#Minor Language | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

deliwrites · 1 day ago

Text

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖 // Baby Saja

// DATE // 23rd of June 2025 -> 26th of June 2025 // WORDS // 16.7k+ // SUMMARY // Reader is a member of Huntr/x, Rumi's twin sister to be precise. Y/n doesn't want to hide who she is anymore. Wanting to prove to Rumi that Mira and Zoey will trust them, she shares what she is knowing Rumi will back her up. Only they don't trust her and Rumi sends her to her death or so she thought, now it's time for revenge.

- Everything below this until the gif can be considered as spoilers. Be surprised and skip straight to the story or read the rest in this section at your own risk. MDNI! PS. This whole story is a spoiler for the movie if you have not seen it yet! -

// PAIRING // Baby Saja x femHuntrix!reader, Rumi x Jinu, Zoey x Mystery, Romance x Mira x Abby // WARNING // angst, fluff, (soul)mates, explicit smut, again, minor do not interact with this post, dom!baby/sub!reader, p in v, unprotected sx(wrap it before you tap it please), fingering, oral fem receiving, praise kink, biting, mating, possessive behavior, (I think it is) slight humiliation kink

“Rumi?” I start as I pull on the costume for the Golden promo with her. Did she release Golden maybe a bit early. Most definitely but I will always support her decisions.

“Yeah?”

“I want to tell them,” my voice is quiet, a little afraid of what her reaction will be.

“Y/n, Celine told us to wait,” she almost hisses, fear clear on her face.

“I know, I know,” pulling on the tight white shorts. “But they know us, they know were not like the other demons. Hell, all the other ones are ugly,” Rumi chuckles at that, shaking her head.

“That’s true, but I still think we shouldn’t tell them.”

“Okay, what if only I tell them about me. You don’t have to get involved. I’ll prove to you that they’ll accept us and then you can tell them too!” I tell her with full confidence. No doubt in my mind.

“Okay, I’ll back you up,” I squeal as I pull her into a tight hug.

“Couch! Couch! Couch! Couch!” I hear Mira and Zoey chant as they shuffle their way to the couch arms filled with snacks. Dropping the snacks on the white fluffy couch. Dropping right next to snacks.

“Oh, yeah. That’s the stuff,” Zoey sighs.

“So relaxing,” Mira murmurs sinking into the couch.

“Hey. Have a good break?” Rumi asks appearing behind the two.

“Huh?” Mira looks at her bewilders. “What? No. We literally just sat down!” chuckling I walk around the couch and take a seat on the coffee table.

“Why are you two in your new costumes?” Zoey asks as both sit up, eyes shifting between the two of us.

“Rumi, you didn’t,” both Mira and Zoey turn to Rumi, knowing if it would be either of us it would be Rumi. “Did you announce the new single?” Rumi's only response is a wide grin.

“The promo starts tomorrow- Tonight?”

“Tonight?” Mira and Zoey say in surprise. “Rumi, no! No!” the two start to whine playfully with a sense of true disappointment lacing their voices.

“No!” I hand Zoey her costume while Rumi hands Mira hers.

“But before we leave,” I begin, as the two of them begrudgingly start pulling on the costumes. Their eyes going to me as they keep getting dressed. Not bothered at all about changing in front of us. “I have something to share,” my voice goes from excited to nervous. My eyes flickering between all three. “It’s hard for me, but I don’t think I can hide it for much longer,” I stare down at my shaking hands. Zoey takes one of my hands, squeezing in reassurance.

“We will always be here for you,” she says, a gentle smile gracing her face.

“Well, I-” shaking off the jacket from my costume. The patterns slowly coming into view, drawing gasps from Mira and Zoey. Who pulls away her hand. Both of them drawing their weapons making me jump back standing up at the other end of the coffee table. My heart beating faster than it already did.

“You’re a demon,” Mira’s voice is angry as she spits the words out like she’s disgusted by the sight of me.

“I thought you would-” my voice is shaky and quiet as I stare in disbelief. “Rumi…” my eyes lock on my sisters, a desperate call for help. Zoey and Mira turn to Rumi with a hint of betrayal in their eyes.

“Did you know?” Zoey asks Rumi threateningly. A tone Zoey has never used against us before.

“No,” Rumi’s voice is cold. Detached. But her eyes burn. Drawing her own weapon, pointing the long end of the blade at me as she jumps over the couch. “I can’t believe you would betray us like this,” it’s like she’s saying it to herself for betraying her sister like this. With no other options, she steps up onto the coffee table - like it’s a stage. Like this moment has been building since the day we were born. Driving the blade through my chest. Tears in both our eyes as I shudder. The pain from the tear in my chest making me scream silently and then I implode, collapsing inward in a burst of magenta smoke - silent and final.

I didn’t die like I expected. Instead I found myself leaning on my knees, crying into my arms in front of Gwi ma. The flame entity laughing at my despair.

“Y/n, Y/n, Y/n,�� he tsk’ed like he was disappointed to see me. “Guess you should have kept it hidden,” he laughs again deep and evil. “Now you’re my demon!” his voice booms across the crowd of demons who start laughing with their king. The events of tonight start playing over and over in my head loud, feeling like it gets louder and louder. I had no control over it. I couldn't stop them, couldn't dampen them. My hands cover my ears but it doesn't change anything.

I don’t really notice until I open my eyes again. The laughter has died down after I had been moved by Gwi ma, is my guess, to just beyond the crowd of demons.

I tried walking away but kept being dragged back. Making me sigh and stay at the edge of where I was apparently allowed to be. I could barely see any of the other demons through the smoke and deemed myself alone enough. If this was all the space I was allowed to have now, I would take it. Sinking to the lava rock ground. I pull my knees up to my chest. Wrapping my arms around them.

The ground wasn't comfortable. Far from it. But sitting was better than to stay standing. The moment I thought everything settled the voices came back louder than ever before, making me bury my face in my arms.

“Did you know?” “No.” “Okay, I’ll back you up” “I can’t believe you would lie to us like this.”

The voices sounded like screaming, ringing in my ears. Tears running down my face again filled with the pain of betrayal. The feeling of her sword driving into my chest solidified the feeling of betrayal. If there was someone I thought I could trust it would be Rumi.

I don't know how long he tortured me for like this. Making it go silent, giving me a false sense of control before returning it in full. But it feels like an eternity.

Little did I know I was being observed by a group of 400 year old demons who looked awfully human compared to the others. Nor did I notice when one of them approached me. First the male just sat beside me, keeping a bit of a distance. Almost like he didn’t want to startle me.

It was like his calm aura surrounded me, softening the voices that were screaming at me. Blinking away my tears in confusion. Looking right, then left. Finding him sat there. Leaning back on his hands, left knee up, his right leg stretched out.

