Val has never had a home. He had a house once, sure, and various little shelters, but never a home. Never someplace warm and safe and welcoming. Until Rosie. She is his home; his safe place; his everything. There is nothing in this or any other world that can tear them apart.
“I missed you too. I thought about you.”
Thoughts of Rosie were a lifeline on the very worst of those days; a breath of air when he was drowning in pain and blood. She clings to him now, as if he is the one who can guide her safely to shore; as if he doesn’t stumble as she guides them towards her bedroom.
He is a broken thing; battered and bruised and weeping blood from a wound on his side that refuses to mend itself. Fresh scars litter his tattooed skin, obscuring artwork and older scars like ink spilled across a page. There’s a certain hollowness to his cheeks that was never there before. Mind, body, soul; all utterly ruined.
But now all is well. He’s home.
The smile he gives her as he settles into bed is genuine enough to hurt.
There is no way sleep finds her tonight. She's going to be staring at him through all of the evening. It still feels like a hallucination. Everything feels unreal and she feels unmoored. The careful walls she built up to make sure she keeps going, and going, and going without crumbling are getting washed out from beneath her. She has mourned this life, and many others, but it feels like a second chance.
She slips in beside him, and she finds there are too many thoughts in her head to settle on just one thing to ask at first. So, she wraps an arm around him again and pulls him close for the first time in years and she can feel herself tearing up.
"I thought about you too," she says finally. "How did you get back?" And then a beat as she realizes that could be the very wrong question. "You don't have to tell me -- it can wait."
04. presses their back against the wall with eyes darting around the room.
Rosie stepped back, stock still as if caught in the sight lines of something dangerous. To her it was. His fear weighed heavy as an anchor on her chest, so she stood as recognizable as she could -- her shoulders back and straight, her head directed to the other side of the room like she was giving a stray dog its space.
She walked directly away from him, keeping their distance but also allowing her full sight of him even if her eyes could not see him fully. Maybe it was foolish, keeping her eyes off him, after all he had been trapped for far too long, how could she expect him to remember her?
"Val," she said, turning her back to him now, and then twisting so he could see her from the side. All she wanted him to know was that she trusted him not to attack while she was vulnerable, and show that even if she could see him she would not take away his support. "Val do you see me?" With a sudden surge of bravery she screwed her eyes shut and pushed her hand forward towards him in what she knew may be to quick a gesture, but she reconciled herself to that.
🌙 * ― 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐒 ( prompts for the five senses. add [reversed] to reverse the action. feel free to change wording as needed & add details )
𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇.
[ 𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐓 ] ― sender wraps a soft blanket around receiver’s shoulders
[ 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐊 ] ― sender and receiver fall into bed together on silk sheets
[ 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐋 ] ― sender pulls receiver’s hair ( gently / hard )
[ 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑 ] ― sender strokes receiver’s hair
[ 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 ] ― sender brushes receiver’s hair
[ 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓 ] ― sender paints a picture onto part of receiver’s body ( specify what & where )
[ 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 ] ― sender traces their fingertips over receiver’s body
[ 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑 ] ― sender traces a scar on receiver’s body
[ 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 ] ― sender reaches out to hold receiver’s hand
[ 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 ] ― sender worships receiver’s body
𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄.
[ 𝐔𝐍𝐔𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋 ] ― sender feeds receiver something they’ve never tried before ( specify what )
[ 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑 ] ― sender feeds receiver something sour ( specify what )
[ 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 ] ― sender feeds receiver something sweet ( specify what )
[ 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐄 ] ― sender feeds receiver something spicy ( specify what )
[ 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 ] ― sender kisses receiver to taste the lingering flavour of what they ate or drank on their lips ( specify what )
[ 𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐑 ] ― sender bites receiver hard enough to draw blood
[ 𝐔𝐍𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 ] ― sender feeds receiver soup when they’ve fallen ill
[ 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐊 ] ― sender makes receiver a cocktail to try
[ 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐇 ] ― sender cooks receiver their favourite meal
[ 𝐓𝐑𝐘 ] ― sender gives receiver a taste of what they’re cooking / baking for their opinion
𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓.
[ 𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃 ] ― sender blindfolds receiver
[ 𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄 ] ― sender and receiver see each other again after a period of being apart
[ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 ] ― sender notices something different about receiver ( injury / haircut / tattoo / piercing / etc )
[ 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐋 ] ― sender greets receiver in formal partywear ( feel free to add detail )
[ 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐒 ] ― sender takes receiver to see lanterns in the sky
[ 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 ] ― sender and receiver lay under the stars to stargaze
[ 𝐆𝐀𝐙𝐄 ] ― sender and receiver lock eyes across the room
[ 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 ] ― sender and receiver see a shadow move out the corner of their eye
[ 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 ] ― sender and receive watch as something burns ( candles / a building / a campfire / etc )
[ 𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 ] ― sender takes receiver to the aquarium to watch the sea life
[ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐊 ] ― sender recognises receiver at a masquerade party
𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃.
