#ravenvale

[hxpeneverdies]

@frozcnlight || closed starter

Rex had made it into a city just before the sun began to set over the horizon. How lucky for him, he might actually be able to get a proper bed for the night..

Tucking himself away into a nearby tavern, he sat down at a table, weary, and ready get something to eat. "Excuse me.." He calmly waved the waitress over, not wanting to be rude, but, wanting to expedite the process a bit.

"I hate to be a bother, but could I get some ale? Oh and.. what would be available to eat?"

[totallyrhettro]

Hopefully the next chapter of Ravenvale will be up later to day, and it’s a long one!

[rhinklibrary]

You guys are seriously awesome! I was wondering if the librarians could find and rec some seaborne/roach fics? ❤️❤️

Here are a few from AO3!

Ravenvale by @totallyrhettro​ [Rating: E; Chapters: 16; Words: 40,835]

On their way home from another case, Agent Seaborne and Agent Roach find themselves in the strange, fog-covered town of Ravenvale.

Let’s Make the Stars Blush by @lovelyrhink​ [Rating: E; Chapters:1; Words: 6,369]

His partner is an innocuous doofus of a stargazer, but as of the last few weeks, Seaborne’s thoughts are anything but innocent.

Psychics and Report Cards by @rhinkipoo​ [Rating: Teen; Chapters: 1; Words: 1,045]

Seaborne pulled up to the address Roach had given him earlier that morning, parking beneath a giant neon sign that read “Psychic.” “What in the world?” Seaborne was instantly annoyed. “He wasted his money on this?”

The Good Guys by rhincoln/bloodbros [Rating: E; Chapters: 1; Words: 4,231]

Seaborne and Roach have been on a stakeout for a few hours when Roach starts getting a bit… restless.

Getting Comfortable by serpentjester [Rating: E; Chapters: 1; Words: 1,292]

Seaborne and Roach wait for a suspect to rollerblade by. They pass the time.In retrospect, the El Camino is not a very good place for fucking.

We also welcome any and all fic recommendations through our ask box or submit a post!

[strawhatollie]

The Docks were crowded, the smell of saltwater and fish strong in the air as people were selling fish off of their ships. Tristan, Sam and I had just gotten to the docks to look for a ship that could take us to Ravenvale.

“Let’s split up,” I suggested, “we need to find a captain that will help us across.” Tristan turned to Sam, who shrugged.

“Splitting up never goes well,” she laughed “the last thing we need is you falling in the water and drowning.” Tristan laughed with her

“He won’t drown though; he can just swim back up. It’s not that hard.” Tristan furrowed his eyebrows. Sam laughed again and turned to Atlas, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Why couldn’t you do it, Atlas? Want to share with the class?” she giggled when my face turned red, I immediately turned on my heel and started walking away,

“I’m going this way!” I shouted over the noise, “We’ll meet back here in an hour!” I could hear Sam laughing while I made my way down the docks.

About 20 minutes later, I saw a man standing beside a vessel that could house around 15 people. But what captured my attention were the black veins peeking out from under his sleeves. The heat was intense that day, so the sleeves alone were odd. So I made my way through the crowd to him, but the closer I got, the scarier he seemed. His black hair and huge arms were off- putting enough, but his iron teeth and empty eyes made him even scarier. I put on my best confident expression proceeded forward.

“Excuse me?”  So much for confident, the man turned to me and eyed me up and down.

“What?” he grunted in response, obviously not in a good mood.

“Me and my friends need to get to Ravenvale, are you headed that way?” he looked like he wanted to sell my soul for a new pair of boots.

“My friends and I” he replied. I furrowed my eyebrows and cocked my head to the side

“Huh?”

“You said me and my friends,” he explained, “It’s my friends and I.”

“Oh,” I wanted to die in that moment. He laughed to himself a bit before asking

“Why do you need to get to Ravenvale?” I glanced around at my surroundings; nobody was worried about me or this man.

“The same reason you’d need to get away from Ms. Carmen.” I whispered, glancing down at his hands.

He slammed me backward into the hull of the ship, his forearm against my throat. My heart was beating hard in my chest, my feet were dangling above the water and he dug his knee into my crotch. My breathing stopped instantly. Oh god, I thought please don’t get hard please don’t pleaaase. He leaned in and whispered.

“Who the hell are you? How do you know who I am?”

“I saw your mark,” I choked out, pulling up on his arm “it’s poking out of your sleeves, you should get some gloves.” He glanced down at my arms and dug in his knee more, my heart pounded harder as the blood rushed down to my dick, fucking damn it.

“Where is your mark, hm?”

“Let me show you,” I choked out “Please just put me down, I can’t swim.”

He scanned my face for a moment and pulled me back onto the deck. I took a few deep breaths, trying to find my happy place. I glanced around at the people walking by and turned to him,

“Okay, don’t freak out” but before he could ask, I reached up to the knot holding my eyepatch in place and pulled it apart. When the eyepatch came off and he saw my eye, his jaw dropped.

“Holy shit,” he exclaimed “that’s insane!”  I shushed him, afraid he’d attract attention.

“I know, will you please help us? She’s after us and I don’t have any other options.” I put the eyepatch back over my eye and tied it back into place.

“Yeah, I’ll help you. But how do I know I can trust you?”  I shrugged my shoulders,

“My friend Sam has a mark a lot like yours; she will tell you I’m being honest.” He rolled his eyes and laughed.

“Okay kid whatever, I trust you. Go get your friend and come on, I’m leaving soon.” He turned around to walk away.

“Wait!” he turned around to look at me, eyebrow cocked. “What’s your name?” he laughed again

“I’m Ian, you?”

“I’m Atlas.”

“Well hello Atlas, now hurry up.” I turned away “Oh, and maybe change your pants?”

 I’m gonna throw myself off of the docks I thought, he noticed. My cheeks had been red for 15 minutes before I found Sam. She was sitting with her legs dangling off the docks and eating something that made my stomach turn, and definitely not in the good way.

“Hey, where’s Tristan?”  I asked looking around. I couldn’t see him from where we were.

“Oh, he’s off looking for a ship,” she cocked her head up to look at me “what are you doing here?”

“I found a captain that would take us, but we need to hurry because he’s leaving soon.” She stood up and I glanced around more before asking.

“Which way did he go?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you run along and find him.” I turned to her, she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“What is your problem?”

“Nothing.” She murmured, she tried to walk away but I grabbed her arm

“Sam, tell me what’s wrong. I’m not stupid okay I know you’re upset.” Before she could answer me, Tristan ran up and jumped on my back.

“Hey Atlas, any luck?” He dropped off of me and continued, “I haven’t found anything yet.”

“I found a guy who is willing to help.” I answered, still looking at Sam. She wouldn’t meet my eyes, her long red hair covering most of her face.

“Well then let’s go!” Tristan replied, a huge smile on his face. “I can’t wait to be a pirate!”

[ao3feed-rhink]

Ravenvale

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2XBiSvg

by totallyrhettro

On their way home from another case, Agent Seaborne and Agent Roach find themselves in the strange, fog-covered town of Ravenvale.

Words: 3103, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: rhink - Fandom, Seaborne and Roach - Fandom

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M, Other

Characters: Seaborne, Roach - Character, Original Characters

Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal, Seaborne/Roach

Additional Tags: Happy endings guaranteed, additional tags to be added as required, Driving, Fog, Small Towns, Best Friends, FBI Agent Seaborne, FBI Agent Roach

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2XBiSvg

[ladycynthiana]

Is this Ravenvale by @totallyrhettro?

Walk this way, George Natsioulis

[paperbackisland]

Plans for Paperback Island

My Switch arrived today! Here are some of my plans for my Animal Crossing Island:

Fabletown: The town you enter upon entry to my island. Here you’ll find shops, resident services, and a cute little marketplace. I’m thinking of modeling it after an old-fashioned English town with simple panels that look like buildings.

The Culture District: Where the museum, library, and theater reside. Maybe some cute cafes or restaurants. Thinking I’ll put my Good Omens house here, though Crowley works in the Farming District.

The Farming District: Lavender and berry farm, honey stand, greenhouse, flower shop, orchard, duck pond, flower breeding. Dog park maybe?

Everdell National Park: A cute cottagecore/natural inspired part of the island. I’m planning to create little areas inspired by some of my favorite natural places and vacation memories.

So far this includes Yellowstone, Maui, Zion, Alberta, and the Rocky Mountains

This area will include the campsite, hiking trails, and a visitor’s center (house) that will likely have more themed areas inside.

Fairybrook Forest: Although this area is going to be designed in pretty pastels and fairytale motifs to look cute and innocent, it has a strong fae presence and is therefore the most dangerous part of the island. 

Will include a Disney inspired castle, magical creature sightings, and some colorful flower fields. 

The nature school will either be here or Everdell. Still deciding.

Ravenvale Grove: Actually a very small area at the North end of the map.  While this area has a spooky vibe, the witches of Paperback Island are largely a very respectful bunch who mostly seek to honor nature and their ancestors. They may even try to help if you’re minorly cursed by the fae.

Includes a spooky witchy forest, a witch house, a tiny graveyard, and a moonpool. Will have stargazing and a small magic market stall.

The witch’s cottage may include some Disney “ride” inspired rooms, like The Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror. 

Titlewave Bay: The main touristy beach of Paperback Island. Think shops, sunbathing, a lounge area, and maybe a pool.

Mermaid Lagoon: Pink or opal mermaid items color scheme. Maybe some flamingos. Rainbow pier? 

Selkie Cove: The more natural beach. Sea turtles and selkies on the shores. white flowers. Maybe a simple artist set up. Lighthouse. Up above, on shore, is the island’s fanciest restaurant.

Treasure Point: Secret beach. Thinking of trying to use customized tiles to make a black sand beach. Either way, this beach will be pirate themed.

[hxpeneverdies]

Tag dump!

[totallyrhettro]

I need to finish this dang Seaborne and Roach fic. I keep writing Rhett instead of Roach and one of these days I’m not going to catch the mistake. Ack!

[totallyrhettro]

Ravenvale, Chapter 14

Word Count: 3100 Rating: This chapter: PG; overall story: explicit Warnings: None Summary: On their way home from another case, Agent Seaborne and Agent Roach find themselves in the strange, fog-covered town of Ravenvale. Notes: Seaborne and Roach AU where, years after the events seen in the YouTube series, they manage to become FBI agents.