I couldn't stop my brows from furrowing. Shuffling a little further away from the male. Demons are bad. They can’t be trusted. I tell myself, my gaze falling onto my own patterns. Right, I am one. The patterns hadn’t spread this far before I was sent here. Now I looked like a full demon, even if I knew I was only half a demon. My hands turning into fists realizing I would be stuck here forever.

I didn't acknowledge him. Turning away from him. But it felt like he was too far away. Shaking my head I tried to ignore it. Though it didn't take long for me to break the silence we sat in.

“Why are you here?” I dare to ask. Hating myself for going against everything I believed in.

He doesn't say anything making me sigh. Turning back to him my body relaxes, just a bit as the distance becomes smaller. Loosening the stiffness in my legs. Not understanding why I’m suddenly feeling relaxed, I continue. “Here to mock me? 1 huntress down 3 to go.”

“No.”

It’s short. Stopping me from continuing. I look at him, eyes wide. Taking in his pale purple skin, bright golden eyes, blue hair, traditional black Korean attire. He didn’t look at me. Instead staring off into the distance, not that there was much to see. The area mostly covered in smoke.

“I’m here in case you need someone who understands-”

“Understand? You’re a demon, you feel no emotions! How could you possibly understand?”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” he stays calm even after my accusation, like he was expecting me to react this way. “We feel double that what humans feel. We feel extremely. It might shock you, but Gwi Ma keeps us pushed to the edge, so far into madness that we seem numb. But we do feel...” his voice is gentle as he speaks, shifting his gaze away from the smoke, to me. His golden eyes drawing me in.

“What do you feel now?” I ask cautiously curious. Shifting to sit on my side, leaning on my hands - closer to him.

“Sadness,” he confesses. I sense no lies in his eyes. “Seeing my m- you like this, it hurts.”

“You’re what?” he closes his eyes, grunting in annoyance at himself for miss speaking. He doesn't answer, instead he disappears. Immediately Gwi ma's power returns in full force. Falling to my side, my hands cradle my face. Eyes shut tight. My screams are silent at the pain the events cause me.

It feels like I'm in pain for days. My throat hoarse from my crying. I open my eyes suddenly. An unexpected calm falling over me again. He's stood over me this time. I can't read his expression.

I'm not sure what to say, or if I should even say something. Last time he disappeared on me. My eyes follow him as he returns to sit in the same spot as he did before.

"I guess it's in our best interest if I just tell you," he sighs, not facing me just yet. I find the strength in my arms to push myself in a sitting position. Subconsciously dragging myself closer to him. “Give me your hand,” I hesitate a little. Not sure if I should trust him even though he had revealed something I never knew about demons. Something I don’t think a demon would easily confess to, either. His gaze meets mine as I shuffle closer. Carefully placing my hand left hand in his right hand.

A slow ripple spills out from our connected palms. Like black stardust unfurling beneath our skin, soft and shivering. Leaving goosebumps in its wake. Light and shadow dancing like twin spirals up our arms. Disappearing into our chests where our hearts sit. Creating a magnetic pull. A sudden blast surged outward like an orb tearing through the smoke around us. My head seamed to clear only one word occupying my mind.

“Baby.”

“That’s me,” a gentle smile played on his lips. “And you, Y/n, are my mate.”

“Mate?” I repeat it, stunned, like saying it out loud might make it make sense. For years I was told demons didn’t have feelings, that they were all bad, that all should be killed. And now I was mated to one?

But I had to be honest. I didn't mind. He made me feel calm. I don't think I've ever felt this calm. Always on edge. Scared to reveal my secret. Regretting that I shared my secret. I was pretty much powered by anxiety.

“Yes, I understand it’s hard to believe-”

“Oh, no, I believe it’s just… unexpected?” he chuckles soft and gentle making a blush decorate my cheeks. I started to make sense the longer I looked at him. Really took him in. He was my complete opposite, perfect to soothe my racing thoughts.

“Cute,” he says squeezing my hand which he still held.

“Also, I thought all demons were supposed to be ugly,” the bluntness of the comment gets him to full on laugh, the sound low, warming up my chest. I crawl closer without thinking, like the space between us suddenly became unbearable. Now that I know we’re mates, distance feels wrong.

“We are sad to have to share this news on the day of our new singles release,” Rumi tells the host. “But Y/n has left Huntrix.”

“Oh no, what happened?” the host asks with concern, genuine curiosity behind her words.

“We don’t know, it was unexpected,” Mira says, there is sadness in her normally stoic voice.

“She decided she didn’t want to do this anymore,” Zoey adds to the lie.

“We couldn’t convince her to stay.”

“She is your sister, I suppose you’re still in contact with her at least?” the host asks making Rumi’s hard hammer in her chest, the face of her sister silently screaming as she killed her.

“Ah, no,” Rumi keeps it short.

“Golden is the last song Y/n will be featured on from now on,” Zoey quickly takes the attention away from Rumi.

“We will be going on hiatus for a little while to get used to the loss of our member.”

"So, do you..." I start, eyes up at the sky. Baby and I laid on the ground, I used his stomach as a pillow. Forced to even, he would not let me rest my head on the lava rock surface.

"Do I what?" he asks while we watch souls dance above us. None of them flying in the direction of Gwi ma, thankfully.

"Do you get to go up there?" my voice soft, afraid of the answer. He pauses, stilling. Turning my head I look at him. He has his head propped up by his arms. I can just see his golden eyes. Watching them shift ... anxiously?

"No," he finally says. "I'm glad for it," he adds softly. Turning on my side, I can tell he doesn't want to share just yet. So I reassure him in the only way I can think of. Sitting up, I place a gentle peck on his dark lips. Smiling at the way his eyes widen just slightly at my action.

That's not the last peck we share. Far from it. I can't stop stealing them. He doesn't give me them nearly as often, but I know that every time he does, it's sincere.

He lingers, holding on to me like I could slip from his fingers any moment. Whenever we meet his friends there's always this possessive arm around my waist. Not that I mind.

I still remember the first time he introduced us. "Y/n," Baby starts, his arm not leaving my waist. Sending pointed looks at the four demons before me. "These are Jinu, Mystery, Abby and Romance," gesturing from a black haired, smirk wearing one, to a grey haired, not looking at me - I think. To a taller pink haired one who wore a smug look, to the last one. Another pink haired one, this time long flowing locks.

This hand had dared to step forward. Taking my hand swiftly pecking my knuckles before he got smacked in the face by Baby. Who pulled me behind him. Growling possessively.

Laughter bursting within the group and I wouldn't lie. I couldn't stop myself from giggling either.

That moment was pretty much the start of my friendship with the group. There was obviously not a lot to do. But when they showed me they could pretty much create things out of thin air. I asked them if they ever thought of creating game pieces.

Which they hadn't, like how.

In the end they had created game pieces for games out of their time, but I wanted to play something newer. Like UNO. When I asked if they knew what it was, Baby sent an image in my head of something. Confusing me to the point I looked at him like he had just sent me a unsolicited dick pic.

