to believe that when you’re making Googly eyes at her all the time?”

“Cat! This isn’t the time or place to be talking about this. I’m serious.”

“Fine. Just admit that you have feelings for her and i’ll leave you alone.”

You scoffed, crossing your arms in an attempt to protect yourself from her glaring eyes. “Yeah, right. So you can kick my ass when you hear something you don’t want to hear? Why can’t you understand that what i’m feeling is one sided and that Ellie literally loves you! God, Cat. Couldn’t you have realized that instead of cornering me like this? I cant lie to you.”

“Y/n.”

You immediately recognized the voice, and you felt sick once again. You slowly turned around to face the girl who had been the cause for this altercation. She knows.

“Ellie…”

-

[rumblelibrary]

Hello, it's me again, your friendly neighborhood... Hungarian?!...👀❤️

Can I request a Sebastian Zöllner fic, where he is a coworker of Reader, and there's an obvious sexual tension, attraction in the office, they sit opposite each other, legs touching sometimes, hands touching... Idunno... Things like this 👀🔥 but nothing happened... Yet...🔥🔥

Never an Enemy [Sebastian Zöllner x Fem!Reader]

Word count: 5k

Warnings: A bad mouthed journalist with strong opinions about art and performance that might offend

Author’s note: Did I let this idea simmer in me for ages? Yes. Did I ever stopped thinking about it? NO.

You hummed softly while the music blasted in your headphones as you made your way up the stairs to the headquarters of the Art Tribune, the art focused magazine you worked for since over a year.

You liked the job even if to deal with artists was hard and the pay check could really deserve an improvement, it was stimulating and surely kept you on the edge. That morning in particular you needed to revise some background stories and just loads of reading to do to work on a new article for an upcoming exhibition. Just the usual fact checking, but you just couldn’t do it at home the day before so you decided to come early and enjoy some peace and quiet at the office.

You arrived at the top of the stairs of the fourth floor with a groan, you told yourself you had to do the stairs because you spent 70% of your life sitting in front of a computer, kind of self care, but brutal. You groaned lightly going straight toward the little kitchen installed for the team when you noticed something in the empty shared room full of desks. It was actually a really nice place with big industrial style windows that let lots of light inside, a very smart environment to work in, with areas where you could relax, free Wifi and loads of facilities. Usually people were put in big desks together, facing each other, trying to push a sort of ‘community feeling’.

Inevitably most of the people created barricades with books, and pictures of their dogs or even empty coffee cups. Yes, all cute and artistic, but do not talk to me.

That’s what also the attitude of the man you shared your desk with on your first day. He whined like a child for twenty minutes, complained he was happy to work alone, followed the assistant of the editor around the office and created a barricade of catalogues between the two of you so thick that you wondered if it was also bulletproof, only to rest his elbows over it half an hour asking if you had the change for the vending machine. Yes, that random man was you colleague and friend, Sebastian Zöllner.

The same that you are witnessing now asleep on the desk, head resting on his crossed arms while a stand of saliva went down on his shirt, wild hair and shoes taken off.

He could be considered an attractive man if he wasn’t a bloody nightmare of a person. You actually worked a lot with him and enjoyed his presence most of the days, your characters folded nicely and you would bounce off his attitude. He was strong on biographies and annoying the shit out of others, so he was always nagging at someone, you included.

You smirked slowly tracing his hair with your fingers, he never looked so innocent and you were always surprised to learn how those messy hair were so soft. It wasn’t the first time you did that gesture, sometimes he did lean his head like this only to be touched like an annoying mewling cat that needs attentions. “Kaffee” He mumbled making you chuckle, such a an annoying brat and he didn’t even open his eyes.

You carried on walking to the little kitchen room to prepare some coffee for you and your desk partner. You shook your head aimlessly as you started wondering why the man is here at this hour and if it was really a good idea to wake him up. To have him awake means to be able to do little to zero.

You watched the coffee get ready, the comforting tune of your morning playlist getting you still on the good side of your mood as you poured the coffee in your mug.

Then you saw it, an arm sneaking in front of you and taking the mug from your hand, you jump scared in a second almost pouring the rest of the coffee on the whole kitchen counter only to encounter Sebastian sleepy figure behind you bringing the mug close to his nose and inhaling deeply the aroma before having a gulp, you stared at him as his jaw clenched, his eyes got a bit teary. “Fucking hot” he whined making you chuckle, he deserved it for stealing it, luckily you were already doing some more for him so he stole your favourite mug but you had some coffee for you left.

You pulled off your headphones leaning them on your neck “No idea you’d be sleeping at the office, weren’t you off on some interview ?”

He shrugged “yeah, well me neither, but interviewing sculptors is always annoying as shit and those are always supersensitive” he said opening the freezer and pulling out some ice cubes from their box and putting them in the coffee mug. “Scheiße!” He cursed as the ice cube landing in the mug caused the coffee to spill onto his white shirt. You pressed your lips tight against each other not to laugh into his face, but he was already pissed off and it wasn’t even proper work time. You watched him lean over the sink trying to wash it off somehow without even bothering to take it off, just adding chaos on chaos.

“Y/N! Do not laugh and try to help me! Beside, the heck are you doing here at this hour?” You rolled your eyes at that comment, but you didn’t indulge him in that request.

“I was just looking for silence”

He nodded like he didn’t believe a single word of it, he was just an asshole and you had to deal with it like it or not. You almost hated how he was so freaking good at writing and that’s probably why many people indulged him. Even you knew his pieces on the magazine and didn’t expect to find out he was so…so Sebastian.

You let out a breathy chuckle taking your mug and making your way to your joined desk letting him wrestle his balance over the kitchen sink trying to get the stain wet and not shower himself in the meanwhile.

You sat down at your spot leaning the mug on side, hands covering your face trying to keep a clear mind letting out a big breath “okay, let’s do this”

You turned on the lamplight on your desk pulling out your laptop from your backpack. As the computer was ‘waking up’ you stared at Sebastian side of the desk compared to yours.

You had like a little citadel of books around you, but it was pretty neat, a little succulent gifted by your friend for your first day at work with the name tag ‘Danny’ on it sitting beside the lamp, lots of pencils and pens of different colours and notebooks to no end. If you had something in common with that beast of a man was that you both still relied on paper for sketching ideas and write down impressions in the moment, then onto the typing.

His side, however, was like a contemporary artwork in itself. Half empty cigarettes packages everywhere, the ashtray filled up, paper inside books and books filled with more papers. Notes everywhere, the damn king of neon yellow post-its, stains of coffee and crumbles of food invert corner, his red laptop showing off like a punch in the eye and his satchel bag always hang or thrown around.

You often wondered if the cleaning stuff just gave up on him. Your lucky guess was that he would probably throw a fit if anything was moved, so everyone just played the blind eye.

He was good at throwing fits.

You watched him come back sitting in front of you, half of his shirt soaked in the attempt to clean it up, he licked his lips picking one empty package of cigarettes looking in it and throwing it away until he found one with still something in it and he lighted his cigarette as he turned on his laptop. You sighed opening the window to let the fresh air not getting you intoxicated.

You went back to sip your coffee and stare at the screen quietly, every now and then your eyes falling onto the little cloud of smoke in front of you.

Sebastian was an attractive man, that was undeniable and you were sure that made him also a successful interviewer even though he was so random and chaotic, when he was silent and collected in thoughts he was indeed a sight to be seen. The dark hair framing his face like he was some cherub, his deep eyes staring into the void of his own words as he typed. He had a sort of decadent look on him.

Slowly the office begun to get filled, people coming here and there to tease Seb about coming early and he just waving his cigarette around asking for silence.

“Zöllner””

The chief editor shouted getting into his office without even turning around. Seb rolled his eyes looking at you as he pushed the cigarette in the ashtray waving his hand around to dissipate the smoke around him before standing up.

“I wonder how he managed to survive few days without shouting my name” he smirked.

You looked at him and mimicked his smirk.

What a chaotic man.

You had finished your reading by then and started to make a first draft of the article you were meant to work on.

“Y/N!!!” Sebastian voice rang through the office making you jump on your seat and he gestured at you to go with him with a big wave of his arm.

You looked at your screen with an helpless sigh, it seems like you will not write that article anytime soon, you’d better just have slept an hour more.

You stood up following that incessant wave as Seb put his hand on your back to get you in a bit quicker.

“Good morning”

You said as the chief editor nodded quietly “Look Y/N, it is a big favour I have to ask you” he begun frankly as you were beginning to get worried “you did your time with silly articles, so I thought it could be interesting to pair you up with Sebastian to go to tonight’s exhibition of Evita Schnecke”

Your eyes went wide as you looked at Sebastian shrug his shoulders.

“I need somebody to keep the horse with tight rains” Mr Megelbach continued gesturing with his pen at Sebastian and then at you “and you will dip your toes in those big time artists environment, but we really need to make sure Sebastian won’t hurt anyone’s sensibility, her interview has been obtained with lots of hard work”

“Yeah, we all know that hard work” Sebastian whispered in your ear earning a glare from Mr Megelbach who handed you a couple of catalogues from that artist and the invitation.

“So, put on hold your current article for today, make a plan with this train wreck and please make sure he doesn’t show up dressed like that”

“That was unneeded”

“All precautions are always needed with you, and now get out of my office the both of you”

You nodded moving out of the office, you were a bit anxious. Those artists were unpredictable just as Sebastian.

You made your way back to your desk with him as you sat down looking at the invitation. “So, it begins at 9 pm” you said almost understanding why Sebastian shouldn’t be allowed to go unescorted because the invitation on the dress code had: Wear something that talks about your soul. Only that could bring Sebastian to have an aneurism.

“I hate that bitch”

“Seb, that’s not a good start for an article”

He smirked as you said so but shrugged

“I mean it, this woman was born into privilege, she portrayed herself to be this underground rebel, but her simple black dress was a Chanel and her everyday boot Balenciaga, so I don’t trust her for a reason”

You smirked as you could agree with that and showed him the two catalogues the boss gave you

“Choose your fighter”

He groaned so loud he could have stabbed his toe and he leaned over his side of the desk picking one from your hand giving a light pinch on your side “teacher’s pet”. You chuckled softly as he always said that.

“Tell me if you read something that it is not about the performer’s way of life” he mumbled opening it in front of him.

You begun your reading and it was indeed the hell pit of a vey spoiled kid who was told to be the greatest since the first day of life, you picked your notebook and opened it taking notes on things that you could ask about.

Sebastian in the meanwhile lighted up another cigarette rolling it between his fingers mindlessly, his eyes looking above the paper at you every now and then among the little curses in German about the stupid things written there.

After some time it was becoming really a torture to read and you leaned your back on your chair stretching your legs forward for Seb to catch one of them among his.

You smirked as you often joked to him he was like some bear trap with those legs always catching yours.

He put his hand under the table bringing your leg up onto his thigh as you shifted even lower on your seat, his hand touching your ankle mindlessly as he had a talent for little massages like that. He did it the first time a while aback, a summer day where it was so hot and humid that you couldn’t feel your own legs.

So it became a little ritual among the two of you. You had many of those rituals, it was like an unspoken collection of attentions. Like you making the coffee in the morning because he was a grumpy ass. Or him always buying you some chewing gum or little treat when he went to buy cigarettes.

“I guess I am not the only one that needs a restyle”

He said bringing you away by the tenderness those little actions brought to you when he pushed his finger in your Vans shoe deepening a hole that you were trying to ignore from months.

“Seb, don’t do it, I wanted to make them last another season”

“Another season? These can’t last the end of the month, no doubt why your sex life is a train wreck”

You frowned at him taking your ankle off his hand to push on his chair making him roll back thanks to the little wheels underneath it, but he held on the desk and pulled himself closer again.

