[Will Chase]

Will had been avoiding his sister for a long time. A year, in fact. Ever since he killed the Doctor. It hadn't always been easy, Ash was persistent and sharp as a tack. He was at one of her concerts in the Bay area, at the back. It was dumb of course, paying for a ticket to see his little sister when he could've just phoned her up, or even just turned up on her doorstep. No one ever accused Will of being particularly sensible in personal matters; He’d always been a little obtuse in that regard, and the self-loathing that had so defined his last year of life certainly hadn’t been helping. Of course, Ashley’s choice of room-mate hadn’t exactly helped matters either. Will respected Alice, liked her even, but she had hated him after the Event. He had killed the Doctor after all. He didn’t know how he’d react if she saw him now, but Will would rather not risk putting his sister in the position where she had to choose between her brother and her friend. That wasn’t a choice he’d ever want to make himself, so it wasn’t one he’d force his sister to make. There she was on the stage, obviously enjoying herself. That was all he’d really wanted to know, so he should leave, before the concert ended and she had a chance to see him. Will didn’t move. Call him sentimental, but it had been a full year since he’d even heard his sister’s voice. He didn’t quite want to give it up yet. Before he knew it, the concert was over and he was making his way to the exit. Ashley had already gotten off the stage, so she’d probably be out of the building soon and he needed to be out and away before she got on the street. He strode out the building and turned to head off, then stopped. Shit. Family is not an important thing. It's everything. Will Chase 321 Words

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

Family Reunion

Ashley liked performing around the Bay Area; it always felt like a homecoming no matter where she went. San Francisco was her absolute favourite, of course, but she’d spent much of her childhood all around North California. Tonight she was in the Fox Theatre in Oakland which was a pretty great building to look at in Ashley’s eyes. She particularly liked the dome and the general Eastern vibe to the place, as well as the relatively small capacity of just under 3000 seats. It made for a fun show.

Tonight had gone particularly well because Ashley’s experiments with the setlist seemed to be paying off. The crowd was electric and, while the bright lights kept her from seeing the entire audience all at once, she was reflecting the energy right back at them with every song. Even as she reached a slow song, faces were locked on her with her fans hanging off of every word. As she thanked them endlessly following her final encore of the night, Ashley found herself almost moved to tears.

“I’ve been McKenna Chase, thank you and good night!”

She made to leave the stage but hung back to cast her eyes across the room now that the house lights had been brought back on, her smile broadening as her gaze swept across the excited faces. Just as she was about to disappear behind the black curtain, she spotted an unusual tall figure – their stillness almost unnerving in contrast to the excitable young fans around them – at the back of the theatre.

For some reason, maybe the elation in her heart combined with the inevitable hope that her own lyrics always instilled in her, Ashley thought her dreams were coming true. Maybe, finally, after being bombarded with texts, he had given into her pleas.

Although she was being ushered into the dressing room, Ashley couldn’t let this opportunity disappear. She ripped the mic pack from herself, offering apologies and breathless attempts at half-explanations, and then rushed out of the backstage door.

Everyone was already spilling out of the venue, some held up by the allure of merchandise but most out on the street. She cracked open the outer door, adjacent to the box office, which led backstage and peered out, eyes peeled for a tall man who definitely did not look like your average Chaser… ah-ha!

“Will!” she hissed loudly as he emerged from the building. She caught him mid-stride and watched as he stopped in his tracks. She beckoned him over, still barely poking her head out of the gap in the door as she did her best not to draw attention to herself. “If you walk away from me I swear I will tell mom you want an arranged marriage,” she added threateningly.

