-- THE SWEETEST EYES

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

It was hard to throw a party for someone that hardly knew anyone. Who could Denny invite? At most, there’d be four people a x amounts of booze, not including the cat that came and went. And after tonight, there’d be a fifth life form under the roof, but that was for Denny to know and for Annie to think that he was still looking. The present wasn’t the hard part though; Annie had made it clear she wanted a puppy, and Denny was determined to find one that wouldn’t shift in the middle of the night and steal all of their stuff. Honestly, that wasn’t even his concern on a basis of loosing something because the only thing he was really worried about in that case was Annie, it would just be inconvenient for him to pay for something that was just going to steal his clothing and run away to be free again. That was why it took so long for him to find the right dog, a cute little German shepherd with an awesome smile and an energy level that Denny instantly clicked with when he saw the dog. After that, he had to convince the owner of the shelter to hold the dog for him just long enough to get his next pay check, and when he was finally able to pay for him, he had to find a place to keep him hidden until this party. The owner agreed, once again, to keep the puppy there until Denny was ready to take him home as long as Denny made fifteen minutes every day to come play with him, just so the dog wouldn’t think Denny was abandoning him. Denny obviously agreed, and the first thing he’d done before Annie woke up was get dressed and head to the shelter.

So now was the day of Annie’s birthday and he hoped Abby and Boss or one or the other were up in the apartment, distracting Annie from really missing him too much. He’d only been gone a few hours, and he knew for at least a fraction of that time Annie had been asleep. Denny had left her a note like a good boyfriend just telling her he had some things to pick up before the party really started, which was really just the dog, a box for the dog, and another bottle of wine. Keeping it class, you know. Anyway, Denny had a bit of trouble climbing the stairs to the apartment. He looked at the first step around the box and attempted to step up, but he lost his balance and had to focus on keeping himself from dropping the box and the glass bottle at the same time. Once he was back on his feet, he put his foot back on the step far enough back that it wouldn’t tip back when he lifted the other foot. That worked, and so for the next three or so steps he took it slowly like that. The fourth step was a little wobbly, which meant someone was going to have to call the landlord to get it fixed, but for today Denny was too preoccupied. His wife was 21 today; a step would have to wait until he wasn’t busy or someone else called to get it fixed. However, that didn’t mean that he didn’t have to be careful. Denny lifted his leg and stretched it over the broken stair, quickly gripping onto the railing with the hand that had wine within its grasp. That worked.

A few more steps that Denny managed to climb safely and then another broken one. It was chipped and it threatened to break just at the sight of it. Denny skipped it again, successfully keeping the dog in the box, but not without a few sounds out of it. Denny made a noise to hush it, but in a soft, smiley tone. He didn’t want the dog thinking things about him like most people in the town did, so he had to be careful what he did around it. This was Annie’s dog, and he had to treat it as such. Plus, he’d spent time with this puppy; he liked it, he could trust it, and he knew that it would love its new home. Annie stayed in the apartment by herself while Denny was at work, which he felt badly for, but he knew the dog would be a good companion for another dog, even though that wasn’t how he thought of Annie in any sense of the term. He just knew that sometimes, opposites didn’t really attract, which made sense between Annie and her lack of interest in Beast these days, but that didn’t mean it made any sense as to Denny’s sudden infatuation with the cat. Maybe it was a subconscious thing, like the fact that Beast had been there the day he’d told Annie he loved her before he fell asleep or something. In any case, the cat was staying and the dog was coming in and they’d just be a happy little family that consisted of two dogs, a cat and a bird. It was like they were putting themselves in a twisted version of Tom and Jerry, but no one seemed to object too much.

The rest of the stairs were easy to finish climbing. No one was out and about to knock Denny off track and none of the other stairs were broken. The dog barked a few times, and each time Denny had to smile it off and hush him in a gentle tone. As soon as they got to the door, it was like the dog knew that he was the surprise; the box stopped jiggling so much in Denny’s arms and the interior grew ultra quiet. Denny opened the door and put the wine down on the chair against the wall, something that had been brought from Annie’s old apartment. Gently, Denny put down the box and looked around – no one seemed to be in the apartment just yet. It was dark and quiet, which led Denny to believe that Annie hadn’t even left the bed yet. He smirked, knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to let the dog out. He opened the top of the box, pulled the puppy up and over the edge, then set it on the ground. “Good boy!” he said in an excited but hushed tone. Denny picked the puppy up again with one hand and held it close to his chest, heading back to the bedroom in just that manner. Once there, he let the dog down again and said, “Go ahead, wake mommy up!”

