[wtcddy]

ft. littlcxbirdie·

birdie kept her distance from teddy. her arms had wrapped around her torso, chewing on her bottom lip. she wished the ground would just swallow her up. her stomach was turning in knots as she stood in silence. she couldn’t even look at him, her eyes locked on her own shoes. she had spent most of her day trying to accept what she felt like she knew was coming. when he spoke she shrugged. “i… i don’t know what you’re supposed to do… i… i…” she had come up with an idea, a solution for him but she had no idea how he was going to respond. 

IN ALMOST twenty six years, not a lot has left teddy without anything to say. this would be the exception, watching birdie fumble over her words all for the sake of a compromise over her life. truthfully, he hasn’t made up his mind—the gears squeal and scrape in tandem with the fingers tightly curling into the inner seam of his jacket pockets like he’s working his options between them instead. a few seconds of silence doesn’t return anything; there is no solution to satisfy all parties—either teddy risks the double life route and gambles with both of their lives, or he cuts his losses and pays the debt that comes with getting close to anyone in this city. he’s not sure if his face changes the entire beat it takes him to finish the thought. 

“ NO, ” it comes more abruptly than either of them are expecting, and for the first time since he step foot on the asphalt, teddy meets her eyes. it ignites that stupid thing in his chest all over again, the same thing he felt the very first time she rolled her eyes in his direction at eden. “ this doesn’t end on your fucking terms, birdie, it ends on mine. that was the deal, right ? that was always the goddamn deal, you knew what you signed up for. i told you this shit would happen, and now you’re—what ? pitching a goddamn suicide ? what’s that gonna solve besides giving you the satisfaction of making me pay for everything, huh ? ” he scrubs an anxious hand through his hair; he doesn’t even realize he’s already closed the gap between them. an open palm goes for the side of her throat but stalls at the last second, like he can’t decide whether he wants to kiss it or bruise it. “ don’t make me do something i don’t want to do. please. if you say anything, i won’t have a choice. you can’t come back to the house. forget every face you saw there, and if you come back—if i ever see you again ... ” his throat tightens, but the words come anyway, low and hoarse through a sneer and a puff of breath at the shell of her ear, “ i’ll kill you. i’ll put a bullet in your brain, and i’ll put a bullet in every one of your clients’ brains, and your parents, and every fucking person you’ve ever given half a shit about. i’ll make sure no one is left to remember you. ” he withdraws, and his hands find his pockets again, though there’s something different in the hard line of his jaw. “ you need to tell me you understand. ”

[wtcddy]

ft. silverncrimson·

Having only arrived back in Chicago a little over twelve hours ago, Diamond hadn’t exactly been all that keen to go to a city-held event of all things. Those rarely ended well. Even as she stepped out of her car as her driver Xavier pulled up to the Art Institute of Chicago, she was already regretting being talked into going by her publicist. “You know it would look good for you and for your family if you made an appearance,” Helena had pushed the issue in the short time the older woman had come by her penthouse that morning. “With your reckless and downright careless behavior at the clubs these last few months, Diamond - you need this.” Diamond inwardly scoffed in memory of the woman’s frustrated words, as she reluctantly entered the building and not too long afterwards found herself coming to stand beside Teddy, with a glass of red wine in hand. Not really interested in anything the Art Institute had to offer in it’s viewing gallery, having never really being much of a art enthusiast, Diamond simply hummed under her breath as her dark hazel eyes settled on the painting before the two of them.

“Yeah well, if I remember correctly, I think it was actually this piece that my third grade art teacher made us all replicate using soft pastels…So the fact that a bunch of nine year olds were able to recreate Starry Night with little problem has to say something about this man’s actual talent. His other work’s aren’t any more impressive.” Perhaps it was sacrilege to talk ill about a renowned artist like Van Gogh, but from a non-artist’s point of view, she wasn’t exactly in awe of the art piece.

