#took a break from drawing to punt this idea out of my brain

[snvxiii]

He's got the right spirit.

[bat-losers-inc]

Kintsugi: Chapter 6

Warnings: adult language 

Summary: Final Crisis/Red Robin AU. Dick admits Tim to a psychiatric facility after Bruce is lost in time. Jason finds him suffering at the hands of a Scarecrow-copycat and breaks him out. While safe in Jason’s apartment, Tim still struggles with panic attacks and drug withdrawal. At a loss for what to do, Jason calls Roy Harper.

Pairings: Jason Todd & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Roy Harper, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Dick Grayson, Roy Harper & Dick Grayson.

Jason bolted out onto the hospital rooftop through the access door, jumping the pipes, ventilation ducts, and skylights as he made a straight shot towards the roof’s ledge. He slipped his helmet on and shot out his grappling line, catching it around an office building across the street before jumping. He didn’t fall for long as his line snapped tight, drawing him up and over to the other building’s higher roof. It was imperative that he get to higher ground if he wanted to stand any chance of an escape via the rooftops of Bludhaven. But he’d barely cleared the hospital parking lot before a Birdarang flashed in the moonlight above him and cut his line.

Jason sucked in a panicked breath as his heart flip-flopped into his stomach with the sudden change of direction. He curled into himself and performed a painful tuck and roll onto the harsh concrete of a lower roof, jarring his shoulder and rattling his head inside his helmet in the process.

Jason heard the zip and clang of a line being shot behind him and pushed up onto his feet, flinging himself onto the next rooftop with the aid of his spare grappling gun. Enough rooftop brawls with the big man in the past had taught Jason to always carry a spare, or two. It seemed that Damian had inherited his father’s dirty habit of line cutting. Jason should have guess that the apple wouldn’t fall far from the rotten fucking tree.  

He made it across five more buildings before something lashed around his ankles and tripped him up. He pitched face first into the concrete, smashing his helmet hard enough that his heads-up display dissolved into a flickering mass of pixels.

“Another one bites the dust,” he growled, chucking the helmet away and making hasty work with his knife on the cords around his ankles. Not quick enough, he thought, as he stood up just in time to duck one of Robin’s flying kicks to his now exposed head.

Jason flipped his knife around, slashing backhand at Robin’s neck and stomach. Damian lunged up under his arm and jabbed him in the armpit. Jason’s hand spasmed and his knife fell through his numb fingers and bounced on the ground between them.

Jason pulled a gun, but Damian was faster— his katana scratching at the unshaven stubble on Jason’s neck before he could even release the safety on his gun.

Jason stilled, breathing hard. There was no use continuing to try to run or fight, he knew they’d just continue pursuing him. “You owe me a new helmet.”

Damian shrugged one shoulder. “If you hadn’t run from us you’d still have it. I think that makes it your fault, not mine.”

There was a rush of air to Jason’s right as Dick landed in a swish of black material.

“Where’s Tim, Jason?”

He turned to glare at him. “Safe from you. I think that’s all you need to know for right now.”

Dick uttered a noise akin to a growl, his voice a deep rumble as he said, “If you’ve done something to him, Jason, I swear to god I’ll—”

  Jason used the gun to wack Damian’s katana away from his neck with a clang of metal on metal. He’d quickly grown tired of the sensation of it pressed against his skin. “Why don’t you shout my name a little louder, huh! I don’t think all of Gotham heard you yet. Wouldn’t want to leave out all those criminals in Arkham. You’d really make their day.”

“Is this a joke to you? I’m trying to find my brother.”

“What makes you think he wants to be found?” Jason countered.

“Tell us where he is, Hood,” Damian demanded, “Or I’ll get the information out of you another way.”

Jason caught the rise of his arm and leveled a finger at him, spitting, “Don’t you dare even think about sticking that katana back in my face, you goddamn chihuahua of a human being.”

Damian face scrunched in confusion. “Chihuahua? What the hell does that even mean?”

“Oh, I think you know. Yappy, stupidly aggressive, makes you want to punt them into the sun.” Jason smiled menacingly at him. “Now, shut up, the adults are talking.”

 “Oh yeah, you’re really proving to me that you have the welfare of the young in mind, right now.” snapped Dick.

Jason laughed harshly. “Oh, I see! You think I’m a horrible person for talking to the demon brat like that. Well, I think it might be a good idea for you to stomp down on that judgemental attitude right now, yeah Dickie? Because from where I’m standing, I don’t look so bad. I mean… at least I didn’t lock my teenage brother in a psych ward against his will and leave him there to be experimented on by a goddamn psycho scientist who gave him a drug problem!”

Jason really wanted to get in his face and shove him on his ass, but it seemed his words had the same effect as Dick rocked back a step. “A— What?”

“Oh, yeah. That shit’s on you. His ‘guardian’ who washed his hands of him the second he became too much of an inconvenience.”

Jason shoved Damian out of the way and went to retrieve his belongings, intent of leaving the two assholes he called family alone to sort out their shit without him.

“Jason, wait. I just want to understand!”

Jason looked back over his shoulder at Dick. “You want to understand? Go listen to Keselman’s tapes. Then maybe you’ll understand just a fraction on the nightmare that Tim went through  and is still going through.”

Jason turned and left, knowing it wouldn’t be the last he saw of his brother. He just hoped he could keep him away from Tim for a little while longer. Otherwise, he didn’t know what would happen.  

