#cullen fallon.

[vitalphenomena]

@l-ivestudioaudience // fallon said: family is crazy. i get that.

"Yeah, but I mean—"

Robert might be crazy, or difficult, or stern, or impossible to impress, especially at this point, but Cullen just—Cullen just feels like Kieran Glass is a completely different animal. Emphasis on the animal, really.

Cullen isn't sure how to articulate that to Fallon without being a mopey asshole. He just stares at her, intense and helpless and desperate, like that might help her read his mind. Figure it all out by osmosis, or whatever.

"—I mean, we don't have to get into it, Fal. I just—" He laughs dryly. "I want you to be prepared for anything without actually telling you what that could mean. And that's so unfair, I know. I know. I'm sorry."

[vitalphenomena]

@l-ivestudioaudience // fallon asked for:

"Here. Squeeze my hand if it hurts."

It's great that little Magdalene wants to help with the after-dinner dishes. What's not so great is when Cullen's condensation-covered water glass slips out of her fingers and Fallon, in her maternal rush to console her daughter and whisk her away from the mess, steps into the pile of shards.

Cullen offers one hand for Fallon to hold. He regrets this. He kind of needs to hold his flashlight up to the bottom of her feet to see all of the damage. For now, he'll focus on the most egregious chunks.

"Don't cry over spilt ginger ale," he mutters, which is so fucking stupid, but if such corny jokes are the most difficult-to-digest dad quality he's developed thus far—he'll take it.

[vitalphenomena]

@l-ivestudioaudience // fallon

HE WAKES UP WITH A STARTLED GROAN, ONE THAT COULD ALMOST BECOME A YELL.

The way he rolls over towards the inside of the bed involves quite a bit of thrashing. He's still half asleep, uncoordinated. It still feels real.

That woman in his dream—slumped over onto his father, his father whispering into her ear as he lead-dragged her down a long, dark hall—is still real.

"Fallon?" he whispers, all hoarse. "Fallon, are you—" Awake? Okay? he is not okay.

[vitalphenomena]

@l-ivestudioaudience // fallon asked: “  you don’t feel that?  ”

HE DOESN'T. He's so giddy, so worked up, that all of his senses are a little fuzzy. Sight especially—but that may also be because of the tears welling up in his eyes, precariously close to falling down his cheeks.

Cullen wipes his face, then dries his fingers off against his trousers. Tentatively, with a look up to Fallon for approval, he places his palm on her stomach again.

"I—"

Life itself. Right there, against his hand.

"—fuck. No, yeah, no. Yeah. I feel it now."

[vitalphenomena]

@mctcrcity said: look at that sky.

FALLON SEES BEAUTY WHEN CULLEN WOULD PREFER TO SEE NOTHING AT ALL. He does not savor the natural world like his father did, is not stricken in awe by it.

Fallon reminds him that such bitterness, while it feels necessary to avoid harmful comparisons, is ultimately an extreme that he could do without.

"I could tell you about the constellations," he offers. He is humble, soft.