"How did you do that?" I ask after recovering from the random image.

"We're mates," is his simple answer. I arch my brow like, 'okay, so now I'm supposed to understand how that works'. He chuckles at my expression, pecking my cheek. "I just think of what I want to show you, and I sent it to you."

"Oh, okay, I wanna try," instantly thinking of the UNO game. Looking at him wide eyed like that will do it. "Do you see it?" he shakes his head. Thinking... louder? "Am I doing it?" my voice stressed, eyes closed.

"Uhm, no, but you do look constipated," I gasp, opening my eyes at his words in offence. Smacking his chest playfully as the others laugh their asses off. With that I gave up on the whole image sending for a while.

- Spice below, skip to next image divider if you do not want to read it -

While we spend most of our time all together, I did steal Baby from them a lot. Wanting to spend time with him one on one. Get to know him more and more.

He wasn't much of a talker, so it was tough at times. It seemed enough time had past as I could go further than before. Allowing for us to have a private space between a few rocks.

Never the comfortable place of course. Pressing my lips against him hungrily. Sat on the ground, his back against a rock, a tight grip on my hips where I sat in his lap. Keeping me from moving them against him.

"Why are you holding back?" I ask breathless when I pull away. I stare at him, eyes shifting from one to the other. Anxiety rolling over me like a realization. "Do you not-"

"Of course not," his voice gentle as he cups my cheeks, staring loving into my soul. "I just don't want to loose control," I nod, not entirely believing him, my gaze falling from his. "Hey, listen to me," he caresses my cheeks so gentle, getting me to look back up. "If you think you need to pleasure me to make sure I love you," my eyes widen at the fact he can read me so well. "You don't," he waits till I nod. "But," he smirks. "If it's pleasure you want, I'll be happy to give it to you," my cheeks darken at his words. Warmth spreading to more places than one.

To the point I can't stop myself from nodding eagerly. Anxiety, completely forgotten.

"Okay, darling," he pecks my lips. "Turn around," I follow his command like a life line. Leaning my back against him, his arms circling my waist. "Knees up, either side of mine."

Again, like an obedient pet, I do as he asks. Shaking with anticipation. His left hand, caresses the bare skin of waist. Owning just my Golden costume in this realm. Other hand smoothly slipping under the waist band of my shorts. Gasping when his fingers find my heat.

"So wet already," his voice is a sin, whispering in my ear. I can feel his smug gaze on the side of my head. I enjoy it. Just two of his finger play with the slick that gather on my outer lips.

"Please," I'm not even sure I said anything with how soft I spoke. But he heard, loud and clear. Chuckling evilly.

"What do you want, darling?" he teases, sliding his finger tip over my slit, but not parting them. I bite my bottom lip, cheeks red with embarrassment. I felt so filthy having to say it out loud, but I knew I had to. If I didn't he would just tease me for all of eternity. He lays a gentle peck on my neck as if to encourage me, putting light pressure where my lips cover my clit with his fingers.

A moan like gasp and I finally utter. "Touch me."

"Hmm, not precise enough," just those words have me whining in desperation. "But, I'll let you have it this time."

Before I can exhale in relief he parts my lips. Slipping a single finger straight in. Thumb landing on my clit, a shaky moan escaping me instead. Instinctively my legs start to close around his hand.

"Hold them open for me," with shaky hands I hold my thighs open. Breathing heavily at the slow pace his fingers are using. A second had joined inside me, but it wasn't enough.

"F-faster," I beg, head rolling onto his shoulder. A dark chuckle and a third finger gets added. Along with a faster pace. I'm gasping like I can't get enough of this feeling. I'm surprised that his sharp claw like nails don't seem to scratch me, but I'm not complaining.

Moaning at the way his fingers curl inside me, stretch me open. Thumb rubbing smooth circles on my clit. My ears pick up his own grunting. Are my feelings causing him to enjoy it just as much as I am?

The hand that held a grip on my waist, moves up. Slipping under my top. Fingers finding my pebbled buds, squeezing, first testing the waters. The action causing me to subconsciously squeeze around the finger inside me.

"So sensitive, aren't you?" I'm not even sure what exactly I'm nodding to, but I do it anyways. Reaching the edge quicker with every squeeze, every thrust of his fingers. "Go on darling," he whispers in my ear, pointy tongue flicking against my jaw teasingly. "Cum for me."

I do, shuddering franticly as my orgasm rolls over me. Taking over my entire body as he keeps the movements up until my hips move in shocks against the touch. Suddenly overstimulated, breathing heavily.

"Good girl."

Curiosity strikes Abby one random day, while we're playing games again.

"By the way, how did you get here?" it's so out of the blue. Everyone's eyes shooting at him. Baby and Jinu glaring at him like a warning. "What? I'm curious."

Baby tells me I should not feel forced to tell them, his glare not leaving Abby. I place my hand on his thigh, reassuring him that its okay.

After explaining it is when the revenge plan start brewing to life. I don't think I've ever liked feeling this evil until now.

There once was a mighty demon king Stop me if you’ve heard this one before He was in total control He feasted on souls The world trembled when he roared But then some Hunters sang some songs Now all he does is starve Can’t get at the souls, and his flame grows cold Just a whisper in the dark And will he let the fire go out? Is this the end of him now? Dying king with a crumbling crown? Will he let the fire go out?

“I let you keep that voice, Jinu,” Gwi ma says as Jinu approached him with his song. “And you dare to mock me with it?” I stayed near Baby as we slowly followed Jinu closer to Gwi ma.

“I’m not here to mock you. I’m here to help you,” Jinu tells Gwi ma. “It’s time for a new strategy,” the six of us fly up the long staircase. Them in their traditional attire, me still in my Golden promo costume. Safe for the jacket. “We fight the Hunters where they least expect it. Go after the very thing that powers the Honmoon. The fans.”

“A demon boy band?” Gwi ma questions. Bursting out laughing, the crowd following awkwardly. “What makes you think that could work?” Transforming just enough to make them look more human.

“I can help,” I speak up, appearing from behind Baby. “I am from that world, I know how it works. I can be their manager. I won’t be seen. I can make sure they become big.”

“You?” Gwi ma chuckles evilly. “What makes you think I’ll trust you.”

“They betrayed me,” I tell him. “I might not be doing it for you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t pull through if it gives them what they deserve for stabbing me, quite literally.”

“Hmm, alright," he says. "But, that can't just be it, what is it the rest of you expect out of this?" he hums, impatiently waiting for an answer.

"Our memories from before this life, erased," Jinu speaks for them.

“Okay! I have planned for your first performance to be just around the corner from here,” I tell the five as we walk down the alley. Romance, Abby and Mystery walk in front, Jinu following behind them. While I walk with Baby, his arm wrapped possessively around my waist, not that I minded. I wore one of Baby’s sweaters, and a cap to hopefully hide my appearance enough. “You guys know the song, I’ll make sure to make it go viral. Flyers have been handed out and people have already started gathering,” I had my phone out while Baby guides me safely. Making my twirl suddenly before holding me in front of him.