It was late morning by the time Tim awoke from his stupor, his parched tongue smoothing cautiously over the cracked skin of his bottom lip. He cringed at the coppery taste, like pennies. He found the glass of water that Jason had left by the foot of his bed and chugged down what little remained. Hearing the clatter of pans from below and catching the whiff of coffee in the air, he slipped downstairs on sock-clad feet.  Squinting against the bright sunlight coming in through the many windows along the first floor, he made his way into the kitchen.

He’d half expected to see Jason and Roy sitting on opposite sides of the kitchen table recounting fond memories over coffee and eggs, but all he found instead was Roy in front of the stovetop, flipping an omelette in a fry pan.  

“Where’s Jason?”

Roy flinched. The spatula jerked across the surface of the fry pan before he righted it enough to slide his omlette off onto his plate. It was only then that Roy turned to him, plate in hand, the air of forced nonchalance present in every feature Tim’s eyes landed on. What other more subtle emotions he was putting out, Tim couldn’t figure out at the moment (as it took more concentration than his brain could muster up).

“He went out to gather some intel last night but hasn’t gotten back yet. Probably decided it was just best to crash at another safehouse then hike it all the way back here.”

Tim hitched his body up onto one of the bar stools positioned around the table. “All the way back here? Where was he going?”

Roy cleared his throat. “Bludhaven.”

“So Breckenridge,” Which only served to highlight how his continued presence was in Jason’s life was complicating things. “Which is why you’re so worried, right? With Batman and Robin undoubtedly out looking for me, if they caught sight of him there last night there’s a chance he could lead them right to us.”

“I’m not worried about anything. Jason has evaded them before and he’ll do it again. Now, what do you want for breakfast? I make a mean omelette.”

Tim shrugged, food being the last thing on his mind. “Just coffee and toast.”

Roy tilted his head, pale eyebrows pulling together. “You need to eat. And eat real food, at that. How does scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice sound?”

Honestly, the smell of Roy’s omelette was starting to turn his stomach. He let a nauseated chill sweep through his frame and readjusted his damp shirt so it didn’t stick to his back.

Tim rolled his eyes. It was like the diner incident all over again. “It sounds like something Jason told you to feed to me. Tell me, do you always do whatever he tells you to do? Don’t you have a mind of your own? A cup of coffee isn’t going to kill me.”

“Yes, it will.”

Tim stared at him in disbelief until Roy threw his head back in silent outrage.

“Jason told me you were supposed to be some kind of genius, so I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet.”

Tim sighed and rubbed hastily at his face, wiping the sweat from his upper lip off onto his pant leg. “Look… in any other scenario I’d love to show off my skills and figure out what you’re thinking, but I feel like death warmed over right now. So, just tell me. Coffee. Yes or no?”

“Seriously, kid? Don’t you know anything about drug chemistry? Even Jason understands this.”

Tim slid off the kitchen stool and stumbled his way around Roy to the coffee pot. “Yeah, no worries. I’ll get it myself. You just keep on talking.”

Roy yanked the pot out of his hands, coffee sloshing around inside, and shoved it back into the stand. “You’ve been having panic attacks. Adding caffeine into the mix might legitimately kill you. That’s what happens the minute you come off fear toxin and all those benzos.”

“Yeah, alright I admit there was a bit of an adjustment period, but I’m fine now—”

“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, huh? Whatever adjustment period you’re going through is far from over. ”

As much as Tim wanted to continue debating this point with Roy, he was worried that his persistent resistance to Jason’s rules would result in a change of living situations, and not for the better. He’d already learned on multiple occasions of late that this was a game he was doomed to lose with every hand he played. So Tim checked his emotions and stepped back, adding quietly, “Orange juice sounds great.”

Roy’s forehead creased. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you—”

“It’s fine,” Tim cut in, resuming his seat at the table. “I was in the wrong… like you explained.”

“No, really—”

The window over the radiator shot open and they both turned to see Jason clambering in through it, pulling a very familiar backpack in after him. He stood, dropping another broken helmet in the box with the others and addressed Tim in a slightly winded voice, “I brought some of your stuff.”

“Did you run all the way here with it?” asked Roy, as Tim took it out of his hands and peeked inside. “Because it sounds like you did. I thought you were doing extra cardio.”

Tim pushed past a few pairs of clothes to find his laptop, charger, and a jaggling mess of electrical components and tools in a pile at the bottom— from the way it was packed it looked like Jason had just swiped anything sitting out on top of his work desk into the opening without any knowledge of what it was for.

He sighed and moved the bag into Jason’s makeshift garage/workstation to sort out later. Maybe he’d be able to show Jason his gratitude by designing some tech for his bike.

He heard Jason as he came back into the safehouse. “Yeah, I doubled back and came the long way to make sure I wasn’t being followed. But look, I found it, it’s all in there!”

Tim rounded the corner to see Roy flipping through a familiar pocket notebook that set his hair on end, feeling for all the world like Roy was flipping through something deeply personal— like his diary, except he didn’t have a diary. He supposed if he did though, Keselman’s notes on Tim’s drugged rants and ravings would be the closest thing to what he’d put in one.

Jason pulled Roy’s plate across the counter towards him and started digging into it with silent and ravenous focus.

“Those are Dr. Keselman’s notes, aren’t they?”

Jason’s fork stilled on its path to his mouth and lowered as both he and Roy fixed Tim with an expression that was mixed equally with worry and guilt. It was one that Tim was noticing more and more, but it’s continued use didn’t make it any easier for him to stomach.

