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mcbride · 3 years

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TWD S11 Predictions - Carol/Daryl focused

disclaimer: i don't know anything. i have no sources. just my predictions, thoughts and wishful thinking based on filming tracking, intuition, some theories, images from the teaser/promo trailers and more wishful thinking!

solely focused on Carol and Daryl's storylines, cause apparently that's all my heart cares about anymore! as a wise person once said (Espy, my positive fairy! if you're reading this, ilysm), our baes need to be dealing with their own issues and demons, separately, while getting some closure with other people, so they can finally move forward together.

so i don't expect many actual caryl scenes in part 1 of s11, but i fully expect them to keep each other in mind, and even make some decisions based on a future they wanna have together even before they resolve the awkward tension between them atm.

imo the perfect caryl arc in 11a would include a lot of emotional encounters, drama, disappearances, fake deaths, torture, tragedy, dog, closure and make up and make out... after the jump....

it appears that Carol and Daryl will be involved in different missions at the start of the season - he will head out with Maggie's group to search for food when they are caught up in a storm and have to hide out in the subway tunnels; while i presume she stays back to defend and help clean up ASZ or goes on her own mission with Kelly and Magna.

Carol, Kelly and Magna end up stumbling upon Connie's journal, a symbol of hope for all of them. they might even decide to search the area for any more signs of Connie. i really want Carol herself to find Connie and bring her back to Kelly. and not cause Carol is a hero who saved Connie, nooooooo cause Connie can save her own self. she is strong, not a damsel in distress. she went through hell but she made it back. i think we will see Connie and what she has been through, however, i don't believe she will reunite with anyone from team family before the MSF (11x08) or even MSP (11x09). no idea who she and Virgil are running from in the trailer - it could either be a whisperer, a stray reaper or just some crazy random motherf*cker they run into.

while Maggie's group are in the tunnels, dog runs off and Daryl goes to search for him, never making it back to the group for some reason. after the storm is over, Maggie and the group search for Daryl but not having been able to find him (?) they just assume he is gone, possibly dead? i don't know why Maggie would give up so easily searching for family, but it seems like her current MO to just leave people behind.

along the way, Carol and Magna will find common ground and actually become besties cause she desperately needs some female friends. please and thank you. they can bond over the hope to find Connie alive and well, or the fact, both of them are currently in a very awkward position with their boos while having no idea where the heck they are.

Daryl probably got separated from the group while escaping a small herd in the tunnels (cue to Daryl's face covered in blood in the woods) and when he finally finds dog, he comes face to face with a masked reaper formerly known to him as Leah. he is shocked to learn she's part of the group that targeted Maggie. Leah is probably bitter Daryl chose his family instead of her a few years ago cause she has no idea he came back for her... so she and her friends take (willingly or not!) Daryl prisoner... possibly torture him and play mind games to gather information on team family.

in the sdcc trailer, there are some very heartbreaking scenes with Carol (and Aaron?), i cannot wait for it. i know it's gonna make me cry so hard and i've been needing Carol/Aaron friendship for years. at the same time, i expect Carol to also have some badass fighting scenes with her daughter-in-law and new bestie, Lydia, and tia Rosita! YES girl power!! people need Carol and she's totally there for them.

Aaron seems to be in a bad place emotionally (possibly something happened to Gracie, or just the fact they lost a lot of people in the whisperers war!) and Carol will be there to urge him not to make the same mistakes she did. hopefully, these 2 can join forces and come up with a masterplan to defeat the reapers.

Daryl being Daryl who always wants to save people even from themselves, tries to convince Leah to change sides, join team family, or convince her own family to leave his family alone. he's unsuccessful and when Daryl tries to escape, setting the whole place on fire and killing a few men on his way out of the reapers compound, Leah threatens to harm dog. cause why not? she obvi loves nothing or no one! they take Daryl back to another cell, and dog manages to escape.

meanwhile, Maggie's group returns to ASZ, where they tell Carol they believe Daryl is lost or dead. please give me all the angst that comes with Carol thinking she may have lost Daryl forever! she has been pretty committed to the group and rebuilding their home, but i believe her first instinct will be to run, to leave... TO FIND DARYL!!! cause no way in hell would Carol just accept he's gone unless she sees it with her own eyes.

WELL in true 'if you can't beat them, then join them' fashion, after a few brainwashing sessions with Leah, Daryl tells her all about the note (FIND ME) he left for her at the cabin, how he knows he made the wrong decision then, declares his loyalty to her and joins the reapers...

dog arrives at ASZ just as Carol is about to leave to search for Daryl. good boy always comes back home to mama and together they will find and save dada. (bear with me! from now on i'll be totally running wild with my wishful thinking... it will pretty much read like some fanfic plot!)

Daryl keeps trying to fit in with the reapers group, but he's only taking a page from Carol's undercover book - fake it till you make it + destroy them from the inside. what he doesn't know is that Leah and her new/old bf (Pope!?) have been planning an attack on ASZ behind his back. they simply let him know, this is his chance to prove himself to the reapers. he has to go along with the plan (or DIE!), but he hopes to be Alexandrians' inside man, helping them protect their family at all costs (ironically, exactly what Negan did when he joined the whisperers and they attacked Hilltop... just not the same motivation! i guess Carol wasn't so wrong about Negan after all!)

at night, Daryl puts on his reaper costume and they head to ASZ. reapers learned the location of the place by tracking dog. the plan was much bigger and more explosive than Daryl expected, the reapers destroy a big part of ASZ brand new rebuilt wall and set fire to a bunch of houses and the mill before Daryl can even react.

Alexandrians and reapers fight as Daryl sneaks out to lead the kids to safety. he finds Maggie, asks for Carol, and is glad she is out there looking for him, relatively safe, rather than around to fight and watch ASZ fall.

while out looking for Daryl, Carol hears the explosions, sees the fire and she and dog return to ASZ as fast as they can. they are greeted by Leah at what used to be front gate...

i realize this is getting extremely long, so i'll just say that i absolutely don't want Carol to have anything to do with Leah's possible imminent death. i don't want that guilt on her conscience, and i don't want her to feel like Leah is just another person she took from Daryl (like Connie!). i don't even want Leah to die! unless she's trying to hurt or kill Daryl.

somehow i think it would be a good twist, if for a quick second Carol thought Daryl had betrayed them and joined the reapers for Leah. of course, Carol knows better. SHE KNOWS DARYL. he would never, but for a brief panicked moment, it would be good to see her react to that. i can only imagine the pain in her eyes. but she also trusts Daryl with her life.

we have no idea what Leah knows about Carol, but i'd like the pocketknife Daryl regifted to come back. how would Leah react? likely angry to see another woman with something that was hers. i want to believe Daryl would never tell Leah anything about Carol because she is just too important and too personal to share. but maybe Leah can tell there was someone else !? who knows.

i just want it to be completely clear Daryl is done with that part of his past. Daryl is not alone and lost in the woods anymore without his brother Rick and his bestie Carol. ever since Carol brought him back, Daryl has acted like he knows exactly what he wants and he's done playing games. and what he wants is not Leah or Connie. he wants for ALL his family to be safe and happy, and he wants to run away with Carol and see the world. AND i want both Carol and Daryl to feel free to be free and live freely.

as for the make up and make out part... (that's saved for 11b, hopefully!)

team family won, most of the reapers are dead, except for Leah. Daryl (with Carol's nod of approval!) decides to spare her, gives her some supplies and tells her to get lost. at the same time, Eugene arrives with the troopers from CommonWealth to help with the whisperer war. WHOOPS. 2 wars, 2 late, bruh! but the group leaves to join the good people at CW.

Carol and Daryl have a very long conversation about everything that happened and what they have been feeling. Daryl telling her exactly why he was so mad at her (she kept leaving, can't commit!), her actions (almost getting herself killed!) since Henry's death and how he needs her in his life. no matter how she sees herself or whether she thinks she's worthy or not, he just wants her to be there next to him for whatever is to come.

plus Carol realizing she needed to get closer and let people in without fear, not give up hope and actually fight for a better future for herself. and finally, admitting to Daryl that it was horrible to think he might've been gone forever, promising to never make him feel the way she felt. basically, a promise to never ever leave him again (cue to making out!)

#caryl #caryl rants #caryl predictions #carol peletier #daryl dixon #dog dixon #s11 spoilery #good lawd this is long af #did i go full td here?#or plausible possibility territory?#wishful thinking #speculation

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kissinginkitchens · 3 years

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You Bring Me Home—Chapter Ten: When it Rains

a/n: hi besties!! This one is... tough I’m ngl to y’all. It is the second to the last chapter which is so wild to think about, but alas all good things must come to an end. Hopefully you don’t hate me too much by the end of it but feel free to vent in my inbox :))) much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai’i!Harry x Original Character (Halani <3)

Warnings: swearing, some suggestive humor, ANGST (!!)

Word Count: 7.4 k

catch up on parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine

“Is that my shirt?”

“No,”

Alani squints at the cartoon bee printed on Harry’s white t-shirt and crosses her arms in disbelief.

“Yes it is! I’ve been looking for it everywhere,”

“Don’t worry, you can have it back soon,” he admits, crawling back into his bed with an apologetic kiss to her pouting lips. “Doesn’t smell like you anymore,”

“Thief,”

Harry scoffs and props himself up on an elbow. “Don’t act like my Spice World jumper isn’t hanging at the foot of your bed right now,”

“You left it there,” Alani defends. “I was merely being kind and looking after said hoodie because it was abandoned by its owner,”

“Oh yeah and you’ve fought real hard to reunite us,”

“Can we get back to the main issue at hand? Which is that I’m kinda pissed off that you look better in that shirt than I do.”

Harry chuckles to himself and presses an affectionate kiss to her temple. “You’re too kind.”

Alani rests her cheek against his chest and listens to the rain pattering harshly against the window, admiring the flashes of lightning that illuminate the dimly lit room. Harry had convinced her to stay the night, worried about her driving home alone in the storm, and he was met with very little resistance. Secretly, he thanks the rain gods for allowing him another night to hold her close.

********

“H, you gotta tell her,” Jeff had warned the previous night. “I already pushed the flight back a week—”

“I know,” Harry huffed. “I just need a little more time.”

Jeff sighed, rubbing his tired eyes with the heels of his hands. “You have until this weekend when we go away with the girls. One week in Maui, and then it’s back home. I’m sorry.”

********

Harry’s stomach turns remembering the conversation, but he decides to push all the nagging thoughts to the back of his mind and focus on the present.

“You all packed?” he asks, trailing his fingers up and down her arm.

Alani drapes her leg over his hip and nods. “Been packed since last week.”

She had been ecstatic the day after Mila and Chad’s wedding when Harry invited her to tag along on the couple’s trip with Jeff, Tom, and their significant others. His eagerness to include her in his friend group was not only reassuring, but exciting. It felt like their lives were coming together, even more so after she had introduced him to her parents. They, of course, had adored him and quickly given their seal of approval. While Alani knew that it was ultimately her choice, it still felt good to have support from the most important people in her life, and she hoped to win his friends over just as easily. Harry, on the other hand, had no doubts that she would fit right into his chosen family. Her name had been cautiously dropped during a weekly FaceTime call with his mother and sister, and he was overjoyed when they enthusiastically grilled him for details.

What Harry was less sure of, however, was how Alani would react upon hearing that his vacation was up and that he would be headed back to L.A. in a week’s time. It was still early in their relationship and an indeterminate break seemed less than ideal. He had tried to convince both Jeff and the label that he could finish the album in Hawaii, but the same couldn’t be said for Jeff Bhasker, Mitch, Tom, and his new bassist, Adam, who all had families waiting for them back on the mainland. It was too risky personally and financially, so Harry reluctantly negotiated one last week to persuade Alani that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t be a death sentence.

“What d’you wanna watch?” he asks, sitting up against the headboard to turn on the T.V.

Alani sighs and settles deeper into his side. “When Harry Met Sally,”

“But it’s not Christmas or New Year’s,”

“So?”

“So,” Harry explains. “We have to wait ‘til the holidays, wouldn’t be right otherwise,”

Alani scoffs and peers up at him with a judgemental look. “So I guess Serendipity is also out of the question?”

“We’ll have all Christmas to get through that list, darlin’,”

Her stomach flips at his suggestion of their future holiday plans. Privately, she had wondered about such things, as well, including what gifts she might get him or where they would spend the holidays. Though still months away, it suddenly felt within reach.

“Fine,” Alani softens. “The Notebook,”

“And let you drool over what’s-his-face?” Harry pokes. “No fuckin’ way,”

Alani pinches his side and sits up. “Would you stop being insecure about that? I’ve already told you I was just kidding that time,”

“Yeah well, it still stings,”

“Why don’t you tell me your celebrity crush? You know, so I can be totally fine about it because it doesn’t mean anything,”

Harry shrugs, the corners of his lips turning into a playful smirk. “Don’t have one,”

“Liar,”

“M’serious,”

“Why, because you’ve already dated them?”

“Hey,” Harry pouts. “That was a bit snippy,”

Alani’s muscles tighten. She hadn’t realized that his dating history was a sore spot, but she takes a deep breath and plants a sweet kiss to his jaw as an offering of peace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,”

“S’alright. Truce?”

“Deal,”

“Jennifer Aniston,”

“Huh?”

“My celebrity crush,” Harry explains shyly. “When I was younger,”

Alani giggles lightly. “I see. Good taste, she’s hot,”

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna leave me for her too,”

“I just might,”

“Can’t say that I blame you,”

“Look I know this is a cute little bit we do,” Alani sits up, her gaze dead-set on Harry’s to communicate the seriousness behind her words. “But I just want you to know that I feel so lucky to be with you. I’m not going anywhere any time soon,”

Harry swallows harshly. It was everything he’d ever wanted to hear and it kills him that he can’t return the sentiment with full honesty. A little less than a week is all he has to prove that even though he physically has to go, his heart will remain wherever Alani is. “Me either,”

Another round of thunder booms outside and the lights fizzle out, leaving the room completely dark save for the intermittent flashes of lightning that gently illuminate the room.

“So much for watching a movie, huh?” Alani sighs.

“I think I know some other ways we can keep ourselves entertained.”

********

Harry sets a steaming cup of tea down onto the table in front of Alani and she looks up from her tube of nail polish curiously. Harry flashes a dimpled grin in her direction and whistles a familiar tune, one that she had heard in the studio when he was busy doing his Bob Dylan impression.

“What’re you singing?”

“Hm?”

“The song,” she clarifies. “You were singing it the other day, what is it?”

Harry serves her plate of hash browns and shrugs. “Dunno, just a little tune ‘ve been workin’ on,”

“It’s nice,”

“Thanks, sweets,” he offers, setting her food down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Hey Alani,” Jeff interrupts, stepping into the kitchen with his cellphone pressed to his shoulder.

“Glenne wants to know if you’re okay with her setting up a spa thing for you guys,”

"Yeah, definitely,” Alani perks up.

“Cool, thanks.”

“Look at you,” Harry teases, taking a bite of his toast coated in strawberry jam. “Minglin’ with the girls,”

“They’re not even here yet,”

He scans over her appearance and his brows furrow, hit with the sudden realization that she’s dressed in formal attire.