The puppy yelped as loud as he could and sprinted for the bed, jumping up and running right to Annie’s body, covering her face in dog slobber. How was that as a wake up call on your 21st birthday? Denny hardly though Annie would mind as soon as she opened her eyes, but until that happened he just watched on and leaned against the threshold of the door. He crossed his arms across his chest as if he were the smartest, most innovative husband in the world. Well, it was more than safe to say he thought he was, but in any case he just watched Annie wake up to the dog. He couldn’t wait to hear what her idea of a name would be for the pup.


1241 words -- cora/annie of course who else? -- um denny's wearing you know a plain shirt or maybe stripes whatever and a hoodie with some pants and those cute thin shoes blake wears all the time -- i was too lazy to make a new header so all credit goes to me and deathcab okay -- oh hello there little addition to the family

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

Annie hated being alone. She hated the idea that it might last long or that it might last shortly. It was the suspense that bothered her the most. The idea that he could be back or that he wouldn’t. It made her feel angry and her body would hurt. Annie didn’t want to be alone here. She wanted to have Denny here; she wanted him to hold her tight and kiss her face and just be close and there. She didn’t like this other stuff. She didn’t like him working and she didn’t like worrying. It didn’t feel fair to anyone when she was simply so much happier when he was there with her. It was her birthday and she should get what she wanted – what she wanted wasn’t anyone else, she didn’t want other people here. She didn’t want him to go out. She didn’t want lots of presents and she didn’t needs lots of attention. Well that was a blatant lie. She did need attention, but only from one person. She just needed Denny. That wasn’t some selfless thing, like she didn’t want any of the other stuff. It was probably great in its own right, and Annie wouldn’t say she didn’t deserve it because she was, essentially, selfish, but none of that was what she wanted the most. What she wanted the most was just to be able to sleep in with him. It wasn’t even sex because she felt tired recently, and it wasn’t anything short of just needing him there.

Because she did, she needed him. Annie didn’t know what it was like to be alone, and she certainly didn’t like it. She had been alone for such a long time, but now that she wasn’t it hurt to have to deal with it for any amount of time. She needed Denny to lean on. She needed him to calm her down when everything seemed blurry and it hurt to think. Annie didn’t need much else other than curling up in his arms. There was something so undeniably appealing about it to her that she couldn’t think of what she would do without him. It was impossible to go to sleep when he was done; it simply couldn’t be done. She’d tried – she had tried napping away the day, but it just didn’t work. It didn’t work when what she clearly needed was him. She would toss and turn and pick at the covers. It was like the bed got too hot too fast when it needed to be cold. When Denny was there the bed was warm and when he left she rolled over into his spot. Somehow the heat was appealing when it came from him. Everything was appealing when it came from Denny. It was all she wanted.

Suddenly Annie was awake. She groaned loudly, pushing the weight off of her and her face felt wet. ”Ew, what’s this?” she felt groggy and gross. She finally opened her eyes to this puppy. This German Sheppard puppy shoving his face into her’s. Annie broke out a smile when she noticed this, and pulled it back so all her teeth were showing. She lifted her hands up and placed them on the puppy’s face, playfully shaking his head around. She knew she should say something but her smile kind of spoke for itself as she played with the dog. ”Leo,” she said, looking up at Denny. She looked back at the puppy and leaned forward, kissing his wet nose. ”Leonardo James Hurley.” for some reason adding the Hurley at the end made things surreal. Annie felt giddy and strange saying that. His name was Hurley like her name was Hurley like Denny’s name was Hurley. It was so… strange for her. Annie went through weird moods like that where it was just too surreal that she was someone’s wife. She was Denny’s wife and they would have a family.
That thought made this moment bittersweet. If things hadn’t been happened the way they did, she would be practically five months pregnant. She would be sitting on this bed with a huge stomach and her back would hurt. She’d have stopped puking but her body would hurt consistency and she would just want to cry all the time. She did, now, though. The puppy had calmed down and was curled next to her absently licking her hand. She moved it from his mouth to her stomach sub consciously. She looked away. Clearing her throat, she moved her gaze back to Denny. ”Come here,” she whined, turning onto her side with the puppy against her stomach. He had a warm little body and it made her reminiscent once more of what could be. She propped herself up with her elbow and patted the spot next to her. Her tone was so squeaky and insistent. Just a whine. ”Wait,” she said when it seemed like he was moving. ”I’m twenty one now.” she said matter-of-factly because she was. She flopped back onto her back, staring at the ceiling. ”Bring me liquor!” she lifted her hand and twirled it in the air to match her regal tone. If Denny wanted to celebrate her birthday, she was going to make the absolute most out of it.


idk not a lot of words but i just wanted to get it up so you could have a nice morning surprise~

