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g0tmilkx3 · 2 years

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Sure Looks Strange to Me I

You met Emerald Haywood purely by chance. You didn’t expect to go through a near death experience with her but stranger things have happened.

WARNINGS: Mature, NOPE spoilers, swearing, crude jokes, drug use (weed), death mention, suggestive language, mentions of oral sex (female receiving), this story is lesbian so yes the relationship moves very fast for no reason, written like a romcom, not proofread

Dividers by: Firefly-Graphics

Part 1 Part 2

“Hey! I’m gonna need help setting these cameras up”

“Why can’t Nessie help?”

“Because she’s retail plus you’re the only other person who knows the system like I do”

“Come on Angel I’m off in 30 minutes” you reasoned. It’d been a long day of monotonous transactions and backroom stocking. There was nothing more you wanted to do than go home and get some much needed rest.

“Dude, stop being a crybaby and just help me out. You can write it off as overtime. Plus you’ve been talking about wanting the new AirPods” he wiggled his eyebrows at you, trying his hardest to sell you on this.

“Ew stop it” you laughed “let’s just get this over with” Angel shot you an appreciative smile as he exited the backroom. You followed behind your coworker turned best friend already counting down the minutes until you were back home and in bed.

After you helped Angel load the newly purchased camera system in the company owned van you two were off.

“…I mean she didn’t even call me after. Not even for the final closure fuck” Angel slammed his hand against the leather steering wheel. The two of you had been driving for almost an hour out to the Haywood ranch. Angel spent maybe 15 minutes of that talking about UFO’s and the rest of the time crying over his ex.

“Dude you complained about her every. day.” you loved your best friend but boy was he delusional. His tumultuous relationship with his now ex-girlfriend was anything but happy. You silently wondered why he was grieving its end so hard. You looked to him — maybe he wasn’t delusional. Maybe he was just in love. What’s the difference anyway?

“Yeah but she was the one” he exclaimed once again “what great couple doesn’t go through shit. Look at Beyoncé and Jay-Z!”

“They’re millionaires! They can afford to be unhappy.”

“Ah you don’t get it” he grumbled gripping the steering wheel. After a beat of silence he turned to you and opened his mouth once again “do you think these guys are in a UFO hotspot?”

“What?” you turned from your phone looking at him incredulously “is that what they told you?”

“They didn’t tell me”

“Oh…”

“But they ‘told’ me alright”

“Dude.”

He clamped his mouth shut settling back in his seat.

“I don’t know I’ve got a feeling” he added “plus I trust them”

“Yeah me too could you turn the radio on?” you asked before stifling your laughter. He shot you a look that said ‘stop being mean to me’. You patted his shoulder in reassurance “love ya dude.”

“Yeah yeah” he quirked a smile “when we get abducted you won’t be laughing.” Angel never held grudges or took things too seriously. That’s probably why your friendship had lasted so long.

After a short stretch of silence he eventually began drumming his hands on the wheel to the song playing on the radio.

“You’re a strange animal…” he hummed “hey you remember this song? Gordy’s home theme song”

“What?“ you didn’t bother looking from your phone this time.

“Aw come on. You’re a strange animal that’s what I know” he excitedly continued “with Jupe from Kid Sheriff”

“I was born this century you know?”

“You’re just uncultured”

“Nobody remembers that show man” you laughed going back to your word scrabble app.

The two of you soon turned down a long stretch of dirt road. Down the long and winding pathway a sizable house peaked into view. It sat smack dab in the middle of a substantial piece of land.

“Okay, now be on the lookout for UFO’s” Angel muttered eyes to the sky. You quietly laughed at your friend remembering just how much you loved him and his quirks.

You and Angel had known each other since middle school. You both decided early on that the two of you were going to be glued at the hip. You just worked together. It made sense.

He was the first person you told about your sexuality. You half expected him to change or to say something weirdly sexual like most boys that age, but he only smiled. His freshmen face stretched around his newly acquired braces and with a simple sentence he whisked away all of your anxieties.

“Who do you think can kiss the most girls by the end of the year, you or me?”

It was history from there. He won by the way.

That memory was just a fading melody that echoed in the back of your mind from time to time. Your friendship had been through much more since then. From pointless fights to late night bonding. At some points the two of you spent so much time with each other that you couldn’t stand each other. Nonetheless you were like siblings in every sense of the word. You couldn’t live with him and you couldn’t live without him. You liked to think he felt the same about you.

As Angel unloaded the truck you were caught up staring up at a cloud that wasn’t moving. And no you weren’t bugging, the shit literally wasn’t moving. It was standing still amongst the other clouds, like a fixture.

“Imma pop out” you faintly heard behind you.

After a few more minutes you weren’t alone anymore.

“Like the view?”

You turned to the person who spoke. She smiled at you once you made eye contact.

“I uh” you turned back to the cloud before shaking your head and looking to the client “I apologize. Um yes its beautiful Ms. Haywood”

You took her soft hand in yours noting how firm her handshake was. She didn’t let you go as you you took a step down from the rock you’d been standing on.

“No need to apologize pretty lady” she quirked a smile at you “and Em is fine”.

You felt warm all over as her eyes trailed your movements. You looked to your hands surprised to see that they were still connected. You shyly pulled your hand back and flexed your fingers. They tingled — you already missed the warmth Em’s hand gave you.

“I better go help Angel”

“Dudes weird” she said with no real heat behind her words.

“Yeah but he’s my weirdo” You continued your walk towards Angel who was using the dolly to move the camera equipment inside the clients house. Mr. Haywood led the way.

“What’d you mean by that?” She asked stopping in her tracks.

You glanced behind you before eventually coming to a stop and turning fully towards her.

You took note of how she looked. She wore a pair of cut off jean shorts that showed off her legs. A bit of sweat was gathering at the collar of her Coyote top. You couldn’t help the feeling of fondness blossoming within you as you surveyed the sight before you. You had to bite your lip to stop yourself from blurting out something stupid. Like calling the stranger who was also a client cute.

“Im sorry?”

She chuckled to herself taking a few steps towards you. You stayed put, using your hand to shield your eyes from the sun. You thought you caught a glimpse of an object darting behind a cloud but Em’s voice brought you back down to earth.

“Is he your friend, boyfriend… life partner?”

It took you longer than you’d like to admit to catch her subtlety. It was so obvious now. Everything about her was calling out to you. Pulling you closer. You soon realized why she wanted to know the information so timely.

“Oh” you laughed nervously “he’s uh my friend”

“Just friends” she raised her eyebrows eyeing you from head to toe. The hot drag of her gaze down your body took your breath away. “that’s great news!”