[ 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 ] ― sender puts on the radio to listen to music with receiver
[ 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 ] ― sender plays receiver their favourite song on an instrument ( specify what )
[ 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 ] ― sender and receiver are in bed together while rain lashes against the windows / tent / etc
[ 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑 ] ― sender whispers something in receiver’s ear ( specify what )
[ 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ] ― sender asks receiver for a dance upon hearing a song
[ 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐘 ] ― sender and receiver hear a sound when they should be alone ( footsteps / creaking floorboards / a scream / etc )
[ 𝐇𝐔𝐌 ] ― sender hums a lullaby to lull receiver to sleep
[ 𝐌𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐃 ] ― sender comforts a temporally deaf receiver after a loud sound ( gunshot / explosion / etc )
[ 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 ] ― sender calms receiver down from a panic attack in a loud place
[ 𝐀𝐅𝐀𝐑 ] ― sender and receiver hear a muffled sound from another room / outside ( music / people / creature / etc )
[ 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖 ] ― sender hears receiver crying and approaches comfort them
𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐋.
[ 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇 ] ― sender puts a scented bath bomb into receiver’s bath
[ 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄 ] ― sender lights a scented candle for receiver
[ 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ] ― sender puts perfume / aftershave on receiver’s ( wrist / neck / cheek )
[ 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 ] ― sender inhales receiver’s scent
[ 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐊 ] ― sender is drawn to the kitchen by receiver’s cooking
[ 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒 ] ― sender steals an item of receiver’s clothes because it smells like them
[ 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 ] ― sender notices receiver smells of their shampoo / shower gel
[ 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 ] ― sender gives receiver flowers
[ 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇 ] ― sender helps clean receiver after a long day / stressful situation
[ 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐘 ] ― sender and receiver walk through the sewers to escape capture / avoid detection / chase someone
[ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄 ] ― sender massages receiver with a scented oil
She is twenty something and they are stuffed in whatever janitorial supply closet surrounded by the strong scent of bleach and every other cleaning supply under the sun. Their breathing is sharp, labored, and purposely suppressed in the hope they do not draw more attention. It is a tight space, made tighter by her shield around them, her hand gripping his wrist to keep the connection of it.
Rosie cannot see much but the dark outline of his horns at the top of her vision and the edges of his body limned in the softest purple glow from her shield. If their pursuers find them they will not be going without a fight. It is an effort to keep it up after the skirmish before. Her head hurts with the concentration, she is fairly sure that her nose is bleeding.
All the same, she looks up and grins at him through the dark, squeezes his wrist like she can assure him that she knows what she is doing.
And, suddenly, she is sixteen again and they are both in a closet at Jesse Bill's house. It's darker there, nearly black, but she still has his wrist in her hand, and still looks up at him with a grin like she knows anything. The dark is permission, a secret keeper. She tugs at his wrist and surges forward through the distance and is thankful to find his lips meet hers halfway.
It took them nearly five minutes to get there, but when the door is pulled open it's been a good two and they are barely vertical with the way she has to pull him down to meet her. She is flushed and winded when the door opens on them, spilling a sickly white light into their small sanctuary, her hand still wrapped around his wrist.
She is twenty-something when the fluorescents nearly blind them as the door swings violently open and she bares her teeth like a thing gone feral, but she holds to him the same as always.
01. avoids eye contact or looking at the floor.
02. wringing hands together in silence.
03. fidgeting with the hem of their shirt, unable to stay still.
04. looking at receiver in long silence before looking away.
05. silently leaves a folded note on the table in front of the other.
06. touches the others arm but pulls back out of guilt.
𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 -
01. slams fist onto a table without saying a word.
02. exhaling sharply through their nose and clenching their jaw.
03. throws an object across the room.
04. crossing their arms tightly, digging fingers into their own skin.
05. pacing the room with heavy steps.
06. glares at the other with a clenched fist.
𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 -
01. gently pushing stray hair behind the others ear.
02. resting their forehead against the others.
03. cups the others face with both hands.
04. pressing a kiss to the others forehead in silence.
05. lingering touches against the others face.
06. wraps their arms around the other from behind and rests their head on the others shoulder.
𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 -
01. wiping their eyes before someone can notice.
02. pressing their face into a pillow to muffle sobs.
03. pulls the other into a desperate hug and wont let go.
04. silently reaching for the others hand, needing comfort.
05. walks into the room with red-rimmed eyes and no words.
𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 -
01. spins the other around without warning in a hug.
02. links arms with the other and tugs them along happily.
03. provides the other with a handmade gift.
04. tackles the other in a sudden and joyful hug.
05. kisses the others cheek unexpectedly and grins.
𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 -
01. backing away slowly and looking for exits.
02. hiding behind the other and peeking around.
03. flinches at sudden movement from the other.
04. presses their back against the wall with eyes darting around the room.
05. jumps at a noise and instinctively grabs the others hand.
𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠
01. tucks a blanket gently around the other person's shoulders.
02. applies a bandage with slow and deliberate care.
03. brings them food and water and watches to ensure they eat.
04. runs fingers through their hair in efforts to soothe.
05. rubs soothing circles on the others back while they cry.
06. stays silently by the others side in support without saying a word.
𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠
01. raises a hand but hesitates.
02. grips the others arm a bit too tightly.
03. pushes the other away with more force than necessary.
04. turns their back on the other to begin walking away without a word.
05. rips a shared photo in half without a word.
06. steps in closely with cold and narrowed eyes.
"You tore your stitches open, let me fix it." (any verse)
"It's okay, Val," she assures, her speech slightly slurred with exhaustion and a tinge of whatever poison managed to worm its way into her system.
He's partially right, one popped for sure, but it's a surface stitch and it's barely separating. She can get a steri-strip and it'll be as good as new. "Just get me the band aids, I don't want you playing nurse on it, it doesn't need any thread," she says, leaning heavily on him.
"Could maybe do with some water though, I need to flush the rest of this shit out. It burns."
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