#this sat in my drafts for three weeks after i lost my charger

[hay-bails]

deathnoteposting again

[malumsmermaid]

Thirsty Much?

Prequel to Nail Polish

Requested by anon: “I was wondering how they start being fwb”

Warnings: self-pleasure, sex, fwb situation

Rating: M (18+ only)

Word Count: 2.8k

NSFR

You were sitting out on the back patio, laptop in front of you, half-heartedly participating in a work meeting. The voice of one of your more eager coworkers filled your headphones as your gaze went over the top of your computer screen, landing on your recent roommate, Calum, working out, shirtless, in the far corner of his yard. 

You had moved in with Calum almost two months ago. It was only meant to be temporary, moving out of your ex’s home after they broke up with you, their main point being jealousy and insecurity caused by your friendship with Calum. You didn’t totally understand that contention, sure Calum had a habit of kissing his closest friends, yourself included, from time to time, on the cheek or otherwise, and obviously you weren’t blind, he was unfairly attractive, but you didn’t think any of your interactions with him could’ve caused insecurity in your former partner, Calum was just your friend.

The set up was supposed to be temporary, the night after you’d removed all your things from your former apartment you’d stayed up with Calum and a bottle of wine, trying to understand what your ex had seen. After a month of chaos at work and processing being single again you began the search for a new apartment, close enough to work without being in an area where you could potentially run into your former partner at the store or coffee shop on a regular basis. About a week and a half into your search, however, lockdown started, leaving you living with Calum for the indefinite future. 

At the time it seemed all well and good, however, now almost a full three weeks in with no contact with anyone aside from Calum and you were...frustrated. It had first reared its head last week when you helped Calum film his section of the Wildflower music video. Standing in the living room, with just Calum and the green screen in front of you, as he took on the lead singer role, performing for a non-existent audience in his black mesh shirt and mouthing along to the arguably suggestive lyrics, or at least only arguable in Calum’s mind from what you’d seen of Luke and Ashton when the video came out, it had definitely been a challenge to keep the camera steady. As soon as you both had deemed there to be enough footage for Andy and Sarah to go through for the project they’d come up with as an alternative for the original video that had had to be scrapped due to quarantine you’d volunteered to take Duke out for a walk while Calum waited for their friend to come pick up the equipment, to get some fresh air.

Your video meeting ended, and you continued to sit there, checking your email for anything new and working on a project that was due tomorrow...the one the meeting was about. Calum disappeared inside while you were still working, reappearing about ten minutes later. “Thirsty?” he stated, and you turned to look up at him, considering if he had noticed you watching his workout at all.

You smiled when you saw the glass of water he was holding out, nodding and thanking him softly as you accepted it. “I’m going to be in the office on a call with the boys, don’t know how long it’s going to go on, think we’re making some sort of video out of it for later.” He said, hand running through his damp curls as he squinted against the sun.

You nodded in response, sighing as you spotted the low battery alert on your laptop. You hadn’t plugged it in after last night’s show watching and having the brightness all the way up so you could actually see wasn’t doing your battery any favors. “I’m probably going to come in now anyway, computer wants to die on me, so I’d better plug it in and just take a quick shower before I get back to work.”

You both went back inside, plugging your laptop in at the kitchen counter and draining the glass of water while Calum got started making his lunch before Ashton called in. You left the glass in the sink, walking down the hall to the bathroom. You closed the door behind you, quickly stripping down as you started the water. You had the water set to the cooler side today, necessitated both by the warmth of the Los Angeles sun and the heat your body was putting off as a result of the thoughts you were having about your current roommate. You did a quick wash, moving to the shower’s true purpose. 

You began touching yourself, mind filling with images of Calum’s plump lips, his tongue darting out to wet them occasionally, and his long fingers, you’d seen them work over his keyboard, bass, and acoustic guitar as he continued to create during these times, and now you imagined them working over you, in place of your own fingers. You let your mind wander to all the things you could only dream he would do to you, gasping and moaning softly, hoping that the fan, running water, and closed door would cover up what you were doing.

For some reason, today, just imagining his fingers and mouth working you wasn’t enough, letting out a frustrated groan before pushing into new territory. You chewed your lip, trying to picture what could possibly be hidden beneath his pants. You had some ideas to go off of from mornings where he just rolled out of bed in only boxers or wandering the house in his sweatpants, but you had never entirely taken that in before. You heard a door creak somewhere in the house, assuming it was the office door, giving you slightly more freedom with your alone time. You increased your volume just slightly, following the path of your new train of thought. Finally you felt yourself reaching your high, chasing that feeling recklessly. “Fuck, yes, yes...shit fuck, Caluumm” you whimpered out as you finally fell over the edge, free hand gripping the handrail for the wash cloth for stability. 

You took a moment to catch your breath before turning around to rinse off and clean up before getting out of the shower. As soon as you cut the water off you heard footsteps retreating down the hall and frowned, slowly poking your head out from behind the shower curtain. You gasped when you saw the open bathroom door, cursing yourself. You knew Calum’s house was on the older side and that sometimes the doors didn’t latch right, susceptible to open with a draft. Heat and embarrassment flooded your body and you grabbed the towel from the hook just outside the shower, drying most of the way off in the shower before wrapping the fabric around your body and darting across the hall to your room.

You quickly finished drying off and pulled on fresh pajamas before running down to the kitchen to grab your laptop and found a plate of food sitting next to it, feeling yourself grow even warmer at the fact that Calum had sweetly chosen to prepare lunch for you too. You took the plate and your laptop and charger back into your room, closing the door tightly before crawling into bed, eating your lunch and getting back to work, no intention of leaving this room until lockdown was over.

~~~~~~

Several hours later there was a light knocking on your door. You closed your laptop, sinking under your blankets and tried to pretend to sleep. Another three knocks against the door followed by the sound of it opening with no time in between for you to fully pull the covers above your head to hide from your friend. So instead you stayed as still as possible as you heard his footsteps on the wood floor. “Hey sweets, I know you’re not asleep under there, c’mon, talk to me.” His voice was gentle and you hummed, refusing to face him. 

The bed sank slightly under his weight as he sat in the space created by your curled up legs. He shifted slightly, turning until he was able to reach over and place a hand on your shoulder. “I want you to know that I can be here for whatever you need. I know you just think it’s for comfort, but, we’re going to be here for who knows how much longer, and I want you to know...I’m open to anything, but you have to talk to me, okay sweets?”

You could feel warmth spreading across your face at his words and slowly you rolled over, pushing down the blankets. He shifted on the bed, accomodating for your movement and you both changed positions, waiting a moment for him to settle before you spoke. “I’m just...afraid,” you began, Calum’s mouth opening to respond, but you continued on before you lost your nerve. “The whole time I was trying to process my breakup I kept saying that I only ever saw you as a friend, but the past week or so it’s been different. Maybe it is just because I haven’t been able to see anyone else right now, or maybe there’s something underlying there that I didn’t notice and my ex did. But, regardless of what’s causing...that, I don’t want to mess up what we have, our friendship. If something more were to happen and we come out of this lockdown and I get out of your hair, I don’t want to lose you.”

Calum was silent for a moment once you’d finished, thoughtful expression on his face. You curled your knees to your chest, waiting for him to respond. “Ok, first things first, you moving in with me after your ex broke up with you? Not at all a burden or nuisance to me, so get that out of your head. Second, the two of us hooking up, is sort of something that I have considered before, even before quarantine. Obviously not while you were processing your breakup, I’m not a fucking dick, but like before that a few times. And personally, I think that the foundation of our friendship is solid enough to survive us sleeping together, even if it only lasts for the rest of quarantine. It’s all up to you, ok sweets? Nothing you have to decide right now, and there’s no pressure. It’s just all out in the open now, yeah?”

You nodded slowly as Calum finished speaking, finally looking directly at him and seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes. You gave him a small smile in return and he leaned forward, wrapping his arms tightly around your shoulders. Just as he pulled out of the hug, the doorbell rang, followed swiftly by Duke barking. “Perfect timing, ordered us dinner. You can eat in here, or you can join me in the living room and help me find a show to watch tonight.”

You smiled, nodding as you slowly got to your feet, kicking the covers away while Calum left to go pick up the delivery from the front steps. You grabbed your lunch plate, carrying it to the kitchen and setting it in the dishwasher before joining Calum on the couch. He grinned, squeezing your shoulders as you joined him, remote already in hand. 

~~~~~~

After cleaning up dinner you both stayed on the couch, continuing to watch a few more episodes of the show you’d agreed on. As the loading screen for the next episode appeared on the tv you turned to look up at Calum from where your head was resting on his shoulder. Anxiety plagued you yet again, chewing your lip before pushing past it and voicing your thoughts. “Cal…” you whispered, getting his attention, “can we...you know, try this out?”

Calum just nodded slowly in response, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of your head before turning off the tv. He held your hand as you both walked down the hall, all the way to his room. He stood in the doorway with you for a moment, slowly leaning in and pulling you tightly against him. He leaned down, capturing your lips in a slow, gentle kiss. Your eyes fluttered closed as you kissed him back, fingers threading into the short curls at the nape of his neck, everything about the moment sweeter than you could’ve ever imagined. 

He took things slow, checking with you each time he wanted to remove a piece of your clothing. Once you were completely bare, sitting on his bed he crawled next to you, mostly undressed, though his boxers were still on. He pressed gentle kisses over your cheeks, nose, and neck before slowly progressing to your chest. “Please Calum,” you finally whimpered, reaching to try to bring him back to you, “need you.” 

He nodded, watching as your hands moved to his boxers, slowly freeing him from that final constraint. His eyes fluttered closed as you carefully wrapped a hand around his half-hard length, your movements tentative as you made sure that he was getting taken care of too. You felt a flush overtake you as you continued to work him, sudden thought from earlier hitting you. Calum misread the change in your expression, gentle hand grabbing your wrist, “You don’t have to keep this going if you don’t want to.” He stated, voice gentle as he looked at you with concern.

“No, no, it’s not that,” you reassured, everything in you beyond certain that that was the case with Calum, that you could tell him to stop anytime and he would listen. “It’s just...in the shower earlier...I just...even half hard...it’s uh, beyond--”

Calum smirked slightly as he realized what you were saying, leaning forward and placing a kiss to your cheek. “I get that, don’t worry, I’ll take it easy tonight, yeah?”

You nodded shyly, thumb flicking over his tip as he spoke. He gasped sharply, hand still on your arm but gripping tighter now. You stared at him, eyes wide as he took shallow breaths, your hand stilling on his length. He gently released your arm after a moment, you following suit, removing your hand from him as he leaned toward the bedside table. He pulled out lube and a condom, tossing both down on the bed before leaning in for another slow, deep kiss. “Relax for me, sweets,” he whispered as he slowly pulled away, grabbing the lube and coating his fingers, finally beginning to work you open. 

His voice was gentle, keeping up a conversation, asking you about things you liked and didn’t, always checking in from time to time to make sure you were still okay with what was happening. Finally, he wiped his fingers on his thighs, looking down at your shaking body, already close from the stimulation he’d been giving you. He grabbed the condom, quickly opening it and rolling it on himself, nose scrunching up as he did so. He was about to check in with you again, his mouth already open to ask the question when you cut him off, “Please Calum, I need you.”

He smiled, cheeks flushing slightly before he lined himself up with you and slowly began pushing in. You gasped, your body seeming to stretch further as he entered you than it had already from his fingers. You let out a low moan of his name, hands grasping for anything, just from him being inside of you.

He gave you time to adjust before slowly rocking his hips in and out, taking into account everything else you’d told him minutes earlier and even with him taking it slow, being completely gentle, you felt like you were going to burst, telling him as much as he continued his steady pace. “Whenever you’re ready, love, let go,” he managed between gasps and moans of his own.

You came twice before he did, Calum collapsing as soon as he fully finished, rolling over so you were on top with him still inside you. You sighed, leaning your head against his chest, listening to his racing heart as you both came down. Finally he pulled out, carefully maneuvering you back onto the mattress and got out of bed. You watched him as he walked into his bathroom, admiring the view until you couldn’t anymore. You heard the water running and soon he returned with a warm washcloth. He slowly cleaned you up before doing the same to himself, quickly taking the cloth back to the bathroom once he was done. He crawled back into bed, strong arm pulling you to his side and you laid your head back on his chest.

The room was silent for a few moments before you finally managed to find your voice. “So, we should do that again sometime,” you said, turning to smile up at him.

Calum smiled back, “A hundred percent….in the morning?”

“Only if you wake up ready to go,” you teased tiredly, nuzzling against him.

“You’re on, sweets.” He stated with a smile, gently rubbing your back as you slowly fell asleep.

Tag List: @calpops @goth5sos @irwinkitten @wildflowergrae @empathycth @talkfastromance4 @maluminspace @thesubtweeter

[rhinoswriting]

A Life On The Road - Part 4 (A Luke Hemmings FanFic)

Overview: Elizabeth and Calum have been best friends since they were 15/14 respectively. Elizabeth is from and lives in the UK, but her family lived in Sydney for a brief 2 year period which is how the two met.

With 5SOS embarking on their biggest and most ambitious world tour to date, Cal has invited Elizabeth along to work as a photographer/content creator for their social media. This is in the hopes that travelling with them will help Elizabeth achieve her dream of becoming a full-time travel writer.

Elizabeth is acquainted with the rest of 5SOS but doesn’t know them tremendously well. Obviously that changes as they are all forced to be in one another’s company for the duration of the tour. As the tour progresses and new friendships blossom, Elizabeth feels the connection between her and Luke grow more and more.

A/N: Picking up in Paris. There’s drinking and swearing in this one.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

******************************************

“That was genuinely one of the best meals I’ve ever had.” Michael announced as we exited the restaurant.

“It was incredible! I’m still so jealous of your main though, Mikey. Like, mine was good but I should have got the same as you.” I replied.

“So where to next? The night is still young and we have no obligations before tomorrow’s soundcheck.” Ashton asked the group.

A bar was obviously the unanimous decision. But I did convince them to walk aimlessly until we found a bar. That way we could see some of the landmarks lit up and I could get some content both for the band insta and to go alongside any Paris articles of mine that got picked up.

“I’m going to have my work cut out topping these,” I told the guys as I reviewed the short series of photos I had just taken of them by The Louvre, “So I think that counts as me done for the night. Time to find the nearest baaarrrr!”

It didn’t take long to find a bar. It also didn’t take long for us to all have a cocktail glass held in each hand. While the meal was excellent, it was quite a posh place, something none of us were exactly used to. This bar felt much more like our kind of place. It was time to really relax and have fun as nothing more than a group of friends.

In terms of music it was a bit hit and miss as to whether or not we knew the song playing. While that stopped us singing, it never stopped us from dancing. Also, not being familiar with a song was an excellent opportunity to get the next round of drinks in.

“Hurry up! I don’t have a good grip on these! Quick! Take your fucking drinks!” I yelled as I returned from the bar doing my very best to carry five glasses.

“Thanks, EP!” Cal shouted back as he took two glasses from me, passing one on to Michael.

“TO EP FOR ADDING MORE FUN, AND RIGHT NOW DRINKS, TO TOUR AND BEING A STEP CLOSER TO ACHEIVING HER DREAMS!” Ashton called as he raised his glass into the air for a toast.

“TO EP!” The four of them shouted as they clinked their glasses together.

“You guys are too much at times,” I laughed, “But thank you very much none the less.”

With that slightly embarrassing moment of attention out the way we got back to dancing and sipping on our drinks. After a few songs Cal excused himself to the smoking area. Not long after he’d gone Michael went up to the bar as it was his turn to buy the round, leaving just me, Luke and Ash dancing in a little triangle of space. That was until Live In The Moment by Portugal. The Man started playing. 

As soon as we recognised the song Luke gave me a knowing look as I exclaimed ‘As if!’ because only hours ago in that random little coffee shop had we bonded over our mutual current obsession with the song. From that point until the song faded into the next Luke and I were solely focussed on one another as we passionately sang the lyrics at each other and let the beat draw our drunk, dancing bodies closer together in the already small space. 