“Why is that?” You coyly questioned, looking up at her from under your lashes.

“Because” she simply stated. Her knowing smile and charming eyes filled you with desire. Before you knew it she was turning away to walk to her truck.

“Because?” you called behind her not bothering to follow.

“Because I wanna be your friend too” she called back without turning around.

“Cryptic” you replied through a surprised laugh. She threw a peace sign behind her before hopping in the Haywood truck and driving away.

“Hey are you gonna keep flirting or help me with this?” Angel teased. His words didn’t deter you from longingly staring at the flying dust Em left behind.

“I wasn’t flirting” you retorted feeling your face heat up.

After installing the system Angel and Oj, who asked you to not call him Mr. Haywood, took to the grounds to adjust the cameras. You watched curiously from the computer room as the bright blue sky came into view. You hummed curiously wondering why Oj had you and your friend carry out the peculiar request.

There was that cloud again. In full view not moving an inch. You peered closer to the screen trying to see some form of movement. Anything to show that the cloud was real and you weren’t going crazy.

“Havin’ fun” you jumped out of your skin at the unexpected visitor. Whipping your head around a flutter of butterflies erupted in your belly as you seen the younger Haywood smiling at you.

“I uh sorry I was just making sure the cameras were set up correctly”

“Why are you apologizing” she chuckled stepping closer to you “it’s your job, no?”

“Uh yes it is my job” you scratched the back of your ear nervously turning back to the monitors. You heard her steps near you until she stood next to you.

“What’s up there?” You eventually asked turning to her. You were surprised to find her eyes already on you.

“Who knows” she finally ripped her gaze from you and to the monitors “but we gone find out”

You raised an eyebrow wondering if Angel wasn’t so crazy after all. What are the odds that these strangers are also looking up searching for more.

“Angel thinks you guys are in a ufo hot spot” you laughed but soon faltered when you realized she want joining in “holy shit are you guys?”

The younger Haywood laughed a bit before shrugging and looking back to the monitors. She squinted her eyes searching for something. You assumed she searched for what you were searching for.

You watched her. It was kind of hard not to. There was something about her. Something that piqued your interest. You wanted to bury your nose in her fluffy hair and inhale her scent. You wanted to kiss her soft neck and hear what sounds she made. You wanted to taste her lips. God did you want her lips. You drunk her in, staring at the long expansion of her neck when someone interrupted your fascinated stare.

“Hey it’s time to head out”

You turned to Angel who looked at you like he’d just caught you red handed. His teasing smile made your face heat up in embarrassment.

“Leaving already?” Em questioned turning back to you a frown on her face “that was quick”

You decided not to mention how it took about an hour to get everything set up. But she was gone for most of the set up so there was no real way she’d be able to know.

“She’ll take your number” Angel interjected, already grabbing your phone from your back pocket. He ignored your hushed protests and handed your device (unlocked) to Em who chuckled at the two of you. You resisted the urge to sink to the floor as she winked at you.

“Thank you Angel” she smiled to you as she handed the phone back to him “I’ll be in touch”

“Sounds good” you squeaked before grabbing your phone and scurrying to the waiting van. Once inside you exhaled finally getting a good look at the newly acquired contact.

Em Haywood ❤️🐎

“Those guys are kinda dicks” Angel said once he closed his car door “if they don’t give me a good review Al is gonna be on my ass”

“Hey I’ve been waiting in the car for like 30 minutes. What took so long? Also, since when do you care what our manager thinks?”

“They needed help setting up a decoy for horse training or some shit” he shrugged pulling out of the driveway “and I care about what Al thinks since he threatened to fire me if I got one more bad review”

“You just talk too much” you snickered teasing him.

“What am I supposed to do? Sit there in silence and work?”

“Uh yes?”

“At least I’m not like you. Trying to get laid on the job”

“I was not”

“Dude you were looking at her like you wanted to go down on her”

“Jesus Christ angel”

“What?” He laughed narrowly dodging your playful shoulder slap “if it makes you feel any better she looked at you the exact same way”

“Well that’s good to know” you sarcastically retorted “I don’t even think she’s gonna text-“

Ding!

Em Haywood ❤️🐎: ‘So when can I see your pretty self again?’

“Don’t tell me that’s the carpet muncher”

“Shut up” you landed your shoulder slap this time “are you even allowed to say that?”

“Hey!” he swerved a bit before straightening the van back up “also, yes my best friend is a lesbian I get a pass or two”

“She asked when can she see me again” you smiled down at your phone.

“Tell her tonight”

“No” you scoffed “I don’t wanna seem too desperate”

“But you are…” he raised an eyebrow to you.

“Look at the road dude” you sighed when he complied “I am ugh I don’t know”

“Just say tonight. It’s okay, she’s the one who text you first. Plus we left her house like 15 minutes ago. If anything it’s her that’s desperate”

“Okay okay okay” you worried your bottom lip as you hesitantly typed a reply.

You: ‘How about tonight?’

“If she thinks I’m a creep you’re dead”

“You’re awesome nobody will think you’re a creep” Angel promised.

Em Haywood ❤️🐎: ‘Sounds good. Come over to mine?’

You: ‘See you after 7?’

Em Haywood ❤️🐎: ‘See you then 🤩’

You stayed mostly silent the rest of the car ride; occasionally cracking a joke with Angel or singing along to a song on the radio. Truthfully, you were in a daze.

It was strange actually. How could a girl you’d met an hour ago and who you exchanged barley 10 words with have you so hung up and nervous. There was something different about this one. Or maybe you were becoming delusional like Angel and his ex.

“Dude you are the worst when you have a crush” your best friend teased as you pulled back into Fry’s Electronics “you’ve been giving googly eyes to your phone since she text you”

“Do you think her strap is big?”

“Okay this conversation is over” he waved you off ignoring your delighted laughter.

You cursed quietly to yourself as you pulled up to the Haywood ranch. So many things rushed through your head. Anxiety had you strung tight, how long would it be before you snapped? You had the right to be anxious after all. You were in the middle of nowhere meeting up with a stranger who was probably going to kill you. You barley even thought this through. Why do pretty girls render you useless?

What if she’s a bad person? She could have lured many unsuspecting girls here. With her undeniable charm and convincing smile, she could’ve convinced you to do anything.

What if she thinks you’re a bad person? Or worse, boring. You placed your hand on the gearshift contemplating putting the car in reverse and hightailing it out of there, never to return. The generic jingle of your ringtone snapped you from your thoughts.

“Hello?”