Also available on ao3

First Chapter Previous Chapter

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Seaborne shielded his eyes from the blinding light as they emerged from the darkness of the library. In the light of day the nightmares didn’t seem so bad, the illusions didn’t seem so real. It had been nothing more than a trick of them mind played on them by someone as of yet unknown. The fear that had burrowed deep inside faded away as he took a deep, (albeit moist) breath. He felt as if he had just woken up from a bad dream, though this whole town felt like a dream he couldn’t wake up from. A dream that started yesterday when they walked into this odd place.

Seaborne shook his head. Yesterday. It seemed like years since he and Roach had to abandon their car and walk to this insane town. How could it have been only yesterday? He looked up at the sky, at the fog that lay, unmoved, like a thick blanket over everything. Even with the sun at high noon, the two of them could barely see farther than twenty feet in front of them. Pulling on Seaborne’s hand, Roach began walking very quickly back towards the gas station.

“Hey!” Seaborne exclaimed as he felt himself being dragged along. “Where are we going?” Not that he wanted to wait anywhere near the library, in case any of the horrors contained within came out to get them, but his mind was still reeling from what he had seen inside. He was also a bit taken aback at how his crush was still holding his hand; Roach never held his hand. Ever.

“To get our car,” Roach explained, not slowing down. He was determined to escape Ravenvale no matter what. He had seen things that he never wanted to see again, things that could only be explained as the crazed delusions of one drugged or insane. It could have been in the food that he’d eaten with glee. It could have been in the coffee that kept him going in the morning. No, Roach didn’t think it was either of those, but something more obvious: the fog itself. This fog wasn’t natural, it couldn’t be. Therefore there was something in the fog making them see things, hear things, a drug or toxin that could cause such realistic hallucinations. Obviously they couldn’t hide in the buildings; they had to get out of town. It was the only way.

“And if our car is still broken?” Seaborne posed the obvious question but Roach was unhindered, possibly unhinged after what he’d seen in the library. What the aliens truly wanted he had no idea, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know anymore. His need to keep Seaborne safe was overriding his need for the truth.

“Then we’ll take the mechanic’s truck; we’re leaving this damned town.” Seaborne couldn’t agree more, but he was still surprised by Roach’s actions. No matter what they investigated, no matter how swept up in the mysteries he got, or how scared, Roach had never broken the law before. Not like this. Grand theft auto? That would definitely be a new one for the North Carolinian duo. Their footfalls were dampened by the fog, ever-present, almost choking them as they ran. Water condensed on their skin as they made their way; dew formed on Roach’s glasses but he ignored it. The lights on the Texaco station were out, and nothing seemed lit inside. Roach finally let go of Seaborne’s hand to get a better look through the store’s window. No sign of anyone in there.

“They’re closed,” Roach concluded, wiping some dirt from the window and looking again. Seaborne was looking somewhere else, his palm resting on the front of his jacket, just above his breast pocket. The photograph. He’d almost forgotten in the chaos of the library.

“I have to show you something,” he whispered, thinking back to what he had seen on that small piece of paper. After all that he’d seen, maybe the photo wasn’t a fake. Maybe Roach had seen it too. Seaborne had to know.

“It’s too early to be closed,” Roach was muttering, trying the door. Locked. “Maybe we can get in through the garage. Come on.” With that, he grabbed Seaborne’s hand once again and together they headed around the corner to the garage entrance. Luck was finally with them for the large rolling door was indeed open. Roach let out a soft ‘yes’ as he dashed inside.

“Roach...” But Roach wasn’t listening. He came to an abrupt stop in front of the mechanic’s bay. There, in the center of the room, where their tan, rental car should be, was nothing. The car was gone.

“What the hell?” Roach demanded, rubbing the back of his head in frustration. Were the people in charge of this conspiracy so eager to torment them that they’d trap them in this town? Glancing around, Roach didn’t see the mechanic’s truck parked anywhere either. Wherever Doug and Darrel were now, they must have taken the cars with them.

“Where’s the car?” Seaborne wondered, his wish to share the photograph to Roach momentarily replaced by a fear that they may never leave this awful place.

“It’s not real.” An assertion said to himself as much as for his partner. After what he’d seen, how could be sure what was real? “It’s gotta be here somewhere.”

“They must have moved it.” Trying to settle back into the voice of reason, Seaborne spoke softly to calm his friend, if not reassure him that they had escaped the world of nightmares and were back in reality. He had to believe it, if only for his own sanity. “It didn’t just up and disappear.”

“To where, though?” That was the question. It could be anywhere in this town and they had no idea how big Ravenvale even was, having only seen a small part of it thanks to the fog. It wouldn’t be that hard to hide one or two cars. “Okay,” he mused, walking over to a nearby table. Doug and Darrel must have used this table while they worked on cars; it was covered in tools and random rags, among other things. In one fluid motion, Roach used his long arm to sweep across the table, knocking everything onto the floor with a loud crash. Seaborne flinched at the noise.

“Roach?” he asked, moving to stand across from his friend. The line from where the fake Seaborne had cut across his face was still there, thin and red. Seaborne had said nothing about it earlier, but it concerned him all the same. What had happened to this man while the two of them were separated? Roach looked a bit wild but there was also concentration on his face, a look of determination and focus.

“What do we know,” he stated, leaning over and placing his hands on the table. This was the pose he always used when he was interrogating someone, or when he was about to go over the details of a case. Seaborne knew it well. He knew how to play along with this.

“Are car broke down.” Fact one. A fact they could be sure of.

“We headed into town,” Roach added, remembering. “We went to the motel.”

“Mrs. Marble was there,” Seaborne continued, laying out the facts with his partner. “She told us about the festival.”

“But there was no festival,” Roach noted.

“Because of the fog.” At that, Roach raised his head to look into his partner’s eyes.

“They said it was the fog,” he corrected. It was true; there had been no sign that the town had been getting ready for any event, festival or otherwise. Why would they lie about that?”

“You’re saying there is no festival?” Seaborne guessed. Roach shook his head.

“I’m saying that this-” he flicked a hand, gesturing all around them- “This is the festival.”

“A prank?” Seemed odd that anyone would go to so much trouble to prank two FBI agents this way, but the other explanations were few and far between.

“We’re still missing something,” Roach grumbled, looking back at the table. He didn’t see the table, of course. He saw events, moments, people and places, all lined out in an elaborate tapestry in his head, coalescing and entangling in a conspiracy that he had yet to understand. “What happened next?”

“Doug took me to check on the car.” A strange trip to be sure. “He was terrified of the fog.” Roach nodded at that.

“Something in the fog,” he seemed to write down in his head. “A drug? Hallucinogen?”

“He seemed more afraid of leaving the borders of the town,” Seaborne added.

“Maybe it’s denser out there.” Impossible to be sure. “What’s next?”

“You saw the fairy.” Now Seaborne had to say this without judgment, but there was a lilt in his voice he couldn't hide. Luckily, Roach didn’t notice.

“Dancing in the fog,” he remembered. “Real or not real?”

“Fairies aren’t real,” Seaborne stressed. “I’m going to say ‘not real’.” Roach flinched. He had seen it, he had believed it, but now he had to question his own eyes.

“Fine. Next.”

“You went to talk to the librarian,” Seaborne recalled. “I went to take a nap.” ‘Had that dream…’

“Anything happen while I was gone?” Roach pressed, looking up again. Seaborne hesitated and his partner didn’t like it. “Seaborne?”

“I had a weird dream,” he admitted, hoping Roach wouldn’t ask more. Of course, he did.

“About what?” At the sound of the question, Seaborne’s eyes unconsciously looked at Rhett’s hands. He looked back up at Rhett’s face quickly, but Roach had already noticed. “Well?”

“Uh, hands,” he murmured, embarrassed. “Just hands.” Roach looked down at his hands. Seaborne had been looking at them, but why?

“My hands?” he guessed. Seaborne really hoped he wasn’t blushing just now.

“N-no,” he lied. “Just hands. It was a stupid dream, just drop it.” Roach stared at him for a few seconds, trying to figure something out, before finally looking back at the table.

“Okay, fine,” he relented. “Dream. Next.”

“We went to the library. The first time,” Seaborne clarified. “It was a normal library.”

“No,” Roach corrected. “Not normal. The books. Only the ones we’ve read had text.”

“Impossible. No one could know what books we have and haven’t read.” Right? “Had to be part of a hallucination.”

“A shared hallucination?” Roach questioned.

“A shared belief,” Seaborne appealed. “Like when you and your friends get high and you all start seeing the same weird shit.” Who knew those wasted evening in college would be good for something? “Hallucinogens combined with the power of suggestion. You said something, my brain believed it and made it real.”

“Possible,” Roach agreed. He paused. “It could also be-”

“Not aliens, Roach!” Seaborne barked. “Stay grounded here.” Roach fumed for a second, then moved on.

“Next,” he grunted. Seaborne though about what happened next, what important events they had to yet rehash, but then he paused. That’s the night they slept in the same bed, and Roach had that dream. Spoke Seaborne's name. He didn’t want to talk about it, neither of them did, but holding back information wasn’t allowed. That’s not how this game was played.

“We went to bed,” he began, speaking quickly and hoping they could get through this part as fast as possible. “I… freaked out. Came over to stay with you. W-we slept-”

“Right, right,” Roach nodded, remembering the night clearly. “Not important. Move on.”

“Wait.” His partner waved a hand, motioning to go back. “Hang on. Your dream-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, man…”

“Just tell me, was it super… intense? Like, hyper-realistic?” At this, Roach looked up into his friend’s eyes, squinting slightly. “Was it the most real dream you’ve ever had?”

‘So real,’ Roach thought, thinking back. ‘But not real enough.’ To Seaborne he said “Yeah. It… it felt very real.” ‘And amazing, and intoxicating… and-’

“Mine, too.” Seaborne looked down at the table, his eyes scanning as if he could see the tapestry of conspiracy that Roach had laid out with his mind, too. “So far we’ve seen two places that have had huge effects on our minds. The library- which I never want to set foot in again, and-”

“The motel,” Roach concluded, turning to look out the window at the motel’s neon sign glowing through the dense mist. “There’s a clue there, I know it.” Seaborne couldn’t argue, he had no idea if Roach was right or not. Nothing in this town had made sense since the morning they arrived, but it was as good a place to start as any. Still...

“Wait, before we go. I need to show you something,” he pressed, palming his pocket again.

