#jem car stairs

[cataclysmic-catastrophe]

I’m endeavoring to read the rest of the shadow hunters universe books (I dnfed lord of shadows many a year ago, just was in a reading slump). I’ve read TMI and TID and the clockwork ones, which should I read after TDA???

#cassandra clare #the mortal instruments #the dark artifices #the infernal devices #clary fairchild #emma carstairs #tessa gray #william herondale #jem car stairs #jace herondale #shadowhunters #magnus bane

[theheadcase]

I ain’t never seen two responsible parabatai

#one of them is chaotic #like one will jump off a cliff as a dare and not blink an eye #cassandra clare #cassie clare #the shadowhunter chronicles #the last hours #the dark artifices #parabatai #the mortal instruments #the infernal devices #will herondale #william herondale #james herondale #jem car stairs #james carstairs #emma carstairs #julian blackthorn #jace herondale #alec lightwood #alexander lightwood #matthew fairchild #friends #responsibility

[mysticalnightenthusiast]

S.N.A.F.U CH62 ‘We’ve Got This’

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

Daniel and Eadaoin spent another two hours at their new home making a list of the furniture they needed and where they’d place all their old belongings ‘christening’ every room and making plans for the housewarming.  Eadaoin kept going back to the small room next door to the master bedroom and on one occasion Daniel found her pacing across the width of the room and once squatting as if working out in the gym.

“What are you doing?” he asked with a snort of amusement

 “Working out where I’m going to put my desk,” Eadaoin replied “I want this room to be my study.”

“Can you squat again?” Daniel asked cheekily a wide grin spreading across his face as he salaciously adjusted himself “I can get a better view of your arse that way.”

“You’re obsessed with my arse,” Eadaoin told him dryly

“Of course I’m obsessed with your arse, I see it every morning when I’m home and just now when I did you on the stairs its what I held onto so I wouldn’t fall on my own and break my neck.”

Eadaoin rolled her eyes.

“When you ‘did me’ in the stairs?” she repeated hooking her fingers in the air “gee you’re a true romantic Daniel Ricciardo.”

Daniel stepped into the room and playfully patted her on the backside.

“I am when it counts,” he said loosely wrapping his muscular arms around her waist.

“True,” Eadaoin said with a happy sigh “this place is perfect babe, it already feels like home and it’s only got like three pieces of furniture in it.”

Daniel ran his fingers through her hair then rested his chin on her head.

“Its really happening isn’t it?” he said happily.

“It is, pretty soon we’ll have our own little cocoon where we can just be us,” Eadaoin replied leaning into his embrace “at least here I don’t have to worry about you know who slashing my car tyres, pouring paint stripper on the duco or blowing up the letterbox.”

“You shouldn’t have to worry about that now.” Daniel said evenly “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“Don’t apologise, none of that shit is your fault,” Eadaoin replied placing her hands on each side of his face and looking at him straight in the eyes “when Jem did what she did to you you responded in a way any adult would in a grown up manner, you’re not the one acting like a jealous vindictive prat.  You didn’t goad her into doing what she has done to me, I hold absolutely no grudge against you in any sense of the wor-MMPH!”

Eadaoin’s speech was interrupted by Daniel leaning down and smashing his lips against hers.  Her eyes flew open in surprise but she quickly returned his affection running her fingers over his stubbly cheeks then combing his messy curls.

“One of these days you’re going t-to suff-focate me doing th-that,” she said when they eventually parted.

Daniel grinned

“But what a way to go huh?” he said “I often think that when I have your thighs either side of my face.”

Eadaoin rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his chest.

“Daniel Joseph Ricciardo you’re a pervert.” She said dryly as he roared with laughter “for that I’m going to take that happy ending massage offer off the table c’mon let’s go furniture shopping!”

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

Eadaoin and Daniel kept themselves busy for the rest of the afternoon flitting around every furniture shop in the London area doing what they could to get their house ready for them to move into, they arrived home just after seven at night to an alluring smell of garlic and tomato emanating from the house.

“I’ll bet my next pay cheque Cally’s making his lasagne,” Eadaoin said tiredly as they got out of her car “wait til you taste it, it’s the bomb diggity.”

“Its his signature dish then?” Daniel asked with a yawn

“Kinda.”

The pair made their way down the path to the front door and went inside, their arrival attracted Cahir’s attention and he poked his head out of the kitchen a huge grin upon his face.

“Where the hell have you two love birds been?” he asked in amusement.

“At the manor house and furniture shopping nosy!” Eadaoin replied briefly embracing her brother “you’re perky, what’s happened?”

“I got the job in Walliswood!” Cahir exclaimed excitedly “I start in four weeks!”

“Congrats, you’re keeping busy.” Daniel said as Eadaoin engulfed her brother in a crushing hug.

“Yea I know!” Cahir replied with a grin “and my dogs arrive next Thursday and the week after that the shipping container with all my stuff in it.  I’ve really got to start house hunting now, I can’t stay here forever and I know you’re not hugely comfortable around dogs and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable in your own home.”

“Mate this is your home too I don’t want you to feel like you have to hurry up the house hunting task,” Daniel said “besides I’ll be off to Jeddah and Abu Dhabi before they arrive and by the time I get home Eadie and I will be ready to move into the new place.”

“Well if you’re sure...”

“Yeah I am, besides I’ve been told your dogs are pretty cruisy and don’t jump up so it sounds like I’ll be okay with them.”

“Yeah they’re fine, I put too much effort into training them for them to jump up on anyone,” Cahir said brightly “I’ve made lasagne and picked up some fancy bread from the bakery next to my placement job to make garlic bread with, if you’re hungry.”

“Could eat a horse and chase its jockey!” Eadaoin said with a grin “we’re just going to head upstairs, give us a yell when dinner’s ready okay?”

“You got it.”

Eadaoin and Daniel made their way upstairs and o their bedroom, Daniel kicked off his Vans and flopped down on the bed with a loud sigh.

“What’s up?” Eadaoin asked softy dropping down next to him and elbowing him affectionately.

“Just worried about Wednesday,” Daniel replied after a moment of silence “aside from the confrontation at the Viaduct Tavern this’ll be the first time I��ve seen Jem since that shit went down in Abu Dhabi and I just know there’s going to be paparazzi there and she’s going to absolutely revel in the attention and Mum and Dad can’t be here and I’d really like them to be and, well......”

Eadaoin slipped an arm around his waist and nestled her face in the nape of his neck.

“I’ll be there to support you,” she murmured giving him a squeeze “I can’t stop anything negative happening but I can be there to hold your hand if and when things go to shit.”

Daniel flashed her a wan smile and turned his head, pressing a kiss to her temple. “You’re never going to have any idea just how special you are to me,” he said in a low voice “I don’t know if I could have dealt with the fall out of what happened if you weren’t here.”

“You down for a soak in the tub after dinner?” Eadaoin asked after a moment of silence “nothing funky just a relaxing lavender bath.  Then maybe we can go to bed early”

“If I wasn’t so hungry I would do that now,” Daniel replied “but I’m starving, we burned a few calories today.”

“Burning calories?  Is that what you call it?” Eadaoin teased “face it babe it was a desperate sex romp and you definitely left a huge gob of cum on the foyer staircase.”

Daniel laughed heartily.

“Gonna have to clean that up before the housewarming,” he said cheekily “though I’d prefer it was left there as a reminder of our escapades.”

Eadaoin rolled her eyes.

“You don’t need a carpet semen stain to remind yourself of what we got up to today,” she said dryly, giving him a playful shove “there’s something wrong with you if you forget about today.”

“Maybe I’ll just settle for a photo to keep in the secret folder of my phone,” he said with a grin.

“Well if you really need a visual reminder about today I suppose that’ll have to suffice.”

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

The following day Daniel and Eadaoin spent all day moving what Daniel had in storage into their new home and buying even more furniture.  They ended the day back at her house and began the process of packing up her own belongings in preparation for the final move after the Abu Dhabi race.

“I was thinking....” Eadaoin began as she taped up a box labelled loungeroom

“Mmm?”

“Would you mind if I got a piano for the front room?” Eadaoin asked “I use an electric keyboard when I have my violin students over but an actual piano would be so much better.”

“Darling, you don’t need to ask,” Daniel said with a smile “if you want a piano, get a piano; if you want a gold toilet get a gold toilet.”

Eadaoin laughed.

“My interior decorating tastes are far more refined than gold toilets,” she said “if I was going to have a gold toilet I would have put one in here.”

“Seriously though if you want a piano get one,” Daniel said softly “just as long as I can fuck you on it.”

Eadaoin got up on her knees and scooted across the floor to him.

“Well we’ve done it in every room and on every bit of furniture we have in that place so far so I suppose doing it on a musical instrument wouldn’t be too much of an imposition,” she murmured in his ear as she trailed her lips down his thick neck “but I much prefer the bed.”

Daniel turned his head and captured her lips with his.

“You’re turning into a raging nymphomaniac,” he said with a grin.

“Ha!” Eadaoin exclaimed “pot kettle black Driver Man. All day yesterday you were the one that initiated everything, not that I minded of course.”

“All your moaning and groaning told me that,” Daniel said with a grin “music to my ears, wish I could have it as my ringtone but no one but me needs to know what it sounds like when you come.”

Eadaoin prised the book he was holding out of his hands and set it aside.

“Could say the same about you,” she said trailing her fingers down his chest to his crotch “seriously hearing you moan is one of my biggest turn ons.”

“Well if you play your cards right, you might just hear me moan a bit more tonight,” Daniel informed her with a grin flinching slightly as she palmed the growing bulge in his jeans “the bath we had last night was quite nice and we-”

But the curly haired Australian was interrupted when from the front of the house the door open and Cahir arrived home.

“Oi lovebirds wanna give me a hand?” he called “I brought home some stuff for ya!”

“You go ahead, this needs to go down,” Daniel told Eadaoin indicating to his crotch “tell him I’m on the phone or something.”

Eadaoin grinned and kissed him soundly on the lips.

“Later,” she murmured

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

Daniel was the first one to wake the following morning and his huffing and puffing and tossing and turning pulled Eadaoin from her own slumber and she rolled over slipping an arm around her man’s waist.

“Hey,” she said sleepily splaying her fingers out across his muscular abdomen “you ‘kay?”

“Yes....no,” Daniel replied with a sleepy sigh.

“You worried about today huh?” Eadaoin murmured pressing her lips to his neck.

“Yeah,” Daniel replied stretching and turning over to face her “I haven’t slept well at all.”

“I know you’ve been tossing and turning the last few hours,” Eadaoin said tracing his facial features with his fingers “I’ve felt the tension in your body ever since we went to bed.”

“I’d be even more tense if you weren’t here,” Daniel said in a low voice.

Eadaoin cuddled up to him and pressed her lips softly to his.

“As I said last night I’m happy to be here,” she said “good times and bad we’re in it together huh?”

Daniel wrapped his arms around her and squeezed hard.

“One of these days I’m going to wife you,” he said.

Eadaoin laughed.

“Is that your way of proposing?” she asked in amusement.

“No, if I was going to propose I would do it in entirely more romantic circumstances than in bed when we both look and sound like hell.” Daniel replied with a chuckle “besides I don’t have a ring, I can’t very well propose without a ring.”

Daniel and Eadaoin spent another hour in bed, relaxing in bed, holding each other and sleepily kissing, they then rose for the day and after breakfast began getting ready for court.

“Oooh a three piece suit rawr,” Eadaoin said admiringly as Daniel buttoned up his vest “you in a three piece suit will always do it for me.”

“Might have to start going to the races in one then,” the curly haired driver quipped with a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I wouldn’t complain, neither would all your hoards of female admirers,” Eadaoin joked as she helped him knot his tie “no too tight?”

“Nope just good, you know you’re the only one of my female admirers I care about,” Daniel said as he tucked in his tie in and pulled on his jacket.

Eadaoin slipped on a pair of black stilettos and stood up.

“Yeah?” she said slinging her arms around his waist.

Daniel tucked a whisp of hair behind her ear and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Yeah,” he said “shall we head off?  I’m hoping if we get there early enough we might avoid some undesired attention from any media out the front of the courthouse.”

“Yeah alright, hey you know it’ll go alright today don’t you?  You’ve got nothing wrong, the people who count know this and you have one of the best defamation lawyers in London in your corner.”

Daniel smiled.

“I know,” he said “c’mon let’s go.”

 *******************************************************************************************Daniel’s wish for less attention from the media didn’t eventuate ad when he and Eadaoin arrived at the County Court a huge throng of photographers pressed themselves up against Eadaoin’s Range Rover as she drove into the courthouse carpark.

“Faaaaaaaark,” he groaned as they went past the point where the throng could reach them “they look like they’ve been camping out overnight.”

Eadaoin found a park then cut the engine.

“You ready to do this?” she asked softly reaching across the center console and squeezing his thigh.

Daniel squeezed her hand and flashed her a small smile.

“With you, yeah,” she said.

The pair got out of the car and before she had even locked the car Daniel slipped his hand into hers, Eadaoin flashed him a smile and squeezed his hand before turning and in full view of the paparazzi flashed them her middle finger and the AUSLAN sign for ‘fuck you’

“The hell?” Daniel asked.

“This,” Eadaoin said repeating the sign “is the AUSLAN sign for fuck you.”

Daniel couldn’t help it and let out a snort of laughter.

“You’re naughty,” he said as they ascended a small stone staircase and made their way into the courthouse “where did you learn AUSLAN?”

“Well I’m not fluent in it but in law school I did some of my practical legal training at a firm that did a lot of pro bono work for a deaf charity and the client taught me how to say fuck you, kiss my arse, shit, cunt and arsehole all the best swears.  It’s kinda just stuck.”

“Danny, Eadie!” a familiar voice called from behind them.

The pair turned around to see Max and Kelly, Max in a simple black suit and neck tie and Kelly in a black pant suit and nosebleed high nude stilettos.

“Super Max, what the hell are you doing here?” Daniel exclaimed incredulously.

The two friends bumped fists.

“Darren asked a few if us to come today,” the Dutchman replied “have you not seen him today?”

“No we only just got here,” Daniel replied “a few of us?  Who is a few of us?”

But before Max could reply Daniel’s question was answered when Toto, Lewis, Valtteri, Christian and Esteban entered the courthouse all dressed similarly to Max. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

“What the hell?” he muttered.

“Darren asked us all to appear today,” Max informed his friend as the others arrived “character witnesses, I mean we would have come anyway because you’re our mate and we want to support you.”

Daniel shook hands or fist bumped all of his friend’s colleagues.

“Thankyou for coming,” he said “I didn’t know Darren had asked you to come.”

“He didn’t want to distract you from work,” Max said “there’s more coming too, I saw Zak, Lando, Michael and Blake outside too.”

“Anyone else?” Daniel asked weakly.

“Not that I know of.”

And sure enough a minute later the side door opened and in walked Darren dressed in the usual court garb of a black robe and horsehair wig followed by Daniel’s boss, teammate and two best friends.  Seeing all the people that had come to support him was too much for the curly haired driver and his immediately choked up.

“Hey man how you doing?” Michael asked his friend.

“Yeah m’k-kay,” Daniel managed to reply before the emotion became too much

“Daniel!” Darren exclaimed brightly extending a hand to the driver “good to go today?”

“Well good might be an overestimation,” Daniel replied flatly grasping the QC’s hand and shaking it “bit overwhelmed to see everyone here, you didn’t tell me they would be.”

“I didn’t want to worry you too much and distract you from work,” Darren replied “as I’ve said to you before, you have nothing to remember, no fabricated story no lies no nothing, all you need to do is tell the truth when called upon to do so, and I’m confident you won’t even have to do that.  Not by me anyway.”