“Don’t do it” Angel said without even greeting you.

“What are you talking about?” You took your hand from the gearshift and leaned back in your chair.

“I know you and I know you’re thinking about not going in right now”

“How did you know that?”

“Because I know you!”

“I can’t do this Angel” you confessed “I’m too nervous I don’t wanna embarrass myself”

“See now that’s literally impossible. You’d embarrass yourself by not walking in that house.” He was right. You hated when he was right. “Just talk to her about movies, you love movies”

“I don’t wanna talk her ear off.”

“It’s a first date who cares?”

“Date?” You shrieked “this is not a date!”

“You’re so bad at this.”

“I can’t do this, nah” you mulled over your choices: you can either go in and embarrass yourself or leave and embarrass yourself “Nope.”

“You didn’t even give yourself a chance” he offered “give yourself a chance”

“But what if it goes wrong”

“Let’s make a deal in 15 minutes I’ll call you and give you an excuse to leave if it’s going good just stay! Simple”

“Simple…” you nodded “okay yeah sounds good I’ll just do that” you took your keys out of the ignition “15 minutes Angel.”

“15 minutes and I’ll E.T phone home you”

You stopped your movements “you know you can just say phone home I know what the reference is”

“Of course you do…” your friends voice dipped out. The lights in your car dimmed until you were shrouded in darkness. You whipped your head around as the hair on the back of your neck stood up. Something within you stirred, somehow you knew you weren’t safe in that moment. It felt almost like a centuries long instinct within you was rising up. Telling you to get out of there. You breathed out slowly searching for the newcomer, you were quickly realizing that you weren’t alone anymore. The warm glow from the house became more and more muted until darkness overtook the structure. The incessant low buzz of electricity was absent. The emptiness of the countryside made the ringing silence all the more noticeable.

You took a shaky breath as you gripped your keys, ignoring the sharp metal digging into your palms. The dirt beneath your feet sunk under your weight as you stepped out of your car and surveilled your surroundings. Nothing. Nothing but darkness.

After a beat the house began emitting a warm glow lighting the area enough for you to see Em standing on the porch.

You faintly felt the vibrations of your phone turning back on.

“I thought I heard somebody out here”

“The power went out?” You sauntered over to her taking in how cute she looked under the stars.

“Yeah it does that sometimes” she supplied before turning back to the house. You shook your head ridding your mind of the odd occurrence and stepped into the antique house behind Em. The two of you soon stood before a liquor cabinet “would you like a drink? I got bourbon, tequila, vodka…”

You eyed the wooden cabinet before you as Em grabbed a couple of glasses and ice.

“I don’t really drink” you hummed turning to the girl as she sat the glasses on the table.

“I got weed” she tried.

Your matched smiles led the two of you to standing in a random room upstairs listening to records with the window open.

She took a long drag before handing the joint to you. She eyed whatever it was outside of her window as you stared at a poster on her wall.

“That horse is just hard headed” she shook her head as she sucked her teeth “I just wanna know how that nigga got out”

“How many horses y’all got?”

“Shit I don’t know at this point. Oj dumbass stay selling my daddy’s horses”

Your gaze was kept on the poster showing a clip of their great great great grandfather on a horse. Em gave you the rundown of her family as she rolled the joint the two of you were smoking.

You were so distracted that you hadn’t realized your companion moving from the window to the space just behind you. You felt a comforting heat radiating from her body as she lightly pressed against the back of you. Her hand stretched past you and pointed to one of the frames.

“Allegedly this frame got fucked up, but they decided to keep it in” her breath brushed against your sensitive ears. She smelled like vanilla and cherries mixed with fresh wood and weed. You deeply inhaled letting her scent intoxicate you. You slowly turned around, words dying on your lips finding her closer than you expected. Her nose brushed against yours as her hands softly gripped your hips.

Her lips were as soft as they looked you realized once they covered yours. She breathed you in, pulling you closer than you were before. Your begging hands tangled in her fro as you repeated her movements and pulled her closer. Electricity surged down your body as she walked you back to the waiting bed. The two of you refused to pull away from each other as your back pressed against the cold plush linen. Your mouths continued moving against each other — soft wet tongues massaging the other. Her kiss was so passionate it felt as if she was stealing the oxygen from your body. But you weren’t complaining. She briefly pulled away, her chest heaving as she took you in.

“I’m sorry I just-“ she cut herself off pressing her mouth back against yours. Her skilled tongue slipped into your mouth once again, this time with more vigor. Your bodies pressed heatedly against each other as your heartbeats began drumming in tandem. You could taste her desperation you could feel her desperation as her hands began pulling your shirt up. Her warm hands lingered on your belly, she ran her finger tips across your warm skin. Butterflies fluttered in their wake. Her sensual touch dragged across your belly before moving up to your breast.

A melodic sound filtered through the air. It pulled you from the pleasure you were receiving but only for a second. Soon the sound was gone and you were plunged back into the promise land of bliss. She didn’t waste time going back to feeling every exposed part of you. Her hand slipped under your bralette. Warm fingers brushed against your nipples making them hard. A long awaited moan climbed up your throat. She smiled against your lips.

I smiled once again hearing your desperate moans fill the air. They sounded like music and I was prepared to listen to your song forever. You felt so right beneath me. Like you were meant to be there.

I couldn’t help myself from trailing my lips down to your waiting neck. Inhaling the sweet scent you gave me only made my panties grow wetter in anticipation. I resisted the urge to grind my hips down against yours. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t searching for some sort of relief. From the moment I saw you standing there staring off into the clouds I knew I had to be near you. I had to say something to you or I feared the moment would have passed me by.

My phone began ringing again. This time I groaned in frustration, pulling away from my honey suckle I put my phone to my ear.

“What?”

“There is a bug on camera 1”

“What?” I rolled my eyes as I realized what the peculiar tech guy meant “man I told you to stop watching our shit”

I stood up shooting an apologetic look to you. You only shook your head a bashful smile on your face. I watched as you sat up and straightened your shirt then you moved to fixing your hair. We’d only been kissing for 5 minutes and you already looked fucked out. I wanted to see how you’d look after I had my way with you. Showing you just how much I like you. Showing you how pretty you are to me.

“Yeah but camera two is out” he exclaimed nervously “like ancient fucking aliens out”

“Shit!” My heart dropped to my stomach as I sprinted out of the room only Oj on my mind.

You could only sit and watch as Em abruptly left the room phone in hand. You wanted to be angry but there was something in her voice that made an uneasy feeling stir in your body.

