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Please do this for Steddie!!! "you bought me a SWORD? OH MAN IM GONNA BE SO DANGEROUS". There is much potential for epicness.

I clapped my hands together when I saw this in my inbox! I didn't even know it was on this meme I reblogged, but I'm stoked to see it. Little known fact about me, I'm a black belt, so swords are near & dear to me. I even have a small little collection. Anyway... Here's Steve being the best ever -

Steve's hands were tight around the wheel, the knuckles of his fingers a little white from the grip. He'd been on edge and nervous for most of his shift. Something special took up space in his trunk, drawing Steve's attention no matter how hard he tried. It was his first time giving such a meaningful gift and he wanted it to be perfect.

To be clear -the story truly started when he and Eddie decided to move in together.

They'd been dating for a little more than a year when Eddie made the suggestion - it was almost casual in the way he first brought it to the table. Steve vividly remembered turning from the stove at his parents place with a smile on his face when Eddie called his name. He was breathy, saying "Steve" like he sometimes did in bed. It was impossible to worry about the eggs when Eddie's tone was tangible temptation.

Steve said "yeah, babe?" like he was annoyed by the interruption, even though a beaming smile overtook his face, giving his true feelings away. Eddie knew him well enough to return the look with a little smirk.

"I found an apartment I think we should take a look at." He said it with so much confidence and ease, like there was no sane option for Steve other than agreeing. While Steve was 100% on board with that sentiment, he was still ever so slightly taken aback. He allowed finishing up the eggs to take away his attention for a moment, long enough, at least, to collect himself. When he turned back to Eddie, Steve was resolute in his decision.

"Kind of you to do the legwork, Eds. I have Thursday off this week, want to go then?"

They went that Thursday to discover a nicely priced place that would do well for a first home together. It was a two bedroom spot that gave them the freedom to intently browse without a second look from the realtor. The balding old man didn't need to know that Steve and Eddie were quietly making plans for a game room as they walked around. Sharing a bedroom was nobody's business but their own.

Steve hated to admit how exhilarated he felt when he signed his name on the line next to Eddie's when the apartment first became their's. His head was already swimming with the bigness of sharing space with the person he hoped to spend the rest of his time with. Thinking about what it meant for them, as a couple, to share legal responsibility for something was just too much.

Except, it really wasn't. As they settled in and made the place their own, Steve started to like the intensity of commitment living together brought about. When plans were made, Steve didn't have to second guess that Eddie would be right there with him. Cooking dinner at night meant learning the in's and out's of Eddie's favorite foods and finding the best ways to keep the man out of the kitchen without hurting his feelings. Tangling their things together also came with the inevitable warping of lives and stories and hopes for the future.

When Steve looked at Eddie, which he got to do quite often in the hours they were at home together, he saw the future. He couldn't wait to witness the deepening of Eddie's laugh lines and the graying of his hair. They were young but Steve understood that time moved fast and he wanted it to pass him with Eddie by his side. Never mind the fact that Steve was more than certain Eddie felt the same way. He'd never been with someone who made their feelings known the way Eddie did. It was refreshing and reassuring and soothing to be sure of something that was just for him.

Which meant that Steve found it mandatory to put pressure on himself when it came to celebrating holidays and successes and birthdays with the person he so desperately wanted to make happy. Their first Christmas in the apartment was a grump fest of epic proportions until Steve burnt the turkey and they spent the night doing what they did best - laughing, getting high, listening to music, and making love. Steve knew in a relationship as easy as their's, that worrying about tangible shit was silly. Though, he did it anyway.

As Eddie's 22nd birthday approached, Steve felt the familiar tightness starting to well up in his chest. They went to a Metallica concert the year before, so he knew it was going to be tough to top such an evening. Even Steve, who wasn't their biggest fan, enjoyed the heck out of himself. It'd been a miracle he managed to nab the tickets when he did - expecting something like that to come along twice was just too much to ask.

Of course, Steve forgot that he was surrounded by nosy little geniuses. Now that the kids were a little further in their teens, all of their finer qualities were heightened. Meaning Dustin Henderson's penchant for sniffing out information was reaching top notch.

All of the kids, Ericka included, were gathered in the game cave where Eddie was finishing up one of his epic campaigns. While Steve didn't play, he liked to hang out on the couch and watch the proceedings. With the addition of Max and El to the campaigns, there was never a dull moment. Usually, Steve pretended to watch TV while he sneakily listened to Eddie's voice - the night Dustin caught him out, Steve was flipping through a Gaming Monthly magazine looking for ideas.

"There's nothing good coming out until at least May," Dustin said, pulling Steve away from his racing thoughts. Though he already knew that based on his research throughout the evening, Steve still quirked a brow, trying for confusion.

Dustin wasn't deterred by the look - the kid never was. "I've got something better for you to thumb through. I'll bring it next week." He nodded at Steve like his word made it so, then followed the rest of the crew out of the room and into the kitchen where Eddie was more than likely taking orders for grilled cheeses. Shaking his head, Steve got up from his spot on the couch and followed Dustin down the hall to help Eddie feed the crew.

As promised, Dustin pushed a beat up weapons guide into Steve's hands the next week, smiling widely. "There's a blacksmith I know that makes a few of those - I circled them for you."

Steve couldn't help the incredulous look on your face. "You know a blacksmith?" While it wouldn't be all that surprising that the party had a plethora of interesting people in their back pocket, Steve didn't have restraint enough not to ask.

Dustin's smile grew a little, his dark eyes sparkling. "When Lucas got his license, we got to go to the Renaissance Festival in Indianapolis. You meet all kinds of people there."

Before Steve could ask anymore, Eddie was calling order to the party, demanding Dustin's attention.

Despite the fact that Steve didn't want to admit it, Dustin's help was futile. Steve had a great time thumbing through Eddie's DnD notes and reference books when his boyfriend wasn't home, looking for commonly used weapons and preferences to aesthetics. Once Steve decided on the custom gift, he was ready to put in the effort to make it perfect.

Being so unfamiliar made the task a little more difficult than Steve expected, yet he enjoyed it all the same. Once the research portion of the endeavor was over, Steve spent a handful of Saturday mornings in the forge experiencing the process of moving metal.

The finished product was done a whole week before Eddie's birthday, which made getting to the day almost impossible. Steve was so excited by the work the surprisingly laid back weapon maker put together that not sharing was killing him.

Finally, Steve was minutes away from letting Eddie in on the secret and he couldn't wait. He left work earlier than usual in hopes of beating Eddie home from the garage. Steve didn't foresee much of a chance of inconspicuousness if his boyfriend was home. For once, luck was one his side and Eddie's van wasn't in its usual parking spot.

Steve was just able to get Eddie's gift in the door before Eddie got home. He banged through the place like the force of nature he was, throwing off his shoes and making his way into the kitchen. His long hair was still up in a low ponytail when Steve saw him. They shared a look, then Eddie grinned.

"What do you have there, pretty boy?" Eddie asked from behind his hair. He was chewing on a few strands, staring at Steve eagerly.

Steve nodded at the table - "why don't you find out for yourself?"

There was no hesitation; Eddie shifted from his spot at the doorframe until he was in Steve's space, then past him (though, not without a very thorough brush of their bodies). His still grease streaked fingers were nimble on the purple fabric that covered the scabbard of the Greatsword.

Steve watched with fascination as Eddie took in the dark leather covering a wood on the grip that would withstand actual battle (or so he'd been told, anyway). The sword was Damascus steel, swirling together to make a pattern that made the thick line of metal look even more regal. Eddie's eyes were all over the place, more than likely processing every one of the the details.

Eddie finally glanced at Steve with an open mouth before his excitement boiled over. "You bought me a sword? Oh man I'm gonna be so dangerous!" His voice was thick and rich like honey, the happiness in his words tangible.

They both marveled at the sword for a while longer, talking about details and specifics Eddie couldn't get enough of. Steve was happy to talk about the creation process he witnessed, absolutely anything to watch Eddie's eyes light up the way that they were. When there was nothing left to say on the matter, Steve leaned into Eddie's space, wrapping both arms around him. They shared a kiss, then Steve whispered "happy birthday, Eds," into the skin of Eddie's neck.

Strong hands on his cheeks had them eye to eye a moment later. "I love you, Steve." Eddie looked at him longingly, trying so desperately to portray just how much.

Grinning, because Steve already knew, he closed the space between them, whispering a low "I love you, too" before taking Eddie's lips again.

To say Eddie liked his present would've been an understatement. When the party came over for the next leg of the campaign following Eddie's birthday, each of them were told the tail of Eddie the Banished's Greatsword and the adventures he planned to take with it.

Steve made sure to corner Dustin in the kitchen later, elbowing him playfully in the side. He waited for the kid to look at him before smiling softly. "Thanks. For the help."

Dustin, ever the little shit, grinned triumphantly. "I know my dads well."

Prompts to Shake Things Up

Thoughts don't come to completion in my brain very well, but maybe when Lorraine first finds out she's pregnant? How happy but also scared she is (cause you know she's gotta be) and then her telling ed and how happy and scared he is as well? 😅😅

Like I said idk how to form complete thoughts about a lot of things 😅😅

In hindsight, she knew the moment she conceived. Laying there in the darkness, she felt the moment a piece of Ed joined with a piece of her. It wasn’t even that she didn’t recognize it for what it was, but that she couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it. In the eight years they have been married, her cycle had never been so much as a day late, arriving like clockwork every twenty-eight days. Textbook, really.

When it didn’t come, she held her breath. After eight years, she’s become a master at refusing to get her hopes up. She remembers the ambivalence she felt, the morning she realized she had gotten her monthly courses after their honeymoon and she was back at her parents’ house and Ed, back on a ship in the Pacific. She’d been relieved then.

In the years that followed, after buying a four bedroom home they’d hoped to fill up with babies, relief had turned to confusion, then to frustration, then to grief. And it became tolerable, with time and prayer and faith, but oh how she yearned, and yearned, and yearned.

And learned to fill up the space that she wanted to fill with her and Ed’s children with ghosts.

Lorraine Warren finds herself bouncing her leg on the linoleum floor of the doctor’s office on her lunch break, two weeks after the first missed period of her life. And she knows, some heady mixture of mother’s intuition and all her other gifts from God. She knows with a painful kind of clarity that she carries a life inside her. She wonders if Ed’s noticed that she never drew her little red dots on the calendar, hasn’t complained about cramps and bloating, hasn’t brought home a box of Motrin and menstrual products. He rarely misses anything about her, but it’s just been Christmas and they’ve just had a case, a real one. The kind that drives him to distraction.

She pees in a cup and the nurse, in her starch white uniform and impeccably clean shoes, tells her that the results will take at least three days and possibly up to a week to come back, that it will depend on how busy the lab is. The nurse smiles conspiratorially, like she’s gotten a tidbit of insider trade knowledge, and tells her that she thinks she’ll know by New Year’s Eve whether or not she’s going to be a mother.

Lorraine vomits in a bush on her way back to her car.

---

New Year's Eve is a Sunday, in 1961, and Lorraine’s last day of work before the holiday is that Friday, when the nurse from the doctor’s office calls her desk. It is almost, exactly to the hour, four days since her appointment.

Somewhere between, “Congratulations, Mrs. Warren,” and “we’ll need to schedule you for a follow-up appointment in the next four to six weeks,” her vision blurs, and her legs drop out from under her. Clumsily, she manages to catch herself on the edge of her desk, lowering herself gently down onto her chair.

“Yes, yes, I can make the week of January 29th work,” she says, furiously wiping away tears as she flips through her planner, frantically reaching for a pencil. “Yes. One in the afternoon is fine. Thank you.”

Slowly, she hangs up the phone.

Lorraine makes it another twenty minutes at her desk, thumbing through the Diocese of Bridgeport finances, mindlessly sorting purchase orders and invoices. Before slowly, then all at once, it hits her. Pressing the back of her hand against her mouth, she swallows down a sob.

They’re going to be parents.

---

They had just given up. Because of course they had.

But God had other plans.

---

She drives home in a daze, glad that it’s the middle of the afternoon. She’s not sure how she would have made it from Bridgeport to Monroe if she had waited until five o’clock. It feels as though she’s experiencing the world from underwater, from the inside of an upturned snowglobe.

You’re expecting, Mrs. Warren. The test came back positive.

How is she going to tell Ed? She never thought this far. Not since they were newlyweds and she was dreaming of the little clothes she had sewn for her trousseau. She had plans back then, of cooking him dinner and sitting him down over candlelight and a nice meal, and telling him with a silver rattle tucked into tissue paper in a box, or with a silver spoon, a baby’s hair brush. Now she has half a mind to just drive straight for where she knows he’s teaching art classes at the VA, march inside, and drag him into his office like a madwoman and tell him straightaway.

Damn ceremony, they’ve waited long enough.

Pulling into the driveway, she turns off the engine and sits there for a long moment, fighting back tears. She’s going to walk into their home, and she’s going to know which room they’re going to clear out to turn into a nursery.

She’s known which room they were going to turn into a nursery since the first time they walked into the house with the realtor.

After a moment, the tears win.

---

In the end, it goes like this:

Lorraine makes lasagna, because it’s hard to screw up and she’s having trouble concentrating on anything for more than a few minutes at a time. She knows how to make sauce, cook noodles, and assemble layers. Ed likes lasagna. Ed does not like lasagna so much that he will be immediately suspicious when he comes home to find her making lasagna. She’s usually home before him anyway on Thursdays, the only day of the week he has a four o’clock class.

Ed comes home a little before six, his forearms speckled with paint.

He talks enough for the both of them, and if he notices anything’s off about her, he’s kind enough to wait until after dinner to bring it up. Kissing her cheek sweetly, he loops his arms around her waist and pulls her close.

“I missed you today.”

Then he’s pulling away again, taking down plates and cups from the cabinet and pulling out silverware to lay the table.

Then, despite all the ways she’s been practicing all afternoon, Lorraine turns from the stove to look at him folding napkins at the kitchen table and feels such a warm burst of affection in her chest that she can’t not say it.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurts out, holding onto the counter for support. “The doctor’s office confirmed it today. I’m -- I’m pregnant. Like really, really pregnant. And I’m a little terrified, because it doesn’t feel real, but it apparently is real.”

The red napkin he’s been folding into a triangle falls from his fingertips, face freezing with shock.

“Wait--”

“We’re having a baby,” she says, realizing that she’s rambling, but unable to stop herself.

His brow furrows, confused. “Lorraine? Are you telling me--”

Biting her lip, she nods. “Yes.”

“Really?”

Crossing the room to her, she can see comprehension dawning on his features. This isn’t a dream. They’re both awake. It’s not a joke. Lorraine wonders if she should have driven by the doctor’s office to get a physical copy of the test results. Ed’s always liked being able to see things on paper.

“Really,” she says, as a smile splits his face and he reaches her, sweeping her up into his arms and lifting her off her feet, spinning her. “We’re gonna have a baby.”

She’s so happy, she’s lightheaded.

And she wants to kiss him, so she does, framing his dear face with her hands.

“I love you,” he murmurs against her lips.

---

With a look of reverence on his face that drives her back to tears, Ed drops to his knees right there in the kitchen, pushing up the hem of her blouse.

“Hi,” he says, pressing his lips to her stomach. “Hi baby.”

Wiping the tears from Ed’s face, Lorraine thinks she might never stop laughing, might never stop crying.

---

In the end, they eat their lasagna on the kitchen floor, right out of the pan. She’s half in his lap, and there’s not a candle in sight.

It’s perfect.

Notes from the AHWM Explanation Livestream

This will be long, so fair warning! If you're on computer, you can press the spacebar to skip this post if you want!

