your wessa fic just killed me, could you maybe do gabriel and cecily for number 17?
i’m so glad you liked it! thanks for requesting:)
(17: “i can’t sleep, can i stay here?”)
“Why, Gabriel?” Benedict looked up at his son–when had Gabriel grown taller than him?–with a face full of sorrow and betrayal. One of his eyes was gone, replaced by a gaping hole that streamed blood down his face like tears, and Gabriel felt his stomach twist painfully. “Why would you do this to me?”
“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked, but when he looked down at his hands, they were painted with black demon blood, his bow slippery in his grasp. He choked on a gasp and looked back at Benedict, but his father was shifting, changing into something other than human, something that slithered and hissed and made pitiful wailing noises at all hours of the night.
“Gabriel,” it seemed to say, over and over again, its shrieks rising higher and more agonized with every passing second. “Gabriel, why? Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel–”
Gabriel sat bolt upright in bed, gasping, reaching instinctively for the dagger under his pillow. Once he realized there was no imminent threat to him, he put it back, but he still couldn’t force his body to relax. Sweat plastered his hair to his forehead and neck, and his shirt stuck to his back with it, but he only felt freezing ice in his veins. He’d been having nightmares about Benedict for weeks, ever since he’d killed the demon that had once been his father, and every time it was the same; Benedict asking why, Gabriel with the bow in his hands, the transformation into the demon. It was all there, every time he closed his eyes, like a daydream turned on its head.
He got out of bed and got dressed, not sure where he was going but sure that he wouldn’t be able to sleep again. Outside, the sky remained pitch black; he guessed morning wouldn’t come for hours yet, and he didn’t know who he could go to that wouldn’t turn him away. The Institute still seemed huge and intimidating, the people in it nearly strangers. He thought about venturing to Gideon’s room, but he had spent too much time relying on his brother already, and couldn’t imagine bringing another burden to him to bear. He had lost his father, too, and asking him to comfort Gabriel when he was surely trying to grieve on his own seemed too cruel for someone he cared so much about.
His mind flashed to Charlotte, but it would be highly improper for him to barge into a married woman’s bedroom. Besides, he didn’t want to deal with Henry’s confused sympathy, or to seem like a young child clinging to their mother’s skirts for comfort.
That left only one other person. Almost without thinking about it, Gabriel creaked out of his room and padded down the hall to the last door on the right, his heart pounding in his chest. He raised his hand to knock, feeling foolish but resolved to see it through anyway, and waited for what felt like an eternity, nervous sweat slicking his palms.
After an agonizing wait, which he spent debating whether or not he should just go back to his own room and try to rest, the door swung open and Cecily peered out at him, illuminated by the witchlight in her hand. Her hair hung around her shoulders in tangles, and her eyes, so much like her brother’s, were half-lidded and drooping with the remnants of sleep. She was wearing only a nightgown, and Gabriel’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. What did he think he was doing? If Will caught him here, he thought, he would surely be killed on the spot–
“Are you all right?” Cecily asked, her voice nearly a whisper. “Gabriel, what’s wrong? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I–” Gabriel swallowed and shuffled his feet, trying to keep his eyes focused on hers. He couldn’t voice how close she was to the truth. Every time he saw his father in his dreams, it felt like seeing the ghost of him, a memory of the man he was, before Gabriel had killed him–it–had killed his own father--
“I can’t sleep,” he said finally, with nothing better to say. “I was wondering if–well, I–Miss Herondale–Cecily, can I stay here?” he blurted, before he could second-guess himself.
Cecily raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, but she didn’t turn him away immediately, and Gabriel felt the knot in his chest loosen a bit. “Why didn’t you ask me right away?” she demanded, a smile curling the corner of her mouth. “Of course you can. It would infuriate Will, and besides, you have obviously had a difficult night so far. I will not ask questions if you do not wish me to, though if you want to tell me what is troubling you, I will listen.”