“What do you even know about it”

He looked at you, eyebrows raising up on his forehead

“Y/N, if I was your boyfriend I wouldn’t allow you to leave the bed that early in the morning to go to the office and that’s a fact”

“Oh, and how on heaven could you detain my passion for this job?” “Well, I can write you a list about it, you can consider it a to do list on your next date” His smirk was so wide, he enjoyed to tease you like that, the bastard, he knew to be an hottie and he always acted like half of the world was up to fuck with him.

“Oh please, do it, I want to see”

You teased him and he leaned in elbows on the table staring at you.

Oh the sexual tension with him was too much, you always went down on this hurricane of remarks, always him mentioning how you need more orgasms or implying it, or even implying how good he is at giving them.

“But be careful, because any act should be performed and not only lived”

You said quoting the artist you were reading about and he whined so hard like you really stomped your foot on his balls.

“Horrid witch”

“Me?” “No, that one”

He huffed and puffed picking another cigarette. Sometimes cigarettes just died on his fingers as he forgot to actually enjoy them more than waving them around.

The artist herself wasn’t remarkable, she used themes seen over and over before, she had a background as performer/dancer and she added painting to that, but more than talent she had an amazing marketing squad. You read her story and her commentaries about living like in a poem, which always sounds pretty easy with a big bank account.

You did all you could to stay neutral even if Seb was going down to massacre the woman, you two shared a bundle of two sandwiches (or better say, your brought a package of two and he was skipping his lunch so you just handed it to him) until you decided to get parted and go get ready at home.

That evening you were waiting for him in front of your apartment, when a taxi stopped in front of you and his figure appeared waving at you to come in on the back. His eyes widened in surprise “Well, well, well, look who got all fancy here”

He smirked as his eyes travelled on you shamelessly, the dress was actually one of those you brought ages ago and never used, also to wear heels felt like new, last time you went to a fancy event almost hard to recollect.

“Just move and let me in”

You said chuckling as you looked at him being so elegant when you noticed it, the price tag on his shirt.

“Seb, did you just buy this shirt?”

“Yes, and I am going to take it back tomorrow”

You looked at him puzzled

“What?” He groaned “I suck at ironing stuff”

You looked at him as a little laugh escaped your lips as he told you not to, but it was too late for that, you shifted closer to him anyway helping him to hide that price tag better behind his neck. Nevertheless the white shirt was really fancy and fitted him perfectly.

As you arrived in front of the gallery you sighed and made your way inside.

The place wasn’t crowded but few eyes turned as you got in.

“Would you like some champagne?” A waiter asked and Seb picked two flutes immediately downing one in a gulp on his own as the other was still in his other hand, he put the empty glass on the tray and then picked a third one handing it to you.

“Drink Y/N or you won’t make it to the end of the evening”

You smirked as he was always over dramatic, but indeed the evening seemed to be made for posh people to show off how cool they are.

You spotted the artist pretty quickly wearing a Valentino bright red dress, she surely had the dancer figure and gestures which gave her some kind of an edge.

"She is all yours"

You looked at Sebastian already half way through his drink, giving you that cheshire cat smirk.

"Are you sure?"

"You know I will insult her in a second if she names her dancing background one more time, I saw the videos, she looked like a three ready to collapse on the ground" he chuckled as you smirked shaking your head at his metaphor, but he is probably right, he is too much biased.

"I didn't notice the open back before" he said referring to your dress as he caressed over your skin with his fingertips making goosebumps raise up your spine.

"What? Am I too sexy for your own good?"

"Probably" he commented not losing a beat to answer you. You were taken aback from a moment, his eyes still down on his hand touching your back before raising up to find yours.

Then he took his hand away and pressed the cold champagne glass against it making you hiss "Now go, I'll check this bourgeois art"

You frowned but you just moved away from him. He always did it, he teased you and then made it a joke. You gave it back to him too, it was your relationship, that's how you balanced it.

"Good evening " you said to her with a smile holding your glass in your left hand before offering your right hand to her "I am Y/N, from the Art Tribune"

She went from neutral to smiling in a second

"Oh, I was waiting to meet you" she said leaning to kiss your cheek, surely she was a woman with charm, with a degree of boldness that made her charming and also, you noticed, extremely touchy-feely with everyone.

"We can define this a sort of retrospective of your previous works, I liked to see the evolution of it" you lied, because you just saw the catalogue.

But that was fair enough to have her go on about her, guess what? Past as a dancer, about how she needed to express herself, how she was her own muse and all the stuff you already read.

"What is next for you then?"

"I want to follow my dream, I have always wanted to found a space with my name where people could rent the rooms to perform dances and arts"

You stared at her. For real? Like there weren't other hundreds in the whole city?

"What will keep you apart from all the others that did this before you?"

"Nobody is me" she smirked like it was clear and obvious.

You asked few more questions, but you were sad to admit Sebastian was right. There wasn't art there, there was just profit, selling a name, a brand.

This saddened you because you met many artists that had less than a chance to make it but double the talent of Miss Valentino Dress.

"Y/N" Sebastian warm hand was on your back as you were downing the last bit of champagne "Come, come ,come quick" he said pushing you away as the artist clearly recognised him but he dismissed her with some insult or whatever he just mumbled.

"Seb, I was working, what the hell?"

"Elke is here"

You still didn't understand, you were puzzled as the reason of that anxiety was still unknown to you.

"Like your girlfriend Elke?"

"Put an ex in front of it" he said looking around frantically

"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't know"

"No, me neither, I thought she was just bashing around, she always did" his arm sneaked around your waist pulling you closer "please, act sexy for once"

You were one second from hitting his guts with your elbow when Elke herself approached.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here" she said waving her glass around

"Yeah, well I work for an important Art journal if you remember"

"How could I forget?" she groaned looking at you then as Sebastian's hand rested onto your hip. Really? Was he acting like you were his date?

"Hi, I am Y/N"

You said politely to her and she chuckled "Run when you can, this man is a leech and you don't even know it"

She mentioned it almost casually, but you could feel all the poison implied on your skin, Sebastian's hand giving you a soft squeeze, you had never seen him like this before. He looked like a dog that just got kicked, his back hunched over you lightly both trying to protect you and for protection.

"Well, thank you for your advice, I must be a real torment too because we actually have lot of fun together, I like his unpredictability"

You said it from your heart, you didn't want to insult her or anything, but you felt bad for him. Even if he probably deserved it, to be humiliated like this must be hard in any circumstance, in particular in a place where he is supposed to work and being known.

He looked at you a bit surprised, he leaned slowly pressing a kiss on your temple and you smiled because of that gesture so enveloped in that feeling of tenderness.

"Your shot" Elke said clearly a bit annoyed that you as she just moved along followed by a man that must be her date.

"Lets go out"

You suggested as Seb nodded and just followed for once, he held your hand as you guided him and for once he wasn't talking or commenting anything.

As you went out he sat down on the sidewalk pulling out his package of cigarettes taking out one immediately.

"Hey stand up" you said to him as he looked up at you and you snatched that cigarette off his lips "let's go away"

"Where? Don't we have to stay until she gets naked to dance?"

You smirked "No, we have all the material we need"

You took his cigarette away offering him your hand as he picked it and you guided him.

He was silent, which is rare, when he was silent it meant he was upset in some way, he always had a nice comeback line for everything usually.

His head leaned on side like a scolded child as he slowly laced your fingers together.

You walked across few streets, your heels clicking on the cement until you made it to your final location pulling him inside.

"Constatinopole?"

Seb asked looking at the sign, it was a kebab place, your favourite by the way.

"I am hungry" you just said making him lower his head and smile like a kid with cue breathy chuckles.

You ordered for the two of you as he went to sat down putting another cigarette between his lips when the man behind the counter glared at him and he just put it back in the package.

He sat down slouching as you did some small talks with the guys there, you clearly knew them. The soft music from the radio holding the place into a sort of magical aura as his eyes travelled over your naked back once more, the need for a cigarette becoming even more urgent.

You two dressed so elegantly really were so noticeable in the bright lightend place, he smiled to himself thinking it could be a nice painting by Hopper.

You came back offering him his kebab with a soft drink, very thoughtful because he was indeed already a bit high on champagne.

You ate quietly together, it wasn't uncomfortable, your silences were happening often at work and always filled with a sense of common understanding, you leaned your leg up like you always did at the office and rested it on his thigh as you sat sideways beside him. His hand flying naturally on your ankle to give his usual massage, his thumb tracing your skin with imaginary patterns as his other hand held the kebab close to his mouth.

The speaker at the radio announcing next song as Rocket Man by Elton John filled the room with a melancholic vibe. You couldn't help but think the song suited perfectly Sebastian, his being out of this word, out of control.

"Thank you" he said at some point as he tried his best not to ruin his shirt, you looked up at him as he was staring, his eyes telling you something on their own "You have been the best girlfriend I have ever had"

He added with a bitter smile diverting once more his gaze, you smiled back at him, he looked so resigned. Maybe it was the alcohol, but you have never seen him so fragile before.

"I could be"

His eyes darted up to you, his surprise evident as he put down the kebab, the soothing voice of the British singer still giving a dream edge to the moment as he moved closer. You slowly shifted your leg to give him room of movement as his right arm sneaked to rest on the back of your chair closing the space between the two of you.

His lips tasted still a bit of champagne as he pressed them against yours, you kissed him back slowly as his left hand travelled on your thigh pulling you closer to him probably staining your dress because of his greasy hand.

He pulled back almost immediately before leaning onto you again titling his head on the other side. This second time the kiss was more deep, more intense. Your hands slowly cradling his face before pulling back yourself.

He smiled against your lips and you smiled back.

Maybe tomorrow you will regret it like Elke said, maybe not.

Tagged @cazzyimagines @lieutenantn @handmaiden-of-mischief@thesunflowersutra @zemomybeloved@fictionlandslanddreams@charistory @greeneyedblondie44@apparrio @hb8301@whatawildone @rhymerhymerhyme  @thehuiabird @lilith-blackrose @unbeatablecurlgirl@obsidianlaszlo@alindeluce@zemosimp05 @baronesszemo-blackwood @nocapesdahlingLet me know if you want to get tagged to my publications too <3

[captaincravatthecapricious]

Things You Said at the Kitchen Table- Prompt Fill

Jon's ill, Tim makes dinner.  After the Unknowing.  Kind of a follow up to Can’t get up, Is that all your blood, and Feverish and teary/how long has it been since you’ve eaten.  Sort of a follow up to the first two chapters of @janekfan‘s Too Much before more beautiful chapters were added to that verse.  

@laurawatchesthebees

cw fever, nausea (mentioned), dizziness, past suicidal ideation, grief, references to death, food

Jon at his kitchen table.  

Hardly the first time for that.  Not even in recent months.  

But Tim isn’t used to it yet.  

It might be that he had meant to die a couple days ago.  Not officially, but he was fairly certain he wouldn’t be coming back, no matter his intent.

Hasn’t quite accepted that he is still living and breathing and existing in this flat.  

He’d cleaned.  Really cleaned.  Didn’t box anything up, because he knew Martin would hate it.  Knew Martin would know what that meant.  

Martin had still glared at him in suspicion when he tossed out a lifetime of stuff.  His clothes are still there.  His books.  And Danny’s room is still untouched.  But Everything is too pristine.  Making it easy for whoever had to clean it out after he was gone.  

Except he isn’t gone.  

And Jon isn’t gone.  (Even if that fever has been wasting him away to nothing, but Tim is pretty sure that it’s mostly stress and exhaustion).  