“uh… watch yourself,” I hear Jinu speak to someone. Baby’s hold on me leaving me unable to check to who. But as we walk away I recognize who.

“Watch my… Watch yourself!” Rumi. Looking up at Baby he turns me to face him and places a gentle peck on my lips. As if saying ‘I got you’. Returning at his side we continue walking to our destination. “Oh, Jinu! After the performance don’t forget to announce that you’ll be at everyone’s favorite variety show.”

“Yes, I’ll remember,” I peck Baby on the cheek and let them do their thing. Staying close and keeping my eye out for Rumi, Mira or Zoey. I film their performance. Posting it on social media, creating edits, shorts, posting a prerecorded video of a dance practice I had them do. Watching as the numbers went up and up. The Saja Boys getting more popular by the minute.

Looking at the crowd I could see how much they were enjoying the Saja Boys. The moment they started it had drawn even more people to come check them out.

I couldn’t stop myself from clapping with the crowd when they were done with their performance. Giving Jinu a pointed look as I pulled up the slide for on the screen behind them that showed the variety show they would be at tonight. Jinu first wiped his shoulder clean of nonexistent dust while staring at Rumi who stood scarily close to me.

I thought I had paid enough attention. I catch Baby’s eyes who with just a flick of his eyes moved me away where our eyes connect again. A sigh of relief leaving my body while he sends a wink which has the crowd around me going wild some more. That’s my man, I think I hear a chuckle in my head as I return my gaze to his where he smirks his lips forming one word. Mine.

“That’s it for now. See you tonight on everyone’s favorite variety show,” selecting the slide on my phone it appears behind them as Jinu speaks. “Saja Boys love you!” posing for just a second longer before disappearing with the magenta smoke. A second later, a hand slips into mine before I’m ingulfed in that same magenta smoke. The smoke dissipating around us when we appear in the apartment I got the band.

“You guys did so good!” I clap with excitement, pulling my phone out as I sit down with Baby like a magnetic pull to always be close to him. Baby wraps an arm around my shoulder pulling me closer to him.

“Of course,” Abby smirks. “We’re charming,” as if to prove his point he flexes his arms making me roll my eyes.

“Barely,” I tease, sticking my tongue out at him. “The fans like you because 1, the song is catchy, you’re welcome by the way. 2, you’re hot, we’ll figure out if you’re charming on that variety show. And 3, you guys dance really well,” Abby sticks his tongue out right back at me. Quick learner, I chuckle. “Anyways, we have a bit of time before the variety show-” I don’t even get to finish before four of them literally poof out of existence. “Wha-”

“Don’t worry, they’ll be back,” Baby speaks up besides me. Shifting my gaze to him, his now nearly unnatural blue eyes half lidded. Taking my phone from me, I try to protest, but he just tsks, like I’m a child testing limits. “No phone for you,” he says, voice stern making me shiver. “You have to be able to get out of sight from the Huntrix. Without me.”

“But you can do it,” I pout and he sighs, getting up from the couch, pulling me with him. Then he smirks, just a little. That smug, knowing tilt of his mouth that makes me want to punch him and kiss him at the same time.

“You get a kiss for every step further you are able to make,” he knows that will make me comply. He’s not shy about kissing me, but it’s not nearly as often as I wish it was. So if this is how I can get it, I’ll take it.

“Okay, okay,” I nod vigorously. “How do we start,” I had told him that I obviously knew how to fight, but I didn’t know how to teleport like they can. Not like I could learn that from Celine. All she ever did was told us to hide our patterns. No one could know what we were.

“It’s a lot about visualizing where you want to go,” his voice calm as he starts to explain. Giving me examples by teleporting around the room as he does. “Now you try, don’t start off difficult. From where you stand, try to go in front of the coffee table.”

“And if I do it,” a little smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “I get a kiss, right?”

“Yes,” he chuckles deeply. “If you can do it, you get a kiss,” he nods. “More if you behave and make it to me,” excitement fills up my body in more ways than one, the smirk on his lips not helping in stopping the heat from forming between my legs. Nodding I focus on the rug under the coffee table. Visualizing the edge where I want to go. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. Hoping that I did it when I open my eyes again.

Nothing.

I was still stood in the same place. “Ugh,” I shake my head. “Okay, one more,” Closing my eyes again. I visualize once more. Maybe it needs to be more detailed. Edge of the rug. The rug is red, the border fluffy, the rectangle table white marble. That is where I want to go. Opening my eyes once more. Nothing. “I can’t do it, if I can’t even get 30cm further how am I meant to get to yo-u,” in the blink of an eye I’m in front of him. Eyes wide in confusion and surprise. A smirk plays on his lips as he leans down and pecks my lips.

Recovering from my initial shock, I shake my head before crossing my arms.

“Nah ah, you said I would get more if I could make it to you.”

“That’s true,” his voice deeper than before. His strong hands reach my hips. Placing a nearly bruising grip on them, my knees weakening. Reaching for him, I wrap my arms around him and pull him closer. Our lips connect, gentler than I expected. But I turn the kiss hungry within seconds. Tracing my tongue over his lips asking for entrance, which he gives only to quickly over power it. Showing me who’s boss, not that anyone would ever question that. He pulls away making me whine. I don’t let go and neither does he. “I will let you have this, cause you have no idea how much I need you, but we will continue practicing after this,” the whine turns into a moan at his confession. He trails kissing down my jaw to my neck, making me bend over backwards.

- Spice below, skip to next image divider if you do not want to read it -

His hands slide up, under his sweater over my bare stomach. Lifting the sweater as he goes, leaving goosebumps in his wake. Pulling back long enough to throw the sweater away before lifting me up. A squeak leaving my lips, returning my hold around his neck tighter as he moves us to the bedroom. I kiss and bite his neck as well as I can with his outfit still on. Trying to get his sweater off him is a struggle. I only manage it because he tosses me onto the bed and I yank it off mid fall.

He at least helps me by taking off his blouse himself, crawling over me right after. Our lips connecting in a heated kiss. My hands roam his toned chest, nails scraping his skin with need. His right hand cupping my face while the other held him up right. His sharp teeth tugging at my bottom lip, pulling away with a grin.

“So needy,” his voice deep, eyes flashing golden. A needy whimper leaves my lips. Watching him back up, just enough to unzip my shorts. Tapping my ass to make me lift off the bed, I quickly do as he asks. Sliding it sensually slow down my thighs, his own nails trailing after the fabric. Every inch they drag lower sends another jolt up my spine.

I want him so desperately at this point I want to drag him back up to me. I don’t even care that he’s still half dressed. I just need him, right now!

