#( stars save [me] ); ( go home — lit. exit to [your] home )

[roses-for-rosalyn]

ngl my brain kinda goes crazy at the thought of mafia!abby. I don't know why but HER IN A SUIT lord have mercy.

put all my favorite tropes in a blender and I give you:

City Lights

Part 2

a/n: not my best work but it is my horniest work, so riddle me that.

cw: Mafia! Abby, dbf! Abby 🤭, little age gap (reader in early 20s Abby is later 30s), feminine reader (specifically refers to reader as girl), sort of innocent reader, Abby walking in on reader using vibe 🤭, Abby referred to as Ms. Anderson or miss, reader gets roofied BUT is saved and nothing ensues, general mafia coded violence, make out session, (smut in part 2 I'm sorry my darlings)

Minors DNI (I will jump out at you through your screen i stg)

wc: 4.8k (woah)

———————————————————————

You watch as the sun falls from the city sky, lights slowly flickering on signaling the end of a day and the start of a long night. You can’t help but marvel at the sea of lights shimmering in front of you creating a sort of man made night sky, stars replaced by the warm glow of living room and bedroom lights from various apartments. You had lived in this penthouse for a while, but watching the city come alive at night would never get old. 

“Hey!” your friend, Dina, waves a hand in front of your face. She must have called you a few times before she finally got your attention. Your eyes reluctantly move from the glowing city to your friend looking down at you, a playful expression on her face. “Girl, you have to get out of your head for your own good.” She lends a hand to you, “Let’s go drink our problems away.” She smirks and you giggle before grabbing her hand and standing up.

“Alright, but you can’t leave me tonight. It's girls night.” She would almost always end up with someone by the end of the night, leaving you to make your way home alone at fucking 3 AM. It definitely helped that her dad wasn’t in the same line of work as yours, you couldn’t exactly hook up with just anyone. Apparently it was “dangerous” your dad was fucking paranoid, but it’s not like you could ignore him and rebel. He always found out somehow and you’d end up being whisked away by one of his bodyguards he hired to follow you around. It was a compromise that the guards were at a distance too, if it were up to you they wouldn’t be there at all. 

“I’m not leaving you tonight because you’re going to find someone to go home with.” She has a mischievous smile on her face, like she’s already planned your fate for the night. 

“Dina-” you start to say, but she interrupts, “Hush, forget about your dad for a few hours of your life, we’ll figure it out.” She smiles genuinely this time and steps back to dramatically look you up and down. “Listen, you look hot, I look hot, let’s go have fun and be hot together.” She wasn’t wrong, you were wearing one of your favorite black dresses. It perfectly accentuated your curves and flaunted just the right amount of cleavage. Dina always looked good, tonight she was wearing a little black dress as well and you two made quite the alluring pair. 

Dina handed you your clutch and led you out of the apartment and into the bustling city. A car is ready for you as soon as you walk out of the lobby– one of the perks of your paranoid father’s line of work. You and her climb in giggling and reflecting on past nights filled with loud music and colorful lights. 

The car slows and you and Dina exit onto the sidewalk. Your heels obnoxiously click against the pavement as you both make your way to the door, skipping the line. The bouncer immediately recognizes and encourages you in with a friendly nod. You glance up at the muscley man with a grateful smile and a wink before you enter with your friend in tow. 

You walk into an empty marble lobby, dimly lit with no furniture. The sound of both your and Dina’s Heels now echoing throughout the grand empty room. Straight ahead there is a small elevator and to the left of it are stairs. The stairs have little lights lining them, illuminating the way up. You and Dina look at eachother, “No way I’m taking those stairs in these heels.”

She giggles “I agree, I don't think I could make it the 15th floor.” You click the button to call the elevator and the doors immediately open. You and Dina walk into the poorly lit mirror covered box and you press the button for the top floor. Turns out she was wrong. It was more like 20 floors, you had scaled those stairs before, but all those times you were very drunk and going down not up. You adjust your hair and pick at your makeup as the elevator slowly ascends. A soft ding sounds and the door opens slowly revealing the bustling nightclub. 

The only lighting in the room was cool colored spotlights, the overwhelming sound of music causing the floor to vibrate under your feet. Most of the light flooded in through the windows that lined the walls. The city lights filtered in, illuminating the room. It almost felt like the club was somehow floating in the middle of the bustling urban area. The floor to ceiling windows made it feel much more spacious despite it being packed with writhing bodies. It was the reason this club was your favorite; it perfectly embraced its beautiful location at the top of a skyscraper. 

You both wander into the crowd hand in hand, making a beeline for the bar. You order two vodka shots each and two drinks, wanting to get the festivities of the night started as quickly as possible. The bartender quickly delivers your orders and you look at your friend nodding before downing a shot. Dina beats you to the second, but you quickly follow, giggling. Your face involuntarily scrunches up as the offensive flavor of pure vodka hits your tongue. She leans in close to your ear and says in a low, mischievous voice “Let’s go have some fun.” and at that you both disappear into the crowd. 

You’re not sure how much time has passed at this point. Apparently enough time for sweat to start to perspire on your skin, the warmth of bodies writhing together causing the temperature to rise throughout the night. A slight dizziness causes your vision to soften, the figures of people around you blurring together. Dancing had become easier and easier as your body relaxed from the alcohol flooding through your veins, the music leading your body movements. You had realized at some point you must have lost Dina, you pause your dancing and make your way to the booths. You spot her in between a man and women, clearly flirting with both of them, with her hands on each of their thighs, laughing comfortably with one another. It was clear she was going home with both of them tonight. Fucking impressive. And annoying.

It’s probably been years since you flirted with someone like that, at a certain point you gave up, letting other people approach you. It never ended in anything though. You envied Dina in her ability to execute that kind of thing. 

You walk up, hesitantly interrupting. She spots you and pauses her heavy petting on her new friends. “Oh shit, I forgot I don’t have to-” 

You hold up your hand and smile “Don’t worry about it, I’m having fun. Just text me later.” you wink and she smiles and nods. You walk over to the bar for your last drink of the night and to close your tab. You look around as you wait for your drink, scanning the VIP section for any familiar faces. Unsurprisingly you spot one of your father’s associates Ms. Anderson. She was here pretty regularly and maybe that’s why you were also here pretty regularly. There was an unspoken, forbidden attraction between you two. Stolen glances and tense conversations made it obvious it was mutual. It was also obvious that nothing could happen besides the occasional sexually charged staring contest, your father might murder her–in a more literal sense than most dads would murder their daughters' lovers. So you resorted to touching yourselves with each other’s names on the tip of your tongues, fingers teasing the ache that grew between your legs at the thought of the other. 

She was wearing her usual suit minus a tie. Her white shirt was mostly unbuttoned, giving her a more casual, careless look. She sat with her legs spread, arms carelessly strung along the back of the couch she was sitting in, a glass of neat whiskey in her large hand. A woman sat next to her–well practically on top of her– in a scantily clad outfit, Ms. Anderson hardly made an effort to look at her eyes. She was surrounded by multiple men, clearly negotiating something, barely paying attention to them. And yet despite her disinterest in their words you could sense the respect that was held towards the blonde woman. They didn’t care that she wasn’t intently listening, they were grateful to even be heard at all. You could tell they must be low in the ranks, especially considering Ms. Anderson’s bored expression as they spoke to her. She caught you staring at her and her bored expression turned into a devilish smirk, her eyes meeting with yours. You look away embarrassed and pray your drink comes sooner rather than later. After a few minutes the bartender sets it down in front of you, you grab your drink off the counter gulping the whole thing down in a few sips. You step into the mass of bodies dancing to the loud music and begin moving in sync with the warm figures. Soon your vision turns concerningly blurry, you immediately try to stumble towards the bar, your legs starting to fail you. You were unfortunately familiar with what was happening which only made you panic all the more, trying to fight through the tiredness that is taking over your body. In a last ditch attempt you lug your failing body towards Ms. Anderson, praying to a god you didn’t believe in that someone noticed. 

You hadn’t spotted Ms. Anderson earlier, but she noticed you. She had been watching you all night, specifically taking note of the way your body guards were distanced from you. She watched the bartender make your drink. Right as she watched him slip some sort of powder into it she left in the middle of her conversation. It didn’t matter at that point, all that mattered was getting to you before he did. She nodded at her bodyguards whispering in each of their ears what to do. One went with Abby to help you while the other went to grab the bartender. 

Abby bent down underneath you to support you under your shoulder and you felt dread fill your body as she grabbed you, not recognizing who it was. You manage to loll your head to the side and see her face, your panic subsides and you begin to give in to the drug. As your body grows heavier Abby picks you up in the air bridal style, initially she didn’t want to cause a scene, but now it would be impossible to get you out of here any other way. You feel her warmth radiate through her shirt and your head leans against her strong chest as your vision slowly fades to black. 

You startle awake, panicking as you realize you're sitting up in someone’s car. Adrenaline takes over as your breathing quickens and your heart rate picks up. You take in your surroundings, lights blur together as you look out the window, desperately trying to discern your location. When you look to your left your breathing immediately slows, remembering you were rescued by Ms. Anderson before you collapsed in the middle of the club. She looks over at you, slightly surprised by your wide panicked eyes being open, she expected you to sleep through the night given the amount of drugs that must be swirling around in your system. You were obviously quite the stubborn girl. 

You begin to say something before the blonde cuts you off, “I found your phone and texted Dina and your father already. Your Father thinks you're staying over at Dina’s and Dina knows you’re safe and with me.” She immediately reassures you, somehow knowing exactly why you shot awake in the midst of a drug induced haze. You nod and relax, letting her take control of your fate. “I’m taking you back to my place, you need someone to make sure you stay breathing through the night.” You watch as her bloodstained knuckles harshly grip the steering wheel. What you didn’t know is Abby had laid you in the car, leaving you with one of her bodyguards before tending to the bartender herself. She made quick work of him, swiftly cutting off limb after limb as she gathered information. Abby was surprised at how quickly her rage consumed her, not realizing how protective she was of you. She snickered at him as he screamed and begged for his life. All she could see as she disassembled the poor excuse for a man was your weak body crumpling to the floor in front of her. She found out he was taking out a sort of hit on you. Trying to hurt your father by hurting you, she learned the name of his boss and sent the information to your father to have it taken care of. Of course she didn’t mention it was you who he tried to kidnap and do who knows what with, she only mentioned it was one of the daughters of someone in the inner circle. 

He didn’t usually ask questions anyways, your father delighted in ridding this world of men who liked to hurt women. The things your father did were dark, but he never ever fucked with women, it was an unspoken rule in the Organization, one that Abby greatly appreciated and respected as well as you. You didn’t like what your father was involved in, but the thought that he had some sense of morals helped you sleep a little better at night. 

You allow your eyes to close once again as Ms. Anderson drives you to her apartment. You float in and out of consciousness as she picks you up out of the car and carries you inside. You can sense the changes in lighting from behind your eyelids, you use sounds to estimate where you might be. Soon keys jingle and a door is opened. Muffled voices surround you and you are handed over to someone else's arms. You feel your dress being gently peeled from your body and you whimper, barely fighting for your dignity. A soft feminine voice hushes you and upon realizing it was a woman you return to your half conscious state. You are placed down onto cold porcelain and you shiver before warm water runs over your body. It felt heavenly, the water massaging your skin warming you from the outside in. You finally fall completely unconscious feeling a sense of security washing over you as the water did. 

You blink open your eyes slowly, bright light penetrating your vision. You have to squint for a moment until your eyes adjust to your surroundings. You’re laying in an incredibly comfortable bed with soft white sheets and a puffy white comforter. Your dress has been replaced by an incredibly oversized matching set of pajamas. You tentatively lift up the hem of your pants and… yup this wasn't even your underwear. God how fucking humiliating. The room is large with tall ceilings and light gray walls. Bright morning light floods in from a giant window overlooking the city. A green couch faces a large TV suspended on the wall above a fireplace. To your left is a nightstand with a tall glass of water and ibuprofen. Upon seeing the glass of water you feel your tongue sticking to the inside of your mouth, your throat so dry you could barely swallow. You gulp down the water along with the pain meds greedily. Upon a second glance you realize the room has no personality, almost like a hotel room or a guest room. It didn’t seem like someplace one would sleep every night. You hear the doorknob being slowly twisted before the door opens revealing Ms. Anderson. She commanded so much space with her presence in her perfectly fitted and pressed suits complete with a tie and matching pocket square. Her hair was pulled back into a perfect, neat braid, little pieces of hair framing her face. Her strong arms and broad shoulders made her posture appear so confident she almost seemed unapproachable.  Upon seeing you awake she smiles “Morning.” She says as she makes her way towards you. 

“Morning.” Your voice was still heavy with sleep.

“How are you feeling?” She asks as she sits on the edge of the bed by your feet. 

“Pretty good all things considered.” You manage a dry laugh. 

“I would start scolding you about the proximity of your body guards, but I feel like I should let you wake up a little first.” She watches as you poorly attempt to rub the sleep out of your eyes, yawning a little as you do. 

“No, no you’re definitely right, learned my lesson.” You pause for a moment as you remember the question that was lurking in the back of your mind since you woke up. Should you even ask? 

“My clothes…” You start to say, not exactly sure how to approach this conversation.

“Oh yeah,” Ms. Anderson blushes a bit “One of my maids, Clara, she was the one who changed you and stuff, I-I didn’t um-” Jesus Christ you managed to fluster this 30 something year old woman, reducing her to an incoherent mumbling mess. “Your dress is over there.” She points to the nightstand. “I would have had it washed, but I wasn’t sure if there was a special way you liked it done or something. Wouldn’t want to ruin it since it looked so good on you.” She smirks and now you’re the one blushing. 

“Th-thank you, I appreciate not having to sleep in that.” You look at her through your lashes, a flirtatious smirk pulling at your lips. You and Abby get lost in one of your staring contests gazing at each other as a silence falls over the both of you. 

Abby is the one to snap out of it, “Oh-uh I should get going I’m going to be late. I arranged a ride home for you. My driver is waiting at the front.” She gets up fiddling with her shirt cuffs as she starts walking out of the room. “And if you want to talk about what happened with someone, just let me know. I’m a good listener.” She smiles for a moment before it falls into a frown. “I wish I didn’t have to leave. I feel like a dick, but I swear I have an important meeting, I-”

“It’s ok,” You smile, cutting her off before she continues apologizing. “I have Dina to talk to. Go to your meeting, don't be late because of me.” 

“Ok I’ll see you soon.” She smiles and stares at you for just a moment too long before leaving the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Holy shit what a night. 

As soon as you get home you have a debrief with Dina over the phone, ranting to her about the whole thing. It starts out lighthearted as you and your best friend over-analyze every one of Ms. Andersons’ actions, feeding into your crush on her. Dina makes sure to throw in an occasional “She’s literally in love with you” and “You have to make a move on her or something she wants you”. You laugh her off, but you secretly enjoy her feeding into your delusions. The discussion inevitably turns into a bit of a therapy session. You can’t stop the tears slipping from your eyes as you realize that a simple night out can so easily turn deadly for you. Being a normal woman in her 20s able to party and go out to clubs was so far out of your grasp. You almost died last night and it wasn’t even that rattling, you constantly end up as a damsel in distress despite your best efforts. You knew how to fight well, knew how to use a gun and knives, and yet it was never enough. 

Dina tells you about her night in excruciating detail, but you liked to live vicariously through her. Her descriptions of her experiences made you feel a little more informed and a little less like an innocent virgin. She never made you feel lesser than her for your lack of experience though, she rarely even talked about your lack of experience. She was a good friend like that: smart, but didn’t make you feel dumb, beautiful without making you feel like shit, she always made sure you knew you were her equal. 

For the rest of the day you allow yourself to mope in your room and recover from the toll the previous night took on your body and mind. You daydream about Ms. Anderson and her strong arms, imagining how she could use them to pin you down as she did whatever she wanted to you. You wonder if she might use her tie to restrain you as she fucked you dumb with her strap, or teasing you with a vibrator until you were begging her to let you come, completely at her mercy. 

Unbeknownst to you Abby had come to your apartment to check on you. When you didn’t answer the door she assumed you were asleep and used the spare she asked for from your bodyguard last night. She had debated bringing you back to your own place, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to have you sleep in her bed. She felt gross using that situation as an excuse to be able to smell you on her sheets, but she was getting desperate. She was looking forward to coming home all day and fucking herself with her fingers whilst pressing her nose to the sheets. Ultimately she decided to visit you first, not being able to resist an excuse to see you. 

She walks in and immediately notes the homey feeling that resonates throughout the large apartment. Colorful rugs, warm lighting and plants immediately make her feel at ease. It felt like you, it made sense. She envied the ability to capture personality through decorations. 

Abby makes her way to what she assumes in your bedroom. As she gets closer she hears you whimpering, she peeks through the crack in the door worried you were having a nightmare or were in pain, but oh she was so delightfully wrong. She saw the beautiful sight of you squirming under your sheets, the soft buzz of a vibrator humming through the dark room. Your eyes were closed, head tilted back as you pressed the vibrator to your clit. Abby couldn’t look away, it felt so incredibly wrong and dirty but she could not bring herself to walk away. She watched as you spread your legs further apart, begging for more. Your whimpers morph into quiet moans as you turn up the setting and Abby is starting to feel an unbearable ache grow between her legs at the sight. You let out a quiet, whiney “Oh fuck” and Abby almost cums in her pants. You turn up the setting even further and Abby can’t help but wonder how much you could take, imagining overstimulating you to the point of tears. She absent mindedly allows her hand to cup her cunt as she continues observing you. Suddenly she hears you whimper Ms. Anderson please, and she is immediately grounded. She rushes out of the apartment, quietly closing the door behind her. She gets home and locks herself in her room, stuffing her fingers into her dripping cunt and cumming over and over to the memory of your sweet voice calling her name. 

The next time you see Ms. Anderson, you weren’t expecting her. You were at a dinner with all the men from the inner circle and their daughters. Abby was the only woman and didn’t have children, so naturally you had assumed she wouldn’t be there. But here she sat, listening intently as one of the men told a story about some deal gone wrong. She was across from you, and she was just so captivating to look at. Her usual suit was swapped for a white button down, dark gray vest and black tie. Her muscular arms strained against the fabric, making you practically drool. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows perfectly displaying her forearms. You let your eyes follow the veins from under her sleeves to her hands, trying to memorize the way her hands looked as they rested on the table. She hadn’t caught you staring yet, so you decided to be bold, sliding your foot under her pant leg. She didn’t move. You start to move it up, higher, higher, until Abby subtly shakes you off. You accept the rejection, feeling slightly embarrassed until she moves her foot to touch yours. She slowly slides it up and down your bare leg, still refusing to stray her attention away from her current conversation. You shake her off and kick her lightly under the table before getting up and heading to the restroom. She finally averts her gaze to look at you as you get up. 

As you walk to the bathroom you silently hope she understood your invitation. To be honest you really didn’t know exactly what you were asking for, all you knew is the tension between you has grown to an almost unbearable point and you were tired of waiting and yearning. You walk into the ladies room, purposefully not locking the door behind you. You face the mirror and begin to fix your makeup, fixing any smeared mascara or eyeliner. You lightly wet your hair trying to tame any fly-aways. Just as you begin to give up waiting the door opens. You turn around, back to the sink, and face the door. It could have been anyone, but thank fuck it was her. She has a slightly frustrated expression on her face as she looks at you. She closes the door behind her, locks it and turns to face you. She leaves mere inches between you two despite the ample space in the bathroom. She looks down at you for a moment, her size was even more staggering when you were this close. You feel a sort of powerlessness, but it wasn’t a negative feeling, it was thrilling. Ms. Anderson gently grips your chin between her thumb and index finger and forces you to look up at her. 

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing princess?” She asks in a low, hushed tone. You can’t answer, all you can manage to do is look up at her as a smirk appears on her face. “You really have no idea how tempting you are with your little dresses and this little innocent girl act.” She inches closer to you, her lips centimeters from yours. “I’m not even sure it’s an act.” She laughs, “and on top of it all I’m not allowed to have you,” She uses her other hand to caress the side of your thigh and you let out a small gasp at the feeling on her hand touching your bare skin. “To be honest that just makes me want you more.” She uses her grip on your thigh to lift your leg up, hooking it around her waist. Your back is pressed into the sink, hands gripping the edge of the porcelain, her body pressed against yours. She still hasn’t moved any closer, her lips barely grazing yours. You can feel every breath and word she utters from her lips on yours. Neither of you dare move, scared to shatter the moment that each of you have been craving for so long. 

“Ms. Anderson?” you breathe out, the words fanning onto her soft lips. Abby sighs at the sound of her name coming from your mouth. 

“Fuck it.” She kisses you. Perfectly. 

It’s not too soft, not too hard, it was just what you needed. She was so soft and warm, you couldn’t help but melt into her strong body. You whimper softly and she deepens the kiss, her tongue teasing your mouth open. Her grip on your thigh tightens a bit at each little sound you make. Her hand moves from your chin to your jaw, her grip is so, so gentle, like she’s scared to break you. You move one of your hands from the sink and press it against her chest, trying to keep yourself steady. 

Abby is the first one to break away, even though it’s the last thing she wants to do. “W-we can’t do this here.” 

You look at her, desperation taking over every fiber of your being “Please Miss, I can’t-”

Abby sighs “Just wait until the end of dinner, go home- I won't be far behind you- and I'll meet you there. Sound good?” You nod eagerly “Words princess.”

“Yes, sounds really good.” Abby smiles and peels herself away from you. She smoothes out her clothes before heading for the door.

“See you soon, princess.” She says before slipping out the door and heading back to dinner like nothing happened. 

lmk what y'all think! reposts and notes always appreciated 💕💕💕

[coltrainbat]

Can you something about our boy, chris evans being wanting to get married and have kids but he feels uncommitted. He dates a few women in the past and has done fake relationships. One day, Chris met reader at a party, he asked her out but reader straight out says no

Yes, No, Maybe...

A/N: I had this in my drafts! Like this exact thing! Omg did you hack my computer? I fixed it up and made it all good but thank you great request. 💕

Disclaimer: All characters and events written, even those based on real people are entirely fictional and are no representation or comment of said characters in real life.

You readjusted your dress in the mirror, fiddling with the fabric stretched over your boobs. There was no way to make your cleavage less prominent, so you decided to embrace it, avoiding any nip slips in the process. Turning to the side you were able to appreciate the curve of your body, your natural hourglass extenuated by the bodycon dress. You weren’t skinny by any means, but you loved how your curves filled out dresses. 

Your friend had given you a VIP access ticket to the Premiere afterparty for the new Barbie movie – it was the perfect event to bring out the pink bodycon midi dress that lived in the back of your closet. 

  Doing a final swipe of gloss over your lips, you exited the washroom and made your way to the bar hoping to find a familiar face. 

  “Hey stranger” you whistled at the bartender. Danny was one of your friends’ older brothers and before he was making you cocktails on nights out; he was buying you 6 packs of white claws when you were 15. 

  “Y/N! Where have you been girl?”

  “Working. How’s the fam?” 

  “Good, mom asks about you all the time... I’ll tell her you’re staying out of trouble.”

  “Please do, it’s been years since she had to pick me up from a house party gone wrong.”

  “Hope you haven’t gone boring on us… do you want your special drink to loosen you up?” 

  Your special drink. Danny had a talent of making you a drink that was sweet enough you couldn’t taste the alcohol but strong enough to make you pass out on the road after 5. And right now, seemed like the perfect time for your special drink.

  As Danny made your drink, you finally got a chance to look at your surroundings; music played in the background of the dimly lit room. Extravagant flower arrangements towered over tables; you made a note to steal one before you left for the night. Groups of influencers, movie stars and A-Listers hung around their respective friend groups. You felt a little uncomfortable, not a single person here looked like you. 

  “One special drink for one special girl.” 

  “Too good to me.” You leaned over the bar to kiss your old friend on the cheek as he placed the pink concoction on the table. 

  “More where that came from just ask.” He smiled and went back to cleaning glasses as you sipped the familiar drink and tried to get comfortable on the bar stool that had the area of cheese slice. Your thighs sat half on, half off the stool and you’d stand if your feet weren’t hurting from the heels you had on. 

  The bar was conveniently empty of patrons meaning you had time to play your sudoku and figure out how long you had until you could go home and put on your PJs. Uninterrupted. Until…

    CHRIS’S POV

  Another afterparty. It’s not like I hated them or anything but after the 5th or 6th they all seemed the same. Sure, they’d be in different cities, different venues but all the people were the same. 

  Same old brown nosing from people who think that because your whole life is on Wikipedia, they can act chummy with you after 5 minutes. 

  Same old C-List actress and their terrible attempt at flirting. God if I had a dollar for every girl who said they needed saving by Captain America I’d have the same amount of money I got from the whole series. They all looked the same as well – blonde, skinny, flat ass. First couple of times, sure, I’d try to get to know them, but they had the same amount of substance as white bread, and my acting skills only stretch so far in trying to seem interested. 

  I did a silent prayer that I didn’t have to bring along a date. I couldn’t go another night having to be paired with some questionable wannabe actress/model/influencer hybrid who couldn’t hold a conversation that wasn’t about how much free shit she got or her willingness to do absolutely anything for a role with a wink. Shuddering at the thought. 

  A good thing about afterparties was the booze. Free, unlimited, delicious booze. 

  “Maybe you’ll find her tonight ya never know.” I was pulled out of my train of thought by a harsh slap on the back from my buddy, Zach.

  “I can promise you bro the love of my life is not here, drunk as a skunk in a push up bra begging for a minor role to some sleezy director but thanks for thinking of me.”

  “Beggars can’t be choosers my man, but if you’re going to be ungrateful about the number of women who would trip over themselves to breathe the same air as you the least you could do is play wingman.”

  “Whatever you say, I’m getting a beer.”

  As I tried to slip through the crowd of people and avoid getting stopped for photos. Throwing in a couple of “Heyyyy’s” “How are ya’s” and “Good to see you’s” “Yeah of course we’ll chat just need a drink” I finally arrived at the bar which was conveniently off in a semi quiet corner.

  Waiters were walking around with champagne glasses and bottle service which was great for three reasons; it occupied the masses, meant the bar was empty and more beer for me.

  I waved down the bartender and settled myself on the all too small barstool. 

  “Can I please get a corona?” 

  “Of course, sir. Y/N you need another?” The bartender looked towards the girl next to me. 

  Holy shit. Y/N. 

  There she sat in all her glory; she looked out of place in the best way possible. The pink drink in front of her barely full. Her ass could barely fit on the child size barstool. The light casted a soft shadow on her cleavage. She was gorgeous. 

  “Gosh, yes please Danny.” She knew his name. Was he, her boyfriend? God, I hope not cause if so he just caught me blatantly staring at her. 

  He placed the cold beer in front of me with a wink. Gesturing for me to lean in close.

  “Good luck trying she doesn’t crack easily.” Ok great not her boyfriend. But also shit, he definitely saw me checking her out. 

  “I’ll do my best.” 

  I slide in the seat closest to her. She didn’t even look up from her phone. Sudoku. She was playing fucking Suduko in a club. Way to send a statement that you don’t give a fuck about the event at you’re at. 

  He placed a brand-new drink in front of her. 

  “What is that?” I gestured towards her drink.

  She locked her phone and looked up slightly dazed as she ran a hand through her volumed hair. 

  Y/N POV

  “It’s a secret.” Holy shit. I know who this is. I know. What’s his name… Brad? Sebastian? Holy shit how could I forget the sexiest man alive’s name. Why is he talking to me? Does he think I’m easy or something? 

  “May I?” Does he want to taste my drink? Like drink from the same glass as me? What the fuck?

  “Be my guest.”

  “Omg that’s delicious.”

  “That’s why it’s a secret.”

  “Chris.” He held out his hand. 

  Chris. Chris Evans. That’s it! 

