genesis

will knocks on chief rhodes' open door, announcing his presence to the older male. it wouldn't be the first time that will has stumbled upon the man here when no one else really is. it wouldn't be the first time either that will had come to the department at rhodey's request when no one else really is either.

rhodey looks up at him, and will feels concerned almost immediately when he notices how haggard the man looks. the man glances back down at his work before scrubbing a hand over his face, and will knows this isn't going to be a good conversation. it's not that surprising given that they've just finished with the festival. crime doesn't stop during such a huge event, and will wouldn't have been surprised to know that it was exacerbated by it, really. habitually, he closes the door behind him, walking to one of the seats in front of rhodey's and sits down in it.

rhodey doesn't appear to be done with what he's been looking through, so will interests himself in noting the details on his wooden table. the police chief seems to appreciate the gesture if anything because he stays silent and goes back to looking at papers.

will almost doesn't hear him, finally, when rhodey speaks.

𝐈𝐅  𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒  𝐈𝐒  𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘  𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓   ,  he's  not  really  a  big  festival  person  !  it's  just  a  little  too  loud  for  him  ,  there's  a  little  too  many  people  --  and  frankly  :  he  spent  like  two  days  here  ,  and  he's  already  getting  behind  on  his  schoolwork  because  apparently  using  ‘  our  island's  having  an  island-wide  festival  ’  just  isn't  a  good  enough  excuse  ?  apparently  ?  

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍  𝐎𝐍𝐄  𝐁𝐀𝐃  𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒  ,  you  can  do  one  of  two  things  .  you  can  either  confront  that  thing  ...  or  you  can  do  whatever  you  can  to  forget  about  it  .  which  ...  as  it  turns  out  is  exactly  what  harry  is  going  to  do  .  the  second  option  .  forgetting  .  which  has  led  him  this  far  where  he  has  spent  the  majority  of  this  current  week  just  trying  to  ignore  what  happened  to  him  .  and  frankly  :  he's  been  doing  a  pretty  good  job  ,  all  things  considered  .  he's  gotten  this  far  without  having  to  even  think  about  it  ,  so  why  should  he  stop  his  excellent  plan  now  ?  

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘  𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐒  𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓  𝐀𝐒  𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘  𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊  𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃  the  festival  ;  they  want  to  tell  themselves  they're  just  being  paranoid  .  but  after  everything  that  happened  --  can  they  really  say  that  ?  they  had  tried  so  hard  to  make  themselves  forget  the  attack  from  last  week  ,  but  they  can  only  repress  so  much  .  they  know  they  shouldn't  have  come  to  the  festival  alone  .  but  they  offered  to  help  ,  and  they  need  to  see  that  through  --  and  it's  not  like  they're  going  to  ask  one  of  their  friends  to  go  with  them  .  

location: festival grounds

there was so many activities to choose from that astoria didn’t know where to start , so she just decided to see where her feet would take her . somehow she ended up near the booths , she looks around where to first .this was her first time at a thing like this . she couldn’t tell you why , something about this place just doesn’t feel right for astoria , for some odd reason astoria think she missing memories her real memories , everything here makes sense but some things just don’t add up . she was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t noticed she bumped into someone . “oh my gosh i am so sorry , sorry i was so lost in my thoughts i didn’t see you there”

𝐈𝐓'𝐒  𝐍𝐎𝐓  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓  𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄  that  harry  finds  themselves  lost  in  thought  .  but  ,  it's  certainly  the  first  time  that  they  catch  themselves  slipping  that  they  even  managed  to  be  this  lost  in  thought  .  they  sigh  ,  running  a  hand  through  their  hair  .  they  need  to  get  a  better  handle  on  themself  .  they  haven't  been  themself  in  ...  a  long  time  .  so  focused  on  trying  to  pretend  as  if  everything's  okay  ,  as  if  they  can't  tell  that  something  feels  off  in  their  family  ,  as  if  they  can't  feel  the  way  that  everything  is  crumbling  around  them  .  they  sigh  ,  scrubbing  a  hand  over  their  face  in  irritation  before  they  stumble  back  ,  feeling  someone  bump  into  them  .  harry  bites  back  a  rude  remark  ,  it's  not  as  if  they  were  really  looking  where  they  were  going  either  .  “  it's  fine  ,  ”  they  say  tersely  ,  before  sighing  .  softening  their  tone  ,  they  add  on  ,  “  it  wasn't  just  your  fault  .  are  you  alright  ?  ”

     it was safe to say  that over the past couple days , the festival had been one of the last things on eddies mind . he was preoccupied in keeping up with his classes , and in the little time that he had between studying … he was thinking about another breakup they’d endured . a part of him started to wonder if this was fair to harry , expecting him to always be on the same pace as he was . especially when eddies pace was five quick steps forward and then eight back .