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[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

Good. She’d been asleep the entire time he’d been gone. Denny had worried that she’d wake up and find him gone and freak out, although he had written a note for that sort of situation. But it seemed that he had been efficient enough for Annie to stay asleep. Now that he was home, she was awake with the puppy, and he was glad she liked him. It had taken a little longer than he’d wanted to find the right one, but once Denny had clicked with this particular German Shepherd, he knew it could only go up from there. He smiled when Annie took the puppy’s face in her hands, though he was a little puzzled at the choice of name. Leos, to Denny, were lions, huge manned creatures that were more closely related to Beast than to the dog on the bed. But it was Annie’s birthday, which meant he wasn’t going to complain. If she wanted to name her new puppy Leo, then he was going to let her without questions. He had to smile at the last name though, because it just reminded him that they were a family now, that Annie was his wife and this dog was a new addition to what was now the new generation of Hurley's.

When she asked him too, Denny walked over to her and continued to smile. She was too cute, laid back like that. Besides the fact that it was her birthday, he was home, so he was going to do as she wanted. Before he could sit in the spot she’d provided for him, Annie changed her mind. Denny listened to what she wanted before moving again, then smiled some more and rolled his eyes playfully. “Of course,” he replied, slipping his shoes off by the door as he headed into the kitchen. He rummaged through his cabinets and picked out two wine glasses, pulling out a bottle of white wine he’d bought the other day. Before heading back to the room, Denny opened the fridge and pulled out a six pack, something he’d had just because it was cheap and he knew Annie would want more than just wine. The beer wasn’t really his favorite thing, but if it made Annie happy he’d partake in the consumption of it. Either way, he shifted the glasses and the alcohol in his arms so he could walk back to the room without dropping any of it, and then did just that.

Once inside the room, he put the drinks on the bed near Annie and away from Leo, then set the glasses on their side before taking off his hoodie and just throwing it on the ground. He didn’t really care much for where it went; he was more occupied with having fun and making sure Annie stayed happy. That would be easy, he knew, just as long as he did as she asked. It wasn’t like he was saying she was needy and greedy and he always did as she asked, but Denny just knew that this was her birthday, this was a day where she laid out the rules and he just followed them. Except for his early exit from the apartment to get the dog, Denny would abide by Annie’s rules until she told him not to. Well, that would begin with sitting on the bed and pouring some wine for Annie. He did that, handed her the glass and then poured himself some. He smiled and raised his cup a bit, just to make the situation cheesy and almost reception-like. Denny didn’t care; this was Annie’s first legal taste of alcohol, which probably wouldn’t taste as good as any illegal drink because of the rush that doing something against the rules provided. Denny remembered that taste, even though he hadn’t experienced it since the night of the accident. On his own 21st birthday, almost an entire year ago, he’d had a glass or two of some champagne but really all that had done was make his head heavy but his mind light.

After Annie brought her glass against his, Denny tipped his back and took a little sip. He had a feeling the whole bottle, and quite honestly a few more, would be gone before the day was out, but for now he figured he’d take things slowly. “Glad you like him,” he said, reaching out to pet Leo on the head. The puppy shook his head after Denny’s hand lifted, but he gave a small yelp in appreciation of the pat. “I’ve had him held for your birthday for almost two weeks. Had to go down to the shelter every day for like 20 minutes to let him know he had a home.” Leo gave another little yelp, but a quieter one now that was just a little sign that he understood what was being said and that he approved of the situation. Denny watched as he snuggled up against Annie, obviously able to tell that she was somehow genetically related to him. Denny had to admit he was a little jealous, but the fact that this was their pet and not some guy that was going to fuck Denny over made it easy for him to forget the jealousy. Plus, with the fact that Denny was Annie’s husband and Leo was just her dog, he didn’t think anything was really going to happen even if Leo turned out to be more than either of them expected.

Denny leaned forward and kissed Annie before taking another quick sip of the wine. He couldn’t stop smiling and it was nice to know that he had a reason to. He didn’t know where the fourth part of the family was, Beast, but that didn’t matter. He was around somewhere and even if he wasn’t, he’d come back because Denny paid almost half as much attention to the cat as he did to Annie, and that was a whole lot of attention. In any case, he had his family here. He had a reason to want to go to work, knowing that he had a reason to make money and support more than just himself. He could come home to Leo and Beast who both seemed to like him enough to live in his apartment with him, and of course he had Annie. She was the main, central reason for everything he did. If she weren’t here, he wouldn’t be sipping nicely priced wine. If she wasn’t here with him, he wouldn’t have a cat and a dog, he wouldn’t be a husband and he wouldn’t have a job. He wouldn’t feel this stable and able to do whatever he put his mind to. He’d be cooped up in the center of this bed, writhing because he had nothing else to do. He’d have no reasons, no birthday’s to drink to, no puppies to play with for two weeks before bringing him home. He’d have darkness as his only friend and an empty space as his only lover.