“What’s with the fancy outfit”

“I have a meeting, remember?”

“With?”

Alani blows on her freshly painted nails and holds up her other hand for Harry to do the same.

“My senior advisor. We’re going over my research project,”

Harry’s brows raise. “Smarty-pants,”

Alani had scheduled her meeting with Dr. Hudson months ago and had, truthfully, forgotten all about it until she had received a courtesy email the day prior. She had been working on her proposal in the spare minutes she had away from Harry, which were few and far between, but she knew the initial meeting would be much more casual. Alani checks the time on her phone and stands quickly when she realizes that she is supposed to meet Dr. Hudson in less than thirty-minutes.

“Gotta go,” she offers, shoveling potatoes into her mouth and grabbing her bag.

Harry ceases blowing on her nails and kisses the back of her hand before sticking out his lips for a kiss of his own. “Good luck, darlin’. Meet me at the studio after?”

“Sure thing, sunshine. See you later.”

********

“How did the Joni Mitchell piece go? You never told me,” Dr. Hudson questions, taking a sip of her coffee.

Alani offers a shy smile and toys with the hem of her skirt. “A flop,”

“Just one more closer to the winner,”

“Yeah,” Alani sighs, stirring her smoothie. “Maybe it’s time to move on from that,”

The professor shoots her a disapproving look and sets her drink down. “Alani—”

“I just think maybe there’s more realistic—”

“You are not giving up,” Dr. Hudson reassures her. “You’ve come too far and you’re a terrific writer. One of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching. These things take time,”

Alani nods gently, her lips pursed in a tight smile. “Thank you, that really means a lot,”

“What are you working on right now?”

Absolutely nothing, Alani thinks, but then she remembers the half-written article about Harry sitting in her files.

“A short piece about… a local musician,”

Dr. Hudson’s brows raise, intrigued, and she nods. “That sounds interesting. Definitely more personal,”

You have no idea. “Thanks. I mean, it’s not really anything—”

“I’d love to read it when you’re finished,” the professor continues. “What’s the scope?”

Alani thinks, trying not to give too much incriminating detail about her subject or their relationship.

“Well,” she starts, hesitant. “He’s writing new music and working on his first album. I guess I kind of want to follow his journey and redefinition of success in the music industry,”

Dr. Hudson hums. “I love it. Send me a draft.”

Alani swallows and takes a minute to consider the offer. Surely there couldn’t be anything wrong about sharing her work privately with her advisor. She had been so excited about the potential of the article when it was first started, but it had since been neglected like so many of her other rejected pieces. Starting again seemed exciting, and she knew that Harry would be pleased to play such an important role in making her dreams come true. That had, after all, been the initial terms of their agreement.

“Okay,” Alani accepts. “I will.”

********

Harry draws out the last note and Mitch lets the chord ring between them for a moment.

“I think that’s the one,”

“Yeah, I liked that progression better,”

“Hope you got that, Bhasker,” Mitch calls to Jeff in the sound booth, who gives a thumbs up in response.

Harry continues humming, his head still bobbing to the tune, when he hears the studio door creak unpleasantly. His eyes shoot up to find Alani wincing and timidly stepping into the room.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,”

He softens and beckons her over. “Never an interruption, sweets,”

Alani slots herself between his legs and wraps her arms around his neck, giving a gentle peck to the tip of his nose before pressing their lips together.

“How’s the weather?”

“Just got a lot sunnier,”

“Meeting go well?”

She nods and twists a lock of his chestnut hair between her fingers. “Yeah, actually,”

“Then we should celebrate!” Harry perks up, peppering a kiss to her cheek. “Dinner, wine, movie, the whole shebang,”

Alani frowns, thinking back to the article she promised Dr. Hudson. “Hmmm, raincheck?”

Her boyfriend deflates. “You’re ditching me?”

“Just for one night,” she explains, pulling him closer. “I wanna finish up some school stuff before our trip. Otherwise I won’t be able to give you my full attention,”

Harry pouts, but he nods understandingly. “‘Kay,”

“I’m sorry, sunshine. I’ll miss you tons,”

“Ditto, sweets,”

Alani presses her forehead against his and her fingertips wander through the growing curls at the nape of his neck. “Please don’t be upset,”

Harry smiles warmly and smoothes his hands up and down her back. “Never, m’love. Could never be upset with you,”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he nods, planting a sweet kiss to her lips. “Hey, I wanna play you somethin’,”

Alani grins and pulls back a bit to read his expression. “Let’s hear it,”

Harry grabs the guitar next to him and slings it over his shoulder before adjusting the capo. The song starts sweet and gentle, his voice light to match the tune.

And oh we started

Two hearts in one home

It’s hard when we argue

We’re both stubborn I know, but oh

Sweet creature, sweet creature

Wherever I go, you bring me home

Sweet creature, sweet creature

When I run out of road, you bring me home

Alani watches in awe as he pours so much emotion behind every word, his vocals effortlessly powerful and rich. She claps when the song finishes and leans in for a kiss.

“I love it,”

“S’not finished yet,” Harry shrugs, still fiddling with the strings. “Just the chorus right now,”

“Will you teach it to me?”

His brows raise in surprise. “You play?”

“No,” Alani admits. “But I have a feeling you’re a good teacher,”

“Well, let’s see what you got,”

Alani turns and Harry props the guitar in her lap, his arms wrapping around her as he guides her into the right position. His left hand demonstrates the beginning chord and she replaces his fingers on the fretboard to try for herself. She strums and the beginning note resonates in near-perfect pitch.

“Hey,” Harry beams. “You’re a regular Hendrix,”

He continues positioning her fingers over the right spaces and letting her strum, humming the lyrics softly into the shell of her ear.

“We don’t argue that much,” Alani defends playfully.

Harry chuckles and kisses her temple. “Maybe not, but we’re really good at makin’ up.”

“Easy, Styles.”

********

Harry: Hungry?

Alani peels her eyes away from the computer screen and reads the message lighting up her phone.

Alani: Not really

Harry: …

Harry: oh

She laughs and pads over to the window. Sure enough, Harry holds up two bags and flashes a cheesy grin down below.

“Need a study break?”

“I’ll meet you at the door.”

Harry makes himself comfortable in the middle of her bed and unpacks the bags.

“I’ve got a California and a spicy tuna for my favorite girl,” he announces. “With a side of eel sauce,”

“And the world's best boyfriend goes to Mr. Harry Styles,” Alani grins, taking a seat next to him.

He smirks and pulls out his own order of miso soup and sushi. “How’s the homework comin’ along?”

“Not too shabby,”

“Glad to hear it,”

“Hey, what time do I meet you at the airport tomorrow?” she asks, dipping her roll in the sauce.

Harry freezes and turns to her with confusion written all over his face. “I’m sorry, did my girlfriend just insinuate that we’re not leaving for the airport together?”

“I really need to finish this,” Alani explains. “It’s almost there,”

“Two nights?” he complains.

Alani nudges him with her shoulder and shakes her head. “We’re gonna be spending an entire week together, non-stop. You’re gonna get sick of me,”

“Never,” Harry rebuts. “Not possible,”

“Just one more night,” Alani bargains. “Then I’m all yours, no interruptions.”

He nods and takes a sip of his soup. “Alright, deal.”

You have to tell her, Jeff’s voice rings in his mind.

********

The airline stewardess ushers Harry and Alani to their seats while Scott and Miles settle down a few rows behind. She didn’t know exactly what to expect from first-class, but suddenly the perks of having a famous boyfriend increased tenfold by the sight of their luxurious accommodations.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Alani asks while Harry hovers over his chair.

“Sitting, or I was about to,”

“And you’re not even gonna offer rock-paper-scissors for the window seat?”

Harry shakes his head with an amused chuckle. “No because I already know that you’re gonna get up to pee every five minutes,”

“Not true,”

“It is too true and it’s exactly why we can’t cuddle while we fall asleep,”

“Or maybe the reason is because I’m claustrophobic and I just don’t wanna hurt your feelings,”

Harry frowns. “Really?”

“No,” Alani admits, taking the aisle seat. “I just said that so you’d give me the window,”

“Get up, we’re switching,”

“Thank you, sunshine! You’re the best,”

Harry slumps into his new chair and crosses his arms. “Forty-five minutes and we’re already fighting like an old married couple,”

“Oh really?” Alani smirks. “Is that what old married couples argue about? Who gets the window seat?”

“And leaving the toilet seat up, going antique shopping—”

“—What old married couples have you been hanging out with—?”

“—Picking up the kids from school,”

Alani presses a kiss to his shoulder and rests her head in the crook of his neck. Her eyelids are still heavy from staying up the night before, but her article was completely finished and sent off to Dr. Hudson just like she’d promised. Now, she could enjoy her vacation free of any worry or obligation, completely focused on the perfect boy still rambling next to her.

“But, obviously I mean that doesn’t count, right?” Harry asks, craning his neck and smiling softly when he sees that his girlfriend has already dozed off. He kisses the top of her head gently and lets his own eyes flutter close with a deep, contented breath.

********

“And then I’ll have to repaint it, but I haven’t decided on a color yet,” Glenne explains to Alani as they stroll through the airport.

Alani hums. “It was your grandmother’s?”

“Well, it was somebody’s grandmother’s. We picked it up at this little antique shop in Santa Monica.”

Jeff escorts Glenne into the shuttle car while Harry and Alani share a knowing look and stifle their laughter. They shuffle into the back seats as Tom and his wife, Jenny, claim the middle row.

“So you’re a journalist?” Jenny asks, turning in her seat eagerly to face Alani.

“Not quite,” she explains with a polite smile. “Still a student, but hopefully someday,”

Jenny nods and twirls the ring around her finger. “Sounds exciting. Maybe you can hitch a ride on tour with this one and do some writing there.”

“Yeah,” Alani smiles, settling further into Harry’s side. “Maybe.”

The idea of traveling the world with Harry and being a part of the excitement of touring the album was something she had considered briefly, but hadn’t allowed herself to fully indulge until this moment. It was already thrilling to see him polish the songs he had begun during his trip, but she could only imagine how much more special it would be to see him perform them for the rest of the world. A twinge of jealousy sparks at the thought of having to share any part of him with the public, but Alani knows that his gifts are much too special to keep all for herself. Harry was golden and he deserved to shine in all of his radiant glory. That was exactly what she had penned in her article, and she said it not because he was her boyfriend and there were clear personal investments, but because she knew it was true even before he had shown any romantic interest in her.

“What’s tour like?” Alani pipes up as Harry watches the landscape out his window.

He considers it for a moment and clears his throat. “Fun, mostly. Can be tiring,”

“Lots of partying and adoring fans?”

“No,” he chuckles to himself. “Not so much the partying. Enthusiastic fans, sure,”

Alani narrows her eyes. “No partying?”

“Nope,” Harry reiterates. “Don’t really like to do all that stuff when I’m working. Also just didn’t wanna…”

He trails off and Alani waits a beat to see if he’ll continue. “Didn’t wanna?”

“Fuck it up,” he finishes. “You know, like, be the one who ruined a good thing for a little bit of fun.”

She lets his words settle in, rubbing a reassuring circle on the back of his hand. “Makes sense. Sounds really responsible of you to do that.”

Harry presses a soft kiss to her temple and resumes his study of the scenery. They chat amongst their friends for the remainder of the drive and Alani immediately presses Glenne and Jenny for information about her boyfriend in his younger years. They indulge her inquiries and ask their own questions, deciding privately after a few minutes that her and Harry are a good fit.

When the group arrives at the resort, Glenne takes charge and instructs them all to meet at the lobby for lunch in twenty minutes. They collect their keys and head up to their respective rooms, which are all located on the very top floor.

“What a view,” Alani muses as she takes in the sight from their private balcony.

Harry admires the wonder on her face and nods, his eyes not leaving her side profile. “You’re tellin’ me,”

“Let’s never go home,” she poses, arms snaking around his torso. “Let’s stay here forever, just me and you,”

His throat tightens as he thinks back to the inevitable conversation waiting for them. Harry didn’t know why it was so hard to think about leaving because he had every intention of keeping touch and making their relationship work at all costs. But there was a part of him, a very tiny recess in the back of his mind, that feared the possibility of Alani not feeling the same.

“Yeah,” he agrees with a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. “Whatever you want, sweets,”

Alani senses a shift in his demeanor, but she can’t read it. “You okay?”

“Never better,” Harry swallows, mustering up a small smile. “But I am hungry,”

She isn’t entirely convinced that there isn’t something bothering him, but she decides not to push it and tightens her grip around his waist, instead.

“Race you to the lobby.”

“You’re on.”

********

“You’ve never seen Finding Nemo?”

“Was I s’posed to?”

“My god,” Alani marvels. “You know, I’m starting to believe those rumors that you were grown in a lab,”

Harry’s brow raises and he blinks. “That I was what?”

The restaurant that Glenne and Jeff chose features an aquarium tunnel at the entrance, much to both Harry and Alani’s excitement. Fish, large and small, swim around them and the pair take turns pointing out their favorite colorful species. The Hull’s snap photos for their four year-old daughter, but Jenny also secretly captures one of Harry and Alani with their hands clasped under the mesmerizing blue lighting as a keepsake for her friend.

“Add Finding Nemo to our movie list,” Alani says, admiring a clownfish that swims close to the glass.

“S’it gonna make me cry?”

“Probably,”

“Goddamnit,”

Alani giggles softly and turns her head away from the glass to silently observe Harry under the lighting of the rippling water. The combination of his serene features and the sound of Billie Holiday’s I’ll Be Seeing You over the sound system creates a perfect image in her mind, one that makes her afraid to blink, lest it be gone forever. Harry glances over at her through the corner of his eye and his lips curl.

“Checkin’ me out?”

“Always,”

“Like whatcha see?”

“Love it.”

His heart nearly stops at her words, but before he has a chance to process their implication, the hostess calls on their group.

“And I’ll have the piña colada,” Harry orders once they're seated.

“Oh my god, H,” Glenne laughs from across the table. “That reminds me, remember your birthday last year when James got trashed and hoarded the karaoke machine for, like, two hours?”

“Ruined that song forever,” Jeff quips, reliving the memory of the Late-Late host drunkenly serenading the entire party with the same song on repeat.

Harry cringes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I try not to,”

Alani watches as they reminisce on the event, adding their own details and pieces to the puzzle. It’s amusing to watch, but a small part of her also has to fight the pang of exclusion settling into the pit of her stomach. She feels guilty for being affected by it knowing, logically, that it isn’t intentional or malicious in any way. Still, Alani is painfully reminded of the vast differences between their worlds. Harry had gotten to know practically every part of her life, including her family, but there was still so much that she didn’t know about his. It was something she worked hard not to dwell on, given the novelty of their relationship, but she also worried that fear and insecurity would prevent her from investing what little of her heart Harry hadn’t claimed yet.

“Who was it that started dancing on a table and almost broke a chandelier?” Tom asks, wracking his brain.

“I think it was Ken—” Jeff hesitates, clearing his throat. “Actually, I don’t remember,”

Harry shifts in his seat beside Alani and reads over the menu, quickly changing the subject. “What’re you gonna get?”