“I’m going to take your silence as a ‘yes’. When you’re done with that, I’d like to take a look at it.”

And burn it.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” said Jason.

“Why? I’m not going to find anything in there that I don’t already know.”

Roy shrugged at Jason. “He’s kinda got a point there, Jaybird.”

Jason snatched the bite of eggs off of his fork before waving it dismissively around by his head, “Fine, whatever you want. But if shit hits the fan then you’re cleaning it up.”

He moved to fill a mug with coffee from the pot. Tim watched him take the first sip from his standing spot by the couch, silent and ever so jealous of his health compared to his own.

“By the way,” Jason took another sip, “How did you two get on without me? Any problems so far?”

“Uh—” Roy hesitated and cast a questioning look at Tim. “Well, actually Jason—”

“Yeah, really good actually,” Tim forced a smile and shook his head ever so slightly at Roy. “Roy’s already giving out some sound advice. Kinda feels like I have another big brother.”

Another person to watch out for, that is. He felt horrible for thinking it because he knew if given some time he’d probably learn to like Roy— maybe even value his opinions. But as it stood at the moment Tim just couldn’t trust him to speak on his behalf. One hiccup in their current plans or a wrong comment to Jason could mess up the only good thing Tim had going for him. So Roy would just have to play along and fake it until it was actually true, his conscience be damned.

Jason smiled, looking eagerly between them. “So, does that mean what I think it means? You’ll sponsor him?”

Roy crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “Just for a week or so, until Tim’s back on steady ground and can find another sponsor here in Gotham.”

Jason laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “You big softie.”

Tim scratched at his arm, stepping a little closer. “Hey, Jason? I’m not feeling so hot this morning and I’m kinda worried about what that’s going to lead to later on. Do you think I could take something just to ease the symptoms a bit?”

Roy coughed into his fist.  

Tim continued on hurridley, “I know you guys are worried about the dosages still, but you also talked about seizures and heart attacks and I think even just half a pill would push those worries from my head, you know?”

Jason and Roy seemed to hold a silent conversation with just a few shared glances at each other, before Jason turned back to Tim with an uneasy smile. “Yeah, I totally understand what you’re saying, Tim. But it’ll only take us a few hours to look over these notes and map out a solid step-down routine. And if we do, then we can start that step-down today and knock off an extra day where you feel like shit, you get me?”

“Yeah, no. I totally understand.” Tim tried for a smile and felt it twitch with strain. He rubbed at his mouth in an effort to cover it.

“So you think you can make it a few more hours?” prompted Jason in that soft careful voice that set Tim’s nerves on end instead of calming them.

“Yeah, um— I think I’m just gonna go sort through that stuff you brought back and see if I can make anything useful from it.”   

“Great idea,” said Roy. “Keep your mind occupied.”

Tim nodded hasilty and shuffled out of the room. He shut the door to the loading dock, relieved to have a barrier between Jason and Roy’s ever watching, ever critical eyes. Tim found one of Jason’s spare leather jackets hung up on a peg by the door and pulled it around his shoulders to block off the chill in the air that was sending him into bouts of shivers despite the sweat wetting the baby hairs at the back of his neck.  

He pulled out the stool in front of Jason’s workbench and perched himself on top of it, drawing his backpack into his lap to rifle through it. He pulled out his clothes and laptop first, pushing them off to the side to bring inside later. Then he upturned his backpack over the workbench, dropping a cascade of tools and electrical parts onto the tabletop. Tim shook the bag for any lingering pieces and then slipped his stack of clothes back inside to keep them clean from the dust and grease that stained the workbench from Jason’s previous projects.

Rummaging through a few of the drawers, he found a beaten up notebook and a stub of a pencil which he used to create a quick inventory of parts and tools, sorting each into its own pile. He checked the time on the old clock on the far wall, his heart sinking as he realized only a half hour had elapsed. Grumbling to himself, he dove into sketching some new gadgets, drawing on some old tech he’d put into the R-cycle during his years with the Titans— his leg bouncing against the bottom rung of the stool the entire time. All the while his ears were perked towards the inner rooms of the safehouse, eager for the sound of Jason’s approaching footsteps to signal the finalization of his new step-down plan.

Another hour passed and still it didn’t come. Tim threw his pencil down and rested his aching head against the table top with a groan. Keep your mind occupied? Fuck that, it felt like his head was going to crack in half like an egg.

Tim pulled his laptop over toward him, telling himself it was routine updating he was doing as he pulled up his criminal database and pinpointed their current location, scrolling around in a five mile radius on Gotham’s map to see which criminals had joints nearby. He noted Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge with interest, only one subway line away, and a notorious meeting ground for some of Gotham’s flashiest crime organizations.

Just research, he reminded himself. There was a knock on the garage door behind him that startled him enough to slam his laptop closed. Tim half turned in his seat to look, almost believing he’d imagined it, until the person outside banged loudly against the grated metal again and sent it rattling on its tracks.

The door to the safehouse opened and Jason took a step down onto the stairs, eyes fixed on the exterior door, his hand lingering uneasily against the doorframe.

Tim watched him before whispering, “Did you tell anyone else about this place? Another outsider maybe?”

Jason shook his head and flinched back into Roy who stood behind him as the banging resumed.

“Jason open the door. I know you’re in there!” Dick voiced shouted, muffled by the wall between them.

Tim jumped to his feet and grabbed for his backpack. “You swore you wouldn’t tell him where I was!”

“Tim? Tim, is that you? It’s Dick, please just open the door!”