There was CG smoke for the bomb

The last shot was running after the bomb goes off, filmed during the day

Many cursed images

(0:56 - Guns Blazing) November 5th = gunpowder treason & plot (a reference)

Ethan is the one yelling during the run

Helicopter/Car was filmed in a place formerly known as Spiderwoods (spiders, snakes, and bugs everywhere)

Mark's patented method to get rid of snakes is to tell them to fuck off

There was big black snake near the library

Chica snore-grumbles

Most of the choices were pretty evenly split in the video data

The guy who owned the field in Helicopter/Car also owned the helicopter

It was hard to get the cameraman to know that the camera is an interacting character

They filmed up to 10 pages a day

Prison was the first 2 days of shooting, as well as the part with the most characters/extras (12 people)

Mick gets typecasted in roles of authority

The Prison location is a functioning mental hospital

John was a Prisoner, first mate, and is a realtor IRL

There is no "why" to recording this to keep a broad audience and have fun after Mark was in a depression and made WKM

The Gregory Brothers / Schmoyoho made 2 renditions of I Don't Wanna Be Free (which is on Apple/iTunes/Spotify)

The musical was a production/recording nightmare on the 2nd day

They had 20 minutes max. to learn each segment; they had a choreographer helping them learn the dances

The original vocals didn't have the accent

Mark had to do the vocals, acting, blocking, etc. in 30 mins

Mick was supposed to cross frame during the top-hats-part, but they had already recorded it; the producers weren't comfortable telling Mark "no" yet, so they had Amy do it

The smashed bricks were styrofoam; Mark was typed to a rope that was pulled

The director of photography was Phillip J Roy; he took a pay cut to work on this project

Yancy's sleeve tattoo is the whole map again

Yancy's tattoos are Tiny Box Tim and Mark/Dark across his knuckles; those were Makeup's ideas

The Musical was only 1/4 of a recording day

There was 3 work weeks of shooting (15 days)

Day By Dave made a remix

Yancy was named "Prison Mark" until the fight scene started to be made in post-production, where he needed a name; Mark liked Yancy and Amy was very against it originally

Yancy killed both of his parents; Mark knew people were gonna fall in love with him anyway

"Yancy stans, go, march on"

Yancy has an emoji bandaid

Heapass (canonically) makes an appearance in Thanks and also Yes Please; he had "Heapass" on a cast, but it was on the wrong side from the camera

Holt Boggs (the cell guard) is an amazing man; he was overqualified ("soft hands")

The cell was in a green-screen soundstage, so there was more improve

Yancy was supposed to be hidden in the ceiling or beside the bed, but under the bed turned out better; he's hidden under the bed the whole scene

The Red Gemini was the camera that they used for this project

Mark just runs off frame in Thanks and also Yes Please

The audio-only part was very convenient for filming and fitting for a 1st-person perspective

Yancy's talk at the gate was Mark real-acting & the late shot of the 1st day of filming, which made all of them realize that the project could actually work

Yancy WANTS to be in prison; he knows all the ways out - he'd leave if he wanted to

The items in the box are more representational achievements

Mark needs our help to promote AHWM, through liking the video(s), commenting good things, and spreading the project; the performance of this dictates the ability to make another similar project

Mark worked for FREE for 5 months, taking no cut of the budget for himself

"Yancy is just Prison Mark with amnesia" "There could be a time-skip there; it could work"

Robert Rex, "a god walking amongst mere morals;" has always wearing the same thing; Mark didn't know that he was going to do different accents

Amy is the hand with the feather-duster

The Warden's desk moves into the hallway after a smash-cut

Mick's line had to be rewritten so it can be ambiguous; you can only tell if you were looking

The Warden embodies "big strong hands," something Mark writes into dialogue a lot (along with "trust you me"); everytime he touches something it cracks (his desk, Yancy's shoulder)

Pulling stuff from behind Mark's back was on-the-spot

The dirt joke was a prop-person and Mark throwing buckets

Mark helped Holt Boggs make a short video

HOLT BOGGS

The truck in Prison was a one-take-wonder; they actually bashed the truck through the wall in a such a cartoony, perfect way

The Bob/Wade skit was a reference to Prop Hunt

Mark comparing the disappointment of people not liking the video to a cup of dirt under the Christmas tree

The lid to the sewer says "a heist with markiplier"

The sewer was in an actual sewer treatment plant, which took about a week of filming; some parts were flooded so they couldn't film there; this place was scheduled to be torn down

Mark forces us to choose the Light Tunnel first

Cranbersher, GrittySugar, and Lixian collaborated for the Light Tunnel; it was originally going to be live action with a green-screen and a pre-made raft; Cranberser offered when he had a 3-month break from other projects

Amy notes that Mark did a lot of "falling"

Mark had to carry a 200 pound man and a heavy camera rig to carry Y/N

There was poison ivy, snakes, spiders, etc. on the island

The Game Grumps voiced the aliens; Erin originally was meant to play the Warden & Danny was meant to play one of the guards

Many roles fluctuated due to scheduling

Getting abducted is a reference to ADWM ("not again!")

Mark loves MatPat's scenes and acting (Build a Shelter)

There were so many mosquitos near the Cave and the actors couldn't put on bug spray because they had to preserve their makeups

There was a giant hole in the Cave from which grasshoppers rained down

They were a mile into the cave; they weren't able to staff them for 3 days, so they recorded for 2 days and had fo cut some shots

The Cave freeze-frame was unscripted; the camera director didn't tell cut and it was too funny

The Hermit was originally supposed to be Jacksepticeye but scheduling errors were in the way

Mick was originally supposed to be Crazy Ed

When the sound-guy didnt have a sound effect, one of them riffed something at the mic and it was modulated to fit as best as possible

Mark's camera loses signal/battery power

Mark has done the hot-wire-while-moving in Car before (van videos)

The blue flash during Car is you from the future/another timeline

Mark was actually driving the car; someone flashed the blue light so it was a bit dangerous

Tyler and Ethan make appearances as Zombies

Tyler actually let Mark hit him with a rock

There was a dead beaver in the shed during the Zombie Apocalypse

The Zombie Apocalypse shots were in VERY hot weather

The barricaded front door but very open back door was intentional humour

Ethan's zombie handshake was thought up on the spot

Moe was the man screaming from the fire and zombie attack, making everyone behind the camera laugh

Rosanna Pansino sings opera & speaks Chinese

The Scientist had to be broken up (the cuts are in the gunshots)

243 is a chemical identification symbol in an actual laboratory, nothing meaningful to the plot

The code leads to the AHWM website

What's truly inside the box is the real timeline, which is the team making the project

The room where the monitor was in (Amy, script manager, etc.) was locked out and no one could see what was going on, only hear it through headsets

Mark threw 2 dummies (main video, Absolutely Not!)

Chica likes to climb through the cords underneath Mark's desk

The true/canon ending is For The Greater Good, which leads to ADWM

SodaPopIn hasn't really done this before, but he went with it because he was told Mark was nice; he continued even during harsh weather, many planes, and a long take/monologue

The sandwiches are a callback to ADWM

The montage endings were inspired by the ones Amy made for ADWM

There was never any time set aside to get photos for the montages, so they had to continuously get pictures

Catherine makes an appearance in the Warfstache bit

Warfstache is just a meta joke > you respond by writing in the comments as a survey, producer Catherine is more powerful than the video-editing, ringing the bell for notifications

They rented the same place for the Warfstache bit that they used to film all the other previous Warfstache bits

Dark inserts himself wherever he feels like being

There is charity (#TeamTrees) merch for each of the egos/Mark characters in this project (including the new ones)

Edge of Sleep's last episode aired yesterday (as of the stream - 6/11/19)

A "reverse" charity livestream is happening soon

The next project(s) are already in the works

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT HEIST

Amy originally wasn't going to work on this project until they went to Texas; she became Creative Producer once Mark put himself into too many places

Iba originally auditioned for the man in the burning truck, but his voice was so good he became the seer/guide

The project has been "cooking" since May

The next project would be a completely different project, not a continuation

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT HEIST

Regular uploads start again tomorrow (7/11/19)

Chicago Rippers

It was a case with all the grisly melodrama of a Hollywood production. A serial slayer, predictably dubbed "Jack the Ripper" by newsmen, was stalking young women in Chicago and environs, discarding their mutilated corpses like cast-off rubbish. Homicide detectives had no inkling of the killer's motive or identity; they couldn't even manage to agree upon a final body count. The speculation published daily in Chicago's press was bad enough; the truth, when finally exposed, was infinitely worse.

On May 23, 1981, 28-year-old Linda Sutton was abducted by persons unknown from Elmhurst, a Chicago suburb. Ten days later, her mutilated body, the left breast missing was recovered from a field in Villa Park, adjacent to the Rip Van Winkle Motel. The Evidence suggested Sutton had been kidnapped by a sadist, but police had no solid clues to his identity.

A year passed before the next acknowledged victim in the series disappeared. On May 15, 1982, 21-year-old Lorraine Borowski was scheduled to open the Elmhurst realtor' office where she worked. Employees turning up for work that morning found the office locked, Boroski's shoes and scattered contents from her handbag syrewn outside the door. Police were called at once, but five months elapsed before Borowski's corpse was found, on October 10, in a cemetery south of Villa Park. Advanced decomposition left the cause of death a mystery.

Two weeks later, on May 29, Shui Mak was reported missing from Hanover Park, in Cook Country, her mutilated body recovered at Barrington on September 30. On June 13, prostitute Angel York was picked up by a "john" in a van, handcuffed, her breast slashed open before she was dumped alive on the roadside. Descriptions of her attacker had taken police nowhere by August 28, when teenage hooker Sandra Delaware was found stabbed and strangled to death on the bank of the Chicago River, her left breast neatly amputated. Rose Davis, age 30, was in identical condition when police found her corpse in a Chicago alley on September 8. Three days later, 42-year-old Carole Pappas, wife of Chicago Cubs pitcher, vanished without a trace from a department store in nearby Wheaton, Illinois.

Detectives got the break they had been waiting for on October 6. That morning, prostitute Beverly Wasgington, age 20, was found nude and savaged beside a Chicago railroad track. Her left breast was nearly severed the right deeply slahed, but she was breathing, and emergency surgery saved her life. Hours later, in a seemingly unrelated incident, drug dealer Rafael Torado was killed, and a male companion wounded when the occupants of a cruising van peppered a street corner phone booth with gunfire.

Two weeks later, on October 20, police arrested unemployed carpenter Robin Gecht, a 28-year-old former employee of contractor John Gacy, and charged him with cruel assault on Beverly Washington. Also suspected of slashing prostitute Cynthia Smith before she escaped from his van, Gecht was an odd character, once accused of molesting his own younger sister. Authorities immediately linked him to the "Ripper" slayings, but they had no proof, and he made bail on October 26.

Meanwhile, detectives had learned that Gecht was one of four men who had rented adjining rooms at Villa Park's Rip Van Winkle Motel several months before Linda Sutton was murdered nearby. The manager remembered them as party animals, frequently bringing women to their rooms, and he surprised investigators with one further bit of information. The men had been "some kind of cultists," perhaps devil worshipers.

Two of the Rip Van Winkle tenants, brothers Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis, had left a forewarding address for any mail they might receive. Police found 23-year-old Thomas at home when they called, and his inconsistent answers earned him a trip downtown. The suspect promptly failed a polygraph examination, cracking under stiff interrogation to describe the "satanic chapel" in Gecht's upstairs bedroom, wherepicks, gang-raped, and finally sacrificed to Satan by members of a tiny cult including Gecht, the Kokoraleis brother, and 23-year-old Edward Spreitzer. As described by the prisioner, cultic rituals included severing one or both breasts with a thin wire garrote, each celebrant "taking communion" by eating a piece before the relic was consigned to Gecht's trophy box. At one point, Kokoraleis told detectives, he had counted 15 breasts inside the box. Some other victims had been murdered at the Rip Van Winkle, out in Villa Park. He picked a snapshot of Lorraine Borowski as a woman he had picked up, with his brother, for a one-way ride to the motel.

Police had heard enough. Armed with search and arrest warrants, they swept up Robin Gecht, Ed Spreitzer, and 20-year-old Andrew Kokoraleis on November 5, lodging them in jail under $1 million bond. A search of Gecht's apartment revealed the satanic chapel descried by Tom Kokoraleis, and lawmen came away with a rifle matched to the recent Torado shooting. Satanic literature was also retreived from the apartment occupied by Andrew Kokoraleis. With their suspects in custody, authorities speculated that the gang might have murdered 18 women in as many months.

Tom Kokoraleis was charged with the slayingof Linda Biriwski on November 12 and formally indicted by a grand jury two days later. Brother Andrew and Edward Spreitzer were charged on November 14 with the rape and murder of victim Rose Davis. When the mangled body of 22-year-old Susan Baker was found on November 16 at a site where previous victims had been discarded, police worried that other cult members might still be at large. No charges were filed in that case, however, and authorities now connect Baker's death to her background of drug and prostitution arrests in several states.

Facing multiple charges of rape, attempted murder, and aggravated battery, Robin Gecht was found mentally competent for trial on March 2, 1983. His trial opened on September 20, and Gecht took the witness stand next day, confessing the attack on Beverly Washington. Convicted on all counts, he revieved a sentence of 120 years in prison.

Tom Kokoraleis had suffered a change of heart since confessing to murder, attorneys seeking to block the reading of his statements at forthcoming trials, but on December 4, 1983, the confessions were admitted as evidence. Four months later, on April 2, 1984, Ed Spreitzer pled guilty on four counts of murder, including victims Davis, Delaware, Mak and Torado. Sentenced to life on each count, he received additional time on conviction for charges of rape, deviant sexual assualt, and attempted murder.

On February 6, 1985, a statement from Andrew Kokoraleis was read to jury in his trial for the Rose Davis murder. In his confession, the defendant admitted he was "cruising" with fellow cultists Gecht and Spreitzer when they kidnapped Davis, with Andrew stabbing her several times in the process. Convicted on February 11, he recieved a death sentence on March 18, 1985. Kokoraleis was executed by lethal injection on March 16, 1999.

On March 4, 1986, Edward Spreitzer was convicted of murdering Linda Sutton and formally sentenced to death on March 20. Authorities declared that Spreitzer had agreed to testify against Gecht in that case, but no further charges have been filed to date in Chicago's grim series of cannibal murders.

When I’m With You Ch. 11

Eddie can’t stand the barista at his favorite coffee shop. Richie has fallen in love with the man he sees twice a week. Stan is dating someone but won’t let his friends meet them. Ben is in love with Beverly, but is so afraid of scaring her away he’s not moving forward. Chaotic friends navigating college together. 

(unedited chapter)

Ch. 1

Ch. 12

Read on AO3

5k+ words

Eddie woke up to the smell of bacon and the sound of low music coming from his kitchen. He sat up on the couch, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The blanket fell to his lap and all at once Eddi remembered why he was sleeping there. He and Richie must have fallen asleep while watching movies the night before. Not a terrible way to end the day, though Eddie was bound to have some back and neck pain from sleeping on the couch again.

Stretching, he stood from the couch and headed to the kitchen entrance. Richie was at the stove, cooking, music coming from his phone on the counter beside him. Eddie leaned against the door frame and watched him for a second, a smile on his face. No one had ever cooked breakfast for him before, besides his mother of course. The thought caused his chest to tighten and swell.

He crossed the room to Richie, leaning his hip against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. Richie took his eyes away from the pan of bacon for a second to smile at him. His curls were messier than usual, a few rogue strands falling in front of his eyes.