“Jem’s counsel is likely to call Danny up?” Eadaoin questioned.

“Yeah, I mean if I was the opposing counsel I would,” Darren replied “my job is to showcase Danny’s good character, to prove he’s not a violent drunk, to prove what Ms Boskovich told Deux Moi is a load of bollocks, their job is to do the opposite, to prove any act of aggression Danny’s ever displayed proves he has anger issues, can’t control his temper etcetera etcetera you know the usual.”

“D'you know who she’s hired?” Eadaoin asked.

“Yeah Barnaby Albrecht.”

Eadaoin groaned.

“Bad?” Daniel asked in alarm.

“No, Albrecht is a brilliant lawyer but he’s a smarmy, cocky arsehole,” Darren replied “he’s good and knows he’s good but his interpersonal skills are deplorable.  I don’t know anyone that likes him as a person or a colleague.  He’s a pedantic, rude prick that pisses off people just by existing.  He’s the type of guy that would have pissed off his parents as a toddler.  I remember him from Eton and no one liked him then either.”

Daniel couldn’t help it and snorted in amusement.

“If my parents had named me Barnaby I’d be pissed off at the world too,” he said with a grin.

“Just be cautious of him,” Darren advised “ he asks questions that make you think laterally, don’t take anything he says at face value because I guarantee he will twist them to make you look like the biggest prick in the world.”

“Have you gone up against him in court?” Daniel asked Eadaoin.

“No but his reputation precedes him,” Eadaoin replied “his main jam is family law, specifically divorces; I tend to do contract, criminal and torts.”

“Basically the guy is a prat and you need to be wary of him if he calls you to the stand.” Darren informed his client.

“Right-o, are the McLaren legal guys here?  I haven’t seen them yet.”

“Neither have I but they’re on their way I spoke to them on the way in,” Darren replied.

There was a long silence where Daniel fidgeted and sighed nervously.  Darren noticed this and placed a reassuring hand on the driver’s shoulder.

“Hey take a deep breath,” he said reassuringly “I’ve got this, we’ve got this, and every one of those men and woman are willing to swear in front of a judge that you’re not a violent drunk and are willing to vouch for your good character.  This is not criminal law the burden of proof is not on you the Plaintiff Miss Boskovich and Deux Moi have to prove what they said is true.”

Daniel managed a small smile and sighed.

“I have confidence in you,” he said “excuse me for a moment I need to have a word with....”

And leaving the sentence hanging in the air Daniel dropped a kiss on Eadaoin’s lips and made is way over to Michael, Blake, Max and Kelly.

“Hey can I have a word with you four?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yeah mate what’s up?” Michael asked.

Daniel turned and led his friends over to a corner then turned to face them.

“I wanted to ask you four a favour,” he said.

“Shoot.”

“I’m going to have to sit up the front with my legal team when we go into the court room so I can’t sit with Eadie once proceedings start,” he said “can you lot sit with her and look after her?”

“Yeah mate no worries.” Michael said at once.

“Count me in.” Blake added.

“Of course,” Kelly said.

“Don’t worry mate we’ve got her back just as much as yours,” Max informed his friend “whether the results are shit or positive for you we’ve got you mate.”

“Thanks.”

Daniel spent a further half an hour chatting with his friends and colleagues then Ralph and Wills the McLaren lawyers arrived.

“I’m sorry Daniel I need you to come with me,” Darren told the curly haired Australian apologetically as he interrupted his conversation with Lewis and Valtteri “Ralph and Wills got here, we’ve got half an hour til things start and we need to go over today’s procedure beforehand”

“Sorry guys I’ve got to go,” Daniel said apologising to his friends “see you in the court room.”

“The closer we get to our session time the worse I start to feel,” Daniel groaned as Darren led him toward a nearby meeting room.

“I empathise but seriously there’s no need to,” Darren said with a smile “Ralph Wills and I have been working on your case almost exclusively and we’re confident of all this shit being done by Christmas.”

“If you guys make this go away by then I’m going to buy you the most expensive bottle of scotch on the market!” Daniel exclaimed.

Darren laughed.

“You’d be up for millions then,” he said in amusement “Isabella Islay’s six and a half million US a bottle; I’m more of a vodka drinker anyway.”

“Anything, seriously anything,” Daniel said fervently.

“Dinner at a fancy restaurant then,” Darren said closing the door behind him “okay, shall we get started?”

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

A/N:  AUSLAN is Australian Sign Language

#F1 #DanielRicciardoFanFiction

[rinadragomir]

⚡BOOK GAME! (ASCENSION➰)

I am so happy that the weekend has finally arrived and I have time to launch this game!

Imagine that you finally have a chance to become a shadowhunter, and your normal life will soon come to an end🌠

All you have left is to go through the...

🌟ASCENSION CEREMONY 🌟

The rules of the game are very simple:

Give an answer to each of the 5 questions☆

Tag people whose answers you would like to know☆

If I didn't tag you but you want to play too - just repost♡

I also want to answer these questions, but since I have very little time, I will do it briefly🤭

1)Herondale - I also read 24/7 and have an eternal drama in my personal life🤦🏼‍♀️

2)Cassandra Clare mentioned the Moscow Institute a couple of times in her books, so...

3)Seraph blade!!!���

4)In fact, I wouldn't mind working in Clave. But, I'm good at resolving conflicts, so I would be more suited to work in the Alliance.

5)I always want to protect the people I care about, even when they don't really need it.💁🏼‍♀️ And in the 2nd grade, I broke the nose of my evil classmate who laughed at my voice, so I have experience fighting demons😌

Tagging: @doitforthecarstairs @bytheangell @littlx-songbxrd @ssansas-stark @sleepy-sendhelp @lightwoodmiau @kraefandoms @charliepants @dianasarrow @ladymidnxght @stxr-thxif @standardmaria @tsc-qotd @tessasclockworkangel @thefatesdivide @ineedadrinkorsleep @jazzkaurtheglorious @jackytsc @sandworm08 @we-love-a-herondale @cupcakesandkittens @amiable-carelessness @silenceofthe-angel @banesbitch @matthewswife @high-warlock-of-brooklyn @fantasy-rep @car-on-the-stairs @shadysaltshaker @eugenialightwoodstuff @jem-is-my-greatest-sin-herondale

#tsc #cassandra clare #the shadowhunter chronicles #shadowhunters

[anna-justice]

Superman - Part 2

PART 1

Summary: Jay and Hailey are a part of an officer involved shooting, the aftermath puts Hailey in a very dangerous situation, causing her and Jay’s lives to be at risk. (Pre-Established Upstead) 

...

Jay rolled over, groaning as he reached for his phone. He shut the alarm off quickly, turning back over to and reaching across the bed. His hand hit the cold mattress, waking him up. Jay laid flat on his back, running his hand over his face. He groaned again, the pit in his stomach growing at his own stupidity. It was the first time in a week that he had woken up alone, and for a minute he had forgotten that he was back to reality.

He reluctantly threw the covers off, immediately missing the warmth, but it wasn’t quite as warm as it had been the day before. The walk to the kitchen was dark and lonely, Jay squinting as he flipped on the lights as he went. When he reached his small kitchen he sighed, trying not to think about the empty coffee pot. Yesterday it would have been full. He filled the filter and turned it on before turning and heading back to his bedroom. 

He pushed the bathroom door open, ignoring his depressed look in the mirror. He turned on the water in his single stall shower, not taking notice of the lack of products on the rack. Jay ran a hand through his tousled hair, he needed to get himself together.

After the safehouse was broken into, he and Hailey were moved to a new one. They insisted Jay be put in protective custody as well, since he was now a (potential/connected) victim of the hit list. He insisted they be placed together and Hailey didn’t object, the lead detective on their case obliged and soon they were sitting together on a different uncomfortable couch. 

The entire experience was surreal to say the least, it felt like living in an alternate reality. They fell into a routine almost. There was an unspoken agreement between the two of them: they would sleep in the same bed, wake up in each other’s arms, Hailey would make coffee, Jay would make breakfast and neither of them said a word. Why would they? It was easy, it felt natural and it was perfect. 

So, for a week the two of them played house while their team worked on taking down the brotherhood, and most importantly the post that put a bounty on his partner’s head. The day before they had finally caught a break in the case, finding the chain that led to the Kingpin and the owner of the chat. After a long interrogation, they had enough to charge and enough to solve multiple other cold cases in the area, and the post was taken down. 

Once their lives were no longer in danger, Jay and Hailey were released from protective custody and sent home to their own separate houses. Jay drove her back to the bar where it all started, her car was still there. They bid goodbye in the parking lot, Hailey giving him a kind smile before climbing in her car. It felt so wrong after a week of living the way they were. 

The cold water pulled him out of his trance, Jay shivered, shutting it off and reaching for his towel. Soon he was all ready for work, grabbing his keys and high tailing it out of his lonely apartment. He cursed himself for getting so attached, for getting used to their new dynamic. Because nothing had changed, it wasn’t real and now, it was over.

... 

Hailey was already awake when her alarm went off. She was sitting on her couch, a freshly brewed cup of coffee in her hand. She hadn’t slept well the night before. Her insomnia set in at around 3:00 that morning, and she had come to terms with the fact that a good amount of rest was a lost cause. 

She hit the button glowing on the screen, tossing her phone on the coffee table in front of her. For a second she waited for the familiar sound of shuffling feet, but then remembered her lack of sleep. She slept alone last night, or more like didn’t. Before the past week, it had been a long time since she woke up tangled with someone else, but she had no doubt that her return to a normal sleep schedule was a product of just that. 

Hailey stood, padding into her kitchen to get another cup of coffee…

“You good?” Jay asked from his perch on a barstool. If Hailey had a dime for everytime he had asked her that in the past few days, they’d be hiding out on a yacht. 

Hailey nodded, picking up the coffee pot and refilling her mug. “Yeah, why?” She asked, turning around to lean against the counter opposite of him. 

Jay grinned, gesturing to the cup in her hand. “That’s your third cup this morning.” 

“You keeping tabs on my coffee intake?” Hailey teased, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Jay stood, laughing. He made his way to the sink beside her, dropping it in. “Maybe. You don’t need it stunting your growth.”

Hailey’s jaw dropped, a laugh bellowing out of her. She slapped his bicep (taking note of how much her hand stung afterward: damn) as he lept away, he knew what was coming. “You better sleep with one eye open tonight.” Jay held up his hands in surrender, backing away slowly. “I’m serious.”

She leaned against the counter, smiling to herself. That was how the whole week had gone, jokes, banter and lots of cuddling. If there was a line before, it was now so blurred that it might be broken. They were inseparable, you would think that being stuck in a house with someone for a week would make you want to kill each other, but not them. The only time either of them were truly alone was when they were in the bathroom. And even then, the amount of times one of them snuck in to get something while the other one was showering was unreal. 

Hailey cautiously approached the bathroom door, grimacing to herself as she knocked. “Jay.” She called, hand on the handle.

“Yeah.” He shouted over the running water, it was much louder than it needed to be and Hailey chuckled to herself. 

“Can I come in? I need my meds, I left them on the counter.” She asked.

“Sure.” He said. Hailey felt flushed as she pushed the door open, steam filling the bedroom. It clicked behind her and even though there was a curtain covering him, Hailey avoided looking towards the shower at all. She made it to the vanity, rummaging through her toiletry bag and ignoring how red her face was in the mirror. 

There was a thud, the noise of lots of water hitting the shower floor. Hailey’s mind wandered to what could’ve made the noise, the image of him running his hands through his wet hair as water cascaded around him gracing her mind. Hailey wasn’t paying attention, causing her to knock her bag as well as his shaving cream to the floor. “Shit.” She muttered.

“Hailey.” He said, “You good?” He asked, she looked up from her crouching position on the floor to see him poking his head and one shoulder out. She froze, her eyes trained on the droplets of water sitting where freckles normally were.

“Yeah.” She said, jumping up clutching his shaving cream. “Uh, this fell.” 

Jay eyed her funny, “Okay.” Hailey didn’t move. “I’ll be out in a minute.” 

Hailey nodded, “See you then.” She turned and grabbed her medicine, booking it out of there.

She splashed some cold water on her face after brushing her teeth, she needed to snap out of it. Of course, the whole situation was disorienting. She had admitted a long time ago that she had feelings for her partner, or at least she admitted them to herself. And after the week they had, she thought maybe he felt the same way, but he never said anything. He said everything else, they talked so much, they both opened up so much, but he kept his mouth shut about that.

She even gave him a chance. It was a few days in and they were laying in bed. She was facing him, laying on her arm. There were several feet between them, but she could still feel the heat radiating off of him. 

Hailey watched Jay roll onto his back, running his hands over his face. “I’m sorry.” He groaned out, looking at her with a sad look. 

Hailey shifted, leaning on her elbow. “For what?”

Jay sighed, “Dumping all this on you. You didn’t sign up for me complaining about my ex for an hour.” They had both decided they were tired, even if it was only 9:00, but once their heads hit the pillow all they could do was laugh, and they were both wide awake. Teasing had turned to talking, which led to Hailey attentively listening to Jay finally open up about his relationship with Erin. 

She reached out, placing her hand over his as it rested on his stomach. Jay watched her cautiously, noticing as she moved closer to him. “Jay.” She said, “I am here for you. If you ever want to talk, I will always want to listen.” 

He smiled at her, “I know.” He squeezed her hand. “Me too.” 

Hailey rolled onto her back beside him, only turning her head to face them. “I didn’t know any of that.” She confessed, “About Lindsay, I mean. I knew you guys had broken up, but no one ever mentions it.” 

Jay nodded, “Yeah. It’s kind of one of those things we all ignore. It’s been so long.” He turned his head to face her. “You know, nothing good ever comes out of a workplace relationship.” 

Hailey faked a smile, turning away. A week ago she would have agreed with him, she would have just let it go. But laying next to him, feeling what she felt, she couldn’t. “Not always.” She said. “Maybe, if two people are just...right for each other, it doesn’t matter the circumstances.” She took a risk and looked over at him, surprised to find his gaze on her, a small smile on his lips.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Hailey shrugged on her jacket, grabbing her keys off the hook by the door. She gathered her things and headed out the door, and she felt like she was going back in time.

…

Hailey pulled into the parking lot, spotting Jay’s truck immediately (not that she was looking for it). It was odd that he ever beat her there, he must have been having a good morning. She headed inside, hoping to brush past their jem of a desk sergeant. “Hey blondie.” Mission failed.

“Hey serge.” Hailey said, stopping at the base of the stairs. She gave her a pointed look. 

Trudy shrugged, “Oh nothing. Just glad to see you survived a week trapped with chuckles.” She said, smirking. 

Hailey shook her head, before heading up the stairs. “Barely.” She said over her shoulder, which was bullshit, but Trudy didn’t know that. She buzzed herself up, climbing the stairs quickly. It felt good to be back, being off duty was never fun. Her eyes met Jay’s immediately and he gave her a bright smile that she quickly returned. 

“Good to see you Hailey.” Kim said, interrupting their wordless conversation. 

Hailey nodded, “You too, I’m glad to be back.” Kevin looked up from his desk, reaching out and fist bumping her she walked by, while Adam gave her a short wave from the breakroom. “Hey.” she said quietly as she reached her desk, taking a seat in front of her partner.

“Hey.” Jay said, lifting a cup of coffee over their monitors. “Here.” 

Nothing has changed.

Hailey smiled, taking the cup graciously. “Just so you know, this is only my fourth cup today.” 

“Hailey.” Jay said, shaking his head. “You have a problem.”