     most of the questioning pushed  to the back of his mind the second he stepped through the doors and caught sight of harry waiting for him . it concerned him for a second , his first instinct to assume something was wrong . sure , they remained friends and rarely diminished their time together when they went through things like this , but he … hadn’t expected it .

     a grin took place as  he finished putting his textbooks into his bag and swung it over his shoulder . ❝ is that even a question ? ❞ eddie asked . ❝ of course i do … as long as you’re not planning on making me go on any of the rides . you know how i feel about those death traps . ❞

𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘  𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒  𝐓𝐎  𝐀𝐒𝐊  𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅  why  is  it  that  he  chose  to  come  see  eddie  ,  but  there's  no  point  to  asking  himself  that  when  he  knows  the  answer  .  he  feels  like  he  was  more  exhausted  than  he  realised  ,  feels  swept  away  just  by  the  sight  of  eddie  standing  in  front  of  him  .  how  is  it  that  a  person  can  be  both  a  lifebelt  but  also  make  you  feel  like  you're  drowning  in  them  ?

a  smile  is  on  his  face  before  he  can  stop  himself  ,  laughing  a  little  ,  “  the  odds  of  getting  injured  on  a  ride  are  one  out  of  every  1.2  million  rides  ,  that's  less  than  the  odds  of  a  car  .  ”  he  teases  .  not  that  harry  particularly  likes  rides  either  --  he  thinks  he'd  sooner  have  a  panic  attack  just  by  getting  strapped  into  the  ride  .  maybe  in  another  life  he  would  have  loved  rides  ,  but  just  not  in  this  one  ;  his  fear  of  heights  spoiling  any  enjoyment  he'd  get  out  of  a  ride  .  

𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄  that  harry  goes  to  after  he's  stressed  out  on  a  wednesday  is  the  door  of  where  eddie's  last  class  is  .  he  hadn't  meant  to  .  but  they're  still  friends  after  each  break  up  ,  and  right  now  :  he  needs  his  friend  .  he'd  been  helping  town  council  with  any  problems  they  were  having  for  the  event  ,  and  ,  along  with  his  graduate  thesis  ,  he's  sort  of  up  to  his  limit  with  what  he  can  or  can't  take  .  as  much  as  he  tries  to  force  himself  to  stay  positive  ,  he's  not  incapable  of  being  stressed  out  .  he's  just  got  a  better  cap  on  it  than  he  used  to  .  that  ,  and  well  .  he's  become  better  at  hiding  it  ,  than  he  used  to  .  regardless  ,  though  ,  this  should  be  a  happy  day  .  the  festival  is  finally  here  .  things  can  be  good  .  

[ location: gardenia hospital ]

hannibal’s young colleague had directed a rather distasteful comment at him, so, naturally,  the physician had decided to bring the said irritating colleague down a notch just to teach him good manners. hannibal was already thirty minutes late for a meeting with him and he had every intention to make it forty to make a statement. after all, he could always blame his tardiness on an urgent situation with a patient. as a false peace offering, the physician carried two terrible takeaway coffees from the hospital cafeteria that he never drank himself. the  physician stopped in his tracks when he saw a man standing in the hallway. hannibal’s office was located on a floor that was normally off-limits to visitors and even most hospital staff. he could tell from the look on the younger’s face that he had no idea where he was. “can i help you?” he asked, genuinely amused. “please don’t tell me that you’re here for the meeting as i only brought two cups of coffee with me.”

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋    𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍'𝐓    𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖    𝐖𝐇𝐘    𝐇𝐄'𝐒    𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄  ,  why  he  was  chosen  of  all  people  to  go  investigate  at  the  hospital  .  he  knows  what  they  expected  from  him  :  for  him  to  use  his  empathy  --  as  if  it  were  a  superpower  --  to  see  what  he  could  deduce  from  the  evidence  and  security  cameras  .  there  had  been  a  tip  that  someone  was  caught  sneaking  in  and  out  at  the  hospital  ,  and  he  had  been  chosen  to  figure  it  out  .  when  he  had  came  over  though  ,  the  hospital  staff  had  been  ...  less  than  hospitable  .  he  had  been  told  by  three  different  people  to  go  in  three  different  directions  to  the  i.t.  department  ,  and  he  is  not  any  closer  to  finding  it  than  he  has  been  twenty  minutes  ago  .  it  barely  registers  ,  really  ,  that  he's  gone  to  the  wrong  floor  .  