Without even realising it we became only inches apart, loudly singing into each other’s faces with our drink-free hands moving between air punches, waves and resting on each other (his hand on my waist, mine on his shoulder). And then far too soon the song was over.

“That’s officially made my night,” I declared as I took a step back and downed what remained of my drink, “That was the best coincidence ever.”

“I think that just became our song.” Luke smiled down at me while pushing a few curls back out of his face.

“Are you fucks going to take your drinks now? Because I’m 30 seconds away from drinking them.” Michael somewhat playfully asked, pulling the two of us out of our bubble.

It wasn’t long after taking our drinks from Michael that Mr. Brightside came on and the five of us went mad for it on the dancefloor. And it turned out that, just like a multitude of other clubs I’d been to, Mr Brightside was a subtle signal that closing time was fast approaching. After the two songs that followed, the music stopped and the house lights came on.

“Boooo!” We all declared, clearly not ready for the night to be over just yet.

We collected our jackets from the cloakroom as we were ushered out into the cold Parisian night air with the rest of the crowd. Once out on the street we checked the time for the first time in hours. Realising it was 3:05am and nowhere else was likely to still be open we began our walk back to the tour bus.

It may seem strange to say, but drunk walks home at the end of a night out are one of my favourite things in the world. I get such a feeling of togetherness when I’m laughing and slightly staggering down the street with friends. It always makes me feel like I belong. And semi-lost under the streetlights of Paris I had that feeling of belonging wash its warmth over me. I took two large steps to catch up with Cal and looped my arm through his, 

“I so fucking glad I’m here. Thank you so much for being my best friend. And thank you for having bandmates that are so easy to get along with.” I told Cal as I placed my drunk, sleepy head against his arm as I wasn’t quite tall enough to reach his shoulder.

As Cal and I continued our drunk heart-to-heart we absentmindedly followed the other three in what we hoped was the direction of the tour bus. Seeing as we hadn’t been paying much attention to them and their antics, it was a bit of a surprise to hear Ash shout “Smile!” at us. Thankfully we were quick enough to pose. 

The result was a pretty cool photo of us, arms still linked, pulling tongue-out faces while flipping the camera off. I asked Ash to send it to me, edited it a bit and kept it in my Insta drafts for review and posting in the morning. By the time I’d done this, we’d managed to find our way back to the bus. Once we all piled in we promptly collapsed in our bunks for what remained of the night.

*

The next day was actually quite a relaxed one for me by touring standards.

I was woken up by Michael repeatedly prodding my upper arm. Once I stirred and opened one eye to find him there, he let me know that Ashton had gone and done a coffee run and mine was waiting for me in the kitchen area. Begrudgingly I got up, because I knew the caffeine would do me good, and I also really needed painkillers for my head. As I padded into the bus’ kitchen area in my XXL tee I saw that the guys were looking just as rough as I felt and probably looked too.

“Thanks for the coffee, Ash.” I said as I picked up the cup with my name on, “I don’t suppose there’s any painkillers on this bus?”

“Got some on my coffee run. Here you go.” Ash responded handing me the small rectangular box.

“You lifesaver.” I said taking the box and settling down on the small sofa next to Luke who was barely awake.

As everyone was pretty hungover we didn’t talk much. We just sat in a comfortable silence while we waited for the caffeine to kick in. 

The silence was finally broken by Lou getting onto the bus and letting the four guys know it was soundcheck in 30 minutes. This prompted them to go and change out of their joggers and freshen up a bit. As they did so I dug out my laptop, charger and notebook from my bunk in order to set up a temporary desk at the kitchen booth’s table and get some work done.

After two hours I’d managed to finish, proof read and send off my article on Glasgow to ELLE; as well as flesh out two article ideas for Paris. Pleased with what I had achieved in that time, despite my headache only being dulled slightly by the painkillers, I took a break. 

Predictably, after making some instant mug ramen, I ended up on Instagram; which was when I remembered the photo in my drafts from last night. I clicked onto it and saw drunk me had gone a bit too far when altering the brightness and warmth of the photo. Once I had edited them down and was pleased with how it looked, I tapped out the caption “Two of a kind!” with the emoji of the two dancing girls at the end, tagged Cal and hit ‘Post’. Not quite ready to go back to work, I decided to get dressed and head into the venue to see what the guys were up to.

The guys were just finishing up the meet and greet, so I hopped round to the front of the venue and gave some of the roadies a hand with prepping the t-shirts and hoodies into piles by size at the merch booth. In between pile sorting, Lou appeared to let us know the boys were in Dressing Room 4 doing radio interviews over the phone and to avoid that area of the venue until they were done. Not knowing when exactly that would be, I headed back to the bus once the merch had been sorted and video called Drew.

“Work is so shit without you. Your replacement sucks too.” Drew complained.

“Aww I’m sorry, Drew! Have you heard back from the other firm you applied to?”

“No, not yet. But I should hopefully within the next week. I can’t survive much longer with these people. How’re you surviving on the road?”

“Really well actually! Not to rub it in or anything.” I laughed.

As I was divulging into some of the details and anecdotes I heard someone slapping their hands along the length of the bus as they approached the door.

“Oh. It sounds like I’m going to have to go.” I managed to say before the door opened and Luke stepped onto the bus, “Adios. I’ll call you again soon.”

“Oh shit, sorry, I didn’t realise you were on the phone.” Luke apologised as he caught the tail-end of my conversation, “We’re all just chilling in the main dressing room now, so I said I’d come and find you.”

“Let me grab my camera gear and I’ll be right with you.” I told him while shimmying out of the booth at the front of the bus.

After a few wrong turns backstage, which resulted in a game of Marco Polo between Luke and Michael as a way to guide us the right place, we were back into our comfortable evening routine. They got prepped and hyped up and I documented it with my camera. That evening I took each of them down the hall to a really cool, cobalt blue door I’d spotted for some solo shots. Luke, taking the longest to decide on his stage outfit for the night, was the last of the four I photographed.

“That red silk shirt was such a good choice.” I complemented him as I held my eye up to the viewfinder, “It contrasts this cobalt door so well. And the two together really bring out your eyes.”

“He doesn’t need a bigger head than he’s already got!” Cal called playfully down the corridor.

Luke let out his infectious giggle and I seized the opportunity to grab another photo while chuckling myself. It was a great photo. Such a pure moment captured. I almost didn’t want to share it on their social media, but I knew that was a foolish, and not to mention selfish, thought.

Not long after that the guys were called to the stage. I took my place side of stage and ritualistically fist bumped each of them as they took to the stage for another amazing show. I felt I had already got enough content while in Paris, so I chose to just enjoy the performance instead of worrying about shots and footage. It was the first time I had let myself do so on this tour and I had a blast.

“It looked like you were having a good time tonight.” Cal later remarked when we were all back on the bus and on the road to Brussels. 

“Don’t tell Lou, but I sort of let myself take tonight off shooting to enjoy the gig as I already have so much Paris content.” I confessed as I reclined on the sofa in the lounge at the back of the tour bus.

“Your secret is safe with us.” Cal reassured with a wink, before taking the final swig that remained in his beer bottle, “Right you fucks, I’m off to bed. See you in Brussels.”

Not long after, Mike and Ash made their way to their bunks as well. This left just Luke and I chilling in the back lounge. As he was scrolling through Netflix looking for a film to put on, I asked him, 

“Are you not shattered too?”

“Eh,” He shrugged, “A bit, yeah. But I always have trouble sleeping. Plus after our drunk chat the other night I’d like to hang out with you more, and I seem to only really get the chance at night.”

“I’m not going to argue with that.” I responded while draping a blanket over my shoulders as the opening credits to Groundhog Day began. After a pause I continued, “We can hang out during the day you know. Like take a break and grab lunch or something. Hey, why don’t we do the coffee run together tomorrow? That’ll be an opportunity to hang out.”

“I’d like that,” He smiled, and then tugged a little at the blanket, “Don’t go hogging all the blanket.”

I released my grip on the blanket, allowing Luke to drape it over himself as well. The added warmth of his body next to mine made me feel even cosier and it wasn’t long before I nodded off to sleep.

The tour bus abruptly coming to a stop a few hours later managed to rouse me from my slumber. As my eyes fluttered open, the rest of my body registered that I wasn’t in my bunk, or even laying down, and that the warm thing my head was on smelt very good. Once my eyes were open and no longer fuzzy with sleep I realised that I had fallen asleep during the film, as I was still sat on the lounge’s U-shaped sofa. Luke must have fallen asleep at some point during the film too, as the nice smelling thing my head was resting on was his shoulder, and I could feel his head resting gently on top of mine as he snored softly.

“Wake up. Hey, Luke. Wake up, “I prompted as I gently shook his thigh, “I think we’re in Brussels.”

[your-shield-of-love]

@shizuu-chann Here's part 3 of my VarricxInquisitor fic ^^

I'll sort a server soon and then invite you x

~~☆

Varric was hunched over, writing notes for ideas and conversations he had with his characters. He had also began writing about the Inquisition, being somewhat inspired by the chaos of Bubbles and how they had been a hero three times now.

The Inquisitor was off somewhere, with the Iron Bull, Dorian and Cole. Bubbles could stay at a place for weeks, travelling across that region to do all sorts of tasks. They were ambitious to help those in need but oddly only dealt with rifts if it was on their way to their objective. Varric theorised that Bubbles was afraid of them, with everything going on he couldn't blame them.

When the horns blew a certain tune throughout Skyhold, it meant the Inquisitor and their party had returned. Varric couldn't stop the smile on his face from growing, they had been gone for three weeks now and he missed their humourous company. He stood to walk towards the entrance, when the horns also played a smaller tune, meaning the party needed medical help asap. He felt himself speedily walking out the building and down the steps. He spotted the party, Iron Bull carrying Bubbles. At this Varric ran, underneath the stairs to go down more steps. Seeing the healers place Bubbles down on a blanket and checking them.

The Iron Bull spotted the look on Varric's face and smiled to himself. Good for the two of them. He looked down to the Boss, seeing their new open scars and their metal armour practically crumpled. He blamed himself for what happened. The party were fighting a high dragon and he charged at it, being at its feet while swinging away. Cole cleverly had stayed at its rear, attacking its ankles while Dorian used his magic from afar. They all had a tough time with it but the Boss got hurt near the end, badly hurt... The high dragon had flew around and was sky diving towards him when Boss shoved him as hard as they could out of the way. The damn dragon grabbed them and flew, the three chasing after. It landed on a cliff point nearby, dropping the unconscious down to its kids. It continued to fly at them, Dorian managing to finally put it down while he and Cole rushed in to stop its kids from feasting on Boss. Once they defeated the kids, they rushed to the Boss's side, noticing their armour was practically stabbing into them, they were scarred and their leg had been chomped on. Still unconscious. Iron Bull quickly carried the Boss to the nearby camp, while Cole and Dorian gathered the loot. They knew the Inquisitor loved their looting.

At the camp, the scouts and their sole healer did the best they could, stopping the bleeding and just waiting for the Inquisitor to wake up. The Iron Bull watched over their boss, they had done what he did for his chargers. Save them while taking a hit.

"The Iron Bull stood tall as the high dragon flew, I wouldn't lose him today. Running, the shove, a tightening grab, the fall and the hurt. At least they're safe." Cole spoke, "They don't blame us, they were scared for us. Fear of losing people, fear of losing, fear of failing. So much to carry, so many people to carry but he sees me as equal. A friend, my friend, The Iron Bull." Cole sat with him, he didn't know how to respond. Dorian came in eventually too, sitting on the other side of the Iron Bull. His fingers patting Iron Bull's. Eventually Dorian fell asleep, Cole taking a lot longer to sleep which Iron Bull didn't even realise he did. Eventually even he fell asleep.

The Inquisitor would wake up for intervals but would fall back asleep quite quickly. The healer saying how they had lost a lot of blood and although they received a bad sprain, they could travel back to Skyhold with support. So they prepared to travel back to Skyhold, the healer and a few scouts joining them to the end of the region, ensuring their safety. The Iron Bull carried Boss in his arms, Cole watching for any enemies while Dorian would use what little healing magic he had to ensure their friend was comfortable.

Heading up to Skyhold was tricky, the Boss kept waking from the cold, shivering into the Iron Bull. Their wounds had opened again, so Dorian did his best to heal them until reaching Skyhold.

Having heard The Iron Bull's tale, Varric stayed near but not in the way of the healers. He sat, his hand covering his mouth and sometimes combing his hand through his hair. He couldn't stop looking, stop worrying. He had checked the kid as well, he was mostly fine but the healer checked them over, after seeing to the Inquisitor. Varric was the first to enter the tent Bubbles lay in. They were covered in a blanket, their armour to the side. Their face pale and swollen, a new scar across their neck with a bandage covering it to stop the blood. Varric sat near Bubbles head, looking down at them. He was scared but wouldn't admit it. He decided to distract himself with how he would spin this in his novel.

Sometime later, Bubbles woke up, groaning and looking around, eyes stopping on Varric. "Hey, Varric." They said weakly, "I made friends with a high dragon." They laugh before groaning, holding on their lower leg, it had been bitten and Bubbles would have to rest for a few weeks.

Varric smiles at their joke, quickly moving their hand off the leg and holding their hand tightly. "How would you like me to spin this story?" He smirked, distracting himself and Bubbles, who grinned.

They hummed for a minute, "Say we fought courageously, the Iron Bull carrying the team while the rest of us followed his lead. He also shouted something Qun at it, might wanna ask him about it later." They sat up, patting at the bandage around their neck. Bubbles looked intensely at Varric, "Is everyone else alright?"

Varric laughs softly, "You're beaten to a pulp, almost eaten by baby high dragons and you ask how everyone else is?" He shakes his head, they really were his Hawke. "They're fine, few scrapes but mostly worried about you." They sighed in relief, looking at the hand Varric was holding still and back up to him.

They slowly grin, a blush growing on their bruised cheeks, "You too?"

"Shit, of course I'd be." Varric admitted, "Can't have the hero of my next book dying by high dragon babies. It's not realistic enough for a hero's tale."

The cough, pulling their hand to cover their mouth, their eyes showing shock. "Not realistic? What's realistic to you?"

Varric laughs, "Fighting at least three fully grown high dragons, then their Mother. Surviving and bringing their heads back as trophies." He smirks at the look on Bubbles face, "That's my first draft idea, thoughts?"

"I'm thinking, next time I'm off to fight a high dragon, I'm taking you with me!" They scoff, "Four high dragons, my ass!" They grumble, making Varric laugh, he was happy to see them still being themselves.

"Wait," Varric realised, "You planned to go and fight the high dragon, didn't tell me and you're actually going to fight another?" He stared.

The sat up and shrugged, "Yeah. It was a surprise for Bull and Dorian, Cole already said stuff about to me in private, thanked me for trusting him to help fight it." They smiled softly, mumbling something 'cute'. Looking back to Varric, "What, didn't Hawke fight a high dragon before?"

"Yes. One. With babies. Not more than one." He shook his head, "No matter how much they begged... No matter how much *you* begged." His eyes narrowed, he smirks, "That's why you didn't take me, cause you thought I'd stop you?"

Bubbles smiles, itching at their nose, "You wouldn't be able to stop me, not with the Iron Bull there." They laugh, "And anyway, you seemed busy when I was gonna ask you, so I didn't bother."

Varric gasps jokingly, "You left me to do paperwork over fighting a high dragon? I'm shocked, Hawke." He laughed before realising his mistake. They blinked at eachother for a moment, before Bubbles laughed and he joined in. It was true so why did he feel guilty? This was Hawke. Well, his written Hawke. Upon hearing shuffling away from the tent, he poked his head out of the tent, and spotted the Seeker quickly walking up the stairs. "Well, shit." He leaned back in, looking to Bubbles. "The seeker heard that, I think." At this, they sat up, looking like they were going to get up. "Hey, you need to rest. I'll handle it." He gently pushed them down, patting at their hand before leaving.

While Varric walked up the steps, he saw the Iron Bull entering Bubbles' tent. He spotted the Seeker at her training dummies and sighed to himself, however this conversation was going to end, it would be awkward and shit.