  “Y/N.” You shook his hand to be nice. The man had a reputation though. You had read all the gossip forums; knew he was a serial dater. Surely, there’s a reason if you’re that good looking and successful you hadn’t settled down yet. 

  You studied his face, he was far from young, but he had aged well, he clearly wasn’t trying to hide the grey specks in his beard or the soft wrinkles of his forehead. He wasn’t as intimidatingly big as you expected but broad and solid none the less. He smelt clean and expensive, and you hoped to God your hand wasn’t sweaty. 

  “So, what brings you here to play Sudoku?” Omg did he look at my phone? Shit that’s embarrassing.

  You chuckled lightly, “Just came for a friend… and the drinks of course.” You took a long sip of the yummy cocktail. 

  CHRIS’S POV

  “So, what do you do?” Please don’t say actress. Please don’t say actress. Please don’t say actress. Please don’t say actress. Please don’t say actress.

  “I manage a (dream workplace).”

“Wow that’s awesome for a second there I thought you were going to say-”

  “Actress. Yeah no.”

  “God you’re quick” He chuckled nervously, unsure of how he was going to crack her. He didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that at this fancy schmancy event she was playing Sudoku at bar or that regardless of whether she could properly fit in the seat she sat so gracefully and confidently. How her dress hugged her curves, how she got a special drink at the bar because she was just so goddamn special. How every movement was sexy and smooth like she knew exactly who she is and didn’t question herself it for a moment. All he knew is that he wanted to know everything about her and to study ever curve on her body. 

  Y/N POV

  Feeling confident after your 2nd incredibly potent drink, you thought you’d take the opportunity to have some fun with him

   “How often do you do this?” You quizzed.

  Do what? Go to after parties?” Chris replied puzzled.

   “No, go up to random women at a bar”

   “Not often”

   “Bullshit”

   “Why bullshit?”

  You gave him a knowing look

   “Oh so someone likes to read gossip magazines.” he smirked and leaned closer 

  You held your hand to your chest “It’s my god given right as a woman to read trashy magazines”

  “No fair enough but that doesn’t mean they’re true...”

  “Hard to believe you‘d complain about getting pictured with models.” You scoffed, taking a long sip. 

   “Could I prove you wrong?”

  “Doubt it I’m always right” you took another sip, smirking into your straw

   “Then let me take you out”

  You laughed at the suggestion 

  “Chris, I can call you Chris right?”

   “Sure”

  “You’re handsome, successful, clearly there is something going on up there and as much as I’d love to have you sweep me off my feet one night, I also love the fact that me doing the walk of shame has never been put on the front cover of TMZ. So thanks but no thanks.”

  You got up to leave until he grabbed your wrist firmly but softly pulling you to face him. 

  You stood over him, him never letting go of your wrist. 

  “You think I’m handsome?” He crocked his head to the side in a knowing smirk.

  “This is ridiculous.” you rolled your eyes dramatically 

  “How about no walk of shame instead…dinner, privately, no cameras, no photographers… your favourite restaurant brought to you… whatever you want”

  “Whatever I want?”

  “Whatever you want. If I don’t manage to sweep you off your feet, you can go to all the rag mags and tell them Chris Evans is a douchebag.”

  You went to answer until a man came up behind you

  “Brooo there you are where the hell have you been?”

  Chris’s hand fell from your wrist and went to pinch his eyebrow.

  “Hey Zach, this is Y/N” gesturing towards you 

  “Hi nice to meet you sorry I was just leaving.” You scooted past his friend.

  “Wait... Y/N… I..” you disappeared into the crowd before he could finish. No way were you going to embarrass him and in turn yourself in front of his friend.

  “Bro she was… wow… don’t tell me you dropped the ball on that one.”

  “I didn’t… until you showed up.” Chris rubbed his face in angst

  “Shit dude I’m sorry… hey go get her she’s probably still here.”

  “Yeah.. yeah fuck you’re right.” He jumped from his seat and gave his friend a quick tap on the shoulder as he ventured into the crowd towards the exit pushing past bodies.

    You had made it downstairs and walked down the road a little, resting your head against the cold tile wall outside the club. 

  Taking in a deep breathe. Great. You blew it. Maybe you misjudged him. God he was so good looking as well! And smart and funny and charming. You got caught up in his façade, why would he ever want to be with someone like you? He was drunk and clearly out of his mind so he wanted to mess with you. Lucky you got out before you well and tru-“

  “Why so quick to run off?” there he was, hands in his pant pockets leaning towards the wall. 

  You gave a defeated laugh “I didn’t want to embarrass you.”

  “What’s so embarrassing about you?” He said, his face not flinching, seriousness laid in his voice. He seemed genuinely confused at the suggestion. 

  “I don’t know maybe because I wasn’t like every other skinny blonde in there.”

  “You’re right you weren’t…” He took a step closer

  “You’re better. Zach was pretty impressed with you; I just came down to avoid the teasing I’d get for the rest of my life if I managed to let you go without at least one date.”

  You tried to hide you’re smile as you looked away from his intense gaze.

  “There’s nothing embarrassing about you and if you would let me, I would like to take you on that date. And before you ask, no, I don’t do this often.”

  You looked up at the night sky, considering whether you’re about to make the worst or the best choice of your life.

  “Yes”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes, I’ll go on a date with you.”

  “Good.” He passed you his phone and you entered your number, giving it back to him he immediately dialled it and put it towards his ear.

  “Just to be sure” he smirked at you.

  Your phone rang and you held it up to him “I got it.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow then” He stepped close to you, you thought he was about to kiss you, so you stretched your neck out a little in anticipation towards his chin. 

  Bypassing your lips, he moved to your ear.

  “See you tomorrow” he kissed the skin between your ear and your cheekbone. Your body went hot at his touch.

  He walked backwards as you took a gulp at the sudden intimacy, trying to catch your breathe. 

  “Tomorrow”

  “Tomorrow”

  He fist pumped the air in a celebratory motion.

  You laughed at his gesture and gave him a little wave goodbye as you walked down the street to get a cab.

  “Tomorrow!” He screamed out at, drawing attention from loiters on the street. 

  God what have you gotten yourself into? 

[sonjalikestodraw]

“To Nearly Know”, an UNDERTALE fancomic

SPOILERS for all UNDERTALE endings.

Happy 5th anniversary, Undertale. Here’s a snapshot of something I think the characters go through...

Image description under the cut:

Page 1:

During the True Lab/friendship dates portion of the True Pacifist run, Sans sits in the judgement corridor, waiting for the human to show up. We see him from above, sitting on a window sill, brooding. Back against the window. The comic is drawn in nearly only black lines on warm yellow backdrop, 

Now the camera is next to Sans’s profile in the foreground, the Corridor stretching out in the background. His silhouette is black, his eyes dark.

Now the huge figure of the King enters the room, the door gives a “creak”. Sans looks up, away from the audience. He says: ”boss?”

King Asgore paces up to him, carrying a tray with cups, one short blue, one tall purple. Beaming, he greets: ”Howdy, Sans. Would you like a break?”

Camera from Asgore’s general direction. As Sans turns his head toward the King, we see his face in actual detail for the first time. He wears a tired grin, eyelids heavy, both eyes with white glowing pinlights for pupil.

Sans responds: ”heh. sure.”

Page 2:

Closeup on one of the two cups on the tray. This cup is blue, shaped like a cartoony, grinning skull with a bent bone for a handle.

Sans lights up a little, says: ”oh, hey, it’s my cup.”

Asgore, or the King, seen from behind his shoulder shrouded in shadows: ”Now, I would have made you tea, but I know you prefer coffee, so…”

Sans is mildly surprised. He looks small and young from above, as he reaches for the skull cup.

Sans, soft smile, slouching, cradling his cup: ”aw, you didn't have to.”

Asgore, with a satisfied, humble smile, sits down with his legs crossed. Since the King is on the floor and Sans sits on the window sill, they’re on a much more equal level. Asgore says: ”Nonsense, I was glad to. Especially since you are waiting so patiently.”

They raise their cups together. Sans holds his with less strength and steadiness than the King. We se that Asgore’s cup is purple with a golden crown-shaped band around the top, and a curly handle.

Sans: ”thanks, boss. cheers.”

Asgore: ”Cheers.”

Page 3:

Sans hangs his head as he drinks. Under heavy eyelids, he notices Asgore’s armour underneath Asgore’s cloak, glinting in the light.

In a series of mirrored closeups:

Sans, rueful, says: ”geared up, huh.”

Asgore, looking at the floor with a tired frown: ”Yes.”

Sans, eyes closed, passive-aggressive smile: ”you ready?”

Asgore, with a sad smile, turned towards Sans: ”I never am.”

Sans gives a sympathetic/worried look of surprise at Asgore’s words.

Asgore doesn’t notice: instead he looks up, his expression a mixture of worry and relief.

Page 4:

Camera angle from the ceiling, looking down at them. A hint of blue-gray ceiling beams, high above.

Asgore: ”I see you have not prepared... those.”

The camera is now level with the ceiling. Upon the ceiling beams, drenched in shadow, covered in scratches and spotted with some dark liquid, dozens of Sans’ Gaster Blasters lie. Their eyes are dark and blank. Dormant. The area is overlaid with an eerie blue glow, free from the rest of the corridor’s warm golds and yellows.

Back down on the floor, Sans drinks with eyes closed, neutral.

Sans says: ”no need. kid’s been pacifist so far. they’ll be here soon. should’a passed the core a while ago.”

Asgore looks down in his tea with a mournful expression.

Asgore says: Then make sure they do not take you for a true obstacle. That burden falls on my shoulders.

With dark eyes, Sans looks skeptical or frustrated.

Page 5:

Sans looks out the window with a suspecting expression, eyebrow cocked. ”hey. is it just me, or is the kid… late?”

Asgore, with a soft, worried face, responds: ”I know what you mean. It is strange, but it feels as if…”

Asgore frowns like he’s thinking hard, now looking stern and cold. ”They are taking too long.”

Sans grudgingly mutters ”longer than usual.” with his one blue attack eye lit up, the other half of his face in shadow. the word “usual” is written in the font 8bitoperator rather than his usual comic sans.

They look each other in the eye, in a moment of utter clarity. Seen from outside, they are lit up fully, no shadows. Outside the window’s sides, several yellow save point stars from the game loom and shine.

This moment passes. Camera from within again, now from the opposite wall, so that they’re completely black silhouettes.

Asgore says: “But of course, how can they be late if they have never set foot here before?”

Sans, with his standard grin, says: “…yeah.”

Page 6:

Still in darkness, Asgore says: “So how are things in Snowdin?”

They drink and small talk, as the right side of the panel fades into thinning black stripes, to signify time passing.

Then Asgore gets up to leave, tray with his purple cup in hand, and says: “Well, Sans. I shall leave you to it.”

A lays his hand on S’ shoulder. He smiles brightly and wide-eyed in a closeup from Sans’ PoV, similar to his first appearance in the comic. Asgore says: “You have been an excellent Judge thus far. I am very happy with your work.”

Sans, in a mirrored closeup from Asgore’s PoV, is mildly surprised, with a soft face, responds: “oh… thanks, boss.”

Asgore turns and begins walking away. Sans realises he’s still holding his own empty cup, which is shaded so that only its left blue eye is visible.

Page 7:

Wide shot of the corridor, Asgore has almost reached the end: Sans, eyes alight, says: “wait.”

Sans holds up his cup with a questioning grin: “aren’t ya gonna bring my cup back to your place? i mean, we agreed i’d prolly forget it at home—”

With a sad smile, Asgore says: “Ah, no. Please, keep it.”

Asgore turns his face away, his profile hidden in shadows: “I worry that you might not find it.”

Sans stares after him. Asgore exits: the door creaks and shuts with an echoing ”crreak-thoommm” sound.

Same shot, zoom out. Sans is shrouded in darkness, his eyes dark again. He says: ”asgore?”

The End. 

[tamagochiie]

when the rumbling came; erwin smith

pairing. Erwin Smith x Fem!reader 

synopsis. You were tired of work, of people, and of life treating you poorly. You quickly came to the conclusion that if you were going to end your life, now would probably be a good time as any. 

word count. 3.36k

tags + warnings. TRIGGER WARNING! depression, attempted to attempt suicide, reader being completely dead inside (metaphorically), modern!au, office!au (just a pinch), angst, comfort/fluff, 

notes. I don’t romanticize depression or suicide. Writing is my way of coping and dealing with everything that’s going on right now; don’t worry, I’m okay, really I am. So, this one shot is more or less self indulgent. Please, if you you’re going through some hardships don’t hesitate to reach out for help. My inbox is also free, and I’m always willing to listen. 

You had alway built yourself in a firm foundation made of rocks, that nothing could ever shake you and even if it did, you’d snap back like an elastic band. But very recently, very, very recently, you’ve been living on a faultline and for a while now there’d be tremors - nothing strong enough to shake you, though. 

But your foundation soon turned into sand as the weeks came by and stress came to you in waves. The little tremors eventually turned into big ones. You found yourself swaying, crumbling, and now you were barely reaching the end of the week without falling to your knees and weeping, your pleas for mercy hung in the air, right in your face as if it were mocking you. 

The home you had built for yourself had fallen into rubble and nothing could protect you. 

Nothing could save you from all the wind and rain, and quite frankly, you weren’t entirely sure if you wanted to be saved. Being saved meant continuing on, meant trudging through the fight and you had no more fight left in you. 

So there you sat, on the very edge of the roof of your office building with your feet dangling. Night life in the city glimmered and glowed, completely ignorant to you suffering. But it looked nice and you found yourself thankful because at least life was kind enough to give you one last “good” view before you did the deed. 

I’d just have to scoot and I’d be on my way to the pavement, you thought idly. 

You weren’t even scared, and maybe that’s what scared you, that you were completely okay with ending it here. That you didn’t even bat an eye when the idea came into your head while you bought yourself a sandwich during your lunch break. 

It kinda felt easy like solving 1+1.

So maybe it was your calmness that scared you. Maybe it's the fact that once you had made up your mind, you had been set as if you were picking out clothes for the next day kind of set. 

You swung your feet, feeling yourself scooch closer to the edge and your heart didn’t even race - not even a flutter.

You craned your neck back to look at the sky, not a single star in sight. You heavily sighed and played with your hands while you teared up and eventually cried. All the burdens you carried, the responsibilities you shouldered, and the insecurities you kept close to your heart flooded out of you in one single, painstaking sob. 

Your chest heaved and your voice cracked as you screamed into a void, knowing you’d never be heard over all the honking and clamouring from the city beneath you. 

“I dunno who's listening,” You croak to the night, your throat dry from all the crying, “but if I’m not supposed to die tonight, can you give me a sign...or something? Like, send someone out here to do a handstand or something. If - If there’s like, any sliver of hope I have left or whatever...If I’m not supposed to end here, then just do that because I really dunno if I’m supposed to hang on anymore...” 

You never prayed a single prayer in your life, maybe just once when you were wavering in your ability to attain such a fine job as this, or when both your parents fell ill and you were left alone to fend for yourself. But other than that, you more or less suffered silently, cried to yourself when you needed to, and pulled yourself out of trouble. 

It was late into the night, so the prayer was already silly to begin with. Everyone had gone home and you made sure of it because you hid in the bathroom until the lights turned off and the floor of your office was completely silent. 

And the more you thought about it, as you imagined yourself hiding in that bathroom like a dumbass, you felt your cheeks flush in embarrassment. 

Well, it wasn’t like you were going to be alive to bear it into tomorrow morning anyway. 

You flinched at the sudden sound of the fire exit creaking open, the metal scratching against the pavement. You turned your head and squinted at the shadows and the little light provided by the exit sign. 

“Hello?” You called out to the shadows and flinched when you saw it move, heedlessly pulling yourself away from the edge as you leaned back to take a closer look. 

You gasped lowly as a familiar, rather burly figure emerged from the darkness. It was your boss, Mr. Smith, who had his eyes widen in surprise, as if he was shocked to have actually found someone on the roof. 

He narrowed his gaze on you and wore a tight lip as he studied you intently. He stayed near the fire exit, hand in the pocket of his clean cut slacks while the other hung by his side. 

You had sworn everyone had gone home. 

Not everyone, you supposed. 

“Can I help you?” You asked through your sniffling, but Mr. Smith kept quiet; the silence grew to be quite awkward the longer he stood there. 

After a few beats, he stepped forward, rolling up the sleeves of his button up shirt before he ran his fingers through his hair. A tremulous breath escaped his lips as he spun on the heels of his shoes, facing the wall. 

You cocked your head, blinking owlishly at him. And in one, fluid motion, with little to no effort, he bent down to lean onto his hands and kicked his feet up to the air, leaning against the wall for support. 

He did a handstand. 

What? 

You would be laughing if you weren’t in the state you were in. 

Mr. Smith was still looking directly at you as he stood on his hands, his clothes bunched up beneath his chin while his face burned red from the sudden rush of blood to his head.  

All you could do was leave your mouth hanging open, blinking at him in bewilderment. 

With a faint grunt, Mr. Smith brought his feet back to the ground and pushed himself off his hands. He brushed his hands together to dust away the dirt before he looked back to you as he ran his hands down the creases of his vest. 

“Before you say anything,” He spoke, his voice deep and velvety, “I have absolutely no idea why I did that, but there was a little voice in my head that told me to.” 

You licked your lips and stayed quiet, still taking in what had just happened. 

“But my question is,” He began, “are you okay?”

“Do I look like I’m okay?” You spat, but you bit your tongue and cleared your throat when you realized who you were talking to. “Sorry,” You quietly muttered, twisting yourself back to look at the building in front of you. 

You listened as the footsteps behind you drew closer, ultimately coming to a quiet halt. 

“Mind if I join you?” He dipped his head down to look at you and you glanced at him in the corner of your eye, shrugging your shoulders. 

Mr. Smith took the spot beside you and swung his feet over the ledge, mirroring the way you sat before digging his hand back into his pocket to pull out a packet of cigarettes. 

“You got a lighter?” He asked, sticking a cigarette between his lips. You shook your head, amazed at his nonchalant demeanor. “That’s okay, I’ve got one.” 

You watched him with a puzzled look as he lit his cigarette and blew a smoke. 

It was pretty obvious what you were trying to do; your eyes were red and looked sore, your cheeks stained with tears, and not to mention you were setting on the ledge of a build without your shoes on. 

How was he so calm?

“I’ve seen you around the office,” He recalled, blowing a few more smokes before he turned to you, “you look like a hard worker.” 

“Depends on how you define ‘hard worker’,” You mumbled. Mr. Smith brought the cigarette in front of you as if signaling you to take it. You do. “I’m more of a half-assed worker that’s just ebbing and flowing bullshit just to get the job done so I can go home and wallow in self-pity in silence.” 

He chuckled. It sounded sweet. 

“So why are you sitting on the ledge?” 

You drew out a smoke. 

“I don’t wanna live anymore.” You deadpanned. “I hate my life and I hate that it’s fucked me in the ass -” You blew another smoke before passing it back to Mr. Smith, your body a lot more calmer and your mind unfiltered, “ - without even my consent.” 

“I don’t blame you,” He said earnestly, and it shocked you. The golden boy who strolled up and down the office floors with his chest out, head held high, and a smile that made every woman’s knees go weak was agreeing with you. His eyes looked like it held all the hope and promise in the world, yet he was agreeing with you.“But are you sure you wanna do that? What if life gets better?” 

You snickered though no trace of amusement on your face. 

“I’ve been living on ‘what ifs’, Mr. Smith,” You pointed out plainly, “I’m not about to keep going. What’s the point of living on ‘what ifs’ when nothing happens? At the end of the day, I’m just an idiot that keeps thinking, ‘What if today’s better?’, ‘What if there’s a new flavor of ice cream that’s been released and it turns out to be my favorite?’ -- it’s stupid.” 

“What if your boss gives you a raise?” He smirked at you playfully but you only rolled your eyes. “What? It was worth a try.” 

“Your try was shit.” 

“What about if you tried a different approach?” 

“Look, Mr. Smith,” You sighed in annoyance and snatched the cigarette from his hand and propped it between your lips, “I don’t have a lot of fight left in me, okay? I’ve tried, I failed. That’s it. So, would you just leave me to do what I need to do? Please?” 

“If you wanted to kill yourself, you would’ve done it by now.” 

You threw him a sour look, offended that he didn’t think you could do it. 

But why would you be upset about that? 

“You don’t know me.” You muttered.

“I know well enough that if you wanted to call quits, you wouldn’t have sat here for nearly an hour, praying for a sign.” 

“You heard?” 

He nodded. 

“You lied!” You raised your voice and without giving it much thought, you punched him in the arm. “You said you didn’t know why you came up here!” 

“Oh, I didn’t,” He calmly argued. “Not completely, anyway. I saw you go up when I was on my way out. When I noticed you didn’t take your things, not even your phone, I had a gut feeling it was something bad.” 

“I waited for a little while,” He explained, “I thought that maybe you wanted some fresh air, but the longer I waited, the more worried I got. So I went up the steps just to check on you, and your voice...did you know your voice carries well in the stairwell? I heard your voice, small and completely detached from life. Even then, you were asking for help, and how could I refuse?”

“Do you make it a point to get into other people’s business?” 

“Only when they’re trying to take their life.”  

“And now what?” You sounded detached and uninterested, and he didn’t blame you for it. He never spoke to you outside of meetings or work, not even once. Of course his words wouldn’t have any impact. “Are you gonna tell me not to go through with it, talk me down or something? You gonna tell me ‘If you can’t live for yourself, then live for me’? That kinda dumb shit?” 

He shook his head, a faint pout on his lips. Despite your mocking tone, Mr. Smith remained calm and didn’t take it personally. Though you kinda wish he did, so he could leave you alone.

“No, nothing like that....” Mr. Smith weighed his options, choosing his next words and his next approach carefully.

He’s been here before and he falls into shallow thought, remembering all the things he didn’t do and see if he could do it now.  

“I - I’ve been both on both ends of the situation, I just -” Mr. Smith sighed heavily, as he rubbed his hands together, “- I didn’t do anything last time, so - so when I saw you I thought maybe I could somehow make up for it.” 

“That kinda sounds shitty,” You pointed out. 

It was indeed a shitty thing that you were somehow being used to clear a conscience, but you understood where his heart was at.  It was nice that he was trying - it was nice that someone had noticed. 

But that’s all that it was for you: it was just nice. 

“I’m just so fucking tired,” You admitted, your eyes stinging with fresh tears. You tilted your head back to keep it from spilling, but like all of your attempts at anything, you failed. “I’m so fucking tired of being tired, and nothing’s going right. I’ve tried different approaches, changing my mindset. I even did all these stupid Pinterest self-help boards, but that didn’t help either. I’m desperately grasping for straws and I’ve finally decided to just...stop.” 

You rolled your head, looking at your boss with lifeless eyes and it terrified him. He didn’t know what to say - not then and most certainly not now. But what does anyone say to a person who’s given up all hope and interest in living? 

You seemed to have made up your mind and Mr. Smith worried that he’d have another life in his hands. He didn’t want that and he found himself growing desperate. 

He liked you, whether it be a co-worker or something else, he liked seeing you around the office. You were smart and though you looked soft spoken, you most certainly weren’t. You never ceased to amaze him with the things you submitted, so he truly wondered why you felt so inadequate. 

Mr. Smith couldn’t help but blame himself for not paying attention.

“I say don’t die,” He said rather confidentiality, and you furrowed your brows at this. He was becoming persistent in his meddling. “I say wait it out another day or week, and then if you really wanna, fine. I’ll even leave the emergency exit unlocked for you.” 

You widened your eyes, your mouth parted but not a single sound came out. 

“Why should I wait when I can do it right now?” 

“Because of the ‘what ifs’.” 

You grunted. 

“I already told you --” 

“Yes, but what if I tried to help you?” 

“I’m not going to be your charity case, Mr. Smith,” You chastised. “I’d rather die than be your charity case.” 

“You won’t be,” He said rather calmly. A small smile crept across his lips and his eyes twinkled against the faint glow of the city lights. “You’ll be my friend and I, too, need a friend.” 

“Mr. Smith --” 

“Call me Erwin.” 

You cleared your throat. You felt embarrassed to say the least. You opened your mouth and found it weird when you spoke his name. You didn’t like it, but it was something you could get used to. 

“Why would you wanna be my friend?” 

“Because life’s fucked me in the ass without my consent, too.” It was weird hearing something so crass coming from the poster boy of perfection and all things pure. You almost thought you’d completely lost it and had imagined he ever said it. “And I heard that suffering with someone makes the experience a little less painful and a little more bearable. So, won’t you be my friend and suffer with me?” 

Mr. Smith noticed your hesitance, even more so when he held his left hand out for you to take. It felt formal like he was trying to close a business deal or something. It was a bit weird. 

“You’re not gonna be my reason for living,” You said, letting his hand awkwardly hang in the air. But he didn’t bother to retract it. “I’m not looking for a savior.” 

“You’re looking for your strength and so am I, so let’s just look together and see what we find, mm?” 

You looked at him, studied him. Why did he care so much, and why did you want to know? 

After all, you did ask for a sign, yet here you were being stubborn and pretending as if you hadn’t seen it at all. You didn’t believe in miracles or spectacular alignments of the universe, but when you took his hand, you felt a warmth of reassurance - a sense of peace. 

Suddenly, with a high pitch yelp from your lips, Mr. Smith quickly moved his left hand and wrapped it over you and pulled you down with him as he threw himself back onto the pavement behind you. His right hand cushioned your blow and he winced in pain when he caught you. 

You found yourself tightly gripping onto the material of his sleeve when you took a peak to check on Mr. Smith. He was looking down at you, a nervous smile plastered across his face. 

You shoved him off, muttering to yourself as you patted yourself down. 

“That was uncalled for.” You grumbled. 

“How would I know? You would’ve changed your mind for all I know.” 

“I took your hand!” You chided. “That was basically me saying, ‘Okay, I’ll be your friend’! What if you had thrown yourself forward instead!” 

“But I didn’t.” He replied calmly, a smile, one that irked you completely, pulled the corners of his lips. 

“Yeah, but what if you had?” 

“But I didn’t.”

He stood up from the floor and patted the dust and dirt of his pants before reaching down to help you up from the ground. 

“Thank you for being my friend,” Mr. Smith grinned. “I promise you won’t regret it.” 

You rolled your eyes as he kept his hold around your hand, shaking it. 

“Your promises don’t mean much to me.” 

 It had been months since your moment on the rooftop with Erwin. Though he had been keen, inviting you out for lunch, for dinner, and spared some time for small talk in passing, you were still walking on eggshells, especially because you worried that it might’ve looked unprofessional. 

But really, no one cared as much as you did. Everyone had just assumed Erwin was just being kind. But still, it gave you more stress than it did comfort you, and though you had spat a few unkind words his way, he never left. 

He always came back with a bright smile and offerings, whether it were candies or actual food. 

Eventually, you eased in and you were no longer agitated. You found yourself looking forward to Erwin’s occasional visits to your desk or when he’d ask you out for some coffee. 

At the end of every day Erwin would never miss a beat and would ask you how you were doing, and it never felt performative or forced. He was warm and genuine, and he’d share his burdens with you, too. 

And you found yourself realizing that he was right, that struggling with someone made things a little less painful and a little more bearable. That despite the struggle, knowing someone so patient and understanding, would be there to catch you. 

“Hey,” You spoke over the rim of your freshly brewed tea as you sat across the little round table of the coffee shop. Erwin’s eyes flicked up at you as he took a bite of his muffin. “Thanks,” 

He raised a brow and cocked his head to the side, “What for?” He asked, his words muffled by his stuffed mouth. 

“Thanks for being my friend.” 

He smiled, a few crumbs falling from his lips and onto his plate. 

“Thank you for being mine.” 