HE’S ALMOST SURPRISED it’s her voice that floats back to him—he hasn’t seen diamond since that hazy night at jesse’s place and she’s just materialized at his side, squinting the same way he is at a painting neither of them are couth enough to get. “ either you were some talented fuckin’ nine year olds, or old vinny wasn’t as good of an artist as everything thinks. to be fair, plenty of artists suck, he’s not alone. ” he offers her a grin, dropping a shoulder into the nearby wall as to lean against it. “ it’s been a minute, right ? where’ve you been ? take a vacation to aruba to sample the night life or what ? ”

[wtcddy]

ft. xdylan-moorex·

Dylan was busy admiring the replication of Starry Night by Van Gogh intently, seeing how they had really done him justice. The real one, of course, was hanging up in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. She’d taken a trip in high school with her parents and had gone there to see the Van Gogh exhibition they had there. 

This one wasn’t bad though. She heard the voice next to her, the tone very sure of themselves and she scoffed. “Oh yeah sure. Just like this, I bet?” she rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Something tells me you’d definitely end up making something cool… acid is awesome when painting. I used to do it in college just to see what I’d come up with. Came in handy for assignments, to be honest.

“ LIKE THIS ? no, of course not—mine would be much better. for one, i’d have people in it over a devoid whatever the fuck this is. ” the drink in his hand is more vocal than he’d prefer tonight, but that could be because he’s on his fourth and keeps bribing the bartender to add an extra splash of whiskey each refill. in short, he’s running out of fives. “ sounds like art school was a real challenge. so, what do you do now ? are you working here at concessions, or are you teaching art history at the local community college ? ”

[wtcddy]

ft. juliafaust·

Julia was so fascinated by the beauty in front of her and to be honest, it gave her a great distraction to see the art in front of her and her nerves could settle. It felt a bit scary to be back here, to again be at a big event, and feel as if the person who took her kidney, almost killing her for a reason she didn’t know, was lurking in the shadows, but that was why she stuck near Teddy. Yes, Teddy. With a glass of ginger ale in her hands, she looked, amazed, at the painting, breathlessly, and let out a sigh. “Isn’t it so beautiful, Teds? The use of color and the use of expression just transcends the - Teddy.” Of course he would say something like that. “Did you know Van Gough, at his first attempt of painting, drew the peasant hands he saw? Isn’t that genius? The man is masterly. It’s such a shame he didn’t see that though. Don’t you see his use of magnificent colors and point of view? Come on, Teds. Don’t you?” 

HE ALWAYS WONDERED as a kid if everyone saw the same things or just similar versions of the same things, and this is pretty much confirmation of the theory. maybe it’s because teddy lacks a creative eye for anything outside of insults or blame shifting. “ it’s a painting, jules, ” he already sounds exasperated, “ artists only draw shit they think looks cool, there doesn’t have to be some lore about it. it’s the sky—if you can get that deep about a painting of the sky, you’d be blown away by the s’s i did in high school. ” he shrugs at the same time he takes a long pull from the whiskey sour in his hand. “ since when did you become an art enthusiast, anyway ? do you know anything else about van gogh outside those two facts ? ”

[wtcddy]

HE COULDN’T TELL you what he’s looking at despite the shiny, gold nameplate suspended beneath the swirling yellows and blues of a replicated van gogh. a colorful canvas isn’t enough to make him feel something—teddy can only relate to the night sky as much as the next guy—but it’s a good distraction while he waits out the too-long line to the open bar. he’s aware that’s not the reason he’s here, but it feels deserved, somehow, seeing as he’s always being dragged to these things. teddy doesn’t bother to spare a glance to the body at his left before airing his grievances. “ the longer i look at it, the easier it gets. this is art ? this is the guy everyone calls a genius ? i could do this with a crayola palette and a sheet of acid. ” 

[wtcddy]

ft. crimsonfaux·

Edith thought herself better after these several years away fromTeddy. The feeling of regret in the pit of her stomach, but it existed as adual regret. A regret that she left her little brother alone after all thoseyears ago, and on the opposite spectrum that she hadn’t had enough regret tohit the redo button. She often thought back if she would have done thingsdifferently, but deep down she wouldn’t have. Perhaps she would have tried tofind a better place for Teddy, but if she knew of a place she wouldn’t have hadto leave him behind in the first place. “Not really, mom was always cynical.”Edith murmured with a squint of her eyes as if to recall. Cynical was aninteresting word to use, but they both knew how their mother could be. Eventhough their interactions with their mother were different.  She arched a brow at the mention of Sarah Price,and snickered thinking back to the play. “I also remember she forgot her lines midplay like your average amateur. Did she really stand you up? Did you get herback?” Casually she leaned further into the seat, and spin her thumbs while herfingers interlaced together.

