I know Jack Abbot is most likely a black coffee man. But I cannot stop thinking about a Jack who finally feels so far removed from his service days that he branches out and tries something that doesnt remind him of the past.
He tries something with pistachio, or an affogato, or some seasonal thing with sprinkles, just because it’s not flat black coffee.
He begins asking for recommendations.
Shen obviously recommended Dunkin’ and Abbot should have guessed that one.
Ellis recommended Redhawk. They have stuff from all over the world.
Dana brings him a thermos of her own morning coffee from home when she has the time to make it.
Whitaker brings him a bag of grounds from Nebraska that his family sends him every so often.
Javadi texts him the address of a small family owned business just outside town.
Emma shows him a tiktok on how to make Dalgona coffee.
Ogilvie has nothing to offer because ‘coffee weakens tooth enamel’ blah blah blah.
McKay introduces him to cold brew.
At least 3 people recommend places with decent cuban coffee.
Mel offers up a boba shop that has really good coffee, and even offers to go with him to make better recommendations. It makes him smile.
Robby tells him he prefers the machine on the 4th floor to the stuff from the cafeteria, which isn’t very helpful.
Princess tells him to try a Filipino-American place near Shadyside.
Perlah offers to make him her own cup the way Dana did.
Mohan says you can’t go wrong with Starbucks and that makes him laugh.
Several patients give recommendations, from promising to bring a bag of their own grounds or whole beans, to having family members make “the best cup you’ll ever have”.
Santos tosses him a k-cup pod for a brand called “Death Wish” which has more caffeine than a human should probably safely consume on the regular, and it makes him worry about her a little.
The EMT’s who come through have started leaving sticky notes for him with various names and addresses scribbled on it.
He keeps notes of all the places the people around him recommend so he doesn’t lose track.
He makes sure to tell them what he thinks when he can.
After a long while of trying everything under the sun, he has a little note in his phone of all his favorites and notes on why he liked them.
He still receives the occasional brown paper bag of grounds or a thermos every now and again, but he hasn’t had a cup of straight black coffee in over a year.
There’s a moment, when Dana gets done barking orders at you across the room from Central, phone cradled to her chest, eyes locked on you.
You respond “yes ma’am!” without even thinking, and she responds “Good girl!” Equally as unconsciously.
It seemed innocuous to everyone who heard it.
Both of you had flushed at how those phrases made you feel.
She liked being in charge, and how well you took orders from her.
You liked being praised for your obedience, especially by her.
She corners you in the staff lounge later that day, with no one else around and asks you not to call her ‘ma’am’ at work. You see a dark glint in her eye. You agree. You ask her to reciprocate by not calling you “good girl” at work. She see’s a flush creeping up your neck. She agrees.
You slip up two weeks later; she corners you again to ask if you need to be punished for that. You had an agreement.
You ask what she has in mind. She says, “when I offer you a ride home later, say ‘yes’ and you’ll find out.” And leaves it at that.
You overhear Princess and Perlah discussing the fact that McKay definitely has a tattoo that no one can see, but they can’t figure out where.
Cassie stops to check on you later, and without preamble, promises to show you where it is at the end of your shift so long as you swear not to tell them, and bring a bottle of something sweet to share.
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, what’s an album worth?
Henley gave Jack and Danny polaroid cameras as their Christmas gifts. They take pictures of each other more than anything else. Neither seems to notice. They both think they’re just overthinking it, thinking they’re just too busy to see them take the other pictures, and chalking it up to wishful thinking.
Jack finds Danny’s photo album first. Because of course he does. It’s late September, so theres quite a few of them in the album. Birthdays, shows, down-time minutiae. It takes him until the final photo to accept that they’re all of him. Every last one. He doesn’t say anything. There must be an album each of Henley and Merritt somewhere, right? His was just on Danny’s nightstand for… some reason… must be a good one. Danny doesn’t do anything without a good reason. He hadn’t even meant to be in there. He was looking for a pair of scissors to cut something he’s long since forgotten about and knew Danny probably had a pair, but couldn’t remember why. It was open on the nightstand and the Sleight just couldn’t help himself.