And Martin isn’t gone.  

The opposite of gone.  

Halfway moved in with him.  Both of them.  

Jon still has half his things at the institute, but Tim is certain that at least half his clothes are here.  And his weighted blanket.  Certainly all his toiletries.  

And Martin has slowly been taking over corners of his too-empty flat over the last couple days, which is baffling to Tim, because Martin rarely leaves.  Has rarely left these last few days.  

Tim doesn’t exactly know what Martin went through.  Martin hasn’t really been up for talking about that.  And Tim can’t fault him, because Tm very much doesn’t want to talk about… all of that.  

Jon has been the perfect distraction.  Fever flushed, and limp.  Clinging weakly to whoever has been in reach.  

They haven’t been to the Archives in a few days.  So far no one else has been ill, so Tim has to assume that Elias being arrested has done something to postpone or stop the if-you-are-gone-too-long-you-will-suffer thing.  Which.  Good riddance.  Fucker.  

Jon is sitting at his kitchen table while Tim makes dinner.  They’d been living on takeout, but Jon’s uneasy stomach hasn’t been up to much, so Tim finally dug himself out of the depression-confusion-fog of not really accepting that everyone is still alive.  (Everyone except Sasha.)  

He’s fine.  Fine enough to make dinner.  Martin brought back groceries.  Enough to fill out the too-clean too-empty cabinets.  Making Tim’s flat stop looking like a real-estate showing that just happened to have some extra homey touches, but not lived in.  

Martin is off puttering around, possibly unpacking?  It’s all gone a bit unsaid.  Something that needs to be resolved, because Tim knows that Jon and Martin Need the verbal reassurance that they are welcome.  And honestly… if this is going to happen…. Tim’s going to need a new flat.  With more bedrooms.  And one that doesn’t have a shrine to a dead brother taking up one of the bedrooms.   Unless… unless sharing a bedroom is now just going to be a thing?  His flat has three… well one spare… one… one he doesn’t have the strength to open the door anymore… and one his.  They could share?  Or have an extra for whoever needs a bit of space.  It’s all… He doesn’t know.  There aren’t edges to this friendship?  Relationship?  Fucked it he knows.  And it doesn’t really matter… does it?  

Then again, he doesn’t Need those kind of labels.  

Later.  

But not now.  

When Martin and Jon need those labels.  

And honestly it might be just those two.  Which Tim doesn’t mind?  Unless he does?  

Not a thought for now.  

His thoughts are making a soup for Jon.  One of those big soups that he can freeze part of and still have food for days.  

Because it isn’t like he has the mental fortitude for cooking often these days… 

Or he might now?  He hasn’t really accepted that his quest for revenge was successful.   

He expected to be dead, or maybe not expected, but half-expected… or maybe just to have this huge wight lifted.  But… but he’s having a really difficult time comprehending that it’s really over, you know?

Like he doesn’t feel quite real.  Like nothing really happened.  

But Jon…

Jon who really ought to still be in bed.  Tucked up with medicine while Martin slowly takes over a third of Tim’s closet.

But Jon never could sit still.  Even clearly feeling like shit, he wants to be helpful.  

Of course Tim shooes Jon back to the bedroom.  Managed to get the rest of the chopping done before he wanders back.  Trailing on hand along the wall, dizzy and small, draped in his weighted blanket.  The one that Tim bought for the holidays back in Research.  

Tim is honestly astounded that extra weight doesn’t take Jon right down… Jon can hardly hold himself up.  

“All that’s left to do is stir, bud.”  Tim gestures to the few bowls full of chopped veggies on the counter, all the cutting boards washed, everything else in the pot already.  Tim wished he was adept at making bread… he might be able to sweet talk Martin into making some later.  

Jon’s the real chef here, but Tim is pretty competent.  Martin decent enough, but Martin is the one who can work some magic with the oven.  Cakes and pastries and bread.  

There is nothing better than Martin’s baking.  

(Sasha was the best at grilling).  

Tim needs to be better at shutting thoughts of her out.  Or maybe just letting himself think them.  

Not now.  Soup.  Now is for soup.  And maybe talking to Jon, assuming Jon isn’t going to be smart and go back to bed (hah).  He isn’t… not quite up to listening to his thoughts just now.  And music… well let’s just say he’s been listening to one of his two deep depression playlists.  Probably not a good thing.  

Instead of heading back to bed, like Tim had hoped… but not expected.  Jon plunks himself down at the table.  Shivering a little as he draws the blanket close.  

It has a fleece cover that Tim and Sasha and Martin made one evening early Archives days.  

One of those knotted covers.  Easy to make.  And Martin suggested because… well Tim is pretty sure that Martin might practice witchcraft.  Or at least, doesn’t dismiss the idea that knot tying might hold some sort of power of intention.  (Then again he might have seen Martin clip a little packet of herbs and stone chips and sigils on the inside of the cover… but that is none of Tim’s business.  It might be though, if Martin is going to be living here.  Tim can’t say he minds… it’s… it’s nice.  Nice that he believes that intentions have meaning and that even if it does nothing… it’s still doing something.  Tim understands the need to do something even if… even if it means nothing in the end.  Or… maybe he doesn’t understand.  he understands the urge, but hasn’t let himself believe.)

Jon feels utterly useless.  And disgusting.  He needs a shower.  But the gummy feeling of fever sweat and exhaustion cling to him… no matter how many times he scrubs himself dizzy on Tim’s shower floor.    

He wants to help.  

He’s been mooching off of Tim and Martin’s kindness for too long.  

But he’s been… weak and ill and helpless.  And it’s been… nice to be looked after.  

He wants to help, though.  He’s never been good at sitting around and recovering, which is probably about half of his troubles right there.  And he needs to be useful.  Needs to not be a burden.  

Not to mention keep an eye on Tim, who… who hasn’t been doing well… As far as Jon’s fever-addled brain can figure.  (Martin is keeping himself busy to avoid thinking, Jon is positive, but he seems to be handling things better than Tim right now, so Jon will focus on Tim for now.  Besides there is only so much he can do feeling like crap… and if he stays in bed any longer, he will either explode from sitting around with his thoughts too long, or he will fall asleep and be useful to absolutely no one.)

So he joins Tim in the kitchen, not surprised and rather thankful, but also rather annoyed that he can’t actually help with food.  But.. that’s probably for the best.  He’s still a little queasy.  And standing for more than a couple minutes makes his head swim.  ...More than usual, that is.  

The weighted blanket feels like it’s going to drag him through the floor… but not in a bad way.  Entirely.  

The weakness and shakiness is bad.  But the pressure is good.  And he would have the first two even without the blanket adding an extra weight.  

He shuffles over to the chair and sits heavily.  Pressing his face against the cool wood.  He will worry about the skin grease on the table later.  Hhhhhhh he feels disgusting.  

Tim sits down perpendicular to him at some point.  Reaching over slowly to feel his forehead.  

“Mmmmmm.”  Undignified sound after undignified sound.  That’s all Jon has to offer.  

Tim chuckles.  “Feels good, doesn’t it, cooling you down, huh?”

Jon glares halfheartedly.  He knows this is some sort of jab about not resting.  Probably.  

Actually, he isn’t sure.  

“Has Martin gotten you some medicine recently?”

Jon nods.  Still more-or-less face down on the table.  

“How ‘bout some Lucozade?”

“‘M fine.”

“I’ll get you some.  How does… uh blue?  Sound.  Think Martin got you some blue.”

Jon shrugs.  

Tim’s hand retreats.  Tim retreats.  Then he is back.  Setting a glass at his elbow.  

“Think you’re up for some soup?”  

Jon shrugs.  

“Not super chatty, huh.”  

Jon shrugs again.  He wishes he had more words for Tim.  But Tim is tired of apologies, and Jon can’t think of much else to say.  

“Thanks for …”  He doesn’t want to say it.  He wants to thank.  He wants to apologize.  But he really doesn’t like that he needs the help.  But Tim deserves the thanks.  Especially if Jon has been a dead weight around the house.  “Looking after me.”

Tim laughs again.  “Bud, that sounded like it hurt to say.”  Tim nudges him.  

It’s nice.  Jon doesn’t flinch.  “Don’t like that I need looking after.”  

“I know, bud.”  

Tim’s hand on his back.  It’s… gentle and grounding.  And warm.  Although Jon is probably imagining that through the blanket.  The blanket is warm, though.  Jon yawns against the table.  

Tim is rubbing small circles on his back now.  

“Sure you don’t wanna go back to bed?”  

Jon shakes his head.  Moving sounds bad.  

“I can carry you.”  

“Mmmm.  Here’s fine.  With you.  Thought you might want company.”  Jon tilts his face slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of Tim’s face.  

Tim’s face does a couple odd things.  Jon doesn’t know what they mean.  He hopes they are good.  

Tim sounds a little… choked up.  “Thanks.”

Tim drapes himself over Jon in an awkward side hug.  Until he gets up to add some more veggies and give the soup a stir.  

Jon sits up far enough to have a bit of the sports drink.  Then slumps back down.  

“About a half hour until the soup is ready.  Maybe you can look sick and pitiful enough that Martin will take pity on us and make us some fresh bread tomorrow with leftovers, you did Am Dram, I bet you can convince him.”  

Jon snorts.  

“Half an hour then we are getting you to the couch.  Unless you want to shower now then we can get the soup and some telly.  Should be ready by the time you’re done?”  

“Mmmmm.  Feel gross.”  

“Yup.  Okay.  Up with you.  Think you can manage by yourself?”  

Jon shrugs.  

“Well.  Give a shout if you need anything, okay?  I’ll be right here.  Then we can take it easy this evening.  

Curled up on the couch with soup and Martin and Jon, Tim is somewhere, tangentially approaching happy.  

[roundaboutnow]

Three: Reintroductions

Jazz couldn’t have heard him right. The ghost of a boy she’d never met wouldn’t know her name, unless this was some sort of mind game he was playing. It definitely didn’t help that on closer inspection, the ghost seemed to have his face.

If that wasn’t weird enough, the ghost wasn’t making any moves towards her- in fact, he seemed to be afraid to move, preferring to keep the distance as much as she did. And instead of wearing a menacing glare or a wicked grin, the ghost seemed to be just as surprised as she was, slack jawed and speechless.

Slowly, Jazz slid across the wall until she was at the alarm, pointing the thermos at him all the while. She was reluctant to shut it off so soon- as odd as the ghost was acting, she wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t attack her- but after a moment’s hesitation, she grumbled and typed in the passcode, periodically shooting him warning glares. Almost immediately, the siren quieted and the flashing red lights lifted, replaced by the fluorescent overhead lights.

Jazz was at a loss as to what she would do then, she and the ghost coming to a silent stand-still. She hadn't thought this far ahead- would she say something? Would she attack him? Would she throw the useless thermos and hope for the best?

The ghost shuffled his feet and gestured to her. Slowly so as to pick his words carefully, he said, "You, uh... You look different. I mean, you look nice."

“What,” Jazz said, less like a question and more plainly. Her gaze hardened into a glare and she raised the thermos menacingly, for all the good it could do.

As she had hoped, the ghost was eyeing the thermos warily. He didn’t even bother turning around as he placed her parents’ ecto-gun back onto the table, preferring to keep his eye on her too. Then, scratching his face and hiding his eyes, he mumbled to himself. “Jeez, you don’t even recognise me.”

Hesitantly, without lowering the thermos, Jazz asked, “Am I… supposed to recognise you?”

The ghost gaped at her, surprised by her question, but accepted it anyway. He ran a hand through his hair, laughing, “I dunno, the white hair’s new.” Then he pulled at one of his eyelids, adding, “And I’m not sure why these glow.” He finished by shrugging. “I guess I probably look older too.”