“Do I really look that terrible?” Gabriel asked, trying to lighten the mood, but his voice cracked halfway through and he sighed. Cecily stepped back, gesturing for him to come inside, and he closed the door behind him feeling like someone entirely different than himself.
He approached Cecily, who had climbed back into bed and was watching him from under the covers, though she didn’t look tired anymore. She seemed to be waiting for something, but he didn’t know what. He decided that if he was going to wake her up in the middle of the night and come into her room, she at least deserved an explanation. “I have been dreaming about my father,” he said, twisting his hands behind his back. “Terrible dreams of blood and demons, and always my hands covered in blood. He always asks me why I did it, and I can never think of an answer that he wouldn’t be disappointed in.”
Cecily was silent for a moment, her face thoughtful. “And you had one such dream tonight?” she asked.
Gabriel nodded, at a loss for words. After a moment’s hesitation, Cecily moved over to the side of her bed and patted the spot next to her. Join me, the gesture said, and Gabriel’s heart launched into his throat at the thought of lying next to her. It was inappropriate, he knew it was, and the consequences could be great, but the way she was looking at him made him sit on the very edge of the bed, as far from her as he could get, and take a long breath. “Your father wouldn’t be disappointed in you,” Cecily said finally, after the silence had stretched between them for what felt like ages. “I think … I think that if he was still himself, if he could still think and act like the Shadowhunter he was, that … he would have been proud of you, Gabriel. You did what you had to do to protect yourself, your family and friends. You shouldn’t have to feel guilty for doing your duty.”
“I know,” Gabriel whispered, and to his surprise, he found that his eyes stung with unshed tears. He took a shaking breath and stretched himself out carefully on the bed, not quite touching Cecily but close enough that he could feel the heat rolling off her body from where he lay. He turned his head to look at her, and her eyes held respect instead of pity, and perhaps a hint of admiration, or maybe he was dreaming. Another silence fell between them, but this time it was comfortable, and Gabriel felt himself relax at long last. “Cecily?” he said, when his eyelids started to droop, exhaustion winning out over his fear and shock that he was lying in bed with Cecily Herondale, of all people.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Cecily smiled and moved closer to him, until their shoulders and knees and feet were touching, and laid her hand over his. “Of course,” she said, and she sounded wide awake. Gabriel fought to stay with her, to just lay and talk with her until the sun came up, but as hard as he fought against it, sleep came to claim him.
For the first time in weeks, Gabriel slept without having a nightmare. Instead, he dreamed of a girl with raven hair and blue eyes that seemed to look into his soul and a soft voice that carried him through to the morning.
He would have been proud of you.
-send me a pairing and a prompt!-
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So went out to lunch with my Mom and I found out part of the reason I've been sensing stress and anger in both my parents whenever my Sister-in-law is brought up...
I’m gonna put the rest under the cut...
So I’ll admit first I don’t really like my Sister-in-law....she reminds me too much of my ex when it comes to their personality and the shit she pulls...constantly. HOWEVER over the years I’ve tried to except her...but it’s not easy.
Back when my Brother and her were dating (after High School) he found out she was cheating with him and he ended things. But a couple years later they are back together.
They get married and my brother gets stationed in California and she of course follows him down there. He gets deployed....and in that time she gets really, really close to another man. So much so that the other military wives pretty much excommunicate her, other men avoid her and the guy she “is only friends with” begins telling the guys he’s nailing her.
She swears she’s loyal but my Brother’s commander under suspicion moves my brother to another platoon just before he gets back. My brother of course finds out as the guy brags to him....and my brother is not a violent man but guess he got some good punches in. She still claims she didn’t cheat on him and they nearly divorce over it but somehow the marriage survives.
Fast forward a few years or so and they now have two beautiful little girls. Just bought and moved into a gorgeous house a couple neighborhoods away and things seemed great for them. I mean he works and she’s a stay at home mom, yadda yadda yadda.It looks like your ideal Americana life.