Jason threw up his hands. “And I didn’t, Tim. I spent all of last night trying to lose him and only came back here when I thought the coast was clear.”

“Well, it obviously wasn’t, Jason! And now he’s right outside!!”

“Hey, hey!” Roy shoved past Jason and down the stairs. “He might know where we are now, but that doesn’t mean we have to let him inside. Alright? I’ll send him away.”

“Don’t open that door,” said Tim. “please, don’t.”

“It’s gonna be fine,” Roy motioned aggressively to Jason, “Will you go stand by him before he dies of a panic attack or something? For fucks sake, Jason. I can’t babysit everyone.”

Jason shook his head as if to clear it. “Yeah, ‘course. Sorry.”

He jumped down the steps and moved to stand protectively at Tim’s side, positioning himself between Tim and the door and blocking Tim from sight with his broad shoulders. As Roy moved to unlock the padlock that held the door closed, Jason ducked his head to speak quietly to Tim.

“Remember, Tim. He might have come here wanting to talk but you set the terms. We won’t let anything happen unless you want it to. You have control of this situation.”  

Roy pulled on the chain until the door rested all the way up on the track. Dick was dressed in civvies and he barely waited for the door to clear his chest before ducking under. His eyes landed on Tim’s face where he’d shifted around Jason’s broad form to see more clearly.

Dick moved hurriedly towards them and Jason stepped forward and caught him in the chest with one hand. He stopped Dick’s forward progress with one aggressive jerk of his hand fisted in Dick’s shirt, pulling him back a step so he was eye to eye with him.

“You’ve got a lot of balls showing up here.” spat Jason.

Dick met his hard gaze. “I listened to the tapes, Jason. All night.”

His tried to shift his gaze around Jason’s head to catch sight of Tim. “I’m so sorry, Timmy. I didn’t know what was happening at Breckenridge— I couldn’t visit you—”

“Well, whose fault was that?” countered Jason.

“Please, Tim. I just want to apologize and make sure you’re alright.”

“He’s fine. We’re taking care of him.”

Tim sure didn’t feel fine in that moment.

“I thought you said he had a drug problem. He should be in a rehab facility, Jason!”

“That’s why I’m here,” Roy walked around them to stand near Jason. “I’m sponsoring Tim and overseeing his detox to make sure it's performed safely.”

Dick laughed. “Well, excuse me if that statement doesn’t fill me with confidence, Roy, but I really can’t trust my brother’s safety to you.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

Dick jerked his shirt free of Jason’s grip and turned on him. “Because you’re an addict, Roy. Jason might be okay with that and willing to give you a shot at sponsoring because you’re his best friend, but I’m not. Because from where I’m standing you’ve been in and out of rehab for years! If you can’t manage to stay sober then I really don’t think you should be giving faulty advice to Tim.”

“I think you should leave,” said Jason, so deadly calm that it scared Tim a little.

“I’m Tim’s guardian, Jason! You don’t get to decide what best for him, that’s my job.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

Dick flinched. “What the hell does that mean, huh? You gonna fight me for guardianship, dead boy?”

Jason shook his head. “Of course I won’t.”

Tim’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“Did you know that Tim got Bruce to sign off on emancipation papers before he died? Signed, sealed, but never filed— guess he never got the chance.  I found them in his apartment last night when I was waiting for you to lose interest in tailing me around the city and head on home.”

“What? Tim, tell me that’s not—”

“Don’t worry,” Jason cut over him with a smile.  “I took them with me.”

Tim’s eyes jumped back up to Jason, full of shock and unspeakable gratitude, as the older boy continued,  “I’m going to keep them save for him incase that’s still something he wants to pursue once he recovers. And based on recent events, I think we both know that he will.”

His words were entirely the threat that Dick perceived them to be. Tim was still reeling with the knowledge of it all and he couldn’t decide if he wanted to break down crying with relief or run and hide himself away and distance his mind from this broken person that his entire family thought of him as, someone everyone was trying to fix, or save, or reform. All he really knew was that thinking about this hurt his head too much and he needed to get away.

He dropped Jason’s jacket onto the stool and backed away from the trio towards the stairs that led into the safehouse, his backpack still slung across one shoulder.

He heard Roy speak up again as he was racing up the stairs to the second floor, pointing Dick not-so-kindly in the direction of the door. They were too involved in their own small grudges to spare him more than a glance. He found Jason’s bedroom at the back of the second floor, and rifled through the drawers— realizing too late that he wouldn’t have hid the pills in his room. Downstairs, Tim now remembered vaguely, but Jason and Roy would be back inside in a moment and he couldn’t be found searching the place for them.

With quickly diminishing hope, Tim dug into the pockets of Jason’s other jacket, the one he’s wrapped around Tim in Roy’s car the other night. No pills, but Tim came away with a handful of cash from the diner. It would be enough, Tim judged, and he could walk the other half of the way there if  he needed to save some cash.

He stepped out the fire escape off the second floor hallway, the cold air whipping his sweaty t-shirt around like the fabric of a kite. He was feverish and cramped with pains that came and went with the breeze, but he was alone. No eyes, he thought to himself, no stares and judgements and obligations. I’m free to be me, even if this version of Tim  doesn’t care to remember who Tim Drake was, should, or would be.

He raced down the fire escape steps and across the empty streets of the waterfront district with their vacant and boarded up warehouses. He’d woken up late in the morning and now at late afternoon the sun was dropping down into an evening array of pink, yellow, and orange clouds that tinted the rooftops and cast long shadows on the pavement.