[renhaswritersblock]

Kinktober Day 1: Facesitting||Anonymous Sex - Johnson

Word Count: 2174

Warnings: Oral, overstimulation, faded sex, slight angst

A/N: Hello! So, I kinda got a bit carried away with this one *looks at the word count* hehe. But I hope you enjoy reading this fic. Was a bit hesitant at first while writing this smut, but with a few readings from a couple of friends, I continued writing! It's sort of unfinished, a work in progress. The rest of the kinktober day's will probably be short, not sure yet. I have a few exams this week and work is being a cunt, so the writing will be delayed for a short while, sorry. Also, I refer to Johnson in this fic as "The Man" cause of the anonymous sex part. Anyways, again, hope you enjoy reading! Let me know what you think. I do accept feedback/criticism, just don't abuse that power. And I hope ya'll are having a wonderful day. -Ren

~~~

“So, do you mind telling me where the hell we’re going, Frankie?” the strawberry-blonde glanced over at her friend sitting beside her, gripping anxiously at the steering wheel.

Frankie had her head leaned halfway against the open window of the moving car. Feeling the cool summer-night breeze hit her face while her hand traces circles on her wooden thigh. A small yet noticeable grin leisurely forms on the brunette’s face, thinking about tonight’s plans. She had been looking forward to this night for some time, finally be able to get away from the Bang-a-Rang - a place she once called home but is now a prison - and go wherever the river takes her.

“Hello? Earth to Frankie.” Frankie opened her eyes, turning her head swiftly towards the calling of her name. “Are you going to answer my question? Or do I have to turn the damn car around and drive back?”

Frankie pressed her lips together, letting out an exasperate sigh. “You worry too much, V,” she finally replied in a soft, choleric voice.

“No shit,” V retorted, “I rather not have Aunt Rosemary or Dennis be on my fucking ass if you’re doing something that could get us in trouble. Or worse, killed.” She glanced once more at Frankie with a furrowed brow. The brunette rolled her eyes with a snarl, glaring back out the window, head resting in hand. The pale broad’s narrowed eyes dropped into a pitiful look, sighing as she turned her attention back on the road. “Look, hon. I’m trying to be there for you more and back you up, but you can’t just leave me in the dark. You know what happened last time, fuck, it scared the living shit out of me.” Frankie’s eyes darted down at her wrist, seeing the visible dark-faded bruises wrapped around her like a cuff. Her face scrunched mournfully at the memory, remembering how painfully tight those bastards tied the chains. “I don’t want you to die, Frankie,” V finished, becoming teary-eyed.

The strawberry-blonde jumped at the gentle touch of something weighing on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw the olive-skin hand belonging to Frankie, giving a light squeeze for reassurance. “Didn’t know you cared this much about me, V. Thanks,” Frankie gave a half sympathetic smile, V returning a similar smile. “But you should save that melancholic shit-talking for your butch when it gets close to war,” She quipped, making V scowl and slap Frankie’s hand off her shoulder.

“Fuck you, bitch.” Frankie couldn’t help but tilt her head back and release a cackle as V continued staring angrily at the road.

“I’m just fucking with you, puta. You know I love you.” The brunette adjusted herself in her seat, now sitting up straight. “Anyways, a little birdie sent me a note to meet them at this motel in town,” Frankie pulled out a wrinkled note from the pocket of her shorts, handing it to V, “Mira. Thought I could -you know- check it out.” V quickly snatched the piece of paper, silently reading it while keeping an eye on the road.

In town only for tonight. Meet me at the Woodland Motel at 8 pm sharp, don’t be late. See you there.

Ps. bring the thing XO

“The thing?” V quirked up a brow, turning to Frankie with a puzzled expression. All the brunette could do was shrug at her response, fixing her spaghetti strap. V scoffed as she shook her head in disbelief, “Do you even know who you’re meeting? It could be some crazy lunatic who’ll bash your brains out or make you end up in a tub full of ice with a missing organ!” Frankie reached to grab the note out of her friend’s hand as she was waving it around in the air. “Honestly, Frankie. Do you not see the red flags here?”

“Nope.” The brunette answered with a popping sound on the p, “Plus, I know him. Known him for a pretty long time. And besides-” she bends down, tracing her fingers on the smooth wood of her prosthesis. Finding the split crack, she gently pulled at it to reveal a hollowed compartment and a revolver nestled inside. “-if I ever am in danger. I always have this.” She took the gun out of its chamber, swaying it in the air.

---

Lighting another cigarette, the man watched from his car as the brunette struts out of the front office towards the parked convertible, bending down to lean against the car’s open window of the driver’s side.

The last time he saw her, her shaggy hair was long and vibrant, reaching down to her backside, her bangs acting as curtains to shield away her flaws, as she called it. Now her hair was short - below the ears and sleek, it reminded him of Betty Boop.

It was unclear what she was saying to her friend, but not even a minute passed when the convertible came to life and started to drive off, leaving the girl wiggly waving goodbye. Once the car was out of sight, she twirled in the direction of her room.

He couldn’t help but stare longingly at her ass. How her shorts hugged tightly around the brunette, revealing more of her curves and backside. Even her tight-fitted tank top that displayed her womanly busty’s made the man’s cock twitch as they bounced merrily.

When she entered the motel room, the man waited a couple more minutes, taking one good draw of his cigarette puffing out a cloud of smoke before exiting the vehicle. Throwing the cig on the ground, he swaggers across the street, taking out a spare room key from the pocket of his blazer, and approached quietly to the door to room 6.

---

Frankie let out a faint moan, feeling a wave of pleasure overtake her as she played frantically with her clit. Her face growing red hot, firmly cupping one of her breasts, whimpering lowly when she twisted the nipple to feel the burning friction and pressed down on a particular spot of her clit that made her see stars.

After she stepped inside the room, the brunette did not waste time quickly disposing of all her clothes and hopped daintily on top of the bed, not even bothering to turn on the light. She wanted to start slowly, gradually roaming her hands around her body and steadily rubbing her slit on the outer layer of her boxers, but the brunette was impatient. Hungry for the pleasure that would push her over the edge. Intimacy she hadn’t felt for a long time.

Now, sprawled out on the bed, Frankie writhed in frustration, her free hand clenching the pillow below her head as she concentrated on the small squelching sounds of her pussy from teasing her bud. Eyes shut tight, biting back her cries of bliss. She could feel it rising, the knot in her stomach tightening, aching to be released. Yet Frankie refused to, not wanting to climax so soon. Not without him.

She wondered where he was. Wishing -fuck- begging for him to show up and claim her, ruin her, make her a mess. Turning her head toward the nightstand, she saw the red numbers illuminate from the digital clock reading 8:22 pm. Maybe he was running late. The river always kept him busy and distracted, slowly drifting him away from her, leaving her to sink further into the watery depths of the current to drown. Maybe she was set up, that this was another one of the pin-up’s sick jokes to get back at her. Frankie’s chest ached tightly at the many dejecting thoughts consuming her, stopping and removing her hand out of her boxers. He’s not showing up, Frankie thought, tears beginning to cloud her vision.

Suddenly, a pair of hands swiftly grabbed her by the leg and thigh, pulling the brunette down at the edge of the bed. Frankie released a startled squeal, opening her eyes widely to see the dark outline of a man hovering above, two dimly lit orbs longingly staring at her. She gazed back up at the man with a slack-jaw, blushing. Wondering how long had he been here, watching her touch herself soundlessly. Her breath hitched, jolting when she felt the cold but comforting touch of the man, delicately tracing her slender frame. Sending her body trembling every time the tip of his fingers draw near a sensitive bit. He moves down to her breasts, burying his face between them, giving small pecks and soft bites of reassurance that left the brunette flush, turning her head to the side biting her fist to hold back the moans. Noticing this, the man then latched his mouth onto one of her nipples. Frankie hissed and jerked at the pleasurable shock as he sank his teeth into her, granting a loud moan to escape from her lips. She could sense the man looking up, smirking smugly. He repeated his action one more time, greedily wanting to hear her whines and soundless beggings.

Hooking a finger on the waistband of her boyshorts, he steadily tugged the fabric down, opening her legs to fully exposing her wetness. The brunette’s breathed heavily as the man left a trail of tender kisses, going down between her legs. Before he could press his lips against her heat, his hand brushed her thigh accidentally, making the girl flinch and back away out of instinct. He looked up at her with a furrowed brow, questioning what he did to make her panic and flee so slightly. Then it hit him. His eyes darted back at her leg and at the wooden prosthesis still strapped onto her mid-thigh, realizing the mistake he made. He looked back up to her, kissing her other leg apologetically, signaling that he wasn’t going to do anything she was thinking of again. Frankie mumbled an ok before moving hesitantly closer, carefully leaning back and opening her legs once more.

Immediately, he sinks his face into her cunt, dragging his tongue up and down her slit to savor her juice. Frankie whined and stirred, arching her back at the feeling of him vigorously eating her out. As his mouth focused on engorging her clit, he worked two fingers into her hole, perfectly sliding inside her.

The brunette choked out a moan at the intrusion, grabbing ahold of the bedsheets as he slowly dragged his fingers out and quickly shoved them back in, setting a rough pace that hit her g-spot with every thrust. Her hips began to move to meet his fingers and tongue as he proceeded to fuck her, picking up his pace and going knuckles deep. She felt pressure build in the pit of her stomach, increasing by the second. With a brisk roll of his tongue over her clit, Frankie arched her back and spasmed into a powerful orgasm.

“Oh, f-fuck!” Frankie’s eyes rolled back as her body shook violently, huffing out of breath at the sensation.

When the brunette came down from her high, she thought that was the end of it. Only for the man to grab both her hips and pulled Frankie closer to his face, continuing to burrow his tongue into her, repeatedly hitting her sweet spot. Frankie tensed up at the feeling of being stimulated again, bracing for another climax that was closing in. She reached down to try and pull his head away from her. To no avail, the man moving it away by extending his hand out to hers, fingers intertwined. No matter how many times she squirmed away from the man’s face, he would always go forward and proceed to work on her cunt, digging his nails into her skin. Then the brunette made an attempt to roll over to detach his lips from her folds, but it only flipped him over to his back, pulling her to sit on his face.

“S-stop. I-It’s too -fuck- It’s too much,” The brunette arose, gripping at the man’s hands as support, as well as to pry them open, “Fu-Fuck, I’m gonna- AH!” She cried out, snapping her head back as another orgasm came crashing shockwaves of ecstasy into her. The man emitted a mm, parting his lips away from her snatch to breathe. Frankie took it as an opportunity to free herself from him, wearily getting off and slumping next to the man on her back, also catching her breath.

Not even a minute had passed when she heard the metal clang of a belt and looked down to see the silhouette of the man seated upwards. He began to remove his pants, tugging them down to his knees, and turned to face the brunette.

“Just give me a minute.” She responded with a raspy voice, lifting herself gradually. Frankie perched at the side of the bed, unclasping the leather strap of her prosthesis. Removing her leg, she leaned it against the wall and crawled back to the middle, spreading out to present herself to the man. With a slight close-lipped smile, she purred, “Ready when you are, cariño.”

[mediocre-writerr]

almost [toni shalifoe]

toni shalifoe x reader

requested: You’re an amazing writer! I had this promt for a while now where reader is Shelby’s best friend and Toni’s gf and once they get to the bunkers they find out about everything and try to escape the building but get followd by agents from all sides and the girls are scared for their lives and once they get the oppurtunity to escape the reader offers herself (maybe an agent was about to catch Shelby) and Toni and Shelby (they both don’t want to let go and are in hysterics) as well as the other girls lose it when readers screams and begs them to leave her and get to safety. Pretty heavy angst that you write so amazingly, it would be so nice to see you bring this idea to life.

*not my gif*

The walls started to be the only thing you can remember seeing. The weird wooden paneling in what felt like a fucking holding cell for prisoners’ on death row. You can’t remember what the sky looked like or the stars. All you can remember is this stupid quarantine room that you were put in after you got, quote on quote: saved, from the island.

You haven’t seen any of the girls since you’ve been saved. And you really wished you could’ve, you’ve missed their personalities. Rachel’s determination. Dot’s sarcasm. Fatin’s inappropriate jokes. Leah’s intelligence. Shelby’s kind heart. And lastly, your girlfriend Toni’s protectiveness. All of them, everything about them, you wish you had with you right now.

All of a sudden the entire power went out. The lights shut off and the camera that watches you 24/7 was down. There were footsteps echoing throughout the hallway until it stopped right in front of the door. You waited for the door to open, but it didn’t. It was like there was a moment of hesitation before something was slipped under the door and the footsteps echoed away.

A small piece of paper, written in a handwriting that was quite familiar. You’ve seen this handwriting in Nora’s notebook. From the one and only Leah Rilke, saying: We were right...

All of the conspiracy theories that we once thought were crazy, were actually true. After the shark attack that made us lose Nora and Rachel’s hand, Leah told us everything. From her finding Jeanette’s second phone to seeing Nora talk to a camera in the trees. You all thought it was crazy, until the questions that Dr. Fader and Agent Young asked could’ve only been known if they were on the island.

You flipped the paper over, seeing that there was something else written: Escape plan ???.

The next few days were quiet. You didn’t quite know what to do with yourself. Until finally, your door swung open. Fader and Young were both standing there with hands in their pockets, “You ready to see the girls?”

Your eyes lit up for the first time since you got there. Happiness overwhelming your body at the chance to see the only people who have been keeping your mind sane in that Hell hole.

You shot up from off the bed and followed them into the corridor. But not before trying to examine each hall, to find some sort of exit plan. Then it all came to a view, your favorite people in the entire world.

“Toni?” you whispered and she turned around to face you. A huge smile formed onto her face before she wrapped her arms around you.

You let out a sigh of relief. Your whole body seemed to relax at the slightest touch, “Hi love.” she whispered, holding you tightly.

The two of you let go and you see your best friend. Her long lucious blonde locks no longer there, but rather a buzz cut replacing it. You know you shouldn’t have laughed, but c’mon it’s your best friend. The two of you make fun of each other all of the time.

“You like it?” she asked, pretending to flip her hair over her shoulder.

You bursted out laughing, “Oh yeah! Getting a little bit of Caillou vibes from it.”

She pushed you back softly, before grabbing your shoulders and ultimately bringing you into a hug of your own, “I’ve missed you.” she whispered.

“I’ve missed you too...” you begin to say with seriousness, but you couldn’t help the nickname that popped into your head, “...Shelbald.”

Everyone in the coordior seemed to have busted out laughing at the nickname, “I hate you.” Shelby said.

“Mhmm, I hate you too.” you said, pulling away from the hug. Going around the room to hug all of the other girls.

Once all of you realized that you were alone, without the two agents watching your every move, you decided to catch up on the plan.

“How is this gonna work, Leah? I mean how did you get the notes out to us in the first place?” you asked. A question that has been flooding your thoughts for quite some time now.

She had a small smirk on her face, “We have an ally on the inside.” she said, bringing her voice to a whisper, “I have these napkins for all of you. We’re gonna put them in our door before closing. It’ll give us a chance to not allow it to close.”

Leah handed everyone a napkin. All of us clenching them in our fist, trying to hide it as much as possible.

“Our ally is gonna cut the power like they did when they slipped the note to everyone for me. We’re all gonna run and meet here at the corridor. He told me where the secret exit is and we’re gonna get out through there. The rest of the plan from there is a little fuzzy, but escaping is the most important part.” she explained.

There was a tense silence between everyone for a little bit. Before we all broke out into smiles, “Leah,” Rachel began, “Thank God for your craziness. It’s gonna save our asses!”

“Hell yeah it will!” Fatin exclaimed. All of you laughed along with each other. A sudden weight being lifted from your shoulders, like for once in the past few months everything was gonna be okay.

God, how you were so wrong.

“When is this happening?” Dot asked.

Leah’s lips quirked into a smirk, “Tonight.”

After a couple more hours, the two agents came back. Escorting us one by one to our rooms. We bid each other goodbye before walking into our rooms. As our doors close, all of us stuffing a napkin into them. The slow sounds of footsteps slowly fading away down the hallway, you pushed the door open a little and low and behold...it opened.

You pretended to act the normal the entire rest of the day. Lying in bed, pretending to be upset with the world. It’s not like that part changed, but at least now there was a glimmer of hope at the end of the road. You didn’t know what time it was, it could’ve been 10pm or 2am or 4am, but all of the lights shut off again. And you watched as the cameras fell, like they have been disarmed.

You let out a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves, “Let’s do this.”

Slowly, you stepped out of the room, looking up and down the hallway. The coast was clear. You ran out of your room, trying to not make a lot of noise. When you reached the cooridor, everyone was there and you could tell that nervousness hung over the group.

“We ready?” Dot asked and all of us just nodded, “Let’s fucking go!”

All of you walked out of the cooridors, making sure the coast was clear. Toni intertwined her fingers into your hands and the tension in your shoulders seemed to have fallen away. Shelby was right behind you guys and you made sure to look back every now and then to make sure she was okay.

“There they are!” you heard a deep voice yell.

All of you stopped in your tracks, looking at one another. Then reality hit all of you like a truck, before you took off running. Toni practically dragging you along with her and every second you looked behind you to see Shelby keeping up. But when you do, you can see a butt-load of agents, the distance between you and them growing smaller and smaller by the second.

“Guys! They’re gaining!” you yelled. As time went on, your energy and adrenaline that the group once had was slowly diminishing.

“Well run faster!” Rachel called back. Both her and Leah leading the charge.

“I didn’t sign up for a marathon!” Fatin exclaimed.

Dot shrugged, “It’s either run a marathon or get captured by them.”

Fatin looked back at all of the angry men. And somehow, someway, she started running faster, “Yeah, yeah. Marathon it is!”

You reached the exit Leah was once talking about. Shutting the door behind you guys, locking it just before they could get in. You did a mental head count...Rachel, Leah, Dot, Fatin, Toni...that’s only five? That’s only five! You scanned the two way hallway frantically.

“Love? What’s wrong?” Toni asked.

You shook your head, “Where’s Shelby? She wa s right behind us. I should’ve...I should’ve kept watching her. I should’ve make her run in front of me.”

“What?” Toni questioned, her voice a little softer.

“Where’s Shelby?!” you practically screamed. Your voice echoing throughout the hallway.

You heard footsteps coming towards you. Shelby in the hands of Agent Young, you released a shaky breath. All of you were surrounded, the door to escape right there in front of you. A middle aged lady that you recognized from the Dawn of Eve video appeared from behind the two agents.

“Relax darling. She’s right here. Now how about we all get you back to your cells?” she asked.

Everyone shook their head, “No, this is insane! You can’t keep us here forever!” Dot yelled.

“Well we need one of you to explain to us what happened. So if you’d like to escape, go right ahead, but we keep Shelby. Easy peasy.” she explained.

You looked at Toni, sending her an apologetic glance. Her head tilting to the side in confusion. You leaned forward softly, placing a small kiss to her cheek, before letting go of her hand.

“Y/N? What are you-“ she began to ask, but you stepped towards the woman and the two agents.

You let out yet another shaky breath, “Take me.” you said sternly.

An echo of “What?!” rang throughout the hallway. And you tried not to focus on the fear that laced, each and every one of their voices.

“You let them go, let them go back home. And I’ll switch places with Shelby. I’ll cooperate and tell you the entire truth.” you negotiated.

Shelby stared right at you, “Are you insane?” she asked, tears pooling at your eyes.

“Please. Let them go. I’ll tell you everything I know. That is your best bet of trying to get yourself out of whatever sick game you’re playing. Because if you keep all of us here, we will not cooperate and you’ll know nothing.” you explained. The middle-aged woman pondered your negotiation for quite a few minutes.

And with one snap of her fingers, she was released and you were in the grasp of Agent Young and Dr. Fader. You finally brought yourself to look at the girls who were all crying. And you couldn’t bear to look at them anymore as you heard sobs course throughout Shelby, Leah, and Fatin’s body. Then there was Toni, Dot, and Rachel who were trying their best to stay strong, but you knew they couldn’t.

“You can’t do this!” Toni yelled.

You shook your head, “We don’t have a choice. I need you guys to leave. We’ve lost 2 already! No one else can get hurt anymore.” Everyone went silent, “Can I say goodbye first?” you asked, softly. The three adults all looked at each other before nodding.

You stopped first at Rachel, pulling her into a small hug. And you could feel little tear drops fall onto your shoulder, “I’m sorry we couldn’t save her.” That caused Rachel to sob even more.

You rubbed her back softly, “I’m sorry we couldn’t save you.” she whispered back before pulling away.

Then there was Fatin. She immediately crashed into your arms, holding you tighter than she ever has before. You ran your fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her as best as possible.

“I’m still holding you to your plans for when you escape.” you mentioned, out of the blue.

“What?” she asked, pulling away a little.

You smiled widely at her, “You still gotta fuck the rowdiest guy with biggest dick ASAP!”

And for once since the great escape happened all of you finally laughed and smiled. She sniffled before nodding, “I promise. I’ll dedicate it to you.”

Then Dot. You could tell she was trying her best not to cry, but a few tears slipped out. She hugged you tightly, patting your back in the process, “Do me a favor?” she just hummed in response, “When you get back home to Texas, watch after Shelby. Live in your old house together, something...anything! She can’t go home, she’s not ready for that yet. But you need to protect her and make sure that she stays the same person she is jow. Not the person we knew before, can you do that?”

“With my life.” Dot promised and you look back at her to find a determined nod on her face.

Leah’s turn was next. Her piercing blue eyes looked like the ocean when it rained. The glossiness of the raindrops hitting the water. You smiled at her softly, pulling her into a hug.

You were right by her ear when you whispered, “When we get out of here, you need to tell our story. Tell the truth the whole truth. Don’t let these bastards win. Sue them if we have to. Just get our story out. I trust you more than anyone to do that. Do it for Jeanette and Martha and even Nora. The ones we’ve lost and the ones who are lost in the trauma.”

“I’m on it. You come back to us okay? We need you here too to tell our story.” she said.

You smiled at her sadly, “I’ll try.”

Then there was Shelby. You look at her and she looked at you shaking her head, “No no you can’t do this. You can’t sacrifice yourself for everyone else. I’ll stay here with you! I’ll follow you always!” she pleaded, sobs following her spoken words.

Tears finally fell from your eyes, “You can’t stay here okay? You have to go home.”

“You’re my only family!! Why are you doing this??” she practically yelled.

You sniffled, smiling softly, “You know how we always wanted to be the hero? We would go on missions for church to help people’s lives.” she nodded, “I’m gonna be the hero today and save the people I care about the most.”

Shelby grabbed you forcefully, holding you into her arms. The two of you shaking, as sobs coursed throughout your bodies. You placed your hand on the back of her head, holding her unbelievably close. Until you finally let go.

“I’m not gonna let you do this.” Toni said sternly.

“You have no choice-“ you began to say, but she cut you off.

“Fuck that! I do have a choice and I’m gonna swap places with you! You took Shelby’s place so easily, so why can’t I do that with you?!” her voice echoing, causing everyone to flinch back.

You took your hands in her face, rubbing circles along her cheekbones. Something you did on the island to calm her down when she got too angry or stressed. You placed your forehead on hers and you could see her lips start to quiver.

“You can’t stay here.” she pleaded, “I can’t-what am I gonna do without you? I don’t have Marty or you, what am I gonna do?”

You placed a kiss to her forehead, “I’m gonna find my way back. Find all of you again, okay? I’m never leaving you as cheesy as it sounds I’m always gonna be right here.” you pointed at her heart, “But until then I have to go darling.”

“No, please!” she practically begged. You kissed her softly, but with so much emotion to let her know how much you love her. Not knowing when the next time will be.

“I love you Toni.” you placed one more kiss to her forehead before taking a step back to look at all of the girls.

Again, with one snap of the fingers, you were back in the agents arms, “Escort them to the exit.” the middle-aged woman stated, “You’re coming with me.”

Ear piercing screams rang through your ears. You were about to be dragged off when Shelby and Toni tried rushing towards you. They grabbed your hands trying to pull you back, but the agents were stronger. Not to mention the other agents holding them back.

“We’re not leaving you!!” they yelled.

You didn’t want it to end like this, “Please just go! We lost! You can’t stay here! It’s not safe for you! So please just get out!” you screamed before everything started to break down in front of you, “Just go.” you kept mumbling over and over again between sobs.

Dr. Fader and the middle aged woman escorted you away from the girls and to the interrogation room. While Agent Young escorted the bawling girls towards the exit, probably to drive them to the airport on wherever the hell we are.

“You promised! I trusted that you would keep all of us safe!” Leah spat at Agent Young when they were all alone. She started banging on his chest, “I trusted you! And you-you made us lost Y/N!”

He just let her go at it, before grabbing her wrists as softly as possible, “I tried, but Gretchen watched all of you run from her office. She figured you were going there. And called for everyone to surround you. I tried Leah. I tried for all of you and I failed!”

“You were the ally?” Dot asked and he nodded.

“You girls don’t deserve this. You’ve already been through so much. It’s time for you to go home.” he said sadly, “I’ll take care of her, I promise.”

///

tag list: @hstoria @greysky22 @shalifoestilinski @yourssincerelyj

[jaesqueso]

The Bachelorette: NCT edition - Ep. 7

The season of love is finally here! An interactive series where you’ll get to choose who goes home each week and ultimately who Y/N chooses in the end!

pairing: nct(ot23) x fem!reader

summary: For the first time a week goes smoothly without much drama but could this make the bachelorette’s decision even harder?

episode guide

word count: 4,902

warnings: mentions of alcohol (all responsible!)

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

Last week on the Bachelorette:

The big mystery remains in the air with no one willing to step forward and make a confession,

Nevertheless some bonds were strengthened while others are stopped to save a broken heart.

Unfortunately at the end of the rose ceremony a heart did get broken leaving a not so pleasant goodbye that startled everybody.

5 bachelors remain on this love quest but after tonight one of them will be going home.

Who will she choose? Who will she reject?

Find out on the Bachelorette!

-

“Hi everybody!” Chris Harrison walks into the guest house. “Excited for another week?”

They all cheer for new opportunities to amaze you and get closer to that last rose and your love.

“Great because things are about to change!”

The boys look around at each other, what does he mean change?

“So far each date, wether individual or in a group, gave you the opportunity to win a rose ahead of the ceremony and secure your spot here for another week to compete for Y/N’s love, Well from now on there are no more date roses.”

“What does that mean for us?” Taeyong asks the question that’s on everybody’s heads.

“That means give it your all on the dates and the cocktail party because all roses will now only be handed out on the ceremony.”

Mixed feelings run around the room.

“But since there are less and less of you there are also more opportunities for alone time with our beautiful bachelorette as there will be no more group dates. This week you’ll have 1 one-on-one date and 2 two-on-ones. But don’t worry, since no roses will be hand out before hand that also means no one will be sent home on the dates too.”

Breaths of relief come out of everybody’s mouths.

“Alright, enjoy your dates and I will see you at the rose ceremony!”

As Chris leaves, the siren his heard and all eyes focus on the TV.

I hope you’re all having as much fun in this journey as I am. And I think it’s time we celebrate.

The bachelors look intrigued.

Jeno and Jaemin, hope you’re excited to join me tomorrow!

“Yes!” The two boys high five happy to be paired together on a date with you, over the weeks they not only bond with you but also ended up growing closer to each other.

“Wait, you’re going to celebrate without us?” Yuta groans.

“I bet you’ll get to celebrate too in a few days.” Jaemin comforts him.

“And don’t forget one of us will still be going on an individual date this week.” Jaehyun looks between Yuta and Taeyong,

“That’s right!” Taeyong excitedly says.

-

The following day Jaemin and Jeno get ready and enter their ride that’s already waiting outside to meet you. They are taken to a near by city where a parade is about to start and that’s where you’re waiting for them in a pair of light washed jeans and a cute flowy top.

“Hi guys!” You greet them with a big smile. “I found us a great spot to watch the parade, shall we go?”

“Yes!” They say at the same time following you to a nice place by the fence where you had an amazing view.

They stood by your side as you watched the marching band, the decorated vehicles and the big balloons being pulled by the villagers. You explained the guys what the parade was about along with a little story of the city and they actually seemed more interested in what you had to say than the parade itself.