Danny doesn’t see Jacks album until Henley shows it to him, mid-October. Jack had been difficult to deal with for about a couple weeks. Which is when Henley suspects Jack happened upon Danny’s photos. Danny was seated on the couch, jaw and shoulders tense, as Henley just sort of flips errantly through the photo album. She had asked Jack to see it because she “wanted to find a good one to show her mom” or something like that, and Jack, the gullible baby he was, handed it over without a second thought. It was mostly Daniel. With a few loose pictures of Hen and Merritt tucked between pages and pages of Danny. He hadn’t meant to look over her shoulder but it happened. His googling for something he’d since forgotten about had been on his nerves and he needed something else to focus on and Henley and the album were just so conveniently right there next to him.
Danny sprung off the couch with all the energy he’d been holding in his limbs and nearly slipped on the rug in the hallway to Jack’s room.
“He’s on the roof, Danny.” Merritt calls out from his room across the hall and Danny shifts his momentum without acknowledging him.
Jack is lost in thought looking out over the skyline, and never hears Danny enter the roof top. He’s counting the lights on in the building opposite theirs just so he has something solid to focus on that isn’t the ache that settled in his chest days ago.
Danny stops halfway across the roof and just looks at him. Silhouetted softly by the city lights. He wishes he had his camera but he’s out of film anyways.
“Why so many of me, Jack?” Danny asks into the air between them.
“What?” Jack turns to him, slowly, as if he’s moving through water. He’s half shocked to see him here and half happy to see him at all. He realized in that second, he’d been skillfully avoiding him.
“First, you start avoiding me like-like I have a plague or something, and then Henley is looking through your photo album and it’s all me! Well. Not all of them but most of them? Like a lot of them…” Danny is much closer to Jack than he had been. When had he moved?
Jack looks like a kicked puppy. “Mine? Yours is ALL of me! There isn’t a single picture of Merritt or Henley or anyone else! Don’t come at me sideways when you’re no better.” Jack turns back around, unable to handle being so close.
“Jack when… actually, that doesn’t matter. Will you look at me?” Daniel sits next to Jack, facing him, sitting too close. He’s nervous that Jack will hear his elevated heart rate but he doesn’t move. He sees Jack shrink away from him a little and it stings.
“Jack. Why? Why me more than anything?” Daniel asks. Jack scoffs, and Daniel notices him fidgeting with a deck of cards.
“Why do you think, Atlas? You’re the genius, you tell me.” Jack’s jaw is tense, his eyes focused somewhere far away but on nothing in particular.
“I need to hear you say it. It’s… it’s not real until *you* say it.” Daniel’s eyes drift to his lap where he is fidgeting with a bit of detritus on the make shift bench they’re on. He can’t bring himself to keep staring at the man in front of him.
“Daniel. I’m fairly certain I’ve been in love with you since the day we met. It was a crush prior to that, but meeting you sealed the deal. Henley calls it ‘pining.’” Jack closes his eyes for a second and turns to look at Daniel. Daniel looks up when the movement catches his eye, and the two men lock eyes. “Is that enough for you, Atlas?” Jacks jaw is still clenched tight.
Daniel doesn’t back down from the intensity of Jacks gaze. “Looks like I’m a little behind, then. The attraction was immediate, I mean.. you- well you know what you look like. The crush formed when you picked the lock. I didn’t realize I’d fallen until…” Daniel’s gaze wavered and he dropped it back to his hands again, his knuckles balled into tight fists. “It would have been nice if Dylan had given us… given *me* any kind of heads up…” Jack notices a tear fall and softens immediately.
He places a hand on Danny’s knee and sighs. “You know why we couldn’t Danny… but… I *am* sorry…” Jack puts his hands on top of Danny’s. The Showman slumps a little, and looks up.
“I know, Jack… I know.” Danny smiles wearily. “It just took a lot out of me… realizing I was in love with you and being too late to say it all in the same second that I lost one of my best friends… and then getting you back… I couldn’t bring myself to say anything on the chance that it….” Danny had begun to tear up again.