“Not now, Seaborne,” Roach replied, leading the way back to the motel that seemed to be the beginning of all this. “We finally have a lead.” He wasn’t holding his partner’s hand this time and Seaborne thought about just taking it, but the moment had passed. He missed the warmth of Roach’s hand and the comfort that it had brought, but he had to remember that he was an FBI agent and he was trained to deal with situations like this.

~ ~ ~

The motel’s neon sign was still glowing through the mist, its ominous red glow humming as they approached the front door. Inside was the familiar, under-furnished lobby with its one fake plant and the clock without hands. There was no sign of Mrs. Marble. The door to her office was open and Roach made a beeline for it. Seaborne meanwhile searched the counter in the lobby. Everything looked the same- No, wait. The key cabinet was empty. All the keys were gone, every last one. Seaborne was taking a closer look when he partner returned.

“Nothing there,” he was muttering. “Anything out here?” Seaborne motioned towards the cabinet.

“The keys are gone,” he pointed out. Roach looked where Seaborne was pointing.

“I haven’t seen any other guests,” he noted. “Have you?”

“I haven’t seen five people since he got here,” Seaborne grumbled, turning away. “We should check upstairs,” he suggested. “I still want to check your room, see if you left your gun somewhere.” Roach made a face, but followed right behind.

“I didn’t leave it anywhere,” he insisted. “Someone took it.” Seaborne let it drop as he headed up the stairs to the second floor. He paused at the landing. The long hallway, with hanging lights and ugly carpet, was flanked by a series of doors. That alone wasn’t unusual, but where the doors had all been closed the last time he passed through here, this time they were all just slightly open. As Roach came up behind him he stopped short as well, his mouth falling open. “Oh,” he uttered.

“Odd, right?” Seaborne agreed, his eyes not leaving the hallway, but Roach couldn’t find any words to answer. Even though the hall was clearly lit, it bore an unsettling resemblance to the one he saw in the library. His heart beat a little bit faster at the memory. “You okay?”

“Let’s not stay here long,” Roach managed, taking the lead. Staying calm, he fumbled for his lighter and held it at the ready. Had this been a week ago, Seaborne would have question his partner’s need to use a lighter in a perfectly lit room, but he understood the reason now. They had escaped the library, but he didn’t trust this motel to be a safe haven from nightmares. He could only hope.

They passed by the small alcove that had once held two vending machines. It was only a few doors away from the rooms they had stayed in last night. Glancing it they saw the alcove was empty, devoid of both pop and candy machines that had been there a few hours ago. Seaborne and Roach exchanged glances; Seaborne raising an eyebrow and Roach nodding in agreement. Like the library, things had changed in this motel, though the changes were definitely more subtle. They continued on, both too scared to open any of the doors enough to see past them. When they reached their own rooms, they paused, sidling up against the wall on either side of Roach’s door. It was slightly ajar, just like the other doors. With a nod from Roach, Seaborne gently pushed open the door. When nothing immediately jumped out at them, they both leaned over to look inside. It was empty.

Not empty, as in there wasn’t a single person inside, but empty, as in it was devoid of people, furniture, and everything else but a window. The bed, the nightstands, the desk and chair, all gone. It was an empty room lit by a single overhead light and a large, sash window with no curtains.

“Well. Your gun ain’t here.” Seaborne joked. Roach didn’t laugh.

“What is going on here?” was all he could say. He spun around with his arms out, as if the missing furniture was somehow invisible and not just… gone. Meanwhile, Seaborne sighed and looked out the window at the foggy town below. After a moment he reached into his breast pocket, but the photo from the library wasn't in there. His shoulder's slumped. Of course it was gone. Everything in that awful place had been an illusion. Why would the photograph be any different? From here he could see a few houses nearby, all cookie-cutter copies of one another in various shades of pastel colors. They had matching driveways, all empty, but without x-ray vision it was impossible to see inside their garages. Seaborne wondered if their missing car could be inside one of those.

As he tried to peer in the houses through the dense fog, he couldn’t see anything quite clearly. What he did see, in the bay window of the nearest house, was a large, dark shape. It wasn’t human, it was much too large, far too wide. Honestly, Seaborne couldn’t tell what it was. It wasn’t moving, so there was every possibility that it wasn’t even alive, but something about it terrified him to the core. The way it’s dark shape pierced the grey fog, it just felt… wrong. Turning to call over Roach, Seaborne’s eyes left the shape for only a moment, but when he looked again, it was gone. A shiver ran up his spine.

“What is it?” Roach asked, coming over. Seaborne couldn't pull his gaze from the spot where the shape had been. Though he hated to say it, he knew where the should go next.

“I think we should investigate the houses.”

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Next Chapter More Fics

[totallyrhettro]

Ravenvale, Chapter 1

Word Count: 3103 Rating: This chapter: G; overall story: explicit Warnings: None at this time Summary: On their way home from another case, Agent Seaborne and Agent Roach find themselves in the strange, fog-covered town of Ravenvale.  Notes: Seaborne and Roach AU where, years after the events seen in the YouTube series, they manage to become FBI agents.

Also available on ao3

It was some time after midnight when Seaborne starting hearing the light snoring. A glance to the right confirmed his colleague, Roach, was sound asleep in the passenger seat. Seaborne didn't blamed him; it had been a long day for both of them. After driving for six hours to Tucson, Arizona for a supposed alien-sighting, it turned out to only be some jerk in a modified Bigfoot costume. Now they had to drive another six hours back to Vegas and then take a four hour plane ride just to get back to their home state. It was days like these that made the brunet in his mid-thirties wonder why he became an FBI agent in the first place.

He looked over at Roach again. The answer, of course, was obvious. While Seaborne was perfectly happy being a private detective, when his blond friend applied to join the federal bureau of investigations he had to apply, too.

‘Someone has to keep an eye on you,’ he rationalized. The truth was that anywhere Roach went, Seaborne would follow. It had been that way ever since they are kids. Even now, as he looked over at his 6’7” companion, he still saw that young boy with a dopey bowl cut that he had met way back in first grade. Under that chinstrap beard and ever-rising pompadour, deep down Roach hadn't changed much, not where it mattered.

It had been Roach’s idea to accept this case, just like all the paranormal cases they investigated. He was, had always been, obsessed with aliens and the supposedly inexpiable. Sometimes it was downright irritating but there was this other side to him that Seaborne found irrationally endearing. Roach saw the world in a unique way, like there was mystery and intrigue everywhere, which gave him a strangely attractive quality, and was one of the many reasons his FBI partner loved him.

Of course it was that curious spirit that now brought them to this lonely road, in the middle of nowhere, with only their headlights to light their way. Not even the moon was shining. It and the stars were completely obscured by dense clouds overhead. The desert road was so straight and the scenery so bland and unremarkable that if it weren't for the occasional mile marker, Seaborne might have sworn they weren't getting anywhere. The extreme monotony was starting to wear down his resolve to stay awake. He thought about turning on the car radio but he didn't want to disturb Roach. The tall man deserved a rest as much as anybody and wasn't going to get any on the long plane ride later.

Rubbing his eyes, Seaborne tried to keep himself from drifting off to sleep himself, but he wasn't sure if he was going to last much longer. He didn’t know exactly where they were, or how far it was to the next town. He had half a mind to pull over and sleep in the car until morning instead of waiting until they found a motel. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it was a better alternative than falling asleep at the wheel.

‘No,’ he told himself. ‘We can't be that far away from civilization. Just a bit further.’  He blinked hard and readjusted his hands on the steering wheel. He was certain that any moment now an exit sign for some town or another would appear on the horizon, leading him somewhere with a bed and indoor plumbing. He wished he could check his GPS, but both his and Roach’s cell phones had died hours ago, and neither had thought to bring a car charger on this trip.

Seaborne didn't know how much longer he drove with only his thoughts for company. Eventually he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Sighing, he pulled over and parked the sedan a few feet off the road so that they wouldn't get rear-ended by any passing traffic. Putting back the seat of the tan rental car, he did his best to get comfortable. After one last glanced at Roach, he closed his eyes and seconds later he too was fast asleep.

~

Roach woke first. He stretched his neck, slightly stiff from leaning against a car door all night. Pulling his large framed glasses out from the neck of his white buttoned shirt, he put them on and looked out the window. He expected to see some unknown parking lot or, at least, a few buildings. What he did not expect was to see nothing. Nothing but white.

Seaborne, to his left, was laying back and sound asleep. His mouth was slightly ajar, sure proof of his unconsciousness. Roach gave him a gentle shake to rouse his companion awake and the brunet just moaned, groggily. 

“Uh… Matthew…” he muttered. Roach made a face then shook the man harder. 

“Wake up, man. You're having that dog dream again.” Finally Seaborne opened his eyes and looked up. For a moment he didn’t know where he was but he quickly recalled the events that led him to be lying down in a strange car.

“Morning,” he managed with a stretch.

“Morning. Did I miss anything last night?”

“Just a long, boring nothing.” Seaborne closed his eyes, unsure if he wanted to be fully awake just yet. “Most boring state ever.”

“I’m guessing we didn’t make it back to Vegas,” Roach noted, looking back out the window.

“Yeah, sorry. I couldn’t stay awake. You want to take over driving?”

“On what? I can’t even see the road.” Seaborne’s eyes snapped open and looked up at his friend in confusion. “I didn’t know you could get fog in the desert.” After a moment, the brunet pulled his chair back straight and got his first look at the new view. The fog was so thick, he could barely make out the street just a few feet away.

“Must be a lake nearby.” He rolled down the window of his car a few inches and stuck his hand out. A few tiny droplets collected on his fingertips. “It’s still cold from last night. I’m sure the sun will eventually evaporate this away. Until then, we can just take it slow.”

“You want to drive in this?”

“You want to walk?” Roach grimaced and thought about this for a second. He didn’t have to answer vocally. His feelings on the matter were all too obvious. “That’s what I thought,” Seaborne continued. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a hot shower.” After making sure his seat-belt was firmly in place, he brought his hand to the car keys, still in the ignition, and gave them a good turn.

Nothing happened.

Frowning, he pulled the keys out and put them back in before turning the ignition again. Still nothing. No whine, no click, nothing. The whole thing seemed dead.

“You ran outta gas,” Roach suggested.

“Impossible; I had at least half a tank left when I pulled over.” Frustrated, he turned the key again. Nothing.