“Morning.” He leaned down to kiss Eddie, but he stopped him with a hand over his mouth.

“I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

“Doesn’t bother me.”

“It’s gross.” He crinkled his nose.

“I don’t think anything about you could possibly be gross.”

Flustered, Eddie quickly changed the subject. “You really want to attempt cooking again after the spaghetti fiasco?”

“That spaghetti was still mostly edible.” Richie chuckled. “Breakfast food is actually something I’m good at. I ran to my apartment earlier and grabbed a few things. Your fridge is surprisingly scarce. How do you take your eggs?”

“Over easy and I order out a lot. As you saw, I’m not the best cook even with the easy things.”

“I cook most nights. You can start eating dinner with me.”

Eddie’s smile grew partially from the thought of having dinner with Richie every night, and partially because a bit of grease popped up on his fingers and he let out a string of curses. He was still grinning when he turned to Eddie and held up his middle finger. Both to flip him off and to show where the grease had landed, making his skin red.

“Kiss it better?” Richie asked.

Eddie rolled his eyes, but grabbed his hand anyway, bringing it to his lips. Richie took that moment to swoop in and press a kiss to his mouth, ducking away before Eddie could react. He stared at him wide eyed, having not expected that sneak attack.

“You should really brush your teeth.” Richie chuckled.

“Go fuck yourself.” Eddie said, smacking his hand away. Another pop of grease landed on Richie’s hand and when he looked to Eddie, all he said was, “You deserve it.”

Richie informed Eddie that he had the day off as they ate, and they made plans to spend the day together. After breakfast and cleaning the dishes together, Richie returned to his apartment to shower and get ready while Eddie did the same in his own. He didn’t know what Richie had in mind, he refused to tell him, but he insisted they’d spend the entire day together as neither had anything else they needed to do.

When Eddie was finished getting ready, he headed down the hall to Richie’s. He still wasn’t comfortable with the mouse, that would take a long time, but he at least had to expose himself to his place. Richie had informed him that even Ben had held Penny. He agreed to work up to it. Baby steps. He knocked on the door feeling stupidly anxious. There was no reason to be. It was just an apartment. The apartment of his new boyfriend. In the same building. It probably looked identical to his own, though expected it to be a hell of a lot messier. He’d deal with that panic attack when he came to it.

A second later, Richie was opening the door, hair wet and smile in place. He stepped aside for Eddie to enter and he was pleasantly surprised. He’d prepared for chaos, but it really wasn’t that bad. Maybe a little disorganized but not terribly so. It would probably drive Stan crazy, but it wasn’t enough to set Eddie off. He had a serious lack of furniture though. There was a small table with two chairs pushed up against the windows, the sides folded down to make it smaller for space. On either wall across from it were standing shelves, scattered with books, pictures, plants and knickknacks. The TV was propped on top of an old wooden crate with what appeared to be a peach painted on the side, the words too faded to read. There was no couch, instead there were beanbags and a swinging chair hanging from the ceiling that Eddie didn’t think seemed safe.

Eddie compared it to his own apartment, which was largely furnished by his mother. When she’d cosigned on the apartment for him, she’d taken him to buy new furniture giving her opinion where it wasn’t wanted. Because of that, all of his things were new and nice, and his place was so clean. Meanwhile, Richie’s looked lived in. Eddie could easily see an older couple both in finance living in his apartment, only using it to sleep. Richie’s apartment felt warm, more like a home than a setup that a realtor put in place. It kind of made him feel embarrassed of his own place.

“Make yourself at home.” Richie said, closing the door and heading back toward, what Eddie assumed was, the bedroom.

Eddie didn’t trust the hanging chair and the thought of the beanbags kind of grossed him out, so he made his way to the table and pulled out one of the chairs. The table was partially covered in mail but otherwise clutter free. Eddie looked up at the shelf beside him and examined the pictures both in frames and just propped up against things. There were some with Bev, some with Bill and Mike. One had an older couple that he assumed were his parents. It was in the nicest frame on the shelf. It occurred to Eddie then that he didn’t have a single picture on display at his place and thought he should fix that. It’s not like he didn’t have pictures with friends. He even had some from high school with Stan and Ben tucked away somewhere.

There was a plant Eddie couldn’t identify on the top shelf, tendrils hanging down and twisting around the metal sides of the shelves. It looked well cared for. A small cactus sat on a lower shelf in a small terracotta pot with flowers painted in different colors around the top. Across on the other shelf, was one of those little glass and stone fountains where the water fell like rain inside. Next to it was a small bonsai tree, though Eddie couldn’t tell if it was real or fake. Part of him wanted to explore the apartment, see what the rest of it looked like, but he’d have to wait until his next visit.

Richie emerged from the hallway, hair slightly dryer and shoes on. Eddie watched him move about the room and realized that he liked seeing him in his own environment. He’d seen him at the café, at bars, at his own place but this place was so very Richie. Eddie weirdly felt like he was getting a peak into Richie’s life. He’d told him a bit about himself already, but Richie hadn’t really spoken about himself much. He moved getting to know more about him to the top of his to do list. Now that he wasn’t denying his feelings anymore, he wanted to know everything he could about the man he was infatuated with.

“Ready to go?” Richie asked, turning to Eddie as he put his coat on.

“Yep.”

Eddie stood and followed Richie out the door, waiting for him to lock up. Richie wasted no time before grabbing hold of his hand heading down the hall to the elevator. Eddie didn’t mind. He thought it was cute that he wanted to hold his hand while they walked. Plus, he liked it. Liked being wanted, that he wanted to touch him in any small way. Show strangers that they passed on the streets that they were together. Eddie felt silly for feeling that way, but he couldn’t help it. He’d always wanted to feel that way with someone.

“So, where are we going?” Eddie asked as they exited the building onto the street.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Why does that make me not want to trust you?”

“You offend me, Eds. I promise you’ll have fun.”

“Yea, still don’t trust you.”

Richie laughed and briefly tightened his fingers around Eddie’s hand. “I’ll make you a deal, if you have fun then you have to trust me from now on, but if you hate it, I’ll let you plan all our dates from here on out.”

“So, this is a date then?” Eddie asked, feeling just a little smug.

“Our third I believe.”

“Second and a half. The first one didn’t start as a date.”

“Fine then. Two and a half dates in one week must be some kind of record though.”

“I think Ben and Bev probably hold the record. They’ve spent like every day together since last weekend.”

“Unfair advantage, they’ve been dating longer than we have.”

“Though you kissed me before they got together though.”

“Technicality.”

Eddie laughed and bumped his arm against Richie’s. It baffled him how he used to find his wit annoying. That felt worlds away now and Eddie was glad he’d moved past it. It was funny, really, how your entire outlook changes when you fall for someone. He was still annoying, for sure. Eddie just found it cute and charming now. He was making himself sick just thinking about it, he couldn’t imagine how a third party would react to his inner monologue about Richie. It was like Ben whenever he talked about Bev. He would be annoyed with himself.

When Richie came to a dead stop, Eddie didn’t notice until his hand was pulled back. He looked back at Richie, who was looking up at the building before them. Eddie turned to the building, a big block of a building with no windows and blackout glass doors. Above the doors was an obnoxiously bright orange sign.

“Ladies and the Tramps?” Eddie read the sign before eyeing Richie quizzically.

“Yep.”

“Where the hell did you take me? Some sex club based around cartoon dogs?”

Richie laughed, pulling Eddie toward him until he could grab his other hand as well. “Only the best for my Spaghetti.” He said before leaning in for a drawn-out kiss, making Eddie forget for a second where they were.

“Where are we really?” Eddie asked after breaking away from the kiss.

“An indoor trampoline park. Not as much fun as a sex club, but pretty close. It’s owned by this awesome couple and their daughter works here too. Hence whole ‘Ladies and the Tramps’ thing.”

“What the hell is an indoor trampoline park?”

“Come on.” Richie released one hand and dragged Eddie with the other toward the double doors.

The inside was just as brightly colored as the sign, only this was done in a rainbow of practically neon colors that hurt Eddie’s eyes. To one side was a wall of tiny lockers as well as some larger ones near the end. The other side of the room had a desk with a bored looking teenager staring down at her phone. She looked tired.

“Hey Jen, slow today?” Richie asked as they approached the counter.

“So far. No one comes in this early. Except for you. Freak.” She grinned, perking up considerably.

“Is that anyway to speak to your favorite customer?”

“You’re hardly my favorite. Who’s the new guy?” She looked Eddie over with a critical eye and he suddenly felt exposed for some reason.

“Just some hot tail I scored.” Richie winked at Eddie and he hated him for it.

“Fuck you it’s barely been five days. I can still back out.” Eddie said, attempting to pull his hand free. Richie refused to let go and after a second, Eddie gave up. He didn’t really want to let go anyway.

“Boyfriend?” Jen asked.

“Best one yet.” Richie tugged on Eddie’s hand, making him take a step closer to his side. “Either of your moms around?”

“Yea, mama Rose is in the tramp room. Go on in. Shoes off.” She pulled a lock from beneath the desk and set it on the counter

Richie thanked her and grabbed the lock before pulling Eddie toward the lockers. He followed Richie’s lead and took his shoes off, stacking them on top of his in the small locker. They also added their wallets, keys and phones. Anything that could potentially be dropped and lost beneath the trampolines or in the foam pits. Richie reassured him that Jen had all the keys kept safe and the front room was never left unattended. Despite what he’d said earlier, he really did trust him, so he piled all of his things inside the tiny locker and watched him lock it up tight. Their coats were hung on one of the hooks hanging on the wall near the counter.

Reclaiming Eddie’s hand, Richie headed through a second set of double doors. Eddie didn’t know what he had been expecting but it wasn’t…this. The entrance and surrounding most of the center, was foam flooring. Beyond that was a set of stairs leading up to endless trampolines in different shapes and sizes all fit together like a puzzle. There were two pits fill of foam cubes off to the two sides with platforms and a rope hanging from the ceiling.

“Ever been on a trampoline?” Richie asked, taking in his awed expression.

“Are you kidding? My mom would have had an aneurism.”

“Well mommy isn’t here.”

Eddie allowed himself to be pulled once more toward the trampolines, smiling. “Please don’t ever call her ‘mommy’ again.” He laughed.

Near the stairs was an older woman with a broom, sweeping up a small pile of dust and general debris that collected on floors. Richie waved as they approached and she grinned nice and wide at him.

“Rich, it’s been a while!” She said, pulling him into a quick hug.

“Hey Rosy. Things have been hectic with school and work. Not much time for anything else.” Richie sighed, looking up at the trampolines.

“Except dating?” She asked, giving Eddie the same once over her daughter had.

“He’s a special exception. Started as one of our regulars at the café. This is Eddie.”

Eddie felt his face warming and wondered if he was blushing. He hoped not. It just felt weird being talked about like that as if he weren’t there in front of them.

“Is that so? Well nice to meet you Eddie.” Eddie shyly returned the sentiment. “We’ve got a birthday renting the place at 5, but until then we’re open for anyone. You’ve got the place to your self for a while. Enjoy boys.”

With that, she took the broom and dustpan full of dirt and headed toward the double doors, leaving them alone in the large room. Everything echoed in there, the ceilings exceptionally high. Richie finally let go of Eddie’s hand as they climbed the short set of stairs up to the trampolines. He didn’t hesitate to step onto the bouncy woven nylon, but Eddie found himself a bit anxious. It was stupid. It was just something to bounce on and it was surrounded by foam. It was his mother’s voice in his head, and he shook it away when Richie reached his hand out. Eddie took his offered hand and stepped onto the surface of the trampoline.

It was a bit slippery in his socks, but not terribly so. Richie was grinning, watching Eddie’s face closely.

“You ready?” He asked, expectantly.

“It’s just…jumping right?” Eddie asked. Of course, it was. It’s not like he hadn’t seen others on a trampoline. He was just stupidly nervous.

Instead of answering, Richie began to bounce slightly, smiling like a dork with raised eyebrows. Eddie rolled his eyes and smiled as Richie began to jump, Eddie joining him a second later. Growing up, Eddie had always known that his mother was too overprotective. Controlling. She never let him have fun and had drilled it all into his head. It had taken so long to even start the process of clearing her voice from his head whenever he did something even slightly reckless. When he’d lost control for a bit, his first fear was that she would find out. It was always a fear. As long as he relied on her for anything, he would be afraid. He just had to make it through college without incident and then he’d be free.

In the meantime, he clutched at any little taste of freedom he could get. Being with Richie was freedom, ice skating was freedom, jumping on trampolines with him was freedom. It was enough for now.

Eddie watched Richie show off like a child and loved every second of it. He jumped until he was high enough to do flips and Eddie sat cross legged on the trampoline surface, never taking his eyes off of him. He tried to convince Eddie to give it a try, but Eddie was convinced he’d wipe out and didn’t want to embarrass himself. He promised to try when he was more comfortable with the trampolines in general.

However, Richie was able to convince him to try out the rope. He easily swung across to the platform on the other side, sending the rope back to Eddie. Despite his mother’s insistence that he was weak and fragile, gym class had always been a favorite of Eddie’s. He liked to run, and he was the first one in their class to reach the top of the rope in sixth grade. Holding the rope tightly between his hands, he pushed off the platform and jumped off the platform, wrapping his legs around the rope. He swung across, joining Richie on the other side.

“That was kind of hot.” Richie said, grabbing Eddie around the waist.

“Oh yea?” Eddie leaned in as if going for a kiss, but before their lips touched, he was shoving Richie backward, into the foam pit below. He followed him in, jumping from the platform.

“You tease!” Richie called from somewhere in the foam, struggling to get upright.

Eddie laughed, watching his efforts as he lounged comfortably amongst the foam. He wasn’t even thinking about how many kids probably peed in there. Well, not entirely anyway.

“Hey, how do you know the owners so well?” Eddie asked, taking the chance to ask while Richie was distracted.

“My first job when I moved out here.” He explained, making his way through the foam toward Eddie.

“You worked at ‘Ladies and the Tramp’?”

“I was an honorary lady. They took pity on me, I think. My family doesn’t have much, so I was pretty desperate for a job. I was hitting the pavement, familiarizing myself with the local businesses. They let me in for free when I told Rose I didn’t have any money. We talked about everything and I guess they liked me. Hired me on the spot.”

“Is that how you learned all those little flips?” Eddie asked, draping his arms around Richie’s shoulders when he got close enough.

“Jen taught me. She used to do gymnastics before she got bored of it and took to music instead. I’d help her with homework, and she’d show my flips.”

“You helped with homework? Did she fail?” Eddie grinned.

“I’ll have you know, I’m extremely smart. She passed algebra thanks to me.”

“Oh yea? Smart guys are pretty hot.”

Richie closed the remaining distance between them, smiling against his lips. His hands found their way to Eddie’s waist below the foam, pulling him flush against him. He pressed his tongue past Eddie’s lips and relished in the fact that he’d already become so comfortable kissing him. He didn’t hesitate to tangle his own tongue with Richie’s like he had before. Richie was vaguely aware that this wasn’t the place to get hot and heavy, but they were alone, and he just couldn’t resist. He wished he could take Eddie home and throw him on his bed, but he had to show impulse control until Eddie was ok with it. It was going to be a long, painful road as long as Eddie kept stirring up.

“Excuse me sir, there’s no kissing in the foam pit.” A voice from up above them on the platform brought them both back to reality quickly.

Eddie pushed Richie away from him as much as he could. They were both flushed, though if it was from the kiss or being caught, they weren’t sure. A different woman than before was looking down at them, a big smile on her face.

“Hey Kara.” Richie said, pushing his hair back with one hand, waving with the other.