Staring out of the window you saw what looked like sand and dust falling from the sky… or being sucked up into it. No. That can’t be it.

You squinted your eyes trying to catch a better glimpse. Em’s vocie echoed from outside.

“OJ ITS IN THE CLOUDS” her urgency startled you “RUN OJ RUN!” She continued with renewed exclamation.

Fear circle your body as you watched Oj run away from something you couldn’t quite see. Whatever it was it was big. It was angry and it was trying to suck Oj up into the sky.

You stood frozen watching the scene before you play out. Surely you had to be hallucinating. Were you simply sleep deprived. Was the weed you smoked laced with a foreign substance?

You didn’t have the chance to puzzle together what you were seeing because you were soon blacking out.

“Shit is she okay?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know I ain’t a doctor” Em brushed some of your hair back “first fine girl I get back to the ranch and this bullshit”

“We need to wake her up somehow” Oj’s gruff voice vibrates your ears.

“I’m gonna go get some wet towels”

A sharp pain shot through your head. Bright light poured into your retinas making a pain you never felt before rush through your head.

“Em come back she’s waking up”

“I’m coming I’m coming”

You groaned watching as 3 Oj’s changed to 2 then eventually 1. Em soon came into view. She dabbed your forehead with a cold wet towel.

“You okay pretty girl?” She frowned continuing her actions.

“Angel” you muttered.

“That’s cute she thinks I’m an angel” Em cooed, her eyes growing soft as she felt her heart melt.

“Angel” you groaned again still struggling to regain consciousness. Your phone was vibrating off the hook. No doubt it was Angel calling to check on you.

“I think she talkin’ about Angel”

“Oh.”

You dragged your phone from your back pocket and wearily dragged your finger across the screen to accept his call.

“Oh my god you’re alive!”

“Did you get that on film?” You croaked eager to see if your friend had also witnessed the spectacle.

“No. There was a fucking praying mantis!” He replied.

“Fuck.”

#idk if I’m gonna do another part this lowkey turned out longer than I wanted lol #i would’ve posted it 3 days ago but I keep adding and editing lol #this story kinda has more reader x angel #not intentionally I just love writing friends #i love a good bestie relationship in a fic idk do y’all?#i had to physically stop myself from editing this #Em Haywood #Emerald ‘Em’ Haywood #NOPE #Angel #OJ Haywood #NOPE spoilers #em haywood x reader #em haywood x fem!reader #black!fem!reader #keke palmer #I feel like she lurks so if you come across this gif I love you and I’m free on Saturday nights #i wasn’t gonna do part 2 #but I realize that reader didn’t really go through a near death experience with em like the description says

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catgirlknighted · 2 months

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Running an ns/ft blog & finding out your moots’ main blogs when they like something or follow you but being sworn to secrecy (just respecting people’s privacy) & vice versa. 🤫

#i couldn’t find a good gif #presidential voice: please laugh #also listen- I just can’t help but thirst follow people back sometimes if I’m active & can look xD or have the energy to check further than #the necessary bio/pinned post check #some people on here are so damn hot o///////o #I appreciate those of y’all who keep my main a secret as I do with yours <3 #most people just say their main but like... yeah no I’m not comfortable doing that for multiple reasons yet if ever; we’ll see #rose.txt #gay ns/fw #gay nsft #queer ns/fw #queer nsft #trans nsft #trans ns/fw #enby nsft #lgbt nsft

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jageshemashftw · 1 year

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So… I’m actually rewatching RWBY from the beginning with my Mom because she actually wanted to get into it after hearing me talk about it so much.

We’re a couple episodes into Volume 2 and she’s legitimately actually loving it! She loves the characters, loves the world, she loves the whole fairy tale angle. (It’s actually become kind of a game for us to have her try and guess each character’s inspiration)

I already told her I planned on recording her reaction to Volume 3, and…..

Oh my good golly God, I cannot wait to subject her to Volume 9.

You guys, I am going to make my Mom cry so hard.

#RWBY #rwby volume 9 #rwby volume 3 #I’ll keep y’all updated on her trauma as we go #oh and I might hook my Dad into it too #at first he said he had no interest in it #but then he saw the food fight in the first episode of Volume 2 #he still doesn’t want to watch the whole show with us #but he did say that was the most creative fight scene he’s seen in a long time #shit post

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hargrove-mayfields · 1 year

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The bus always drops Billy off exactly a block from home. They took his car when he failed a vision test from his chronic migraines, so there isn’t much of a choice. Which is fair. He really doesn’t want to drive anyways after his accident. But, the bus isn’t always on time.

He’d been visiting Max at the hospital to play catch up before the new year. There’s always a good excuse to go visit her, but today especially. There’s fireworks going off like crazy from all the drunk hicks celebrating the passing of another year. Fireworks that terrify Max because she can’t even see them, after losing her vision in the battle for her life.

He’s lucky he got out of the hospital earlier that night because Max requested an extra strong dose of her meds to drown out the sound of the fireworks.

Unfortunately, there’s too many of those same drunks to cart around that the bus hadn’t made its way to the hospital until an hour after it was supposed to pick him up. He’d meant to be home by 9, but it’s already after 10.

Even on his eventual walk home from the bus stop, drawn out by his limp and his cane, the sky is full of smoke and colors. And noise. Lots and lots of irritating, terrifying noise.

Billy walks the last stretch faster than he should. He’s eager to get home to Steve for their first new year together anyhow. He’ll blame it on that instead of the lick of fear in his stride from the booming.

Right away as he shoulders the door open on his good side, the one not leaning on a cane, he calls out into the house, expecting Steve to be right there since he’s running a little late, “Baby?”

But there’s no answer. That’s not so unusual. They’re usually in bed by now anyways, aged at least three decades by the events of two summers ago and basically every day since. He’ll just hang up his coat, kick off his stretchy old man shoes, and try again.

“Steeeevie?”

Still nothing.

One too many times panicking from not knowing Steve’s exact location has taught him to calm down a little, and get his head on the right way before he starts tearing the place apart looking for him. Taking his time so as not to hurt himself in the process, Billy decides to go upstairs and check before he makes the ruling that Steve’s MIA. For his sanity.

He finds his boyfriend disguised as a pile of blankets on their bed, and he almost misses him because the lights are all out.

Right.

Fireworks are pretty rough for Steve too. Nothing brings more sensory overload than colorful death bombs in the sky. Billy sighs. He hates this town and the constant cacophony of fear it brings. Can’t they ever have a moment of peace?

He climbs into bed next to Steve, announcing his presence with a clearing of his throat before he plops down next to the curled up figure under the comforter.