Shorts finally gone, abandoned on the floor. He holds my ankles, pecking both. With a strong grip his hands slide back up, followed by more pecks. Turning into bites, along with creating hickeys on my thighs. Marking me his. I loved it.

The moment his head is within my reach I try to pull him back up, but he denies me. An impatient whine leaving my lips though it quickly turns into a gasp when he surprises me by blowing air on my damp panties. Swiftly sliding the fabric to the side, the cold air of the room momentarily startling me. Though my lips are quickly engulfed with his. Legs almost instantly turning to jelly.

Pushing one thigh up, he spreads my legs, giving him more room to explore. My breathing turning into desperate gasps. Sucking on my clit like it’s a life line, plunging his tongue so far inside me it seems impossible. Leaning up on my weak trembling arms, I look at his head between my legs. His eyes open shortly too look me in the eyes. His eyes golden, his patterns showing. He’s half shifted. It all made sense now. He had shown me before that his tongue was longer when in demon form, teasing me with it. This was just half of what it could be and this was already sending me to heaven.

I couldn’t hold myself up anymore, falling back down with a heavenly moan. I could feel that he was enjoying this just as much as I was, being this close allowing me to feel his emotions just like he did mine. My hands find his hair, gripping tight on the strands. Drawing a groan from him, the vibrations of his voice only getting me closer to my release.

“So close,” my voice soft, laced with desperation. But I shouldn’t have said anything. The second the words leave my lips, his leave my heat. A wet smirk curls on his lips, glistening and smug.

“Didn’t think I was gonna let you cum that easy, now did you?” he arches a brow, the wicked look in his eyes making my body ache even more. He licks his lips, groaning at the taste of me. In an instantly his completely naked before me, his patterns beautifully on display. My denied orgasm forgotten, I find the strength to get up. On my knees in front of him, my lips just able to reach his strong collar bones.

I start there, biting hard. I can tell he enjoys it, his eyes stay on me watching me as I claim his body just like he did mine. Smirking my way down, leaving hickeys and indents of my teeth. Marks that say mine in every shade of red. Following one line of his patterns, all the way down the length of his chest. Though he doesn’t allow me to reach my destination.

With a rough push, I’m on my back once more. Somehow, while falling back he was able to remove both my bra and my panties. Demon magic, I'm sure. My legs pulled up into the air, a single hand holding them together against his shoulder.

“Think you’re ready for me?” It’s like his voice got even deeper, like he was growling while talking. That same smug smirk curves his lips as he teases me, pressing the tip between my thighs. My eyes widen the further he pushes, realizing just how big he actually was.

While I’m terrified, I don't control my head as it nods repeatedly with need.

Leaning down he folds me in half, the stretch in my muscles an ache I crave. My legs pushed up, pressed tight on either side of my head. “Use your words, darling,” he whispers, face to face now. His breath brushes my lips, voice thick with command and something darker. The tone betraying just how close he is to loosing it all.

“Please, please, please,” the words are breathless. The pressure on my chest makes it hard to breathe, but not enough to stop the begging. “Fuck me,” it’s rough, more like a demand. Desperate to get him inside me. Now!

He lets out a low, wicked chuckle. “Good girl,” instantly thrusting all the way in. The stretch punches a high-pitched gasp out of me, more squeak than moan, and I clamp down around him without meaning to. My body’s trying to slow him down, fighting the pace I just begged for. All air leaves my lungs when he bottoms out. It feels so good I could cry.

“Sooo… gooooood…” the words slur right out of me, brain to far gone to care what I say anymore. A hitched gasp slips past my parted lips as I feel him pull back. Not all the way, but enough to start making me feel empty. His lips join mine in a surprisingly gentle kiss. His kiss is slow, loving, completely at odds with the way he’s wrecking me. Caressing me with love as he slowly starts to thrust back in. Keeping the pace slow but deep while I gasp into kiss. Barely able to kiss him back.

To the point I just give up, wrapping my arms around his neck. Pulling him impossibly closer. The ache in my legs starting to make them tremble, but I don’t care. I need him, crave him. The angle of our position getting me closer to edge with every thrust. My entire body shivering from the intensity.

“You’re doing so good,” his voice cuts through the haze, sudden enough to startle me. Though I relax almost instantly. “Just a little longer,” his right hand caressing my trembling leg, seemingly soothing the ache. Reaching between us in the impossibly small space between us. Pinching my clit between two fingers making me spasm and squeeze around his thick length. “Cum for me,” it’s like a command that breaks the dam. Squeezing his shoulders once before my arms go lacks at the feeling of ecstasy.

Both his arms secure around me as he thrusts a few more times. He moves my head to the side, just enough to give him space. With a low groan, which is quickly muffled by my skin, he cums inside me. A gentle peck where my neck meets my shoulder. Then a scream leaves my lungs when his teeth tear my skin.

The same black stardust seems to ripple over us, starting from where he just bit me. Suddenly I’m overwhelmed. I freeze up. A gentle lick over the wound, then a peck before his eyes come into view.

“Now,” he whispers. “You’re completely mine,” and I feel it. I feel him, not just physically. Our souls completely connected.

Slowly the shock fades, as does the pain. He starts to pull away, but I don’t want him to. Letting him leave just enough space for me to lower my legs before I pull him right back.

Connecting our lips, exploding with emotions. So much raw emotion of both him and me.

We had just finished showering, but he had been done getting dressed quicker. Pecking my lips as he left the room. A lingering feeling of adoration from him warming my chest.

“Wow, you look thoroughly fucked,” Mystery points out the obvious when I enter the living room again after what had just transpired in the bedroom. I hadn’t tried to hide the marks Baby had left on me, but they were relatively hidden. But I guess not as hidden as they had seemed when I looked in the mirror.

An instant flare of anger washes over me. But it’s not mine.

“Watch it,” Baby hisses at his friend. I just stick my tongue out at Mystery and plop myself down on Baby’s lap, who instantly wraps a possessive arm around my waist. I peck his cheek before turning my attention to the rest of the boys.

“Okay, but, we should actually get going,” I say while I look at the time on my phone, now that I have it again. “We don’t wanna be la-”

Before I can finish, magenta smoke slowly reveals we arrived at the studio.

“Ah! Saja Boys!” we get greeted, the second we get spotted. In panic I touch my head, glad to find the cap there. My eyes meet Baby’s, he’s already staring, handing me tinted glasses. Which I quickly put on.

They get called on stage not long after our arrival. The studio filled to the brim with press and new fans. I stay on the side, out of sight of the crowd. Instead focusing on my phone where I check their social media and their growing popularity.

Unbeknownst to me, three pairs of familiar eyes had spotted me. Unsure and stunned all the same. I should not be there and yet I was.

“It’s a dead heat between my handsome co-host and Baby Saja,” my attention drawn to the stage, at the mention of Baby. Surprised he’s so casually drinking hot sauce like it’s water. “Can our host catch up?”

