#I tell people I made steam buns or that I just watched something funny and thought of them or send them something and it's like... okay...

[dalishthunder]

.

[marginalmadness]

Summer Nights: Chapter 1/4

Pairing: Rabbit!Hybrid Jungkook x Y/N

Rating: Teen (later explicit)

Genre: Hybrid!Fantasy, Romance, Fluff

Synopsis: A freak weather anomaly leads to a chance encounter with a rabbit-hybrid, and your kind nature results in you gaining a small, fluffy lodger, who questions your taste in television shows. It’s won’t be for long...will it?

Warnings/Tags: None right now, will add with additional chapters

Author’s Note: So the beautiful, wonderful, ever patient @johobi commissioned as we went into lockdown the first time, and it took me forever to write, and ended up being about 4x longer than I expected because, feelings and plot kept getting involved. Anyhow, the fic is finished, but with NaNoWriMo this month, and my already teasing this, I’m releasing this in 4 chapters, as I edit it, the next one will be next Friday, so I hope you all enjoy this, I got some wonderful comments from @johobi​ and she made this WONDERFUL HEADER <3, and I hope you all look forward to Chapters 2-4

Chapters: Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Word Count: 4.3K

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. The events depicted here are entirely of my own imagining, and have no basis on actual people or events.

Summer Nights

The weather report this morning said nothing about rain. Not a shower, not a sprinkle, and even now, as you check your phone for the thousandth time, there’s no indication of the storm that is currently darkening the sky over the entire city.

You fight your way out of the subway station, pushing past people rushing down the stairs out of the deluge. As you clamber your way up through them and onto the street, it feels like you’re pushing against a wall of water.

You curse yourself and the umbrella that sits serenely dry and unused under the side table by your front door. Because according to the highest-rated, “most accurate” weather app available, it was supposed to be nothing but dry, sunny spells through the end of the week and staying warm and dry over the weekend.

You dash across the road, taking a shortcut through the park, hoping to find some relief under the canopy of trees but somehow the drops feel heavier under the leaves. Cold rivulets of water run down your neck, under the collar of your coat, completely defeating the purpose of you clutching it closed.

You’re halfway home when, as suddenly as it started this morning, the rain stops. You look up through the branches and the sky is miraculously clear, dappled sunlight falling across your face as birdsong suddenly fills the park, nothing but dripping leaves and ground puddles to indicate the previous weather. This must be the sunny spell that was previously promised.

You wipe your hand across your face to remove some of the hair clinging to it, but since your hand is as wet as everything else, it’s a losing battle. There’s just as much water on your face after wiping it, and strands of hair are now just pulled across your forehead rather than limply clinging to your cheeks. You sigh, readjusting the strap of your bag and hoping the contents inside aren’t as soaked as you are, when for the second time in less than a minute you are stunned to another stop.

Before you is a tiny, shivering, soggy ball of fur.

You could swear it wasn’t there a second ago, but it’s possible it darted out from under one of the surrounding bushes and you startled it as much as it, you.

Crouching down, you reach a hand out towards the small creature, which lifts its head, twitches its nose and shuffles towards you. It’s hard to tell under the sopping wet fur, but it doesn’t look like what you’ve seen of regular wild rabbits. Its fur is darker, but that might just be an effect of the rain. It also seems longer, but again it’s hard to tell when wet. The biggest giveaway that it’s no regular wild rabbit are the two long, floppy ears that hang down either side of its head, dragging along the path as it moves towards you.

“Hey cutie pie,” you say in as soft a voice as possible while shivering from the wet and the cold. “You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

The creature makes a full hop towards you and sniffs at your hand, and you’re almost 100% sure it’s a rabbit and not a hare. You slip your other hand beneath its tiny body and stand, clutching it to your chest. You wait to see if it’s going to resist or fight but it only snuggles into your coat. “Okay, let's get you home and dried off, and then see if we can find your owner,” you say, scratching its head gently.

Almost as soon as you tuck the tiny creature under your coat, the rain starts again, skies grey, water coming down in sheets as though it never stopped. You run the rest of the way through the park and across the road, not minding that you step into a puddle since your feet are already so wet. You barrel your way into your apartment building, stopping to catch your breath as you wait for the elevator.

As soon as you’re through your front door you carefully step out of your shoes, drop your bag and shuck off your drenched coat, vowing to come back and clean them up later. You’re so soaked your clothes cling to you, as though you weren’t wearing a coat at all, and you hit the thermostat on high as you run past on your way to the bathroom.

“Why don’t we get you all nice and snug in a towel? Let you warm up while I take a shower, hm, little buddy?”

Grabbing a hand towel, you carefully wrap the trembling creature in your arms, rubbing the wet fur carefully before placing the bundle in the sink and stripping down to jump in the hot shower.

The hot water stings your chilled skin the instant it makes contact, but it warms you up quicker than waiting around for your apartment to heat up or hiding under your duvet would. Stepping out of the shower, you wrap a warm, fluffy towel around yourself and notice the small rabbit has its eyes closed. You pick it up in its bundle, and it seems to blink in alarm at being moved.

��Awww,” you coo aloud. “Did the warm steam lull you to sleep, lil’ bun?” The rabbit looks up at you and then closes its eyes, nuzzling back into the towel covering it. You carry it into your room and place it on your bed before changing into something warm and snuggly and drying your hair. By the time you’re all done, the bunny has fallen asleep, curled up in a little cocoon of warmth.

You head back towards the front door, picking up your coat and moving your waterlogged shoes into the bathroom. You pick up your bag and hope your phone was buried deep enough inside to escape water damage. Luckily, all of the contents inside seem untouched and you send a prayer of thanks to whoever was watching over you to pull that one off.

Grabbing your phone, you quickly search for a local vet that’s still open, hitting ‘call now’ when you find a decently-reviewed one. You kneel at the foot of the bed until you’re eye level with the fluffy, dark-furred rabbit. It watches you with curiosity, whiskers twitching as your face gets closer to it.

“Hello, Park Place Animal Hospital,” a tinny voice says pleasantly through the phone. “Eric speaking, how can I help?”

“Hi,” you say cautiously. “I found a rabbit in the park, and think someone might have lost it. It doesn’t look like a wild rabbit.” Maybe it was a wild rabbit, you argue with yourself; you’re not exactly a rabbit expert.

“Can you describe it to me?” Eric asks.

“It’s got long, dark fur; black or maybe dark brown? Seems… fluffy?” you say with uncertainty. “It was drowned-looking when I found it in the storm, and it’s wrapped in a towel drying now. But its ears are long and floppy. Really long. Really, really long,” you emphasise.

There’s a chuckle on the other end of the phone. “Well it certainly doesn’t sound like a wild rabbit. Possibly a member of the lop family. It could be a lost pet, but are you sure it’s not a hybrid?”

That stops you. A hybrid? Never even crossed your mind. Why would a hybrid stay in animal form in a storm and let a stranger take them home?

“I-” you stutter. “I don’t know. I’m a mundane, I don’t know how I would be able to tell.”

“Well, scent is the easiest way to tell, but you wouldn’t be able to use that as a mundane and it’s a little late to bring it into the clinic. You could talk to it, ask it some questions.”

You frown down at the bunny. Maybe you were missing something. “I don’t speak Bunny.” You could hear Eric holding back his smile over the phone.

“But hybrids understand human speech,” he says, holding back his laughter. “Assuming you speak the same languages.” You purse your lips, eyes glancing around the room, cheeks burning in embarrassment. “Where are you right now?”

“In my bedroom,” you say. “The bunny-hybrid-whatever is wrapped in a towel on my bed and I’m kneeling on the floor at the foot of it.”

“And what is the ‘bunny-hybrid-whatever’ doing?”

“It's-” You look at the rabbit and are a little taken aback to realise it’s watching you, head raised, nose twitching inquisitively. “-watching me.”

“Okay, unwrap it and leave the room. Tell it, if it’s hungry, to follow you to the kitchen. If it’s a hybrid, it will understand and follow you.”

You blink owlishly at the creature, before nodding in determination. “Okay.” You unwrap the towel and move to the doorway. The bunny watches you leave.

“I need to make dinner. If you’re hungry, follow me. I have some veggies you can eat.” The bunny stands up on its hindquarters, giving itself a shake until its fur is sticking up in funny-looking spikes. It jumps down from the bed and lops after you as you walk towards the kitchen. You turn your attention back to Eric on the phone. “I promised the bunny veggies, and now it’s following me into the kitchen.”

“Congratulations, you have a hybrid-rabbit in your home.” Eric laughs. “It’s late now, we’ll be closing soon, but if they haven’t turned by morning you can bring them by the clinic and we’ll be able to either issue a T.o.C or take them in until we can find out where they came from.”

“T-O-C?” you ask slowly.

“Treaty of Care. Hybrids who stay in their animal form for extended periods of time need special care. It’s usually infant or adolescent hybrids born in animal form who haven’t turned for the first time yet, or hybrids hurt in animal form who need to heal before they can transform back. A Treaty of Care is usually served to a close friend or family member, but it can be anyone.”

“Even a stranger?” you ask, stopping in your tracks and looking down at the small creature by your foot. It looks up at you with big, dark eyes.

“If they didn’t fight you when you first picked them up, and they haven’t shown any signs that they want to leave, then they feel comfortable with you. At least for the time being. So the decision seems to be yours. Think about it tonight, and come in tomorrow.”

“Will do. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” you mutter, biting your lip and shuffling from foot-to-foot.

“No problem, have a nice evening,” Eric says politely.

“Thanks, you too.” You hang up the phone, motioning with your head towards the kitchen. “There’s apples in there.” The bunny-hybrid zooms off, hopping towards the kitchen, and you let out a little giggle at its enthusiasm.

Once there, you head to the fridge and pull out what you need to make yourself dinner, plus some extra veggies for your unintended guest. You dump them and the promised apple into the sink, making sure to give them a good wash before you start chopping things into rabbit-convenient pieces. A gentle pressure against your calf stops you, and you turn to find the long-eared bunny leaning against you as it stands on its hind legs, either trying to get a better look at what you’re doing or begging for a snack.

“Are you nosey or impatient?” you ask, and the hybrid drops to all fours before hopping around your feet. You lean down to pick it up, placing it on the counter next to you and offering it a slice of apple. Its tail—no, its entire body wiggles in appreciation as it munches on the apple slice, nibbling away with its eyes contentedly closed. You finish chopping the veggies and place a selection on a plate, setting it in front of the hybrid. The bunny hops high, kicking its back legs in excitement before diving into the pile to devour it.

With a tentative finger, you reach out to scratch behind the rabbit’s ear. To your relief, it doesn’t recoil. Encouraged by this, you settle your hand on its head and gently stroke its fluff. The hybrid leans up, nuzzling its face into the palm of your hand. You smile appreciatively, tickling the rabbit’s chin before you turn to cook your own dinner.

---

The rest of your night you spend relaxing, curled up on the sofa watching TV.  The hybrid decides to join you, settling at the opposite end away from you. Normally you wouldn’t allow a pet or an animal on the furniture, but it’s not really an animal and you’d feel bad forcing a guest to sit on the floor if there was space on the sofa. You’re second-guessing your decision, though, when the rabbit expresses opinions on your choice of entertainment, nudging the remote when it wants you to change the channel and thumping its feet when it sees something good. You spend a good twenty minutes having a one-sided argument with a creature that communicates through nothing but foot stomping and nose twitches before you come to a consensus: a superhero movie that you never got to see in the cinema. You drop the remote and the rabbit hops closer to you, shuffling into a loaf by your feet. Like that, the pair of you spend the night watching six unlikely heroes and their friends save the world from total destruction.

---

Your first real, big conundrum is when you go to bed and the little ball of fluff follows you, jumping onto your comforter.

“No. Don’t be ridiculous, you are not sharing my bed,” you try to say forcefully, but the surreal nature of what's happening makes your tone just a little bit hysterical. The hybrid simply lowers its head to the comforter, making itself smaller, lopping closer to your hand until it’s nudging it. It wiggles its head beneath your fingers. “Is this you asking for permission? No! Off! Down! Off the bed!” The creature shimmies its fluffy tail and doesn’t move an inch. “I know you can understand what I’m saying, and it’s weird,” you whine. The tail-twitching stops. Big, dark eyes blink up at you as it sits up on its haunches, front paw waving at you like it’s trying to grab you.

You can’t help but feel you’re in a pouting contest with a rabbit.

“Fine,” you huff, flopping back on the bed dramatically. The hybrid lops towards you and you turn to watch. Fluff obscures your vision as it boops you gently on the nose, and you laugh at the tickle of its fur. You shuffle under the comforter with a yawn and turn off the lamp. “Okay. Tomorrow, when I get your Treaty of Care, I’m picking you up an animal bed. This is only for tonight, because you’ve obviously had a stressful day, so don’t get used to it.” The second you say it, you know it’s a lie. You’d lose a pouting contest with that bunny every time.

---

Ten weeks later, the rabbit now has a side of the bed. 

The side of the bed where his animal bed sits unused on the floor. 

The vet had given the hybrid a clean bill of health, identified it as a young adult male and given you a T.o.C for as long as it wanted to stay with you. Or until you returned it. But that would never happen.

Somehow you’d just fallen into a routine; breakfast for the both of you, rushing to and from work, changing the litter box, dinner for two, TV in the evenings. And now somehow, suddenly, it’s summer. Gone are the spring storms that brought the two of you together. Now you have the stifling heat and humidity of the peak of summer.

All the windows in the apartment are open and have been for at least a week. You don’t even sleep with a cover anymore, just collapse on top of it in the flimsiest two-piece that can cover your modesty. Honestly, even that feels like too must most nights, sticking to you in the humidity. It’s so hot that the hybrid - who you had simply called “Bun” for lack of a better name - no longer lay close to you, but far on the other side of the bed, stretched out on his side, ears akimbo. The city desperately needed a storm to break the humidity.

Half way through summer, you get your wish. You flinch, even in your sleep, as the room fills with blinding, white light. The crack of thunder that immediately follows is explosive in the silence of your room thanks to all the open windows. The storm startles you awake. Turning away from the window, you bury your face in your damp, sweat-drenched pillow, just as the gentle roll of heavy rain starts to beat against the heated concrete city.

“You okay, Bun?” you ask in a sleepy, raspy voice as you reach for the small creature. But where you expect to meet soft fur, you meet soft skin, solid muscle coiled tight beneath it. It takes a second for your brain to register the foreign sensation, before your head snaps up and your eyes open. You’re used to sleeping next to a small rabbit-hybrid, but in its place is a very naked young man, curled in the fetal position. His large, terror-filled eyes stare at you.

You scream, scrambling off the bed and across the floor to press your back against the wall. The naked man shrinks in on himself when you yell, curling himself into a tighter ball. You can see just enough of him over the edge of the bed to spy a long, floppy ear drape over one of his arms.

“Bun?” you ask in a breathless voice. He lifts his head, and those eyes—those large, round eyes are just as dark as they were when he was a rabbit. 

They’re the same. 

He moves up onto his hands and knees, crawling cautiously across the bed to peer down at you. His fingers curl over the edge of the mattress, long ears dangling either side of his face.

“Sorry,” he whispers in a soft voice. He’s still tucked in on himself like a loaf, like he would sit when he was a rabbit. You can hear his foot tapping against the mattress; he’s agitated. “I woke up like this a little while ago, before the storm was over the city. I guess it scared me into transforming back.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” you ask, finally getting a handle on your breathing. It’s not everyday you wake up with a naked man in your bed…or any day recently, if you’re being honest.

“You’ve had trouble sleeping because of the heat. I didn’t want to disturb your rest.” Your heart aches. You knew the hybrid living with you was friendly and sweet-tempered, but hearing it makes it difficult not to reach out and pet and coo at him like you regularly would. There’s just enough light coming in from outside for you to see him bite his lower lip in the darkness. Your heart pangs again when you notice that he has bunny teeth even in his human form.

You shift, getting to your knees and moving closer to the bed. The hybrid doesn’t stir, still huddled in on himself, floppy ears falling each side of his face. They blend seamlessly into his long, dark, wavy hair. His eyes are impossibly large, as dark as the night sky, and reassuringly familiar. Just over his shoulder, down the slope of his back, you spy a fluffy tail twitching at the base of his spine. Resolutely, your eyes snap back to his face.

“That was very kind of you,” you say softly, watching his face spread into a warm smile, front teeth prominent and pressing into his bottom lip.

“You’ve been very kind to me,” he practically whispers, and you smile in return, resisting the urge to pat him on the head. You don’t know if it’s appropriate now he’s no longer a rabbit.

“Do you have a name?”

“Jungkook, but you can keep calling me Bun, if you want. I like it,” he says, louder this time. Confidently. And you decide, screw it, you’re going to pet him. But then thunder crashes again, bright light simultaneously filling the room, and for a single, breathtaking moment, in the stark light of the storm, you take him in. 

And he is absurdly beautiful.

Jungkook ducks his head. Curling into himself, one of his feet taps incessantly against the bed. You reach out, threading your fingers through his soft, chocolate brown locks until you’re rubbing his head, fingernails scratching lightly.

“Don’t worry, Jungkook, you’re safe. I’ll not let anything happen to you.” Slowly, he raises his face; eyes searching yours. “Treaty of Care, remember.” You give him a small smile. Jungkook leans forward then, pressing the tip of his nose into your cheek. 

You still. 

He used to do this all the time as a rabbit. It’s normal behaviour. Your research told you hybrids behave similarly to their animal counterparts. When in animal form, that is. You never expected it in human form.

His nose skims across your cheekbone until he’s rubbing it against yours. You can’t help but sigh at how incredibly intimate the act feels, and Jungkook must take that as some sort of sign, because the next thing he does is gently caress your lips with his. If it weren’t for how focused his eyes are, gauging your reaction, you might write it off as an accident. But then he does it again.

You pull back suddenly, shaking your head as though to clear it. “Let me get you something to wear,” you say, climbing to your feet and closing the blinds on your way to your draws. “I don’t know if they’ll fit you, but these are some old sweats.” You throw them to him on the bed, turning back to find him a shirt; something loose. You dig out an old t-shirt you won in a radio contest.

“Are you covered?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says in a small voice. You turn around, extending the shirt toward him and short-circuiting when he stands at his full height. Your eyes are immediately drawn to his sculpted abdomen. All of him could be cut from marble. You stare, open-mouthed, as he shuffles foot to foot, awkwardly rubbing his elbow.

“Is that for me?” He asks finally, motioning to the garment in your hand. You nod, holding out the t-shirt emblazoned with the logo of a radio station you don’t ever recall listening to. Just as he takes it, thunder claps again and brightens the room and his arm flexes, dragging you into his personal space before you can release your hold on the fabric. His chest heaves, breaths coming heavy.

“I’m tired. Let’s sleep tonight and we’ll talk in the morning, okay?” you say softly, going for the bed. Jungkook just nods and moves towards the door. “Where are you going?” you ask, laying a hand on his arm.

“The sofa.” He ducks his head, ears hiding most of his face. “I didn’t think you’d want me sharing your bed anymore since—” he motions to his human form.

You swallow. It’s loud in the quiet of the room. “Is that why you stayed a rabbit for so long? So I’d let you stay?”

Jungkook looks up at you through his lashes; you can see him biting his lip again. “Kind of,” he mumbles, avoiding your eyes. “You were so kind to me when you found me. I was scared you’d want me to leave if I transformed back, and I wanted to stay for a little while.”

“Why?” you ask softly. “Didn’t you want to go home?” He smiles, but it looks embarrassed, his nose scrunching.

“No, not yet,” he says meekly, dipping his head. He hides behind his chocolate brown waves and long, floppy ears. “Going home is… it’s complicated.” 

You lean forward, carefully reaching up to brush one of his ears aside so you can better see his eyes. His ear twitches but he doesn’t pull away, instead looking at you with all the stars of the cosmos in his eyes. “You can tell me when you’re ready,” you encourage with a soft smile. “There’s no rush. I’m also not going to make you sleep alone when you’re scared,” you say, taking him by the hand and tugging him towards the bed.

“Are you sure?” he asks, looking over your shoulder towards the bed. But his face is hopeful, so you can tell he’s only asking out of politeness.

“There’s plenty of space. And besides, you’ve had weeks to hurt me and you haven’t. I trust you.” You let go of his hand and clamber into bed.

Jungkook perks up and slips the shirt hurriedly over his head, inside out and obscuring those perfectly sculpted abs. He scrambles over the mattress to his usual side of the bed, a buck-toothed smile all over his face. His human form is impressively built, but somehow, when his head hits the pillow and he curls into a ball, he looks almost as tiny as he did in bunny form.

You lay facing him, watching him carefully. His eyes are huge and flitting between your face and the window, like he’s waiting for another crash of thunder. You sit up, reaching down to where your thin blanket had been kicked out of the way when the heatwave started, holding it up, your meaning obvious. Jungkook immediately shuffles closer, curling into your side and burying his head under your chin. It startles you for a second, your entire body going stiff, but you take a deep breath and wrap an arm around him, willing yourself to relax. You thread your fingers through his soft, brown locks, caressing his head the way you did when he was still a rabbit. 

And before either of you realise the storm has already passed, you drift off together into restful sleep.

Next Chapter

[robininthelabyrinth]

Spilled Pearls Extra 1

- ao3 -

Lan Xichen spent a lot of time learning his family’s rules.

They were important to his uncle, who raised him, and that meant that they were important to him. They were his heritage and his birthright, and anyway he loved his uncle and it made him happy which was good enough for Lan Xichen, but that didn’t make learning them easy or anything. Each rule had to be learned both by itself and in context with others; it wasn’t as simple as memorizing a list and calling it done. You had to learn them and know them and then live up to them to the best of your ability, and that was the work of a lifetime – which Lan Xichen, now six years old, had been informed was an awful long time.

Moreover, though his uncle had never said so, Lan Xichen had heard from the other people in the sect that learning the rules was important because following the rules would make sure he didn’t turn out like his father, who had let down so many people in their sect. Many of the elders said things like that when his uncle wasn’t around, though his uncle never did – his uncle spoke well of their father, although in abstract tones, but sometimes he looked sad about it, too, and therefore Lan Xichen was determined to listen and learn the rules well so that he would never disappoint his uncle the way his father had.

Of course, there were other advantages to learning the rules.

The commentary, for instance.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1

Talking behind other people's backs is prohibited.

“Unless it’s really funny,” Lan Yueheng said, and – as always – seemed not to notice the way Lan Xichen’s uncle glared at him. “Oooh, actually, let me give you an example, I just heard the best story –”

-

“If you don’t understand those around you, you will be at their mercy, rather than they at yours,” Wen Ruohan said, perfectly poised and with a sharp smirk, just the way he always was unless he happened to be talking to Lan Xichen’s uncle. “How better to learn to understand people than to know what others say about them when they are not around?” His smirk widened. “Look at what people say about me.”

-

“What are you supposed to do if you don’t?” Lao Nie asked, grinning wickedly. “Say mean things about them in front of their faces instead? I can do that!”

-

“I mean, if it’s news, it’s not gossip, right?” Cangse Sanren said, tapping her cheek while pretending to be thoughtful as if it would hide her great big smile. “I’m sure that’s how I learned it, and I was a very good student – no, no, don’t listen to what your uncle says!”

-

“Well, I wish my mother would do less of it,” Wen Xu said, rolling his eyes. He’d come along to visit with his father again the way he always did – he was always tagging along with his father, really, and his father indulged him more often than he probably should, according to both sects’ elders. Not that Wen Ruohan listened to anyone but Lan Xichen’s uncle. “Sometimes I think that’s all she does! It’s boring!”

-

“If you mean what you say and say what you mean, then your friends will never doubt you whether you are in front of them or not,” Nie Mingjue said, then frowned. “I mean, I think?”

-

“Listen to A-Jue,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said when Lan Xichen reported on the discussions, throwing up his hands in disgust. “He’s the only one of the lot of them worth anything.”