“What’re you doing in here?”

The quiet response from Steve comes out barely audible, “Hiding.”

Yeah. Billy kinda wishes he could hide from a lot of things too. But right now, this is not about him,

“What from?”

The blankets rustle and a small mumbled response comes, “Loud.”

Just to be sure, and so Steve doesn’t have to do as much talking, Billy clarifies, “The fireworks are too loud?”

Again, there’s a shifting sound of Steve’s hair against the sheets, as he nods gently.

Billy wants to hold him. He’d like to strike down every last motherfucker that made Steve feel like this too. He can settle for lifting up the blanket and sliding under it with Steve, and talking gently to try and soothe him.

“I think so too. They uh.. remind me of..”

His voice breaks off from the quiet whisper into just nothing. Even now, even trying to be strong for Steve, there are some things that are too hard to talk about.

Steve’s face goes scrunched up with sympathy. Like he’s trying hard on purpose to feel bad for Billy, though that’s not really how it goes in his head. He even apologizes, though that isn’t what Billy wanted at all, “I’m sorry.”

Instantly, Billy rushes to reassure him, “Stevie, you didn’t-“

But it doesn’t change what Steve was already determined to tell him. They don’t talk a lot about the serious things. About how they’re both disabled now, and certainly both jam-packed with more trauma than the sky is packed with lights tonight. Maybe they should, so Steve won’t sound as guilty as he speaks,

“I’m sorry I’ve always been like this and you were made into this.”

That makes Billy pause. He has to catch his breath and then turn on his side to look at Steve’s face, centering on his nose so accidental eye-contact won’t happen.

No way is he letting Steve blame himself for this, any of this.

“That’s not true. I hated fireworks before too. We’d watch them on the beach, and I’d get scared because the water looked like it was on fire.”

Just from that tidbit, Steve tears up. Billy tears up. They both know what part of the story is coming next, and suddenly Billy remembers that he told this story before and simply forgot, but it’s too late to stop now.

“Momma held me and told me that it wasn’t real, but.. after momma left.. I was always afraid of irrational shit like that. Still am. Just today I was scared the hospital would burn up from the fireworks if I left Max there. Or I’d choke on the smoke on my way home. And then I got back and I couldn’t find you and I just-“

Yeah. Steve gets it. They’re both trying their damndest, even when another pop sounds in the near distance, and Steve presses his headphones a little closer to his ears.

The not quite silence speaks more volumes than their words. Steve spreads his arm out, and makes a soft little humming sound. An invitation for Billy to come close and wrap his arms around Steve. They need each other right now.

Billy dives into the offered cuddle. He’s been waiting for this moment all day. The moment where he could just sob into Steve’s chest, and feel Steve’s own tears wetting his hair. Sometimes, this is what it takes.

Laying in bed and purging out all their bad emotions isn’t exactly the ideal way for two ex-King’s like them to spend their New Year’s Eve, but it’s how they’re going to, and neither would ask for any other way to move into another year. They fought hard to be able to do that.

Nobody can take that away.

They don’t talk again until Steve is ready. With all the noise and chaos, Billy doesn’t mind the silence, just listening to Steve’s steady, unsteady, one-two-skip, heartbeat. He hears Steve’s words rattle up in his chest as he speaks them, “Fireworks are stupid.”

That makes Billy crack a smile. They both know all this crying isn’t about the fireworks. Not that it helps, but that’s not the point.

Maybe fireworks will be the spark that lit the fire. From now on, it’s about opening up a little more.

“Yeah. What’s so great about all that toxic shit in the air anyways?” Billy meant that in more ways than one, but whether or not Steve got the double meaning about all that glory covering up the ugly truth, isn’t what he focuses on.

Steve lingers on the idea of the bad air, and Billy’s asthmatic lungs, and lets the worry come back, “I didn’t even think about that. You okay?”

Billy nods against Steve’s chest, and pulls back a little so his head is resting by his arm instead, and they’re face to face now, “I’m just fine.”

It’s such an automatic answer, Steve catches it too. Satisfied that he noticed, he points out, “You sound just like Max.”

He does. It feels like it’s already been an eternity since he got back in Steve’s arms. He forgot that today was the same day he visited Max. His memories get mixed up like that sometimes.

The silence after Steve’s little teasing must eat away at Billy’s mask, because Steve makes a small sound of worry, like a gruff sniffle, and asks, “Was she okay?”

Trying hard to remember today’s visit over yesterday's or the day before's or nine months before that’s, Billy gives details by the moment he remembers them, “Still tired. But alright. Got her to smile.”

“Did you tell her-“ Every single day Steve asks the same questions. He cares so much about doing the right thing.

Seeing him now, all curled up in bed and sad on a day that’s a celebration for everybody else, makes Billy even more sure that he’s going to do the right thing as well. Right now, that’s reassurance,

“Yep, I said ‘hi from Steve.’ And I made sure to tell her you miss her. All the usual.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come.” Steve went once, and that was all it took for the constant beeping, rushing, wheeling, to trigger a meltdown. Never again.

But Billy’s alright with that, and Max was too the last time they talked, “Baby, we’ve told you. It’s fine. I can barely get my ass on the bus either.”

Steve doesn’t look like he believes him. His eyes are wide and teary again. His nails scratch at his palms, so Billy gently takes his hands and keeps them separated.

“Promise?”

Billy kisses Steve’s knuckles on each hand, soft and barely able to be felt as a graze across warm flesh. He’s going to do anything to make Steve stop worrying about the harder things they’ve been through a few times now.

“I promise.”

Billy reaches out slowly, ever so slowly so Steve has time to assert his boundaries before Billy's hand makes contact with his face. Instead of stopping him though, Steve blinks slowly and closes his eyes, and allows Billy to gently hold his cheek. His skin is flushed warm, despite it being so cold out. He’s the softest thing Billy’s ever had the privilege to hold.

Next he wants to taste. The angle they’re at is awkward and it hurts Billy’s back. He taps Steve’s cheek as a silent way of asking him to be the one to initiate their kiss and fix their tangle of limbs. Steve obliges, without opening his eyes, shifting off of his hip so his chest is against Billy’s now, and their faces are just inches apart.

Billy isn’t even sure which of them actually closes the gap, but in the next moment he’s kissing Steve slowly and carefully like either of them could break at any second.

In the next moment, Steve does break, only in that he separates the kiss.

“Wait a sec.”

Billy’s eyes are half open, his face warmed by the love he felt from the kiss, which left him too lax and calm to be worried about Steve’s interruption, “Hm?”