“I don’t know,” Alani admits. “Everything looks so good,”

“Oh look,” Jenny pipes up across from Harry. “They’ve got your fav, the mango sorbet. I wonder if it’s as good as the one in Italy,”

Harry beams and reads over the item. “Oh yeah, that was amazin’,”

Alani files the detail to the back of her mind. She hadn’t known mango was his favorite flavor of anything, and while it was a trivial detail, she realized that there were so still many little details about him that she wanted to know. Harry had made such an effort to remember everything about her, like her go-to sushi order and the fact that she always saved the kiwis for last in her fruit salad, so it made her feel a touch guilty that she hadn’t made the same effort.

“Wanna share the coconut shrimp?” Alani asks with a gentle nudge to his shoulder.

“Oh, uh—”

“He’s allergic,” Glenne says offhandedly, not cold or condescending, but more in the same way that an older sister would.

“Oh my god,” Alani’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry,”

Harry laughs lightly and shrugs. “S’okay, I’d let you poison me,”

“I didn’t mean to be rude,” Glenne apologizes, reaching her hand out to Alani. “I thought you knew.”

Alani accepts the hand and waves away her concern. “No, don’t worry about it. I didn’t know, actually.”

“We can stop talking about my defects now,” Harry teases. “‘M not dyin’,”

He leans in closer to Alani and presses a kiss to her temple. “But if I was, it’d be an honor to have my last meal with you.”

She responds with a soft smile before returning her attention back to the menu. His sentiments, however sweet, unfortunately did very little to soothe the embarrassment of her mini faux pas. It was irrational, Alani knew this, but it made her wonder what else she didn’t know and what bigger secrets he was potentially keeping. Whose name had Jeff meant to say earlier to identify the mystery dancer at Harry’s party, and why had it created an awkward shift in the air? She decides not to let the spiraling questions spoil her fun and takes a generous sip of her cocktail to avoid them for the time being.

********

Harry sets the room key on the nightstand next to their king sized bed and lets himself sink down into the soft mattress. The group had spent the entire day sightseeing, from botanical gardens to scenic beaches, but he was really itching for some quality time alone with Alani. Lately, their time together had been cut frustratingly short by work, school, and life in general. Even when they were seated right next to each other with arms linked or fingers interlocked, she felt far away and he didn’t know why. He hoped that this trip would allow them time to reconnect and solidify their relationship before he had to return to California.

“Mini bar,” Alani comments, kicking her shoes off and wandering over to the small refrigerator in their suite. “Who’s paying again?”

“The label,”

“Thank you Columbia Records,”

She swipes a few bottles of tequila before climbing into the bed next to Harry.

“Wanna play a game?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and nods. “What kinda game?”

“Never have I ever,” Alani explains. “But instead of putting your finger down, you take a shot,”

“Sounds dangerous,”

“It’ll be fun. You can go first if you want,”

He hums and nods in agreement before sitting up to face her. “‘Kay. Never have I ever...named my car after a musician,”

“Cheap shot,” Alani narrows her eyes, taking a sip from the bottle of Jose Cuervo.

“Your turn,”

She fiddles with the bottle cap, a question already in mind, though she isn’t sure if she should ask it.

“Never have I ever… dated a model,”

Harry’s brow furrows, but he opens his own bottle slowly and takes a sip. “So it’s that kind of never have I ever,”

“Just trying to keep it interesting,” Alani shrugs innocently.

“Right. Never have I ever slept with a guy named David,”

Her eyes widen, but she laughs half-heartedly and takes a sip. “Jeez, okay. Never have I ever—”

“Wait, so you two actually…” Harry interrupts, trailing off at the end.

“I mean,” Alani starts, her eyes wandering to the ceiling. “Yeah, a long time ago,”

“How long ago?”

“Okay, maybe this was a mistake—”

Harry shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry. I’ll play nice,”

“Alright,” Alani accepts. She knows that she should probably steer the game back onto safer territory, but the wound has been re-opened and she can’t resist the urge to keep picking at it. “Never have I ever slept with a fan,”

Harry takes a slow sip. “Never have I ever cheated on my partner,”

The bottle stays put in Alani’s hand. “Never had I ever gone on a vacation with my partner before this trip,”

The tequila washes over his tongue bitterly like the faint memories that it symbolizes. “Never have I ever dated someone just for the publicity,”

The bottle in Alani’s hand doesn’t move, much to Harry’s relief, but her mind is not as tranquil.

“Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t,” she says slowly.

Harry takes another shot and it burns all the way down. “Why are we doin’ this?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t wanna play anymore,”

“Alani,” he starts, springing to his feet when she leaves the bed. “Hey, look at me, please,”

She blinks back the tears that threaten to spill over her lower lashes before turning to him. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid game,”

“S’just all out of context,” Harry offers, reaching for her hands. “Wasn’t the right way to have all of those conversations,”

Alani takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah, you’re right,”

“What’s really botherin’ you, hm sweets?” He coos, bringing her cold knuckles to his warm lips. “Tell me, please?”

She releases a shaky breath and tries to sift through the fog in her brain for the right answer.

“I don’t know, really, I just,” Alani hesitates. “Am I a bad girlfriend?”

“No,” Harry says quickly, his hands lifting to cup her face. “God no, you’re the best,”

“Then why didn’t I know that your favorite ice cream flavor was mango? And why didn’t I know that you were allergic to coconut, and why—”

“Hang on, is that what this is all about?” he questions. “Cause I’ll go eat an entire coconut right now,”

Alani laughs lightly and pinches her eyes shut. “No, it’s not about that. I just feel like you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met and you make me feel so fucking special and, God, I just wanna be good enough for you because—”

Harry holds his breath and watches as her eyes gloss over.

“Because I love you,” she finishes, voice small. “More than I ever thought possible,”

His own eyes sting, but he doesn’t fight the tears that fall as he presses his lips to hers firmly.

“I love you, too,” Harry murmurs. “I love you so fuckin’ much it drives me crazy,”

Alani chuckles softly. “Ditto,”

“I’ve been wanting to say it for ages, can’t believe you beat me to it.”

“Guess you’re not the only one full of surprises.”

********

The early morning sunlight creeps gently into Harry and Alani’s room, casting a soft, golden glow onto the bare skin that peeks through the white duvet. Harry stirs first, a strand of Alani’s hair tickling his nose and making him smile. He prys his heavy eyelids open and winces at the dull aching of his head aggravated by the light. Alani hears his muffled groan and sighs, willing the sun to go back down and let her sleep a few more hours.

“Mornin’ sweets,” he rasps with a warm kiss to her bare shoulder.

She peels her own tired eyes open and flashes a sleepy grin. “Good morning, sunshine,”

“How’d you sleep?”

“Super. You?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and rests his chin in his palm as he admires the traces of sleep still on her face.

“Just swell.”

Alani chuckles lightly and reaches a hand up to comb through his unruly bedhead. His skin is warm to the touch, and the light from the window casts a heavenly glow around his visage. She pokes her finger into his dimple, which elicits a soft laugh and makes his smile grow wider. They stay intertwined under the sheets as the sun fully rises and soak up their own details to keep as souvenirs from this moment. Alani takes in the scent of vanilla and the juxtaposition of Harry’s inked bicep against the plain, white sheets. He stores away the image of her sleepy, mocha eyes and the pink, manicured fingernails that trail up and down his arm. Neither of them are sure exactly how long they remain in this moment, for all they know it could be hours or days. But whatever the duration, it doesn’t seem to be enough. I need more time, Harry had told Jeff, but there was no more left to give. He had to tell her, and it was now or never.

“Hey,” he begins carefully. “I need to tell you something,”

Alani sits up to be eye level with him and nods. “Anything,”

Harry waits a beat, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pressing his lips to her bare shoulder before letting the confession spill out.

“I have to go back to L.A.,”

“I kinda figured,”

He draws in a deep sigh of relief. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Alani shrugs. “Hilo isn’t exactly Hollywood,”

“I asked for more time, but the label—”

“No, I get it. So… when? Next month?”

“Friday,”

Alani’s brows furrow. “This Friday?”

“Yeah,” Harry admits with a gulp.

“The last day of our trip?”

“Yes,”

Her heart drops into her stomach and she feels sick. It all made sense now why Harry’s mood had shifted when she jokingly asked him not to leave, and why he had been so insistent on spending as much time together as possible this week. Their game of never have I ever turned instantly defensive when asked about his dating history. Never had I ever gone on vacation with my partner before this trip. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t. He had whisked her away on a farewell trip and God knows who else had been in her place before, or worse, who would be in it next. Harry was saying good-bye.

“Wait,” Alani says finally, mind still racing too fast to process. “How long have you known?”

“Alani—”

“How long?”

Harry swallows. “Couple of weeks,”

“You knew for weeks and you didn’t tell me?” she questions incredulously.

“I tried—”

“You know that I hate surprises, you know how I feel about plans—”

“I’m sorry,” Harry insists, sitting up straighter. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but it just never felt right,”

Alani rolls her eyes. “So what, you were just gonna leave a fucking sticky note on my pillow and hope for the best?”

“Don’t say that—”

“Is that why you brought me here?” she asks, voice hoarse. “Is that why you gave me this necklace? A souvenir of our little summer fling so you could leave with a clear conscience?”

Harry’s jaw tightens. “How could you even think that?”

“Because maybe it’s true. Why else would you wait until the very last minute to tell me about this?”

“Maybe we should take a minute,” he suggests, the whites of his eyes now bloodshot. “Before we say something we’ll regret,”

“I think I already did.” Alani admits. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t.

Harry’s head pounds and he feels like he’s drowning, treading water in every direction only to be dragged further into the current. He quickly pulls on his clothes from the night before and tries to steady his breathing.

“M’gonna go wait in the hall,” he offers. “Give you some space to think and then we’ll talk, yeah?”

Alani doesn’t respond or even meet his pleading eyes. She simply tightens the duvet around her body and turns her head to the window, letting a single, bitter tear roll down her cheek. The door closes softly and she is immediately filled with regret and guilt. Had she truly meant all of the things she said? Or was it fear and the instinct to flee taking over her mouth? Alani wanted to believe that she was wrong and that Harry hadn’t intentionally kept her in the dark, but from where she stood, the sun had long disappeared behind the clouds and all that was left was the storm.

Harry trudges down the hallway and the walls spin, closing in on him slowly. If he had just told Alani sooner, everything would be different. He had avoided doing so for this exact reason and out of fear that their relationship wouldn’t be worth the risk in her mind. It was selfish—he was selfish—to try to make the decision for her, and now the woman he loved was getting ready to walk away because he had broken her trust. What else was there to do? His back meets the wall and he sinks to the floor.

“Hey H,” Jeff clears his throat from above. “We should talk,”

“She knows. Didn’t go well,”

“So she did approve the article?”

Harry lifts his head and his brows furrow. “What?”

There’s a harsh knock at the door and Alani jumps. In Harry’s absence, she had managed to cool off and sift through her frantic thoughts. She had been wrong to think that he used her, all it took was a quick stroll down memory lane to prove otherwise. He had never given her any true reason not to trust him, so there had to be some other reason why he hadn’t told her about his plans to leave so soon. Alani pads over to the door and unlocks it gently.

“Harry, I’m sor—”

“Wanna talk about surprises?” he seethes. “What the fuck is this?”

She squints at the phone screen that he holds up to her face and the title of her unpublished article stares back at her.

“I don’t know—”

“Well it has your goddamn name on it,” Harry shoots back.

Alani steps aside and lets him into the room before she closes the door behind her. “I can explain—”

“Did you write it or not?”

“Yes, but—”

He shuts the phone off and slams it face down onto the night stand. “How fucking dare you call me a liar and then pull this shit behind my back,”

“I didn’t lie,” Alani defends, voice weak. “I had no idea it was going to be published, please just listen—”

“A class project,” he interrupts with his back still turned. “That’s what you said,”

“It was never meant to be released,”

“How do I know that? How do I know you’re not just trying to cover your ass?”

“Please,” Alani begs as her vision begins to blur. “I was wrong, I shouldn’t have said all those things,”

Harry runs a hand through his hair and casts his eyes to the ceiling in an attempt to quell the emotion that pools behind his eyes.

“So why did you?”

“I was scared,”

“Of?”

Alani takes a deep breath. “Of losing you for good. Of falling in l—”

“Don’t,” he interrupts. “Don’t finish that sentence,”

“I don’t know how,” she tries again. “And I don’t know who released it, but I swear—”

“You really expect me to trust a word you say after you accused me of lying about this whole thing, about us?”

Harry’s gaze lowers back to hers and the bright, green eyes that she has come to love are replaced with a blood-shot, stormy sea that makes her stomach drop. The words get caught in her throat.

“I fucked up,” he continues. “I know that I should’ve told you. But I’m having a hard time believing that this wasn’t planned, that this random website would just accidentally publish your work without your consent,”

Alani can’t explain it either, she truly had no idea how her writing had ended up in the wrong hands. There was only one other person she had entrusted it with, but surely Dr. Hudson hadn’t betrayed her, had she? Alani didn’t know who to believe anymore.

“Harry, I’m so sorry,” she tries. “I didn’t mean what I said, and I know I can’t take it back, but you have to at least believe that I never wanted to hurt you,”

Harry is silent for a moment, and Alani decides that it’s her turn to tell the truth. There was nothing left to lose.

“At first, I did want to publish it,” she explains. “But I changed my mind and I scrapped the whole thing. In the end, the only person I intended to show it to was you,”

“So how did it get onto the internet for the whole fucking world to see?” he presses.

Alani sighs. “My advisor wanted to know what I was working on, so I sent it to her, but she never had my permission to publish it. Now I realize how stupid it sounds, but it’s the truth,”

“If you had come to me, I would have given you permission,”

“I’m so sorry,”

Harry’s shoulders tense. Every fiber of his being wants to believe her, but how could he? She had told him herself that things would be messy and warned him that he didn’t know what he was asking by pursuing a relationship with her. Maybe it really was all his fault for not seeing the signs, but that still didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t trust her anymore. And based on her reaction to the news of his departure, it seemed as though Alani didn’t trust him either.

“Even if you’re telling the truth,” Harry begins, slow and deliberate. “You still thought, after everything, that I would abandon you. And if that’s the kind of person you think I am, if that’s the person you wrote about—”

“Harry—”

“Then I hope you got all the material you wanted.”

“Please, don’t go.” Alani cries but it’s too late. The door slams and her heart falls.