“Battery must be dead. You leave the headlights on or something?”

“I don’t think I did.” Another turn, but to no avail. He thought back to the night before, trying to remember if he had left the lights on or not. He couldn’t remember.

“I guess we’re walking after all,” Roach grumbled, unhooking his seat-belt. Seaborne fell back in his chair, defeated. “How far to the next town?”

“I have no idea,” Seaborne bemoaned. 

“Great. Let’s go, then.” With an angry sigh, Roach opened the glove compartment. There were two glock 22’s inside, standard issue. He passed one to his partner before taking his own and stepping out of the car. He didn't think they'd need to be armed but he didn't want to leave them in the car either. It wasn't protocol. Seaborne locked the car out of habit, noting internally how pointless it was to lock a car that wouldn't start when there weren't even any valuables inside.

Roach buttoned up his dark blue suit jacket and stuffed his hands into his pants’ pockets. For being a desert, it had gotten amazingly cold and the thick, damp air wasn’t helping. Seaborne wasn't any better off with his own brown suit, but he still wished he had a hat or something to protect his ears. The two men exchanged a quick look before they started to trudge down the road, hoping their journey to the next town would be a short one.

They walked on in silence. Seaborne was too busy chastising himself for letting the car battery die to make any sort of conversation and Roach was trying to remember what he learned in high school science class about how fog formed. Normally it required both low temperatures and high humidity but he couldn’t understand why either of those things were in the desert. It just didn’t make any sense.

The car quickly faded from view and soon they could only see the roadside and each other. It was like the rest of the world ceased to exist completely leaving an eerie stillness that permeated the air almost as much as the fog itself. Seaborne lost track of time just watching himself place one foot in front of the other, over and over. Roach did much the same, occasionally bring a finger up to wipe the water droplets that collected on his large-rimmed glasses.

Despite Seaborne’s hope that the heat of the sun, somewhere in the sky beyond his sight, would cause the thick vapor to dissipate, the haze remained unchanged as they walked along. They continued to venture forward into the unknown until, finally, a strange light began to emerge in the distance. Seaborne nudged his companion who pulled his gaze from his feet to look where his partner was pointing. It was a sickly, red color, but they couldn’t quite make out it’s source. Without a word both men increased their pace to investigate.

Slowly the origin of the light came into view. A sign, about forty feet up, was adorned with tall letters blazing out two words in red neon: ‘Motel’ and ‘Vacancy’. Seaborne let out a deep breath of relief. He didn’t know what town they were entering or if this was just a truck stop motel. He didn’t care. All he wanted was a hot shower, a simple breakfast, and the use of an indoor toilet. He was certain he would be able to find at least one of those and he was more than looking forward to it.

“About time,” Roach murmured, wiping his glasses again. “I hope there’s a gas station nearby.” He strained his eyes to see through the fog but besides the sign, he could still see nothing. It wasn’t until a short walk later that the motel building came into view. The two-story structure was painted an ugly, faded pink and was shaped like a square U. The parking lot, situated in the center, didn't seem to have any cars parked in it, but the fog was just as thick here as anywhere. There could have been a semi truck in the lot and the two men wouldn't have seen it.

“They should at least have a phone so we can call a tow.” Seaborne checked his wristwatch. He mostly wore it as a fashion piece, but with his cellphone dead he was glad to have it. “If we’re lucky, we still might make it back in time for our flight.”

“They probably only have a pay phone,” Roach commented. “This place looks like it was built in the seventies. You got any change?”

“No, but they've got to have an office phone we can use.” ‘I hope,’ he added to himself. The building did look a bit run down, but if the sign was on that meant it was still in business and any motel still in business surely had a reliable telephone.

As they opened the front door to the lobby, a tiny room with a short counter and a potted plant, they expected to see someone, anyone, around. A small, metal bell rang out as the door opened and closed, but no one came to see the two men arriving. Seaborne stepped up to the counter while Roach looked around, straightening his red and grey striped tie.

“Hello?” Seaborne called out. Another door, behind the counter, was closed and marked with a small plaque. ‘Employees Only’ it read. Beside the door were rows of numbered cubbies, obviously for housing keys to the various rooms. There was a clock on the wall, but all the hands were missing. Neither man saw any sign of a telephone either.

“Check it out, Seaborne.” Roach motioned towards the potted plant, grabbing and rubbing one of the giant leaves. “It's fake.”

“Guess they're not big on watering,” Seaborne replied, not really listening. He turned back towards the closed door. “Hey! Is anyone there? We could use some assistance, please!”

“They should get a cactus then,” Roach continued. “I mean, we are in a desert, and you don't have to water them much.” Ignoring his companion’s vocalization of internal dialogue, Seaborne stepped around the corner to knock on the door behind the counter. 

Just as he brought up his hand to knock, the door swung open and a very short, old woman was on the other side. Her grey hair was poofed up like cauliflower, and she wore a floral blouse with an almost matching pleated skirt. On her face sat a large pair of pink-framed glasses that made her grey eyes seem twice normal size. Barely coming up to Seaborne’s chest, she seemed to be the essence of sweet, little old lady.

“Oh! Hello, dearie! I didn't know we had customers.” She gave the brown-haired agent a sweet smile. “You staying in town for awhile? We have lots of rooms!” She walked easily under Seaborne’s still outstretched arm and looked over the row of cubbies.

“Uh, no… Ma’am, we…” Seaborne cleared his throat, collecting himself before continuing. “Our car broke down and we could use-”

“I've got some nice, east-facing rooms,” the woman continued, as if she had not heard him speak. “You can see the sun rise in the morning. Don't you love that? Oh I do love the sunrise.”

“Ma’am?” Seaborne asked again. The woman finally looked up, confused for a moment.

“Hmm? Oh! No customers behind the counter! No no no, not allowed.” Gently she grabbed his elbow and guided him back around the counter. “There you are. Rules are rules, dearie. Now. Do you gentlemen want two rooms? One? I can give you-”

“No!” he interrupted, a bit louder than he intended. The old woman stopped immediately, but just looked up at him, expectantly, waiting for him to continue. “Uh, I'm Agent Seaborne and this is my partner, Agent Roach.” Roach smiled and offered a small wave. “Our car broke down. Do you have a phone we could use?”

“Agent? Oh my, are you spies?” The woman smiled, a slight tone of titillation in her voice. “How exciting.” Before Seaborne could correct her, Roach spoke up.

“That’s right, ma’am. We’re on a secret mission but we could use your help.” Seaborne gave him a confused look but he ignored it and the woman didn't notice.

“Oh, well I'd love to help you if I can. I'm Miss Marble.” She offered her hand and Roach stepped forward to shake it. “How can I help you boys?”

“Well, Miss Marble, our car broke down. We could use a tow. Do you have a phone we could borrow?”

“Oh, our phone hasn't worked in years, I'm afraid. But there's a gas station just up the road.” She pointed for emphasis. “Doug and his brother Darrell should be able to get you two fixed up in no time. Nice boys. Known them since they were in diapers, you know.”

“Thank you very much, Ma’am,” Seaborne cut in, as kindly as possible. “I guess we'll go to talk to them then.” 

“You sure you two don't want a room? The festival’s tomorrow and they fill up fast.”

“No thank you. We have a flight to catch and we won't be-”

“What festival?” Roach interrupted.

“Oh it'll be a lovely time, you'll see. Everyone in town will be there.” 

“What town are we in, exactly?” Seaborne asked, suddenly realizing that he hadn't before.

“You're in Ravenvale, dear. We're not a big town but we've got big hearts. Oh you must stay for the festival tomorrow, especially if you've never been. I promise you've never seen anything like it.”

“We'll see,” Seaborne said before Roach could promise anything. “We do have a, uh, important case were on. Right, Roach?”

“Very important.” Roach gave Miss Marble a sly wink. “Very top secret.” The woman blushed and gave a little giggle.

“Well, you boys stay out of trouble then. Be careful out there in the fog. It's awfully thick out there today.” Roach opened the door and held it open for Seaborne who moved to leave but then paused for a moment.

“Is there often fog around here?”

“Oh always around this time of year. I'm sure it will clear up soon.” Not quite satisfied, Seaborne smiled and nodded goodbye before ducking out, quickly followed by Roach. As they headed along the road once more, Roach shook his head.

“She’s hiding something,” he stated, matter-of-factly.

“What?”

“I don't know what, but she’s up to something. I can tell.”

“She looks almost seventy. What’s she going to be up to? Running a drug cartel?”

“No, of course not, but she is hiding something.” It was useless for Seaborne tell his partner he was being paranoid. It would be like telling a sloth it's being lazy. Trying to think about something else, he changed the subject. 

“You ever hear of Ravenvale?”

“Nope,” Roach replied, pushing up his glasses. “But I didn't memorize all the towns in the United States before I left town yesterday.”

“I guess.” 

“What're you thinking?”

“I don't know. It's probably nothing. I just want to get back home. I'm sick of this fog. The whole damn state to be honest. This whole trip has been a big waste of time.”

“I still say that farmer in Tucson was working for the government.” Seaborne gave his friend an incredulous look.

“We work for the government,” he reminded him. 

“You're so naive, man. You think just because we’re FBI now, that the government tells us everything they're up to? Wake up, man.” Seaborne sighed. The argument was old and tired. Shaking his head, he let it go. There were just some things that never changed.

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

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[totallyrhettro]

Seaborne and Roach update:

I’m still working on the fic, I promise. It’s just... well....

(Slight spoiler below)

Any scene with sex takes me awhile to write. Just FYI.

[totallyrhettro]

Ravenvale, Chapter 6

Word Count: 2265 Rating: This chapter: general; overall story: explicit Warnings: None Summary: On their way home from another case, Agent Seaborne and Agent Roach find themselves in the strange, fog-covered town of Ravenvale. Notes: Seaborne and Roach AU where, years after the events seen in the YouTube series, they manage to become FBI agents.

Also available on ao3

First Chapter Previous Chapter

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Roach was a bit dumbfounded at the news the librarian had just given him, to say the least. Not quite shocked, but more than a little confused as to why anyone would lie about having an uncle. Then again, this gentleman was behaving rather strangely. Maybe he was mistaken; perhaps he wasn’t all there, in a manner of speaking. After a second or two the stranger seemed to forget his own surprise and went back to looking over the FBI agent before him. Roach cleared his throat.