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍  𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋  𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐃  𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃  at  the  university  --  more  specifically  ,  the  law  department  at  the  university  --  will  isn't  ashamed  to  admit  he  nearly  had  a  heart  attack  .  all  he  could  do  was  run  the  worst  case  scenarios  in  his  head  .  the  worst  thoughts  nearly  made  him  dry  heave  before  he  was  driving  over  as  soon  as  he  could  ,  only  calming  down  a  fraction  when  he  heard  that  harry  wasn't  the  victim  of  the  attempted  attack  .  depending  on  the  situation  ,  will  knows  he  may  not  even  be  put  on  the  case  at  all  because  of  how  close  he  is  to  it  ,  but  chief  rhodes  wasn't  able  to  refuse  his  request  when  he  demanded  to  stop  by  the  university  ,  if  only  to  go  check  up  on  his  son  .  

𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘  𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐘  𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓  ,  will  always  let  his  kids  know  that  as  long  as  they  did  their  best  ,  that  that  was  all  that  mattered  .  he  never  wanted  them  to  feel  like  they  had  to  strive  to  get  4.0  gpas  ,  simply  wanted  them  to  just  be  in  fields  that  they  enjoyed  .  and  while  they  were  growing  up  ,  it  always  was  interesting  to  wonder  what  all  his  kids  would  end  up  doing  for  their  careers  .  allison  ,  with  her  love  for  animals  and  habit  of  picking  up  strays  ,  brought  him  no  surprise  when  she  had  gone  into  veterinary medicine  ,  and  neither  did  it  come  to  be  a  surprise  when  persephone  had  opened  her  own  flower  shop  after  how  their  house  quickly  became  a  forest  in  the  years  after  he  adopted  her  .  

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘'𝐕𝐄  𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃  𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓  𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒  .  will  meant  it  when  he  said  that  they  had  taken  in  enough  strays  for  a  while  .  with  the  amount  of  animal  friends  they  have  in  their  house  ,  he  feels  like  his  house  is  two  species  away  from  becoming  a  zoo  .  but  while  that  should  bother  him  ,  he's  gotta  admit  that  it's  not  all  of  his  kids'  doing  ;  he  was  never  able  to  have  a  dog  growing  up  ,  and  now  he  had  a  whole  pack  of  them  ,  with  other  mammals  and  reptiles  to  spare  .  “  allison  ,  ”  he  starts  ,  trying  to  keep  his  voice  leveled  ,  avoiding  looking  at  the  animal  .  he  knows  as  soon  as  he  looks  down  at  them  ,  he's  going  to  fold  instantly  .  “  you  know  we  can't  possibly  house  another  one  right  now  .  ”  he  was  still  trying  to  adjust  their  most  recent  addition  into  their  family  .  his  eyes  dart  down  to  the  animal  ,  a  soft  whine  coming  from  them  before  he  looks  back  up  at  allison  ,  knowing  he's  been  defeated  .  as  if  he  could  say  no  to  his  kids  at  all  ,  anyway  .  

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋  𝐇𝐀𝐒  𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍  𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄  𝐎𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐍  𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘  ;  even  though  he  does  get  breaks  ,  it  doesn't  mean  that  he's  entirely  free  from  all  of  the  work  he's  got  stacking  up  .  hell  ,  he'll  probably  return  to  more  cases  .  still  though  ,  he  makes  a  point  to  have  lunch  with  each  of  his  kids  whenever  he  can  .  it's  a  rule  that  he's  stuck  by  strictly  for  the  years  ever  since  his  kids  left  high  school  .  today  ,  he's  visiting  persephone  at  her  flower  shop  .  he  had  been  so  proud  of  her  when  she  had  opened  it  ,  and  when  he  opens  the  door  to  see  her  helping  out  customers  ,  he  smiles  at  her  in  her  element  .  he  waits  until  the  customers  in  the  shop  get  helped  all  the  way  up  until  it's  just  her  wrapping  up  one  final  bouquet  .  

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋  𝐇𝐀𝐒  𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒  𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃  𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄  in  his  kids  .  he  loves  them  with  everything  he  has  in  him  ,  but  he  would  never  hold  them  back  if  they  wanted  to  leave  .  if  they  wanted  to  leave  ,  he  wanted  them  to  know  that  he  would  support  them  in  the  decision  they  made  and  then  always  be  there  for  them  when  they  came  back  .  but  with  betty  ...  well  .  it  feels  like  she  never  really  came  back  .  not  completely  .  oh  ,  they  talked  now  and  again  .  but  out  of  all  of  his  kids  --  it  feels  like  he's  lost  her  somewhere  along  the  way  .  he  doesn't  know  when  he  stopped  having  actual  conversations  that  went  beyond  how  are  you  ?  or  are  you  doing  alright  ?  --  most  days  ,  he  only  hears  about  her  through  his  other  kids  .  it  makes  him  feel  sick  with  concern  .  

you’re  the  strongest  person  i’ve  ever  met  .

i  want  to  be  like  you  .