~~☆

Hope you liked this short ^^ I'll write Varric's and Cassandra's conversation next time! I hope you guys enjoyed xxx

[loversandantiheroes]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: F/M Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford, Female Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford Characters: Cullen Rutherford, Female Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Female Lavellan (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Lyrium Withdrawal, Lyrium Addiction, visual and auditory hallucinations, Mild Gore, Hurt/Comfort, first comes the hurt, then comes the comfort, I swear there will be comfort

The threat of Adamant looms, and the cracks begin to show.  Big, huge, and many thanks to @songofproserpine, @aloy-sobek, and @juliannos for beta reading this chapter.  I’ve spent a lot of time on this trying to get it right.  Here’s hoping I succeeded.

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

Adamant.

“Read it again,” Cullen said, stone-faced, praying he had heard wrong

Josephine sat behind her desk, eyes wide with that same alarmed disbelief he felt, but she nodded just the same, cleared her throat, and began to read.

The Wardens are compromised.  A Magister of the Venatori, Livius Erimond has infiltrated their ranks and convinced them their only chance of ensuring an end to the Blights before the Calling consumes them is to raise a demon army and march upon the Deep Roads and kill the Old Gods before they can be corrupted.  What we stumbled upon appears to have been the first attempt at the binding ritual.  Erimond instructed a small group of Warden mages to each kill one of their fellows, some sort of blood magic ritual to draw and bind a demon.  More concerning: while the ritual places the demon in the thrall of the mage that bound it, it also binds the mage to Corypheus.  The familiarity of this is not lost on me, I remember Redcliffe too well.  We have dispatched the ‘test group’, but Erimond has escaped.  Hawke and Stroud have scouted west on Stroud’s hunch and have found the Wardens occupying an ancient stronghold called Adamant.  I do not know the name, but I imagine at least one of you does, and Stroud’s face when he spoke of it tells me more than I wish to know.   We return for Skyhold at once.  We must plan, and we must plan quickly.

Josephine laid the missive down gingerly.  “This is...dire.”

“Adamant has been unbreachable for centuries,” Leliana said, her voice cold and hushed like a dagger in the dark..

“Centuries ago they did not have trebuchets,” Cullen said, striving for a confidence he did not in any way feel.  “We need sappers.”

“I believe one of Bull’s Chargers is a sapper,” Leliana suggested.  “And we have Dagna.  That is at least a start.  I will do some digging, see who else we have that may be of use.”

Josephine began rifling through papers on her desk.  “I believe I may be able to call in a favor for siege equipment.  Not all nobles deal purely in coin and gossip.”

“That just leaves us with enthralled Wardens and demons,” Leliana muttered darkly.  “They could house over a thousand men there.”

The pain in Cullen’s head flared, a sharp pulse at his temples.  “Our Templars should be prepared.  Our people should be prepared.”

“The Inquisitor returns with haste,” Josephine said.  “Two weeks by horse relay, perhaps less.  That gives us some time to prepare.”

Cullen scowled.  “Another five to make the march back out there with enforcements, and that’s on top of preparations.  Andraste preserve us, Erimond could fill Adamant in that time if he has enough mages among the Wardens.”

“How many of your remaining Templars are at Skyhold, Commander?” Leliana asked.

“Nowhere near enough.  I will send word, recall as many as possible to Skyhold.”  He turned on his heel, gripping the hilt of his sword, and made for his office.

Unbreachable.  Maker, if only the walls were their only worry.

* * *

Preparations had to be made, even before the Inquisitor’s return.  Cullen sent dozens of letters, ordering an immediate return to base for every Templar they had in the field.  The numbers were considerably less than he cared for, barely over fifty all told, with perhaps a half dozen veterans among them.  A rueful little voice nattered in his ear, reminding him if they had only gone to the Templars, if he had the full force of the Order at his disposal….  But of course, he didn’t.  The choice had been made.  And given the actions of the demon Krem said had been impersonating the Lord Seeker, sending the Herald into Therinfal Redoubt would have been like driving a lamb into a slaughtering pen.  It was not the alliance he regretted, it was the loss.

And so the week went, a flurry of activity and too-little sleep.  The headache persisted and brought with it a faint, charred smell that followed him as he went about his duties, craning his neck to search for signs of smoke.  The itch came soon after, bone-deep and low, something that made him want to twist and squirm in his own skin.  Cullen was too disciplined for that, too stubborn.  

But he moved, and he kept moving.  He paced constantly.  Inspections doubled.  A sand pit was hastily constructed near the practice yard to give the men some idea of what they might face if the fight took them outside of the fortress walls.  The time he spent in the sparring ring jumped dramatically.  And even there he was restless, moving and rolling and driving aside the less practiced with an alarming ferocity.  None were injured, but more than a few soldiers left the ring with their practice weapons cracked and their heads hung in exhausted defeat.

His soldiers bore his agitation.  The staff on the other hand were less equipped to handle it.  He was short with them, an irritation that grew steadily worse as the week wore on, until it was a fight to keep his fool mouth shut before he berated some poor maid for doing their job too close to him, or a runner for slamming doors they swore they had not touched.  Overworked was the polite whisper.  Arsehole was the less polite version, and he couldn’t claim it was unearned.  His behavior was regrettably noted.  None seemed to mark the reason behind it, save for Cassandra who kept a wary, albeit distant, eye on him, but said nothing.

The thirst returned soon after.  A familiar addition, and one he considered to be no great concern.  Cullen had long since learned to ration his water.  And if his tongue worried restlessly over too-dry lips and his throat ached with the need for something colder, cleaner, bluer - well, what of that?  Pain was pain, and he could take it.  And he did.  More and more each day.  Until the headaches were inescapable and his joints felt like fire and broken glass.  The remedies helped, when good sense came to him in the grounding guise of Aadhlei’s voice and overrode his pride, urging him to finally send slips to the infirmary for the potions that would dull the pain, or settle his stomach enough to keep half a hurried meal down, or to sleep for longer than an hour at night without jerking awake to the muffled sounds of phantom explosions.

And so he endured.  He had little choice else.  The cost of failure was far too high.  It was a well-worn slog, horrible but at the very least predictable, until the ninth day.

Morning found him pulling on his armor, hair combed but face unshaven, fighting to still the tremors in his hands enough to buckle on his breastplate.  A missive had arrived by raven the night before declaring the Inquisitor had just passed Halamshiral.  Four days left, three if she kept up the relay.  There had been no direct letters since she had left the Western Approach, and he could not claim that he did not feel their absence, or hers.  It had been well over a month since she had left Skyhold with Hawke and Stroud in tow. He realized with a glum sort of wistfulness that this was almost certainly the longest they had spent apart since they had met.  

Yet the relief he expected with the news of her return was nowhere to be found.  Instead all he felt was a cold, creeping dread that snaked its way through his gut like a wire.  She would return, and she would look to him with trust in those soft green eyes that had shaken him free of so many nightmares, and she would expect him to give council.  And what did he have?  A migraine and a rather impressive case of the shits.  Fine council, indeed.

Idiot boy.

Cullen froze.  The voice was clear and harsh, a mocking sneer.  And Maker, it sounded close.  Close enough that Cullen fancied if he turned he would see the Knight-Commander’s eyes, steel shot through with red, mere inches from his own.

“You’re dead,” he said, voice taut.  He pulled his gorget over his head and set to fastening it down.  “At least have the decency to be silent.”

You called me mad.  My own Knight-Captain stood against me.  And for what?  To protect blood mages.  And now here they stand again.  Weak and foolish Wardens turning to blood magic to save their own skins.  They will paint Thedas red in blood and lyrium and it will be on your head.

And then the room was gone.  All around was chaos; the steel-on-steel clash of combat, the sizzling crack and pull of magic, but even that was drowned out by the sounds of pure panic and carnage.

The choice was yours, Knight-Captain.  Blessed are those that stand before the wicked and do not falter.  And when have you done anything but falter?

Cullen pushed his fists against his eyes.  Skyhold.  Not Kirkwall.  Look up.

Cullen lifted his head, desperate, searching for the skylight that was - should be there.  It wasn’t.  Above him hung a slate-grey sky, thick with smoke and storm clouds, tinged red where the fires burned highest.  Kirkwall was burning.  Again?  Still?  Maker, did it even matter?  Kirkwall burned and he had let it happen.  Had, in point of fact, helped build the pyre.

The world flickered like a candle flame in a sudden draft and Kirkwall was gone.  High stone walls surrounded him, a sprawl of putrid, pulsing flesh climbing up it like diseased ivy.  He could smell it, the sweetness of its rancidity almost enough to mask the old-copper scent of blood.  And the blood was everywhere.  Bodies lay in mutilated piles around him, some mangled beyond recognition, but others were still painfully familiar.  Farris’s head regarded him with bland, slack-jawed terror from the end of a spike, one eye rolled up to the ceiling.  A few feet away, from the base of a pile protruded an arm, surprisingly whole, with smooth skin broken by a long pink scar that stopped near the elbow.  ‘A bandit with a broken dagger,’ Annalise would tell anyone that listened, but the reality of it had been a clumsy fall into a stack of pottery.  

Cullen’s stomach twisted, gorge rising.  He saw all of it through a shimmering haze of violet, a barrier, a prison.  They had stuck him here to watch the slaughter.  How many had been cut down before his eyes?  How many torn apart?  How many left broken and begging for death for hours before their pleas were granted?

He felt a spasm wrack his body, making him shake and rattle in his armor like a specter in a ghost story.  Lyrium withdrawal, his first true taste of it, etched into his mind with blood and screaming.

You couldn’t save them, Meredith spoke up in a voice like ice.  What makes you think you can protect the men that serve you now, or that posturing maleficarum that calls herself Inquisitor?  You were a failure even with the lyrium in your veins, you are a fool to think you could be more without it.  You lead them into death, boy.  That’s all you know how to do.

“NO!” he roared, fists lashing out to strike the barrier and finding only empty air and darkness.

Skyhold, he told himself desperately.  Not Kirkwall, not Kinloch!  Damn your eyes, Rutherford, look up!  Find it!

Again he craned his neck up, conjuring the image of the window in his mind.  Greens and browns and blues, tall trees and running dogs and the sky beyond it.  On its heels came the afterthought of Aadhlei standing beneath it, the sunlight in her hair and the light touch of her fingers on the inside of his wrist, a scent of herbs clinging to her hair and faint lilac on her skin.

One moment there was only darkness above him, thick, black, and endless. The next moment he was staring up at the skylight above his bed, glinting prettily in the first pale gold of morning.

Cullen crumpled to his knees on the floor of his bedroom, hung his head, and wept.

* * *

The wind cut cold across Skyhold’s battlements, chilling the sweat that stood out stark against Cullen’s face as he caught sight of the line of horses speeding toward the front gate.  He wavered, swaying on his feet, the pounding in his head increasing threefold.  Aadhlei rode at the forefront, he recognized her not by her mount but by the shade of her cloak and the staff strapped to her back.  He had held out some shred of hope that the sight of her might bolster the last cracking remains of his resolve, that he might find strength enough to endure for her sake, if not for his.  Maker, he had hoped….

Meredith’s voice rang out in his head, cold and sharp as a surgeon’s blade.  Your pride will be the death of her.

It was in his head.  It was only in his head this time, and he knew it.  But even that could not stop the twisting in his chest.  There was no comfort here.  No comfort anywhere.  A small sound, weak and defeated, escaped his lips in a rush of white vapor.

I can’t.

Though his knees felt hot and loose and ready to buckle, they bore him swiftly enough down the stairs towards the place where the Seeker stood, testing a fresh blade.  “A word please, Lady Cassandra.  I require your...opinion on a matter.”

She regarded him coolly, casting a brief glance to the gate as shouts of the Inquisitor’s approach rang out.  “I don’t suppose I need to ask what this is about.”

“In private,” he half-snarled, jerking his head toward the door of the smithy.  “Please.”

Cassandra gave him an assessing look, then nodded grimly.  “As you say.”

Cullen strode ahead, shoving the door open with enough force to startle one of Harritt’s apprentices into dropping the sword he was grinding.

“Out,” Cullen said, pointing at the far door.

“Begging your pardon, Commander?” Harritt said, his eyebrows hovering about halfway up his bald head in his surprise.  “All due respect, ser, but this is my-”

“Out!”

The apprentices were out the door before Harritt had even the chance to toss the half-forged steel back in the embers.  He followed, begrudgingly, bitching under his breath as he went.

As the door shut behind him, Cassandra spoke.  “The answer is no.”

Cullen turned on his heel, wobbling.  “Do I have no say in this at all?”

“If I thought it necessary, Cullen, I would have relieved you of your command already.  That I have not should be the only answer you need.”

“Maker’s breath, will you just listen to me?”

She folded her arms, scowling.  “Very well, Commander.  I am listening.”

“I,” he faltered almost immediately, pride again taking control of his tongue.  He set to pacing in front of the forge, sweat pouring down the sides of his face to pool under his armor.  Maker how could he sweat, he was bloody freezing.  Slowly the words ground out of him.  “I cannot do this.”

He began to unpack it, or at least he tried to, giving a halting index of symptoms and incidents.  Try as he might, he couldn’t quite find the words to explain the worst of it, dancing around the visions and voices and memories with all the care of a wounded animal trying to hide a lame and mangled leg.  When he had finished as best he could he turned again to Cassandra, breathing a little too raggedly, hoping to see some shift in her face, some sign she understood.

“I do not believe your concerns to be unfounded, Commander,” she began.

“Thank you.” “However, I do not believe it warrants your resignation or replacement.”

“What?” he spat, incredulous.

“We face our first true test of battle as a unified force against Corypheus soon.  It is understandable that you might begin to doubt-”

“This is beyond doubt, Seeker.  If I am made to lead our people into battle in this condition we will fail.  Our people will die.  The Inquisitor will- I cannot let that happen!  I will not!”

Cassandra’s scowl deepened.  “You asked for my opinion and I’ve given it.  What more do you expect of me?”

“I expect you to keep your word,” Cullen sneered, rubbing at another sudden spike at his temples.  “It’s relentless, I can’t-”

“You give yourself too little credit,” she said.  

Another time he might’ve seen it for what it was - a compliment, a confidence in his abilities.  But he was too fogged with pain and the nattering of too-close memories.  The sweat was in his eyes, stinging, and the smell of fire and steel lit up his nerves.

“If I’m unable to fulfill what vows I kept, then nothing good has come of this.  Would you rather save face than admit-”

The door behind him swung open quietly, the faintest squeak of a hinge, and he wheeled at the sound.  “I said get OUT!” he roared.

And then his eyes cleared, and all his fire died.  Standing in the doorway, wind-chapped and exhausted in her stained travelling clothes, was Aadhlei.  She stared at him for a long beat, too shocked to speak.  Coward that he was, he couldn’t bear the thought of what she might say when her voice returned.  Cullen hung his head and stalked out the door, too ashamed to look at her, mumbling in a low and ragged voice: “Forgive me.”

Part of him was sure she wouldn’t.  Another part of him, small and painfully bitter, was sure she would.  He could not say which was worse.