Hailey laughed, holding a finger to her lips and making a “shhh” sound. A second later, Voight exited his office. “Upton,” He said, “Glad to have you back.” 

“Glad to be back.” She said, settling in her seat. 

Jay watched her, back in her natural habitat. It was strange watching her walk in, it seemed to always be him that was the last one up, but he couldn’t complain. He loved watching her blonde ponytail swing as she walked, he loved watching how naturally she floated through the room. 

They spent the next ten minutes being caught up on the current take home case, this one being a series of drug overdoses. Jay had a CI he thought was connected and had gotten the go ahead from Voight to chase the lead. He was about to tell Hailey, but Adam beat him to it. 

“Hey Hailey.” He called across the room, approaching their desks. 

Hailey looked up, “Yeah.” 

“You remember that warehouse we searched once? Found the kilo of heroin? You called dispatch, do you remember the address?” He asked. 

Hailey nodded. “Yeah.” Adam started again, but Hailey held up a finger and grabbed a sticky note from the corner of her desk. She stood slightly, reaching over Jay’s monitor and grabbing a pen out of his holder. She scribbled down the address and handed it to him. “Go check it out with Kev.” She said. 

Jay smirked, watching Adam thank you and then retreat to his own desk. 

Nothing has changed.

“Wanna go meet a CI with me?” He asked, standing. 

Hailey jumped up immediately, “Of course.” 

…

It was a long day, they chased lead after lead that basically went nowhere. Finally, Voight decided they weren’t getting anywhere and sent everyone home. Hailey collapsed on her couch at almost eleven, debating just sleeping there. She was exhausted. 

The day had been emotionally draining as well, she spent the whole day convincing herself that her and Jay were fine, and while they most definitely were, there was a little voice in the back of her head that was telling her she had ruined everything. She had never felt more insecure in her life. 

Maybe hearing about Erin was part of it. Within’ Intelligence, the only time she was spoken of was when they were all reliving their greatest hits. Like the time they pulled off a drug bust and destroyed an OT pickup or the time she saved Jay from a heavy hitter with only a polypropylene switchblade, she was a total badass. That wasn’t a secret, and Hailey had never felt like she had to live up to her memory. 

But now she knew a different side of her, she knew how deeply Jay had loved her and how much it had destroyed him. How could she ever expect him to put himself on the line like that again, for his partner none-the-less. 

The doorbell rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She smiled as she pushed herself off the couch, there was only one person who would show up this late unannounced. She pulled the door open, immediately meeting his bright green eyes. He held up a pizza box, “I figured you hadn’t eaten.” 

“My hero.” She said, stepping back to let him in. 

Jay laughed, heading straight for the living room. Hailey stopped in the kitchen to grab plates and beers. She made it in time to watch him fall back onto the couch. He sighed dramatically, “I’ve missed you.” He said, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. 

Hailey chuckled, settling in next to him. “Feels good to be home, doesn’t it?” She asked.

Jay flattened his cheek against the couch to look at her. “Yeah.” He wanted to say no, that it felt good to be there, because home was wherever she was, but he kept his mouth shut. He had thought back to their conversation a few nights before many times, he read between all the lines, replayed the words over and over again. And he was almost convinced she was talking about them, but here they were several days later and nothing had changed. 

Had it though? He caught himself today, smiling a little bigger, laughing a little louder, he felt lighter. Like he was riding a high, a Hailey high and he couldn’t complain. 

Hailey stood, grabbing her already empty beer bottle. “You want another?” She asked, heading towards the kitchen. 

“No.” Jay said, “thanks though.” He took a beat. “Actually,” He stood, following her into the other room. “I wanted to talk to you about something-'' He had barely gotten the words out and there was a loud pop, it sounded just like a gunshot.

Before she knew it, Hailey was on the ground on her back, Jay laying on top of her. “This feels familiar.” She said, trying to lighten the mood. Jay looked up at her, fear showing clearly in his eyes. Hailey immediately softened, reaching out on instinct to cup his face. “Jay, it was just a car backfiring.” 

She watched it click, his face contorting from fear to pure panic. Jay scrambled off her, “Sorry, habit.” He said shyly. He wanted to eat his own foot, he had just tackled her to the ground for no reason and she was being so understanding, it felt like his heart was being out of his chest. 

“It’s fine, really.” Hailey said, genuinely. “As far as bad habits go, instinctively saving people’s lives isn’t a terrible one.” 

Jay smirked, “We already established that I’m a superhero.” 

Hailey grimaced, “I was hoping I dreamt that.” 

Jay shook his head, “Nope, it happened.” He stood, holding out a hand for her. “Talk about an ego boost.” 

Hailey took his hand, “Happy to help.” When she was fully standing up, she couldn’t help but notice how close she was to him. She peered up at him, finding that he was already watching her, he squeezed her hand gently, showing he had no intention of letting it go. “What did you want to talk about?” She asked, trying to keep her cool.

Jay’s confident facade cracked and crumbled in front of her. “Uh, nothing. It wasn’t important.” He said, dropping her hand and taking a step backward. 

Hailey groaned internally, she was so sick of this. They always came so close and then one of them would get scared, she couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m right.” She said softly. “I know I am, if two people are right for each other-” She took a breath, no more games, no more riddles. “If two people are as good together as we are, then nothing else matters.” 

Jay looked at her in shock, she was saying everything he was waiting to hear and part of him was mad at himself making her say it first. “We’re really good together.” She sighed out.

“Yeah.” Hailey said, Jay closed the gap between them, capturing her lips with his. Hailey reacted by grabbing his neck and pulling him closer. Jay’s arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her onto the counter. Hailey wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. 

Jay eventually pulled away, breathless. “Look, you're finally as tall as me.” He said. Hailey rolled her eyes, pushing on his chest, but Jay grabbed her waist, holding her firmly against him. He leaned again, this time kissing her so slow that it was almost painful. 

Hailey bit her lip, “I wish I would have said something a week ago, being trapped in a house together would have been much more interesting.” 

“Yeah.” Jay said, smirking. “You would have been gawking at me from inside the shower instead of outside of it.” 

Hailey blushed, looking down at their intertwined hands. “You’re terrible.” 

“You love it.” He said casually. Hailey’s head snapped up, waiting for him to apologize or back away, she was ready for such a strong word (no matter how much she felt it) to screw this up before it started. Jay caught on, cupping her cheek gently. “Not as much as I love you.” 

Hailey swore she stopped breathing. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

Hailey wasted no time smashing her lips to his, letting her fingers get tangled in his hair. She drug her lips from his to his ear. “I love you too.” Jay grinned against her cheek, pulling her back to his lips. “You wanna try tackling me to the floor again?” She asked, smirking.

“Yes.” He said immediately, pulling her off the counter. Hailey laughed as he lowered them, looks like she wasn’t waking up alone tomorrow and she couldn’t be happier. 

…

A/N: You ask and you shall receive! This one kinda got away from me to be honest, and I have no idea where it fits in the timeline (maybe post new york but pre season 8?), so there’s that. Thanks for reading! <3

#jay halstead #hailey upton #upstead #upstead imagines #chicago pd #one chicago #chicago pd imagines

[jem-is-my-greatest-sin-herondale]

Discord server link for rp members: Link

All members must have #tschroniclesrp in their blog description where it's visible.

Contact @jem-is-my-greatest-sin-herondale or @gabriel-not-a-lightworm about the rp.

TID:

Charlotte: @the-angel-grant-me-patience

Henry: @my-wife-is-the-consul-branwell

Gabriel: @gabriel-not-a-lightworm

Cecily: @cariadwormkiller

Gideon: @gideon-wood-light-some-scones

Jessamine: @jessamine-loves-lace

Tessa: @tessa-gray-carstairs

Jem: @jem-sillymelon-carstairs

Will: @jem-is-my-greatest-sin-herondale

TLH:

James: @james-notjamie-herondale

Cordelia: @cordelia-car-on-the-stairs

Lucie: @lulu-the-writer-herondale

Jesse: @jesse-son-of-thorns

Matthew: @matthew-wildchild

Ariadne: @ariadne-stocking-on-bridge

Thomas: @thomas-tree-lightwood

Christopher: @my-name-is-kit

Alastair: @alastair-car-spears

TMI:

Clary: @clary-fray-not-evil

Jace: @jace-the-plant-boi-herondale

Isabelle: @lightwoodqueenisabelle

Simon: @simon-solo-lewis

Ragnor: @sweet-peapod-of-love

Catarina: @catarina-loss-isaboss

Lily: @lily-immor-t-al-chen

Raphael: @raphael-leaf-me-alone-santiago

TDA:

Emma: @i-emmacarstairs

Julian: @blxckthornjules

Cristina: @cristina-lady-of-roses-rosales

Malcolm: @fade-malcolm

Diana: @dianawrayburns-arrow

Aline: @short-blunt-andinlove-with-helen

Helen: @hell-en-bisexual-blackthorn

Mark: @mark-son-of-thorns

Dru: @drusilla-scream-queen-blackthorn

Kit: @ultimateherondale

Livvy: @livia-not-dead-blackthorn

#tsc rp #rp #tschroniclesrp #rp list

[lovegiveortakefivethousandyears]

Survivor (9-1-1 fic)

Part of my Alice Verse (link).  This is the alternate version for Protector 

In the wake of the lawsuit, Buck felt like a outsider at the 118. After the unexpected arrival of his daughter (and the sudden loss of an ex girlfriend), Buck makes the decision to have a fresh start. Returning for his sisters wedding five years later, is there any chance for a new start between old friends?

Can be read here or below

--

“ ...Mr Buckley, do you understand?”

Buck moved out from his thoughts, the voice of the doctor finally forcing him to acknowledge her. She sent a look of concern in his direction, and he gave a small nod. It was a tiny hint that he recognised the seriousness of the conversation they had just been apart off. His eyes moved to the new arrival which had just changed his entire world.

Ali.

He hadn’t heard from her since they had broken up. She had told him that they couldn’t work, if he chose to return to firefighting. He had chosen his career - his passion. She had chosen freedom, removing herself from his life. As he looked towards the precious addition they had created together, he couldn’t believe that she hadn’t reached out at any point over the past nine months. He would have stepped up, ensured that she wasn’t alone.

Life had changed in the blink of an eye.

He had received a call from a nurse the moment his shift had ended, asking him to attend the nearby hospital, as his ex-girlfriend had been involved in a car accident. He had arrived, to find out that she had sadly passed away after delivering a child. A daughter - their daughter, who was tiny, precious and everything good about the cold, unforgiving world. Everything he had endured over the last few months was suddenly placed at the back of his mind. The cold shoulder that he had been given by his friend - family - and the exile he had been placed within was no longer important.

Everything was different.

She was precious.

Tiny, with blotchy pale skin and tufts of dark hair. The perfect combination of her parents, as she slept unaware that her life had been disrupted the moment she entered the world. Buck reached out, gently stroking one of her hands. He silently vowed to protect her, making a promise to both his daughter and her late mother that she would be given the best life possible. He didn’t even have a name for her, as he wondered if Ali had picked anything out.

He wasn’t able to contact anyone. He was barely on speaking terms with the team as it was, only recently fully allowed back on calls with them. He didn’t want to burden his sister, who was not aware of the full extent of exile which had befallen her younger brother. For a month, he had been considering accepting an offer of a transfer that only the chief knew he had received.

He had never taken the offer seriously. He had vowed to remain, to work through the pain, to try and reach his family once more. Yet, as he looked at his daughter, he knew that he needed to focus on her upbringing. He couldn’t be selfish, he had to fully grow up, stop being exhausting.

As Buck sunk into the seat next to the sleeping newborn, he started to drift asleep by the lull of the machines. He was unaware that his self-consciousness was already making a decision for him. One that would change his life, but ensure that his daughter was given her best start possible.

—

Buck awoke with a jolt. For a moment, he was confused about his surroundings. He could hear a beeping noise that did not resemble his usual alarm. A nightmare had gripped his dream. A familiar one since the tsunami, which usually ended with Christopher never being located. His sleep had been broken for months, starting with the ladder truck crushing him. He wondered if it would get better, as he reached out and tried to remove a knot that had formed on his back.

Getting his bearings, movement caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Buck smiled as his newborn daughter wriggled in her sleep. He leant against the crib protectively, his heart full to the brim of his adoration for the small being in front of him. The nursing staff were wonderful, and spent the morning helping the both of them.

“I am truly sorry for your loss.” Jem, one of his daughter's main nurses, had told him as she held teach him to feed her for the first time. She shared stories about her own children's births, and offered him guidance when she knew he needed it. Buck barely spent any time away from the newborns side, other then calling the chief to ask for some time away from the station.

He wondered if Ali had a nursery set up. He wondered if she had ever planned on telling him that he was going to be a father. Had she truly believed that he would be that much of a screw up? Or had he been that unapproachable? It was too late to question, she was unable to provide him with the answers that he desperately sought.

As time trickled by, Buck was left with one of the hardest decisions that he would ever have to make.

“Your Aunt Maddie used to read me her books, you know.” He said quietly, as he held his daughter close to his chest. “I used to pretend to hate them, and would tell her that I was old enough to read for myself. Secretly? I enjoyed the attention that she gave me. Your grandparents, well, let’s just say I was a surprise.” She made a small noise in her sleep, and Buck suppressed a chuckle. “Maddie loved the classics. Still does, actually.”

He tested a few names out mentally. Eventually, there was only one choice. A book that his sister had read him numerous times, which he had fallen in love with. About a young girl who would travel to a mysterious lane, where not everything was as it seemed.

“Your Aunt Maddie always loved the idea of running to wonderland. She used to tell me we would go together, leave our parents behind.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “So, how about Alice?”

The newborn - who had woken just as he said the name - kicked out her legs. Buck took this as a sign of her approval.

“Welcome to the world, Alice Buckley.” He said, testing out her name, and knowing that it felt right.

--

He didn’t want to leave the hospital, but knew that he had no choice.

Alice was healthy, able to be taken to her new home. The problem was Buck had no idea where the home would be. The apartment was only big enough for him. The stairs would be difficult for a newborn, there would be no space for her to eventually have a space of her very own. He knew that Ali would want their daughter to have somewhere secure, and that had caused him to think a lot of their future.

He felt guilty about bypassing Bobby and going straight to the chief for time away. In truth, Buck wanted to show everything that he could deal with a non-work related crisis alone and without causing his team any stress. Sitting by Alice’s hospital crib over the past couple of days had caused Buck to think, to make a decision that would change his life.

It had been months since the lawsuit, and his team had not forgiven him. Eddie had barely spoken a few words in his direction, and being separated from Christopher caused so much pain. The man he had once seen as a father figure only spoke to provide him with instructions. He had not been invited to a “family dinner” for a long while, making his own excuses when Maddie asked him why. He didn’t want Alice to feel unwanted, to sense that her father was stuck in a state of near depression.

He had spoken to only one person about this. A friend who he had made during his LAFD training, who had eventually transferred to Seattle two years before. He had told Buck about a position that was open on his team, his captain had even reached out, wishing to poach the firefighter who had been awarded with a commendation for his efforts saving members of the public during the tsunami.

Buck had initially declined, wanting to try and get back those he considered his family.

Now?

Alice was his new beginning, his future.

Maybe a fresh start was what they both needed.