So celebrating Annie’s life was more than just a few cups of alcohol, a puppy, and a cake to Denny. It was celebrating the fact that she was there to be his, that obviously someone had preplanned how perfect this would be even with their imperfections and flaws. Being here and being able to call her his wife on her birthday….it kind of meant the world to Denny. He scooted closer to her and took another drink before kissing her again. He felt a light little bubble of fizz settle over his head, just enough for him to feel but not enough to really have a name. He wasn’t buzzed by any means, just……fizzy. It felt nice, and because of it he smiled against Annie’s lips. When he pulled back, he found his hand on her chin and Leo nudging him with his little puppy nose. “Happy birthday, Annie,” he said, chuckling afterward at the feeling of the dog’s nose against his leg. His hand left her chin to pet Leo on the head again quickly. When Leo seemed content, Denny turned back to Annie and found himself smiling again, possibly because he found that it was hard not to.


1429 words -- cora/annie of course who else? -- um denny's wearing you know a plain shirt or maybe stripes whatever and a hoodie with some pants and those cute thin shoes blake wears all the time -- i was too lazy to make a new header so all credit goes to me and deathcab okay -- HAI cora I HOPE THIS MAKES UP FOR DELETING YOUR POST ON SLM I DIDN'T MEAN TO I SWEAR

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

Abby was constantly doing things to help Annie out in the weirdest ways. Like today, the bartender had dropped off a few bottles of hard liquor, things that the two liked to drink together. Annie was only a little buzzed when she answered the door; wine and six (well really only three seeing as Denny had had three as well) bottles of beer were not cutting it for her. Denny was already well on his way to drunk, at least Annie thought so. She couldn't remember ever seeing him drink. As far as she knew, he hadn't since the accident. It was always Annie doing the drinking. Always Annie showing up to shows, stumbling in. Always Annie who had to ca him and tell him that she couldn't walk home because her and Abby were much too wasted. She felt bad for the phone call they'd had; she didn't know why, but she felt extra guilty for saying those things. Her skin crawled just thinking about the guy that had tried to coax her home. All Annie had wanted that night was to go home, go back to Denny's and wriggle into his arms, press her head against his heart beat. Having to ride home in an old cab wasn't anywhere near what she had wanted. Even when they had been just friends, Annie had constantly been blitzed. He had to have know about leaving the bars and going home to beds that weren't her's. She wondered how he had felt about that. Mad, protective, disappointed? She didn't know now and she didn't know if she ever would. 

Either way, Abby's gift made Annie's life easier. She brought the bottles of jäger and scotch to Denny's room, smiling ruefully. She was sure she made quiet the impression on her new puppy. Soon her head was heavy and her body was weighed down, but Annie felt good. She was smashed up against Denny and her skin felt too hot. The puppy had made a little dip in the pillows behind her head, his cold nose pressed against her neck and that felt nice to her. Sometimes Leo would lick her softly. She figured he was sleeping anyway. Denny wasn't. His hands were up her - well his, seeing as Annie hardly ever wore her own clothes these days - over sized v-neck. It was sheer and barely covered her anyway. Annie had lost her pants along the way. Or she thought she had. She didn't quite remember if she had woken up with some on or not. She didn't mind. Even if she did, his hands were cool and soft and they made her head pound a little less. They felt big too and it made Annie realize how tiny she was and how much tinier she was getting. This wasn't fair. She was supposed to be bigger right now, and she wasn't supposed to be drinking. They should be looking at cribs and locks and all sorts of things. But they weren't. And there was no one to blame but herself. Annie unscrewed the top of the liquor bottle she was holding and tipped it back.  Half the bottle was still full. She knew it was something strong because it burned her throat, but she finished it off anyway. Her skin felt even hotter. 