[jujuspams]

Yesterday was terrible

So right now I attend college in Mississippi while my family lives in Alabama

Now it’s been pretty well so far especially since the semester ends in December

So it’s thanksgiving break next week and I’m out

Since I was out I decided that I was going to visit my family and spend time with them

We ended up deciding to take a bus since that was the cheapest and it didn’t sound that bad

So first off my damn auntie just dropped me off at the bus station

Like god damn I know I’m an adult but this is legit my first time doing this by myself

She didn’t point me into a direction or nothing, like she gave me a hug and then dipped the fuck out

So when I finally get inside I noticed that my phone wouldn’t pull up my ticket (I bought it online)

Of course I walk up to the desk to get some assistance or at least I fucking tried

Cause when I walked up there it was only one woman working behind the counter

So I’m waiting and waiting (My bus leaves at 12:55 I showed up at 11:30)

The line finally dies down and I get to the counter, I explained what was happening and I did it very politely

But she couldn’t help me and I had to call Greyhound

At this point it’s like 12:20 and the woman says that they don’t have long to fix it

She then tells me that the man who drives that bus doesn’t wait for anybody

So at this point I’m on the verge of tears

Like I talk a lot of shit don’t get me wrong but I am a very emotional person

I’m shaking on the phone with this man trying to fix the ticket problem before I get left

Oh I should probably mention that my phone was on like 20%, but I didn’t really worry about that because Greyhound said that every seat had an outlet

(Remember this it’ll come back up☝🏾☝🏾)

Long story short they fix the problem and I now have a printed off ticket

They make the announcement that my bus has arrived so I get up and go outside to board it

This was the meanest old motherfucking I had ever met

Like I should remind y’all that it’s cold asf outside

This motherfucker stopped all of us and told us to get into a single file line

He then separated us and began to put our bags up

Then that old bastard decided to start looking at tickets

We were supposed to leave at 12:55 we didn’t get on the road until 1:20

Yes he had a bitch standing outside in 20 something degree weather freezing ha ass off

I should also point out that I’m small asf and that I have Anemia, so I’m already freezing on a daily fucking basis I don’t need you to have me out here in this polar bear pussy weather

When I finally do get on the bus I wasn’t really looking and just picked a seat

The seat I picked didn’t have a fucking outlet, so I ended up moving to one that did have one

It turns out that motherfucker didn’t work

So again Greyhound has pissed me off

Not only did they lie about having outlets at every fucking seat, but the ones that did have them probably didn’t work

So by now I have my phone on low power mode and the airplane mode is on

So I’m looking around to see who’s outlet I can use, I mean I only need it to like 50% and I can cut it off because I have another phone I could be on

I look over and I see these two girls across from me not using their outlet, now I know it works because they were using it earlier

So I politely ask could one of them plug my phone up and she agrees

So I’m happy as hell right now cause I’m like my phone is going to be charged and I’m gone be good

After a like an hour or something I get my phone back

And I look to see that this bitch is on 11 fucking percent

Now I watched her plug it up myself and it light up and everything, so it wasn’t my damn charger

What I didn’t know at the time was that her fucking friend was unplugging my damn charger when I wasn’t looking

But I’m a nice person and she didn’t even have to take it (even though that bitch lost charge instead of getting it) so I just sat back and hoped somebody would get off the bus that had a working outlet

Fast forward we’re at a gas station to take a ten minute break said the fucking bus driver

He said that if you’re not on the bus when he pulls off in ten minutes you are out of luck

So fifteen minutes pass and I’m sitting back like who the fuck are we waiting on

Cause I went inside to pee, because there was no way in nine hells I was going to use that fucking bus toilet, so I used the gas station toilet and just squattied over it

So after like 20 minutes this old as dirt bitch walks his ass out with some damn chicken and soda

So fast forward my phone is now died and I know my mom has been blowing it up

We we’re 20 miles from Birmingham the fucking bus starts cutting off

Y’all didn’t read that wrong the fucking bus just starts cutting off

So finally we’re stuck on the side of the road

And this ancient bastard doesn’t even call it in to Greyhound

Like at this point me and a couple of people have missed our transfer bus

So I’m pissed and again like I said before I’m real emotional

I ended up using someone else’s phone to call my mom and bitch she was hysterical

I still wasn’t able to charge my phone because when I passed it back to the girl, her fucking friend unplugged it again

So I finally was like just give me my phone I’ll charge it when we get to Birmingham

And the bad thing about it was I had to turn a paper in yesterday by 12:15

The driver didn’t make it no better because he kept telling us to wait 10 mins

His excuse was that the bus had to regenerate, I ain’t never heard no shit like that in my life

Then you already know black people love to crack jokes, so it’s motherfuckers laughing and talking about putting our charges together to charge the battery

When we finally started moving again it was 9 I think

I was finally able to charge my phone when I got to Birmingham bus station

The only problem was I was the only person that was headed to Huntsville and we were three whole hours late

So if the bus didn’t break down I still would have missed my damn bus

When I finally charge my phone I call my mom again and this time she was pissed off not at me though

She was mad at Greyhound because not only was I supposed to be home by 7:35 but they didn’t even have another bus for me to get on

So she basically wants to snap on everybody up there and she asked me to put her on speaker phone

Everybody knows not to fuck with a black womans child cause that’s the fastest way to get cussed the fuck out and beat the fuck up

The supervisor comes and tells me that he was going to call an Uber yo take me to Huntsville’s bus station

Of course my mom and I asked if I was going to have to pay for it, but he said no

The good thing about it was that the Uber came in like under three minutes and he was super nice and we talked all the way to Huntsville

I didn’t make it home until like 11 but I couldn’t go to sleep because I had to submit my music paper

I swear that teacher doesn’t like me because I emailed him twice to explain what had happened to me today

I was still early enough to submit the paper the only problem was he closed it earlier than it was supposed to be

The assignment closed at 12:15

I tried to submit it three different times and it wasn’t even a button for me to do so I just emailed him explaining what happened and emailed him my paper

The messed up thing about it was I turned my paper in when I went to his class because he wanted a paper copy

So I’ve already turned the paper in I mean he had my rough draft and my final paper

So he knows I’ve done it, before I left I even explained to him that I was taking a bus to Alabama to visit family and that if something went wrong that I would email him my paper

I woke up still tired today and I had an email from my teacher telling me to explain why I didn’t submit my paper on time and to paste my paper in the comment section

Like are you fucking kidding me

I explained three different fucking times why my paper was going to be late, like not only did I give you two paper copies but I also emailed it to you

At this point I’m pissed the fuck off

Yo class ain’t shit but an elective anyway and I didn’t wanna take yo bald headed ass because I wanted to take art

[vegalume]

Title: The North Road

Author: Vega-Lume

Beta: Chicory

Series: Gundam Wing

Pairing 1+2

Cliché, thy name is Vel. Warning, tharr be sap and a smidgen of angst here.

Gundam Wing Holiday Gift Exchange 2018

Gift for @dthjoey

(I am so sorry it was so late)

Summery

After becoming stranded, Duo finds himself in to company of stranger who soon becomes more.

Please forgive any mistakes in grammar or punctuation. I did a considerable rewrite after it came back from the beta, but not wanting to make the recipient wait any longer I decided to post it as is.

   The North Road

By Vel

Duo sighed and tapped the screen on his phone to bring up the GPS app again, only to have the screen dim again a second later. The little battery icon in the corner was blinking between yellow and red, showing that the device was nearly drained, and he in his infinite wisdom had packed the charger in one of his many boxes rather than putting it where he could find it right away.

His company was opening a new office and wanting a change Duo had accepted the offer to transfer. So here he was with all of his worldly possessions stuffed in his little car trying to find the tiny hotel he had planned to stop at for the night, but the GPS wasn’t working properly and thanks to the heavy snow he didn’t have a clue as to where he was now.

“This isn’t going to work,” he grumbled as the phone finally died and he still couldn’t pinpoint where in his journey he actually was. According to his time schedule he should have already reached the town where the hotel was, but he only saw trees and snow. He hadn’t even seen another car for well over an hour.

He had to have made a wrong turn somewhere.

Pulling onto the shoulder he threw on his emergency lights, popped the trunk, then climbed out into the snow. Making his way to the back of his car he rummaged around in the boxes, trying to remember which one he had put the charger in. He usually charged his phone in the kitchen, so theoretically the charger should be in one of the kitchen boxes.

“Yes!” He shouted when he found the charger in his favorite coffee mug. Not bothering to reseal the box he simply shoved everything in well enough to get the trunk closed again before climbing back into the car.

He plugged one end into the USB port and the other to the phone and waited a moment. Nothing happened. It was then he realized he couldn’t hear the heat blowing through the vents anymore.

“No…” he whined in the realization that not only was the car battery dead, but that he currently didn’t have a jump starter. He had loaned it to a colleague two weeks ago and they hadn’t given it back before he lift. In the rush to get tings packed for the transfer he had forgotten all about it.

“Shit, shit, shit!” he slammed a hand on the steering wheel.

He had about three hours until sun down and hadn’t seen a car since lunch. He could sit and wait for a car to come by, but with the battery dead there was no heat. The rapidly falling snow would also make it harder for any passing car to see him, especially with his car also being white, and he wasn’t sure how long the car would stay warm inside.

Though he hadn’t seen any other cars, he had seen fences along with cattle and other livestock.

If there were animals, there had to be people around to take care of them.

He sat in the car a while longer then made up his mind. He scribbled a note to let anyone that might find the car know that he had left because of the dead battery, and in which direction he had gone then tacked it to the steering wheel. He then bundled up again and made sure he had his phone, wallet and keys before venturing back out.

He knew it was safer to stay with the car but no one would be missing him. He didn’t have any family or anyone he would really call a friend, and he wasn’t due to start at the new office for nearly a month. They wanted to give him plenty of time to settle in before starting.

He couldn’t risk waiting that long for someone to come looking for him.

Sure that he had everything that he needed and could carry without dragging himself down, he climbed out and made sure the door was locked before heading back the way he had come.

He stayed on the road because there were no curves or dips. Even in the snow he would see a car long before there was any chance they driver could hit him.

After what felt like hours of trudging through the snow he didn’t see any cars, but the trees were thinning out and the fences were coming into view.

He walked along the one to his left until he found a locked gate, and though covered with snow he could see tire impressions in the ground.

Ignoring the ‘No Trespassing’ sign, he ducked through the wood and started following the impressions away from the road.

It seemed endless.

As the sun started to set Duo had begun to regret his decision to leave the road. Ahead there was nothing but white as far as he could see. No buildings and none of the cattle he had seen when he had driven by earlier.

Looking back he had gone far enough that he couldn’t see the fence either, but he could see darkness where the trees were and started debating on whether he wanted to try and find shelter in the trees. Though there was a greater risk of becoming lost that way. Or he could keep following the tire tracks before the snow filled them in and he couldn’t see them anymore.

With a deep sigh he fixed his eyes on the tracks and kept moving.

The sun was nearly gone when he finally saw something.

As he got closer he realized it was an outbuilding of some sort. It was too small to be a barn but didn’t look like a storage shed or anything like that.

He jogged up to it and found the wooden door was locked with a large padlock and there were no windows. He yanked the door in frustration then dropped down to sit in the meager shelter of the overhang.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, nor was he aware of the hoof beats approaching but he certainly didn’t miss it when the man in the hooded parka suddenly appeared carrying a rather large double barrel shotgun, leading a very large, dark colored horse.

He stood there, shotgun tucked along his side with the muzzle pointed down and seemed to study Duo for a few minutes before calling out to be heard over the wind, “Can’t you read?”

Duo was confused for a moment then remembered the ‘No Trespassing’ sign.

“Sorry,” Duo called back. “Um, my name’s Duo Maxwell, I got stranded on the road when my car battery died. I was looking for help.”

Though his face couldn’t be seen in the shadow of the hood, he could see the man’s head turn to look back the way Duo had come.

He grunted then said with a nod to the left, “Come on, you can warm up at the house and I’ll call someone about your car.”

“Thanks,” Duo said sincerely as he struggled to his feet. He was exhausted and hungry but thankful that his man had somehow managed to show up when he had.

Duo watched as the man slid the shotgun in a holster on the horse’s saddle, then gathered the reigns in one hand before starting off without waiting to see if Duo was following.

In the darkness he hadn’t seen it but off to his left near the trees was a cabin and just before that a large barn where they stopped first so the horse could be tended to. His host was silent as he settled the animal, making sure it was warm and comfortable before continuing on to the house.

His host opened an unlocked door and stepped inside then gestured for Duo to follow.

In the small mud room the man removed his coat and stomped his boots before opening a curtain that kept drafts from the door from reaching the warm kitchen just beyond.

His host didn’t look anything like Duo had expected. Without the parka he stood a good six inches shorter than Duo, and had a lean, wiry build that made him seem almost small in comparison to how Duo had imagined a rancher would look.

With large blue eyes and a smooth lightly tanned face, he looked quite young, though Duo expected he was older than he appeared.

His dark hair looked messy and damp and the t-shirt and sweat pants gave Duo the impression that he had jumped from the shower to see what a trespasser was doing around his shed.

Duo removed his jacket as well, hanging it on a spare peg then ventured into the bright, warm kitchen, making sure the curtain was fully closed behind him.

The savory aroma of stew and coffee made his empty stomach clench with want but he ignored it for the time being, preferring to look around.

The cabin was small from what he could see it had a cozy, homey feel. A large archway in the wall opposite of the mud room opened into the living room where an impressive store fireplace stood.

All off the walls were done in a warm, honey colored wood and the furniture looked old, like it might have belonged to his parents or even his grandparents, but was perfectly in place in the cozy house.  

Venturing further he peeked around the arch before following in the direction the other man had gone. His host had moved across the room stopping at a small table that sat beside the front door, and then began leafing through the book resting on top.

Looking around, Duo spotted two doors on the other side of the room. Both were open to receive the warmth of the fire. The one closest to the kitchen was a bathroom which meant the other room was most likely the bedroom.

The man was standing just past the front door dialing a land line phone. He held the handset to his ear, listened and then said, “Yes, this is Heero Yuy out at Wing Zero Ranch. I have a man out here whose car broke down east on the North Road. He said his battery died.” He paused, listening again then turned to Duo and asked, “What kind of car?”

“A white Ford Focus,”

“A white Ford Focus,” he repeated into the phone. “No, he doesn’t seem to be,” he continued before pausing to listen again. “I’ll let him know, thanks.”

Duo sent him an inquiring look.

“Weather permitting someone should be along to check out your car tonight. If they can find it they’ll call back here.” He seemed uncomfortable having company and made an awkward gesture towards the couch, “You can sit and warm up.” He fidgeted for a second, and then disappeared back into the kitchen.

Duo couldn’t help but smile. Although he had put on a tough front out at the shed with that rather intimidating gun, his apparent shyness was actually charming and even a little cute.

But Duo got the impression that his host would not appreciate being thought of as cute.

He sank down into the comfortable sofa and held his chilled hands out to warm them while he waited for Heero to return or for the phone to ring, whichever happened first.

As comfortable as he had become he almost missed the quiet tread of bare feet as Heero slipped behind him to duck into the bedroom. He emerged several minutes later redressed in a dark flannel shirt and blue jeans. He had even put on a pair of sneakers.

“I apologize,” Heero said as he returned “I’m not used to confronting trespassers while dressed in my pajamas.”

Duo chuckled and rose to meet him, “We weren’t properly introduced. I’m Duo Maxwell, trespasser.”

The corner of Heero’s mouth twitched upwards as he shook his hand, “Heero Yuy, pajama clad rancher.” Duo’s smile widened. Heero nodded towards the kitchen, “come have some stew.”

“Thanks,” Duo replied gratefully. “I’m starved.”

“I already ate,” Heero said as he lifted the lid from a crockpot. “So you’re welcome to as much as you want.”

Taking an offered bowl, Duo filled it then carried over to the small table.

After topping off his coffee Heero joined him.

“So how exactly did you end up on the North Road?” Heero asked.

“I’m guessing it’s a back road?” Duo asked in reply, after Heero nodded he continued. “I was supposed to be on the highway but my GPS wasn’t giving me the proper directions. I’m guessing I made a wrong turn somewhere.”

“It’s not that hard around here, the wireless coverage is almost nonexistent. That’s probably way your GPS wasn’t working, and there are about thirty roads like that one. You were actually pretty lucky to end up on mine and even more lucky that you went south. Although it’s not really much more than an access road for my property, it divides the land for my cattle and helps prevent over grazing in some parts. It also makes it easier to get the winter feed truck to them when they’re on the north side. There’s nothing else north before hitting another access road, other than about 400 acres of empty grazing land and my herd of cattle.”

Duo’s face lit up, “if the tow truck can’t get to my car can you jump it with your truck?”

Heero shook his head, “My ranch hand took it into town this morning and he isn’t expected back until sometime tomorrow.”

Duo deflated a bit and focused on his stew. “This is delicious,” he said after a few bites but Heero just shrugged it off.

