#cece mitchells

Cece never celebrated Valentine's Day. It's not like she didn't want to, oh no, she adored all the cutesy pink and red stuff, the hearts everywhere and having a day dedicated to adoring her significant other - no, it's just that every single one of her ex-boyfriends hated the idea and claimed it to be a capitalistic nightmare. It was, but that didn't mean Circe wouldn't have loved to be cherished a little bit more than usual for one day of the year. Based on her past experiences, she didn't plan anything for this Valentine's day either, thinking it will be just a normal Saturday.

Danny thought otherwise. For him, Valentine's day was always special, and even though his ex-girlfriend wasn't fond of the idea, he always went an extra mile. This Valentine's day was different though: that extra mile quickly turned into ten extra miles. He wanted to surprise his new girlfriend, wanted to make her feel special so bad that apart from the planned activities, he also decided to make her breakfast in bed, a recipe he never tried before nonetheless: crepes cake! It was a dessert meal, but she mentioned eating it as a kid for breakfast so many times that Danny decided to go with the flow.

Cooking early in the morning wasn't really going according to plan though. Cece woke up to the smell of smoke, making her jump out of bed with a startled look, no remnants of sleep in her eyes. She ran out of the bedroom, only to find Daniel frantically waving a kitchen towel, standing before an open window, trying to get the smoke out as fast as possible. There was a pan on the stove, the remnants of something burnt into ashes darkening the bottom of it.

“What's happening?” Cece asked sheepishly. Danny let out a startled shout, then hid the still hot pan behind his back with an innocent, silly smile.

“NOTHING!!!” oh that came out loud. He cleared his throat as Cece furrowed her brows. “Nothing, baby, go back to bed.”

“Danny…” she didn't even need to finish the sentence, she just needed the right suspicious tone to make Danny break, rolling his eyes, his lips pouting. He put the pan down and looked before himself on the ground, hands fiddling with his hair.

“I messed up! I wanted to make you a heart-shaped crepes cake for breakfast and I burnt it down so bad we'll have to throw the pan out…” he sounded so sorry that Cece couldn't help but let out the softest ‘awwww’. She stepped closer to him, inspecting the pan.

“You forgot to put oil under it, did you?” she asked while caressing his face.

“… you're supposed to?” he asked, then checked his phone for the scribbled down recipe Cece's mum sent him. Yeah no mention of oil whatsoever, and honestly it made him feel better about himself! So he didn't forget, Cece's mum just didn’t mention it and-

“Well let's just grab another pan, I'll try to save this one later, and I can show you how-”

“Nooo!” Danny frowned, taking her hands into his while looking at Circe with huge puppy eyes. “I'm supposed to do this alone! For you! As a surprise! For Valentine's Day!”

Freezing in place would've been an understatement about what Cece felt. Her lips fell open, heart rate sped up, eyes widening, voice becoming shaky.

“For… what?” That's all she could muster before Danny started eagerly explaining with the widest, most adoring grin she has ever seen.

“Yeah! I have the whole day planned out: breakfast in bed, then I'll take you to the aquarium because we both love the fishies, I made reservations for their shark tank sushi restaurant so lunch there, theeen we're going to that traveling carnival you mentioned and we'll go on rides and I'll win you a teddy bear and-”

Cece burst into tears, unable to hold back her emotions. She felt like her heart was about to explode, the warm feeling of being adored washing over her. Danny, of course, misunderstood and started panicking.

“OR NOT, I ALSO BOUGHT SOME SEX CHOCOLATE SO WE CAN STAY HOME AND UNDER THE COVERS ALL DAY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CELEBRATE, FINE BY ME BABY, DIDN'T WANNA MAKE YOU SAD, PLEASE DON'T CRY.” he held Cece's face into his palms, wiping her tears off with his thumb. She started tapping under her eyes, her smile that Danny loved so much finally returning.

“Noooo I want to celebrate and go out! I just…” she sighed, tilting her face into Danny's palm. “…never had someone who wanted to celebrate it too. So this was kind of overwhelming.”

“In a good way, right?” the blonde man was still unsure of his effect, so just to be safe, he had to ask. Luckily, Circe started chuckling, sounding flustered. Her eyes looked like they had little hearts in them already.

