[weightofdreams-gvf]

Hi !! I wanted a place to keep all my favorite fics so here it is! This will be updated regularly and pinned if anyone else wants to have easy access to it.

*Smut 18+(Minors DNI)

~made me violently sob

^screaming and crying on the floor

This is mostly all Josh and Jake

Active- @tripthelight-fanfic ^~

The Song of Purple Summer- @st4rdust-ch0rds *

Picking Favorites- @streamingcolors-gvf *

Instigator- @capturethechaos and @screechesincoherently *

Always There- @greta-flanveet *

Creature of the Night- @tripthelight-fanfic *

Three Words- @obetrolncocktails~

Hooky- @alwayzthere^

Manage Me- @capturethechaos and @obetrolncocktails

Twintuition- @urmindisastreamofcolorstreamofcolors^

I Don't Wanna Love You- @tlexx~^*

Boys of Summer- @streamingcolors-gvf ^~

Fight What You Fear- @highdefkiszka~

Everything To Me- @gretavanwinkle~

Strawberry Meltdown- @joshysgf*

Cuddle Bug- @dannythedog^

One More Sip- @dharma-divine*

A Little Neighborly Advice- @streamingcolors-gvf*

A Quick Dip- @streamingcolors-gvf*

Lost Boys- @tlexx*^

The Lion and the Lamb- @godlygreta*

Survival Instincts- @tripthelight-fanfic*^

No Strings Attached- @hearts-hunger*^

Cabin In The Woods- @gretavanlace*^

If I Believe You- @busybusybusyb *^~

I Can’t @greta-van-chaos ^~

Ache- @ria-gvf ^~

It’s You- @ria-gvf ^~

The Dead Don't Die- @highdefkiszka ^~

Table For Two- @welightthefire and @allieboop ^~*

Under The Dock- @tripthelight-fanfic^

Hair Care- @basiccortez

Star-Crossed- @tripthelight-fanfic*

Karma Sutra- @obetrolncocktails*^

Unattainable- @godlygreta~^

Off Limits- @dharma-divine*^

Four Knocks- @tripthelight-fanfic

Sparrowverse- @highdefkiszka

[myfriendtheghost]

sorry for ur loss, Sam stans

[highdefinitions]

the dead don't die , jake kiszka (chapter seventeen)

summary: they've made it to niagara falls.

word count: 5.2k

warnings: man you know the drill by now i'd hope...guns, violence, Water Things, zombie tomfoolery, swearing

author's note: hey...how y'all doing...i am definitely not still a little bit insane and i'm like sorry it's been like a Month or so...got busy...school y'know... anyways...here's this! i'm not liable for anything btw but we can chat when you're done reading. share some thoughts... also btw we're getting close to the end like maybe a couple more close to the end. don't want to be for certain because i think it'd be funny to be like SURPRISE THIS IS THE END HAHA and then that be that

Quinn hadn’t seen a lot in her lifetime, had always been too busy trying to survive her parents to really live outside the realm of the house she burned down, so it shouldn’t have come as a shock to her that Niagara Falls was not what she had pictured it to be. 

She stood beside Jake, staring out over the water. They were still far from it, but anything that would have been blocking their view had to have been torn down ages ago. She could see something built along the shoreline of Canada, a blockade of some sort perhaps.

It was to keep the afflicted out, to keep people like them, wild cards, from escaping with a bite. She had assumed this would happen, that they’d be isolated from the rest of the world, but seeing it made her heart sink into her stomach. 

Josh brushed past her, muttering to himself. He had started to do that recently, reciting words that she didn’t know, and couldn’t ever catch to learn. 

“I think we have to go this way to get to the dam,” Danny said, pointing somewhere far to the left. 

Jake nodded. He stepped to walk beside Danny, squeezing Quinn’s hand before he let go. 

Sam was close to them, throwing ideas at Jake to see if any of them would stick. 

Quinn figured it was to also pass the time, to ease the horrifically palpable anxiety that they all felt about being this close to living another day, to maybe just finally escaping this nightmare that they had been living for practically half of their lives.

She stepped closer to Josh, tilting her head to listen to him, to attempt to catch some of his mumbling. 

It wasn’t that he had gone mad, no, they all had reached that point long ago, it was just something to pass the time, to kill the silence. 

Quinn wanted that. 

“What is that?” she asked softly when Josh paused to take a break.

Or maybe to start over, she wasn’t entirely sure. 

“A poem,” Josh replied, kicking at a rock that was in his path. “Do you know any Billy Collins?”

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “I didn’t read a lot of poetry growing up. His name sounds sort of familiar, I guess.”

“I didn’t either,” Josh said honestly. “I used to sort of hate it actually. What kid likes poetry?” He kicked at the rock again. “No, I found a love for it a few years ago. And, honestly, it’s probably only for Billy Collins. He’s written, like a million poems, by the way. We were holed up in some old bookstore, and were stuck there for a few days. I found an old collection of his and read a few. What I’m about to tell you might be a little bit blasphemous.”

“I never really believed in much of a God anyway,” Quinn said.

“How could you?” Josh asked, his voice falling to a whisper as he turned to look at Quinn. His gaze cleared after a moment, and then he was back to himself. “I ripped my favorite one out of the book. I kept it with me for as long as I could, memorized it when I got the chance because I knew I’d lose the page eventually.”

“Can I hear some of it?” she asked. 

“It’s a subject so profound I feel I should be underwater to think about it properly,” Josh began, pursing his lips for a moment after he spoke the first line, as if he were tasting the words for the first time, seeing how they melted onto his tongue. “In the most popular versions the sky explodes, and horsemen gallop out of the flaming clouds, pale and bloody, their cloaks flying wickedly. The disconcerting poetry of Revelations describes their iron breastplates as being blue as hyacinths.” He swallowed, turned to look at her again. “That was only the first verse. It’s much longer, but I felt like I’d save you the trouble.”

“I liked it,” she replied. “What’s it called?”

Josh gave her a bit of an amused smile.

“The End Of The World,” he replied. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

“Bit too ironic actually,” she sighed, nodding. “I want to hear more of it.”

“In a little while,” Josh promised. 

They were silent for a few minutes. 

“How does it end?” Quinn asked.

“You’ll know soon,” Josh replied.

Quinn didn’t think he was talking about the poem anymore. 

She was silent for a while after that. Josh would occasionally babble to her about something—a bird call, a tree, whatever Jake and Sam and Danny were talking about. She couldn’t pay him any mind really, far too busy watching her feet as she walked, thinking.

She thought about the verse of the poem Josh had repeated to her, tried to remember what he said, how he had said it. She tried to repeat it back to herself, but it didn’t sound right inside of her head. She figured maybe she was forgetting a part of it, or maybe it was one of those poems that only ever sounded right when they were spoken out loud.

She thought about how she thought her life would end—it certainly hadn’t involved thoughts of a zombie apocalypse or her father. 

But life worked in strange ways. It moved in patterns that weren’t linear, lines that crossed and entangled and then, somehow, like magic, they were free from one another again, moving in very different directions. 

She would have perhaps thought it was a little silly, if her line hadn’t become a massive scribble in this world where the dead don’t die and she has to fight for her own life every single moment.

“Hey,” Jake said, nudging his shoulder into hers. 

She hadn’t even known he was beside her again. 

“Hey,” she replied, her eyes still cast down to the path in front of her. 

“Where’d you go?” Jake asked.

He sounded slightly hopeful, that maybe she was daydreaming about living a life with him, living on a farm with him with their dogs and cows and cats. 

She wasn’t, not this time. 

“I’m just thinking about the poem Josh told me about,” she replied, half truthful. 

“Billy Collins?” Jake questioned. 

“Mhm,” Quinn hummed, nodding her head slowly.

“He’s obsessed,” Jake sighed. “It was honestly a little annoying when he first found the book. He’s simmered down with it now, but he used to recite it at night, and keep us all awake.”

“You were the only one ever really annoyed by it,” Sam said, appearing on Quinn’s other side. 

He had a habit of doing that, appearing at her side, throwing himself into whatever conversation she was having. She knew that part of it was that he was a little brother and it was part of his job, so to speak, to throw himself into things he had no business being in, but another part of him did it because he knew that Quinn liked it. 

He knew that she needed somebody just as badly as he did. He saw it in the looks she got sometimes, downcast, hooded, like she’d seen a ghost. 

“I wasn’t annoyed,” Jake protested. 

Sam sucked in a deep breath, his voice suddenly rising into a shrill pitch that was surely to simultaneously mock and patronize Jake.

“Josh, if you don’t shut the fuck up right this instant, I’m going to come over there and suffocate you with your pillow! Honestly, just give it a rest! You—”

“Alright, alright!” Jake conceded, reaching behind Quinn to shove Sam’s back. “Shut up before you attract zombies, you idiot.” 

“About that,” Danny called from in front of them, his gun already drawn, “I think we have some company.”

Quinn snapped her gaze up toward where Danny was watching. The woods were silent, the trees still, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something lurking in the darkness. She caught it a moment later, a flicker of movement that couldn’t have ever been anything but one of the afflicted.

Before she could react, she felt a flare of pride—Danny had been learning. 

She reached for her gun, Jake reaching for his too. 

“What is it?” he whispered. 

“You know what it is,” she replied. “It’s more like how many. Danny?”

“More than one,” Danny sighed. 

Josh was beside Danny now, flanking him, his own gun drawn but pointed toward the dirt path they had been traveling on. 

“During the day?” Quinn muttered to herself. 

“They could be different up here, evolved differently,” Sam said. “It’s a different climate, different foliage.”

“Different food,” Jake scoffed, swinging himself to aim toward where they had just heard the snap of a twig. 

“Should I shoot?” Danny asked. 

“What the fuck would you take a shot in the dark for?” Jake replied. 

“Spook ‘em,” Danny said.

“They’re not fucking horses, Danny,” Josh said, his eyes darting back and forth along the treeline. “A gunshot doesn’t scare these bastards.”

“Well, what the hell are we supposed to do then?” Danny asked. 

“Keep moving,” Quinn said, suddenly straightening slightly. She didn’t put her gun away though. “We keep going. If they don’t make a move, we don’t either. They could just be watching.”

“Yeah, because zombies are known to be observant,” Josh muttered. 

“Well, they’re not creating a fucking plan in there,” Quinn said, taking a step forward along the path, her eyes trained on the woods to see if there was any more movement. There wasn’t. “It’s not like it’s the meeting of the minds in there.”

“They’re hunting us,” Sam said. “They’re stalking us, playing with their food before they pounce. They like the smell of fear.”

“Then don’t fucking be afraid, and let’s keep going. If they’re going to hunt us, we’re going to hunt them back. Fuck them, I’m sick of them,” Jake said, falling into step with Quinn. 

They kept moving, slower than before, much more quietly. They hadn’t realized it before, not until it was gone, but they had been relaxed before. They had felt like they could think they were safe for a little while when they were walking before. 