“Richie. Having fun, I see.”

“Always have fun here.”

Richie headed to the edge of the foam pit, Eddie following behind him. Once at the edge, Richie lifted himself out, sitting on the wall, pulling Eddie hum a second later to join him.

“Kara, this is Eddie. Eddie, this Kara. Rose’s wife.” Richie introduced them.

“Hi.” Eddie only glanced up at her for a second, dropping his eyes again, ashamed.

“Hi Eddie. This is the first time I’ve caught Richie trying to cop a feel in the foam pit. You must be special.”

“Complete consensual, Kara. Eddie here can’t get enough of me.” Richie said, holding his hands up.

“Kill me now.” Eddie mumbled, falling back against the trampoline behind him.

Richie grinned and looked down at him, smoothing Eddie’s hair back with a hand. “Don’t be embarrassed because you love me, Eds. Kara is practically family.”

“Practically? Practically family doesn’t pay your first and last months rent so you can get an apartment.”

“I mean, Kara is like my second mother. I only wish that I was birthed from her loins.”

“That’s better.”

“Kara and Rose let me crash in the back room for a while when I worked here.” Richie explained. “They got sick of me hanging around all the time, so they helped me get my apartment. Cosigned and everything.”

Eddie sat back up and looked between them. He wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to know more about Richie. He wanted to know everything. He worried he’d say the wrong thing and Richie would stop sharing so openly. It wouldn’t be the first time Eddie had said something without thinking and accidentally offended someone. He wasn’t exactly known for his social grace. He blamed his mom for trying to keep him for socializing with his peers as a kid.

“Does this mean you brought me to meet your family on our second and a half date?” Eddie asked, hoping that was an acceptable response.

Both of their smiles reassured him that it was ok and he visibly relaxed. Richie’s arm came around his shoulder, pulling him against his side.

“That’s exactly what this is.” Richie said.

*

After the experience at Ladies and the Tramps, Eddie felt light and happy. Kara and Rose treated them to pizza for lunch before they headed out. They seemed to have a bet going over who could embarrass Richie more. Jen won when she told Eddie about the time Richie had been showing off on the rope and managed to get his food tangled. He hung upside down for five minutes while Jen tried to calm her laughing enough to help him down. Eddie had laughed along with her and the story earned her an affectionate headlock from Richie. It was like being having lunch with his boyfriend’s family, and Eddie felt closer to Richie somehow.

They left with the intent of heading home. Richie said he had something he wanted to show him. Part of Eddie hoped that meant he could see more of his apartment. He wondered if he was getting a little obsessive with wanting to absorb as much as he could. It was the first time he wanted any of this. He’d had crushes before but never bad enough to want to know them the way he wanted to know Richie. It was like he’d made a home in a corner of his brain and wasn’t planning to leave. Eddie thought he might be ok with that.

The worst part about having Richie on his mind 24/7, even when walking beside him, was that he lost himself in his thoughts. If he’d been more observant of his surroundings, he might have seen the patch of ice on the sidewalk. He and Richie weren’t holding hands this time, so there was nothing to keep him from slipping when he stepped directly onto the small patch. His foot slid back, causing him to lose his footing and land directly on top of it. He didn’t fall too hard, putting his hands out in time to catch himself slightly. Still, the palms of his hands stung and from the pavement and rock salt peppering the street. Richie immediately stopped, turning to check on him.

“You ok?” He asked, offering a hand.

“Yea.” Eddie said, taking his hand and allowing himself to be pulled up. “What’s the point of salting if you’re going to miss spots?” Eddie grumbled.

“How’s your ass? Need me to kiss it better?” Richie grinned.

“Touch my ass and I’ll break your fingers.” Eddie did think he’d have a bruise the following day and the seat of his pants were uncomfortably wet now. When Eddie tried to walk again, a pain shot through his ankle and he grabbed onto Richie for support as he lifted it. “Fuck. Ok, maybe not as ok as I thought.” He winced.

“What’s wrong?”

“My ankle. I landed on it and twisted it weird. Dammit. I’ll be fine, I just need to sit for a second.”

Richie helped Eddie over to the nearby bus stop. He sighed once he was sat down, though he could have done without the wet pants now clinging to him soaking through to his briefs. Richie crouched in front of him and gently rolled up his pants leg to get a look at his ankle. Eddie leaned forward to see as well. It was already swelling and bruising.

“I think we should probably take you to the emergency room, Eds.” Richie said, looking up at him.

“No. It’s fine. I just need to ice it.”

“I don’t think so. It’s better to get it looked at. It could be broken, sprained at the very least.”

“Fuck.” Eddie sighed. “Fine but I can’t walk.”

Richie rolled his pants back down and stood, pulling his phone from his pocket. He sat with Eddie while they waited for their uber to arrive, helping him into the backseat when it did. The ride to the emergency room was silent, Eddie’s eyes focused on the streets passing by beyond his window. When they arrived, Richie asked the driver to hang out for a second while he ran in to get a wheelchair for Eddie. When he returned, he helped him from the car into the chair. Eddie felt stupid and being in the emergency room, in a wheelchair, brough back terrible memories of his mother.

Check in went easily, but Eddie was reluctant to give his insurance information. It was his mother’s plan and she’d know something happened. He wanted to pay out of pocket but couldn’t afford it even if he emptied the account his mom set up for him. The anxiety only grew from there, the wait to be called back excruciating. Richie kept in gentle contact with Eddie while they waited, offering what little comfort he could.

Richie pushed the wheelchair when they were finally called back. A nurse took his vitals and asked a few questions before leaving them to wait again. When the doctor entered, she introduced herself as “Dr. Lisa” and immediately sat in front of Eddie to check out his ankle. She rolled up his pants leg and carefully remove his shoe and sock, though it still hurt when she did. She moved it around, asking if it hurt from one position to the next. Eddie wince with each new movement, gripping the arm of the wheelchair tight.

“I don’t think it’s broken. A fracture or sprain are likely. I’ll have to get an x-ray to know for sure.” She said, standing and heading to the door. “Someone will be here soon to take you down.”

They sat in silence while they waited, Richie staying behind when they finally came to get him for the x-ray. They should be back at Richie’s apartment, relaxing and spending time together, not in the emergency room with an injured ankle. Eddie’s anxiety was only getting worse as he thought about what would happen if his mom knew he was injured badly enough to call for an x-ray. After the x-ray and even more silent waiting, Dr. Lisa finally returned to the room.

“It’s a sprain.” She said flatly. “I’ll set you up with a brace and some crutches. Just try to stay off of it for a few days, keep in elevated and take some ibuprofen if you have any discomfort.”

“We’ll do that.” Richie said, looking concerned at Eddie’s scared face.

“I’ll get the brace and you’re good to go.” She left them in the room for a moment and Richie turned all of his attention to Eddie.

“You ok?” He asked, unable to stay silent any longer.

“No. I’m not ok. I’m going to have to tell my mom what happened because it’s her fucking insurance and she’s going to go ballistic.” Eddie was breathing heavy, nearly hyperventilating, his fears overflowing at last.

“It was an accident. You weren’t being reckless, you slipped on ice.”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s insane. She could very realistically try to pull me out of college and make me move home over this. You don’t know what she’s like.”

“You don’t have to go. You’re an adult.”

“She pays my rent, she buys my food, she gives my spending money, she pays for my college! If I don’t go, she’ll take everything away so that I don’t have a choice!”

Richie cupped Eddie’s face between his hands and forced him to look at him. His eyes were soft, hoping to communicate comfort toward Eddie. “Hey, it’s ok. I won’t let her do that to you. Neither will the others. If she won’t pay for school, there’s loans, financial aid. It will be fine. You can move back to the dorms for a while, look for a job. We’ll take care of you, ok?”

Eddie’s eyes searched Richie’s face for a moment before he nodded, his breathing beginning to regulate again. He closed his eyes and leaned into Richie’s touch, allowing him to pull him forward into a hug. His forehead collided gently with Richie’s shoulder while his arms surrounded him, big and warm. Eddie felt calm coming over him slowly, bit by bit.

A moment later, the doctor returned with the brace and crutches. She helped Eddie put it on and showed them both how to remove it and put it back on without aggravating the sprain. She said her goodbyes and then left them again. Eddie grabbed his shoe and Richie pushed him toward the door. When all was done and they were finally free from the hospital, a good hour or so of their day lost, Eddie was calmer but felt sick still. It was like waiting for the bomb to drop.

They took another uber back to their building. Eddie felt awkward on the crutches, unstable on the moving elevator. Richie decided his thing could wait for another day and focused on getting Eddie onto his couch, foot propped up on cushions. He retrieved a glass of water and ibuprofen from the kitchen for him, sitting on the edge of the couch beside him.

“Best second and a half date ever, huh?” Eddie asked sarcastically before Richie could say anything.

“Would it be insensitive of me to bring up that fact that you didn’t get hurt ice skating on a huge rink, but managed to end up in the hospital from a tiny spot on the sidewalk?” He asked.

Eddie smiled, chuckling. “Extremely.”

“Alright, I won’t say it then.” Richie grabbed hold of Eddie’s hand bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to the red flesh of his palm. “Maybe it didn’t end like planned, but it started good, right?”

“I don’t know. The sprain sucks, my mom inevitably finding out about this suck, but I did get to see you all serious and take charge. So not terrible.”

“That’s what you’re into, huh?” Richie asked.

“The ibuprofen helps with the pain in my ankle, but not the pain your attempts at flirting cause.”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t love it.”

Richie settled into the end of the couch as they agreed on a something to watch on TV, ignoring it to talk instead. Richie thought he wouldn’t mind if every date ended with them on Eddie’s couch.

Realty, Real Property and Leased Land; Definitions, Discussion in addition to Explanations

Delaware, and the rest of the original British Colonies, features some land that is leased rather than owned by the owners of that land. Much of it is not evident to the casual observer. The land on Lewes Beach is leased, definitely not owned by the home owners. The land of Lewes Beachfront is owned by the Town of Lewes. The lands of Rehoboth by the Sea and Dewey Beach can include leased land too. Most of the leases on that acreage will NOT be renewed but will return to the owners and then the homes on top of that land will be removed by the home owners within their expense. Much of the land in Riverdale, for Indian River Bay, adjacent to Oak Orchard is leased as well. In Riverdale the leased land is had by Chief Clark of the Nanticoke Indians. We have about 50 % of the inhabitants of Sussex County living on rented land; most of that leased land is found in what people label mobile home parks or communities. However , in the communities there are seldom any homes that are truly wireless and there are even two story stick built properties on some of the leased lands in those communities. Condos and town houses are sometimes found on leased land at the same time. Some folks find all this rather difficult to understand. We Real estate agents and Attorneys use the term fee simple to describe secure that is being sold as real property; that is real estate. We all used the term leased land or leasehold interest to go into detail land that is not transferring as real estate. This rather time consuming text is regarding Leased Land, Real Estate, Private Place, Chattels, Mobile Homes, Homes on Leased Land along with a legal dissertation to define, describe and determine any differences. Terminology is important when discussing Real Estate, i. elizabeth. real property. Black’s Law Dictionary is the recognized, ideal source for legal definitions under our American Regularions; which is derived from English Law PROPERTY: In the strict legalised sense, an aggregate of rights which are guaranteed along with protected by government. BL6, p. 1216. PERSONALTY: Particular property; movable property; chattels; property that is not attached to housing. BL6, p. 1144 PROPERTY: (personal property) - Through broad and general sense, everything that is the subject connected with ownership, not coming under the denomination of real estate. The right or interest less than a freehold in realty, or possibly any right or interest which one has in matters movable. BL6, p. 1217 Therefore personal property, is certainly that which can be easily removed from the real estate, and is not likely real estate. Personal property includes crops, trees, shrubs, trailers, sheds, cars, mobile homes, manufactured homes that have an important Department of Motor Vehicle title instead of a deed, as well as contents of a home or building. In a home and / or business the personal property includes drapes, lighting fixtures, rugs (not installed carpeting) free-standing cabinets and cupboards, furniture, and even all the contents of closets, drawers and buildings. Properties without a foundation, that is sheds that are just supported through blocks are chattel property, that is personal property, without having to part of the real estate. Such chattel includes dog houses not to mention particularly the little storage buildings that are so common beyond homes today. LANDS: In the most general sense, comprehends any ground, soil or earth whatsoever... Black's Legal requirement dictionary 6th Ed. (BL6), p. 877 PRIVATE PLACE: As protected from being taken for public purposes, is such property as belongs absolutely to an man or women, and of which he has the exclusive right of biological mechanism. Property of a specific, fixed and tangible nature, very effective at being in possession and transmitted to another, such as properties, lands, and chattels. BL6, p. 1217. Private home is land, houses, and chattels. Private property is without a doubt protected from being taken for public uses. Secret property is owned absolutely. REAL ESTATE synonymous with proper property" and p. 1218 REAL PROPERTY... A general duration for lands, tenements, hereditaments (those things which are hereditary); which on the death of the owner intestate, passes for you to his heir. " BL6, p1263 ESTATE: The degree, amount of money, nature and extent of interest which a person has through REAL and PERSONAL property. An ESTATE in countries, tenements, and hereditaments signifies such interest as the renter has therein. BL6, p. 547 The definitions listed here all refer to: real estate = real property = residence = lands, tenements, and hereditaments. At first, one will probably think that ‘real property' is the proper term for 'all lands'. But it doesn't state the manner of ownership while clearly as the definition of estate. We just received a huge instance of this when the thousands of leased land quite a lot under the homes of several thousand people, in Angola, Cooking pots Nets, and Long Neck areas owned by the Robert Tunnel family was inherited by the children. IN OUR PLACE THERE ARE NUMEROUS LEASED LAND PROPERTIES AND THOSE PROPERTIES ARE THE REALTY OF THE OWNER OF THE LAND – NOT THE OWNER OF THE PLACE WHICH IS UPON THAT LAND. If you examine the definition just for ESTATE it refers to an interest in the same articles recognized in real property and real estate. What is this AREA and WHO owns it and HOW is it owned? Area can be private property OR estate, i. e. real estate property. Estate is an interest in “real property" by a person or perhaps tenant. Private property is owned absolutely by individuals. INTEREST: More particularly it means a right to have the advantage of accruing from anything; any right in the nature of residence, but less than title. - BL6, p. 812. Through this definition it's clear that INTEREST cannot be LABEL, since it is less than title. Interest may be a property to land, but it's not a right to absolute ownership for land. Those who live on leased land, thus, have primarily an interest in the land; and that interest is a lease-hold fascination. Is there a definition of property that says it will be land held in absolute ownership, as does secret property's definition? We can delve into this more. ABSOLUTE HEADING - As applied to title to land, an exclusive label, or at least a title which excludes all others not even compatible with it. An absolute title to land cannot are available at the same time in different persons or in different governments. BL6, w. 1485 PRIVATE PROPERTY -... is such property because belongs absolutely to an individual, and of which he has the particular exclusive right of disposition. BL6, p. 1217 PERSONALLY OWN - To have a good legal title; to hold as real estate; to have a legal or rightful title to; to have; to produce. BL6, p. 1105. To "own" is to have heading. An interest is LESS THAN TITLE. ESTATE: The degree, quantity, makeup and extent of interest which a person has in legitimate and personal property. An estate in lands, tenements, and hereditaments signifies such interest as the tenant seems to have therein. - - BL6, p. 547 From all these definitions, it's plain that we can't absolutely "own" properties. We can only have a qualified ownership of qualified and also described ownership of Real Estate. Thus, we need that Action Description to describe it and qualify it. That title is also qualified by various government rights, decrees plus laws, from antiquity, such as rights against trespass. Who ownership is qualified by taxation, zoning, rights in way, and a myriad of other entailments. We need, therefore , the title search to determine those entailments, some of which are invisible. Therefore there is NOT as much difference in the rights and liberties of ownership and interest as one is led to feel. I have no problem with those who live on leased land as an alternative for owning the land. Usually they are paying far less compared with it would cost them to own the same property. However , individuals don’t often get any appreciation of the land; typically the landlord gets the appreciation in real value, while the citizen can appreciate the lifestyle for less cost per month or perhaps year. However , since an interest in leased land seriously isn't automatically transferable and is NOT Real Estate and since the chattel property upon it, the mobile home is particular property, without a deed but instead has a title – Agents are not by law supposed to be involved in the sale of such – but we are. We are supposed to only be selling genuine property. It gets all cloudy and foggy doesn’t it. That is why there are people and companies who market mobile homes on leased land who are not realty and don’t need to be. In fact , although no one will talk about it, Realtors are not supposed to sell mobile homes in leased land. We don’t need to engage in that combat any more than I just did by describing it. POSSESSION: The complete dominion, title, or proprietary, including right from a thing or claim... Ownership of property is sometimes absolute or qualified. The ownership of property will be absolute when a single person has dominion over the software, and may use it or dispose of it according to his joy, subject only to general laws. The ownership is capable when it is shared with one or more persons, when the time of fun is deferred or limited, or when the use is fixed. - BL6, p. 1106 Such sharing is normal with husband and wife, partners, families and corporations, etc . DOMINION - Generally accepted definition of "dominion" is perfect control on right of ownership. The word implies both title as well as possession and appears to require a complete retention of deal with over disposition. - - -BL6, p. 486 It is my opinion you'd agree that zoning, building codes, home owners connections covenants, condominium documents of use and business licensing is actually a restriction on the use of land (if it's Real Estate). And there is obviously the fact that failure to pay property taxation's on real estate will result in loss of said property. That's rarely absolute ownership. But private property is defined as ABSOLUTE TITLE, not qualified (interest). PROPERTY (tangible) - All building that is touchable and has real existence (physical) whether it is authentic or personal. - - BL6, p. 1218 On summation, it takes a good attorney, and one well versed and veteran in real estate to understand the complex definitions, rights, liabilities, and privileges of real estate ownership. I have been buying and selling realty for myself and assisting others in the buying and selling regarding real estate for thirty years. I have taught courses regarding real estate and real estate law. And, I would NOT take into account purchasing a property, or purchasing property on leased area without the professional and paid assistance of an attorney who's going to be a real estate specialist in the exact county in which the place is located. Other attorneys from other areas are not valid selections at all.