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[Will Chase]

Will should've seen this coming - he was supposed to be a telepath after all; he could've blamed it on the headache that had come with the presence of so many people, but that wasn't true at all was it? He could've avoided Ash, could've escaped without her seeing him. Hell, he shouldn't have been there in the first place. He should never have come. But here he was, and found him she had. He could've walked away, he knew Ash's threat was hollow. Well, she probably would call mom and tell her he wanted an arranged marriage - no one ever accused Ash of not being petty when she felt like it - but even with how silly she could be sometimes their mom would never believe it. He could have walked away, he should have walked away. His shoulders slumped in defeat. It had been hard enough leaving when she hadn't known he was there, but now? Will had always been wrapped around his little sister's finger, and even a year without communicating hadn't changed that in the slightest. The worst of it? Will knew that as soon as he let her start talking Ash was going to browbeat him until he did exactly what she wanted - it wouldn't even be that difficult. He had avoided her for a year, but now she'd found him and he knew she wasn't going to let him just disappear again. He was so stupid. Will turned around and started walking back to his sister. He tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. "Hi Ash, it's been a while. How have you been?" Family is not an important thing. It's everything. Will Chase 275 Words

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

family reunion

The second he turned around and started walking back to her – of course he would, she knew he would – Ashley backed up from the door and beckoned for him to follow. Better to be in this rather secret little corridor than out in front of the venue where she was sure to be overwhelmed by selfie requests in a matter of seconds. The fact that that hadn’t happened already was a miracle and Ashley wasn’t fancying the idea of pushing her luck on that one.

“It’s been a while?” she repeated incredulously, eyeing him with a look that may have made lesser men wither. “I’ll say!”

The stern expression gave way to unending affection, softening suddenly, and she held out her arms for a hug.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. It has been a while and I don’t wanna scare you off so soon,” she said with a wry smile. Ashley took a step back to look at her brother properly, trying not to look too concerned by what she saw. He was alive, he was talking to her – that was important. “I’ve been good,” she added, answering his question. “Really good, actually. I don’t know how many of my messages got through to you, but life has been pretty kind to me lately.”

She laughed, not really sure where to begin.

“Did you watch the whole show?” She smiled with a shake of her head. “Dude, you are such a dummy, if you’d come to me before I would’ve got you a ticket myself! Backstage passes, you name it.” Ashley grinned playfully. “I hope it was worth the trip. From… wherever you are now.”

Will had cut himself off from everybody after the Event and, unfortunately for Ashley, he was the kind of man who couldn’t be found unless he wanted you to find him. For all she knew, he could have been secretly following her whole tour this entire time and living in an apartment across the hall. Probably unlikely, she decided, but she also couldn’t quite bring herself to put it past him.

“I missed you.”

She punched at his arm softly, trying to reel the situation in from becoming too serious. From the look on his face, Will could use a little less seriousness and fortunately Ashley was quite the expert in such things.

Will Chase

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[Will Chase]

Will followed his sister with a manner not unlike that of a whipped dog. Shoulders hunched, head down. The hug shouldn't have been a surprise, but then, Will wasn't exactly in the best headspace. He hadn't been for a long time. He returned the embrace, clutching perhaps a little too tightly. He had received the messages of course, he'd just never replied. He'd been trying to cut himself out of her life, albeit unsuccessfully, responding to her messages would've defeated the whole point. He was glad life had been treating her well, but then Ash had always led a charmed existence, at least compared to that of Will himself; Ash was a successful musician with a happy family and a ridiculous amount of friends, Will was an unemployed loner whose dad... well, let it suffice to say there was a reason why Will had chosen his mom's last name, instead of his dad's. He smiled softly at Ash, trying his hardest to push away the dark feelings that had been his everpresent companions for so long. They hadn't seen each other in a year, the least he could do was try to behave like the brother she remembered. "Are you suggesting your brother needs a handout Ash? I'll have you know that I'm more than capable of affording a ticket to one of your concerts myself thank you very much." The smirk that once would've come as easily as the sarcastic tone of the words felt unfamiliar on his face. There hadn't been much to joke about for a while, so he was out of practice. The smirk disappeared, replaced only for a moment by a melancholic smile. "I missed you too little sis." An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 284 Words

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

Family Reunion

She didn’t know how seriously he meant that he was more than capable of affording concert tickets, but the news was reassuring. It meant that he wasn’t wasting away without food – although she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d supplemented his diet for coffee – or shelter, penniless in some dangerous and crime-ridden alleyway. Will had always been good at standing on his own two feet, Ashley greatly admired his strength and independence, but the last year or so had dealt him a heavy hand that would have knocked down many.