After a beat, she races to the door and into the hallway but there’s no sign of Harry. As quickly as he had appeared into her life, he had vanished. Gone without a trace.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #harry styles x oc #ybmh #sorry besties <3

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ironmandeficiency · 4 years

Text

internal bleeding

pairing: kix / mechanic!reader

word count: 2425

summary: work can be dangerous, even for someone who barely leaves the star cruiser.

a/n: i’m hitting three birds with one stone with this one!! not only is this shitpost prompt #1 AND a separate request i got a few days ago, but the 14th was my bestie @morganas-pendragons ‘s birthday!! have a little kix, kayla, as a late bday treat

warnings: getting kinda crushed by a ship, fives being a dumbass

the guys had just arrived back on board the resolute from what you heard was an almost too easy campaign. despite the lower than normal admittances to the medbay, there were still plenty of ships to tend to with varying amounts of damage.

your normal drill on days like this one was to work like hell until kix was relieved of duty for the night, then go with him to his bunk and let the both of you sleep out your exhaustion in the comfort of each other’s arms. the next morning before you were both summoned to your duties would be spent catching up on each other, letting the worries melt away as you chatted about everything and nothing all at once. it was a system that you both adopted soon after you started dating, one that you were extremely grateful for.

it was nights like that where you were able to see your boyfriend vulnerable in a way he couldn’t show often. if the campaign was more rough than usual, then you were able to hold him and remind him just how wonderful of a man he is. you hated to see him hurting but took comfort in the fact you were always able to bring him back to you, back to his brothers.

thoughts of laying in kix’s loving arms keep you blissfully distracted during the later hours, when the rest of your fellow mechanics had already retreated to the bunks for the night. others thought your late hours spent under various ships were because of your dedication to the cause, but they didn’t know about you and kix. you worked hard so your medic was safe, so his brothers were safe.

those reasons were what had you under general skywalker’s delta-7b aethersprite at some unholy hour of the night. your reputation preceded you, and after some good words put in by torrent company, you were able to become the only person besides general skywalker himself allowed to make repairs on it.

it was a strenuous job sure, what with how the jedi knight wore down his ships, but you enjoyed your work and felt honored to be respected at such a high level.

that is, you enjoyed it when the jacks holding the ship up weren’t breaking while you under the damned thing. you heard the telltale creaking of the jacks while your entire body was on the ground below it. you were never more grateful that chet had convinced you to use one of the rollers.

with all the speed your half-conscious body could muster, you walked your feet forward as fast as you could from under the delta and thought you were home free, but then an excruciating pain erupted in your left arm. the ship was on top of the limb and the weight was no pain you’d ever felt in your life. you were certain your scream should have gotten somebody’s attention, but it seems that you’re all alone.

your comm was, unfortunately, on the wrist of your crushed arm and on the off chance that it wasn’t busted beyond repair, you couldn’t communicate with the thing regardless because the buttons were out of reach.

maybe if the surveillance team would see you eventually but you doubted it. there was no way in the galaxy you were going to let yourself be bested by a damn ship though, so you got to yelling for someone to help you and hoped you wouldn’t lose your voice before help came.

--------

“kix, i know for a fact you haven’t slept in at least two days. get your ass outta here or i’m gonna call your girl in here and have her drag you out.”

“i’m not gonna leave when there’s still so much left to do.”

“you’ve done plenty, vod-”

“coric, i-”

kix wasn’t sure who had a hold on his arm but suddenly he was being dragged out of the medbay, and his body was too weak to resist the familiar grip. “vod, you’ve got a pretty woman waitin’ for ya and she’d hate to see you working yourself to death like this. let’s head to the barracks-”

“no,” kix mumbles, “she’s waiting for me in the hangar, it’s what we always do.” to be frank, kix isn’t completely honest how he’s able to form a coherent sentence with how tired he is. fives says nothing, just nods and takes a turn towards where you were waiting.

the closer the brothers got to the hangar, the more they heard it. they weren’t completely sure what “it” was, but it was a little worrying. the noise kept repeating itself and when they were closer, it sounded… human. they were yelling, and were they crying too? it was hard to tell from here.

warning bells were ringing in their heads and any tiredness kix had before was shoved down deep as they ran to investigate the source of the noise.

if you weren’t in so much pain you would have thought to keep track of the time you spent under the ship. your arm was in a strange limbo of total numbness and almost blinding pain and you couldn’t even focus on your surroundings because all of your focus was on the pain.

no one was listening, no one had been for the past however long you’ve been laying there. your throat was raw from screaming and you began to sob, which didn’t exactly help your throat. you weren’t completely certain when your sobbing began to contain cries for help but what you did know was that the longer you were under this ship, the worse the damage would be.

several more minutes of sobbing and screaming and nothing. not a soul cared that you were pinned down. you were doomed to spend the rest of your days under general skywalker’s ship, forever known as the mechanic whose love for her work killed her.

but wait a minute, were those footsteps? or was it the pounding of blood in your ears?

the two soldiers enter the hangar and their eyes nearly fall from their skulls when they identify your body in such a precarious spot under the bright yellow ship

“cyare! sweetheart, what happened?!”

their feet pound hard on the durasteel floor towards where you were pinned, fear the dominant expression on both of their faces. kix has never seen you cry out of something that wasn’t laughter, and he didn’t think he’d ever be ready to see his headstrong cyare temporarily defeated by a hunk of metal.

“kix, help me get this off her!” fives yelling for his help and the sobs from your throat snapped him back to reality as he helped lift the ship just enough for you to move to the side enough to free your arm.

it almost hurt worse now that the weight was gone which made no sense. once you were free, the men dropped it with a clang and kix was immediately hovering over you, examining the wounded limb. he quickly notices the way your veins are swelling and the unnatural angle of your wrist and is brought to two conclusions: there’s some sort of internal bleeding in your arm that needs to be taken care of immediately, and you have a broken wrist.

“what’s the damage?”

“internal bleeding and a broken wrist. could have been worse but this is a bitch of an injury.”

“internal bleeding? isn’t that where the blood’s supposed to be?”

you wanted so bad to laugh at the stupid joke, it was one of the worst ones you’ve ever heard from him. the most you could muster is a sob-laugh accompanied by a shake of your head. you’d give him the proper laughter later when you weren’t in blinding pain.

fives is watching worriedly as his vod unzips half of your jumpsuit, using the sleeves to tie your arm to your torso. he knows that as a mechanic, your hands and wrists are crucial for your job. would you be let go for this? oh gods, what if you had to leave the resolute? kix would be absolutely crushed without you.

whispering a soft apology in your ear, he lifts you into his arms and begins to run to the medbay as fast as his legs could go. the jostling irritated the wound and brought the tears down harder, and with every step kix was cooing gently and giving choked apologies for hurting you.

“i thought i told you to leave, k- holy shit, what happened?!”

“she was working in general skywalker’s delta when the jacks collapsed and the ship fell on her!”

“there’s a free bed over here!”

coric was struggling to comprehend you crying, that just wasn’t something that happened. ever. he would have continued down this rabbit hole of “holy kriff” but kix was beginning to shout orders. he literally just kicked this man out of the medbay moments ago, this isn’t going to fly. not even - no, especially when the patient is his cyar’ika.

coric and fives could tell that kix’s hands were shaking from several feet away. whether it was because of you, his ongoing lack of sleep, or both, neither of them were sure. a silent plan was devised and fives was soon pulling kix backwards away from you. he was struggling in the arc’s hold, yelling about how he had to be there, how he wasn’t going to leave you. coric was then able to bring the needle to his vod’s neck and pushed in the sedative.

fives gently sat his brother in one of the sparse guest chairs and pulled a second chair next to kix’s. you two weren’t going to be alone, not through something like this.

you woke up connected to machines you knew the names of and how to fix, but not why they were attached to you. then you tried to move your arm and you remembered exactly why in seconds, your eyes seeing spots with the pain. it was nowhere near as bad as it was when you were still under the ship, but it was terrible for just waking up.

then you tried to lift your other side and panicked when you couldn’t move your entire right side. that wasn’t where you were hit, what gives? then you recognized the anti-droid aurebesh and lightning bolt designs and let yourself calm down.

it was just kix, and he was curled around you like a tooka kitten trying to steal warmth. his hands held your right one to his chest, his forehead pressing against your shoulder while the rest of his body was curled up to make itself as tiny as possible. even in sleep, kix was always putting your comfort first.

not wanting to wake him, you decided to gently trace the designs in his hair and count down the minutes until you could kiss him like you’ve been wanting to ever since he left for the planet’s surface.

a throat clears from kix’s other side and you poke your head up with confusion. why was fives there? did he even sleep last night? didn’t look like it.

the arc trooper could see the question forming on your lips and answered it before you could say a thing. “i uh, i didn’t want either of you to be alone when you woke up. i hope that’s okay.”

“that’s more than okay, fives. it’s really sweet of you.”

“yeah it was a guessing game as to which one of ya would wake up first,” you raised an eyebrow as to why they’d be unsure of whether you or kix would be up before the other. “he was frantic when we brought you in, nearly punched coric when he told him to move away from you. had to sedate him to get him down.”

you gasped at the revelation and turned to press a soft kiss to your boyfriend’s crown. it was still jarring to know that you had someone that would fight tooth and nail for you, despite having been with kix for nearly a year. but for him to be given a sedative because he was so violent in his need to help you? it was bizarre. violent was never a word you thought would describe kix, but trying to punch his brother seemed to fit under that category.

he stirred next to you and his hands tightened their grip on yours, his forehead pressing a little harder against your shoulder. a few grumbles came from his throat as he awoke, eyelids droopy as he raised his head.

“are you okay, cyare?” this was more like the kix you know, always putting others above himself from the moment he’s awake.

you hummed and continued to trace his lightning, nodding in reply. “yeah, because you saved me.” he smiles and places a gentle kiss in the palm of your hand before lacing his fingers with yours.

“i helped a little, i think.”

“fuck off, fives.” your boyfriend mumbled groggily as he wrapped himself around you, burying his face in your neck.

“i did!”

it hurt a little less to laugh now and your boyfriend seemed to lose a bit of the tension from the night’s previous events. you smiled and felt kix curl even closer to you, legs tangling with yours like they do every time you share a bed. “thank you fives, your heroism is most appreciated.”

kix chuckled into your skin and began to leave soft kisses on the skin there. “now leave us alone, dumbass. i need some time with my girl.”

fives chuckles and rises from the chair that served as his bed the night prior, patting your leg as he walked by the cot you were laying in. “no funny business in the medbay, you two!” he jokingly wagged a scolding finger at you both.

“oh, get kriffed!”

fives’s head was the only thing visible to you now, a smirk on his face in spite of the somber mood he was in prior to your waking up. “that seems to be your goal, vod!”

your medic grabbed the nearest projectile and hurled it at his head, fives yelping as he ducked barely a second before a datapad stylus speared him in the eye. “thought he’d never leave,” kix jokes. you chuckle at the ribbing and let yourself rest. there was a lot of healing to be done before you’d be back to working shape, you knew that, but having your kix beside you would make it all the easier.

happy late birthday, kayla!!! love you bunches!!!

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talkfantasytome · 3 years

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This got a little long, forgive me if this is tormenting you, but I really love to talk about this and I also loved your answers and would love to know your point of view on other parts of the story.

So, here I will show you my thoughts about what might happen in the next book with Azriel and also how I believe more people will know about Lucien and Helion in the next book. Let's go.

This is a thought of mine, but I think that probably in the next book more characters will learn that Lucien is Helion's son. I remember that either Rhys or Feyre said that they hadn't told anyone yet because it wasn't the time. I think that maybe something happens and in one of the meetings they have, in the search to find a solution to something Feysand can tell the IC, or something happens and Lucien unintentionally releases some power that makes other people suspicious. I think SJM is taking too long with this issue and it will get too rushed if she adds this only in the last book. Making a small comparison with TOG we saw as the books went by more and more characters knowing until they had the reunion between father and son.

I just don't know how this will be added in the story, because I believe the next book (using logic and the end of the book), will be about the Ilyrians vs Valkyries conflict, Ilyrians vs NC and the autumn court conflicts. Maybe Eris will use this to make Helion want to kill his father, we know he is looking for someone to kill him. As we know that Cassian and Rhys deal with Eris, I believe we will see less of him in this book as we saw in ACOSF but he will still appear in the Nightmare Court, on another hand, who gives information to Azriel is Lucien, so I believe we will see some conversation between the two.

I believe that the Ilyrians will plan something to hit the girls for getting out of the bloond rite alive, I believe that some Ilyrians will be inspired by them, probably Emerie will suffer something since besides being Ilyrian, she had her wings cut off and works and lives there, I am not sure but I think they will want them to stay training in the Ilyrian training camp. As Rhys and Cassian said it will be hard to make Azriel want to defend the Ilyrians because to him they could all die, I believe that will be one of the points to work on, maybe working with the Ilyrians he will feel the need to protect them and the fact that the Valkyries are connected to that makes me 50% sure that will be one of the triggers for him to defend them. (Just like Nesta who wanted the women to train to defend themselves and why it helped her with her trauma, I think this Ilyrianas training will mess with her feelings for being connected to her mother and the way she was treated). I also believe that the Ilyrian who did not kill the girls in the blood rite will reappear, probably mediating the problem between the Valkyries and the Ilyrians, to show Azriel that not all Ilyrians are bad and so on.

(I think this will be the first plot of the book, as it was in ACOSF, making this one want to go train, then her liking to train and wanting the other women to train as well. I think something like that will happen at the beginning of the book with Azriel).

The other plot I am not sure but I think it will involve AC again and Gwyn. I don't know how it will happen but I am really excited to read the next book.

Do you agree with this thought?

Hi Nonnie! No, definitely not tormenting me. <3

So, first, I just want to say this seems totally possible! Admittedly, that's not saying much, as I'm very open-minded to the possibilities of the next books and, also, considering what "possible" means, you really can't say something isn't possible. So, you won't find me saying something isn't possible unless it's like "I think Nesta and Rhys are going to go on a Bryaxis hunt, and they're going to fall in love and end up cheating on their mates with each other while Cassian goes off to Autumn to f*ck Eris and Feyre decides to explore her sexuality with Emerie." Like, okay, no, that's not gonna happen. 😂

But, with anything that really does seem to be thought of based on what's happened in the books and being foreshadowed - totally possible!

As for me, personally - I agree with a good chunk of this, but not sure on all of it, so I'm going to dive in to help explain better.

Lucien & Helion: Honestly, yes. I do agree more people will find out in the next book. I do hope it's saved mostly for the full novels over the novellas, as it's such a big plot point, so I really don't want anyone finding out in a novella, except maybe characters that would be completely unaffected by this. Like, for example, say people find out in book 5, then the Emorie novella comes out (that's my hope), and Mor reveals to Emerie about Lucien...unless Emerie and Lucien become besties in book 5, it really has very little effect on her life, so that's okay. But other IC members, for example - it needs to come out in a full novel.

That is, unless, it becomes the main plot point of a novella. But, since we know Lucien's story is likely to be in a novel, I find that unlikely.

So I do believe we'll start to see more. I think Cassian starting to see something in Lucien was a bit of foreshadowing, and my guess is that for the next book we'll see more of Lucien and E\ain, just like we saw more of Az in ACOSF - as the way to build up their book.

In terms of how it'll be added, I've added thoughts on that in the next section.

As for Eris & Helion, I honestly don't think we'll see Eris "getting" Helion to kill his father. Whether or not something happens between Helion and Beron, who can say? It's possible. But I don't see Eris playing much of a role in that, just potentially benefiting from it. XD

Illyrians & Valkyries: I also agree the next book will have more focus on this. ACOSF was about the creation/establishment of the Valkyries, and I think book 5 will have a focus - though maybe smaller - on the building up of the Valkyries more. I also agree, believing that makes it harder to understand how Lucien's story will come into play.