#9-1-1 #911 fic #9-1-1 fic #evan buckley #parent evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #ao3 #chapter one #dad!buck is the best

[high-warlock-of-brooklyn]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE BROTHER ZACHARIAH, AKA BROTHER SIX-PACK-ARIAH, AKA BROTHER LIP-SMACK-ARIAH, AKA BROTHER HOP-IN-THE-SACK-ARIAH, AKA MR PEANUT-BUTTER-AND-JEM CARSTAIRS, MR JEMNASIUM, AKA MR COME-AND-STARE, AKA MR CAR-ON-THE-STAIRS, THE MAN OWNING OUR WHOLE ASS HEARTS, THE KINDEST, SWEETEST, MOST AMAZING MR JAMES CARSTAIRS, MR KE JIAN MING!!!!!

I'm sure Tessa, Kit, Mina and Ghost!Will have planned a whole day of never-ending amazingness!!!

#james carstairs #brother zachariah #the shadowhunter chronicles #tsc #the infernal devices #tid #ghosts of the shadow market #gotsm

[lulu-the-writer-herondale]

"I Am a Writer Therefore, I Am Not Sane".

What do you guys expect of me? Even Edgar Allan Poe knows it!.

@jesse-son-of-thorns

@james-notjamie-herondale

@cordelia-car-on-the-stairs

@my-name-is-kit

@thomas-tree-lightwood

@jem-is-my-greatest-sin-herondale

[softest-cinnamon-roll]

Okay. Since I have NO CHILL.... But what about a fic where reddie gets together in secret and hides their relationship. But they go away for a weekend after graduation and the losers are already suspicious, but it’s then confirmed when eddie&richie both post a selfie of them kissing in front of like. Idk a sunset or a cute background and is just like “surprise” (but is it really??)

(sorry for the wait Sara but here you go!)

* * * * *

Eddie stepped out of the classroom at the end of sixth period and he headed towards the exit where all the losers met up to walk home. It had become a sort of routine when Mike arrived at the school during Freshman Year. They had decided that since Mike was knew, and thanks to all the bullying, they would be safer in numbers and took turns walking Mike to the Farm to school and then from.

It was during one of these walks that Eddie and Richie merged into EddieandRichie. Since the group had decided to pair up when walking Mike to and from the farm and Ben and Bev had paired up, as well as Bill and Stan, that left Richie and Eddie. Not that the two were complaining, as even before that, they were gravitating towards each other.

Then one winter evening after they dropped Mike off and it was just starting to get dark outside, Richie had laced their fingers together on the path away from the farm. Eddie fought back a smile as his cheeks flushed, hidden by the darkness of the night. By the time they reached Eddie’s house, they were both smiling like idiots and Richie had brought Eddie’s hand to his lips, kissing it softly.

“G’night, Eds.”

Four months later and they were well into a relationship, even if it was being kept a secret from the other losers. Both Richie and Eddie had agreed, mutually, that they would keep their relationship to themselves and not draw any more attention to them or their friends. According to them, the last thing they needed was everyone staring at them for being gay and in love.

Eddie was just about to step outside when a pair of arms were wrapped around his waist and pulled him into the supply closet. The door was closed behind him and Richie’s lips were on Eddie’s kissing him deep and burying his hands into his hair. “Heya, Eds,” he breathed against his lips.

“Rich, what are you doing?” Eddie asked, pulling away just a little. “The others, they’re waiting for us...we don’t want them to catch us.”

Richie shrugged, keeping his arm around Eddie’s waist, “Wanted to see you before,” he mumbled. “I miss you, I miss not being able to see you and kiss you whenever I want.” He ran his free hand through his hair, “Come away with me this weekend, please? My folks, you know that summer house they have just outside Boston? Come with me and we can...be us, together?”

Eddie paused, looking into Richie’s eyes, “Rich...my mom would never let me, you know that,” he whispered. “She barely lets me stay over at Bills on a Friday night. What makes you think she’ll let me disappear for the whole weekend? With you no less.” After the words left his lips, Eddie realised how awful it sounded. “Rich-”

“It’s fine,” Richie shook his head. “I have a plan just...you trust me right?” He asked. “I have a plan. Meet me at the barrens tonight at seven and you won’t have to worry about the rest of the weekend. Your mother won’t even know your gone.”

Of course, Eddie was wary, but he trusted Richie with his life and sure, it would be great to spend a weekend away with his boyfriend without being scared or hiding. “Okay, I’ll be at the barrens tonight, at seven,” he nodded his head. “We need to go now though, before someone comes looking and they find us.”

Although reluctant, Richie agreed and let Eddie leave the closet first, following behind him and swung an arm over his shoulder. It wasn’t out of the ordinary, as Richie was always touching Eddie in some way or the other. The others were all still waiting for them outside, and Bev raised her eyebrows at them, but didn’t say anything, simply moving into step with Ben as they all made their way towards Mike’s farm, something they did every Friday night as it meant spending more time together.

As soon as Eddie stepped into the house after they all parted ways, he moved into the kitchen to see a note from his mother. It was letting him know she had gone to her sisters for the weekend he was to be on his best behaviour in her absence and she would see him on Sunday evening. A smile broke onto Eddie’s face as he realised this was the reason he wouldn’t have a problem sneaking away with Richie for the weekend.

He rushed up the stairs and pulled out his mini-suitcase, packing some overnight clothes for the weekend before making his way out to the barrens where Richie was already waiting for him, his truck parked to the side and ready to go. Eddie didn’t hesitate in throwing his bag into the backseat and wrapping his arms around Richie’s neck in a hug. “How did you know my mother would be gone for the weekend?”

Richie grinned at him, leaning down to steal a quick kiss before pulling back. “My mom overheard her on the phone at the supermarket. She must have been talking to her sister or something. She gave me the heads up. Mags really is our relationship MVP.”

“Yeah, but that’s because she’s the only one who knows about us. You can’t say that Bev wouldn’t be high on the MVP scale if she knew,” Eddie grinned, stepping back and heading to the passenger side of Richie’s truck. Richie just laughed and followed him around, climbing into the driver’s seat and turning the keys in the ignition.

“I tried to convince dad to give me his car this weekend,” Richie mumbled as he pulled away from the barrens and onto the main road. “He said that no amount of begging would let him trust me with his car, so my truck it is, Eds.”

Eddie just rolled his eyes a little and got comfortable in the seat, “You cleaned the truck up for me, that’s the best I could have asked for to be honest.” They fell into a comfortable silence, the music playing from the stereo that was hooked up to Richie���s phone. “Is this my playlist?” Eddie asked after a few songs, all of which featured on Richie’s playlist that he named ‘Eds’.

He watched a flush appear on his boyfriend’s cheeks, but there was no answer, so Eddie picked up his phone from where it sat, logging in to Spotify. Sure enough, it was his ‘Eds’ playlist, and Eddie couldn’t help the smile that broke out onto his face. Richie squawked from his seat, “Don’t laugh at me!”

“I’m not laughing!” Eddie defended himself, shaking his head. “I’m impressed that you know me so well to have all my favourite songs on the one playlist.” He continued to flick through the songs that Richie had on his playlist as he had always known it existed, but only now was he getting the chance to actually see.

“You know, I think Bev knows about us,” Richie muttered about half way through the drive. Eddie looked over at him from where he was lost in thought, looking at the scenery outside the window. “I told her I couldn’t hang out on Sunday with her…because of course I’ll be with you and she just gave me this look…as though she knew that I’d be with you.”

Eddie frowned, tilting his head to the side, “Well, it’s almost graduation and we’ll all be leaving for college soon. They are going to find out sooner or later because I have no plans on ending this with you.” He let out a sigh. “I think we should tell them, when we get back. Get all the losers together and just…come clean. Aren’t you tired of hiding from them?”

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Richie nodded his head and made a turn in, pulling up to a service stop that was by a lake reservoir. The sight was one to behold, as the sun was just beginning to set, casting a warm orange glow over the water. “Why wait until Sunday?” Richie asked and grabbed his phone. Eddie watching him get out of the car and head over to the edge of the lake.

“What do you mean?” Eddie asked as he got out of the car, following him until they were standing side by side. “We’re not going back, Rich. I want to spend this weekend with you.”

Richie nodded, “And we are, I’m not saying we go back. I’m saying we take a really cheesy picture of us kissing in front of the sunset and send it to them in the group chat.” His eyebrows waggled as he pulled up the camera and Eddie relented, nodding his head. Richie grinned and held the phone away from him as he leaned down, catching Eddie’s lips in a kiss as he snapped the picture.

Eddie had to say, he was rather impressed at the turnout of the picture and allowed Richie to send it to all the losers in the chat. Barely five seconds later, both of their phones were blowing up with messages in response.

Bev: I KNEW IT. I FUCKING KNEW IT

Billy: Gross guys, right in front of my salad, really?

Haystack: I’m so happy for you!

Mikey: Congratulations guys!

Stan the Man: You all owe me 5 bucks.

Stan the Man: Congrats.

Both of them just laughed and turned their phones off. They would deal with their friends on Sunday when they got back to Derry. Right now though, they just slipped back into Richie’s truck and continued to the holiday home, happy and in love.

* * * * *

@richietoaster @tozier-boy @eds-trashmouth @bitchbrak @sloppybitchreddie @its-stranger-than-you-think @maximusfraker @jem-carstairs-is-perfection @thejadeazalea @halfway-happy353 @tinyarmedtrex @inthebreadbinwrites @kat-ships-everything @takeourpure @lo-v-ers @that-weird-girls-blog @studpuffin @s-s-georgie @reddie-for-anything @trashmouthtozierr @richietoizer @girasol-eddie @bi-bi-richie @honeybeehanlon @mars-14 @reddiesetandgo @marsisaplanetyall @xandertheundead @sedanleystanley @hawkinsbabe @beepbeeprichiellc @stellarbisexual @oldguybones @stanleuyris @eduardoandale  @purplepoisonedgem @reddie-to-cryy @pink-psychic @violetreddie @toziesque @queen-sock @appojoos @moonlightrichie @rreddies @disneyfan567 @annxmatron @lifesucksheres20bucks @anellope @roobarrtrashmouth @are-you-reddie-for-it @callmechee @nancynwheeler @reddieforlove @twoidiotsinl0ve @madi-artist @tozierking @s-onora @atownofeggs  @wilding-throught-thehallways @no-she-wasnt-reddie @dadbodrichie @thorn-harvester-ven @eddiekasbpark @sparklingrainbowdragon @ransonelovebot @gloire-celeste @derrylosers @3tothe1 @virgo-luthie @sashadrowned @spirited-marvel @losers-gotta-stick-together @rebecca-the-queen @ultrapaninibred

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #writing tag

[akaashishotthighs]

Modern TID - Part 16

Part 15 - Part 17

They ended up going to her apartment anyway to pick up some things she needed. It was a quick visit. She packed her stuff in a suitcase, made sure everything in the flat was up to code, checked to see if any food would go rotten during the week, and off they went back to the Institute.

When they got back, Will had arranged a surprise for her. While they were at her place, he had asked Jem to vacate a couple of Will’s drawers, so that Tessa could pack her things there.

“And, if you want, you can keep some of them here. In case you come to stay over again.” He scratched the back of his neck and looked down to hide the blush that was creeping into his cheeks.

She had pushed his gaze up with her hand on his chin and kissed him softly. “I love it.”

He had smiled then, a toothy smile. “Great! It’s great that you love it.” He put his arms around her. “I want you to feel at home here.”

Home is wherever you are, she wanted to say. Then she shook the thought out of her head. Way too soon, Tessa. You’re going to scare him away.

She didn’t have time to say anything at all, for a loud, incessant and robust knock came at the door. Without being let in, Jessamine stalked into the room, in casual clothing. Or, at least, the most casual Tessa imagined Jessamine was capable of wearing. Her blonde hair was trapped in a loose braid across her shoulder. Her crop sweater was black and showed off a part of her tanned and toned abdomen. She wore a high waisted jean skirt fraying at the bottom. Her feet were in white strappy heels.

Tessa was confused. She knew this was some sort of fashion trend, but she was bewildered. Was she cold on the top, but hot on the bottom? Tessa didn’t understand. This was why she stuck to simple clothing.

“Are you ready or not?” Jessamine’s high pitch voice pulled her out of her fashion assessment.

“Ready for…?” Will asked the question before she could get it out.

Jessamine sighed and rolled her eyes. Tessa silently imagined throwing her in the river. “To go shopping? You promised.” She crossed her arms.

Will nodded. “Right.” He put a hand on the low of Tessa’s back. “Why don’t you go down to the car, while I go get Jem. We’ll be down in no time.”

“You better. I have a large number of stores I want to hit, which means we are on a rigorous schedule. So chop chop!” She clapped her hands and left with a whip of her blonde braid.

Tessa waited until she was out of listening range. “Please don’t leave me alone with her.”

Will chuckled. “Five minutes.” He took her face in his hands and gave her a quick peck. “If I take any longer, I promise I will make it up to you.”

“How?” She tilted her head.

He brushed her hair away from the most exposed part of her neck. He kissed her lips softly and then carried down with a trail of soft kisses all the way to her collarbone. Her head fell back, and her hands gripped his forearms. He bit down just as softly as he had kissed, pulling a gasp out of her. His lips left her collarbone to rest just under her ear. “Just like that.” He pulled away, grinning down at her, his eyes darkened to the colour of sapphires.

She took a deep breath and left the room while trying to calm her beating heart down. She was still thinking of Will’s hands on her body, his lips on her skin, the feeling of all of him against her, and the blue of his eyes as she sat in the back of the car next to Jessamine. The blonde had her eyes glued to her phone, as she typed faster than Tessa considered possible.

She leaned back on the seat and stared out of the window. She could see Cyril at a distance, carrying what seemed like cleaning supplies for the car. But she and Jessamine were on the vehicle. Was he going to wash the car with them inside? She saw as he pulled open the garage door, revealing at least three more cars. Tessa’s eyes widened.

“You didn’t think this was our only car, did you?” Tessa gaze slipped to Jessamine. She had turned her whole body in her direction, and her phone lay face down on the seat between them. How long has she been watching me, Tessa wondered.

“It was pretty naive of me to think so.” She admitted. She couldn’t look away. Jessamine’s light brown eyes were focused intently on her. She seemed to be trying to read Tessa’s thoughts and succeeding.

At last, one corner of her lips lifted in a malicious grin. “I did some research on you.” A chill went through her spine. “Theresa Gray. Daughter of Richard Gray and Elizabeth Gray. Niece of Harriet Moore. Sister of Nathaniel Gray. An alumna of some prestigious private school in New York.” Her manicured hand dropped down, her nails grazing the pastel pink case that covered her phone. “And that’s when the story got interesting. I did some further research. I found some fun little facts.”

There was white noise ringing in Tessa’s ears. Her hands felt shaky and clammy. Jessamine leaned in, and Tessa took a sharp intake of breath. Jessamine lowered her voice to barely a whisper. “I know your secret.” Her stomach dropped.

~/~

“What did she think of the surprise?” 

Jem was pulling a sweater vest atop his short-sleeved shirt. Will wrinkled his nose to keep himself from laughing. “Are you ever going to stop dressing like an eighty-year-old trapped in a nineteen-year-old body?”

“You’re just jealous that you can’t pull this off.” He shoved his phone and wallet in his pockets. “Answer the question.”

Will told him the events of the bedroom as they descended the stairs. From Tessa’s reaction to Jessamine interrupting, to their little rendezvous before Tessa left. When he finished, Jem was shaking his head. “Are the two of you capable of going two seconds without feeling each other up?”

Will smirked. “Now who’s jealous?”

Jem rolled his eyes. “I am burning with the rage of the green monster.” Will chuckled. They were out of the house and approaching the car. He could see Tessa and Jessamine talking. “Seriously, Will, how are you doing? Still desperate to profess your undying love for her?”