“Anyway, I was told that you knew something about, uh…. little people? In the fog?” Instead of answering, ‘uncle’ began investigating Roach’s suit, feeling the fabric and turning over what he could to get a better look. “Mr…?”

“Deneir,” the stranger filled in, not looking up from Roach’s seemingly interesting tie. He turned over a lapel, revealing the inner pocket, and before Roach could stop him, pulled out a wallet.

“Hey!” Roach tried to grab it back but Mr. Deneir was quick, stepping out of reach before opening up the wallet and looking inside. Roach’s badge was unmistakable and Mr. Denier's eyes widened at the sight.

“FBI?” he asked, actually looking at Roach this time. Roach nodded, stepping closer in the hopes that Mr. Deneir would now give back the wallet. “You’re investigating Ravenvale?”

“Uh, yes,” Roach lied. His hopes that now this strange man would finally answers some questions raised slightly. “My partner and I just arrived today. What can you tell me about what’s going on?” Deneir’s eyes shone with excitement and a grin appeared on his face as he placed the walled on the counter, ignoring Roach’s outstretched hand. He scurried back into the next room, leaving the FBI agent rather confused. Snatching up his wallet and tucking it away, Roach rushed to catch up.

The library was decently sized, with rows and rows of bookcases filling most of the main floor. A mezzanine level overlooked the open space with shorter shelves, tables and computers set up as well. The entire place was certainly set up to be a library, but as Roach stepped into the room he noticed that something was amiss. Dozens if not hundreds of books lie scattered across the floor, littering between the shelves and isles with no rhyme or reason for how they’d been toss about. Deneir moved about them, quickly but delicately, looking for something in particular. Finally he grabbed up the only open book and made his way back to the rather dumbfounded agent.

“I’ve been doing research-” he began with a strong tone of detachedness. Roach couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle.

“I can see that.” He did his best to avoid the piles and piles of books in order to reach over and take the offered one. The page was opened to two pages lined with very small text and an artistic rendering of a very familiar figure. “The tiny woman,” he whispered. It was obviously hand-drawn, and there was zero sense of scale, but the form was unmistakable. Deneir nodded enthusiastically, tapping the image a few times for emphasis.

“They live in the mist,” he explained. “You’ve seen them?” Roach nodded, not looking away from the drawing for a moment. “Everyone says I’m crazy, but I know… I know the truth. I’ve seen them, too.” His curiosity peaked, Roach couldn’t help but smile himself. He hoped that finally, at long last, he’d found something real. Something that couldn’t be explained by science or reason. Something… alien.

“What are they?” His hopes hadn’t been this high since the Navy reported unusual sightings off the coast of Florida back in 2015. Those hopes were a bit lowered when Deneir answered his question.

“Leirans,” he stated. “Fey, fairies, sprites,” he continued. Each word make Roach’s hope fade further. Fey? Fairies? As in, mythical creatures?

“So…” he began, still clinging to the last shred of hope in his heart. “N-not aliens?” Deneir shook his head vigorously before answering.

“Nope.” Roach’s face fell. “Leirans. Much worse.” Deneir stepped away, bending down to sift through his massive pile of books, obviously looking for something else. “They worship the Lady of the Mist.” He looked up, briefly, to add: “Get it?”

“Right,” Roach agreed, absentmindedly. He looked back to the drawing, trying to decide if this was indeed what he had seen in the fog. “Mist.” He had so hoped he had finally discovered proof of aliens. Still, it wasn’t a total loss. Fairies weren’t aliens, but they weren’t human either. They weren’t Bigfoot, or the Chupacabra, but they were mythical. Roach wanted to- needed to know more. “What do they want?”

Deneir didn’t seem to hear him as he scoured the massive inventory before him, trying to find some elusive book, so Roach repeated the question louder. Eventually Deneir looked up, his eyes slightly glazed over as he took in the sight of the tall man who was speaking to him.

“The book- the book!” he exclaimed. “Just read the book. I’m reading.” He was, in fact, not reading but still looking for whatever book he probably wanted to read, but Roach took his advice anyway.

“Fairy, also known as Fey, Fairfolk or sprites,” he read aloud. “Are mythical beings from Europeon folklore. They are a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural.” He paused, thinking about this. “Preternatural… like demons? Witches?” Deneir, of course, didn’t answer. Roach read on. “While their true form is unknown, they often appear as humanoid, small in stature, with magical powers, and a penchant for trickery.”

“Tricksters!” Deneir suddenly shouted from across the room. Roach looked up, expecting more, but Deneir wasn’t even looking up.

“A common feature of the fairies is the use of magic to disguise appearance,” the passage continued. “Fairy gold is notoriously unreliable, appearing as gold when paid but soon thereafter revealing itself to be leaves, gorse blossoms, gingerbread cakes, or a variety of other comparatively worthless things.”

“Fake gold, fake treasures, fake, fake, fake…” By now Roach had learned to ignore Deneir’s random bouts of input and moved on to the next paragraph.

“While they rarely interact with humans, more playful fey have been known to play tricks on people.” So far Roach didn’t see any proof that the woman he’d seen was playing a trick. Unless… “Do you think fairies are causing the fog?” At last Deneir paused a few moments before looking up, realization crossing his face.

“Yes!” he shouted, making Roach jump from the volume. Deneir pointed at him, his eyes wide and crazy. “Yes, that’s it!” Bending down he snatched up what had to be the first book he saw, opened it up to a random page and began to read. “Lady of the Mists, The Guardian of Liars, Maiden of the Mist…”

“A fairy queen?” Roach guessed, trying to carefully walk around the books to get to him.

“Leira!” Even though Roach was almost standing next to him, Denier’s shout was no more quiet than before. “Mother of Illusionists, The Mistshadow.” Finally, Roach reached him, but just as he was about to look at the book the man was holding, Deneir snap it shut and tossed it behind him in one fluid motion. “Not a queen,” he answered. “But she’s dead. She’s dead?” He repeated the words as if he had confused himself. “She’s dead, she died…” He continued to ramble as he went back to searching and Roach found that’d he’d had enough. Maybe he could come back when Deneir was more calm, or when Seaborne could come with him. Until then, he wanted to show Seaborne this book and tell him what he had seen.

Until then, he had a book to read.

~ ~ ~

Seaborne was alone at the diner, staring into a cup of fresh coffee, decaf this time, when his partner came in looking for him. He was deep in thought, thinking about the dream he’d just had, trying to decide if he wanted to have it again, and didn’t hear when Roach started speaking.

“You awake, Seaborne?” the taller man was asking.

“Hmm? Oh, I’m sorry.” Seaborne took a deep breath and stretched his back. “Guess I’m still a little groggy from my nap.”

“That good, huh?” Roach mused casually as he looked for the waitress. Seaborne hid a smile behind a sip of his coffee and gave a non-committal ‘Mmm’ noise. Not really interested in the answer, Roach moved on to something much more important than hearing about how his partner’s nap went. After ordering his own beverage, Roach placed the book that Deneir had given him, on the center of the table.

“What’s this?” Instead of answering Seaborne’s question, Roach opened to the bookmarked page showing the entry he’d read earlier. Seaborne read the headline out loud. “Fairy. Not your usual research.”

“Deneir- uh... the, um, librarian, gave it to me.” He pointed at the image that dominated the page. “This is the woman I saw. The uh, thing, I saw in the fog.”

“I see. Still convinced you saw a fairy?” Seaborne asked, trying to understand what Roach was telling him.

“No, I did see it.” Roach paused, concerned that he wasn’t explaining himself correctly. “I mean, I saw this. This is what I saw dancing in the fog.” He tapped the book for emphasis. With a sigh, Seaborne set his coffee aside and slide the book closer to him. He turned it around to read the text. Roach watched as his friend’s eyes scanned over the pages, reading the text that he himself had read not long ago.

“Fairy tricksters are often drawn to the unconscious desires of humans,” he read aloud. “What does that mean?”

“I’m not sure,” Roach admitted. “But this is definitely what I saw. Deneir also called them Leirans. I think they might have something to do with the fog-” Seaborne interrupted his partner’s thought by pushing the book back towards him.

“Are all the entries in that book this bizarre?” he asked with a grin. Roach glanced around before learning forward and shoving the book right back.

“That’s just it,” he whispered. “It’s the only entry in the book.” As he said this, he turned the page of the book revealing a completely blank page. Over and over he turned pages, each one just as blank, and Seaborne finally took notice. That was odd indeed, to say the least.

“Weird book,” he commented, taking it in his hands now to check the rest of the pages. It didn’t take long to find out that Roach was right: there was just the one entry. Except for the two pages on fairies, the entire book was blank. “You said the librarian gave you this?”

“Yeah… he was a bit odd, to be honest.” Sitting up straight he sent his partner a look to be quiet as the waitress came over with another coffee. Roach thanked her briefly, waiting until she left again before continuing. “He said he didn’t have a niece,” he stated firmly, raising his eyebrows as if he made a very important addition. Seaborne just looked at him, confused, before shaking his head.

“Well,” he sighed. “That is weird.” Sipping his coffee, Seaborne sat back in his chair and stared out the window at the damned fog that was still thick as ever. Roach waiting for his partner to say more but it quickly became obvious that Seaborne was done talking.

“I think we should inves-”

“Uh, uh.” Seaborne nearly spit out his coffee as he turned down Roach’s idea before he could even finish the thought. “No way. You’re not pulling me into another wild goose chase before I’ve had a break from the last one.”

“But you just said it yourself; it’s weird.” Giving his partner his bet puppy-dog eyes, Roach hoped it would work as it had many times before. This time however, Seaborne was far too sick of this town to fall for anything of the sort.

“Yes,” he admitted. “It’s weird. The people are weird, the town is weird, lots of things are weird BUT! I. Don’t. Care. I want to go home. I want to sleep in my own bed, use my own shower, and eat my cereal in my own house. After that you can tell me everything you think you’ve figured out about this horrible town to your heart’s content. Until then, I just want to go home. Okay?” Thoroughly downtrodden, Roach didn’t argue but slumped in his chair, defeated. He didn’t answer; he didn’t have to. Seaborne had won and that was that.

The two of them sat in silence as Seaborne finished his drink. Roach looked out the window at the fog, the small hope that the fairy lady might reappear, heavy on his heart. He placed his large hands flat on the table, slowly rubbing the tips of his thumbs together, mindlessly. Seaborne couldn’t help but stare at those hands… wondering…

“What is it?” Roach asked, upon catching Seaborne staring. Immediately the shorter man looked somewhere else.

