#hisblinders

[ribslit]

VAMPIRE    AU    WITH    @HISBLINDERS

[egopath]

𝐈’𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐙𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒. (x)

[motherstyle-a2]

@hisblinders​    said    :        honey, it’s not that bad.         /      *          GRACE     &     FRANKIE   ,         ACCEPTING    .

SHE’S      BEEN      USELESSLY     FUSSING      with    the    new    rip    in    fabric    for    the    past    five    minutes    or    so    ,            muttering           &         cursing    under    breath    .          it    split    from    skirt’s    hem    to    draw    up    the    side    of    thigh           :         an    unintended    slit    gifted    to    her    by    a    stool    in    dire    need    of    a    good    sanding    .            her    own    fingers    pulling    at    seam    only    shreds    cloth    further    ,           glancing    up    from    ruined    gown    to   assess   the   damage    in    the    mirror    she    stands    before    .             though    not    a    seamstress    herself    ,          ms   .      evers    surely    could    repair    it           –––          but    it    wouldn’t    quite    be    the    same    .

bill’s    hands    capture    her    fretting    own    just    as    she’s    debating    throwing    the    garment    out    entirely    ,            reassuring    words    falling    into    the    air    with    all    the    intended    abating    effect    drawing    zero   -   sum    .               ❝           i    appreciate    the    sentiment    ,          sweetheart    ,           ❞              cocked    brow    ,           palms    giving    slight    squeeze    to    the    his    larger    ones    ,           only    half  -  joking    ,               ❝            but    lying    to    me    isn’t    going    to    make    my    dress    any    less    torn    .            ❞

[ribslit]

IT’S TOO LATE FOR REASONABLE CONVERSATIONS.      any time after midnight spent tossing ideas back and forth is always dangerous.  topics stray towards the wrong side of personal with shocking ease,  or an off-hand comment that at 11:39 seemed fine by 12:01 rubs the wrong way.  jim is particular susceptible to making these social blunders,  and unfortunately the fact that he is now nocturnal doesn’t seem to have given him any advantage here.

so when conversation turned to a case,  to a victim who had obviously been drunk from,  but who showed no obvious signs of struggle,  instead of suggesting that they go to sleep and resume the conversation in the morning when they  (or at the very least, bill)  would be on more stable footing,  jim replies to him.  he’d been in the washroom,  brushing his teeth,  but he spits his toothpaste out and pokes his head back into the main room after he hears bill’s comment.

“ well, ”  he says,  wiping his mouth dry with the back of his hand.  “ we might have bad data on that front.  it’s possible that there’s more to the exchange,  the bite,  for both parties. ”  jim disappears back into the bathroom to put his toothbrush down,  eyes glancing at the mirror for where his reflection should appear.  instead he just sees his t-shirt and sleep pants,  though he smooths his hair down nonetheless.

“ what if, ”  he calls out as he exits the bathroom finally.  “ i mean,  aside of feeding,  what if there is an aspect of the bite that would make it desirable.  something to be done consensually ? ”

STARTER  FOR  HISBLINDERS.

[egopath]

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒.   𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋:   ❛  these past couple days, i keep thinking about when we met.  ❜  |  @hisblinders​

𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃,  holden is leaning over the bar top with his glass in hand.  the two cops who had joined them out have long since left  ---  returned to their wives, kids, and jeopardy reruns.  holden misses having an audience.  getting a confession by using everything they’ve learned feels like a culmination of all their efforts.  holden wants to celebrate. bill is less than impressed with holden’s stories and has been mostly quiet all night.  when he does speak,  he sounds somber and too sober.

❝ — ugh,  bill.  you sound like you’re starting my eulogy,  ❞  holden carps as he raises his bourbon to his lips again.  despite being on his fourth glass, he didn’t miss a single one of bill’s admonishing head - shakes throughout the night. he swivels on his chair,   ❝ — please,  don’t tell me how i’ve changed.  ❞

his smile is loose and toothy,   ❝ — i still don’t smoke when i eat. ❞

[egopath]

❝ 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋,  this is where i live.  ❞ |  @hisblinders​​  💬

[ribslit]

📂

SEND 📂 FOR A RANDOM YET USELESS HEADCANON

in no particular order,  some of his favourite artists are harry nilsson,  emitt rhodes,  barry manilow,  hall & oates,  spandau ballet,  fun boy three,  new order,  parliament,  and the spinners.  he generally listens to music on vinyl but does also have a sizeable collection of cassette tapes,  mostly to play while driving.

[egopath]

𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒.  @hisblinders​

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐘  turned to twisting mountain roads,  holden started checking roadside signs for lodging.  

driving through appalachia in the daylight hours is hard enough,  but dodging semi - trucks and tight curves on the moonlight lit mountain roads has holden clutching the steering wheel so tightly his hands tremble.  awhile back up the road,  holden had turned the radio down to static fuzz while bill slumped in the passenger seat.  now,  he craves the distraction of music or talk radio  ---  anything to block out the sound of his own thundering pulse in his ears.