Tim crossed his arms tight across his chest to keep warm and disappeared into the darkness of those shadows, leaving it all behind him.  

[bongaboi]

Ohio State: 2019 Rose Bowl Champions

PASADENA, Calif. -- Urban Meyer says he decided to end his remarkable coaching career at Ohio State partly because of the stress inherent in this high-intensity job.

After his Buckeyes blew most of a 25-point lead in the fourth quarter and had to recover a last-minute onside kick to win the Rose Bowl, anybody could understand why this 54-year-old coach can't wait to retire.

But the stress is over. Meyer is going out at the top of his profession. And for the first time, he is a Rose Bowl champion.

Dwayne Haskins passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Meyer headed into retirement with a 28-23 victory after the fifth-ranked Buckeyes held off No. 9 Washington's thrilling comeback in the 105th Rose Bowl on Tuesday.

After the confetti flew in the north end zone, the Buckeyes gathered around Meyer for one last celebration of their coach. He is walking away after going 83-9 at Ohio State with one national championship, three Big Ten titles and this Rose Bowl victory, the Buckeyes' eighth overall in the Granddaddy of Them All.

"I'm a very blessed man," Meyer said. "I'm blessed because of my family, (but) this team, this year, I love this group as much as any I've ever had."

Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Rashod Berry caught TD passes in the first half for the Buckeyes (13-1), who took a 28-3 lead into the fourth and seemed to be cruising to a blowout.

But star running back Myles Gaskin threw a touchdown pass and rushed for two more scores for the Huskies (10-4), scoring from 2 yards out with 42 seconds left.

The Huskies got no closer, however. Defensive player of the game Brendon White intercepted Jake Browning's pass on the 2-point conversion attempt, and Dixon recovered Washington's onside kick.

"We're going down as one of three teams in Ohio State history to win 13 games," Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young said. "Legendary team. Legendary coach. We're all legendary right now."

Meyer cited his health last month in his decision to step down. A cyst in Meyer's brain causes severe headaches that are even worse for a man who says he gets not just nervous, but "deathly ill" before big games.

Meyer largely refused to reflect publicly on his career during the month since he announced his plans. After he shook Washington coach Chris Petersen's hand, raised the trophy and walked off the Rose Bowl turf, Meyer finally thought about the journey that brought him back to his home state for a stellar seven-year tenure capped by this late-breaking thriller.

"Every week, every yard, every down, when we recruited these players, I just wanted to make sure that we made the great state of Ohio proud," Meyer said. "And once again, we weren't perfect, but we did a lot of good things."

After Southern California's epic win over Penn State and Georgia's double-overtime thriller with Oklahoma over the past two years in Pasadena, the Rose Bowl got another matchup packed with late-game fireworks.

Browning passed for 313 yards and Gaskin rushed for 121 in the final game of the four-year starters' landmark careers at Washington, which has lost three straight New Year's Six bowl games.

But after three poor offensive quarters, the Pac-12 champions made it awfully interesting late. The Huskies racked up 170 yards of offense while making three strong drives in the fourth, but they had fallen too far behind in their first Rose Bowl game appearance in 18 years.

"It was too little, too late, but we're always going to keep swinging," Browning said. "That's how we are as a team. We're never out of it."

Petersen dropped to 1-4 in bowls during his otherwise remarkable tenure at Washington, including consecutive defeats in the Peach, Fiesta and Rose.

"Very frustrating when you start the first half like we started," Petersen said. "I have no idea why. It's on me. It's not these kids. ... We'll go back to the drawing board on how to prepare these guys better to come out of the gate a little bit faster. But I am proud of how hard these guys play, and I never doubt that."

While Petersen likely will get more chances for his first Rose Bowl win, Meyer insists his three-decade collegiate coaching career is over. After starting out as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, he has been a head coach since 2001, achieving huge success at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida before his stellar run in Columbus.

These Buckeyes are Meyer's eighth team to finish with one loss or fewer in his 17 seasons as a head coach.

"He's a really tough guy," said Ohio State running back Mike Weber, who rushed for 96 yards. "Sometimes you never really know what he's thinking. He really doesn't show a lot of emotion, but I felt him today. You could tell he was giving his all. It felt a little different."

Although Meyer's final season began with an embarrassing three-game suspension over his mismanagement of domestic abuse accusations against former assistant Zach Smith, he propelled the Buckeyes to another dominant regular season despite missing out on the College Football Playoff.

This game could be Haskins' farewell to Ohio State as well, if the sophomore goes pro. The offensive player of the game and Heisman Trophy finalist became the sixth FBS quarterback to throw 50 touchdown passes in a season while picking away at the vaunted Washington secondary minus injured Taylor Rapp, the second-team All-American safety.

Gaskin became the fourth running back in NCAA history with four 1,200-yard seasons during the third quarter, but Ohio State increased its lead with J.K. Dobbins' TD run.

The Huskies finally scored their first offensive touchdown since the Apple Cup when Gaskin threw a TD pass to Drew Sample with 12:17 to play.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ohio State: The offense did enough to win despite punting on five straight late drives. Fans can only wonder whether this bunch of Buckeyes would have done better than overmatched Notre Dame or Oklahoma in the playoff semifinals.

Washington: The defeat wrapped up an unimpressive Pac-12 football season. The Huskies were the class of the conference, and they showed tremendous heart in the fourth -- but they'll be frustrated with a campaign bookended by losses to national powers Auburn and Ohio State.