“It’s his mother’s contribution,” Lao Nie opined.

“It’s certainly not yours,” Wen Ruohan said. “Anyway, what was wrong with A-Xu’s answer? It was accurate.”

“It has nothing to do with the rule!”

“That’s because I’ve already mastered it years ago,” Wen Xu said cheerfully. Surprisingly cheerfully, given that Nie Mingjue was sitting on him again; maybe he’d gotten used to Nie Mingjue always winning.

Lan Xichen’s uncle rubbed his forehead. “A-Xu, if you really want to go copy the rules on humility a few more times, you don’t have to wait for me to instruct you to do so –”

“He’s right, though,” Cangse Sanren cackled from her husband’s lap. “Madame Wen is an amazing source of gossip, but it does get a bit boring sometimes. You can’t punish him for being right!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2

Do not succumb to rage.

“Unless there’s a very good reason,” Lao Nie said, picking Lan Xichen up in one arm as if he weighed as little as a feather, and Nie Mingjue in the other just as easily, even though he was much bigger. “In the world there are many injustices, and it is your duty to fight against them with everything that you have – if you are wholly above the feeling of rage, then you have forgotten your empathy, and soon will follow the crooked path into indifference.”

-

“The issue is succumbing to rage,” Wen Ruohan said. “You can be angry, or even furious, but you should always maintain your self-control. Once you’ve mastered yourself, you can master others.”

-

“He means get revenge,” Wen Xu said knowledgably. “You get angry, then you get even.”

-

“Oh, rage?” Cangse Sanren asked, rolling up her sleeves. “Well, as it happens, I’m going to go have a chat with your mother, I’ll give you a good demonstration of –”

“You are doing no such thing,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said, exasperated. “Get back here.”

-

“It’s a waste of time,” Lan Yueheng said. “Getting angry takes time and energy. Why not be happy instead?” He thought about it. “Well, I mean, sometimes cursing a little bit when something goes wrong is nice. Even the calmest concoction needs to blow off steam sometimes to retain its equilibrium!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3

Do not disrespect your elders.

“And I,” Wen Ruohan said, looking positively gleeful, “am the eldest.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said at once. “Xichen, you hear me? Don’t listen to him.”

-

“There’s a difference between disrespect and disobedience,” Cangse Sanren said. “Being old doesn’t mean being right, it means that there’s a greater probability that they’ve encountered something in their lifetime that will give them an insight you lack. You should honor and respect their insight, but always make your own decisions in the end.”

-

“I mean, you could always listen to me, instead,” Lao Nie said. “I’m your elder too, aren’t I?”

-

“Don’t listen to either Uncle Wen or my father,” Nie Mingjue said, looking long-suffering. “They both like to play tricks.”

-

“Wait,” Lan Yueheng said. “I’m an elder? Since when? That’s a terrible idea!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4

Do not take advantage of your position to oppress others.

“Don’t listen to Wen Ruohan,” Cangse Sanren said.

-

“Don’t listen to Sect Leader Wen,” Lan Yueheng said.

-

“Definitely do not listen to Hanhan,” Lao Nie said. “At all. In any way.”

-

“Probably best not to listen to A-Xu’s dad,” Nie Mingjue said, and glanced over apologetically.

“No, no, you’re right,” Wen Xu said, nodding furiously. “He’s kind of awful about these sorts of things.”

-

“They’re all being absolutely ridiculous,” Wen Ruohan said. “I’m perfectly reliable on such matters. After all, what’s the point of working so hard to obtain and maintain power if you don’t oppress those that deserve it? If you don’t take advantage, who will?”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5

Do not make assumptions about others.

“I used to assume that Cangse Sanren was  a normal human being,” Lan Yueheng said. “Goes to show what I know, right?”

-

“I used to assume that Wen Ruohan was a perfectly normal self-absorbed murderer that would keep his greedy hands to his own people,” Cangse Sanren said, sounding irritable. “And not have perfectly ordinary rogue cultivators followed around by complete weirdos because he’s secretly worried about them like a mother hen!”

-

“I used to assume that people would be grateful when someone rescued them and their husband from near certain death,” Wen Ruohan said.

-

“I used to assume that the funniest thing in the world was watching Hanhan argue with your uncle,” Lao Nie said, chin on his hands. “Little did I know that adding Cangse Sanren to the mix made it even funnier.”

-

“Grown-ups are stupid sometimes,” Wen Xu said. “That’s why you have to verify everything they say for yourself.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6

Embrace the entirety of the world.

“By being righteous,” Nie Mingjue said.

-

“By taking it all over, as far as I can tell from my father,” Wen Xu said.

-

“Depends on what you define as the world, doesn’t it?” Lao Nie said.

-

“Be ambitious,” Wen Ruohan said. “Define it broadly.”

-

“I mean, I don’t think your arms are quite long enough yet, the world’s pretty big,” Lan Yueheng said. “But I pick you up and swing you around, maybe they’ll stretch a little. Want to try?”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7

Do not associate with evil.

“I mean, it’s true, but you have to think carefully about what you categorize as evil,” Lao Nie said. “Just being a man-eating nation-destroying inhuman amoral nine-tailed fox isn’t automatically enough to qualify, right?”

-

“That’s, uh, a really weirdly specific example,” Lan Yueheng said. “I feel like at least three of the things on that list probably rise to the level of evil? Or have I missed something?”

-

“Lao Nie said – oh no, not again,” Wen Ruohan said, and patted Lan Xichen on the head before he stalked out the door. “I’m the only evil you should associate with, you hear me?”

-

“I bet she’s got teeth in interesting places,” Cangse Sanren said. “I’ve got to meet her…hmm? Evil? Does that really matter? It’s going to be funny.”

-

“She’s not evil,” Nie Mingjue said. “She’s pretty nice, actually. She calls me ‘meatball’ and ‘pork bun’ and says I’m so cute that she wants to eat me right up.”

-

“I’m pretty sure she means it literally,” Wen Xu said. “Gear up, Xichen! We’ve got to go save Mingjue!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8

Do not tell lies.

“People don’t believe the truth, so why not tell it?” Cangse Sanren said.

-

“Using the truth makes your misdirections more believable and your critiques more devastating,” Wen Ruohan said.

-

“Why would you even want to lie?” Nie Mingjue asked, puzzled.

-

“There’s a difference between not telling lies and not having the slightest bit of tact,” Lao Nie said, rubbing his face. “Maybe you can help A-Jue figure that out.”

-

“Silence is always a good alternative when you don’t want to admit to stuff you’ve done that maybe, just maybe, might annoy some people,” Lan Yueheng said, looking over his collapsed laboratory with a wince. “Not that I’d know anything about that, of course.”

-

“Telling a lie will only get you into more trouble later when they figure it out,” Wen Xu said. “Because then they’re angry at you for what you did and for lying about it. It’s just not worth it!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9

Do not disregard the rules.

“Unless they’re really stupid,” Lao Nie said.

-

“I mean,” Nie Mingjue said, wrinkling his nose. “As a general rule, yes. But it’s different if following the rules would permit injustice to happen, that’s for sure.”

-

“It’s a matter of picking what rule is the relevant one,” Wen Ruohan said. “Be thoughtful, and you can have the moral high ground in any situation…your uncle is irritatingly good at that.”

-

“You’ve got to know what the rule is before you break it,” Wen Xu said. “That way you can decide if it’s worth the cost of breaking it or not.”

-

“If there’s any you think are wrong, you should say something,” Lan Yueheng said. “The rules are a gift handed down from our ancestors and ought to be respected, but each of us has a duty to put in our own thoughts as well – our contribution to the next generation down. Anyway, your uncle will probably be able to put together a reasonable argument as to why changing the rule is appropriate and truer to our sect’s principles than the version carved on the wall. He’s good at that!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10

“I want the rules to be a foundation under your feet,” Lan Xichen’s uncle said. “They should give you confidence in your actions and pride in your family and sect; they should not feel like they are binding you. If they are, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”

Maybe if it was just Lan Xichen and his uncle, the two of them and maybe also little baby Lan Wangji and the rather unreliable Lan Yueheng and the even more unreliable Lao Nie, Lan Xichen would immediately and unhesitatingly agree, and then never say anything anyway no matter what he felt. He loved his uncle so much, and every one in a while his uncle seemed so sad; he couldn’t bear to be the one to add more pain and burden to his uncle’s shoulders, already weighed down with the expectations of the sect that should have been his father’s responsibility and would one day be Lan Xichen’s.

But it wasn’t just them, and Lan Xichen frowned a little, really thinking about it. “Maybe,” he said after a while. “Or maybe I’d tell Uncle Wen about it, and then he’d find a way to fix it, or to tell you about it in a way that didn’t make you sad. Does that work, too?”

His uncle looked amused.

“Yes,” he said. “That works. Just remember –”

“Don’t listen to him about ‘oppressing others’?”

“Exactly.”

[stray-kids-react]

Polaroid

Han x Fem. Reader Soulmate au

Warnings - Swearing, mentions of sex, and Fluff that'll make you cry.

Masterlist

...

Y/n's pov, November 27 2020

My mother once told me that I will know when I'm in love, she never specified what hints will cross my path... She just said I'll know.

As a young adult now, sharing an apartment with my close friend Yeji. I'm starting to become impatient with this whole game of love, why can't I just get told who is my perfect match. I'm so tired of having my hopes risen up and then crashed down onto my heart... Breaking it each time.

"Any plans today?" Yeji asked from the kitchen, making me cringe at the word plans.

I just was still recovering from a terrible break up, where I caught the supposedly love of my life slurping the life out of his assistants pussy. I won't forget the feeling of my heart completely stopping for a few seconds, as my mind told me to run and not look back.

"Yes actually, I have a date with Netflix and the leftovers in the fridge." I replied, slyly smirking as she stared at me like a worried mother.

"Well Netflix isn't going to have to wait for his turn. Because I have this guy who is really interested you and is a total sweetheart." She sighed, showing me a photo of the guy she was trying to set me up with.

"Yeah... No." I replied, beginning to retreat back to my room.

"Y/n! JISUNG TOLD ME!" Yeji announced, catching my attention from the front of my bedroom door.

"I-it's still a no Yeji." I whimpered, shutting the door harshly behind me as she sighed in defeat.

Yeji's pov

She needs to get out of this place, it's been two weeks now. All over a guy she barely even knew, I know the true reason she is hiding and she will never admit it.

Y/n is scared to see his face again, our best friend Han Jisung. The best friend that she happened to fall in love with, and moved away from after she got accepted into the university of her dreams.

They were never just best friends in anyone's eyes, not even there own. Yet they both tried to fill in the whole in their heart with other people, never realizing that all they had to do was just say three difficult words.

Y/n was in a hurry to find her perfect partner after I found mine, the man next door with the matching tattoo on his wrist. Your tattoo shows up when you are over the age of 19 and are near your soulmate, it shows up on your wrist, neck, or shoulder blade.

She didn't want to see Jisung in case that tattoo never came, they both wouldn't be able to handle the realization. But it is a part of life, and I'm not going to let my best friends live alone when they could have a chance to be in love and happy.

Han wanted to see us both while he was visiting the city, even though he knew the risk of utter devastation. That fake profile was just a set up so that she would finally meet up with Han, and she probably already knew about my plans.

I walked up to her door cautiously, gently brushing my knuckles against her door.

"Y/n... I know why you are actually upset."

Y/n pov

"Because of Han Jisung." I answered, brushing past the old childhood photos saved on my phone.

"I know that's what you were going to say Yeji, and you're right. I know I won't be able to take it if the guy I love isn't the one for me, and that all of those nights alone with him that are coded into my brain are worthless. I'm scared Yeji, I'm scared that I won't be able to think of most of my life without tearing up." I explained, as she plopped down on my bed next to me.

"You're fear will just get worse until you find out, you'll never know the result until you actually try." She replied, placing my head on her shoulder for comfort.

I let out a shaky breath as a couple tears streamed down my cheeks, she was right as usual. But I still needed at least one day to prepare myself.

"Fine, but let me rest today. I'm not going to fancy restraint with puffy eyes and bed head." I remarked, watching as a sly smile spread across her lips.

She slowly began to exit my bedroom, delighted that she finally got her way with me. Not even explaining who that fake date even was, probably just a random guy from Google. It was 11:30 at night, and all of my crying really wore the energy out of my body and mind.

So eventually sleep crossed paths with my mind and hooked up, completely losing consciousness as my memories flashed like a polaroid camera.

December 15th 2018

"I can't believe we're graduating this year, seems like we only started high school yesterday." Jisung sighed, carrying both of our bags while walking home together.

"Don't worry quokka, you'll still carry my bags for me even after high school." I teased, pinching the reddened skin of his cheeks.

"Oh very funny, and you'll still put crackers in your mouth and pretend to be a walrus." He remarked dodging the snowball that came his way.

He set my bags down on my front yard as he gathered his own army of cold fluff balls. I tackled him to the ground as we both drowned the silence in laughter, I traced my frosted mittens across his face. Gently crossing his lips as he brushed the snow chunks from my hair.

The close warmth of his breath against my face sent my heart into a frenzy, I secretly craved the closeness of him... But I never wanted to admit it in case I'd lose him.

His now glossed lips looked so kiss able, the way they pouted as he focused on my hair. And how they stretched into a warm smile that left a fuzzy feeling in my heart for years, made it only harder to stop myself from interlocking them with mine.

"I better get going bun bun. I'll see you tomorrow at school though." Jisung reassured, lightly booping my nose as he left his trail from my snowy front yard. Waving one last time to catch my attention as I was at the front door.

"Farewell loser!" He shouted, showing off that bright smile of his.

"Farewell to you as well, asshole!" I retorted, giggling as I walked into my empty house all alone.

November 28th 2020

Y/n pov

"Wake up! Time for bubble tea!" Yeji screamed, jumping on top of me as she consistently hit me with my own pillows.

"I thought we were meeting Jisung later." I sighed, looking at the red numbers of my alarm clock reading 7:30am.

"Yes we are, but I want bubble tea and to talk with you about some stuff I found out." Yeji replied, pulling me out of bed to soon push me into the washroom.

I complied to her excited energy, understanding it is pretty exciting for her.

The steaming water swallowed every inch of my skin, blocking out all of the noises outside. Only leaving me and the blank wall to stare at, droplets of water racing against each other. A flash of the mirror and sunlight clashing, sending the flash of a polaroid to my memories.

August 16th 2018

Yeji squealed as her boyfriend threw her into the pool, soon joining her in a large cannonball jump. All of his friends danced around with liquor drenching their breath, as their bodies clashed together in ways they didn't fully understand.

It wasn't my style of fun, it instead gave me a wave of fear and stress. Not recognizing any of these people, while they danced around half naked. Yeji's boyfriend decided that she had enough fun for one night, and took her home to rest.

I hurriedly gathered my belongings and rushed out the door, just as excited and horny shouts came from the pool. I was okay to walk home alone, it felt nice to be surrounded my silence for once. Even if my conscious tortured me about every bad possibility.

"Need a drive home party animal?" a familiar voice called from across the road, that voice of the man who has always had my back.

"I'd actually really like that." I replied, feeling a wave of comfort when I entered the car.

"I can tell your a bit freaked out." He sighed, throwing his bad into the backseat.

"That party was just... A lot. A lot more than I expected." I whimpered, still a bit overwhelmed from the experience.

"How about you stay at my place for the night. We'll even watch some American horror story..." Jisung suggested, even though he was shit terrified of anything remotely scary.

"I'm holding you to it quokka." I giggled, slapping his thigh teasingly.

We drove to his home as the car filled with a random playlist of songs, one landing on my favorite 'Turning Page'.

"I didn't know you liked this song." I commented, blushing softly at the tone of the song.

"I want this to be the song that represents me and my soulmate. It sounds cheesy, but it's true." He revealed, glancing my way as the car stopped in the from of his home.

The whole topic of soulmates use to be humorous to me, remembering when me and Han drew matching docks on our palms as 'our' symbol. Even taking a polaroid photo of the amazing art we drew, I still have it in my phone case.

Then it hit me, how much it would hurt to see him destined with someone other then me. That moment when he glanced back into my eyes with a shy smile, is when I admitted to myself for falling madly in love with my best friend.

November 28th 2020

I walked along the streets of our home town, hanging my mask off my chin when sipping my bubble tea.

"You know what's crazy." Yeji started, catching my focus immediately.

"I remember the moment you started crushing on Jisung. You didn't even have to tell me, I already knew." She admitted, gazing at me with only a soft warmth in her eyes.

"It was obvious by how many photos you had of him and you on your wall, and the way you looked at him as if he were your dream person." She continued, texting something on her phone that I couldn't quite see.

"Or how when he caught you staring he'd reply with 'take a picture it'll last longer'... And you always did to get revenge. I will never forget the day I saw you two as more then best friends, that was the same day when I bought you that polaroid camera for Christmas. " She replied, taking a short break as her hands nervously fidgeted with her skirt.

"That's why I want a 'thank you' later on." She mumbled, before running off and leaving me completely stunned on the bench.

"Y/n..."

September 14th 2018

"It's crazy that this is your last day here." I sighed, trying my best not to cry.

He nodded trying to smile the pain away like me, but soon caving in once his arms met my body. I nuzzled into the crook of his neck, hoping I could capture his scent one last time.

"I'll still visit. I can't cope without seeing your face, asshole." He chuckled lightly, sniffling quietly when he retracted his arms away.

He stared at my features for a few long seconds, as if he was contemplating on doing something. Jisung shook his head, smiling brightly once more as he pulled me into one last hug.

As he put his palm on the door knob, I shouted his name one last time. Running across the room towards him, he turned around immediately dropping his bangs on the ground.

He instantly knew what I was going to do, since his lips molded with mine without one ounce of hesitation. His hands lost in my hair, pulling me closer and closer until there was no space between us. Jisung's lips were so much sweeter and softer then any other kiss I've had.

The sweetness was sprinkled with the salty taste of our mixed tears. Only creating more as the kiss began to end, both of us realizing we should've told each other so much sooner.

"I love you." We both sighed at the same time, smiling sadly at the bittersweet sting in our hearts.

November 28th 2020

"Jisung..." I gasped, turning around quickly to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"W-wow... You've really. Wow." He stuttered, cautiously inching closer towards me.

"You too." I chuckled airily, swallowing back my tears. I missed him so much, but it hurt too much to see him at the same time.

"Y/n... I know it's been a while. But I honestly came here because I needed to see you. I still love you, and I don't care if we're soul mates or not. I'll sharpie our own symbol on us everyday if I have to." He revealed, grasping my hands between his own.

"I'm sorry that I was being so selfish." I sighed, caving into my own tears. Regretting my fears of seeing him again, feeling terrible for torturing him just as much as I tortured myself.

"We are both scared. It's not our fault, but I just want us to accept that things may not go our way. But that won't stop us from being together." He reassured, lightly brushing frosted his mitten across my features. Glossing over my lips gently, his eyes warm and gentle as they fluttered shut.

I molded into his kiss immediately, lacing my fingers through his silky hair. Soon pulling him closer to my so there was no space between us, making sure no one could try and ruin this moment for us.

His lips still were as sweet as the first time they molded into mine, and his fingertips could still make my legs give out by how gentle they were against my skin. Every emotion flashed through my mind, all my regrets, confidence, love, lust... It all flashed just like a...

"Polaroid." He gasped, tugging my palm next to his as the ink slowly traced the same picture into my palm. The picture of the camera that captured all the moments I treasured with my soulmate, the soulmate that was everything I could've asked for.

[orangerosebush]

Sitting on the branches of my family tree

[ao3 link]

Artemis was currently sitting alone in the kitchen at three in the morning. He didn’t quite know when he’d officially decided he wasn’t going up to bed, but one way or another he had found himself sitting in the gloom of the downstairs.

The room was dim, as Butler had turned off the hall lights before he’d retired for the evening sometime late the previous night. The only thing illuminating the kitchen was the faint, warm glow of the metal hot plate that was keeping the water in the kettle at a low boil.

Artemis frowned. He looked down at the cup of earl grey he’d been nursing for the past half hour. Probably too cold to enjoy properly at this point, he sighed.

Faint ripples formed in what tea remained at the bottom of the mug, and he furrowed his brow. That was odd. Straining his ears, he glanced at the entrance to the kitchen apprehensively.

Sure enough, coming slowly down the grand staircase was Juliet. Artemis blinked, eyes flickering back to the old clock on the wall.

Interesting.

“Either you’re up extraordinarily early,” he remarked as she tried to slink into the kitchen as quietly as she could. “Or you’ve stayed up rather late.”

Anyone else would’ve jumped at such a surprise, but Juliet merely tensed. Years of the Blue Diamond training program had left her with nerves of steel.

Turning to face him slowly, she gave him an appraising look.

“Hey,” she said carefully.

“Hello,” he responded, amused.

Silence settled over the room.

“I always suspected that you stalked around the house at night, Artemis,” she snorted after a moment. “Relaxing too much a waste of your time?”

“You make me out to be almost sinister, Juliet. I’m afraid this is just a rather mundane example of my insomnia flaring up,” he waved her off, getting up to move to the stove top. “Do you want any of the tea I was making?”

She took a seat on one of the barstools by the main table. “Tea? If you’re either constantly on a caffeine drip or are staring at a screen all the time, then I don’t think you have insomnia. You’re just a workaholic.”

“Clinically so,” Artemis murmured, flicking off the burner. “I take it you don’t want any, then?” he called out over his shoulder.

“Nah, I want some — I’ll take whatever you have that’s decaf and fruity,” she crossed her arms on the counter and rested her chin on them.

He wrinkled his nose, taking the kettle off the burner to pour the steaming water into his cup. Opening the cabinet above the stove, he reached for another cup, the cool china of the mug soothing against his skin. He placed a tea bag at the bottom of the new cup, watching a vibrant ruby diffuse through the water as the tea steeped. In contrast, his earl grey was a richer color, almost caramel.

Fingers curling around the warmth of the cups, he brought the two mugs over to the table. Juliet perked up, reaching for her cup. She let the steam waft up, coiling around her face, and she smiled warmly, closing her eyes.

“It smells like strawberries.”

Artemis took a sip of his earl grey. “It most likely has some strawberry in it. It’s the berry mix that Barry’s carries. The box is described as a refreshing blend of ‘red’ berries,” he made air-quotes.

“I can certainly taste the red, so I’d give it full marks,” she held it up approvingly, putting on what Artemis assumed was meant to be a parody of his affectation.

“On your way to being a tea sommelier, I see.”

“Mayhaps . Also, yours better be decaf,” she shot a pointed look at his cup.

“You’re hardly in the position to speak about maintaining good sleep habits — you were wandering about the halls as well,” he reminded her, deliberately taking another sip of his tea.

She flushed. “I was asleep. It’s not my fault I woke up and wanted to stretch my legs. Also, you’re not wandering if you’re walking about with purpose.”

“Did Ko tell you that?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Nope. I heard it from some pageant mum during the tryouts for the Miss Sugar Beet Fair.”

“In what context?”

“I caught her nicking stuff from the other ladies’ purses in the cubby area,” she remarked airily.

Surprised, he laughed. “I admire her panache. Very Fowl-esque of her.”  

“You can’t trademark being a conman that puts on airs, Artemis,” she rolled her eyes. “Mulch does the same shit, and I’m pretty sure he’s been around for at least three generations of Fowls.”

“I would disagree,” he stirred his tea. “At the risk of sounding egotistical, Diggums falls more into the category of being a petty crook than he does into the category of being a criminal mastermind.”

“Oh, really? We can ask him which one of us he agrees with if you want, Artemis,” she leaned forward, smug. “He’s been squatting in the cellar for about a month now.”

Artemis sighed. “I’ve been trying to actually catch a glimpse of him down there so that I can tell him to leave,” he said glumly. “I know he’s down there siphoning wine out of the casks, but he’ll surely argue that I’m just going mad if I attempt to kick him out over a phone call.”