finally,  a mile marker lists a roadside motel and soon,  their car rolls into the parking lot.  the motel’s sign greets them in blinking neon.  when holden puts the car in park,  he jostles bill by pressing his fingers to his shoulder.   ❝ — i’m going to get us a room for the night, ❞   he explains to bill,  who’s confused expression is cast in flashing red,   ❝ — we’ll make it tomorrow.  we’ll just need to get up early.  ❞

as holden leaves the car and walks to the shopfront, he swears he can see bill turn over and fall back asleep in the passenger seat.  they haven’t been on the road together much since atlanta  ---  bill has been working closer with ted in quantico while holden has been sent out left and right until they have more agents trained.  this drive,  marking their first interviews together since atkid,  has been filled with awkward,  long silences and tense squabbles.   but bill does not have the same intensity he had carried with him in georgia.  instead,  he just seems tired.

bill still wears his wedding ring.  holden thinks,  mostly to avoid the questions he would receive if he took it off.  there were tells long before holden found bill’s rolodex opened to the card of a divorce attorney  ---  he’s withdrawn,  smoking now more than ever,  and he spends more time in the office than even holden.  despite this,  bill hasn’t mentioned it and holden is waiting for him to tell him.  though,  after how things went in atlanta,  he’s not sure he’s ever going to be privy to the details of bill’s private life again.

as soon as holden has their room key in hand,  he marches back to the car to fetch bill.  sure enough, he finds him sleeping in the passenger seat.   ❝ — hey,  let’s go inside, ❞   he says,  stirring him again as he grabs their bags.  

the motel is a single level structure with no more than twelve rooms.  holden turns their key marked 6 in his hand before leading bill to their room.  as soon as the door opens,  holden balks  ---  fuck.  the conversation with the clerk had been quick as holden was so eager he practically threw money at him to get their key.  

but now, one thing he said sticks out in his mind: only one room left.

❝ — he said this is all they have,  ❞    holden explains quickly as he pushes the door open with his foot.  as soon as bill follows in,  holden watches as his tired expression drops.

❝ you’re telling me this is the only room they had left  ?  ❞

❝ — that’s what the clerk said,  ❞  holden says as he sets their bags atop a small table in the corner.  his fingers press to his temples as he glances as the lone queen bed in the center of their room.   ❝ — it’s just one night, ❞   he rationalizes as he checks his watch,   ❝ — and it’s already past midnight.  let’s just try to get some sleep.  we have to be up in six hours anyway if we’re going to stay on schedule. ❞

after a weighted pause,  bill sighs,   ❝ — let’s just lay facing away from each other and pretend this isn’t happening.  ❞

they lay in the dark on their respective sides of the bed.  it takes no more than five minutes for bill to speak out in the darkness,   ❝ —  you know, you snore, right  ?  ❞

holden rolls his eyes as he turns so his back is away from bill,   ❝ — we’ve shared hundreds of rooms together and you slept through my snoring just fine. ❞

❝ —  it’s different when it’s right next to me, ❞  bill complains and holden doesn’t respond.  he only pulls the stiff,  floral blanket up around his shoulders and squeezes his eyes shut.  he pulls his knees up to his chest,  breathing in deeply as he tries to will himself to sleep.

but not before bill tugs the blanket from his grip,   ❝ — stop stealing the blanket ! ❞

❝ i’m not ! ❞    holden whines as he pulls it back from bill but only manages to get back a quarter of what he had before.  again,  holden tries to fall asleep. at this rate,  he hopes he’ll pass out from sheer exhaustion.  beside him,  he can feel the warmth emanating from bill’s body.  with the cool mountain air creeping into the room,  it is difficult not to seek out his heat.

*

❝ — get your cold feet off of me !  ❞

holden jolts,  waking up to a kick to his thigh.  he blinks,  time catching up with him as he’s pulled out of sleep.  the digital clock on the nightstand mocks him  --- blinking 4:08.  they’re going to need to be back on the road in two hours and now,  thanks to bill,  he’s wide awake.

fingers scrub over his face as he groans,   ❝ — jesus christ, bill.  you’re making this worse than it has to be. ❞  holden pulls the blankets up around his shoulders again,  shoving his head into the pillow as he tries to go back to sleep.  but he doesn’t expect for bill to let him get the last word.

he’s quiet for a moment  ---  almost long enough for holden to think he’s going to be able to fall back asleep. suddenly the bed creaks as bill moves,  turning over so he’s facing holden’s back.  he’s closer now;  holden can nearly feel his breath against the nape of his neck.

❝ — i’m sorry. ❞

the apology hangs between them in the dark.  at first,  holden thinks he’s apologizing for waking him up but the longer he holds onto the silence,  he knows it is much more than that.  he swallows before he, too,  rolls over so he’s facing bill on the bed.  even in the dark,  he can see the way his face is pulled into a stern,  hard frown.

holden opens his mouth to speak but bill beats him to the punch,   ❝ — i haven’t had anyone in my bed in a very long time.  ❞

the tight pull of his jaw is fixed.  holden shuffles his pillow under his head so bill can see how his eyes are open and attentive.  the statement says more than their awkward,  obligatory small - talk has in the last couple months.  it is more than bill snapping at him on the water’s edge,  laying his family issues bare.  and the longer holden stays quiet,  the more he’s able to read in bill’s expression as it slowly softens in the soft light from the clock.

❝ — i know, ❞    he tells him.  he thinks to tell him how he knew  --- from the divorce attorney to his changing behavior to the way his wedding ring seems to be searing his finger.  but holden lets the statement stand,  even as he inches closer to him in the bed.  holden’s hands tremble as he reaches out to touch the warmth of his skin.  his pulse sounds like thunder in his ears.