Listening to him, Jazz finally lowered the thermos somewhat. She was afraid to think what he might be getting at, but it was intriguing enough for her to keep listening. “So who are you?”

The ghost bit his lip, rubbing the back of his neck as he gathered his thoughts once more. For a few moments, he was able to look her in the eyes, pleading, as he finally answered, saying just the name she was afraid to hear:

“Danny. I’m Danny.”

…

By the time he said his name, Danny already had a dozen ideas as to how this could go wrong and a few as to how it might go right. Best case scenario, she would believe him and immediately take him into her arms, bring him upstairs back to the home he’d lost. Worst case, she would shoot him and push him back into the ghost zone- and if she didn’t simply push him back into the ghost zone, then she would call their ghost hunting parents to help contain him.

He did not plan for her to accept him slowly, inching closer and studying his features in more detail. When she was within arms length of him, she stared into his face, his green eyes. She reached out to feel his shoulder- he was tempted to back away but let her feel it's tangibility anyway.

When her hand failed to pass through him, her face twisted, giving away her grief. That was when she pulled him into a hug, sobbing and dropping the gun at their feet.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “It’s really you.”

There was so much he wanted to say, so much he could have said. Instead, he laughed in relief and let himself be held by his sister. He didn’t bother to wipe away whatever tears fell.

…

According to Jazz, he’d been stuck in the ghost zone for six years. As many questions as they both had for each other, they didn’t actually begin talking until after he’d showered and put on something more comfortable to wear. It was odd how much six years had changed him- honestly, he forgot he’d changed at all- but even just a few hours in the human world was enough of a culture shock to remind him that he wasn’t the same kid who fell through the portal back then.

There were obvious differences. He hadn’t been afforded luxuries like the security of a home, hot water, or a change of clothes he was actually comfortable in in years- having them now was disorienting to say the least. But there were subtle differences that baffled him as well- the air tasted fresher, for example, and gravity was a lot more demanding than in the ghost zone. The most striking difference, though, was the realisation that this was the first time in six years that he was under a roof that he didn’t need to escape from.

He hoped, anyway. There was always time for something to go wrong.

He pulled at the seams on the old flannel, looking up at Jazz. “When did you say Mom and Dad would be back?”

Jazz, who seemed insistent on watching his every move, finally took her eyes off of him to check her watch. “They usually finish patrolling the ghost zone at four. They’ll be back soon.”

He nodded, frowning at the half-empty plate in front of him. He’d tried to eat but dizziness and nausea overwhelmed him and he had to stop before his stomach started rejecting the food altogether. He resorted to sipping water, but frankly, worrying about his parents wasn’t making the nausea any better.

The problem was that Jazz had first believed he was a ghost- their parents were certain to come to the same assumption, and they probably wouldn’t be so willing to listen. They wouldn’t call themselves hunters if they listened to every ghost that didn’t want to be killed.

Danny winced, feeling his stomach turn. “Hey, Jazz?”

“Yes, Danny?” She was staring at him again.

“How do you know that I’m me?”

“Uh,” she started, unable to hide the panic that showed on her face. “What do you mean?”

“You thought I was a ghost at first, right? How did you know…” Another wave of nausea came over him and he trailed off, looking away and drinking more water.

Jazz sighed, calm again. “It was your freckles. They haven’t changed a bit since you were eight. Isn’t there a sun in the ghost zone?”

Danny nodded, hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s a little different.” He was staring into the glass, watching the clear water become still.

“You look worried.”

He frowned. “...Won’t Mom and Dad think I’m a ghost too?”

“Oh,” Jazz said. “Oh.”

His heart dropped- she knew exactly what he was getting at and he’d been right to be concerned. One look at him and their parents were more likely to shoot him than to listen.

Although Jazz clearly agreed, she put on her bravest and most determined grin. “Wait in your room for a little while. I’ll explain everything to them,” she assured him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, helping him out of his chair. “Would you like some help up the stairs again?”

Standing, Danny steadied himself with a hand on the table. "Thanks."

…

Danny's room had been seemingly unchanged since he first went missing. If there were any changes made, he couldn’t tell- even things he had forgotten about- like the NASA posters and ceiling stickers- were still there as if he’d never left. The only obvious difference to his room had to be that he was home, and so were some of his things from the ghost zone. Namely, the bag of fruit from Skulker’s island, and the pile of ghost zone clothes he wasn’t sure what to do with.

Jazz had left him there with the promise that she would be back soon, and that when she was back, it would be safe for him to come out. She left him with happy words, telling him how glad she was that he was home- he just had to wait until she knocked on his door. But sitting in the room by himself, he was reminded of being in the ghost zone again. Just as when he was holed up in one hideout or another, he wasn’t really waiting until Jazz gave him the all-clear- he was hiding until she gave him the all-clear.

It was a feeling he was accustomed to- he just hoped this would be the last time he felt it.

[eleanorbloom]

When You’re Ready Ch. 20

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x f! MC (Eleanor Bloom) x Ethan Ramsey.

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: Angst, PTSD, anxiety, suicidal thoughts.  Rated M

Taglist @utterlyinevitable @binny1985 @shanzay44 @choicesficwriterscreations  @starrystarrytrouble @lahellacute @lucy-268  @cinnamonspongecake @romewritingshop @freckles-spangledvampire​@mercury84choices​  @curiousconch​

______

Chapter 20. I’ll Stand By You

I'll stand by you

Take me in, into your darkest hour

And I'll never desert you

 Whatever cloud of anxiety and fear had been following her since she got out of the quarantine room, now it seemed in suspension. Right above her head, waiting for the proper moment to come back and shower her with the consequences, with the realizations that inevitably death brings in.

Her family was being like a dome, a bubble protecting her from hurt and pain, and from any damage she could do to herself with her mind. With her thoughts. With the memories, the guilt, the I-should-haves. She could see everything outside, wandering, waiting for any nook to sneak into, but somehow her family managed to catch them before they could reach her.

  No one had doubts that there would be aftermaths, that at some point she’d have to face them, but they wanted to delay it as much as they could.

Bryce had identified the anxiety she felt at the thought of being alone, so now everyone was attentive to not leaving her alone.  

Her mother had identified the guilt was slowly consuming her. It was the sadness in her eyes, her fingers fidgeting distractingly. It was sometimes just a mother's instinct.

But despite all the effort everyone was making, no one could stop what happened inside her head at night. Somehow, she felt like she was in that quarantine room over and over again. The same heavier sensation on her chest. The feeling of being scared and tired. Of wanting to leave. But someone was pleading her to not go, something was pulling her back to the ground.

When Eleanor went to see Rafael the next morning, it made everything worse, even if she was happy that he had survived.

He was fragile, it would take him a long road to recover, and it was all her fault.  Why she had to let him accompany her? Why she had to put him in such danger? Why she ruined his life like that when he had plans? When he wanted to start over?

The only thing she had managed to do was screw his future up. His life.

Verónica knew what was happening. She saw the pain in her eyes, the rage brewing inside her, she saw her knuckles turning white over her knees, her hands grasping the blanket over her tights, the imploring look she gave Rafael while he was speaking. She had seen it so many times. The guilty look. It wasn’t the first time that she was taking responsibility for something that was completely out of her hands. And it wouldn’t be the last time either. But she knew how to handle it. Mothers always know.

 As Verónica knew when she was feeling bad, she also knew the best ways to put her out of her misery, to distract her, to not let her mind sunk in guilty and self-deprecation. “Honey, is that true that Bryce braided your hair?” she asked, while she was combing her hair after returning from Rafael’s room.

She felt the exact moment her body relaxed at the mention of Bryce. Then, she chuckled, and a bright smile rested on her face. “Yes, he did. And I still can’t believe it.”

“I have to say he’s pretty good at it. It barely loosened overnight, and you have amazing waves in your hair now.”

“Heh. Please repeat this in his presence. Or not. He won’t shut up about it for a week.”

“He deserves to be proud of that talent. Well, more than a talent, this is a skill. A very useful skill. Now you don’t have to worry about doing your daughter’s hair all by yourself because he’ll deal with it pretty well. Maybe even better than you.”

Eleanor glanced back at her, flushed, “Mom!”

“Oh, sorry, darling, could be a son too, there’s nothing wrong with boys having long hair.”

“Mamá…”

“Well, maybe you don’t want to have kids, and that’s respectable, sorry for being too intrusive.”

Eleanor giggled, amused, “You really liked him, uh?”

“Is there any other alternative, Ellie? He’s too likable. Too charming. And he’s been an angel with you.  I don’t feel nothing but gratitude towards him.”

“He’s been amazing. Not just now. He has always been this way…”

Suddenly a knock on the door interrupted her, “Can I come in?”

Eleanor looked at the door where Keiki was standing with a mix of shyness and surprise, and for a brief moment, she thought she saw pain flashing her eyes, “Keiki! Yes, come in!”

The girl walked towards her and, in a surprising act, hugged her, “Ella! I’m so happy you’re okay!”

She had never done that before. Hug her and speak to her with such sincerity. The had become close by the weeks, but she never had shown any spontaneous affection towards her, not even to Bryce. “Keiki! Oh! Thank you. And I’m so happy to see you again! I missed you.” She said, her eyes glimmering with emotion at the gesture,

“Me too.”

Eleanor smiled at her and then Keiki looked at Verónica, standing at the other side of the bed. “Oh, let me introduce you to my mom, Verónica. Mom, she’s Bryce’s sister, Keiki.”

“Hi, Mrs. Bloom, nice to meet you.” She said, giving her a brief nod.

"Hello, Keiki, nice to meet you too. I’ve heard so much about you!”

“You have?”

“Oh, yes, Ellie has mentioned you lots of times! She says you're incredibly smart and sass and she loves spending time with you. Must be she misses the role of elder sister.”

Both girls laughed in agreement. Then, Verónica got up from the bed and walked towards the door, “I’ll leave you to it, girls, I’ll call mom.”

“Okay send her and Tata a kiss, please.”

“Sure, honey,”

“How are you feeling?” Keiki asked once Verónica closed the door behind her.

“Still a bit tired, but I can’t complain.”

“Bryce told me Rafael woke up this morning.”

“Yes! And he’s doing fine. Now we are waiting for Danny to wake up. You can go to see him too, I’m sure he will be happy to see you.”

“My volleyball buddy.”

“The biggest treason you could’ve done to you brother.”

“Oh, please. We both know how much he loved kicking my ass that day.”

“Well, yeah.”

Suddenly, Keiki chuckled, “You should’ve seen him yesterday at lunch. Freaking out.”

“Freaking out?”

“Yes, he told me he would meet your parents at night, and he didn’t know what to do, what to say… It was hilarious seeing him freaking out when… he usually doesn’t freak out with anything… Well, if not involves cooking, of course”

“Why didn’t I notice? To me he looked pretty composed when he came back.”

“Well, at home he was rambling, saying he would screw it up, wondering what he would do if they didn’t like him.”

“No way! He was really freaking out! I would’ve never imagined he would be nervous about that, I mean, he’s the King of Smooths.”

They both laughed, “He told me he wasn’t in that situation since he was seventeen, and… well at that moment the situation was very different because our dad was already in jail, so it’s understandable the bad experience.”

“But now nothing of that matters, he’s a very accomplished young man.”

“Now he’s Mister Imaginary Boyfriend.”

Eleanor snorted, “Oh god, he told you?”

“Yeah, he told me every second since he met your parents. He woke me up when he got home and had me until 3 am gushing about it.”

Eleanor and Keiki laughed and kept catching up and laughing for a few hours until the teen decided to visit Kyra and then Rafael, so Eleanor could have some rest.