Jack took Danny’s face in his hands. “I know. Why do you think I never told you? I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you either…” Daniel chuckled quietly, and put his hands on top of Danny’s. “You know what this mean’s right?” Jack furrowed his brow and shook his head, waiting for Danny to explain.
“Do you remember, back around Christmas… Henley put mistletoe on like, every door frame? Merritt kept joking it was to catch me under it but….”
A knowing smirk split Jack’s face. “You think she knew and was trying to-“
“Set us up? Yeah, I do.” Danny interrupted.
Jack got that sparkle in his eyes that Danny so loved and they both nodded. “I’ll go in first and you-“
“Thirty seconds, I know.” Danny finished.
———————————
Jack stormed down the hallway into the kitchen, face red with anger. He pulled a glass out of a cupboard and slammed it on the counter.
“Of course. Typical. Handle your emotions with alcohol instead of words.” Daniel bit walking into the room about thirty seconds after Jack. Jack spun, his eyes widening. “You’re one to talk, Atlas! I didn’t hear from you for a week after I faked my death. I thought you would at least be happy to see me.”
“Why do you think that is, Jack? Perhaps I was angry that I lost my best friend, but wait! Just kidding! It was part of the illusion! Hope you didn’t grieve too hard!”
Jack took a deep breath and huffed it out. He opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off.
Merritt sauntered into the room clapping slowly. “Bravo! You know, I’d have believed you both if you didn’t sound like an old married couple, suddenly. Jack since when do you drink gin?” The two men in the kitchen looked at each other and sighed. “I told you it sounded too intimate.” Danny huffed. Jack gawped, “Liar! You said it sounded like a bit, but if we were loud enough they might take it.” Jack pouted a little.
“Oh, don’t be so sore Jacky boy.” Merritt rolled his eyes. “Henley and I knew it was all coming to a head. We uh… planned it that way.” He beamed as Henley joined him.
“It went perfectly! You both played along so nicely.” Henley and Merritt did a little celebratory hip bump and looked at the two confused men in front of them.
Jack and Danny both opened their mouths to speak but were beat to the punch.
“Christmas.” Henley and Merritt said in unison.
Jack shook his head. “No we figured that out,”
“It was more than just the mistletoe?” Danny finished.
Henley nodded, a proud smile gracing her features. “Oh so much more. The cameras for a start. Carefully orchestrated movie nights.” Henley listed, and Merritt chined in with,
“The spin the bottle at Jacks birthday!”
Henley lit up, “Oh! All the “only one bed” tricks we pulled? Those took some bribing.” Merritt was rolling with laughter thinking back on it.
Jack and Danny looked for all the world like most of their audiences, wide eyed, and pouring over all the details they missed that had lead to them being so thoroughly fooled.
The two had been rendered speechless, and Merritt and Henley had dissolved into a fit of giggles and congratulations while Jack and Danny just puzzled over it all. After a moment, Henley grabbed her purse from the living room, and handed Merritt his coat from a nearby chair and they headed for the door.
“Where are you going?! You can’t just drop all of this on us and then leave!” Jack wailed indignantly.
Danny was still a bit shell shocked but nodded in agreement.
Henley and Merritt just kept walking out the door, tossing a couple ‘be safe’s and a ‘don’t do anything I wouldn’t do’ in there for good measure and locked the door behind then.
Jack turned to complain but dissolved into giggles himself at the look on Danny’s face. “Alright master Showman. I know it’s hard being the one taken for a ride for once. Let’s go sit on the couch, yeah?” And gently grabbed his hand to guide him to the living room.
That seemed to snap Daniel out of his stupor and he just mumbled “the hotel rooms… all of them? All of them! For months! I knew it was suspicious…” and he plopped on the couch.
Jack plopped next to him, “so dramatic, Danny. But yes. All of them.” Jack tapped him on the shoulder, “Look at me for a sec?”
Danny looked at Jack and his body language shifted. His whole focus was on Jack now, and Jack knew it. He smiled at Danny and when he spoke it was quiet, just for the two of them even though they were alone.
“Daniel?”
“Jack.”
“Can I… would it be alright if I kissed you?”
“Please do, Jack.”