“It’s just something I threw together this morning.”

“Well, I think it’s fantastic.”

The faint blush on Heero’s face was nearly missed when he ducked his head and took a sip from his mug.

The phone rang then and Heero shot out of the room to answer it. He returned a few minutes later looking thoughtful.

“The truck can’t get to your car tonight, a truck plowing the main stretch blocked access and with the snow still falling, there’s no way for the tow to get down there.”

“Damn,” Duo muttered.

“You’re welcome to use my phone. Is there someone expecting you tonight?” Heero asked.

“No, there isn’t anyone waiting for me. It’s just I’m transferring for work and pretty much everything I own is sitting out on your access road.”

Heero seemed to mulling over something then said, “You’re welcome to my couch for the night and if you’d like I can saddle up Old Mac and ride out to your car and get you some of your clothing or something.”

Duo smiled at the offer, “That’s very kind of you but you don’t have to go through all that bother. I’ll be fine for one night as long as you don’t mind me sleeping in my shorts.”

The blush was back and it took all the strength Duo not to laugh at how sweet he found it.

Heero vanished into his bedroom into his bedroom again and returned quickly with an armload of bedding that he dumped on the sofa.

“The days start early around here, especially in winter. I’ll need to get to bed soon, but if you want to take a shower the bathroom is just through there,” he gestured to the door. “And you’re welcome to watch TV if you’d like.

“I’m exhausted,” Duo confessed. “Go on to bed, I’ll probably be asleep the second I lay down.”

“Goodnight then.”

“Night Heero.”

The room was still dark but comfortably warm when Duo woke to the sound of Heero puttering around the kitchen. A few minutes later the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the room and Duo sat up. Peering over the back of the couch he spotted Heero sipping from the same mug he had used the night before as he stood by the sink looking out of the window.

Without a single glance towards Duo, Heero set the mug in the sink and left the room though the curtained off doorway.

The clock said 5:30 am.

It was over an hour later when he returned. By then Duo had showered and tidied up the sofa.

“Good morning Heero,” Duo greeted from the couch and received a true smile in return.

“Good morning, Duo. Would you like some breakfast?”

“Can I help?” Duo asked and Heero looked surprised.

“If that’s what you really want.”

Duo hopped up from the couch and went over to his new friend. “Glad to help, just show me where everything is.”

Together they settled at the table getting to know each other a little better, over toast and bowls of warm oatmeal.

Duo was just telling Heero about his new job when the phone on the living room rang and Heero hurried to answer it. A second later he turned the TV on.

“That was my sister Hilde, she works for the Forestry Services. She told me to check the news.” He explained as changed the channel, finding the 8 am news.

Joining Heero by the TV, Duo watched the bright red warning feed scroll across the bottom of the screen.

“...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM SUNDAY...”

“Sunday is four days away,” Duo said shooting Heero a worried look.

“This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Central Orefield and Deer County. Snow will move into the area this afternoon, and continue overnight. Expected accumulations of 4 to 6 inches are likely by sunrise.”

The woman on the screen looked down at the paper she had then looked back up at the camera.

“The snow is predicted continue through Saturday evening, before ending after midnight. Additional accumulations of 3 to 5 inches are likely. In all expect close to ten inches of snow before this storm passes.”

“I need to make a call,” Heero said quietly before turning away.

Duo nodded absently, his eyes still fixed on the screen as the warning started from the beginning again.

“Quatre?” Heero said softly into the phone, “Yes I’d like to speak to Trowa.” He paused as he listened for a moment. “Yes I saw the weather…  No I want you to stay in town, I can manage here. Yes I’m sure, you don’t need to be out on the road when the storm hits… Okay, I’ll see you in a few days.” He hung up and turned to where Duo was now seated on the couch. “I called Trowa, my ranch hand, and told him to stay in town. I know this isn’t what you want to hear but it looks like you’ll be stuck here for a few more days.”

Duo nodded, figuring as much.

“I need to bring the cattle down from the north so they’ll be easier to tend to when the storm hits.” Heero explained as he started for the kitchen again. “Since Trowa has the truck, I’m going to need to go out there with Old Mac and bring them across the north road. If you want to come with we can check on your car while were up there and you can get a few things.”

“Okay,” Duo agreed. “But let me help you out with the animals, at least until your hand can get back here.”

“Dress warm,” Heero said as he started for the back of the house. “I’ll go get the horse ready then come back for you. You can use whatever extra outerwear you can find in the mud room.”

Duo waited just outside the door bundled in a borrowed hat, heavy work gloves that were a little small, and his own coat. The sun was just up, washing the property in a soft blue. The snow was just fluttering in light flurries now but the thick clouds held the promise if the storm yet to come.

He could see Heero appear in the door of the barn leading Old Mac. The huge Draft horse was hitched to a flatbed sled with low, straight sides. It was clear that it was used to transport goods or feed rather than people.

Heero waved him over when he saw Duo standing out back, seeing the signal he jogged over to the man and his horse.

“I ride on Mac when he’s hitched up,” Heero said when Duo got to him. “You can ride up behind me or in the flatbed. It’s your choice.”

After eyeing the height of the horse, Duo took a step closer to the sled. “I’ll go with the sled, thanks.”

Heero seemed to understand and moved around to open the tail gate. Though the side was probably low enough to climb over, the wood was a little slick from the snow so it was safer to go through the back.

Once Duo was in and seated settled towards the front, Heero closed the gate and mounted the horse with a practiced ease.

The horse started to walk and the sled moved smoothly behind him. They didn’t travel far, stopping at the same shed Duo had tried to shelter in the night before.

Climbing down from the horse, Heero moved to the back and asked Duo to stay near the front as he lowered the tail gate again, then went over to the shed and unlocked the large door.

Inside the shed was filled with hay and sacks of feed.

“I’m just going to throw a couple of bales in the sled to encourage the herd to follow us back here since they’re more used to following the truck. Once they’re over I’ll give them a proper feed.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Duo started to move but Heero waved him off.

“It’s okay,” He said hefting the bale like it was a sack of potatoes and carrying over to the sled. He set it at the end and pushed it in. As he started over to get another, Duo scooted towards it and pulled it in farther so there was more room for the next one.

Heero added five more before doing up the tail gate, then went back to lock up. Duo settled back where he had been before and soon they were on their way again.

As they moved away from the house the ride in the sled became less pleasant and by the time they reached the gate Duo was more than happy to get out again.

Heero dismounted to unlock the gate, “Which way to your car?” He asked and Duo pointed to the right.

Heero guided the horse through the gate and closed it behind him before climbing back up and taking them down the road. They actually went right past Duo’s car without even seeing it at first. Some thirty feet or so away, Duo saw the black of a tire and called up to Heero.

The narrow road made turning the horse and sled around tricky but to Duo it was clear Heero had substantial experience and the turn was made without mishap.

A moment later they were pulling to a stop next to Duo’s car.

“You might want to tie something to the mirror to make it more visible,” Heero suggested after Duo had opened the trunk. “The tow truck will be out here right after the storm and plowed up snow might make it even harder to spot.”

“Good idea,” Duo agreed. Pulling a vibrant red t-shirt from his suitcase he closed it in the top of the driver’s door so it lay flat over the outside of the window. Hopefully it was large enough and high enough off the ground that it would remain visible through the storm.

“If you have any valuables that you’re worried about, there’s more than enough room to bring them.” Heero said after Duo threw his suitcase and a smaller duffle into the sled.

Duo thought about it for a second, then went back to the car and pulled a small cardboard box containing some pictures and mementos from the back seat and added it to the sled as well.

“There,” he said after locking the door. “There’s nothing left in there that I can’t live without.”

After Duo climbed back in Heero looked down the road trying to judge how far the car was from the side road so he could give the tow company a better idea where it actually was should they call back, then did up the tail gate again.

Soon he was up on Old Mac and they were moving once more.

They stopped yet again at the gate and Heero climbed down, then started digging through the large saddle bag.

Duo stood in the sled and called out to him, “Let me help.”

“Okay,” Heero agreed and showed him what to do.

They first unlocked the gates on each side of the road then Heero led Old Mac into the north side and well away from the entrance. When he returned he swung the gate out into the roadway and looped a rope to the end, which was then tied to the fence across the way. The action was repeated with the other gate, making a chute for the cattle to pass from one side to the other without straying down the road.

“Just stay here by the gate,” Heero instructed as he mounted the horse again. “They’re all going to come up at once when they realize I’m here with food. I’ll ride across with Mac and they’ll follow through the chute. I’ll give you a signal with they’re all through and you can close the gate.”

“Got it,” Duo confirmed and moved to the end of the gate where he could slip the loop off to close it when ready.

The snow was thickening as Heero rode off through the other gate and disappeared down an incline. Though the wind was picking up, Duo heard the animals long before he saw them some twenty minutes later.

Old Mac appeared again with Heero safely on his back, and what looked to be well over a hundred shaggy red bovines following along behind trying to make a snack of the hay in the sled.

They obediently walked through the chute into the south acreage, all herded together.

Watching Heero carefully he saw the man raise his arm as a signal and Duo quickly pulled the loop free and closed and locked the gate. Moving across the road he untied the other gate and locked the chain before gathering up the ropes and joining Heero who had rode back to pick him up.

“About half way to the house we’ll stop and you can dump the bales. The twining is safe for the cattle so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Leaving the tailgate open Duo wedged himself near the front and held on as Heero rode off towards the house, the cattle keeping up and trying to snag bites as they went.

After a while, Old Mac slowed and Heero signaled for him to dump the feed. Bracing, Duo pushed out with his feet and shoved the hay out onto the snow covered ground. Several of the bales broke open on impact and the animals ambled over and started eating.

Scooting down he pulled the tailgate closed as Old Mac continued back towards the house and his stall in the nice warm barn.

“We need to stop and grab another feed before for the cattle before heading back,” Heero informed him as the slowed by the shed. “Don’t bother yourself,” Heero said as Duo hopped out to help.

Duo just smiled and hefted up bale and carried it over as well. The weight of it was shocking, especially after how easy Heero made it look. They had to have weighed a hundred pounds or so each.

He counted around thirty bales in the sled as they moved them from the feed shed to the sled, Heero easily moving most of them as Duo just wasn’t used to carrying so much weight.

The sled was full again and they walked together as Heero led the horse away from the shed back through the gate a few yards back. They dumped the hay and a protein supplement there before going back.

It didn’t take long for the cattle to show up, and once most of them had appeared the pair started back to the barn where Heero carefully backed the horse up so the sled was parked beside a flatbed cart with large rubber tires that was clearly meant for the same purpose as the sled. Once it was right where Heero wanted it he unhooked the horse before removing the rest of the saddlery and rugging him up.

It was almost 11:30 when they reentered the house carrying Duo’s bags and the box from the back seat. As they set the items on the table they were greeted by a warmth that almost felt too hot after having been out in the cold for the last three and a half hours.

Going back to the mud room they hung up their outerwear, then Heero went to check his answering machine before switching the TV to the weather channel.

The storm warning hadn’t changed for the worse or better.

“The phone lines are down,” Heero informed him when he joined him in the living room. “I’m going to leave my cell plugged in, even though there’s no reception out here most of the time.”

He went into his bedroom then to charge the phone.

Duo glanced over to the console where the TV sat and saw his phone sitting where he had left it when he had plugged it in before going to bed.

“Want some lunch?” Heero asked when he came back and Duo nodded.

So Heero made them a quick lunch soup and sandwiches and they sat together on the sofa to watch a forensics program.

Just as the hour long show was ending an emergency signal sounded in the TV and the red message began scrolling across the screen again.

As if on cue the wind picked up causing the shutters to rattle and the snow thickened, falling heavier that it had most of the morning.

“Are you going to need to go out to feed the cattle again today?” Duo asked.

“No, but I will need to tend to Mac and the chickens hiding in the barn. The cattle won’t need anything more until tomorrow, but I will need to go out in the morning to make sure their water isn’t frozen over.”

“How do you manage to do all this on your own?”

“My sister and I grew up doing this; it’s like second nature to me. However, I don’t do it on my own all the time; Trowa is usually here to help me.”

They talked for a while longer and as the day progressed they became even more comfortable in each other’s company.

That evening Duo offered to make dinner and the surprise of Heero’s face made him wonder how often someone did nice things for him.

After supper Heero ventured out into the storm to tend to the animals in the barn and when he returned they settled on the sofa to watch a movie.

By the time it was over they were shoulder to shoulder and Duo wanted nothing more than to drop his head on the other man’s shoulder and never move again. But it was late and Heero was an ‘early to bed’ kind of man and gently excused himself for the night.

The next morning Heero had already been out to the barn and back and had started a meal in the slow cooker before Duo had even woken up.

After breakfast they bundled up again, hitched up Old Mac and started off to the pond where the cattle got their water when in the south acreage. Though it was still snowing heavily the large horse had no problems carrying them across the land and much to Heero’s relief the water was still fluid and didn’t have any ice that need to be broken up.

They took some time riding along the fence, checking for damage as best as they could as they sought out where the herd had settled themselves. Heero visually inspected the animals to make sure they were all okay before they started back to the house. Even without the sled full of feed the herd started following them back to the gate.

Like yesterday they loaded up at the feed shed and fed the cattle near the gate before heading inside and having their own lunch.

They spent another evening together on the sofa, only this time they started out with their sides pressed together.

By the third morning Duo was adapting to Heero’s routine and woke while the other man was still in the shower, so he slipped off the sofa and started the coffee. He was rewarded with the sight of Heero clad in just a towel, moving to his bedroom after the shower.

Before breakfast he joined Heero in the barn as he cleaned up and fed the horse and chickens.

Then they spent the day doing pretty much what they had done the day before, only it was more difficult now as the snow had been falling nonstop over three days, and was well over a foot deep out on the flat now.

It took them over an hour longer to get out to the pond and another hour using the tools to open it up so the cattle could reach the water. Duo couldn’t imagine Heero doing this all on his own and was beginning to think it was fate that had caused his car to die when and where it had.

Reaching the house after 4 in the afternoon, they were both grateful to have a hot meal already waiting for them.

The 5 o’clock news informed them that weather was expected to get worse as the evening progressed with an estimated accumulation of an additional 6 inches.

“I’m going to bring Mac in early and settle him for the night,” Heero announced, setting his mug on the coffee table. When Duo moved to follow Heero placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Stay and keep warm, I shouldn’t be long.”

“Want me to pick out a movie and make some more coffee?”

“Sounds good,” Heero replied with a smile then left to bring the shaggy horse in from his small sheltered yard.

Duo finished watching the news broadcast before heading to the kitchen to make another pot of coffee.

Sitting back on the sofa with a warm cup in his hand, he surfed channels for a while before setting the cup down to go to the shelf filled with books and movies, searching the titles for something they could watch when Heero got back.

It was only after he selected a title that he realized that Heero had been gone longer than he had been the night before. He only had the patience to wait another 10 minutes before heading out the back in just his coat with the laces of his boots still untied.

The barn door was open and a sliver of golden light could be seen from inside.

“Heero?” He called out after seeing Mac comfortably settled in is stall and several brown and white chickens pecking at corn spilling from a bag with a split along the side that lay near the stall door.

“Here,” Heero replied and Duo turned to see him seated on an upturned bucket with a pinched expression on his face.

“What happened?”

“I slipped coming down the ladder to the loft and landed on me feet wrong. I’ve either sprained or broken my ankle.”

“Shit,” Duo whispered in sympathy. “Do you think you could get back to the house if I helped?”

“Yes,” Heero replied so Duo helped him to his feet.

They moved slowly out the door and Heero waited, leaning against the wall while Duo turned off the lights and bolted the door. They took their time closing the distance between the two buildings and by the time they made it to the house they could barely see in the sudden white of the worsening storm.

“Sit here,” Duo instructed when they neared the dining table and Heero sat. Crouching before him, Duo removed the boot from the injured ankle as gently as he could. It was already swelling and close to twice the size it normally was.

“Do you have any bandages, something I can wrap it with?”

“There should be an Ace bandage in the first aid kit under the sink in the bathroom.” Heero replied.