“So spicy! So spicy!” the co-host utters, giving up.

“He can’t! Baby Saja is the winner!” the crowd cheers.

“Goo goo, ga ga,” Baby mocks, unable to stop me from giggling at the idiocy of it. Shaking my head.

“Hard to say goodbye when we’re having fun.”

“So hard. So hard,” to my shock I watch Jinu take the mic from the host. I’m about to scold him from the sideline when he speaks.

“Then why say goodbye when we have extra special guests coming up?”

“What is he doing?” I mutter. Little did I know that Rumi muttered those exact same words.

“Please welcome Huntrix!” stunned I follow the spotlights as it highlights the - now - trio. Shit.

“We just wanted to stop by and congratulate our hoobaes on their debut and-,” Rumi waves awkwardly, obviously caught off guard.

“And of course, Play Games with Us! Bring out the slides!” Jinu cuts her off. The other four grabbing the slide from my side of the stage.

“This is not a good idea,” I hiss at them. Baby just winks as a feeling of reassurance waves over me.

“Slide! Slide! Slide!” the crowd chants, I watch anxiously.

“Oh no. We couldn’t possibly,” Rumi tries to back out, to no avail of the crowd. Their chants changing to ‘In the balls!’. Which seems, you know, just a little in appropriate, but oh well… “Sure,” voice a little higher now. “For the fans.”

Though its immediately met with more regret. Their leather pants stopping them for a smooth slide. An ear-piercing sound echoing through the studio. Just like Baby I cover my ears, dampening the double effect of what this sound does to us.

Finally they land. “And Huntrix is in the balls!” I notice their eyes flash gold, smirks plastered on their faces before they mask it.

“Well, this was fun,” Rumi says awkwardly as the three of them exit the ball pit. Standing in line across from the boys.

With a hand on his chest. “It was truly an honor to share the stage with you,” Jinu says, the five of them bowing respectfully to the trio. I cover my mouth with my hand to muffle my chuckle at their faces.

“Oh no. The honor is ours,” they bow. They’ll do anything to keep the fans on their side it seems.

“No, it was ours.”

“It’s ours.”

“Ours.”

They all bow deeper and deeper. The boys quite literally folded in half in the end. Baby smirking through his legs at me, making me shake my head at them for the nth time.

Before the curtain is even fully closed, Baby grabs my by the waist, throwing me over his shoulder as they run out. Abby giving Romance a piggy back, just to rub it in the girls faces. Flicking my gaze to them, I see their anger growing.

“Where are we going?” I ask, not really able to do much, stuck in the tight grasp of Baby. Trying to peak around his head I see the bath house sign. “Why are we going to a bath house?”

I get an answer quick enough when I hear their collective voices. “Mens?”

“Wow. Did you really follow us in here?” Jinu says with fake surprise.

“I knew they would. That one’s always looking at me,” Abby says matter-of-factly.

“No we’re not,” Mira and Zoey say, obviously staring at Abby. Rumi ignores the comments completely. Her eyes finding mine where I’m stood next to Baby. A possessive and protective hand on my waist. He glares at them like they had personally hurt him.

I guess unintentionally they had, but without what they did. We wouldn’t have met.

“Y/n?” soft, filled with disbelief. Rumi’s words seem to shake Mira and Zoey out of their staring trance as they too turn to me.

“Told you,” Mira starts. “She’s just as bad as the rest of them,” Baby makes a threatening move, growling slightly. It’s enough to make them take a step back.

“I wasn’t,” I state calmly. Placing a hand on Baby’s shoulder to calm him and to tell him to trust me this time. “Not until you betrayed me that is,” I continue, sending a glare their way. “Especially you, Rumi. What a sister you are,” I shake my head with disappointment.

“So, now you’ve sent a demon boy band after us?” Zoey asks, surprised and offended at the same time. “To what? Steal our fans?”

“Yes,” the six of us state clearly, a smirk pulling at my lips. “When I came back to this plane, it was fun to see how many you had already lost. And all that because I “left”,” their eyes widen at my words. “Now we’re here for the rest of them.”

“You think we’re just going to let you steal our fans?” Rumi’s voice laced with anger. “You’re gonna have to fight us for them.”

“Yeah. Keep your hands off our Honmoon,” Zoey adds.

Jinu chuckles. “We’re not here to fight,” tears in the Honmoon appear in the baths. “They are,” demons rise from the tears.

“Water demons.”

“Oh great. My favorite.”

“Get rid of the Hunters,” Jinu says to the water demon closest to him. I can’t stop the spike of fear puncturing my heart as my eyes shift from him to the people I once called family. “Then you can eat all the souls you want,” Baby squeezes my waist, but it doesn’t sooth the pain in my chest.

With that said, the water demons start fighting. Romance, Mystery and Abby swiftly making their way to another exit. Baby starts pulling me, but I hesitate. While he’s obviously upset at what they had done to me. He understands what I’m going through at this very moment.

“Have fun,” Jinu smirks evilly, nearly slipping on a small pool of water on the tiles. Turning around he starting running towards the exit. I finally find my willpower back and start moving. Holding onto Baby’s hand tight. Letting him drag me through the door. Running through the sauna as Rumi follows us quickly. She manages to cut Jinu off from the group.

“He can handle himself,” Baby reassures me and finally we go up in smoke and appear in our apartment. Out of breath, I let myself fall on the couch. Soon joined by him. He picks me up bridal style. Sits down himself before placing me in his lap. Leaning me so my head is resting on his shoulder.

“I can’t- I-”

“Shh, it’s okay,” his voice is soft. Warmth blooms in my chest and again I’m reassured. He’s not mad at me. He knows I was meant to be one of the good guys. “You don’t have to talk.”

We stay like that, unbothered by the other three. Until Jinu returns, face laced with realization and confusion but before he can say anything. All six of us get pulled back into the demon plane by Gwi ma.

A single soul flies overhead, straight into Gwi ma’s flame.

“My Little Soda Pop,” Gwi ma… sings? “It’s catchy. Surprisingly, your plan is working,” he says to us as we get up off the ground. Standing before him.

“I know, and that soul is just a starter,” Jinu says, his expression changing to please Gwi ma. “So let me get back to work, and you’ll be feasting in no time.”

“Two of the Hunters bear my mark, one of which I now have control over,” if Gwi ma had eyes they would be on me now with how intense the air around me got. “The other I do not.”

“This is good,” Jinu says, taking the attention off me. “This means she has shame. I’ll find out what it is and we can use it to destroy her and the Hunters for good.”

“I’ve taught you well, Jinu,” with that Gwi ma lets us return to our apartment on the human plane.

“Okay, issue,” Jinu says, sitting on one of the arm chairs in the room. Leaning forward, elbows on his knees. Covering his face with his left hand.

