HC on ethan ignoring mc at the hospital after they had a very intimate evening
thanks! this is set some time in early book 2
Evading It All
They slipped up.
No.
He slipped up.
He gave in to his weaknesses.
Well, he really only had one. One reoccurring weakness.
The doe-eyed brunette biting her wine stained lips. Gazing at him through long lashes. Her perfume of mandarin oranges and peonies wafting around, making him lose all his sensibilities.
There wasn’t anyone around. No one would know they were leaving together.
She so close and looking at him so intently.
She’s willing things to happen and he keeps saying he wants no part of it. But he’s struggling to hang onto his will.
It’s like this night won’t end unless he does something about.
And he does.
He whisks her away and kisses her in a dark corner no one can see and then it all happens from there.
They didn’t spend the night.
Even if they did Ethan would have left before she realized.
He regretted compromising themselves the fifth minute he was left alone.
Now it’s morning and he can’t get the images of last night out of his head. Can’t get the urge to pull her aside and kiss her senseless out of his head. It’s starting to creep into his muscles. Itching to do the one thing he knows he shouldn’t.
There’s only one thing Ethan can think to do to stop it -- be the man he used to be. The man he was before her.
So he spends the rest of the day avoiding her. Not returning her smiles meant just for him in passing.
She’s updating him on a case and touches his arm. She knows he’s being weird, trying to breakdown his front and find out why. She’s trying to break through the ice.
Prompt: From this lovely prompt list. [requests closed]
17 – Long term unmarried couple deciding to get married when one of them receives a terminal medical diagnosis
Warning: illness mention, major character death, minor descriptions of anxiety and panic attack.
Note: not gonna lie, sweet anon when this request come in i almost threw a toddler-like tantrum. I have never written off a main character…because I know I would be too good at major character death, and i am terrified of the power i possess…so i hope you enjoy this but like…don’t hate me okay? also I tried to go about illness as sensitively as possible.
--
It’s back.
She’s sallow skin, gaunt cheeks, and tired eyes.
The smile on her face is pained, forced, unnatural— a sharp reminder that, maybe, possibly, sometime soon, there will be no more smiles.
And, somehow, it’s back.
By sheer force of everything unnatural and unforgiving on earth, it’s back.
Coursing through her veins and claiming her body.
Maitotoxin.
There’s no scientific medical explanation for it.
All these years, it’s been living inside her; multiplying, propagating, consuming her lifeline.
But, somehow, he can touch her.
Somehow, he can press his palm desperately against hers and the cold skin of her cheek.
So, maybe it’s not…back. How can it be? When it’s been there, sitting in between them, all along— all five long years.
To believe when she was stifling her laughter at the opera last month, when they flew to Patagonia for a much-deserved break two years ago, when they argued all the way from her apartment to his with the last remaining boxes on moving day four years ago—it was there. And they were so unsuspecting.
Unaware of how their lives were going to be uplifted by a familiar, close enemy.
Naïve to believe they had found an antidote to completely reverse the toxin’s effects.
And there’s no chance of reversing it this time.
Ethan doesn’t cry.
There will be more than enough time to cry.
Instead, he spends his days at her bedside—indulging her in all her favourite inane shows, even the ones with the indigestible laugh tracks from the 80s and 90s.
She turns to him and gives a weak smile, a memory of the playful and mischievous one she always wore.
“Let’s get married,” she whispers.
Ethan tears his attention away, scarce as it is, from the laptop screen. A character sits in a frumpy white wedding dress, sobbing her mascara off.
“What?”
“Will you marry me?” she repeats and the smile is a little stronger this time.
A fleeting thought – one only deigned by fool’s to entertain – crosses his mind. He wonders if his love alone could restore the old her.
“You want to marry me?” his voice sounds distant, as if it were coming from another room. His response amuses her, wincing slightly when she laughs.
“Yes,” she shifts in bed, settling so she can gaze at him instead of the screen. “Why? Is that hard to believe?”
Frankly, every day she chooses him over the company of someone more optimistic and less irritable is a pleasant surprise.
So, he agrees.
Somehow, it’s days later. Somehow, they’re married. Somehow, she’s sicker.
Fading.
And if she has to go—if she absolutely has to go and leave him behind with her last breath lingering in the air of this too-bright room—then let her do so in his arms.
And when she goes, she takes most of him with her.
Because the best part of his life was hers.
He’s all howls and shoulders shaking, weak-knees and wet, hot face.
He is and he isn’t anymore. His words reduced to gasping, breathless sounds.