“I thought you said he was just a petty crook,” she widened her eyes. “Shouldn’t a ‘criminal mastermind’ be able to handle evicting some random—“

“You’ve made your point,” he huffed.

“Gotcha!” she grinned.    

“Congratulations, Juliet, on successfully defending Mulch’s no doubt fragile self-esteem. I have no idea how he would manage to enjoy our vintages were he to know I referred to his escapades as ‘petty’.”  

Juliet shrugged. “Eh, wine is wine at the end of the day. You don’t even drink , Artemis.”

“Not all wine is created equal,” he argued, steepling his fingers. Sensing he was gearing up to give a spiel, Juliet huffed.

“Take for example the ‘87 Merlot — a wine which I suspect he has already sampled in excess,” Artemis began. “To call it a work of art would be to sell it short. Mulch is free to skim off the top of some of the lesser vintages, but I would appreciate if he would stay away from the quality wines that make up our rather expensive collection in the cellar.” Artemis sniffed, lazily swirling the remains of his tea.

Juliet snorted, resting her chin on her palm. “Nice speech. I was very moved by the ‘work of art’ bit.”

At this, the sides of Artemis’ mouth quirked upwards. “I have to defend it on principle. It was produced in an odd year, after all. Those always produce the best grapes.”

The young Butler rolled her shoulders a bit, her weight shifting in the chair as she stretched. Reaching up, her right hand tucked back a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of the messy bun she’d put her hair up in before bed. “That sounds like rich bullshit. No way.”

Artemis snickered, bowing his head in concession. “You’re right. It is.”

Juliet grinned. “Knew it. Where’d you hear that bit about the odd versus even years?”

He leaned back in his chair, his grip tight on the fading warmth of his cup. “Oh, it would’ve been a while ago. I thought it was so funny when I first heard about that rule,” he smiled fondly. “The Abbey Theatre was running Six Degrees of Separation. I remember pleading with mother to take me to see one of the performances — the press had just run a piece calling it obscene — and eventually, she relented. I was probably the youngest person in the theatre that night,” he chuckled.

As if lost in the memory, Artemis closed his eyes, his expression pensive. “There was one scene where the character Paul, a conman, was leading a young man around New York City. They went to the Rainbow Room to dine, and Paul told his companion that there was a secret trick rich people use when ordering wine: universally, the wines produced in the odd years are considered to be better. I remember there were titters in the audience —wine tasting is often based more on evaluating a bottle through a formula of factors than it is about the taste, and even the couples with cellars filled with vintages worth thousands of euros could have a bit of a laugh at that.”

Artemis opened his eyes, the whites flashing in the dim light. “But you see, it’s not a commonly held belief that odd year vintages taste better than even years. He’d made the rule up.”

Juliet blinked. “So?” she furrowed her brow. “It sounds close enough to some of the stuff I’ve heard people say about wine at the parties your mum throws.”

“True, but it wasn’t even one of the myths about wine!” Artemis leaned forward earnestly. “That night, the actor playing Paul said this particular line so assuredly that you believed he’d heard this straight from the mouth of an old money wine aficionado — at that moment, his compatriot melted away,  and we replaced him. Paul had turned his charm on the audience, stringing us all along,” his voice became quiet.

Tilting his head so that he was gazing at Juliet directly,  Artemis opened his mouth as if to say something before he closed it, frowning slightly. Worrying the inside of his cheek, he tried to formulate his next sentence. He almost chuckled at that. It wasn’t often that he was at a loss for words.

“Sometimes… sometimes I hear someone at a restaurant jump a little too quickly to choose the odd-year wine,”  he said finally. “Sometimes, I hear what sounds like a touch of smugness in a couple’s tone when they turn down an even-year vintage. It’s possible I’m imagining it, but I do wonder. I wonder now and then if they saw that play — maybe not on that night, maybe not in that theatre — and believed. ”

With that, Artemis sighed, finally placing his teacup gently on the table. By now, the smooth surface of the china was cool to the touch.

Juliet let one of her hands fall from her chin to the table, flexing her fingers in thought. “You know,” she began slowly. “I think I’ve seen a bit of Six Degrees.”

Artemis started, shoulders rising. “Oh?”

She nodded. “I’m pretty sure. I think they made it into a movie a while back. Will Smith was in it.”

Artemis stared at Juliet in silence, blinking owlishly. “Did… did you like it?”

Juliet puffed out her cheeks as she exhaled, thinking for a moment. “Actually,” she began after a moment, locking eyes with Artemis. “I can’t remember.”

That was all it took.

The floodgates were released, and the pair was wracked with laughter.

Artemis couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard that tears had welled in his eyes. He snorted, wiping the wetness on his cheeks away with the palm of his hand.

“You should really be getting to bed,” he said after they’d sobered, crossing his arms on top of the table. Juliet scrunched her face up, stretching in her seat.

“I’m not tired,” she protested.

Artemis cocked his head curiously. “We’ve both been up since sunrise yesterday,” he pointed out. “The skyline is already starting to light up along the water by the cliffs. I know Madame Ko trained you to work during the most extenuating of circumstances, but surely you do need to sleep every now and again.”

“God —you’re such a hypocrite sometimes, you know that?” she prodded his arm with a finger, and he almost winced. “And I wasn’t up since yesterday, okay?” she added, almost as an afterthought.  

He rubbed his shoulder. “Apologies.”

“I wasn’t!”

“Of course. Surely you weren’t on the phone with your girlfriend from your old wrestling troupe who is around, oh, six hours or so behind our time zone.”

Juliet’s cheeks turned scarlet. “Shut up, Artemis,” she groaned, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment. “Who even told you about her? Was it Dom?”

Artemis shrugged good-naturedly, refusing to comment. She shot him a withering look, finally dragging her hands away from her face.

“… Practice got out late. Sam forgot that a late practice over there is… early over here.”

“And you picked up the phone when she called anyway? So romantic. What a prophetic name you have, Juliet,” he grinned, and she flushed deeper.  

“I’m not letting someone who skulks around in the dark snark about my long-distance relationship,” Juliet crossed her arms, and it was Artemis’ turn to be defensive.

“I’ve explicitly told you already that I was not ‘skulking’.”

She laughed at that, and the light of the nascent sunrise made it seem as though parts of her blond hair were lit up by a fiery reddish-gold, Artemis thought. Some people were meant to be seen in sunlight, others in the moonlight — Juliet was well suited to the warm light of dawn, a light still full of reds, pinks, and oranges.

Juliet must have noticed he’d been staring, as she softened.

“You’re gonna hurt yourself if you’re always thinking so hard,” she said offhandedly. Artemis ignored the lump forming in his throat.

“I’m afraid ‘thinking hard’, as you put it, is what I’m built to do.”

She locked her gaze on him, frowning.

“You can think as much as you want during the day, Artemis,” she reminded him lightly, finally leaning back. “Holing yourself up until you finally have some big breakthrough can very easily turn into pushing people away, and you know it.”

“Ah,” he winced. “I assume that was a thinly-veiled reference to my sending your brother away to Cancún?”

Whether tired or just exasperated, Juliet ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah, genius. Sometimes you’ve gotta slow down a bit so that we can all catch up with you. Especially Dom. The Cancún stuff nearly killed him, you know?”

He winced. “I know. I shouldn’t have used you as a way to manipulate — I shouldn’t have resorted to manipulating your brother at all,” he amended. “I let my paranoid mind get the better of me, as you said.”

“It doesn’t make it okay, but it wasn’t totally your fault,” she shook her head. “That’s what made it hurt more for him, in the end. He left to go to me in Cancún even though he knew something was… off with you because he thought I was in danger. Domovoi came after me because he thought his baby sister was in trouble,” she snorted at that. “But it still took the ‘worst case scenario’ to get him to leave you in the first place.”

She fixed him in her gaze. “Even at your lowest point, you knew on some level that it would take an emergency to get him to abandon you when you were hurt, Artemis. Lurking around the house at night so that you can drive yourself up the wall without anyone telling you to knock it off won’t change that. It’ll just make you feel like shit.”

They sat there in silence.

Artemis looked back at her, properly trying to make eye contact this time. “I am trying to get better, you know,” he said after a moment, almost grimacing when he realized how snarky that sounded. Thankfully, Juliet took it in stride.

“I know.”

He looked away, reaching for his forgotten cup of tea. The china was cool again, he found, turning it around between his hands.

“I’ll… try not to lurk around the house, as you put it so bluntly,” he said, only a tad begrudgingly.

She raised an eyebrow. “You won’t do it again, or you won’t get caught again?”

Artemis paused. “I’ll try not to do it again,” he decided after a moment, surprised to find he was being completely honest. Juliet seemed satisfied at that.

“Cool,” she grinned, beginning to relax once more into her usual easy-going manner.

“I appreciate you talking to me,” he added, tightening his grip on his cup. “You’ve given me much to think about. In a good way,” he smiled.

She beamed at that. Reaching to undo her bun, Juliet shook her head as though she were shaking off rain after coming inside. She must’ve showered before putting it up, as her hair seemed wavier than it usually was, he noted.

“Thanky."

“I suppose I ought to thank Sam for forgetting the extent to which Ireland is ahead of Mexico,” he mused, and Juliet seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.

“Yeah, you should — I stole a lot of what she’s had to say when I was making my point about isolating yourself and stuff,” she explained slowly.

“Oh?” he furrowed his brow. She waited a moment, seemingly debating how she was going to continue.

“Please. We grew up in the same house, Artemis. I’ve got pretty similar childhood baggage to what you’re probably leafing through. Parent stuff, growing up too soon stuff, normal 20-something stuff, weird 20-something stuff,” she shrugged. “She doesn’t let me mope, but she also like, sees me, you know?”

He regarded her for a moment, considering what she’d said. “You deserve someone like her,” he remarked. She shook her head.

“Not to drop my slightly- older-adult ‘adult wisdom’ on you,” she leaned forward. “But you’re not with someone because you deserve them or because they deserve you. She makes me laugh, she listens…” she trailed off.

“And so you pick up the phone each time,” he finished, and she grinned, tapping her nose.

“You’re starting to get it. It’s both the connection and commitment. We meet each other where we are, and then we move forward together.”

“Connection and commitment,” he echoed her.

“Connection and commitment and a whole bunch of therapy,” Juliet ticked off a finger for each one. He nodded, resting his chin on his hand.

“And ,” she added, shooting him a look. “Getting to bed at a consistent time.”

He made a face. “Does recovery necessitate giving up all the things that make life worthwhile?”

“My brother has a bunch of WebMD mental health articles printed out all over his room,” she poked him. “And the bits about developing good sleeping habits are all over the pages on the standard treatment for mood disorders. You probably have read the sources the articles cite, though — you don’t get a pass to run yourself into the ground just because you’re smart enough to give a lecture on psychology. Go to bed. The world will still be here when you wake up.”

He was going to say something snide about how he didn’t actually have the luxury of assuming the world would still be there, but he stopped himself. It was too early in the morning to bring up the specters that loomed prominently in his thoughts. Chasing those fears was what had started his spiral in the end, after all.

“Very well. I’d wish you goodnight, but it’s more apt to say good morning at this point,” he ventured, standing up from his seat.  

Juliet rose as well, following in suit.

“Thank god ,” she muttered. “Not that talking through feelings isn’t fantastic, but I was just about ready to toss you over my shoulder and haul you upstairs. I’m exhausted .”

Artemis tried not to look too stricken. He has no doubt she was completely serious.

“On a final note,” she sighed, patting down the wrinkles in her nightshirt. “I miss being lovingly suplexed by my wrestler girlfriend,” she complained.

He made a face.

“Come off it — I’m allowed to brag about my jock-centric relationship.”

He grimaced. “You’re a match made in heaven.”

She stuck her tongue out, and he rolled his eyes before starting to make his way over to the stairs. Artemis lingered in the doorway, resting his hand against the smooth frame. “Goodnight, Juliet.”

“Goodnight, Artemis.”

[whereflowersbloom]

Reflections.

I once dreamed of making someone happy. Conner thinks to himself.

It was a simple dream that He almost gave up on. Happiness is intangible, enigmatic. It was a concept difficult for him to grasp. Happiness proved not to be so simple, after all. Simple to think about, sometimes abstract, incredibly hard to reach out for. It was something people looked for their entire life. It’s said even for human its impossible to be completely content without desiring more. He had read somewhere that a joyful life was made up of joyful moments, gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude and inspiration. At times he wondered if he was capable of experiencing happiness. But the question plaguing his mind was; could he make anyone happy? He felt it slipping between his fingers every time he believed he was closer to it. He observed his hand, this hand was created to serve as Lex Luthor’s puppet. Then Clark gave him a new purpose, fight crime, work to bring justice to those who are oppressed, protect them and the world. But this hand longed to holds another. One that belonged to a certain girl he knew well. He had no doubts something was missing from his life and he was desperate to get it. But he couldn’t help but think of that tiny, pale, hand filling him with warmth he never knew he craved for. Until he grabbed hold of it and Conner didn’t want to let go of it.

He felt as if he had no right. And being honest he didn’t. He wasn’t like her. Perhaps he couldn’t express his desires, emotions, transform them into words. Humans also said actions speak louder than words, right? For the first time, being quick to act could prove to be rather convenient in his case.

~~~

Raven stared off into emptiness, deep in thoughts, her brows knitted, as if she was concentrated trying to solve a puzzle. She hadn’t touched her tea. Then Donna decided to speak. “Okay. What’s going on with you today.”

Raven snaps out of it and looks at Donna, realizing she’d been too absorbed in her own world. She sips her tea slowly. It was getting cold. No reason to be mysterious with Donna. She could use her perspective. “Do you have any idea why Conner is acting strange lately?” She asks her Amazonian friend, curious if she had the answer, noticed something she didn’t.

Donna stares at her friend for a couple of minutes, before tipping her head back and letting out a sonorous laugh. “I simply cannot believe this. You know for an empath. You have no idea what’s going on around you.” she says pointedly, raising her left eyebrow, her shoulders still shaking as the giggles subside.

Raven massaged her temples and sighs. “You know I try to set boundaries. I don’t want to invade his personal space or anyone’s.” And it was true. She found a way to let her walls up preventing her from trespassing her teammates emotional property.

“In a tower full of teenagers that must be hard. You have my respect.” Donna replies solemnly.

“Raven, I’m serious. The only reason I found it funny is because, if there’s anything certain in this universe, it’s that Kon-El has a crush on you. I’m pretty sure it was written in the stars by the Gods before he was even created. Look at the poor boy.” Donna explains logically.

“I can’t say I agree with you. We are just friends.” Raven looks away blushing. “Even if it was true. Then why hasn’t he said anything yet?” She battles internally, not sure if she should believe her friend. Donna wasn’t lying though. She knew it.

Donna shrugs lightly, resting her chin on her hand, pondering her next words. “Maybe he has been saying it and you just haven’t been listening.” She places a hand on Raven’s shoulder, sliming at her warmly. “Think about it carefully.” She said those words as she walked out of the room.

Raven doesn’t say anything. Disbelief and curiosity struck her speechless. Her mind races with words she cannot utter. She had to meditate on this.

~~~

They were at the library. It was a lovely, quiet escape from the bustling city. It sat in the middle of Jump City, built in the 80’s after its old incarnation had burned down. She was reading, as usual,she was always reading. Sometimes it’s a history book, sometimes it’s a fiction book. There’s countless topics, genres, so much to learn and study. She makes annotations on a notebook she carries around.

After a few minutes, Raven felt Conner’s gaze on her and realised he had been staring the whole time. She found she didn’t mind, they were friends but it made her feel self-conscious, her cheeks reddened. Conner’s stare felt different from others, it was intense, warm rather than cold, expressing affection, and rather than making her feel on edge, it made her feel safe.

“What are you reading now.?” A curious voice asked her, getting her attention. He looks up at her, just blinking for a few seconds, smiling only the way Conner did, making him look so boyish and mischievous, those dazzling light blue eyes. She cleared her throat, and shook her head, blushing at the thoughts that kept popping into her head. She shows her the pile of books she got, about astronomy, psychology and some romance novels she managed to find. She mentions it’s his turn to show her what he’s reading. He seems embarrassed when he shows her the cover of the book and tells her that it’s poetry. Oh. She did notice he was showing interest in poetry lately.

“Always poetry” she teases him. “They’re not always poetry.” he tells her, as if he has anything to prove, as if she wouldn’t think it’s so very much him. He looks away, slightly blushing, setting his mouth in a pout. Raven giggles, finding his reaction enchantingly cute. Mumbles he should recite some to her when they go back to the Tower. Conner runs his hand through his dark hair, trying his best to overcome his shyness and mutters. “Maybe.”

