FanFiction

They say the mountains always call you back. They never leave your heart.
But home isn't always a place. Sometimes it's the people who share our lives, the memories we carry, and the unexpected connections we make along the way.
As old friends return to Montana, two young cowboys discover that the heart has room for more than they ever imagined.
For family. For friendship. For the land they love.
And perhaps, for each other.

Sugar, butter, flour. Love.

After losing their parents, 20 year-old Chase Hollow juggles odd jobs and late-night baking to care for his little sister, Prunella. He dreams of more — but dreams don’t pay bills.

When a job opens up as a bakery assistant at the upscale Keysbridge Inn, Chase applies on a whim… and finds himself clashing with the grumpy, polished Assistant Manager with a sharp tongue and colder stare.

But cookies and time have a way of softening edges.

Original story based on characters in “Cinderella Boy“ by Punko.

Healing takes work, trust takes time, and the ground beneath them is still desperately thin.

While Chad recovers, basking in the miracle of a relationship finally brought out of the cold, Robert returns to SDN to face the fallout after the battle. The fault lines beneath them are already shifting and Robert is quietly bearing the cost so Chad never has to.

They're finally together, but what you see on the surface level can be deceiving.

It's been said that suffering builds character. And there are few that know suffering better than young Justin. Only 14 years old, he has found an easy way out. A suicidal tendency that he is hoping will bring an end to his misery. But when he meets a mysterious boy at the end of Navy Pier one dark evening...he is given an alternative. One that will give him purpose, and set in motion the events that will lead to his ultimate destiny....in a world not like our own.

Now in his early twenties, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, has been going through a rough couple of years dealing with deep rooted mental illness. Things somehow get even worse when he is forced to work together with an 'unhinged psycho' who manages to get on his nerves every step of the way. As they get to know each other better facing various adversities, they learn to respect their similarities and differences. Eventually, "respect" grows into something Nico finds much harder to deal with.

The Dark Refractory is the key to unlocking memories long repressed. For Tenno, those memories rarely end happily.

In a lawless land where bullets write the law, an arrogant city-dweller ventures into the Wild West seeking revenge. What he finds is a world ruled by outlaws—and a dangerous man who becomes his captor. Bound by circumstance and drawn by an irresistible pull, they clash in a game of wit, pride, and survival. But as the desert sun sets on their hatred, something far more dangerous rises between them. On the Wild West, to try and ride someone means to break them, to own them—or to lose yourself completely. Only one of them will be tamed.

In the fragile aftermath of battle, literal and emotional armor comes off, leaving Robert and Chad to navigate a landscape of vulnerability and unspoken truths. Intimidated by the prospect, Robert steps into a sleek corporate promotion, using it as a shield to isolate himself and keep Chad's fire at a distance. But the pressure of the impending Mecha Man relaunch pushes Robert’s stress to a boiling point, fracturing his control. What begins as a desperate, high-friction attempt to use a single night of physical release to burn Chad out of his system instead traps them both in a web of missed connections and mounting, unreciprocated feelings.

(Spoilers if you haven't played the Dispatch video game, specifically Episode 5 and on)

Robert and Flambae (Chad) begin spiraling toward a collision of past and present. Drowning the day in whiskey and smoke, their professional facade crumbles, revealing a dangerous attraction - only further complicated by Robert's hidden identity.