Negative affirmations and tectonic shifts, crashing into him all at once.
Trembling, inconsolable cries into a black void.
“Ethan,” she calls to him, from the darkness and he feels the warmth of her hand touching his shoulder.
Awake.
He’s awake now and blinking, breathing heavily into the night. Her silhouette soothes the juddering breaths that rattle through him as he struggles to compose himself.
“Were you having a nightmare?” Sweet sleepy voice, honeyed and thick with concern.
The hand on his shoulder travels up and down the length of his arm. Although his heart continues to hammer against his ribcage, the physicality of her presence eases him.
Ethan rubs the sleep from his face.
“Yeah,” he croaks.
She moves into the open space between his arm and chest and rests on the shoulder she was busy caressing.
“You always get this way before a presentation,” she says, a yawn interrupting her mid-sentence. “Try going to bed earlier next time.”
It doesn’t take long before her breathing evens out, but Ethan stays up. Staring at nothing, he replays the dream – curiosity clinging to the odd nightmare as he mulls over the complexities of the subconscious.
Marriage.
She makes a noise in her sleep. The kind that causes the corners of his mouth twitch, the kind he’ll tease her about in the morning when she least expects.
The kind that reminds him of the privilege he has to be called hers.
In the morning, he’ll find Dr Trinh.
He thinks, looking at the date on the digital clock looming at his bedside, there’s a ring to be bought. There’s a question to be asked. There’s so much life to be celebrated.
--
Note II: I am a big ol’ cheat and it’s a copout, I’m sorry anon, I recognize it. I can’t bring myself to do it. I live and revel in angst like a pig in a mud pit – but somehow I am a massive chicken when it comes to sticking to the death. (also, yeah notice how I didn’t give her a name jdkjskd CHICKENSHIT, I’m telling you!)
However, if you enjoy angst I did have a five-part series, no more than 80-200 words for each piece/drabble, of the night of chapter 11 that follows all the characters. And maybe? I should post it? If y’all wanna be sad/melancholic?
Appreciation letter: You make the fandom a better place 😍 I💜 and appreciate you. Pass this on or tag other writers, artists or just people that support you. Everyone deserves to feel appreciated. Love Love Love you loads!
I’m sorry for seeing this so late but thank you so much love ❤️!!
Dom, it was such an honor to do this for you knowing how much this means to you and your husband. I’m just happy seeing it on your wall!!! Thank you so much for trusting me with this, I hope you really enjoy it!
I just opened a shop over at RedBubble where I’ll be selling prints and other goodies! I currently only have one of my pieces there but I will add more as I figure out which ones I should put on the shop. If y’all have a particular piece you’d like me put up on my shop, reply to this post or send me a pm! Thanks all so much for the continued and future support!
Hilde!! I’m so glad you like it! You truly have an amazing friend in Terr. She wanted this to be perfect for you , and I really hope I did her justice. Thank you both for giving me the opportunity to draw this amazing character ❤️
I just opened a shop over at RedBubble where I’ll be selling prints and other goodies! I currently only have one of my pieces there but I will add more as I figure out which ones I should put on the shop. If y’all have a particular piece you’d like me put up on my shop, reply to this post or send me a pm! Thanks all so much for the continued and future support!
On a quiet night after a day on the battlefield...
So, I’m turning this blog into an art one since I no longer write fanfic to focus on my author career. i’ll dismantle my current taglist and create a new one for those who might be interested in following my journey with digital painting. For now, I’ll most likely continue to draw either TWC or Choices characters.I’ll tag my current taglist + a few friends so if you want to be part of the new taglist, let me know!
In the meantime, here’s Ava du Mortain in all her gorgeous glory :D
I’m opening my commissions again! Thank you to everyone that has been SO patient with me while I’ve been figuring out prices. I’m truly honored you waited until now.
As you may have noticed, I’ve changed some things. First, I’ve readjusted my prices to match the time that I spend working on these pieces. Second, due to high demand and other factors, I will be using a Google Form so it makes the process of picking commissions easier for you and me. Please fill this form out by May 11, 2021 @11:59 PM EDT. I’ll be going through the form and contacting those who have been picked by May 13, 2021 @11:59PM EDT! If you weren’t picked, please know there will be more opportunities in the future to commission me. Thank you all so for the support and love!
My boy!!! Somehow he looks exactly like Bryce but also sexier 🤩 I told you this already but I am obsessed with the eyebrows! And the slosh of the glass! And that dimple mark on his face! And the floop of his hair! And that jacket
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