UP NEXT

Ohio State: Ryan Day is now the 25th head coach in program history. Haskins could be the first quarterback drafted if he leaves, and he's just one key contributor who must be replaced. But Meyer has built a fierce machine in Columbus, and he seems certain Day is the man to drive it forward.

Washington: Replacing the most prolific quarterback and running back in program history isn't easy, but many Huskies fans are excited to see who's next. Petersen has built a powerhouse in Seattle, and Washington should be in position to contend for a trip to Pasadena almost every year.

[elanorjane]

California Soulmates Chapter 6

Summary: Pop princess Belle wants to write her own music. Single father Gold wants to put his failed music career behind him. When inspiration hits, there's only one problem...the songs they're writing are each other's. "Telepathic soulmates" RCIJ for @beastlycheese

AO3

She was still in her encore outfit. A shiny red dress with a plunging neckline open almost to her navel. Below that the long skirt opened at the front to reveal matching red sequin hotpants. During her encore large fans below the stage had blown the long train up in the air. Red gloves stretched up to her elbows. Her skin was shiny from the performance. Auburn hair fell in waves all around her. He halted, honestly taken aback by how beautiful she was.

“Hello,” she greeted brightly. Her face was open and understanding. She must think he was starstruck, which was better than the alternative, the truth being he was desperately struggling to not look at her boosted cleavage or her shapely legs.

Thankfully, she turned her attention to Bae standing in front of him. She didn’t even have to bend down to be on the same level with him, like she had to for some of her tinier fans.

“The show was great,” Bae told her in a daze. Gold took in his son’s glazed over eyes. If Bae stayed this distracted throughout the meeting this might be over ever quicker than he’d hoped.

“Thank you,” she told him, sounding genuine. Then she glanced up at Gold mischievously. “But what did your dad think?” A teasing smile tugged at the corner of her rose colored mouth, suspecting he’d been dragged here like all the other parents.

Bae’s eyes lit up at the opportunity she’d presented him with. “He doesn’t mind,” he lied, “because my dad writes music, too!” Gold cringed but couldn’t stop him before he blurted, “He even wrote some of your songs!”

Her eyebrows shot up in response. That was obviously the last thing she’d expected to come out of his mouth. She turned those devastating eyes back on him again and considered him, tilting her head to the side. “Did he?” Her lips pursed, suppressing a smile and daring him to talk his way out of that statement.

He hadn’t known she had an accent. The sweet lilt of her voice danced through his brain, short circuiting his synapses.

“No,” he asserted childishly, internally withering.

Bae stood between them. “Tell her, papa,” he urged in what he must have thought was a whisper but was definitely not.

His mouth opened and snapped shut, but Belle waited patiently for an explanation. “One of your songs,” he apologized. “It…sounds similar to a song I made up,” he explained.

“The one that leaked,” Bae provided.

“It’s just a coincidence,” Gold added hastily.

Her gaze shifted from curious to intrigued, as if he’d said something particularly interesting. Out of the corner of his eye Gold saw the security guard overseeing the proceedings charge forward to manhandle Bae and him away from her to keep the meet and greet line moving.

Belle saw him too and gave a little wave to stave him off.

She spoke, forcing his attention back on her when he wanted nothing more than to slink away with what little of his dignity he had left. When she talked, his mind became completely absorbed in her words. He was supposed to be short with this woman, push Bae in front of her for a photo, then get them out of there and on with their lives, which included moving to another continent to avoid this woman and people like her. She stole his song, he smarted, they were standing here talking about it. But somehow he couldn’t bring himself to stay mad at her. Now she wouldn’t let him out from under her spell.

“I wrote that song,” she told Gold. She didn’t sound mad, or threatened. More like she wanted to discuss it with him, which was absurd.

“Like I said,” he responded tersely. He looked away, trying to catch the guard’s eye and force him to move them along, “coincidence.”

The photographer, who had had enough waiting around, called out, “Photo in three, two…!” Gold strayed out of the frame, letting Bae have his moment, but at the last second, he felt small, delicate fingers wrap around his bicep and yank him into frame. He leaned in and smiled automatically. The flash went off.

Belle stood up straight from she’d leaned over Bae to lean her head close to his. The fruity smell of her hairspray lingered on his senses. “I’ve never written a song like that in my life,” she continued, unconcerned with the interruption or the impatient line behind them.

God, would she not let it go? “I’m not surprised,” he muttered.

She gasped, “Excuse me?”

That got the guard’s attention finally, and he sprung back into action, eager to punt Gold out of the arena. But she held out her arm again, “No, it’s okay, Steve.”

She’d sounded offended, but her eyes sparkled in response to Gold’s challenging tone.

No, Steve, I’m sorry, come back, please, he thought. Take me away from this woman.

She crossed her arms like she had all day and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain himself. It was as if she knew she was torturing him, but kept on for the fun of it.

“It’s just it’s unlike anything else you sing,” he offered.

Her eyes sparked in defiance. “I have the lyrics in a notebook,” she told him haughtily. “In my own handwriting.”

That was it. He scoffed, squared his shoulders to her, crossed his own arms to mirror her, and leaned in close. “So do I,” his deep timbre rumbled in his chest.

She smiled as if he’d said the most marvelous thing. “Do you-” she cut off, as if remembering where there were. She glanced around self-consciously, suddenly aware of all the eyes on them. Her confidence that had reeled him in so effectively moments before fell away.