BUT. With the knowledge that Gwyn's grandfather was an Autumn Court High Fae, and since we do believe there's likely to be a focus on the Valkyries, that's possibly where it could come in. If the book really is Az-Gwyn, we will see more of Gwyn's story and development, and if there is any relation to Lucien, then I think we'll get to see their relationship grow and develop. And that would be a prime spot to bring in the other aspect of the story and reveal it a bit more. Similarly, if it's more Eris and Gwyn getting to know each other, that could still be an opening for this plot point.

As for the Illyrians planning something to hit the Valkyries - I'm, honestly, not convinced. They already did that in bringing them into the Blood Rite, so it would be a rather similar plot point to once again have the Illyrians secretly plan to hurt the Valkyries.

I DO agree there will be conflict there, for sure. I think there's already growing conflict in Illyria, so that's where the main focus will be - the Illyrians are discontent, I think there was growing belief of a possible rebellion or something? So I think that's likely what will have a focus, and the Valkyries will come into play in a way that, I think, will act as a catalyst.

I could see the issue being that the Valkyries come round, proving how females can be trained, now with two Carynthians and an Oristian (sp? 👀), and they could become a beacon for Illyrian females. Especially with Emerie, proving what you can do even with clipped wings (what a badass). And maybe they start to get the females training more. They'll still have their training at the House, considering the priestesses, but Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn (hopefully), I'm guessing, will do stuff in Illyria with Cassian and Az.

Az & Illyrians: I definitely agree. One of the biggest aspects of most characters' emotional arcs is accepting themselves, who they are, who they were born to be. And that's going to be a HUGE part of Az's emotional journey, because we know he doesn't accept himself. Just as I believe E\ain's will be revolving around accepting herself as being High Fae, Az's will likely revolve around accepting his heritage. He tries to pretend on so many levels that he's not an Illyrian, but he is. He can't hide it. That's part of who he is.

And I get it. The Illyrians can kinda suck. Az and Cassian are two opposite sides of the spectrum of having a hard time with their heritage. Cassian hates the way they are, and wants to change it, but also desperately wants their approval (bby boi <3). Az, on the other hand, literally wants to never deal with them and act as if he's not one of them.

So I agree about that part of Az's emotional journey. I think it'll involve more, with him finally understanding he is worthy of love and accepting every part of himself, but the Illyrian side is a big piece.

Overall, I'd say I agree with a lot of what you've said. I typically don't think too much about possible future plot points the way I do relationships and other things, mostly because I generally plan to be surprised. LOL But, in thinking about it, that's sort of where I end up on possibilities, especially when thinking about ways in which we might see certain things play out. I definitely have no idea what the big climax will be, nor am I sure how it'll tie to the overarching plot. Plot is, admittedly, one of my weaker links - I'm not good at big climaxes...👀 So no way can I guess what another author would do. But in terms of build up to major plot points, those are my thoughts.

Thanks for the question! :)

#ask box #acotar #acotar theory #acotar thoughts #Azriel #gwynriel #valkyries #illyrians #Helion #lucien vanserra #gwyn #gwyneth berdara

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softer-ua · 3 years

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to me what katsuki's problem with deku is was that what he saw didn't align with what he was told.

like your quirk makes you strong, right? so according to society and literally everyone, katsuki = strong bc badass quirk and izuku = weak bc no quirk. the problem is, Katsuki sees the way Izuku behaves and sees that he's strong , that he has heroic spirit and that doesn't make sense to him because it contradicts the way he's been told society is supposed to work.

so while he insists and tries to convince himself that he's better than deku and deku is weak, he never truly believes it, because he can see that deku is no where near weak.

what makes his view of deku so confusing is that he is lying to himself inside his own head. he knows where he wants to stand with deku (re i am better than him) but that doesn't mean that's where he actually stands, even if he doesn't want to admit it.

in fact having to come to terms with it will literally spiral him into a panic attack

and it's interesting bc katsuki is normally so good at reading situations and people. his intuition is fantastic. he saw shindo was more of a bitch than he let on, he recognized AM was hiding sht about OFA just from AM's 'slight hesitation'

so where does all that stellar sense go??? why is he so bad at reading deku??

it honestly feels like the more invested he is in someone the worse he gets at reading them, since emotions take over. this is particularly true with deku. for example: a) he cares about his record to the point of banning his friends from smoking, but does shit to izuku that would destroy said record were his teachers any good at their jobs and b) first training exercise he basically throws it solely to go beat deku's ass, and like a few days later at USJ he's suddenly acting like a normal sane person who thinks shit through...?

it's like izuku's very existence takes Katsuki's sanity, throws it out the window and runs it over with a locomotive 😭😭

besides, it's not like the guy isn't well versed in contradictions.

with the sludge villain he was told he was strong for not dying after being left to die

deku, the person he's hurt, is also the only person who's ever seen him as fallible in a non malicious way and the only one who's ever allowed him the relief of being weak and having someone hear you out.

his mom loves him while victim blaming him and says that the teachers who chained him up on live television for saying no have a stellar understanding of his character.

the symbol of peace tied him to a podium

he spent a decade being called top hero material despite acting like a loonatic and now he comes to ua and suddenly exploding nerds is not acceptable behaviour? think about it, his teachers saw him doing shit to deku and they were like katsuki broski you're gonna be a great hero, so he was like yup this is totally the way i should act *blows up deku's notebook*

but then come ua and it turns out beating up deku qualifies him to be a villain, and that he has actually been acting like such a villain the actual villains want to be besties with him and the number 4 hero is hell bent on "fixing" him. that's a complete turn of tables.

if i was him i would've lost my mind by now ngl

and he's so emotionally constipated he doesn't even understand his own emotions, like his inner monologue about deku getting stronger and needing to keep up during the war arc sounds like such loser behaviour, but then it turns out the reason he wants to keep up is to be strong enough to help deku and be useful and keep deku from dying bc he is worried about deku.

he is so worried about deku he rips off oxygen masks and ivs and runs around the hospital spitting blood just to see him, but ofc he can't just say, yoo i care about my man deku, because dude is so bad at emotions he doesn't even realise it, so he just starts spewing lines from some edgy romance like "if you die ill kill u"

someone help this kid istg😭😭😭

100% all of this! 😂

When Deku is around Katsuki immediately shifts into being lead around on a choke chain by his feelings, even though him and feelings have never been so much as formally introduced

“I’m feeling something other than anger and that makes me mad” ~ Katsuki Bakugo probably

Also anyone wanna talk about how they left a teen with a heat based quirk who’s known for emotional imbalance unsupervised connected to pure oxygen and then let all his classmates chill in said room with him?

Everyday their entire society wakes up and says “fuck Katsuki lives, all my homies hate Katsuki” and then just leave him to die in various ways

#softy answers #I hate their society so much #possibly more than I hate our own #and that’s really saying something

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koteosa · 3 years

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I just had an idea for a fic and I don’t know if I have the energy or motivation to write it myself, so, if anyone wants to do it yourself you’re free to use everything I’ve written here (but if you’re going to use Everything instead of just the basic concept maybe credit me? idk I won’t enforce it I don’t care enough)

Basically it’s a roleswap, except, prior to the “last” masquerade, everything is exactly the same. It’s the events during and after the “last” masquerade that change, resulting in characters swapping their roles in the story

Nadia and Lucio

Lucio doesn’t die, Nadia does (sort of). The Count continues to be Lucio, he somehow is perfectly healthy, and he’s Very Mad at a certain magician. In the three years since the masquerade he has been trying to get rid of the plague curse thing (the only reason he cares is because he doesn’t want to get sick again) though The Devil has promised him that if he can arrange another ritual, they can fix that and create paradise etc etc. He employs Julian to magically suck the plague out of everyone like wow! Miracle Cure! I am now absolved of ALL responsibility!!!

Nadia definitely died in a fire don’t try looking for her body it totally burned to a crisp and wasn’t stolen or anything. She definitely isn’t a ghost haunting the palace and slowly turning into some type of owl creature as she searches for a way to steal her body back from Lucio because he definitely didn’t take it!!! That didn’t happen!!! Don’t look into it!!!!!!

The plague continues to be a problem. Lucio and co do absolutely nothing and put all the responsibility on Julian, luckily he is charismatic and capable of getting a community behind him to help (and his mark has made him a lot less Hopeless and Depressed because now he can Do Something that Matters)

Asra and Julian

Julian continues as normal, though business at his clinic is booming because he can cure anything (with his mark) in an instant! Including the plague! Nevermind the strain it puts on his body, you think this man cares? You think it’ll stop him?? Though he can’t fix the apprentice’s memories, and he’s tried, considering he’s now their caretaker (more on that later) and feels terrible, because he must solve literally everything ever because every problem in the world is Julian’s problem according to Julian

Asra is now on the run from the law, and immediately flees Vesuvia to escape getting executed by the Count for killing the Countess. Though, he’s really pretty sure that didn’t happen and Lucio is making it all up but he doesn’t remember what actually happened to make Lucio want him dead. He’s been travelling the world trying to figure some things out, while astral projecting in an attempt to reach the apprentice in their dreams, but he doesn’t succeed until the prologue

The apprentice ends up with Julian; the aftermath of the ritual is so chaotic that Asra is separated from them and can’t find or get to them afterwards. Julian finds them and takes them to his clinic to care for them and they just never leave since neither of them know where they’re supposed to be. Asra never finds them before having to flee for his life.

The apprentice naturally falls back into learning magic, and Mazelinka teaches them before they go about seeking knowledge on their own, flooding the clinic with magic tomes and such. They’re more medically trained than normal as they help out in Julian’s clinic to repay him for taking care of them all this time.

Julian suspects some things about the apprentice’s past for exactly two reasons; One, they’re magic. Two, they get a bad brain reaction from walking past the shop, so Julian had to invent a way to prevent them from going anywhere near it. That’s enough that he starts to wonder if Asra has something to do with this, since, the reaction to the shop is not a reaction they get from any other magic shop or fortune telling tent. Though he convinces himself Asra cursed both of them and wonders why Asra hates the apprentice so much (not realizing he couldn’t be any farther away from the truth)

Muriel and Portia

Muriel hasn’t seen Asra in three years and has been waiting for him to reappear, frequently visiting the shop to keep it maintained and protected. This starts right after the masquerade, when he goes to the shop in search of Asra and finds that the Count’s guards had it ransacked. His mark makes it so that no one even remembers him going in and out of the shop, and he uses this stealth to help Asra once he reappears. Though Asra doesn’t go to Muriel right after getting back, not wanting to endanger him since the Count and Muriel aren’t exactly besties. They end up running into each other in the prologue instead.

Portia shows up in Vesuvia in search of her brother. She learns about how messed up it is at the palace from him, and she starts getting suspicious; though Julian hasn’t had time to think too deeply about that. He urges Portia to flee so she doesn’t get sick; instead she gets a job at the palace where it’s “safe” and Julian won’t freak out (joke’s on her, he’ll still freak out). She sneaks around trying to figure out the truth and takes over the cottage in the process, which no one cares enough about to stop her.

Lucio notices what she’s doing and threatens her to scare her into hiding away in her cottage, avoiding him and his courtiers to the best of her ability. She ends up feeling powerless in a way that makes her angry, but she can’t do anything, and stagnates. She knows a lot more than every other character about what’s actually going on, but has no one she can tell about it without causing lots of problems.

(Wouldn’t be surprised if Lucio villain monologued everything to her like what are you gonna do about it? No One Will Ever Believe You)

What’s the threat? Well Lucio knows where Julian and Mazelinka live and it’s not like he cares that deeply about letting either of them continue to live

Muriel ends up in a more active role (in other people’s routes), helping the apprentice and/or Asra sneak around or doing things for them that only he can do because he won’t get caught. Meanwhile Portia takes on a less active role (in other people’s routes), providing information to the apprentice and/or Asra and/or Julian in hopes they’ll do something valuable with it.

#the arcana #asra alnazar #julian devorak #lucio morgasson #nadia satrivana #muriel kokhuri #portia devorak #writing #not art #text #ideas #the arcana writing

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

Tree House Kisses, Chapter 42 (Adorney) - Scorpio and Veronica

A/N: Click here for previous chapters here on AQ or here if you’d rather read on AO3. xoxo!

Thanks so much to our wonderful betas: @saiphl, @sillylittlecandycane

Chapter Summary: The Scarlet Pimpernel opens...and causes some confusion all around.

Chapter 42: Where’s the Girl?

“Stop! Omigod!” Courtney wiped the tears from her eyes, clutching her stomach, which was aching from laughing so hard. She and Adore were having a sleepover after another long week of rehearsals, and Adore was cracking her up with an impression of Willam’s Very Serious Acting in the prison scene.

“I swear to you!” Adore clutched Courtney by the shoulders, face contorted in agony, imitating Willam’s overly dramatic, stage-whispered, “I. Won’t. Die.”

Courtney burst into fresh giggles, falling over onto the pillows that they’d piled up in front of the TV.

“Stop, Dory!” she gasped, “We open in two weeks and now I’m not gonna be able to get through that scene with a straight face!”

“He’s just so ridiculous.”

“I know, but he’s trying.”

“Too hard! Admit it: I would’ve been a much better Armand.”

“Yeah, maybe, but you’re Chauvelin is like, so incredibly good.”

“You think?”

Courtney grinned, leaning her head against the sofa.

“You’re a total badass. That’s why I always forget my lines when I’m watching you.”

“Huh. I thought you just suck at memorizing lines,” Adore said, and Courtney hit her with a throw pillow.

“Shut up, I’m doing my best!”

“You are. You’re doing great, actually.” Adore offered her some popcorn from the big bowl in her lap.

“Thank you.” Courtney smiled, taking a handful of popcorn.

“I do have one question, though,” Adore said, chewing on her lip.

“Okay…”

“Well...is it weird for you to be playing a character who’s, uh, who had...a girlfriend?”

Courtney raised an eyebrow, a little curious why she seemed to be so uncomfortable with the word “bi” and asked, “Weirder than being married to Bob?”

Adore laughed, shaking her head, and Courtney giggled along with her. The truth was, she was pretty excited for Adore to be playing her ex-girlfriend, but she didn’t want to make her bestie feel weird, so she thought it would be better to downplay it and keep things light.

“I’m serious, though. You remember what happened to me sophomore year. What if people...judge you for it? Are you gonna be okay with that?”

That possibility hadn’t really occurred to Courtney, but after a moment of consideration, she shook her head.

“I don’t think they will, honestly. But if they do…” Courtney took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “Then...whatever. I don’t care.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Adore told her. “When you’re standing on stage, and people are glaring at you like you’re the fucking devil…”

Seeing the look on Adore’s face suddenly brought back all of the confusing feelings that had swirled around during that dreadful Grease performance. When all she’d wanted was to stand by her friend, comfort her, tell her that she had her back, but instead she ended up feeling like the enemy. Courtney swallowed down the lump in her throat, reaching out a hand to touch Adore on the arm.

“I don’t know if I ever got to tell you...how fucking brave I thought you were that night.”

“Yeah?” A small smile tugged on Adore’s lips as her hazel eyes met Courtney’s green ones. “Thanks.”

There was a long pause, Courtney’s fingers gripping the sleeve of Adore’s pajama top.