Realty, Real Property and Leased Land; Definitions, Discussion in addition to Explanations

Delaware, and the rest of the original British Colonies, features some land that is leased rather than owned by the owners of that land. Much of it is not evident to the casual observer. The land on Lewes Beach is leased, definitely not owned by the home owners. The land of Lewes Beachfront is owned by the Town of Lewes. The lands of Rehoboth by the Sea and Dewey Beach can include leased land too. Most of the leases on that acreage will NOT be renewed but will return to the owners and then the homes on top of that land will be removed by the home owners within their expense. Much of the land in Riverdale, for Indian River Bay, adjacent to Oak Orchard is leased as well. In Riverdale the leased land is had by Chief Clark of the Nanticoke Indians. We have about 50 % of the inhabitants of Sussex County living on rented land; most of that leased land is found in what people label mobile home parks or communities. However , in the communities there are seldom any homes that are truly wireless and there are even two story stick built properties on some of the leased lands in those communities. Condos and town houses are sometimes found on leased land at the same time. Some folks find all this rather difficult to understand. We Real estate agents and Attorneys use the term fee simple to describe secure that is being sold as real property; that is real estate. We all used the term leased land or leasehold interest to go into detail land that is not transferring as real estate. This rather time consuming text is regarding Leased Land, Real Estate, Private Place, Chattels, Mobile Homes, Homes on Leased Land along with a legal dissertation to define, describe and determine any differences. Terminology is important when discussing Real Estate, i. elizabeth. real property. Black’s Law Dictionary is the recognized, ideal source for legal definitions under our American Regularions; which is derived from English Law PROPERTY: In the strict legalised sense, an aggregate of rights which are guaranteed along with protected by government. BL6, p. 1216. PERSONALTY: Particular property; movable property; chattels; property that is not attached to housing. BL6, p. 1144 PROPERTY: (personal property) - Through broad and general sense, everything that is the subject connected with ownership, not coming under the denomination of real estate. The right or interest less than a freehold in realty, or possibly any right or interest which one has in matters movable. BL6, p. 1217 Therefore personal property, is certainly that which can be easily removed from the real estate, and is not likely real estate. Personal property includes crops, trees, shrubs, trailers, sheds, cars, mobile homes, manufactured homes that have an important Department of Motor Vehicle title instead of a deed, as well as contents of a home or building. In a home and / or business the personal property includes drapes, lighting fixtures, rugs (not installed carpeting) free-standing cabinets and cupboards, furniture, and even all the contents of closets, drawers and buildings. Properties without a foundation, that is sheds that are just supported through blocks are chattel property, that is personal property, without having to part of the real estate. Such chattel includes dog houses not to mention particularly the little storage buildings that are so common beyond homes today. LANDS: In the most general sense, comprehends any ground, soil or earth whatsoever... Black's Legal requirement dictionary 6th Ed. (BL6), p. 877 PRIVATE PLACE: As protected from being taken for public purposes, is such property as belongs absolutely to an man or women, and of which he has the exclusive right of biological mechanism. Property of a specific, fixed and tangible nature, very effective at being in possession and transmitted to another, such as properties, lands, and chattels. BL6, p. 1217. Private home is land, houses, and chattels. Private property is without a doubt protected from being taken for public uses. Secret property is owned absolutely. REAL ESTATE synonymous with proper property" and p. 1218 REAL PROPERTY... A general duration for lands, tenements, hereditaments (those things which are hereditary); which on the death of the owner intestate, passes for you to his heir. " BL6, p1263 ESTATE: The degree, amount of money, nature and extent of interest which a person has through REAL and PERSONAL property. An ESTATE in countries, tenements, and hereditaments signifies such interest as the renter has therein. BL6, p. 547 The definitions listed here all refer to: real estate = real property = residence = lands, tenements, and hereditaments. At first, one will probably think that ‘real property' is the proper term for 'all lands'. But it doesn't state the manner of ownership while clearly as the definition of estate. We just received a huge instance of this when the thousands of leased land quite a lot under the homes of several thousand people, in Angola, Cooking pots Nets, and Long Neck areas owned by the Robert Tunnel family was inherited by the children. IN OUR PLACE THERE ARE NUMEROUS LEASED LAND PROPERTIES AND THOSE PROPERTIES ARE THE REALTY OF THE OWNER OF THE LAND – NOT THE OWNER OF THE PLACE WHICH IS UPON THAT LAND. If you examine the definition just for ESTATE it refers to an interest in the same articles recognized in real property and real estate. What is this AREA and WHO owns it and HOW is it owned? Area can be private property OR estate, i. e. real estate property. Estate is an interest in “real property" by a person or perhaps tenant. Private property is owned absolutely by individuals. INTEREST: More particularly it means a right to have the advantage of accruing from anything; any right in the nature of residence, but less than title. - BL6, p. 812. Through this definition it's clear that INTEREST cannot be LABEL, since it is less than title. Interest may be a property to land, but it's not a right to absolute ownership for land. Those who live on leased land, thus, have primarily an interest in the land; and that interest is a lease-hold fascination. Is there a definition of property that says it will be land held in absolute ownership, as does secret property's definition? We can delve into this more. ABSOLUTE HEADING - As applied to title to land, an exclusive label, or at least a title which excludes all others not even compatible with it. An absolute title to land cannot are available at the same time in different persons or in different governments. BL6, w. 1485 PRIVATE PROPERTY -... is such property because belongs absolutely to an individual, and of which he has the particular exclusive right of disposition. BL6, p. 1217 PERSONALLY OWN - To have a good legal title; to hold as real estate; to have a legal or rightful title to; to have; to produce. BL6, p. 1105. To "own" is to have heading. An interest is LESS THAN TITLE. ESTATE: The degree, quantity, makeup and extent of interest which a person has in legitimate and personal property. An estate in lands, tenements, and hereditaments signifies such interest as the tenant seems to have therein. - - BL6, p. 547 From all these definitions, it's plain that we can't absolutely "own" properties. We can only have a qualified ownership of qualified and also described ownership of Real Estate. Thus, we need that Action Description to describe it and qualify it. That title is also qualified by various government rights, decrees plus laws, from antiquity, such as rights against trespass. Who ownership is qualified by taxation, zoning, rights in way, and a myriad of other entailments. We need, therefore , the title search to determine those entailments, some of which are invisible. Therefore there is NOT as much difference in the rights and liberties of ownership and interest as one is led to feel. I have no problem with those who live on leased land as an alternative for owning the land. Usually they are paying far less compared with it would cost them to own the same property. However , individuals don’t often get any appreciation of the land; typically the landlord gets the appreciation in real value, while the citizen can appreciate the lifestyle for less cost per month or perhaps year. However , since an interest in leased land seriously isn't automatically transferable and is NOT Real Estate and since the chattel property upon it, the mobile home is particular property, without a deed but instead has a title – Agents are not by law supposed to be involved in the sale of such – but we are. We are supposed to only be selling genuine property. It gets all cloudy and foggy doesn’t it. That is why there are people and companies who market mobile homes on leased land who are not realty and don’t need to be. In fact , although no one will talk about it, Realtors are not supposed to sell mobile homes in leased land. We don’t need to engage in that combat any more than I just did by describing it. POSSESSION: The complete dominion, title, or proprietary, including right from a thing or claim... Ownership of property is sometimes absolute or qualified. The ownership of property will be absolute when a single person has dominion over the software, and may use it or dispose of it according to his joy, subject only to general laws. The ownership is capable when it is shared with one or more persons, when the time of fun is deferred or limited, or when the use is fixed. - BL6, p. 1106 Such sharing is normal with husband and wife, partners, families and corporations, etc . DOMINION - Generally accepted definition of "dominion" is perfect control on right of ownership. The word implies both title as well as possession and appears to require a complete retention of deal with over disposition. - - -BL6, p. 486 It is my opinion you'd agree that zoning, building codes, home owners connections covenants, condominium documents of use and business licensing is actually a restriction on the use of land (if it's Real Estate). And there is obviously the fact that failure to pay property taxation's on real estate will result in loss of said property. That's rarely absolute ownership. But private property is defined as ABSOLUTE TITLE, not qualified (interest). PROPERTY (tangible) - All building that is touchable and has real existence (physical) whether it is authentic or personal. - - BL6, p. 1218 On summation, it takes a good attorney, and one well versed and veteran in real estate to understand the complex definitions, rights, liabilities, and privileges of real estate ownership. I have been buying and selling realty for myself and assisting others in the buying and selling regarding real estate for thirty years. I have taught courses regarding real estate and real estate law. And, I would NOT take into account purchasing a property, or purchasing property on leased area without the professional and paid assistance of an attorney who's going to be a real estate specialist in the exact county in which the place is located. Other attorneys from other areas are not valid selections at all.

Our House

Royai Week Day 5-Home

A/N- Don't tell anyone, but I like to watch HGTV.

Roy goes house hunting. About 1200 words.

After two years of toiling and broiling in Ishval, things were moving along well enough for the Mustang Gang to live in East City for the better part of the year. With Miles and Scar taking excellent care of  the day to day business, and with the telephone network much improved due to the amazing Kain Fuery, communication was reliable. The team was thrilled to leave the dessert, and Miles, Scar, and their people were not moping about the exodus, no doubt.

Though she had rented a small apartment for appearances sake, Riza and Roy were planning to cohabit. Discretion was still of the utmost importance, but they really really wanted to live together. Roy had said that he couldn't go home to a place without her. Riza had said that Hayate would love a yard.

The General had kept it to himself, but he did have a preference for modern architecture. He liked steel and glass and clean lines. He liked black and gray and tan. Sleek was the name of the game. Despite that, more than anything, he wanted it to be her dream home. He wanted her to live in a place that she loved and where she would be loved. They told the realtor that he (they were not presenting themselves as a couple, in case they were recognized) was open to a variety of types (and, really, he was), even fixer-uppers. Riza really felt that it shouldn't be a total redo -too much work- but Roy had actually learned to do pretty good rehab at the old Hawkeye Manor. Also, Hawkeye sort of knew her way around a hammer and a drill.

The first place was industrially modern. It had been a warehouse and really didn't have enough glass for Roy. After being cooped up in the office all day, he wanted to be able to sit by a window and sip a glass of Scotch while he read. The second place was a cozy cottage that really appealed to Riza, but it was too far from Headquarters for a man who often woke up with little time to spare for getting to work. The next place's yard was a joke.

They must have seen 20 houses and were beginning to think that they were being unrealistic. They might have to settle.

Roy and Riza had just entered her apartment when his phone rang. They each had a separate number, a necessary caution. It was the realtor. A house had just come on the market that she was sure he would like. It checked off everything on his list. She felt that it would go quickly. Could he meet her at the house ASAP?

There was no time to change from their uniforms. He had mentioned being in the military, so it shouldn't be too much of a shock. Hawkeye insisted on driving, because a rushed Mustang was an even  calamitous driver than usual. The realtor was waiting for him when they arrived at the house.

It was in a lovely neighborhood. The house was cozy-looking but without any gingerbread. A generous bay window had a view of the sweet little park across the street. The small front yard was nicely landscaped. Roy did have a fondness for flowers. He wouldn't have gotten them with steel and glass. The front porch had a swing.

“Those built-ins would be great for your alchemy library, unless the house does have a library,” Riza pointed out. “Plus, it's only about a ten minute drive to HQ. You could even walk on nice day if you ever wake up early enough.”

He gave her his best hurt look. “Or the built-ins could be shelves for your romances and historical novels,”  he whispered. “This room is a nice size,” he said aloud.

The realtor led them. “I don't know how much you cook, but the kitchen was recently redone. The oven uses a pilot. You won't even have to light it! You will have to bring your own icebox, though,” said their guide. “This is the dining area,” she swept her arm as they walked through an arch. “You can see that it is large enough to entertain up to a dozen people.”

Roy snorted. “None of my men can ever keep a girl, so I probably won't need that much room too often. But it's very nice.” Neither Roy nor the realtor noticed Riza's patented eye roll.

“Before we go upstairs, why don't we check out the back yard?”

Mustang and Hawkeye each gasped. It wasn't huge, but it was larger than expected, with a peach tree and a maple placed so that there was room for people to play games or for a Shiba Inu to frolic. There was a fence to keep the Shiba Inu out of trouble, and a concrete patio. Cook out!

Roy turned to reenter before Riza did, and the expression on her face paused his heart. She loved this place.

The upstairs had three bedrooms and two baths. The master was roomy and airy. The other two bedrooms were smallish, but large enough for guests, especially a certain Elric who didn’t need a lot of room. Maybe some day, they would be able to have friends sleepover.

“And now, to the finished basement. It could be used as a study.”

“I think that it will be used as a study!” Roy exclaimed. “And there is even room for model trains.”

He glanced at Riza, and she was wearing one of her extra special smiles. He didn't even need her nearly imperceptible nod to know that this was it.

“What do you think, Mr. Mustang?”

“I think that this is it. I'd like to get my bid in as soon as possible. Also, I'd like to bid 100,000 cens over the asking price, if you think that will help.”