That was one of their first mistakes in Niagara Falls. 

They were more aware, stalking the afflicted just as they were stalking them. Quinn did most of the watching, using Danny as backup, as a secondary precaution. He was getting good at seeing the things she could, but he wasn’t nearly as good as her. It had taken her years to get this good, and she only hoped that Danny wouldn’t have to get any better. 

“What’s going on in there, Quinn?” Jake whispered to her, his mouth ducked close to her ear. 

“They’re still following us,” she replied, her gaze flickering toward Jake for just a moment. “I don’t understand why they haven’t moved in yet.”

“Can there really be different species of the afflicted?” Josh asked.

Sam shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Maybe not in makeup. I think they’d all have to be the same to act that way, and we haven’t seen any with any insanely altered abilities or anything. I think it’s all just behavioral differences. The ones that have shelter to stalk their prey are going to, it’s natural. The ones without cover are going to be way more aggressive. It’s like, I don’t know, a lion versus a hippo.” 

“A hippo?” Josh asked incredulously. 

“What?” Sam replied.

“You could have chosen any animal to represent that aggressive category, and you went with a hippo, that’s what.”

“Hippos are one of the most aggressive animals in the world, Josh,” Sam said, that familiar lithe slipping back into Sam’s voice—the one that meant he was itching to bother his older brothers as much as he could. 

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” Danny sighed. “Here we go. Now is not the time, Samuel.”

Quinn looked over to meet his eye, a smirk growing onto her face. 

“But it’s almost too easy, Daniel,” Sam replied. “Besides, I’m actually being serious. Hippos are one of the most aggressive animals in the whole entire world.”

“If I have to hear the word hippo one more time, I’m going to shoot somebody,” Jake said, pinching at the bridge of his nose. 

Sam looked pleased with himself. 

They continued to walk for some time, getting closer and closer to the water, and in turn, it was as if the tension that the afflicted were putting on them, heightened. 

Jake grabbed at Quinn’s hand, squeezing it tightly with the hand that wasn’t holding a gun equally as tightly. 

“Almost there,” he whispered. “We’re almost there.” 

Quinn squeezed his hand in return. 

She could see a break in the trees ahead, could hear the water rushing over the dam. 

They all seemed to increase the pace that they were moving at, seemingly simultaneously forgetting about the threats lurking in the shadows, far too elated by the possibility of freedom, of escape, to even care that perhaps that this was what the afflicted had wanted all along. 

They broke from the trees, each of them taking in the sight before them, barely hearing anything over the crash of the water. Somehow, they had come out of the woods right beside the dam, any railing or protection broken off, leaving the wet concrete exposed to them. 

Quinn looked out over the dam, out toward the horizon. The sun hit the water in such a way that it looked to her as if they had found the end of the world.

Perhaps they had. 

“Looks a little different than last time we were here, huh?” Josh asked, nudging his shoulder against Jake’s. 

“Maybe just a little bit,” Jake replied, the ghost of a hopeful smile playing across his face. 

Sam took a few steps closer to the edge of the dam, the toes of his boots hitting a wet patch in the grass. He placed his hands on the railing that hadn’t been broken away, lifting himself up onto his toes to look across the dam. He nodded once, and then turned back to the rest of them.

“There’s no way in Hell we’re going to be able to just walk across that, Jake,” he sighed. “The current is too strong.” 

Jake took a few steps forward to stand beside Sam and peer across as well. Josh joined them. 

Danny and Quinn stayed a few steps behind them, listening to the quiet grumbling and groaning coming from the woods. The noise had been going on for so long, that it had become background noise, something that broke the silence, made the world feel a little less empty. 

That was until they went silent. 

“Shit,” Quinn swore, turning herself around, gun raised, to watch the treeline. “Kiszka brothers, we have a problem.”

“A big fucking problem,” Danny agreed, mimicking Quinn’s stance. 

“What’s going on?” Jake asked, turning around, already reaching for his gun. 

Quinn scanned the woods again.

She let out a breath, something sounding so close to being in pain, that she saw Danny turn to look at her, worry filling his eyes. 

“What?” he asked.

“They wanted this,” she muttered. “Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. They wanted us to come here.”

“What are you talking about?” Jake asked, at her side now. 

She turned her head slightly, looking Jake in the eye.

It was the first time he had seen real, genuine fear on her face since he had met her. 

“Quinn,” he said.

“When have afflicted ever not made a move? When have they ever waited this long to attack a human? A group of humans? Jake, they wanted us to get here, they followed us here.”

“Shit,” Jake swore, turning around to look at his brothers. Then, he turned back to look at Danny, at Quinn. “We have to try to cross.”

“We’ll drown,” Josh said.

“We either drown or these zombies kill us,” Jake said. “Pick your poison.”

Sam turned to step onto the concrete dam, leaning out to look how far down the dam dropped. 

“This isn’t good,” he muttered to himself. “This is not good.”

The afflicted in the woods started to shuffle, shift, and started to become impatient with them.

“It’s like a game,” Quinn said. “They want us to make a choice, and clearly a lot of people have made the wrong one.”

“There is no right answer, Quinn,” Josh said.

“They want us to run back toward them, take our chances trying to fight past them rather than trying to cross the dam.”

“Well, then let’s give them the opposite of what they want,” Jake said, tucking his gun back into his waistband. 

He grabbed onto Quinn’s hand and pulled her closer to the dam, closer to the broken railing that should have been their first tip that something was going wrong. 

Danny slowly followed them, backing slowly toward the edge and away from the forest.

The unrest beyond the treeline became more violent. Angry, inhumane sounds, growls, screams, all pierced their ears. Some of the trees and bushes closest to the edge shook, as if they were the only thing holding back the afflicted from charging at them. 

Josh was the first to step out onto the dam, water pooling around his boots. The rush of the water wasn’t as strong, as violent, close to the edge.

Sam went next, grabbing onto the back of Josh’s jacket, as if that would ground the both of them to the concrete of the dam. 

“Guys,” Danny said, his gaze resting on the treeline once again. “We should think about moving this a little faster.”

Jake led himself and Quinn after Sam, following his brothers along until Danny was able to stand on the dam too. 

The water was splashing around Josh’s ankles now, and he was purposely leaning toward the rush of the water, as if that would stop him from toppling over the side when the current got too strong. 

They moved a few feet deeper, keeping their feet planted on the concrete and only moving my shuffling along. 

The angry noises coming from the afflicted became louder, the rustling of the leaves more violent. It added a pressure to them, one that made them much more susceptible to mistakes. 

When the water was at Josh’s knees, and somewhere close on everyone else, the first afflicted finally breached the treeline. It ran at them, crazed, maddened. 

Danny didn’t shoot it until it reached the railing. 

The rest of them slunk out slower, more methodical, almost human like. They watched them intently, cocking their heads like curious animals when Danny shot another one of them. 

“Don’t waste your bullets,” Quinn said. “They don’t care.”

“What the fuck are we supposed to to then?” Danny asked, turning to look at Josh, then at the water. “We won't make it across.”

“That’s been out of the question since the beginning, Daniel,” Sam sighed, leaning back to look at his best friend. “We’re going to have to make due with what we’ve got.”

There was a beat of silence. 

“And what exactly is it that we have?” Josh asked.

Quinn had been too afraid to.

“We can’t get across,” Sam said, “but we can get down.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” Josh said.

Jake held onto Quinn’s hand tighter, if it was even possible to do so. 

“He’s not… No, he is, but we all are,” Jake sighed. “We’re stuck, Josh. We either jump or we get eaten.”

“We’ll die if we jump,” Josh argued.

“We’ll die if we stay here,” Quinn replied. “We might have a chance at surviving if we jump. We won’t survive if we try to get past the afflicted.”

“This is so fucking stupid,” Josh muttered, more to himself than anyone else. He began to move deeper into the water, farther across the dam. “This is so fucking idiotic.”

Sam was the first to fall. Quinn saw his foot slip, sucking in a scared breath. 

It was like she was watching him fall in slow motion, watching Josh reach out to grab onto Sam’s upper arm, only to fall over the side with him. 

“Sam!” Josh shouted, clinging onto his younger brother.

They disappeared into the violent flow of the water, the churning making it impossible to see them anymore. 

“Josh!” Jake cried, leaning much too far forward, the water sweeping him away.

Quinn went with him, their hands still locked together. 

I wonder how it all got started, this business about seeing your life flash before your eyes while you drown, as if panic, or the act of submergence,  could startle time into such compression, crushing decades in the vice of your desperate, final seconds. 

Her mouth opened in a silent scream, her foot slipping, knocking into Danny. 

After falling off a steamship or being swept away in a rush of floodwaters, wouldn’t you hope for a more leisurely review, an invisible hand turning the pages of an album of photographs— you up on a pony or blowing out candles in a conic hat. 

Water rushed into her mouth, the loud roar of water deafening her, her body tumbled through the water, flipping. Her hand had detached from Jake’s, the water throwing them apart. She tried to force the water out of her mouth, tried to bring her arms up to protect her face and neck from hitting them on anything. She felt her body hit the bottom of the waterfall, collide with the rush of water at the bottom. She opened her eyes, but couldn’t see much, black spots and the bubbles from the waterfall clouding her vision. Her lungs were screaming for air, for something, and she tried to fight her way back up to the surface, but couldn’t, caught in the undertow of the waterfall. 

How about an animated film, a carousel of slides? Your life expressed in an essay, or in one model paragraph? Wouldn’t any form be better than this sudden flash? Your whole existence going off in your face in an eyebrow-singeing explosion of biography— nothing like the three large volumes you envisioned. 

She was drowning, and only then did she realize why the poet Josh was speaking about sounded familiar to her. She had heard of him before. It was probably the only poem that she had heard of Billy Collins’, but she knew it, and right now, as she was drowning, all she could think of was how apt it was that the only poem she could remember was, “The Art Of Drowning.” 

Survivors would have us believe in a brilliance here, some bolt of truth forking across the water, an ultimate Light before all the lights go out, dawning on you with all its megalithic tonnage. But if something does flash before your eyes as you go under, it will probably be a fish,

She was drowning. She knew she was drowning. It was like someone was whispering it to her, but it sounded distant, as if she were about to fall asleep and there were people talking in the next room. Muffled by drywall and paint and plaster, but the drone of their voices were still noticeable—they sounded happy. 

Nobody had ever told her what it was like to drown. Nobody had ever told her that there seemed to be a moment right before somebody drowned—right when the panic fades before death becomes welcoming—that there’s a single moment of utter peace.

Nobody had ever told her this because once someone has reached this point, there’s no coming back. Nobody survives this feeling. Once she reached that moment of utter peace, she knew that there wasn’t going to be anyone there to drag her back from it. A part of her didn’t want somebody to drag her back from it. 