The following days weren't very much different. Benjamin returned to Detroit, but her parents would stay in the city until she was discharged.

Danny woke up two days later. He’d have to remain in the ICU for a long time, but he’d be fine. Even if Eleanor had seen Sienna happy for Rafael’s and her recovery, just when Danny woke up she was the same Sienna again. With hope in her eyes, with the glimmer that characterized her kind and sweet smile. Her happiness was now complete.

The next day after Danny woke up, she was discharged, just in time to attend Bobby’s funeral.

The dome she’d been in the last three days couldn’t protect her from what was coming. Even if her parents and Bryce tried to convince her that she didn’t have to attend Bobby Gunderson’s memorial, she insisted that she had. That she was fine enough to attend.

Physically yes, she was. But the moment she set a foot in the memorial, Eleanor realized that emotionally, she wasn’t. She would never be.

It was so tangible how the dome started to vanish. How the pain, the guilt, the regrets, everything, was coming to get her.

And the guilt… the guilt soaked her to the bones.

Seeing the pain in the other person is painful. But seeing the mix of gratefulness and envy in the family is hard to manage. Because Eleanor can’t help but think that Bobby’s wife was glad that the rest survived but can’t help but wonder why her husband had to die,  why he was the only one who’s gone, why he was the only unfortunate. Why just him and not Eleanor, or Rafael, or Danny. Why she wasn’t as lucky as Verónica and Robert, who had their family complete.

 And Eleanor can’t blame her.

Why it had to be him when she was the responsible one? The Senator was her patient, she had discovered that Travis was poisoning him, she should’ve informed Ethan, and Banerji, and the police, and not deal with the situation by herself, let alone involve innocent people.

If someone deserved to die, was her. It was her fault what had happened. Mrs. Gunderson didn’t deserve any of the pain and sorrow she was feeling, nor her family.

The rest of the afternoon went in a blur. She lost track of time and space for periods. Sometimes she focused on the conversation she had in front of her, sometimes her mind wandered. Sometimes the guilt was too big she couldn’t think about anything else. Sometimes she couldn’t think about anything.

She wasn’t alone any minute. Whether she was with Bryce, her parents, or her friends, she was wandering through the service and reception like a wave in the middle of the sea, moved by external impulse, and not by her own will.

A couple of hours later, while Bryce and Eleanor were talking to Jackie and Aurora, her parents approached to say goodbye. They gave a grateful hug to her friends and thanked them for the umpteenth time for all they did for their daughter. Then, Eleanor and Bryce led them outside, where the taxi was waiting for them. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay here, sweetheart?”

Robert and Verónica gave her a worried glance. She was paler than when she got out of the hospital, and Verónica could read the haunting in her eyes.

Even if Eleanor knew her mom probably read her, she gave both her parents a reassuring smile, “Yeah, mom, don’t worry, I’ll be staying with Bryce and Keiki so she’ll keep me company while Bryce is working.”

“Okay, but if you need anything, please call us, okay?”

“I promise,”

Robert pulled her into a hug while Verónica did the same with Bryce, “Visit us soon, Sunny. You could stay with us if you’re getting bored here, you know? We will always be happy to have you."

“I’ll keep it in mind, thanks dad,”

“And of course you too, Bryce, visit us soon with Keiki, I’m sure she’d be delighted with the lovely spots that we have in Cincinnati to take pictures of.”

"Thank you, Veronica, we'll plan a trip for sure. Hope you have a safe flight."

Then it was the time for Bryce to say goodbye to Robert, “I know there’s no need, but take care of my Sunny, alright?”

“Of course, Robert. With my life.”

“Please call us if you need anything, if you need help or if something is happening with Ellie. You have our numbers now.”

“I will.”

 *

Hours later, when they arrived home, Eleanor went directly to bed. Her head was bumping and couldn’t handle another word with anyone. Bryce decided to join Keiki in the living room and watch something on the TV. She’d been alone most of the day.

Now that she was out of the hospital, the idea of being alone wasn’t as hard as it was at Edenbrook. She was alone in the room, but there were people near. And Bryce’s room didn’t remind her of the attack, and she didn’t feel like someone would appear from anywhere and would threaten her life again.

In fact, now she was relieved of being alone, at last. Now she could let all her feelings flow.

Her mom had been filling her with questions, comments, and ideas to not let her think about the attack, and even if Eleanor was grateful for the help she had given her, somehow that just had made her accumulate things. Accumulate thoughts, feelings, anger, guilt.

She buried her face in the pillow and cried, anger exploding in her core like a balloon that can’t hold any more air.

She was so mad. With the world. With herself. Above all, with herself.

 She deserved misery, pain. A man had died because of her and her irresponsibility.

She didn’t deserve people worrying about her.

What was her purpose after this? Why had life decided that her life was more worthy than Bobby’s? How could she live with his death on her back? With the suffering Rafael and Danny will have to endure to recover?

It was all her fault.

She didn’t know how much time she cried, but after a while, she started seeing flashes of that horrid night. The night she should’ve died.

At first, it was calm. Bryce was lulling her to sleep. For a moment, everything felt fine. But then it was all darkness and pain, and a voice breaking the silence in the middle of the darkness, pleading. “Please protect her. Don’t take her away. Don’t take her away from me. Please. Please,” she could hear while a tight grip was pulling her by the hand.  

 She was floating in midair, tired, ready to go. Her whole body was aching. But the grip on her hand was like an anchor, it wasn’t letting her go very far. Something kept pulling her to the ground. She didn’t know what or who. It was dark.

But then she saw Bryce’s face over her, his arms around her, and he was sobbing incessantly. Tears spilling down his cheeks and to the window of the hazmat suit, “Please, stay with me, stay with me” he begged, pulling her life like a kite flying away in a storm.

“Bryce…” She tried to whisper, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t move or speak. She was exhausted. But she could see him, she could hear him.

She had never seen him like that. So broken. So… desperate.

It was in sorrow. Desolation. But it wasn’t real, isn’t it? It was just a dream.

“Stay with me, please. Babe, don’t leave me, please. I don’t know what I’d do without you, please.” She could feel the lump in his throat aching with every word. The desperation in his grip, the fear with every inch he pulled her against his chest. She knew it was a dream, but something about it felt so real. So familiar.

“Bryce…” She tried again.

“Please don’t leave me.”

She wanted to go. She was tired. She deserved to die. She was the one who should’ve died.

But Bryce didn’t let her.

“Elle, babe.”

Why didn't he just let her go? Couldn't he see the pain was too much? That she couldn't live with herself after what she did to Bobby?

“Babe… Love, wake up. Wake up.”

And then she opened her eyes and found Bryce, no hazmat suit, no tears, just a concerned look on his face in dim light, “Babe, what happened?”

She looked around, trying to distinguish where she was. It was his room. The lamp on his nightstand was turned on, there was absolute silence in the apartment. Bryce was sitting at the edge of the bed with boxers and a shirt on, his hair disheveled. They both had been sleeping.

“I was… dreaming…”

And as she remembered her dream, rage suddenly started to boil inside her. Unstoppable, unbearable. All the rage and guilt and anger that had been brewing inside her, was unleashed now that she knew it had been him, “Why didn’t you just let me go?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why you held me and begged, and prayed to keep me alive… When I was so tired and I…” Eleanor covered her face with both hands in exasperation, “I… I wanted to go but you didn’t let me, you pulled me to stay with you, but I shouldn’t be here, Bryce… I should be the one... I don’t deserve to be here”

Bryce’s face disfigured at her words and shook his head instantly, “Don’t say that,” his voice was indignant.

"But it's true. I'm responsible for this. Bobby shouldn’t have died. I should have. He didn’t deserve to die, I was the stupid one who thought I could deal with the situation…”

“Elle, you’re not responsible for this, the only one to blame here is Travis. He wanted to kill the Senator, he brought the canister. You just tried to save him.”

“But I… I did it all wrong. I should’ve called the cops, he was dangerous, I put everyone in danger… And an innocent person died.”

“And just for that you think you should’ve died?”

“I-, if there was someone that should’ve paid the price, that was me. Not Bobby, or Raf of Danny. I ruined their lives.”

“No, Eleanor. The only one who should’ve paid the price was Travis, and he paid it with his life. It should’ve been in jail, but he did pay.”

Silence.

Bryce’s words made sense. But that didn’t stop her from feeling all the rage she had inside.

But the rage wasn’t actually towards Bryce, she realized. It was towards herself, for wanting to live, for fighting for her life and succeed, when she didn’t deserve it. Bobby deserved to live. “I don’t know. It’s just that… I can’t stop feeling guilty, all the time, Bryce. When I see Raf, Danny, suffering, when I saw Mrs. Gunderson, her daughter, all his family suffering, I feel terrible. I am responsible for this, and I’m here, alive, safe. I’m the least affected of all. I don’t deserve to be here when I brought so much pain with my actions.”

Bryce gave her a sad look as his eyes started to glimmer, then he laid down beside her and pulled her towards his body, “Babe how could you say that? You deserve to live. What you did not deserve was to die, to die because of some stupid psycho who didn't give a damn about anyone else but his revenge. He's the only one who should've died, and he did. Unfortunately, Bobby died too, but that’s not on you.”

Eleanor shivered at the feeling of his touch, of his comforting and soothing touch. She looked deep into his amber eyes and for a moment, things weren’t as horrible as it seemed. “But how… How can I live after this? What can I do with all this anger I have inside? How I stop feeling anger towards you for… For not letting me go? Towards myself for surviving?”

“I think that’s something you have to figure out with time, babe.  I know this is all dark and horrible right now, but with the proper help, it will get better. Soon you’ll understand that this is not your fault. Just don’t give up.”

Eleanor nodded, and then she nuzzled her face against his chest, his lips brushing her forehead as his arms enveloped her in a tight and warm embrace.

After a few seconds, she couldn't help but whisper, "Was it real?"

“What?”

Eleanor parted from him a few inches so she could see him in the eyes, “What I dreamed? You really said those things and… held my hand… like you were trying to hold me to life?”

Bryce couldn’t hide the conflict in his eyes, how reluctant he felt about responding to her, but after a few seconds, he nodded, “Yes. I didn’t leave your side, and I didn’t let go of your hand for a second. I was scared that you would go if you… If you felt alone.”

 “Would have been that difficult if I had died?”

“How… How can you ask me that, Elle?” His voice broke all of a sudden, as if the last source of strength had crumbled inside him.

“It’s just… you were so desperate. I… I’d never seen you like that. I could have never imagined you could break like that.”

“I broke a lot of times that day, actually, but I didn’t want you to see me like that. I wanted to be strong for you, but at that moment… You were so fragile, so in pain… that the idea of losing you was… too much, more than I could handle…” Bryce sighed and wiped the tears streaming down his cheeks. Eleanor stroke his hair, looking pensive at him.

Then his eyes looked at her for a few seconds, deeply and thoughtfully, like he’d never done before.

It was with a vulnerability that had never seen in him, not even that night at the quarantine room, not even in the shower while she was crying her fears away, not even the night he told her about his parents and Keiki.

It was raw vulnerability, and not by chance or by the circumstances. He was choosing to show himself like that in front of her. He was opening a door that had never been opened. And it was heartbreaking. Her heart ached at the sight of it.

“Eleanor you… You’ve been the only person that has loved me… That has loved me for who I am. That has seen the broken pieces of me, my past, my mistakes and… and even still has kept loving me.” A shiver cursed down her spine as the words reached her ears, just as it happens when a heartbreaking truth is revealed. How? How this could happen? “Even before you said you were in love with me, you loved me like no one else ever did. Without judging, without wavering.” His voice was tremulous, his eyes threatening with tears again, but he looked so, so earnestly at her that for a moment she didn't recognize him. And in fact, she didn’t know him. She was meeting Bryce for the first time. The real Bryce. The Bryce under layers and layers of protection built over the years. The Bryce she always wanted to meet. Where she wanted to dive in.