“I will  do everything that I can to make sure that you get this house, Mr. Mustang.”

They used a professional mover. Roy had been tempted to draft his team, but they really didn't want the men to see Riza's stuff mixed with his. They were pretty sure that the men either knew or suspected, but they were always trying to be vigilant. Hayate had already been introduced to the house, and he was excited to explore the yard. They managed to set up the master bedroom and their bath, exhausted as they were. They fell into bed. “We're home.” Roy kissed the words into her porcelain ear, but he could tell that she was thinking.

He got up on an elbow and repeated a little more loudly, “We're home. It's just that everyone can't know it, yet.” And there it was. That smile.

A/N- I have no idea how much cenz are worth, but I'm saying that Roy gave Ed $5.20. That means that Roy bid an extra $1,000.00. In any case, it was enough to get the house. :)   

My Day 6 fic is related to this one.

Unison Chapter 10- I'm Forced to Deal With What I Feel

This chapter was inspired heavily by the River music video. That tells you how long I’ve been working on it. After three complete rewrites this is what I got.

Car Radio- Twenty One Pilots

"So, tell me about your week. Did anything exciting happen?"

My fingers interlaced, my arms resting on my thighs as I stared down at the pale carpet. I could hear Linda shift in her chair, her pen jotting down a couple notes. It was insane all that you could hear when everything was completely silent. The soft rustle of her hand brushing against the page, the way the chair squeaked with the slightest movements. The normal sounds of the city bleeding into the room. The air whistling through my nose. Did anything exciting happen? Where should I begin?  

"Uh, yeah, a lot actually. Er- let's see..." My head fell back as I thought, finally deciding to start at the beginning, "Adi showed up Thursday a bit off. I didn't realise just how bad off she was until She ended up having a full on breakdown in the middle of my suite. It broke my heart, seeing her that out of sorts. I put her in the bath since I remember her saying it could fix anything and I didn't know what else to really do."

I saw her scribble something on her pad, "Did it fix it?"

"I don't know if it fixed it but she kinda zoned out and shared a bit as I washed her back." I could see her sitting cross legged in the tub, cup of tea clutched between her hands that not ten minutes before were trembling. That far off distant look in her eyes as she cobbled together bits from her past. "The more she told me the easier it seemed to be for her."

She nodded as she wrote, finally looking up, "What did she tell you?"

"About her ex" I swallowed hard, realising I couldn't use his name, like if it was spoken aloud he'd suddenly appear. What a stupid thought, "How they met, became friends, became more, then left. How when I slipped back into bad habits, it reminded her of him."

I had replayed that moment over in my head quite a lot over the past couple of days. How I had somewhat regretted remaining silent about it but it was better than the truth. I felt let down, to be honest. She had built it up as this whole dramatic thing and it boiled down to he broke up with her. Either there's something I'm missing or I'm just being an insensitive prat because I just don't see how that warrants this reaction. It's no surprise that she picked up on that and she really hit the nail on the head when she called me out on it. Nothing really gets past her. What I hadn't realised was how transparent, no how callous I had been about it  My gut was telling me that I was missing something. Something important, something big. Right now I was fumbling around in the dark, trying to pick objects out by light of a firefly and it was getting me nowhere.

Linda must have picked up on that note. "You don't seem satisfied with it."

"There has to be a piece I'm missing. Something she left out. I understand he was a big part of her life for years and all that but..." I let out a deep sigh, "Is it bad that I almost said is that all when she told me? Thank god my brain kicked in and stopped me but...I was waiting for more of the story, some big aha moment where everything suddenly made since but I didn't get it. I knew if I would have asked, is that all, she'd think I was belittling her when I was just waiting for more pieces of the puzzle."

"Did she tell you that's the reason she won't open up or are you assuming that's the reason?"

I stared blankly at her as she waited for my response. I wracked my brain, trying to remember if she had said he was the reason. I could faintly hear her voice say I'm worried I'm going to open up and you're going to leave. I assumed it was him, more so when she told me of his sudden departure but she never outright pinned the blame on him. The more I thought, the more I believed that it might not have been just him. She painted the picture of sweet, caring, almost naive person, yet I saw a fear in her eyes when my anger had gotten the best of me. There's no way the person she described could instile that into her.

"I assumed, but the more I think about it, I don't think it's just him. He didn't help things but I think it's something else. It's part of the piece I'm missing, I'm sure." My hand gripped my knee tightly in frustration. I felt pretty helpless at the moment.

"Don't take it personally, Ed. It's not a wall to keep you out, it's a wall to keep her safe. Just give her some time and she'll let you in. Pushing her is only going to re enforce it. Think of it this way, when she lets you in, it's not because she needs to, it'll be because she wants to."

"I know, it's just...it's hard..." Yet another one of my sigh filled the air, "I want her to know that I'm not just going to vanish or leave without warning. Which is why I thought showing her that I rented an apartment would be a good thing. I wasn't expecting it to lead to a fight. I thought she was going to put an end to everything."

"You fought? What about?" She hand moving back into writing position.

"A misunderstanding." I said with a shrug, not knowing what else to call it.

"Ah. You two seem to have quite a lot of those."

"I wasn't me this time." My finger coming up as I defended myself, " She was the one that jumped to conclusions this time." I clear my throat in preparation for the story, "Friday I signed the lease to a new apartment. Since I'm going to be here for a bit, that was the cheaper way to go."

She nodded, "I understand, continue."

"I brought Adi along so I could show her and tell her the news. I meant to Thursday but with what happened, focusing on her was more important. So, instead I thought I'd show her the place, then go, surprise, this is my new place. I thought she would be excited. Like I said, I thought this would show her that I was here to stay for a while. That this was real not just a fling.  The suite had a temporary feel to it, y'know? I could up and leave in a moments notice without a trace, which I think was always in the back of her head. An apartment is much more permanent. I thought it would help put her abandonment fears to rest.  Well, it didn't go exactly to plan, Janet, the realtor, made the comments about young couples getting their first apartment and handed her the other key. So she thought I was asking her to move in with me and it freaked her out a bit. She lead with ' we need to talk' then I assumed she was breaking up with me, got a little irritated about how she was doing it, the classic, 'it's not you it's me' line. Luckily she got head of it and clarified that she just wanted to slow things down not break up. "

"Were you?" She asked once her hand had stopped.

I lift my head up, "Was I what?"

"Were you planning on asking her to move in?" I feel my eyebrow raise, "Honestly?" I ask softly, my eyes dropping to my fingers that were pulling on my sleeves.

"That's preferable." A smile flicking across her face

"She did have a big part in my choosing that particular apartment. As soon as I walked in I could see us...there. I could see the two of us  in the kitchen, laughing as we cooked together, guiding her through the steps. Her hips swaying to the music that was playing as she stirred. I could see us together on the couch watching tv together, wrapped in a blanket. I could see her sitting on the balcony, cup of coffee in hand as she watched the sunrise. I could see us, I could see our life in that apartment and I knew this was the one." I could feel the smile coming across my face as those images flashed in my minds eye again. Having a proper home with someone seemed like such a simple and almost innocent dream but it was one of my biggest ones. While, I had a home back in Suffolk, I hardly stayed there. I was never in one place long enough for it to really feel like home. Not to mention I built it with family in mind and without that, it felt empty, almost bittersweet. Now that I had the freedom to stay in one place, even if it was only for a couple months, I wanted to fully embrace it.

"You keep saying I see us and I see her. You never once said you saw yourself  there and never answered my question. Does that mean you was planning on asking her but changed your mind due to her aversion?"

She brought up a good point. Could I see myself, just myself there? Or was I so wrapped up in what could be? Living in a fantasy land. Did I love that apartment because it reminded me of her or did I love the space itself? As for the moving in bit...I was known for jumping the gun a bit. I am, and probably will always be, A hopeless romantic. I hope life never hardens me to the point that I'm not. However, this was the first time I had the privilege of being able to ease into things. I had no where I had to be. No touring, no interviews, no promos. Free to do whatever I wanted. I had time to build up a relationship. This had been what I had been telling myself but since when does feelings follow logic?

"No, I wasn't. I'd love for her to live there with me someday but she's right, it's too soon. I did give her a key though, in hopes that she would feel more welcomed and stay more. " My eyes drop back to the floor, "She never just drops by, like maybe she's afraid of wearing out her welcome or spending too much time with me. It makes me wonder if she thinks we'll tire of each other if we're together all the time."

Just another dark thought that had made itself a nice home in the back of my mind. She made it seem like her and Mike were always together. As much as I hate to admit it, I was slightly jealous. For me, being able to spend an extended amount of time with anyone outside my team is rare since I'm always on the road. I know just how lonely the road can get and I don't expect her to take off work and tour with me, so I want to get every little morsel of time with her I can get before I hit the road again. I want to make a strong foundation that can withstand the distance. I've got the rare opportunity to do so and I don't want to waste it.

"With everything you've told me, It sounds like you want her to depend on you, like you don't want her to have a life outside of you and I have to admit, that's raising some concerns." Her eyebrows pulled together, her fingers steepling, "You should want her to have her own life, to be independent. That's a healthy relationship. To rely solely on you isn't healthy, that's controlling."

I quickly wave my hands, my head shaking , "No, no, that's not what I meant at all. I'm all for her having her own life. That's one of the things I like about her. She doesn't ask me for anything. I bought her groceries once because I added loads of stuff to her cart and I felt like since there was a lot of additions she normally wouldn't get, it was only fair. She actually seemed pretty insulted but didn't want to cause a scene."

I thought back to all the times I had gotten on to her about her meal choices and her comment about not needing another dad. Had I came off as controlling, bossing her around? That wasn't my intention, I was just worried about her, not wanting to see her work herself into exhaustion. It came from a caring place, not a controlling place. My fingertips came up, kneading my forehead. I remember Levi saying the best intentions can cause the most harm, a phrase that had stuck with me ever since he said it. It had seemed like such an odd, out of place thing to say at the time but I'm beginning to see what he meant now. I may have meant well but I very well could be doing damage. "And for having her rely solely on you for emotional support? You strike me as the ride in on a white horse, let me fix the problem type guy, which again, isn't exactly what you'd call healthy."

As much as I'd like to argue with that statement, she had me there. I did like to take it upon myself to fix things. Like when we were in that diner and that guy was being a creep. I stepped in and took over. It didn't even cross my mind that she could have handled it until afterwards. I just wanted to put an end to it as quickly as possible. Even if it wasn't really my problem to fix. Good intentions can cause the most harm all over again. I wasn't the type to stand idly by and watch someone hurting without trying to fix it. That's just not me and I hope I'll never grow to be that heartless. I can, however see her point and I have the suspicion that Adi isn't the type that's going to be okay with me swooping in all the time making her problems disappear.

"I don't want her to rely on just me. If that's what you got out of this, there's been another miscommunication." I could hear how clipped my sentences were, so I took a deep breath in order to adjust my tone, "I just want to be let in is all. For her to feel safe enough to tell me things Would I like to be the first person she wants to tell things too? Yes. Do I want to be the only one she tells things to? Of course not. As for the whole white horse bit, Normally, I am. Not because I want to control but because I can't stand seeing people hurting when I can do something. That being said I know damn well the whole chivalrous act isn't exactly going to work with her. She seemed pretty used to handling everything on her own. I'm happy just being..." I pause, searching for the right word,  "Support?" My eyes screwing shut as I thought, deciding it was as good of word as any,  "As much as I'd love to jump in and make everything better, I'm content with standing behind her, only helping her when she asks for it."

"You say that, yet, you've expressed how," She flipped back a few pages, "I want to be able to fix any problems her ex caused."

I felt a little spark of anger, "Of course I want to fix it. She deserves the best. What's wrong with that? I care about her, so it's only natural I'd want to fix it." My voice slightly heated.

"You can't fix the problem Ed, that's what I'm trying to get in your head." She sounded slightly irritated now, "It's something she has to do. She's the one that has to work through it. You can't fight the battle for her, as much as you want to, you just can't. It's her battle."

"So, what, I'm supposed to just sit back and watch her struggle? Sorry, no, that's not going to happen."

Her calling out in her sleep, crying about standing there not helping was forefront in my mind. My vision blurred as my hands curled into fists again. No, I wasn't going to stand idly by and watch her hurt when I could do something about it. Even if was something as simple as keeping those dreams at bay. I'd gladly sacrifice a couple hours of sleep to make sure she never had to go through another one of those dreams again.

"No, Ed, that's not what I meant and you know it."

I took a deep breath, exhaling sharply through my nose. I honestly didn't know how to just be support. I've always felt the need to protect the ones close to me. Paired with some pretty strong feelings of jealousy and the need of establishing what was mine. What's mine...maybe Linda's right, maybe I am controlling but not in the conventional way. The fact that I was a jealous, no, insecure. That's the root of it. I was insecure. That's where the jealousy came from. The fear they'd find better. Either way, it was something that I didn't like about myself. I never thought of it as controlling, since I never went out of my way to stop any of my exes from doing whatever they'd felt like.

"Maybe you're right...as much as I don't want to admit it, I do tend to go out of my way to let the shifty looking guys know when a lady is with me. It's not something I'm proud of but it can sometimes get carried away.

"Well, that's something we can work on if you'd like."

"Yeah...yeah okay." I nod eagerly.

She just offered a smile as a response before continuing on. "Now, I'd like to revisit your fight. Specifically the part where you said you saw your life in that apartment."

"Oh...okay, sure." Slightly thrown by the focus on that particular piece of information

. "You sound like you have some pretty strong feelings. Do you love her?"

I scoff, "Love?" I shake my head, "No, it's too soon to be thinking that."

What a thought, love, this early. That is exactly what I'm known for though. The romantic guy. The guy who's quick to fall head over heels. So, really was it that crazy that she'd suggest it. More importantly, was she right? No, it's infatuation. That's all. The line between love and lust is a thin one. I'm feeling the lust hard. Just your good, ol fashioned lust. Nothing more.

"They say love follows no schedule."

"It's not love. I'm not sure what this is. I've never quite felt this way before. I've never dated someone like her before." I admitted sheepishly, " Someone who keeps me in check. Who doesn't treat me different cos of who I am. Who calls me out on my bullshit. Grounds me when my ego starts to get out of control and she has no clue she even does it. That's the best part.  Y'know, in the heat of out fight she actually looked me in the eyes and straight up said I'm not famous to her. You're just Ed. Do you know how long it's been since i've been just Ed to anyone other than my mates back home? It's refreshing. It's the first time I felt like someone was dating me for me."

That's the feeling. Nostalgia. I hadn't had a girl like Adi since my very first girlfriend, way back before I was famous. She was there at the beginning, through my struggles and she was there for my success. That very success was the death sentence for our relationship. I was always gone, she was lonely and we just fell apart. We were young and dumb, thinking love would conquer all and keep us together. Long story short, it didn't. Adi didn't seem too concerned about it. Either she was really confident or really naive. I don't think she knows just how hard it's really going to be.  Linda quickly pulled me from my thoughts.

"You've said dating a couple times. I know you said you weren't exactly sure what this was since you hadn't sat down and had the talk yet. Did you?"

"Yeah, that was the outcome of our fight. She blurted out 'my lego building boyfriend' and didn't realise it until I pointed it out." A smirk gracing my face, "That pretty much ended our fight and it shifted to the big talk. By the end of it we made it official. She kept my key and I'm meeting her friends this weekend. So she went from we need to slow things down to you're my boyfriend all because we finally talked and cleared the air."

"That's progress, yet you still look upset."