And perhaps, there wasn’t anyone to drag her back from it, because they too were stuck where she was, in the same spot as she was—in that same peaceful, warm moment. 

a quick blur of curved silver darting away, having nothing to do with your life or your death.  The tide will take you, or the lake will accept it all as you sink toward the weedy disarray of the bottom, leaving behind what you have already forgotten, the surface, now overrun with the high travel of clouds. 

Jake was panicking. He was swimming back toward the waterfall, back to where he had come up, where his brothers had come up, back to where Quinn had not come up.

“Quinn!” he shouted, choking at the end, on the water that spilled into his mouth. 

He spat it out, swimming as hard as he could back toward the girl he loved. 

“Quinn!”

He dove her the water, swimming back into the violent stir of where the waterfall was colliding with the water below it. He swam blindly, reaching out in front of him. 

Jake would not let Quinn die. 

Not after all of this.

Not after they had made it through hating each other.

Not after they had made it through Josh’s sickness. 

Not after they had burnt her childhood home to the ground.

Not after they had made it through her finding her father.

Not after they had made it through him almost dying. 

Not after they had dreamt up their life together. 

No, Jake would not let her die, even if it killed him. 

His hand snagged on something, someone. He had it tight in his hands, dragging it toward himself. He pulled her closer, back away from the waterfall and into the calm. When he surfaced, he could feel his jaw moving, hear his teeth clacking together from the cold, but he couldn’t feel it, couldn’t feel anything. 

He didn’t want to imagine what Quinn was feeling.

“Jake!” Josh shouted.

“I got her!” Jake replied, struggling to keep Quinn above the water, swimming backward, with only one arm to get her somewhere safe. “I found her!”

“Over this way!” Josh shouted, waving his arm out of the water, motioning for Jake to swim toward him. 

Sam appeared beside Jake then, attempting to take Quinn from him, to give him a break, a moment to just float in the water and let himself gain back as much energy as he could. 

“No!” Jake fought, shaking his head, too caught by adrenaline and fear to realize that his brother was only trying to help him. 

“Jake, it’s just me. It’s just me,” Sam said soothingly. “I’m just trying to help, Jake. Let me help you.”

They all took turns bringing Quinn back to shore, toward the Canada side of the water. It took longer than they had liked, and by the time they had made it across, they were all shivering—their lips blue from the cold. 

Their clothes were soaked through, their packs too. Their guns were surely waterlogged, and any food they had left over was ruined. 

Danny dragged Quinn out of the water and up the shore, Sam and Jake dragging themselves to follow. Josh was already out of the water, looking for a place to hide. 

“Here!” he called, waving them toward an expanse of thick brush. 

Jake stumbled beside Quinn, landing heavily on the frozen ground. 

“Is she breathing?” Sam asked, stripping his waterlogged coat off of his body. “Jake, is she breathing?”

Jake fumbled for the knife in her boot, praying that it hadn’t been washed away when they jumped. It was still there, by some strange miracle, and he pulled it out, nearly dropping it because his fingers were so numb. He readjusted his grip, holding it in front of Quinn’s nose and mouth. 

The blade fogged. 

“A little bit,” Jake panted. 

Sam was at her other side now, unzipping her jacket now too. He bent down to press his ear to her chest, listening to her lungs as best as he could. 

“It sounds like she has water in her lungs,” he said, already moving to straddle her, pressing his interlocked hands to her chest, pushing compressions. 

“Sam,” Jake said sorrowfully. 

“She’ll be okay. She has to be okay. She’ll be okay. Just need to get the water out of her lungs, is all. She’ll get pneumonia if we don’t,” Sam muttered, pushing harder. “Come on. Come on, come on, come on.”

“Sam,” Danny whispered. 

“No!” Sam replied. “She’s not dying! Not after all of this. No! I won’t allow that. Fuck that!”

He pushed down once more, harder than all the other times before, and suddenly Quinn was lurching to the side, coughing up the water that had been trapped in her lungs. 

Sam fell to the side. 

“Oh, thank fuck,” he muttered, slouching down against a tree. 

Danny let out a heavy breath, closing his eyes in relief. 

Jake had his head in his hands. 

“You have got to stop doing that,” Josh sighed, leaning his shoulder against the tree that Sam was sitting against. He ran his hand over the shaved sides of his head—it needed to be redone. “One day your body is gonna say ‘fuck it’ and not come back.”

“Shut up, Josh,” Jake muttered, reaching out and grabbing onto Quinn’s hand.

She was sitting up now, shivering. 

“I’m okay,” she said to him, holding his hand against her mouth, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “I’m alright.”

“Quinn,” Jake sighed. 

“We should keep going,” she said, pushing herself to her feet. 

Jake looked up at her, mildly slack jawed. 

“What?” she asked. 

He looked tired, as if he had aged years in the matter of a day. 

She turned to look at the rest of them. They each wore a similar look.

“What?” she repeated. 

“How the fuck are you standing right now?” Sam asked. “Sit the fuck down for a minute.”

“We’re not safe just sitting here,” Quinn argued.

Jake tugged at her pant leg. He felt like a child doing it, but he knew that the only reason she was standing, so insistent on leaving where they were, was because she was scared. And so full of adrenaline that he could see her trembling. He knew that at the moment, she was purely in fight or flight mode, high on so much adrenaline that he wasn’t sure if she really knew what had just happened to her.

She looked down at Jake.

“We can’t sit here,” she said.

“We can.” he nodded slowly, tugging at her leg again. “We can sit here for a little while, Quinn. Please. Please, just sit down.”

She could see the tears pressing at his lower lashes, his eyes glassy as he looked up at her. 

She lowered herself back to the ground. 

Jake moved closer to her, pulling her down until her back was pressed against his chest and he was holding her up. He had her pinned, but not in a way that she wouldn’t be able to get up if she wanted to. It was rather in a way where it seemed as if he was scared she’d float away if he didn’t hold her this way.

Josh sighed loudly, turning to press his forehead against the tree he was leaning against, the one Sam was sitting beneath. 

“Who could imagine all this coming to a sudden end but the lone visionary we always picture on a street corner, gaunt, bearded, holding up,” he said.

They were all silent for several moments.

“Is that the end?” Quinn asked. 

“Something like that,” Josh replied. “We can only hope.”

taglist: @gretasmokerising @doodle417 @gvfrry @m1rkw00dpr1ncess @megsobryan @welightthefire @gretavanfleas @gretavanbitches @mywaygvf @s-u-t @tearsofbri @medawgsarebarkin @bigberkinbagholdfive @leaverlover @weightofdreams-gvf @sammyslappers @streamofcolor @Angelqueen99 @spicedandicedtea @Loofypoofy @kissthekiszka @dvrkblooms @loveisonaroll @myownparadise96 @lvnterninthenight @​​pineapple-photographer @callmebymym @brinlygvf @shesawomaninadream @safety-sammy @jakeyboiiiiiii @iheartkiszkas @lallisonl @jakesgrapejuice @richjaaasss @gretavangroove @bowievanfleet @writingcold @teddiie @serendipitih @pictures-of-time @gretasimp @alexxavicry @kay-jordan @maddie-van-fleet

[weightofdreams-gvf]

The way I was literally on the edge of my seat reading the end of this !!!!

[urmindisastreamofcolors]

Fuck Around, Find Out (Series)

Series description: After your five year relationship comes to a blazing end, you seek comfort in your friend group as you try to pick up the pieces of your shattered life. When the night of your breakup with your psycho ex takes a wild and unexpected turn, you begin to question the nature of your relationship with your lifelong best friend, Jake. As the boundaries of your friendship begin to blur, Jake struggles with an internal battle to tell you a secret he’s been keeping for years as you begin a journey of self growth to always be your own first-choice.

Warnings: talk of toxic ex, cursing, and physical fighting so read with caution

Taglist: @theweightofstardust @maverick-rose @weightofdreams-gvf @doodle417 @milkgemini

A/n: Here’s chapter 3 finally! I know updates have been sporadic, but I’m doing a lot of revising and editing as I go. I don’t have a specific update schedule in place, but let me know if you want to be added to the tag list for chapter 4! Im currently writing off my phone which is a pain and I can’t get the read more link to work correctly, so if anyone has any tips on how to do that from the mobile app I would be so appreciative!!

Chapter Three: The Morning After

You probably wouldn’t have woken up, but you were burning up. A thin layer of sweat stuck to your hairline line and the back of your neck as you tried to wiggle away from whatever was making you so hot. When that didn’t work, you tried, and ultimately failed, to kick the blankets off of your body.

With a huff, you finally cracked your eyes open to try and untangle yourself, but you turned bright red when the sleepiness cleared from your brain and you realized you were laying on Jake’s chest. He had one hand in your hair loosely and the other wrapped tightly around your waist with your legs tangled together.

You had no idea how the two of you had ended up sleeping so…closely. You had shared many beds (and even a few couches) together over the years and you occasionally ended up spooning if you were really cold, but typically, you woke up facing opposite directions.

You wiggled slightly as you tried to get out of bed when your bladder started screaming causing Jake to stir. A long sigh left his nose as he pulled you closer.

“You okay,” Jake asked with a voice full of sleep and concern. His lips lightly brushed over your forehead as he gave your body a gentle squeeze. You tried to ignore the fact that your face had turned an embarrassing shade of scarlet at the gesture.

“Yeah, but I’m about to piss the bed if you don’t let me up.” You gave him a gentle shove as you reluctantly tried to detach yourself from his side.

His brown eyes shot open as his body stiffened and was suddenly very awake. You looked up at him through your eyelashes and openly laughed at his bedhead. Jake’s brow furrowed in confusion as he gently pulled away from you and sat up to stretch.

“Uh…sorry, Y/n. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything,” Jake said with a yawn. When the golden rays hit his face, you were able to make out bruises that littered his forearms and a slowly forming black eye was starting to appear. You gave him a soft smile as guilt wracked your body. Shaking it off quickly and opting not to think about it, you stretched as you continued on your journey to the bathroom.

You were already halfway out the door as you waved his concerns away before running to the bathroom across the hall. Despite drinking into the wee hours of the morning, the sunshine sparkling through the bathroom window told you that it was still relatively early. More than likely before noon.

There was a bloody washcloth haphazardly flung into the bathtub that Jake must’ve used to clean his knuckles and face after the fist fight. The dark red was a harsh contrast to the white rag. Your stomach did a small flip as you shook off the creeping feeling of anxiety that trickled up your spine.

If you don’t think about it, then did it even happen?

You quickly finished up knowing that boys would need the bathroom soon and washed your hands and face before following the rich smell of coffee into the kitchen. A small smile broke across your face at the state the other boys were in. Jake must’ve woken them on his way in to make breakfast. Josh was sleepily chewing on a bagel with his curls sticking up while Danny sat on the couch with his sunglasses on as if the sunlight filtering in from the large windows would make his sight evaporate, but he was doing better than his best friend. Sam was laying on the floor with his eyes closed and face pale taking deep breaths clearly fighting the urge to throw up. A snort left your mouth at his slightly green complexion.