They both leaned in without hesitation. The kiss was soft, and to both men it felt like finally coming home. The kiss deepened and at some point Danny ended up on Jack’s lap. Much later, Jack was lying on top of Danny. They spent quite a while kissing, but had both decided, without speaking a word, that they would take this slow. Almost as if getting to know one another all over again.-After a while, the two ended up cuddled together on the couch, just basking in the closeness.
Danny raised his head from where it had rested on Jacks chest, “Jack?”
“Mhm”
“I love you.”
A smile a mile wide split Jack’s face before he responded, “I love you, too, Danny.”
They both fell asleep there on the couch, and that’s where Merritt and Hen found them the next morning when they returned from their matchmaker’s celebration.
When Danny and Jack woke a few hours later, they found two new polaroids on the coffee table. Two identical photos of them asleep in each other’s arms, one for each of their albums.
—————————————————————
(Forgive me it’s been ages since I wrote anything let alone something I finished! Please be kind (also if you see typos please lmk and I’ll fix em!) anyways I hope you enjoyed this spur of the moment image/fic combo!)
In this the year of 2024 does anyone have a recent Slime Tutorial™️ for the brøadways Hp: Cursed child? Feel free to dm me if you’re not comfy replying
warnings: undisclosed trauma for the reader, nightmares
summary: you appear in the quantum realm one day and Quaz takes you in.
word count: 2.1k
You woke up inside a living building with a handsome man doting on you. You couldn’t understand him at first, but he offered you a glass of a red liquid. You were hesitant, but the look on his face told you that you could trust him. When you took a sip of the liquid the sounds he was making suddenly became clear to you. His voice was soothing.
“Can you understand me now?” The man asked.
“Uh, yeah,” you said as you sat up on the bed you had been laying on. The man was sitting across from you on a small stool.
“How does your head feel?” He asked. You reached up and felt a bandage over your eyebrow.
“It’s fine,” you lied. The man’s forehead glowed. “Where am I?” You asked.
“Let me get you a painkiller,” the man said to you.
“Who are you?” You asked.
“My name’s Quaz,” he said. “What’s yours?”
“Y/N.” You watched him as he opened the cabinets on his wall. “Where are we?” You asked.
“A place called the quantum realm, y/n,” he answered. “Where are you from?” He asked. He handed you a pill and a glass of something you thought was water, but ended up tasting sweet.
“Umm…Earth?” You said, not sure what the answer for this situation was. Wherever you were didn’t feel like anything you had known.
“I’ve heard of it,” Quaz said lightly.
“Are we on Earth now?” You asked.
“No,” he told you.
“Do you know how I got here?” You asked.
“I was hoping you would,” he said. “You just sort of…appeared here two days ago.”
“Are we in danger?” You asked. Quaz’ heart did a somersault. You already trusted him. He was glad. He’d been looking after your unconscious form for the last two days. He would key into your dreams every now and then and he had been anxious to speak to you.
“Not immediately, but the quantum realm isn’t a safe place,” he admitted.
“How do we leave?” You asked. He gave you a sad look.
“We don’t,” Quaz told you.
“You’re trapping me here?” You asked.
“No, no. It’s just the way it is here. Nobody here knows how to get out,” he said.
“Nobody? Who else is here?” You asked. The door to the room you were in opened and a tall and intimidating woman walked in with a weapon in her hand.
“Me,” the woman said. She glared down at you and you shrunk into the corner.
“Jentorra, calm down. She isn’t lying to me,” Quaz said. He stood and put a hand against Jentorra’s shoulder to slow her. His forehead flashed as he looked at you. “She’s scared.”
“Where did you come from?” Jentorra asked you sharply.
“I’m f-from Queens,” you squeaked nervously.
“Queens? You’re royalty?” She asked.
“N-no. Queens is a city in N-New Y-York,” you stuttered.
“What are you doing here?” She asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know how I got here,” you said. Jentorra looked over at Quaz.
“She’s telling the truth,” he informed her.
“Figure out what she knows,” Jentorra ordered before leaving again. Quaz sat back down. You had pulled your legs into your chest and curled into the corner. The way you looked at him was different now. He didn’t like it. He had lost your trust.