Not for no reason. Steve’s panic looks a lot different from his lightbulb ideas, and right now, Billy can tell before Steve even speaks it’s going to be the latter. One of his good ideas.

“We have to save up our kisses for midnight.”

Not exactly the most thrilling idea ever. Billy instinctually scrunches his nose as an expression of doubt, but Steve’s eyes are still shining with his own brilliance.

“I don’t know, babe..”

“It’s good luck!” Steve swears it like it’s a revelation, and he’s just cured all that ails Billy.

Seeing him that happy, instead of shaking and hiding from the overstimulation like earlier, Billy could say that Steve’s just about done that for real.

Billy plays his role as the skeptic though, pouting over-exaggeratedly so Steve knows he’s not serious, “Didn’t know that meant we had to wait.”

It earns a laugh, more akin to a delighted giggle, out of Steve, who decides on a compromise for their imaginary plight, “You can have one kiss on the cheek for now.”

He leans over and just barely pecks his cheek, soft lips ghosting over Billy’s skin and making him shiver with the feeling of goose pimples popping up on his neck. The small kiss transforms with the shape of Steve’s smile from Billy's reaction, and then Steve gives him another, slightly stronger, press of his lips.

“Thank you, Stevie.” Billy makes doubly-sure Steve knows he’s not really as pouty as he was playing to be. Really, any affection from Steve makes his entire day better, after months where they weren’t able to have these moments between doctors visits and monster battles. The peace of just being in one another’s arms, finally safe from all of that, is enough. “Love you.”

Declarations of love always give Steve a reason to show his happy hands. He taps the tips of his fingers in a rhythm against Billy’s collar bone, and returns the declaration in a silly, stimmy voice, “I love you too.”

Their bliss is interrupted by another thundering firework outside. A distressed squeak cuts off Steve’s words, and he buries his face into Billy’s form, hiding along the contour of his arm, with his face pressed against Billy’s ribcage, so he’s as close to Billy as possible, and as far away from the threat.

It’s not really a comfortable position, but if it keeps Steve feeling safe, Billy can live with a dead arm for a while.

“I got you, Steve. Those fireworks aren’t gonna get us, babe.”

“Too loud.” Steve repeats his sentiment from earlier. That’s a nice affirmation that this is all rational. They’ve both had their share of fear driven breaks, which are much harder to solve.

Since this one’s the kind that doesn’t scare Billy, he keeps joking with Steve to keep him from slipping into that worse place.

“Want me to sing for you? Drown it all out?” He questions, knowing full well he can’t hold a tune worth a damn.

“Please no.” Steve’s so polite about telling Billy what he already knew. It’s really sweet actually.

Billy chuckles lightly, suppressing his laugh so he doesn’t jostle Steve too much, “I hear you. We’ll just be nice and quiet then.”

After so long like that, without any more booming interruptions from outside of their safe spot, Billy’s eyes start to get heavy. He caught Steve the same way, blinking extra hard so his eyelashes danced over Billy’s skin, and so his eyes wouldn’t shut without him.

Normally he’d just let him sleep, and he considers it for a moment, but it’s the celebration of the new year, and Steve would be devastated if they missed the midnight kiss.

Billy realizes they’ve been laying here for so long, he doesn’t even know what time it is, “I’m gonna peek out of the blanket. Check the time.”

Steve doesn’t waste energy on responding beyond a simple nod.

Billy uses his free hand that isn’t under Steve to pull the heavy comforter back down to let the real world back in. His eyes take a moment to adjust to the room again, and then he squints at the clock to see how close they are to the moment.

“Oh shit. It’s 11:56. Only 4 minutes left.” He announces, and Steve pops up beside him from under the blanket eagerly, every bit of tiredness gone from his face and replaced with glowing excitement.

“Are we gonna count them down?”

Billy smiles and shrugs as much as he can with Steve’s weight still on his one arm, “Don’t see why not.”

They count the minutes down together quietly. That’s too long to do it out loud and wear Steve out before it’s even time. Their way of doing that consists of Billy laying still and letting Steve tap out each passing second against the scar in the center of his chest.

When they finally reach an achievable countdown, Billy starts with, “10.”

“9.” Steve takes the next, and they do it in alternating order, although from the way Steve is vibrating with excitement, he’d probably rather skip this step altogether

Still, Steve is so loving with him, even when Billy feels like he doesn’t deserve it.

“8.”

Billy would hold him through anything it took to make Steve feel safe expressing that kind of love.

“7.”

They fought so hard to be this comfortable. Last year, Billy was still in a coma, and Steve was still too scared to even touch him to hold hands.

“6.”

Their first kiss was two months after they started dating, leaning around stitches and big emotions to both finally feel like everything was in place.

“5.”

Someday, they’ll be totally in sync and know when those hard times have passed, but right now it’s a loving, tender work in progress.

“4.”

And maybe someday, they’ll get out of Hawkins, and far away from all the chaos here.

“3.”

Billy gets stronger every day, mentally and physically. Steve gets more in tune with his own needs and self-worth. That’s what a support system and a whole lotta care will do for a couple of guys like them.

“2.”

Most importantly, they’re getting better all the time at communicating, building up the foundations of their relationship.

“1!”

Steve initiates the kiss, grabbing both sides of Billy’s face and smashing their lips together rather than kissing him. It’s reminiscent of their first kiss, in all its clumsy, anxious glory. Billy thinks that’s a good momento to end the worst year of their lives with, and start into what will hopefully be the best.

“Looking forward to another year with you, baby.” He promises, when they break apart and finally get a breath.

Steve wears a delightful smile, “Here’s to another.. hm.. 100?”

That sounds nice. Just him and Steve for the rest of time, no matter how many years pass or how many painful explosions happen.

“Yeah. Cheers to that.”