“Is Sammy okay,” you asked quietly as you grabbed a coffee cup.

“He’s fighting for his life right now,” Josh stated matter of factly as he poured coffee into your mug.

“Oh my God! I’m never drinking tequila again,” Sam eventually responded in a small whisper that barely reached your ears and you laughed loudly at his dramatics as the lanky man pulled himself up from the ground with Daniel’s help. Jake shook his head at his little brother’s obviously miserable state as he continued to crack eggs into a skillet. His messy hair had been pulled into a low bun as he cooked breakfast for everyone, but his bed head was still evident.

Slowly, Sam and Danny made their way to the kitchen and forced food down their throats in the hopes it would miraculously cure the hangover. Being the ever helpful eldest brother, Josh grabbed the grape flavored pedialyte that Jake always kept on hand and placed it between the two boys with a mischievous look.

A comfortable silence settled into the kitchen as everyone enjoyed their breakfast. The five of you had spent many hungover mornings together after a wild night out on the town. The only person really missing was Ronnie. A sad sigh left your nose at the thought of it being a few more months before the only Kiszka sister would be back in the United States from studying abroad. Another wave threatened to flood your body when you realized that your next FaceTime call with her would require you to retell the entire story of your breakup.

“So, what are your plans for the day, Y/n,” Danny asked, effectively silencing your brain and interrupting the silence as he flicked the cap off the pedialyte and took a chug. You felt your inner peace falter and shatter as you realized there was no escaping the events the previous night.

“Well…I don’t know. Was Thomas actually arrested last night,” you inquired softly as you played with the eggs on your plate as your appetite evaporated. A heavier silence settled in the kitchen, replacing the peaceful one from earlier. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched Jake unconsciously clench his right hand into a fist at the mention of your official ex-boyfriend. His knuckles looked bruised and angry.

Danny rubbed his face as he thought about your question. “I don’t know. Neither you or Jake pressed charges, so chances are slim if I had to guess. We can always call the officer lady from last night and ask.”

“He should’ve been arrested honestly,” Sam said around a mouthful of eggs resulting in Josh slapping him upside the head as he scolded him about his manners.

“Prison is too kind for Thomas,” Jake uttered under his breath as he put his plate in the sink and lazily stretched his back. You glanced at the clock on the stove as you rubbed the nape of your neck.

10:31 a.m.

He had until midday to have his things out and knowing Thomas, he probably had no intention of actually leaving. Your breath caught in your throat at the thought of Thomas lounging in your living room, just waiting on you to come home.

“We don’t have to be at the studio until this afternoon to clean up some of the new music. We can just go with you whenever you’re ready to leave. Consider us your personal bodyguards for the time being! Hell, do you just wanna borrow some of ours,” Josh offered with a brotherly smile when he noticed the panicked look in your eyes.

“I’m not a rockstar, so I don’t think I need an entire team of burly men to protect me from Thomas,” you laughed.

“Nope! All you need is a Jake,” Sam followed up with, laughing loudly and clearly proud of his joke.

The laughter eventually ebbed into comfortable conversation as you, Danny and Sam began to discuss their newest album. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Jake had finished his breakfast and put his dishes in the sink before disappearing down the hallway. You stared at his back for less than half a second before Danny’s infectious laughter filled the room and effectively pulled you back into the conversation.

While you were caught up in the small talk, Josh topped off his own coffee and bounded after his twin brother with purpose. His brow was scrunched as questions raced through his overly active mind, but he knew better than to voice them with you even remotely close.

While Sammy and Danny may have had suspicions of their own, Josh knew exactly how his brother felt about you. He could read Jake’s expressions as if they were his own. In a weird way, it felt a lot like looking in the mirror whenever strong emotions flooded through his twin brother.

The door to Jake’s bedroom was slightly cracked and a small sliver of sunlight filtered into the hallway. Without knocking, Josh pushed open the door and stepped in quickly, but ensured it closed behind him.

Jake was standing in front of his dresser as he sorted through his folded shirts looking for something to wear for the day.

“Okay, Jake. We’ve gotta talk about all this,” Josh said quietly as he perched on the edge of his brother’s unmade bed.

“There’s not really anything to talk about though,” Jake stated with a shrug of his shoulders as he peeled the old Metallic shirt off his torso. “Should I wear this white shirt or a Cream shirt?”

“I’ve literally shared a womb with you and I’ve never seen you lose it like you did last night,” Josh addressed while ignoring Jake’s question, but quickly faltered when his twin snapped around to face him.

“What are you saying, Josh,” Jake spat as he crossed his arms defensively over his chest.

“I’m saying you can’t keep hiding how you feel about, Y/n. We both know your head over heels in love with her.”

Josh held his breath as he watched Jake’s spine become rigid as he glanced to the door. Once he saw that it was firmly shut, he turned to face his brother. Josh took in his wide brown eyes and for a moment, he felt like he was looking at Sammy instead of his twin.

“Keep your fucking mouth shut, Joshua,” Jake spat as he flung the Metallica shirt at his older brother’s head.

“You’re not my fucking boss, Jacob,” Josh spat back as he flung the shirt back at his brother. A tense silence filled the air as Jake’s mind raced.

“Pinky promise me right now you won’t tell anyone. Please,” Jake said almost pitifully as he extend his hand to his brother. Without an hesitation, Josh extended his hand and wrapped his pinky around Jake’s. They each kissed the tips of their thumbs before pushing them together to lock it in.

“Promise. And wear the Cream shirt. It’s your favorite.”

“You had better not ever tell anyone that we still do fucking pinky promises,” Jake scoffed as he continued pulled the gray shirt over his head.

Josh babbled out some random story about how pinky promises are basically blood vows between twins as he opened the door and made his way back to the kitchen. Jake would be a liar if he said he had listened to a word his brother had said on his way out.

But he knew his secret was safe.

[hearts-hunger]

home for the holidays — chapter one

Read on AO3 | Masterlist

Series Summary: The Cabin Fever gang spends Christmas in Frankenmuth. || Companion series in the Cabin Fever universe

Chapter Summary: You catch an early-morning flight to Frankenmuth to surprise Mama Kiszka on Christmas Eve.

Pairings: Josh Kiszka x Reader, Jake Kiszka x Reader, Sam Kiszka x Danny Wagner | Genre: holiday fluff | Word Count: 3.9k | Chapter Warnings: some ~spicy~ remarks

A/N: Cabin fever besties! I am delighted to share this first chapter of the cabin fever Christmas fic with you. I'm planning to have it all done by Christmas (but you know me, we'll see how that goes), and I'm planning POV's for each couple. I really hope you like it, and merry Christmas! ♡

“Remind me again why I’m up so early?”

Josh chuckled. “This was your idea, sleepyhead. Remember?”

You gave a dramatic sigh and leaned your head on his shoulder, and you were rewarded with a kiss on your forehead. Jake and Sparrow were in front of you in line, in equal degrees of still-waking-up drowsiness, and you could hear Sam and Danny talking and laughing about something behind you. Despite your slight early-morning grumpiness, you smiled; all six of you were on your way home to Frankenmuth for Christmas, and once the coffee kicked in, you’d all be full of excited, festive cheer.

You, Sparrow, and Danny had planned a surprise, last-minute trip to see Mama and Papa Kiszka, and a four a.m. flight on Christmas Eve was the only flight you could get. The boys had been delighted, and though you’d told Kelly so it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to have six people show up on their doorstep first thing in the morning, you had all agreed to keep it a surprise for Karen. You couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she saw her boys, and the thought of how happy she’d be made everything worth it.

The security check went faster than you thought it would with all the people trying to get home for the holidays, and you were sitting at your gate with a coffee in hand in short order. Danny, Sparrow, and Josh sat on the floor by your feet as the rest of you lounged in the uncomfortable airport seats, the six of you making a tight circle as you woke up together and talked about your plans for the day.

“We have to take Sparrow downtown,” Danny said. “She hasn’t seen the world-famous Frankenmuth Christmas lights.”

Sam scoffed. “Yeah, Sparrow, you haven’t even seen the world-famous Frankenmuth Christmas lights.”

“I have so!” she protested with a laugh. “Just because I went to my grandparents’ for Christmas growing up doesn't mean I never saw the lights downtown.”

Sparrow had been a part of your friend group during high school, but graduation had brought distance until you’d fallen out of touch. You’d been reunited last winter, and you’d all welcomed her back into your friendship, this time as Jake’s girlfriend, with open arms and happy hearts.

“Yeah, but you haven't seen them on Christmas,” Josh said sagely. “You've never seen the singing tree, have you?”

“That sounds fake.”

Jake grinned. “Oh, it’s real, honey. And we’re going.”

You were still planning your outings as you boarded the plane, filing down the narrow aisle to your seats. Since you’d gotten your tickets last minute, you weren’t able to get seats all together; you were split up across different rows, but luckily Sam and Sparrow and the twins were paired together. It would have been too chaotic to trade seats and get the couples paired off, but none of you minded; all of you were close, and your friendship was a natural extension of your individual relationships. 

You and Danny found your seats, and there was an older lady already settled in for a nap in the window seat. You were supposed to have the middle seat, but you hesitated.

Danny was putting your suitcase in the overhead bin for you and noticed your hesitation.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

You cast him an uncertain smile. “Sorry, I’m just...” You were feeling a little claustrophobic in the warmth of the cabin and the press of people, and the thought of being in the middle was only making it worse. “It’s a little tight.”

“Oh,” he said. “I’ll take the middle, then.”

“No way,” you protested. “You have freakishly long legs. You should be on the end.”

He laughed. “I don’t mind.” He met your eyes and gave you a sympathetic smile. “Really, kiddo. I’ll sit in the middle.”

Before you could protest again, he’d squeezed his broad frame into the middle seat.

“Thank you,” you said sincerely as you took your seat.

“No problem. As long as you share the candy you brought.”

You laughed and fished the half-eaten bag of gummy worms out of your backpack. “Breakfast of champions, right there.”

You and Danny spent the plane ride intermittently talking and dozing on each other’s shoulders until you landed. It was lightly snowing on the tarmac, and your excitement grew as you reunited with the rest of your friends by the gate.

“Did you survive without me, baby?” Josh asked, slinging his arm over your shoulders as you walked through the airport. 

You smiled. “Barely. Did you have a good time with Jake?”

“Sure,” he said with a grin. “We got cocktails.”

“Joshua!” you laughed. “It’s not even six in the morning!”

“Just getting the festivities started,” he said innocently. He kissed your cheek. “I said we should go to that little diner for breakfast.”

“Oh, we should!” you agreed. “I can get that peppermint milkshake I’ve been craving.”