Gold somehow knew what she was going to say. He swore she was about to say “want to get out of here?” He’d almost finished the sentence for her. Honestly, he didn’t know why, but his answer would have been yes.

He felt an overwhelming sense of pity for this woman. Her eyes darted around like that of a trapped ferret. Standing next to her, he could feel the weight of the scrutiny and expectation on her.

Gold could only explain what happened next as some sort of mania overtaking him. His eyes flashed over her shoulder at the photo op backdrop. It only took him a second to get his bearings. Behind them, down the long hall, was an emergency exit, the same one that had led Milah and Killian out of his life all those years ago. He was hyper aware of the hundreds of people milling about around them. Not to mention the queue still formed behind him and Bae.

He put one hand on Bae’s shoulder and angled them away from Belle as if they were saying goodbye. He didn’t miss the inexplicable panic and sadness in her eyes. “Trust me?” he murmured to Belle, trying not to tip Steve off to his hairbrained idea.

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation.

Bae’s eyes volleyed back and forth between them, sensing something was about to happen.

Still looking into Belle’s eyes, Gold wrapped one hand around Bae’s wrist.

“C’mon,” he grabbed Belle’s satin covered hand with his other and yanked her behind him as he made a break for it. She let out a yelp of surprise, but gamely followed. Gold skidded past Steve the Barbarian, who truly wished to kill him now, pulling Belle and Bae with him.

They slipped around the backdrop and down the concrete hall. He saw the red Exit sign he was searching for, but it was much further away than he remembered. He heard the static of a walkie talkie and the pounding of Steve’s heavy footfalls behind them.

“Go!” Belle implored and the desperation he heard in her voice pushed him past the throb of his ankle and the three of them sped up.

Nearing the exit, he dropped Bae’s hand to shoulder the door open, letting them out onto a fire escape. He barely registered the alarm that opening the door had set off. He let go of Belle when they neared the bottom. He threw his weight onto the bottom rung, dropping the ladder and allowing them to reach the ground. He got halfway down before leaping the rest of the way. His ankle screamed in pain but the rest of him felt more alive than he had in thirteen years. He reached up to help Belle down, his hands around her waist. Belle safely reached the bottom, her heel only getting caught once. Bae jumped off the ladder behind her, beaming at them.

Steve was still in hot pursuit and Gold doubted he was the only one. He crouched down, taking one end of the ladder.

“Help me, Bae.” Bae took the other and together they threw the ladder back up so it suspended in the air, throwing an extra roadblock in Steve’s way.

Belle was bouncing on her heels nervously, watching Steve’s approach.

“This way,” Gold sprinted down the alley away from the arena, headed back towards downtown, Bae and Belle following. They came to a halt a couple streets away from the Staples Center. That’s when his brain caught up with him. Gold froze on the sidewalk. Christ. He’d just kidnapped an international pop star. What the hell was he thinking?

Belle instinctively seemed to know. “Thanks,” she smiled at him, taking a big deep breath of fresh night air, like she hadn’t had access to it in weeks.

It was a Friday night in a very busy city and people were entering and spilling out of the bars, restaurants, and nightclubs all around them. Removed from the context of the concert, standing between Gold and Bae in their frayed jeans, Belle’s stage makeup appeared especially overdone. Her skin sparkled and the shine of her red dress caught the street lamp lights. Even in L.A. she was beginning to draw stares.

“I gotta get out of these clothes,” she said urgently.

“I got an idea.” Gold, distracted from the madness of what he’d done by a more pressing concern, judged the distance and the crowd beginning to form around them. “Can you hang in there for two more blocks?”

She inhaled, anxiety making her breath hitch. “Yeah,” she answered determinedly.

“Alright, let’s go.” The three of them started a quick walk across the crosswalk to put a busy road between them and the growing number of people.

“Is that her?” He heard someone from the crowd behind them. A flash of light from somebody’s phone lit up the sidewalk. The last thing he needed was someone calling the cops and showing them a picture of the man leading a famous singer down a dark alley. They heard a growing group of sneakers pounding the pavement behind them.

“Run,” he urged under his breath. The three of them broke into a trot. Surprisingly, even in her towering stage heels, she easily kept up. Bae, running between them, let out a laugh. Gold, thinking abducting a pop star wasn’t exactly funny, glanced over at Belle. But she was smiling even wider and let out a yelp of glee in response, leaping in the air over a crack in the pavement. She gathered up her dress around her, freeing her legs to run faster. Even Gold chuckled as they sprinted down the pavement. They ran and ran, not talking and not stopping to catch their breaths.

“Right,” Gold directed them, taking them down another alleyway. The group made a sharp turn, then taking a left when Gold urged them. Finally, when Gold had weaved them between enough buildings to have lost anyone following them, he stopped.

“Here,” Gold pointed at a green door with peeling paint. Bae renched it open and they tumbled in behind him. Gold stumbled into Belle and he automatically put an arm around her to steady her. They were all laughing and catching their breaths.

Bae leaned over, his hands on his knees. “That,” he panted, “was awesome.”

*I’m playing generously with L.A. and Staples Center geography to make this work. I didn’t have time to do extra homework.

*We’re gonna pretend The Staples Center open before 1999.

[hawaiiantel-blog1]

Ohio State Tops Washington 28-23 in Meyer's Rose Bowl Finale

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Urban Meyer says he decided to end his remarkable coaching career at Ohio State partly because of the stress inherent in this high-intensity job.