However about a month or so ago Eric gets deployed he’ll be out between 7 months up to 1 year plus....And as I’ve come to find out my Sister-in-law has not one but two male friends all of a sudden. She even asks my parents to watch the girls to hang with them....which both my parents have said they will not watch the girls for her to “Hang out” with other men. They’ve also voiced that she should not be going out with single men. Becuase hey she’s got a history of cheating!!!
And the cycle appears to be starting again as some of the local military women are as she put it “Seem to be ignoring her” and both my parents are worried sick and fear that Deni is cheating on my brother again.
I honestly wanted to puke when I heard this. Since my ex cheated on me (amongst many other things) I can’t handle cheaters and instantly go into a state of pure anger. So now what little bit of bond we’d been building aka I’ve been warming up to her recently has sadly completely crashed and burned.
I also found out a couple of weeks ago when she was talking to me about the girls I offered her some advice...now I don’t have kids. But I’ve babysat children since I was 12, I practically raised my brother for 5 years and I listen to my friends who do have children. Apparently that night when my mom called she bitched to my Mom about how I shouldn’t be offering advice when I don’t have kids....like went off and you know what it was over? Getting them to eat vegetables. Know what I suggested? Looking online for recipes where you can kinda hide veggies in the main dish like green mac’ and cheese where you add broccoli and what have you. Oh and appernantly she’s complained about this before or that I’m too harsh with the girls....???? Even my Mom was baffled by that.
At this point I just want to tell her to fuck off. Don’t bitch to me about anything then especially the girls. This woman is so damn lazy she only makes them hotdogs, mac and cheese and fish sticks for Lunch and dinner. Breakfast is almost always ceriel or instant oatmeal...both girls have been to the doctors and have nutritional issues! Shocker. Both girls are behind on speech because she doesn’t work with them (But my parents and I do). Every time the girls come to the folk’s place or mine they act attention starved. Every time they come over to Auntie’s and most the times they go to the folk’s place we play outside for a bit, do at least one craft and then play inside often games that help with speech, color recognition and so on. When we ask her if she does this at home with the girls she will say things like “The girls don’t listen to me,” “I’m busy but they love the TV and have toys”, and the quote I hate the most “I hate doing crafts with the girls. I can’t stand the mess. XXXXX does those at scool and XXXX has no interest.”
BULLSHIT!!! Your oldest daughter is so artisitically inclined it blows my mind. Sound, music, dance, painting, coloring all of it she thrives in!!! And your youngest while not as immersed in the creative aspect still loves it (But man anything sportsy, running, jumping climbing she exceeds in (the youngest is a fearless tomboy and the oldest is an timid artsy girly girl Polar opposites but each equally amazing)! BOTH GIRLS ARE GREAT AND CREATIVE! But it’s too messy...
We work with their speech and encourage them to speak. We work with them and don’t just allow them to use baby talk and tantrums. But she says they are just slow and it’s easier to just give them what she knows they want and not have help and encourage them to properly communicate. THEY CAN!!! Even when at Auntie’s (who apparently doesn’t know shit how to treat, care for and help raise) they both speak pretty clearly but as soon as Mom comes they revert back.
So I was already mildly annoyed with how she is raising the girls, but they are her and my brother’s responiciblity and I can only help as much as I can from the side lines...and even then I’ve been warned not to do too much as my Sister-in-law instantly feels attacked. I’m apparently stupid but somehow far too judgemental aka hold to high a standard of her. Like I’m at a fucking loss on that. I just think she doesn’t work with them and is lazy as hell...and I’m not the only one who thinks that. Even my brother has said he wished she did more....like hello!!!!
But now the added news of her seeing “friends”, male friends she made when my brother wasn’t around aka after he was shipped out and finding out all of the new drama starting up for her I just kinda want to scream at her. But I’ve been told to keep quiet because if I do anything that is too much both my parents fear she will exclude me from seeing the girls.
I just am so irritated, frustrated and pretty pissed at the moment and I just am not sure what to do.
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