Her brain couldn’t process such truth. She could’ve never imagined that no one… No one had loved him unconditionally. How? How so many people could miss him?

  “It took me years to come to terms with the fact that I lost my parents. I never did with my sister for some reason, and now she’s here. I always thought I’d be alone my whole life… But everything changed when I met you.  I could trust someone for the first time. I could love someone for the first time. That's why I was so scared at first when you met Keiki. Because it would've been extremely difficult for me to overcome our breakup in case you choose Ethan, or simply because you didn't want me. But then I chose to let you in… And… is it beautiful as it is frightening. The fear of losing you is worse.  I would’ve never overcome it if you’d gone, Eleanor.  That’s why… I was so… desperate. So hopeless, because I don’t know what I’d do if I lose you. You mean too much to me.” He couldn’t go on. The lump in his throat was too painful.

Eleanor pulled him into a hug and kissed his temple, “Bryce, my love… I…” She couldn’t continue either. The truth hurt too much. So she simply held him and pulled him towards her chest, stroking his hair, kissing his temple, letting him know that she was there for him.

 “I’m sorry, it’s just I… I can’t stop thinking about that day, about the moment I found out you were in danger, when I saw you there, scared. When… when you started crying because the pain was too much. I still hear your screams sometimes, and it breaks my heart every time I think what you went through” He shook his head, trying to suppress the memories but he needed to let all out. “And… I can’t stop thinking about the moment I held you in my arms and suddenly you felt so heavy that for a moment I thought you were…” He needed to say it. The word had been eating him alive all those days, and he knew he needed to say it to find some kind of closure, to face this idea with reality. "I thought you were dead."

But the reality was that she wasn’t dead. She was with him.

“I thought you were dead and I…” He held her like clinging to life. Almost like how she clung to him in that quarantine room.

You never know when the roles can be reversed.

For the first time in days, Eleanor felt thankful for being alive. Even if she still felt guilty about Bobby's death, at that moment she realized how much more damage would've done her death. The pain that could've caused her family and friends. The pain that could've inflicted in Bryce. How devastated he would've been. And she didn’t want that. He didn’t want more suffering for Bryce. She wanted her happiness.

So, somehow, somewhere between all that pain, all those fears, all those tears, and late-night confessions, Eleanor found some sense of purpose. A reason to stay alive, to stay positive, a reason to heal.

She knew it wasn’t a definitive solution, that at some point she would find her path again, her own sense of life, but right now, when all was dark and painful, Bryce was pulling her back to life again.

“But I’m here, I’m here my love, I’m with you. And I’ll always be, I promise.”

His love was saving her again.

_____

A/N: This chapter was larger, but I decided last minute to cut it because I honestly didn’t want another chapter with more than 6k. Who knows if I’m going to keep my own promise next chapter haha

Thank you so much for reading! ❤

[amisarchive]

Danny/Kara [The Last Ship], AU, Snippet 2

It has been almost a year since she has seen or heard from Danny when she first meets Adam. He’s the opposite of everything Danny is and it’s not just the jet-black hair and the warm brown eyes. It’s the stable 9-5 job, the quiet, unhurried, relaxed way he lives his life, how he’s always there when he’s needed.

She literally runs into him on her way to renew her passport, her head down as she’s scrolling through her text messages. Big hands steady her before she falls and before she can even look up, her lizard brain immediately jumps to Danny.

It’s not, though. It’s Adam, a city clerk whose smile brightens her hectic day. He’s polite, respectful, and when he asks her for coffee, she says yes. It’s easy, being with him. There are no expectations, and they go on a few dates before he kisses her goodnight at her front door one night. It’s nice and she leans in for another kiss before sending him on his way.

They settle into a comfortable pattern; a relationship Kara has never had before. It’s not something she has planned for but it’s calm and easy and quiet and for the first time in a long time, she thinks there might be an After Danny after all.

+

It’s the middle of the night when there’s a rather insistent knock on her front door. Her heart rate picks up immediately, horror scenarios of emergencies and accidents running through her head. It’s the only thing that would justify this kind of ruckus at this hour of night.

She hurries to the door, mentally preparing herself for the worst, Debbie wrapping her car around a tree, Alisha not making back from assignment, Danny- she doesn’t even allow herself to go there. She can still vividly remember the terror she felt every time a big news story broke about another dust-up in the middle east even though she had no idea if that was even where he was.

The knocking still hasn’t stopped and she takes a deep breath before opening the door, expecting some kind of uniform on the other side, police, military. She isn’t prepared for the rush of relief when it’s not, when the person standing in front of her is Danny.

He looks different, older, exhausted. He’s tan, desert-tan, not Palm Springs-tan, his hair even lighter than she remembers, and she’s too distracted by the new scar cutting through his eyebrow to even notice the way he’s looking at her.

She doesn’t know who moves first but she’s pressed against him a moment later, his arms tight around her, holding her impossibly close. ‘Fuck, I missed you.’

His voice is raspy in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine that she would totally blame on the cool night air later. He lets go just long enough to frame her face with his hands, his lips descending on hers without missing a beat. There’s no finesse to the kiss, it’s urgent and messy, a year’s worth of worrying and missing and wanting all crammed into one moment.

She sharply breaks the kiss a moment later, bringing a hand up to his chest to create some space. ‘Danny, we can’t-‘

He dips his head to her neck, mouthing along the sensitive skin as he walks them backwards into the hall, kicking the door shut on his way. ‘Danny.’

It comes out breathy and it does nothing to help her case. She twists her hand into his sandy blond strands and gives a sharp tug. It’s enough to get his attention though he still doesn’t stop touching her, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. She swallows against the lump in her throat. She knows she has to say it, for both their sakes, but the way his eyes remain fixed on her lips make her mind spin.

Her hand closes around his wrist, and he finally brings his gaze up to meet hers. ‘I’m seeing someone.’

It’s the cold shower she had hoped for, but she still isn’t prepared for the myriad of emotions flickering on Danny’s face as he lets go and takes a step back with a quiet ‘oh’.

‘Is he-‘ Danny gestures to the general direction of her bedroom, his expression carefully guarded.

‘No, he’s not here.’ He seems relieved but his shoulders are still squared, his jaw ticking with tension.

‘Danny-,’ she starts, but he waves her off. ‘I should go.’

‘Go where? You have anywhere to stay?’ she pushes, against her better judgement. Danny narrows his eyes at her before his features soften, exhaustion finally taking its toll.

‘No,’ he admits, hand coming up to rub at his neck.

‘Then stay, just for tonight. The guest room’s free.’

‘Kara.’

‘Danny.’

He sighs, tries for a smile. ‘Alright, thank you.’

It’s almost too much, having him here. She had honestly forgotten how much space Danny takes up, how he makes the room feel smaller, the air hotter, making it harder to breathe. ‘Second door to the left, right?’

Kara smiles, the memory of Danny misusing a SEAL team to help her move into this house coming to mind unbidden. ‘Yeah, right. Just, you know, let me know if you need something. I need to-‘ she gestures awkwardly to her bedroom ‘- early start tomorrow, you know?’

Danny hums in response, pushes his hands into the packets of his pants. She’s almost to her bedroom, when Danny speaks again, voice soft and low. ‘Are you happy, Kara?’

Her heart skips a beat as she turns back to him, offers a small smile. ‘Yeah.’ She clears her throat when her voice comes out scratchy. ‘Yes, I am.’

Danny just nods, pushes the door to the guest room open. ‘Goodnight, Kara.’

+

Kara doesn’t sleep much that night. Danny is still out like a light when she rolls out of bed at 0500, showers and dresses. He still isn’t up when she needs to leave for base almost two hours later and it feels weird to just go, leave him here, but she tamps down on the feeling. It’s just Danny, he’ll make sure to lock up before he leaves.

Still, her mind doesn’t stop spinning the whole ride to base.

Kara collapses into the empty chair across from Carlton’s desk with a sigh. With the James in dry-dock, they all have been riding a desk for far too long and if the mess on Carlton’s desk was anything to go by, he still hasn’t finished any of his current assignments. ‘And good morning to you, too, Foster.’

She throws one of the stray paperclips from the desk at him and it hits him square in the chest. He laughs at her but straightens in his seat when he takes in the expression on her face. ‘What is it, Kara?’

Kara gives another sigh before slouching further into her seat. ‘Danny’s back.’

Carlton leans back in his chair, one eyebrow raised.

‘He just showed up at my place in the middle of the night.’

‘Isn’t that what he always does?’

Kara presses the heels of her hands to her eyes. ‘Yes, but-‘

‘That was when you weren’t seeing anyone, I get it. But girl, you do know that Green has been like, ridiculously in love with you ever since our trip to the Arctic, right?’

Kara shoots upright in her seat, her heartbeat suddenly so loud in her ears. ‘Shut up, no, he’s not.’

Carlton takes a minute to watch Kara, the surprise in her eyes, the tension in her shoulders.

‘Uhm yeah, he is. I mean, whatever you did up there, you sure got him hooked. He could not stop watching you. All the time.’

‘I didn’t do anything, and he was just horny!’

Carlton can’t help a snort. ‘Well, he might have been, but he was also looking at you with heart eyes, so…’

Kara throws another paperclip at him. ‘Shut up! He’s not in love with me. We are like, friends with benefits, or something!’

Carlton pushes to his feet and rounds the table, settling on the edge, nudging her knee with his leg.

‘Why d’you think he keeps coming home to you, Kara?’

She shrugs. And honestly, she has never really thought about it before. It was a foregone conclusion that he would come her find whenever he was in town and they would spend a couple of days in bed together until he was gone again. They never really talked about what they were doing, rarely talked at all, except for sleepy promises of staying another day and then being gone in the morning anyway.

‘He’s not in love with me, right?’

Sure, sometimes, when she was cuddled up to him, head on his chest, he would stroke her hair, place a kiss to her forehead, run a finger up and down her arm. He would kiss her hello and goodbye. Brush the hair from her shoulder to kiss her neck when she was making pancakes for them for breakfast. Watch her with that smile when she was folding the laundry. Pull her closer, even in his sleep, when she’d wake from some random noise in the middle of the night. Touch her, softly, intimately, reverently, whenever he had the chance.

Carlton just shrugs at her and Kara slouches further into her seat.

‘Fuck.’

And just like that the neat little box she has designated to After Danny no longer fits.

[drariellevalentine]

Medically Inevitable

Chapter 13- Surprising Scenerio

Characters:- Arielle Valentine, Ethan Ramsey, Liam Mercado, Ava Day, Sienna Trinh, Elijah Greene, Bryce Lahela, Danny Cardinal

Pairing:- Ethan Ramsey x Arielle Valentine

Warnings:- Slight angst, PTSD

Arielle’s PoV:-

You’re woke up by a loud thud sound. “Huh!” You sit up and rub your eyes until they adjust to the very little sunlight streaming from the windows.

“Well look who’s up!” You would know this voice anywhere. Looking around, memories of last night slowly recollect in your head when you spot her.

“Ava!” You’re one step away from engulfing her in a bear hug when you remember she’s pregnant.

“So I see Liam’s let the cat out of the bag, huh?”, she laughs as she wraps you carefully in a hug. “You of all people should know it’s safe to hug pregnant women.”