Will scratched the back of his neck. “It’s harder than I thought.” They reached the car, ending any further conversation on this topic.

It really was hard. Every time Will looked at her, that he heard her voice, that he had even the most momentary thought of her, all Will wanted to do was scream that he loved her at the top of his lungs. She was in his dreams, her smiles as soft as her words, but always too far to reach. No matter how much he walked, how much he stretched his hands, Tessa was still just a bit too distant, her grey eyes always shinning. And he said it, he screamed it, and all she did was grin. She never said it back. During the day, his head rung with her name. It was like a song stuck in his mind. Tess, Tess, Tessa. She couldn’t have been named something awful, could she, like Mildred. He could not imagine himself singing “Mildred” all day in his head.

He sat on the driver seat and looked back at her. She smiled back at him, but it was strained. Had Jessamine said something? What was he thinking, of course she had, it was Jessamine. He was used to Jessamine’s cruel remarks, but Tessa wasn’t. He hoped it wouldn’t hammer around her head for long.

The drive had been quiet, Taylor Swift’s voice through the speakers. Jessamine was too focused on her phone to question why the radio had played not one, not two, not three, but more songs of Miss Americana. Tessa was looking through the window, too distracted to notice. Jem didn’t say anything, but Will did see him throwing him a sly grin as the second song started playing. Jem was the only one that knew that Will had a strong liking to her songs, and he always teased him for it.

They really spoke to his heart. What is a guy to do?

At last, they arrived at the shopping centre, and Will was quick to shut the playlist off. They had barely set foot outside the parking lot, and Jessamine was already commanding them to every shop they set eye on. Will got bored quickly, and Jem was right behind him. By the look on Tessa’s face, this was clearly not a favourite activity of hers either. Through the several shop’s Jessamine had hauled them to, Tessa hadn’t bought a single item. Jessamine, however, had filled both Will’s and Jem’s hands of multi-coloured bags.

They somehow convinced Jessamine that they needed a break to have lunch. She huffed and whined, but gave in. They hadn’t even finished eating, and she was already demanding to continue.

“Can we at least go down to the car to put these in?” Jem pointed at all the bags. “You two can go on without us, and we’ll join you after we’re done.”

Jessamine sighed. “Fine.” She gave them the name of the store and pulled Tessa behind her with such force that she almost ripped the poor girl’s arm off.

Will shook his head. “She’s going to kill me for leaving her alone with Jessamine. For the second time. In one day.”

Jem chuckled. “It was nice knowing you. What was it, seven years? Good while it lasted.”

Will laughed. “I always knew Jessamine would be my demise.”

~/~

After what felt like forever of holding Jessamine’s picks and separating them into two different piles as she had ordered, Tessa was starting to wonder if the other girl would notice if she made a run for it. At last, the blonde turned to her and smiled. “All done.”

Tessa sighed in relief. “Great. I think the queue to the check out is over there.”

“We’re not going to buy all of this.”

“We’re not?”

“Not yet, at least.” She shook her head, her braid whipping from side to side. “We need to try all of this on first.”

Tessa’s jaw almost dropped to the floor. She was going to try all of this on? They were never going to leave this shop. Tessa did a double-take. “Wait. Did you say ‘we’? You picked out clothes for me?”

Jessamine pointed at the pile in her left hand. “That’s my bag of clothes to try on.” She aimed to the one on her right side. “And that’s the bag of clothes for you to try on.”

Tessa’s breath faltered. This store was severely overpriced. She could barely afford socks here, much less the clothes that Jessamine had picked. She looked down at the bag. Tessa saw some of the clothes that Jessamine had chosen that Tessa had thought were really pretty; like a turquoise blouse incredibly soft to the touch, a pair of physique flattering jeans, and the dress that Tessa had fallen in love with the moment her eyes set sight on it. She looked back up at Jessamine. There was nothing wrong with trying on the clothes, right? It’s not like she was committing herself to buy anything.

She followed Jessamine into the dressing rooms at the back. These were considerably bigger than the stores that Tessa was used to. Jessamine insisted on sharing so that they could immediately see what the other looked like in a particular piece.

Every time she had to put aside a piece she loved and that not only fit but looked amazing on her, it hurt. Reading the price tags was like a little needle piercing her heart. It didn’t help that Jessamine’s pile of clothes to buy kept getting bigger and bigger. Tessa ran out of clothes faster than Jessamine, probably because she didn’t fawn over herself for long minutes whenever she tried on anything, unlike the blonde. There was only one item missing — the dress.

Tessa stood admiring it for a while. She couldn’t help herself. She flipped over the price tag. The amount of money necessary for the dress could pay a month’s rent on her small apartment. She shook her head. It was pointless to try it on because she’d only fall more in love with it and she couldn’t handle having to let it go.

She felt Jessamine behind her. “Try it on. It’s gorgeous, and it would look terrific on you. Trust me, I have a gift for this stuff.”

Tessa took a deep breath. It’s just trying it on. It probably won’t look that great on you anyway. She pulled it off its hanger. She was putting it on as Jessamine mumbled something. Tessa ignored her. The fabric felt amazing on her. She had chills all over. She reached back to zip it up and noted there was no zipper. She looked at the back on the mirror. The back closed like an old-timey corset, meaning she needed help to tie it.

She turned to Jessamine’s corner and noted she was all alone in the dressing room. Crap, she thought. Almost immediately, she heard Aunt Harriet’s voice in her head complaining about her choice of words.

Pulling the heavy beige curtain back, she tried to see where Jessamine had gone. “Jessamine?” She whispered. She saw a familiar face near the entrance of the dressing rooms. “Jem!” He looked up, confused and looked around until his eyes locked with her. He tilted his head. She put a hand out and motioned him closer. He came over to her, pausing to smile at one of the uniformed ladies. Tessa rolled her eyes. When he reached her, she couldn’t help herself. “Why are you so polite to everyone?”

He shrugged. “Kindness is free and is never harmful.” He looked around and then back to her. “May I ask why I was summoned?”

She huffed. “Jessamine convinced me to try on a dress, a dress that needs help being tied, and then bolted.” She put on her best grin. “Could you tie it for me?”

He smirked. “Oh, now you want me to be helpful. Funny how the tables turn, uh?”

“Please?” Her lower lip jutted out. He chuckled and nodded.

She pulled back the curtain, and he entered the dressing room. He closed the curtain behind him as she turned her back to him. “It’s like one of those old corsets.”

“Could you pull your hair up? It’s in the way.” She took her hair into her hands and balled it around her fist. She felt his fingers on her back, pulling strings and tying them together. He was a little taller than her and had bent his head to see better. Every time he exhaled, it hit her skin, causing little goosebumps along her arms.

He cleared his throat. “Is that a necklace clasp?” One of her hands flew down to the chain around her neck. “I didn’t notice you were wearing a necklace.”

“I wear it under my clothes.” Her lungs contracted. This was something very personal to her. Yet, somehow, for some reason, she felt alright with sharing this with Jem. She trusted him.

“You wear it often?”

“Everyday.” She pulled its pendant from the dress and turned to him to show it.

“May I?” He put his hand out, and she dropped it, letting him hold it. He inspected it, running his hands along with its details. “A clockwork angel.”

“It was my mother’s. When she died, my brother gave it to me and told me to keep it.” It’s what she would’ve wanted, he had said. “I hardly ever take it off. I wear it under my clothes because its something valuable, and my Aunt always told me it wouldn’t be safe to walk around with it on display.” She inhaled sharply. “But also because… it’s stupid.” She looked down at the floor.

She felt his fingers under her chin, making her look back into his eyes. “Tell me.”

She sighed. “It makes me feel closer to my mother. I never truly knew her. She died when I was five. I have small flashes of memories, but nothing substantial. This necklace is my only connection to my mother. Wearing it as close to my heart as possible makes me feel more connected to her. As if this necklace brings us closer together.” She said it all in one breath, afraid that she’d chicken out. She took a deep breath when she was done, her cheeks heating up quickly.

Jem smiled back at her. “I understand.” He gently dropped the angel. He reached into his shirt and pulled a chain out. Tessa’s eyes widened. At the end was a pendant, a jade pendant, a small Chinese character etched into a small golden circle at the centre. “I understand.” He said again, the words carrying a deeper tone this time.

Her hands itched to reach for it. She didn’t have to say a word. Jem took her hand and placed the pendant in it. She brushed her fingertips all over the surface, the warmth of the stone, giving her a small tingle. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s not the original. My mother’s pendant is currently in a box back at the Institute. My father gave it to her as a wedding gift. She passed it down to me and told me that I should gift it to my future wife. When she died, I couldn’t bring myself to take it out of that damn box. It’s the only thing of hers I have left, but she told me what its purpose was, and I will not oppose that.” His breath came out a little shaky. She reached out with the hand not holding the pendant and gave him a light squeeze in reassurance. He gave her a small nod and carried on. “I showed it to Will when we were fourteen. Told him the whole story. Then, on my birthday, he gifted this pendant to me. An exact replica, save one small difference.” He brushed a finger on the character. “My mother’s pendant has an old Chinese symbol for love engraved. This one is for friendship.”

“He made you a replica so you could wear it without feeling guilty.” She whispered.

He smiled, a small, loving smile. “I know what you’re thinking.” He fake fawned himself. “Oh, Will is such a good friend. How dreamy.” His voice was two tones too high, sounding disturbingly close to Jessamine’s.

She chuckled. “The story does work pretty well in Will’s favour.”

He took a step back, and the pendant slid from her hand. “Let me finish tying.” He made a spinning motion with his finger. She turned her back to him and felt his fingers on her again. She felt more comfortable, his breathing no longer causing goosebumps, but a reassuring chill. “All done.” He whispered at her ear.

She turned to the mirror, her fingertips tracing the flowery design of the red lace. The soft and silky black fabric underneath the lace brushed against her knees. The dress finished around them at the front, but the back went a little longer, grazing mid-calf. The neckline was heart-shaped, with two barely visible black spaghetti straps resting on her shoulders. A big black sash shaping the waist and separating the bust from the skirts. It was classy, and it hugged her figure handsomely. She loved it, even more now that she could see it on her.

Jem cleared his throat from behind her. She felt her cheeks heat up. She had forgotten he was there. She looked up at him through the mirror. His gaze met hers, and his lips broke into a grin. “It looks great on you.”

“I love it.” She admitted.

“Are you going to get it?”

She shook her head, frowning. “It’s way out of my budget.” She shrugged. “Guess you and I will be the only ones to know how incredible it looks on me.”

He chuckled. “That’s a shame. I happen to know a certain Welsh boy that would definitely have a heart attack if he ever saw you in that dress.”

She giggled. “It’s a good thing Will never got to see it then.” She pulled her hair up. “Could you-“ Jem was already taking the strings and untying them.

When he was done, he stepped back and made a small gap on the curtain to leave. Half out, he turned to Tessa. “If it helps to persuade you, it really does look incredible on you. You’re already beautiful, but that dress… That dress makes all the best of you jump out even more. And not because it’s a pretty dress in itself, but because you feel beautiful in it. And that shows.” He shook his head. “I already knew red was my favourite colour, but seeing you in that dress… I can’t tell if it’s the colour that fits you, or if you’re the one making the colour even more beautiful.” With that, he left, closing the curtain behind him.

Tessa let out the breath she was holding. Her hand flew to her angel, and behind it, as sure as the ticking of the clockwork in her pendant, was the fast beating of her heart, more rapid than she’d ever known possible.

~/~

Will’s fingers brushed the display of shirts softly. He had already selected a couple options for Jem and now was just walking around aimlessly to burn time.

His fingers brushed against a different material, bringing him out of the black hole of thoughts that his mind had descended into. A leather jacket. He shrugged. Why not?

He looked for his number and pulled it off its hanger. Throwing it around his shoulders, he looked at himself in the mirror. “Hello there, handsome fella.” He winked at his own reflection. “You look dashingly attractive today.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” He spun around quickly. Jessamine stood nearby, a mocking smile on her lips.

He shrugged. “It’s called uping one’s self-confidence.”

She snorted. “More like inflating one’s ego.”

“Either way, I look fantastic, and I deserve to hear it.” He peeled off the jacket and put it back where it was. Picking up Jem’s clothes, he strode towards her. “Where’s Tess?”

She smirked. “I’m so glad you asked.” With a swift turn of her heels, she was walking away. He went after her. “She’s really starting to fit in with our little group, isn’t she?”

Will grinned. “It’s great.”

“It’s terrific.” She inspected some over-priced blouses. “She and Jem have gotten close really fast, haven’t them?”

Will couldn’t explain the chill that overcame him. He felt like he was blindly stepping into nothing. “Yes, they have. It’s good knowing that my best friend and my girlfriend get along great.”

“I’m sure. Let’s hope Jem and Tessa don’t get along a little too well though.”

Falling. Will had stepped off the cliff, and now he was falling into nothing. “It’s not like that.”

“Maybe. But you know how these things go. A fleeting thought, the innocent brush of a hand, a lingering hug, the built-up sexual tension-“

“Jessamine.” He interrupted her, his voice sharply cold. He wouldn’t let his mind wander, wouldn’t let himself imagine it.

“I’m sorry. That was out of line.” It was fake. Her tone, her words, her body language. She was acting, but Will could see through it. “Tessa wouldn’t do that. Why would she? Tessa’s with you. Why would she want him? He’s just a kind, selfless, attractive, single boy. He’s incredibly wise and capable of cracking the occasional joke. He’s able to make friendship with a stranger in the street in less than two minutes. He has a positive impact on every life he touches. He’s a musician, offers free music lessons to children who cannot afford them, and is often described as a literal angel. Not to mention his unwavering loyalty. But really, what is he compared to you? You, with your one friend, because no one else can bear to tolerate your idiotic attitude. You, with the reputation of a playboy and of breaking girls hearts. You, caring about yourself and no one else. You, the one who’s not even enough of a man to face his own family.” She turned her malicious gaze on him. “Why wouldn’t she choose you over him?”

There were tears behind his eyes, threatening to escape. His sight locked on a distant point, he forced himself not to look at Jessamine. He forced himself to ignore her words, but he couldn’t. They rang around in his head, in the voices of those that hurt the most. She wouldn’t. Tessa wouldn’t. Why not? Said a voice, a sound too familiar. Everything Jessamine said is right, and you know it. He’s the better man, the best man. And you? You’re an inconvenience. An obstacle. A shadow. You’re nothing.

Stop! Will wanted to scream. Please, stop. The walls were closing in, and he felt like everyone was watching him. His vision blurred, little black dots dancing around. His right hand shook, and his knees threatened to buckle. His breathing was off, and his heart was too fast in his ears. He took hold of the wall and tried to make the voices stop screaming. Jessamine wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“And to answer your question, Tessa is in the dressing rooms. Jem is with her. When I passed by earlier, he was helping her take off a dress. It must have been a great dress. He said she was beautiful.” Her words drenched him like ice water. “Oh look, there they are.”

Will looked up. They were coming from the dressing rooms, laughing and smiling at each other. The voices got louder. But then his gaze caught Tessa’s. Her face changed, but not in a bad way. The look she gave him made the voices disappear, and Jessamine’s words fade into white noise. He saw her and only her, and the way she looked at him. As soon as she was close enough, he reached for her. He took her into his arms, brushed her hair away from her face, and just stared at her. She tilted her head, her brow scrunched in confusion. “Are you okay?”

“I am now.” He whispered. She lifted an eyebrow in question, but all he did was shake his had and bump their noses together. Her smile widened.