“Oh, well in that case, how come you didn’t spring for VIP, huh? Don’t you want me to succeed? Or were you specifically trying to avoid a meet-and-greet situation…”

She folded her arms, though she wasn’t able to look particularly stern.

What else was reassuring to hear was the way he was trying to joke with her. He seemed a little uneasy with it, just as anybody would be when faced with their younger sister after a year of radio silence. But he was trying and that meant the world to Ashley.

“I know. You’re such a softie,” she said with a grin. “Do I get any kinda explanation? You just dropped off the radar – mom and dad didn’t know, Alice didn’t know, I didn’t know where you were.” It had happened just gradually enough that it had seemed to be Will’s choice, rather than something more sinister going on, but the fact remained that he hadn’t actually announced to anyone where he was going, for how long or why. He’d just… gone.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen me on-stage since you disappeared? Or have you been secretly tailing me the entire time?” She frowned, worried that she might have missed past opportunities to find out if her big brother was okay or not.

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[Will Chase]

Ash had never been good at looking stern or intimidating, no matter how much she tried. She mostly ended up looking like an irate chipmunk. Then again, Will was her brother - he'd been twenty when she was born, had behaved more like a second father, or favourite uncle, than an older brother - she wouldn't be able to scare him in a million years. He deliberately ignored the question of whether he'd been trying to avoid her - Will didn't trust himself enough to tell a convincing lie, his sister would see through him in a heartbeat if he gave her even the slightest opportunity, and that wasn't a conversation Will wanted to have. Admittedly, none of this was a conversation he'd wanted to have only a few minutes earlier, but it was a bit late to complain. Will rubbed the back of his head in a mixture of sheepishness and reluctance. "This is the first time I've been by Ash. I actually, well, I wasn't planning on coming at all. I just saw there was a ticket left and bought it on impulse. I have missed you, and I thought... I don't know what I thought. Probably something stupid, like this being easier than just giving you a phone call." Will shrugged self-deprecatingly - he'd never been one to shy away from harsh truths, at least not where they concerned himself. "As to why I've been missing, I'm surprised Alice hasn't said anything to you about it honestly." Will tried to smile, but it was a fragile, pathetic thing. A stark contrast to his earlier efforts to behave like nothing was wrong. "I did something Ash. Something wrong. It was a huge mistake, the kind that changes you. The kind you can't come back from, no matter what you do." It was deliberately evasive, as Will desperately tried to avoid giving voice to the truth. He didn't want to admit to his sister that he was a murderer. He made a pitiful attempt to change the subject before Ash could question him. "But who cares about that, right Ash? I'm back now, I promise I won't disappear again." Family is not an important thing. It's everything. Will Chase 360 Words

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

Family Reunion

Ashley rolled her eyes. “You’re totally right - sneaking in and out of my show without me noticing would have been way easier than a phone call.” She stopped herself, patting him reassuringly. “It doesn’t matter, not really. What matters is that you’re here now, and you haven’t run away.” Yet.

She was glad that this was his first time trying to secretively attend one of her concerts. Although she couldn’t really blame herself considering the usual size of her audiences and the blindingly bright lights, Ashley still would have felt awful for having missed an opportunity to reconnect with her brother.

She frowned in concern as his next attempt at a smile missed the mark. At best, it was a little twitch of the lip that could have been dismissed as unintentional, but Ashley knew better.

“Alice has talked with me a lot about that night,” she said bluntly, not wanting to hide anything from him. “I know you were doing what you thought was right, Will. You always do.”

Their eyes met. Ashley was very worried that each word that came out of her mouth could scare her brother away from her, and that was absolutely the last thing she wanted in the entire world. She felt frustrated, angry tears rising to the surface just thinking about it.

“Have you… did you go anywhere? Do you still live in San Francisco? Work? I… dude, I have too many questions, I’m sorry. Maybe I should head backstage and finish things off then we can go … somewhere? Coffee?”

Anything to inject some normality into the moment.