“Theo.” The tone of her voice more authoritativethan she meant it to be, but it’s followed by a playful scoff. “I have youknow, I’ve never crashed a plane but..well, we know the same can’t be said forcars.” Edith’s thankful for the bucket and plucks a handful of popcorn to fireinto her mouth. “Oh yes, I think I met a few of them when you were in that…”There’s an awkward pause and her wheels turn on how to word it. “basementhospital in that manor.”

IT DOESN’T SEEM wholly appropriate to laugh, but there’s something in her delivery that forces it out of his chest. “ cynical, ” he repeats like he’s tasting the word, “ that’s one way to describe her. ” for a while, he just sits there, picking at the loose thread that pokes up from the arm rest. it’s not easy to digest the last fifteen years of your life in public next to what he affectionately dubbed the cause; it’s even harder to pretend like it didn’t happen. “ —she kind of lost it after you left, y’know. i mean, she said she didn’t care, but i think she did. ” there’s another beat, this one a little shorter. “ did she ever call you ? like ... did you ever talk ? after ? ” his cheeks burn at the memory, just like they did when he sat at the fountain at the mall with enough in his pocket for fast food and a movie and no company. he can’t feel sorry for himself—he ended up buying weed with the extra cash later. even the heartbreak is on brand. “ sarah just didn’t have the star power, i guess. if you’re asking if i intentionally aimed at her head every time we played dodgeball in p.e. after that, i plead the fifth. ” 

HE FOLLOWS her lead gracelessly, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth like he’s never eaten before. the rest ends up on the front of his suit, which he sheepishly brushes off after the butter damage has already been done. “ i would hope you’ve never crashed a plane, otherwise i’d be talking to a ghost. maybe you should leave the driving to the ubers—speaking of, how are you getting home ? ” teddy offers a nod, sucking his lower lip between his teeth while his brain works on some sorry excuse for a mansion that’s totally unexplainable. “ right. uh, about that ... i have a buddy that’s pretty well off ? you might have seen him, he’s a tall guy, dark hair—anyway, he lets me crash there sometimes. and ... heal there, too, i guess. it’s weird. better not to ask questions. ”

[wtcddy]

ft. juliafaust·

It was a weird road, the friendship the two of them have had, but it was constant and stable, and Julia felt a real love and connection to Teddy Cohen. She could remember laying there on that god for saken cold bed, not able to even move, but remembering that if she could describe the details of this fucker’s face well enough, she could tell Teddy and he would get things done. He had enough chaotic energy to do so and she knew Oliver would want a piece, but Teddy? Teddy would want a big chunk out of the guy and Julia appreciated that, and it made her smile. “Yeah, shark eyes. He had the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen. Teds. I know it was the drugs maybe, but … I’ve never seen eyes like that. They were scary.” She could feel her stomach drop just thinking about them, how they looked deep into her eyes and didn’t give a fuck about her pain, about what he was doing. It was like he was doing something so natural, so run of the mill and that is what scared Julia so much. While she squirmed and mewled, ached, and cried for her family, for Teddy, the fucker just laughed and kept going. 

“You would? For me? I’m touched, Teds.” Julia had to break out into a grin, chuckling. “I don’t .. I don’t remember much. Just … he had facial hair. He was young - a bit of a limp. That’s all I remember. I just … appreciate you being here now. It’s okay, Teds. It’s all okay. I’m fine. I’m okay.” She tried to convince him, letting out a deep breath. She shook her head. “What could you have done? No one knew what was going to happen. You being here now, making me laugh and letting me sleep in your room - it helps more than you know. It helps me, it does, to have you around. You just - you are family to me, Teds. Always.” She reached forward, squeezing his hand. “What is family for?” She let out a few breaths, calming herself for a moment. “It’s a lot to deal with, seeing his eyes like that, dreaming of him … it’s hard, but I know I’ll get better.” 

She pulled the blankets up to herself, and sighed. “Want to watch a movie? Dumb and Dumber?” 