“Nothing,” he lied. After a few more seconds of quiet, Roach couldn’t take it any longer. He grabbed up the book and got to his feet. “What are you going?”

“You may not want to investigate,” he explained. “But I do.” He was halfway to the door before Seaborne could respond.

“What’s the point?” he explained. “We’re leaving tomorrow.” Roach didn’t listen. “What about supper?” Seaborne added, yelling this time, but his partner was already gone. Grumbling to himself, he waved down the waitress. Maybe some food would cheer him up.

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Ravenvale, Chapter 10

Word Count: 2561 Rating: This chapter: PG; overall story: explicit Warnings: none Summary: On their way home from another case, Agent Seaborne and Agent Roach find themselves in the strange, fog-covered town of Ravenvale. Notes: Seaborne and Roach AU where, years after the events seen in the YouTube series, they manage to become FBI agents.

Also available on ao3

First Chapter Previous Chapter

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The next morning, long after the sun had risen over the horizon, Roach finally opened his eyes and was relieved to find out that his location hadn’t changed. Somewhat relieved. He lay there for a few minutes just bringing himself to full consciousness, remembering the events of the day before, of last night and the repercussions he feared would come from his actions. He didn’t want to face the day, but lying here did nothing to solve his problems either. Eventually, he pulled himself from the mattress and sat up. At first he tried not to make a sound, not wanting to wake his friend from his own sleep, but a quick glance around the small room proved that he was alone.

Seaborne was always the earlier riser, but now he had even more reasons than usual to be up and out of that room before his partner. While his own room still spooked him quite a bit, he didn’t hesitate to get back there after he woke up, eager to be dressed and downstairs before he and Roach could exchange any awkward morning greetings. He knew that he’d feel far more ready to converse once they were both dressed. After showering quickly, getting dressed and ready for the day, he checked his phone for a charge. At the sight of the dead phone he almost threw it across the room. The phone wasn’t nearly old enough to be broken from age, but the wall socket didn’t seem damaged either.

“I hate this place,” Seaborne mumbled, stuffing the phone and charger into his pockets. If he couldn’t charge it, there was no reason to leave it in the room. He hoped he’d never have to be in this space again, that the rental car would be fixed today and that he and Roach could leave some time very soon. Long before his partner left his room across the hall, Seaborne headed downstairs to check on the situation. His heart, which was already on shaky ground from last night, fell straight into his stomach as he looked out of the motel’s front windows. The fog, which had permeated the town all of yesterday, had not dissipated one bit. It was still as prevalent as ever.

“It’s awfully thick out there today,” came an unexpected voice. It was Miss Marble. She was polishing keys before putting them on their numbered hooks on the wall behind the counter. “Be careful out there.”

“Still foggy, huh?” Seaborne replied with a sigh. He was trying to remember if there were fog lights on the rental car and not really paying attention to what Miss Marble was saying. “Guess the festival’s gonna be canceled, huh?”

“Oh that’s not ‘til tomorrow, hun,” Miss Marble noted, not sounding worried in the slightest. “I hope you and your friend will stay; it’s going to be a lovely festival.” The words rolled over Seaborne like water off of a duck as the agent’s mind continued to wander. He finally smiled politely at the woman before taking a deep breath and heading outside. His partner wouldn’t be awake for quite some time yet and he really needed breakfast and a cup of coffee.

Once outside the familiar chill of the mist clung to his skin and clothing, as if it were trying to hold him back from even crossing the street. Determined and rather impatient, Seaborne was undaunted as he headed towards the restaurant. The sun had to be somewhere in the distance but, much like the day before, the fog barely let it through. The lack of clear sky did little to raise his spirits, nor did they distract him from his troubling inner thoughts. Last night seemed so far away and yet Seaborne needed only to close his eyes to picture his best friend’s face right in front of him, eyes wide, lips so tempting. What Roach had been dreaming of was painfully obvious but while he had confirmed the dream was about Gina, Seaborne wasn’t so certain. He couldn’t be positive about what he’d heard the man whisper in his sleep, nor could he know exactly had been going on in that dream, but the more he thought about it the more he recalled his own name on Roach’s lips.

‘Of course he was dreaming about Gina,’ Seaborne mused, chastising his own hopes. Any other theory made no sense, in his mind. There was no way Roach had actually been dreaming about Seaborne, or else he would have said something when he woke. He would have made a joke, or a quip. It’s not as if he was actually dreaming about he and Seaborne… right? Forcing a chuckle, Seaborne shook his head and turned his mind away from the events of last night. He wanted to forget them, he wanted Roach to forget them. He wanted so dearly for the whole night to be forgotten so that he and Roach could get back to their normal lives as if nothing had changed.

Yet he couldn’t get the expression that had been on Roach’s face upon waking out of his mind. It had been dark but the details were there; sweat beaded on his forehead, his eyes dilated and hungry. That night could have gone very differently had Seaborne been the target of Roach's desires, but no, that would never happen. Seaborne wasn’t his type. After all these years there had been no indication, why would things change now? As Seaborne approached the restaurant, he let his fantasies fall to the wayside as he had done so many times in the past. He could save those thoughts for another time.

It wasn’t until Seaborne had downed two cups of coffee and a stack of pancakes that his partner finally arrived for his own breakfast. Roach cleared his throat before sitting down across from him and nodding to the waitress that he was ready to order.

“We have a problem.” The words sent a tingle up Seaborne’s spine. Roach wanted to talk about it? Nervous, Seaborne took a long, slow, sip of his coffee, trying to stall from this moment as much as possible. Roach looked nervous as well, looking about the diner with very suspicious eyes. At last Seaborne could stall no longer, setting down his coffee and taking a deep breath.

“Look,” he began, looking down at his empty coffee cup, unable to make eye contact. “Whatever you said last night in your sleep, I didn’t-”

“My gun is missing.” Seaborne stopped short mid-sentence, unsure if he’d heard his partner correctly. It couldn’t be true; if it was… the implications were frightening.

“Are you shouldn’t you haven’t just…?”

“Misplaced it?” Roach guessed, sending Seaborne a look. “I’m not that careless. I put it in my nightstand yesterday. This morning it was just… gone.” Seaborne’s fears took an abrupt turn from personal to something far more serious.

“Could a maid have taken it last night-” His voice choked ever so slightly as he was reminded of the previous night’s events. He pushed through, making a smooth recovery. There were more important matters at hand. “-while we were… asleep?” If Roach was having any emotional reaction to the mention of the night before, as Seaborne was, he didn’t show it.

“I dunno, maybe.” He seriously doubted it, though. Frustrated and feeling rather guilty, Roach leaned back and ruffled his hair. “You still have yours, right?”

“Yeah, right here,” Seaborne confirmed, opening his jacket slightly to show off the holster and gun inside. “What’s done is done,” he offered, not really in the mood to chastise his companion this morning. “I’ll look into it. Have something to eat,” he added, as the waitress came over. “I’ll meet you at the gas station. I want to check in with the twins anyway.”

“I thought you said they weren’t twins,” Roach replied, managing a weak smile.

“Whatever,” his partner mumbled with his own tiny smile.

~ ~ ~

Heading back into the motel lobby Seaborne had to ring the bell on the counter a few times before Miss Marble would come out of the office. She smiled pleasantly, looking a bit blank, and asked if Seaborne needed anything.

“Has any of the staff been in our rooms since we checked in yesterday?” he asked, trying to be professional and not accusatory. Miss Marble tilted her head as if she didn’t understand the question.

“Were your rooms unsatisfactory?” she wondered, concerned.

“No, nothing like that,” Seaborne lied, leaving his opinions about his room’s decor to himself. “But my partner misplaced… something. Was wondering if, maybe, when the maid’s cleaned the rooms they… found it?” Tactful, diplomatic; he usually saved yelling for the truly inept.

“Did you need your room cleaned?” Miss Marble guessed, making Seaborne wonder if she had all over her marbles. Smiling politely, he switched tactics.

“Do you have a lost and found, perhaps?” he suggested. Miss Marble looked up at him. Her eyes, made to look bigger behind her thick-rimmed glasses, looked even bigger than usual.

“Anything lost will be found again.” With that, Miss Marble spun around and headed back into her office. Seaborne was a bit confused about that cryptic and slightly ominous response. Once he had recomposed himself he followed, pushing open the office door, fully intending to continue the conversation. The room beyond contained a desk, a lamp, two filing cabinets and door on the far wall. What it did not contain, was any people.

‘Quick little lady,’ Seaborne noted. Double checking that Miss Marple wasn’t just beyond the next door, he decided that in her absence he could do a quick search of the office. If Roach’s gun was in this room, Seaborne would find it.

~ ~ ~

Back at the diner Roach was helping himself to a full stack of pancakes. Normally he would be freaking out about losing his company-issued sidearm, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. He remembered waking up last night with his arm wrapped around Seaborne, he didn’t know that he’d spoken in his sleep, too. What did he say? What could Seaborne have heard? The possibilities were numerous and all bad considering what Roach had been dreaming about. He had to find out what his partner had heard, and soon. The mystery was killing him more than where his gun went and what was going on in this town.

“More coffee, hun?” It was Cindy, the waitress from yesterday. Roach barely nodded before she starting pouring him a second cup. Just as she was about to head off back to the kitchen, Roach spoke up.

“Hey, Cindy,” he began. “About your uncle Deneir… He showed me this book yesterday and I was wondering…” His sentence trailed off when he saw the look appearing on Cindy’s face. It was calm, almost blank as if she had no idea what Roach was talking about. “At the library?”

“The library?” she repeated.

“Yeah, up the street.” Roach pointing in the direction of the building in question for emphasis.

“That’s been closed for years,” Cindy told him. “My uncle lives in California. Moved there after he retired.”

“I talked to him yesterday, I-’ Roach paused, thinking about this new information for a second. “Your uncle, Deneir?” Cindy nodded. “Short man, wild grey hair, kinda looks a bit.. Unhinged?” At the brief description, Cindy let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, that’s my uncle alright,” she confirmed with an unchanging smile. “He moved to California years ago.”

“But I saw him yesterday,” Roach argued. “At the library.” Cindy waved the statement away.

“That can’t be,” she promised. “The library’s been closed since my uncle left.” Roach was incredulous. He knew what he saw, where he was and who he had talked to. What he didn’t know was why this woman was lying to him.