“What are you going to do to me?” You asked nervously.
“I’m going to protect you,” Quaz said automatically. You raised an eyebrow. His forehead glowed again.“You can believe me. I’m going to keep you safe.”
“You can read my mind, can’t you?” You asked. Quaz smiled.
“I can,” he admitted.
“Did you read my mind while I was asleep?” You asked.
“A little. Dreams don’t tell me much, but yours were pretty,” he said. “Is that beach real?” He asked. Your cheeks burned.
“Yeah,” you said. “I went there when I was a kid.” You paused. “What’s going on? Why are you keeping me here?”
“Jentorra just wants to make sure that you’re not a spy,” he said.
“A spy for who?” You asked. Quaz’ forehead flashed.
“His name is Kang,” Quaz told you.
“I’ve never heard of him,” you said.
“I know,” Quaz assured you. “I can tell you’re not here to hurt anyone,”
“Will you let me go then?” You asked.
“Of course,” he assured you. You nodded and started to rise. “You might want to stay though. This place is very different from what you’re used to,” he said. You hesitated.
“Can you show me?” You asked. Quaz smiled. He was winning you back.
“Yeah. Come with me.” Quaz proceeded to show you around the quantum realm. He told you about Kang and the quantumnauts. He introduced you to a few people. He got you something to eat. He found you some clean clothes.
His tour continued and you were in the hustle and bustle of the camp. The metal box next to you started moving like it was alive and you screamed in terror. You jumped into Quaz’ body, wrapping your arms around him tightly and hiding your face in the crook of his neck. He chuckled lightly. He rubbed your back softly.
“It’s alright,” Quaz soothed. “You’ll get used to all of this.” You released him and watched as the apparently alive box walked away from you. He ended his tour at a lookout point. You weren’t sure how to describe what you were looking at. You had never seen anything like it, but it was beautiful.
“Thank you,” you said as the two of you sat down on the edge of a glowing rock. “For everything.”
“It’s nothing,” Quaz said.
“It’s not nothing. You’ve been taking care of me and you didn’t even know me,” you said.
“I could see that you were good,” he said. You smiled and your cheeks warmed.
“What am I going to do now?” You asked him suddenly, the smile falling from your face.
“You can stay with me,” he offered. “The guest room is yours if you’d like it.” Your lips briefly turned upwards.
“But what do I do now?” You asked. “I don’t know anything about this place. How do I just…start living here?” Quaz was quiet.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “This is all I’ve ever known. And it’s hard,” he admitted. “But there’s still good parts. I’ll help you find a way to live here.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” You asked.
“Your dreams were pretty. Dreams are hard for me to read because they’re different from thoughts, but your dreams were beautiful. They felt happy,” he said.
“You must’ve caught me on a good night,” you said. “I usually have nightmares.”
“About what?” He asked. A short silence fell.
“Please don’t read my mind,” you asked. Quaz closed his mouth and nodded. The glow on his forehead died.
“Okay,” he agreed. “I won’t.”
You spent the next two months living with Quaz in his spare bedroom. He got you a job and helped you to acclimate to your new environment. He couldn’t have been happier to have you living with him. He had never had anyone to come home to before. He was thoroughly smitten by you, but he was doing his best to keep it under wraps. He didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable living with him and he knew you didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Quaz didn’t read your mind, just as you’d asked, but at night when you were dreaming he couldn’t help but indulge himself. He really did love your dreams. They were unlike any he had ever seen before. Whenever he sensed you having one of your nightmares he would tune out, never wanting to invade your privacy. He always made sure to wake you somehow though—banging on the floor or slamming a drawer. He wouldn’t allow you to suffer. One night he woke to hear you crying. He knocked on the door to your bedroom. You fell silent for a moment.
“Come in!” You called, your voice shaking. Quaz opened the door. You were sitting cross legged with a blanket wrapped around your shoulders.
“Are you alright?” He asked softly.
“I’m fine,” you lied. Quaz’s forehead glowed.
“No, you’re not,” he said.
“You said you wouldn’t do that,” you complained.
“I’m worried about you,” he defended. “You’re crying in the middle of the night.”