You start to feel shy having all their attention on you, their piercing gaze, beautiful smiles and light touches on your arms. These two have definitely touched your heart and you can’t even imagine how you’ll make a decision if it ever comes down to the two of them.

Once the parade is over the three of you walk around the streets exploring the city. Everywhere you look is decorated because of the festivities and you’re having a great time.

You then decide to stop by a grocery store to get some food to go and watch the concert in the park. After finding a nice place with a good stage view you all sit down on the grass.

The sun starts setting as the band begins playing a nice smooth tune that sets a very romantic ambience all around. You look at the two boys sitting next to you and you couldn’t be happier with the choice you made today, even without saying a word their presence just makes you feel so comfortable, you can imagine your life with either one of them at this point.

-

In the guest house Taeyong, Yuta and Jaehyun talk about the changes in the game.

“How do you feel about no more roses in advance?” Yuta asks.

“Honestly I don’t know how to feel.” Taeyong starts. “This could be good or bad.”

“It definitely makes me more nervous,” Yuta comments, “those date roses were very reassuring and you could relax a bit ahead of the ceremony.”

“Absolutely!” Taeyong continues. “I feel like I’m a little bit of an underdog here, we only started to really bond recently so having to wait until the end of the week really makes me anxious.”

“I think you’re making a big deal out of nothing.” Jaehyun steps in the conversation. “We just gotta keep working hard on the date and the cocktail party just like we did until now. If we’re still here, there’s still a chance.”

“I guess you’re right…” Taeyong says before he’s interrupted by the siren.

“Let’s see who’s next.” Jaehyun gets up as they walk to the living room.

It’s good to go out and celebrate but it’s also nice to have a more chill and relaxed time.

They wonder if this will be another two-on-one date or the individual one.

Sometimes I just like to get on my car and drive around. Yuta, I’d love for you to join me on that ride tomorrow.

The mentioned boy cheers on his seat.

“Well, that means it will be us fighting for her attention after.” Jaehyun taps Taeyong’s back.

“Bring it on.” Taeyong tries to sound excited but deep down he’s scared about his future here.

-

As the band finishes their last song the crowd claps including the three of you and with the last beat of the drums a loud pop is heard starting a wonderful firework show. Your eyes sparkle at the splashes of color in the sky and you feel a hand gently overlapping yours. You look to your left and see Jaemin still looking up at the sky as if his touch wasn’t making his heart beat faster just like yours.

“Wow, that was amazing!” Jeno says as the last explosion disappears in the air.

“It really was.” Jaemin agrees.

“I’m glad you two enjoyed it, I’m so happy I got to share this moment with you.” You smile brightly as you look at them,

You let your back fall into the grass and they lay down too.

“You should be up there.” Jeno comments pointing at the night sky that now shows all the beautiful stars.

“But then I’d outshine them all.” You tease.

“Ok, you’re right.” Jeno chuckles.

“I think you’re good right here, next to me.” Jaemin lightly squeezes your hand making you turn your face to him as he does the same.

“Hey hey, I’m here too ok?” Jeno playfully says as he lifts up his torso separating your hands making you all laugh at his jealousy.

You lay there for a while talking and observing the stars until you decide it’s time to go back. On the ride home you almost don’t want this day to end but you try to calm down your heart thinking about the other bachelors back at the guest house.

“Can I ask you a question?” Jeno says as you exit the car.

“Of course.” You’re impressed with how talkative he is today, he’s usually quiet around other the other guys but you believe it helps that he gets along so well with Jaemin. Whatever the reason is you’re happy he’s loosening up.

“If you had a rose to hand out today who would you give it to?” Jeno asks.

You chuckle as Jaemin hits the other boy in the arm.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” You wink. “Thank you for today guys, goodnight.”

“Thank you Y/N, goodnight.” They both say as you walk to the mansion.

“She would totally chose me.” Jeno says as he and Jaemin go back to the guest house.

“Right, keep dreaming!” Jaemin ruffles Jeno’s hair as they both laugh.

-

The next day a car horn is heard and all the boys go to the front of the guest house where they see you inside a convertible.

“You ready Yuta?” You call out.

“Oh I was born ready!” He almost runs to the vehicle taking the passenger seat.

“Bye guys!” You wave at the others as you step on the gas.

You drive pass the town, headed to the coast, feeling the warm air run through your hair. You tell Yuta how much you love the freedom of just driving around without a destination, observing the life around you without a plan. The sea breeze relaxes you as the low rays of sunshine embrace your skin.

You two sing along to the random songs that come on the radio, laughing at the misspelled lyrics and lines out of tune. Maybe your lonely car rides could be fulfilled with some good company like this.

You stop the car on the side of the road next to some picnic tables facing the sea. You both get out of the vehicle and you get a bag out of the trunk walking to one of the tables.

“Hungry?” You ask him.

“A lit bit yes.” He smiles taking a seat as you take out some bento boxes out of the bag making his eyes sparkle at the delicious food. “Wow! Did you prepare all this?”

“Yes I did.” You proudly state. “Let’s dig in!”

You start eating watching the sun slowly go down.

“This was really good Y/N, thank you.” Yuta complements the meal.

“You know,” you start saying, “it’s been a while since we went on a date just the two of us so I thought I’d make something familiar, a little birdie told me you like this type of food.”

“Oh yeah?” He grins. “That little bird seems to know me well, you should keep him around.”

You two laugh recalling a conversation you once had where you talked about food where he told you this.

“But I’m really glad you chose me for this date.” He continues. “I was starting to feel us drift apart and that’s the last thing I want.”

“I don’t want that either.” You reassure him. “I really like your company, Yuta, and I’m enjoying getting to know you.”

“Good to know.” He releases a relieved breath making you giggle.

“But the date is not over, I have one more thing planned for us.” You wiggle your eyebrows. “Shall we go?”

“Let’s go!”

He helps you pack everything and return to the car, driving off to your next destination.

-

Back in the guest house the dates are the focal point of the conversation.

“How did it go yesterday?” Jaehyun asks the two boys.

“It was really awesome.” Jeno cannot hide the excitement that still runs through his body.

“It really was, Y/N has done a great job planning these dates.” Jaemin agrees. “You know Jeno, if it’s us two fighting for that last rose I don’t mind sharing.” He winks.

“Well I do!” Jeno protests making the others laugh.

“But hey hey!” Taeyong interrupts with a frown. “What do you mean you two fighting for the last rose? Should I just give up?”

“Oh c’mon we can’t all be in the final pretty boy.” Jaemin ruffles his hair.

“Are you two excited for tomorrow?” Jeno asks the two who are still waiting.

“Very much.” Jaehyun replies.

“And nervous!” Taeyong adds.

“Don’t be, it will all be fine.” Jaemin cheers him up before the siren is heard and the gather around the TV.

Taeyong and Jaehyun don’t think I forgot about you, there’s a special place I’d like to take you.

The boys brighten up.

Hope you like dark places with neon lights. See you tomorrow!

“You guys going to a strip club?” Jaemin widens his eyes.

“Of course we are.” Jaehyun laughs.

“What could it be though?” Jeno wonders.

“I guess we’ll have to wait for tomorrow to know!” Taeyong says still feeling intrigued by your message.

-

You turn to a drive in movie theatre as the night takes over. You get some popcorn and a couple of drinks before park right in the middle of the space having a great view of the screen.

“Should we get into the backseat?” You suggest.

“The backseat? Right here in front of everybody?” He smirks wiggling his eyebrows.

“To sit more comfortable you pervert!” You chuckle, playfully hitting his arm.

You two follow your suggestion right before the film starts. It’s a simple sci-fi movie that you recall him mentioning liking the genre.

Halfway through, the now empty bag of popcorn is put on the side as you snuggle closer to your date. Yuta wraps his arm around your shoulder as your heads rest against each other.

Once the movie is over you two stay in his embrace while all the other vehicles leave the place, wanting to savour this moment a little bit longer. You then get back into the front seats to drive back to the guest house.

You decide to take the long route so you can talk a bit more a discuss the movie that honestly you didn’t pay that much attention to as you almost fell asleep against the warmth of Yuta’s body against yours.

“Thank you for today, I had a really great time.” He says as you drop him off.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” You smile. “Goodnight Yuta.”

“Goodnight Y/N.”

He watches you drive off before entering the house with a huge smile on his face.

-

The following day Taeyong and Jaehyun excitedly leave the house to go meet you. During the ride they discuss what could possibly await them on this date. All doubts come to an end when the car stops in front of a museum where you wait for them in a beautiful short white dress.

“Do I hear wedding bells already?” Taeyong asks as they walk to you.

“Not yet!” You chuckle. “This museum holds temporary exhibitions and once I heard they were having a neon themed one I just knew I had to come. Are you excited?”

“Yes!” They both say.

“Well let’s go then!” You lead them inside.

As you enter the building you get into a dark hallway that leads into a purple themed room. It looks like something out of a dream, the lights playing with the mirrors on the walls making it look like there’s infinite space.

The next room is blue. Wavy lights decorate the space making it look like you’re under water.

“This looks like the aquarium we visited last week!” Taeyong excitedly says.

“It really does! Minus the fish.” You two chuckle leaving Jaehyun feeling a little bit left out. He tries to play it off by pretending to be distracted by the room setup that you don’t even notice the sadness on his face.

You then enter a room that looks like a fantasy garden. Neon green lights fill in the space with fake plants and trees. It almost feels like you’re in a magical forest where a mystical creature will pop out any moment.

The next area is yellow. The brightness almost blinds you and Jaehyun takes the opportunity to hold your hand to guide you inside. You’re startled by his action as you were not expecting it but let him lead you around. When Taeyong notices it he decides to hold your other hand making you giggle at the small trace of jealousy.

The orange room that follows the yellow one is very fruit having neon signs shaped like all sorts of exotic fruits. Your mouth gets watery at the sight.

As you walk into the following space it seems like you entered the red light district. There are suggestive images on the walls and even a pole in the middle. The guys seem to be too distracted by the spicy surroundings almost forgetting you’re there.

“C’mon lets get into the next one before you start getting ideas!” You pull them and they laugh realising they were staring.

Entering a a pink area the environment feels more tropical with flamingo light structures everywhere. Taeyong seems to really like that room and you recall a previous conversation where he told you this is his favourite color.

The last room of the exhibit is a combination of all colors making you feel like you entered a scene from Alice’s wonderland.

“Wow, that was really cool!” Taeyong sounds like a kid who just went on his first rollercoaster ride as you get out of the museum.

“I know right?” You agree. “But I gotta say, that orange room made me hungry, should we go somewhere to eat?”

“Yes, I’m starving!” Jaehyun supports your suggestion.

You all head off to a near by restaurant that seems to carry the neon light theme.

“Now I see why you wore white today, you’re shining brighter than all the lights in the room.” Taeyong complements you making you blush a little. Luckily they can’t see that over the lighting in the room.

You order some drinks that funny enough reflect the neon colors all around and come in glasses that look like lab material. You make a toast to having a good time together as the food arrives.

The conversation is cheerful but you can’t help feel like Jaehyun is holding back a little. Could he feel intimidated by the other guy who seems to be having the time of his life?

Taeyong really has changed is attitude and you’re glad he did. He gave you the chance to get to know him better and get closer to him, bonding over all the things you have in common and even the ones you don’t carefully listening and learning from each other.

Jaehyun seemed to have this fight in him before but now he seems to be too relaxed. Could it be that because you gave him a quick kiss on your last date he got comfortable and started taking his position in the competition for granted?

As you wrap up the meal the three of you go for a walk admiring the city lights before you head back.

You say goodbye to the boys  when you leave the car and enter the mansion taking a deep breath. This week all dates went pretty well making it harder for you to decide on someone to send home.

-

You join the boys in the cocktail party that are excitedly talking about all their experiences this week. They welcome you in, encouraging you to give your perspective on all the activities, which you gladly do before you start talking to them individually.

As there are less and less people in the house it’s easier to catch up with all of them before making the ultimate decisions of the night.

The first one to call you outside is Taeyong. You could still feel the rush from the date exuding out of him as he excitedly thanks you for taking him to the museum. You understood is a very cultured guy that enjoys these type of activities which is something that attracts you in him. Despite all the happiness he also discloses how worried he is thinking he might have taken too long to try and build a connection with you but he’s glad you were willing to take a chance on him which you assure him you don’t regret doing at all.

The next bachelor to talk to you is Jaemin. As always, your heart skips a beat when he takes your hand and leads you to sit outside. As always, he wants to know how you’re feeling and if there’s something going on inside your head. As always, you let it all out with him, this week went really well but that actually makes it harder for you to make a decision. As always, he comforts you and makes you feel like everything in the world will turn out alright as long as you’re by his side. And as always you feel like your heart is going to explode with this inexplainable connection you have with this guy since day one.

After a while you see Jeno walk outside and Jaemin calls him out leaving you two to talk. Just like Taeyong, Jeno still looks pretty excited from the date. You’ve been growing closer and closer to him and you’re not sure if this is a good things because everything is getting so messy inside your head. Nevertheless you enjoy every single second by his side and you appreciate all the efforts you see from him, trying to open up more to you and even around the others too. He does seem to be here for the right reasons and you definitely appreciate all the effort.

Next in line is Jaehyun. Now this is a hard to read guy. Sometimes he seems so in sync with you, other times so off. Some moments you spent together in the past drew you close to him and made you imagine a possible future but other times it feels like he’s not really here, or maybe he just got too comfortable. You start to regret going back and giving him that kiss. Maybe if you didn’t he would still make an effort to earn it. Tonight he talks to you like you’re the only person on the planet but in the date with Taeyong he didn’t feel like the same person. As you get closer to the finish line and choosing the man you want to share your life with, could this be a setback?

Finally you spend some time with Yuta. You’re glad you chose him for the only individual date you had this week because you haven’t had that much alone time with him almost since the beginning of this journey. Of course you talk to him in the other cocktail parties and in the group dates, but it’s different. When he mentioned he felt like you two were losing your connection you felt bad because you realised you felt the same way and you don’t want that. He’s a very nice guy and you’d like to keep him around. Even if he’s not the one you end up with you’d still like to keep him as a friend because he’s an incredible person to have in anyone’s life. You’re glad you were able to reconnect with him this week and realise that some of that initial sparkle between the two of you is still there.

After talking to all of them you feel as confused as ever. All of them have strong points on their favour and you’ll really have to evaluate what’s more important to you. It breaks your heart having to send people home week after week but you came here to find love. One true love. You just didn’t expect the production to do such a nice job casting and presenting you such amazing guys the make you more confused than you ever thought you’d be in this journey.

Before Chris comes to take you upstairs, you take some time to talk to all the guys in a group again. It feels good to be here drama free. The environment seems lighter and you all joke and laugh having a genuine good time. You like seeing them all get along despite being in a competition against each other. The good mood helps them focus on what they’re really doing here and that’s proving they’re the one for you, not bickering with each other and forgetting you’re the one they should impress, not each other.

Chris finally enters the room and you know it’s time to reflect on the outcome of tonight. You thought that by now you’d have your mind made up but you’re as confused as ever.

-

“One more week has passed, how are you feeling?” Chris asks as you two sit down in the decisions room.

“Mixed feelings inside me Chris.” You honestly say. “I feel like I’m really bonding with all of them so it’s really hard to think of someone to let go of.”

“Very understandable. How did you find it not giving out roses ahead of today?”

“It was weird but it was also good because I genuinely wanted to give a rose to everybody after the dates!” You two laugh.

“Well we couldn’t have that!”

“It’s really harder than it looks, I’m not only breaking their hearts but I’m also hurting myself a little bit by sending someone home.”

“Do you have any idea of how you’ll make the decision tonight?”

“I think at this stage I have to think about every single detail to be able to single some one out.”

“It is a hard and important decision as every week. I will leave you to it and be back in awhile so you can share the verdict with the nervous boys downstairs.”

“Thank you Chris.”

As he leaves the room you once again stare at the pictures on the wall trying to make sure you don’t regret whatever choices you make tonight. You feel like you can see a future with any of these 5 men but that’s not how it works, you came here to find the one and for that you’ll have to send them home one by one until you get to him.

-

You and Chris walk down the stairs joining the 5 boys that anxiously await to hear your decisions.

“Good evening gentleman. 5 of you stand before us but there are only 4 roses to be handed out tonight so that means one of you will be grabbing his things and going back home.” Chris then turns to you. “Y/N, whenever you’re ready.”

You thank him as he leaves the room and grab the first rose facing the guys.

“Before I start let me say I really like every single one of you and I feel like we’re building very strong connections. Unfortunately I can’t keep you all here. I want to find love and I’m modern and open minded but not that much.”

You all laugh at your comment and then you take a deep breath before starting calling them out.

“Jaemin.”

His eyes sparkle hearing his name.

“Do you accept this rose?”

“Absolutely.” You two smile as you pin the rose to his jacket. “Thank you, Y/N.”

He walks back as you pick up another one.

“Taeyong.”

The boy widens his already big eyes.

“Do you accept this rose?”

“One thousand times yes!” You feel him shake under your touch. “Thank you so much.”

You grab the next rose.

“Jeno.”

He sighs in relief.

“Do you accept this rose?”

“You scared me there for a second! Of course I do.” You giggle as you pin the rose. “Thank you.”

You bite your lip as you take the last rose on the bowl.

“Yuta.”

A smile opens up on his face as he steps forward.

“Do you accept this rose?”

“Definitely.” You pin it to his jacket. “Thank you so much.”

Chris walks back in.

“Jaehyun, that means that unfortunately you and Y/N are not meant to be. Thank you for being with us. You can now say your goodbyes.”

The other bachelors gather around hugging him. You patiently wait until he finally comes your way.

“I’m so sorry…” You mutter.

“It’s ok, Y/N.” Jaehyun wraps his arms around you, pulling your shaky body in for a hug. “I’d have to go eventually. Your prince charming is here but I knew I’m not him.”

“Thank you for everything, Jaehyun.” You say when he lets go, wiping a tear that fell on his cheek.

“I didn’t think it would be this hard to go.” He chuckles. “But it’s time, thank you, I had a great time.”

You watch him walk out with sadness in your eyes. The other guys gather around you understanding how hard these decisions are. As you get closer to the finish line it’s practically impossible not to get emotional when someone leaves. You only hope Jaehyun is right and your prince charming is really amongst these 4 men.

-

In the next episode:

4 guys remain on the quest for love and it gets harder not only for the bachelorette but also for the bachelors:

“You should be careful, you’re getting a little too cocky.”

“I feel like I’m deluding myself.”

“What are you talking about?”

And someone else will go back home.

“I knew it was only a matter of time.”

“I really don’t want to go.”

Stay tuned for next weeks episode premiering 01/08.

☽ ・・・・・ ☾

Episode 8

a/n: jaeeeeeeee T_T I know this chapter is way smaller than the other ones and I’m posting this later than usual but I was out of the country this week with zero time to write so apologies if this feels rushed… I promise to do better in the future! (for real this time) also want to wish a happy birthday to the person who commented on this episode’s voting that this will be their birthday 🥳 do give me some feedback please! ❤

taglist: @skrtbabe @yutahoes @yokshi-unbeliebubble @nakamotonudes @n0hyuck @negincho @love-and-other-possibilities @readers-posts @sylviacxt​ @tyongf-sunflower99​ @princessjunnie​

If you’d like to be included in the taglist for the series do let me know ❤︎

[tuancore]

Purple Hearts || { Part 5 } :

Starring- Jinyoung x reader.

Genre- Angst | Non-Idol AU, Disorder AU.

Summary- I will continue to love you for as long as I'm breathing, but I'm won't let my love come in between your happiness.

*GIF not mine, credits to the owner*

Yugyeom didn't come home last night which was actually good, had he been home things could've gone to South, you were beyond vulnerable the previous night and if Yugyeom was to walk in on you then there was a huge possibility of you telling him the entire thing.

You couldn't actually concentrate in your job as the events of yesterday started to play in your brain on loop like some broken record.

"What do I do?", You stared at your laptop blankly lost in your own wandering thoughts.

The call of your name along with a loud clap made you flinch, "Is something bothering you?".

You shook your head slightly with a small smile before getting back to your typing, "I'm fine Youngjae".

"Well....", He trailed off pulling a chair in front of you and sitting, "It doesn't look like you're fine at all....your face is full of.... exhaustion".

He booped your nose, giving you that million dollar laugh which automatically made you giggle.

"See that's the girl I know", He declared pointing his index finger at your lips, "The cutest". The smile not leaving his face even for a second.

Your lips now pressed into a thin line as you stared into his eyes, he seemed to notice the little transition in your facial expressions, "Okay, For real now....where your mind is?".

"What—".

"You're clearly stressed about something, mind telling me what has gotten you this upset?", He asked warmly with genuine concern written all over his face.

"Nothing special, I'm all good", You cleared your throat eyeing the sheets on your desk preventing any sort of eye contact with him. He hummed at your reply, "Then re-typing a draft which was finalized two months ago...is a time pass?".

Frowning at his words you shut your laptop with your head resting on top of it, groaning at your foolishness, "I messed up, I had to type the draft of Mrs. Francis's contract and now I'll have to do it all over again", you sighed heavily.

Youngjae laughed at your little fit, walking over to stand beside you, he crouched down on his knees slowly turning your chair so that you could face him.

"I know I look stupid", You pouted with your entire face now covered with your locks which only made Youngjae smile wider, "I don't think so", he said tucking your locks behind your ears.

"Youngjae...", You mumbled sending him those indescribable looks. He furrowed his eyebrows trying to figure out and that's when it clicked him, shaking his head vigorously he yelled, "No! I won't".

"Mmm....you can't turn me down so mercilessly!", You whined hitting his arm continuously, "Ouch Ouch!....I have so many files to go through and you want me to type that draft after analysing the whole case?", He asked in disbelief.

"Please! Please! I'll do anything you ask me to do", You tried again which made him smirk in return, "Anything...".

_____________

"You've been sulking the whole morning Jinyoung? What's with that face ?", Mrs. Park asked handing Jinyoung his vanilla latte.

Jackson tried to stifle his laughter but failed to do so and started squealing like some college girl, "Aunt that's the interesting part, I thought he would tell you but since his ego is at stake I'll spill on his behalf".

Jinyoung shot him an annoyed glare, but it only made the things two times funnier for Jackson, "So yesterday at your store, instead of sitting in the cabin..Jinyoungie felt like strolling around the store.... briefly looking at the product on the display—".

"Get to the point Jackson...I want to know the reason why my kid is pulling that frown so gracefully", Mrs. Park asked him casually pulling on Jinyoung's cheeks.

"Okay okay...so when he stood near the shelves. Some lady approached him and asked for him about some of the products which he knew nothing about which created a huge fuss in the store", Jackson stated nonchalantly, "And I don't know why he's frowning over such a small thing?".

"I'll throw this over your head!", Jinyoung threatened gesturing towards the drink in his hand.

"That's it?", She asked eyeing Jinyoung.

"No! That lady approached me thinking of me as some salesman! I tried telling her that I'm not one of them but she started to throw tantrums saying that I'm not suitable for the job etcetera....and that I must be fired for mistreating her—.....Gosh! I ain't going there anymore. She was literally hard headed, she didn't even want to hear me or the staffs out", Jinyoung shook his head with an exasperated sigh, "That lady's voice is still ringing in my ear. I mean just look at this handsome face, from which angle do I look like some salesperson?"

"Ouch....that must've hurt you real bad", Mrs. Park teased him followed by a high five from Jackson.

"Eomma! You too!" Jinyoung whined picking up his blazer dashing out of the house in annoyance, "See you later aunt... Jinyoung! Wait!", Jackson greeted before running after his friend.

"Where are you going?", Jackson asked catching up to Jinyoung.

"Nowhere", Jinyoung shrugged off slipping into the driver's seat, "I swear if you're sour about a little joke then that's not reasonab—".

"It's not about that Jack, I have somewhere to go. Go home, I'll see you afterwards...hmm..", Jinyoung cut him with a wide smile.

_____________

Glancing at the clock you heard your stomach grumble, sighing loudly you slammed the file on the glass table in front of you, "Youngjae-ah! It's almost break time let's just grab something to stuff our mouths with!".

"Just....a....minute", He said not sparing you a single look still busy with typing out the said draft, "I'm almost done....".

"You can't finish it that quick! I'm not even done examining the first file", You spoke pacing back and forth in Youngjae's cabin, "You started it like what...let me check, twenty-five minutes ago, Not poss—".

"Done!", Youngjae shouted with a victorious grin cracking his finger bubbles.

"Are you kidding me!", You strode towards him, checking for yourself if he was saying the truth, "Woah! Woah there! I wasn't expecting that but—Okay....How did you..". You were not only shocked to see his pace but also grateful that he saved you from going through a detailed lecture from your boss.

"You literally saved my ass from catching fire!" You clapped your hands.

"Eww...Nasty", He joked swinging his arms around your shoulder, "Come on let's get something to feed you".

You took the elevator to the cafeteria but Youngjae didn't seem to share the same thought as that of yours, as you were about to step out of it he grabbed your wrist pulling you back inside.

"What are you doing?", You asked as the doors closed shut when he pressed the button to the ground floor.

"We're not going to eat in the cafeteria today", He smiled warmly too lost to comprehend his thoughts to notice your hand still in his, "Remember you promised me that you'd do anything I ask you to?".

You nodded maintaining the eyee contact with him, "So I thought of taking you to Burger King". At the very mention of the name made you mouth water, it has been days since you had your last junk food.

The shimmer in your eyes didn't go unnoticed by Youngjae as your lips curved upwards into an excited smile.

That's the smile I've been missing on for weeks, he thought.

"Happy fill?", Youngjae asked as you wiped your mouth with the tissue, "Thanks Jae....the food was lit, hope you keep bringing me to my favourite places".

"Will do that, can't miss the beast consuming everything at once", He laughed trying to piss you off which indeed happened, exiting the place you stuck out your tongue at him running towards your office.

But he ran up to you pulling you towards him by your arms, your hands instictively flying around his shoulders, "You can't leave me like that", he whispered. You stared into his eyes trying to search for something which could explain the things he has been doing.

Jinyoung drove to your office with a bright smile, he was desperate to see you, to talk to you, to tell you how much he missed you in these past weeks. Getting out of his car, he stood glued to the ground watching the scenario in front of him.

There you were standing in front of your office's entrance wrapped in the arms of some other man, not only was the man holding onto your waist but seeing your arms around his shoulders while you both stared into each other's eyes, had something snapping inside of Jinyoung, his gaze darkened the longer he continued to stare at you and Youngjae, involuntarily he clenched his fists turning his knuckles white.

Part 4 | Masterlist |

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[A/N :- Hey there lovelies! I hope you enjoy reading this part, I've been writing this for a month now after erasing the chapter again and again, and finally settled for this one! And once again thank you for reading!]

_______________________________________

[cozyenigma]

Low Places (1/???)

So! If you’ve seen a somewhat recent request I did, I mentioned that I had to totally start over since the first one was so long. Well, turns out it was even longer than I thought 😅

Here’s to my first series of sorts on here! Thanks entirely to my stellar lack of self control! I hope you enjoy it! 

Paring- Reader/Darkiplier

Request?- Technically Yes!

Summary- Your friendship with actor!Mark wasn’t one anybody really expected to form, least of all you. The mysterious man warning you away from him? Also a bit of a curveball.  But when his warnings start to make a bit more sense, things start to get more complicated. And more dangerous.

Mark, you were finding, never really stopped performing. You'd seen him on stage and off and it always seemed to be someone different depending on who he was talking to. The first time you saw this in action was also the very first time you met him.