#harringrove #billy hargrove #billy x steve #billy & max #disabled! steve #disabled! billy #my writing #ej writer #happy late new year y’all #i meant to post this yesterday but life got in the way #as it does with a lot of things #my resolution is to keep up with my writing and my friends more at the same time #anyway #love you all <3 #long post

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accursedvoid · 12 days

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“Oh but they’re struggling creatives who need the money more” okay then why didn’t they join another streaming service rather than making their own and forcing everyone (of those that even can) to buy into yet another fucking streaming service

#watcher #y’all keep comparing them to CH/dropout which from what I know has more content creators thus making it more worth it and like ok #why don’t they go join them and the Nebula thing then #why they gotta paywall behind another fucking streaming service when there’s already 50 odd and growing????#I think they’ve severely overestimated how many can/will do so and this will probably collapse/implode on them possibly #look man I’m fucking tired of having 5 billion streaming services #who has the money for all these things I miss having like 1-3 that had everything #y’all I got bills to pay and groceries to afford in this economy this is a hard pass #anyway Yo Ho y’all 🏴‍☠️#accursed posts #my posts #edit: also to say ‘struggling’ when Steven keeps flying around to eat expensive food yeah ok sure

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crazyw3irdo · 2 years

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@ anyone who compliments my writing just know i’m twirling my hair and kicking my legs as i read it

#y’all keep complimenting me i’m gonna get an ego #i’ll graduate from tsundere to himedere #…i’ve been watching a lot of anime lately-#but truly just ehehehehehe why yes i AM funny >:3 #with every keysmash my power grows..!#crazwaz posted #mini banger of a post #crazy’s life

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synechd0che · 10 months

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#narrowly resisting the urge to post this on my fandom side blog but #i feel like there’s a growing trend where #someone makes a fandom post about #something that was very obviously a harmless joke (like. literally nothing objectionable. just being facetious or cracky)#gets replies like *ummm you failed to consider footnote 3 of appendix 2B god I can’t believe ppl keep doing this*#like??? you’re the yellow pajama boy from polar express. that’s the vibe there.#dude just ignore it if it actually chaps your ass that much but #you might want to consider why you need a bibliography for peoples crack posting #and what impact lampooning ppl has on their desire to post #like i Also get somewhat annoyed when the most popular school of thought is directly controverted by a central theme of canon #but this is not that and you need to lighten up and accept that sometimes ppl are going to post a one liner #and this is maybe unique to my *we make annotated bibliographies for fun* fandom #but in general i sense a growing hostility toward anything that’s too AU or too canon divergent or too crack #and i don’t even go there! I write mostly canon compliant or canon adjacent fic #but it’s laterally hostile to see y’all act like that

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deityofhearts · 3 months

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either getting a job is going to fix my sleep schedule or I’m gonna be dumb of ass and continue to be awake when I most certainly should not be

#deity dialogue #I already know which is gonna happen #because it’s what always happens I will be awake til 8am on a work day #or go to work having been awake for 30 hours and I will be barely holding on through the day #and you may think why don’t you just slepe?#insomnia. adhd. I can’t sleep at normal times + lately I’ve been drawing again but the hyper focus is rlly something and I don’t wanna sleep #because I wanna keep drawing and then suddenly it’s 6am #I’m gonna like put my phone down after this post n sleep see y’all in about 3 hours #I get to see my child (cat) tomorrow I miss herrrrr #my sweet little baby who I would kill for #I’m half

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kitnita · 11 months

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actually you know what. i think it’d be soooo funny if delly did just start dating otter and kennedi. they’re both so normal and boring & kennedi. while hot. is normal and boring in the usual wag ways. the thought isn’t fully formed in my head but if all the hockey stan corners of the internet had to suddenly get interested in them it would be very fun. to me personally.

#zoe.txt #like idk y’all remember that post that was like #the first out nhler isn’t gonna be some young star everyone thirsts over. it’ll be a random fourth line grinder or something #delly simply Is that guy!!#i love both otter and delly but they are soooo boring in insane ways <3 #i think they’d have a lovely weird normal throuple that non stars fans would struggle to fathom <3 #barring throuple watch proving fruitful i also want them to keep dropping insane comments about delly being like a son to otter & his gf #i want two of our normal boring guys to keep being weird on main #ALSO this isn't me tinhatting lmao this is all jokes. whatever you get the vibe here i just know we're verging on Territory

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goofily-moved · 11 months

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good morning! Happy pride month!!

#yaaay #it’s also my lil sisters 14th birthday so we’re gonna spend some time together later today #:3 #but yaaaaay pride omg #I’m getting my nails done rainbow tomorrow 🤭💅🏻#they’re already rainbow but I gotta keep it up #ooc.#to be deleted #thank you ASLO for all the sweet thangs y’all said on my last post ONG #they really made me smile

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iloveyoumorethansoup · 2 years

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Thinking about how Croix didn’t try to lie to Chariot why she was interested in Luna Nova because clearly she could’ve played the long game and got there sooner. Chariot would have forgiven her the second she asked. I can’t help but wonder if it was because she couldn’t hurt Chariot again or if Chariot would have wanted to be so close to her again she would’ve seen right through Croix

#coming off my way too long hiatus to bring u sad charoix posts #no bc like!! croix could’ve lied her so fast and easy #if she got there a little sooner put on a little show to say ohh I’m so sorry can we try again?? chariot would’ve gone for it #but she didn’t! and I mean the theatrics of a final reveal would’ve been right up her alley #so ignoring plot line reasons I’m choosing to believe she did that because it would have torn her up to lie like that to chariot #because as we all know even if she couldn’t stand her she still loved her #also if it worked out too good bestie chariot is showing up at her place on the regular like what r u working on :) <3 #and croix would have to sit there like. nothing. leave me alone #how much of Croixs hatred do y’all think was an act? bc it’s pretty obvious she didn’t want chariot to get hurt #think she wanted to keep chariot away?#soup talks #lwa #chariot du nord #croix meridies #charoix #ursula callistis #little witch academia

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idyllghost · 1 year

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They would love monster high

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bericas · 1 year

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for the rare pairs!!! i've never seen anyone do malia and erica

anon this is so real and so funny of you to send this to me bc this just reminded me that i was soooo obsessed with the idea of erica trying to steal stiles’s gf. i bet it’s a pretty sick rush of power!!!

also i just shuffled and we got such a good song for them let’s go ericamalia warriors

#asks #anonymous #sorry for the ugly answer in at my internship <3 #but this excited me so much <3 #also for anyone else who sent me these i’ve seen them!!#i just haven’t been publishing bc. you know. i don’t have a reason #just didn’t feel pertinent to post them i guess #but i have them!#and lmk i guess if y’all want me to post them? to keep track of what i’ve gotten already? idk!

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whumpacabra · 1 year

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Day 25 - Assumed Dead

Assumed dead, medical setting, tracheal intubation, ventilator, past torture and captivity, past respiratory illness, heart monitor and IV mention, manipulation, implied character death, self sacrifice, betrayal

[Follows David Alone | Tape #2]

He was underwater, lungs heavy with water but he didn’t mind. Air wasn’t something he needed, the dark chill of the pond making the world dim and soft as the silty mud.

Something disturbed the water above, ice cracking and light shining through. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it - he didn’t want to be bothered, but something in his waterlogged lungs dragged his limbs into movement.