“In the best way, sweetheart.” she answered. Danny let out a relieved sigh and pulled her forehead towards himself, pushing a smooch on top of it. Cece hugged his waist and pulled him into a hug. Danny's arms moved to wrap around her and he buried his face in her hair. Cece was scratching his scalp while peppering kisses over his cheek. “I got you something too, you know. I just thought you wouldn't want to celebrate.” Danny started placing kisses over her neck between each word he said.

“How could I not when I have the most kickass, awesome, loving, smart, adorable girlfriend in the whole wide world?!” Circe started giggling, both from the tickling of his facial hair against her neck and his sweet words. “I'm so lucky.” he said with a dreamy sigh, lips finding Cece's. After sharing a playful kiss, Circe pulled back, looking at Daniel with so much love and appreciation she didn't even know she was capable of.

It looked like Valentine's Day was about to become her favorite holiday.

✧ taglist: @punkrockmlchael @wheretheworldisfree @pandachannn @sweetpeapod @fredhechingerfrenzy

Cece let out a loud, lion-roar-like yawn as she got off her motorbike, her helmet already strapped onto the handles. As much as she thought the venti she got with 8 shots of espresso while riding – she reached for the cup in the holster and shook the last remaining drops onto her mouth with closed eyes, strong caffeine and cinnamon lingering on her tongue – would help, but in reality nothing could elevate the exhaustion of two sleepless nights and two spent half crying / half dozing off. She stretched with a grunt, then rolled her head back and sighed. “Alright, Cee. Let’s start our workday. It’s gonna be funnnn!” she reminded herself, then reached into the added trunk of her vehicle, threw her care-bag over her shoulder, and started heading towards the door of the condo.

She knew this was reckless, that she should’ve called in sick, because her employers would have understood, since her job needed a fully present person, one that could focus… but she needed to do something to get her mind off of her current situation… and besides, Thelma counted on her.

For the past half year, she started and finished most days at the sweet old lady’s house. Ever since Mrs. Thelma Post was scammed and was lost for a day to get her stolen money back, her daughter Gail and Gail’s husband Alan has been adamant on either sending her to a nursing home, or hiring a caregiver for her. Thelma’s grandson, Daniel, could persuade his parents into doing the latter, since Thelma was still very active, independent, and… well, headfirst. That was probably Cece’s favorite thing about Thelma. The sweet lady made it clear that if she wanted a live-in-nurse she’d move into Belwood (which she had no intention to, thank you very much) and hence all she could stomach was someone checking on her now and then. Since Daniel was not the fittest person for the job – bless his heart – the family hired someone: one of Alan’s colleague’s daughter, Cece. Cece had a certification as a nurse, – albeit working as a beauty store manager – would’ve liked to make some money on the side but didn’t ask much, and was a total sweetheart… and Alan owed Cece’s father a huge favor which he reminded him of every damn day so he took the liberty to hit two birds with one stone, really.

When the family first met Cece they thought this was a huge mistake. Cece didn’t look like a nurse at all: she came to her first interview wearing a bright pink pair of dungarees with a huge bow in the back, black chunky high heels, tons of jewelry, glittery pink eyeshadow with eyeliner wings so long she could take flight with them and batwing-shaped sunglasses. Gail and Alan were in complete shock and tried to dismiss her immediately; right until their son declared how much his grandma will love how she doesn’t look like a nurse and that she’s not a boring person to look at. Later he asked what’s up with the outfit and Cece shamelessly admitted to him that she completely forgot about the interview and came running from brunch with her friends.

Fortunately, Cece seemed to be the perfect choice for the role after all – she took her job incredibly seriously, made sure Thelma took all her meds and went to all of her doctor’s appointments, cooked for her most days, taught her how to help herself up if she fell, worked her aching bones and muscles with proper physiotherapy, and in general was good company for her. Thelma found Cece's company pleasant, she loved their talks, not to mention Thelma found it incredibly sympathetic that she didn’t treat her like she was a burden of an old fart, so the bond between the old lady and her caregiver grew tight fast.

On the other hand, Cece had help. Daniel, or, as everyone called him, Danny, Thelma’s grandson was a frequent visitor of the lady when he had some free time. Cece loved when he was over because during this past half year they became quite good friends – they hung out outside of Thelma’s house a couple times so far and they always had awesome chats when he was over at his grandma’s. Cece loved his quirky humor… he could always make her smile and always listened attentively when she talked.