He looks at his watch and rubs his neck awkwardly. Hesitant to speak. “Would you like to get a cup of tea?” He asked her, gulping. Waiting for her answer. He stumbles over his words, but gathers courage to speak confidently. “You usually have your tea around 6:00pm.” Open mouthed Raven is surprised he knew exactly what time she had her tea. Her mind goes back to Donna’s words. For a minute her theory isn’t unfathomable. It makes sense. She smiles brightly at him. “I guess it’s time for tea and a snack.” He offered his hand to Raven and she took it, helping her stand up. Conner took her books from the table, carrying them for her and they walked out of the library.

~~~

They decide to try a new place they heard about. ‘Saint Aymes’. Its windows are bordered by wisteria and other seasonal blooms, bringing a sense of spring to this tranquil, autumn day. Walking in they were instantly drawn to the warm atmosphere. The plants gave it a cozy, earthy feel. It felt like a secret, upscale treehouse, it smelled like roasted coffee beans, vanilla, cinnamon and freshly baked pastries.

She stands in front of the glass, examining every single cake and muffin, searching for the one with that looks like it would taste the best. She’d happily stare there all day to decide, Conner next to her attempting to contain his excitement, her sweet-toothed best friend. Knowing him he’d want to try every possible option. She can see some vanilla buttercream buns, all kind of donuts, strawberry cream filled danish, some lemon cakes, but there’s a queue forming behind them, people coughing and tapping their feet, and the cashier’s rolling her eyes. “Just let me know which one you want. You can go find a place for us.” Conner offers. She considers it and agrees. Pointing a mini lemon raspberry cheesecake. Raven whispers a ‘thank you.’

She looks around and finds a couch with a table in the corner, the perfect spot for them, there’s some paintings on the wall, hanging. She leaned against the couch, sinking tiredly into the plush cushions as exhaustion sank in. Yes, this was rather nice in its own way. A peaceful, cold autumn afternoon, enjoying a cup of tea and pastries with her friend.

Conner comes back carrying two steaming cups, one was her Earl Grey tea, the other she was certain it was hot chocolate. It was his favorite. he placed down both cups on the table in front of them. A staff member brought them a plate with all kind of pastries. Thee was barely enough room on the table now. Raven looked at him suppressing a giggle. Conner blinked several times and shrugged his shoulders shyly. “I was hungry.”

Before she said a word about her tea. He said “I know it. Milk and two teaspoons of honey, right?” He speaks, lifting his right eyebrow, a smile tugging up the corner of his mouth. Conner was strangely observant in that way. It struck her a sweet gesture.

They were too engrossed in their conversation, the endless topics they talked about, about culture, politics, books, the list was infinite. The way Raven laughs quietly, her smart comments. He liked to think they were close, doing things friends usually do, bonding, having fun. And yet. There was something remote about her, he thought. Something unreachable, like the watery depths beneath a frozen lake. He wouldn’t mind submerging, until he found the bottom, drowning in that mystic, pure, vast lake.

All the pastries almost gone except for the last one a chocolate walnut strudel. It looked mouthwatering delicious. She finished her tea and she was still a little hungry.but she couldn’t take it. Surely Conner picked it. She can’t. She raises her eyes, decided to give it up, when they meet his gaze. They are sitting there staring at each other, it feels like time stops. It takes him less than a minute to understand what she wanted, and urgently trying to hide.

“Here,” he says, breaking some of it off, exactly in a half, he was finally good at calculating the amount of strength he needed to use, so he didn’t destroy things. “You can have half.” Something that tended to happen more than he wanted to admit.

“But, it’s yours and you love chocolate!” Raven said anxiously. He’d done enough for her.

“Nope. I got it for both.” His face unconsciously getting closer. “I want you to have half.” He speaks frankly. Raven opens her mouth to say he didn’t have to do it, too late, he cuts in.

“No buts.” He stops her and grins cheerfully. “What’s the point in spending an evening, eating a tasty dessert with your best friend if you can’t share it with her?”

“But you’re always doing things for me.” She bits her lips. Old habit, as they say hard to die. He gave her so much. She pondered how he could be so kindhearted, good-natured, and selfless. She wasn’t referring just to sharing a pastry or his gallantry. It was everything.

One look and she gives up the idea of saying no. He seemed so impeccable , innocent, sometimes too good for this corrupted world. She doesn’t reply, sighs defeated and takes the piece from him and tastes it. It was exquisite. “Thank you.” She says to him. She thanks him wholeheartedly, warmly. She couldn’t imagine spending days like this with anyone else. And Conner can see the gratitude showing in her cosmic eyes. He understands. He simply smiles.

Maybe Donna was right. Did Conner had a crush on her? Actions. ‘You aren’t listening’. The signs are all there. He knows everything about her, the details. She could not have predicted growing this close with another person in such a short amount of time. She’s been living in the a Tower for years with Gar, Jaime and the others. Conner was different. What began as a mere trickle in a stream suddenly grew like the currents of a river. She was almost shocked at how easy it felt to be attuned to each other’s rhythms. As though they had known each other for years. How did she feel though? It was so sudden. She didn’t want to find out for now.

Conner thinks perhaps happiness isn’t as complex as humans make it sound. No. It doesn’t have to take an entire lifetime to look for, search frantically everywhere. In his own words, his mind, his being. Happiness was this moment. Moments with her, a fraction of infinity. That was his very own version of happiness.

More konrae @grassfour @ravenfan1242 @andthendk 🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈💙💜💜💙💜

[wolfish-trickster]

One sad story

Loki x female!reader (eventually) Avengers x reader (platonic)

Part 1/2

Word count: 1 272

Summary: you feel like you are unwanted in the team unless you change, but that's hard. The whole team is worried about you, but only Loki managed to do something, for now.

Warnings: sadness, depression. It will get better I promise.

Bring Sally up, bring Sally down, lift and squat, gotta tear the ground. Bring Sally up...

You can't anymore. It's nearly the end of the song but you just can't continue. Natasha on the other hand is doing push ups as if it was nothing.

"How are you so strong?" you asked her, breathing heavily.

"Don't know, might be my training?" Nat turned the video of and started to stretch her arms. You were still laying on the cold floor, cooling your heated body. It would be nice to just close your eyes and forget everything around you. But you have to stretch first, otherwise you might damage your muscles.

After stretching and warm shower both you and Nat went to kitchen.

"Hey Y/N, me, Wanda, Pepper and Maria want to have a girl night, wanna join?"

"No, thanks. I'm too tired. I'll just turn on some movie and fall asleep," you fake-yawned, trying to convince her of your tiredness.

"Alright, do as you wish," said the red haired spy, knowing you weren't as tired as you acted.

You turned around and made your way to elevators. Just as boys were coming out of the gym. All of them shirtless of course. 'Show offs' you thought, rolling your eyes with a smile.

But then, you noticed him. A certain raven haired god was walking quietly after the horde of heroes, wearing a tank top and man bun. You quickly looked away, rushing to your room. You were very closed friends, but you started to distance yourselves lately. In the begging it was just the two of you. Reading in the library until one of you fell asleep, watching movies under the blanket, talking while enjoing a cup of tea. But ever since the rest of the team (mainly boys) started to train with him, talk to him, spending time with him. He just didn't have time on you anymore.

But that's fine. You had time to yourself. You started working out, gaining muscle. You already were an Avenger, now you have to look the part. You were trained to be fast, not strong, that's why you didn't have that much muscle. That's why you looked small and weak and useless compared to your teammates. Gods, assasins, soldiers...

And then you. Ordinary human. With basic training. Without special skills or super powers. Invisible. Unimportant. Replacable.

You sighed and turned your laptop on. Browsing through Netflix until you found The Little Prince. It's always easier to conceal crying when you have a background noise.

-

"Hey, where's Y/N? I thought she'll come," Wanda asked Natasha, fixing her black dress and curled hair.

"I thought so too but she said she's too tired. She was lying, obviously. Something's going on with her, but what?"

"I just hope she's okay."

"Oh please, why wouldn't she be? She's Y/N, the toughst girl I know. Besides, where's Maria? Did you tell her we are leaving at six instead of seven?" Pepper intervened enthusiasticaly. This was the first night off she has had for 3 months.

Girls then heard high heels clapping towards them."Of course they did. It takes time to look this gorgeous" to emphasise Maria threw her hair loreal-comercial style.

"Alright ladies, let's go shopping!"

-

"Does anyone know of Y/N whereabouts? She promised she'll watch that 'movie thing' she mentioned earlier"

"Thor, you've asked 3 times already and for the fourth time: she's sleeping in her room. Let her rest."

"Says someone who had no problem letting her be awake for more than 20 hours straight. We get it Tony, your sleeping schedule is messed up, doesn't mean she has to have it too."

When Bruce entered the living room he was presented with Clint and Tony in the middle of their poker game (playing for cookies), Thor chewing on an apple behind Tony peeking into his cards and Loki calmly reading a book with a steaming cup of tea sitting next to them.

"I can watch that movie with you Thor, if you'd like to. By the way, did you notice Y/N started to act.... a little odd lately?" Bruce swore he saw Loki looking up from his book with his peripheral vision.

"Nah, she's the same as always. Just a little tired. I saw her working out like crazy these past weeks. HEY YOU LIL CHEATER, STOP IT!"

"I'm not cheating bird brains, you just can't play. I'll share if you apologize. But Bruce is right, something's wrong. I mean I'm glad she's getting sleep but something just isn't right" Tony was dragging all of the cookies towards himself, making funny faces at pouting Clint.

"You know what? How about we play for something more valuable?" Clint asked with a smirk.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Sure am fancy tin can."

"POP TARTS!" both of them shouted at the same time. Clint was already making his way to kitchen for the box of said valuable treats when he was stopped by Thor.

"If you are going to play for my loves, you have to win against me too!"

"Thor, have you ever played poker?"

"Of course I have," he haven't, but he's been watching them play for over an hour. How hard can it possibly be?

Meanwhile Bruce sat down next to Tony, opposite of Loki.

"What about you?" Bruce asked Loki.

"What about me?" Loki took a sip of his tea, not looking up from his book.

"Well, Y/N was the first one to convince us you're not as much of a dick as we thought you are and you don't even care about her!" Tony managed to say with full mouth of his prize.

"First of all thank you for not thinking I'm a dick, second of all I do care about her and third of all she's just tired. You said it yourself Stark. I'll check up on her when she's rested."

"Get in line Rudolf. Bruce, do you want to play?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Clint and Thor arrived with two giant boxes of Pop tarts and started to sort it out into four piles.

Loki just rolled his eyes, got up and walked towards elevators.

-

*knock* "Y/N? Are you there?"

Oh shit.

Why was Loki here? Of all people why him? Right when you finally ran out of tears to shed. You didn't even need to look into a mirror to know how you looked like. Puffy red eyes, wet face, runny nose and bird's nest for hair. Just great.

"Yeah, what do you want?" even your voice sounded like you've been crying for two hours straight, which you did.

"Y/N, are you okay? Can I come in? Please?"

"Yeah," you murmured loud enough for him to hear.

He opened the door and walked straight to you, cupping your face, forcing you to look into his eyes.

"Sweetheart, were you crying? Who hurt you?" you could hear the pain in his voice. Why did he care all of a sudden? Did boys ditch him?

"No one, I'm fine. Really. I was just watching a very sad movie and it made me cry, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I mean, have you seen it? I bet you would cry too," 'but you don't have time on me and my silly movies' you added in your head.

"Well, guys are playing cards for sweets and girls are out wasting money on accessories they will never wear and I have currwntly nothing to do. Let's watch the movie that upset you so."

'If only it was the movie that really made me cry' you thought and put the movie on.

[sunmaylight]

TGCF Book 3 Reaction pt.3 - Wind Master’s Self-Designated Quest & The Events that Happen After

I am back again with reactions & comments for when I read book 3. 

This is honestly fun for me because I can look back at what I read and remember my first reaction to everything. I can also see how things connect to make up each arc by going back and reading them. 

I really want to start book 4, but completing this first so I compose myself and not be a mess of emotions reading it. Cause, any book that is mainly about Xie Lian’s past is bound to be filled with angst and possible tears for the guy.

Ch 102: The Love for All Seasons Stew, the stew Xie Lian made and Shi Qingxuan is enthusiastically wanting to try some, shares with Ming Yi. Hua Cheng eats it like nothing and gives Xie Lian feedback

- Me: Ah, RIP Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi. It was nice knowing you two.

Start of the Venerable of Empty Words

Ch 103: The stew knocks out Ming Yi and sends Shi Qingxuan to tears. Then Shi Qingxuan hallucinates

- Me: You know, by this point Xie Lian should have his own warning label to prevent this from happening in the future. What if he made something for Jun Wu and kills him with his cooking? Actually, that sounds pretty funny. This just in: Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu defeated by a plate of questionable food made by his favorite Heavenly Official, Xie Lian.

103: Shi Qingxuan tells a horror story. Xie Lian feels a cold breeze and discovers it’s made by SQX.

- Ah, I think I’m understanding more that Heavenly Officials are really eccentric. Especially the upper court.

Xie Lian casually mentioning he has encountered a Venerable of Empty Words in the past and how that ghost left him after staying with the fallen god for almost a year.

- Me: *sobs* Xie Lian. 

Wind Master talking about his past before ascension and then post ascension

- Me: Okay, but did you actually ascend?

Learns about Heavenly Calamities

- Me: Well, that will surely be relevant in the future.

105: Investigating for the Ghost. Learns that from a tampered list that Hua Cheng killed vengeful, malevolent tyrants

- Me: Hua Cheng, who else have you killed? How the fu-dge is it that you are more productive than Heavenly Officials in making sure nothing bad happens?

As the group was going to leave, Xie Lian remembers the kids (& Qi Rong). 

Hua Cheng: I have already called a babysitter. Don’t worry about a thing Gege.

106: The group was teleported to the wrong place.

- Me: Well, aren’t things starting out just lovely.

Hua Cheng changed clothes and Xie Lian Noticed. 

Hua Cheng & Xie Lian exchange verbal communication passwords. Hua Cheng’s password has Xie Lian blushing.

- Me: WHAT IS IT?

Xie Lian’s password: “Just recite the Ethics Sutra a thousand times.”

- Me: ...Is that a joke? Xie Lian, if they actually had to recite that, it’s like saying you don’t want people to talk to you.

Xie Lian’s password is revealed to be just that phrase. He set it up as a joke

- Me: goddamnit. I have been bamboozled. 

Learning about the legend of the Potential Scholar He, who was mad smart but got a lot of people wanting to crush him out of jealousy. He died after getting his revenge against those who were gatekeeping him.

- Me: HI! WHERE IS THE SHRINE FOR THIS GUY. I NEED A SHRINE TO WORSHIP SCHOLAR HE AS WELL AS A CERTAIN DIANXIA AND HUA CHENGZU

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng now have to play Mafia in a four man group.

Ch 108: A game to sniff out the Word Ghost. The game reminds me of the Japanese Game, King’s Game.

- Me: Is there a Chinese equivalent to the King’s Game?

SQX -’king’- Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have to strip each other. Just one layer

- Me: If this was me to my crush, I would be weirded out to do this in front of my friends. Unless if I was drunk

SQX to Hua Cheng (from the book): “What’s the worse suffering in the world?”

Hua Cheng: “To watch with your own eyes your beloved be trampled and ridiculed, yet unable to do anything. That’s the worse suffering in the world.”

- Me: (ToT) Hua Cheng. I got to mark this down. Hua Cheng’s beloved and him need their happy ending.

Ming Yi to Xie Lian: “What’s the biggest regret of your life?”

Xie Lian: “My Second Ascension.”

- Me: !!! Xie Lian, what the F*CK happened during the shortest ascension recorded in Heaven?

Ch 109: Hua Cheng lends Xie Lian a ‘bit’ of spiritual power. Xie Lian does a palm thrust and blows off the roof of the temple.

- Xie Lian & Me: ...Hua Cheng, that’s a little bit?

Hua Cheng: Was that not enough? I can lend you more.

Ch 110: Hua Cheng puts on a mini fashion show to Xie Lian in the middle of something important. 

Xie Lian: *focus is pulled away to stare at Hua Cheng*

- Me: Okay. Cute, but please focus. There is a time and place for everything. Now is not the time!

Water Master is suppose to prepare for the third Heavenly Calamity. SQX is kidnapped

- Me: What if this is the third calamity? Having to save SQX from the Venerable of Empty Words?

Xie Lian wants to do a soul-shifting spell, but Hua Cheng is stopping him.

- Me: Hm, does Hua Cheng know something? That is suspicious.

Ch 111: Venerable of Empty Words says: “Don’t worry, with your eyes wide open, you will watch the person coming to seek you die before you!”

- Me: *Thinks of Hua Cheng for Xie Lian* Shit, it got to Xie Lian. I really hope this doesn’t happen in the future. Cause, it’s not like Hua Cheng can die by conventional means since his ashes are ***** - Safe

Wind Master is revealed to be wearing a lot of treasures and gems on their person

- Me: Why is Wind Master wearing all of that?

Soul-Shifting spell ends, Xie Lian hears Hua Cheng’s voice

- Oh shit. I think Hua Cheng is mad.

SQX: “This is the Terrace of Cascading Wine. It’s where I ascended”

- Me: Wait, SQX is one of the Four Famous Tales? The odd one that is like Qi Rong that is about a guy who ascended for just pouring wine?

Learns that Xie Lian was actually sleeping when he ascended.

- Which ascension did that happen at?

SQX is in hysteria after Shi Wudu grabs him. SQX was acting suspicious before then SWD arrived.

- Me: Wow, what happened to SQX? D-did he actually fail his Heavenly Calamity and this is part of the punishment? Do Heavenly Officials get an advance notice that they have a Heavenly Calamity they have to face? Or is he behaving like this because of the removal of all of those artifacts and jewels?

-----

Ch 113: Hua Cheng sent a step-litter, a step-litter that is very extravagant, to Xie Lian. Hua Cheng is giving Xie Lian a fancy carriage ride towards somewhere.

- Me: Wow. What an obvious sign that Hua Cheng has deep feelings for Xie Lian 

The whole Step-Litter Scene of Ghost calling Xie Lian Hua Cheng’s ‘lady’ while he was in the Step-Litter and everything after until they drop Xie Lian off at Puqi Shrine

- Me: THIS NEEDS TO BE ANIMATED

Xie Lian’s new banner: “Return Babes through Miraculous Hands”

- No words

Hua Cheng helping Xie Lian do a task of working in the field. There is an indescribable tension that has been created through Xie Lian’s dense brain

- Me: Man, you can slice the tension with a sword and they still wouldn’t realize anything.

Xie Lian has a mysterious donor who filled his donation box with gold bars. He decides to return them

- Me: Yes, good for you Xie Lian. You do you.

The Drama between the Wind and Water Masters

- Me: You know, there is someone on YouTube who animated this part. I can now only visualize that while reading through my notes.

Earth Master forged his shovel to be his spiritual device. Ming Yi, Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian travel through the tunnels dug by the Earth Master’s Shovel under Heaven

- Me: Wait, does this mean technically anything can be made into a spiritual device?

SQX can’t access his spiritual powers

- Me: shit. Did he actually fail a Heavenly Trial against Reverend of Empty Words?

The three are forced to dig and end up at Quan Yizhen’s palace with Pei Ming behind them

Pei Ming: QYZ, help me out and capture them

QYZ: *sees Xie Lian and remembers what he did for him during the Lantern Festival* - Grabs bed and throws it at Pei Ming- YEET!

Xie Lian tosses dice and the three end up at Puqi Shrine again. Xie Lian is greeted to the sight of a shirtless Hua Cheng finishing up some labour work with using E-Ming.

- Me: Is this going to be Xie Lian’s gay awakening? Will he finally acknowledge he has feelings for Hua Cheng?

Xie Lian immediately calms down and gets back into action

- Me: dang it!

The group, now with Hua Cheng, teleports to the Rain Master’s land. They exchange what they know and Xie Lian is drawing a very terrifying conclusion.

- Me: So, if there was a chart of the four famous tales compared to the four great calamities based on comparing their authenticity of tales

- Xie Lian    Hua Cheng       (They have to match somewhat)

- Princess who slit her throat         White No-Face      (Both have very little knowledge and seem very much bamf)

- General who broke his sword       Black Water       (Just vibes based on their names)

- Shi Qingxuan         Qi Rong     (Don’t really match the others, but are famous enough to get on the list)

Xie Lian connects the dots on Scholar He's name

- is that even possible?

Pei Ming arrives and then the group moves to Shi Wudu’s Heavenly Trial ground cause mortals are in danger. Their mission is to help the mortals and not get in the way of Water Master. 

Hua Cheng changes into a fisherman outfit

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng share a tender moment with a steam bun. General Pei watches them

- Me: Oh? Pei Ming, what did you notice? Did you notice the potential ship between the two of them?

118: The ship somehow wandered into the Ship-Sinking Black Water’s territory.

- Me: Oh no. The drama.

--------

Alright, here seems good. The next part will be the Wind & Water Master Arc pt 2 (?). At least I think so since the Wind part was discovered and now it’s the Water part that’s next. 

You know, I really wanted to comment on a bunch of other stuff. Especially the Hualian moments, but decided against it cause there are some things that should be read

[izzielizzie]

can u do a oneshot where Maeve goes to Luis after she hears that she doesn't have cancer and she apologizes and they start dating or something?

Yes! Here you go! This is after when Maeve gets tested and before she gets her results back.

I knock on the door of the open frame of Contigo’s open door. It’s nearly ten at night, and I know the café is closing, but I need to talk to someone very specific. Someone who’s currently mopping the floor. 

“We’re closed, sorry. We open at eleven tomorrow... but you already knew that,” Luis says as he turns to look at me. His face hardens and even though I don���t blame him, it still hurts. 

“Hi,” I whisper, looking down at my sneakers and clutching the strap of my messenger bag. 

“We’re closed, Maeve.” Even at this incredibly awkward moment, I can’t help but notice that he says my name with a slight accent that makes my heart skip a beat.

I twist the strap tightly in my hands. “I know. I just...”

“You just what?” Luis is leaning heavily on his mop, and he already looks like he doesn’t care for what I have to say.

“I think I’m dying,” I blurt out before I can think about whether I should have lead with that or not. 

“What?” Luis looks stricken.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have started with that.” I was an idiot. I can’t explain my entire medical history to Luis and not sound like I’m guilt tripping him into forgiving me. Luis is looking at me with an expression I can’t decipher. “You know what, this is pointless I’m sorry Luis I just- I shouldn’t have come. Have a good night.”

I spin on my heel and I’m about to walk out of the door when I hear something crash. I pause for a moment, just long enough for Luis to lunge forward and grab my forearm. “Wait, Maeve. Please wait.”

I turn around. “Yeah?”

I bite my lip hard to keep from crying as Luis’s eyes scan my face. After what feels like forever he speaks. “Come into the kitchen. You need some cookies. And a wet towel.”

“A wet towel?”

“Yeah. For your bleeding lip.” Luis holds out his hand and I take it. He tugs gently, leading me into the kitchen. It’s all scrubbed down and shining, and eerily quiet.

“Let me fix your lip and then you can tell me what you were going to tell me.”

“Aren’t you mad at me?” I ask as he puts his hands on my sides and gently lifts me onto a counter. 

“Yes. But also no.”

“Thanks for the answer.”

“Any time.” Luis runs a clean towel under the sink for a second and presses it against my lip. “Hold that until it stops bleeding.”

“Thanks,” I say again, my voice muffled. I press my hand against the towel as I watch him plate some alfajores. 

“Want some coffee?” Luis is holding the coffee pot over a mug, a steady stream of what must be freezing liquid  pouring out of the spout.

Since I can’t smile I crinkle my eyes at him. “My sleep schedule is bad enough as it is.”

“Mine too,” he says, drinking what must be half the mug in one gulp. I giggle a little. 

He turns and runs his hand through his hair before he hands me a cookie. I gently pull the towel from my lip and I’m pleased to find that it has stopped bleeding. Thank goodness, I’ve had enough with blood. I take the cookie with a half thankful, half apologetic smile. 

“Okay Maevey, can we start from the beginning?”

“Yeah. Sure.” 

Luis stands in front of me, and he looks so cute that it’s hard to think. “Any day now Maeve.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I pull my bag over my head and I miss its weight instantly. Lately, I’ve been craving a hug (something that never really happens), and since I’ve pushed away everyone who cares about me, I’ve been kind of lost. I take a deep breath, gather my hair in a bun, and then let it drop. Luis’s face softens.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” He looks kind of guilty, which makes me feel awkward because I’m the one who should feel guilty. This entire night is confusing the heck out of me and not for the first time, I’m wishing that I’d just gone home and climbed into bed. 

I’m tempted to take the out that Luis is clearly giving me. He doesn’t hate me. I’m too pathetic to be hated, and if I try hard enough, he’ll forgive me eventually. But I look up into his deep brown eyes and the truth is, I don’t want eventually. I want one thing in my life to be good, and I’ve been an idiot to not realize that Luis is probably the best thing to ever happen to me. So I start talking.

To his credit, Luis doesn’t say a single word as I tell him about how I had cancer when I was seven, and wasn’t cancer free until I was fourteen. I tell him about all the symptoms that come with a relapse and that most of those symptoms have been popping up. And - this is the hardest part - I tell him that I push people away when I’m scared that I’ll hurt them. And that he’s the last person I’d want to hurt. I end with a truth that has slowly been creeping up on me:

“I’ve been leaning on this crutch I guess. I know people will forgive me because I had cancer, but I’m tired of it. I never learned how to deal with my emotions other than to avoid them, and I want to get better at that Luis. I need to get better at that.”

I look up to meet his eyes and he smiles at me a little. “I knew all that Maevey.”

I do a doubletake. “You did?”

“Phoebe told me after you yelled at me.”

God of course she did. If I wasn’t so thrilled at the fact that Luis is smiling at me, I would march straight over to Phoebe’s apartment and either yell at her for interfering or buy her a coffee. I’m not sure which. 

“So you don’t hate me? I mean, I’m so, so sorry. I hated myself for what I said the moment I said it. You’re not shallow. You’re so brilliant. You’re kind, and funny, and really good with kids. Did you know that’s adorable, by the way? And I really like you. Like, like like you... so...” I trail off, out of steam and out of words. Luis is smirking at me. “What?” I demand.

He just shakes his head and reaches forward, his hands in my hair as he tilts my head up to kiss me. It’s short and sweet and I melt into him as he pulls away. “Maevey, you might not know this, but falling in love with you was the best decision I ever made. And I’m really glad you told me about your cancer. I can’t pretend I understand what you go through, but I want you to know that I’ll always listen to you. Just as long as you won’t push me away.”

