#spnephraim

[holyhael]

♫♪

[contranymss]

9.06 Heaven Can’t Wait

[contranymss]

[joelhammnd-blog]

spn rare pair bingo: square filled: anniversary (ava/ephraim, ft. chuck shurley/tracy davis, & meg 2.0)

It's Chuck and Tracy's anniversary, and somehow Ava and Ephraim both made it to the guest list - despite the both of them having been separated for two months and the hostility between them being on high. Everyone who's anyone knows that one does not invite both to an event because it's just asking for trouble. When Chuck finds out about both of them being invited, he approaches Tracy about the subject, being rather blunt, "You realize that doing this with both Ava and Eph present is basically an invitation to start World War III?" Maybe he was being over dramatic. Okay, incredibly over dramatic - but those two were a touchy subject for some. Chuck would count his blessings though because it could be worse; Meg could have been invited. Had she been invited? God, he could only imagine how things would have played out. He remembered when Ava found out about Eph and her. Sure, it had been a one time thing, but that didn't change how anybody felt throughout the entire engagement. Ava had approached Meg, cornering her in a bar, "You slept with him, didn't you?" Meg just smiled and looked away, not actually offering a response. This, of course, ended in a bar fight between the two of them that neither of them talk about to this day. When the day came for the actual anniversary party, Chuck was nervous beyond belief (let's be real, it's pretty believable for him). Both Ava and Ephraim had confirmed they'd be there, neither knowing the other was going. Tracy was taking forever to get ready and insisted on going to pick up a couple things before the party. "Come on, you're going to make us late." It was their own party, celebrating them, and they were going to be late. How classy was that? Ha.

[joelhammnd-blog]

spn rare pair bingo: square filled: parasite (chuck/ephraim ft. tom, anna milton, & jessica moore)

It's the busiest weekend of the year for Ephraim's company and he's got a million and one things left to do still - fuck, he's still not ready for the presentation because he can't find that damn thumb drive he kept all the information on. Of course, his dog is sitting on the couch with her little head tilted as she watches him look through his bachelor pad for this stupid thing, unable to locate it. He's beginning to think he's going to have to wing his speech with the board executives today - which is a terrible idea, but it's all he's got going for himself. Maybe he can draw them pretty pictures on the whiteboard to distract them from his lack of actual work ethic. By the time Eph locates the thumb drive, he's well beyond late for work. He quickly kisses his dog on the top of the head, reminding her to be good and to please... please not pee in his running shoes this time while he's gone, and then he leaves (and the second he's gone, she pees in his shoes). He fumbles with his keys, but he gets in his car without a hitch. The drive to work is smooth, but something's different. He doesn't know what it is, but something about that entire day was different. The way the wind breathed through his clothes, the way the sweat clung to the back of his neck, the way the sun beamed down through his office window. He could have sworn he heard a siren, but there was nothing in sight. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about this day was unlike any other.