You snort out of laughter. “Says the woman who has an MD in gynaecology.”, you retort. Both of you giggle. “Oh, it’s sooo good to see you Ava! It’s been so long! Way too long that you didn’t tell me one, you’re engaged and two, you’re pregnant!”

“I see the two of you have gotten acquainted already.” Both of you give him a look.

“Need I remind you that Arielle was the one who introduced us? We were best friends way back.”, Ava says.

“Ok, I get the point. It’s obviously not a fight I’m going to win with my fiancée and my childhood best friend against me!”, he says raising his hand in mock surrender as he heads inside.

“We need to catch up sometime! I would love to right now but I have work in about…”, you scan the room for a clock, “...an hour. Shit, an hour! I have to go!”, you say.

“Residency’s kicking your ass, isn’t it? Don’t worry, it’s kicking mine too!”, she replies.

“Anyways, what are you doing here in Boston? I asked Liam but he was all”- You gesture your hands wildly.

She laughs. “I’ll tell you, on one condition.”

“What?”

“Brunch.”

“I have work.” You give her a look as she rolls her eyes. “I see pregnancy hasn’t changed your personality one bit.”, you joke.

“I meant later this week, what do you say?”

You smirk, “I’ll have to check my schedule.”

“You’re not the only one who’s an intern, you know that right?”

“I know! I’ll call you, I promise!”, you say as you gather your things.

“In one month or two?”, she pokes.

“Okay, that’s just unfair. It was one time!”, you retort as you slip on your shoes.

“Where are you going already?” You turn around to see Liam dressed in work attire.

“She has work in an hour. Don’t worry, I made her promise to meet us for brunch later.”, Ava says.

“In a year or two?”, Mark asks sarcastically.

“Ughhh…. not you too!” All three of you laugh.

“Did you even eat anything?”, Liam asks.

“Nope, I’ll get something on the way.”, you reply.

“Nuh uh, sit your ass down. I’ll make you a breakfast bagel.”, Liam says.

“But”-

“Nope, you’re eating or else I’m not giving you your car keys.” You turn around to see your rose gold car keys dangling from Ava’s finger.

“Hey! I’m late for work and my boss is going to kill me!”, you say as a certain someone crosses your mind.

“Ooh! Who’s your boss?! ….is he hot?”, Ava asks with a smirk. You feel a slight blush settling on your cheeks.

“Ava! I’m right here!”

“Oh please, we’ve already established that you’re the only man in my life. Well maybe one of two…”, Ava says as she gestures to her stomach.

“Okay, now sit down, Arielle. I know you can’t resist my breakfast bagels. And I’m sure you need an aspirin for that hangover….”

One delicious bagel later, you’re in the locker room at Edenbrook with Sienna, Bryce and Elijah.

“So where’d you run off to yesterday?”, Elijah asks.

“Wait, she didn’t go back with you guys?”, Bryce asks.

“Nope!”, Sienna replies.

“I stayed at Liam’s house last night, and no Bryce.”, you respond as you grab your towel and shower gel.

“No to what? I didn’t even ask a question!”, Bryce asks.

“Exactly, keep your mouth shut.”, you reply while slipping into the shower. After pulling on a pair of scrubs, you head towards the nurses’ station.

“Hey Arielle, here for the PITA’s tests?”, Danny asks.

“Huh? Who’s PITA?”, you ask.

“PITA is a name the nurses gave Mr. Platt. It stands for pain in the ass.”, he says as she laughs.

You groan. “Ugh, you’re right about that. That man just loves to call my credentials in question! If he wasn’t a patient, I would just”-

“Woah, woah, woah. Take a chill pill. Heard that Dr. Ramsey assigned you this case, wouldn’t want to blow it if I were you.”, he says as he hands you the tests.

“God, nurses are like spies these days. They seem to know everything!”

You look through the test results as you walk up to Mr. Platt’s room.

“Damnit! These are negative too! Ughhhh…”

You take a deep breath before entering Nigel's room. You fake a smile as you enter.

"Good morning Mr.Pl-" you start to say as nicely as possible before he interrupts.

"Know what's wrong with me?" He asks angrily.

"No, not yet," you say sympathetically, " You recent tests came back negative as well."

"This is absurd," he burps, " I’m calling consumer affairs. I'll have you demoted before you can blink!”, he rudely barks at you. Your anger is starting to flare.

“Keep your cool, Arielle. He’s still a patient.”, you say to yourself.

"Why don't you get some rest while I figure out how to help you, Mr. Platt?" You reply as nicely as you can.

"Why don't you send someone worth listening to?", he says. The utter disrespect in his voice makes you want to sock him in the jaw. But instead, gritting your teeth you walk out of the room.

"Turn the A/C down while you are at it, will you?" He calls out from behind but you decide not to shout back, your hands curling into fists.

You make your way towards Dr. Ramsey's office. Your steps are slow and unsure as you question your abilities.

“Maybe father was right? After all, he always believed I wouldn’t be able to help people, at least in this way.”

You shake your head, as a futile attempt to throw the self-doubts outside your head. Bad memories surface, past fights and conversations arise. Words repeat again and again until you find it hard to breathe.

“Damn it!” Taking a few deep breaths to center yourself, you continue to his office.

“Come on, Arielle. You are capable of anything. You’ve come this far. What’s one patient?”, you try and convince yourself. That's when you spot Ethan. Anger boils up inside you, seeing his nonchalant face look over charts, assigning you this case for “a reason”? And when you ask, “figure it out”! What the hell does that mean?! You need answers, everything else can wait.

So you run up to him. "Dr. Ramsey, we need to talk!”, you voice louder than you expected.

“Yes?”, he asks with a questioning look, surprisingly ignoring your raised voice.

You steel yourself. “Mr. Platt is rude, belligerent and always questioning my credits. I would like to be taken off of this case.”

He looks at you for a second, straight in your eyes and says, “No.”

You’re taken aback, completely forgetting that you’re talking to your boss. “What?!”, you gawk.

“No. What part of that did you not understand?” Without waiting for your reply, he swiftly steps into his office and closes the door in your face. The anger gets to you, and against all common sense you pull open the the door and storm into his office. Ethan’s face betrays him, portraying his imminent shock.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m trying to know why you’ve assigned me this case!”, you say a little loudly.

“I already told you to figure it out.”, he says coldly.

“Well I tried but the only reason I came up with is that it’s a joke.”, you say completely burnt out.

His face turns deadly serious. “Do I look like someone who uses patients as a joke?”

“Well I don’t know! It feels like you’re punishing me!”

His face is slightly red as he suddenly gets up, his chair tumbling down to the floor. “And why would I punish you, for God’s sake?”, he asks as he takes long strides towards you.

“I don’t know, maybe because you enjoy it!!”, you shout completely out of your mind.

"You need to keep your personal feelings sperate from your professional life, Dr. Valentine." He shouts, hurting you more.

He doesn't even let you say anything, " I'd think very carefully before you say something to embarrass yourself even more." He slams his hand on his desk.

You can feel tears welling in your eyes, you close your eyes for a second in a attempt to make them stay there.

"Would I be saying anything that wasn't true?" Anger can be still hinted in your voice. "You told me you have me that awful patient for a reason! But you won't tell me what the reason is! You won't even take me off the case! Why?"

"Because I assigned you to the case to challenge you! To push you!" His voice bellows.

"To push me?" You let out a humorless laugh. " To push me to what?" You shout.

"To be the best doctor you can be."

"I selected you for a reason. I selected you because I saw something special in your application."

All the wind is knocked out of you. Shock and embarrassment taking your anger‘s place." Wait… you selected me?"

"Yes. It was my evaluation that got you matched here. I believed I saw someone who could be truly great," he says his voice filled with disappoinment.

"It's very rare that I am wrong, Rookie. But I'm willing to admit when I am," he paused," And I was wrong about you.”

“I was wrong about you…”, the phrase triggers something in your mind, it being played on a loop inside your head.

The words are like acid poured on you, making memories surface, memories which you buried deep inside you a long time ago.

Your father’s voice takes over your mind. “I thought you were mature, and understood the importance of what I’m talking about! Turns out, you are just a disgrace to this family. I had such high hopes for you, but I was wrong about you. Don’t ever tell anybody that you’re apart of this family, you’ll bring nothing but shame and bad luck to this family. After all, ever since you were born everything went downhill…” The words your father spoke, each feeling like a knife embedded deep inside your heart, are playing in your head again and again. You shout, not being able to take it anymore.

Ethan’s PoV:-

Seething, you look to your side seeing the young resident gasp as she takes in the shocking information you just relayed. You’re about to shout again when instead you turn around, pinching the bridge of your nose and sigh. You turn around, ready to reprimand her when you notice her pale face. She’s on her knees, hands around herself in a protective way and having a difficult time to breathe.

“Fuck!” You bound towards her calling her name but she doesn’t hear you. Her small whispers turn into agonised shouts.

“No, no, no, no! Stop! Please, no!”

You sink down to your knees and try to calm her down. “Arielle, look at me…Arielle!” She finally looks up, violet eyes wide and breath ragged.

“Listen to me. To my voice. I want you to take a deep breath, five times.” She nods and tries to take a breath.

“That’s it. In and out, five times.” Her breathing and heart rate start to normalise when you notice your pulse racing. As she collects herself, your mind puts the pieces together. You lead her to the small loveseat in your office and hand her a bottle of water.

“...you’re suffering from PTSD, aren’t you?”, you ask.

“I was. My last attack was 4 years back.”, she replies softly, the usual melodic tone of her voice completely gone without a trace.

“4 years? Then why”-

“My last attack was when I had gotten a really bad score on one of my midterms because I was sick. Luckily, my professor allowed me to retake the test though. The attacks started after the big fight with my father. Sometimes I would feel like whatever my father said was right or sometimes events would instigate it but they haven’t happened for a while.”

“So why suddenly now?”, you ask.

”I’ve just been feeling a little unsure of myself, with the fellowship competition and Naveen… All the tension probably just built up…”

You nod. “Residency can be stressful, especially the first year.” Suddenly she looks around and abruptly gets up. You realise you’ve been holding her.

“Uh, I should get going. My lunch break is almost over.”

“You should.” You walk towards your desk to pick up another one of Naveen’s tests when suddenly Arielle swivels around, almost colliding with you.

“Sorry! I didn’t know you were behind me…” She stutters. “Um…uh I just wanted to uh.. thank you. So, thank you, Dr. Ramsey.” You look down, her violet irises cauciously peering into yours. Her face slightly tilts upward as her perfectly pink lips slighly apart. You stare at her eyes, like inevitable magnets, attracting you even closer when her pager suddenly beeps, pulling both of you back into reality.

Her eyes widen as her cheeks turn a shade of pink. She says something extremely rapid which you can’t make out as she rushes out the door. You slump down in your desk chair, raking a hand through your hair.

“Damn it…”

———————————————————————————

Authors’ Note:- Hey everyone! So, you guys are going to hate us even more cause guess what?! We’re going on a two-week break! Aurora has exams and I just finished mine (well, I when I post this I would have) and we found it convenient cause it’s a cliffhanger...of a sort. But don’t worry, we will be posting Character Moodboards and Aesthetics for all the characters and pairings instead for the next two weeks so stay tuned for that!

Permanent taglist:- @nikki-2406 | @iemcpbchoices | @xxxxxxxx04 | @sizzlingcashherohumanoid | @archveexz | @deepikakkannan | @nishas-paradise | @maurine07 | @archxxronrookie | @adrex04 | @everythingchoices | @rivenni | @annekebbphotography | @mrsethanfreakingramsey | @jamespotterthefirst | @natureblooms24 | @katkart122 | @udishaman | @hopelessromantics4life | @custaroonie | @mvalentine | @queencarb | @lisha1valecha | @ezekielbhandarivalleros | @ejrownsme @the-pale-goddess | @justanotherrookie | @miss-smrxtiee | @missmiimiie | @choicesfics | @romewritingshop | @taniasethi | @keithandlevi-ontheroof | @choicesfan10 | @open-heart-ramseyyy | @sistatribe | @crookedkittyperson

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Let us know if you want to be added to my taglist!