I cross my heart in the childish gesture Bronwyn and I share. “I won’t ever push you away again Luis. I promise.”

“Good. In that case, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Even if I am possibly dying?”

“Even then.”

I grin like a fool. “Of course.”

Luis pulls me into a hug, and I stay there for god-knows how long, just enjoying the feeling of his arms around me. 

[unbealevable]

SNOW DAY ➝ ROOMIES.

TAGGING ➝ Fat Amy, Chloe Beale, Beca Mitchell.

LOCATION ➝ Beca, Chloe and Amy’s apartment.

TIME FRAME ➝ 2/3, early afternoon.

WARNINGS ➝ None.

NOTES ➝ Roommate snow day.

CHLOE

​Taking the weather into consideration, Chloe probably should not have even made the journey to her internship today. There would’ve been no repercussions for her if she hadn’t—hardly anyone else bothered to show up, after all—but always eager to please, she’d gone ahead and made the effort regardless. It really did not surprise her that they’d decided to close up shop early, though. The snow, already a thick blanket on the ground, really was coming down, so the sooner she made it back to the apartment, the better.

Following a quick stop at Rocco’s to pick up the order Beca had called in (she’d been on her way there already; she knew Beca), Chloe trudged through the heavy snowfall and to their building, unceremoniously shaking herself off like a particularly wet dog the moment she made it to shelter. Taking Beca’s ‘be quite’ order very seriously, she switched from walking to tiptoeing once she reached their door, letting herself into the apartment as quietly as possible, though greeted Beca with a bright smile, before pretending to zip her mouth shut.

Their bag of food rustled loudly as she set it down on the counter, with Chloe flashing Beca an apologetic look over her shoulder, before shrugging off her jacket to reveal her cartoon animal printed scrubs, fortunately dry of snow. Not wanting to disturb Beca’s work call, Chloe hovered in the kitchen area, glancing somewhat helplessly between Beca and the bag of food until she caught Beca’s eye. ‘What do I do?’ she mouthed.

BECA

As much as Beca’s job had been sucking balls lately, she was beyond grateful her boss was cool with her working from home when it snowed. Beca never really did well in extreme temperatures in general–she bitched about the sticky southern heat throughout college, and NYC summers were just as bad if not worse, thanks to the city stench. Winters were a different animal altogether. So on mornings like today, she slept an extra 45 minutes, shuffled to the coffee maker, and “dressed” for the day.

Which meant that when Chloe returned home, she’d find Beca with her hair and makeup done, wearing a nice button-down shirt and a blazer… with checkered pajama pants and fuzzy socks. (Chloe’s fuzzy socks. Whatever, her feet were cold and they just happened to be nearby.) Headphones secured over her ears, she sat Indian-style at the foot of their bed with her laptop propped onto a foldable tray at the appropriate height, eyes flickering toward the door on instinct when Chloe shuffled inside.

Ugh, Rocco’s smelled so freaking good. Beca’s stomach rumbled. At Chloe’s shrug, Beca held up a quick ‘one second’ pointer finger offscreen, flashing a pained sort of smile at her laptop screen. “Yep, got it! I’m with you, Sharon. We’re tooootally gonna crush it with this one. I’ll send the suggested changes to you by end-of-day Friday.” With a nerdy two-finger salute, Beca signed off and closed her laptop, setting her headphones on top. Then she very ungracefully groaned as she flopped backwards onto their still unmade bed, dramatically throwing her forearm over her eyes. “I seriously can’t stand that bitch.”

CHLOE

Thankful that Beca’s work call seemed to be wrapping up, Chloe’s almost-panic dissipated quickly, until she was leaning back against the kitchen counter with a quick nod. She pulled her lips inward to keep herself from openly giggling at Beca’s dorky salute toward her laptop, then pushed herself upright again as the call came to an end. “But you saluted her,” she teased, quickly grabbing a couple plates, then the bag of food to bring it over to their unmade bed. “What’d she do?” she hummed, kicking off her snow-covered shoes—she’d do something with them later; right now she wanted food.

Scooting around the heap that was a flopped back Beca as she climbed onto their bed, Chloe shuffled to a comfortable position, legs crossing the same way as Beca’s as she set down their lunch things. “You know Rocco’s is going to make you feel so much better. Even if you do look super grumpy right now.” Her nose wrinkled as she studied Beca’s body language, though she quickly offered over a plate, then got to work on digging into the bag to pull out their respective meals. “I guess at least you didn’t have to walk through the snow today, right?”

AMY

Looking out the window of the apartment she woke up in, Amy realized sleeping over at - wait, what’s his name again? - place might have been the wrong decision. She looked out over an outstretched white blanket and dreaded the journey home already. She briefly wondered if her roommates would be staying home today.

Walking already was not Amy’s favorite activity. Walking is snow is even worse. After what’s his face jumped in the shower, she made quick work of getting dressed and got out of the apartment before he was even done. The ground was slippery but Amy tried to hurry and get home as soon as possible. Luckily, the trip back to Brooklyn went smoothly and as she walked into the Starbucks around the corner of their apartment building, she shot a quick text to the roommates groupchat asking is they’re home.

Happy to have made it back to the apartment building in one piece, Amy climbed the stairs huffing and puffing while holding a tray with 3 cups of steaming hot coffee and a bag of pastries. She opens the apartment door and finds Beca and Chloe chatting in the apartment. „what’s up, pitches!” She quickly closes the door behind her to keep out the cold, kicks of her shoes and hands them their coffee. „As always Butter Pecan for you, Red. And BM, coffee black, like your soul.”

BECA

"She's just..." Beca puffed out a hard breath. "She either dismisses my ideas entirely, or when she likes what I've got to offer she tries to pass it off as her own idea to the execs. She keeps putting me on these shitty projects that are almost impossible to make better. I mean I love a challenge, but..." She winced, shaking her head. No need to get into 'Lil' Pimp Lo'. Especially on her lunch break.

She forced herself to sit up when Chloe joined her, smiling as the scent of her favorite lunch wafted toward her like a goddamn cartoon pie in a window sill. "Yeah, thanks for picking it up. And you're right, at least I didn't have to deal with a horrific commute today. How was your morning? Meet any new furry friends?" 

 After inhaling her nacho platter, Beca insisted on cleaning up the bags and washing the dishes. She made a move to stand when Amy burst inside. "Dude, is that coffee? You're a mind reader." That was... sort of like a greeting, Beca. Close enough. "Where've you been, Ames? Should I even bother asking?" Beca cast a knowing smirk at Chloe before making her way into the kitchen, setting her coffee on the counter while she got to work cleaning off their lunch plates.

CHLOE

Chloe's nose wrinkled as she listened to Beca's complaints. It wasn't a new thing, Beca seeming unhappy where her job was concerned, but it also wasn't Chloe place to comment, so she simply nodded along and let her vent. "She tries to take your ideas because you're so good at what you do," Chloe pointed out, offering up an encouraging smile, though it twisted into something a little more mischievous then, "Maybe we should prank call her." Her brows rose and fell playfully.

Pleased that lunch seemed to be something of a pick-me-up, Chloe nodded her head in acknowledgment, plating up her own food. "Mm, not really," she shrugged, reaching over to steal a nacho. "It's weird, those little things people bring their pets in for always somehow manage to be resolved at home when the weather's like this. Funny how that works!"

Although she liked to help out, Chloe wasn't going to argue, so while Beca took care of cleaning up afterwards, Chloe quickly changed out of her scrubs and into something more comfortable. She was mid-pulling her sweater on when the door opened, with her glancing over to flash Amy a bright smile. "Coffee," she said in an almost dreamy tone, instantly floating over to accept the cup. "Did you know you're an angel?" Chloe winked, pulling the warm drink close to her chest as she tugged her hair from beneath her sweater with her free hand. While she shot Beca the same knowing look, Chloe stayed quiet, eyeing Amy in anticipation of a likely wild response.

AMY

“Well...” she started while considering wether to give her roommates the full story or not. “Yesterday I was performing Fat Amy Winehouse at Times Square. This guy kept coming back like every hour and at first I thought it was really annoying. He didn’t say anything. Just stood there, watching.” She paused briefly to take a sip of coffee and open the bag of pastries.

She took a bite of a cinnamon bun and continued: “after seeing him for the third time I decided to talk to him. I mean, he was a hot piece and I was surprised to hear he had an Australian accent as well. Anyway, long story short; he asked me out, I didn’t have anything better to do so here we are... ” she shrugged.

Amy decides to keep the story at that and to not tell her roommates about the feeling she’s had the entire time, that the guy looked oddly familiar. It didn’t matter anymore anyway. She was home now and honestly didn’t even remember the dudes name.

“What have you guys been up too? Taking a snow day or working from home?” She looked between her two roommates and noticed Beca had obviously been working.

“You know, if you want... I could work from home too. Let me just get out my...”

BECA

Beca listened to Amy's latest adventure while she focused on washing the few dishes they'd used for lunch, all while keeping her eyes trained on the sink and definitely not on Chloe changing her clothes behind her. "Sounds like you've got yourself a groupie," she teased, setting the dishes in the drying rack and plucking the dish towel to dry off her hands. "I'm working from home, Chloe left early." Beca snagged the coffee back from the counter and curled back up on her spot in bed. "Maybe I'll take the rest of the day off. No meetings this afternoon so it doesn't matter much." She wasn't on any active tight deadlines and it wasn't like she'd get much accomplished with both Chloe and Amy home anyway.

CHLOE

Amy's adventures always provided a lot of entertainment, so Chloe sipped happily on her coffee as she listened to her regail them of her latest one. "So you stayed at his place?" Chloe questioned, brows rising and falling suggestively. "Is he cute?" Still only half-changed, she set her coffee cup down on the nearest available space—a difficult find in their cramped shoebox apartment—then got to work on tugging off her scrub pants without regard for her roommates. Surely they were used to her by now.

"Bec, you totes should take the rest of the day off," Chloe nodded enthusiastically. "Especially if Amy's gonna sing for us." She flashed a bright grin toward Amy, plucking a pair of black leggings from their not-quite-closet, before pausing with something of a gasp. "Oh, wait! Guess who I ran into this morning." Without giving either a chance to actually guess, she continued with raised brows, one foot in the leggings. "Aubrey. She's living in the city, too."

AMY

"Yeah shortstack, take the day off. We should hang out!" Amy said while standing up to go change her clothes.

On her way to her side of the room, Amy heard Chloe mention running into Aubrey. She turned on the spot and returned back to her previous position on the kitchen chair and picked her coffee back up to listen to Chloe’s story of her encounter with Aubrey.

"Wait, are you saying that you didn’t know Aubrey lived in the city too? How is that even possible? Isn’t she your best friend?”

BECA

Beca sighed. "Fine, why not?" It wasn't like she'd be able to concentrate much with one roommate home, let alone both. Besides, she rarely used her sick time and was long overdue for some time off.

Noting Amy pointedly avoided Chloe's question about the guy--she figured she probably didn't want to talk about him, which was cool--her gaze snapped back to Chloe. "Oh, for real? Yeah, that's... super weird. I guess she's been really busy to not drop you a text at least, huh?"

CHLOE

It hadn't passed Chloe by that it was incredibly weird that Aubrey hadn't stayed in touch—maybe she should've tried a little harder herself or something—so she wrinkled her nose in response to both of her roommates. "Yeah, I don't know. She seems to be doing super well, though," she offered, pushing a bright smile to her lips to replace the sadder one that really wanted to be there.

Wanting to change the topic from what a bad friend she must've been, Chloe retrieved her coffee cup again, bouncing toward she and Beca's bed and gracefully plopping down. "So what should we do? We're never all home during the day like this."

[dobrikswriting]

Sick Day

Request:  can you write something where the reader is sick (head cold or something) and idea 1) david takes care of her and it’s cute or idea 2) he goes out and leaves her at home to care for herself and something goes wrong??

I decided to with the good ending. I love these cute little stories.

Keep the requests coming!

I rolled out of the bed for the first time that day, barely able to breath through my nose and slowly walked over to the bathroom to turn the hot water on hoping the steam could offer some relief. I got undressed and sat down in the shower letting the hot water pour over me, feeling too light headed to stand. I sat there for what seemed like an hour before I heard foot steps walk in the bathroom and then the water turned off.

"You'll boil your skin off if you sit in that hot water any more." David said reaching for a towel to wrap me in.

"I thought you went over to Jason's to do the podcast." I said, my voice sounding funny due to my plugged nose.

"Are you kidding I'm not going to leave you to fend for yourself." David said sitting down on the bathroom counter as I dried myself off, he had already placed some comfy fuzzy pajama bottoms and one of his click bait sweaters on counter for me. "These are fresh out of the dryer." He said picking them up and handing them to me. "Jason came over and we did the podcast here while you were sleeping and cleared the whole day to take care of my baby." He said standing up and kissing me on the cheek. "Well you know we'll cuddle and Natalie and Taylor will take care of us but you know what I mean." He joked smiling at you.

I giggled, and even though I felt like ass, it was nice to know that Dave would clear his whole day for me if I needed it, I know how hard he works to make sure he has footage for the vlog and it takes up a lot of time. It made me feel a little sad he was putting off work for me.

"It's okay really, I can take care of myself I know you had some bits planned with Zane today you should do that." I said getting dressed in the clothes and then reaching for a brush to calm the rats nest that was my hair.

"Absolutely not. Besides cute couple videos are good click bait." He said winking at me before walking out of the bathroom. "Finish getting ready then we have movies to get to."

I smiled to myself, maybe being sick wasn't so bad. I finished brushing my hair before throwing it up in a pony tail and following where David went.

"What's on the schedule" I asked walking into the living room, interested in what movies he had planned. I fell into the couch next to where David was. He opened up his arms welcoming me to cuddle in close to him.

 "Well we of course have to do 50 firsts dates, and then I have a couple 90s rom coms that the fans told me I had watch" He said pulling me close into him. I took a deep breath as I usually did when he pulled in so I could smell his cologne that I had bought him on our first anniversary, this time though my nose was so stuffed up I couldn't even breath through it.

"Can we get some soup?" I asked wanting to do whatever I could to break up the cloudiness in my head.

"It's in the process of being made." David said looking back into the kitchen where Taylor could be seen stirring a pot of what I assumed was good ole canned chicken noodle soup. 

"Just like mom made.": I joked resting my head on his shoulder, while he moved his hand to my outer thigh absent mindedly rubbing his thumb back and forth over my skin. Everything about him was comforting.

About five minutes into the movie Taylor brought me over a bowl of soup with some crackers and a water. "Here you go." She said kindly, placing the food on the coffee table.

"Thank you so much Taylor I know you're an assistant and not a personal servant don't feel like you have to do anything extra for me." I said gratefully moving to pick the bowl up and bring it closer to me.

"It's no worries I'm not just an assistant I'm a friend too and I wanna help you get better if you need anything tell me, or David will." She joked smiling at me and walking away to do actual work.

"She's good." David adding knowing she was exactly right.

I smiled, "Give that girl a raise." I said, only half joking as I brought my spoon to my mouth. I could feel the heat from the broth helping to break up the congestion in my body. "This is so good." I said slightly moaning at the relief. David just smiled at me and kissed my forehead before going back to watching the movie.

We sat in mainly silence while the movie played out, David pulling out the camera a couple times to get a couple cute shots. We had just finished the first one and were deciding what to watch next when Carly and Erin walked through the door. "Hey y/n, how do you feel?" Erin asked sitting next to me with a bag in hand.

"I'm fine it's just a head cold or something, I feel like David told people I was on my death bed" I laughed, every half hour or so today I had gotten a text from a different person asking if I was okay after David said he couldn't hang out.

"We'll we still wanted to help you get better so we picked up a couple things for you and then we will be out of your hair." She said hanging the bag over to me.

"You didn't have to do that. Thank you so much guys!" I said sitting up to see whats inside. I pulled out a couple bath bombs off the very top.

"Those are my favorites when I don't feel good they're relaxing but also fresh so it clears you up." Carly stated. I smiled at her out of gratitude before reaching in for the last couple of items, a face mask, tea and essential oils.

"Thank you so much that was so thoughtful." I said reaching to give both of them hugs.

"Here let me take one and I’ll get a bath going for you." David said grabbing a bath bomb and walking out of the room. "Thank you." I said as he walked away.

Carly and Erin stayed for only a couple minutes more telling me once I was well again they wanted to do a video together which was the least I could do to repay them for their kindness. I said good bye to them and walked in the bathroom where David was stirring the water around to make sure it wasn't too hot.

"I put the essential oils in the diffuser in the bedroom for you once you get out. I'll be editing let me know if you need anything." He said kissing you on the cheek and walking out of the bathroom. I was so grateful for everything he was doing and it made me happy that he would be able to get a little work done too. I quickly got undressed this warm bath definitely more relaxing and helpful than the boiling shower i took this morning.

I took my time to do a face mask and deep condition my hair and just relax listening to peaceful music. I had lost track of time when I heard a knock on the door and David opened it.

"I'm done editing and I was just checking on you." He said coming over and sitting on the floor next to the tub so he was eye level with me, he reached over and starting running his hands through my hair.

"You're done already?!" I asked shocked, it usually took him hours to finish emitting and there was no way I had taken that long in the tub already. He laughed at my shock, 

"I only had a little left to do” He said looking my body up and down. "You know even when you're sick ... you're still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He said softly looking back up at my eyes.

"I don't know how I got so lucky." I replied.

"I'm the lucky one." He retorted.

"No I really mean that David. Thank you so much for everything you do for me, and for inviting me into your life. You changed my whole world, giving me experiences and friends i would of never had otherwise." I said almost choking up as my heart started to feel so full for all the things I had in life.

"Alright that's enough the cold medicine is making you loopy." He joked, kissing my head. "You are my world." He stood up and walked towards the door “When you're done come to bed. I just wanna lay with you for a while."

All I wanted to do in that moment was be in his arms. The bath had helped a lot and I was feeling better. I quickly got dressed again after drying off. Throwing my hair up in a bun and meeting David back out in his room I smiled at him as I saw him already lying there phone in hand looking at tweets. 

"Everyone loved the cute couple insta stories" He said back at me moving over so there was room in the bed for me. I got under the covers and snuggled in close to him. He kissed the top of my head and wrapped his arm around me running his hand up and down my back and he switched between social media apps.

I don't know if I've ever felt more content in my life. I didn't even care that I was sick anymore, this moment everything felt perfect.

[mousehole5000]

tgcf lb the third chapter 14 - 21

okay hit me with the lore

Xie Lian hadn’t spoken his next words before the teenager said, “He dug it out himself.” Startled, Xie Lian asked, “Why?” The teen replied, “He went mad.” -digging out your own eye okay worm

If there were demons in this world who would scam or entice the hearts of people, then there would also be humans who would fool demons. There would exist much ongoing exploitation and betrayal. He said, “If it was handed over in infatuation, yet only results in broken bones and scattered ashes, it would indeed render one’s heart to feel aggrieved.” okay also kind of dope i love it when humans and demons get some back and forth. also this feels like it could be foreshadowing

awwww xie lian giving away his only steamed bun what a sweetheart

everyone keeps telling me this book is also a tragedy but now im just laughing at the visual of headless ghosts carrying their heads around and bickering

chronic bad luck and chronic good luck meet... what will happen to our heroes...

Xie Lian raised his head, softly saying, “You are tenacious, extremely dedicated, and despite many bitter encounters with frustrations and dashed hopes, you’ve stayed true to your heart. More often than not, your misfortunes will turn into blessings, calamity to prosperity. You will continue to have good fortune, my friend, your future is radiant and will blossom spectacularly.” All the things he said were made up on the spot, so they were complete nonsense. - fhklasjksldfdfh i know this is a ploy but still this was funny. also why didnt xie lian try to pick up palm reading from another source when he fell? are they just not as good? is he pretentious like that? either way i hope we find out more about what he got up to during those 800 years

Xie Lian felt rather skeptical on how he only ate half a bun for the duration of the entire day. If young people took advantage on their good health like this, sooner or later they would surely end up passed out on the streets. - xie lian is directly calling me out for my quarantine eating habits im sorry king ill do better

Previously, it had always been Xie Lian telling other people ‘it’s alright, it’s okay’. Today was the first time he heard those words spoken back to him, leaving him with an indescribable feeling. - awww okay this got me

oh my god there was only one bed

again comedy of the year. “oh you’re putting up a curtain that repels evil thats so interesting. on an entirely unrelated note im going to make you a door”

Brushing past him, San Lang pulled out the bamboo chopstick. He swayed it twice in front of him before saying, “It got dirty. I’ll throw it out later.” - edgy bastard moments begin

Xie Lian could hear the deliberation win Ling Wen’s tone. One thing he could be sure of was that she must be in a difficult situation. He said, “Okay, I understand. Since this is inconvenient for you, then there’s no need for you to say more. In addition, the two of us never had this conversation in private.” - awwwww considerate crown prince xie lian

“What, do you guys know him?” Xie Lian said. “……” Fu Yao coldly replied, “No we don’t.” - all men do is lie. also love the petty little broom dispute. i know its actually quite intentional and that only makes it funnier. also guys stop wrecking xie lian’s home he just got it fixed up!! if anyone breaks the new door ill be highly disappointed in them

Xie Lian nodded his head. “That’s right. I wrote it. If you guys continued fighting in there, I would be pleading for reconstruction instead of renovation. Then, I would really have no dignity left.” - see xie lian said if youre not going to contribute to it then please dont fight in my monastery its been through enough

Earlier, when Fu Yao had entered, he hadn’t gotten to examine the interior furnishings. Now, after standing in this crooked, shabby house for quite a while, he was able to see it all. As if his entire body, from head to toe, was uncomfortable, he asked, “You live in a place like this?” Xie Lian handed him a chair and said, “I’ve always lived in these kinds of places.” - ive seen this quote before and it really is just that “damn bitch you live this like?” meme. amazing

Fu Yao did not sit, his expression also turning rigid for a second. It was hard to tell what the look on his face was. It seemed nine parts blank shock and one part schadenfreude. - THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE EXPRESSION I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT

In the desert, the difference in temperature between night and day was drastic. During the night, the freezing temperature was cold enough to seep into one’s bones, yet it was still tolerable. But come daytime, it was a whole other experience. The sky here was incredibly clear and expansive with dashes of white clouds, but likewise, the blazing sun was just as fierce. The group continued to walk, but the more they walked, the more it felt as though they were going into an enormous steamer basket. The hot air emitted from deep within the earth felt as though a day’s worth of walking could steam a person alive. - YES DESERTS YES

okay xie lian is so kind and so generous? he keeps giving stuff away when he has almost nothing and making sure that others are taken care of first..... love him

Xie Lian watched them put on airs. But when such airs were discarded, they finally got physical. Separated by the space of the table, the three of them fought with the poor water bottle, pushing it back and forth. - if these three really are who i think they are this is even funnier. the very clear toying thats going on is truly delightful

Even before, Xie Lian had always thought that although this teenager was always smiling, his smile often made it hard for people to distinguish whether it was actually genuine, or whether it was mockery in the guise of compliments. However, this time, anyone would be able to tell that there wasn’t even half an ounce of goodwill in his smile. - yeah that about sums it up. not even half an ounce of goodwill damn that sure the hell is not a lot of goodwill

He had Ruoye go grab onto something sturdy and stable, but Ruoye ended up grabbing onto San Lang! - awwww thats kind of cute. also the mental image... im going to make this its own post too but

im waiting for xie lian to cough up all that sand hes eating and say something funny when we’re back on the ground. i hope we get more very literal decisions from ruoye

It should be noted that there was a common saying within the mortal realm—a powerful dragon cannot crush a snake in its old haunts. - oh i like this and the translators note This is an old Chinese adage that basically means, ‘even a powerful man cannot crush a local bully.’

“General.” Nan Feng and Fu Yao both spoke at the same time, “What?” - CONFIRMED I CALLED IT tbh it was kind of obvious now ig now im just waiting. also again hysterical. if youre gonna hide your identities boys fucking lkafjfjlkdaf; try harder to remember that youre hiding

To be demoted again and again, to the point one couldn’t be demoted any further…… this kind of experience honestly felt too familiar. Xie Lian felt two gazes collectively fall on his body, but he pretended not to notice and continued reading the text on the stone slate. - this is a funny little set up for what seems to be a parallel between xie lian and this central plains general. he tripped on his own bootlace??? this HAS to be xie lian parallel what does it mean. oooh the common people on both sides of the conflict were the ones who commemorated him? interesting..

San Lang faintly smiled before he whispered, “No, I made that up. Since they had laughed at him before, making them kowtow to him now wouldn’t be asking too much, right?” Xie Lian looked and saw that it was really true. There was already no more text left to translate on the stone slate. He had originally wanted to sigh, but now he just found it funny. Thus, he also whispered, “Why are you so cheeky?” San Lang stuck out his tongue. The two of them were laughing when suddenly, someone screamed, “What is this!!!???” - okay they are funny and i respect the deception. also oooh scorpion tailed snake. oooh a horde of them. a classic cave blunder