After his Buckeyes blew most of a 25-point lead in the fourth quarter and had to recover a last-minute onside kick to win the Rose Bowl, anybody could understand why this 54-year-old coach can't wait to retire.

But the stress is over. Meyer is going out at the top of his profession. And for the first time, he is a Rose Bowl champion.

Dwayne Haskins passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Meyer headed into retirement with a 28-23 victory after the fifth-ranked Buckeyes held off No. 9 Washington's thrilling comeback in the 105th Rose Bowl on Tuesday.

After the confetti flew in the north end zone, the Buckeyes gathered around Meyer for one last celebration of their coach. He is walking away after going 83-9 at Ohio State with one national championship, three Big Ten titles and this Rose Bowl victory, the Buckeyes' eighth overall in the Granddaddy of Them All.

"I'm a very blessed man," Meyer said. "I'm blessed because of my family, (but) this team, this year, I love this group as much as any I've ever had."

Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Rashod Berry caught TD passes in the first half for the Buckeyes (13-1), who took a 28-3 lead into the fourth and seemed to be cruising to a blowout.

But star running back Myles Gaskin threw a touchdown pass and rushed for two more scores for the Huskies (10-4), scoring from 2 yards out with 42 seconds left.

The Huskies got no closer, however: The Buckeyes intercepted Jake Browning's pass on the 2-point conversion attempt and then recovered Washington's onside kick.

"We're going down as one of three teams in Ohio State history to win 13 games," Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young said. "Legendary team. Legendary coach. We're all legendary right now."

Meyer cited his health last month in his decision to step down. A cyst in Meyer's brain causes severe headaches that are even worse for a man who says he gets not just nervous, but "deathly ill" before big games.

Meyer largely refused to reflect publicly on his career during the month since he announced his plans. After he shook Washington coach Chris Petersen's hand, raised the trophy and walked off the Rose Bowl turf, Meyer finally thought about the journey that brought him back to his home state for a stellar seven-year tenure capped by this late-breaking thriller.

"Every week, every yard, every down, when we recruited these players, I just wanted to make sure that we made the great state of Ohio proud," Meyer said. "And once again, we weren't perfect, but we did a lot of good things."

After Southern California's epic win over Penn State and Georgia's double-overtime thriller with Oklahoma over the past two years in Pasadena, the Rose Bowl got another matchup packed with late-game fireworks.

Browning passed for 313 yards and Gaskin rushed for 121 in the final game of the four-year starters' landmark careers at Washington, which has lost three straight New Year's Six bowl games.

But after three poor offensive quarters, the Pac-12 champions made it awfully interesting late. The Huskies racked up 266 yards of offense in the fourth, but they had fallen too far behind in their first Rose Bowl game appearance in 18 years.

"It was too little, too late, but we're always going to keep swinging," Browning said. "That's how we are as a team. We're never out of it."

Petersen dropped to 1-4 in bowls during his otherwise remarkable tenure at Washington, including consecutive defeats in the Peach, Fiesta and Rose.

"Very frustrating when you start the first half like we started," Petersen said. "I have no idea why. It's on me. It's not these kids. ... We'll go back to the drawing board on how to prepare these guys better to come out of the gate a little bit faster. But I am proud of how hard these guys play, and I never doubt that."

While Petersen likely will get more chances for his first Rose Bowl win, Meyer insists his three-decade collegiate coaching career is over. After starting out as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, he has been a head coach since 2001, achieving huge success at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida before his stellar run in Columbus.

These Buckeyes are Meyer's eighth team to finish with one loss or fewer in his 17 seasons as a head coach.

"He's a really tough guy," said Ohio State running back Mike Weber, who rushed for 96 yards. "Sometimes you never really know what he's thinking. He really doesn't show a lot of emotion, but I felt him today. You could tell he was giving his all. It felt a little different."

Although Meyer's final season began with an embarrassing three-game suspension over his mismanagement of domestic abuse accusations against former assistant Zach Smith, he propelled the Buckeyes to another dominant regular season despite missing out on the College Football Playoff.

This game could be Haskins' farewell to Ohio State as well, if the sophomore goes pro. The Heisman Trophy finalist threw his 50th TD pass while picking away at the vaunted Washington secondary minus injured Taylor Rapp, the second-team All-American safety.

Gaskin became the fourth running back in NCAA history with four 1,200-yard seasons during the third quarter, but Ohio State increased its lead with J.K. Dobbins' TD run.

The Huskies finally scored their first offensive touchdown since the Apple Cup when Gaskin threw a TD pass to Drew Sample with 12:17 to play.

THE TAKEAWAY

Ohio State: The offense did enough to win despite punting on five straight late drives. Fans can only wonder whether this bunch of Buckeyes would have done better than overmatched Notre Dame or Oklahoma in the playoff semifinals.

Washington: The defeat wrapped up an unimpressive Pac-12 football season. The Huskies were the class of the conference, and they showed tremendous heart in the fourth — but they'll be frustrated with a campaign bookended by losses to national powers Auburn and Ohio State.

UP NEXT

Ohio State: Ryan Day is now the 25th head coach in program history. Haskins could be the first quarterback drafted if he leaves, and he's just one key contributor who must be replaced. But Meyer has built a fierce machine in Columbus, and he seems certain Day is the man to drive it forward.

Washington: Replacing the most prolific quarterback and running back in program history isn't easy, but many Huskies fans are excited to see who's next. Petersen has built a powerhouse in Seattle, and Washington should be in position to contend for a trip to Pasadena almost every year.

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