SILENCE is an enemy teddy made a long time ago—when you’ve got the tendency to throw your two cents into every conversation ( whether it’s warranted or not ), you start to realize that silence is more uncomfortable than a sock falling down inside your shoe or making eye contact with someone eating something phallic. this time, though, he lets it settle over the room in between her shaky breaths. you could chalk it up to teddy having little to no emotional awareness, or you could call it listening, but the most likely cause is his inability to muster anything semi-intelligent under that foggy, sleep-like haze still working into the edges of his vision. so, he just lets her talk, lets her recall it so plainly he wonders if she was ever drugged at all. the more she expels, the clearer the picture becomes: dark eyes, male, arrogant, dead but still walking. 

“ A LIMP ? ” he finally interjects, “ in what leg ? does he have any scars on his face ? tattoos you could see ? did he talk to you ? what about an accent ? ”  he flips through a catalogue of faces in his brain—you meet a lot of people around chicago if you live here long enough—but there’s no one he can narrow down on next to nothing. julia’s memory might not be so reliable, either, not if her first descriptor is shark eyes. the more he chews on it, the more those little red strings start to make connections. “ could’ve saved your fuckin’ kidney, at the very least. could have put another hole in his head right between his eye sockets, too, without all the investigating first. i’ll get him, jules, i promise. ” call it chivalry how he swipes a half-drunk water bottle from the bedside table and offers it to her. “ family, huh ? i can hear the distant banjo music already. —you’re not obligated to say shit like that, y’know. i feel pretty welcomed as it is. don’t know how they do it in italy, but i don’t kiss family. ” the trademark shit eating grin he’s always sporting is back, accompanied by a wink and a waggle of the water bottle. “ i watch that every day when drew and oliver try to have a conversation without mouth breathing. how about south park and you try to go back to sleep instead ? ”

[wtcddy]

ft. crimsondelphi·

“i run a store. with guns. a lot of them. sometimes those guns end up on the counter, especially when a customer is asking about options.” pausing, delphine’s face melted into something much softer, almost childlike. “i swear officer i wasn’t trying to scare anyone! he misunderstood. it’ll never happen again. promise.” delphi’s lips twisted into a sinister grin, only kind of hoping the case teddy was leaning on would give out from under him. “i’m not saying it’d be ideal to shoot someone, but are you gonna try and tell me you wouldn’t have wanted to shoot him either?” brow quirked, delphi knew she wasn’t alone in having a short fuse. “and i always clean my guns after i use them. i’m insulted you’d suggest otherwise.” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “if any of you let this place become a ‘haunted hotspot’, i will haunt the shit out of every single one of you.” another smirk spread across del’s face. “some poltergeist type shit.”

AT FIRST GLANCE, you wouldn’t assume he’s enjoying the performance, but there’s an ever-so-subtle grin working its way into the corners of his lips you don’t have to squint to see. “ that’s your alibi ? he misunderstood ? and what happens when they check the security tapes ? jesus—if we let you talk your way out of shit, you’ll land yourself in the electric chair. guess we have lawyers for a reason. ” he takes a long, judgmental sip of the dunkin’ iced coffee he’s clutching and offers the furrow of his brows. “ i find that shooting someone is always a last ditch effort after you’ve proven you can’t beat their ass. all you have to do is win the fight, right ? means there’s no charge outside of assault or battery, and that’ll only get you about twenty-five years if it’s bad. maybe you should work on that trigger finger—have you ever tried a stress ball ? ” another sip, this time louder as his straw drains the leftover latte between the ice. “ you already haunt me, we don’t need to make it official. ”

[wtcddy]

ft. littlcxbirdie·

birdie couldn’t even remember at this point how much she had to drink. it was the only thing that she felt like she could do. she had cleaned her apartment. almost as if she was prepping for what she felt like was coming. she offered teddy an out and he seemed to had taken it. but she knew what that out meant for her. she had contemplated writing lettings but part of her had a feeling that they would never get out anyway.

when she heard a car idling in her parking lot she couldn’t help but peek out her window. her phone buzzing just seconds later. she focused on it far too long, her brain finally comprehending what he had said. her heart sunk for a second. not even responding as she stumbled her way through her apartment grabbing a few things before she made her way downstairs. when she finally fell out the door to the parking lot she was a mess of giggles. “i fell down the stairs.” she slurred as she stumbled over to him. “hello ted.” she composed herself, keeping a distance as she wrapped her arms around her own torso, protecting herself.

