#boblyn

[pikemonstah]

past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind

[pikemonstah]

there's something wretched about this something so precious about this

[createcathedrals]

about three years post 1TC. The five randomized lines are italicized.

It was not the first time that they had ended an argument via sex- it was just that normally this happened the night of, maybe the morning after and not a solid three weeks of not talking later, leading to them officially being on a break. Except he couldn’t really say officially because they’d have to be officially dating to break things off and that scared both of them. He didn’t know why they had been braver at nineteen than they currently were, but it was what it was. He’d orbited her since he had moved to New York- and sometimes it felt like they were dumb kids again and it was all holding hands on long walks home and having sex against the wall because they couldn’t wait to make it to the bed or even the couch. And sometimes they fought because he mentioned in passing that he might take a role on a National tour and she didn’t want to be without him- and apparently that lead to her ignoring his phone calls for three weeks, which was new even for them. Normally she would at least text him back after a couple of days so they could bicker it out.

He hadn’t questioned it when she’d sent him a text asking her to walk her home from her show- he met her at the stage door and escorted her to the bus and they hadn’t spoken much- but she held his hand and stopped all of his attempts at both apologizing and arguing and he was wondering if all was forgiven without him even saying anything- and then she’d kissed him on the walk to her building, and as they waited for the elevator, and on the elevator ride after her neighbor got off three floors down.

He heard the sort of squeak she gave as he pushed her up against the back of the door of her apartment- not pained, but a pleased sound either. “Shit sorry, am I going too fast?” he asked. Maybe she hadn’t wanted sex? It was just that she also didn’t seem to want to talk to him about what had happened and normally she wanted at least one or the other. He took a few steps back to give her some air.

“No, it’s alright,” she said as she walked into her kitchen and let him follow. “I mean, maybe we should wait and talk, but it’s fine,” she clarified. “Water?” she asked as she filled a glass.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” And that was when he knew he was in trouble because it was always alcohol with them, not water- which he did realize was terrible, but they had been bad about that back when they’d been in college and had been semi-functional people and not late-twenty something disasters.

He drifted into her bathroom, mostly just to splash some water on his face- because this was clearly going to be a conversation. It was when he glanced down at the waste basket that he realized that this was truly going to be a conversation. At least their earlier argument made sense now.

He went back into the living room and sat down on her little couch across from her so he could see her face. “It’s midnight. What do you want?” she asked. “Do you want to talk about it? The tour?”

He waited for her to say it but wasn’t surprised when she didn’t. “It would be decent money and no one here is really knocking down my door.” He’d filmed a guest role on some crime drama the week before which was the only reason he wasn’t completely freaking out about the fact that the last show he was in had closed six months ago and he hadn’t had a single good audition since then- other than that damn tour which had lead to their argument.

“But do you want to do it?” she asked. She’d pulled her knees up to her chest, bare feet resting on the seat of the couch she was sitting on. “Like this role, do you want to do it or is it just for the money.”

“Am I a complete sell out if I admit it’s just for the money?”

“No, but I don’t think you should do it, anyway” she said, eyes shut. Long sip of water and then a face like she wished it was something else. “Something else will come up here. I’m reading for a workshop- it wouldn’t open for over a year, but they want me. I’ll have something for after I leave Sweet Charity. You’ll find something.”

He considered asking a different question but backed down. “How is Sweet Charity going?”

She shrugged. “I’m leaving next month. Then it’s readings and workshops for the new thing.”

And that confirmed it. “When were you going to tell me that you’re pregnant?” Her face dropped, even though he’d asked as gently as possible. He didn’t exactly see how he could beat around the bush. At least he hadn’t just grabbed the pregnancy kit box out of her trash can.

She looked down at her glass and didn’t answer that particular question. “According to my doctor I’m at six weeks, now. I’m fine to keep performing in the show, but the producers want me to leave before I start showing, but they’re paying out my contract since I was willing to stay. I’ve known for the last two weeks.” She looked up at him, chewing on her lip for a moment before she asked, “How mad are you?”

He sighed. At least she hadn’t known when they’d last fought. “Not enough for it to matter. What do you want to do?”

“Keep it.” He just nodded. That was that, then. “We should probably get our shit together then. Probably not go another three weeks without talking after an argument.”

“Don’t give me that look! It wasn’t my fault!”

“Look, whatever. Just at least consider not doing that tour? Okay? When we fought I was just going to miss you but now…” Oh, she was going to cry. Damnit. “I mean you can do what you want, but it would be easier if you were here.”

“So I’ll be here,” he insisted quietly. So that was the last time he ever got to run away from his problems. Probably a good thing if he was being honest with himself. He moved over to the same couch as her and was a little relieved when she curled into him instead of pushing against him. Her head fit against his shoulder, her legs in his lap, almost content. He could tell she’d been worried about telling him- but why? Did she really think he was going to abandon her?