Finally, Adore cleared her throat and added, “I guess there’s a pretty big difference anyway. I mean, for you, it’ll just be acting. Not like, who you really are.”

Courtney’s stomach flipped as she wondered if that was actually true. Wasn’t it who she really was? But Adore knew her better than anyone, and if she insisted that it wasn’t...

“Right. Acting...” Courtney said softly, as her fingers let go of Adore’s sleeve, cheeks growing hot.

“Pleeease, Dory, I have a headache!” Courtney begged, her head in Adore’s lap, as Adore giggled self-consciously and pushed her off.

They were all sitting at lunch, and Courtney was being even more inappropriately handsy than usual, snuggling up to her and trying to get her to give her a scalp massage--something she was normally happy to do, but not in broad daylight, in front of all of their friends.

Their giggly little struggle clearly didn’t escape Violet and her eagle eyes; even Courtney heard her scoff and mutter something under her breath.

“What?” Courtney asked, brushing the hair out of her eyes. “Do you have something to say, Vi?”

“Yeah, I said you’re a fucking closet case,” Violet announced, and Adore felt her whole body tense up.

Fame reached forward and put a hand on Violet’s shoulder, but Violet shrugged her off, sitting up straighter. Everyone in the group bristled a bit, waiting to see how Courtney would react, if Violet’s snide remarks would finally lead to a fight.

“So you wanna talk about my sexuality, huh?” Coutney said, edging closer to Violet, and Adore gulped. This was not going to end well. “Okay, fine, let’s talk about it.”

“Courtney-” Adore dug her fingers into the grass.

“No, listen, maybe we should. I mean, you’ve been very concerned for years, right? And I know why.” Courtney had now crawled right beside Violet, kneeling in front of her. She leaned over, speaking softly. “I know, okay? I know you’re in love with me.”

Violet narrowed her eyes, spitting out, “Get fucked!” as the rest of the group burst out laughing.

“Come on, Vi, don’t be defensive! It’s okay! You’re only human...” Courtney simpered, wrestling the squirming girl onto her back and straddling her. “I had to say something...the sexual tension was just getting too much.”

“Get off of me!” Violet screeched.

Courtney pressed a finger to Violet’s lips, leaning over her, rolling her hips. “Don’t fight it, baby! Admit it!” She held Violet’s hands over her head. “Admit you love me, and all you can think about is finally making out with me.”

“You are a fucking demon,” Violet said. She arched up, attempting to use her hips to throw Courtney off.

Pearl leaned over to whisper to Adore, “It’s not just me, right? This is like...really hot?”

“Shhhhh!” Adore hissed, mesmerized.

“Ow. Your hips are really bony,” Courtney declared. “You should really eat a sandwich or something.”

“I was trying, when you decided to fucking molest me, you psychotic freak!”

“Listen. You’ve been fixated on my sexuality for years now. I figured you’d jump at the chance to clear things up, once and for all. So just kiss me,” Courtney said, fluttering her lashes.

“Get. Off,” Violet growled, through gritted teeth.

Courtney giggled and rolled off, rubbing her hips. “Damn, those hip bones though. They could cut glass.” She looked over at Adore. “You must have permanent bruises.”

Violet straightened her skirt out. “She’s fine.”

“She got you good, bitch!” Willam was laughing so hard by now that tears were coming out of his eyes, and he gave Courtney a high five as she passed him on the way back to her spot.

“Oh, whatever,” Violet grumbled.

Courtney settled back in, laying her head in Adore’s lap and pouting up at her. Adore grinned, this time not hesitating to scratch her scalp exactly the way she wanted. After that show, she deserved it.

“So Vi, think you’re gonna dream about Courtney tonight?” Pearl teased, and Violet shot her an unamused glare.

“I think we all will,” Tati said, making Trinity snort out some of her Snapple iced tea.

Roy knew that he’d been a bit of an absentee boyfriend this year. But he made absolutely sure that he was there for the opening night of The Scarlet Pimpernel. He’d even convinced Darienne to come along, the two of them making the excruciatingly long drive from her dorm at Pepperdine, fighting hours of traffic and racing to their seats just minutes before the curtain went up.

It was a good show. Roy had to admit that, at least. But something about the plot made him squirm uncomfortably. Courtney and Bob’s estranged, awkward stage marriage was one thing, but when compared to her steamy relationship with Adore as her ex, it was just...too close for comfort.

During one of the scenes when Adore was trying to convince her to leave her husband, go back to France and fight in the revolution, the two of them looked like they were about to kiss, and Roy found himself holding his breath. Would they really kiss? Two girls? In a high school play? Surely Mrs. Maguire didn’t want to attract the hellfire of the Christian parents again, right? But as they drew closer and closer, lips parted, Roy’s nails dug into his palms.

He told himself that he was being crazy. It was only a play. At this point in the show, Courtney and Bob have already kissed three times, and it mostly just made him laugh, with their comical height difference. It certainly didn’t make him feel like this. Like something horrible and irreversible was about to happen, lips now so close that he was sure they could feel each other’s breath. And then, at the very last second, mere millimeters apart, Courtney shoved Adore away, slapping her across the face for good measure.

Beside him, Darienne gasped--she’d clearly been on pins and needles as much as him. As the music began for Adore’s solo, he finally felt his heartbeat returning to normal, making a firm decision to tune out the evocative lyrics and just concentrate on the sound of her voice.

“Hey.”

Courtney whipped around, an apologetic look on her face as she took in Adore’s cheek, where there was still a faint red handprint from her unrehearsed slap.

“Omigod, I’m so sorry. I know I wasn’t supposed to slap you, I don’t know why I-”

“No, it’s cool.” Adore grinned. “I think it totally made the scene better. You should keep doing it.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. You’re killing it, by the way.” Adore held out her hand for a fist bump, and Courtney happily returned it.

“Thank you Dory!”

Maybe it was due to being away for nearly a year, or maybe it was because of their roles in the show, but Darienne found herself looking and Courtney and Adore in a whole new light tonight. She and Roy had joined their old theatre friends at the diner after the show, and everyone was fooling around, hyped on adrenaline.

Currently, Courtney was trying to steal some of Adore’s fries, and her bestie was having none of it.

“You said you didn't want any,” Adore laughed, pushing her off.

“I want yours,” Courtney replied, snatching another one from the plate.

“Well tough shit!”

“Please?” Courtney wrapped her hands around Adore’s arm and fluttered her lashes.

Their little exchange was interrupted by Roy returning to the booth and announcing, “Two more orders of fries are on the way. Regular and sweet potato.”

He slid onto the bench beside Courtney, who squealed happily and grabbed his face, kissing him deeply.

“Ew,” Adore said, nose wrinkled. “Do we really need tongue at the table? Some of us are eating.”

Courtney broke away from Roy and turned to her with an impish smile before lunging forward to lick her cheek.

“Augh, stop it!” Adore shrieked.

They went right back to play fighting, Darienne doing everything she could to avoid watching them directly. She accidentally made eye contact with Bob, who was shaking his head.

Oof. This was not gonna end well.

It was good--a very important reminder, for Adore to see Courtney with Roy. Because without him around, sometimes Adore would forget. She would be wrapped up in her own little world, just her and Courtney, the way it used to be when they were younger--the only two people that mattered.

The play didn’t help, either. Every night, they had to get so dangerously close to a kiss, so close that Adore could practically taste her, and there was always a moment where she thought that maybe, just maybe, tonight would be different. Maybe Courtney wouldn’t push her away. But of course she always did--that was the blocking, after all. And even though it was just acting in a silly little school musical, it was still like a punch in the gut every single time.

So having Roy back for the weekend was a good thing, Adore kept telling herself, like a splash of cold water in the face. Forcing her to accept reality, as she scrawled out lyrics in her journal, lyrics far too influenced by the play.

It used to be us Let me be the one Show me who you really are In the bitter cold, I would keep warm in my arms It could have been us

Adore scribbled over every line as soon as she wrote it, hating the cliché words and cliché feelings, when she was surprised by the sound of someone else scrambling up the ladder.

“Ugh,” Courtney heaved herself up into the tree house with a groan. “Whatcha working on?”

“Just some song lyrics. But they’re all shit, so...” Adore closed the journal with a snap. “Where’s your boyfriend? I figured you’d be spending all weekend with him.”

“Nah, he had a school thing.” Courtney yawned, seemingly unconcerned, then nudged Adore with her foot, meeting her eyes with a mischievous grin. “The show’s good, huh?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“I started to kind of worry a few days ago. I mean, I’m either onstage or quick-changing for so much of the show that I haven’t really seen it. So...what if it was actually terrible, you know?” Her eyes were wide and earnest, confessing even more, “And then I felt guilty, like why didn’t I have confidence in the cast, or in myself, and why not just have fun and not worry. But I wanted it to be good. Do you know what I mean?”

These were the moments when Adore loved Courtney the most. When the cracks appeared in her picture-perfect girl next door façade, letting her inner thoughts and true vulnerabilities show through.

“I do. But I wouldn’t worry. ‘Cause so much of the show is you. And you’re…” Adore shrugged, finishing, “It’s impossible not to love you.”

A bright, beaming smile spread across Courtney’s face and she crawled forward into the beanbag chair with Adore, wrapping her arms around her for a fierce hug.

“Thanks.”

“No problem…”

Adore shifted, trying not to think about how their bare legs were touching in this position, warm skin pressed together. Courtney finally loosened her grip, settling on her back.

“Can you believe we’re graduating in a month?”

“No. I still feel like I’m twelve.”

Courtney giggled, nodding. “Me too. Do you think we’ll be responsible adults when we live together? Or just like...eat cookies for every meal and stay up all night watching scary movies?”

“I guess...we’ll see, huh?”

It seemed like such a great idea when Courtney first suggested it. They both wanted to be in LA, and who better to share an apartment with than her best friend of ten years? When she initially thought about it, she’d pictured them romping around like children, like they’d moved full time into the tree house, life full of giggles and madcap hilarity.

But now...Adore was less sure. Of course there’d be work and school to contend with...the frustration of what would almost certainly be entirely different schedules. Maybe not the most fun, but something they could deal with. What was really giving Adore pause was the dawning realization that nothing had changed. Courtney was still in love with her high school sweetheart, and he’d be living in the same city. Hell, it was a distinct possibility that Roy would be over all the time.

The thought of hearing them together...Adore shook her head. It was too heartbreaking to even consider, laying in bed while the love of her life got their world rocked by someone else. Someone who, in spite Adore’s best efforts, she could never hate.

“Dory?” Courtney murmured, snuggling against her. “What’re you thinking about?”

“Uh...just...I really wanna smoke.”

Courtney’s laugh was the caught off-guard surprised kind that bubbled up from her chest, Adore’s favorite one.

“Don’t let me stop you,” she said, the trace of a giggle still in her voice.

“I never do.”

“Look. All I’m saying is, they clearly want each other,” Pearl said. The gang--minus Courtney and Adore, who were the subject of conversation--were all lounging around Violet’s basement. They’d seen the play the night before, and Pearl was trying to convince her friends that the palpable tension between them onstage was proof that they were getting closer than ever to hooking up. “I mean, I thought so on the first day I ever saw them together, and I think if anything, it’s ever stronger now.”

“I agree, but Adore’s in so much denial,” said Tati. “She’ll never admit how she feels.”

“Adore’s in denial?” Violet scoffed. “Courtney’s the one in denial. She’s like...so disconnected from reality it’s actually scary.”

“I dunno,” Trinity said thoughtfully. “I think she’d happily go for it if Adore gave her the green light. She’s so like...amenable.”

“Wow, big word, cuz.” Willam laughed, and Trinity hit him with a pillow.

“She would probably want to, but I don’t think she’d cheat on Roy,” said Fame.

“Y’all give her way too much credit. She would definitely cheat on him,” Violet insisted. “Remember the New Year’s party? She was practically cheating on him in front of his fucking face.”

“But you guys. Do you really think that Adore can compete with Roy and his monster cock?” Willam mused, a dreamy smile on his face.

Pearl laughed, shaking her head and placing a hand on Willam’s shoulder.

“Will, your experiences are not universal,” she giggled.

“That’s for damn sure,” Violet echoed.

“Should we say something to them?” Fame asked.

“To who? Roy and his cock?”

“No!”

“I already have,” Tati said, taking the bowl of chips. “Adore seems determined to just be miserable.”

“Maybe we should say something to Courtney. If she knew how Adore felt, like for real-” Trinity began.

“Don’t you dare. Adore would never forgive you,” said Violet.

“I hate to agree with Violet, about anything, but...she’s right,” Pearl said, fighting Violet off with one arm, the brunette having lunged at her on the sofa.

“Hmmm...well...I hope they get it together,” Trinity said.

“Five bucks says they never do,” Willam said.

“I’ll take that bet!” Fame said, reaching out to shake Willam’s hand.

“Might as well just throw your money in the trash, Fame,” Violet laughed, still tousling with Pearl.

“Wow, you’re way too confident,” Trinity proclaimed. “You know what...ten bucks on the power of love.”

“Ha! You’re on.” Violet gave her a fist bump.

“Should there be a time limit on these bets?” Pearl asked.

“Nope. That’s how fucking confident I am,” said Violet. “It’ll never happen.”

“I don’t know why you’re so mad.”

Well of course she didn’t know, Courtney reasoned. Courtney barely understood herself. So she stomped her foot and let out a bratty little huff.

“Seriously Court, I honestly don’t get it. Can you please explain?” Adore looked up from the rack of dresses she was pawing through, brow furrowed.

“I...I’m not mad. I just think it’s a bad idea.”

They were at the mall together, looking for prom dresses. It was coming up upon a very busy time of year: one more week of play performances, then prom, then finals, and then graduation--after which she and Adore were planning a week-long road trip to Mexico before she’d have to start her summer job. And then the best thing of all, when they’d get to move to LA together, and she’d finally be roommates with her best friend.

She should be in a great mood, excited for all the end of senior year fun and proud of graduating with semi-decent grades this year. Instead, she was annoyed for an incredibly stupid reason, which was that Adore had asked Tatianna to be her prom date.

“Why’s it a bad idea? We’re friends.”

“Don’t you remember when she broke your heart last Fall?”

Adore bit her lip, giving a little shake of her head. “That’s not exactly what happened.”

“It absolutely is! You cried in my arms all night!” Courtney insisted.

She wasn’t sure why she was being so adamant. It just seemed like asking for trouble--going to a dance with an ex. And not just any dance, but prom. Maybe part of her irritation was Adore thinking she needed a date at all, since they were going as a group.

“Look, it’s just…” Adore sighed. “I know it seemed bad at the time, but that was like...so long ago. We’ve been friends for much longer than we ever dated. So how’s it different from Pearl being Trinity’s date?”

“It’s different,” Courtney said. She pulled a lavender dress off the rack, holding it up against her body before deciding that it was way too ruffly and girly. She’d done the princess thing before, and even her dress last year at Roy’s prom had been ultra-girly, soft turquoise lace with a sparkly waistband and short, fluffy skirt. This year, she wanted to surprise people by looking sleek and adult and sexy. She turned towards a wine-colored satin dress with a high slit.