When the top was screwed back on, Annie held the bottle by the neck and turned to Denny. She wrapped her arm (the one with the bottle) around his neck and pulled herself closer, kissing him. His mouth felt hot and sticky but Annie supposed her's did as well. She couldn't really pinpoint how she felt. Twenty one. Annie had been drinking for as long as she could remember. Probably before she was sixteen. This birthday felt hollow. She felt worried. Annie's body felt hot and her mind felt lukewarm and undecided. Annie really just wasn't getting her feelings. Kissing Denny calmed her down. His hands on her skin cooled her and made her mind stop feeling so strangled in her head. He was her cure for everything. This scavenger had picked her up, practically road kill, and healed all her problems. He could've eaten her. He could've hurt her so bad she wouldn't want to breathe. He used his strength with her for good things. He was her one size fits all solution for any problem. She pulled back a little and smiled. "Wine and beer? What am I, twelve?" she laughed loudly. If there had been an 's' in that sentence, it would have slipped off her tongue like it was greased. Annie was fully drunk now and her voice bubbled past her lips. She kissed him again, taking in everything that was Denny. It was so weird to think they were married. They were married and stable and so close to starting a family... yet they were climbing towards black out drunk. She pulled back so her lips were still touching his, but she spoke. "You're a light-weight," she teased, her lips brushing against his. 

She kissed him again and then pulled back. She rolled back onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She unscrewed the bottle and tried to drink it but then she remembered that she had drank everything out of it. She sighed loudly, and looked down at the bed to see if there were any other bottles left. Annie realized Denny really had a huge bed. She didn't usually notice because they were always pressed together. Annie was suddenly struck with the fact that less than a year ago they had just been friends. She never slept in Denny's bed and she never pressed herself against him. Had they moved too fast? Annie didn't think so. Love was... conditional in that way. It differed on the person, the people, the situation. Now she felt like they had always been meant to be together. It hadn't been a rough transition from their change of best friends to dating. It seemed right, especially when she had kissed him in her bathroom. It had been so easy to think of it that way when he was so easy to kiss. Annie turned her head to Denny again. It was amazing how much he meant to her, how much her heart flopped around in her chest when she realized how much she loved him. She pressed her lips against his lightly. Leo sneezed by her ear. "Denny," she said softly "how come you never tried to hook up with me when we were friends?" Annie didn't even notice that she had been thinking that until she said it. The s at the end of friends was like a gasping fish on her tongue. It would have been so easy for him. Annie didn't really have stipulations for who she hooked up with.  When she started to fall for him she had gotten more selective and by the time he had kissed her she had more or less turned into a prude. But for him it would have been easy. She pressed her lips against him again lightly because she liked the alcohol on his lips, and she just liked his lips in general. 

[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

All it took was a little bit of booze. Abby came over, dropped off the alcohol, and left, which left Denny and Annie with twice as much alcohol as they'd had before. So in reality, it was only a small amount of booze to Annie. To Denny, someone that hadn't had a drink in almost 6 years or something, it was a lot. She was right; he was a lightweight. That was because he hadn't let himself drink since the accident. It was because of the alcohol that he'd taken his sister's place, at least to some extent. Denny was a good brother, or had been, and he likely would have done the same thing that he had done that night if he'd been sober because of the fact that he wouldn't let his fifteen year old sister get persecuted the way he had been. It would have really screwed her over, but then again didn't all of that screw him over too? Well, in a short perspective, sure. In a longer, broader one, not so much. Sure, being in jail had fucked him up, but it had done that enough to lead to this marriage, this unity with the one person that really understood who he was and didn't judge him for past experiences. If his sister had been in his place, she would be worse off than she was now, with twice as much guilt and probably a stinging feeling of betrayal considering her older brother had done nothing for her. And all of that boiled down to booze; Annie and Denny were having their fun with it now, only because a) it was her birthday and Denny was going to do as she said and b) it had been years since he'd touched alcohol, and Denny knew the circumstances were different. Needless to say, he could trust himself with this alcohol.

It only took a few drinks for Denny to feel the effects. His head got light and light and light and suddenly it just got really heavy, but not in a bad way. His body felt hot, so he took his shirt off. His pants felt sticky but in the same manner that his head felt heavy, so for now he kept them where they were. All he knew was that, in its heaviness, his head started to slow and grow from the inside out. It made him sleepy, but not in an immediate way that he had to sleep. It just made him want to close his eyes and let the world take over his mind for a while, let the wind slip into his head and wrap his birdbrain up in sweet dreams and a hopeful future. That wasn't going to happen though, because apparently Annie was in the mood to make out. Honestly, so was Denny. He didn't care what they did, even though he felt like sleep was going to catch up to him too soon. He enjoyed having his hands up under the shirt of his that she was wearing, he liked feeling like he was floating on bubbles. It was nice, but Denny knew somewhere within his consciousness that it couldn't be a consistent thing. He couldn't always feel like this, but he could always be with Annie, and he intended on seeing that through.