He chuckled. “It’s a little cold for a milkshake, baby.”

“It’s snowing, did you see?”

“I did. It’s a special welcome home present just for you.”

You smiled and pressed closer to him. He knew you were glad to be going back to your hometown; you’d moved to Nashville over the summer, and though it had been a good change, you’d missed Frankenmuth. Going home for the holidays was just what you needed.

When you'd gotten your luggage and your rental car, you all squeezed in for the forty minute drive to town. Danny was driving, the best out of all of you at driving on snowy roads, and the drive seemed to take no time at all as you sang along with the Christmas songs on the radio and pointed out landmarks to each other even though you all knew them by heart.

Though it was still dark out when you got to the diner, you snapped a picture of it with the disposable camera you’d gotten for the trip. It was a tradition to take one with you on road trips, and you’d put the pictures in the “family scrapbook” you all added to when you got home. 

Once inside, the six of you piled into a corner booth and ordered coffee. This sleepy little diner had seen many late nights and early mornings with your friend group, and you were glad to be back under the glow of the soft neon lights, comfortably smushed next to the people you loved most.

Josh shared his menu with you. “I bet I know what you’re getting, baby. Besides your peppermint milkshake.”

“Same thing I always get,” you agreed. You ordered the eggs Benedict with hash browns when it was your turn and turned back to the conversation.

“I think we should go ice skating,” Sparrow said, her eyes lighted with excitement.

You smiled. “I think so too. I should warn you, though — your boyfriend hasn’t gotten any better at it since highschool.”

“It’s true,” Jake said ruefully. “But we can just skate very slowly around the Christmas tree in the middle and hope I don't fall.”

She gave a wry smile. “Does that tree sing on Christmas too?”

You laughed. “No, unfortunately. But I think we should start a petition that every tree in town be a singing tree.”

Sam reached over you for the sugar. “But then there would be no gigs for local bands to play during Christmas.”

“Oh, I remember those shows,” Sparrow said. “You guys always looked like you were freezing up there.”

Danny chuckled. “We were,” he agreed. “It was miserable trying to play in the freezing cold.”

Jake gave an incredulous laugh. “At least you only had to play the drums,” he said. “Try playing guitar with no feeling in your fingers.”

“Ah, Jakey,” Josh said with a smug grin. “I recall a few wrong notes at those gigs.”

Jake only smiled at his twin’s affectionate teasing. “Well, Joshy, when I was off you were off, so neither of us was any good.”

“I was always perfect, though,” Sam said, matter-of-fact. Danny laughed and kissed his cheek. 

“Of course you were, love.”

Sam turned bashful and gave his boyfriend a smile, knowing Danny had meant the compliment sincerely.

You lingered over your coffee for a long while after the food had been eaten, watching the snow fall outside the window bedecked with Christmas lights. The jukebox played Jackson Browne’s “These Days”, and Jake took Sparrow’s hand.

“Aw, sweetheart, it's our song,” he said with a sappy grin. “And I didn't even put it on, so it must be holiday magic.”

She laughed and ran her thumb over his knuckles. “Maybe it is, honey.”

Sam gave a playful grimace at the display.

“This is a horribly depressing pick for your song,” he said. “Didn’t you two ever listen to the lyrics and think, ‘hey, maybe a song about heartbreak isn’t a great choice’?”

“Come to think of it,” Jake said, “why was this playing at a wedding?”

“They had a lot of weird stuff on their playlist,” Josh said, remembering the wedding of a highschool classmate where you’d been reunited with Sparrow. She and Jake had also taken the opportunity at that wedding to finally confess the crush they’d had on each other since senior year, and you remembered the trip with fondness.

“I wonder how they’re doing,” you mused. None of you had known the bride that well, and you hadn’t bothered to keep up with her after she invited you to her wedding.

“They’re having a baby, I think,” Danny said. “I saw it on Instagram.”

“You follow her on Instagram?” Sparrow asked, surprised.

Danny pinked a little. “Yeah, well, I knew her better than you guys did back at school, and we caught up a little at the wedding.”

Sam smirked. “How well could you have known her at school, Dan?”

Danny’s blush deepened. “I mean... we may have made out once or twice.”

Sam’s eyes widened and the rest of you laughed.

“You never told me that!” Sam protested, amused and surprised but unconcerned about Danny’s long-past relationships. “We went to her wedding and you didn't tell me you two had history?”

“Oh, we did not have history,” Danny scoffed. He softened and gave Sam a sweet smile. “Besides, I didn’t care about anybody else but you at that wedding and you know it.”

Sam gave a pleased grin. “Yeah, I know it.”

“You’re saying you didn’t care about me at that wedding?” Jake asked, playfully affronted. “I’m hurt, Daniel.”

Danny’s smile was equally fond and exasperated. “You were too busy pretending you weren't in love with Sparrow to notice, Jake. Or don't you remember?”

“Oh, I remember,” Jake said, giving Sparrow’s hand an affectionate squeeze.

“Well,” Josh said with a grin, “I remember how much time you and Sam spent pretending you weren't in love, Danny.”

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Jake said with a laugh. “You two don't have a leg to stand on.”

“I wasn’t pretending not to be in love,” you reminded him tartly. “Your brother’s just a blockhead who wouldn't know a love confession if it smacked him in the face.”

“Oh, don't exaggerate,” Josh said with a smile. “You didn’t smack me in the face, baby. You kissed me.”

You all laughed.

“That’s worse, Josh,” Danny said. “At least I knew what was going on when Sam kissed me for the first time.”

You enjoyed reminiscing on how you’d all come to be together as you finished your coffee, and when Josh had paid the bill, you hurried through the snow to the car. The ride to the Kiszka house was quick, and you were all alight with excitement as you got ready to surprise Mama K.

You parked a little ways down the gravel driveway, not wanting to give yourselves away until you were all at the door. The six of you tramped through the snow to the cosy farmhouse, huddled into your jackets, Sam and Danny in the lead.

“Are you sure she’ll be okay with all of us staying here?” Sparrow asked, looking to Jake for confirmation. Though she’d said “us,” you knew she was worried that she would be unwelcome, even if she didn’t need to be. Though his parents had been overjoyed to welcome Sparrow into the family, Jake’s last relationship before her had ended badly; you knew from late-night conversations with your friend that she was worried Jake’s parents were still hesitant to trust her with their son's heart.

Jake knew that too, and he smiled and gave her a quick, comforting kiss.

“She’ll be over the moon to see us, sweetheart,” he assured her. “Especially you.”

Sparrow blushed prettily. “Well, I don't know about that.”

Jake chuckled and tugged her close. “Just you wait and see, little Sparrow.”

You held Josh’s hand and gave it an excited squeeze. “Are you happy to be home?”

He smiled, his cheeks rosy with cold. “Yeah. Thanks for planning this, baby.”

“You’re welcome, my love,” you said. “I know your mom’s been missing you, and I hope she’ll be happy that we're all together under one roof for Christmas.”

“I’m sure she will be,” he said. “She might freak out that she doesn’t have enough bedding for everyone, but she’ll be glad we’re here.”

You laughed. “I told your dad we’d help get things in order for all of us to stay,” you said. “We might have to take the pull-out in the basement, though.”

His expressions scrunched. “Aw, why us? I have a perfectly good bed we can sleep in.”

“So does Jake,” you said.

He sighed. “In the same room, I know.” The twins had shared a room growing up; Sam had loved having his own room and not sharing anything, but neither of the twins had minded being with the other. For this trip, you figured Sam and Danny would take Sam’s old room while Jake and Sparrow took the twins’ — you were wise enough to know that certain activities might be difficult if you all attempted to share, as funny as it might be. You and Josh could take Ronnie’s room since she was spending Christmas with her boyfriend, but you hadn’t asked your boyfriend’s opinion on that.

“We could probably stay in Ronnie’s room,” you said.

Josh winced. “Uh, no thank you.”

You smiled. “Why not?”

“I’m not having sex in my sister’s bed. I can't even think about how awful that would be.”

You raised a brow. “Oh, so you think you’re getting lucky this trip, huh?” you teased.

He gave you a knowing smirk. “Nice try, baby. You think I don’t know how you like a little thrill every now and then? You like to get hot for me when you’re not supposed to.”

You blushed vividly. “You think you’re so smart, don't you, Joshua?”

He hummed in agreement and nuzzled a kiss against your cheek. “I’m a genius, but you’re also very predictable on some things. So yes, I do think I’ll get lucky. In fact, I hope and pray I'll get lucky.” 

You gave a soft laugh. “I think you'll get lucky, too,” you said in a quiet voice.

He grinned. “Then I guess we’re taking the basement.”

When you reached the front porch, all of you were careful to be quiet as you kicked the slush off your boots and brushed snowflakes off of your jackets. You took turns shushing each other’s excited, quiet laughs as Sam knocked on the door.

Kelly answered, and he beamed at the six of you.

“Your mom’s in the kitchen,” he said. “Go surprise her.”

You all filed in, trying not to sound like a trampling herd, and Kelly hung back and watched you with a fond smile as you made your way to the kitchen.

Karen was stirring a bowl of batter at the island, and whatever she had in the oven smelled delicious. She was so focused on her work that she didn’t notice the group of you in the kitchen doorway, and Jake took a step forward.

“You need any help in here?” he asked.

“No, I’m alright, thank you,” she said without looking to see who’d spoken. “Who was at at the door?”

Jake laughed. “Us, mom.”

She nearly dropped the bowl as she whipped her head up. A delighted, incredulous smile lit her whole face.

“Jake!” she said. “And — and all of you!”

She rushed over to you, and a long moment was spent in hugs and laughter and joyful welcomes. 

“You sounded just like your dad,” she told Jake as she hugged his neck. She looked to Josh. “Didn’t he sound just like him?”

Josh laughed. “Yeah, it’s kinda freaky.” He gladly accepted her warm hug and kissed her cheek. “Hi, mama. Merry Christmas.”

She patted his cheek. “Merry Christmas, sweetie. I love you.”

Sam laughed when he hugged her. “Aw, mom, don’t cry. Danny will think you’re not happy to see him.”

“Oh, sweet Danny knows I’m happy to see him any time,” she said. “Don’t you, Danny?”

He smiled and hugged her. “Yes ma’am.”

She embraced you next, and you realized just how much you’d missed the woman you considered another mother. 

“I've missed you, Karen,” you said, feeling a knot of emotion in your chest.

She squeezed you tight. “Oh, I've missed you too, honey. I’m so happy you’re here.”

Sparrow hung back, a little shy, but Karen didn’t hesitate to give her a mama bear hug. Sparrow relaxed into it instantly and looked relieved at her warm welcome.

“I hope you like your surprise,” Sparrow said.

Karen laughed and brushed the happy tears from her face. “I love it. I can't imagine a better Christmas present than having you all here.”

