screws fall out all the time.

I was tagged by @gettingbyi and, wonder of all wonders, I'm actually sharing something on a Wednesday :)

This is the beginning of chapter 3 of Slow Disaster, which I am making slow progress on (slow because it has now expanded to over 4k and it keeps getting longer every time I edit it).

“What the fuck?” Hardy drops onto the stool next to Carl, nudging his elbow where it’s resting on the bar.  Carl blinks at him through the beery haze he’s been nursing for the past… he has no idea how long. He presses the fingers of his right hand to his forehead, the cast scratching against his cheek, takes a sip of beer. “How did you find me?”  “Pinged your phone, arsehole.” In the end, he hadn’t got far after his dramatic exit. Walked to the nearest coffee shop, then walked right on past and turned down the Royal Mile in a fit of self-punishment, dodging tourists until he found a pub that looked suitably depressing. It’s not one of their usual haunts, and the uneven stone steps leading down to the dim interior mean it’s unlikely to ever become one. He came in half out of spite, knowing how difficult it would be for Hardy to negotiate those steps, and he only feels more like twice warmed shit now that Hardy’s made his way down them to sit next to him.  “Right.” Carl downs the last of his pint and stands, only slightly wobbly. “Sit the fuck down,” Hardy growls in a tone that absolutely does not go straight to his dick. “I didn’t come all the way down those fucking stairs just to go back up again.”

Rules: post the first sentence (or two) of your latest 10 fanfics, then (attempt to) tag 10 people. I was tagged by @oldshrewsburyian. Thank you! I thought I hadn't done one of these in a while, but then I looked at my own tags and realized I did one in October. Mindbogglingly, I've posted 6 new fics since then, so I'm doing it again. 10 fics takes me back to January of 2025 and really illustrates how completely Dept Q has taken over my brain since September.

Carl is in early Monday morning, for no other reason than he has fuck all else to do. (Slow Disaster - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy, Donna/Hardy - my current wip, part 4 of Nothing is Harmless - In which Carl cannot conceive of that fact that he can have nice things.)

“See you up there.” Carl slides the door of the birdcage lift shut with a rattly clang, flashes James a grin through the metal scrollwork, and springs for the stairs. (Wonder what the weather will be - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy - part 3 of Nothing is Harmless. Porn with feelings.)

Carl extricates himself from the weird fucking tennis ball party as soon as he finishes his beer. (Puncture Repair - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy - Episode 1x09 missing scene.)

“Knife!” Hardy spins in the direction of Carl’s shout, and that slippery fucker Declan Fraser is right there, must have been hiding behind the skip. (Wasp Nest - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy, Donna/Hardy - In which I hurt Carl by hurting Hardy.)

Rose looks up when the lift pings. For a split second, when the doors first rattle open, she could swear the toes of the two pairs of trainers visible are touching, as if their owners are standing face to face, close enough to be in each other’s arms. (Seeing Things - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy - Five times Rose suspected there was more to Carl and Hardy’s partnership than work, and one time she called them on it.)

Carl’s mobile buzzes from somewhere unseen. (Proven Techniques for Stress Management in Public Speaking - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy - Phonesex while Carl is away at a conference in Aberdeen.)

The rest of the day drags like no day has ever dragged before. (I’ll do what I can to be a confident wreck - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy, part 2 of Nothing is Harmless - Porn with more feelings than Carl anticipated.)

“We need to talk about this,” Hardy says as the lift doors rattle shut behind Rose and Akram. (Nothing is Harmless - Dept Q, Carl/Hardy - Featuring Hardy calling Carl out on his lack of self-preservation instinct.)

By the time James lands in Christchurch, the hope that followed him onto the first flight of his journey has worn thin and doubt is beginning to creep in around the edges. (The last place we left off - Lewis, James/Robbie - The 3rd and final part of my Lewis/Shetland crossover Lead me wild to your dark roads.)

“What are you doing here?” (It’s not a date - Ted Lasso, Roy/Jamie - Post-s3. Jamie knows what’s up even if Roy doesn’t.)