Walking off set he was all smiles, talking to the director about the next few scenes. It'd been a long day and everyone wanted to go home. Reshoots were taking forever. As soon as the director went off in the other direction, Mark let out a breath, tension leaving his body in a rush. He shot you a tired grin as he past.

"This guy, huh?" He said. You couldn't help be agree a little bit.

It was only said in passing. The interactions the two of you had in the beginning were mostly in that vein. He was the star and you were mostly working behind the scenes. It wasn't like the two of you had a lot of time to chit chat.

That was it until the two of you ran into each other again after a shoot. Mark paused, squinting a moment before his eyes lit up. Somehow, out of the dozens of crew members, he remembered your name. That was probably the first actual conversation you had with him.

The part that surprised you was that you kept talking after the movie was finished.

It was like night and day when he was off set. He laughed a bit more, seemed less stiff. You'd seen him with his other friends and colleagues and it was always different. Naively, you assumed you were the one who saw the real version of him.

You didn't think you'd discover you were wrong that night.

Mark's house was pretty impressive. He'd played it off the first time you'd been there, acting like the sprawling grounds and spacious rooms weren't anything to write home about. You got the distinct impression though that most of the house, or mansion more like, wasn't really lived in. It must be lonely, being empty like that. So waiting there, alone, in that expanse put you a bit on edge. The too quiet house didn't do your nerves any favors.

The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees and you rubbed your arms. What was taking Mark so damn long? You checked your phone, almost missing the ringing in the distance. At first you thought you were just hearing things. But when it seemed to only get louder you started looking around. You were alone in the house and there was no TV or anything on so where-

You stifled a yelp of surprise when you turned around again. Standing there in the doorway was... Mark? His eyes narrowed as he took a step into the room. Afterimages trailed after him, clashing bright against the monochrome man.

Definitely not Mark, you decided.

"You're not supposed to be here," he said finally, giving you a look up and down. His lip curled in distaste. "I assume you're his new fling?"

You sputter in righteous indignation. "What? No! We're just friends! Who the hell are you, how did you get in here?"

He doesn't bother answering at first. As he takes a few steps closer, you got the distinct impression you probably shouldn't be yelling at someone who just broke in. It was a little late now though since this guy was between you and the exit.

"Just... friends?" He said, testing out the word and clearly finding it wanting.

"Yeah," you were tense, wound tight like a spring, "what about it?"

The man scoffed. "That cretin doesn't do friends."

"And how would you know?"

Inexplicably, that got a laugh out of him. It wasn’t a happy sound. You couldn't quite place the look on his face as he shook his head.

"Who do you think I was, hmm?" He turned his head slightly then, expression falling into something more annoyed than anything. "Suppose this will have to wait. For your sake I hope I don't see you again."

Then, between one blink and the next he was gone. You just stared at where the man had been for a moment as Mark walked in.

"Hey, you okay?" He said, the picture of concern.

Confused and still trying to process... whatever that was, all you could do was nod. He didn't look convinced but didn't ask. You didn't tell either.

Of course you just wanted to write the whole off. He was lying, surely. But something about the whole conversation put you on edge. You started paying a bit more attention.

After that night, Mark seemed to be going the extra mile. He treated you to fancy dinners despite your initial reluctance, checked in often, and was overall more attentive than before. More than just attentive, actually. He seemed anxious, even annoyed at times when you failed to respond to messages or calls fast enough. You tried to put it out of your mind. They weren't related at all, he was just worried.

You'd almost convinced yourself when you met the man again.

This time was at one of the upscale places Mark suggested. You felt severely underdressed. Mark either didn't notice or didn't comment, talking about the next contract he was looking at. Before your food arrived you managed to escape to the bathroom for a breather.

"You're still here I see."

This time you didn't catch the yelp as you spun around. The bastard even had the audacity to look smug.

You turned your back on him with a huff. "What do you want?"

He doesn't say anything as you washed your hands with more force than necessary. The room was silent save for the running water and muted ringing.

"He's playing you, you know."

Glancing up you meet his eyes through the mirror. You look back down to your hands.

"I think he's just being a good friend," you said.

A snort. "You think he didn't notice my little visit?" You feel a chill up your spine as he nears. "He's trying to... secure his investments."

You glared back at him. "Investments? Really?"

"If the shoe fits," he said with a shrug.

You shake your head, finish washing your hands, and go to pass him. The man grabs your arm. Your first thought, over anything else, is how you can feel a chill through your sleeve.

"I'd be careful around him," he said, tone somber. "You never realize the danger of a snake in the grass until it's already struck."

The next instant you're jerking your arm out of his grasp.

"You don't know what you're talking about." You don't look back as you leave the bathroom.

When you got back to the table your food has arrived and Mark had started eating without you. He gave you a tight smile as you sit down.

"Everything alright?" He asked.

"Yeah," you managed, realising you don't sound convincing at all. You straighten your clothes and shift uncomfortably. "Yeah I'm fine."

Mark drums his fingers against the table a moment. "You know, you can tell me anything, right?"

"Sure," you said, glancing between him and your food.

"So," he frowned, "what's been bothering you? I noticed you've been distant lately."

"Nothing." Now you were getting annoyed at this whole situation. "I told you-"

"You're fine?" Mark repeated, tone dropping into something a bit darker. He scoffed, looking back down to his food. The knife in his hand grated loudly against the plate as he cut into his steak. "Sure, fine. Sorry for worrying."

He went back to eating, practically glaring a hole through the table, as you looked on in disbelief. Swallowing, you fiddled with the fork in your hand. Suddenly you're not feeling so hungry anymore

[aalissy]

Café

May the Fourth be with you to all my fellow Star Wars fans haha. I’m veryyy excited to see the Bad Batch laterr <3. Also, did you guys see the new miraculous episode?? Bc I loveddd it hahah. Anywho, lemme know what you think of this chapter <3.

AO3

“I can’t believe you dragged me in here,” Marinette shivered in her thick wool coat before muttering, “Look at all of these cats. I’m completely surrounded.”

Her partner had somehow managed to drag her into a cat café. She looked around at all of the meowing animals suspiciously before turning to glare at Chat Noir. Instead of looking embarrassed he simply gave her a bright grin back. Chat chuckled before reaching down to stroke one of the cats that was rubbing against his leg. “Oh, come on, purrincess. You’ve been cold all winter and this was the least I could do to help.”

Her eyes narrowed even further as she crossed her arms. “Oh, yes, you dragged me to a cat café for my benefit, excuse me for not realizing.”

Chat merely winked at her. “Just give it a try. You might find yourself warming up without even realizing it.”

Suppressing a long-suffering sigh, Marinette rolled her eyes before leaning down to pet the kitten before her. As much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to feel warmer. As she cooed at the small animal, she felt the last remnants of her grumpy, cold mood melt away. 

Chat was right. This was definitely helping. Ever since she became Ladybug, winter had always turned her into a sour, chilly bug. Now, though, Marinette felt warm and cozy. Leaning back up, she gave her partner a small grin, scratching under a cat’s chin. “Thank you, kitty. I am feeling a lot better. By the way, how did you even manage to get reservations here, anyway? I thought most cat cafés were booked solid.”

“That’s because I have special purrivileges,” he gave her a smug smirk, tapping the side of his nose. “Being a superhero does have some perks, you know.”

Marinette rolled her eyes with a fond chuckle. “I can’t believe you use your celebrity status to get reservations at a cat café, you really are such a dork.”

Standing up, she nudged his shoulder with hers lightly. Instead of responding, Chat simply gave her a goofy grin before gesturing to the table. With a faint giggle, she slid into the chair, picking up the menu as she considered what to drink.

Usually, when she was Ladybug and they had to patrol during the more cold days of winter, Chat would always bring her a warm cup of hot chocolate to make it more bearable. So, when their waiter finally arrived, Marinette ordered some of the delicious drink, excited to warm up even further. Her partner ordered a hot tea with extra sugar and she cooed as a kitten jumped up onto their table. Immediately, she reached out to stroke the small thing, giving it a soft smile as it purred quietly.

“So, are you feline better now that I brought you here? I was right, wasn’t I?” Chat leaned back, a smug smirk on his face. 

Marinette narrowed her eyes at him playfully before remarking. “I’d definitely be feeling a lot better if you’d quit it with the puns.”

“Aw, you have to be kitten me, Marinette. I know you pawsitively adore them.” He brought his face closer to hers, his smirk getting even wider.

Her cheeks flushed a faint pink as a smile teased at the edges of her lips. She hated to admit it but he was right. Sometimes, his humor could turn a bad day into a good one. Shaking her head, though, Marinette snorted and flicked his bell, “You wish.”

Chat was about to respond when their drinks were placed in front of them. Immediately, her face brightened, gulping down the warm hot chocolate as she sighed in relief. Quickly, the last of her cold went away and she beamed over at her partner. She slowly placed a hand over his as she murmured, “Thank you, Chaton, really. You were right, this did help a lot.”

He looked down at her hand in his for a second before he lit up like a Christmas tree. Chat gave her a warm grin as he flipped his hand over, squeezing it tightly. “You’re welcome, purrincess. I was pawsitive this would work and I’m glad it did.”

Marinette giggled before she caught a glance at the falling snow. She shivered in anticipation, already dreading leaving the warm café. Her gloomy mood immediately disappeared, though, as another kitten rubbed against her legs. Leaning down to stroke the adorable animal, she murmured quietly to herself, “How in the world am I going to get home? It’s going to be so cold.”

“I’ll carry you. It’ll be fine.” Chat shrugged.

Her head jerked up, banging against the table. With a quick wince, she pulled out from underneath, staring at him with wide eyes. “Wh-what?”

He blinked at her curiously. “You don’t want to be cold, right? Won’t it be easier if I just drop you off, then?”

Marinette worried on her lower lip as she looked back at him. Her heart tripped in her chest as she considered his words. Eventually, she gave him a hesitant nod. “T-that’d be really sweet of you. Thank you, Chaton.”

Chat beamed at her before taking a long sip of his tea. “No purroblem, Marinette.”

The two continued chatting about their days, oohing and ahhing over the many kittens that came over toward them. Eventually, when their time had run out, Chat did live up to his promise. As they exited the café, he scooped her up in his arms and quickly dashed to her house. Marinette’s cheeks were flushed from more than just the cold as she cuddled even closer. Her eyes fluttered closed and she felt a faint brush of disappointment when he dropped her off on her balcony.

Looking up at him with a soft smile, she murmured, “Thank you again, kitty. You’ve saved me twice now today.”

“Anytime, purrincess, anytime.” Chat gave her a bright grin back, saluting her quickly.

Before she could think about it too much, she dove into his arms to give him a tight hug. Leaning up on her tip-toes, she brushed a kiss against his cheek. When she pulled back, she whispered, “You’re the best superhero in Paris.”

“Careful there, purrincess. My lady may just get jealous.” He winked even as his face turned a light shade of red.

Throwing her head back in a laugh, Marinette said, “I think she can take it. Goodnight, kitty.”

“Goodnight, purrincess.”

With that, Chat left her to run off into the distance. She watched him go with a fond smile for a few moments before shivering. Finally feeling the cold once again, she bundled up into her wool coat even tighter before quickly diving back into her room.

[probably-writing-x]

Early greetings, late nights.

Andér x Reader (Gender not specified)

Request from @isthatmaryanna : hi!! could you write a imagine with ander? where he’s not gay and fall in love with the reader at a party and the finds out she’s the new girl from las encinas and then their first kiss

Gif is not my own (But this gif is literally my favourite thing - I’ve rewatched it so much😂😭)

Requests are open❤️

“Okay but I’m not saying I’ll hate it,” You defend, “But I definitely won’t fit in.”

Omar laughs from beside you, “Definitely not, please don’t become one of them.”

“Do you think it will be that bad?” You ask as you hand him another one of the glasses to set up for the night at the club.

“It will be worse, (Y/n),” He grins, “You’ll forget all about me!”

“How could I ever?” You gasp, handing him the final glass before tossing the kitchen towel over your shoulder, “You’re already ditching me for this shift so you owe me one. When I need saving at school, you need to be there.”

He grins and steps through the opening of the bar, “Of course, I’ll be your knight in dodgy-shiny armor.”

- - - - - -

It’s a busy night at the club and you find yourself counting down the minutes until Omar would return for his late shift so you could escape for the night. It felt like you were serving carbon copies of every single person - the same drinks, the same smug looks as they assumed you’d never be able to pay for it.

“What can I get you?” You ask the same question as you clean off another of the taps and toss the towel over your shoulder.

When you look up, the eyes looking back arent like the rest. They’re piercing and lit up by a light smile as you look back. He looks about your age, dressed in an open shirt and white tee - a simple, understated look. But the curls on his head give him a boyish, friendly characteristic.

You swallow the lump in your throat, “What would you like to drink?”

He smirks gently, “I’ll take a scotch please... Omar?”

You glance down at your uniform and chuckle, “Not my uniform, but nice try!”

You go about grabbing the bottle and glass to make his drink, trying your best to not notice how his eyes followed you for the entire time. He seemed interesting. Like he had a personality beyond the money his parents bank account held.

“Shall I put it on the tab?” You offer, going to tap the screen to put his drink through.

“I’ll be back for another soon enough,” He raises the drink to you and turns away, only glancing back once as he takes a second take in your direction.

You try to stop yourself from getting too flustered as you serve the next customer, and the next.

- - - - - -

“Alright (Y/n)!” Omar calls as he comes behind the bar, “You’re done for the night, go home and feel bad for me.”

“So it’s (Y/n).”

You go to reply to Omar but stop instantly when you hear the words. The boy from earlier was stood at the bar, evidently expecting a second attempt at learning a little more about you. And Omar handing that attempt to him with ease.

“Maybe you won’t be going straight home,” Omar wiggles his prominent brows, “Give me my name tag and get out of here.”

You laugh and unclip it, untying your apron and handing that to him too, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Omar.”

The boy walks the length of the bar until he pushes through enough to meet you where you’d be exiting for the end of your shift.

“What do you say to having my second drink with me?” He suggests, leaning close to ask you the question.

You glance at him once more and smile a little, “I say I’ll have whatever you’re having, I’ll be back down in five.”

Hurriedly, you push through the staff door and grab your things to at least make yourself a little more presentable. You comb your hair through and try to perfect your appearance just slightly - though there was only so much it could improve by whilst you were still wearing this uniform.

When you get back downstairs, the boy is leaning against a nearby wall with two glasses of scotch in his hands. He pushes off and grins a little when he sees you.

“I thought you might have found a back exit and left me alone,” He comments, handing over one glass to you.

“I tried, it was locked,” You joke, having to yell over the music blaring through the room.

He gestures over for the two of you to go to one of the emptier corners of the club and settles a hand on your back with such ease as he leads to over.

“You seemed so set on knowing my name, you never told me yours,” You point out, taking a sip of the drink and wincing at the taste.

“Ander Muñoz,” He responds, dipping his head to speak to you.

Muñoz. That name sounded oddly familiar.

“You enjoy working here?”

“Serving a bunch of snooty rich people that just complain about us not having the right champagne or not making their drinks fast enough? It’s a dream!”

He laughs and it makes his eyes crinkle and dimples appear on his cheeks, “Is it really that bad?”

“They pay me so I can’t complain,” You shrug, “And I have Omar.”

“So am I one of them?” He raises his brows, “The snooty rich people?”

You laugh a little and shake your head, “You tell me Ander Muñoz.”

Before he can say anything more, somebody knocks into the back of him and causes him to stumble into you, tipping his drink onto both of you a little.

“Do you want to get out of here?” He suggests, setting down the empty glass onto a table.

“Yeah, definitely,” You nod, swigging back the rest of the drink with a hiss and setting your glass next to his.

- - - - - -

It’s another three quarters of an hour later when you find yourself still strolling around the empty streets with him. You’d talked about anything and nothing and were yet to get to a point where the conversation ceased.

“Okay, where in this town do you go to then?” He asks you, having grown jokingly tired of you mocking his ‘rich boy’ lifestyle.

You laugh a little, “You want to see how the other half live?”

“Please, do tell, (Y/n),” He smirks, looking at you expectantly.

You reach out a hand for him to lace with his own and tug him out of the path you’d been following, “Down this way.”

Your hands stay locked the whole way as you eventually reach the docks and you lead him up the steps to the top of the bridge.

“Isn’t this just where people do drug deals?” He laughs, stumbling behind to catch up with you and hold your hand a little firmer.

“Well, yeah,” You admit, “But at night, you get the best view of the stars.”

You let go of his hand and push yourself up onto the edge, shifting your weight until you sit on the edge with your legs dangling over.

“Woah, woah, careful!” He holds out his hands like he’d have any hope of catching you.

“Don’t worry,” You laugh, turning and laying down on the hard surface so you could look up to the sky above.

“Isn’t there a much safer way of seeing the fucking stars?” He mutters to himself as he mirrors your actions opposite you.

“Nobody ever did anything good by being safe,” You roll your eyes, glancing up to watch as he cautiously lowers himself to lay against the rock.

You two stay in silence for a while as you watch the stars stationary in their movement, until one comes shooting across as if by fate.

“I think that’s a good sign,” He comments quietly, voice a little raspy from the lack of conversation.

“So, Mr Muñoz, was this up to scratch for showing you what I do for fun around here?” You raise yourself to sit on the stone and swing your legs back over.

He hops down and dusts off his jeans, “Id say you need to find yourself some friends and get yourself to some parties.”

You laugh and can’t help your heart from bubbling as his hand finds yours again.

“I should probably get home, I have a big day tomorrow,” You comment, walking slowly back down the steps from the bridge with him.

“What’s happening tomorrow?”

“Let’s not talk about that,” You shake your head with a half-laugh.

“Then I should get you home as soon as possible,” With that, he dips down in front of you and hoists you onto his back until he has a firm grip on your thighs, “Your carriage has arrived.”

He somehow manages to carry you the whole way home, complaining whenever you made him laugh as you found yourself in hysterics - blaming it solely on the fatigue and that scotch in your empty stomach.

“Well, I’ve had a very good night, Ander,” You smile as he sets you back down, “You’ve slightly restored my faith in the other half of society.”

“Slightly?” He cocks a brow.

“There’s always room for improvement,” You smirk, leaning in to kiss his cheek, “Goodnight Ander.”

He stops you there until you’re close enough that your nose knocks against his. And he musters every piece of courage he had left in him to kiss you for the first time - soft and very much aware that you could easily pull away. When you don’t, his courage dials way back up and he cups your face in his hands with ease, like they were always meant to be there. It’s longing and you regret not starting this earlier in the evening.

“Goodnight, Ander,” You repeat as you pull away, slightly more breathless now.

“Can I get your number at least?” He asks as you go to walk towards your apartment block.

“Something tells me I’ll see you very soon anyway,” You confirm, heading inside before any other part of you could convince you otherwise.

- - - - - -

You’re shown around school by one of the admin staff who explains to you what to expect from your new student role at Las Encinas. You’d already noticed a few people that you’d served at the bar multiple times and tried to avoid too many peoples prying eyes on the new kid as you reach your new class.

“Class, we have a new student joining us today,” The teacher stands up as you go to walk in, “I’m sure you’ll all be very welcoming to (Y/n).”

There’s only one student that you’re focused on as the name is spoken. Sat in the back on the far side of the class is none other than Ander. That’s where you’d known the name from - his Mum was the fucking principal! He glances in your direction and quickly turns away, unable to stop the smile from crawling onto his face as he shifts a little in his chair.

“There’s a seat beside Ander if that’s okay,” The teacher mentions, gesturing over to the boy you were meant to not know yet.

You nod and take the adjacent seat to him, setting your book onto the table.

“So, last night was fun,” He smirks, handing you a pen, “Maybe now would be a good time for me to get that number.”

You roll your eyes, “When I said soon, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you the next morning.”

Nevertheless, you scribble down your number onto some paper and hand it back to him.

“Definitely seems like we’ll be seeing more of each other now, (y/n).”

And it suddenly becomes impossible to complain about his slightly cocky demeanour.

“I guess we will, Mr Muñoz.”

[tuancore]

Lost You (Part 14) :

Starring- Jinyoung x reader

Genre- Angst

Summary- It's your choices and actions which made you miserable.

You could feel your entire world collapsing before you, oxygen leaving your lungs, suffocating you to death. It was a horrible feeling, your body was crying for oxygen to let you live, but you had absolute no reason to. As much as it killed you inside you were going to meet ends by killing yourself from outside as well.

As soon as your eyes shut close, you felt yourself falling into some sort of black hole, getting sucked from within. Thats it, you are going to leave everything behind and rest in piece, you thought.

________

The doctors operated on you restlessly for hours, Jinyoung stood outside the operation theatre his face already pale and puffy from crying. All he prayed was for you to be safe and to come back to life, To him, To your love, To where you belonged.

The doctors were finally done operating on you after two and a half hours.

"Doctor, how's she? She's fine right? Nothing happened to her right—" Jinyoung clouded the doctors with multiple questions his fingers intertwined together. Exhaling a short breath, they replied "Mr. Park, we managed to save her..but if she—".

"If she what doctor?" He shouted impatiently, "You See.....Mr. Park we have to wait till she gains consciousness until then we can't say anything clearly, let's just hope for the best, now if you excuse me" The doctor excused himself leaving Jinyoung behind, crying to himself.

BamBam approached him, embracing Jinyoung in his arms, rubbing his back, "Hyung, Noona will wake up soon. Don't worry, she's the strongest".

"But BamBam what if she never wakes up, what if I lose her?" Jinyoung panicked, grabbing his hairs harshly "I can't lose her Bam, I can't, how will I even breathe seeing her in this condition?".

"Hyung, Hyung....please calm down, nothing bad will happen, have some faith in her, she won't leave you", BamBam tried to assure him, "If anything she loves you, she'll not go anywhere leaving me, leaving you, any of us".

And just like that it's been two months and you still haven't opened your eyes. Seeing your lifeless form before his eyes were burning and eating Jinyoung alive, he felt so helpless for the first time in his life, even if he gave up all his money and his soul he won't be able to wake you up. All he was required to do was pray and wait for a new day to bring the possibility of you waking up.

"Oppa..." The voice made Jinyoung turn his head around, while he sat beside your ward bed on a barstool holding onto your cold hands securingly, "Minyoung, You here? Not having work today?".

"I do have work but I wanted to visit Unnie first, that's all" She smiled, staring at you, "Oppa, I just hope she wakes up soon, it's been so long. It's kind of hard to not have her around and I want you to be healthy Oppa, you're neither eating nor sleeping properly. Do you think unnie will be happy seeing you like this?".

"Yeah, you're right...." He turned to face you, his heart hurting everytime to see your hands getting pierced with syringes and that oxygen mask which was keeping you stable, " But Minyoung, I'm healthy don't worry, as long as she's by my side, I'll be okay ".

"Where's BamBam?" Minyoung asked, "I thought he would be here".

"BamBam? He hasn't visited for two to three days, anyways why are you asking about him?" Jinyoung asked back, raising his brows in curiosity.

"Stop with that suspicious upfront" Minyoung laughed hitting Jinyoung's shoulders playfully, "Lisa unnie was worried about him, he hasn't been answering her phone calls".

"Lisa hmm, there's nothing to be worried about he's busy with things at the studio, tell her not to care about that dork that much. Yugyeom is there with him" Jinyoung laughed, "Oppa if he's with Yugyeom it's 110% confirm that they'll cause some trouble, for you all to wrap up later, it's so casual for Lisa unnie to get worried".

"I know, I know. Salute to Lisa for bearing with BamBam's annoying ass" Jinyoung grinned, at the thought of Lisa always running after BamBam with the amount of headache he gives her.

"Aigoo it's already, 11:47. I guess I'll be on my way to the clinic, see you Oppa" She hugged Jinyoung gently, then after facing you again, "Unnie wake up soon, we're all missing you a lot".

"Please baby, please come back to me, with every passing second, I'm losing a part of myself" He sniffed, reminiscing the times you both have spent together, "Remember baby you always scolded me for not helping in household chores, and that one day you'll leave me if I didn't start being a good boyfriend, helping you with those. I'm sorry...." He sobbed kissing your knuckles, "I'll do whatever you'll ask me to, I promise. I'll do the dishes, I'll do the laundry, I'll clean the washroom. Anything, I'll keep you like the princess you are....all you have to do is come back to me. Please....I love you. Please".

"Bam the hell are you doing?" Lisa growled through her phone, making her boyfriend shudder in fear, "I'm sorry Lili baby I was busy".

"Busy? What kind of busy? That you haven't answered my calls for three days, not even a single message", she continued ranting while BamBam bit his bottom lips nervously, glancing at Yugyeom every now and then who was busy drinking his chocolate milk, "Baby...I'm just busy at the studio with some mixtapes, it's been exhausting lately. I promise I'll call you from now onwards, don't worry too much, hmmm?".

Sighing loudly, Lisa mumbled "Okay, take care, by the way Bam".

"Yes Lili?".

"Just go and visit the hospital, Minyoung told me that Jinyoung's condition is also worsening, it's not good for his health", She explained, tone laced with concern, "Lisa, hyung hasn't been himself since the day Noona— I'll spare myself some time and go there".

"Sounds good, and one more thing. I'm coming back in five days" Lisa contained herself from squealing. BamBam's face lit up at the news, clutching his phone tight he grinned widely, "OMG! Finally! You've been stuck at Rosé's place for three weeks now, that's enough for her".

"Yeah, but it's definitely not enough. I'm cutting my visit short because my childish boyfriend is being a nut".

"Hey! What do you mean by a nut? I'm the coolest you know so it's definitely you who's a nut" He bragged, dabbing again. Yugyeom let out a scoff walking out of the room.

"And I'm the hottest okay" She chuckled lightly, "Yeah yeah a very hot nut though, Lisa come back soon I miss you", he muttered lovingly.

"I miss you more Bamie".

________

The work and everything started getting the best out of Jinyoung, he was ditching meals and sleep continuously. He ran from office to hospital and then from hospital to office without any fixed schedule. Everyone requested him to get some rest at home, Yugyeom and BamBam even suggested that they will keep an eye on you. But Jinyoung was not satisfied with any of that, if he wants to be with you, Then he will be with you. His words were solidified in concrete.

Except for today, everyone planned on not letting Jinyoung step inside your ward until and unless he attends today's meeting. The investor was giving up a huge amount for the project and Jinyoung's company can't miss on this.

"You guys sure that this will convince Sir to attend the meeting?" A blonde lean boy one of Jinyoung's employees asked, chewing his fingertips, "Of course! Hyunjin don't worry. Noona means the world to Jinyoung hyung, he'll even walk to the moon just for her sake, so chill", Yugyeom encouraged Hyunjin who was still not so sure.

"Please hyungs do anything, but please please convince Sir to lead on this meeting. He has been rescheduling this meeting for weeks and I don't think that the investor himself have that much patience" Hyunjin explained desperately, "I do understand that he's here for ma'am he cares for her, he loves her but job is also important. Please convince hi—".

"Shut up! He will go with you, just stop with your blabbering" BamBam shouted, irritated hearing Hyunjin's pleadings since then.

BamBam and Yugyeom proceeded with their plan by locking your room's door from inside not letting Jinyoung in, "Hyung! You'll get to see her after the meeting only!" BamBam shouted from inside holding onto the knob tightly.

"BamBam that's not fair! You can't do this I swear I'll break the door if you don't open it!" Jinyoung snarled from outside banging on the wood. "Stop banging loudly, Do you want Noona to get disturbed?" BamBam's words made Jinyoung stop and sigh in defeat, "Fine I'll go....".

"Good choice, so we'll be waiting for you right here after few hours...." BamBam smiled waving a bye from the little glass hole in the door, "Few hours" Jinyoung repeated sadly not wanting to leave you even for a second.

"After you Sir" Hyunjin spoke for the first time after Jinyoung's arrival. He nodded after capturing your form, grabbing the file from Hyunjin's grasp walking towards the exit flipping through the pages, with Hyunjin following behind.

Yugyeom and BamBam passed a thumbs up towards Hyunjin, mouthing "Told you".

Unlocking the door, BamBam and Yugyeom plopped themselves on the couch. Both of them already tired from sweating day and night at the studio, but they knew that someone has to look after Jinyoung because he has completely lost himself.