To her greatest pleasure the door swung open and Danny stood there smiling at her as she was looking for her keys.

“Hellou, stranger, long time no- wow you look like shit.” he greeted her while monching on some snacks as he let her in.

“Well you’re pretty enough for the both of us, Daniel, so that’s a relief.” she sighed with a smile as she passed him. Danny chuckled nervously, running his fingers through his dirty blonde hair, still not completely used to Cece’s teasing – something that came naturally for her when talking to Danny.

“Uhhh… thanks, but seriously, what’s with the…” he pointed at the huge black bags under her eyes, which made her shake her head with a dismissive hand wave.

“Ehhh, pay it no mind, hon. Just didn’t get enough sleep last night, that’s all.” she smiled at him softly once he closed the door behind her. She received the same warm smile back, but even though she could see in his face that Danny didn’t believe her – I mean the bloodshot eyes, the slightly smudged makeup and the cry-swollen face were quite telling –, he didn’t push it. Cece pointed at his palm full of something colorful to deter the conversation. “What’s the new binge-snack?”

“Nerds Gummy Clusters.” he said with a huge grin. Cece was one of the few people who didn’t judge him on his random food-binging habits, oh no, on the contrary, she rather…

“GREAT I LOVE THOSE.” …joined him in them. And stole his snacks. Most of the times right from his palms.

“OY!” he laughed, reaching towards Cece’s hand to get his gummy clusters back but Cece was already downing them like there was no tomorrow, walking away from him as fast as she could. “THELMA I’M HEEERE!!!” she exclaimed with a full mouth, strutting towards the living room while simultaneously kicking her heels off and pushing Danny away by his face, both laughing at each other.

Cece was incredibly thankful to Daniel that he didn’t ask what was wrong, even though she knew he sensed that something was up. After finishing her usual check-up on Thelma’s health and sorting out her daily meds, she was grateful she was asked if she could do the dishes since the old lady didn’t have the time and Danny completely forgot about them. She thought the monotone, repetitive movements, the white noise of running water would calm her mind, but – as many times during these past four days – her tears started gathering in her eyes in the most random moments. She was taking big breaths to calm herself down, her shaky breathing rippling the soap bubbles on top of the water. She moved onto an incredibly nasty looking baking pan with burnt down pieces of fruit inside – that’s what happens folks when you’re baking and you forget to set a timer and sit down to watch movies with your grandson – hoping the tedious task would help her brewing anxiety… it did not. It pissed her off. So much so that she went to her bag, grabbed her scalpel sharp pocketknife and started scraping the remnants of the fruit off of the pan with the blade of it with way too much force, resting the pan on the side of the sink…

Thelma put her embroidery down and started getting up from her seat once Cece got to the living room, but she rushed the old lady to stay seated.

“Whatya workin’ on, dear?” she asked, stepping beside her, then gasped as Thelma showed her the embroidery. “Oh my, you started the strawberry field I got you!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her fingers, her half a dozen rings clanking against each other as she moved.

“I-I did! It’s a very pretty picture!” Thelma replied.

“She wasn’t even looking at the movie we were watching she was so invested in it.” Danny added on a fake-wounded tone as she stopped beside Cece. Thelma rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“Like we haven’t seen Cruise at least 4 times before, Daniel.”

“Those were all different movies, Grandma.” he explained on a sweet tone, his hands now in his pockets.

“Really?” she stalled for a minute while Cece settled beside her on the couch, putting her jewelry down on the table to get ready for Thelma’s daily health check-up. “Terrific he can do those tricks so many times for so many different movies then!” Danny chuckled, his shoulders rolling up to his ears.

“Yeah, he’s awesome.” Danny and Cece exchanged a knowing look with a smile, then Cece went back to her work, picking the blood pressure monitor out of her bag. Thelma gently touched her hand.

“You could hang it up in your kitchen, dear!”

“I could hang up what?” she asked, looking back up, her lips bitten together, her eyebrows raised.

“Th-the needlepoint!” explained the old lady. “You told me you have a strawberry looking china set which you love, it would look so nice hanged above it!” As sweet as the offer sounded, it churned Cece’s stomach into a ball. Her movements stopped for a slight second and she had to gather all her strength to mask the shaking in her voice and put on a believable smile.