Kelly took his turn hugging everyone next, and Karen affectionately scolded him when she found out he’d known you were coming. 

“You could at least have told me to mop or something,” she said.

He laughed. “When have I ever been able to tell you to do anything, woman?”

Karen fussed over all of you as you settled in, handing out mugs of coffee and asking Kelly to put a load of sheets on to wash.

“I assume you have plans in town,” she said. “Or are you wanting to spend the whole week here in the kitchen with me?”

“That wouldn’t be so bad,” Josh said with a smile. “Bur we do have to take Sparrow to see the singing tree.”

Sparrow blushed. “We don't have to make plans around me,” she said sweetly. “I’m happy to do whatever.”

Jake gave her a reassuring kiss on her blushed nose. “You gotta see the singing tree, sweetheart. That’s non-negotiable.”

“Jake’s right,” Karen said. “But I'm surprised you’ve never seen it before.”

“I spent Christmases at my grandparents’ in Boston,” Sparrow said. “And it appears I’ve missed out on something spectacular.”

Karen smiled. “Are your grandparents missing you this year?”

Sparrow smiled too. “Yes ma’am, but they’re happy I’m here.”

Karen patted her hand in a motherly gesture. “Well, we’re happy you're here too.” She looked at Josh and Jake. “Are you all sharing your old room?”

Josh grinned. “That might get a little dicey, mama, don’t you think?”

You were sure if Karen were wearing pearls, she would have clutched them. “Oh lord, Joshua.”

He laughed, big and bright, and you loved the sound of it even if you were a little embarrassed at his teasing.

Karen softened and gave him a fondly exasperated smile. “So where are you planning to sleep that’s not so dicey? Your sister’s room?”

The boys gave various groans of disgust and horror at the thought, and you and Sparrow laughed with Karen.

“No thanks,” Josh said. “Baby and I can take the pull-out in the basement.”

“That’s fine,” she said. “Your dad moved all your music stuff down there, so you might have to shuffle some things around, but the couch is still there.”

“Speaking of,” Kelly said, “let’s go ahead and get your stuff from the car and get you all settled in. The guys and I have a set tonight, so I won’t be able to help later.”

“You didn’t say you had a set tonight,” Sam said. “Where are you playing?”

Kelly shrugged. “Main Street Tavern.”

“We should go,” Jake said. “Can we?”

Kelly gave a proud, pleased smile. “Sure. I’d like it if you came. You can come by when you’re done walking around downtown.”

The boys filed out with Kelly to get your bags, talking about what he was going to play at the gig, and you and Sparrow took a seat at the kitchen island as Karen pulled a pan of cookies out of the oven.

“Can we help with anything?” you asked as Karen went back to baking.

“Oh, no, you just sit right there and drink your coffee,” she said. She gave you and Sparrow a warm smile. “I know I’ve said it a hundred times, but I’m really glad you girls are here.”

You both thanked her and accepted the cookies she gave you.

“I know where Jake gets his cooking skills from,” Sparrow said.

Karen smiled. “Well, he got most of it from his dad, but I do make a mean batch of cookies, and I’m glad at least one thing I taught that boy stuck with him.”

You knew that each of the Kiszka boys had learned invaluable lessons from both of their parents; they were the men they were today because they’d learned kindness and generosity from Karen and Kelly. You were thankful that Josh had such good parents, and you were so happy to be able to spend Christmas with them.

You and Sparrow reluctantly left the cosy kitchen to help with luggage as the boys came back in. You brushed snow from Josh’s curls and earned a sweet laugh from your boyfriend.

“Am I all snowy, baby?” he asked.

“Yes, but you look very cute.”

“Aw, baby.” He gave you a quick kiss. “You sure are sweet, you know that?”

Things quieted down for a while as all of you went to unpack, and you and Josh ventured down to the basement you’d spent many hours in during your childhood.

“We might end up having the coolest room, baby.”

You agreed as you plugged in the many strands of Christmas lights hung across the ceiling, illuminating the cosy room filled with instruments, comfy couches, and well-loved games like foosball and ping-pong. You’d always liked the Kiszkas’ basement, and you didn’t mind rooming in it over your trip.

Josh pulled out the sofa bed and sat on the edge, the springs protesting his weight.

“Squeaky,” he teased.

You huffed a laugh. “Guess you’ll have to get creative, then.”

He grinned. “Is that a challenge, baby? Because I accept.”

You went to wash your face in the bathroom just off the basement, cleaning off the feeling of traveling, and Josh came in and rested his chin on your shoulder.

“Are you happy we’re here for Christmas?” he asked.

You met his eyes in the mirror. He looked a little unsure, and you turned to face him.

“Of course I am, honey,” you said. “Why wouldn't I be? I love to be at your parents’.”

“I know,” he said. “But I didn’t know if you were sad to not have our first Christmas after we moved in our new house.”

You draped your arms over his shoulders. “I was, a little, but I wanted you to be here for Christmas. I know your parents missed you when we moved, and I'm glad we’re here. We’ll have plenty of Christmases in Nashville.”

He kissed you, soft and tender. “Thank you for doing all this, baby.”

You smiled. “You’re welcome, Josh. I love you.”

He hugged you tight. “I love you too.”

Read chapter two!

it's been so long since i've written for the cabin fever universe that i don't even know who's on the taglist any more! if you'd like to be tagged in this fic, please send me an ask! ♡

fic taglist: @shutupdevvie @streamsofstardust

gvf taglist: @gvfrry @ohhey1293 @the-chaotic-cow @mountain-in-springtime @xserenax-13 @stardustjtk @brooke-gvf @weightofdreams-gvf  @jakeydoesit  @gretasmokerising @loofypoofy @hayley1623 @doodle417 @finestoflines @brokenbellz @bowievanfleet @s0livagant @trplshotofdopamine @strugglingtodoshit @deadbeat-z @s-u-t @kay-jordan @gretavanfleas @jakeyboiiiiiii @gretavansteph @gretavanbitches @myownparadise96 @luverleaver @weightofdreamz @greatervanfleet @maedesculpaeusoubi @jakekiszkasbestie @pineapple-photographer @baguettejuliette @alexxavicry @levi-wants-ur-bones  @carlybubs @cowboysamkiszka 

sorry if tumblr didn’t tag you — it’s stupid sometimes. but i’m real thankful for you, sweet peaches! and if you’re a new bestie and would like to be added to my taglist, check out the form right here!

[garbagevanfleet]

Pink Lemonade (series)

PART SIX

Pairing: Sam x female!reader

Word Count: 12k words

Summary: Being a counselor at your childhood summer camp had been your dream since you were little and you had a specific vision of how it would go when it finally happened. You had not, however, planned to make an immediate enemy.

WARNINGS (this chapter): EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT - 18+ ONLY

Editor in Chief (and creator of the moodboard on each chapter): @gardenvanfleet

MASTERPOST

​

It felt so reckless. You were smarter than that - a fact that Sam, himself, had so ironically pointed out. Since you were little enough to understand socializing, you’d prided yourself on being the responsible one - logical, problem-solving, a leader. But, without even realizing it, you’d attached yourself to Sam in a meaningful way. With the way he had done absolutely everything he could to keep you at a distance, it would have been a stretch for you two to end up as friends, let alone anything more.

At the forefront of your mind, you knew you should dislike him; after all the snide remarks, sarcastic replies, and annoyed huffs, he should be the last person you’d want to have feelings for. But, you guessed, that was the downfall of being more of a logical person. Emotions refused to recognize the rules of logic, even when there were clear consequences. 

Keep reading

[weightofdreams-gvf]

[lightmylove-gvf-deactivated2023]

The details. Lips. Teeth. Adams apple. The hair curl around the collar. The hands. The veins. The turned up sleeve.

[pink-arcadia]

Send help

[anythingforjtk]

this was definitely the last thing I needed

[luverleaver]

SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS

[runwayblues]

being very normal about josh in green :)

[shutupdevvie]

REAL I LOVE HIM FOREVER

[gardensgatedaisy]

OMG!!! Look at them!! Josh!! Jeiejejwhrueieb!!

Cc: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City

[presidentofthehotgirlclub]

long overdue for a scream in the woods

[tripthelightfandomtastic]

Just breaking my own heart.

[holdingup-fallingsky]

Missing them something terrible right now

[jake-kiszkas-smirk]

I identify as a whore for josh kiszka

[obetrolncocktails]

lets get this tattooed on our foreheads :)

[safety-sam]

📸: @saltydogkiszka

[tlexx]

Anthem of The Angels: The Knight

The Spartan

Warnings: Talk of grief

In Collaboration with @streamsofstardust

Evangeline sat on the couch of her apartment, sipping on her favorite tea while reading through her books again. It was a daily occurrence leading up to the blessed day where she crossed paths with her beloved. A repeated action that kept her focused, while simultaneously taking up time she couldn’t bear to think about. In all those years after Joshua’s death, she’d spend time grieving profusely, a lot of time, if she was honest. While she didn’t necessarily love most aspects of the way mortals lived, she found a bit of calm in acting as though she was one, even if it was brief.

The problem, Eve found, was that centuries had passed and she still had yet to find anything that would help her. Not a single book in her possession had any insight into how to break this wretched cycle. It hurt her deeply, the fact that she was somehow blessed and cursed with having a mortal soulmate. If there was someone she hurt in the past, someone who felt the need to burden her with this pain, she didn’t know. She didn’t understand why she was the only one going through this, why no other angel had been in her position. 

Sometimes she wished it would end, the cruelty of repeating the same sole week over and over and over. Sometimes she spoke to her father, pleading on her knees with tears in her eyes to make it stop. But everything she prayed for fell on deaf ears. No one was going to help her. No one was going to explain why it was happening to her, and only her.

She felt a heavy weight in her chest, her nose tingling as a sign of impending sobs. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as best as she could. Her tea had gone chillingly cold while she was lost in her thoughts. The words on the page she had been reading were bleeding together and she swore she had read that very page at least ten times. Frustration overtook her and she resented the feeling. She hated how agitated she had become over the years, seldomly finding any peace or comfort. When the moments of anger and bitterness seeped through to the surface, she felt less and less like herself. Envy and wrath were deadly sins. She felt more like the mortals she observed. 

Eveangeline placed her tea on the coffee table and slammed her book shut, dropping it next to the cup. She tossed her head back onto the couch, rubbing her hands over her face and willing herself to find peace. As she counted her breaths, a repeated action of extremely slow inhales and exhales, her phone rang, causing her to jump. Modern technology was still one of those mortal things she hadn’t gotten completely used to. 

She roughly sat up and grabbed the phone, flipping it over to see the notification and smiling when she saw Joshua was calling her.

“Joshua.” She greeted him, immediately finding the calm she had been desperately searching for throughout the night.

She heard his sigh of relief on the other side of the call, her hearing being well beyond the average mortal’s. 

“Good morning, Evangeline. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.” 