Jem cleared his throat, and Will flinched. How could he possibly face his best friend now? The things he thought… Jem would never do those things to him, would never say those things to him, would never even consider it, and Will knew that. He wasn’t worthy of Jem’s loyalty. “Are those for me?” Will nodded and handed him the clothes. Jem looked from him to Jessamine and back to him. He squinted his eyes at him. “You okay?” He mouthed. Will nodded. He could tell he didn’t believe it, but he let it go. “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait for me.” Jessamine stalked off behind him, a large pile of clothes in her arms.

Will looked Tessa up and down. “Anything good?” He didn’t see a dress on her. If it genuinely was that perfect on her, she would’ve bought it, right? Jessamine had been lying to get his insecurities acting up, and he had fallen for it. He was an idiot, indeed.

She gave him a sad smile. “No. Guess I have to stick with boring unfashionable clothes.”

He grinned. “You look beautiful, regardless. You feel comfortable in these clothes.” He cupped her cheeks. “That shows. You’re not worried about what people think of your clothes, you’re just being yourself. That is the most beautiful version of you.”

“Myself is the most beautiful version of me?” She chuckled.

He paused. “That doesn’t make any sense, does it?”

“No, but it’s the thought that counts.” She tilted her face up and pressed a kiss to his lips. He wanted to melt into the kiss, but she pulled away. He took her hand and didn’t let his harmful thoughts return as she snuggled into his chest, and they rested against the wall, waiting for the other two.

#tessa gray #will herondale #jem carstairs #jessamine lovelace #wessa #jessa #heronstairs #herongraystairs #the infernal devices #the shadowhunters chronicles #tid #tsc

[saleintothe90s]

422. ”Carrie” (May 12 - May 15 1988)

I adore reading about flops. One of my favorite flops to read about is Carrie the musical. A doomed production from the start. Millions of dollars wasted. Bad costumes. Filler songs.

Similar to my Simpsons season 10 review, I wanna give something to the worst aspects of the show. With Simpsons, bad episodes were awarded Marge’s homemade Pepsi. For Carrie, I think I’m going to give the bad parts the “Vending Machine Maxi Pad” award. 

As most anybody who follows Broadway flops knows, clips from Carrie are scarce and are in poor condition on YouTube. Most of the actual clips are from when the show was in test productions in Stratford Upon Avon, but the music has been replaced with the Broadway soundboard.  So, keep that in mind. Most of the time you can’t even make out what’s going on. Here’s the closest copy of the entire show I could find on YouTube, from the Sratford Upon Avon production. 

I know people bash the musical, and sometimes it’s rightfully so, but two things are consistent: Linzi Hateley who played Carrie, and that orchestra that is on.point. Check out the overture.

(source)

The show begins with girls cheering in gym class in the beginning of an aerobics lesson?  The white gym shorts look like diapers. That’s the first of many costume mistakes. 

The song is a banger, I love Darlene Love playing the gym teacher, she’s my favorite part of the song. The only part that is cringey to me is when the girls sing “I go CrAzZyyyyy” and they get on the ground and dance like a toddler having a temper tantrum in a Toys R Us. Since the audio quality is so bad in these clips, I thought at one point the girls were singing about not being caught picking their nose, no, the lyric is:

Bought the clothes, did my nose,

Near the end of the song, the girls are on these rising rafters? It took me for-ever to realize that they were simulating a cheerleader pyramid, and that Carrie had snuck in near the end of the number to be on the bottom of the pyramid. Oh, and she causes it to fall and someone tells her to eat shit. 

“Dream On” is the song that the girls sing while in the showers. Why yes, it does look like they’re in the nude due to the poor quality of the video.  The song is ok, it gives total night driving home from the mall in the late 80s early 90s vibes.  Although one girl says the line, “Six foot three and he's in his forties!”. WHAT. 

Carrie breaks those vibes at around 3:44 by screaming that she’s bleeding. When Miss Gardener slaps Carrie, a cymbal plays. I love it.

I like to imagine that when the girls threw the tampons and pads at Carrie, some flew into the audience. 

“Carrie” is shrill at first, and then it turns into a bit of snoozefest. Linzi sings the name “Carrie” about 458 times. 

Betty Buckley who previously had played the original Grizabella in Cats. and who played the gym teacher in the original movie plays Carrie’s mom. Her song, “Open Your Heart” is pretty good. It’s a nice little break before mom goes bottoms up on Carrie for getting her period (”And Eve Was Weak” [Stratford version with Barbara Cook]):

Carrie: I was in the shower and...

Mom: You’re forbidden from showering with the other girls...

Carrie: I started to bleed!

While Carrie spends the rest of the night in a cellar, the popular girls are at the drive-in. Now, this musical cost over $7 million dollars 1, but yet this was the best set they could think of for a drive-in movie theater: 

It looks like something out of a high school play -- which I guess makes a little sense since they are high schoolers? I’m grabbing at straws here. It cost so much money to put Carrie on, what’s a few more dollars to have two real hollowed out cars on stage, one with Chris (in the red) & Billy (in black) in it, and the other with Sue (pink leggings) and Tommy (purple windbreaker)? 

“Don’t Waste the Moon” is the song sung at the drive-in, with Sue having regrets about throwing tampons at Carrie in the beginning of the song. The song is very 1980s, and it kind of doesn’t fit in the musical. Gene Anthony Ray’s (Billy) talent is wasted here. 

It’s time for some “Evening Prayers” for Carrie where she discusses with God her new telekinesis powers. Meanwhile Carrie’s mom is being a worrywort. During the Stratford production, Carrie’s mom is in a rocking chair over there looking like Whistler’s Mother. 

“You’re going to tell Carrie that you’re sorry!” belts out Miss Gardner. In the musical, Chris seems more obsessed with torturing Carrie than in the movie or book if that’s even possible. Sue is like, “What did she even do to you?”. Even Billy asked earlier, “Who the hell is Carrie White?”. 

Oooof. Seeing the gym teacher try to cheer Carrie up by singing a song about the prom (”Unsuspecting Hearts”) and how she could go too is patronizing. Even if its sung by Darlene Love. 

“Do Me a Favor” might be the most infamous song from the musical. It’s the song I see referred to the most when I read bad reviews. For some reason Chris is wearing a metallic red bodysuit and Sue is wearing a light pink bodysuit. Are they supposed to be that cliche devil and the angel on the shoulder thing? 

Chris looks like Evil Homer! 

I’m going be the unpopular opinion here and say that I love the song! The erratic dancing also fits with the song. 

Carrie tells her mom before “I Remember How Those Boys Would Dance” that Tommy is sweet and polite, but the audience doesn’t know that. Tommy is barely a character in this production. In the end, Carrie uses her powers to shut her mama up.

From what I gather in “Out for Blood” (audio) where Chris and Billy go looking for a pig to kill, the chorus dancers are the pigs? The video quality is so poor. Chris had another crazy ass red outfit on, some sort of shiny red skirt and a crop top. The costumes in this are just horrible. It was like the wardrobe budget was $50. 

This song is so.so.bad. It reminds me of whenever Rocko from Rocko’s Modern Life would see a movie trailer or a parody of something on TV for some reason?! Or the “gotta get that Reptar song” from Rugrats when the kids saw Reptar on ice. Especially when the chorus tells Billy to kill the pig: 

CHORUS Cha! Kill the pig, pig, pig! CHRIS Go! CHORUS Kill 'im, kill 'im, kill, kill! We'll make him bleed! CHRIS Go! CHORUS Get the blood, blood, blood Oooh, blood! CHRIS Oh, baby show... CHORUS Kill the pig, make 'im bleed Let's get the blood, that's all we need!

Sue’s song “It Hurts to be Strong” is a bit of a throw-away. It gets a vending machine maxi pad award. Moving on. It’s filler  

In “I’m Not Alone”, Carrie sings while using her powers to move things around in her room. What things? I don’t know the video quality was so bad. That’s another thing! The sets are nonexistent! I wouldn’t know we were in Carrie’s room unless the Playbill told me. It’s another forgettable song. Three in a row!

Betty Buckley saves the day in, “When There’s No One”, a sad song about facing life without Carrie being her subordinate. 

I don’t understand the prom dresses in “Wotta Night”, they’re all garish giant white numbers that make the actresses look about 20 pounds heaver.  The guys look like that Rio doll from Jem. The costume designer couldn’t just go to Alexanders or A&S and buy prom dresses? You know, why am I even asking at this point. We all saw what Chris has been wearing this whole time. There is a disco ball thrown aside in the corner instead of hanging up. More on that later.

The song sounds way too much like that song “Rock on” by David Essex.  Automatic Vending Machine Maxi Pad. 

Here’s a cute rehearsal clip I found of “Heaven”, the song sung while the Prom Queen and King ballots are being counted. Unfortunately, the audio is bad. Chris is there to remind us that she’s still out for blood.

Finally, finally it’s time for Carrie the prom queen to get drenched with blood -- but the thing is, due to microphone technology back then, Carrie really couldn’t have blood dumped on her. Chris and Billy just run up to her and half ass pour the bucket at her. Could the set designer not suspend the bucket from above the stage? Is that also why the disco ball is thrown in the corner? I don’t even think she has stage blood on her during “The Destruction”, (which is the best song from the musical).  I think a red spotlight over Carrie signifies the blood.

I think Linzi is really only truly covered in blood for press shots. 

Anyway, the Destruction, I love it when she screeches “DOESN’T ANYBODY EVER GET IT RIGHT??! DOESN’T ANYBODY THINK THAT I HEAR?!” It’s the best. I could listen to it all day and I almost did the other day. 

Due the poor video quality, I can’t really tell how the prom-goers are dying. They’re kinda just twitching there in the laser light or slamming themselves against the clear barrier that descended from the stage to signify Carrie closing the doors to the gym. 

After Carie kills everybody, this giant white staircase descends and covers up the gym. I read somewhere, I forgot where, that its supposed to be the school stairs? We’re led to believe that Carrie’s crazy mom ran to the school. The first time I saw it, I thought that it was Carrie and her mom getting ready to go to heaven. I thought maybe someone over at the set department took the classic song too literally. 

It appears that while the stairs are descending, Carrie smears stage blood on her. 

The reprise of “Carrie’ is so much better than the original. Carrie stops her mom’s heart cold mid song. Then she slins down the stairs and Sue catches her. In an interview on playbill.com, Betty Buckley says that on opening night (I don’t know if she meant the first preview, or the official opening night), there were boos from the audience at the end, but cheers for Linzi and herself. I believe it. Betty and Linzi were amazing. Darlene Love was amazing. The rough scenes are the scenes with the school kids. They’re awful, in the words of my boy Jay Sherman, “they’re awful I tell you. aw.ful.” 

(relevant prom .gif) 

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1. Rothstein, Mervyn. “After Seven Years And $7 Million, ‘Carrie’ Is a Kinetic Memory (Published 1988).” The New York Times, May 17, 1988, sec. Theater. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/17/theater/after-seven-years-and-7-million-carrie-is-a-kinetic-memory.html.

New York City Broadway reviews on the news in NYC for Carrie.  That first reviewer, Stuart Klein, I love him. I’ve watched several of his reviews on flops on YouTube. Joel Sigel who was the Good Morning America film reviewer is here too. 

Archive of Betty Buckley interview. 

#carrie #carrie the musical #1988 #betty buckley #linzi hateley #charlotte d'amboise #broadway #musicals #broadway flops #flops #the 1980s

[mysticalnightenthusiast]

S.N.A.F.U- A Daniel Ricciardo FanFic CH34 “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Despite the turmoil in his personal life Daniel had a successful weekend at Silverstone, he qualified sixth in the sprint and fifth in the race itself.  The success didn’t extend to the Hungarian Grand Prix two weeks later where he qualified and finished the race in eleventh.  His foul mood and inner ache at missing Eadaoin’s company was eating away at him something Max noticed in Monaco a week after the Hungarian GP when he returned from a merchandise photo shoot in Los Angeles.

“Dan?” he said as he literally ran into his friend in their favourite café “What are you doing here?”

“Buying coffee?” Daniel replied holding up a steaming cup of his favourite hot beverage.

“No I meant here,” Max said “Monaco, I can’t remember the last time I saw you around town.”

“I live here,” Daniel said with an eye roll.

“Not lately you haven’t,” Max said “you haven’t flown back to Monaco after a race since well Monaco three months ago.”

“Well I felt like a change of scene,” Daniel replied shortly.

Max raised his eyebrows in surprise at his friend’s rude tone.

“Wait here,” he instructed assertively “Wait.”

Max purchased his own coffee and a box of locally made pastries before seeking Daniel out in a far corner of the cosy little bistro.

“We’re going for a drive,” he told the grumpy Australian.

“Are we?” Daniel replied “where?”

“Somewhere not here, follow me.”

With an audible harrumph Daniel followed Max out of the café and down the street to where the Dutchman had parked his Pista.  The two friends got in the car and immediately started driving up the coast to where Daniel knew his friend’s house was located.  Daniel didn’t utter a word and only sipped his coffee til Max pulled into the garage of his enormous two story coastal villa.

“You know I’m not used to you being so quiet,” the Dutchman commented as he cut the engine “usually you don’t shut up.”

“That’s ripe coming from you,” Daniel countered as he got out of his friend’s car.

“You got anything planned for today?” Max asked as they set off up a small set of stairs that led to the front door.

“Nah my social calendar is empty AF,” Daniel replied “thinking of heading to St Tropez for a few days before we head to Belgium that’s about it.”

Max let his friend into his sprawling home and the two men were immediately greeted by Jimmy and Sassy his two Bengal cats.

“Well someone’s happy to see me at least,” Daniel commented bending down to pat the two curious creatures.

“Alright what the fuck is up with you?” Max asked as he led his friend through the house and out onto the back deck “I haven’t heard from you since Hungary and even then you said a sum total of six words to me.”

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” Daniel replied as he dropped down onto one of the pool side deck chairs.

“Bullshit,” Max replied sitting down next to his friend “as I said to you in town, you don’t usually shut up and have been a miserable asshole since Silverstone.  What happened?  More drama with Jem?”

“Kinda?” Daniel replied “indirectly.”

“Well that told me everything I needed to know,” Max said sarcastically.

“Eadie and I had....words,” Daniel replied half heartedly.

“Words or did you say something moronic?” Max asked.

“I said something moronic,” Daniel admitted.

“What happened?”

“A couple of days after that Deux Moi article hit the world wide web I met with Zak, Charlotte, Darren my lawyer and a couple of guys from the McLaren legal department to begin sorting out the whole mess,” Daniel began “it stressed me the fuck out and after they had all gone home I got really short with Eadie and basically told her I wished I was still single.”

Max immediately leaned in and smacked his friend around the back of the head.

“Oooow!” Daniel bellowed rubbing his head “what the fuck was that for?”

“Because you’re a god damn fucking moron!” Max exclaimed “what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“The fuck brother?”

“For as long as I’ve known you whenever you’ve been in a shitty spot in life you shut down and turn into a hermit,” Max informed his friend bluntly “and in the past we-that being your friends and probably family too have just had to wait til you come out of it on your own but now is not the time to do that dude.”

“Yeah well I’m starting to think just that,” Daniel responded sheepishly.

“This is probably the shittiest thing you’ll ever have to endure next to actually busting Jem fucking Cyril,” Max went on “you need Eadaoin, she needs you and you you stupid great asshole have been purposely pushing her away.  That woman is literally the greatest thing to ever happen to you, everyone in the paddock knows it and I’m sure everyone at the MTC know it.  I know you don’t wish you were still single; you were a depressed borderline alcoholic when you were.  Eadaoin has pulled you out of that post Abu Dhabi funk and literally turned you into a different person. Don’t push her away dude it could be your biggest fuck up to date if you do.”