He ignored the voice in his head that mentioned the whole running away from his problems thing was an ongoing trend for him. Not with something like this, though. “We should go to bed.” He wanted to have more of a conversation, figure out logistics- they probably should officially be a couple. They probably should start living together. Way too much to think about until morning.

“I wouldn’t mind falling asleep out here,” she said, relief at having told him making her practically melt into his side.

“Nope, now I get to take care of you.” And she held his hand.

[pikemonstah]

boblyn 31 ;)

u didn’t specify a setting so you get the first one to come to mind. sorry about it.

He could see the conduit and he ran for it, a few paces behind her. Her armor did make her look bulkier but he was pretty sure that she was still the smallest figure on the field- black armor detailed with red. He kept her in his sight and watched as she made her way around the tank that flipped over into their path- he wasn’t as lucky and if his mother had heard his swearing, she would have washed his mouth out with soap.

He’d shut his eyes for just a second, but immediately she had circled back to him, pulling his head into her lap. “Stay with me,” she said- it was a command, not a request and he wasn’t sure if it was his commanding officer or his girlfriend saying it. Girlfriend, he decided- if it was just his commanding officer, she would have just kept going.

So, that was it, then. There was shrapnel in his stomach and he knew there was no way the medigel was going to work fast enough to heal him before he bled out internally. No matter, really- he didn’t expect to get out of this one. If he was a less selfish man, he would have told her to get up and keep going, but if he was going to die, he wanted to be able to see her face.

“Normandy, we need an evac, stat!” It was the commander voice. He knew that it was his only chance- if she could get him into the med bay fast enough, he’d make it. It seemed like a waste to take the Normandy out of the fighting, though- to take Commander Brooklyn Shepard out of the fight was probably even more selfish.

“We’re taking heavy losses here, Commander.” So that was that, then. It didn’t matter, they were probably all going to die anyway. He didn’t actually mean it in a nihilistic way. It was just true- they had all been ready for it.

“I repeat, we need an evac.” There was a tiny bit of panic there, a little bit of Brooke, his girlfriend mixed into Shepard, Human Spectre, Alliance Officer.

“Be there in a moment, Commander”

She hauled him to his feet. “Come on, we can do this,” she said and dragged him over toward where the Normandy landed, helping him onto the ramp. She nodded at their squadmate. “Take him in to the medbay.”

“No- no, what back you... you can’t-” She couldn’t be serious.

“Hey. Stop it, you’re going to be fine. No matter what happens, you will be fine.” 

“But what about you?”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, pressing her hand to the side of her helmet. And then she left, back down the ramp and he couldn’t stop her.

[pikemonstah]

Boblyn, 1TC verse, 68

He was tired- that happened a lot lately. He’d briefly had time to rest when the show had closed. Except he’d also been back forth to the hospital for his brother’s sake and now that he was unemployed he was scrambling. His agent was doing what she could- she’d found him some bit roles in TV shows that were filming in New York and kept pushing new auditions at him. Except nothing was sticking and he kept being told that they’d gone for another actor and it sucked. No other way to put it.

He wasn’t exactly in the mood to entertain when he heard the knock on the door. Even forgetting about the rest of it, it was nine in the morning and if it was the downstairs neighbor complaining again, he was pretty sure he’d actually slam the door in their face.

But no, it was Brooke with two cups of coffee in hand and a manilla folder under her arm. He didn’t say anything when she walked in, too tired and drained, just stepped back to let her through and cleared a mess of papers off of the coffee table. 

“Drink,” she said, removing one of the cups from the cardboard carrier she was carrying and handing it to him. The warmth of the paper cup was pleasant and the first sip made him feel a little bit more like a person. “Better?” she asked as she sat down on the couch.

“Yeah,” he said. “Thanks. What’s that?” He asked figuring that his ex-girlfriend, current friend that he kept sleeping with without really meaning to had some purpose for coming over and hadn’t just decided to be the Coffee Angel or something.

“A ‘Saving Your Career Kit’. I just got cast in a show. You’re right for the male lead who they haven’t cast yet. Prepare, give the number in there to your manager and have him schedule an audition for you.”

“You really want to do that again? Star opposite each other?”

She shrugged. “I thought we got all of the bullshit out of our system the first time. Is there more bullshit I have to be made aware of?” I think I love you, again. Or still? Nope, he wasn’t dumb enough to say that.

“No, not really,” he said as he started digging through the folder. Sides from the show, a song he didn’t recognize that he guessed was from the show, a new monologue and marked sheet music from an old audition song he’d used in college. “You’ve thought of everything, I didn’t even think to ask you for help.”

“You didn’t have to ask.” It was simple and she smiled at him and he got through another day.

[pikemonstah]

Rly though, mass effect AU!Bobby fell in love with Brooke after seeing her fight and was equal parts afraid and aroused. Also once she punched a krogan. He's pretty sure the only reason she has him open pickle jars is to preserve his ego. @ladybaronessvex