It only took Duo a few moments to fetch the bandage and wrap the support bandage around the swollen appendage. He propped the foot on the other dining chair, and then a bag of peas from the freezer was wrapped in a dish towel and placed on top.

“Rest here for a bit then I’ll help you to the couch and you can prop it there on the coffee table while we watch the movie,” Duo said after taking Heero’s boots to the mud room, “Unless you would rather just go to bed.”

“No,” Heero replied quickly. “I want to sit with you and watch the movie.”

Warmly snuggled together on the sofa they watched two movies before reluctantly parting for the night. Duo helped Heero to the bedroom, getting his first real view of the comfortable room, dressed in cool, light shades of blue and grey.

“Do you need any more help,” Duo asked after Heero took a seat on the large bed.

“No, and thank you.” Heero replied. “I’ll be fine for the night.”

“Okay, goodnight then,” Duo’s voice sounded a little disappointed as he left the room, closing the door as he went.

The house was dark and eerily quiet when he woke the next day. For the first time Duo found that Heero was still asleep and a moment later he realized why. The power had gone out sometime during the night.

It was barley 6 according to the wall clock in the kitchen; the weather warning said the storm was expected to start breaking down at 6. As Duo used a match to light the burner on the gas stove he felt a pang of sadness at the idea he would be leaving soon.

He started heating the water for coffee then stood near the sink to watch the dawn wash over land through the window there, just as he has seen Heero do that first morning.

The herd was closer to the south end this morning. Though the snow was still falling he could see the dark shape of the shaggy cattle standing close together to keep warm.

Heero’s door opened just as Duo was pouring the coffee. The smile of greeting he received as Heero hobbled into the kitchen gave Duo another of those sad pangs.

“Are you okay?” Heero asked, apparently seeing something on his face that revealed how he felt.

“Yeah,” Duo replied. “I’m just wondering if the storm will actually end today like the news said.”

“Oh,” Heero said softly and took a sip of the coffee he had poured for himself. They stood together quietly, each lost in their own thoughts as they watched the day grow brighter. The snow was lighter than it had been and continued lighten as the sun rose.

“I need to go out and take care of Mac.”

“I’ll do it,” Duo said, placing his mug in the sink. “You need to keep off that foot as much as you can until a doctor has seen to it. If it’s broken, you don’t want to make it worse.”

Heero had shown him how to care for the horse the second morning, while explaining many of the other aspects of running a ranch, very much in the same way a teacher taught an eager pupil.

He agreed and so Duo bundled up and trudged through the deep snow to the barn where the big horse waited patiently for his breakfast.

It didn’t take him long to lead Old Mac around to the sheltered winter yard where he could eat the meal Heero had prepared for him the night before, then he cleaned out the stall before heading back to the house.

Heero had made oatmeal with the remaining hot water, and set out several oil lamps for light. He had also turned on a battery powered radio, listening for any news that another storm might be brewing. So far all signs showed that they could expect several nice days before another storm front would hit sometime on Friday evening.

“Mac looks happy that the snow is letting up,” Duo commented after joining Heero at the table.

“He’ll be able to go out in his paddock tomorrow if the weather continues improve,” He replied absently.

Duo took a bite of his breakfast, and then was just about to ask if something was bothering him when they heard the sound of a large truck pulling into Heero’s front drive.

Someone was knocking on the door before Heero even managed to hobble out of the kitchen.

“Heero?” A woman’s voice called from outside.

“That’s my sister, Hilde,” He explained as he started to unlock the door. “She probably got someone to drive her up here in one of the Forestry Service’s plows.”

Sure enough, Duo spotted the huge green Forestry Service plow sat rumbling at the end of the drive just before the petit woman pushed her way inside and shut the door. There was a bit of a family resemblance. They both with blue eyes and messy dark hair.

“I saw Trowa in town thins morning and he told me you had spent the storm out here alone. I’ve been calling all morning!”

“I’m fine, and I wasn’t alone. Duo has been with me though the entire storm.”

“Duo?” She asked as she spotted the stranger standing in her brother’s living room.

“Duo Maxwell,” he offering her his hand and the woman eyed him in confusion right before her eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers before pointing at him. “You own the Ford Focus Treize’s crew hauled in to town this morning, the one with the shirt in the door?”

“Yeah, that’s my car.”

“Funny, Treize didn’t say anything about you staying here with Heero.”

“I didn’t talk to him when I called it in,” Heero interjected. “I talked to Dorothy and she doesn’t work on Sunday.”

Hilde nodded in understanding, “Well Mister Maxwell, if you want a lift into town you’re more than welcome to come with me.”

“Heero hurt his ankle in the barn last night; he really should have it seen to.”

Hilde gave her brother the stink eye, “Get your boots and get in the truck.” He opened his mouth but she pointed to the kitchen and he limped away without a word. “He never would have told me,” she confided in Duo. “He hates hospitals.”

“Let me grab my bags,” Duo said turning away get them from where they sat in the corner of the living room.

“Let me help,” she said when she saw that he had three and offered to carry the box for him. He accepted, and since he was already wearing his boots they went right out to put them in the truck.

“Wufei, Heero’s coming into town with us. Can you stay here and keep an eye on things until Trowa get’s here?

“Of course,” the dark haired man in the driver’s seat replied before grabbing his coat and climbing out.

By the time the three of them returned to the house, Heero was ready to go.

“Wufei is going to stay here until Trowa gets back.” Hilde informed his as she helped him out to the truck. “I’ll pick him up when I bring you back later.”

“Thanks Hil.”

Heero sat quietly between Duo and his sister in the cab as the pair talked over him. It took almost an hour to reach town and Hilde drove the truck to the garage where Duo’s car was. She helped him with his things again.

“Thanks for taking care of Heero last night.”

“It was the least I could do after all he did for me.” Duo replied.

She smiled and clapped his shoulder before climbing back into the truck and driving away.

He didn’t get the chance to say a proper goodbye to Heero.

“You own the Ford Focus?” A tall man with auburn hair asked.

“Yeah, thanks you bringing it in for me.”

“No problem. Everything else looks fine so far. If you could give me your keys we can give it a good look over and see if anything needs to be repaired. There are no other cars needing work this morning so it shouldn’t take too long if you want to wait here. If not there’s a restaurant just down the block. You can go get a meal and then come back later.”

“I think I’ll stay,” Duo replied and the man, who introduced himself as Treize led him to a waiting area with a TV and a few vending machines.

Treize returned a while later, informing him that they only needed to replace the battery because the old one was completely dead.

The bill was settled and less than an hour after arriving in town Duo was on the road again. He had gotten directions and was finally on the proper highway.

Around 1pm he spotted the small hotel he had planned on staying at when he had gotten lost, but drove right past it. He just wanted to get home. The roads were already pretty clear and if he just kept going he should reach his destination in about six hours.

But as he neared the city the cars became more numerous, everything got louder and his progress slowed to a crawl. It was well after 10 when he finally made it to his new apartment.

It was located in a monstrous, steel gray and glass apartment building that looked more like an office than a home, and everything in the one bedroom was sharp lines and stainless steel.

He hated it.

“I’ll get a few more checks in the bank and move the moment I can,” He told himself after he had a good look around. Too tired to do much more than turn on the heat, he climbed into the bed that was designed more for style than comfort, and fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

He woke at half past 5 wondering why he was so cold, and remembered where he was.

The pang hit him again.

“Damn it,” he cursed throwing the blanket off and going over to the only bag he had brought up from the car. He took out his phone and unlocked it with the intent of calling Heero, only to realize he didn’t have his number.

Damn it!” he cursed again.

Forgoing the shower he ran a brush though his hair and threw on some clothes before grabbing his keys and phone. He rode the elevator back down to the parking area and got in his car.

Luck was with him and he missed most of the morning commute traffic making a distance that had taken 11 hours the day before take only 8 hours today. He made it back to the town of Deer Creek just after 2 in the afternoon.

He made one wrong turn trying to find the road that led to the front of Heero’s property, but recognized a landmark when he turned around.

It was almost 4 when he pulled in beside a heavy-duty rust colored pickup truck that sat in the driveway.

Taking a deep breath he walked up the freshly shoveled and salted path and knocked on the door.

It opened a moment later and Heero was there, surprise clearly written on his face.

“I never got to say goodbye and I realized that I never want to,” Duo blurted and Heero smiled softly.

“Then don’t.”

Gently he took Duo’s hand and led him inside, then closed the door.

 Owari

 -          The horse got its name because I wrote most of this while sitting in my kitchen as my daughter did her online schooling. I was looking around the room trying to think of a name for the horse and spotted an ancient box of macaroni and cheese (Old Mac), the rest is history.

-          According to Google cattle eat about 25 lbs of hay a day. The bales usually average between 55 and 75 lbs each. I rounded the weight up to 100 lbs each for the story to make it easier to figure out how many bales they had to put out for Heero’s herd of 100 animals. It was just quicker for two people to move thirty bales in bad weather than it would have been to move 50 or 60 bales.

  I’l post this up on AO3 in a day or so after a beta has had the chance to look it over again

 @thisweekingundamwing @thisweekingundamevents

[blankdblank]

Modern Soulmate Pt 7

Gradually notes that split the night air to the tone of a tornado siren eyes split open and it was a mountain of bricks down upon the three of you. Out from under that imaginary ton of bricks you leapt to action and once dressed the three of you almost all ended up tackling each other in the drivers seat until in a shuffle of bodies one was chosen to handle the drive to the hospital you all hurried past the lone guard on duty at this monstrous hour.

“I’m right here,” you repeated to the man beside whom you’d cuddled with arms looped around his shoulders and chest. Head against his you inhaled with hands fixed upon his that latched onto yours and did not let go from the moment you arrived and dove here. He wasn’t awake, merely the Doctors knew this was the warning sign he gave to get you here, a spike of activity followed by throaty grumbled muffled in his throat upon your arrival. He couldn’t say what he’d wanted to. That he’d spent months arguing and fighting a battle of wits with Namo to just give him one more year, one more season, month, week, day, hour, minute. Everything he’d never gotten around to saying, every moment he would never get to be there for you, just one more I love you more than life itself. He couldn’t swear always but he could feel your hands in his and heard your voice through his fight until outside of his physical self to watch a heart breaking nestle of your body more into his neck and side when you knew he’d lost you.

He’d have to watch that moment when Thranduil, the man he knew to have been your true Mate all along moved to comfort you and promptly collapsed to the ground. Promptly luring his son and the Doctor to help him onto the window bench at the instant share of crippling pain you silently sobbed into your grandfather’s shoulder. All their lives their clan had mingled with yours and had loved the magnificent Dragon now on the wind as one of their own as both adopted father and grandfather in law and still the men in the room had to lift him up off the floor. He did wake up when you had calmed down to simply hear what the next steps were, just in time for Oropher to have arrived. Tearfully he stated, “I will keep him company, you honor his wishes if you will.”

This was the tradition, to never be left alone until set loose to find peace after a proper goodbye to this world and those left behind in it. And this was where he watched you on the sword’s edge of numb and internally a scorching wildfire of pain laced with wails of agony that contrasted the blotchy cheeked, teary eyed stoic façade you held so masterfully it broke his heart and those who caught sight of you. All the plans had been settled already in Melkor’s living will that was simply used like a set of crutches for you to stagger the way to the other side of whatever this sheer agony could be. With hands trembling you folded forward and set off the phone tree barely able to utter where you were to the lawyers who simply offered a code word to repeat if Melkor was gone and then he handled the rest of the calls and shared where they would meet you later on.

Tradition held special tasks and from the Hospital along with Melkor’s body you rode to the funeral home where minor details were to be handled. Cherry trees from the selection of grave markers in a great selection of the greenhouse, a rarely chosen breed of tree by other Elves, one of great importance to your kin. One that you imagined he would look so peaceful underneath the sea of scattered petals it would let loose annually and coat you with silent promises and messages written upon each. One that would grow big, strong and magnificent as he was and always would be, a place to go and sit with him. A place to remember and share the future.

Out of the bunch your fingertips stilled upon a branch that reached out to grab them and his marker was chosen and carried to be placed near to his body where Oropher held watch over and the hand of his adopted brother he shared hushed promises and reminders of all he had sworn to witness, support and uphold the honor you deserved to Melkor over the years when he had hints his time was on the horizon. Ribbons were next, everyone would have to choose one for a farewell of another kind. An urn came next for the transportation process after his cremation. “I’m right here,” again you managed to crack out in a whisper and from his head to his toes this process came next. Special oils and incense to be burned and hidden markers to place around the body layered in the traditional robe he had chosen for himself to spare you that task.

“I’ll stay,” Oropher stated in his body’s ease around yours for a warm loving embrace to show you weren’t alone. Forehead to forehead he rested in he release of his arms chased by a press of lips to your temple. “Go rest. I have more to say to the stubborn Dragon. Sleep in your bed he wanted me to have this night with him. Spend the night in the castle he watched you build and saved for you to raise a family in. And remember every promise of tomorrow to come while he lives on in that little voice inside of you to mentor every step you take no matter how silent or loud.” Promptly you buried yourself in his chest and claimed a long hug, that once it ended underneath the arm of your giant Dew Drop now with his own magnetic earring on his own ear to keep sane between bouts of cuddling when his ache to curl around you again became impossible to bear.

Lawyers and work came next and floods of paperwork and the shift of all the company and assets to your name and your name alone. In between two collections of legal bundles Thranduil murmured, “Text Thorin please. Reschedule your exam.” His hand reaching out to claim the white gold pen that trembled with the hand that held it he traded for your cell phone that hadn’t ceased to light up and buzz in the past three hours of having set off the first call of notices of emails and new calendar appointments to meet that were forwarded your way for the next steps in everything.

All the day prior on his time off Feanor however had taken it upon himself to argue Thorin off of his firm stance that his grade for your last assignment was justified. Before you had been given too low a grade and now against his argument on a point you had made in the latest paper on the design style assigned to you that was required to sketch a draft of the blueprint of at least part of it for what you would dream to use it for. Hours they debated over the final grade until Feanor’s final say card was played and the beyond agitated Dwarf who had been lectured on favoritism over three measly points locked himself in his rooms until he had to get ready for his classes. Earlier than usual his phone lit up and his head turned from his selection of a shirt, to it he crossed the room and lifted it from its charger to read from you, ‘Is there a way I could get another chance to take your exam another day?’

Again his argument flashed back in his mind and he rather flatly replied, ‘I promised no special treatment, if you’re not ready you’ll have to take the failing grade.’

Instantly he regretted the message that through the contact sent a pang of pain in his chest that dropped him to his knees with a loud gasp, the sheer volume of which brought Dwalin on his way past his rooms inside to see what was wrong. The room came back into focus after he’d dropped his phone and the thick arms of his cousin came to his attention as he was asked, “What is it?”

Shakily from the night stand his hand found the magnetic earring he clipped on instantly feeling relief. “Not sure, Jaqi asked for a reschedule on my exam.”

Dwalin let out a low growl, “I’m guessing you didn’t agree, just how’d you get on your knees?”

Thorin ran his hand over the still aching spot on his chest, “Felt like someone stabbed me in the chest. Couldn’t just be about the test, I can’t show her any favoritism. Feanor kept me up last night bickering over three points I gave her in her favor. They won’t let it go if I just let her skip exams. I wasn’t very harsh about it.”

“Must be something else then, she say why she had to miss it?”

“No, I didn’t ask.”

Dwalin let out a low grumble shaking his head before heading to wait for him downstairs, “You should have, when are you going to..” Dwalin simply sighed and said, “Talk it out when you take her the usual cider. Under what she’s facing she hasn’t missed a class yet and those massages are gradually fighting to help her back against the daily stresses. Has to be something.” Timidly with a glance at his phone still on the ground he bent to pick it up, slightly afraid that he would feel that pain again if he did.

Reluctantly he sighed and typed, ‘See you in a bit.’ And pocketed his phone to finish getting dressed so he could eat and get to school to find out what it is you needed to reschedule for.