--- "I see him in my dreams, Tom." Chuck was adamant about the man he was seeing in his dreams, the man he didn't know, the man who could never tell him his name, "I'm connected to him somehow and I don't know what that connection is or what it means." Tom was doing his best to be an understanding friend, but he was more so concerned that Chuck might be going insane. Seeing someone in his dreams? Sure, everyone saw someone in their dreams - it was usually just the face of someone they'd seen passing along the street and had since forgotten. Sure, not everyone knew that, but Chuck surely knew that, right? "It's nothing. It's not important, okay?" Chuck wanted to believe Tom, he did...but he couldn't. The first time Ephraim meets the tiny, bearded stranger, it's at a fast food joint - where the tiny, bearded stranger seems confused to be at because this place only serves meet and he appears to be vegan. At least, that's what Eph's gathered from the "Pro-Vegan" button pinned to his ugly Christmas themed sweater vest...which he'd like to know why this guy is wearing it in mid-July on one of the hottest days of the year, but no, he's not judging. He can't judge, because he's wearing heavy skinny jeans that are black, a long sleeved button up shirt that's dark in colour, and a freaking beanie. When did he even start wearing beanies? Oh wait. Tiny, bearded dude noticed him staring. What now? He looks away all innocent like, pretending he wasn't staring.  It didn't take long before one of them approached the other, and that slowly turned into a four hour talk about books and movies, their own personal interests, their interests in each other, and that turned into getting drinks at a bar. Somewhere down the line, it's four months later and Chuck finds himself living with Ephraim - and every time he wakes up, he's disappointed to find out he's alone, his guitar propped up in the corner of his one bedroom apartment. Well, okay, he's not technically alone. Tom's passed out in bed with him. He feels bad, using him like this, but Tom doesn't seem to mind it. He leans over, kissing the top of Tom's head, hearing a muffled grumble of discontent. He smiles, then gets up and heads into the bathroom to wash his face off. Why does he keep dreaming about this guy? Who is he? "Am I really that white?" It had come up during a dinner conversation. Chuck tried not to choke on his food when the question came out of Ephraim's mouth, but it was a little hard not to. He was quick to respond though, "Yes. Yes you are, but it's okay. There are support programs out there for people like you." Eph rolled his eyes, shoved more Thai take-out into his mouth. As he chewed on the food though, he heard an echo in the distance and it caused him to sit up right. His ears were ringing and he could see Chuck looking at him, asking if he was alright, but someone else's voice was talking over top of his. He couldn't make out what they were saying. Everything was muffled. He was only sitting upright for another second before he slipped off the chair and onto the floor, passing out. --- Fully aware Tom despised her, Chuck went to Anna. She was a psychic, or so she said - but she was also his friend and he trusted her opinion, regardless of psychic abilities or not. He just really needed a friend right now, and maybe something more. He finished explaining the situation to her, the dreams about a happy life, about living together, about working their jobs and coming hope happily to one another. Anna felt almost sick to her stomach, but there was a smile on her face. It was, oddly enough, a good feeling. "Oh Chuck, what can I do?" He looked away from her, shaking his head. He didn't know what to ask for first, or if he could ask anything from her in the first place. "I just want to know his name." --- There were glitches in Ephraim's time with Chuck. He hadn't even noticed he'd never told him his name. He just assumed it was something his partner knew. He didn't notice the missing pieces of the puzzle everywhere his name should have been, the places where things should have fit together but didn't make any sense. When furniture was upside down, it seemed normal and like it was supposed to be that way. He never questioned this place, this world, even if something seemed...off. He had Chuck, and to him, that was all that mattered. For some reason though, whenever Chuck held his hand, it felt wrong. Like something else was touching his hand, a hand much colder than Chuck's. He could feel both hands over that hand, clasping it gently, fingers smoothing over it. Chuck wasn't doing it, and there wasn't anyone else there, so who was doing it? --- "Would you stop taking photos of me with your dumb phone?" Ephraim looked away, moderately annoyed. Jessica laughed, looking up toward the sky as she lowered her phone, "Oh, come on. You never know when it's going to be our last night together. We need the memories, the moments. Just in case, right?" He looked at her, watching her, studying her face. He knew exactly what she meant. It's why he always spent every moment studying every inch of her face, like it was the last time he'd ever see her again, but it was somehow the first time he'd ever seen her before. He loved her so much, so much that he didn't know how to properly contain himself when it came to her. She made him be someone different, someone he could be proud of. She was his best friend. How lucky was he to have that?  "Come on," Jessica said, standing up, holding her hands out toward Ephraim. He looked a little sceptical about it, but he took her hands, getting to his feet. She pulled him over to the teeter totter, sitting on one end. He stared at the other end, then looked at her, "You're joking, right?" She shook her head, "Absolutely not." He sighed in defeat, having barely even fought it, and got on the other end of the teeter totter with minimal effort. He played on it with Jessica, feeling like he was a five year old child as he did so, but it made him smile and it made him laugh - more importantly? It made her light up like the fourth of July, and he wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. These were the memories Jessica clung to, holding onto Ephraim's hand in the hospital, a hand brushing through his hair, "It's okay, baby," she'd say, "You'll pull through," but the time kept going by and hope seemed to be dwindling amongst his doctors. She fought for him because he had no one else, but the medical bills were piling up and she didn't know what to do. She had no one to call. Eph didn't have any family. There was no one, absolutely no single person to call. She sunk into the chair inside his hospital room, staring at him. Maybe this was it for her. She'd have to say goodbye to her best friend for good and move on with her life.  --- You’re not dead. Chuck's heart is racing when he wakes up beside Anna. She's looking at him, her eyes curious. He looks at her, breathing hard, trying to formulate words, but nothing is coming out. All he can think about is what he saw, what he knows, what he believes. Anna reaches over, gently placing a hand against his cheek, reminding him to breathe slowly, helping him find his calm. Once he's surrendered to it, and they're both sitting together, he starts replaying through his dreams, then he gets to the part about him being real, "But he's real, Anna. I know he's real. Something just... something told me that he's real. I know it sounds insane, but so does being a psychic...no offense," he smiles a little, but she shrugs it off. She doesn't mind, "Ask me what I know now." Anna raises an eyebrow, intrigued, gesturing for him to go on. Of course, he looks disappointed she didn't ask. "I know his name." --- The world he was in felt almost like an illusion to him, despite being able to feel everything, despite being able to feel Chuck's heartbeat as he watched him sleep. With every quiet thump against Chuck's chest, he could hear a subtle beep in the background, confused as to which smoke alarm was causing him this grief. Ephraim left the room, trying to find the source of the beeping, but when he looked out the kitchen window (to make sure it wasn't their neighbour's balcony), all he saw was something that didn't make sense to him. He turned around and Chuck was standing there, except they were in the middle of a field, dressed. Eph's confusion only seemed to further as he watched Chuck, "Don't you get it, Eph?" the colours, the scenery changes, "Don't you see it? Hear it?" the way the paint melted down. "So, what now?" --- It took Chuck longer than he would have liked to track down the hospital, but with Anna and Tom's help, he was able to locate it. When he got to the hospital room, during visiting hours of course, there was no one there for him. There were some flowers, but they'd since wilted and gone since whoever had been there last - which had clearly been a while ago. He stepped up closer to the bed, looking down at Ephraim's closed eyes. He smiled softly, a book in his hand written by Shakespeare. "I still don't see what you see in the man, or even if you see, or if you actually do like him." He sits in the chair, pulling it closer, "I suppose I'll find out, huh?" There was a chuckle, followed by silence as he opened up the front page, beginning to recite a quiet dramatic reading of Hamlet.  It became routine, always going by the hospital to see Ephraim. It also didn't take him long to learn about the fiancee, Jessica. Who technically wasn't his fiancee anymore, but was still juggling his medical bills. He supposed he was happy to learn that Eph hadn't been completely abandoned, but it still felt like he had been either way. He came in as often as possible, above and beyond his routine, getting to the fellow staff through his visits. He learned more about Ephraim's case through them, learning about his coma and his car accident as time went on, about the parasite in his brain that had prevented him initially from waking up, looking forward to sleeping on the cot sometimes in his room. He would fall asleep near him and he would dream of him. It was poetic, and also creepy at the same time, but he was weirdly okay with himself doing this. You have a life. Ephraim could hear the words coming through his ears, but they didn't match what Chuck was saying to him now. He was confused and he couldn't figure out what was happening. Chuck knew though, he could see the twitches. The two worlds collided, Eph assaulted with tidal wave of atmosphere, thrusted back into a body he hadn't seen in months, Chuck gasping as he awoke from a sleep he hadn't realized he was in. He could feel the hand on his shoulder and looked up, seeing Anna, then noticing her hand also on Ephraim's. She was breathing a little hard, but she stopped touching them and stepped back, gesturing with one hand to Ephraim. Tom got to the room just as Anna gestured, "Hey, sorry. I heard she was coming here and I tri---" he's silenced when Chuck holds up a single finger, noticed Ephraim's eyes opening. He goes over to the bed, peeking over and down at him, looking at his bearded face. "You're awake."

