#aml-writes

Blood crumbles when it's dry, Heather realizes. She never really thought about that. Her fingers twitch, another red crack. When the first splatterings of blood made its way onto her arm, she had a familiar thought, Don't stain my clothes. Memories of inconvenient periods in class flicker through her mind, kids almost spilling food on her. She almost laughs at the simplicity of it.

Her palm, rough and jagged with blood, reaches to wipe away phantom tears across her cheek. Flakes of red float their way down to her lap. She'd stopped crying ages ago, but the tracks of her tears stain her cheeks. Her eyes are still puffy.

"Where are we going?" She asks, voice dry and gravelly. She glances at the boy who saved her, away from the window shes been staring through for the past hour and away from the passing pine trees. The boy looks at her for the first time this whole drive, or maybe it's not, maybe it's just the first time she's noticed.

He looks back at the road. "Away from Sherwood."

Heather is too tired to feel any proper anger, but the twinges of it still settle deep in her gut at the answer. "What do you mean?"

He shrugs, "I was leaving anyway. You looked like you needed a lift." His voice is casual, like he's talking about the weather. She doesn't believe him.

Heather clenches her teeth, "So no plan then."

He glances her way again, looks her blood caked body up and down, and looks back at the road. "We're gonna get you a change of clothes first."

Heather furrows her brows, "with what money?"

The boy finally gives some indication he's not entirely insane, smirking just this side of sly. "Pulled all the cash out of my old man's card. We're set for awhile."

We. Like he didn't just meet her today. Like she isn't some prom queen gone mad.

She stays silent, eyes drifting back out the window. The pine trees are still flying by, the moon still hangs high in the sky. They're not safe yet, but she finally starts feeling the exhaustion get to her. Her hand, still cracking away flakes of red, reach around blindly at the side of her seat until she finds a lever, pulling so she falls back. Her eyes trace the stains on the roof of the car mindlessly. And then, she closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.

"Couldn't sleep either?" She asks. He heaves a sigh, sitting down next to her, she lays her head on his shoulder.

"Nightmares." Is all he says and Mal hums.

Carlos had always had awful dreams. Worse even, because most involved Cruella and very real things she had done to him.

Or

Two isle kids can't sleep well in their new home.

She hadn't meant to get caught kissing Jay. *She hadn't.* She keeps telling herself that. But then why had she kissed him in her room? Surely she wanted to get caught, right? That's what her mother would have said. They were in her home after all. Maleficent is *never* wrong.

Or

Mal feels bad and needs some cuddles. Jay provides.

"Oh! Yeah." She says, "Is he here? We were supposed to have dinner tonight."

Realization dawns on Kathy, her sleep addled mind completely forgetting that Elliot said he was going back to the office tonight. She sighs, letting her head drop in disappointment, "He forgot to tell you didn't he?"

Olivia tilts her head, "Tell me what?"

Kathy gives a fond chuckle, at both Olivia's expression, and her husband's forgetfulness, "That he had to cancel. Hes working overtime tonight. Some case he's working on alone."

"Oh." Olivia's shoulders droop. She looks embarrassed, and Kathy is quick to remedy the situation.

"Don't worry about it, he does that sometimes. You know how he is." She opens the door wide, "Come in. We don't need him to have a good time."

Or

Elliot forgets to cancel date night with Liv.

Kathy decides she and Liv can have a date night of their own.

"Do you love her?"

There was no accusation in her tone, as she sat there with her head on Elliot's shoulder, voice soft. She was looking at him with gentle curiosity in her eyes. But he didn't see it, couldn't bear to look at her when faced with that question.

"Its complicated Kathy." He says instead.

She hums, then without missing a beat, detaches herself from his shoulder and starts rummaging around in the bedside table.

He turns to watch her with a furrowed brow, "What are you doing?"

She takes out a magazine and tosses it in his lap.

At a glace, he sees it reads; "non-monogamy."

—

Or,

Elliot is in love with Olivia. Elliot is still married to Kathy. Kathy introduces the term, "Polyamory."

"I love you."

She raises an eyebrow, "Is it because I'm making food?"

He walks behind the counter to where she stands, and kisses her, long and sweet.

"No" And rachel stares at him like he hung the stars, still in disbelief at how lucky she is.

And just as shes about to tell him how much she loves him, he reaches behind her and takes a spoonful of cereal, "Well maybe the food has something to do with it."