Though he wouldn’t get an answer and around your back Legolas wrapped after having read the message that made your face scrunch up to a few moments battle against more tears. Thranduil however openly glared at your phone he was tempted to pick up and call the stubborn Dwarf who refused to help you in such a quick brush off to give him about a mile long of choice words to render that idiot to make him cry instead of their shared Mate. Softer his face switched and he said in a stroke of his hand across your back, “Worry about it later. He’ll change his mind.” You glanced his way and he gave you a gentle smile, “He’ll change his mind. Probably just caught him halfway through some nightmare where none of his suits fit or the blue ones are gone.” That made you roll your eyes and he leaned in to melt around your side for a hug and to press his lips to your temple, “Don’t mind the stubborn goat.”

 *

 “Where is she?” The words were rippled around by mouth and text between the Durin clan that saw neither you or Legolas. More sullen than usual Thorin sat with that cider on his desk you did not arrive to receive this morning. Lunch again found him on the prowl with eyes on swivel after a fifth unanswered text message sent your way.

“Blondie,” he all but growled at Haldir on his way to his next club meeting who stopped to peer up at the professor from his notes. “Where’s Jaqi? She talk to you?”

“Jaqi’s not here?” Haldir asked and Thorin huffed.

“Honestly, you were supposed to be one of her oldest friends.” Beginning to turn away to the sink of the Elf’s expression, “Just drop off first day.” Thorin again pulled out is phone on his path to find the usual table he plopped down at angrily across from his family, “Alright, no one’s heard from her?” Heads shook and plans to drop by your place after school to get to the bottom of it all since you’d fallen off of the grid, and not for the worst they hoped. Only there was no answer and no sight of vehicles in the driveway of your house or Oropher’s on their way home that gave hint that something was seriously wrong. Even calls to the Hospital they knew Melkor to have been in came up fruitless as they couldn’t release information to anyone but family.

 *

Seated in the center of your bed with your legs tucked tightly to your chest to the drop of what seemed to be the last of your tears from your swollen blood shot eyes that slid slowly down your cheek you watched as the news announcement finally came across the screen you had been staring at. Legolas from his scoot to the end of the bed to collect your phone when it sounded for a call from someone outside of all this, and knowing you couldn’t talk about this yet he answered the call and turned back to you. “I answered Fili’s call, told them about everything. They all are asking if you need anything.”  In your silence he settled back down beside you and left the phone at your feet to his father’s dry cracking whisper naming each of the tins of food he pulled out of the bags of dinner you had picked up on the way home.

To the sound of the clock ten times to mark another hour you hadn’t eaten your eyelids closed again with the sensation of glass being drug across your eyes then again when you opened them to look at your blotchy cheeked giant Dew Drop who waded through another sporadic wave of emotion he felt from being near you. Even with his magnetic earring when apart the pain was hard to sever from his own for who he had lost on top of what he felt knowing how badly you were suffering. And down his cheeks tears still streamed at their own leisure through his soft smile he sent your way.

He slid the trays closer to you both on top of the towel he spread out. Legolas sat up to claim his nearly soccer ball sized container of pasta and the fork that came with it. Gently your Dew Drop helped you un-clench your frozen legs with a kiss on your cheek, each movement seeming as if they’d break as the joints straightened again before he laid a second towel across your lap and piled a stack of pillows behind you then claimed the spot at your side grabbing his food as well.

“I don’t need anything,” you managed to squeak out finally. Around the raised edges of the foil tin your fingers trembled through the task of unfolding it from around the clear lid that once free you set aside. Somehow tasteless the incredibly delicious smelling pasta with fork in hand you took a first tentative bite of could not tempt even your taste buds out of this painful fog.

Thranduil in his own bite with a long reach claimed the remote out of your reach at the first image of you as a child in Melkor’s arms in a tour of his factory displaying your matching purple eyes and pitch black curls replayed once again changed the channel until it landed on Judge Blue. On the single channel not dedicated to this mind numbing loss a show centered around a televised courtroom marathon that while your food came to its end you sank together. Eventually to sprawl across the bed in a twisted pile with covers jerked over the three of you to the sound of the show left running in an attempt to keep your dreams from being painful.

 *

 Without answer Thorin and Dwalin strolled down to dinner only to hear raised voices in the living room of the younger members of their clan who were near to the end of their rope when the answer finally came in across the news. “Maybe it’s another company party like last time,” Thorin murmured in their joint step through the doorway to see what was wrong.

“Party!! You think she’s going to a party!! HER GRANDFATHER DIED THORIN, SHE’S NOT PARTYING SHE’S BURYING THE LAST MEMBER OF HER FAMILY!!” Ori’s voice turned their heads to the lit up screen that showed the death notice of Melkor Mordor to the world. “All she asked for was to reschedule a test but no, you didn’t, cuz you didn’t let her explain, just spouted on about responsibility. Well you know what, she’s pretty damn responsible. But, she gets to keep her three jobs though, and the pompous ASS of a teacher who keeps glaring down at her for not shaking his hand, when she was told to be invisible and avoid all contact with people, seeing as she was always considered THE HELP by that WOMAN and her BRATS who have been trying to take everything not bolted down!!”

Ori tried to walk off mumbling in a mocking tone, “Oh, she won’t shake my hand, so I’m just gonna rain down hellfire upon her!!” Dwalin instantly grabbed his arm and folded him into a tight hug.

Fili said to Thorin as he brought out his phone again, “Said he started having cardiac arrest last night and he was gone this morning.”

Kili said in a lift of his phone, “Got an answer earlier, Leg picked up. Been at the Hospital, Funeral Home and with Lawyers all day. Non-stop. Just got back from his cremation.”

Thorin tearfully whispered, “So soon?”

His Mother Diaa who had entered the room from one of the side doors said, “That is how you bury Dragons. After the sunset of their passing when the other rights are concluded cremation allows the urn to rest until the funeral.” She looked to Thorin, “Only clans can touch their property until the next sunrise or it dishonors their lost one.”

“But we’re right next door. How are we supposed to just leave her to this alone?”

Diaa said, “After sunrise we can see what we can give her in means of aid and honor for Melkor.”

All night the pain that coursed through Thorin’s chest seemed to flood through the whole clan who went to bed uneasy. And still without contact beyond a message reading, ‘See you tomorrow.’ Across his bed he laid with full understanding of that pain he felt before. Unable to sleep alone Dwalin and his nephews all shared his bed while Thorin slipped in and out of nightmare after nightmare for an excruciating rest free night that would lead to the sunrise when he could go and see his mourning Mate.

 *

Your alarm put the night to an end and to another round of glass that slid across your eyelids to the fingers that brushed the curls that laid across your face. In a rub of his puffy eyes Legolas silenced the alarm and said while his father unfolded from his place nestled around your back. When he eased back Legolas said, “I’m sure they’ll let you shift your exams.”

You cleared your burning sand coated throat trying to gain your steady voice again without luck, “I’m going.”

Thranduil sighed from behind you sitting up and curled you in his arms helping you up against his chest, “Let’s get you ready then, I’m off today so I’ll bring you lunch.”

You nodded and while Legolas went to his room to get ready Thranduil sweetly carried your stiff self to the shower. Outside of which he helped you out of your clothes and to a sweet kiss that your hand rose to draw him into the both of you stepped into the glass wrapped shower. Under the warm water your hands smoothed over your face to the firm hands of your loving giant behind you that firmly rubbed your arms and back in hopes to relieve some of the tension from still being in such a locked position for so long the night before. Dried and dressed while you went to help on breakfast you received a text from Thorin. ‘I am so sorry for yesterday. Feanor got under my skin and I was brash. Take today off you can take the exam when you feel ready to return to class.’

Deeply Thranduil sighed when he stood over your phone beside his, the latter he pocketed and lifted yours to do what he hoped would help you. A tap of his thumb on the answer icon and he lifted the phone to his ear, “Jaqi, how are you?”

“It’s Thranduil actually.” Through the line he could felt he shift in the air while Thorin to Dwalin’s confused look his way to his odd expression. “Jaqi’s getting breakfast ready. We offered to keep her at home, but she’s insisted to see how long she can manage.”

Dwalin asked to Thorin’s silence, “How is she handling, everything?”

Thranduil answered in restraint of a huff to the news he was on speaker, “Better than yesterday hopefully worse than tomorrow.”

Thorin finally asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

“Don’t touch her until she’s passed through this.”

Thorin’s brows pressed together while Dwalin’s did the same asking, “What?!”

Thranduil, “I’m not saying this as a hands off my woman, I’m telling you this for your safety and hers, you have no idea what’s coursing through her mind and heart right now so give her time.”

Thorin, “I’m not promising anything of the sort, if she wishes to come to me…”

Thranduil raised his free hand out in front of him as he spoke after pinching the bridge of his nose, “Thorin at least put on the earring.” Their eyes squinted a moment in confusion, “At least do that for her.”

Dwalin asked, “Anything else we can do?” Gripping Thorin’s shoulder to keep him from saying anything else.

Thranduil, “No condolences, she’ll talk about it when she’s ready.”

Thorin’s voice raised in irritation, “Oh really?! And just what are we allowed to do and say Thranduil?!”

Stepping closer to the bed ready to grab a pillow to throw Thranduil replied in a near growl, “You weren’t the one who had to pick her up off of the floor when he flat lined Thorin!! She collapsed and barely spoke for three hours after then we had to deal with lawyer after lawyer so don’t you dare demand anything from her!! You will sit and be silent and just let it hurt inside your chest because she’s doing everything she can to keep her pain from spilling out onto both of us, you know what happened when I went to lift her off the ground?! I blacked out! I’ve been with her the entire time he’s been sick, he’s been My Grandfather for over a decade, it’s devastating for me and Legolas as well and I still blacked out!”

Their lips parted in shock again while Thorin began to sink to the bed behind him with a hand that smoothed over his chest to a duller version of that same pain. “For nearly ten minutes, it hurts her that terribly that even just one touch and I was out, so do not push her today, for once in your damn life set it all aside and just focus on her pain. All she wants is to not have to fall apart right now. She lost everything, she loves me and Legolas but Melkor really was the last piece of it, the picture she had of her future how she imagined it as a child is just gone all she can do now is try to find her way back up to her feet again, can you manage that?!”

“Are you wearing an earring?” Thorin managed to whisper out.

“Those are my emotions you’re feeling. Don’t worry it’ll only last until she’s better.” He paused a moment and sighed again, “I know you want to help her. Just give her some space.” He glanced to the door hearing Legolas call for him to help with the feisty coffee machine again, “I’ll see you at the campus. I’m dropping her off today. See you then.”

The line cut off after Dwalin repeated the same and left the cousins to look at one another until Dwalin broke the silence. “I doubt he’d use this as a way to push you away from her, if she needs you she knows how to get to you, we won’t let her out of our sight so just focus on your classes.”

Thorin nodded and finished getting ready and growled, “I’m still taking her cider,” making Dwalin roll his eyes at his cousin’s stubbornness.

.

Parked near to the bike rack Thranduil gave you a kind grin and dropped his hand from the steering wheel to curl around yours. When his head turned to look your way you smiled at him faintly in all you could muster until his head leaned in to tap his forehead to yours. Just a moment the both of you got to rest your burning eyes again until his head pulled back and his free hand cupped your cheek lovingly, “If you want to leave at any time call me alright, I’ll be here for the first hour anyway, just in case.”

Right in you leaned to close the distance and press your lips to his in a sweet kiss that ended to the stroke of his thumb across your cheek. “I should be fine as long as no one talks to me.” He nodded and kissed you again.

Legolas said in his climb out, “I’ll keep an eye on her long as I can.”

He pressed another gentle kiss to your forehead as you grabbed your bags and climbed out heading to your first classes avoiding the groups of students who eyed you closely while you passed, all wishing to say something but unwilling to be the first. Legolas as long as he could kept you under his arm until he had to split away for his own class. Empty halls from the few crowded one with awkward pitying stares galore brought you to the final turn that landed Dwalin and Thorin in your view outside of your first classroom.

Dwalin glanced at Thorin seeing his stunned look as he trailed your path before them, whispering in Khuzdul, “She’s made it this long, must be a good sign. I was beyond inconsolable when my Amad passed.”

Thorin whispered back, “She looks absolutely miserable, why would he let her come at all today?”

Dwalin nudged Thorin’s arm gaining his full attention, “She’s able to choose when she’s ready Thorin, perhaps she might take tomorrow off, you never know.”

“Cider,” Thorin said extending the cup he had rested on top of his palm like an odd sort of gift you’re given in a video game.

“Thank you.” You said folding your hand around the cover for the disposable cup. After a sweep of their eyes over your sunken expression mid sip of the drink to think of what to say you said, “Feanor must have been quite an ass to have gotten to you that bad.”

Thorin rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Moron, something in the bloodline. Just out to make this difficult while they can.”

“Well as long as I pass the class I’ll be satisfied.”

“You’ll pass,” they both said.

Thorin said, “Amad planned another spa day at our place in a couple days for you.”

You nodded and said, “Good, maybe I can bribe Vili for more honeydew melon and cantaloupe. Our market is out and I can’t figure out where he smuggled it from.”

The duo smirked and Thorin said, “He grows it.”

Dwalin, “We’ll let him know. He’s always glad for tips on what you’d like more of as our newest body to nourish on spa days.”

Thorin blurted out, “Anything else?”

“I don’t really need anything.”

Thorin, “Well I have some stew and rice for you with some brownie cake squares Vili made sure I packed for you for today. Give you a sugar boost at least.”

“I sent you a package, by the way.” You said to Thorin whose brow arched up, “You’ve been feeding me, and it’s not much but the guys said something about you like to bounding.”

“What?” Thorin asked in a confused chuckle.

“You’ll get it, I think. Not like a full spa day, and it’s late for your birthday so just pretend its not.” You said and even though he could see the worried prickle of tears that began to try and flood into your eyes that darted away a few moments to calm down again he had to grin at the thought you’d bought him anything in return for his efforts so far.

“I am certain I will be amply surprised at what you have chosen as if it were my name day and it will be treasured always.” Thorin rumbled back.

“For all you know it’s a pen topper that wiggles when you write.” You said to try and be something close to your joking self.

Dwalin, “We would all be beyond honored to get a wiggling pen topper from our Mates.”

“Good to know for gift giving holidays that the bar is low.” He smirked again your way and to your step closer to Dwalin’s side to avoid being in view of Finwe on his daily gloating stroll the duo subtly adjusted their stance so at least for now he couldn’t gawk at you in your suffering as you tried to pretend to fix your loose curls that laid over your shoulder as if you hadn’t seen him. The pair of them remained there for a few more minutes until they knew the coast was clear for a close call of a walk to their classrooms once your Professor had arrived and let you inside.

Silently you claimed your same seat in your first class avoiding the eyes of everyone in the halls and class. Dropping the essay you’d finished two days before on the Professor’s desk as you entered, drew out your notebook and textbook readied to take notes. Pretending not to notice the Professor who gave the top of your head a remorseful glance before their lecture began.

Your next few classes were filled with the same awkward pitying gazes with the same spreading silence pooling out from around you that continued through your final class before lunch, which you ate seated in the back of Dwalin’s classroom so you wouldn’t have to be stared at by everyone in the courtyard. Ori had mentioned it in passing earlier on in the day and while he had to meet another Professor for lunch you had free reign of the room. Each of the young Durins filed into the seats around you and Thorin on his stop to join you with lunch tin in hand he settled carefully touch free in front of you then claimed the spot across from you where he wouldn’t risk a stolen brush of fingers or bump of toes. Thrandil’s request had been shared and explained the reason why out of all of them who crept in to steal cuddling moments as their kin usually did in times of loss your Mate amongst them was so distant.

Topic at hand avoided in attempts to make you laugh they each shared what they had heard about the flaws of the future plans for the fundraising marathon in a few weeks which didn’t even have a location yet while they’d sent out hundreds of flyers. Ori was the one to succeed however. When he’d shared they’d sent out for shirts in the opposing school’s colors with a third school’s mascot spread across the backs. The giggles from which left you wiping a burning tear from your cheek. Bifur’s class however came next and had Fili and Kili to surround you post comforting pat on their uncle’s back that they would keep good watch of you. The lot of them slightly relieved at the moment of laughter, no matter how brief while it faded and the tension rolled back into your posture for the stroll to where other eyes would be upon you once again.