HE SEES HER through the glass of the lobby doors first, and she stumbles past the threshold exactly the way he’d expect—with flushed cheeks and zero control of her limbs. birdie doesn’t employ the exact coping mechanisms he does, but she has her vices. alcohol is one of them, teddy is another. considering she lives like hannah montana most of the time, he figures she has a few more he’s not aware of ( she’s all about keeping secrets these days, huh ? ), but he dismisses the thought as she drags herself through an empty parking lot to meet him. for once, he doesn’t comment on how desperate it makes her look. 

THERE IS NO prepared speech—actually, looking at her now, teddy can’t think of a single goddamn word to say—so he buries his hands in his pockets and just takes her in for a breath or two. he’s not armed for the time being, he figures if she tries to run he can catch up with her easily enough on foot, no need to take her out at the knees. here isn’t the place for it anyway, too many witnesses behinds each window of the complex. “ hey, tweet. ” it’s the best opener he could think of. “ i kind of assumed you would have bailed before i got here, but ... ” he stalls, snuffing the cigarette out underneath the heel of his trademark nikes, “ i can smell you from here, so maybe i overestimated you. ” should have known better than to assume you’d have any sense of self-preservation. “ what now, birdie ? if you were in my shoes, what would you do next ? because i’m at a fucking loss, my hands are tied. ” 

[wtcddy]

ft. stainedblccdy·

location: eden, gentleman’s club on neutral territory.

“take your wandering hands somewhere else, you’re done here for tonight.” though her voice was usually warm and inviting, she changed it to something that sounded stronger in attempts to level the playing field with the drunken patron who’d gotten too handsy with one of her dancers. upon being told to get out, he got in her face and pushed her by the shoulder, “and what makes you think you can tell me what to do, little lady?” her eyes widened as the man towered over her, heart thumping in her chest with an adrenaline painfully similar to one she knew too well. don’t panic. feet on the floor, chin up. she could easily have signaled one of the bouncers over, but at some point she knew she would have to prove that she could handle running this club without assistance. the longer she stayed in chicago running eden, the more she realized she never really understood the dangers that came with her ex husband’s line of work. when he’d been running this club while they were married he never wanted to talk about work, and she was too busy raising their newborn son to pry. now she wished she would have, because it seemed like since his death every day brought something new she wasn’t prepared for. nobody wanted to talk about it too much, but she got the feeling from the managers and investors that something illegal was going on somewhere right under her nose, maybe something dangerous. it doesn’t matter. zhen needs this money for school, to have a good life. you’re his mother; fight for him. if lee could handle it, you can handle it better. finally the woman took a deep breath and pushed the man back, making her voice stronger and louder than it had ever been before, almost startling herself.  “because this is my club, asshole. get out before i make you get out.” || @crimsonstarters·

DESPITE what kindred spirits ( aka julia ) would assume of him, teddy really isn’t the type to invite himself unwarranted into scenarios that don’t directly pertain to him. the white knight trope is kind of played out, and the last thing teddy needs to be doing in a strip club—besides bumping coke off of foreign pinky nails—is getting in between this girl and the thinly disguised orangutan who makes himself bigger to confront her. instead, he averts his gaze and nurses the too-sweet amaretto sour in his hand, though his ears never really stop paying attention. what would his intervention do anyway ? it’s not like anyone in here knows the words to kumbaya. he takes a second sip of his drink, and the fucker backs into his table hard enough to send the cocktail spilling over teddy’s hands, and that’s the straw—now the scenario directly pertains to him. “ hey buddy, if you’re gonna square up with a woman in public, can you at least not do it inside my goddamn drink ? this is, like, eight bucks worth of syrup. ” he offers a quick glance to who he’s now established as the manager and an inquisitive brow over the raucous drawl of club music. “ do you need help, or do you think you can handle this alone ? because if you need help, i’m charging you another drink on the house. ”

[wtcddy]

HE COULDN’T TELL YOU why his hands are shaking where they clutch the wheel, fingers tracing the dents his nails have left out of habit in the leather. there’s cigarette smoke in his lungs with the source tucked between his lips, and as therapeutic as the exhale is ( somehow, it doesn’t do its job as a stress reliever as well anymore ), the distant car alarms and all-consuming darkness of the apartment parking lot aren’t exactly what he would call a comfort. kind of cancels out the zen he’s trying to summon. he idles there for—well, he doesn’t know how long—arguing with the ghosts on his shoulders who stand somewhere between repeat history and salvage what’s left. he still hasn’t made up his mind by he time he catches her silhouette fluttering past the window. 