Her lips twitched into a smile, though it dropped immediately when she glanced back at the books spread out on her coffee table. She shook her head, willing herself to remain relaxed by the sound of his voice.

“Not at all, I was just reading.” The subject matter wasn’t an important detail to include, she wouldn’t be able to explain the issue to him anyway. Her finger absently slid down the leather binding of the book while she listened to his even breaths coming from the other end. They were exactly like she remembered, she was just thankful that it was no longer a heart wrenching memory.“What can I do for you, Joshua?”

“Nothing, nothing I just, I know we have plans for this evening but I really don’t want to wait that long. I don’t think I physically can.” He chuckled as he spoke. She could hear the nerves in his voice, but it was endearing. “I was wondering if you’d like to meet up sooner? There’s a park nearby on the lake with a beautiful view. I was thinking we could go for a walk?”

She smiled at his words, basking in the joy that he had the same pull to her that she had towards him. If only he knew why.

“Yeah, uh. It’s kind of last minute but I might be able to make it.” She had been waiting for twenty-five years, but she knew he enjoyed the chase.

“C’mon! I promise I’ll make it worth your wild.”

“I think the phrase is worth your while.” Evangeline chuckled at his sureness. Joshua never had to be correct in what he said, he was so charismatic that anything that fell from his mouth was charming. 

“Tomato, potato.” The two laughed together lightly, before it phased into a comfortable silence. “So… is that a yes?”

“I don’t think I could say no to you even if I tried.”

“That’s what I like to hear. See you in an hour?” She could picture his smile in her head as he spoke, recalling the small gap between his front teeth that she found to be precious. 

“Make it forty-five minutes.” She quipped back, knowing he’d appreciate it.

“Anything for you, Eve.”

“Eve?”

“Is that alright?” He rushed it out, embarrassed by the nickname he gave her.

“It’s more than okay, Joshy.”

“Good.” There was a short moment of silence, yet she knew he was smiling. “See you in forty-five minutes?”

“Make it thirty now.”

“Demanding, it’s kind of cute.”

“Bye, Josh.”

Evangeline hung up before he could say anything else. There was a deep shade of pink lovingly strewed across her cheeks. No matter what century, Josh was able to make her feel butterflies and blush with just the mere thought of his smile. He was inevitable, the only thing keeping her pressing on year after year without him.

It didn’t take long for her to get to the park, but she did have enough time to grow anxious. Even knowing that this date would go well, knowing that the two would quickly fall in love, she was extremely nervous to see him again. More so because she knew this could be the last of firsts.

The thin paved path was shaded by large oak trees while being outlined with bushes and flower boxes. It was already a romantic scene, but seeing Josh sitting on the light brown park bench twirling his thumbs while anxiously looking around, made it appear out of a golden aged romance novel. Josh looked around the park, craning his neck back and forth to look for the girl he couldn’t stop thinking about. Every time there was the slightest of noise or movement behind him, he’d whip around looking to see if it was his Evangeline.

She, on the other hand, took her time. Even with the limited amount she had, Evangeline felt the need to observe every detail that made Josh himself in this time. She had seen him clean shaven, but in this era he chose to have the cutest facial hair. His style was more relaxed than it had been before, in all honesty he seemed more relaxed than he ever had been. There was something so peaceful about this Josh, something that told her he was truly happy. Which made her stomach drop. This Josh felt complete. He was fully aware of who he was and wanted to be, and that made her sick to her stomach. He only had six days.

“Evangeline!” His sweet, smooth voice called for her. Instantly picking her up from her deep worry.

Josh came running over to her, a wide smile taking its natural place on his face. He stopped a few steps short of her, not knowing exactly how to proceed. 

He put his hands out for a hug, quickly dropping them, and then raising them just as quickly. Evangeline closed the gap between the two, pulling Josh into a hug for the first time in twenty-five years. She hugged him as tightly as she could, relishing in the feeling of his arms around her once again. His arms tightened in response, as if he too subconsciously missed that same feeling. He smelled the same, he always did. A sweet musk that only he could pull off. 

“Good morning!” Evangeline giggled while squeezing him back.

“It really meant a lot that you met me so early.” Josh broke the hug, shyly smiling at the ground.

“It’s no problem at all.” She waited for him to look up again before continuing. “I wanted to see you.”

“Really? I mean, um, yeah me too.”

The pair started down the path, silently, allowing their hands to bump one another’s a few times. Evangeline tried her hardest not to just grab his in her own, but she wasn’t sure if that was too much too soon for the modern boy who, as far as he was aware, was meeting her for the very first time.

“So, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?”

“Up north.” It wasn’t technically an incorrect statement.

“Oh me too! I’m from Michigan.”

“A bit more north.” She smiled at his excitement. He was always so joyous no matter the occasion.

“Ah, a Canadian.” Josh took control of the conversation, telling her about his favorite sights to see in Canada and all of the things he got to experience while visiting. This was not news to Eve, she had been following this version of Josh Kiszka for as long as she could. The instant that his name started popping up online, she had been his biggest fan.

“I don’t know how you guys did it, poutine, it’s like something from heaven.” 

“I’m not sure I would go that far.” Evangeline purposely bumped Josh’s hand once more, this time he took the bait. His soft slender fingers intertwined with hers, gently swinging back and forth as they continued down the path. “If it’s alright with you, can we skip the small talk?”

“Sure, but uh, what do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Tell me your biggest goal in life.”

“Oh wow. Okay.” Josh took a moment to think. She could tell he already had an answer with how quickly he smiled, yet he took his time to articulate his point. “I think my biggest goal is to give joy to as many people as I can. To give people a place they belong, some comfort, even if it is just for a moment. See, my brother's dream is to make music and inspire others. I love making music, but I love the connection with the fans even more. I like knowing that I’ve done something to help someone.”

“That’s quite beautiful, Josh.” His looks hadn’t changed all that much, yet this Josh seemed more conscious and caring than those before. The thoughtfulness and love that this Josh seemed to have for life was something that Eve knew was going to be even harder to say goodbye to. She pushed that thought away just as fast as it had appeared in her mind.“Do you have a favorite part?”

Josh stopped at a large rose bush that was on his left. It was fully in bloom, not a rotten or dead rose on it. It was perfect, and it should be, as Eve had willed it. She knew she should not have used her divinity, she didn’t have much left, but this seemed like the perfect moment to put a divine rose bush in his path. Like a miracle. 

He looked around, finding the fullest one, carefully picking it from the bush. It was white rose on a long stem that surprisingly had no thorns. He handed it to Evangeline with a soft sensitive smile.

“When I hand someone something as simple as a rose and it makes them so excited that they may even cry. Something that little can make one person forget about all of their troubles. And even if it’s for just a moment, I know I made them happy, and that’s all I could ask for.”

Evangeline gently took the rose from Josh, looking up at him through her lashes as she did so. His eyes were glazed, nearly wet with emotion, and she couldn’t bear to look at him. Rather, to save herself from crying, she focused on the pristine rose between her fingers. It was as beautiful and meaningful as the one he gave her thousands of years ago, when he courted after the shy peasant girl she pretended to be.

______________________________________________________________

The weather was gloomy. A sky covered in a vast overcast, fog flooding the space around her, and a slight mist taking the place of rain that had previously been falling. Despite her surroundings, Evangeline felt calm. She felt a slight presence of peace knowing what was soon to come. 

She had been walking around for quite some time that day, dressed in tattered clothing and shoes that were barely staying together. It was a facade, of course, but she needed a look that would be inconspicuous. Her hair had been curled loosely down her back, a braided crown pinned to the top of her head. 

Evangeline casually observed the space around her, noting the drooping branches and rose bushes that looked so out of place. The flowers were mostly dead, some of the buds dried up before they could even blossom. It was simply too dark, too melancholy, for her. It was supposed to be a happy day for her, and yet, it seemed someone above had decided to taunt her and ruin her excitement. 

The forest had quickly gone from a place of peace to a place of sadness, and she refused to remain there. Collecting the skirt of her dress in her hands, she made her way out towards the village where she could hear the bit of commotion from the common folk. She didn’t know a single person in the village; she wouldn’t be there long enough to make any connections outside of the one, so it hardly mattered to her anyway. 

People watching was what brought her joy in the moments she was forced to wait. She loved seeing the children chase stray dogs in circles, the young women dressed in their finest - at least finest to the extent it could be when money was minimal - and the sweet elderly women selling homemade jewelry. She even enjoyed seeing the men huddled in groups with overflowing mugs of mead in their hands, cheering and laughing about the happier days of their lives.

But there were also parts of this life that filled her with a profound sense of emptiness. She found that in watching families gathering in their homes, seeing husbands and wives looking at each other with adoring expressions and a clear sense of love on their faces. The same look that extended to their children. They were complete, they had each other forever. Evangeline was not so lucky.

As she walked amongst the villagers, blending in as best as she could, she heard the sound of hooves coming towards her. It wasn’t an unusual thing to hear, but it felt different this time, and Evangeline smiled knowing what was to come. As the men on horseback approached, she stepped closer, striving to get a better look at each of them. She took notice of the crests on their shields and armor; they were the King’s knights. 

One man at the front of the group sat atop a horse whose hair was black as night, his chestnut brown hair flowed just below his shoulders in somewhat of a tangled mess, but it worked on him. He looked strong, a determined and proud look on his face that told Evangeline he was the leader of this group. It wasn’t until she looked at the man behind him that she found herself entranced.

He, of course, was perched on his own horse, one with snow white hair and gold armor protecting parts of its extremities. The knight sat up straight and looked around, his curly hair bouncing as he moved his head. He bore a striking resemblance to the first knight, but Evangeline found him to be so distinctly different. This was her beloved, her Joshua. If she didn’t know better, she would say there was an aura of white light behind Joshua, making him look like a gift from God himself. Perhaps, in a way, he was. 

She took more time to get a look at her love in this era. It wasn’t the first time she had seen him in armor, but this version was much better. This Joshua hadn’t been covered in his own blood and on the verge of death. No, in that moment he looked like the strongest warrior she’d ever laid eyes on, and he was beautiful. The shield strapped to his side was polished, but marked by scratches and minor dents; proof of its use over the years. In the center was the King’s crest- three golden crowns stacked on top of each other, one for the King, the Queen, and their son, who had perished at birth. 

The sword sheathed on Joshua’s belt bore the same crest on the handle, though significantly smaller. Each of the knights possessed the same weapon, but it fit so perfectly on Joshua’s belt. It appeared to be an extension of him, not fully complete without the weapon. His armor, silver with gold accents, looked marvelously wonderful on him, sculpting every muscle with the metal. It was comforting to see him in this way, so incredibly magnificent. 