“Okay, what about Violet going with Fame?” Adore countered.

Courtney turned back toward her, a hand on her hip, and asked, “You really wanna be like that trainwreck?”

“What do you mean?” Adore asked, hazel eyes widening innocently.

“Adore. Only an idiot would look at them and not see that Violet still likes Fame so much and Fame just doesn’t feel the same way. It’s actually heartbreaking to witness.”

Adore scrunched up her face, looking torn between the desire to deny that Courtney’s assessment was accurate, gossip about it, or change the subject entirely out of sheer discomfort.

“I just don’t know why you’re doing this to yourself. Why not just go with us as a group and have fun?” Courtney continued, knowing that she sounded like a condescending broken record, but unable to stop herself.

“That’s easy for you to say.” Adore pulled another black dress down, adding it to the growing pile of black dresses in her arms. “You have a date.”

“Yeah, but if he couldn’t come...or if he cancels last minute because of school, which could totally still happen by the way--then I’ll be fine. I’ll be with my friends and I’ll still have an awesome night.” As much as Courtney loved Roy, she’d gotten very used to socializing without a boyfriend on her arm, and sometimes even preferred it. After two years of being a couple, all the time, there was a certain freedom that came with having Roy away at school.

“Oh please. You know that if that happened, you’d rope Willam into being your date. You can never resist a pocket square that matches your dress.”

“That’s not true!” Courtney laughed, shaking her head. “And I honestly cannot imagine a worse prom date than Willam Belli. First of all, we look related. And second, you know he’d abandon me to go have sex with a random dude the first chance he got.”

“Well, I want a date. I think it’ll make the night more fun,” Adore said. “So are you gonna keep lecturing me, or can we go play dress-up and twirl around like idiots and stop this dumb conversation?”

Part of Courtney wanted to defend herself, wanted to keep arguing until Adore saw her point, but that part of her was small compared to the part that wanted to play dress-up and twirl like idiots. So, with pursed lips and a dramatic sigh, she finally agreed, “Fine. Conversation about this officially over.” And silently, just to herself, added, ‘but I still think I’m right.’

“Thank god.” Adore draped an arm around her shoulders, leading her towards the dressing rooms.

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anna-justice · 4 years

Text

Lost or Found - 12

Summary: As Jay, Hailey, Kim, Adam and Kevin start their junior year in the wake of a tragic summer, the past year of their lives comes back to haunt them. If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars, this is for you! *UPSTEAD/BURZEK High School AU

...

12 - Need You Now ...

Jay clenched his jaw as he took the man’s hand. He wanted nothing more than to sock him square in the face--a thought that was becoming a pattern--and tell him to get the hell out. But, that was a sure way to get himself thrown out, and he refused to let Hailey wake up alone in this horrible situation. So, he bit his tongue and played nice. “You too, sir. Wish it was under better circumstances.” Jay said, forcing a smile. It was true, he did wish that they had met under better circumstances, for two reasons. One being that her dad wasn’t a sadistic asswhole and two being that he wished he was in a position to beat the shit out of him.

Eldon nodded, agreeing with the young man standing in front of him, none-the wiser of his bubbling hatred. He wrapped an arm around his wife and thankfully didn’t notice Jay’s not so subtle flinch.

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife, Jay had once again sat down in the seat adjacent to Hailey’s bed while Anne and Eldon pulled chairs up next to her. Jay’s knee bounced nervously, he was wondering how long it took to buy a sandwich and where Trudy was. He wanted to leave and remove himself from the terrible silence, but the thought of Hailey waking up to face her father without him was as appealing as drinking battery acid. Instead, he sent a quick text to Adam, hoping he would come and share his wit and charm with the group.

Jay: Hailey’s parents are here…

Less than five seconds later, he replied.

Ruzey Ruzek: Are you serious?

Jay: Deadass

Jay: I’m gonna kill him if you don’t come stop me

Ruzey Ruzek: Don’t do that…

Ruzey Ruzek: A hospital is a terrible place to kill someone

Ruzey Ruzek: If you are going to murder him, put a little more effort in. For me?

Jay rolled his eyes, he was thankful for his best friend who was obviously trying to distract him. He also took notice of the fact that yet again, Adam had changed his contact information to something stupid.

Jay: I hate you

Adam Ruzek: No you don’t

Adam Ruzek: You love me

Jay: Whatever

Adam Ruzek: Love you too bestie ;)

Jay: Stop being a little shit pls

Jay: This is not good

Adam Ruzek: I know

Adam Ruzek: Let me talk to Kim and then I’ll come down there

Jay: Thanks

Adam Ruzek: Ofc

Jay let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding, relaxing into his chair a bit more. At least with Adam here he wouldn’t have to bear the hostility alone.

“So. Jay, tell me about yourself.” Eldon said, turning to face him. “Anne made it sound like you and Hailey are very close.”

Jay leaned forward in his chair, deciding that a faked conversation was better than deafening silence. Plus, he couldn’t risk Hailey’s dad thinking he knew anything, he didn’t want to put her or her mom in harms way. “We are, she’s my best friend.” He said honestly, with a soft smile.

“I hope you have only pure intentions with my daughter…” Eldon threatened, a eyebrow cocked.

Jay fought off the urge to scoff, “The purest.”

Eldon nodded, feigning relief. “Good.” Jay was convinced he was only speaking to keep up appearances. “You play any sports son?”

“Baseball.” Jay said courtly, his own father wouldn’t own up to him being his son, he didn’t need anyone calling him that, let alone an abusive arse.

“Hailey’soldest brother went to college on a baseball scholarship!” Anne said, piping in. Jay gave her a big smile, happy to transfer the conversation to her.

“Really? Where?” Jay asked, genuinely interested.

Anne beamed,“Indiana State.”

“Wow, you must be proud.” Jay said.

“We are.” Eldon cut in, a little too harsh for Jay’s liking.

Just like that the almost friendly conversation was over and the silence returned, Jay was about to text Adam to ask him where he was when Trudy came bounding into the room holding a pizza box. Her jaw dropped and Jay stood immediately. Her eyes met his and then focused back on the couple in front of her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

…

Kevin sat in the locker room with Matt Casey and Connor Rhodes after their saturday morning practice. He hated that he couldn’t be with his friends at the hospital, but football season stopped for no man and he was counting on impressing college scouts a year early.

“You coming to the party tonight?” Connor askes. Kevin shakes his head and Connor rolls his eyes. “Of course you aren’t, you haven’t been to any in months. Matt?”

Matt shakes his head as well. “Can’t, I have a date with Sylvie.”

Before Connor can respond, Kevin claps his teammate and friend on the back. “Man, you’ve been crushing on her for like a year now.” He teases and Matt smiles big. “Congrats.”

“Thanks.” Matt says, “I’m really excited, really nervous and really worried that I’m going to screw this up.”

Kevin is taken aback by the blondes sudden outburst of transparency, Matt wasn’t usually one for sharing his feelings. Anxiety must be his truth serum. “Where are you taking her?”

“Molly’s, you know it? I think it’s perfect, not too fancy but enough to make a good impression. Plus, the owner works with Wallace.” Matt explained and Kevin knew exactly what place Matt was talking about. He had gone there for Kim’s birthday last year with the rest of their friends.

Kevin picked up his bag and waved goodbye to Connor who was heading out. “Sounds perfect man, she’ll love it.”

“Thanks.” Matt said, he grabbed his bag and followed Kevin out of the locker room. “I heard about Kim and Hailey, how are they doing?”

Kevin sighed, “Last I heard, Hailey hadn’t woken up yet and Kim was doing good, no hearing loss like they had expected.”

“Damn, that’s great about Kim, but Hailey’s not out of the woods yet?” Matt asked.

Kevin shrugged, “Not that I know of.” There was a hint of sadness to his voice unrelated to his friends current state. The balance in the group was off and Kevin was taking the brunt of it. When Erin was alive, there were six of them. He always had someone to pair off with whether it was Adam, Kim or Hailey. Now there were five and as happy as he was for his friends, it was hard being the fifth wheel.

He and Kim had been friends for years, that’s how he was brought into the group, it just happened that he knew Adam and Jay and clicked with them well. He was a little jealous if he was being honest, not only did he not always have the time to be totally invested like the rest of them, but any time he did he felt like he was being held at an arms length. Kevin wanted to have a person, like Hailey was to Jay (anyone who wasn’t blind could see it, and even then they probably knew) or Kim was to Adam. He had been interested in Nadia at first, but her obvious feelings for Jay caused his to fade fast. Besides it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, Erin got rid of her at the first sign of weakness.

Kevin bid goodbye to Matt and made his way to his old jeep, still wrapped up in his own thoughts. He felt guilty placing blame on a dead girl, but he couldn’t help but think that all of this was Erin’s fault. He wasn’t usually the one to displace emotion, he grew up in a household where they were almost too out in the open. However, his hatred for Erin--or the dramatics that surrounded her for that matter--was increasing by the day. He had no idea how she got herself in the situation she was in and he sure a hell didn’t understand how she dragged the rest or them and their families into it.

When he got home he found Vinessa playing in the family room and his mom in the kitchen. He said hello to his mother and told her about practice before sitting down to play with Vinessa. She had a barbie in her hand, and Kevin knew for a fact that she didn’t have any barbies. Taking a closer look over her shoulder, Kevin realized that it was no normal doll. It looked exactly like Erin.

…

Jay dropped his gaze to his phone and shot Adam a quick text.

Jay: Abort abort

Jay: Trudy is here

Eldon slowly stands and gives his sister-in-law a fake smile. “Checking on my only daughter, since you were so forth coming on her condition when you called.”

Trudy set the pizza down on the small table near the door and took a step toward him. “You are not welcome here. You need to leave.”

Jay looked back and forth between them, trying to decipher where this was going. “What are you going to do Trudy? Call security? I haven’t done anything…”

“Like hell…” Jay said under his breath, Eldon’s head whipped around and Jay realized that his thought that slipped had not been as quiet as he hoped.

Eldon was seething, Jay was convinced that he had literal steam coming out of his ears. “What did you say?” He took a step towards Jay and Anne reached out to grab his arm.

“Eldon--”

He ripped his arm from her grip, “Don’t touch me.” Anne backed away, much to Jay and Trudy’s approval. “You have no right to speak to me that way.”

Jay took a moment to consider her next move, he had already gotten himself into to some deep shit so he might as well go full send. “You have no right to smack around your wife or your daughter.” The last part came out more spat than in sentence form and Eldon clenched his fists.

The way he saw it, he had two choices: lay the kid in front of him out and high tail it out of there, or, play dumb and make him look like a idiot. He went with the latter. “I don’t know what your talking about.”

Jay scoffed, glancing at Anne who becoming one with the wall. He felt a wave of guilt wash over him, there was no doubt that he had put the woman in danger due to his anger getting the best of him. “Sure, of course you don’t. You don’t anything about the injury that damaged Hailey’s body so bad that she needed a pacemaker?” He was almost yelling and a look of shock crossed Eldon’s face. He guessed that he thought no one knew.

“I don’t have to stay here and listen to this.” Eldon grumbled, turning to face his wife.

Jay stood his ground, determined to have the last word. “Leave.”

Eldon shot him a glare like he had never seen before and stormed out of the room. Jay let out a sigh of relief along with Trudy, who had jumped out of the doorway to make room for the brooding man. Anne began to gather her things, grabbing her purse and pressing a chaste kiss to her daughters forehead. Jay had forgotten Hailey was still there in the midst of all the craziness. Anne reached the threshold before Trudy spoke up. “You don’t have to leave with him.” Anne gave her a teary shrug and disappeared down the hallway.

Trudy collapsed into one of the chairs they had abandoned so quickly. “I’m sorry.” Jay said softly, his guilt eating him up.

Trudy rann her hands down her face, “You didn’t do anything wrong Jay, you did what you thought was best.” Jay shrugged, her approval doing very little to calm the pit in his stomach. “But Hailey can never know they were here.”

Jay nods, “Yeah okay.” He took a seat next to Trudy, placing his hand over Hailey’s. He wished he could erase the past few hours, and he wished Hailey’s beautiful blue eyes would open do the pressure on his chest would lift. He was ready for the nightmare of waiting to be over.

Hailey felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks when she woke up, she opened her eyes and quickly shut them, groaning at the bright lights.

Jay shot forward in his seat, “Hailey?” He gripped her hand a little harder and pulled his chair closer to the bed.

She forced herself to open her eyes again, squinting. She recognized his voice and smiled softly. “Hey.” She croaked out, her throat dry from being asleep for so long. Hailey looked around the room and slightly nudged her head towards the pitcher of water beside her bed. Jay got the message and jumped up, getting her a glass. She gulped it down quickly, feeling a bit more like herself. Trudy announced that she was going to find a doctor, giving the two of them the room.

“You scared me.” Jay said honestly, he had grown another set of balls since that morning. “How are you feeling?”

Hailey attempted to shrug, but it came out more of an awkward shake. “Okay, I guess.”

Jay nodded, taking the next few moments to remind her what happened and explain their story. Thankfully Hailey remembered everything, right up to hearing his voice before she passed out.

“How long was I out?” Hailey asked.

Jay sighed,“Since you got here last night, I’ll let the doctor explain everything.”

“Everything?” Hailey asked, panicking a bit. She didn’t know the extent of her injuries and she had been in this position once before. It wasn’t fun.

“Hey, hey.” Jay said, brushing a piece of tangled blonde hair behind her ear. “It’s gonna be okay, you’re going to be okay.”

Hailey nodded, blinking back tears and deciding to change the subject. “How long have you been here?”

Jay grinned sheepishly, “Six this morning…”

Hailey gasped, “When did you leave last night?”

“One.” Hailey was about to chew him out, but he beat her to it. “I know exactly what you are going to say and don’t you dare. I wanted to be here, I couldn’t have been anywhere else. I was going crazy at home when I was there.”

Hailey blushed at his words, she hated that she was reacting to him this way because of their obvious situation, but she couldn't help it. The thought of him sitting in her hospital room for hours on end made her heart swell, as twisted as it was.

“Let’s see what’s on TV…” Jay coughed, clicking the button on the remote.

Hailey nodded, glancing past him. “Is that pizza?”

Jay laughed and got up to get the box. He knew she probably wasn’t supposed to eat, but after his confession he would give her any distraction she wanted.

Hailey turned her head to face the TV that was currently playing the local news. It was a press conference, the man speaking looked familiar and he was wearing a crisp uniform that she recognized. She had seen her uncle in it before. She read the heading on the bottom of the screen.

Benjamin Severide - Office of Fire Investigation

Fire that potentially claimed the life of local teen Erin Lindsay has officially been ruled an arson.

Hailey’s eyes widened at the name. Severide. That was all the confirmation that Hailey needed, she knew she was right. Kelly’s dad worked in the very department that was controlling the investigation, if he was a part of it, they could make it go away. “Jay, look.” Jay glanced at the screen and by the look on his face, Hailey knew they were thinking the same thing. Someway, somehow, Kelly Severide was at the middle of all of it, and Hailey was going to find out exactly how.

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1-800-i-ship-it · 4 years

Note

khun modern bf headcanons?

