#noah gorman

[gregorygerwitz]

Noah: How’s the horse this morning?

Mouse: So flawed.

Jay: Can you wait until I’ve had my coffee before you speak in riddles?

[gregorygerwitz]

Some Sentences Sunday

I've started writing a Hallmark-esque AU that may or may not be finished in time to post for Yule/Christmas/whatever vague holiday this fic is actually about. feat. single dad!Mouse, small town doctor!Will, and 10yo!Noah being precious and adorable and angst-ridden. Here are... some angsty sentences about them.

For a moment, silence lingered in the car under the gentle hum of the music from the radio. It was the first time during the entire drive that it had been so quiet, even during the intermittent naps there was at least the sound of heavier breathing. There were singalongs, and jokes, and stories about school friends, and a million other things, but not silence. Silence was rare even outside of school breaks, their small home usually filled with the sounds of cooking or homework or laughter and all of the other signs of life that they made together. 

Silence was reserved for the darker times of the night. It only came about anymore after a particularly bad nightmare, or a bad day, when talking about things would only make them worse. They’d both fallen into the habit of savoring the good things and trying to ignore the bad. The only family they had was each other, and thinking about all the people they’d lost in the past would only remind them how easy it was to lose someone again. Avoiding that train of thought was the only way to make it through the day, sometimes. 

But it wasn’t easy to completely ignore all of those past anxieties and fears. 

“Do I have to sleep in my own room? I wanna sleep in a big bed with you.” 

Greg bit back a frown at the words and took a slow, deep breath through his nose. For the first few months they lived together, Noah wouldn’t sleep anywhere alone, and it only got worse as they grew closer. It made sense – he'd only been seven years old on that family vacation, when he’d woken up in a rented house to blood and violence and loss that he couldn’t even imagine. He’d arrived in Chicago with two parents, and a little brother, and the promise of going back to Indiana in a week to share stories about the big city and its lake with his friends. Three years later, he had someone else he called dad, and the first family vacation since the one that ended so horribly. 

He probably would have been more shocked if there hadn’t been such a request, when he really thought about it. As little as Noah could have done to save his biological family, or even protect himself more than he had, it made sense to want to keep an eye on the only family he had now when they were in an unfamiliar place. No part of him would want to relive the worst day of his life if there was a way to prevent even a fraction of it. 

“Of course you can sleep with me.” He kept his voice soft, risking a brief glance toward the passenger seat as if that would draw familiar eyes toward him. It didn’t, with Noah almost pointedly keeping his gaze out the window and fixed on some imaginary movement in the distance. “We’ll sit together and watch a movie in the big bed. How does that sound?” 

“Okay...” 

[gregorygerwitz]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by: absolutely no one because I haven't been on social media a lot lately and I haven't written a word in weeks and no one remembers that I write fic (and also I don't write 911 fic anymore so I get completely forgotten about, especially when my most written characters lately are Mouse and Noah - little guys who left the show 6 years ago and only got two episodes of screen time respectively (this is not me being passive aggressive in any way, it's just a fact that CPD is not at the same level of popularity as 911)), but it's Wednesday here still and I need to keep my mind off the fact that I can't currently afford to be alive!!!

Anyway, in case anyone wanted to be sad(der) about my November 14th headcanons, it's also Noah's birthday. To me. Because canon isn't going to tell me otherwise.

-

The screen of the phone only dimmed for a second before the gentle tap lit it up again. In the quiet of the bedroom, there was no one but the dog pressed into his side to even know he was still awake. In fact, Noah had told the only other two occupants of the apartment that he was going to bed more than an hour earlier, and it hadn't been long after that when he heard the other bedroom door shut down the hall.

That was fine, as was the pitbull that let out a yawn at his side.

Having Ranger as company every night was one of his favorite things about living there with them. It meant he wasn't alone when the nightmares struck in the middle of the night. It meant he was well guarded on the rare nights when he was there alone. It also meant he had a solid presence to grin down at when the 23:59 on his screen turned to 00:00.

He knew that dogs didn't understand things like birthdays, couldn't tell one day from another, didn't even know what days were, but that was far from the point. Even the slightest bit of attention made the grey head lift to look up at him, sleepy but curious, anticipating treats based on what usually happened in the middle of the night. When there was nothing more than the mild attention after a few moments, he let out a familiar sound, half growl and half whine - pittie talking, Mouse had called it fondly the first time it had startled Noah that first weekend there.

"I know you're just complaining about being kept up past your bedtime, but I'm going to pretend you're telling me happy birthday." This time, when the screen dimmed, he didn't tap it again, instead letting it go dark and leave the room to be lit only by streetlights through the window. "I think you're the only one here who actually knows my birthday, now. Don't let that secret get out, okay? The last thing we need is someone trying to do something for me just because I made it to 20."

The whining had been a complaint, of course, but even annoyance didn't change Ranger's behaviors. With a gentle lick to the blankets approximately where he'd been using Noah's knee as a pillow, he put his head back down and let out another low, more comfortable whine.

[gregorygerwitz]

Noah, nineteen and dramatic: I am an unwilling participant in someone else’s American dream.

Also Noah: Why don’t they like me? I am a delight!

[gregorygerwitz]

Noah Gorman + equine therapy

Grief was a heavy thing, and he couldn't carry it forever.

It started with talking to a professional, someone Jay promised he wouldn't have to talk to more than once if he didn't want to. One session led to one session a week, and it helped. It helped a lot more than he wanted to admit. And it didn't hurt that he didn't have to worry about any kinds of bills while he adjusted to life after surviving a serial killer.

The therapy was a regular part of his routine for a while. Nothing much came of it besides dealing with his guilt and his grief, and all of the other things he was holding on his shoulders. The first thing that changed his regular habits beyond that was a day trip outside the city.

Mouse had said something about visiting some old friends for lunch, and sitting in the apartment alone all afternoon didn't exactly sound like the most entertaining way to spend it. He just wanted to tag along so he wouldn't be bored, and he promised to stay out of the way while they caught up. When they got to the property, he wasn't expecting to see animals almost three times his size and eager for attention. Giving out treats and meeting most of them happened before he realized how easy it was to be taken in by them.

It was a joke, mostly. Ride one of the gentler horses while Mouse caught up on the latest gossip from his old neighborhood. Noah would be out of the way and not bored, and everyone was right there if anything were to happen. It made sense.

He just never expected to like it so much.

[gregorygerwitz]

Seven Sentence Sunday

I'm working on my fic for Father's Day because the idea won't leave me alone, drifting back into my One Chicago era. it's fine. it just means we all get to be sad about Mouse all the time.

Jay reached out toward him when he stopped walking, and it took a few moments for Mouse to realize that there was something in his hand. Technically, it was two somethings, the flashlight catching his eye first. He took it without hesitation, but the other object stretched out toward him made him pause. 

“I don’t think-” 

“Take it.” 

Biting his lip while he considered his options, Mouse met his gaze while taking the gun and forced himself to nod. They had no idea what they would face once they started walking, and they would cover more ground if they split up, and they really should be prepared for anything. He might need to defend himself as well as Noah, and that meant being armed.