Love,

@drariellevalentine 😘

[chayacat]

Devil’s Sweet Star (9)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader  

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut  

***

The rain... both beautiful and sad to look at. A real inspiration for some, a moment of relaxation for others. But for you it's mostly the day when people will flock to your café to protect themselves, sipping a good hot chocolate, tea or a good coffee.  

Today you only open in the morning, the weekend is approaching and you want to take a little more time for yourself. There were not many people at the moment, Melina, Jed's colleague and friend, was among the first clients. Decidedly you will attract all the Roseville gazette to your café... You were sitting with her at the table right next to the counter, both with a coffee in her hand, Melina having taken a share of Neptune's cake with her coffee.

Melina Catalina Da silva was born in Las cruces, New Mexico, to a Spanish father and a Mexican mother. They moved to Missouri when she was 4 years old, to live the "American Dream" and, although the early days were difficult, her parents gave her access to education. If her physique and her voice opened the doors of cinema and music, it was to journalism that Melina turned. However, do not rely on appearances, she knows very well to fight and some ended up in the hospital.

“I can't believe, he really told you that?” you said laughing.

“Hell yeah! He thought I was going to shut up after that, instead I blew him a few teeth! You had to see his head with less teeth. Frankly leave me like that... for a bimbo with three tons of paint as make-up, because I was not the easy girl he wanted.” Melina responds proudly.

“Ah Boys... They always want sexy girlfriends who have three neurons. And then we are surprised that some complexes on their bodies. When you love, the body doesn't matter. Only inner beauty matters.”

“Few boys have the same thought. The only ones I've met are Mattew... And Jed.”

“Tell me, you and Jed... Are you already...?”

“Me and Jed?” Starts Melina before laughing. “Hahahaha! You’re so cute! No, we never dated, I consider him as the little brother I never had. That's why I call him Jeddy. And sometimes I'll kick his ass, so he can focus more on his personal life than his professional life.”  

“Oh... Could you tell me more about him? I admit I don't know him as well as you do.” you ask shyly.  

“Well, Jed is... He's a real nerd. He thinks about work all the time and even on days off, he works at home. But... He's a lovely boy when you know him. And when you know what he went through with his parents... sometimes I think that, if I had been in his shoes, I would have killed myself. But he... He got up and fought. He has learned to fend for himself, and he has an almost frightening patience.” Said Melina.

“That's what he told me. And I think I would have ended my life too.” you said looking down to your coffee.

“And yet he didn't tell you everything about his childhood. His parents beat him and treated him like a dog, often leading him to the hospital. And of course, they said it was accidents, like falling off stairs and everything that goes with it. As he must have told you, he was an unwanted kid. But the worst part is that the whole family knew, and no one, absolutely no one helped him. So, he cut ties with his family, all he keeps from them is his last name. He deserved better than that. And when I see what he is today... if I didn't know all this, I'd say he's a lovely boy who was raised like any boys should be. Kind and respectful, but not to be annoyed.” Replied Melina before looking at you, a big smile on her face. “Why do you want to know all this? Do you love him?”

“W-What??? N-no! It's only... curiosity. Just curiosity...” you respond blushing like a tomato.

“Hey. There is no marked "dumb" on my forehead. I saw the little looks you were giving him. And then your face when he gave you his number, I saw it too.”  replied Melina with a smirk.  

“It's embarrassing.” you answer by looking elsewhere.

“Why??? I think it's so cute coming from you! In addition to what you told me about you, I don't understand why no one wanted to go out with a face as adorable as yours! You know, my grandmother used to tell me that sooner or later we'd find her soul mate. That when we born, the bonds were already woven to guide us to him or her. And nothing could stop it. Maybe you and Jed have that bond that brought you together. Now it's up to you to see what you're going to do.” Said Melina before eating her slice of Neptune’s pie.  

“If you say so...”

“My grandma never gets it wrong about this kind of thing. She has... a gift for this mystical stuff. She knew from an early age that she would meet my grandpa. And she knows that my mother will be my father's first and only wife. She even knew that Mattew would go out with Chris.”

“She’s really amazing. But I don't want to force things. I will let things come on their own and I will act on them. I’ll see what happens.”

Melina nod, then you go back to the counter to take care of the customers for the rest of the morning. For once, Jed didn't come and you're a little worried about that. Considering what happened to him yesterday, you can imagine the worst. What if Mike had gone after him again?

You and Melina were the last to leave the café at closing, and even though she assured you that Mike didn't know his address, your concern for Jed didn't go away. You go home with some unsold cakes, give some to Mrs. Lawson before heading to your apartment.  

Your gaze rested for a few seconds on Jed's door and, biting your lips, you decide to check by yourself if everything was okay. You knock on his door. No noise. There's no answer. This is not a good sign. You knock a second time, praying that he's answering.

“One minute, I'm on my way!” he said from the other side of the door, which made you sigh with relief. Thank god he’s alive... “Yes? Oh! It's you.” he said with his angelic smile.

“Hi. I... I was just here to hear from you. With what happened... I confess that I imagined the worst.” you said shyly.  

“Oh... That's very kind of you, thank you. Don't worry Mike doesn't know where I live. It does not risk ... to come and finish the job. I was focused for tomorrow night. We have a scandal to uncover. And a few more researches don't hurt.”

“You're reassuring me. I mean half, I hope you didn't sleepless for this research! I brought you some cakes, at least what Mrs. Lawson left. I thought it would do you good.”

“All the cakes you give me will always be a real sweet moment for me. Do you want to come in? I'm offering coffee for once.” He replied with a wink.  

You nod and he let you in. His apartment was neat and had all the comfort Jed needed. Despite the coat rack at the entrance, Jed had the tendency to put his jackets and coats on chairs or sofa. The kitchen was tidy and clean, some small green plants hanging around the corners.

A few films were on the tv cabinet, a reminder of the days when streaming didn't yet exist, as well as some CDs. Paintings decorated the walls of the living room and hallway, and a library full of books, next to the window. A real journalist's apartment, in short.

“Surprisingly, I expected to see this style of decoration. Simple but comfortable. And... Do you work in your living room?” you ask with a smile.

“Ha ha no, I have an office right next to my bedroom. Locked, in order to keep my job... Safe. I hope... You understand that.”

“Of course. So... Ready for tomorrow night? I must admit that this is the first time I go to this kind of event, and especially to play spies. I feel a little uncomfortable.”  

“As long as you stay with me, you'll be peaceful. But once we have what we are looking for, we will have to leave the place without raising suspicions. And I think I have an idea of what to look for.” He said before getting up and fetching something from his office, locking the door. “I think that... Hoggins will try to double his profits by sinking the last trade he just signed. I made some research about him and discovered that he had signed 4 more partnerships with former competitors, and that these 4 partnerships all flowed because of Mckellan.”

“You think, Hoggins is planning all this with McKellan, with the goal of eliminating his competitors all over the country, and thus being the only one on the market?” you ask looking at the papers.

“I'm sure. By removing his competitors, he recovers the shares that are due to him, if it’s not the whole. And so, he becomes more influential. The goal is to be, with McKellan, the only big fortunes, in the American market. We need to find proof of all this. An e-mail, a written record, between Hoggins and McKellan. And the only place you can find all of this is in his office. And if we succeed, one of the biggest scandals of this decade will come to light.”

“It looks risky. But I'm up for it! if we can put that bastard in jail, I'm ready for anything!” you said determined which made Jed smiles and Danny smiles bigger.  

You chat with him for a long time, laughing heartily and, in the early evening, you leave his apartment with a big smile on your face. It's really nice to talk to a boy as nice as him. Maybe Melina was right, maybe you and Jed were destined to meet? It is said that things never happen through chance, but there is no question of forcing fate either. If something has to happen between you, it will come naturally.

You open the door to your fridge to see what you're going to devour tonight. Homemade nems will be perfect! plus you have everything you need so no need to go out. You want to prepare everything while singing, you love to sing whether in the kitchen or in the shower, washing dishes or cleaning. You have a voice worthy of a bird song. You could have been a singer! But if it was to end up alcolic or drugged ... it wasn't worth it.

Tonight, a horror movie goes on TV, it will change you from those rotten action movies you've seen recently, with a budget as big as the best movies made so far. All with a homemade peach iced tea. Even the drinks, you make them yourself. You don't like industrial products too much, too much fat, too many conservators, too many sugars. Just horrible.  

Once your nems are ready, you prepare your meal tray, and you'll land in front of your TV, right in time for the start of the movie. it was a classic slasher, but it was always having its effect ... especially with a chainsaw. In the middle of the film, you get up to clean your plate and glass before wiping and storing them.  You start yawning while stretching, but you don't want to sleep. You turn off the living room lights and sit back on your couch to see the rest of the movie.

As sleep made you feel carried away, a noise startled you. You get up, slightly trembling and start heading towards the source of the noise. Steps were heard and you rushed to the kitchen to take something to defend yourself.

“I don't recommend it; you could hurt yourself with that little knife.” said a man voice who caught your arm and turned you in front of him, blocking your arms. And the only thing visible in the dark was this mask... “Glad to see you again...My sweet little star.” He said with a soft voice.

“It's not reciprocal.” you respond coldly.

“Ouch, you hurt me so hard. You should be kinder to me. After all, I let you live because my curiosity, about you, took over my desire to bleed that pretty neck.” He replied caressing your neck with his fingertips.

“How did you get in? And if you're not here to kill me, what do you want?”

“It’s a secret. I wanted to see you... face to face. And also, to speak like good friends. You seem to get along well with the little nerd... to play little spies. All this to bring down men I could kill... If you ask me.” he said, chuckling a little.

“Certainly not! I will never kill anyone with my own hands, Even less ask someone to do it!” you respond trying to get you out a little bit, in vain.

“Oh come on. Don't tell me you're a little naive girl who thinks solve all her problems legally. Sometimes you have to use radical means to overcome certain problems... Thorny. Deep down, you want to. You'd like me to shove that knife deep down his throat, to mutilate him for threatening you like this. I know everything he's trying to do to you... absolutely everything.” he replied, gently passing his knife along your face, without hurting you.

“Stop it! Let me go!” you said wiggling before he takes off his hands laughing and backing up. “You’re just a f***ing psycho!”  

“ouch you hurt me again. But I get used to it. Anyway... This guy will die sooner or later by my hands. We can talk about what you owe me at that point. But until we meet again... Pay attention to yourself and your sweet angel face, my sweet little star. You sing divinely well by the way.”  

He stroked your cheek before leaving through the window. You catch your breath, trying to relax your muscles. You close all the shutters and windows of your apartment before turning off the TV and going to bed.  

You look at the roof, thinking back to his words. Deep down, he was right. Solving all problems peacefully is not always the solution, but killing someone is worse. You have always been raised so as to use diplomacy more often than force. And that's not going to change. Even if McKellan deserves to be slaughtered for everything he's done? You sigh and turn off the lamp before covering up.

Tomorrow night will be the big night. And you won't have the right to make mistakes.

***

(Done! It was hard but I've made it! in fact I'm so excited to start the next chapter because I’ve got a lot of ideas in my mind! I'll hope you'll enjoyed it like the others! and don't forget if you have questions or you want to talk or if you have pages to recommend me just do!  See ya!)