“That’s very kind of you, Thelma. Thank you.”

Thelma looked towards the kitchen from where an incredibly loud banging sound came, simultaneously accompanied by:

“Bazzzzzzdmeg baszki baszki baszki DANNY!!!!!!” Daniel didn’t even wait for his name to be called, as soon as he heard the (without a doubt) foreign cursing from the kitchen he leaped over the couch and his Grandma, tripping, scrambling toward Cece. The sight that welcomed him was concerning: a baking pan and a pocketknife down on the ground, drops of blood around them, Cece hunching over the sink with a painful look on her face, holding a dishtowel to her palm.

“YES I’M HE- WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!” he asked on a frantic tone, running to her.

“Grab the first aid kit from my bag.” Danny stalled in anxiety, watching the towel gaining a distinctively red color. “NOW!” she screamed at him, which made Danny nearly lose his ground but got himself together and scurried back to the living room, immediately reaching into her bag and searching for the first aid kit.

“What happened?” asked his Grandma on a worried tone.

“I don’t know she’s bleeding DON’T WORRY I’LL HANDLE IT!” he jabbered and was off straightaway, practically darting back into the kitchen. Cece was now sitting on the ground, her back against the sink cabinet. Danny crawled down beside her. “WHAT DO I DO?!?!”

“You get the gauze, the iodine and the long strip of bandage out and you do NOT panic.” she instructed him on an authoritative tone.

“YOU’RE SURPRISINGLY CALM FOR SOMEONE WHO’S BLEEDING OUT.” exclaimed the definitely panicking Danny as he tore open the gauze package.

“I’m not bleeding out, I just stabbed my palm. Son of a bitch knife slipped.” she groaned, but was still calm enough to reach for the iodine in Danny’s other hand and to start drenching her wound in it. Danny nearly got sick by the sight of a gaping slot right above her wrist on the left side of her left hand’s palm, the gap going towards the middle of her palm. Cece hissed as the iodine seeped into her wound.

“…that looks bad, you’re very pale, I’ll take you to the hospital.” he said on a shaky tone. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and could feel his hands starting to shake in worry.

“It’s fine, it’s just a minor cut. Not even that deep and can’t be longer than three centimeters.” she shrugged through the pain as she put a piece of gauze onto the wound and started wrapping the long bandage around it in a practiced manner – like it was nothing. Danny pushed his hair back anxiously while the other hand kept waving around him.

“N-no it’s it’s it’s not minor it’s huge and you’re bleeding out and I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT ARE THREE CENTIMETERS I DON’T SPEAK METRIC BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT.” Cece couldn’t help but snort at his outburst, a caring smile sliding onto her lips through all the pain she was in.

“And I don’t speak freedom eagle when I’m in a shit ton of pain love, but trust me…” she propped her bandaged hand up on her knee and reached for Danny’s face with the other. She gently grabbed his chin, mushed his cheeks together and turned his head towards herself. As her big, round, brown eyes met his cornflower blue gaze, Danny felt a sudden wave of grounding. “…it’s not as bad as it looks.” her voice rang calm in the chaos of the kitchen, pulling Danny back to Earth. “I was studying this, you know. Right? I know when to worry about something and when can something be fixed with a bit of wound glue.” She chuckled, letting go of his face, although it felt like her wounded hand was going to blow off. Danny shook his head – he didn’t look as panicky as a minute earlier, but he definitely was distressed.

“Okay… and they can do that in the hospital.” He burst out all of a sudden decisively. Cece tried to say something but he talked over her. “Noooo no, no, Cee, for my mental health I am going to take you to the ER, a doctor is gonna check you out, and you’re going to rest your hand for a couple days.” he nodded like he was already putting the steps together in his head.

Cece couldn’t disagree with him. She knew she didn’t need more medical care than what she could’ve provided for herself anyway, but she was aware that Danny would probably get an aneurysm in the next couple days if she didn’t agree to go. She let out a defeated sigh.

“Strictly for your mental health.” And with that, she held out her intact hand so Danny could help her up from the ground.

“Are you dizzy? I think people who lose a lot of blood get dizzy…” he asked with an uneasy face once he wrapped an arm around Cece’s waist and was holding her unwounded arm with the other.