The smirk was quick to leave, replaced by a frown, "I'm nervous. She doesn't know the tabloid gossip. She doesn't know just how bad things really were with the drug use and partying but they do. Levi was on the fence about me for a while, hell he still could be for all I know." I shook my head, "I'm worried once she finds out, we'll be over. I'm still in shock that we're even together now after I fell off the wagon." I swallowed, "When she showed up that day...I was so fucked up I didn't see her standing there, I saw the woman who used and played me. I thought she was going to do the same thing Al did. Use me to further herself. Once I heard magazine all common sense went out the window, replaced with 'Oh god not again.' I was right back in that mess, being taken advantage of. She just seemed too good to be true. The last time I felt that, I was right. I just assumed the worst. I'm just stuck in the past and it almost costed me...but..." I hesitate, the words caught on the tip of my tongue, "no....nevermind." "Safe space Ed. It stays between us." She gently reminded me.

"I wonder just how desperate is she to stay with someone like me? To look past all that shit. Most would have walked then and there. Why would she put herself through this? Misery loves company and I'm afraid my bad habits are going to rub off onto her."

She was so upbeat and bright when I first met her. She was like a raging wildfire. One month with me and that wildfire is nothing but a small ember. Dim and flickering, just barely staying lit. It almost felt like leaving would do her a kindness. Saving her before that spark went out for good.

"Didn't she tell you she understood what you were feeling. Maybe she knows what she saw that day isn't the real you."

"I don't know what's the real me anymore...what if that is the real me?"

That thought had been resting in my head for a long time now. What if I was stuck in this cynical mindset from now on? Stuck holding everyone to mistakes of the past, never being able to move forward. You can only get burnt so many times. Eventually you're going to wonder if it's really worth it the chance. Was those dark thoughts going to be my permanent mindset from here on out or just the dark before the light breaks?

"That's what we're here trying to figure out. But I don't think that's you for one minute and I'm guessing neither does she."

"Well I wouldn't know...she won't tell me and it pisses me off. I don't know who did this to her but I wish I did." I mutter bitterly

"So you can fix it?" Her eyebrow rising?

Ah. She's got me there.

"Not just that. So I don't make the same mistakes. She's already said I reminded her of him when I scold her. And when I pointed out it sounded like he just cared, which I realise now probably wasn't the best thing to say, she got understandably upset. 'He did. Until he didn't.'  I don't want to be like him. So i'd want to know what to avoid."

She nodded, scribbling something down."Does it piss you off because she won't let you in or because she was put in this position to begin with?"

"Both." I state without any hesitation, "In the back of my mind I'm just worried she's never going to be comfortable enough to tell me."

"It's like I said. It's a battle she has to fight herself but not by herself. She'll let you in when she's ready, not when you're ready."

I knew there was going to be no rushing her. No amount of coaxing, pushing or persuading was going to get her to do anything she didn't want to do. This would be no different. I just had to sit back and wait, as much as I didn't want to.

"I know I shouldn't be hung up on the past but...the way she avoids talking about anything even remotely related to her ex. And it's not just her, Levi was the same way. It's like some unspoken rule between them or something." My frustration evident in my tone, "I know there's the whole don't speak about your ex to your new partner thing but this is ridiculous. He's such a huge looming presence of her, over us, really and it worries me a lot. I know she didn't get closure, so I guess I'm just worried that...she'd run right back to him given the chance." I could feel the hot sting of tears, "The way she talked about him...it's like..." I couldn't finish the sentence, so I took a deep breath. "There's so much history there. I can't compete with that. I'm fucked if he ever comes to his senses and shows back up."

I didn't even try to stop the tears this time. They freely fell as I spilled my biggest worry. That I would do until something better came along. That I was just a distraction from him. That I'd be tossed aside if he came back. You wouldn't need to fill in a boy toy about your feelings or past. You'd just give them enough to keep them on the hook. That maybe she was just telling me things I wanted to hear to keep the charade going until he came back. The majority of my brain told me that wasn't the case, that everything she's said was true but that voice in the back of my head wasn't always a small one. Sometimes it screamed and pounded, drowning out everything else.

"If you're that worried about it, you need to address it. You're so caught up with her feelings you're neglecting your own. Your feelings are just as important as hers. I'm sure she wouldn't be too pleased if she knew you were holding back something like this."

"Well, fuck, why should I be the only one spilling my guts? She's obviously in no hurry." I spit, brushing away the remaining tears.

I wasn't sure where this sudden anger had came from. I felt so raw and vulnerable. Like I wasn't in control of my emotions. They were just pouring out of me now, swinging from one to the next. This was one ride I wanted to get off of as soon as possible. It was terrifying.  

"Is that how you think a relationship works? That it's an even give and take?" There was a sharpness to her tone, "If that's the case, you're highly mistaken. When she can only give 10% you've got to provide the other 90. Withholding stuff out of spite is no way to have a relationship. The only thing you're doing is hurting yourself  in the long run."

My anger died down a bit, "So, what I'm just supposed to go 'hey, I'm worried if Mike showed up on your doorstep you'd dump me like yesterday's rubbish?'"

"Not in those exact words, but if that's how you feel, then yes. You've transitioned from potential relationship to actual relationship, so you should feel a bit more safe expressing things now."

She's right. Of course she's right. I'm being a child. How is me holding all this in helping either one of us? How can I expect her to open up to me when I'm acting like a spoiled brat. I could feel my face growing warm.

"Could I get you to write a note telling her the same thing?" I cracked a smile, "I'm kidding. Besides she told me she was seeing someone anyway and they told her pretty much the same thing." I grin, "It's not you is it?"

"If I was, you know I couldn't tell you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I felt a sigh escape my lips, "So, you're saying I should lead by example? If I open up more, it could cause her to tell me more?"

"Ed, what are you afraid of?"

"Well, lots of things, heights, belly buttons, hairless cats in sweaters-"

"You know that's not what I meant." I fought the urge to glare at her but she was just doing her job after all.  What was I afraid of really? What was I so worried about finding out. What was the one thing that always plagued me, not just with her, but in every relationship.

"The truth. That her feelings will never be the same as mine. I've always been the one that's felt things stronger and quicker. At first, I thought maybe she was the same. She showed up to a diner in pyjamas for fucksakes, not to mention stayed the entire weekend with me. She seemed quick to throw caution to the wind and I went, 'Yes, I found my match. Someone who's as much of a romantic as I am. This is gonna be easy.'"

"No relationship is easy all the time. The honeymoon phase is over. This is where the real work begins. The rose coloured glasses are off and her flaws are starting to show."

"So...it's never going to be like it was before?" I felt my heart sink.

"Is that a bad thing? You're down to the meat and bones now. The real part."

I thought back to all the nights spend on the floor building legos, the Friday nights at Uni, the lazy Sundays in bed. The silly arguments about nothing important. The way her eyes almost disappeared when she really got laughing, her hand waving me off. The way she played with her food, the way she'd overplay her reactions just to get a laugh. I couldn't remember the last time I had heard her laugh. Or even seen her smile for that matter. Not like she did when I first met her. The fact that all that could be gone was painful.

"No, I guess in theory it's not, but I liked the Adi I met. The Adi that danced like no one was watching, the one that took me on a guided tour of the city, with some very questionable and hilarious  commentary. Is it wrong that I want her back to her cheerful happy self?"

"Ed, everyone, and I mean everyone, puts their best self out at the beginning. That doesn't mean it’s a lie, it just means there's more to them."

Her words stirred up a series of images, the distant, longing look in her eyes the night I met her and she thought she was alone on the roof. The look of sadness when she was at the diner talking about her parents, caught up in her memories. Anytime she thought she was alone that look was there, quickly evaporating when I made myself known. That's when it clicked.  

"I wasn't wrong when I said I thought I met my match. I was just wrong about what part. I've spent this entire time thinking I caused all this.  I never stopped to think it was there the entire time and she was hiding it. It's the exact same thing I do."

"What made you come to that conclusion?"   "You did, when you said the honeymoon phase was over and that everyone puts their best self forward. It was all an act Lin! She has to believe in me enough to take off the mask!"

There was an odd sort of relief that accompanied that revelation. The fact the blame wasn't laid all on me felt like a giant dark cloud had lifted. I had perked up considerably since that revelation. Linda gently reminded that this was just another assumption and that this was a marathon, not a sprint. By the end of the session I felt considerably lighter, a plan forming in my mind as I headed back to my car. I knew exactly what I going to do next. 

Condominiums In Pompano Beach

Top 5 Luxury Oceanfront Condos In Pompano Beach

Living in Pompano Beach, FL, has many features, such as live music, bars, seaside, and beaches. The luxury oceanfront condos in Pompano Beach, South Florida, offer excellent value. The area is not full of hotels, and the beaches are not crowded. Some new, exciting developments popped up in the last few years. There are many choices for oceanfront condos in Pompano Beach, FL.

This article narrows it down to the top five. Living in these condos is a luxurious experience. The warm climate and gorgeous beaches make Pompano Beach a dream destination for a luxurious lifestyle. Due to the lush amenities, the Intracoastal Waterway, and breathtaking ocean views, it is easy to understand why these condos in Pompano are so popular.

Whether you are in the market for a stunning investment property or a beautiful place as your home, the condominiums in Pompano Beach have something for everyone. There are some benefits to living in luxurious condos.

Plaza at Oceanside

The extraordinary Plaza at Oceanside, located at 1 N Ocean Blvd, was built in 2009. The tower has 186 residential units. You see carefully designed structures and high-end features everywhere, creating a sense of conformity and completeness.

Residents enjoy access to pristine beaches. This stately complex has Intracoastal and ocean views, high-speed semi-private elevator and private elevator, brush chrome hardware throughout the common areas and residences, unobstructed views due to high ceilings, individual climate control, and an expansive balcony with panel railings made of glass.

You enjoy a kitchen layout that maximizes space and ease of food preparation and cooking. The luxurious kitchens have marble floors, granite countertops, European custom cabinets, and stainless steel appliances.

Oversized master suites have large walk-in closets and sitting areas, large soaking tubs in a spa-like ensuite, dual vanities with marble countertops, and showers enclosed with frameless glass doors. Little details make a big difference. Attention to detail is reflected in recessed lighting, wiring for digital cable, and high-speed internet. The oversized laundry has enough space for a front-load washer and dryer. Plaza at Oceanside complex amenities include:

A News Cafe with a large-screen TV

Indoor Golf Simulator

A world-class fitness center with state-of-the-art fitness machines

A luxurious theater

Media room

Playrooms for children and teens

Resort-style heated pool having lap lanes and beach entry

Interior Design by Steven G

The city has been restructured to ease the flow of pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Condo sales here are a rare find. The turnover of residences is low.

Waldorf Astoria Residences

The Waldorf Astoria Residences in Pompano Beach, FL, are inspired by the classic grandeur of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Every residence encompasses the beauty and scale of the building and its original architecture. It is the ideal balance of practical and aesthetic considerations.

The Waldorf Astoria Residences sit on a two-acre oceanfront site. It has 92 residential units that offer world-class architecture and design. Nicholas Architects head it in collaboration with Enea Landscape, BAMO, and KORA. The hospitality-infused amenities include:

Approximately two dozen boat slips

A pool

Cabanas with poolside dining

Jacuzzi

A beachfront cafe offers room service

One of the prominent features is Peacock Alley. It is a residents-only space that serves as the central gathering place for residents to see and be seen. A crafted clock in the main lobby is inspired by one at the Waldorf Astoria, New York.

It is an iconic landmark in the flagship hotel and part of its New York City lore. The influence of the original hotel extends to over 15,000 square feet of amenities. The homes are available in various sizes and crafted for single-family living.

They range from two to five bedrooms and vary in size from 2100 to 6100 square feet. Every residence has a private elevator foyer, high ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling windows highlighting stunning Intracoastal and ocean views. Other standard features include top-of-the-line Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, custom Italian cabinetry, and oversized balconies. The residences are ready for occupation with a choice of designer finishes.

Salato Residences

The ultra-luxury Salato Residences are at 305 Briny Avenue in Pompano Beach, Florida. The expertly designed residences rise 100 feet from the beach with a pristine oceanfront. Forty private residences include six penthouses designed by Randall Stoff Architects.

The interior features include floor-to-ceiling windows that offer spectacular views of the ocean. An amenities deck extends more than 20,000 square feet, with direct access to the beach. The residences are designed to feel like worldwide luxury resorts.

Individual residences range from 2,106 to 3,354 square feet. They feature open floorplans with vast living space and 14-foot-deep terraces 320 to 746 square feet in size that provide phenomenal outdoor living and entertainment. All residences have three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. Amenities include:

An event room with a private chartering kitchen

Residents’ lounge with nutrition and juice bar

State-of-the-art fitness center

Massage room

Steam showers and dry saunas

Poolside lounge suite with private wine locker and bar

An ocean-view pool with separate loungers and a wet deck

Full-time pool and beach attendants

24-hour concerige service

Valet parking garage

The residences have an impressive selection of finishes and the absolute finest quality furniture. 10-foot windows and sliding doors surround each living space. Any chef would feel at home in the kitchen with custom European cabinetry and Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances.

The owner’s suite features a walk-in closet and a luxurious bathroom retreat. Stunning solid quartz countertops, porcelain tiles, and custom European cabinetry in the guest bathrooms give a sophisticated atmosphere. Residents and their guests enjoy the privacy provided by semi-private foyers and elevators.

Casamar Residences

Casamar Residences oceanfront condo in Pompano Beach, located at 900 N Ocean Blvd, designed by Arquitectertonia, has 119 units. It is situated on 3.2 acres and has 283 feet of oceanfront frontage. Each has direct, unobstructed oceanfront views. Casamar offers two, three, and four-bedroom units.

Every floor has six units. The smallest unit for sale has two bedrooms and a den that ranges in size from 1350 to 1700 square feet. Three bedrooms plus den units range from 2500 to 3000 square feet. Four-bedroom and den condominiums range from 3300 to 3934 square feet. Amenities and services include:

Personalized concierge services

Sunrise and sunset swimming pools

The Promenade Lounge

State-of-the-art fitness center

Multimedia and gaming tables

Virtual Golf Simulator with a mini bar

Lobby Welcome Station with light snacks and coffee

Open green gathering space

Pickleball court

Valet parking

Water sport storage

Pet washing station

The flow-through floorplans feature floor-to-ceiling windows that provide breathtaking views of Pompano Beach, the ocean, and the Intracoastal Waterway. All residences have unobstructed eastern views.

Tranquil and spacious master bathrooms feature a deep soaking tub, beautiful vanities, Hansgrohe fixtures, and contemporary finishes. The laundry room per unit has a full-size washer and dryer. Most units have a sink.

A customized password-protected app manages the spacious pre-wired smart home. Casamar Pompano Beach condo is in an excellent location close to marinas, golf courses, stores, and restaurants. It is 20 minutes from downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Ritz-Carlton Residences

A remarkable collection of magnificent amenities and luxury homes, with a landscape concept and interior design by Piero Lissoni, is like no other. The Ritz-Carlton, 1380 S Ocean Blvd, comprises two striking towers designed by Luis Revuelta.

They are on sprawling property that spans the waterfronts from Intracoastal to the Atlantic Ocean. The Ritz-Carlton gives homeowners direct access to a private yacht club and beach. The Beach Tower is a beachfront property with 31 stories and 117 larger condominiums.