“Yeah! The results are relatively the same as worshipping that rubbish immortal! The more you worship, the unluckier you become! “ “……” For an arrow to hit the bullseye despite being in a place so distant and unrelated, Xie Lian was left with no words. - oh my god xie lian are you wearing a spiritual “kick me” sign because it really feels like you are

HE GOT STUNG XIE LIAN NO

[your-miss-right]

Caller Number 9

Summary: Because let’s face it, your girlfriends won’t tell you when the boy of your dreams isn’t interested. So what’s left? Calling the late night radio show host known as Min Suga is a good option right? He’ll tell you how it is and ruin you while fixing your love life. Counterproductive? Definitely.

Masterlist

Chapter 2: Meet-Not-So-Cute

Normal people sleep eight hours, eat wholesome breakfasts made with oats, low fat milk, and a serving of fruit. Normal people have friends who stay away until it’s an appropriate hour to visit. Normal people don’t turn their kitchen table into a makeshift bed.

Normal…was something nonexistent in her world.

Y/N should’ve been upset about this, but then again it was six in the morning and she was sitting in a mound of blankets at her tiny kitchen table eating pastries and cheap coffee with her friend. She honestly couldn’t bring herself to care too much. Especially after her little radio show melt down. Thank god she didn’t give her name or else she might consider moving to a whole new state.

“So…did you hear from Jay?” Somehow she could tell her already knew the answer.

“Not exactly…”

“Oh?” There it was…that tone when he knew he had called it right. She knew it wasn’t out of cruelty. He had been concerned for her, asking her to be cautious. He hadn’t been wrong, Jay had gotten out of a relationship and the last thing he probably wanted was to jump back into one.

“Don’t look at me like that…” her grumble was somewhat smothered by the cloth of her long sleeve. She wasn’t looking up, but she could definitely feel his gaze.

“You don’t even know how I’m looking at you right now…” she didn’t have to look up to know he was checking her over, as if to make sure she was in one piece.

“Yes I do, I know that you’re trying to to act like you’re not judging my choices,” Y/n grumbled.

“Ok so I might have been judging you. At least tell me you know why? I told you that kid was no good. I mean what person uses a shirtless shot as his profile picture?” His nose scrunched in disgust and Y/N snorted at Hobi’s face.

“I know…” she leaned on her hands and watched as Hoseok pushed a steaming cup of cheap coffee towards her and a chocolate bun on a napkin.

“I don’t have much of an appetite…”

“If you don’t eat it, I will,” he warned her as he popped the last bit of his pastry into his mouth.

She glared at him, but he just smiled through his mouthful of bread-y goodness. Normally sweets made her the happiest person, but after stressing over her assignments, her late night phone call, and confirming that she’d be rejected, she wanted to sleep all day.

“Did you sleep at all?” Hoseok asked, this time his voice latent with concern.

“Like an hour maybe?” She munched on the pastry slowly. Hoseok didn’t miss her happy feet as she chewed. Y/N always danced in her chair when she was enjoying her food. He wondered if she was actually a college student sometimes.

“No wonder you look so exhausted. I thought you had went to bed though after your last text? Something keep you up?”

“That good looking piece of trash, homework, and…other stuff.” she pouted and took a bigger bite of her pastry aggressively. Her face flushed when she thought about her late night call.

“Well now you know he isn’t worth it. I hope you learned your lesson. You’re too cute for him anyways,” Hoseok chewed thoughtfully and added, “I also get the feeling you’d kind of eat him alive eventually, the girls he likes are too soft.”

Y/N said nothing, but nodded. She probably would, someone once told her she was high strung, too much. She looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, “Still though, ignoring someone who sucks would be so much easier if they really were the worst human alive.”

Hoseok thought for a moment and replied, “He’s the worst dancer on the team if that makes you feel better. He can’t keep count to save his life. It’s almost the same thing.” 

Y/N felt a wide grin part her lips. Hoseok had been the first friend she’d made at her university. She’d been walking up to her apartment after a long study night when she found him lying out in front of her apartment complex in the parking lot with his roommate, Taehyung.

Apparently they had locked themselves out and their landlord wasn’t going to be coming back until tomorrow morning. She’s not sure how, but she ended up sitting in the parking lot with them until six in the morning. In that span of time she learned several important things; she learned Hoseok was a dance major and Taehyung was going into veterinary.

Hoseok laughed so loud it made you giddy, Taehyung had a smile that could grow flowers, according to Taehyung the perfect milkshake is made with a scoop of ice cream and coconut milk, Hoseok likes his eggs baked because they’re fluffier that way, and according them, there definitely needs to be a class that teaches you the principles of being happy. Because let’s face it, life takes itself too seriously and people need a break.

It took her four cups of coffee and an energy bar to get through the next day, but it was worth it. After that she found the pair making a small spot for themselves in her mundane life. There were no complaints on her end.

“You should be proud of me though, he did eventually call last night and I told him off,” Y/N offered a tired smile and Hoseok’s mouth fell open.

“How did this change of heart occur?”

Y/N flushed at the memory and was extremely thankful that she didn’t use her real name when on air. It would’ve made her life only that much harder if everyone knew she was the caller who got into it with DJ Min Suga. He might not be the nicest guy around, but she did to get the truth. She hated being sensitive sometimes, it made being taken seriously that much harder.

“Let’s just say some cold hearted jerk was very honest with me last night,” Y/N scrunched her nose cutely and cringed inwardly.

“He sounds like a keeper,” Hoseok waggled his eyebrows at her, earning a soft punch to the arm. His pouty expression did nothing to soften her mock glare.

“Yeah well I probably won’t ask for Prince Charming’s advice anymore. He’s a horrible human being,” Y/N picked at a loose thread on her oversized flannel.

Hoseok’s face lit up like he had an ingenious idea and Y/N was curious so she leaned in closer, “Maybe he’s just right for you. You always pick nice guys that turn into sleazy guys. It’s worth a shot, I mean your taste in men can’t get worse right?”

“Goddamn it, Hoseok,” she hid her face in her sleeves. Her dating life was a mess.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

“You did good last night. I liked your sets,” the voice came from his side where his friend was sprawled out on his bed, flipping through a men’s fashion magazine.

He was trying not to fall asleep considering he had class soon and his journalism teacher was kind of uptight and actually took roll call. It made them feel like five year olds, but he quickly realized dignity takes second place, especially with a grade on the line. It’s funny how you realize you’re kind of willing to do anything when you actually start paying for schooling.

“Thanks, I actually had more fun than usual, did you hear it at the beginning?” He turned his head to look at his blonde friend, his hair was a mess and he looked just as tired as he did. Exam season was relentless and unforgiving to everyone, even geniuses as it turns out.

“I tuned in a little late, why? Did you get a crazy fangirl again?” He raised a brow at the pale boy who was flashing his signature gummy smile.

“This girl called in and got really pissed off, she called me an asshole. I haven’t had one like that in a while.”

“Who would’ve thought that Dj Min Suga is a masochist? I never thought you’d be one for verbal abuse,” Namjoon snickered at his friend.

Yoongi shrugged, he liked his job. Being a late night radio show host often provided for interesting stories. Unfortunately, this also meant a weird sleep schedule and often times was caught napping at the oddest hours and strangest places. Once he went on a date and dozed off while the girl went to the bathroom. She wasn’t exactly very pleased when she came back.

He couldn’t help it if he was tired and he would admit she had bored him a little. It was mutual because as soon as he mentioned his photography, she zoned out. He’d made up his mind about her, by the time she’d pick up her phone to answer a text, mid-conversation.

“It was funny and she’s a bit naïve, you don’t find them like that anymore Namjoon. Although I do feel a little sorry for her, she cares too much what others think.” Yoongi wasn’t trying to be cruel, not really. Yes, he could have his fun and say outlandish things, but he really did want her to understand what he was telling her.

People really don’t get to treat you poorly because they feel like it and you shouldn’t take it either.

“Bless the girl that falls for you,” Namjoon shook his head.

“Whoever she is…she’s going to need all the help she can get,” Yoongi chuckled.

The pair fell silent for a moment, as if letting the weight of the words actually settle in. Yoongi could already feel the question creeping up on him before it left Namjoon’s mouth.

“Do you really not believe in relationships and all that?” Namjoon wasn’t the most romantic person in the world either, but at least he still had a romantic side to him. The fact that he was too busy and career driven was a whole different subject that often intervened in his almost nonexistent dating life.

But him? Did he just not care? He wasn’t quite sure.

“I do believe in them, just not right now,” Yoongi shrugged. He really wasn’t even sure if he did believe in such feelings. Every time he’d attempted it, the situation would blow up in his face. There was always a problem and he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but somehow he always felt the common variable was himself.

He cared too much and the girl got fed up, didn’t care enough, and the girl would leave. He tried being different and somewhere along the lines it would get so stifling that he wasn’t sure who he was pretending to be. Then he tried being himself and that just seemed to confuse people. Yoongi wasn’t sure, but at some point he started feeling defective.

It wasn’t until he met Namjoon and began making other friends, that he realized he wasn’t the problem, other people were. So how do you solve that? You cut them off. It might’ve been a bad way to handle things, hell, he was 98% sure it was. But frankly, it’d made his life a little easier. He didn’t feel like he needed to blame himself anymore. If people didn’t like him, then to hell with it.

It had been working out for him just fine. However when Namjoon questioned it, which he had a nasty habit of doing, it was in those moments that Yoongi would find himself feeling like he’d temporarily lost his footing. He’d find his stomach curling uncomfortably and his mind reeling for a brief moment before answering curtly or changing the subject.

“We should get going, I have to get those morning shots for that media class.” Namjoon didn’t say anything as his friend got up, leaving Namjoon with his question unanswered. He should’ve been used to this by now.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

“It’s way too early for this class,” Y/N pulled her black beanie over her head, squishing her hair over head and hiding her eyes from the world. Not that it really mattered considering Hoseok was the only person with her and he’d already seen her at her worst. Under eye circles weren’t a shock to him anymore.

“Just turn it in and leave, no big deal,” he shrugged and tried to console her. He had to wonder if one day she would just keel over from lack of sleep. She needed to take better care of herself.

“I should, but I have other projects to take care of before I can rest. How are you though? I haven’t even asked how your classes are going? Are you having showcases that I should go see?” She was suddenly brighter. If there was something she really liked, it was seeing Hoseok dance. It still made him blush when she cheered him on.

“I’m fine. My exams haven’t been as bad, but I think I do need to stay focused. I’m tired and we do have a showcase coming up soon,” he stopped and lit up as if remembering something important, “You should totally go! You know that radio station you listen to? With that DJ with really good sets? They’re supposed to be there covering the event.”

Y/N flushed, the heat creeping up her neck and to her cheeks. She hadn’t exactly given Hoseok the exact details of last night’s phone call and she wasn’t about to.

“Oh? That’s cool. I actually haven’t listened to him in a while. Kind of lost interest,” Y/N shrugged making Hoseok raise a brow.

“Really? Oh…well I still want you to go. Taehyung is going too!”

“I will, let me know when and I’ll be there,” Y/N gave him a goofy grin and thumbs up that made him mess up the beanie on her head.

“Well I should get going now, you can walk the rest of the way right?” Hoseok stopped, they were several yards from the arts building where the majority of Y/N’s classes were.

“Hobi, I’m not five,” she deadpanned.

“Yeah, but you are sleep deprived. Take care of yourself ok?” Hoseok patted her head and let his hand rest there for a moment.

“Fine, I will,” she nodded making his hand slip from its place. He gave her a small wave before taking off down the sidewalk and back towards his place. She waited for a moment, watching her bright friend disappear around a corner and down the street.

“Why can’t I meet someone as cool as that?” She mused out loud. Y/N wasn’t attracted to Hoseok, but she did wonder why she never met someone as interesting or worthwhile as him.

She turned around ready to head into her class when she found herself staring at narrowed brown eyes and copper hair hidden beneath a beanie, he was carrying a camera in his hands, and his mouth was pulled into a tight frown. The scowl on his face was intimidating for a guy with a small build, the oversized scarf that was threatening to swallow him up made him look even smaller. The reality of it though was that he was still taller than the average height.

“You know talking to yourself is a sign of insanity,” he commented bluntly.

“Thanks…for that I guess…” she raised a brow at him and tried to side step him.

“No, no, thank you for ruining my shot,” he replied.

She halted in her steps and mustered the most offended look. It was too early for this.

“You’re welcome, now if you don’t mind I have somewhere to go,” she snapped.

“You could at least apologize,” he mumbled as he watched her climb the steps. He hadn’t actually planned on her hearing him, but her sudden stop and the tension in her shoulders told him he’d messed up.

“Excuse me?! Do you know what time it is? It is seven in the morning! I have been up all night killing myself over homework and stupid girl issues and the last thing I need is some snarky skinny guy with a camera telling me how I should behave!” She was standing in front of him, chest heaving and face flushed, but the boy didn’t seem offended.

If anything he looked amused.

“Uh…am I interrupting something?” A deep voice cut the thick tension in the air. Y/N shot the tall blonde a glare. He was carrying a couple of coffee cups and staring nervously between the pair as if waiting for a bomb to go off.

“I hope your shot is ruined…” she muttered angrily before stomping off.

Yoongi should’ve been offended, but he said nothing as he took his coffee and flicked through his pictures.

“She seemed…nice…”

“A real sweetheart…”

It didn’t go unnoticed when his friend skipped past her picture without deleting it, but Namjoon said nothing.

Yoongi always did have strange taste in women.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

A/N: Reposted this because the original had been deleted. Also the last few chapters or so are under construction, some parts of the story have been edited/rewritten. Hope to have the last updates up soon.

[journal-of-an-outlaw]

Price to be Paid - Chapter 25

AO3 link here

You were absolutely frozen. 

Of course, of all the trolleys in Saint Denis and all the people to sit next to, you had chosen the spot next to Mary Linton. She looked perfectly pressed in a gown much more suited to her than the one you picked for yourself of a teal blue that made her eyes shine, and hair pinned with such accuracy you knew you could never replicate it. It burned your insides to see she was just as lovely as you had imagined even if you had secretly hoped she was ugly and cruel. 

Mary watched you with her hand out and you realized how utterly rude you had been. 

“YN! YN Moore, pleasure to meet you.” 

Part of you had expected her to recoil at your name, scream and start to cry at the strange coincidence you had sat next to her. But instead she smiled widely and let her hands settle politely in her lap as the trolley bounced along the street. 

So Arthur hadn’t mentioned you after all. 

“Do you come often into Saint Denis?” You asked hesitantly.

Mary shook her head, watching the buildings pass on by. “No, just came to chase down my father. It’s embarrassing, really, but I asked someone for their help and I feel like I’ve taken advantage of what we used to have.” 

She had the indecency to look beautiful as a blush worked its way up her cheeks. 

“I’m sure they were just trying to help, because of the circumstances.” 

You hoped the answer would change the subject as you were in no mood to discuss Arthur with a semi stranger. It felt wrong to know who she was and have her remain in the dark. The imbalance of it all made your stomach upset. 

“Well, I knew they would come, and that’s the problem.” She shook her head and looked away from you. “If you ask someone for a favor but you know they are honorbound to say yes, is it really a request or does it become a demand? I, it’s not easy to be a single woman, it’s powerless, and I needed someone with power. Most folks I associate with at home are, well, you know, shallow and wouldn't help someone out unless it benefited them in some way.”

Mary looked a bit desperate as she spoke as if she was looking for your approval. You weren’t in the mood to give it willingly but you would listen, and maybe begin to understand. 

“Depends on what you have with this person, I would guess.”

“I’m sorry,” she played with her skirt ruffles while she spoke. “I don’t mean to speak so openly, you’re kind to listen. This person and I used to be engaged. Part of me still wishes we could go back and change the past, ignore my father and just follow our hearts. But every time I play it out it never would have worked; I couldn’t live the way he did, my family would have disowned me, and I would have isolated myself from every possible avenue of a life resembling what I had always known. I was young and naive to think that things would just fall into place, but being around him makes me think maybe, just maybe, we could take on the world together. I know that isn’t the case, I don’t love him like I used to, but it’s the intoxication of being swept up in that fantasy.”

“I used to be engaged, when I was young as well. There’s something about a first love that never really leaves you, even when you know it isn’t right anymore It’s...hard to move on and accept that life turned out the way it did, but sometimes the best choices for us aren’t the easiest.”

Mary watched you with a focused look while you talked about Henry. It wasn’t the same situation, of course with Henry dying suddenly, but things were starting to make a little more sense as to why Arthur and Mary were drawn to one another. It wasn’t true love, or any kind of love at all but more the echos from when they were younger. They had a bond, and as much as you didn’t like it, it wasn’t something that would just go away and if you were to take Arthur into your life, you would have to accept it. 

“It looks like you made a good choice now! There’s a beautiful ring on your finger.” 

“Yes, and he is good and I love him.” You beamed down at your hand, knowing what you had to do. “Miss Linton I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you. I didn’t know you before except by name, and I truly am sorry for barging next to you on the trolley like this. I know you met up with Arthur Morgan earlier, and I have to tell you he’s the one I’m engaged too.”

The trolley bell made a loud clang as the two of you sat in silence. Mary looked out to the street of Saint Denis as you passed a park with families strolling by. You thought she wiped a tear from her eye but couldn’t tell as she refused to look back at you for a moment. 

“Miss Linton, I’m sorry to spring this on you -”

“No. Don’t be.” Mary finally faced you, a smile on her face. “I...you know I was talking about Arthur, then. I am sorry to have dragged you both into my affairs, I never meant to, I just didn’t have anywhere else to turn and in truth took advantage of what we used to have.”

“It’s actually alright, Miss Linton. You are not a bad person, just a person stuck in a bad situation. I started out today in a foul mood but after getting to know you I strangely feel better.” You laughed at the absurdity of what just came out of your mouth. Mary Linton had been a hateful, deceitful hag in your mind until you sat down on that trolley and you hadn’t realized just how happy you would have been to keep on living that lie. 

“If it makes you feel better, he really does love you.” 

You looked over at her surprised. That had never been a doubt in your mind but something in her tone made you think he had proved it to Mary somehow. 

“I, oh lord, forgive me, I asked him to run away with me just before I got on the trolley. I don’t know what came over me, I just blurted it out like an imbecile.” Mary was quiet and as you listened you felt your temper rising, but forced it down in an effort to maintain some decorum. “He of course said no, that that part of our lives was over and he had someone who loved him flaws and all, not despite of them. And that must you.” 

“He saved me, in more ways than one. And it’s not always easy. There’s a lot of outside factors but at the end of the day he’s a good man, just…”

“Like he’s wrestling with a giant,” she finishes your sentences softly. 

The trolley drove by a street corner where someone yelled about a cause they were supporting, asking those walking by to donate anything they could. The sun filtered through the trees and cast odd shaped shadows on the cobblestones that had been worn down by each passing thing whether it was a horse or a street car. What a strange city, you thought, so full of life and color and heartbreak. Things hadn’t turned out like you thought they would but from what you had learned, that was usually okay.

“I think we’re more alike than we could ever guess, Miss Linton. Which probably says more about Arthur than it does the two of us.” Mary gave a startled laugh, hiding behind one hand as the trolley slowed to a halt. The conductor announced this was the end of the line and that after five minutes it would head the other way. Mary stood and asked how to get to the train station as you filtered out with the crowd. 

Charles wasn’t at the stop so you waited for Mary to exit and join you on the sidewalk. She smiled and quickly fixed a strand of hair that had loosened from her bun, enjoying the feeling of the afternoon sun. With no escort she seemed nervous, so you offered to walk her over to the train station. 

“I will tell you, if you had told me that all of this would happen today I wouldn't have believed you in a million years!” She seemed giddy walking down the street. 

“Miss Linton…”

“Mary, please.” 

“Mary,” you tried again with a smile. “I still feel awful, like I deceived you somehow. Please know that was never my intention.”

Just as she opened her mouth to respond someone called out your name, a low, gravely voice you instantly recognized. There was a small crowd behind you but Arthur and Charles sat high on their horses, a strange look on both of their faces. Arthur climbed down and threw the reins to Charles before approaching with hesitation. 

“Oh, for heaven’s sake Arthur it’s alright, I won’t bite.” Mary said flatly. You were sure he was panicking inside at seeing the two of you together. 

“YN, I didn’t know you were in the city.” 

“Charles didn’t mention it?” Arthur shook his head. “That’s alright. I came after you, but we ran into someone and I then found Miss Li-, Mary on the trolley. We actually had a lovely conversation and were walking to the train station to see her off.” 

Arthur stood frozen, like if he moved the illusion would break. It was funny, really, but you didn’t laugh as you let him process whatever was racing through his mind. You were sure seeing his old and current betrothed together was a strange and terrible sight. 

“Arthur, should we…?” You motioned to the station and he snapped back from his momentary lapse. He cleared his throat and walked up next to the two of you, unsure of whether to offer his arm or walk in silence. 

The rest of the walk only took a few minutes and it passed by in comfortable conversation between Mary and yourself. She told you about her home and her brother who she was quite proud of, and how he was looking into going for schooling after something Arthur had convinced him of. Your fiance snorted, causing both you and Mary to give him a dirty look, and he mumbled something about how it would be good for Jaime to get out in the world and be stable. 

A strange pang shocked your heart at their casual intimacy and chatter about Mary’s brother. It was something you didn’t share with Arthur as any questions about your family had been deflected and you hoped he wouldn't bring it up. You realized now that was foolish, and one day he simply wouldn't take a distraction as an answer. The unfortunate bond to your parents would need to be brought to light soon as your father kept reminding you by popping up at every turn. 

The train whistled loudly, steam pouring onto the station platform and signalling it was ready to leave. Mary thanked you both and stepped up to the car, but paused halfway up and turned back. 

She took your hands in her and gave a soft squeeze. “I genuinely wish the both of you every happiness in the world. I, it’s nice to know Arthur has someone like you looking out for him.” 

“Mary, if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to write. It’s not easy to get by on your own, you do have support if you need it.” Arthur smiled and tipped his hat as the train let out another blast. Mary waved and stood frozen safely on the stop step as the train pulled out from the station. 

You and Arthur watched as the train faded into nothing more than a blip on the horizon. 

“That was...how did you even…”

Arthur stuttered at your side trying to comprehend what happened. You smiled up at him. 

“I came after you to apologize. I was wrong Arthur, very wrong, and never should have tried to stop you from helping Mary. Charles came with me into the city and we tried to find you, but he spotted some Pinkertons and we had to escape. He took the horses and I jumped on the trolley next to a very surprised Mary Linton. We actually got along very well, she told me about how you helped her and it just solidified my thought that you are one of the best men I’ve ever met.” 

Arthur blushed at your words and looked around. Spotting no one, he swept you up into a brief hug, resting his head in the crook of your neck and squeezing. 

“Truth be told I only did it because I thought it’s what you would have done. Helping people out...that’s your thing. Being kind, y’know.” 

You laughed and linked your arm through Arthur’s. All feuds forgotten, you strolled back through the city to find Charles. He told you about chasing Mary’s father all over Saint Denis; the meeting at the stables, chasing down the loan shark, and after all that Mary’s father still escaped their grasps. You laughed and gasped dramatically as Arthur retold everything, feeling like he wanted you in on the secret of him and Mary’s relationship, whatever it may be. It was a good feeling, being accepted and wanted. After he finished you told him about Brother Dorkins and how Charles saved two poor souls who were being held captive. 

“Oh, I met him. The Brother, he was with Charles I guess after you got on the trolley. Walked them back to their church and made sure they weren’t followed.”

So Charles had diverted Arthur from running into your father. What a nightmare that would have been, but the thought of Agent Milton moving about somewhere in the same city brought your fears back and you suddenly wanted to be out of Saint Denis more than anything. Your eyes scanned everyone who passed by for the possibility of him running into you and what that would mean. You hadn’t spoken about your parents in nearly a year and the topic still made your stomach turn. 

What would Arthur think when he found out?

Charles whistled from across the street. You and Arthur crossed to meet him and leave as soon as possible. Arthur asked if everything was alright as you took off through the streets, trying to put as much distance between you and Agent Milton as possible. Your only response was a smile as words were not able to form for you at the moment. 

“You’re back! And just in time, too. We need to prepare for a ball, Cinderella.” 

Dutch greeted the three of you at camp with the strange sentence and you cast a confused look at Arthur. Hadn’t you just been to a dance in Rhodes?

Arthur grunted. “Dutch, you know I hate dressing up…”