Hmm oof i am probably not the best person to be asking this cause I dont write fics or anything but I’ll do my best

So i realized that i just wrote plot stuff but im posting anyway cause i spent way too long on this ahaha

apologies in advance for typos that I'm too lazy to go through and correct

Enjoy the headcanons that i wrote later + plots that i originally wrote and went on a long tangent on oops

Headcanons:

Khun would be that subtle overprotective boyfriend

He’d just kinda silently watch from afar but he’d totally kill anybody who hurt bam in any way, shape, or form

But he’d like be SUPER sweet with bam like

Pet names yall PET NAMES like khun and bam would prob both mutually melt when they call each other pet names

Khun would always help bam with hw and whatnot, let’s pretend bam’s a physics genius cause thats just how i imagine him in modern life, always has trouble with law class (he’s taking it just for khun so he can understand what khun’s talking about) so khun helps him

Khun would be a super smooth talker, can woo a n y b o d y, exceptional at speeches, captain of speech and debate team

Khun would never admit he’s jealous but like the whole gang would know (except for bam who’s clueless as usual)

Like bam is friendly with everybody so khun’d just be like ugh screw yall

But then bam always confides in him and spends a crapload amt of time with him so he knows he’s just doubting himself and he’s mad at himself about it cause he knows bam is loyal to a fault and would never betray him

When bam gets older bam uses this against him hehe

Khun would also be that bf that everyones jealous of

Everyone would want to be with khun but he only has eyes for bam

Ignores everybody else who hits on him

Side note i still stan top!bam and bottom!khun

Khun would also be super thoughtful and goes out of his way to help make bam’s life easier whether its doing chores or smth etc, and each time bam smiles at him and expresses his gratitude khun’s heart would melt for the 1000th time

But like secretly khun really likes confident and sexy bam

They’d probably roleplay ngl (let ur imagination wonder~)

Khun would enjoy just spending time with bam :’) just cuddling and doing mundane things, they’d be super adorable together, hugs and kisses and ah just too cute-

Khun secretly likes bdsm and bam knows this 😏they switch roles from time to time, i cant decide who’s sub/dom

Khun would plan a super elaborate proposal to bam but then somehow bam would catch him off guard and then khun would just blurt it out when they’re together <3

Khun’d always be up early to cook for bam, they both morning ppl tho khun’s always sleep deprived bc hes also a night owl

Khun is shy with pda in public but eventually he and bam decide they dont care anymore and just hold hands and act all lovey dovey to the point where shibisu cant decide if he’s a proud dad or if he wants to throw up, rak is always proud of his turtles, endorsi and hatz literally want to throw up all the time and would die before admitting that they secretly approve of khunbam

Khun is all around a model bf that i am sure half the fandom would be willing to date but im sorry guys khun’s taken cause he’s only got eyes for bam~

Plot things/idk what they’re called:

CEO!khun and intern!bam

Assassin!khun and assassin!bam who eventually get together and destroy the corrupt system

Gdi i thought of so many while having dinner but i forgot

Hmmmm

Imagine bam as jue viole grace like forced to work in a gang or smth and then khun as the gang boss

I totally dont have a thing for badass assassin themed things pls dont judge me

Teacher!khun and student!bam (ofc it’d be near graduation if u get my drift...😏)

Idk why i thought of this but imagine idol khun o.o wait YO idol khun + assistant bam

Tutor!khun and student!bam

I feel like im literally just saying the same ideas

Theres a reason why im not a fic writer :’)

High school sweethearts -> angst bc parents dont approve, sad forced breakup, no contact -> get back together when older after a time-lapse when they’re more mature, heated reunion

Best friends bam and khun since preschool, since they were in the womb, PINING, both of them scared to admit it cause they dont want to ruin their friendship, meanwhile the entire gang is betting on them getting together (aka mainly rak and shibisu betting, hatz, endorsi, anaak, (insert s2 and s3 gang dont wanna spoil) everybody etc)

Uni students with khun as a law major and bam as a cs major (both geniuses, nerd bam), roommates *insert smirk* lots of pining, blushes from them casually changing in front of each other...the rest is up to ur imagination

Khun and bam as rival sports teams coaches

Age gap!khunbam (not a lot, somewhere between 5-8 yrs), with bam as the younger one who kept saying that he loves khun but khun just laughs it off bc bams a kid but then khun sees bam after he comes back from college and bam gets a massive glowup from clueless cinnamon roll to clueless cinnamon roll hottie who only has the hots for khun (still) and then khuns all like “fuck” *dies inside*

Single dad khun, bam as a daycare employee who keeps getting flustered by khun, khun takes interest in bam bc he doesn’t ask nosy questions like other ppl, and bam has these mesmerizing golden eyes

Tailor/dry cleaner owner!bam and office worker!khun who constantly needs his clothes to be altered so they fit exactly how he wants them to (this eventually results in awkward moments and blushing), and also dry cleans like his countless number of suits and dress shirts and whatnot

Author!khun and publishing assistant!bam (is it even called publishing assistant honestly i have no idea but u get what i mean right), khun never signs books but bam convinces him to

Poet!khun and uni student!bam as a literature major who’s a big fan and wanted to meet khun at one of his signings but is too shy even though shibisu drags him there, accidentally bumps into khun in the bathroom, is all flustered, ends up talking to khun for super long, khun loves bam’s enthusiasm for the subject, offers to give feedback on bam’s poems, bam is literally about to combust, they have lots of meetings and khun flirts with bam who’s clueless but blushes a lot anyway, they kiss *ahem* the rest is history

Spy!khun and bam, khun realizing he doesn’t want to hurt bam, sends fake info back to his country (ruled by eduan and jahad), eduan finds out (sent khun out in the first place bc khun was a threat to him cause the ppl liked khun better), sends out an assassin to get khun, who knows this and escapes with bam somewhere, some complicated plot taht idk how to figure out but you get the drift, eventually khun rules the country with bam

Real estate agent khun and contractor bam, eventually start their own business together

Khun as student pres, also known as the ice king bc he’s turned down dating everyone who asked, bam as the transfer student who catches his attention (bam with more of a jue viole grace complex), the silent physics genius who is also on par with khun when debating in speech and debate club

Khun and bam as besties, always do their hw together and hang out after class (cause bam always needs help haha), something leads to them fake dating, eventually real dating 😏

Khun and bam as besties, always do their hw together and hang out after class (cause bam always needs help haha), someone (rachel, DO NOT KILL ME I HAVE A REASON) asks bam out and he doesn't know how to say no (the rest of the gang egging him to date cause they know khuns gonna be jelly) khun goes and sulks, eventually bam gets hurt and manipulated by her, khun is pissed off, rachel is reported for abuse, khun and the gang fight for bam, khun is there for bam all the time, after a while bam asks khun out of the blue if khun likes him (shibisu let it slip that khun is gay bc god knows bam is oblivious af), khun is shocked but says yes bc he cant hide it anymore, bam says he always loved khun but thought khun was straight (bc of some dumb rumor someone said) which was why he ignored his feelings and agreed to date rachel bc he just wanted to distract himself, lots of cuddling thereafter, they get together, rak wins the bet for when khunbam will get together, khunbam gets married

oh man that became way longer than i expected...anon i hope u enjoyed that? half of it prob made 0 sense ngl and idek if i answered the q properly?

kudos to you if you actually read like all my rambling :’)

#bluris answers asks #1800ishipit answers asks #khun headcanons #khun the modern bf #i always write way too much oops #idk what im doing #if you really read till here bless ur heart #headcanons #plot things

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redxblueihateloveyou · 4 years

Note

Thank you so much for answering my question! It is really kind of you. I have 2 more if it is not a bother: Do you know Haikyuu? I have seen lots of ships on your tumblr and considering what kinds of ships you like, Haikyuu has SO MANY potential for you. :) And the second question is, what do you think about Mikoto and Reisi from K? I only saw Sarumi posts, so I am curious.

Oh heHE, let’s start with k project. Honestly Sarumi is the only ship I care about in this anime, I mean every other couple there for me is very undeveloped for me. Sarumi is like true love shit, I wasn’t expecting them to even go there, and when Misaki said to him “I want you to have a real home you can come back to and that’s me” my jaw was on the floor. I mean, they’ve seen each other at their worst and still loved each other (honestly the whole Fushimi’s father storyline and Misaki holding him through it was just too much for my heart). So they’re the only romantic ship for me in this anime.

Mikoto... wasn’t he in love with that guy who he took into their clan to protect? Who was killed? The one who lalala played the guitar whatever was his name? And that’s why he didn’t want to live after that, only wanted revenge and then finita? No?

Red king and blue king did have a sexual tension in that lighting a cigarette scene, other than that... they just “fought” with each other lots and I don’t even see much relationships or like anything that would make them a good romantic couple. And even if I pretend that they loved each other... Mikoto asked him to help him killing himself? That’s like assholishness level 200 to me. I never got this idea of asking your loved one to finish your ass... like bitch, maybe it sounds good for you but did your selfish ass think about how your other half is going to live with that? So that’s a huge no for me.

But seriously I like don’t know what to look for there, I don’t see it. I hope he’s in heavens with that other guy, but also I don’t really care, cause Fushimi was like the only thing why I sat through the whole thing, cause lord that hour of watching that girls watermelons I could’ve spent more productive (like man I was trying not to fall asleep during some useless episodes, I don’t even know why and what for some characters were even there), BUT but it was all worth it, cause there is one character who was written so good and so complex and he’s so well done that I don’t even mind.

Now before I go to Haikyuu... I think my problem is that unlike many I don’t ship every bromance just bc it’s a good bromance. Because sometimes there are some great bromances but they give out like zero romantic vibes. For example, Stiles and Scott: would totally die for each other, hug each other a lot, have no problem with saying I love you, but they’re like best bros, there is nothing romantic there. Like Stiles can ask Danny or Scott if they find him attractive, but he would never ask Derek about this, you know what I mean? They’re like me and my sister.

So for me there is a huge difference between bro things and gay things (like I only partly joked while making that rinharu post). And some couples are clearly crossed that line in some weird moments. Because things like high fiving each other and hugging each other don’t make anyone gay. I don’t know if that makes sense for anybody else... but those who have siblings or bffs will get what I mean.

Like classical example is Rin Matsuoka. When it come to Sousuke he easily writes him letters and calls him like I feel with my best friend. I can call anytime and be like “bro, I’ve missed you”. Cue the 3x03 weirdest scene when Rin misses Haru and is afraid to call and tell him that. That’s the proof here that they’re clearly something weird there, cause if they were just friends he would be like “hey, bro, missed you” which will never be the case here.

Or can you imagine Rin and Haru seeing each other and being like “yo man” and fist bumping and hitting each other? I’ll bet 1000$ that you can’t. Rin can hit Sousuke in the shins, and ruffle Nagisa’s hair, but Haru would never get this from him. And spoiler: it’s not cause he hates him xD

Also I think the easiest example is Kuroko. (and please, don’t think I’m judging ppl for shipping stuff, I mean to each their own, it’s just my opinion). It’s the anime where people ship everyone with everyone just because of hey... bromances, while in my opinion most of them have seriously nothing gay about them and most of them just do normal bro things. Like how can Kuroko and Kagami be seen as smth romantic I still don’t get. Or like Aomine and Kagami thing??? They are like freaking twins. Same with Kise and Kasamatsu, Midorima and Akashi ships and many others.

Like we see Kuroko and how he behaves with everyone. Firstly he was shadow for everybody: Kise, Aomine, Kagami and he was good with every one of them. Kuroko is a people’s person, he is caring, he thinks about others a lot, he cares about everyone including Haizaki who is an ass tbh, so it’s also nothing special (I mean that way you can ship him even with Kyoshi xD). Aomine is special for Kuroko bc he understands him the most on the field, Kise is his main rival, Kagami is his least problematic light, Murasakibara is his favorite as a person... etc, this way you can ship Kuroko with anyone.

But... someone gets what none of them get. Like Kuroko never checked anybody out or said compliments... but he did think Akashi looked yummy in his kimono at the festival. Kuroko never told anybody a zillion words “it’s all because of you” speech... except for one person. None of them made his heart crack and cry rivers when they left him... except one. And I just loved how we get this with everyone:

And then suddenly this happens:

Lol okay, blue-shems. He gives him his food and asks questions about “who’s his type and his special one”, like... you know he doesn’t do that with anyone else. And Akashi is not his bestie. So yeah, explain this as “bromance”.

Same with Akashi. He forms the new team. He actually misses Kuroko so much that he goes and finds a copy of him. The ONLY GOM member he can’t go without and it’s proved after Kuroko asked him on the interview “who is the person you scared to lose the most” and Akashi answers “you.. it’s you, Kuroko”. Now... hold the horses. We all know that Midorima is his bestie, there’s no contest there, which brings us to the fact that he places Kuroko higher than his best friend which makes Kuroko his... what exactly?

It’s just some things can’t be BRO things.

Like when you cover your eyes and going “dude, don’t show your package in public, zip it, no one wants to see that”, that’s what I’m like when I accidentally see my sister’s boob. That’s how Makoto behaves when he sees naked Nagisa and Haru who’s undressing.

Opposite to Rin oggling Haru half naked and Haru shaking before touching Rin. That’s clearly not how you feel about your “just friend”. Everyone who has bffs must confirm that they don’t get nervous about touching them or them touching you cause you’re comfortable with that. Does this make any sense? I hope, it does. I’m not very good at explaining.

Now about Haikyuu. Haha I’ve been avoiding this so much, cause I didn’t want ppl to throw stones at me. I’ve tried.. I really tried to watch it twice. Once I got to ep8, 2nd time I asked my sister to watch with me (cause it’s funnier that way, that’s how we got through durarara without dying xD) and I still gave up after ep14.

It’s not only just that I was bored and I thought it’s gonna get exciting but it didn’t (bc I’m more of an interesting characters > an interesting plot person), it’s just.. it was episode 14 and I didn’t even find any character who would interest me cause they were so cliche. Especially Hinata. He’s like that super typical main from what I called the “never give up it’s such a wonderful life” bunch that I really deeply respect, but kinda so very tired of them lol. But he’s also from the loud bunch.. and I think I still hear Asta’s voice sometimes, even though I’ve dropped Black Clover after ep10 like a year ago xD

Now I can’t make judgements about the whole thing cause I didn’t watch it, but from what I saw (I mean “shipping scenes” from tumblr) and asked from ppl who has seen the whole thing (one huge fan and another one - not a huge fan, my sister), I got the idea that this anime is more bromancy that romancy. And there are no couples there like “without you I have nothing to aim for and I want a future with you” or “you made my life a dream and you’re the light of my life and I’m scared to lose you the most” like there are in free or knb.

Now my sister has finished it 4 months later and said that it was just okay. And I was like “okay, but what about ships?” because I’m willing to close my eyes on the plot of the ships are good. And she went “well... two mains, I guess” and she was so apathetic about it that I was like “If she who ships much more than me is like that then I won’t see anything there” xD

But... like if you have anything to say to convince me or interest me in it, I’m willing to listen. If you have smth that would make wanna try for the 3rd time, I’ll even record how did it go xD.

#answered #saku0015 #Sarumi #k project #rinharu #Free!#KNB #akakuro

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