“I’ve tried apologizing but she’s not answering my texts or calls,” Daniel revealed with a sigh “well she wasn’t in the first week.  I gave up trying after that.”

“I don’t blame her for not talking to you,” Max said “you probably hurt her the worst since she busted her fiancé cheating on her the day of her wedding. She dove in deep with you and you discarded her like a piece of rubbish, you made her think you’re not as into her as she is into you.”

“But I am into her” Daniel exclaimed “Jesus Christ I love her like crazy, I love her like I never thought I’d love any woman.  I love her more than I ever did Jem.”

“Than why the hell did you tell her you wished you were still single?” Max asked incredulously.

“Because I’m a fucking idiot,” Daniel confessed “I said it in the heat of the moment when I was tipsy and just wanted to be alone for a bit.  I should have just said that and I know she would have let me have my space for a bit.”

“Jesus chri-I hope you don’t do this shit to her when you’re married and have kids with her,” Max said “it would be an even shittier move then.”

“We’re not getting married,” Daniel said at once “at least not any time soon. I can’t imagine getting married to anyone especially after Abu Dhabi.  The whole thing with Jem has made me realize I don’t need to be married to be happy as long as I’m with the right person that’ll do me-as for kids I have no idea if that’ll ever happen.  I’d like it to but have no idea if there will ever be any Ricciardo Juniors running around.”

“You need to ring her and try apologizing to her again brother,” Max said “we’re in the summer break, take her with you to St Tropez, rent out a private villa and spend the whole holiday talking and having mind numbing sex. That’s what Kelly and I plan on doing when we go to Barbados in a couple of days.”

Daniel made a face.

“Thanks mate but I don’t need to hear you talking about nailing your girlfriend,” he said with a snort of laughter.

“All jokes aside Dan you have to decide what you want with Eadaoin,” Max told his friend sagely “if you want to be with her, pull your head out your ass and apologise properly and if you don’t you need to end it in a dignified way. She deserves that much.”

“I definitely don’t want to end it with her,” Daniel confessed “Jesus Christ she’s the light of my life.”

“You know what to do then.”

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

Daniel spent a couple of hours at Max And Kelly’s villa before the young Dutchman drove him home.

“See you in Spa,” he said “hopefully see you and Eadaoin in Spa.”

“I hope so too mate, thanks for the ride.”

As soon as Max roared off Daniel made his way up to his apartment.  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and immediately dialed Eadaoin’s number.  It rang and rang and rang and immediately went to voicemail.

“Hi you’ve reached Eadaoin O’Siodhachain I’m unable to take your call right now but if you’d like to leave your name, number and a brief message I’ll get back to you as soon as possible, thankyou!”

After the beep Daniel took a deep breath and began speaking.

“Hey Babe its Danny,” he said a definite waver in his voice “I know I’m the last person you want to hear from right now but I really do want to apologise. PLEASE ring me, I miss you.”

A few minutes later his phone beeped with an incoming text message.

I’m out at a business dinner, I’ll ring you when I get home xx E

The tension Daniel was holding evaporated and he let out a relieved sigh looking forward to his phone ringing later that night.

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

Shortly before 10PM Daniel’s mobile phone rang.  His heart leapt with joy as he saw Eadaoin’s face and name flash up on the screen.  Taking a deep breath her swiped his thumb across the screen and put the device to his ear.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Eadaoin said softly “how are you?”

“Honestly?” Daniel said with a sigh “bored, lonely, feeling like a fucking idiot, missing you like crazy, wishing I could hold you might now and tell you how stupid I’ve been....”

“I’ve missed you too,” Eadaoin confessed “where have you been bunkering down since I last saw you?”

“Monaco,” Daniel replied “I got back from L.A two days ago.  I wanted to come home to London but I wasn’t sure you wanted to see me.”

“I have wanted to see you,” Eadaoin informed him “every day I’ve wanted to see you but I needed to process my anger and hurt because I knew if I didn’t I would say something I regretted.”

“So can we meet up and talk?” Daniel asked hesitatingly “Like properly?”

“Yeah I think I’m ready to talk,” Eadaoin said softly “and I just won a big case so I’ve been granted some time off.”

“Come to Monaco,” Daniel said at once “I have a trip to St Tropez planned for the rest of the summer and would really like it if you could come. We can spend the whole trip just talking and relaxing and I can spend the whole trip groveling an apology.”

Eadaoin laughed.

“Alright,” she said “what should I pack?”

“Beachside casual something nice if we go out to a fancy restaurant,” Daniel said at once “I’ll organise what I need to to get you over here then once you’re here I’ll apologise.  It’s something that needs to be done face to face not over the phone.  I want you to see how sorry I am and definitely want you to feel how sorry I am.”

“Alright that sounds like a plan,” Eadaoin said with a yawn “but for now I’m going to bed, I’ve had a huge week at the office and I’m stuffed.  See you soon?”

“Yeah see you soon darling.”

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

A/N:  I hope you all enjoyed Max giving Danny a reality check and the fluff between Danny and Eadaoin towards the end.  As always if you liked the story leave a review, reblog, like or drop me a DM in my inbox!

#f1 #DanielRicciardoFanFiction

[alma-berry]

Kit’s Secret Fire Message # 17

Masterlist   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Soft rays of sunshine woke Kit earlier than he would have usually liked.

He was never a morning person, though breakfast was definitely his favourite time of day. He liked how even after three years, Jem always brought him chocolate croissants, a habit that with time turned to be somewhat of a problem, specifically when Mina developed a fondness to the pastry herself.. though that wasn’t what Kit minded. It wasn’t that Mina liked all croissants, it was that she liked his.

With a sigh and a pang of longing for his baby sister’s annoying habits, Kit pushed the blanket off him and leaped out of the bed.

Kit stretched out his hand towards the window, feeling the sweet warmness of the light caressing his skin, his completely ordinary, pale gold skin.

Good, he thought, no leftovers.

That thought brought other thoughts, other memories to his mind. Kit felt the quickening of his pulse just from hearing his name in his ears, like a lost island he was dreaming to find, a mantra chanting itself in his heart for years, Ty, Ty, Ty. He whispered his name to the morning sun, and felt the word like a kiss on lips.

A loud knock on the door startled Kit out of his thoughts.

Without thinking, he walked to the door and flung it open. It was too late when he realised that he was dressed only in his boxers, and for a fleeting second he feared that it would be Ty. After last night, a close to nudity morning show would probably be a bad idea.

Luckily, or not, Ty wasn’t the person knocking on Kit’s door. It was Carl Lindguist.

“Oh, it’s you.” Kit was so relieved, he didn’t even mind Carl’s sallow face.

“You look cheerful” Carl mumbled with evident surprise.

“Yeah well, it’s not because I’m thrilled to see you..” Kit grinned, “I just had a really good night sleep”.

Kit leaned on the door frame and eyed Carl with an uninterested expression.

“Um.. don’t you want to put some clothes on?”

Carl stared at the floor in evident discomfort, which only made Kit feel bolder.

“Nah, I’m good”

Kit crossed his arms over his chest, fully aware of how it made his biceps bulge. He really couldn’t think of a better way to start his day than to make that bastard uncomfortable.

“Does it bother you?” He asked with mock concerns.

“No” Carl answered quickly, too quickly, and the blush on his cheeks deepened.

“Are you sure? Do I make you feel nervous?”

Kit was practically giddy, not that Carl would notice, since his eyes never left the floor. It was a nice floor, though. Solid wooden surface, maybe Carl was into interior design.

“Listen, I’m only here because Adam asked me to see if you could ask Bridget for the institute’s car. You know her and Evelyn better, and there’s a better chance she would give it to you than to us.”

“Wow, Adam must not like you very much.. not that I blame him.”

“What makes you say that?” Carl seemed honestly offended.

“Well, he sent you to talk to me, knowing how little you think of my company..”

To Kit’s surprise, that seemed to catch the centurion off guard.

“I don’t..”

“Oh come on, Carl.. there’s no one around. You don’t have to work so hard to be mean to me.”

“I don’t usually have to, it just come naturally.. like breathing.”

Kit burst out laughing. “Nice! That’s the first solid burn you have ever produced. There might still be hope for you, weasel face.”

Kit leaned away from the door frame and looked Carl in the eye.

“Tell Adam I’ll take care of it” he said, and slammed the door in Carl’s baffled face.

He barely managed to put his gear pants on when came another knock on the door.

Maybe Carl missed his abs.

“I have my pants on now, Lindguist.. the conversation will be a lot less captivating-“

The word dissolved on his lips, for this time, it wasn’t Carl who was waiting outside his door. It was Ty.

He looked at him, his damp hair curling at the edges. He was slightly taller than him, but something about his posture made him seem small, almost fragile. The pale ivory of his skin gleamed like silk, and Kit swallowed hard at the memory of the feel of him, smooth and hard under his touch.

“Hi” Ty’s voice was a low, almost inaudible murmur.

His eyes flew around Kit, scanning his body quickly, like he couldn’t help himself. Kit glanced down at his bare skin, etched with traces of runes that faded, down to his naval, where the last button of his pants left unbuttoned. He felt himself flush, his thoughts before he opened the door to Carl flashed inside his head like an alarm echoing between his ears, a close to nudity morning show would probably be a bad idea. He tried to say something in response, but the words never came.

“I.. wanted to talk to you.” Ty looked like he was trying to muster the strength to say something else, but all he could manage was “please”.

Kit cleared his throat. “Yeah, sure.”

Ty made a movement, as if to go inside Kit’s room. He hastily lifted his arm to block the entrance.

Ty lifted his gaze to Kit’s face, a flash of confusion and hurt clouded his beautiful features.

Kit wanted to punch himself right then and there. Of course Ty thought he could enter Kit’s room.. why wouldn’t he? After what happened between them last night, Kit would have thought the same thing. But he couldn’t risk it, he couldn’t allow himself to be alone in a room with Ty. Not right now, when he was half clothed and almost sick with the need to hold him, to put his arms around him and feel him melt into arms.

Kit always experienced desire as something manageable. A pull in his stomach, a pleasant sort of feeling, like rain tapping on his window in a cloudy night. But as he looked at the curve of Ty’s lips, he felt it like a lightning storm. He heard it thundering down his bones, piercing his body in places he hardly ever felt before, the deep ones, those who ached with the loss of his past. But it was a different ache now, and he was a different boy.

He sank his teeth deep into his lower lip, until a faint taste of blood coated the thin layer of memories.

“I.. should get dressed first.” His voice was horas, “I’ll meet you down in the study?”

Ty nodded and turned towards the stairs, leaving Kit hyperventilating on the foot of his door.

**

Kit put on his gear so fast he wondered how he didn’t fall flat on his face in the process of it. the weapons belt hung loosely on his hips, and his fingers played with the Herondale dagger’s hilt as he entered the study room.

He tried to calm his thoughts, to think of Mina’s small giggles as she bounced in his arms.

From the second she was born, without his own volition, a sparkling chain of love seemed to tie him to her with such force he almost couldn’t breath sometimes. He loved nothing and no one in this world more than he loved his baby sister. Of course, he owed everything to Jem and Tessa, and he loved them more than he ever thought he could love two 150 old senior citizens of the downworld.. they were his parents. But Mina was the light in his life.

He played the image of her before his eyes, that porcelain like demon child that managed to hold his whole heart in her tiny hands, like it was an acorn.

With that unsteady calmness, he looked at Ty.

He was leaning at the windowsill, gazing at the darkening sky above. Kit could see the tension in his body from how he held himself, stiff and tight like an arrow, ready to fly straight into his chest.

“Ty..”

He turned to face him with an eagerness Kit didn’t expect.

“Kit,” Ty whispered breathlessly. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Yeah.. you said that” Kit smiled at him, he couldn’t not smile. There was an energy to Ty, something that scared and excited Kit all at once.

He assumed he wanted to talk about last night. He wished he would, but also didn’t know what he would say to him. How could he reassure him, if he even wanted his reassurance, that he didn’t send him away because he didn’t want him? Or maybe Ty wanted to tell him last night had been a mistake.. maybe he only wanted to let Kit down gently, knowing, like he must already know, how Kit feels. But that wasn’t something Kit wanted to linger on, his feelings towards Ty. He never managed to escape them, but ever since they met again, all he could do is try. For his sake, and for Ty’s.

“Do you remember how I once told you that there were things I knew, about Livvy, things I didn’t know about anyone else?”

Kit wasn’t expecting this, but nodded nonetheless.

“She is my twin, so I knew them, the way she pokes her lips when she’s upset, how fire always seemed to unnerve her, even now. The way she laughs with her eyes even if she’s furious.”

Yeah, Kit thought with an ache in his heart, that sounds like Livvy.

“And I thought I could only ever know these things about her, and not about anyone else. not even about my family. But with you..”

Ty seemed to struggle with the words, and Kit couldn’t blame him. The air seemed to barely reach his lungs, and he waited in silence while Ty found his voice, and continued.

“When I first met you, you seemed to know these things about me. Everyone else had to learn, but you, with all of your mundane knowledge and movies and comics.. you, who had no way of knowing, you just.. knew. And the things I didn’t know about anyone else, those were the things I wanted to know about you. But when you left-”

His voice cracked, like a piece of wood, trying to resist a fire.

“When you left I thought I was wrong. I thought I never knew anything, that I never will.. because you didn’t want to be my friend anymore, you didn’t want me to-“

Kit couldn’t breath, couldn’t move, which was probably good since he knew that if could he would probably run to Ty, fall on his knees and beg him to forgive him, to forgive that stupid boy that he was.

“But you sent me letters, and I didn’t know what they meant. I didn’t know how to read your emotions like I could read Livvy’s. I didn’t. But I tried. And than we met again, and I tried so hard to show you how much I cared.. But in my head, through my actions, I was still alone.”

Ty’s eyes were so bright, the grey in them looked almost white. He was trying to will Kit to understand.

“I chose what I chose, I did what I did, for me.. not for anyone else, like you once told me.”

Kit opened his mouth to protest, but Ty already continued.

“Don’t say I didn’t, you know I won’t exaggerate this. And the worst part of it was that I didn’t notice how I was doing it all over again, I didn’t notice that I was hurting you, that all I ever done was to hurt you, and that’s the last thing I ever wanted to do, Kit.”

Ty’s paler was inked with a fierce red, spreading on his cheeks like a drop of blood on a bed of snow, like in the mundane faerietale Kit read to himself when he was young.

“I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’m asking you to at least believe when I say that you were never nothing to me, never.

You were the opposite.”

Ty looked at him, straight at him, and the silver in his eyes seemed to melt and solidify all at once, like it was reaching the core of the earth. Like in his eyes were all of the answers to every question ever asked, and all he had to do is reach out and touch it.

Before Kit could think better of it, he took a step towards Ty. His mind was a blur of images, of the past and the present merging into Ty’s blazing smile. He could feel the clenching in his throat, hear the thunder of his heart, beating like a metronome, as if counting the steps he must take to get to Ty.

He took another, and Ty’s eyes were the thin rope on which he was walking. He knew there was nothing under him, nothing to hold him if he fell, but something inside him told him that he already had.

The door to the study room flung open, and Kit could hear Adam’s voice like it was a siren calling him from the middle of the sea. With an agonising effort he turned to look at him. He even looked blurred to him, like he was adjusting his eyes to look at ordinary things after staring too long at the sun.

“What?” Kit spluttered.

“I said, did you talk to Bridget already? About the car?”

With a look on Kit’s blank face he added apologetically “We really have to get going.”

“Right.. yeah I’m on it.”