“Yeah I am… but it’s because of exhaustion, not the blood loss, so, there’s a bright side to that, huh?”

Once they got to the hall – which was a feat because Cece did feel a bit wobbly and needed those strong arms around her – Thelma was already there, put Cece’s heels before the door so she could put them on, and was holding out Danny’s car keys.

“Thanks Grandma.” he said softly as he grabbed the keys.

“You drive safe Danny.” she reached out and rubbed Cece’s arm. “I didn’t hear what happened, dear, just that you two are going to the hospital. What-wh-how-what did you do?!”

“I tried to frame you for murder so you’d sit on your butt for a while, Thel.” Cece joked. “But I got second thoughts because I love you so much and my guardian angel Danny saved me.” The answer was a typical grandma-like ‘oh you’ scoff from Thelma and a short laugh from Danny. “Look at that, at least SOMEONE appreciates my humor.” Cece looked back at Thelma. “Are you gonna be alright, Thelma? Because we don’t need to-“

“YES we do.” Danny immediately corrected her, which made Cece want to strangle him with her bloody bandage. Thelma waved them off.

“I’ll be fine. I’m a tough cookie! Besides, you two aren’t here all the time and I still manage! I mean, I’m not toast yet!”

“Grandma don’t say things like that!” Danny hated when she was talking like that. After making sure Thelma was wearing her Lyfe Line they got going with Cece, leaving the sweet old lady alone.

At least two hours passed while Danny was waiting for Cece to get stitched up, pacing up and down the hospital corridor, his boots leaving a trail of footprints behind. He managed to reach his mum, told her what happened and ensured her that Cece will be okay – even though he wasn’t sure about it neither. He also phoned his own workplace and let management know that he won’t be able to go in the next day – which was answered with little anticipation and a lot of sighs, but when he came up with a white lie his excuse became suddenly acceptable. I mean who wouldn’t want to stay with his grandma if she was taken to hospital? Those self-improvement classes were really paying off, it seemed, and he didn’t even feel bad! When a nurse came looking for “Anyone who accompanied Miss Circe Mitchells?” Danny immediately shoved his phone in his pocket and went strutting to the nurse.

“How is she?!?” he still sounded as concerned as two hours ago. The nurse started leading the man towards where Cece was resting.

“It was just a minor cut, there is nothing to worry about, I can assure you.” the nurse calmed Daniel. “The accident was probably caused by exhaustion, lack of sleep, plus her heart was going haywire due to high caffeine intake. For the latter she got an IV drip, but I’ll ask you to make sure she drinks a lot of water, especially in the next couple days.” Daniel blinked at that response. He knew something was up with Cece, but didn’t think she was this level of tired. What could’ve happened to her?! “Although the knife only went through her epidermis and pierced her dermis, if the cut would’ve landed a quarter of an inch lower she would’ve slit her arteries. It was pure luck it went where it did.” she explained, then nodded towards the curtained off bed where Cece was laying. “I’d suggest you talk to your girlfriend about slowing down, resting, and knife safety, sir.” Danny’s cheeks gained a crimson red color and he had to look down at the ground for a second.

“She’s not my girlfriend, we’re just… friends.” he explained with a shy smile.

“Oh… well. Anyway!” the nurse cleared her throat and pointed towards the bed. “She was already informed about her recovery – although Miss Mitchells is a nurse and hence knows what’s up – and was put on a sick leave for a week, got her discharge note, you can take her home whenever you two are ready. Goodbye, sir.” she nodded and walked away with a polite smile.

The air was thick with the smell of iodine and bleach, and the lights were almost blinding. Cece was sitting on the hospital bed, her legs in criss-cross-applesauce under herself, typing on her phone with her right hand, her left bandaged one laying on her lap. Her mum just told her off for not paying better attention to herself and promised she’d strangle her if she wouldn’t live half a world away. She obviously also asked how was the pain and sent her millions of kisses through the ether, urging her to grab a friend and have a relaxing night in. Cece was still chuckling at the ‘rather threatening’ response when a disheveled, dirty blonde head popped into her periphery.

“I thought Cece was your full name.” Danny said with a comforting smile on his lips, closing the curtain behind himself. Cece rolled her eyes, putting her phone away. She couldn’t have been happier, seeing that Danny stayed. There was a white Band-Aid on her right arm where the IV drip previously was attached to it, the white fabric gleaming in a bright contrast against a deep purple bruise the needle left where it was connected into her veins.