[joelhammnd-blog]

spn reverse graphics challenge: ↠ ephraim + quote #1

“What makes earth feel like hell is our expectation that it should feel like heaven.”

[joelhammnd-blog]

spn rare pair bingo: square filled: fake dating AU (chuck/ephraim ft. anna milton, ava wilson, & jessica moore)

When Ava breaks off the engagement with Ephraim the night before their wedding, it leaves him shattered and broken. He doesn't know what to do with himself - especially knowing that the two of them still have to share a rental house together because neither of them can afford to live on their own. They've barely been broken up for two weeks when he finds out she's already seeing someone else and that it's serious, which makes him want to up his own personal life just to spite her. The problem is that he doesn't have a personal life outside of his best friend, Jess.

Chuck has noticed through work that Ephraim hasn't looked particularly like himself, but it isn't his job to ask how he is. He knows he shouldn't ask - which is why he's been talking to Anna about it instead. Of course, she keeps encouraging him to try talking to the guy, knowing it wouldn't hurt. She keeps saying to just ask, that it'll look sweet that he's concerned, and that the worst that could happen is that he gets turned down. "Yes, but he's going to think there's something wrong with me, like I'm too short or something." Anna almost snorted, firing right back, "We both know there's nothing wrong with you, Chuck." Chuck groaned, a smile on his face, "Keep telling yourself that." "I'm trying hard to move on." Jess felt bad for Ephraim, watching him closely. She believed he wanted to move on, but she wondered if he was actually ready to do so, "You could. You can." Ephraim looked at her, studying her face. At first, he had thought she meant move on by using her, but that mixed signal was quickly corrected with some awkward laughter. It was within that same week he'd get two invitations to a wedding; one for himself, one for Ava. A plus one event. He could see her grin as she took her own, easily checking off plus one. He needed to fix this badly. Chuck approached Ephraim for a change, introducing himself, despite Ephraim knowing who he was. The spark was instant and they hit it off. They both made each other smile easily and it was.... it was nice. Over the next couple weeks, they grew close very fast, Chuck learning about Ephraim and Ava and their messy situation, their little competition and how she was winning the break up. Ephraim admitted to burning some of Ava's belongings in a fire pit out back of their house, which surprised Chuck. (“You can’t just burn everything and wish her away.”) The guy didn't seem like he was crazy, but apparently he had a little crazy in him after all. The more they talked though, the more that led to Chuck finding out about the wedding. "I need you to be my date," Chuck stared at Ephraim for a long time in complete and utter silence, just staring at him. He just got asked to be his date to a freaking wedding, "She's bringing her serious boyfriend and I've been lying to her about seeing someone and if I show up with no one? She's going to know I was lying, she already thinks I'm lying." Chuck coughed awkwardly, a hand in front of his mouth, then started walking away, "I'm not your guy." Ephraim almost groaned out of sheer frustration, "Please don't make me beg." He followed Chuck out of the house and into the backyard, "It would be a one time deal, I promise." Chuck turned around, looking at Ephraim. He was going to tell him no again, but those eyes and that sad and desperate face..... he caved and said okay. They had no idea in the months leading up to the wedding just how close they'd grow. That their fake exploitations would actually mean something to one another. They thought it was fake, they believed it was fake - but Anna and Jessica, watching them both? They knew these two were doomed to fall for one another and it was precious. The late nights, the wine, the cheesy small guitar Eph played and Chuck jamming out to it? It was all so cliché and perfect. They were the perfect television trope. When the night of the wedding came, Chuck was doing up his tie in front of the mirror, unaware of the major blow out of a fight that was happening between Ava and Ephraim, unaware of the crazy boyfriend Ava had that was telling Eph to back off.  When Chuck pulls up to the house to pick up Ephraim, he's confused because there's a lot of fuss happening outside of the house. There's police cars, an ambulance. He immediately parks and gets out, running over. He sees Ava, her make up messed up from crying. There's a guy in the back seat of one of the squad cars, an officer in there with him, another talking to Ava. His eyes go to the door as he notices the body bag being carried out, his heart stopping in his chest for a moment. He should have made Eph stay at his place. He should have made him be there overnight so that they looked like a more intimate couple. He should have been there. He could have done something. Maybe it wasn't even Ephraim. Maybe he's just overreacting. Yeah, that's what he was doing. He was overreacting. 

[joelhammnd-blog]

spn rare pair bingo: square filled: "don’t move” (anna milton/ephraim ft. tom & chet)

Anna and Ephraim have been partners for years now. They've both known each other for longer. If there's one thing they've always agreed on, it was the existence of extraterrestrials. Tom, one of the forensic analysts who rarely goes on field trips, has been part of their little group since the beginning, thinking their beliefs to be trivial and childish. They never let the grump get to them though, and they are always fully devoted to whichever case they are handed - even if their cases are a little "out there."  It was supposed to be a simple trip out to the farmer's market, that's all Chet wanted to do. But he was barely down the road from his trailer when he saw it blow down from the sky. It was like straight out of a movie. He thought he was going nuts. He followed the smoke cloud, confused as to why no one was paying attention to what could possibly be some form of attack - the Russians? Now that was just an ill thought he chided himself for as he approached the wreck. It was nightfall by the time he arrived, only to see the wreck of a ship that was very.... not human. Tom had never spoke of his dead wife to Anna or Ephraim. He had tried multiple times with Anna, mostly when he found himself in bed with her. It just wasn't something he could bring himself to talk about - but then they got the call about the wreck, the wreckage he was finding himself making a field trip for. Anna knew that Tom was somewhat agoraphobic, which was why he wasn't a fan of the field trips. She kept that information to herself though, ignoring Ephraim's childish remarks about Tom as they caught sight of the wreck. This was it. Their golden ticket to the truth.