Suddenly your heart rate monitor started to beep sending a panic wave through BamBam and Yugyeom. They jumped to their feet running to examine you, your breathing was highly unstable even though you had the oxygen mask.

BamBam stayed with you while Yugyeom rushed outside to call a doctor to check on your not so good seeming state. Your chest heaved up and down due to your erratic breathing, your lungs suffocating you.

"Noona... Noona...." He called out desperately, "Nothing will happen to you Noona...", BamBam pulled out his phone ready to dial Jinyoung's number but stopped at the thought of Jinyoung being in the meeting.

"Doctor please...do something it looks like she's getting short of breath" Yugyeom barged in along with the doctor, she immediately stood beside you, checking your pulse rate and heart rate.

She injected you with some medicine, then again leveling the monitors after awhile your breathing was back to normal. BamBam and Yugyeom almost had a cardiac arrest, if it wasn't for the doctor to have you stable again.

"What was happening to her?" BamBam asked the doctor, "She's fine right?".

"Don't worry she's good, and I think she'll wake up soon" She smiled at both of them, before walking away.

"Gyeomie...." BamBam whispered facing him. Yugyeom nodded with a smile, "Yes yes I heard, Noona we're waiting".

Your head started throbbing with pain, almost unbearable, you tried opening your eyes but squinted them with the ache, tears filling your eyes. You heard someone calling your name voice laced with shear panic.

"Noona!" With the last call out, you opened your eyes, panting and sweating heavily as if you've ran a marathon, "Calm down, calm down..... Everything is okay, you're okay. Slow down, breathe in, breathe out".

"BamBam...." You whispered, through the mask. Later catching the proper rhythm of breath, still with your head throbbing you managed to rotate your eyes across the room. Hospital.

"I didn't die?" You mumbled which was audible enough for BamBam and Yugyeom to hear. "Noona, stop saying things like that. You're safe and sound. Nothing happened to you by god's grace", Yugyeom snapped, shaking his head.

You didn't dare to ask about Jinyoung, not that he has left your mind or heart, but the slightest thought of him pained your heart, neither did Yugyeom or BamBam were bothered enough to bring Jinyoung up.

Later the doctors performed few tests on you to make sure everything was normal. Fortunately the reports were declared normal and that if you wish you can get back home as soon as possible.

"Shouldn't we call Jinyoung hyung and let him know about her?" Yugyeom asked BamBam, "We should but not now, he's still in the meeting and if we informed him right now, he'll leave that meeting in between and hurry here, which we don't want..." BamBam explained, waiting for doctors to shift you back to your ward.

Thanks to the medicines, due to which your headache completely vanished, you still felt light headed almost floating in the sky, legs wobbly, breathing heavily. The doctor handed you a pair of clothes for you to change from that hospital gown.

"This...." You asked the doctor confused about the clothes which you were certain belonged to you, hesitantly taking the dress from her hand. "The young man who's with you kept these clothes just in case and see it was fruitful", You nodded your head mind thinking about BamBam since he was the one with you meanwhile the doctor clearly referred to Jinyoung.

"You can walk..." Yugyeom uttered examining you from head to toe as you walked with the doctor. "Of course I can, I didn't break my legs".

"So wanna go home?" The doctor asked you with a humble smile, "If you want you can, I'll just arrange the discharge papers".

"Will it be okay to take her so soon, like she just woke up?" BamBam asked worriedly. "Everything is fine, you can take her home. She'll get proper rest at home".

Sitting at the backseat of BamBam's car you stared outside of the window, it was already evening with the sun almost setting while BamBam sat on the driver's nseat with Yugyeom beside him.

"Noona Jinyoung hyung isn't at home, he's busy in some meeting, so no one would be at home, if you want I can take you—" Cutting BamBam in the midway, you sighed in frustration, "I don't want to hear anything about Jinyoung Bam! Just take me somewhere else but not to him".

Yugyeom and BamBam locked eyes in eternal confusion and shock, "What do you mean by not to him?".

"I just don't want to see his face, I don't wanna go back to him".

"But Noona he—".

BamBam held Yugyeom's arms shushing him, "So I'll take you to Youngjae's place then...".

Eyes widening you shrieked loudly, "Youngjae's place? BamBam have you both completely lost it. Why would I want to go to that bastard's place, he's the reason why me and Jinyoung are having problems".

"What do you mean?" Yugyeom cut in curtly.

"I know Youngjae is the one responsible for mine and Jinyoung's relationship to end so brutally!" You snarled clenching your fists, your nails almost digging into your palm's flesh.

"I know you both knew this, then why would you want to take me to his place?", You asserted your pitch rising with every word.

"Because he's your bestfriend" Yugyeom and BamBam announced in unison. Your face falling at their words, pondering over it, a sharp pain shot through your head making you groan in pain.

Part 13 // Part 14 // Part 15

______________________________________

[alyssawritesssfics]

Hounded [5] 5. Twilight’s Last Gleaming

Pairings: Bellamy x OC // Kane x daughter!OC

Word Count: 2.5K

Warnings: violence, series spoilers

Summary: When a pod from the Ark falls out of the sky, Bellamy’s motives finally come to light.

Author’s Note: Hii, I’m back with the fifth chapter/episode. I really hope you all enjoy it! Please remember to note and reblog! It really helps me see interest and therefore update the story more often. Thank you! 

Tag List: @topazy​ (DM or send an ask to be added)

previous chapter // series masterlist

After Monty’s attempt at contacting the Ark had fried all of our wristbands, I found myself sat by the fire, staring into it blankly. 

The first person I thought about was my mother. If she didn’t know before the dropship descended, she had to have found out soon after. She was probably second in charge, keeping an eye on our vitals. Did she think I was dead? Or, was she still holding onto hope? My mind then drifted to my father, whom I was sure would have accepted that I was gone for good. Finally, I thought of my grandmother, who probably still had no idea what was going on. It wasn’t like she visited me often, usually too busy tending to the Last Tree.

As I thought of my family, slowly beginning to accept that I’d never see them again, Fox’s voice grabbed my attention.

“Guys, look!”

I turned my head, following her finger pointed up at the Sky.

“A shooting star?” Another delinquent asked.

Suddenly, the “star” began to light up, a ring of fire surrounding it. “That’s not a shooting star.” I mumbled, standing up. “It’s a pod.”

Octavia quickly came to my side. “Do you think it’s from the Ark?”

“Bellamy, get out here!” Fox called out.

Bellamy soon emerged from his tent, shirtless with Roma and Bree following behind him. “What’s going on?”

“They’re coming to help us,” Jones smiled. “Now we can finally kick some grounder ass!”

“Please tell me they brought down shampoo,” Roma quipped.

I rolled my eyes, moving closer to Bellamy with Octavia following close behind. “What’s the plan?”

Bellamy looked around before letting out a sigh. He led a few of us towards our main tent. It wasn’t long before the few of us had put together a plan.

“If it cleared the ridge it’s probably near the lake,”

“We’re ready to go,” Octavia said.

“No one’s going anywhere. Not while it’s dark, it isn’t safe.” Bellamy replied. “We’ll head out at first light.”

Mumbles ensued as most of the group piled out of the tent. I watched as Octavia stepped in front of Bellamy, stopping him from leaving. “What if the Grounders get to it first? Bell, we should go now.”

“Octavia’s right,” I said. “We can’t afford to lose any supplies they might’ve sent down here in that pod.”

Bellamy’s face tensed. “I said we wait until sunrise.”

As he pushed past Octavia and exited the tent, the two of us exchanged a worried glance. “He’s hiding something.” I finally said.

Octavia nodded. “He’s definitely hiding something.”

…

I spent the majority of the rest of the night waiting for Clarke and Finn to return, them having left camp not long after the wristbands had fried. Finally I noticed them heading through the newly built gate, looking around frantically.

Standing from the log I was sat on, I made my way across camp, reaching them just as Fox had.

“Looks like everyone’s up,” Finn remarked.

“Did you guys see it?” Fox asked. “It had to have been from the Ark, right?”

Clarke nodded. “Grab your stuff. We’re gonna go find out.”

I shook my head. “Bellamy said we have to wait until sunrise.”

“Where is he?” Clarke asked, as I pointed to his tent.

Clarke made her way towards Bellamy’s tent, Finn and I following close behind. She pushed the flaps of the tent to the side, being the first of the three of us to step inside. 

“Ever hear of knocking, Bitch?” I heard Roma speak from inside the tent. When she noticed Finn and I enter behind Clarke, her face tensed even further. “Oh, great, it’s a free show. Anyone else want to take a look?” She was sitting in the cot with Bree, both of them attempting to cover themselves with a makeshift blanket. Bree was quiet, slowly sinking further under the blanket.

“Where the hell is Bellamy?” Clarke asked.

“He took off a while ago.”

Finn looked around the tent. “His gear is gone.”

Clarke shook her head. “He told everyone to stay here. Whatever is in that pod, he wants it. We’ve got to get there before he does.”

Clarke and Finn quickly exited the tent, causing Roma to roll her eyes. “You’re welcome!”

I smiled nervously, slowly backing out of the tent. “Sorry about that.”

After exiting the tent, I jogged to catch up with Clarke and Finn, who were almost at the gate already.

“I should’ve known he’d go for that radio,” Clarke mumbled.

Finn raised an eyebrow. “How were you supposed to know something like that?”

“He’s spent every single minute since we landed making sure no one on the Ark finds out that we’re alive,” Clarke responded. “Of course he’d make a run for that pod before anyone else got a chance.”

“You can’t always predict what people are going to do,” I spoke up.

Clarke shook her head. “That’s exactly what I have to do to keep us all safe. I screwed up, let myself get distracted.” He glanced at Finn for a moment, before looking ahead once more. “I won’t let that happen again.”

…

We had been searching for hours, with no luck, before the sun finally came up. Clarke and I separated from Finn, hoping to have better luck in locating the pod in groups. As Clarke and I stepped into a clearing, we saw the pod sitting next to a tree. Clarke wasted no time, rushing over to it and yanking the door open.

I found myself behind her, staring into the pod over her shoulder. Inside was a girl, not much older than us, her hand placed on top of the wound on her forehead.

“Oh, my god.” Clarke breathed.

The girl looked at us, her eyes wide. “I made it?”

Clarke and I nodded in unison.

The girl struggled to pull herself free from the pod, Clarke and I helping her regain her balance. Finally, she stepped away from the pod, slowly walking through the leaves on the ground. A smile appeared on her face as she began spinning around.

“I dreamed it would smell like this,” The girl said, noticing the drops of water falling upon her bare arm. “Is this rain?”

Clarke smiled. “Welcome home.”

“Raven?”

Clarke and I spun around, spotting Finn who had just stepped through the bushes. His eyes were wide, his face as pale as a ghost.

“Finn!” Raven called out, rushing over to him. The two kissed for a moment, before Raven pulled back. “I knew you couldn’t be dead.”

“You’re bleeding.” Finn spoke, running his thumb along the cut.

Raven winced, though maintained her smile. “Right now, I don’t care.”

“How did you get here?”

“You know the big scrap hold? On K deck?”

Finn nodded, eying the pod behind Clarke and I. “You built that from scrap?”

“I kind of rebuilt it,” Raven spoke, earning a laugh from Finn. “What, like it’s hard? It just needed a couple of parts and some love.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’d do more for you, and worse. Just like you would for me.” As the words left Raven’s lips, her legs gave out, Finn quickly grabbing her arms.

“Come sit,” Finn spoke, leading her to a rock. He removed his jacket and draped it around her, before eying her cut one last time. “Let me get you something for that.”

Finn rushed over to Clarke, who quietly handed him an ice pack. He frowned, noticing her eyes were scanning every inch of the forest, except for where he stood. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

Clarke looked at him, her eyes shifting to me for just a moment before landing back on the ground. “Let’s not talk about this.”

Finn looked over at me before nodding, rushing back over to Raven.

I watched Clarke’s expression change over and over again. “Are you okay?” I finally asked.

Clarke didn’t speak, simply nodding before heading over to Finn and Raven. “She needs to put pressure on her wound.”

“This is Clarke,” Finn spoke. “And this is Athena.”

Raven’s eyes lit up. “Clarke Griffin?”

Clarke nodded.

“This was all because of your mom.”

“My mom?”

Raven nodded. “This was all her plan. We were trying to come down here together. If we waited-” She trailed off, her face growing pale. “Oh, my God. We couldn't wait because the council was voting whether to kill three hundred people to save air.”

“When?” I asked.

“Today. We have to tell them you guys are alive!” Raven stood from the rock, rushing over to her pod. “The radio's gone. It must've gotten loose during reentry. I should've strapped it to the A-strut. Stupid!” Raven hit the pod with her fist.

“No it didn’t,” I mumbled.

“This is all my fault,” Clarke shook her head. “Some else got here before us. We have to find him.”

…

While Finn and Raven went off on their own, Clarke and I remained together, searching the woods for Bellamy. He finally appeared a little ways ahead of us, just casually walking along. Clarke and I exchanged glances before running up to him.

“Bellamy!” Clarke snarled. “Where is it?”

“Hey, Princess, you taking a walk in the woods?” He asked, smiling.

Clarke stopped in front of him, her face red. “They’re getting ready to kill three hundred people up there to save oxygen, and I can promise you it won’t be council members. It’ll be working people.” She poked his chest. “Your people.”

Suddenly, Finn came out of nowhere, shoving Bellamy hard. “Where the hell is the radio, Bellamy?”

Bellamy shoved Finn back. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Bellamy Blake?” Raven asked, her soft expression turning to a smirk. “They’re looking for you everywhere.”

“Shut up.”

“What is she talking about?” I asked.

“He shot Chancellor Jaha.”

Our eyes all shot to Bellamy, who kept his eyes planted on the ground. “That’s why you took the wristbands. You needed everyone to think the ground wasn’t survivable.” Clarke choked out.

Finn shook his head. “All of that ‘whatever the hell we want’? You just care about saving your own skin.”

Bellamy didn’t respond, instead turning and beginning to walk away. Raven shook her head, following close behind him. “Hey, Shooter! Where’s my radio?” She jumped in front of him, causing Bellamy to stop.

“Get out of my way.”

“Where is it?” Raven pressed once again.

Bellamy shook his head. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”

“Really? Well, I’m right here.” Raven stepped closer before Bellamy grabbed her suit, shoving her up against a tree. In a matter of seconds Raven had pulled out a knife, pointing it at Bellamy’s throat. “Where’s my radio?”

“Stop it!” Clarke yelled, getting between them.

Bellamy let go of Raven, turning away from the group. When he finally turned back around, his expression had softened. “Jaha deserved to die. You all know that.”

“Yeah, he isn’t my favourite person either, but he isn’t dead.”

We all looked back at Raven.

“What?” Bellamy choked out.

Raven sighed. “You’re a lousy shot.”

I turned to look back at Bellamy, quickly approaching him. “Bellamy, don’t you see what this means?” I asked, my voice quiet. “You’re not a murderer.”

Clarke stood next to me. “You always did what you had to do to protect your sister. That’s who you are, and you can do it again by protecting three hundred of your people.”

Bellamy looked back at me, his eyes wet. I locked my eyes onto his, a frown forming across my face. “Where’s the radio?”

Bellamy stared back before finally, he shook his head. “It’s too late.”

…

After Bellamy had finally told us where he tossed the radio, Clarke and I returned to camp to gather a search party. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the hills in the distance before finally Jones pulled something out of the lake.

“Guys, I found it!”

Everyone rushed over, Raven quickly grabbing it from his hands.

“Can you fix it?” Clarke asked.

Raven examined it for a moment. “Maybe, but it’ll take at least half the day to dry out the components to see what’s broken.”

“Like I said, it’s too late.” Bellamy spoke from behind us.

I could feel my fists ball up and I spun around, marching through the shallow water to meet Bellamy on dry land. “Do you have any idea what you did? Do you even care?” I asked, my jaw clenched.

“You asked me to help. I helped.”

“Three hundred people are going to die today, because of you!” Clarke snapped from behind me.

I shook my head. “How can you just not care?”

Bellamy avoided my eyes, staring directly down at his feet. I knew he wanted to speak. To defend himself. Maybe he had finally realized he just couldn’t.

“Wait,” Raven spoke up. “We don’t have to talk to the Ark. We just have to let them know we’re down here, right?”

Finn nodded. “Yeah, but how do we do that with no radio?”

Raven smiled, looking around. “I think I have an idea.”

…

Raven took Clarke, Finn and a few others back to her pod in hopes of savaging parts. Her plan was to send flares high enough using rocket fuel that the Ark would see them. By dark we had managed to set them up, everyone gathering around, anxiously waiting for the show to start.

“You guys ready?” Raven asked, cheers erupting through the crowd. “Alright then, light ‘em up!”

In just a few moments, flares began shooting off into the sky, lighting up the entire camp. Everyone just stared on, in awe of the sight. I thought back on the books I’d read on the Ark as a kid, picturing the images of Fireworks. This wasn’t quite like them, but they were probably the closest we’d ever get.

My eyes left the sky for a moment, landing on Bellamy, who stood off to the side. His arms were folded across his chest, a frown painted neatly across his face. As much as I wanted to ignore him, I couldn’t help but join him.

“Not enjoying the show?” I asked, slipping beside him. “I mean, why would you? They come down here, you’re kind of screwed.”

Bellamy’s face tensed.

I thought back to our time in the Cave. What he’d said to me that night. “What’s done is done, Bellamy. You can’t change it now, so learn from it, do better next time.”

Bellamy looked at me from the corner of his eye, his expression turning into a small smirk as he looked down at the ground, them back up at me. “Seriously?”

“What?” I asked, smiling. “You were right then and I’m right now. You did what you had to do to protect your sister, but if you want any chance of being forgiven when they get down here, you need to do better. You need to show them that you’re worthy of forgiveness, just like the rest of us.”

Bellamy shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Athena.”

I let out a sigh, turning my attention back to the sky. “Who says it can’t be?”

~

next chapter

[carrottuan93]

Haven’t met you yet | Mark

Masterlist (3/4) | part1 - part2 - part4

Starring: MK x You

Tags: Mark Tuan, Fluff, Destiny, Waiting, Christmas, Bookworm, Nerd, Love, Fate

Total WC: 2194

You nearly puked your guts out to the sight of Jackson sticking to Eunhee and hugging her like forever has been robbed from them. You failed to confide to your best friend about what happened to you in the last 24 hours. So as not to spoil their couple time together, you chose to not disturb them and just mingle with all the kids in the sweet treats section. You love kids so much you play Santa and distributed macarons to each one of them. As expected, most of your close friends and guests brought their own boyfriends, if not, their own husbands and it was a nice show to witness, with sarcasm aside. Thanks to Jackson’s little cousins, they keep you entertained with their bubbly personality.

 “One with the kids, sure you’re missing the party in the adult section, no?” The sight of a guy clad in a formal white dress shirt, tucked in a black denim pants partnered with a classic chuck taylor, and a gray winter coat, welcomed your eyes. Guys who dress fashionably is such a head turner for you.

“Actually, they keep me company so I’m having fun to be honest.” You replied, feeling all the weird sensation cascading across your spine. You feel a bit nauseous whenever guys approach you. You don’t know if you even want to be with a guy right now, after your embarrassing experience last night.

 “My cousins here are a bunch of nuisance, you’ll get tired of them soon.” He picked one matcha macaron from the aisle and took a bite of it. You observed his expression. A smile crept up to his face and you caught sight of Eunhee in a distant, gossiping to Jackson that you’re having a moment with his cousin. You certainly know that they’re mentally pairing you up already and you are growing nervous about the plans that they are possibly plotting behind your back.

 “You like it? I bought them all the way from a café near my workplace that sells classic macarons just like the original ones from Paris.” He nodded in approval as you watch him took another piece, this time it’s strawberry. That’s your favorite flavor among the rest and you can really tell that the sweet tooth runs on Jackson’s bloodline by how his cousins, from the little chubby ones and the grown up beside you, munch on your favorite treat.

 “I never really eat macarons, but you introduced me into it. You deserve a recognition, uhm?” He lifted his hand for a handshake. He doesn’t know your name yet so you took his hand and introduced yourself right away.

 “It’s Y/n, Eunhee’s best friend. Thank you for the recognition by the way. Well, you come here with a date?” You’re mentally tiptoeing above the thin ice. It’s better to assume that this cute guy over here is already taken, I mean with his looks, he's totally a charmer, you thought to yourself.

 “I didn’t bring anyone with me, so I assume you also come along on your own, no?” Green light. Okay, you need to calm down. This isn’t like any of your past blind dates but first meetups are usually nerve wracking and scary so you played the innocent heroine that you are and chose to just go with the flow seeing how Eunhee and Jackson are staring at you maliciously from Mark’s back, you know they were able to receive the death notes you are sending them via telepathy.

 “That explains it.” It’s not that you had a thing with cute guys, but maybe you just discovered it right now. You can tell he’s a decent one, a cool and random Asian-American import from the west and maybe if you’re an ice cream, you already turned into liquid by the way he stares at you.

 “I don’t know anything about you yet, but would you trust a complete stranger to celebrate your Christmas eve with? If you’re up for it, we’ll leave this party right away because I can tell that you’re going to get sick from all these couples outnumbering us.” Have you been a good girl this year? You didn’t include this guy on your Christmas list but Santa rewarded you without even asking for it.

 “I’m putting my trust on you knowing that Jackson is a good guy so does his cousin. I'll sue him and he’ll answer for the damages and fines in case you failed to bring me back in good shape.” You both let out a hefty chuckle earning glares from your best friend and her boyfriend. You’ve decided to pursue your spontaneous trip with Mark and the next thing you know you’re already closing the front door upon your exit even before the two of them could react to your great and grand escape.

  ----

  He took you on a ride away from the busy and bustling streets of Seoul. You're thrilled to find out that he actually brought you to Namsan Tower, the highest peak in the city. You're awed expression cannot suffice the picturesque panoramic scenery of Seoul unfolding in front of your very eyes when you entered the observatory on the top most floor. You were unable to talk all of a sudden and your heart is brimming with unexplained strings of emotion as you kept on taking pictures and videos of the breathtaking place that sent your eyes into a food coma.

 "I only went to N tower once, or maybe twice but that was during the day and I have no idea that this is how it looks at night. It's a miss, nobody will be able to witness this scene on a Christmas eve the way we're seeing it right now." You forgot about your shameful episodes of last night's happenings and your worries disappeared in just an instant.

 "I kind of paid for tonight's reservation when I arrived here in Korea a week ago, with the hopes of spending Christmas only to myself. Consider yourself lucky, you've managed to join me on this one-time event. Heck, the price I paid for is totally worth it. Come here and try this." He urged you to look on the telescope, and to your surprise, you're taking in every aspect of the city in a bird's eye perspective. Everything you look at is really stunning. Like you never really imagined that perfection exists for real until tonight and you're experiencing it with a random guy whom you've only met an hour ago. Your eyes met his and you wished you aren't redder than a rotten tomato for looking like a lost deer caught on a headlight.

 "The view here is really pretty.” He gave you a smile, too charming for your own consumption.

“It really is.” He’s even prettier than the view. You can only sense your guy-o-meter raising for Mark. Good lord, is this a sign? Your mind is now ready to tick the ideal guy boxes on your list.

 “We shouldn't keep this New York style pizza from waiting while it is hot.” He chuckled, like the cute kid that he is. There is something with his unique laugh that you really don’t mind hearing at all. Is he older than me? Please, I don’t want to date someone younger than me.

 “Okay, sure kid.” You followed him as he sat on the ground in a dimly lit room radiating a romantic atmosphere under the starry and chilly skies of Seoul. This is not a date, but a friendly escape out of boredom planned by two single hearts on a Christmas eve. As if you’re two partners in crime, sitting on one of the highest skyscrapers in town, while sharing a box of pizza. It’s just that you aren’t Bonnie and neither he is your Clyde but you're loving the idea of him as someone whom you can rely on.

 “I’m older than you, silly.” The sight of a wine bottle behind him caught your attention and wondered where it came from. He noticed you eyeing the prize so he did the honor and poured you a glass of wine while you’re devouring your slice of pizza. You never imagined that eating pizza is too romantic and one for the books.

 “Any proof that you’re actually above 25? Cause you really look young. With that face, you can qualify for a student discount on public transports and still save money for your commute.” You want to make sure that he’s at least 5 years older than you. You prefer dating someone older than you because they always say that a guy's maturity is a year delayed for his age.

 “Trust me, I just know. I’m old enough to buy a house and enter into casinos, I guess.” He gave you a wink and you felt a gush of strong wind blew your senses away. He’s totally a Romeo and you took a swig of wine while observing him secretly.

 “So you’re a gambler? I might have been spending my time with some kind of a mafia leader and still have no clue about it.” He’s laughing at it again. I might have a talent with making cute guys laugh and that’s an asset I only discovered right now.

 “What, no! But my dad is a big spender in casinos. My duty is to look out for him and take him home before he could even bet our fortune with his leisure. I could always hear him say ‘It has gotta be all or nothing’. He’s born for taking risks and maybe I got that gene from him that’s why.” He stretched his legs and sat like he’s on a photoshoot. He’s not a model but he can beat the professional ones even without the need for screening.

 “What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken in your life so far?” You folded your legs as you watch him wonder with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He poured a glass for himself and you noticed that he used the same glass that you drink on.

 “I believe we’re taking risks everyday in our lives. The only difference is the distance of our leap towards taking or not taking chances at all. Like when you’re playing a game, everything starts with equal opportunities. It’s a race to the witch mountain. The first one to gamble takes it all. You gotta be the predator of every tournament and you gotta be the last one standing in a survival of the fittest. If you’re brave enough to take the earliest start, you can use that advantage to ace your end game. It’s all about timing and investing. Win or lose streak. There is no such thing as a grey area when it comes to taking risks. You don’t get to tie with anybody. Either you’ll win or lose. You just have to trust your instincts and roll your dice like everyday is your last day on earth. If I go for something, I go all in. No half-baked decisions. Because my father taught me that risks equates to rewards and I’m all up for the extremes of both worlds. That’s the one thing I’m best at. I know how to play the game nice and fair because I know how to measure the corners of a square and even the distance around the circle which is not visible to the naked eye. After all, he considers me as his lucky charm. That explains my presence to his endless casino nights. And he hardly ever loses if I’m with him. Sure, Pops are probably waiting for me at our doorstep in LA right now. Too bad, his son is on the other side of the world, taking his own risk of a lifetime.” You left with no words to say. He’s too deep, a food for the soul. Guys like him are the ones that can be displayed in museums. He’s a delicate art and nobody should be allowed to touch him but the curator. And you’d want to take that role.

 “What if you lose? If you go all in and you lose everything all at once? Have you experienced it already?” you asked, admiring the tiny mole sitting under his left eye. You decided to take your second glass of wine.

 “The best thing about losing is that you’ve tried. I don’t take failures as an excuse for not trying again and taking another risk the next day. If I lose, so what? That only means you’re brave because you grow stronger with every fall that you take. Like a bamboo tree, it only bends but it doesn’t break. Life is all about swimming against the current of uncertainties and finding yourself floating on top of your insecurities.” As if he’s summarizing all the lessons in life, you’d always want to go for the front seat. He’s a walking self-help book, and maybe Mark Manson’s book of ‘the subtle art of not giving a fuck’ would have to sit longer in my shelf for the meantime. I got a risk-taker author Mark, right here and I got nothing to worry about.

[teaplease1717]

I'm Here: You’re Not Alone

Ship: Todoroki Shouto x Yaoyorozu Momo

Rating: T

Chapters: 1/1 (Complete)

Ao3: Click Here

I want to give a shout out to everyone who participated or helped out in the @todomomo-mini-bang-2020! This event has blown me away! And thank you to my fellow mods for all your hard work!

Before beginning, I must also thank my betas: FlourChildWrites and Emberstork for your help making this readable. And Taq for giving me some ideas on the ending.

Also big thank you to Marls_Bars21, who has drawn the beautiful piece found in this story. <3

A couple of last notes, there are slight spoilers for the current arc, but they are very light. Also, for this fic, the boys and girls' sides of the U.A. dorm are not separated with a barrier. I imagine it more like a hotel; you go left for the girl’s side and right for the boys.

XXXXXX

The pure black of the night bathed the U.A. campus in velvety darkness.

Inside the dorm, there was a feeling of tension that hung in the air, like static electricity building.

Momo rolled onto her back. Draping her arm over her forehead, she stared up at the silken canopy of her bed and briefly wondered if she'd ever get to see it again. She felt restless.

The truth was no one knew what to expect tomorrow. The heroes had no real insight into how many villains there would be or what their quirks were.

She felt a faint sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t as if she was afraid per se. Perhaps anxious or uneasy were the correct terms. They were only sixteen, yet were being sent off to fight — what was technically a war — against the League of Villains and Meta Liberation Front.

She wished her mother was there to hold her.