“Yeah no, it’s an abbreviation. My full legal name is considered weird for some fucking reason and most people either can't pronounce it…” she started explaining.

“Yeah, couldn’t even imagine how that feels.” he snorted, cutting in, his hands in his pockets. Cece shook her head with a grin. His name, Markowitz must’ve been butchered a good couple times too.

“…or think of a fictional character most people hate.” she finished the explanation, looking up at Danny. “Sooo I stick to Cece! It’s cute, no?”

“Well it’s better than being named after the evil tyrant of Westeros.” Danny said with a chuckle and a shrug, which was rewarded with a pillow smacked straight against his face. “OY, YOU’RE GONNA OPEN UP YOUR WOUND!” he retorted, still grinning, shielding his face from the next couple strikes with the pillow.

“It’s fucking CIRCE, not CERSEI!” she groaned, actually sounding annoyed, finally lowering her weapon. “See I told you! Everybody fucking thinks it's Cersei when it’s clearly not! I- UUUGGGHHHH.” she groaned, put the pillow back behind her head and laid back, eyes against the ceiling. Danny, frankly, found her outburst adorable.

“Okay, it’s clearly not that, calm down!” he chuckled and held up his hands. “You nearly put me beside you onto that hospital bed, woman! Damn, that was a good strike!” his words made Cece change her mood, look back at him and put on a little smile. “But you gotta admit those names DO sound similar, Cee.”

“Well in English they do!” she snapped her tongue against her teeth in annoyance. “But one was a power-hungry bitch with a brother-breeding kink and the other was an enchantress with vast knowledge of potions and herbs and could transform men into pigs! There. Is. A. Difference!!!” Danny raised his eyebrows at the explanation, and just kept looking at Cece with his boyish smile plastered across his face until the girl couldn’t do anything else but accept her defeat. “Alright, alright, I’m done.” she let out a huge sigh. “Let’s get out of here…”

Danny suddenly stepped closer as Cece tried getting off the bed and put his hands on her shoulders. He first looked at the ceiling as if he was asking for help from a higher power, then his features turned softer, caring. Cece furrowed her brows, not understanding why was he stalling her. Daniel took a big breath and looked Circe deep in her eyes. Okay. Here we go… “Before we do… Cece what’s going on? What’s wrong?” The girl had to peel her eyes away from his. She couldn’t bare that cornflower blue gaze seeking for answers… these were her own problems. She didn’t want to burden her friends with them… She paused to wet her lips before she could speak.

“Nothing… just… a bad week, that’s all-” she said on a faint tone before Danny reached under her chin, his soft hands cupping her face from both sides, making her look at him once again.

“Bad weeks don’t make your hands shake so bad you nearly stab yourself to death.” he cut in. “And I talked to the nurse, she told me you’re so exhausted that your heartrate went off the fucking scales.” there was no answer, just watery brown eyes gazing into his. “Cece… sweetheart we are friends, good friends, come on.” his voice dropped lower, so only she could hear it, gently grabbing her face tighter.

“I…” Circe sighed, shaking her head slightly. “I don’t want to burden you with my issues, Danny… I have to be able to solve them on my own… I have to be an adult…” Daniel knew those exact thoughts. They were with him most days in his own head… yet he pushed them aside because he knew he needed to be there for his friend.

“It's alright to need somebody. I know what a strong girl you are but you don't have to be alone with the highs and the lows. Talk to me. Please.”

Danny, without a question or thought, stepped between Cece’s legs, put her hands behind his back and wrapped his arms tightly around her shaking body. She didn’t even realize what a simple but deep need she had for a hug. She clang onto Danny like he was the only secure spot in her life and sobbed into his t-shirt, her nails penetrating the skin on his back. They haven’t even known each other for such a long time but Cece always felt such an indescribable calm and comfort beside him which she wasn’t even able to fathom, let alone explain. She tried to shush the part of her brain that whispered how she felt this way because she liked him more than a friend – both of them were in a relationship before so this thought wouldn’t have been right.