“What is it?” Romance asks, confused. Finding himself a seat on the couch. Abby returning from the kitchen with a bottle of water. Sitting in the other arm chair. Mystery finding his spot between Romance and Baby. I stood by the large open windows which had a view of the city sky line. From here I could see the Huntrix tower, the logo lit up in the dark of the night, in the far distance. Leaning against the glass as I subconsciously rubbed the patterns on my arms.

“Is it because of the look on your face when you first came back?” Baby asks, though I know his eyes don’t leave my frame. Watching over me protectively but letting me keep the space I need right now.

“Yes,” Jinu sighs, taking his hand away from his face. “Rumi appears to be my mate,” my eyes focus on his reflection in the window. Silence engulfs the room, almost like time stands still. I don’t think anyone knows what to say with this new information. “But that doesn’t change anything,” he chuckles awkwardly.

It’s very divided. Baby and I sure as hell can’t say shit about it. Me, technically, being a huntress and us being mates. Having just completed said mating bond.

“We’re going to stick to the plan,” Jinu ends up deciding. “We have to,” the words are whispered. My brows furrow in confusion. He can’t just be talking about the revenge. Baby fills my head with images of what Gwi ma could do to us if we fail.

It’s early morning, I think I got maybe an hour of sleep before I woke up from my running thoughts. Baby was a deep sleeper, if he hadn’t been, I was sure he would have jumped awake at the same time I did. Sneaking out of his hold. I grab my phone from its charger.

3:36 am

Sighing I get up. Pulling Baby’s sweater over my head. The hem falling just mid my thighs. My sweater now, really. Exiting the room I head for the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water. Swiftly taking a sip.

“Ah,” I sigh, walking to the living room, I just sat down on the couch when Jinu suddenly appears in front of me. Making me jump, Jinu reacting the same at seeing me awake.

“What are you doing awake?” he whisper hisses at me.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I hiss right back. He sighs and takes the same seat as before. I relax back in my seat, pulling my legs on the couch beside me.

“Fine,” he sighs. Tiger comes up from the floor. First letting himself be pet by Jinu before circling the coffee table. Jumping on the couch next to me, resting his head on my thigh. Placing my hand on his big head, I start petting him. Purrs slowly rumbling from his chest. “I went to meet Rumi,” anxiety spikes my chest, my eyes meeting his instantly. “I know, I know,” he puts his hands up. “I just, I had to tell her.”

While my heart is still running like a marathon, I sigh. “I get it. Once you realize it’s hard to keep it from them. Baby showed me what it felt like for him when he found out,” I explain in understanding. Jinu sighs in relief at my words.

“Thank you,” it wasn’t often Jinu got sincere, so I knew this was real. Just by the tone in his voice. “She did not react well,” he adds. “I shouldn’t be surprised of course, but I had hope with the way you reacted to Baby.”

“You have to understand that the situations are different. I had just been banished by my own family. She’s still in hiding,” I try to reason with him. “If Mira and Zoey knew, she would be with Gwi ma just like me.”

“What exactly happened that day?” the question is cautious. Testing the waters carefully. "I know you told us in part, but..."

“I wanted to tell Mira and Zoey about my patterns,” I state, my voice void of emotion. “I didn’t want to hide anymore. Rumi didn’t want to. Which I understood, but she said she would back me up,” I glance at him before focusing my attention on Tiger as I continue. “They reacted by drawing their weapons on me,” I pause for a moment. Throat swelling up with emotion. Unable to stop the betrayal from taking over me. “Rumi was the one to send me to Gwi ma,” I croak out, my hand trembling as I continue to pet Tiger as a distraction. Taking a deep shuddering breath. Baby appeared behind me suddenly. His calm aura settling over me. Looking back, up at him, his gaze is focused on Jinu. Glaring at him.

“What are you doing?” he asks accusingly. His hands settle on my shoulders. Comforting me.

“It’s okay. I’m okay now,” I smile gently at him, squeezing one of his hands. “It’s not his fault really,” he doesn’t seem to fully believe me. Tiger had looked up, almost offended that I had stop petting him. Though this did give Baby the opportunity to sit down himself and hold me close.

“What happened then?”

“I may have asked what happened that day,” Jinu explains.

“And this became a topic, because?”

“He apparently met with Rumi,” I tell him. “Telling her about them being mates, and it did not go as he hoped,” Baby nods, waiting for more information.

“I also may have offered to let Rumi talk to Y/n,” Jinu confesses, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

“WHAT!?” Baby and I say at the same time. Baby out of worry, me out of anxiety.

“Yeah, well,” Jinu sighs, struggling to find the right words. “I thought, since you’re sisters. And you being mated to Baby. You could maybe, I don’t know. Convince her it’s okay..?”

“You want my mate,” Baby’s voice is stern, threatening even. “ who got sent to Gwi ma by yours. To talk to Rumi?”

“I know, I know.”

“No, I don’t think you understand,” Baby’s eyes turn golden. “Her anxiety just woke me up, I am de deepest sleeper you know this. I will not allow Rumi to meet with Y/n.”

The conversation ends there. The next few weeks a filled with award shows where either the Saja boys winning or Huntrix. All the while I see the secret longing looks Jinu sends Rumi, and Rumi tries to hide the new pull that the mating bond created.

It’s conflicting with everything.

I want Jinu to be happy, and I hate that I want Rumi to be happy too. Becoming Baby’s mate has made me so happy. While I still hear Gwi ma’s voice it’s not nearly as loud as it was before we completed the mating. It doesn’t rule over me. I wish that for Jinu. I know his past haunts him, more than he dares to show.

And while it obviously hurts to be betrayed by my sister, I still cared for her. Can I still go through with this?

“Let’s bring ‘em in,” Bobby’s voice announces as the doors to the signing open. Hiding in the crowd, I watch as the guys waddle in. “Hey, single file, no pushing.”

“And who should I make this out to?” Rumi asks, grabbing the stack of her posters, closer to herself.

“ 'To our biggest fans' ,” Jinu says, all of them casually revealing themselves. No longer hidden by the sleeping bags.

“It’s the Saja boys!” while everyone is focused on the boys, the frustration of the girls doesn’t go unnoticed by me.

“It is an honor!” Bobby regards them politely. “Table, now!”

“Joint signing!” while the room splits into two sides. I teleport behind the Huntrix banner, having practiced a lot since that first try.

“We lose half the fans?” I can just hear Rumi’s murmured words. “The Saja Boys will sit with us!”

“What? Rumi?” Mira and Zoey react quietly. “What are you doing?”

“Huh? Same table?” the crowd joins together again as the table gets moved next to theirs.

“We need every fan,” Rumi tells the other two.

“Hm. We keep meeting like this,” Romance says, sitting down next to Mira. Draping an arm over her chair. Leaning his head on his other hand. Staring at Mira while she glares back at him. Abby taking a seat on Mira's left, smirk tugging at his lips.