Turning over, Momo clicked the power button on her phone. 12:30. Too late to call home. She placed the phone back down and turned back over. She stretched her legs.

She really needed to try and sleep. Her alarm was set for 5:30, less than five hours away. Momo drew in a deep breath to clear her mind, but couldn't fall asleep.

All the top heroes of Japan would be present at tomorrow’s operation.

They’d been divided into four teams, two offensive forces and two support guards. Endeavor, the current number one hero, would be leading the main battalion, which would be over 80 kilometers away from where she would be stationed in the woods.

The likelihood that she would be fighting any of the more powerful villains was slim.

But not nonexistent.

Momo’s mind returned to the current number one hero, and her throat tightened. He had almost lost an eye fighting against the League earlier in the year.

What if an enemy with a power type quirk attacked her tomorrow? She’d be at a distinct disadvantage. Would she even be able to win?

Momo was fairly confident in her deductive and strategic prowess, but in the heat of battle, especially fighting Nomus, there was always a chance of failure.

Her fingers clenched the silken sheets. They had fought the League of Villains before — at last summer's training camp — and, if not for Awase, she would have been cleaved in half by one of the engineered Nomus. A shiver ran down her spine at the memory, and she turned back onto her side, curling into a ball.

What if she got a massive scar across her face like Endeavor?

What if she lost an eye?

No one would ever want to kiss her if she didn’t have both of her eyes. The thought hit her like a bucket of cold water, and Momo instantly felt guilt twist in her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Disgraceful, she berated herself.

Even if she were to get hurt and lose an eye or a limb, there was a lot more to the world than looks. Besides, getting injured was part of being a hero, too. She should be proud she was participating.

Still, Momo's chest clenched painfully. Anxious butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the thought of never receiving a first kiss.

She drew in a long breath as she turned back over. Her thoughts were jumbled. Momo could almost hear Jirou poking fun at her for jumping to the worst possible conclusions, but she couldn’t help overthinking things. It was hard to turn off her mind when her thoughts started spiraling. She needed to talk to someone or at least not be alone.

Momo debated getting up. Perhaps, Jirou would allow her to sleep in her room. The Earphone Jack Hero might still be awake; she could talk her down from the metaphorical edge. And it wasn’t like her spending the night in Jirou’s room was unprecedented. Momo seemed to always end up there when she had a lot on her mind.

She sighed as she gave up on sleep and got up. Slipping on her house slippers, Momo assessed herself quickly in the mirror hanging on the back of her door, ensuring her white chiffon nightgown was appropriate before heading down to the third floor.

The elevator dinged quietly as the metal doors slid open. Momo tiptoed out and made her way down the dimly lit hallway.

As she rounded the corner to the girl’s side of the dorm, a faint glow from underneath Jirou’s door caught her attention. Momo’s eyes widened, and she inhaled deeply, the tightness in her chest loosening.

She hurried closer, a smile pulling at her lips as she stopped in front of Jirou’s room and raised her hand to knock when soft laughter wafted from behind the closed door. Momo froze; her eyes widened.

Jirou and...Kaminari?

She felt something sink in her stomach, and she pressed her lips together. What was he doing there? It was late; he should be in his own room.

The conversation was muffled by the door, but it was definitely his voice from inside, she was sure of it.

Momo swallowed over the unbidden feeling of jealousy that rose up in her throat. She let her hand drop back down to her side and took a step back.

She shouldn’t interrupt.

It wasn't like people were required to have only one friend. Jirou had no responsibility to her. She was allowed to have friends outside of Momo.

Besides, Jirou and Kaminari had been growing closer recently. Momo would just be intruding if she were to ask to join them.

Her shoulders slumped, and she looked down the long hallway. The only other girl on the third floor was Hagakure.

Would she still be up?

Momo shook her head. She shouldn't be waking her classmates up just because she couldn’t rest and wanted to be with someone.

She sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night and headed back towards the elevator. She paused before the metal doors, her finger ghosting over the raised button for the first floor. Would anyone still be downstairs? Momo pressed her lips together and pulled her hand back.

No.

She really needed to go back to bed. Staying up would set a bad example for all the other students. Besides, she already knew no one would be down there.

Momo drew in a deep breath and pressed the top button.

As she shuffled out of the elevator, she paused. The moon shone through the plexiglass windows like a beacon in the dark. Momo looked to her left. The door to the roof was on the boy’s side. Her fingers twitched.

No one would notice.

She knew from experience that the alarm on the door had been disabled. She could go up there for a few minutes. The fresh air might help calm her, she reasoned as she turned and crept down the right corridor.

There were three boys on the top floor: Satou, Sero, and Todoroki.

Momo’s eyes flickered unconsciously towards Todoroki’s door as she passed. The placard with the twenty-one strokes of his surname glowed faintly in the soft light of the display case.

She bit her lip. She had watched Todoroki since the beginning of the school year. He had been a recommended student like herself and yet had been so different from her. He was strong, confident, unwavering. He was the type of person that brought others calm.

And she admired him immensely.

Momo pressed her hand over her chest as she felt her heartbeat speed up. She didn’t know when it had happened, perhaps when he had encouraged her during the practical exam against Aizawa, but she found herself increasingly fond of her seatmate. It was like a seedling had taken root in her chest, growing slowly over the last months, and transforming her passing crush into a chronic state of pining.

She looked away as she continued towards the stairwell. A selfish part of herself wanted to see him tonight, wanted to be near him. Maybe not to confess — definitely not to confess — but, perhaps she could talk to him like Jirou and Kaminari were doing. Momo’s chest tightened.

Out of all her classmates, Todoroki seemed to understand her better than anyone. He was quiet and unobtrusive, but he knew how to make her smile. And when her thoughts began to spiral as they were doing that night, he always seemed to know how best to save her.

But, Momo wasn’t about to wake him up for something as silly as to talk.

The green exit sign glowed above the stairwell.

She climbed the steps and took a deep breath before pulling open the steel door to the roof. The fluorescent lights flickered to life at her movement. Momo gasped as she stepped outside and felt the crisp April breeze on her face. The wind nipped at her skin, rustling through her nightgown.

For a moment, Momo stood uncertain in the doorway, looking out at the empty concrete space before drawing in a deep breath and moving over to the chain-link fence enclosing the rooftop. She leaned against the cool metal, her fingers slotting into the holes as she gazed out onto the silent campus.

The tall training halls speckled across the forested grounds like boulders sticking out of the sea. And in the distance, the lights of Musutafu shimmered as if they were stars painted across a dark canvas.

A sudden gust caught in her black hair and rustled her white chiffon nightgown, sending a shiver down Momo’s spine.

If it had been a regular school year, this month would have been the school dance. Perhaps, Todoroki would have asked her to go with him. Her heart stuttered as the thought swirled unbidden through her conscience. Momo’s mouth twisted into a frown.

What was wrong with her?

There were far more important things in the world than to be worried about such frivolous things as first kisses and school dances.

Momo closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure where this sudden narcissistic streak had come from, but she needed it to stop.

And yet, was it wrong to crave normalcy? Did being a pro hero really mean she had to leave her other dreams behind?

“Yaoyorozu.”

Momo swallowed over a nervous squeak as her head jerked up. Letting go of the fence, she turned in surprise towards the deep voice that she would have known anywhere and straightened.

Todoroki Shouto stood in the doorway staring at her. He had changed out of his U.A. jersey and into gray sweatpants paired with a white t-shirt that seemed to fit him a tad bit too well.

Momo felt her cheeks and ears grow warm.

“To-Todoroki-san?” Her voice hitched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What are you doing up here?”

Todoroki stared at her for several seconds before sighing. His head dropped as he slid a hand out of his pocket to rub the back of his neck.

“I thought I heard you walk by,” he said, giving her a sidelong glance. “You said you always come up here when something is troubling you, so I thought I’d check.”

Momo’s heart leapt at the thought that he had remembered such an inconsequential conversation before she pushed the feeling down.

She licked her lips and dropped her gaze.

“I’m fine,” she said, running her hands down the front of her nightgown, smoothing out invisible wrinkles. Momo forced herself not to overanalyze the comment or the fact that he had come to look for her.

She wouldn’t hope.

“I was just having a hard time falling asleep. I’m sorry to have woken you.”

His heterochromatic eyes were pale gray and blue as he raised his head and stared at her, his expression masked. “You wouldn’t be up here if you were fine,” he finally said as his eyes locked on hers. “What’s wrong?”

Todoroki’s expression had barely flickered, but something in his tone sounded genuinely concerned. Momo felt her chest tighten. She shifted and grasped her other arm. She wasn’t sure how to respond.

She was simultaneously hopeful of what his concern could mean and disappointed in herself for reading into his every word.

Todoroki was going to become a great hero, the type of hero who would bring peace to the citizens of Japan. And, no matter how much she wanted to, Momo wasn’t foolish enough to think that his concern was anything other than a general courtesy. Surely, he would extend this kindness to any of their classmates.

Wouldn’t he?

“Can I join you?” he asked abruptly, pulling Momo from her thoughts.

Her eyes snapped up. Todoroki didn't wait for her to respond as he moved closer. He stopped on her right side and stared out at the U.A. campus.

There was a long silence.

Momo took a moment to study him from under her lashes. He was striking. All contrast. Fire and ice. Crimson and moonlight. Turquoise and steel. And as much as she tried not to let appearances affect her judgment of people, she couldn’t help but agree with Ashido that Todoroki was the best-looking male of their grade.

What would he think of her if she had an ugly scar across her face like his father? Momo felt her stomach drop at the thought, and she looked away, suddenly embarrassed and ashamed.

It was a silly notion. He had his own scar over his left eye. If there was one person who wouldn’t judge her for a facial wound, it would be him.

Weak and pathetic — that is what he would think of her disgraceful thoughts. Momo's stomach twisted painfully; she didn't know if she could handle his scorn. She hugged herself and shivered.

“What are you thinking about?”

The air around them suddenly warmed.

Todoroki must have used his quirk.

Momo felt a light fluttering in her stomach at the realization. He was always so considerate.

She closed her eyes. “A lot of things.”

“About tomorrow?”

She hesitated then nodded minutely. He didn’t say anything, and she opened her eyes to study a crack in the gray concrete flooring.

“Todoroki-san,” she said softly after a minute. “Do you think we can win?”

From the corner of her eye, she saw him tilt his head back to stare up at the sky, his expression turning pensive. “It'll be difficult,” he said slowly. “But, they've gathered all the top heroes in Japan, so I think we can.”

Momo hummed in agreement.

His lips thinned, and he looked back down. “But, we’ll fight harder," he said, his tone firm. "We have people that we wish to protect, so losing isn’t an option.” He brought his hand up and slowly curled his fingers into a fist. “I think that is what makes us heroes strong — maybe.”

She looked up at him. “Your family?” she asked.

He dropped his hand, and his eyes met hers. “Something like that,” he said, and his stare seemed more pointed than usual.

It felt like there was more to that statement than he was saying, but she didn’t want to pry. She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “You’ll be with Midoriya-san, and Bakugo-san evacuating citizens near the city center tomorrow, no?”

Todoroki hummed, then turned to fully face her. “Yeah, but that’s not what’s really bothering you though, is it?”

Momo flinched.

He really could read her a little too well. She felt her face warm and drew in a deep breath.

“No, it’s not.” She folded her hands in front of herself. Then, before she could reconsider, added. “I’m nervous about tomorrow.”

Todoroki stared at her but didn’t say anything as he waited for her to elaborate.

Earlier, she had desperately wanted to see him, but now that he was there, a small part of her wished for him to leave. She didn’t want him to see this side of herself.

Momo dropped her gaze. Briefly, she contemplated lying to him but quickly disregarded the notion. Todoroki was incredibly perceptive and could be annoyingly stubborn. There was no way that he’d let the conversation go if he thought that she was hiding something, and she had never been a very good liar.

She could feel his heterochromatic eyes on her.

Momo licked her lips and drew in a deep breath. Knowing that he wasn’t going to leave, she suddenly was filled with the overwhelming desire to talk.

“I…I knew that we would have to fight one day, but somehow it never really hit me until tonight that we are only sixteen and are about to be helping out in an operation that is far larger than ourselves.”

He didn’t say anything. Her fingers twitched, and her eyes flickered towards him. Todoroki's hands rested by his sides, so close that if she stretched out her fingers, they’d brush his. She looked away, pushing down the foolish urge to reach for him.

“Todoroki-san, do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a normal high school student? If you weren’t on the hero track.”

Todoroki looked at her for a moment then tilted his head back slightly.

“I don’t know,” he answered after a minute. “It had never been an option, so I guess I never have,” he said slowly looking back at her.

Momo swallowed, twisting her hands together. Her throat felt constricted. “It’s embarrassing, really, but I was thinking about all the mundane and inconsequential moments that we may miss out on because of this path. Tomorrow we are going into battle, but I haven't even gone on a date or had my first kiss. And I wonder what if I never get those moments.”

“Don't get me wrong,” she added hurriedly, clenching a hand over her chest. She felt herself flush. “I'm proud to be a hero, and I'm not having self-doubts about my choice. But I guess I never thought about all the little ways my life would change because of it. I just wonder what if -” Her voice hitched. “What if something happens tomorrow that makes it so I can never have those things? Never go on a date, or go to a school dance. Never get married or have children. It’s so stupid. I know.”

An aching sensation spread across her nose and cheeks. She sniffed and brought her hand up to rub at her eyes with the back of her hand as she struggled not to cry. “I hate having these shallow thoughts when tomorrow’s mission could decide the fate of Japan, but I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t want to be alone just because I’m trying to be a her-”

“Yaoyorozu.”

Momo jerked at the firmness in his tone. It had been a long time since she had heard him use that voice. Not since Aizawa.

She turned slowly towards Todoroki, and her eyes widened in surprise as he stepped closer. “You’re not alone.” His gaze was intense.

A blush ran across her face and down her neck.

He lifted his hand and wavered for a moment before he pressed his palm against her cheek.

“I’m here,” he said softly, his thumb brushing away the tears she hadn’t realized had slipped down her face. “So, you don’t have to worry.”

His touch was gentle, almost tender as he cupped her cheek, and Momo choked back a soft sob as she closed her eyes. It was exactly how she had dreamed of him holding her.

Every night.

Every day.

In between studying and classes.

She let herself lean into Todoroki’s touch.

He was only comforting her, she reminded herself as her heart stuttered almost painfully in her chest. But surely, he wouldn’t judge her for this, would he? She was allowed this small comfort. Friends would allow for this, wouldn’t they?

After a moment, Momo drew in a deep, steadying breath and looked up.

Todoroki was close. His eyes were darker than she had ever seen them. They shone like molten silver and teal stars as he stared down at her, and Momo’s breath caught in her throat. It felt like her heart had stalled momentarily in her chest as he studied her face.

Then slowly — so slowly she wasn’t sure if her heart could take it — he closed his eyes and dipped his head down, brushing his lips against hers before fully capturing hers.

It was like lightning had struck Momo. She stood frozen under him, eyes wide, unbelieving for a moment before her whole body melted into his touch, and she closed her eyes and kissed him back.

His lips were soft as they moved over hers, and stars danced behind her eyes.

It felt like a burning, gaping ache that she hadn’t been aware of had finally been filled within her chest.

He kissed her a moment longer before pulling back.

His hand dropped from her cheek, and Momo’s eyes fluttered open as she watched him through a hooded gaze draw away. Then, suddenly it was like the magic of the moment had lifted. Her eyes widened as her mind jumped-started back into action as it tried to process what had just happened.

Momo could feel her face burning and she cupped her cheeks.

She felt elated and stunned that he had kissed her. But also uncertain. Was it something he meant or just something needed to be done to help take her mind off of tomorrow?

“Sorry if that wasn’t any good. That's my first kiss too.” Momo looked up. Todoroki had covered his mouth with his left hand. The tips of his ears were red, and the sight calmed her slightly.

Hesitantly, she brought her fingers to her lips. They were still warm from his mouth. “Wh-why?” she forced out.

Todoroki dropped his hand, and his usually expressionless features seemed almost bashful. “You said you were worried about never getting a first kiss. I - I hope it was okay that it was me?”

Momo felt her heart sink. So, he had only kissed her as a friend. He didn’t care for her like she did for him. She dropped her head. “Ye-Yes. It’s fine,” she said softly, turning away.

She inhaled deeply. She didn’t want him to see her cry. He had only been trying to help.

“Yaoyorozu.”

A strong hand closed around her wrist, and she looked up sharply.

Todoroki stared down at her. He seemed to be searching her face for something.

"Do you..." he started, and his eyes flickered slightly. He clenched his jaw and swallowed. "Do you remember what you told me after we defeated Aizawa?” He didn’t wait for her to respond before continuing hurriedly. “You said that I was the type of hero that brings people peace. That I make you feel at ease.”

His lips twitched. “I was really happy when you told me that. I had been struggling with what I wanted to be for so long, your words helped me decide. But—” Todoroki raised his head, and something glinted in his gray and turquoise eyes as they met hers. “It also made me realize that I wanted to be more than just a hero, too.”

Momo’s chest felt tight as she waited for him to continue.

He swallowed and seemed to hesitate before his expression hardened. “You asked earlier if I’d ever dreamed of a life not as a hero, and I said ‘no,’ but that’s not true. I have.”

“Todoroki-san…” Momo whispered; her heart was beating louder and louder in her chest, unsure of the implication of his statement.

He cleared his throat and straightened. “You have a lot on your list, so it may take me some time, but once this is over, I’d like to be the one who makes your dreams come true.” He looked at her, and his expression was intent. “That is, if you're okay with it being me?”

Momo drew in a deep, stuttering breath.

“Todoroki-san…” she forced out. She could barely breathe. It couldn’t be. She must be dreaming.

Something must have shown on her face because his lips tilted up into a small tentative smile that made her heart ache.

He so rarely smiled.

“So, I don’t want you to worry,” he said, releasing her wrist. Slowly, to give her time to draw away, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her closer.

Momo was breathing quickly. She felt almost faint and didn’t know if her legs could support her anymore. Tentatively, she raised her arms and wrapped them around his back. She leaned her head against his chest. He smelled woodsy, like cedar, and she could feel the thrum of his heart as it beat through her.

Todoroki’s body relaxed. He dipped his head down to rest on hers.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll win,” he whispered into her hair. His tone was deep and unyielding, filled with conviction, and it warmed her.

Momo wrapped her fingers into the cotton of his shirt as the confidence of his voice sank into her. He was so certain, so sure of it, and Momo felt her heart catch in her throat. She swallowed. It was the same confidence that he had used all those months ago when he said he believed in her. It sounded like a promise.

She felt more tears slip over her cheeks as she drew back slightly to look up at him. She smiled. His face was so close to hers that she could feel the heat of his breath on her lips. “Yes, we’ll win,” she whispered back.

His eyes glittered; his hands tightened around her waist. And, as he leaned his forehead against her own, Momo felt the promise touch her soul.

XXXXX

This is dedicated to my hypochondriac, anxiety ridden self who would most definitely jump to the worst possible conclusion, and think I may die horribly or lose a limb or an eye or something if I was going into battle. One of the reasons I like Momo so much is because I feel she'd be the same. She's a thinker, and if she doesn't keep her thoughts in check they can easily spiral. I love the current arc, but shonen manga, in general, never have their characters dwell on the thought of getting hurt or killed. So, I wanted to touch on that topic. And how, when everything feels out of control sometimes you just need someone to ground you. Tell you that everything is going to be okay. To me, that is what Shouto is for Momo. He is her pillar of support, and he comforts her by telling her that no matter what happens he wants to be with her, and provide her hope that there is a life waiting for her after the battle.

Anyway, I was in a little bit of a mood (if you couldn't tell) when this came to me, so I hope it turned out alright and that it was enjoyable enough.

All comments and critiques are welcome. :D And once again thank you to everyone who participated or helped out with the TodoMomo Mini Bang!

[solecize]

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘. you never forget your first love. sometimes you don’t want to. other times, you can’t. 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆. yuta x reader 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄. fluff / angst / high school au 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒. mature language, death, mentions of a car accident, violence and verbal abuse 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓. 7.7k words 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒. i finished this at 5am so its a little wonky and definitely not proofread

FOURTEEN.

the sun barely peaked out from the far horizon of the osaka skyline and the sweet smell of morning dew filled your lungs. a heavy backpack weighing down your shoulders, you hated walking to school in the mornings. clunk. clunk. clunk. the sound of your shoes drumming against the pavement guiding your path became a steady rhythm and your concerns of the day to come drowned within them; a physics test in the morning, a presentation at the end of the day, and the fact that you forgot to pack yourself a lunch. again. these thoughts settled into a roaming and wandering pace as you made your way to school.

wisps of golden rays broke though and in between branches and houses that you strolled past. specifically, the one house that you continuously walked back and forth in front of. ‘come on,’ you thought, waiting for the right moment. this routine that you’d been practicing since elementary school occurred at the almost exact same time every single time.

then, you heard the front door click. with that, you rushed back a couple steps and ignored the army marching through your chest. punctual as ever, yuta was ready. thankfully for you, that meant that you could ‘casually’ run into him on your way to school and walk together. that was the only thing you liked about walking in the mornings.

“oh, hey. good morning.” yuta bore a small smile, as he looked at you over his shoulder and locked the front door. the boy had yet to caught on to the fact that your presence was suspiciously always on time for him to exit his house.

your expression lit up when the eyes of the boy who you so deeply admired met yours. “good morning, yuta.” your smile leapt to your eyes.

as he did every morning, he jogged his way over to where you were and began walking at your side. the mere presence of him just an elbow’s touch away caused the bottom of your stomach to not just do backflips, but an entire gymnastic routine. somehow, you managed to catch your breath.

SIXTEEN. 

“and then, he went all ‘bang!’” your hands waved wildly, the words were overflowing from your lips and the rush of adrenaline still fresh in your veins.

miho watched you with a single raised eyebrow, half used to your antics, but was still bewildered at your longstanding crush on soccer star nakamoto yuta. even under the dim streetlights of that hazy and humid september evening, the rogue flush glowing at the apples of your cheeks was too obvious. she simply giggled and looped her arm around yours.

the narrow streets were littered with clusters of students from your school, laughter and chatter being heard from a mile away. the joyous buzz in the air was due to the soccer game that just occurred against the team’s arch rivals, which was won in a last minute dramatic fashion. the saviour of the night? he was walking towards you.

wait, what?

although surrounded by other team members clad in navy blue tracksuits, yuta easily stood out. everyone and anyone bombarded the guy as soon as he came within sight, wanting to congratulate and praise him for his talent and efforts. for some reason, though, there was a different gleam of purpose in his bright eyes.

your heartbeat quickened, but your steady walking pace remained. this was mostly due to miho’s pointed look, as she saw the way you nearly froze up at the sight of yuta—as you always did. up until this point, you weren’t sure what got to you. his charming smile, his kind heart, the way he poured passion into everything he did . . .you were a goner. however, you also had a pile of homework waiting for you when you got home and couldn’t slow down for him, who probably had a celebration to get to.

still, that didn’t change the fact that yuta was making a beeline in your direction. you thought you were imagining it, until you heard him call your name. then, a second time. at this point, you turned around without even realizing that you’d lost control of your body.

“oof—” he ran straight into you the moment you turned around. you wobbled for a second, but yuta’s strong arms caught you almost instantly.

his eyes widened. “oh, shit, i’m so sorry—”

“—no, it’s, um, it’s okay, really!” you exclaimed and wanted to shrivel up when you realized how high your voice became. miho snickered behind you, but you ignored it.

a grin stretched across yuta’s face and the butterflies in your stomach awoke. something about his presence, his spirit lit a spark inside of you. he absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and proceeded to play with the words on the tip of his tongue. you weren’t sure what was going on.

yuta asked, “did you enjoy the game?” at this point, he was full on ignoring the passerbys, save for the polite head nod for the congratulations he was receiving. all of his attention was on you.

“yeah, of course,” you nodded, maybe a little too vigorously. “you were really great out there. i mean it.”

“couldn’t have done it without my trusted medic.”

FIFTEEN.

you weren’t sure how exactly you were coaxed into this, but it seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye. everyone in your study group slowly began to flow out of yuta’s home, until it was just the two of you and studying wasn’t the main priority anymore. you weren’t in any rush to go home, considering your home was just a five minute walk away, and, of course, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to spend time with yuta.

“i don’t think i’m exactly fit for this,” you told him nervously, as he lead you onto the empty street by hand.

the evening went from homework to goofing around on youtube. the two of you had been exchanging music and favourite artists, which finally came down to stumbling across soccer clips. yuta then had the brilliant idea of teaching you soccer after you reminded him how much you loathed sports. for whatever reason, that brought you here.

yuta scoffed. “trust me, you’ll get the hang of it easily.”

the breeze blew softly, a relief on a hot summer night like this one. you sighed at the humidity and watched yuta. he dropped the soccer ball onto the ground and it hummed against the concrete, as he started to dribble it.

“you gotta pass with the inside of your foot,” he explained, though you were a little too mesmerized by his gorgeous calf muscles. “like this!” yuta demonstrated and passed the ball over to you like second nature.

somehow, you managed to stop the ball. it had to be either luck or the fear that it was going to crash into one of mrs. nakamoto’s potted plants. your eyes widened in shock. considering you could barely walk without tripping, this was an accomplishment.

he beamed. “great, now pass it over to me.”

what was intended to be a soft, gentle pass ended up being a hard kick to the, well, danger zone. it all happened so fast and before you knew it, the ball hit him with a loud smack! and yuta was trying to resist doubling over. his face contorted and body folded over in swallowed down pain, wincing.

you gasped and rushed over, endless apologies coming out. “oh my god, ohmygod, ohmy—”

“it’s okay, it’s okay!” yuta was gasping for air and you wrapped your arm around his shoulders, trying to help him stand up.

despite being in obvious distress, yuta still managed to laugh upon seeing your reaction. he didn’t realize how much he liked being aided to until you went out of your way to help him back inside and give him an ice pack. he didn’t realize how much he liked teaching his favourite thing to another person until he forced you outside and taught the basics of soccer to your clumsy ass.

most importantly, he didn’t realize how much he could like a person until you.

SIXTEEN.

you rolled your eyes, but you were, without a doubt, dying inside knowing that he remembered that day. “ha. hilarious.”

others continued to weave around you two and you were certain that it looked a little odd, probably annoying, that you were just standing in the middle of a crowded sidewalk. even miho had whispered that she would catch up with you later and snuck away. however, yuta didn’t budge.

“can i walk you home? it’s getting dark and i’m sure you can handle yourself, but just to be extra safe. . .” yuta offered and this took you by surprise.

“you guys just won the most important game of the season, isn’t there some sort of team celebration that you have to get to?” you raised your eyebrows, but allowed him to lead the way to your neighbourhood.

he shrugged. “everyone’s tired. besides, i wanted to, erm, talk to you.”

looking behind you, it seemed that the boys from the team were indeed dispersing, but strangely enough, were all looking in your direction. as if being caught red handed in a robbery, they all froze on the spot when they met your eyes and turned the other way immediately. yuta noticed this and grumbled something under his breath, but you didn’t catch it.