It took all of Cece’s mental strength not to break down crying at that exact moment. She slowly nodded, took Daniel’s hands into hers, and dropped them into her lap while she let out a shaky breath. Her legs kept anxiously kicking the air in small motions as she hanged them off the edge of the hospital bed to grant her some control of the situation and her own scrambled mind. “Okay. Alright.” she gulped, starting her tale. “Four days ago…”

“When I went to that camping trip with my parents?” he cut in. Cece nodded two times.

“…yeah, then, uhh… I went home early from work to surprise my boyfriend.” she was holding Danny’s hands so tightly with her uninjured one that her knuckles turned white. She let out a faint sarcastic chuckle, her eyebrows running up to her hairline. “I guess it really turned out to be a huge surprise for the both of us. You see, I surprised him with donuts, and he surprised me with fucking one of my best friends on our couch.”

“Fuuuuck…” Danny said, breathless for a moment as he was trying to gather his thoughts. “I am so sorry Cee, that’s awful…” he said softly - although, somewhere deep in his thoughts, he was currently beating up said ex-boyfriend.

“Oh honey that’s not the worst part, trust me, it’s gonna get uglier.” she said with a sour chuckle, shaking her head. “I flashed out on him, obviously, shocked, cussing and throwing shit. I don’t even know why I was so pissed off… it has been a loveless relationship for months, I just stayed because being alone scared the shit out of me.” she confessed, but on such a tiny tone that she was not entirely sure she didn’t just say it in her head. “I grabbed some of my stuff and stormed off to a motel for the night, to, ya know, clear my head.” Cece closed her eyes with a frustrated sigh. “After crying for a whole night and obviously not sleeping one blink I went to Thelma, did my duties, then to work, then during the afternoon went back to my ex’s place to break up with him and gather the rest of my things but uhhh…” Tears started swelling up in her eyes again, now in bigger drops… she was unable to swallow them back. Cece laughed out maniacally, tears running down her cheeks like someone just opened a tap as she looked back up at Danny. “They were out there, on the lawn, thrown out, my clothes, my plants, my books, my sewing machine… It took me two days to find my cat cause he gave her up to a shelter?” She laughed up again, trying to wipe her eyes while Danny watched in horror. Words just started flowing out of her, the frustration of the past 4 days finally coming out. “He broke so many of my stuff that I loved and adored and he stole so many of my shits and said he’d put them up for sale and I couldn’t do anything because I wasn’t on the lease contract of the place I just moved in with him so he even had some right to do this but now I’m homeless and I don’t know what to do because I don’t have the money for the deposit on a new apartment on my own and I have no one I could move in with because all my friends are in relationships or married and I’m FUCKED.” she was jumping from sobbing to nervous laughter and back to sobbing, her whole body shaking by now. “I’ve moved my stuff into a storage room with the help of a friend and have been looking for places for the past 4 days while also juggling work and sleeping on couches and I’m so so SO EXHAUSTED and FUCKED and I don’t know what to DO I’M SO ANXIOUS AND CLUELESS AND FUCKED.”

Danny kept her wrapped in his arms, making sure the tight hug pushed all her worries out of her mind momentarily. He buried his face in her long locks of brown hair and breathed in deep, nuzzling against her neck. She was always so confident and awesome for which Danny adored her from the first time they talked and looked up to her, but now… she looked just as fragile and uncertain as he felt most days. He felt a sudden need to get his shit together and be there for her, to help her get back up. A thought crossed his mind… no that would be stupid. But… oh come on they were adults. Shit, friends, and friends help each other out… okay the male participant of the friendship here had a certain crush on the female participant of the friendship ever since they first met but that was completely irrelevant to this situation.

The painful sobbing slowly subsided, and Cece’s grip gradually loosened on Daniel’s shirt. “And I even cut my stupid self with that fucking knife and my hand hurts and I’m hungry and now I’m gonna get snot all over your awesome graphic t-shirt too.” Danny let out a chuckle. “I’m a mess, man.”

“Ehh, it’s fine, Cee. Just one more to go in the pile and rot there until I get myself to do laundry.” now it was Cece’s turn to chuckle at his silly humor. Danny rubbed her back up and down, keeping his face buried in her hair. “Did you tell your parents? Can’t they help you in some way?”

“Which one? My absent father or my mum who lives half a world away?” she asked on a sour tone. “Mum sent me a bit of money to help with the storage room renting, but she’s not well off either, and Dad told me to just get over it and solve it on my own.”