He tired as he swam, the lull of a nap in the soft mud below welcoming. The muted sounds above the surface weren’t worth the effort, not when he was so tired. He stopped swimming and let himself sink to the bottom.

He slept. He woke.

Again the water above him was disturbed, and his lungs itched at the bubbles invading the water column. He wanted to see. He wanted to breathe.

It was still hard to swim, the water once welcoming now clawing at every movement with an icy grip. His frozen lungs began to burn, chest aching as though it would implode. He was so close to the surface -

—

Bear’s eyes opened, long eye lashes tickling at his face as he blinked at the plain white ceiling above.

There was something in his mouth - down his throat - putting air into his lungs. He didn’t have the energy to fight the machine as it forced the tempo of his breathing. He wouldn’t have had the energy to breathe without it.

He slowly identified where his body lay in physical space; the stiff mattress beneath him, the thin sterile sheet tucked around him, the IV line in his left hand, the wires and tubes wrapping around and invading his body. Everything ached in a far away way, a nightmare over and tears dried by morning.

The nightmare.

The heart monitor picked up its pace as Bear struggled to sort through his last memories.

The basement. The beatings. He was sick. The torture. David was crying. The questions. He swore he wouldn’t tell. He made David swear too. The weight in his lungs and the fever in his veins. David didn’t understand.

The memories wore thin, flickers of sensations and movement dulled and covered in a thick veneer of uncertainty.

What had happened?

Movement shifted to his right, and his eyes darted to beg the questions his mouth couldn’t.

The machines surrounding him sung like a forest of chattering catbirds, rapid and harsh beeps accompanying his dread.

Cortazar sat up from the hospital chair he was curled in, cracking his neck. There were dark circles under his eyes, an air of exhaustion from the usually well put together man.

“Oh thank God, you’re awake.” Bear bit down on the device in his mouth, wishing he had the lung capacity to respond with more than a glare. “I’ll call the doctor - just a sec,”

Bear’s right hand reached out to him, uncoordinated fingers managing to snag the hem of his shirt. Beneath the consuming wave of rage, he was deeply confused. His brows knit together as Cortazar met his gaze, trying to convey his questions.

“It’s alright.” Cortazar held his hand with a gentleness he never offered before. There was a guilty sorrow in his silver eyes that didn’t quite meet Bear’s own. “You’re going to be alright.”

Bear squeezed his hand tighter, eyes darting around the room. It was private hospital room, gentle morning sunlight drifting through the blinds. There was a soft murmur of conversation and movement from the hallway.

“You’re at the Whittemore Hospital - it was a hell of a drive I tell you, keeping you breathing the whole way.” Cortazar sat down again, still holding Bear’s hand. His brow furrowed, expression grim. “But you don’t care about that. You want to know why.”

Bear managed a stiff nod - he could feel stitches on his back tug with the movement.

“Dave cut a deal. I got the cache back, you got out - out-out, no strings attached.”

Bear clenched his jaw. Cortazar sitting in his hospital roomed seemed like there might be some strings left uncut.

“I - the Boss knew I had you both. Was…working with both of you to get the cache back. I couldn’t - if I just cut you loose…” Cortazar shifted, an agitated sigh settling him again. “They think you died. Everyone - I hope. Not that your people bothered to even check for you when you were alive.”

His eyes broke away from Cortazar, a greater concern gripping his thoughts. The agent he was supposed to bring the information to hadn’t come for him. He had said as much when they first hired him to help take down the former drug lord in town, and he didn’t see the harm on doing so again, at the time.

“Your mother is fine, by the way. It seems whoever your contact was had the heart to set up an account to pay her caregivers and the convalescent home.” Cortazar offered a half smile, lips closed. “She asked for you - hopefully you’ll be able to see her soon.”

Hopefully. As though it wasn’t Cortazar’s fault Bear had been missing for - how long had David and him been kept in that awful basement?

David.

“Yeah, then there’s…David.” Cortazar tucked a lock of his black hair behind his ear, revealing a barely noticeable scar. “I didn’t - the Boss put him through the wringer before he killed him. I knew he wouldn’t - we both know he can’t keep his mouth shut, few people can when they want the hurt to stop. I told him I lied, broke our deal. ‘Cause if he thought you were dead the Boss would too.” Cortazar swallowed hard, Adam’s apple bobbing. “He’s…gone now. It wasn’t pretty, but at least now he’s…not hurting anymore.”

Bear’s mechanical breathing soldier through the tears, his sobs gagged. It was his fault.

He never should have helped that freelancer with Interpol catch their old boss. He never should have taken his second offer to keep his mother’s bills paid. He never should have let David get involved in the courier work. He never should have moved here with David at all.

He’s the one who suggested they move out together, live together, be together -

And now they never would be.

“I - “ Cortazar’s voice broke, a strange sound from the man who so confidently taunted and tortured Bear not long ago. “Sorry doesn’t fix this. This can’t be fixed. But, please, let me help you. If the Boss finds out you’re alive - and that you were the one feeding the feds…” His voice grew soft as he shook his head, eyes damp but no tears falling. “David died for nothing if you don’t stay under the radar.”

Bear was still holding his hand. Cortazar wasn’t pulling his hand away. Bear gave a gentle squeeze, nodding his head as much as he could.

“Good. Good - listen, getting an ID for you outside of the Boss’ contacts has been a bitch, but here’s what I’ve got so far.” He fished out his wallet, producing a few cards. “This - new drivers license, your surname is now Gomez; it has a nice ring to it - Roberto Gomez - anyways the current story is that you’ve been missing for a year and…”

—

Cortazar took a drag from his cigarette, looking up at the hospital windows gleaming in the afternoon sun. Almost a year of weekly check-ins; it would be a comfort to have his new companion continue his recovery at home. His watch beeped, drawing his attention away. He had to get going.

He stamped the stub of the cigarette out on the sidewalk, stepping into his car and driving back towards the coast.

The Boss wanted David, the one and only traitor he knew about, transported to his compound by tomorrow night. Cortazar wanted to enjoy their last few hours together.

[Directly before Half Truths]

(Part of my Freelancers: Boy Meets World series)

#whump #febuwhump #febuwhump2023 #febuwhumpday25 #presumed dead #medical care #intubated #ventilator #past torture #major character death #(implied at least)#y’all have NO idea how excited I was to write this one especially after y’all have been hearing how Bear is so totally 100% dead >:)#also Cortazar my beloved two faced manipulative little bastard what’s he up to hmmm >:)#I’m sorry the readmore just keeps fucking deleting the last 2-3 paragraphs of my posts :(

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