“I talked to him yesterday,” he insisted. “He was going on about seeing fairies in town. He showed me a book.” As he spoke, Cindy’s face became like a doll, frozen in a perfect, beautiful smile, her eyes sparkling yet empty. It only lasted a second or two but that expression chilled Roach to his bones. The moment passed in a fleeting instant and Cindy just laughed again.

“My uncle is in California.” What that, the matter apparently settled, Cindy moved away, leaving Roach with more questions yet again.

~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, inside the gas station, Darrell (or maybe Doug) was standing behind the counter reading a magazine. The man didn’t look up as Seaborne entered, nor showed any sign that he noticed a customer at all. Hoping he wasn’t going to regret going here before getting a cup of coffee first, Seaborne cleared his throat to get the man’s attention only getting a raised eyebrow for his efforts.

“Did you order the part?” he asked, finally getting a decent response. Doug (or possibly Darrell) looked up from his magazine with a look that could curdle milk.

“What part?” he asked, in a strangely calm voice. Definitely Darrell. Seaborne was quite sick of this man and his bad attitude. Crossing the room with a purposeful stride, he snatched the magazine right out of the mechanic’s hands.

“The part for the car,” he snapped. Much to his surprise Darrell had little to no reaction to Seaborne’s outburst. He merely looked up at the man speaking to him, his expression unchanged.

“It will be here tomorrow.” Not the answer Seaborne wanted to hear. Fuming, but desperately wanting to appear professional, he took a deep cleansing breath and tried again.

“Did you order it?” he asked calmly.

“Can’t make it git here any faster.” Darrell’s responses were cold, almost emotionless, and it was driving Seaborne crazy.

“I just want to know if you’ve ordered it, okay?” Seaborne really didn’t want to beg. His expression unchanged, Darrell grabbed up the magazine and opened to wear he left off.

“Tomorrow,” was all he offered before going back to reading. Rubbing his head, Seaborne took another deep breath, this one a bit sharper and far less cleansing.

“Listen, if you could just- for ONE second- pull your head out of your-”

“Going well, I take it?” interrupted Roach’s voice from the doorway. Seaborne turned to see his partner strolling in. Darrell took no notice.

“Not exactly,” Seaborne admitted, motioning for his friend to follow him out to the garage. Once out of earshot he continued. “Miss Marble was no help and I didn’t find anything in her office.”

“Do you think-?” Roach started to ask, but Seaborne waved a hand to cut him off.

“I mean, I found nothing. No papers, no documents, not even a pencil. There was a desk and some cabinets, all empty.” Roach didn’t know what to say about that. He stared at Seaborne, slack-jawed for a few seconds before speaking.

“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded, as if Seaborne had any answers. “I talked to Cindy at the diner, after you left. She said her uncle hasn’t even lived in this town for years, that the library was closed.”

“You believe her?”

“Of course not,” Roach threw back, slightly irritated. “You were in the library with me. Did it look closed?”

“You don’t have to bite my head off,” Seaborne snapped back. “Look, let’s go check the library together, see if it’s open. Okay?” Not entirely placated, Roach nodded. He wasn’t really mad at Seaborne anyway, just himself.

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[totallyrhettro]

Ravenvale, Chapter 16 (final)

Word Count: 3567 Rating: This chapter: PG-13; overall story: explicit Warnings: Visions of sexual activities, kissing Summary: On their way home from another case, Agent Seaborne and Agent Roach find themselves in the strange, fog-covered town of Ravenvale. Notes: Seaborne and Roach AU where, years after the events seen in the YouTube series, they manage to become FBI agents.

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This was the last straw for Roach; this town had finally broken him and he couldn’t take any more. From his spot on the ground he looked up at the heavens, blocked out by the dense fog that taunted emotionlessly. Seaborne was at his side, unsure how to comfort his friend. He felt much the same way: trapped and lost in this crazy maze. He felt a strong desire to hold his partner, kiss him and tell him everything was going to be alright. It wasn’t an unfamiliar desire, but somehow it was much stronger than it had been in the past. Roach was so close to him, so forlorn… Seaborne wanted to hold him and never let go. It would be so easy to close the gap between them, to taste that which he never could…

He was shaken from his thoughts as Roach stumbled to his feet, completely oblivious to his partner’s inner struggle. His eyes were only on the fog around them, and anyone or anything that might be hiding within.

“What do you want from us?” he shouted, frustrated and angry. He raised his arms in a ‘come get it’ gesture and Seaborne glanced around in fear of what might appear. “Show yourselves!” Roach taunted. “We’re not afraid of you!” He wasn’t fearless, he wasn’t being brave, he was just sick of being yanked around. Whoever trapped them here would have to show their faces eventually, Roach figured. He was done playing their games. As the words left his mouth, Roach felt a shiver down his back; Seaborne felt the same thing. Sunset was still many hours away, but it was growing dark very quickly, leaving them lost in both mist and darkness. The street lights failed to turn on, leaving the entire town blanket in an unshifting fog and a dominating shadow.

Silence. A silence that had been unsettling in the day time was now a grim omen of what was to come. Roach fumbled for his lighter but even when lit the tiny flame did little to hold back the gloom. He held it out in front of him, waiting for someone to appear, or something to attack. Seaborne rose to his feet to stand beside his friend, peering into the fog but there seemed to be nothing but the endless dark. Even the buildings had been enveloped by the endless haze. The rest of the world did not exist outside of this tiny bubble in which Seaborne and Roach now found themselves. Just as it felt as though the fog was going to erase them as well, that’s when the whispering started.

The voices were hushed at first, speaking only nonsense as far as Seaborne could tell, and they came from all around as if the fog itself was trying to speak. No matter how hard they tried, neither he nor his partner could understand what the voices were saying, but they didn’t sound especially friendly. The voices grew louder and more insistent; it was impossible to know what the voices wanted and yet both Seaborne and Roach got the feeling that they were demanding something. After what seemed an eternity, the voices began to quiet down again, leaving the FBI agents back in the unbearable silence.

The peace and quiet was short lived, however. Just when they thought this town couldn’t get any weirder, a light appeared in the darkness. It was a few meters away, too far to make out through this much fog. With the only other choice being to just wait and see, Roach’s instinct to investigate was far too strong. Lighter in front of him and a hand at Seaborne’s back, he led them both towards the source of the mysterious illumination. They approached it slowly, but perhaps it was moving towards them as well, it was hard to be sure. Eventually they reached a small clearing- at least, they assumed it was a clearing- in which stood a red camaro. Seaborne’s red camaro. It was just sitting there, as real as anything else they had seen so far, but like many other things in this town, its presence was impossible.

Before either agent could breathe a word to each other, a pair of smokey figures appeared in the car. One was tall, almost too tall for the small sedan, sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. The second was slightly smaller, and seated directly in the lap of the first. They were like mannequins, human-shaped but devoid of detail. Then, as the agents watched, the figures solidified, coming into focus as two humans, two men… as Seaborne and Roach.

“The photo!” Seaborne exclaimed, astonished.

“My dream,” Roach blurted at the same time, shocked. Immediately they turned to face each other, eyes wide in absolute amazement.

“What?” they both demanded simultaneously. The sounds of lewd moaning turned their attentions back to the scene in the car and they saw the images of each other sitting, and now moving, very erotically. Seaborne blushed at the sight and Roach swallowed hard. Neither could believe what they were seeing, nor what their friend had just divulged. Roach was embarrassed beyond belief, seeing his very dreams playing out in the real world. Seaborne couldn’t stop watching, confused and- if he was being honest- more than a little turned on. His own dreams had not been so different in the past, but he’d never seen them displayed in full view of his crush before. He felt a little bad for Roach but, then again…

“You, uh… you dreamt that?” he asked, once he found his voice again. Roach rubbed the back of his neck, unable to meet his friend’s gaze. “When? While we were in this town?”

“Y-yeah,” Roach admitted, bashfully. “Last night.” The sex scene was reaching its crescendo and both Seaborne and Roach stared at their doppelgangers, slack-jawed and enraptured before the whole scene faded back into the mist once again. The light that had come from nowhere to shine on the car was gone, leaving only Roach’s lighter to glow around them. The two men were quiet for a moment before Roach continued. “You… saw that in a photo?” he asked, still feeling a bit shy after having his innermost fantasy put on display like that.

“I was trying to tell you earlier,” Seaborne explained, dearly wishing he still had that fateful image. “I found it in the library, but it was gone before I could show you.” He paused, gears turning in his head. “You said you dreamt about Gina last night.”

“I-” Roach thought back to the night before, waking up wrapped around Seaborne. “... lied,” he finally finished. Seaborne couldn’t breathe. He stared at his lifelong friend, breathing heavily. Roach had dreamt about the two of them… together? He had so many questions: was this a normal dream for Roach to have or, like Seaborne’s own strange encounter in dreamland, was this probably caused by being in Ravenvale? Did Roach enjoy the dream or was it, for him, a nightmare?

The fog shifted again. A new scene lay before the FBI agents, this time it was Seaborne lying on his hotel bed, his clothing being pawed at by mysterious hands that looked just like those of his partner. It was Seaborne’s dream from yesterday and he grew pale at the sight of it. He wished that he could cover Roach’s eyes, keep him from seeing this dark secret, but he knew it would be pointless. He had seen Roach’s dream, there was no way Roach was going to look away. The hands moved just as Seaborne remembered, holding him- this time his copy- down on the bed while others removed his clothing. The real Seaborne covered his face, unable to watch the drama play out again, nor watch his friend’s current expression.

His partner, meanwhile, was enraptured. He recognized his own hands in the illusion hold Seaborne, touching him as Roach had always wanted to touch him but couldn’t. It was forbidden; just watching this vision felt forbidden but he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Is this what Seaborne had dreamt? Is this what he desired? It was hard to say how much of their dreams had been manipulated by whatever was making them see things now, but if Seaborne had experienced this in his dream… Still, why were they seeing their dreams like this now?

After a minute or two of watching the hands undress Seaborne, waiting to see what they would do once the man was naked, Roach felt his blood running hotter, his pupils dilating and his heart racing. If this was a dream that Seaborne dreamt, Roach liked this dream. More than that, he liked the idea of Seaborne having this dream.

“Is it over?” his partner was saying, his eyes still covered. The hands had fully undressed imaginary Seaborne and were now touching his naked body in all the ways Roach had always wanted to touch his friend. He dearly hoped that this vision wasn’t over.