“How charming.” he said with outmost sarcasm, straightening back up. He put a hopeful smile back onto his face. “But if that’s all, I’m your guy!” Cece furrowed her brows while simultaneously reaching into her pockets for a tissue. Since she had no clue what Danny was on about, he had to continue with a nervous chuckle. “I have a room at my apartment you could move into. Affordable rent, no need for a deposit, good area, nice view, low bills - apart from electricity… okay it’s not a big place but oh well…”

“I’m sure Allie would be thrilled about the idea…” she said with an eyeroll after she blew out her nose and wiped her eyes clean.

The way Danny’s lips turned into a straight line and his eyes started darting across the floor, then back at Cece, spoke louder than a thousand words could. Cece’s features turned into a sympathetic, sorry frown. “Oh Danny you can’t be serious…” the blonde locks fell forward, hiding Danny’s face from the world.

“She broke up with me two weeks ago over the fact that I still have zero fucking idea what to do with my life – even though I have a job? And I’m attending a buttload of self-improvement classes? Fuck knows, I’m trying.” a frustrated sigh left his plump, bitemark-riddled lips. “She moved out last week… and I’m quite positive it’s a permanent decision.” he explained on a sad tone. “That’s why my parents took me out camping. To clear my head.” The girl still sitting on the bed rubbed his arm, looking for his gaze.

“Oh Danny… Hon, she didn’t deserve you. You’re way better than what she thinks or says about you.” she soothed him, but the answer was just a wave of his hand.

“Sure, I’m the fucking jackpot.” his gaze darted back to Cece and Danny held his arms out theatrically. “But hey, maybe it was faith! Like this, I can act as your brave and bright savior! Daniel Markowitz, here to save the day!” he laughed at himself, making Cece smile as well. She was holding the edge of the bed once she found her voice.

“Are you sure about this?” she sounded uncertain.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” asked Danny, sounding adorably clueless, his dirty blonde messy locks flying as he tilted his head to the side… like her words would gain more meaning at a 45 degrees angle.

“You don’t mind that I have a cat? Or that I work for your parents? Or that I’m a woman and you’re a man, for that matter?” Daniel started counting on his fingers as he answered.

“I’m great with animals so your cat won’t be an issue, I’m sure we’ll be pals in no time.” well Cece wasn’t so sure about that but go on Danny boy. “You might be working for my parents but we’re friends so that overwrites everything, honestly. Aaaand the fact that you’re a lady…” he scratched his stubble. “…do you mind if I walk around in my boxers and scratch my ass?” there was a playful spark glinting in his eyes. He was serious about becoming roommates, apparently… now came the negotiations of it.

“Not if you don’t mind the same from me either.” Cece shrugged, a similar smile finding its way to her face and into her eyes. She felt like a thousand rocks just rolled down from her chest. Was this real? It felt unreal…

“Sweet. Laundry piles?”

“I’ll gladly pick up your dirty socks around the apartment if in return you do the dishes instead of me.” Danny pouted and licked his lips, his eyes grazing the ceiling, feigning consideration, but he did shrug and nodded after a small while.

“Okay, but we’ll have to make a chore chart cause otherwise I’m lost and forget everything.” he added.

“That’s settled then! How do you feel about houseplants and herbs?”

“If they don’t cover the TV screen I’ll even water them.” Danny held up a finger. “Important question: pop culture statues, Lego sets and posters as house décor?” Cece looked at him with a gaze that asked ‘Are you being for real right now?’ He scoffed, absolutely wounded. “Excuse me THAT is-”

“Completely acceptable and we’ll make it work with my Funko collection… if I can get it back?” Danny fist pumped the air with a triumphant look on his face. “I’ll just keep my creepy shit in my own room.” she added, raising questions in Danny but he decided they’ll get back to that later on. Cece held out her hand so they would shake on it. “Is it a deal then, Mr. Markowitz?” Danny smacked his hand in hers and shook it vigorously. Cece’s eyes became teary with joy as he grinned at her.

“Pleasure doing business with you, ma’am!” he exclaimed, then lowered his head to be at the same height as her eyes were. His words made Cece the happiest person alive. “Let’s go home then, Miss Mitchells.”

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