“ OUTSIDE, ” is all the text reads once he thumbs it out for the third time, and he’s almost impressed it delivers—who knew birdie was bigger than blocking her highest paying customer ? there’s no other action to take than get out, so despite the bite of chicago’s false spring, he kicks open the door and steps onto the asphalt, shrugging his jacket higher up around his neck and leaning against the hood of the jag with his eyes on her floor and the soft glow shining steady from her window. he knows she’ll come out to meet him, he just doesn’t know what comes next. so, he puffs on the cigarette he’s burnt down to a peg and waits. ( @littlcxbirdie​ )

[wtcddy]

ft. rosesjustdie·

….

“yeah you’re right about that. i didn’t even get through les mis because of all the singing and it not being great singing did not help its cause.” downing the scotch that had been put in front of her zoe was quick to order another one as well. she was going to need it to get through that night, unable to shake her uneasiness that came from a room full of strangers. “the one who actually had a chance at an incredible career and worked hard and we’re supposed to see him as a villain lackey. sends a pretty shit message about having a work ethic.” zoe had heard it so much, that she was a bitch for working for what she wanted. and she’d never used to care about that, now it was about clawing her way back to that point. “yeah in my family we compliment and be supportive. she’s good and i tell her that but i am definitely not going to lie and say i enjoyed the musical. since i hate musicals and all.”

“ IMAGINE how much worse small talk would be if you had to sing it all. it’s not a world i could live in—can’t carry a tune to save my goddamn life, and i don’t think i’d contribute a whole lot to society if every conversation makes me want to peel my skin off. ” he shudders at the thought, nursing the watery remnants of his drink. “ was that too graphic ? should i tone it down ? ” she hasn’t slammed the rest of her cocktail and kicked off her heels for a speedy escape, so he figures he hasn’t crossed the line yet. it’s a matter of time; teddy’s a professional at sticking his foot in his mouth at any event that requires more than a hoodie for a dress code. “ so you grew up in a tough love kind of household. look at that, we already have something in common. except in my family, instead of telling each other how we really feel, we disappear for years at a time. really solves the problem, believe you me. you should give it a test run on your sister, she sounds like a basketcase. ”

[wtcddy]

ft. revelaare·

starter: open location: the pint

@crimsonstarters·

“i’m fine, really.” she’s gripping at the edge of the counter, a delayed reaction to the individuals beside hers comment, post almost falling off her bar stool. “there’s only a few inanimate objects moving right now.” the lawyer has to joke, otherwise she’d succumb back the panic that drew her to the bar. samara arrives tomorrow. leaving fifteen hours before she became a legal guardian, to a child whose safety and development relied on armande’s choices. back and forth, she debated whether this was a good idea. sometimes she’s uncertain whether she can take care of herself, a woman almost forty with no long term relationship in sight, sleeping around like a twenty something, drinking well into the night. if it wasn’t for her strong career, and the work ethic that kept armande at the top of her game as a criminal defender, perhaps someone might of caught onto how out of depth she was in her own life. maybe she’s waiting for someone to tell her it’s a bad idea, that she should demand ivy to take care of own consequences for once. or someone to tell her that she’d be a great, loving parent. someone other than the stressed sound-board she had at home. nick was nothing less than supportive, yet he seemed just as terrified as armande on the prospect on samara coming into their lives. he really wasn’t that much help at the moment for a un bias opinion on armande’s capability to be a parent.

her sudden rush of anxiety had led armande to the bar, sneaking as much time and alcohol as she could before curfew resumed, and the entire city fell to silence again after last nights colossal bar crawl. her obligation as a walsh lawyer to fight the various tickets and arrests are far from her concern right now.