Many of the knights had been speaking to the people in the village, informing them of changes in taxation from the kingdom, or promising to get messages back to the King. Joshua, though, had dismounted his horse to walk amongst the people. He shook their hands and gave them the brightest smile he could. It was that smile, one that shone brighter than any star she had ever seen, that first had her falling for him. It hadn’t changed once.

As Joshua continued walking around, Evangeline felt it was time to make her presence known to the knight. She moved towards him at a moderate pace, ready to make their second meeting look like a coincidence. The two met yesterday, talking while she sold her bread, and she had been awaiting his return ever since.

 It was as though he could sense her, perhaps in the same way she could always sense him. Josh’s head whipped around, almost appearing to be against his will, to face her, the smile on his face never faltering. His wide brown eyes sparkled as he stared at her. She sent him a smile to match and a small wave. 

Evangeline had stopped by a small cart where a kind looking woman had been selling flowers. Joshua was already walking directly towards her and she felt no need to meet him halfway; he always found his way to her. She looked down bashfully once he was no more than a foot away from where she stood, her hair falling just slightly into her face. 

“Good morrow, fair lady. How fare ye?” His voice was just as smooth as it was in her dreams, the words falling off his tongue and gracing her ears, bringing a chill to her body. The sound was pure silk, and she’d never tire of it. The smile that graced his plump lips never failed to take her breath away. 

“Wonderful, now that you are here, sir.” Her smile matched his, it was an involuntary reaction she found he had on her. It was an inescapable fate that the two wouldn’t be enamored by the other. The dreary weather ceased to exist when her sun was before her. He was the light in the darkness. 

The knight reached forward to gently grasp her hand, the two of them looking down at where they were connected before glancing back up at each other.

“I must say, Evangeline, I had not planned to see you again so soon.” His thumb softly brushed over her knuckles, a path of goosebumps following the movement. “Though I cannot say I am disappointed to bump into you, quite the opposite actually.”

For a moment, there was a brief silence between the two, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. They simply enjoyed the time together. It was Evangeline who spoke first.

“I was thinking about taking a stroll, would you like to join me, Joshua?” She grinned at him, looking up through her long lashes to find that he was already looking directly at her.

He nodded immediately, extending his arm for her to wrap her hand around. “I’d love nothing more.

Walking through the village, Evangeline and Joshua made their way to a small pond, one that she had found solace in as she waited for her love in the previous days. They once more walked in silence, not needing to say anything to fill the space. The two observed their surroundings, looking at the weeping willows and the various plants that lined the path they traveled on.

There was a small bench just on the edge of the pond, one that Evangeline had conjured a few days prior. She and Joshua took a seat, his hand quickly taking hold of hers, not wanting to let go. He couldn’t help but take advantage of the proximity to her; her skin was unbelievably soft and warm, just like her personality. He could feel himself falling for her rapidly, and he knew nothing could stop it.

Joshua closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and releasing the air slowly. As he did so, Evangeline watched him, enjoying the sight of him looking so relaxed. She valued his peace more than she could put into words, especially because she knew how little of it was left. 

“Joshua.” Evangeline spoke his name as a question, grabbing his attention. 

His eyes opened and he looked over to her. “Yes, darling?”

“What do you believe brings you the most happiness in life?” She wasn’t entirely certain where the question came from, but it tumbled off her lips without a second thought. She almost took it back until she watched as his face contorted in thought. 

“I would say doing things that bring those around me happiness and peace. That has always been what makes me feel best.” She didn’t comment, waiting to see if he would elaborate, and he did. “Not enough people understand the simple pleasures of life, the way the smallest things can lift them up. 

“My father taught me at a young age to play the mandolin and I’ve always loved to sing. I remember when I was younger performing for my family members during gatherings. Seeing them smile and sing along and be so outwardly happy… that always made me happy.”

Evangeline found herself smiling along with him, enjoying the fact that he was being so open with her. As she prepared herself to respond, he spoke once more.

“There’s something about nature too.” She looked at him inquisitively, not knowing what he meant. He moved his thumb over her forehead, smoothing out the crease that had appeared out of confusion. She blushed at the action and when his hand shifted down to cup her cheek, she found herself leaning into his touch.

“There’s such beauty in the earth around us, in the trees, and bushes, and plants of all kinds. In the sky amongst the sun and the stars. In the warmth of summer rain, or the chill of the winter snow.” He paused, looking to his left and finding a rose bush, a frown taking place on his perfect face at the sight of most of the buds being dried up and dead. 

Evangeline couldn’t stand to see that frown, and in a split second decision, she used her divinity to bring life back to the roses, the buds shifting from a tragic brown to a bright, milky white. Just as quickly as it had appeared, Joshua’s frown had dissipated. 

He hadn’t asked how Evangeline was able to do such a thing, it hardly mattered to him. He plucked a rose from the bush, carefully picking off any thorns from the stem. Joshua held the flower in his hand, twirling the stem between his long fingers and taking in its appearance. 

“Take this rose, for example. Most people find red roses to be the most appealing, but I disagree. There’s simplicity in white roses, a sort of purity and innocence. It reminds me of a time where I could enjoy being carefree as a child, before I knew anything about what the real world held in store for me and others. And that makes me happy.” 

He broke the stem off of the bud, leaving just enough to give the rose a foundation to stand on. The knight moved closer, his knee pressed against Evangeline’s, and the angel looked down at her lap in an attempt to hide her blush. Joshua’s free hand lifted her head by her chin, his eyes instantly finding hers, and he gently brushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She felt her breath hitch at the slight touch and his lip quirked up at the sound. He took the rose and delicately placed it behind her ear, smiling at the sight. 

Their eyes never left each other, both of them far too entranced by the other to pay attention to anything or anyone else. Evangeline watched as the sun shone in her beloved’s eyes, the warm, chestnut brown hue seeming to glow in the light. He was the personification of light and joy and she felt as though she would be content just sitting quietly for the rest of their days, or well, his days. 

Her smile faltered ever so slightly and although she tried to hide it, Joshua picked up on the shift in her mood, though he was uncertain as to what had caused it. 

“My angel, my sweet Evangeline.” He cupped her face in his hands once more, unable to stop himself from touching her. “You make me happy. In this life and any others, you are my happiness.” Evangeline smiled at his words, finding it funny that he had no idea how true his statement was. 

She shifted closer to him, not being fond of the space that remained between them. “Joshua?”

“Yes, angel?”

“Kiss me.” It wasn’t a question, and he knew that. She simply couldn’t help herself. She had missed him beyond what mere words could explain and she needed that touch, needed to feel connected to him. 

He wasted no time, pulling her into him and bringing their lips together, both of them sighing in relief at the feeling. She was in love with how soft his lips were, how gentle his kiss was while still being so full of passion and desire. He, too, found himself getting lost in the feeling of her lips. To him she felt like, well, heaven. He didn’t push for anything more, nor did she, rather they both basked in this feeling of being complete, being whole, being together again. 

Joshua’s tongue swept over Evangeline’s bottom lip just a touch, deepening the kiss the slightest bit without going too far. One of her hands had wrapped around him, her fingers playing with the tiny curls at the nape of his neck. He hummed contentedly at her touch, smiling into the kiss. 

______________________________________________________________

The couple had walked around the park for hours, talking about dreams and memories of his childhood. It felt like they only had spent an hour, maybe two, together but when Josh’s youngest brother called asking where he was, the two realized that it was past time for their dinner plans.

“I may have messed up.” Josh chuckled after hanging up his phone. He awkwardly rubbed his neck, insecure over how Evangeline would take the canceled plans. “We missed our reservations.”

“Oh! I don’t mind. Truth be told, fancy restaurants aren’t really my scene.”

“Really? Awesome!” His wide excited smile and cherry toned cheeks were back. “I actually know this diner, it's kind of a hole in the wall, but their food is just amazing. The cook, Deano, is a magician. Crafted from angels!”

Evangeline brushed off his blasphemous comment, becoming desensitized long ago. She took Josh’s hand in hers, keeping the white rose safely in her other. “Take me there, Josh.”

“Evangeline, stick with me and I’ll take you everywhere.”

“Promise?”

“Of course.” 

She knew this not to be true. He only had a few days left, unless she could figure out why he was the one chosen to be cursed. There was nothing more that Evangeline wanted than to spend years upon years with Josh, and though she supposed she already had, she wanted them to happen without quarter of a century heartbreak. 

The couple was in a comfortable silence on their short walk to the diner. The sunny day was quickly turning into a burnt orange night. The dinner was being lit by neon signs and harsh overhead light, yet Josh still looked soft and peaceful. 

The read vinyl covering of the booth seats were cracked and peeling, a definite sign that the food was going to be delicious. The table was black with faded glitter scattered over the top, a menu with only two pages haphazardly thrown in front of them. 

“Okay, this may be weird but can I order for you?” Josh looked too excited for Evangeline to say no. And albeit him not knowing it, she trusted him more than anyone. 

“Yes, Joshy.” His cheeks got even pinkier with the use of the nickname. 

Evangeline wasn’t expecting the large order that was placed in front of her, the whole table covered in food not leaving any room for her elbows. Josh was bouncing in his seat, carefully deciding what he was going to dig into first. 

“You’re cute.” It slipped from her lips before she could even process it. He looked up at her, not blushing, but with a confident smile.

“I know, but you’re cuter.” 

The flirting continued throughout the night, the food quickly disappearing. Fries were thrown at one another, and of course two straws were put in the chocolate malt that Josh couldn’t stop raving about.

“I could explode.” Josh laughed off, but the only thing that Eve could think was ‘not again.’

“Well then let's roll you out of here.”

“Not yet. One last thing.” Josh put money down on the table, a lot more than the bill justified, and grabbed Eve’s hand. Holding his hand all day still was enough for her, she needed him closer.

Her wish was granted when the two ended up near a dusty jukebox in the corner tucked behind the scrapped bar. Josh must have known the number of the song he wanted to play, because it only took him about thirty seconds to return back to his Evangeline.

He wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her tight to his body. She breathed in, taking in the same scent she has for memories. The times could change, but she could count on Joshua always being a constant. Swaying back and forth, flooded her mind with painful memories, yet she worked to push them away so she could focus on the present.

She needed to be here with him. This may be the last time. In that moment with Josh, she promised herself that she would no longer spend time trying to find the answers as to why this kept happening. Eve could no longer miss out on hours of time with Josh trying to research, she would just be with him. Take in all she could, and make every moment she could count.

“Josh?”

“Yes, angel?” 

“Kiss me.”

He stopped for a moment, surprised by how forward she was. Staring in her eyes, he smiled. Josh leaned forward, pressing his lips to Evageline. The first kiss in twenty-five years, and she could feel her body come alive again. As if electricity flowed through her body, she lit up. Her love was back. 

However, the excitement was taken by dread as Evangeline felt another feather fall from her back. Both her and Josh’s  time was fading quicker than it had begun.

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[gardensgatedaisy]

Speak of the devil. Merry fucking Christmas!