Dutch laughed and approached the two of you. Swinging his arm around Arthur’s shoulder to steer him over towards Hosea you heard him say, “Just think of it as a practice for your wedding. Now, what we have here is a change to get on the good side of Angelo Bronte at a party the Mayor is throwing.”

You chuckled watching Arthur’s panicked face throw you a glance for help but you just waved him off and started brushing Eclipse. Her hair was dirty from the smog of Saint Denis and she made appreciative sounds as it slowly became clearer and clearer. Kieran hadn’t brushed her in the past few days so she was overdue. The other horses nearby looked dirty too, like Kieran hadn’t been keeping up with his duties. 

The next week moved at the same pace set by the heat lingering around Shady Belle; heavy and unrelenting in its molasses slow pace. You helped cut more vegetables, wash more clothes, and sort more herbs than you cared to remember and more than once you and Karen snapped at each other purely for something to do. She may not always get along with you, but as someone who worked hard for the gang she respected you and you felt the same towards her. 

Days started to feel repetitive. While it was wonderful to have a routine and sleep under a roof, not everyone agreed that you deserved it after such a short time with the group. Micah certainly made it known that he should be in your and Arthur’s room, not you, but someone usually told him to quiet down if he got too rowdy. 

One day, Dutch’s plan finally came into fruition. 

“Gentleman! Tonight is the night we set off, hair brushed and oiled, shoes shined, and dressed to the nines so we can charm the pants of this god forsaken shit hole called Saint Denis.” He waited while people laughed at his show, then continued on. “Hosea, myself, Bill, and…” his eyes crossed the gang. “Mary Beth will be off to the mayor's house.” 

It was not lost on you how quickly Dutch’s eyes flitted past you. 

Mary Beth balked. “Me? You need some pick pocketing done?” 

“No, nothing like that. We just need a woman who can move about precisely in high society is all.” 

A disgusted noise came from Molly as she threw a rag down and stalked back into the house. Dutch just huffed and turned back to the younger woman. 

But Mary Beth was still confused. “I ain’t like the others, you could take YN or Abigail and dress them up. Why me?”

Micah annoyingly stepped forward to answer. At his first step Mary Beth crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Because, Miss Gaskil, you’re beautiful, and young, and good enough to distract people into thinking they have a false sense of security when in reality we’re robbing them blind.”

“But I thought you said -”

“Enough.” Dutch had his spotlight stolen and was incredibly frustrated by how the events had gone. It was his story to tell why was no one listening?

“Mary Beth. We ain’t robbing. It’s just a dinner party and we figured a pretty young girl like you should experience the finer things in life. YN went to that ball back in Rhodes and Abigail we thought wouldn’t want to leave young Jack so soon. Plus, with John not there, things could get out of hand.” 

Arthur’s eyebrows shot up to the top of his hairline. Clearly this was something he hadn’t discussed with Dutch and you know they all watched poor Abigail flail about feeling stuck in her position. 

The look on Dutch’s face said the decision was final. You were strangely okay with this as you had no desire to dress up and preen about the high society of the men who kidnapped Abigail’s son. But Arthur clearly wasn’t. 

“Dutch, if I’m going so is YN. That’s final.” 

Dutch sighed, looking exhausted. “My boy, if that happens then I’ll have to -”

“It’s happening. We can find a second carriage.”

“Fine.” You watched the scene, frozen. Not wanting to push any boundaries you opened your mouth to speak but Dutch silenced you with a look and you waited for him to continue. “We are guests of Angelo Bronte and will clean up before heading out. That means you all bathe, yes, even you Bil, and for god’s sake wear a suit. We will meet after supper and head in together, as Arthur so eloquently said, in two wagons.”

A flush worked its way up your chest and face. “I don’t want to make trouble, Dutch.”

“What’s done is done. We will all head in and be on our best behaviour and make this worth our while! Be ready by seven.”

Arthur balked at the older man and joined you near Pearson’s wagon. “Never seen him like that. Wonder why he put up a fight about bringing you along.”

“Well, he was right. Mary Beth is beautiful and charming and...younger.” You wrap your arms around your middle, suddenly self conscious. Arthur laughed softly at your expression, which earned him a dark glare. 

“You ain’t old, darlin’, you’re younger than me and even so there’s nothing wrong with it. Dutch has been strange lately, that performance included.” He looped your arm through his and walked over to the house. “Let’s go into town, take the day to get ready for that party tonight, hmm?” 

You nodded and allowed him to drag you away. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Molly dart out of sight as you as Arthur approached and a pang of guilt hit your chest. 

As soon as your bag was packed for the day you closed the door to your room and promised Arthur you would be down shortly. Something was drawing you over to the small sitting room next to Dutch and Molly’s room. It was a quiet afternoon and the sun filtered in through the wooden blinds casting beams of light to dance around the room. 

“Hosea?” The older man grunted as he looked up. “I think Molly should go tonight instead of Mary Beth. I know she’s not...I think it would clear the air, make things a bit better between her and Dutch, which in turn means better for us. You know she would charm the pants right off of those society men and get a chance to flex her uses.” 

Hosea blinked in response. He seemed to ponder your words for a moment, scratching his chin while his eyebrows pulled together. From somewhere downstairs Arthur called for you, so you told Hosea to consider your idea and waved goodbye. 

The ride into town was uneventful. Your mind was racing with thoughts of a real bath and nice clothes to be focused on the dusty road below you. Arthur was talking to you about something, but suddenly the thought of being in town reminded you that just a week ago your father had been there and almost caught you. If there was a chance he would find you or Arthur, things would turn bad very quickly. 

"...and Hosea told me once about mixing flowers and herbs together to make poultices, like for medical purposes, and how Bessy taught him."

You took the pause in his speech as a chance to reply noncommittally with a nod. 

Arthur saw right through that. 

"He also said that if you bathe in the waters of Saint Denis that your skin would turn as green as grass." 

You looked around the bridge entrance with a sharp eye. "Uh huh, wow, he's so smart." 

"And eating yellow daisies under a full moon will let you turn into one of them, but for a day." 

"Hmm, wait what did you say?" You turned to find Arthur stifling a laugh by looking away from you but it wasn't working. 

"Something on your mind you want to talk about, sweetheart?" His voice was low as he asked. 

“I’m just,” you sighed dramatically, “worried is all. Did Charles tell you about the Pinkertons we saw?” 

Arthur nodded. “Met that Brother Dorkins character, too. Not sure what to make of him. Seems nice enough, genuine, but all those religious types do, right? That’s how they get you.” 

You laughed and chastised Arthur for mocking the man and in turn he told you he was only joking. Brother Dorkins was a good man; he put helping others above all else in his life and truly committed to the selfless way that he had been taught. You felt good about how you and Charles had helped him the other day and were glad Arthur had been able to spend time talking to him. 

Once the horses were tied up out front you headed into the tailor shop together. Arthur was quickly ushered over to the men's side and you followed a young woman to look at dresses. 

It was all breathtaking. The glamor of what life could be like stared you down in the reflection wearing a low cut deep red dress. It whispered about high heeled boots and soft, elegant gloves that would accompany you on a night out to see a show. It sighed in your ears to the sound of string lacing up your back and the tug of the corset that restricted your movement. The sweet symphony swelled with the swish of the dressing room curtains and you took center stage, ready to present the illusion to Arthur. 

He spit out the sip of water he had just accepted from the shopkeeper. 

Quickly the man jumped into action to clean up the spill and you simply arched an eyebrow. The woman next to you knew she had done good work from the reaction and you smiled at her like you shared a secret. The burgundy material clung to your chest and hips, billowing out behind you like a cloud. It was large and overdone, but even you could see through the poshness of it and admire the way you looked like a dream. No one could stand in your way with this dress, not even Arthur and his dapper looking tuxedo. In which he looked stunning as well. 

“See something you like, Mr. Morgan?” You rested a hand on your hip as you sauntered over, enjoying the way his eyes ran up and down you languidly. 

He ran a hand over his eyes to hide the obscenities that flew from his mouth. “Only you could make that dress look like that, I’m not so sure I want to buy it for you.”

“Why not!” You pouted, sticking your lip out. 

You could see him restrain himself as he took your hand gently and turned you around. He pretended to fix something on the back of your dress and suddenly you were very aware that both of the workers were watching you. 

“If anyone so much as thinks about you looking like that I’d put a bullet between his eyes before you could stop me.”

After you both changed back to your street clothes and paid, you decided to walk to the hotel to bathe as it wasn’t as far as you had thought. Arthur let you hold onto his arm and point out things you liked along the way, like the small birds singing in the air and the way the horses hooves echoed streets away from the trolley car. It was vibrant and new and you loved it, oblivious to the way Arthur never took his eyes off of you. 

The clerk at the hotel was bored and barely paid any attention to the two of you as you paid for baths. At the last second Arthur purchased a room for the night for you two to stay in after the dinner, and you almost missed the wicked glint in his eye. 

You moaned louder than you should have as you sank down into the beautifully hot water. Any aches you had before were gone in that weightless space and you watched the dirt from days and days simply scrub away. You had been trying to clean yourself every few days at least but living in the swamps made it difficult. Between the bugs and the sweat and the need to bring someone with you in case an alligator had its eyes on you, the actual bathing amount was questionable. Laying in the bubbly bliss was pure heaven. 

A soft knock at the door was followed by a voice asking if you wanted extra assistance but you declined. The bar of soap was easy enough to manage and you plunged your head below the water to begin attacking your hair. 

You eventually left the small paradise you had found and dried off, impressed with the result of one simple bath. It was something you would need to indulge in more regularly. 

Arthur beamed at you as you entered the small room and motioned to the bed where he had laid out your dress. It was approaching time to leave for the mayor’s and you had too many buttons and laces to be able to dress yourself. Arthur kissed your neck as he helped you dress and looked at you again like a wolf stalking its prey. It made your stomach flip and flutter as you thought about what the night held in store. 

Dutch greeted the two of you with a harumph as you entered the carriage outside. He chomped down on one end of a cigar and looked sour until Arthur found a glass of champagne. Dutch was dressed to the nines in a beautiful black suit and matching top hat. Someone, you guessed Hosea, had stuck a white flower into his lapel and he leaned back in his element. It didn’t take long for Dutch and Arthur to be howling with laughter at thoughts of the old days and how ridiculous it was to be headed to a mayor’s ball, of all things. You sat squished across from Bill who avoided your gaze and opted to stare out the window, throwing back the glass of champagne Dutch handed him instead of savoring it like you were. 

You asked Dutch if he wanted you to lift anything as there was likely to be good value in such a high society. 

“Oh, no, no, no, no! No pickpocketing. We are here to make some real contacts. We have to find what we can at this party where the guest of honor is the worst crook in town!” It wasn’t long until he and Arthur and Bill were howling with laughter at this again and you watched on amusedly. 

The men cheersed their drinks just as the carriage arrived outside of the manor gates and came to a slow stop. Someone opened the door and you exited first, excited to be around new people. Arthur held his arm for you to walk you down inside but stopped in his tracks and stared as another carriage pulled up behind yours. 

“My god, she actually came…” you whispered. 

For as wonderful as you looked in the dress from the tailor, you had nothing on Molly O’Shea. She stepped forth a queen in a stunning green jeweled dress dotted with accents of gold and black and red and perfectly matching jewelry. Her hair and makeup were flawless as well and made you wish you had brought at least a lipstick with you. 

Her Irish accent was silky and slow as she took in her companions. “Evening, fellas. And Miss Moore, that’s a stunning dress you have there.” 

You held Arthur’s arm, frozen as well, and watched as she and Dutch took their place in front of you. Hosea walked next, a smirk and a wink thrown your way as if to say he had finally come around and listened to your suggestion. 

Bill huffed. “Well. This night just got a whole lot more interesting.”

The walkway was lined with white canvas tents stretched high above you and twinkling lights across the lawn. The house was a stunning two story building with Roman columns and a balcony that seemed to stretch around the entirety of the second floor. It was beautiful and matched the bold taste of those in the higher class of Saint Denis. 

“Luca here will take you to Mr. Bronte.” A man at the front door accepted Dutch’s paper invitation and invited the crowd in, eyeing the number of people that entered in a way that let you know you were pushing the limits. 

Luca was a smaller man, an inch or two below even you. He walked with a strut that made up for it as he guided the group into the foyay and spoke about the extensive history the house held as a jewel and a staple of Saint Denis. He lost you somewhere after you passed the chandelier, the sparkling beauty nearly stopping you in your tracks. Luca led you past the double staircase and multiple servants. 

‘Hosea, Bill, YN, you three join the party. Signore Bronte does not want a crowd I am sure. We will meet you down here shortly and meet you out back after we pay our respects.” Molly clung to Dutch’s arm a little tighter, learning she was of importance to meet the guest of honor. Arthur simply rolled his eyes at you and you smiled back, not bothered by the slight.

Bill whistled as you stepped back out into the night air. “This sure is a pretty place. Like the...lights and such.” 

Hosea told him to go find drinks while the two of you stood at the top of the stone staircase, a good spot for observing the party. 

“Hosea, I’m flattered to even be here. I know Dutch seemed against it at first. He’s bee strange lately, have you noticed?” 

The older man paused before thinking, mulling over the words running through his mind. “You look lovely tonight YN. Sure picked a dress that could bring a man to his knees.”

“It’s not too much?” You fretted. 

“Not at all, my dear. And as far as Dutch goes, I’ve noticed something is off as well. Let’s keep that to ourselves however, not everyone would agree with our observations. Might think we were going against him.” Bill held out two drinks for you and headed back into the crowd to play the part of upper society. You clinked your glass gently against Hosea’s and enjoyed the taste of whatever it was you had sipped. 

The garden below you was wide stretching, with trees and fountains and gazebos dotted around the grounds in an elegant arrangement. The same stringed lights from the front of the house were draped all around the backyard as well giving the evening a mood lighting of excitement and dreaminess. 

You still couldn't believe it was all real. A few short months ago you were being held hostage by a savage man, and now you stood at the height of society, drinking and enjoying the view you had from the top. 

It wasn’t long before Dutch, Arthur, and Molly joined you on the balcony. Dutch and Molly looked quite pleased with themselves, talking about how enchanted Bronte was with Molly and her beauty. Arthur seemed hesitant and motioned for you to come stand by him as soon as Dutch was done retelling the riveting tale of working with the man of the hour. 

“I think we should get outta here. These people, they ain’t like us. They’re liars, and awful tricksters who do terrible things for a laugh.” Arthur shook his head, pointing out some people in the crowd who Bronte had mocked. 

 “Native Americans? What do they need from the mayor?” You mused out loud. 

“Alright, go ingratiate ourselves. And remember,” Dutch gave you a pointed look, “steal nothing. Unless it's information. Find the mayor and stay outta trouble.” 

Arthur gave your arm a tug and together you headed into the crowd. You knew finding the mayor was the target, but to be honest you were mostly interested in meeting the Native Americans who were somewhere out in the gardens. 

You and Arthur waltzed around to see what you could find, but most of the people were simple folk looking for idle conversation. It took an hour to make your way around in a lap and at the end you felt none the wiser. Sure, the caricature of Saint Denis was more vibrant and colorful after speaking to more of its residents but you knew that would be enough information to sustain Dutch. 

A conversation behind you grabbed your attention and you turned so Arthur could face them men and join in. 

“It ain’t complex, Lemieux. And only an idiot like you would try to make it so.” 

The small group of men stood near the fountain seeming to poke fun at the Frenchman. “I will not deny idiocy, sir, but perhaps now is not the time. You are drunk, Ferdinand.”

“I’m not drunk, you fool!” The loud man laughed and rocked backwards, grabbing the man next to him in order to remain standing. “But this man! This man loves darkies.”

You blanched at the slur and Arthur took this queue to grab the man’s shoulders, turning him away from the group. It didn’t take him long to lead him away before anyone could get too upset. You pretended to fan your face with your hand and draw the attention of the men back to you instead of watching the scene behind them. 

“Your husband, madam?” 

You blushed. “Betrothed. A good man, Arthur. My name is YN.”

Arthur rejoined the group and shook hands with the other men. “Thank you, sir. Henri Lemieux, I hope you are enjoying my party. Do you know Evelyn Miller?”

The name sounded familiar as Arthur’s face lit up. “My lord. The writer?” 

“Well,” the man chuckled good heartedly. “We seem to have another deranged drunkard in our midsts.” 

Behind Mr. Miller a loud boom echoed through the streets of the city. You winced and looked away from the bright lights exploding in the sky, unsure of what to think. Arthur placed his hand on your back and whispered that they were fireworks and you watched in awe. Flashes of light were met with oohs and ahhs from the crowd so you figured you must be safe, even if the air reeked of gunpowder.

A man in a white servants uniform pushed through the group towards the mayor, pulling him to the side once he had his attention. A sharp whisper brought the words ‘Cornwall’, ‘fool for trusting him’, and ‘sign it’ carried across the air and you locked eyes with Arthur. This was a lead, something he should look into. 

Dutch seemed to appear out of thin air. “He say something about Cornwall? Find out what.” 

Arthur placed a chaste kiss to your cheek and slunk off into the crowd and off into the dark. You stood alone until Molly joined your side. 

“Miss O’Shea, that gown is...breathtaking.” Molly smiled, a rare motion for her. 

“I’m glad tonight worked out. Hosea told me it was your idea to bring me along instead of Miss Gaskill, and I wanted you to know I’m grateful. Dutch and I...we used to be so close but I’m hoping he sees my worth after tonight. This dress was supposed to be for another type of party with me and Dutch, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

You smiled sadly at her, unsure of what to say. 

“Do you ever miss Ireland?” 

“Constantly,” she answered without hesitation. “It’s a beautiful country, and Dublin is a gem that these cities don’t hold a candle too. I hope you visit one day, see the green for yourself.”

“I’d like that.” Arthur returned to your side with a sly grin thrown at Dutch and a pat of his coat pocket. Dutch tipped his hat and watched the rest of the fireworks show with a wide grin. 

Hosea and Bill find their way over and express their disinterest at staying any longer. On the walk out Hosea whispered to Dutch about a plan he had devised to rob the city bank, something someone at the party had brought to his attention. Dutch countered with a plan to rob the trolley station that Bronte had mentioned to him and Arthur. The gang seemed to just need one big score before they could be free, whatever Dutch meant by that. 

Lenny drove up with the first carriage and you saw his eyes nearly fall out of his head at the sight of you. One look at Arthur snapped his neck forwards without daring another glance, but you laughed at the exchange and felt good about how the night had gone. Dutch, Bill, Molly, and Hosea climbed inside as you and Arthur remained on the sidewalk. He clapped the side of the wagon without a word and Lenny took off, a curt nod cast somewhere in your general direction. 

“Well, Mr. Morgan, what should we do now?”

Arthur met your gaze with a low growl and a hungry look on his face. “Girl, you better run back to that hotel room because I know exactly what we are doing tonight.”

You squealed with delight and took off, hiking your skirt up around your knees to let you run. Arthur barked a laugh and chased after you, showing the upper society of Saint Denis that it couldn't tame you no matter how hard it tried.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: The Elephant in the Room ch.3 (baon)

Summary: Jeff has started working at the Embassy. He’s got a new job, a new car, and a new place to live. Now if only the rest of his life could fall into order, that’d be great. Any time now…any time at all…

Tags: Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Prejudice Against Monsters, Angst,  Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Suicidal Thoughts,  Mental Health Issues, Friendship

Notes: Red, you little cryptid, why can’t you ever let anything be easy? Then again, if Jeff was hoping for things to be straightforward, he picked the wrong brother. 

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it here!

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It was worth the long sit-down in the kid’s office, twiddling his thumbs in the dark as Red waited for the door to open. Worth it for that one moment to see Andy have to bite back a scream when he saw Red at his desk. Give the kid credit though, he didn’t piss himself, which had been known to happen. That was always funny as shit, but kinda annoying, because then Red had to wait around for whoever to change their pants. He was busy, for fuck’s sake, and there were plenty of other places he needed to lurk. Tell the truth, he’d been a little surprised to hear the kid was looking for him. Surprised and frankly intrigued. Andy’d only been working at the Embassy for a week, how much trouble could he have stumbled across already? And it was definitely trouble, no two shakes about it. No one came looking for Red because they wanted to share a kit kat, such a fucking pity. Jeff was still standing in the doorway, doorknob in hand, staring at Red like maybe he was expecting a pit to hell to open up beneath him and swallow him back down. Could happen someday, Red supposed, but today was not that day and he was gettin’ bored of waiting. “you can come in,” Red said magnanimously, gesturing him inside. “whatever diseases i got don’t transfer.” His grin widened as Jeff sat in the visitor’s chair rather than drop-kicking him out of the desk like his bro would’ve. Nervously little twerp, wasn’t he. But Red wasn’t much fooled by that; he’d seen Andy boy step up for the people he cared about, more than once. Kid had a soft soul, for sure, but a good one. Like Papyrus. Like Blue. This world could use a coupla those and it was up to souls like Red’s to keep the world from fucking them over. One more dinky scar on his was nothin’, but if Red had his way, Jeff’s was never gonna need so much as a band-aid.

Fucking liabilities. “Hi, um, it’s just,” Jeff stammered a bit and Red only looked at him, let him wriggle a little longer on the hook. He kept his approval under wraps when Jeff took a few breaths, calming himself, and said, “Earlier today, Stretch and I were downtown.” “uh huh,” Red slouched back in the chair, let his eye lights roll back. Looked like he was reading a teleprompter off the ceiling, but the truth was, Red kept all his info in the safest place Above or Below ground, all filed away neat and tidy in his own skull. “classic books, owned by thomas meyer, immigrated in 1965 with his folks. his pop owned the bookstore and thomas took it over a while back. does okay, the rare book gig helps keep him afloat. did even better when monsters popped up, they love books and ain’t so tied to amazon.” “What?” Jeff blinked at him in a mixture of surprise and awe, “I didn’t know any of that.” He looked a little too damn impressed by a little googling and a lot of patience, and fuck if this kid didn’t pick some bad role models. Shit on a shingle, if Red had a windowless van, Jeff would probably be climbing on in it hoping for some free damn ice cream, no self-preservation at all. His bro sure knew how to pick a liability, this kid was something else. “i know plenty,” Red tapped his gold tooth with one sharp-tipped finger. “so what about it? gimmie some news i can’t get from the paper.” “Well, it’s just that Thomas hired someone to replace me and he’s very…uncomfortable around Monsters.” Jeff was leaning forward, bracing his hands on the desk and probably didn’t even realize it. He looked like the lead detective in an eighties movie as he asked, “Why would someone who doesn’t like Monsters want to work somewhere that is friendly to them? Thomas even has one of those ‘Monsters Welcome’ stickers on his front door.” Wellie well well, now this was interesting. Course, Red already knew what the kid was talking about. Steven Baker, recent graduate of Ebott University. Garden-variety xenophobe, didn’t have any special plans scuttled away on his laptop or some raggedy notebook plastered with MAG stickers. He just needed a job and chose poorly, was all. Some people didn't adjust to Monsters too well and that was fine; Red pretty much didn't want those fuckers around anyway and so long as they stuck to the other side of town, wasn’t much his concern. But the ‘book haus’ reject, eh, that was all dull shit; Red had a lockdown on that info three days ago before that little fucker ever stepped behind the register. What was interestin’ him now was Andy. Here the kid was, bubbling with suspicions like a junior detective, and who did he Scooby Doo to? Not Edge, not Stretch, not even his boytoy. No, he brought that info right to Red, didn’t he, like a cat with a dead bird, eager to show off his prize. Yeah, Red was liking this. Aloud, Red said, “i know all about steve, did a background check when tommy boy hired him. we monitor all the businesses that have the official stickers.” “Oh,” Jeff slumped back into his chair and Red couldn’t help but be amused. Kid looked like he’d unmasked the bad guy and found that it was Old Man Jenkins again. He didn’t stay down though, sat up straight again and asked, “You monitor all the businesses? Why?” Curiosity, good, and even if Andy ain’t exactly ready to share friendship bracelets with Red, he wasn’t letting his nervousness keep him from asking. Red grudgingly pulled his estimation of the kid up another notch. “two reasons.” Red held up two bony fingers then folded one down. “one, to make sure they aren’t getting harassed and feel they need to take it down. monster-friendly business won’t stay that way if they’re afraid to go to their cars at night.” He folded down the second finger. “and two, to make sure they mean it. ‘bout the last thing i ever want to happen is some monster and their kiddies heading into a place expecting a warm welcome and instead leaving in a paper bag.” Jeff nodded slowly, cringing a little at the Red’s description. “Makes sense. I should’ve known you were already on it, guess I was being paranoid.” “no such thing,” Red countered. And wasn’t that a swig of sugar-syrup, the kid had faith in him. "you were right, it is off. that’s good instincts, kid. we’ll be keeping tabs on stevie, don’t you worry, make sure he stays on the right side of the line. you, now, you come tell me anytime you see something or someone who seems off, yeah? anytime. thinking you’re overreacting is how people get hurt, and some people in our company can’t take much of a hit, you get me?” “Yeah, I do,” Jeff said determinedly. Andy had some spine to him in there beneath all the meat. That was the fella who’d decked a stranger on the bus for harassing a Monster, yep. The door opening made him tense, but it was only Antwan, peering in through the crack. He pushed the door open further and stepped inside, “Hey, security said you were here.” Watching the kid light up when he caught sight of Antwan was gag-worthy, but Red managed to choke it down. Being around his bro, the honey bun, and their fucking PDA had helped him build up a tolerance. “Hi, yeah,” Jeff said, “Red and I were talking.” “yep," Red agreed. He wagged his foot lazily where it was propped on the desk. "we’re about done now. thanks for stopping by, sweetheart. see you around.” “Okay,” Jeff said easily, like this wasn’t his office, heh. Kid was a little too easy-going, but that could be fixed with a judicious amount of assholery. Or maybe he was still too distracted by his boytoy, to care because he was all hopeful eyes and sweet-talk when he asked Antwan, “See you tonight?” “Yeah, I’ll meet you at Blue’s,” Antwan said, distractedly. He was pretty busy trying to glare a hole into Red, not an uncommon reaction but not one he was used to from Antwan. His drinking buddy about had steam coming out of his ears and didn’t notice that Jeff’s smile faltered, fading out as he mumbled an agreement and left. Curiouser and curiouser, as some brat once said. “What the fuck are you up to?” Antwan asked bluntly, the second the door swung shut. “dunno what you mean,” Red went through his mental list of annoying vocal tones and went with breezy on this one, but truth was, he really didn’t. And he didn’t like that, not one fucking bit, he liked a clear idear of what was going on around him at all times, and if Antwan had a bug up his ass, Red wanted to know why it crawled up there and what kinda nest it was making. From Antwan’s glare, that bug was pretty far up there. “I mean, why are you calling my boyfriend pet names?” To have that piece of puzzle snap in so easily, Red almost busted out laughing. That was what had Antwan’s panties in a wad? “eh, i do that with everyone,” Red said lazily. He licked his teeth deliberately, running his tongue over each and every point as he enjoyed the rising fury in Antwan’s eyes. “aww, honey, what makes you think i’m interested in your personal meat bag?” “The knowledge that you fucked your way through Europe the last time you went traveling with the diplomats?” Antwan snapped. “I heard plenty about that!" “maybe i had some fun,” Red allowed, and gave him a wolfish grin. Unless Antwan was chatting it up with Sans, he hadn’t even heard the half of it. “dunno, i don’t see your name on andy boy. not a ring or maybe a pretty little collar. gotta say, that might be a good look for him—“ “Stop,” Antwan said, through gritted teeth. Pretty impressive the way wrenched himself back, all that hot anger dropping down the thermometer to icy calm. “Your brother is my best friend, he wouldn’t like it if we killed each other.” Red snorted. This was fun and all, but a slap upside the head with a little realism was probably due. “cute that you think there is any ‘other’ about it. dunno, doesn’t sound like you trust your boy.” “What?” Antwan looked pretty taken aback by that, which was a fine, fine thing. Cause if there was a chance this entertaining lil’ tantrum was about Antwan thinking Jeff was trying to get a late afternoon bone-on, he and Antwan were about to talk real close up, make no mistake about that. Jeff wasn't a cheat, Red had a little file tucked away in the back of his head with plenty of data proving that.