HE DOESN’T RECALL asking her the status of her alcoholism in the first place, but now that she’s got a grip on his attention, he can’t seem to look away. how she sways makes his stomach hurt, and he’s sure a minute or two more she’ll be on the ground with a dozen or so passersby wondering why teddy didn’t at least offer her a water. he’s not sure where this conscience came from all of a sudden, but he follows its advice. for once. “ you sure ? ” he calls over the rim of his glass, “ because to me, it looks like you’re a few steps away from fine. d’you want some cheese fries or somethin’ ? a club soda ? ”

[wtcddy]

ft. crimsondelphi·

*! location: tony’s guns & sporting goods. *! status: open | @crimsonstarters *! triggers: gun tw.

the dead look in delphine’s eyes should have been the only indicator that the customer standing in front of her needed to tuck tail and run out the front door. instead, they continued to stand in front of her, making a scene about the price of one of del’s guns. finally fed up, delphi pulled her handgun from it’s holster and placed it on the counter, muzzle pointed towards the current annoyance. a smirk pulled at one corner of del’s mouth as she watched them tear out of the store, nearly taking the door off its hinges as they ran. reholstering her weapon, delphine turned to the next customer. “sorry ‘bout that. sometimes words just don’t get the job done, ya know?”

“ SO threatening someone with a deadly weapon will ? interesting train of thought there—it’s not really a functional method when you eventually get someone willing to call the pigs on you, though. what’s the plan then ? ” he raises an eyebrow to her like a challenge from where he stands slumped over the nearest glass case. he’s putting a whole lot of faith in its structural integrity; at least it hasn’t failed him yet. “ it’d probably be bad for business if you were to shoot a customer. i’m not a businessman, really, but nobody wants a gun with brain already on it. i could be totally wrong, though, this could become a haunted hotspot. ”

[wtcddy]

ft. littlcxbirdie ​

HE WON’T shoulder all of the blame for this—it’s the first thought that passes through his brain when he comes back to where his feet are fixed in the bloodied carpet. over and over teddy’s tried to warn her, and every time she ignores him. he doesn’t ask for much; the rules are don’t squeal and don’t ignore him with no explanation. since when is that too much to ask ? naturally, she won’t see it that way, and she won’t be understanding when he half heartedly explains murder wasn’t in the itinerary when he left the house. “ you gonna act like you didn’t hear me ? if you don’t want to be implicated in this, get up. get your shit—we have to leave. ” he doesn’t spare her a moment to grieve, much less process any of this, before he’s swiping her discarded clothing up into a pile on a nearby footstool. he’s careful to avoid the glittering shards of the coffee table and the pool spreading around her client’s head, and jesus, there’s enough dna on the guy to land teddy in the electric chair. that’s a problem. 

“ BIRDIE, ” he beckons, his cadence more cautious now, like he’s flicking a vacant gaze to a wounded animal more than a victim of a manic episode, “ we need to move him. i can’t do that alone—you’re gonna have to help me. we get him to the bathroom, and you can go home. you just have to help me carry him down the hallway. ”

[wtcddy]

ft. amaraxricci·

with her head rested against him, this was far from normal conversation between the two of them at this hour. amara wasn’t sure how deep the two of them planned to get tonight, but something about teddy’s presence dared her to jump right in. “the first career i remember wanting was being a chef, that’s mainly the reason why i’ll cook for you without complaining.” she laughed. it was something fun she liked to do but her parents quickly removed the thought of doing it full time from her head. “i was too busy bouncing between modeling gigs for that dream to have a fighting chance. did you play football in high school?”

it was rare that the two of them shared the small details of their past, the brunette didn’t share much of it with anyone — anyone but teddy. he made her feel comfortable, the need to live up to a certain standard didn’t exist when they got their late night alone time and that was one of the main things that made her history in chicago worthwhile. “shouldn’t that be a sign that you should still be alive? almost dying yet surviving isn’t something everyone can do, let alone multiple times.” she thought about his next words carefully, knowing that no matter the answer neither of them really had a choice with their career paths anymore. “i could be doing something else with my life, we both could, but you said it yourself that it’s not up to us. what are we supposed to do? i don’t know, even with all this shit going on there’s something that brings me comfort here.” she looked at him, her hand still placed under his chin as she spoke. teddy didn’t need to know that the something was actually him, but the brunette wanted him to know he was allowed to feel. “hey…don’t be like that, you’re allowed to think about these things.” 