At her words, Denny chuckled because he thought it was funny. He didn't take her observation as an insult because of how drunk he was at that moment. The booze had a funny effect on his perception of the world, all except for how much he liked holding and touching and kissing Annie. Denny hardly believed anything could alter that feeling, let alone eclipse it. It would take an entire war to separate him from Annie, but that was the last thing on his mind. Actually, he didn't have anything on his mind really. He just kissed her, then stopped, then kissed her, then moved his hands up under the shirt, then back down a bit before kissing her again. He couldn't really concentrate on more than one thing at a time, but he didn't really mind. He liked having here where she was, regardless of the order in which he paid attention to her. Even that didn't really matter because all of his attention was on her. He watched her turn over and frowned a bit. He reached out and grabbed what he could of her body, just wanting to kiss her and cuddle. He wanted to kiss her neck like he had the morning after they'd gotten married and he wanted her leg across his waist. But when she turned back over, he had other things on his mind. Like her question, for one. It puzzled his already scattered mind. It made his head hurt a bit, not in the same way that it was heavy. He didn't know what to say; Denny wanted to tell her to hush and just cuddle with him, but he didn't. Even when he was drunk, Denny knew he was going to give Annie an answer whether or not she necessarily had done anything to deserve it. It was more that it was her birthday than anything (though he might be more tempted to talk if she were in her birthday suit).

He let her cuddle up to him again while he tried to think. "I dunno," he shrugged, closing his eyes for more than five seconds. He felt sleepier and sleepier with every blink, but he fought it with what he could to stay awake. “I liked you too much to wanna hook up. Hook up is such a dirty word,” he said, though the latter half of his sentence made no sense at all. Grammatically speaking, of course. In any case, Denny just scooted his body closer and ignored the feeling of wanting to sleep. He wanted to cuddle and be awake for more booze and Annie’s birthday sex because, even if he was drunk and a little out of character, he was still Annie’s husband. He’d still be able to push through for whatever she wanted, it just might take him longer than normal. “I was being what you wanted me to be, a friend. You never wanted to hook up with me either,” he said, his words sort of slurring in their troubled eloquence. He was coherent to the point of incoherence, which simply just meant that Denny was able to speak, but in his speech he was having trouble getting out consonant sounds and vowel fixtures. He just shrugged and moved to kiss Annie again because he seemed to be having more luck with that than saying anything. His hands assumed their positions up the shirt and his body pressed closer to hers, but not necessarily harder. He just wanted to press so close that he could just phase to Annie so he would never have to be separated from her.

Then a thought occurred to him. He didn’t immediately get defensive because, in this drunken state it was quite impossible for him to get that way, but instead he was inquisitive. “How come you never wanted to hook up with me when we were just friends, wifey?” Did he really just call her that? He was that drunk, apparently. It a cute accident when he was drunk, but if the two of the two of them had been sober, it wouldn’t be tolerated, and Denny somewhat new that. He ignored what he knew and went with whatever was running through his head, which was obviously nothing that really held much relevancy to them at the moment. He wasn’t aware of that. It was in his head and he needed it out to keep this feeling from leaving his system too early.


1300 words -- cora/annie of course who else? -- um denny's wearing you know a plain shirt or maybe stripes whatever and a hoodie with some pants and those cute thin shoes blake wears all the time -- i was too lazy to make a new header so all credit goes to me and deathcab okay -- hello my new computer needs to oblige

[ANNABELLE MARIE HURLEY]

Annie thought about when she had lost her virginity. That would have been a feat even if she was sober; she had been sure that particular night had been lost in the shuffle of all the other mixed up nights of her teenage life. Drunk, it was just luck that it came up in her thoughts. Maybe not exactly luck, though. Thinking about it made her nauseous, made her stomach hurt. So many nights were all alike but Annie could get them messed together like string left in a drawer too long. It had been a party and Annie had been slurring her speech. Much like at the bar, this guy had grabbed her arm as Annie teetered on a staircase. He meant well. She looked at his eyes because she had always judged people by eyes. He'd had piercing green eyes that made her chest tight. She moved with him and soon there was an empty room and a closed door and it hurt Annie to remember any more. 

She had been proving something to herself. A challenge, that's what it was. And she had taken it and she had won. She wished it hadn't happened at all. Annie didn't want her whirlwind life that had led up to everything. It made her feel physically sick. Annie wanted that all to be gone. She wished that Denny could have taught her everything. Make her feel okay and not just another girl, or party, or night. Suddenly there was this idea that there was so much to make up for, that there had been so much wasted time.