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[Will Chase]

Ash was kind enough to avoid pressing him on the matter. Will was pathetically grateful for that, not that he found it particularly surprising. Ash had always been much better at the whole empathy thing than him. The revelation that Alice had indeed told her about what happened was a lot more surprising; not that it was surprising that Alice had told her, that wasn't the case at all. They'd been roommates for at least a while, and maybe still were. That Ash would, apparently, ignore it was the real surprise, though perhaps it shouldn't have been. After all, he was well aware that his self-flagellation was irrational, even if that didn't help him overcome it. The tears in her eyes made him feel like shit, forcing him to take a look at what he'd done for the past year and reevaluate his choices. She knew what he'd done, and here she was crying over his absence. He rubbed a hand over his face and tried to smile, though it came out more like a rueful grimace. "Your brother really is a fucking idiot Ash. Here I was thinking you'd hate me and were better off if I stayed away, but all I ended up doing was hurting you. Mom's probably going to clap me around the head and call me an idiot again the next time I visit." "I suppose what I'm trying to say is: coffee sounds good right about now." Family is not an important thing. It's everything. Will Chase 245 Words

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[Ashley McKenna-Chase]

Family Reunion

Ashley giggled, dabbing her eyes so as not to smear the stage make-up all over her face. While she could definitely pull off a good smoky-eye look, she wasn’t so sure if the streaky mascara approach was the way to go.

“You’re not an idiot, you’re the smartest big brother I’ve got.”

She stuck her tongue out, suddenly getting flashbacks to being a much, much younger Ashley and sticking her tongue out at him for similarly dumb remarks. It had probably been cuter then – now it was just straight-up teasing, but she couldn’t help but try to lighten the mood and distracting him with her own foolishness seemed to be a worthy tactic.

“You better go see mom as soon as possible. I can’t say she won’t clap you round the head because, c’mon… we both know you deserve it. The only way you could possibly sweeten the deal would be if you had secretly acquired a wife and kids while you were away.” Ashley tilted her head. “I’m guessing that’s not the case.”

She smiled happily as he accepted her offer of coffee. “Okay, I’m going to go back, quickly clean up and let them know I’ve got a family emergency. My friend Shaun, one of the tech guys, can probably sneak us out of here in his car if I ask nicely. Are you okay to wait here for five minutes?”

Ashley folded her arms. “If you disappear on me again, I will hunt you down.”

For a short girl who made her living dancing around and playing music on stages, Ashley could make a threat seem oddly serious when she wanted it to. It helped that she meant every single word.

Will Chase

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[Will Chase]

For a moment he could almost forget everything that had happened, could pretend that he was fifteen yours younger. Could put aside the weight of years and tragedies, if only for a little while. Could remember a time when he'd had real hope, not the fake kind that had sustained him for so long. Then it was gone, the weight had returned and he felt every second of his years, and a good deal more on top of that. It didn't matter; Will had carried this weight for a long time, he could carry it for a while longer. The taste had returned to him some of his sense of humour, so he had the strength to smile at Ash's appalling attempt at teasing him. "I'm the only brother you have Ash, I could be the dumbest person in the world and still be your smartest brother." "And no, no wife and kids for me. You know that's not my thing Ash, I've never had a relationship last longer than a month before I fucked it up somehow. Your big brother's absolutely terrible with the ladies I'm afraid. It's a real curse." Will bowed his head in -somewhat- mock dismay. He wasn't incorrect after all, he'd always had terrible luck when it came to relationships, but nor was it something he was particularly upset about; his was a solitary existence at the very best of times, and recent events hadn't exactly been conducive to changing that. He looked up, or at least raised his head a little to meet his sister's eyes. His face was serious, and his tone when he spoke was grave. "I'm not going anywhere Ash. I'm never going to disappear again. You have my word." Will never broke his word, it was one of the few things he allowed himself to feel pride over. Despite the opportunity offered him, the chance to vanish once more, to remove himself from his sister's life, he didn't leave. He'd messed enough things up in his life, he'd leave this up to her. Family is not an important thing. It's everything. Will Chase 343 Words

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