Kit couldn’t risk a look at Ty, not when his stomach was made out of tight knots that seemed to be connected to the very spot Ty was standing on. He had to walk away, and hope he wouldn’t get pulled backwards the minute he walked out of the room.

**

The car smelled ancient, and in Kit’s opinion, it also looked ancient. They were probably going to be noticed less on a flying horse than in this mouldy thing. Not that he would have mentioned it to Bridget, who gave him a hard time even as he worked his most charming smile at her. She liked him, though.. and Adam was right, she wasn’t likely to allow them to take the car if it weren’t for him. Only the old maid could refuse a group of highly appreciated centurions, but that was the case.

As they packed their share of weapons in the truck, Kit had gone through the plan once more with Adam.

“So we drive you to the first location, and head to the second one. The first of us that find anything out of the ordinary calls the others and they come right away.”

Adam gave him a thumbs up.

“Now, I know we already gone through this, but are you sure you understand the Uber app, right?”

Kit saw Ty smile at the shared memory in the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, I got it.. don’t worry.”

Everybody entered the car, and Kit wasn’t surprised to find Ty by his side. He buckled the seatbelt and tapped the GPS app at his phone with a slightly shaking hand.

“Remind me the address to the second location?”

“Chislehurst Caves.”

It was Ty who answered, his deep voice sending uncontrollable shivers down Kit’s spine.

Kit started the car and turned on the radio. An old rock song Kit faintly remembered played itself through the silence between them.

He lowered his window and marvelled at the feeling of the wind in his hair.

The singer voice was like a caress, though something in the lyrics felt morbidly ominous.

He glanced a look at Ty, who opened his window as well. His right hand was out, dancing through the wind like a conductor’s. The music grew louder and Kit’s mind drifted to Ty’s words at the study, and to the swelling of his heart.

Kit lived with Jem and Tessa long enough to learn of his extended family. He knew about Will Herondale, the lies he told to protect his loved ones, and how it almost cost him everything. He knew of James and Stephan and Jace. He knew of the men in his family, and how they always suffered, and nearly always because of that thing, that thing that made them a Herondale. Jem would have called it a fierce heart, and maybe it was true.. but Kit figured he could keep the family resemblance down to the good looks.

He won’t do the same mistake almost every man of his bloodline had made. He will tell Ty the truth about himself, and if he’ll want him, even with everything that he is.. they will find a way to deal with his powers, together.

Because Kit had no doubts, as he looked at Ty’s illuminated profile, his hair blowing away like black dandelion in the wind.

He loved him. He knew that now, and the knowledge gave him strength. He loved him, and he will not lose him again.

The song came to an end, and Kit’s heart thumped with the last sentence, repeating itself over and over again like a sentence tattooing itself on his heart. “There is a light and it never goes out”.

#kit herondale #Ty Blackthorn #christopher herondale #tiberius blackthorn #kitty blackdale #blackdale #tiberius nero blackthorn #kit rook #kitherondale #tyblackthorn #kitty #kitty fanfiction #tda #the dark artifices #gotsm #ghosts of the shadow market #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles #Livvy Blackthorn #Livia Blackthorn #jem carstairs #james carstairs #tessa gray #Mina Carstairs #wilhelmina-yiqiang-kecarstairs #wilhelmina carstairs #herondale #Jace Herondale #will herondale #james herondale

[captainsjack]

What are jmc car stairs? Or maybe I'm separating the words wrong, what does your url mean? 🙈

this is the funniest ask i’ve ever received the rest of you can go home

lol anon i love you it never occurred to me that that’s what my url looks like

it’s a variation of the spelling of the character jem carstairs

#bc SOMEONE took the url jemcarstairs #so i had to improvise #i love this ask #anon #answered

[tsc-living]

At just past midnight Kit, bleary eyed and drawn looking, padded downstairs in his socks and flannel pyjamas. Tessa and Jem looked up at him from their late night activity of reading; Tessa a novel and Jem the manual of the car they had bought the week earlier to try and understand it. Tessa’s heart ached as she looked at the teenager. She could see the sadness in his eyes, the longing and the hurt that he hadn’t yet spoken about even though he had lived with the Carstairs for a few months. “Happy birthday!” Jem said and Kit smiled thinly. He was missing his family, whether that was his father or the Blackthorns… Tessa wasn’t sure. She knew the look on his face though, the shadow, the Herondale grief that came with losing something and losing a part of themselves with it. She could imagine and understand that his sixteenth birthday in a new family was not what he had pictured when he was younger, his father dead and his whole life flipped upside down.

“Happy birthday Kit,” Tessa said kindly, realising then that the boy had only come downstairs because it had ticked over to his birthday and he hadn’t wanted to be alone for it. She wondered if it was because he didn’t want to cry. He sat down on the arm of the couch that Jem was sitting on, more like perched and ready to fly away if he felt the need to.

“Thanks guys,” He said, “To be real with you I wasn’t sure if you even knew it was my birthday.” He admitted. Drusilla and Tiberius Blackthorn had sent Tessa and Jem a fire letter the week prior telling them in case they hadn’t known which they hadn’t. Dru’s portion of the letter contained a list of horror movies that had a birthday scene to it and asking them to tell Kit that she missed him. Ty’s portion of the letter was asking Tessa and Jem not to tell Kit he had messaged, but said he hoped that Kit was happy.

“Dru told us.” Jem said, closing the manual and setting it down on the coffee table. Kit’s smile was real and rueful at that and he crossed his legs in front of him on the arm of the chair.

“I thought you were asleep darling, is everything okay?” Tessa asked and made eye contact with her.

“Yes I just didn’t want to be alone for my sixteenth. Aren’t I meant to get a car or like some major party?” He asked, but his heart wasn’t in the teasing. Jem put his hand on Kit’s knee in a naturally paternal way that made Tessa’s heart warm.

“Tessa can teach us both to drive in our new car before we give you one of your own.” He said and Kit mulled this over for a moment.

“Okay I can live with that. What about a party?” He asked, this time the teasing was clearer.

“How about we invited Jace, Clary and the Blackthorns over for dinner?” Tess suggested, thinking that having Jace and his fiancé over might be nice for Kit as Jace is his only living relative. The Blackthorns, she thought, would perhaps be a familiar comfort to him and help make it a party. However, Kit hesitated and then shook his head.

“No, that’s okay. Jace said he’ll come see me next week anyway.” He said and then his expression turned bashful as he looked between them, “Can we go out for dinner?” He asked. Tessa glanced at Jem, but they were both thinking the same thing. They agreed with him, going out to a mundane restaurant for dinner would be a nice idea. A family outing so to speak. Kit had gone with Tessa and Jem on outings before, but this was the first one he had suggested himself and Tessa smiled up at the boy.

“That sounds like a really nice idea.” She agreed and Kit’s smile was surprised and excited, further assuring Tessa that going out for Kit’s sixteenth was a good idea.

“Doesn’t mean you don’t have training in the morning, so go to bed kid, and I’ll wake you up for breakfast.” Jem said and when Kit sighed heavily, but didn’t get up Jem stood. Kit looked up at his adopted father with a suspicious glance and to Tessa’s amusement, there was challenge there.

“You won’t carry me to bed.” He said and without even a second of hesitation, Jem reached down and scooped the smaller, thinner boy off the arm of the chair and over his shoulder. Kit yelled out in surprise and then burst out laughing. He waved at Tessa as he was bounced by Jem’s walk, swinging slightly with his blonde hair flopping down. Kit looked so much smaller than normal, thrown over Jem’s shoulder like he was, and his smile and laughter echoed that of a child’s.

“Goodnight Kit!” She yelled as he was taken up the stairs.

“Night Tess!” He called back as he disappeared, his laughter lingering in the room. Tessa pulled herself up out of the seat, her hand flat on the subtle bulge of her swelling belly and she went into the kitchen.

When Jem came back downstairs he found her bending down at the oven and when she stood up he was peering down into the chocolate cake mixture. “This is a good idea.” He said which Tessa hadn’t been expecting. She had expected him to say it was too late to be cooking.

“I think so.” She agreed and after a moment Jem sat down at the island on a bar stool. Tessa realised he had tears in his eyes and she put her hand on his shoulder gently, “What’s wrong?”

“Do you remember, a little while ago when I said that I don’t think Rook ever loved his son like a son. That perhaps he was more of a hindrance, someone he loved as a link to his wife? That he protected Kit out of loyalty more than a paternal kind of love?” Jem asked and Tessa nodded. She did remember, because she had agreed as much as it had pained her to think it. “Well… I think Kit feels the same. That his father never really loved him.” Jem continued and his voice was thick with emotion. Tessa felt the words like a slap; no young boy should ever feel that way. Still, she had to ask.

“What makes you say that?”

“When I put him down on his bed, he was giggling and I kept covering his face with his blanket when he tried to talk. It was funny and he kept laughing and eventually I stopped and sat down on the bed next to him. I knew I was treating him like a little boy, but he was laughing so hard… so I pushed his hair off his forehead and he closed his eyes. Then I went to stand and he grabbed my arm, the look on his face Tessa… I thought my heart was going to break. He looked so vulnerable.” He said and took a long deep breath, “He said ‘thank you’ and when I asked what for, he mumbled something about thanking me for caring. For caring enough to make him laugh, to take him to bed, and for caring about him when I don’t have to. He said it was strange that I cared more about him and his happiness than his own father did.” Jem closed his eyes then and put his head in his hands. Tessa rubbed his arms and sighed. She had known Kit was damaged, but the poor boy had never known the true meaning of a family until he thrown in the middle of the Blackthorn family. He must have felt so alone, on the fringe of a real family and not knowing how to be a part of it. Tessa moved to stand at her husband’s shoulder and with her finger drew his chin towards her until their eyes met.

“We are his family. It may have taken some time for him to find us, and for us to find him, but he is our family and we love him. It may take him some time, but it’s going to be okay. Every small thing we do, like carrying him to bed or baking him a birthday cake, taking him to dinner… all of them counts for something.” She said and Jem nodded, eyes wide and earnest.

“Do you want a hand with the cake?” He asked and she shook her head.

“No I have this covered. Besides don’t you also have to be up early for training?” She responded and he nodded, standing slowly and drawing her in for a kiss.

“Goodnight my love,” He said and then touched her belly lightly, “Be good little one.” He added and she kissed him again, mumbling goodnight as he left the kitchen.

***

The next morning Tessa slept in late, waking up when the shower in the bathroom attached to their room turned on. She rolled out of the bed and wrapped herself in her gown, poking her head into the bathroom. Jem was silhouetted behind the frosted glass and he called out a muffled good morning to her which she returned before closing the door.

Downstairs, Kit was lying on the couch with his legs hooked over the edge of the arm and his wet hair gold and curly. “Good morning birthday boy! How was training?” She asked and he weakly held up a thumb to say it had been good. He was dressed in jeans and a grey sweater so he must have already showered after the training session, and judging by the exhaustion written all over him, it had been a hard session.

“You’d think,” He said, propping himself on his elbows so Tessa could sit down and then resting his head back on her lap, “That I would get a reprieve for my sixteenth but no. Jem has decided I am supposed to die before my next birthday.” He grumbled and she smiled down at him. He closed his eyes and she started untangling his wet locks gently.

“I don’t think you get a reprieve Kit, but you get to relax until we go out. Have you decided where you want to go?” She asked him and he stretched like a cat, his back cracking and his elbows clicking. The look of contentment on his face made her smile.

“I want pizza and that is all I know.” He said and Tessa nodded even though his eyes were still closed.

“We can get pizza.” She agreed, thinking of the restaurants in the town.

***

Kit sat at the head of the table in the small Italian restaurant, dressed in a new shirt and shoes, and his old black jeans with holes in the knees. Jem had booked the small table at the window for them when Tessa had said Kit wanted pizza. While Kit had fallen asleep on the couch to Tessa playing with his hair, Jem had gone to the restaurant with the cake and asked if they would bring it out after their meal, and he had returned shortly before Kit woke up.

“This place is so cute.” Kit said, looking around at the authentic and traditional décor of an old style Italian restaurant. Tessa agreed, it really was cute, and their food had been absolutely incredible. Nothing beat the calm that had overcome Kit. He was so excited just to be out with them in the mundane world, and he didn’t seem to care that it was his birthday. He had looked absolutely shocked and embarrassed by the cake, but it was clear to see that he was touched by the gesture. He didn’t seem to care either, that the waitress had called Jem and Tessa his brother and sister although it had made Tessa uncomfortable. If anything she thought of Kit as a son.

“Do you want your presents?” Jem asked and Kit’s eyes widened.

“You bought me presents?” He asked and Tessa nodded at him. In the bag she had bought was three wrapped presents, although he couldn’t have known that. “Is that why you brought your big bag with you?” He asked and Tessa nodded, leaning behind her to the bag and pulling it onto her lap. She slid the thin rectangular one out, it was the heaviest one and Kit looked absolutely beside himself as he guessed what it was.

“Is this a…?” He stopped himself from asking and tore the layers of tissue paper off to reveal the laptop in its box inside. “No freaking way!” He yelped, staring at it like he couldn’t believe his eyes. Jem smiled and handed him a card. Happy Birthday Kit! We are having internet installed at home don’t panic. Love Jem.

“This one is from me.” Tessa said and handed him the much smaller, squarer box wrapped in red tissue paper. He tore it off and frowned at the controller’s box.

“You do know that… you need a PlayStation for this to work…?” He asked carefully and Tessa laughed.

“Of course I do. It is waiting in the living room for you to set up when we get home.” She said and he blinked a few times before launching himself out of his chair and hugging her tightly, and then running to the other side and hugging Jem.

“Thank you both, so much.” He said as he sat back down, “Honestly, this is better than a car.” He added and they both laughed.

“Last one,” Tessa said, pulling out the soft package in pale pink tissue paper.

“There’s more?” He croaked, taking it gently. He opened it and Tessa wasn’t surprised to see his eyes well with tears and he choked out a laugh as he opened the tee shirt to see what it said on the front.

I have the cutest little sister ever (yes our mom bought me this shirt).

“It’s a girl?” He asked, glancing at Tessa’s stomach and then up at her face. She nodded and reached out to take his hand.

“She is going to be a little girl. She’s your little sister, if you want her to be.” She said and he wiped his eyes on his shoulder as Jem took his other hand.

“You’re family Kit. You mean the world to us, just like little Sophie will too. We love you.” He whispered and Kit’s breathing was ragged as he tried to keep his emotions under control. They waited patiently and after what felt like an eternity he looked up at them and swallowed visibly.

“Can we go home?” He asked and they nodded, Tessa worrying they had overstepped the boundaries. Jem went to pay and Kit looked at Tessa for a long moment.

“Thank you, for everything. It means… more than I can really say.” He said gently and Tessa smiled, kissing his cheek and standing up from the table to drive her family home.

***

That night, after Jem had dragged Kit away from setting up his new game console and ushered him off to bed, Jem came downstairs with a bewildered look on his face.

“What happened?” Tessa asked as he sat down next to her.

“He… Kit called me dad.” He whispered and turned to her with a smile spreading across his features and Tessa’s heart melted inside her.

“What happened?” She asked, taking his hand.

“He said ‘thank you for tonight’ and then before I closed the door he said, ‘goodnight dad.’” Jem explained and Tessa squeezed his hand gently. Kit finally understood that family didn’t always mean blood, it just meant love.

Christ this took me a while to write I am so sorry! I hope you love it as much as I do @claralightwood-gray <3

#i didnt proof read this #tdi #tmi #tsc #tda #tessa gray #baby carstairs #jem carstairs #kit herondale #carstairs family #requested #one shot #fanfic #headcanon