“about. . .?”

“uh, well, we’ve been friends for a while now, right?” yuta scratched the back of his neck with a tension in his movement.

shit. he found out about your crush on him. surely, he just wanted to let you down easy or something. you chomped down hard, teeth grinding against each other in pure agony. this was not happening. you managed to nod your head slowly.

he continued, “well, there’s something i’ve been meaning to tell you.” his eyes, full of fire, wandered all over, except to meet yours. “ask you, er, actually.”

you blinked, trying your best to ignore the bubble of hope forming in your chest. “what do you mean?” because there was no way he was talking about what you’d been dreaming of for god knows how long.

he slowed down in his tracks and for a few moments, there was a calm.

“i like you.” yuta finally spat out, the wind knocked out of him and you nearly fell over attempting to halt in your route. “and i wanted to ask if you’d go out with me.”

cashmere moonlight illuminated the aged roads of osaka where joy danced in the air—the joy of victory, youth, and, now, first love. time seemed to suspend just for a few moments and it tasted like fireworks. a round of whoops emerged from where yuta left him teammates behind, but it was all white noise to you.

everything was blurry and unimportant, except for him.

SEVENTEEN.

“why did we invite these two?” miho groaned, watching the two of you from the other side of the room.

it hadn’t even been a minute since entering the karaoke lounge, but you and yuta were already cuddled up in the corner of one of the couches. he had pulled you onto his lap and you let out a loud giggle at the contact. snaking his arms around your waist, you knew that you were not leaving this place for the rest of the night.

yuta raised an eyebrow. “that’s awfully rude. we’re your friends.” his signature cheeky smile formed and you couldn’t help but press a kiss on his cheek.

“you guys have been on this lovey-dovey honeymoon shit for, like, a year now,” one of yuta’s teammates groaned.

“sucks for you guys.” you grinned in response and began flipping through one of the song books.

it was the middle of the summer going into your last year of high school and you were certain of it—you didn’t have a single care in the world. it was the last summer of pure freedom and everyone felt it all around them. it was a ticking time bomb, a countdown that result in late nights out with all of your friends. tonight it brought you to karaoke.

yuta tucked a piece of stray hair behind your ear. “i like this colour on you.” you’d just dyed your hair a few shades lighter than your natural shade a couple of nights ago as apart of a dare. of course, you did it, but the more you looked at it, the worse it seemed to look.

“really?” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“duh. you look good in everything.”

you brought your face close to his ear, so that the conversation could only be heard between the two of you. “you should go sing something.”

“uh, what?” his face scrunched up jokingly, but you gave him a knowing eye.

it started off one day when you were chilling alone, just watching mamma mia on his couch. for whatever reason, yuta knew enough of the songs to be able to sing along. that’s when you discovered his gift of possibly the sweetest, smoothest voice you’ve ever heard. angelic, you insisted, but he was always too shy and didn’t acknowledge it.

since then, you’ve paid extra attention when you catch him singing under his breath, humming, or even just whistling. everyone told him how good he was, but he didn’t even consider it. nevertheless, it was the same glimmer in yuta’s eyes when he sang his favourite song as the one when he was on the field.

suddenly, the weight beneath you shifted. yuta had pushed you off his lap effortlessly, taking the song book. this forced you to stand up on your feet and left you confused.

he beckoned his friend that held the microphones over and took them from him. “what are you doing?” you asked.

“let’s sing a duet, then.” at this, all of your friends cheered in response to this unusual action from yuta. he’d always be the one to just sit in the corner with his drink, hype up everyone else, and maybe give some background vocals in the form of yelling.

“oh, really?” you laughed, not believing what was happening.

“what? i like trying new things with you,” yuta declared with a grin and passed a microphone to you, which you barely caught. “you better keep up.”

the night unfolded just like that, with nineties throwback jams and laughter all around. miho captured the memory on her polaroid and you kept several of these pictures to stow away, probably in some shoebox under your bed. however, for now, you lived these pictures. you lived them with yuta, always pushing each other to your boundaries and always with the best of hearts.

SEVENTEEN.

it started with that one time at the amusement park when you nearly lost your shit at the top of the ferris wheel. then, he noticed the way you squirmed trying to walk across the metal grates downtown where you could see just how deep it went past those holes. you never wanted to join your friends when they would have lunch on the school rooftop.

you had a fear of heights.

one promise was made clear between the two of you at the start of your senior year in high school: to make the best out of it. yuta figured that this meant pushing you to face what scared you the most. this was the first of them.

with a sigh, you suddenly found your shoes to be the most interesting thing in the world. “i really don’t know about this.”

“we took a three hour bus ride to get here and you’re not sure about this?” yuta folded his arms across his chest. “you’re the one that suggested we all go to the beach.”

you gnawed on your bottom lip. “well, yeah, but i meant to go swimming or tan or play volleyball! this—” you beckoned down to the aquamarine ocean line, “—is not what i meant, yuta!”

kicking a piece of rock, it flew right off the edge and deep down into the shore below. you watched it and the distance it made, which only caused you to stiffen up even further. the cliff had to be at least twenty meters high and despite the beautiful crystal waters, it felt like diving into a black hole. your eyes remained glued to the mocha dirt between your feet, as the sight only pumped your blood faster and faster.

yuta chuckled softly and you smacked his arm. “this isn’t funny!”

raising his hands up in defense, he approached you slowly. “come on. you’re the bravest girl i know.” your boyfriend tried to tip your chin up, but you tore in away. “you’ve been telling me for years about how you’ve wanted to get over this.”

“yeah, but we all know i’m a pussy ass bitch.”

he rolled his eyes, but wrapped his arms around you from behind and kissed your temple. “come on. if you do it, i’ll buy you food.”

you scoffed. “you think i’m that easily bought?”

even though he didn’t say a word, the look that yuta gave you was enough to indicate his agreement. you looked between him and the seemingly endless jump that awaited you just a few steps away. squinting at the sun, you let out a loud breath.

“well?” yuta asked hopefully.

you rubbed the ring on your left hand, a habit formed in the confrontation with your nerves, and braced yourself. in a twist of fate, you found yourself walking a few steps back and for a second, he thought that you were leaving. then, yuta saw the look on your face and grinned. it was enough for him to know. squeezing your eyes shut, you tried to steady yourself.

“you have to jump right after me, okay?!” you didn’t mean to yell, but everything began to muffle except for the pounding in your ears.

yuta said, “you got it, baby.” he began clapping and whooping, building up your energy at your side.

it was like flying. you ran and ran until your entire body was wrapped around blankets of air and freedom. you finally opened your eyes, wide and bright, to the world around you. it was pure lunacy. it must’ve lasted forever, because when you emerged from the sharp waters and gasping for air, yuta was already right beside you.

a boil of hysteria formed at the base of your throat. one giggle lead to another, until you were having a full on fest of laughter. you couldn’t stop and watching you, yuta couldn’t help but start laughing, too. you flung your arms around him in the tightest embrace, still shaking from the nerves, but in the best way possible. you planted a deep kiss on his lips and he groaned.

“i guess that wasn’t so—” you were cut off by yuta’s lips, capturing yours once again.

SEVENTEEN.

everyone knew you and yuta to be the couple that was late to almost everything. however, most were not aware of the fact that it was almost strictly because of him. sometimes, you had to step back and marvel at just how good he was at wasting time when getting ready for something.

“oh my god, is it possible to take any longer than this?” you yelled at him from his bedroom balcony, as you absentmindedly scrolled through your phone. at the same time, you ignored the angry messages from your friends, wondering where the two of you were.

the sound of the blow dryer finally came to a stop. “relax, there’s no need to rush.”

“it’s the last school festival we’re ever gonna have and you don’t wanna rush?” you quipped back.

this happened every time, so you weren’t nearly as irritated as you should’ve been. this was considering you woke up extra early to pick out your outfit and actually attempt real makeup on your face. it made you a little nervous, considering you made enough effort to brush your hair and throw on the nicest skirt you owned, albeit after digging through your closet for who knows how long. you arrived at yuta’s almost an hour before you were supposed to leave and without surprise, he was still in bed.

since this happened every time, you had one simple method that worked every time. all it took was one iced cube for nakamoto yuta, the mighty star player of your school’s soccer team, to squeal like a four year old and scramble out of bed. soon enough, he was in the shower and belting to chris brown at the top of his lungs.

he definitely didn’t get out soon enough.

you got up to bang on his bathroom door, but before you could do so, it swung open. yuta was fully dressed in casual attire of an oversized hoodie, a jean jacket, and black sweats. a baseball cap nestled the top of his pristine hair and you immediately swiped it off.

“hey—” yuta began to protest, but then his eyes scanned your appearance and his jaw was left hanging.

clearly, you didn’t notice, because you continued ranting. “if you took all that time to blow dry your hair, why the hell did you put on a hat?”

“you look. . .”

“we are so late and—”

he clamped a hand over your mouth, only getting a further rise out of you. “can you just listen to me?” but, this didn’t stop your attempts and yelling through his hand.

yuta didn’t let go until you had the bright idea to lick his hand, at which he let out a chorus of “yuck, ew, gross” and spun around to wash his hands immediately. you snickered at his reaction, but were still heated.

he gave you a dirty look. “damn, a guy can’t tell his girl that she looks beautiful?”

“not when the guy is the reason for them being an hour and a half late!” you cried. jaw set, you had to admit that this would normally get your heart pounding, but it was going to be your fist’s turn if he didn’t hurry. long gone were the days where you couldn’t speak the truth to yuta and now, you’d cuss him out at any given time.

he chuckled and placed a hand on your cheek. “well, you do. i don’t know what you did, but you look good, all dressed up and stuff.”

you let him bring you into a gentle embrace and melted into him almost instantaneously. “yeah, yeah, whatever,” you said into his chest. “by the way, i really enjoyed the concert you put on there.”

yuta’s ears turned slightly red, but he laughed it off. “thanks. i’ve been practicing.” he looked over and noticed the balcony door open, the curtains blowly softly against the wall. “were you just on my balcony?”

“yeah, it’s way too hot in here.”

“willingly? alone? at a high height?” he dramatically gaped and you hit his arm.

you replied, “ergh, yes, okay? let’s move on now.” you couldn’t bite back the small grin that was forming on your face and there was no way he didn’t notice it.

the two of you eventually raced out the front door and began a rock paper scissors competition to decide who would have to face an angry miho, who’d been waiting for you two for hours.

EIGHTEEN.

you shared all of the most painful moments of your life with yuta. he was there for you after every test you failed, every sad movie that pulled at your heartstrings, and every time you plucked your eyebrows. just thinking about him, you could easily remember the way his arms felt like home, when nothing else in the world seemed to matter.

“she’s going to be okay, come on. .  .” he murmured into your ear, as he stroked your hair. “please, just breathe, baby.”

“miho was on her way to see me! she shouldn’t have—” you couldn’t finish the sentence, a strangled sob choking your words to bits.

yuta rocked you back and forth in his arms as you tried to look for some sort of light, but the bland eggshell walls of the hospital corridor provided nothing to comfort you. there was no one else waiting for miho except you. you were all she had.

that day, she ended up surviving the fatal car accident. you were certain that you would have gone mad if it weren’t for yuta’s warm arms and the sweet nothings he assured into your being. he was your strength that day.

likewise, yuta shared all the most painful moments of his life with you. you were there for him after every injury he suffered on the field, after every screaming match with his hotheaded father, and every lost game that he took. you somehow made him laugh on his way to the infirmary. you found every way to cheer him up after a bad game. most of all, you were the one who cradled him and let him sob into your chest in the rare moments when he would lose all control after a fight with his dad.

it was about one in the morning when you awoke in a startle. the sound of a pile of your textbooks toppling over from your desk created what seemed to be an earthquake at an ungodly hour. you awoke to your heart beating wildly, unsure of what to expect.

thankfully, it was just your idiot boyfriend, who had no idea how to climb into a room through a window. unsure of what was going on, your first instinct to whisper yell at him about whatever the hell he was doing and the fact that your parents could have woken up, but then you saw. you saw his dead eyes and his slumped over figure.

“did he. . .”

you hadn’t seen yuta in about a week, ever since his father was hospitalized. he didn’t elaborate on any details when he explained the situation to you, but you knew it was fatal. he didn’t even want you visiting.

“yeah. he went real quick and just like that,” yuta took in a deep breath, “it was over.”

you immediately sat up on your bed and made room for him, to which he immediately occupied. all you wanted to do was reach out and touch him, to enclasp his hardened joints and cold skin. looking over at him, though, it seemed like the hardest thing to do. you’d never seen yuta so empty before.

you cleared your throat, while eyeing your bedroom door to ensure all lights remained off. “shouldn’t you be with your mom and sister?”

“i dropped them off at home so they could sleep. i wanted to call you, but,” yuta shrugged, “i’m here now.”

after that, yuta didn’t talk for the rest of the night. though he stared blankly at your popcorn ceiling as if he was in another world, you kept him grounded. you talked about anything and anything to distract him. the soccer game on television that evening, the new, hideous curtains that your mother put in the living room, how you just learned to do some basic sewing, the neighbourhood gossip. you talked until your throat strained and begged for you to give up. but, you didn’t give up until the first streams of ginger orange and rose emerged from the horizon beyond your tiny window.

by then, he coasted into a deep sleep into the crook of your neck and one arm slung over your torso. you buried your face in his hair, hand clutched in his. pain always hurt, but neither of you ever had to hurt alone.

EIGHTEEN.

you shared all of the most painful moments of your life with yuta, but you never anticipated the day when one of those moments would be because of him.

“what do you mean?” you felt like you’d just been punched in the gut, your lips parting in shock.

yuta pushed his tongue to the inside of his cheek and set down his soda on the rooftop ledge. “i mean, i’m leaving. i’m going to accept their offer of admission.” his eyes were downcast and he felt like he was holding onto all of the weight in the world.

“but-but, i—” you started, but couldn’t find the words.

nothing seemed real in that moment. you shook your head and turned away, finding the door to be the only option. however, watching even your smallest of movements, yuta knew you too well and easily predicted what you were going to do next.

he grabbed your arm before you could walk away. “can we just talk about this first?”

“like the way you talked to me about applying to schools overseas?” you shot, though your voice was quieter than usual.

like every other couple in the graduating class, your future was up in the air. it was floating and it seem like every time to made a move to reach out and grab for it, all that slipped through your fingers was pure nothingness. void. you didn’t want to think about it, instead opting to live in the moment.

however, with the changing leaves and the aforementioned ticking time bomb became the background music to your every day life. there always seemed to be something that popped out of nowhere to remind you of what you dreaded—the fact that you were running out of time.

yuta ran a hand through his hair. “it wasn’t the plan, i just kinda did it on a whim and i never expected. . .” his shoulders slumped.

it was then you realized that yuta was no longer living by the same hour.

although you avoided talking about it, you and yuta were with each other every step of the way since the year began. you thought the happy ending plan you concocted in your plan was officially set in motion and absolutely nothing could go wrong.

wrong.

though you knew deep inside that this wasn’t a bad thing, that you shouldn’t be upset at yuta, there was a nagging feeling at the pit of your stomach. every bad scenario that could possibly be generated suddenly flashed before your very eyes and at that, your entire body stiffened.

your heart ached and you couldn’t help but step forward to place a hand on his chest. “listen. i’m happy for you and i’m not trying to hurt your feelings, but,” you shook your head, “that shit really hurt mine.”

before he could say anything, you took off the sweater he’d given to just a few minutes earlier when the two of you arrived. the cold breeze felt like knives against your flesh, but you ignored it. for your entire life, you knew that you were as fragile as glass. however, you never truly felt it up until this moment.

“come on, it’s not that serious,” yuta said, eyes widened.

you replied, “it doesn’t matter. this is, um, just a lot to take in.” shaking your head, you broke free of his grasp.

just as you approached the stairs to return back to the school building, you hear yuta’s voice from behind you.

“i’m not letting this be the end.”

EIGHTEEN.

when the guests began pouring out of your front door, you took this as an opportunity to sneak out the back and around to escape the dreadful atmosphere. this wasn’t to say that you weren’t grateful for the careful orchestration done to ensure a successful surprise party, you were really blown away by the plan made by your family and miho. walking into your living room to be met with a crowd of people to celebration your recent acceptance to university was the highlight of your day and the second last thing you expected.

the last thing you expected had followed you out your back door, having kept a close eye on you since the start of the party. yuta had not spoken to you in a week, not since the reveal on the school rooftop. you stated that you needed space and he respected that, but there was no way he wasn’t going to celebrate your massive academic accomplishments, especially when he was the rock to keep you stable all of this years.

plus, miho would’ve killed him.

“hey, hey, hey,” yuta’s unmistakable voice chimed in behind you, “where are you going?”

“i needed some air,” you said, without turning around.

he jogged up to you and began walking by your side. you didn’t look at him. you weren’t sure why.

yuta said, “it’s crazy how fast everything’s going now,” he shoved his hands into his pockets. “it seems like yesterday we were just fourteen and screwing around, doing whatever without caring about tomorrow.”

“. . .yeah. i think i’m going to go crazy thinking about what’s going to happen tomorrow, or the day after.” the confession tasted bitter and it showed crystal clear in your features. “like, obviously, the party was great and all but it was just another reminder of all this shit building up.”

“you have no reason to worry,” yuta scoffed. “you have so much to look forward to. i know you aren’t afraid to be on your own next year.”

“but, that’s the thing, yuta!” you bellowed. “i’m not afraid, i’m terrified. i wasn’t going be afraid because i wasn’t going to be on my own, i was supposed to have you.” it took all of your strength to even attempt to stop your voice from shaking.

like you’d always done, you found yourself immediately melting back into his arms, like they were your rightful place. “believe it or not, i am so fucking ecstatic for you. i just—”

“—wish we wouldn’t have to go our own ways?” yuta finished for you, a sad smile playing on his lips.

you nodded. “it’s stupid, but you’ve been by my side forever. and i want the best for you and trust me, i know this school is perfect for you.”

“you looked into it?”

“of course i did,” you managed to laugh. “and it checks off every single box for your dream school.”

the conversation was a volcano, waiting to erupt in the shadows for quite some time. thankfully, it wasn’t destructive. the two of you sat down on the edge of the sidewalk, still not letting go of each other. similar to leisurely flowing lava, it was warm and of beauty unlike any other.

yuta cupped your cheek and you swore you would have given anything to freeze those few seconds of time to keep. “you know, no matter what happens, you’ll always have my heart.”

that night, yuta took you to the same arcade he brought you to on your first date at fifteen. you shared laughter and exchanged music like you had for many years. the fear settling deep into both of your bodies seemed to fade for that one night. because, although he wanted to be strong and reject it, yuta was as scared as you were.

“you aren’t making the wrong decision,” you assured him, over and over again.

just like that, the magma begun to settle. the fog started to clear, but you weren’t sure if whatever hid behind it all was what you wanted. regardless, for those few seconds in time, everything seemed to be okay.

EIGHTEEN.

"stop crying, loser.”

“i am not crying!” you insisted with a laugh, as you hastily swiped at the tears brimming in your eyes. “i am totally fine, this is totally happening.”

standing in the middle of the parking lot of the ceremony hall, you looked a little ridiculous. you’d long given up on wearing heels and opted to go barefoot, your makeup was smeared, and you already ripped your gown by accident when you stepped on it going down the stairs. yuta didn’t see you that way, though.

he saw you for what you were: the smart, strong, gorgeous girl that he’d been in love with for the past four years of his life. the first girl he’d ever loved. he’d gone on believing that you were going to be the last, too, but that dream was shattered into pieces now. somehow, he accepted this with a smile.

“i guess this is goodbye,” he jokingly extended his hand, to which you slapped it out of the way and nearly jumped on him for a bone crushing hug. yuta laughed and hugged you back just as tight, beginning to twirl you around and ignored the way his cap toppled off his head in the process. 

all of a sudden, you heard a loud honk. he let go of you and you noticed that your family was waiting for you to get in the car. you sighed. his eyes met yours and the silence was enough.

he pressed a kiss against your cheek, one last time. “bye, angel.”

TWENTY FIVE.

nothing was the same. your parents had long moved out of your childhood home and to the other side of the city. you lost contact with all of your high school friends and as far as you knew, they’d all moved to different points of the country. upon returning to your hometown, there was nothing left for you anymore.

dropping the last of your cardboard boxes, thankfully not one of the ones marked with ‘fragile,’ miho let out a loud huff. “finally! i thought this shit would never end,” she grumbled.

you kicked the box aside to the back wall of you brand new apartment. “thanks for helping me out.”

she was the last of your old friends to remain in osaka, having built her life here after graduation as a police officer. in fact, miho was the last of your old friends to stick by your side ever since. some were appalled at the turn of events that occurred  in your life and ostracized you. others simply faded away naturally. miho was the first of them to enter your life and you were in pure relief when she promised that she wouldn’t leave your side.

miho was the one you dragged into your washroom to take the five tests to see if they were really accurate. when yuta was long gone, she was your rock. when you had to go through school with a young kid, she was your source of encouragement through strings of letters, phone calls, and text messages.

she was the last constant in your life in the ‘before’ and the ‘after.’

“duh, do you know how excited i am for you to be back?!” miho squealed, hugging you for what seemed to be the hundredth time since you arrived back in town just a year before.

you beamed. “i just. . .can’t believe it.” looking out the window, you realized that you left so much of yourself when you left at eighteen. now that you were back, you weren’t sure if you wanted to pick up where you left off.

your oldest friend nodded in understanding. suddenly, there was a loud chime and miho checked her phone immediately, frowning at her screen. she shoved in back into her purse and sighed.

“i really don’t want to leave you alone, but i have to go,” she said.

you nodded in understanding. “it’s okay. go. i have to go grocery shopping for me and the little dude over there anyway,” you replied. “i’ll catch up with you tomorrow for lunch?”

the small boy sitting at your newly moved couch looked up at the mention of himself. he’d been occupied the entire time with power rangers reruns and you walked over to him, scooping him up in a cuddle. yosuke was at the age where he whined at every form of physical affection from his mother, even if they were the best of friends like the two of you were.

“of course,” miho said and followed you. she cooed at yosuke, who’s eyes were still glued to the tablet screen in his hands. taking his chubby cheeks between her manicured fingers and pinching them, the kid let out a loud groan and you gave him a pointed look.

you cleared your throat. “say bye to auntie miho.”

“bye auntie miho,” yosuke mumbled with a grimace painted across his face.

standing up, you began to walk miho to the door. she slipped on her heels, ranting about the warm weather in november, but to be honest, you were mostly tuning her out in favour of just appreciating miho’s presence in the first place. just like old times.

you opened the door for her and waved her goodbye. however, just as you were about to close it, the door beside your apartment opened. whether it was out of curiosity or some cruel trick by destiny, you look out to greet your neighbour.

what came next couldn’t have happened in your wildest dreams.

everything was the same. sure, he grew out his hair a little bit longer, but yuta looked exactly the same in that dusty parking lot, when the two of you were eighteen. a lollipop dangled from his mouth, like before, and his surroundings were drowned out by earphones plugged into both of his ears. he still wore his late father’s titanium watch, no matter how aged it was. yuta’s eyes met yours and you were a goner, like you always were. it was more than a punch to the gut, but a full on blow to the face and a kick to the shins. your entire body felt like it’d just been battered. you couldn’t breathe.

for half a second, he glanced away. then, the nooks and crannies of his memories that hadn’t been touched in years became triggered. yuta looked up and he could’ve sworn, everything in the world stopped. his mouth ran dry and the vulnerability that settled in his bones felt as though he’d been caught in the middle of a crime.

yuta wanted to say your name, to see if it was really you, but nothing seemed to croak out.

“this can’t be real.” you didn’t know you were saying this out loud, but the words just spilled out of your mouth. you felt like a wax candle, eventually vanishing the hotter your flame grew. this couldn’t be happening.

he sputtered, “i can’t—”

you suddenly became aware of your appearance and wanted to just hide away. with your hair twisted into a half-assed bun and clad in an old t-shirt and denim overalls, you looked more like the visiting plumber than a tenant.

“—believe it,” you finished for him, trying to let the oxygen enter your body. “um, sorry, i just moved in, so i’m not really fit to be seen by actual humans.”

neither of you were sure how to go about this, both wanting to go in for a hug, but hesitated. after a few awkward attempts, yuta eventually went ‘fuck it’ and just completely squashing you into an embrace. you weren’t sure how long the hug lasted for. maybe an hour. a couple minute. a few seconds. but even just a quarter of that was enough for you. the smell of musk and teakwood filled your senses and you were lost again, forgetting about what this reunion meant for you.

“you look great.” yuta just saw you the way he’d always remembered you. “you still look the same.” he chuckled, taken aback and blown away.

you scrunched your nose. “do i?” there was no way he was being serious.

“just like the night of the spring festival.”

that was what took you by surprise, the fact that he remembered that night, much less what you looked like. still, the whole situation was not fully processed in your mind. you shook your head, blinking your doubts away.

you tried to form your words. “what, erm, are you doing here?” the awkward laugh that came out of your mouth was enough to say it all. “i mean, last i heard, you became a big shot, working for some company in europe.”

“i moved back to japan a few weeks ago,” yuta revealed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “i wanted to work back home.” though the smile on his face was small, it was enough to bring you back to the bliss of your relationship with him.

none of this was real.

you were dizzy. seeing yuta felt like seeing a ghost from your past. this wasn’t supposed to be what moving back to osaka was about. seven years away meant seven years of growth and even harder, moving on. you finally snapped yourself out of the fragrant, intoxicating daze that was nakamoto yuta and realized you had to confront the reality.

“what—” you started,

he shrugged and leaned against his door frame. “why travel the world when you feel like you’re, well, missing something?” yuta asked. “i mean, i had a lot going for me. but, something felt wrong.”

this was just honesty from yuta. after years away from his roots, there had to be a reason why he traced his footprints back to home. maybe it was after pleading to the stars for an answer, but standing in front of you seemed like the twist of fate he’d been seeking.

“nothing beats home and family, right?”

it was too late. from the ringing in your ears, you didn’t hear the tiny footsteps plopping right behind you on your new, carpeted floors. you didn’t hear the distant video music come to an abrupt pause. you didn’t hear any of it and then, you felt a tug at your pant leg.

“i’m hungry,” yosuke yawned, looking up at you through his long eyelashes.

all the colour in yuta’s face drained. you rubbed the ring on your left hand and tore your gaze away from yuta and instead focused on your son. “okay, yosuke, go back inside and i’ll make you lunch, honey.” you forced a smile, but yosuke just gave a confused side glance at yuta. nonetheless, he retreated back inside.

yuta always imagined what it would be like if he crossed paths with you again. in most of these fantasies, you’d fall right back into his arms. he rarely considered the idea that you would have someone else. he didn’t even entertain the notion at all, the dead clutch of hope still remaining within him.

“yosuke?” he asked slowly, trying to memorize the details of the little boy’s face and all he saw were your features.

it was the hardest thing for you to say.

“yeah. my son.”

𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂.

i like you (exo remake) - weathercast severely - ft island milk - f(x) at the end - chungha you were beautiful - day6