“I just miss my family,” you lied. You wiped your tears away on the back of your hand. Quaz could tell you were lying without reading your mind. He sat down on the edge of your bed, keeping his feet on the floor and leaving a respectable distance between the two of you.
“Are you sure? You haven’t talked about them since you got here,” he said. He didn’t want to push you, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t wish that you’d feel comfortable enough to confide in him. You sighed.
“I don’t miss them,” you said. “I just had a nightmare.”
“You can tell me anything, you know?” Quaz told you. “I’m here for you.”
“You know what happened to me…don’t you?” You asked.
“I haven’t read your mind,” he assured you. “I do look at your dreams sometimes, but when they’re nightmares I stop,” he told you. “If you don’t want to talk about what’s bothering you, it’s fine. But I want you to know that I’ll listen. No matter what,” he said. A tear slipped down your cheek. You opened your mouth to speak but closed it again. You took a deep breath.
“Could you just read my mind?” You asked. “I want you to know, but it’s hard to talk about.” Quaz nodded.
“Sure,” he said. “Just think about what you want me to know.” You nodded. You focused on the memories that brought you so much pain and watched as Quaz’ forehead lit up. His expression fell after only a second. More tears began falling as you saw his smile fall. He reached up and wiped them away, his hand cupping your face.
“Oh, y/n,” Quaz cooed. “I’m so sorry.” You turned your cheek into his touch.
“It’s okay. It’s been a long time,” you sniffled. “And I’m not there anymore.”
“What can I do?” He asked. “I want to take care of you,” he confessed. His cheeks burned the moment the words left his mouth, but he meant them.
“You’ve been doing a pretty good job of taking care of me already,” you said. Quaz smiled softly.
“I’ll keep taking care of you for as long as you’ll let me,” he said before he could stop himself. You paused.
“What are we doing, Quaz?” You asked nervously.
“What do you mean?” He countered.
“There’s something between us, isn’t there?” You pushed. “Please don’t tell me this is all in my head.”
“It’s not,” Quaz said at once.
“Then what are we doing?” You asked. He hesitated.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he told you.
“Uncomfortable?” You questioned.
“You can stay here,” he assured you. “I’m not going to make you leave unless you want to. And if you want to leave I’ll help you find somewhere else to go.” You smiled softly.
“You know, it gets kind of cold in here at night,” you said.
“Oh?” He asked, confused by the sudden change in topic. “I could get you another blanket,” he offered.
“No, I think it might just be the room,” you said. “Maybe I should share with you.” You smirked. Quaz chuckled.
“There’s plenty of room in my bed for two,” he told you.
“I was hoping you would say that,” you said. You climbed out of bed, but Quaz grabbed your hand and stopped you before you could leave the room.
“Can I kiss you first?” He asked. You grinned.
“Please?” You requested. Quaz didn’t need any more encouragement. He pulled you into his body, his hands sliding onto your hips. He moved his lips against yours slowly. His tongue dipped into your mouth, you let out a small and happy hum and Quaz pulled away with a chuckle.
“So cute,” he murmured before pressing his lips back against yours. Your hands were running up and down the soft fabric of his shirt. When you pulled apart the two of you both kept your eyes closed for another moment, overwhelmed by the way the kiss had made you feel.
“I know it’s selfish, but I’m glad you came here. However it happened,” Quaz told you. You smiled.
“I think I was supposed to,” you said. “I think this is where I belong.”
life isn’t about always being solemn and serious. laugh, be disruptive, bend the rules.
consider what you’re looking for and what you really want to do in life, but don’t dismiss fun. it’s invaluable, and for some of us laughter is how we survive
people who wait for you to tie your shoe. people who shift closer to you when you're subconsciously moving away while you're walking next to them. people who smile at you as soon as you make eye contact. people who seek you out to tell you some good news. people who listen to you and hear you and understand you. do not make the mistake of ever convincing yourself that everyone is a bad person when you yourself have done this and not even thought twice about it
send anti-recommendations. sick of seeing which books i should read. please send books that i should not read at any cost. lengthy explanations necessary and appreciated