“Uh,” he managed, his head turning slightly away but his eyes fixed on the scene. Hands were spreading the other Seaborne’s legs apart and Roach’s mouth started to water. His own fingers were unconsciously brushing their tips against one another, wanting to feel what the dream hands had felt, what the illusion was feeling. Wanting to feel Seaborne.

“Let’s go,” Seaborne pleaded taking Roach’s hand and guiding him away from the vision. Roach followed, reluctantly. Glancing back, he saw that vision fade away just like the first.

‘Dang,’ he thought. When the vision had faded completely, leaving the two of them in foggy darkness once again, Seaborne paused, waiting for the next invasion of his privacy. When nothing happened for awhile, he readied himself for the proverbial elephant in the room.

“The fog is making all dream these things, right?” he wondered, looking anywhere but at his partner.

“Maybe,” Roach answered, unsure. It was possible, at this point, but he knew that he’d had dreams of a similar nature in the past. None so realistic, but many about him and Seaborne. He had just assumed the fog had made his dreams more vibrant.

“Maybe?” Seaborne repeated, now looking at Roach. “You’ve dreamt about me before?” Roach raised his hands in exasperation.

“Wha- I dunno!” he fumbled. “It’s just a dream. What’s the big deal?”

“Whatever man…” Shaking his head and walking back into the fog, Seaborne let the conversation drop. He didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to think about it, about him sitting on Roach’s lap, about Roach touching him in all the wrong… in all the right places… No. This place was messing with them both. He just wanted it to be all over so he could go back to normal, back to reality. Reality was back home, in North Carolina. Reality was he and Roach as friends and nothing more. Anything else was a fantasy, a wish that could never come true.

Roach, meanwhile, was feeling a bit dejected, but that was nothing new. He had tried several times in the past to tell Seaborne how he felt, but his hints had always failed. Seaborne was stubborn and refused to play along. He always just figured Roach was playing around, making jokes in poor taste, and Roach eventually stopped trying. Seaborne didn’t want to be more than friends. Seaborne was a straight man raised in the south. Roach would just have to live with that. He learned that long ago. So the two of them walked on in silence, waiting for the next vision, the next hallucination to blow their minds. It wasn’t long before they felt a new chill in the motionless wind and they turned at the same time to see a dark shape forming in the mist. Several dark shapes, in fact.

One after another formed at the edge of their vision, where the fog was too thick to make them out clearly. They all looked exactly like the dark shape Seaborne had seen in the house across from Roach’s hotel room, large and foreboding. Seaborne turned slowly; the shapes were appearing all around them in a large circle; he and Roach were surrounded. The shapes, no more than dark shadows in the fog at first, slowly began to coalesce into smaller figures. Smaller, human figures. There was Doug and Darrel, Cindy and Deneir, even Mrs. Marble but any hint of friendliness had left their usually benign faces. Now their soulless expressions filled him with a sense of dread.

Once formed these shadow people began stepping closer to the federal duo, their feet moving as one collective, like soldiers in the army. Seaborne took a step backwards, his back meeting up with Roach’s as the two of them watching the oncoming mob, their arms raised defensively in preparation for an attack, but then the people stopped. They paused in a tight circle around Seaborne and Roach, their eyes empty, their faces blank. Out of the corner of his eye, Seaborne saw Roach instinctively reach for his gun, only to remember that it had been taken hours before. If only they had their weapons, anything to defend themselves, although there was no certainty that it would help; this could be another hallucination for all they knew.

“It’s not real,” Seaborne assured his partner, trying to comfort both Roach and himself. “It’s just like the library: it’s all an illusion.” Roach nodded. He knew it had to be an illusion, but it was so real. Like his dream, like the library, it was all so real, and he knew first hand that and injuries would definitely be real.

“Just stay behind me,” Roach told him, taking a protective stance in front of his friend. Seaborne wasn’t sure if Roach could protect him, but he felt comforted anyway. The various people all opened their mouths to speak and when they did it was with a thousand voices, more voices than a group their size should have had, and all speaking in unison. Roach, meanwhile, recognized the voices as the once from the library. He eyed the faces as they spoke, suspicious and ready to defend himself and Seaborne.

“There is no escape,” the voices said, without feeling, without inflection. “Not while the truth remains hidden.”

“What truth?” Roach barked, furious at being kept her against his will.

“The truth will set you free,” the voices replied, explaining nothing. It was the same phrase they had used at the library, but Roach still didn’t understand. Seaborne was equally confused and more scared than he would have liked to admit. Then, a thought occurred to him. Perhaps that was the truth they wanted, for him to admit how he felt about this whole ordeal. It was worth a shot.

“You want to know you’ve scared me?” he asked, looking at each face in turn. “Is that the truth you want? Fine. I’m scared. I hate this place and I’m scared that I’ll never leave.”

“When the honey fails, the vinegar must be applied.” Not the response either Roach or Seaborne expected and it clarified nothing. Roach sympathized with Seaborne’s feelings, but he didn’t think that was the truth the voices were talking about. Perhaps Seaborne was right, though. Maybe the voices did want a confession, an admission of guilt, an acknowledgment of wrong-doing, or maybe something else. Swallowing hard, he turned to his best friend.

“You want to leave here, right?” he asked, looking into Seaborne’s eyes.

“Of course,” his partner agreed, wondering what his friend was getting at.

“You trust me, right?” Seaborne wasn’t sure what his friend was planning, but he did trust him. Implicitly.

“Yeah,” he agreed again. His eyes were locked with those of his partner and for a moment he thought they were going to make a run for it. Roach was more nervous now than he had been this entire time, but his eyes didn’t leave Seaborne for one second. Roach felt his heart beat in his ears, but he knew this was the only way. It had to be. All evidence led to this moment, this truth. He just hoped Seaborne would forgive him. Without warning, he took Seaborne’s head in his hands, leaned down, closed his eyes, and pressed their lips together.

All of time stopped in that moment. The rest of the world did not exist. All Seaborne could see was Roach. All Roach could feel was Seaborne. A myriad of emotions ran through their bodies and eternity passed in mere seconds. The truth that they had tried so hard to hide from each other was finally revealed and there was no going back. Roach was about to pull away, to apologize profusely, when he realized that Seaborne, the man he had loved for all of his life, was kissing back. Seaborne didn’t have any words to say, he didn’t know how to respond to tell Roach that he felt the same way, always had. Instead he closed his eyes, brought his hands to Roach’s waist and pulled him closer, deepened the kiss and breathed in the scent of the man he loved. The man who loved him back.

Seaborne was shaking when they finally pulled away to breathe. Neither man had let go, and their eyes saw nothing but each other. The fear that they had experienced moments ago was forgotten, the voice and visions gone from their minds, and there was only each other. That and the truth that they had just shared. Neither knew what to say, even though they both had everything to say. As the shock wore off, Roach smiled. Seaborne smiled back and the two of them broke into gentle laughter.

“I love you Bo,” Roach managed, his hands dropping to take those of his partner, his love. Seaborne held them close, his eyes never moving from Roach’s face.

“I love you,” he told him, in awe of what he saw. Love. Devotion. Desire. Was this real? Was this another illusion? He didn’t care. He couldn’t let go. Neither could Roach.

Out of the corner of their eyes, the rest of the world came into view as the people gathered around them began to fade, like the other illusions. They shifted into the mist and the darkness lifted into daylight. The mist was dissolving, the fog dissipating. They saw the buildings of Ravenvale: the gas station, the hotel, the library, the houses. They were all dissolving with the fog, fading into thin air. Just before the places evaporated into nothing, they heard the voices one last time.

“The truth has set you free…” With that last message, the voice, the fog, the entire town, was gone. Roach glanced behind his friend, nodding towards the only thing left. Their tan rental car stood, unphased, by the side of an empty road. Other than that there wasn’t anything but boundless fields and the open road as far as their eyes could see. The two men exchanged glances before cautiously approaching the car. It looked unharmed. Seaborne opened the passenger side door and opened the glove compartment.

“Our side arms.” He pointed to the weapons inside. Lying there as if nothing had happened. Roach jumped into the driver’s side, holding out his hand to his partner.

“You got the keys?” Seaborne passed them quickly and Roach immediately shoved them into the ignition and turned them. The car started right away without a fuss. The engine purred, ready to take them home.

“Let’s get outta here,” Seaborne suggested, getting in and putting on his seat belt. Roach put his own seat belt on and went to put the car in drive but then he paused. He looked at his friend, his heart growing nervous again.

“Bo,” he began, putting his hand on Seaborne’s knee. “It wasn’t all an illusion… right?” Seaborne placed his hand on top of Roach’s, smiling with a knowing face.

“Not the stuff that was important,” he answered, rubbing his thumb along the back of Roach’s hand. He leaned forwards and Roach did the same, meeting in the middle for a quick but tender kiss. This part was real. Their love was real. It always had been. It always would be.

“Just checking,” Roach said with a grin. He gave Seaborne’s knee one last love-squeeze before letting go to put the car in gear. As they drove off down the road towards the next town, neither was certain about what Ravenvale really was. Had it ever been real? Was it unreal? Whatever the explanation, something wonderful had happened between them. Something that was more real than anything they had experienced. Something they would keep for the rest of their days. Together.

~ ~ ~

Once the car was out of sight, unknown to the two FBI agents lost in their new relationship and thoughts of finally going home, the fairies fluttered over the former site of Ravenvale.

“That was the best festival ever,” one cheered, smiling.

“I thought they’d never figure it out,” another replied, shaking its head.

“I hope they come back again,” a third noted. “They had very creative imaginations.”

“Maybe they will,” still another remarked, tilting its head. “Same time next year?” The rest of the fairies nodded excitedly. Then, with tiny giggles and a wave of their hands, they all vanished into the ether. They couldn’t wait for next year.

~The End~

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[totallyrhettro]

I am so freaking excited that you're posting fic again! You are one of my absolute favorite writers and I am so excited to read Ravenvale! I am going to try and wait for it to all be posted but I do not think I will be able to wait that long.

I’m so sorry that it’s been so long since I posted anything. I’m even more sorry that the fic isn’t finished yet. I’m working daily to finish it now, so hopefully it don’t be long until it’s all up for you to read. Thanks for being patient and for your lovely support. It’s for fans like you that I continue to write.

Ravenvale on ao3