Antwan didn't seem to notice, he only snapped out, "This isn’t about him, it’s about you. I know you too damn well. Leave him alone.” Well, this a slice of something different. He’d never much had anyone worried he was gonna seduce their honey away. Refreshing change, that. Sans was gonna laugh his ass off. “not much of a threat there.” Antwan’s smile was coldly humorless, whew, bet that went over real well in court, probably had a more’n few defendants pissing themselves. “No threats. I know better than to give you advance warning.” “better," Red let his grin widen, licked his teeth again deliberately, "could always make it a threesome.” Now that was a hell of a look. That was fifty shades of no, such a shame. Antwan only sputtered out, “I…what? No!” "pity," Red sighed. He kicked off of the desk and stood, groaning as he stretched with bone-popping force. "cool your jets, i ain’t trying anything with your boy, he had a security issue was all. ask him, he’ll tell ya. now that we've established that i’m not trying to poach, hit bricks.” Antwan only stared at him, visibly fuming, oh, yeah, he was plenty pissed, looked like he was trying to chew off his damn tongue. But Red was done playing nicey-nice for the day and it looked like Antwan was keeping cosplay as the fool aside for Andy. He turned on his heel, ready to storm back out the way he came and it was probably gonna lose him his drinking buddy, at least for a while, but Red couldn't help adding, sing-song sweet, "not trying yet, anyway." The door slamming told Red everything he needed to know about that. Red shook his head, started to pull out a cigar. He'd wait to light it when he got outside, no reason to stink up the kid's office, especially without his bro here to bitch and moan about it. Oh yeah, those two were meant to be. Just like the boss and Stretch, it was almost like a fucking aura around 'em, and Red didn't do Judgements anymore, but he'd never given up Seeing. He was never one to let a gift go to waste and he'd known fucking ages before his bro that he was meant to be with the honey bun. And just like those idiots, these two might need a little nudge in the right direction. That was fine. Red was pretty good when push came to shove.

~~*~~

tbc

[chyrstis]

Rain or shine

This is kinda shameless fluff that got out of control, because I wanted to skip ahead and write something cute, and also write more Sharky in general. I just wasn’t expecting Nick and Kim to show up as well. 

Pairing: F!Dep x Sharky Boshaw (pre-ship but the feelings are there)

Rating: T

Word Count: 4.5K

Link to AO3!

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After a mission Sharky’s left with something he wasn’t prepared for: one sick deputy.

______________

“Almost there?”

Sharky held onto her tight, making sure she wasn’t going to fall. “We sure are, chica. I can see their house from here.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie, he could see parts of Nick and Kim’s through the trees ahead, but it wasn’t the clearest of shots. Still, he heard her chuckle, and felt her lean into him more with each step.

He was half-dragging her by the time they got to their front porch, and she set herself down on one of their chairs. When he crouched down to look her in the eye, she couldn’t hold the look. Just kept on letting her attention skim him as her head bobbed in place.

“I think,” Hana started, holding her eyes open for a few seconds as she blinked, “…I don’t actually feel that great after all.”

“You’re not looking great, shorty. Not gonna lie about that.” He looked her over, taking in how pale she was starting to look, and worry set in quick. “Sit tight, and I’ll be right back.”

He got to ring the doorbell, trying not to pace in place, and found himself knocking only seconds after going for the bell.  “Yo, Nick? Kim? Either of you home?” No one answered immediately, and he shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from jabbing the bell again.

“Coming!” A voice eventually answered, just as he started to pace in earnest. He glanced over at Hana, watched her give the weakest thumbs up he’d ever seen, and knocked on the door even harder.

“I’m coming, can you calm down a little!” Kim opened the door, and she gave him a surprised look. “Oh, hey! Didn’t expect to have you drop by like this, not without a call at least. Hana with you?”

“Yeah, that’s just the thing,” he began, talking fast. “We would’ve, but we were in the area, and H wasn’t looking all that hot after we had to run from those cows, then it was pouring, and we were trudging through-“

“Sharky, seriously, it’s fine-“

“And since you’ve still got that bun baking up in there, we didn’t wanna cause any problems, but Dep’s not feeling right enough to make it down the road even with help. Think we nearly fell twice just trying to get up the stairs, and we’re both stone cold sober. Back me up on this, chica, because the lines we were walking were like this.”

He mimed the movement, showing the rise and fall of a wave as it jumped back and forth with his hand, and watched Kim blink at him. Hana, however, he didn’t hear a peep from.

His hand came to a stop mid-wave. “Uh, Dep?”

She was out. Out like a light, judging from the way she was slumped against the chair, and he ran right to her with Kim on his heels.

“Hey, H? Yo, you there?” Nothing. He put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently, and her eyelids fluttered, but didn’t open. That made him tense immediately.

“Shit, you weren’t kidding,” Kim said, getting a good look at her. “Quick, let’s get her inside.”

Sharky pulled her up, placing her arm over his shoulders before getting his arm under her knees, and by the time they were through the door, she was mumbling against his shoulder. Not much better, but she was saying something at least. He’d take it, even if he wanted to babble right back at her just to see if she’d understand him too.

“Okay, put her here for now, and I’ll just…” Kim pointed towards the couch, and stood in the living room for a few seconds before heading upstairs. “Blankets! I’m grabbing blankets. Grab some water from the kitchen!”

Setting her down wasn’t hard, and he spent probably too much time trying to arrange the pillows beneath her head to get her comfortable, but he tried. Watched her face for a few seconds too long for anything off before forcing himself to step away to grab just what Kim said to grab.

She just didn’t say to place it in what, and he went right for a glass, because Hana needed something to drink, right? He went with that first, and headed right back to the living room. By then Kim was on her way down with blankets, and between the two of them they were able to finally get her settled in.

So, there she was, under two blankets, both tugged up to her chin. It would’ve been a funny sight, and one he was sure they’d both be laughing about, if he wasn’t left wondering just what it’d take for her to feel better again.

Her forehead was warm, but not feverish, and she wasn’t shot or bleeding. The lack of color to her was a problem, and she still tried to say things every now and then. Just nothing the two of them could really join into a sentence that made sense.

“Look, I’ll call Nick,” Kim said, running her hands through her hair. “He was out over by the airstrip, but there’s a clinic nearby. It’s the same one we’ve gone to for our checkups. Last I heard, there’s a nurse out over there that John managed to miss, and we’ve spoken to her on and off for the last few weeks. Maybe we can get her over here and have her take a look.”

He nodded, standing there awkwardly. “Yeah. If anyone’ll know what this shit is, it’ll probably be her, right? You want me to go grab her?”

The words were out before he could think against it, and he was torn. It wasn’t completely safe on the roads, not with the convoys John still had running. The nurse would need someone to get her here safely. Kim needed Nick. They had a kid-shaped situation they were still working out, and taking him away during that wouldn’t help.

As for them, Hana had a bunch of people willing to have her back, but right now all she had was him. Kim and Nick counted too, but they hadn’t spent days with her on the road.

And why didn’t he notice it sooner? Most of the day had been as close to normal as others spent in the valley, minus any help that could’ve come from Grace. She was off running shooting exercises with the Resistance, and wasn’t going to be back for another day or two. So, Hana said they’d stick to what worked for them.

They’d wake up, pick a new target guaranteed to get John mad – and fuck that guy, Sharky just wished there were more signs to mess with to really get him steamed - but the target that day had more to do with cow wrangling than actual damage. “Think re-appropriation of resources,” Hana had said. Kind of disappointing, but she promised him they’d hit a silo on the way back for old time’s sake.

Up until the downpour he hadn’t suspected much either. She’d even been laughing at him earlier when he’d slipped in a muddy patch, even when he’d tried to drag her down with him.

With her sunglasses perched on her head, he’d focused on her grin as she helped him back up, not the sleepy look in her eyes. Sure, he’d looked into them and let himself enjoy that for a few seconds too, but didn’t have a chance to say anything before the two had to break into a run. Getting stampeded by a herd of pissed off cows was not how he planned on dying, and was going to fight that if given the option.

Mid-run she had started slowing down and breathing hard, and that’s when he could really see how beat she seemed. How she couldn’t wave him off, or keep on downplaying the points earlier when she had been staring off into the distance. She hadn’t bothered waking him up for watch a few nights back when they had to camp out either, and he found himself wondering how much sleep she had been getting.

Either way, it was too late now, he told himself, shaking himself out of it. Sitting here worrying about her wasn’t doing shit for her. Getting some kind of doctor or nurse here was the better option.

“Where’s the clinic at?”

“It’s not too far from here, but…”

“You two got any wheels?” he asked, pointing towards the door.

“We do. Just our old truck out back. Sharky. Hey, wait.” He got as far as two feet from the front when Kim grabbed his arm. “Sharky, stop for a couple of seconds, okay?”

“Kim, you two are great,” he said, turning towards her, “but you really wanna send Nick out there? I’ll go, grab her, be back before the sun’s down, we find out what’s really going on with H in there, and then we get her some kind of get-well fast shot, something guaranteed to punch the shit in of whatever’s bothering her. Then we'll go back to our usual thing, kicking more Peggie ass once she’s up for it, and it’ll be all fine!”

“Fine?”

“Finer than fine.”

It was easier to buy when he put it like that. He just didn’t like that he was trying to convince himself of it as much as Kim.

She stood there, ready to say something to argue against him, but let it go. “I’ll have to call her anyway to tell her you’re not out to kidnap her, but…okay. You know how to get there?”

“Uh, no. But you’re good at directions, right?”

The exasperated exhale she gave told him what she thought of that.

---

It was not as easy as he hoped. There was a shortcut, and an actual path, and he didn’t wait for Kim to explain it further. Just took the quicker way at upwards of eighty, and didn’t think about the crowds of trees bombarding him.

He needed to be fast. Careful always came later, but Sharky did feel sweat start to gather on his brow when a moose nearly blindsided him.

Can’t help if you’re dead. Can’t do shit if you’re dead, his mind told him after that, and he eased off. Went more for fifty-five when the road kept on being squirrely.

The clinic came up ahead, and he tried not to make too much of a show of stopping. The squealing of the tires rang out loud as he skidded, and he winced. If anyone was paying attention, that would be the thing to check out, and he hopped out to head inside.

It wasn’t hard to find the nurse, a woman named Danielle, and he shouted out who he was before barging in further. She had been hiding, with a gun out by her side, and had been ready to put two in any Peggie that might’ve barged in. Lucky for him he gave her the warning, but that didn’t make her any less nervous as they made their way back outside.  

They were back on the road in no time flat. Nick was on the radio by this point, arguing with him about the entire thing, and he nearly clipped a sedan going in the opposite direction when the two couldn’t come to a truce over what was worse, heading out there half-cocked alone, or leaving Kim with only a down and out deputy to defend her.

It was a stupid fight, and even Danielle tried to get them both to cool it. But they kept up with it, only letting it go when Kim came through on the other end to put a pin in things.

When they rolled up in front of the house, he hit the brakes harder than intended, getting his second screech in of the day. Only Danielle’s seatbelt kept her from jumping forward, and he gave her an apologetic look before helping her get out.

After that it was a matter of getting her inside the house, and once Danielle crossed the threshold, she was all business. Making a promise to check with Kim once she was done, she settled down by the couch and started asking questions.

‘When did this start? What are her symptoms? What has she eaten?’ were a few of them. Most he was able to answer. Others he wished he had more to give, and trailed off as she started checking Hana in earnest.

It was completely out of their hands. But right at the back, watching her work, he couldn’t sit still. Not like this.

Ducking outside, he took Hana’s spare pack of cigarettes and lit one up. He’d meant it when he’d told her he didn’t need them as much as she did, but it was a way of getting his lighter out without lighting anything up, and he’d pay her back. Shit, he’d get her five packs if she wanted them.

One cigarette turned into two, and by the time he went for the third he found himself threatening to wear a hole into the porch from the path he kept on taking. Fiddling with his lighter wasn’t much better. The click that came with opening and closing it helped at first, but the longer it was open, the more he wanted to use it, and the urge built with every repeated motion.

It was when he started eying a dry patch of brush nearby for maybe one small controlled fire, that the door to Nick and Kim’s house finally opened. He’d hoped for the nurse, but found himself looking over at Nick instead.

The disappointment showed, judging from Nick’s reaction. He shook his head at him and held out a beer. “Well, glad to see you too. Thought you might need this.”

Sharky hastily put out what was left of his cigarette before taking it. “…This fucking sucks.”

“Yeah, it does. It’s weird seeing her laid out like that. The Deputy, our big damn hero, resting right in the other room half-covered in mud on my couch. Weird and wild, and just another day here in Hope County.”

“Spent half of ours mud-wrestling, and it wasn’t even the fun kind. No extra ladies, no cheering while we’re making it rain. Just cows. Lots of fighting off cows,” he muttered. “…And sorry about the couch. Didn’t think we’d drag that much in.”

“Don’t worry about the damn couch. We’ll clean it later.” Nick placed a hand on his shoulder. “But Shark, I mean it. Just drink, kick back, and chill the fuck out for a bit. She’s in good hands, and you’re watching her too, so nothing bad’ll happen long as you don’t look at her wrong.”

“That’s nice, man. Real nice coming from a stand-up dude like yourself.” Sharky flashed him the finger after the jab, but managed a smile. “You still think relaxing’s the way to go?”

“There’s nothing else to do, but that. And after that, sleep. You both probably need it. What was this I was hearing about being out there for a week straight without getting in a single wink?”

“It wasn’t, but some nights you hear one wolf howl and that’ll ruin any good feelings about a spot. You can’t stop, and Hana here just…didn’t stop either.” He jabbed a thumb into his chest. “That was on me.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up about it, okay? You can play the blame game all you want leading up to this, but accidents happen. And when she needed you, you brought her here and got her help. Think about that too.”

Nick gave him one solid pat on the arm and the two settled into silence after that. Forgetting the lighter for the beer, he cracked it open and tried not to drain it too fast.

After a minute, however, Nick spoke up again. “Sorry.”

“About what?”

“About…being a real shitbird earlier. Neither of us were entirely in the right, but I get what you tried to do. Hell, what you did do.”

Sharky glanced over at him, and gave a small shrug. “It’s nothing. She would’ve done it for me. Probably wouldn’t have hit half the shit I did on the way up and back.”

“Nah, you were thinking of Kim, and there’s no two ways about it, I am stressing the fuck out over little Nick Jr. in there. It’s settling in and making me short with a whole lot of people I’d rather not be, and I don’t wanna leave that hanging between us. So, I’m sorry.”

Sharky held out his fist, and smiled when Nick returned the fistbump. “We’re cool.”

“Might owe me a few for new tires for the truck, though.”

“Man, what the fuck!” he exclaimed, and Nick burst out laughing. “Starting with we’re cool, and bros and shit, before going into that.”

“There’s enough rubber on them left to use, but I know a bald set of tires when I see them.” Nick stopped to take a drink, and pointed towards the truck.  “They were looking mighty fine this morning before heading out on the road. Now...”

Sharky threw up his hands in exasperation, but chugged down the last of the beer first, making sure it wasn’t about to go to waste. He wanted to go another round? Round two was on.  

That was when the door to the house opened, and Sharky snapped his mouth shut when Danielle stepped out. He hadn’t tried to get his hopes up before, but with her looking both glad and relieved, it was hard not to.

“All right. No need to keep on hanging back here. Everything’s clear.”

Sharky felt his heart jump, and Nick turned towards her as well. “Clear?”

“Well, almost. Come inside and see.”

She waved them inside, and they quickly followed her in.

Hana was still one blanket short of a burrito on the couch, but seemed comfortable now. No longer half as close to miserable as she had been before, and actually looked like she was resting.

But what had knocked her clear out? In the end, Danielle gave them all the simplest answer. Exhaustion, and what was looking to be a mild cold. Nothing rest, food, and water wouldn’t fix.

The heavy feeling sinking into him lifted, and he took in a deep breath before letting it out. Hana wasn’t up and moving around yet, but this wasn’t the major fuck up he’d been dreading. She would be able to bounce back from this, and they’d be out and about in no time.

Hanging back while she packed up, Sharky found himself wandering over by the couch, and rested his arms on the back of it. Curled up below, Hana had turned her face into her pillow, and was dozing along, completely at peace. The blanket had inched down below her shoulders, however, and he reached down to tug it back up.

“We got you, shorty. Told you we would.”

---

It was tough to sleep, but he managed it, camping out nearby just in case she woke up in the middle of the night.

When morning came around, he yawned, stretching his arms out wide before peeking over at the couch next to him. He nearly rolled off of it onto the floor when he saw a pair of dark eyes staring over at him. Her red hair was a mess, sticking up as she tried to sit up to look at him, and she let out a long sigh.

“Fuck me running,” Hana murmured. “The roller coaster come to a proper stop yet?”

He got up, and found himself split between hugging her, and yelling for Nick and Kim. When neither decision seemed to win, he opted instead for giving her the glass of water by her side. “Not even close. It’s been going non-stop ever since you fainted outside.”

“Fainted? Ugh.” She took the glass, and gulped down a mouthful of water before handing it back. Her voice was rough as she closed her eyes, but wasn’t pained.

“Yeah, Kim and Nick were cool with setting us up - shit, they’re still cool, just sleeping - and we had to get a nurse in here to look you over. It’s all fine now, but it was tough for a few hours the night before.”

“Don’t tell Grace. She’ll give me so much shit if she hears about this.”

“About the fainting bit, the nurse and not getting back up part, or where I had to carry you inside all heroic-like?”

“Hush, you. I only have your word on the last one, so for all I know, you’re embellishing it.” She pulled the blankets up and over her head, and Sharky couldn’t help but laugh. “I hear you out there! Don’t think I can’t, even with this up.”

“Just saying it was pretty great. All dramatic, looking every bit the sexy outlaw that we both know I am.”

The blanket shook as he heard her muffled laughter come right through, but it soon gave way to a set of coughs. “Totally,” she rasped. “But Mr. Sexy over here better cool it before he makes his cop friend hack up a lung. Got it?”

She waved him off, reaching out from under the blanket, and he let his posture relax. “Okay, shorty. Holler if you need anything.”

The rest of the morning he spent wandering between the living room and kitchen, trying not to poke around at too much until Kim came downstairs to check on them.

Having over ten hours of rest really did the trick. She didn’t seem confused or dazed, was up for talking as long as there were breaks, and took any food that they offered. All good signs, and Sharky set himself up to help out when he wasn’t tailing Nick and Kim for ideas on other things he should be doing. By the early afternoon he was officially banished to the living room.

Which led him to his current idea, as he sorted through the books and magazines nearby. He felt Hana’s eyes on him as he looked around, but she didn’t speak up or say anything. Just kept on watching until he picked up a magazine, gave it an approving smile and sat down by her on the couch.

“Uh, so to help you kick back and take it easy, I figured I’d read something to you. Not that there’s much down here, and I didn’t want to dig through their things upstairs or go for any of the baby stuff. This plane mag’s not bad, though.” Sharky flipped through it, going for the main story in the middle. “Kinda wish I had one of my comics on me from home, because at least I could do the sound effects and make it a whole lot more fun to listen to.”

“Hey, you don’t have to worry about doing that stuff.”

“It’s something I know I’d like when I’m feeling lower than dirt, so…”

Her next few words were soft, and he almost missed them. “You’re a sweetheart, you know that?”

He sat there stiff as a board for a few seconds, staring right at the picture of the pilot in the magazine, and wasn’t sure if he should look at her or not.

“Because you know you don’t have to do this.”

“Don’t what?” he asked, talking around the growing lump in his throat. “I said I had you covered, shorty. Rain or shine.”

“Ride or die?” She coughed, and he couldn’t help but look at her. Her lips were twisted into a frown, but they didn’t stay that way as she relaxed. “I’m not dying, man. It’s okay. And sticking close’s a recipe for getting sick yourself, so I’d really hate to be to blame for that.”

He was leaning down towards her to hear, and she did have a point. Just one he wasn’t too bothered by. “But if you need anything-“

“They’re in the same house, Shark. Or area. I’m not dying here. Just spoiled rotten by you for the moment.” She was still sleepy, but the smile she wore was bright as ever. “Careful, or I’ll get used to this.”

He wouldn’t have minded that. Not one bit. The words were a second away from spilling out of his mouth too, when he let the moment go. “I’ll shotgun some OJ from the kitchen, and I don’t know. Eat five pounds of apples or something. Might grab you a few for later too.”

The magazine was scrunched together between his hands, and he let it curl back out.

“Now I’m gonna go ahead and try this, but if this blows, or if you’re about to take a cue from the Exorcist let me know and I’ll put the brakes on.” He cleared his throat, and flipped back to the story in question. “If you ever wanted to fly a plane in Wyoming-“

“Wait a sec. Wyoming?”

He looked over at her, then back at the magazine. “Yeah, she’s from Wyoming. The pilot. She did a trip where you go from the Pacific to the Atlantic, but made a few stops here and there along the way.”

“Just to get away from Wyoming, I bet. …Actually, no. That’s pretty mean to say. I don’t even know that much about the place, except that the license plates have a guy on a horse on them.”

“Mountains are nice. If you like mountains.”

“I could. Oh, and there is Yellowstone,” Hana said, perking up. “Doesn’t it have that supervolcano? Like, the one totally on the verge of popping?”

“Shit, you’re right. That’s right in our backyard.”

“Oof. Nice having a potential front row seat to that. Probably won’t go the way of what 2012 showed us, but…” He started chuckling, and she paused. “What? You really don’t think the Earth’s just a ball of magma, and the continents are skidding along the top like some kind of demented air hockey game?”

“Nah, just…I fucking saw that, and didn’t think anyone would ever bring it up. Ever.”

She gave him a look. “Are you questioning my movie taste?”

“Only thing I’m questioning is why you didn’t move here sooner.”

Surprise crossed her face, but as it faded, the corners of her mouth curved up and he found himself on the other end of one of those smiles of hers. The kind that he didn’t want her to stop giving away. “Anyway, you were talking about that pilot before I derailed you. Did she want to do anything other than hit the coasts?”

Forcing himself to go back to the magazine – again, he pointed out – he gave the words in front of him a quick read. “Uh, yeah. She wanted to see how long it’d take with her class of plane. Hit a record or two.”

“Cool stuff.”

“The goal was always to get back home, though.”

There was a light hum as she thought it over.  “I feel that. Finding home again. …You can keep on going if you want.” She propped her head up on one arm to look at him, but kept the blanket tucked under her chin. “You’re right. It is nice.”

Not quite hiding the smile that earned, he went right back to the beginning, and started over, making sure she could hear every word.