Bifur’s class thankfully came on mainly empty walkways and brought with it freedom to not have to be asked anything. From the usual seats where you left your things to the cubbies that contained the projects and back again you moved with growing ease. Absent sounds of work around you helped to calm you down to focus solely on the task at hand, on thing that you could handle on your own. Mostly all of your carving was done so after a few final touches you spent the class polishing up your owl statue that you then added sealing coats that were left to dry in the vented area. Bifur all class strolled around making notes in his pocket journal for this class on how each project progression was coming along and paused to smirk in admiration of yours especially while it dried, fully pleased to grant you a passing grade on it.

.

Dwalin stood at his desk offering you a small smile that even with his best intentions made you want to hurt him for the pitying gaze at the notice of your nerves that climbed again, you handed him your essay and mumbled in Khuzdul, “Don’t make me hit you.”

He smirked at you against his willpower not to, “If it would help feel free to do so.”

You nodded as your lip quivered again, your voice trembling through the rough language again, “I may take you up on that.” Causing his smirk to grow larger as he watched you draw in a quick breath and head for your chair. And in the moment he saw a group of students starting to attempt to speak to you he began his lecture to lure their focus to him in a frenzy for the still standing class to draw out their supplies to start taking notes. With following confusion lasting for the first near twenty minutes until he passed out the surprise tests that he’d prepared.

He made certain to steal glances your way, silently ensuring in each of your usual reaction and to see if you’d reach the same rapid speed they were always completed in. A few questions between scans over the class he noticed a moment of confusion when you had frozen and then regained composure to finish with nearly an hour left. Shakily you found your feet and with hold of your things down to his desk you strolled to place the test on his desk. Softly to the smirk on his face you let out a sigh and failed to flash him a flinch of a grin that made him whisper lowly in Khuzdul, “Couch is free if you wanted to relax before your next class.”

You nodded and followed his pointed thumb to head through the open door to his small office. Setting your bag on the table in front of it and curling into the end of the large plushy couch. You grabbed the blanket folded over the back and covering yourself resting your head on the arm closing your eyes with another sigh doing your best not to think about anything at all just focusing on the clock ticking on the wall.

“She finished my exam early as usual,” he sent off to Thorin, who had been in wait of news on your progress so far and if you’d lasted this long.

To which Thorin exhaled once he’d read it and asked, “She walking here to be early? She’s done that before just waited in the hall. I could let her in if she has.”

“Napping in my office. Seems tired and wanted the privacy.”

“Good. Good.” Thorin sent the same word twice and simply pocketed his phone at a loss of what else to say while Dwalin smirked in the confidence building endurance their newest clan member was showing with a badly broken heart.

After class he collected the last of the tests and joined you in his office while the last of the students lingered trying to get another peek at you. To a huff you fumbled an attempt to refold his blanket, he chuckled and took hold of the other end and mirrored your folds, “You didn’t have to fold it again, Thorin’s the only one who does, the rest of us just toss it back on the couch.”

Fighting the urge to just drop the thick blanket you nodded mumbling, “Didn’t know that.”

“He’s an ass, we all know it, even he does and if you need to you can come back here if he’s staring or breathing or anything that’s bothering you.”

“You did warn me though about the foot in the mouth thing.” Eying the group of students filing in for his next class, “I should go.” He smirked grabbing the blanket after the last fold and tossed it onto the couch. Promptly to freeze facing the wall as you pressed against his chest settling your hands on his sides in a timid half hug that deepened when he gently curled his arms around your back and pulled tighter as you sighed curling your arms around his back. He held you there for a few moments before you slowly pulled back and he reluctantly released you, “Thank you Dwalin.”

He smiled at you with a slight nod, “Anytime, keep me posted on that punch.” Drawing a soft attempt at a chuckle while you left, pulling out his phone to text Thorin to leave his office open for after his exam and that you might be a couple minutes late so act distracted to miss the normal prompt locking of the door.

From the growl worthy entrance of Feanor to the screen of his phone Thorin looked then strolled to the doorway to keep his usual pattern. Each student who passed him slightly afraid of the exam they saw only deflating expressions on the faces of the students in the class prior exiting. And behind the crowd of bodies with a careful nudge of the toe of his other shoe his lace on the other was undone to allow a distraction to take up a few moments at least. One that he pretended to take notice of when you were a few feet away and made a show of his drop to his knee to retie his shoe. And one that had him smirk as you muttered on your way past him, “So subtle. Careful or you might tear that suit of yours.”

Feanor’s usually smug self in the room was hard to miss although today his expression was that of remorse for his being a bother today having himself lost his mother in his formative years. Fully across your face he could read emotions that crept back up in his own mind of that pain that bubbled to the surface again of the wonderful woman he barely got a chance to know except by story from those who loved her as he did. To the lock of the door he focused on his notes and not the glances stolen by Thorin your way from the pass of exams out to his second glance at his office he’d readied the class before. Snacks he usually had hidden were settled on the table with a few water bottles and the thick flannel he kept on his plushy couch were all laid out with care.

Behind his desk he sat with eyes that scanned over everyone and an unnoticed check of his earring every time you had unconsciously checked yours. Always he made certain you were in the corner of his view and he did what he could to not smirk when he took notice that as always you were one of the first ten to complete his exams once again. Bag in hand you stood against the plummet of all your energy stores and lifted the thick exam packed you carried down to Thorin’s desk to add to the pile already there. And before your eyes could drop to the wooden surface he murmured in Khuzdul, “There’s a couch in my office if you want to rest.” You nodded and he continued, “Help yourself to what’s in there.”

Open mouthed the female students in the room gawked at the blatant confirmation of a relationship between you two at his allowance to be inside his private office. A walk that had his eyes on Feanor in his own rise to his feet to approach the Professor’s desk in his usual way instantly causing him to inhale deeply to remain calm. Once at Thorin’s side he lowered to say, “I will be by tomorrow to collect this exam.” And after Thorin’s confirming glance you had left your bag on the chair beside the couch and then back to the visitor who said, “As far as I am concerned we are here to audit on fairness, not your compassion. My Ada barely speaks of my Naneth since he remarried, for a time she was my everything. Miss Pear lost her everything, and when she completed her exam I left the room. I will see you tomorrow for that exam.” Their eyes met again after Thorin’s had detailed his facial expression and the visitor promptly rose and turned to stroll out of the classroom with bag in hand.

Over the table your eyes danced to a hint of a smile that spread across your lips to the spread he had set out for you. Down onto one of the plushy cushions you sat and removed your shoes to curl up on the couch underneath the flannel you unfolded to lay down with hold of the pillow he’d added as well. Deep and sudden you dropped into a nap. Lost to dreams that whirled in nonsense surrounding your classes and the other students. Twisting into some strange soap opera that ended with a strange posssed doll that had triggered Ori into a mass killing spree by means of his vast army of birds while Fili and Kili reinforced him with their polar bear cub forces.

Thorin between glances your way got to grading the finished exam and others that he could until time was called and he put them away at the emptying of his remaining students. And once alone he strolled with his bag in hand to his office where he found you curled up adorably with your stubborn curls pooled into your face. Silently he stole a picture on his phone he pocketed and stepped closer asking, “Jaqi?”

Legolas from the doorway of his class watched him in his lean forward with hand extended to brush your curls from your face, asking again, “Jaqi?” Ever so gently as Legolas sped to the office to stop him his fingers brushed your cheek and promptly his eyes rolled back and his body gave out to the invisible force that slammed into his torso. Fully winded in that unseen blow that renewed that searing pain in his chest in the now darkened room he heard a disbelieving huff and arms circle him to catch his fall. Lost to the world and regrettably unconscious images of your grandfather and yourself flooded every last corner of his mind in what seemed to be a replay of the past 15 years he had been yours. Images that ended to the collapse of your body around Melkor’s on that bed to the steady ring of that heart monitor muffled by sobs he knew to have been from his Mate.

Slumped in one of the large chairs Thorin opened his eyes to the ceiling and focused the both of them ahead in their delirious wish to keep rolling around the ceiling to look around the room for someone who could explain what happened and why his chest felt like it was on fire and being torn apart all at the same time. And all he could do when he saw Thranduil staring back at him with arms rested across the legs you had eased across his lap in a slumbering familiarity to his being you loved to sprawl across. Disappointment read clearly across his face as he said, “I did warn you.”

Thorin nodded and inched up in his chair with a painful groan to another wave of pain in his chest and asked, “How long did this last for you after?”

Thranduil, “It hasn’t stopped. Like I said before it won’t until she starts to feel better. Did she finish her exam?”

Thorin nodded with a pained expression as you curled tighter again around the pillow while Legolas seated on the arm of he couch by your head rubbed your back in hopes of calming you, “She did, bit slower than normal but I’m sure she did well enough.”

Dwalin helped Thorin steady himself as he stood while Thranduil gently uncovered you curling you against his chest in place of the pillow he replaced with his torso to cling to while Legolas grabbed your things, “I’m going to get her back home. She starts to hum when she sleeps like this and people tend to flock and freeze no getting her to the car then.”

The Durins nodded and Thorin said, “If she’s not feeling better tomorrow I can make sure she gets copies of all the notes from her other classes.”

Thranduil, “We’ll have to wait and see, if she doesn’t I’ll make sure to text you or throw a message wrapped rock at your house something.” They nodded and watched as he carried you to Thranduil’s vehicle.

Less than pleased with full knowledge of what his Mate was now suffering Thorin rode home with his cousin and grumbled in the passing of your home where the pain grew then waned again as he passed. It didn’t help that he now knew what was behind that struggle to not cry. A feeling that had him wish to do more to help however he could. Yet inside the front door he was met by his widely smiling sister and mother who announced he had a package that was in the parlor for a full family audience, and by the size of it he could only smile with wonder for what you chose. Large enough to have both of his nephews in it the box was opened with the slice on the tape and under a layer of bubble wrap he chuckled at the plushy sheep’s wool blanket of a more furry than woven variety that his hands smoothed across then handed to Dwalin in notice of more in the box.

Two wool knitted plushy sheep shaped pillows were lifted next, both almost the size of pumpkins with dark grey faces, one with black fur and the other with white. Lowly he chuckled turning them both over in hand before he lifted the final gift. A brown curved horned ram pillow that was roughly four feet long with looped ears and an animated ^w^ face on a thick cylindrical body that earned another louder laugh and had him look to his nephews. “Why does Jaqi say you told her I like bounding?”

Fili and Kili both answered through amused grins, “Battle Ram.” Making him shake his eyes and gather his gifts that they both captured a picture of him holding all of them on his way up to his room they would send to you later to ensure you got enough sleep.

Pt 8

[junker-town]

The Cowboys used a safety as kicker and 6 more things we loved about the NFL in Week 7

He poetically clang’d one off the upright for three points.

I’m glad that’s over.

Ever since the NFL released its schedule, and I saw the Falcons playing the Patriots in Week 7, the date and time has been drilled into my mind. We had an entire offseason full of 28-3 jokes — some, better than others. It got to a point where most of us were impervious to the pain, as Falcons fans.

Even though the Falcons put on a bad show on Sunday in a 23-7 loss, it was nice to just get the game out of the way. The Super Bowl chatter has been going on in every Falcons or Patriots broadcast this season. It was expectedly more rampant during the week leading up to the game, and was talked about more on Sunday’s broadcast than the actual game. It was honestly great that the severe fog was around, because it’s not like they could just ignore it.

The Falcons looked lost against a Patriots defense that came into the game with the NFL’s worst defense. I’m going to pretend that things are fine there and just be glad that game is over with.

Here are GOOD things from Sunday:

We had a SAFETY play kicker

This is a very College Football Thing that happened on NFL Sunday. Dan Bailey, one of the best kickers in the NFL, was out for the Cowboys. That led them to have to use safety Jeff Heath to play kicker, who had the most experience on the team at doing so.

His first kick was a beautifully loud CLANG that banked through the uprights:

His second attempt was what you’d expect from a safety playing kicker, but the Cowboys were up 33-3 at the time so it’s cool.

Bailey might be out next week too, and by then the Cowboys will likely sign another kicker to replace him.

But I wouldn’t be against seeing another position player take on the duties again. Let Dez Bryant or Dak Prescott line one up once.

Kenny Stills stayed with this one

The Miami Dolphins survived a Jets team that is somehow good this season after seemingly cutting any talented player they had on the roster during the offseason.

This Kenny Stills catch — very much like Jermaine Kearse’s in the Super Bowl against the Patriots — helped the Dolphins score thanks to some serious concentration.

The play was initially ruled incomplete, which is kind of expected. It certainly looks like that ball could have hit the ground at some point, and that there was no way Stills could have managed to get mitts on it.

But he did!

Christian McCaffrey shows why you catch the ball with your fingertips

Slow-motion replays can take away from how impressive some plays are. This is not one of those cases.

Look at not only McCaffrey looking the ball into his hand, but the way he’s gripping it once it hits his hand. It really was as perfect as a catch could be.

The Panthers suffered an tough 17-3 loss to the Bears on Sunday, but Christian McCaffrey won some nice points with coaches for this catch. It’s what they drafted him to do.

HIDE-AND-SEEK!

Group celebrations have been getting progressively more creative and abundant since the season started. It’s honestly been the best development this NFL season.

The Steelers are a fun bunch, and have taken advantage. They were shooting dice earlier in the season, and on Sunday they played hide-and-seek.

The Steelers are playing better football. They were the first team to beat the Chiefs last week, and had an easy time with the Bengals with their 29-14 win on Sunday.

Better play = better celebrations. It’s real math.

Le’Veon Bell is a bully

This is the only form of bullying that should be acceptable anywhere in the world. And even that is pushing it.

Le’Veon Bell really took Dre Kirkpatrick by the face and shoved him like a cartoon.

I hope Kirkpatrick has nice, loving family members that won’t bring this up during the holidays when everybody’s together.

If somebody does, he’s gotta fight.

The Browns almost won, but they were the Browns

We don’t hate the Browns around these parts at SB Nation. We actually feel bad for them. But we accept them for what they are, and love them for when they are themselves the most.

Sunday was an example of that. They were in a game with the Titans throughout, one that unsurprisingly was only field goals. In the fourth quarter, they almost blew their chance to send it to overtime, after Cody Kessler threw a late interception (yup, DeShone Kizer got benched AGAIN):

They eventually got the ball back, and made a game-tying field goal to make it a 9-9 game and send it into overtime. But you know — they’re the Browns. The game was won with a field goal by the Titans after the teams nearly spent the entire overtime period scoreless. It was simply ugly.

Even when the Titans are at their absolute worst, the Browns still couldn’t beat them. They’re now 0-7, but they have to win eventually, right?

OTHER THINGS FROM WEEK 7:

Eddie Jackson scored two 75-yard touchdowns for the Bears

A facemask, aka “grabbing the helmet opening”

Robby Anderson scored a touchdown, then sat in the stands

WATCH YOUR HANDSSSSSS

Joe Thomas missed a snap, and all is wrong in the world

BAD BEAT!

Vontaze Burfict kicked a Steeler two plays into the game

T.Y. Hilton was brutally honest

The Seahawks had 10 plays inside the 11-yard line and scored zero points

A bad call you can get mad about

Jason Witten still has mittens

The Seahawks had another play that looked just like the Fail Mary

This fake punt was a work of art by the Steelers

LOOK AT ALL THIS FOG

Sunday scores

Saints 26, Packers 17 Jaguars 27, Colts 0 Seahawks 24, Giants 7 Bills 30, Buccaneers 27 Bears 17, Panthers 3 Titans 12, Browns 9 (OT) Rams 33, Cardinals 0 Dolphins 31, Jets 28 Vikings 24, Ravens 16 Cowboys 40, 49ers 10 Steelers 29, Bengals 14 Chargers 21, Broncos 0 Patriots 23, Falcons 7