Annie looked at Denny when he spoke and she decided she liked him much better than anyone she had ever seen. Of course, she had already felt like that before but this was just another wave of it. She lifted a hand and brushed her fingers through his hair a few times. His brown eyes were sleepy and he smiled bashfully at her. She wished that this had been her life all along. There was no one Annie could possibly want with the sheer emotion that she wanted Denny. It was like she had him but there was still that want. She absolutely couldn't stand to be away from him for more than a few seconds. She would feel nervous and exposed, anxious and so very very vulnerable and alone. But Denny was wrong in his assumption. Annie had wanted to hook up with him. She remembered their last night as friends, when she had just been so aware of him walking around her and she had wanted to turn and kiss him so bad. Sitting on couches and writing songs felt different when all she wanted was to crawl over and tug on his shirt, press her lips against his pulse. Annie had never really been able to deny that she had always been attracted to Denny. Laughing had felt on edge to her when it seemed that it would be so easy to change it. She had just been forced to push it to the back of her mind. 

She pushed it away because she ruined things. Annie felt like one kiss could poison that entire relationship. Getting physical with Denny would burn up this life that she had built. Annie couldn't possibly keep anything good in her life, and she felt so unstable already that getting involved that way would have messed everything up. Of course, they had, but Annie had underestimated his strength. She hadn't seen how dedicated and stubborn he would be in keeping her. There was no way she could have known; she was already so stuck in her own head that she couldn't notice him pinning for her. Annie was destructive and she ruined everything.

 Even this marriage... it was held together by Denny. It wasn't that Annie wasn't putting her fair share in or she didn't feel enough, because she was and she did. Annie didn't know anything but Denny. She had opportunities, but she didn't care about them. It was amazing that someone so fleeting and loose had been so surely stuck by this man. She was much too unstable to make it work, however. Denny did that. He worked to keep her happy and he got her things she wanted. He made sure she always felt okay and stroked her hair. She always made things go wrong and he always made them go right. "Want is the wrong word," she said, kissing him again. Her head felt so far away that her thoughts seemed to be taking forever to reach her. "I wanted to. I just never tried." She could have gone into the reasoning but it wouldn't do well when they were both so drunk. 

Annie pressed herself against him. All this thinking wasn't doing her any favors. She pulled away from him and picked up another bottle, opening it and drinking from it. Annie's eyes weren't working so well and her drunk mood had shifted from a party to angst. She heard Leo yawn, and she moved back to her spot against Denny. She buried her head against his chest and kissed the skin there. Her legs tangled in his and her fingers moved to his pants. There wasn't enough room in her head and she felt like she was gasping. Her lips moved back up to his and she shoved at the top of his pants trying to get them past his hips but her fingers kept stumbling. She felt dizzy and just kissed him harder, trying to push away all her worries. They were useless when he was so tangible and real.  Annie didn't know what she was doing, but all these thoughts had to get out of her head. She needed something else and Annie didn't know what else there was when he body was so hot and the only thing that helped it was his hands. She grabbed the ends of her shirt and pulled it off. That only made her hotter. 

Annie wrapped and arm around his neck and her other hand framed his face. She just wanted to press it away. It was so much easier to be with Denny. There was nothing else she wanted more or other than him. She pressed her bare chest to his and her head was so light but heavy and so so far. Kissing him was something she was so familiar with. Denny was the only person she had ever kissed two days in a row. He had been her first best friend and her only boyfriend, and now he was her husband. It was so final that Annie found some relief in it. She found more relief in just laying against him, feeling physical promises and hearing his voice and breathing, than everything else. "Twenty one years of wasted breath," she said quietly and then laughed against his lips. Her mouth felt hot and sticky from his mouth. "Happy birthday to me." 

She kissed him again and pressed herself closer. His skin cooled hers and she just needed more. Sometimes when Annie got like this she felt too much wolf and she didn't like the animal feelings. That's what made her pull back on their "honeymoon" and instead just bury her head against him. Was that disappointing? Annie wasn't quite familiar with that idea. Denny meant too much to keep those feelings around all the time. It was why she didn't try to hook up with him when they were friends. He was everything to her in the most literal of senses. Losing him would break her so impossibly that it didn't even seem humanly possible.  She pulled her lips from his and moved her head to the crook of his neck. Annie pressed her head against him harshly, burying it like she always did but with a sense of urgency. She held him tight. "I-I love you so much." her voice broke. She needed to get out of her head. 


1335 wewrds. GET ME OUT OF MY MIND AND GETCHU OUTTA DOSE CLOOOOOO0OTHES~

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[DENVER CARLOS HURLEY]

If he were sober, this whole conversation would go in a totally different direction. Instead of chuckling the way he was chuckling, Denny would be stopped short. He wouldn’t believe that Annie had said what she’d just said and he’d be dumbstruck. He’d regret a few things, like not having made moves sooner than he had, but he wouldn’t really have regretted the way things had gone. However, Denny wasn’t sober. He was drunk and he wasn’t thinking in a logical order. He had to focus as hard as he could just to be able to speak and not fall asleep. Even still, her words caught him off guard a bit. It took his body a few long seconds to catch up with his mind, but once it did he frowned just a smidge. It would have been a different story had she actually made a move first, instead of him. Whether or not his move had been conscious or not, it had been a move. He’d told her he loved her and that was that; that sealed the deal apparently. Denny would have known that if he were sober, too.