HE CAN’T HELP but snort at the ludicrousness of it—they’re different people in more ways than one, yet they both ended up right here courtesy of a few bad decisions, perched on his bed and confiding their woes in each other as if this future wasn’t handmade. “ you gave up your chef dreams to be a model, huh ? sounds like you had it rough, amara, it must be hard to pick between being talented and beautiful. was that a humble brag ? ” he takes another puff, offers the cigarette up to her like an olive branch. “ for a little bit. i played some in middle school and at the beginning of high school. got held back one of those years. couldn’t be on the team because of my grades after that. ”

“ IN THIS BUSINESS, it’s not that uncommon. think of how many times everyone else around here has almost kicked the bucket. oliver, jess, me, even birdie once or twice—it’s like you get so close to getting out of it, then the med bay brings you right back. i’m not complaining, it’s just ... i don’t know. cruel. sometimes i’m ready for it, sometimes i’m not. ” he realizes he’s barely taken a breath since he began the though and finally expels what he’s been holding in his chest, another wall of smoke and a sigh. “ it was up to me before. i should have high-tailed it after the whole reggie thing, but i was too sure they’d find me. they would have, probably. what sucks is you’re stuck in it now, too. i wouldn’t even let you leave, much less everyone else. wouldn’t even think twice. ” the shrugs are getting a little repetitive at this point. “ i don’t, though. i haven’t thought about it in a long time. ”

[wtcddy]

ft. juliafaust·

God, Teddy had been so kind to let her stay in here mostly every night, and here she was waking the poor guy up in the middle of the night. She felt terrible, but even more so when she felt her heart beat faster and faster in her chest. Those fucking shark eyes still haunted her. The inability to control what was happening to her, the inability to control the pain, to feel the hot, searing pain writhe through her like a twisted kind of hell. It was terrifying and every night she saw those eyes before she went to bed. The eyes of the man who stood over her and just took her kidney as if it were nothing. She let out a few deep breaths and shook her head. “I’m just so sorry, Teds. I’m so sorry.” Another deep breath from her chest. Breathe, Jules. Breathe. Teddy is here. “The … The night at the hotel. I keep seeing … “ She brought her knees to her chest, to comfort herself, chin on her knees. 

“The shark eyes, is all I can remember. The guy who took my kidney, but not only that, that gave me those fucked up dose of whatever. I could feel … everything, Teds. Everything, and I couldn’t scream or move. I wanted to though.” She put a piece of hair behind her ears and even let out a soft chuckle. “I wanted to scream for you. I wanted … you, Oliver, Drew, Effs. All of you there. I remember thinking to myself … “ Julia let out a soft laugh. “I remember thinking to myself, okay, fucker. You take my kidney, but wait until I tell Teddy Cohen about you. He’ll play baseball on your ribs.” Julia softly smiled, reaching out and taking more blanket for herself. 

“Can you just … sit with me over here on the bed? Just for a few minutes, Teds?” 

ON SOME LEVEL, he gets it—maybe it’s not quite the same as a missing kidney, but if there’s something teddy can relate to, it’s losing a piece of yourself to someone else’s greed. the nightmares don’t happen much anymore. he might snap his eyes open at four a.m. once every couple months or so, but it’s nowhere near how it used to be. the first teddy julia met lost a lot of sleep over the guilt haunting his brain, and when it wasn’t guilt, it was fear beading his forehead with sweat. point being, he gets it. “ shark eyes ? ” a hallucinogen ? “ you’re not there anymore, jules. and with any luck, you’ll never be there again. you think after that oliver’s gonna let you out of his sight ? you’re lucky he’s not sending a bodyguard with you to church. ”

MAYBE IT’S NOT the appropriate time to put on a grin, but hearing all that doesn’t not inflate his ego. “ i don’t know if you can really compare murder to baseball like that. i’d be goin’ for a lot more than his ribs. you got a face for me ? do you remember anything else about him ? ” she doesn’t have to ask him twice before he’s abandoning his humble place on the floor and blazing the trail to the bed. he doesn’t melt into the mattress like he’d prefer, just perches on the edge of it, like doing any more than that will scare her off. he wouldn’t describe her as a hundred percent sound at the moment. “ y’know, that’s—that shouldn’t have happened. i should have been keeping an eye on you or sent someone to do it when i couldn’t. you didn’t deserve that. so, i’m sorry. ”