Across A1A, the Marina Tower has an Intracoastal frontage and 14 stories. All of the condo development is residential. Residents of the Ritz-Carlton Residences enjoy stylish indoor and outdoor common areas with floor-to-ceiling windows. There are firepits, gardens, and plants throughout. Amenities include:

Three infinity edge pools

Two oceanfront and one marina front

Yoga Garden

Events lawn

Dog park

Outdoor wellness pavilion

Pickleball court

Bocce court

Valet services

Reception and concierge desk

Oceanfront lobby

The breakfast room and bar have outdoor seating

Fitness center

Lounge and library

Beauty salon with mani-pedi

Barbershop

Beach bar and grill

The Beach Tower has two, three, and four-bedroom residences. One, two, and three-bedroom units are found in the Marina Tower. They maintain the height of luxury, but each has a specific character. The goal was to design the buildings as welcoming and comfortable environments and create sophisticated places for socialization and relaxation.

The Beach Tower has a contemporary design using pure forms and lines expressed through light colors and natural materials. In the Marina Tower, slightly darker colors are used. Detailed and theatrical lighting is elemental in cultivating a welcoming and intimate environment. Large glazed volumes give the space definition and bring a Caribbean nature indoors.

Honorable Mentions

A few other stunning, luxury condos in Pompano Beach are the following:

Sonata Beach Club

Sabbia Beach

Ed Cook Real Estate Has Luxury Condos for Sale

Ed Cook Real Estate knows that Pompano Beach, FL, offers the ideal blend of day and nighttime action, an active lifestyle, and beachfront beauty. The beachfront dining options and fishing pier are part of what energizes the Pompano Beach Fishing Village.

Our Pompano real estate company has luxury condos for sale in Pompano Beach. We have listings for luxurious condos in Palm Beach County and Lauderdale by the Sea. Luxury condos for sale in Pompano Beach offer a stunning rooftop terrace, generous balconies, a nice pool, and much more.

Contact Ed Cook Real Estate on Ocean Blvd. today to search for new construction Ocean Blvd condos or search condos in nearby zip codes for all your Florida condo and real estate needs in beautiful Pompano Beach, FL!

New Year, Old Me

The smell of breakfast cooking is filling the house, my dogs is at my feet chewing on his indestructible dollar store ball as happy as a clam (ed note. – how do we know clams are actually happy?) and 2021 has begun with sunshine streaming in every window filling the day with the promise of a bright and prosperous future. Even Gloria is in the kitchen singing to the music playing on the radio.

Then there’s the 30 centimeters of snow forecast for tomorrow. Fack.

I love my Christmas vacations. We took a cruise for Christmas two years ago, I’ll never do that again. Not just the competition with 1300 little off spring for wifi when we were trying to sell a house Christmas eve, there’s just something about doing a whole lot of nothing for 10 days that really appeals to the inner child in me.

I’ve played countless hours of Minecraft. I’ve watched hours of videos. I’ve read, I’ve cooked. We’ve talked about whatr’s next, what’s been, and who. We’ve played with the dog, a lot.

The only thing missing was the kids. I miss them dear

Christmas was awesome for it just being the three of us. We did that on purpose.

2020 was a challenging year in many respects. We lost Ozzy in June, that was a major life event for us both that neither of us saw coming. Then there’s the plandemic, yes, tin foil hat in fully bloom, the politicians of the world are wrecking society over a bad flu. Even politicians in the 1918 pandemic weren’t as incompetent. As someone who has managed risk my entire career I can unequivocally say they fucked this up, likely on purpose. I say on purpose because there’s no way the stupid could be this collective. The costs to society based on the actions of our elected officials over the past year have damaged mankind (not peoplekind moron) and will have lingering effects for decades.

I just can’t grasp the level of incompetence I’ve witnessed in our governments, but I’m not surprised.

2020 professionally was one of my best years ever, mind you I worked a lot, but I’ve never been afraid of that. From mid-March until July I worked every single day from Moncton, dealing with bad decisions made by governments every single day trying to keep the country going. Imagine dealing with hundreds of governments, none who talk to each other and correlate activities. It’s an epic shitshow every day, but it’s honest work.

I’ve met some amazing new friends this year, and we’ve developed some new relationships. I’ve watched some of my team members grow exponentially, as well as watched some of my peers hit their stride. It’s awesome to see people at their best, and knowing you had a hand in helping them get to that place. That’s what I live for now.

Living back home has been a major challenge for me, not some much for Gloria. We came back for her, she wanted to be home and now she is. Life is good here, don’t get me wrong, but I hate living in the fishbowl. People talk too much and invest themselves in others’ business way too often, it’s that part of living here I don’t like. Everywhere else we’ve lived no one cared what kind of car you drove or where you went on vacation, but down east it’s blood sport. The difference for me this time round is I just don’t care what they think or say, their opinion means nothing. Unless I’m paying you for advice, I’ll give it the due consideration it deserves. The day I learned that was likely the day my life changed for the better, and I remember it well.

I’m starting to enjoy living home again, but not for the reasons you’d think.

I’m enjoying the familiarity of people again, the people who interact with us at our favorite restaurants, stopping and chatting with people at Superstore, knowing what is really going on in our community. Those are the kind of things you miss living the lifestyle we did for 20 years bouncing all over the globe. We missed that connection with community.

We are enjoying making our current house our home and putting our touches on it. It’s been a labor of love because as my realtor Cathy said the day we were doing the home inspection and I had a parade of contractors lined up on the street, there’s no way I’ll ever get my money back out of this place. Nope, I won’t. But I’m ok with that. I grew up watching this house and wanting it, now that I own it it’s fun to bring it back to it’s original beauty and improving it’s functionality. Plus we have awesome neighbors and everyone looks out for one another.

I like my job. I like my boss. I still enjoy what I do, and that’s a positive. I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with amazing people throughout my career, but over the last year dealing with a pandemic, 18,000 employees across dozens of companies and multiple jurisdictions who move the goal posts daily, I’m very thankful for the team I work with are all A players. We accomplished more this year than I would have ever thought possible given the circumstances.

Then there’s politics. Relax, you knew it was coming, I’ve not ranted very often about anything that doesn’t at least brush up against politics.

2020 was a political shitshow of epic proportions. In Canada we have a buffoon as Prime Minister who is selling out this country to communist China. He’s not even hiding it anymore. The WE scandal should have affronted every single Canadian and we should have marched on Ottawa to demand his resignation and incarceration.

But we didn’t. So we get what we deserve.

In the USA Trump lost a crooked election, and no, you cannot convince me otherwise. It was a surgical strike in key swing states carried out with militaristic effort. I watched hearings in Wisconsin, Illinois and Georgia. There was enough fraud to cost Trump the election. But am I upset? Yes, a bit. Will I get over it? Of course. The democratic party has no morals, the ends justify the means and they had no qualms about using deception and fraud to elect a senile career politician who has accomplished nothing in a 47 year career on capitol hill, one who is racist (not an opinion, there’s his words in video and print) and can’t remember what state he is in most of the time.

And they elected him with more votes than Obama? Seriously?

The entire election reeks. Thousands of consecutive ballots, all votes for Joe, with no down ticket selections. Consecutive. Let me say it again for the kids in the back. Thousands of consecutive ballots for Joe with no down ticketing. (Down ticketing is voting for a set of party candidates, so President, Judges, etc on the ballot). Can you even begin to grasp the statistical probability of that?   Let’s just say the odds of having that many consecutive ballots all for just Joe are astronomical, kind of like getting hit by lightening in your basement on your birthday while having a heart attack during a solar eclipse.

Even that’s more statistically likely.

But at the end of the day, if congress accepts the electors then Biden will be my president. I’m not that stupid or arrogant to say otherwise, although I know in my heart of hearts he stole it. But that’s irrelevant, and he has to look at himself in the mirror every morning just like I do.

What I have learned in the past year is local politics are more important than national politics, and we need to move towards more local control of our resources versus Provincial or Federal control. I’m excited for our new town council and have great hope they will energize this town, as we are poised on the precipice of opportunity. People are relocating here from all over, buying homes sight unseen. Why? Because its small and safe. That’s my theory anyway. With the gig economy, many workers can work from anywhere (I did it for years) and why live in a congested city with all the issues and expense that come with it when you can live like a king in small town Nova Scotia. For the first time in my life people WANT to move here, not away. That’s a huge opportunity that we need to build on.

Anyway, I guess I’m trying to say that while 2020 had it’s challenges, for us there is a lining in the cloud that we shouldn’t overlook. We ended the year on a high note with the perfect New Years eve for the three of us, a few drinks, a cigar by the fire, and McDonalds. Yep, 2020 didn’t deserve anything more than a McChicken and fires.

So those are my final thoughts for 2020, the year has now passed and 2021 has arrived, full of promise, hope, and excitement. What you will make of 2021 lies within you, and you alone. You can choose to climb a mountain or read a book, but all I ask of you is you help us maintain the ability to have the freedom to choose. That is my only fear going into the new year is that we are allowing our freedoms to be taken away at an alarming pace, with no sign of resistance. That’s not a good thing. Once your freedoms are gone, you won’t easily get them back.

Happy New Year folks, its going to be amazing. Either that or the murder hornets show up and then it’s over.

Jim Out.

My Other Car is a…Mercedes Camper Van?

Harley Sitner was in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn for a wedding in March, feeling as if he’d just been sprayed by a skunk. Mr. Sitner’s hometown, Seattle, where he owns a camper-van restoration, repair and rental business called Peace Vans, was the site of one of one of the first huge coronavirus outbreaks. “People were like, ‘Stay away,’” he recalled.

Back home, with peak road-trip season approaching, his employees reported a rush of cancellations on rental vans. Mr. Sitner had just hired a “super-awesome” marketing manager and began thinking he might have to lay her off.

School was canceled and all but the most essential businesses were ordered to shut down. Mr. Sitner was compelled to give his employees a month off, save for a skeletal crew that stuck around to perform essential services like repairs.

“We were looking at some pretty significant revenue black holes,” he said.

Then, in mid-April, the phone started ringing in the repair shop.

“People started thinking they’d have a summer, and wanted their classic Volkswagens looked at,” Mr. Sitner said.

But it wasn’t just that. There was also a run on a new line of modern camper vans his company had announced with Mercedes-Benz at the Chicago Auto Show in February: produced by a third-party manufacturer called Driverge, sleeping four apiece, and starting at $69,000 without kitchen and cabinetry, $89,000 with.

“We sold like 28 of them in 30 days,” Mr. Sitner said. “Some people are saying they’re not getting on a plane for two years or never going to Europe again.”

Mr. Sitner is 52, with a 10-year-old daughter named Eden Peach. In person, he projects a tender, Michael Stipe-ish vibe, wistfully remembering that “until recently, we hugged so many of our customers” and brewed espresso in the shop’s front office.

He first became acquainted with Peace Vans as a customer, running his Vanagon (a.k.a. the Volkswagen T3) in and out of the shop, in Seattle’s industrial SoDo neighborhood, between jaunts to Burning Man. In 2013 he learned from the shop owner that he planned to close the business, and Mr. Sitner convinced him to hand it over instead.

Over the years, Mr. Sitner has served clientele from aging hippies to Instagramming millennials, and all political persuasions. (In the lot of Peace Vans there was an old VW bus from Iowa awaiting restoration with a National Rifle Association sticker on the driver’s-side window and a painting of the word “Peace” on the side panel.) But the venture with Mercedes, which began casually after he began buying the chassis of the brand’s Metris van from a dealership down the street, has brought a new kind of buyer, Mr. Sitner said.

Ed Stevens, a 51-year-old tech entrepreneur in Dallas, had planned to take his wife, Robin, and two adult children scuba diving in the Caribbean when the pandemic took hold. The virus’s spread, he said, was the reason he started looking to buy a camper van.

“We canceled the reservation and hunkered down, and then I started thinking, ‘I can work from anywhere, Robin’s taking a class online, and we thought we’d just cruise the whole country,” he said. “As soon as I saw the official partnership between Mercedes and Harley, that was the motivating factor.”

(“The idea of building on a Nissan or a Ford light van did not meet the quality bar we wanted,” Mr. Sitner said, explaining his choice of chassis.)

Mark and Linda Kimlin had just spent the winter in Spain before returning to New York City in mid-March, feeling “very lucky to escape unscathed,” said Mr. Kimlin, 63. But New York was itself about to get scathed, and with the lease up on their Upper East Side apartment, the Kimlins high-tailed it to a home they owned in New Paltz, north of the city. (They expect to return to the city when things “settle down,” Ms. Kimlin, 65, said.)

Their daughter had planned to get married in California in July (the celebration has been postponed, though not the ceremony) and, Mr. Kimlin said, “it seemed like a good time for wide-open spaces and not getting on an airplane.”

His son-in-law-to-be had driven a simpler version of the Metris camper van and shared his positive experience with Mr. Kimlin, who bought one from Peace Vans on the strength of that recommendation and the fact that his wife “likes camping, but with a comfy bed.”

Talk to any camper-van owner and they’ll tout the relatively small size of their vehicles compared to traditional RVs and the taller Mercedes Sprinter vans that many Amazon delivery drivers whiz around in, explaining that the more compact Mercedes Metris and VW Vanagons are easily usable as second cars in dense neighborhoods in major metropolitan areas.

But they’re also great for when a wildfire jumps the highway and bears down on your house — the precise scenario Naomi Neilson stared down in mid-June at her house in Shell Beach, Calif.

“Everyone was like, ‘Where are you going to go?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, I’m going to take my van and go,” said Ms. Neilson, 46, who owns a Metris camper van and runs a bathroom-fixture company called Native Trails. “I just threw some food and drinks in the fridge and was ready to go. It took me 10 minutes. I went down the coast a little way and just relaxed. I didn’t end up needing to evacuate for the whole night, but it was nice to be able to just throw a couple things in there and know I had a place to sleep and cook for as long as I needed.”

Of course, this is something owners of Volkswagen Vanagons have taken comfort in for decades. While Metris owners like Mr. Stevens never considered buying such a lovable relic of hippie culture because he “didn’t want to be spending two days somewhere while my transmission gets shipped in from God knows where,” VW owners like Brian Kolonick of Cleveland think the hassle’s worth it because, he said, “my kids think I’m cool for a minute.”

“It’s the way it smells, the way it drives, the way people look at you — you’re bringing them some level of joy,” said Mr. Kolonick, 42, who works in digital health for a company called Conversa in Portland, Ore.

He rented a Vanagon from Mr. Sitner before he bought one, and said some VW scenesters turn their nose up at him because he “can’t repair things” and has to call a mechanic. He’ll often visit Vanagon forums online, where he occasionally finds die-hards dissing the Subaru engines in some custom conversions, arguing that they’re “taking away from the slow-running intensity” of the stock motor.

And it’s fair to surmise that some VW devotees think Metris owners are a tad soft. “We have friends who have them, and I’ve got to admit, we joke about their vans,” said Jim Samuel, 58, a realtor and University of Oregon grad in Seattle who named his 1991 Vanagon “Bertha,” after the Grateful Dead song. “But it comes down to people, ultimately.”

Joayne Andrews agrees. A 72-year-old retiree, she lives in Cathedral City, Calif., just east of Palm Springs, and has owned 26 Volkswagens in her lifetime, four of them vans. A Jetta is her daily ride, but when she really wants to get away, she’s got a 2000 Eurovan at home and an ’82 Westfalia stashed in Seattle that Mr. Sitner’s crew has been restoring for the past two years.

When she visits friends up and down the West Coast, she thinks her vans make her a better houseguest. “It’s nice to be able to pull into their driveway and not take up space in their house,” she said. “We’ve got our own little studio apartment.”

As for the Metris campers, her neighbor has one and Ms. Andrews thinks “they’re lovely.”

She then added, “They’re super-expensive, but probably with what I had to have my van restored, I could have bought one.”

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