Considering the fact that he wasn’t sober, it was easy for him to just go past saying anything. He felt more tired than disappointment or regret, so moving on to the next thing felt like a nice idea at the time. Besides, what was in the past was in the past. Like Annie’s sexual history prior to Denny, he was going to forget about the fact that they’d both wanted to get together in some way before they actually had before he could even take an Aspirin for his hangover. That being said, Denny’s mind just moved on to the next thing that was happening. Her shirt was off and suddenly Denny’s fingers didn’t feel so closed in. His hands moved everywhere they could since there seemed to be no barrier keeping them from places on her body anymore. When Annie spoke, Denny’s head spun and his heart picked up just a bit, but enough for it to be noticeable. “No, hush.” He’d said it just above a whisper, just so she could hear him. It didn’t matter that Leo was right there with ultra sensitive ears compared to their human ones, Denny felt need to whisper anyway.

She kissed him and Denny naturally kissed back, though it was a bit sloppy and kind of sticky in that sense that resembled that of eating too much maple syrup on waffles. But then Annie was stuffing her face against his neck, and though it hurt just a bit, Denny didn’t really respond to that. He responded to her talking against his skin, which made his skin tingle as a shiver passed down his back. Being this drunk, he had no control over what he reacted to, which was usually the case with Annie when he was sober, but now it was almost worse. Now he really couldn’t stop anything from happening, he couldn’t hide something to make her work harder to get it out of him – or maybe it was her job to tease and his to retaliate to the teasing, but either way Denny’s current state of mind made it too hard to do any of that. His hands rested around her and his mind settled in a mood for sleep, but Annie wasn’t permitting that. She had other plans, like having taken off his pants, and between that and her shirt, Denny was too mentally entertained to fall asleep. He felt drugged, though he didn’t really know what that feeling was like. His body was just too slow and too fatigued and his mind was too fast working. Things were blurry and time seemed impossible to count. Denny breathed in deep once, then sighed, then tugged his arms around Annie a bit, just to get a sense of grip on something.
“I love you too,” he said, smiling because saying that and the booze made him feel okay. He wasn’t worried, he wasn’t freaking out; he was just mellow and happy and with Annie, which meant so much more to him than anything else. Even if he was totally out of his mind, he still knew how much Annie meant to him. He could feel it; all he wanted was this night, her birthday, everything they had. All of that meant more to him than anything. He knew that, and to some extent he was surprised. He hadn’t gotten drunk in years, which explained why it didn’t take him long to get to this state and it explained the surprise. In any case, this was a somewhat new experience for Denny. He had to savor it because something like this wasn’t going to happen very frequently after today. He had a job that he had to keep in order to make money; Denny couldn’t be getting drunk every day with Annie just because she wanted to. Now that she was 21, it was nice to do on her birthday because that’s what she’d told him, but tomorrow was another story. Tomorrow he had a shift to work, some bills to pay, a dog to take care of. Today was a once in a while thing.

All of the sudden, Denny felt alone. Not completely alone because Annie was right there, but alone to the point of needing to see her face, to be able to kiss her lips. He smiled and chuckled because that was the reaction his body allowed, then pulled on her hip just a bit, as if he was trying to poke her skin and tickle her. “Come back here with that face of yours.” See, drunk Denny was much more playful with his words than sober Denny. “I wanna kiss you!” he said, dragging out the ‘u’ sound in the last word. He was still smiling as he moved his head to the side, grabbing Annie’s lips in his while his hands had fun exploring some more. He didn’t know what to do with himself except to play with what he had right there with him. Play was a juvenile, almost perverted term though, so Denny quickly banished it to a place in his mind he couldn’t access at the moment. When he pulled back, he chuckled again, then full on laughed. He didn’t know what was so funny except that he was laughing. The more he laughed, the funnier whatever was funny the funnier whatever was funny got. It was an odd sensation, but it was masked again when he attached his lips back to Annie’s. Yeah, that was a good elixir to the unexplainable.


112 words -- cora/annie of course who else? -- um denny's wearing you know a plain shirt or maybe stripes whatever and a hoodie with some pants and those cute thin shoes blake wears all the time -- i was too lazy to make a new header so all credit goes to me and deathcab okay -- hi this is a little short but oh well