“I am not sitting with no Saja boy-” Zoey cuts herself off when Mystery sits down next to her, giggling like a high school girl with a crush. “What’s up?”

“I didn’t think you liked sharing,” Jinu whispers to Rumi when he sits down beside her.

“I love sharing.”

“Oh, so you shared your secret with your friends?”

“If only I could smash your demon face in right now,” Mira hisses quietly. Her eyes shifting from Romance to Abby as she signs her poster. “Thanks for coming!” she puts up a sweet face as she hands over the signed poster.

“Should I tell them?” Jinu asks.

“No, I can’t tell them,” Rumi reminds him.

“Are you whispering?” a fan suddenly cut their conversation. The two of them stuttering as they frantically sign the Rumi poster and hand it to the fan. “Your secret’s safe with me,” she says pointing at her shirt which has a drawing of the two of them along with their ship name; Rujinu. They chuckle awkwardly. “Oh, so cute!”

“Thanks for coming!” Zoey speaks with a sweet smile on her lips, while Mystery sits next to her. Arms crossed, pretty much staring down the Huntrix fan in front of them like he had seen them kick a puppy. Softly growling. “No! Bad Saja Boy!” Zoey scolds him which surprisingly stops his growling.

“I’ll sign first,” Mira fights with Abby and Romance over who will sign the cast of a fan. Dragging his foot from left to right on the table like he isn’t struggling to keep his stability on his crutches.

"If Y/n were still with Huntrix," I catch the whisper of a fan. An image of said fan being sent to me by Baby. The fan standing directly in front of him. "I would ship you," he doesn't reply. Simply smirks and sends the fan a wink making them squeal.

“I’m not gonna talk to someone who’s helping Gwi ma,” Rumi whispers, trying to focus on the signing.

“What if that’s not the plan anymore.”

“Like I would believe you, you have my sister helping you.”

“And who’s fault is that,” he whispers in her ear making her kick his foot under the table.

“I had no choice!” She whisper yells at him. “They didn’t accept her. If I revealed what I am we would never stand a chance at defeating Gwi ma. I’m supposed to hate all demons, like I hate Gwi ma.”

“If hate could defeat Gwi ma, we would have done it a long time ago,” Jinu tells her calmly, truthfully. “Trust me.”

“Excuse me, mr. Jinu,” the voice of a little girl cuts their moment. “I made this for you,” both turn to the girl. Jinu surprised, not expecting this in the slightest.

“Uh, for me?” she holds out the drawing to him. He takes the paper like its a porcelain plate. Fragile, breakable. The two stare at the drawing for a little while.

“Maybe listen to those voices instead of the ones in your head,” Rumi says referring to the time they met up, she’s trying to be rude about it, but it sounds more sincere than I think she meant to.

It had been a couple of days since Tiger had been at the apartment. He finally appeared again when it was just me, Baby and Jinu in the living room. The other three had been disappearing into their rooms more often than not.

Tiger sat in front of Jinu, waiting for his attention. I was stretched out over the couch, using Baby’s thighs as a pillow while he read above me. Fingers running through my hair soothingly.

“Oh, my-” Jinu’s sudden excitement has my eyes shoot open in surprise. Baby sighed but closed the book nonetheless. How he did it, I don’t know, but he would just remember the page number he left on. Not caring about a bookmark. Who does that?

“What is it?” I ask, sleepily.

“It’s from Rumi, she’s agreed to meet you,” the anxiety spike returns, just that has Baby reach for my hand. Squeezing it gently.

“I thought, I had been very clear, last time we spoke about this,” Baby glares at him. Sitting up slowly, I take the card from Jinu.

Fine, I’ll take that talk with Y/n. But not for you! She’ll know where to meet me. - Rumi

Stubborn as ever, I shake my head. “You think she’s feeling the pull?” I ask Baby. He sighs, not liking the way my anxiety melted away for warmth of the potential happiness that could come out of this.

“Yes, she probably is,” he answers me, voice gentle, unlike how he spoke to Jinu. “I’m surprised she held out this long. “

“Is that were Tiger was?” I ask Jinu, who nods.

“I’ll do it,” I announce after a moment of me just staring at her neat hand writing.

“I’m coming with you,” Baby immediately says, but I shake me head.

“No, she won’t trust you,” it’s true and he knows it. “I can protect myself. I can get away from her, thanks to you,” I peck his cheek. Lingering to reassure him that I’ll be okay.

“Alright.”

I arrive first. Kneeling in front of our moms grave.

“Hi mom,” my voice soft. “I know it’s been a while since my last visit. I’m sorry,” I apologize. A crunch of a branch tells me Rumi has arrived. Placing a kiss on the tips of my fingers, I press them against her headstone before standing up. Turning to Rumi.

“I didn’t think you would actually show,” she says, a sullen expression on her face. Hands stuffed in her sweaters pockets.

“When Jinu first told me of his offer to you, I wouldn’t have come, no,” I tell her honestly. Moving at a wide radius away from our moms grave. Giving Rumi the opportunity to talk to mom like I just had.

She does just that, I give her space to do so. This is the first time we talk to her separately. We always went to her grave together every now and again.

“Is this… mates thing… a lie?” she hesitates, when she’s done talking to mom. Getting up, keeping the same radius I had. Ten paces apart we take our seat on separate grass patches.

“It is not,” I shake my head, pulling the zipper down of my turtle neck top. Show her my mating mark that has now healed completely. Leaving holographic scars in the shape of his teeth. “Jinu did not lie to you about that, and I think you believed him. Even before you wanted to.”

She nods, seemingly ashamed that she did, but unable to deny the pull she now feels to him. “Did Jinu lie when he said he wasn’t going to help Gwi ma anymore?”

“Yes and no,” she looks confused at my answer.

“What does that mean?” she frowns.

“I think, that after finding out you were his mate, he stopped wanting to help Gwi ma.”

“But?”

“But because of what you did to me-” anxiety spikes as the memories play again. Warmth spreads within seconds, allowing me to take a deep breath and continue. Thank you Baby. “And the memories that haunt, not only Jinu, but the others too. They became my friends, I know it may seem like they do all this for Gwi ma. But they don’t. They will continue if it means they can get rid of their memories. Probably until its too late.”

“I guess… I guess I can’t blame them for that…” she sighs, gaze falling to the grass in front of her, like she can’t bear to meet mine. “For what it’s worth… I am so-rry,” her voice cracks. Her mask faltering as tears roll freely off her cheeks. “… I’m so- so sor-ry…” her shoulders shake. “I- I panicked! I never-” she sniffles. “I never wanted to hurt- you.”

“It hurt… so much,” I croak out, unable to keep from crying myself. Being this close yet so far from my sister. It was agony. “Not just the betrayal…” a quick intake of breath which does little to stop my emotions from going haywire. “It was like I was- like I was being burned… in, I don’t know, hell fire,” I struggle to find the words. Trying to paint a picture she would - hopefully - never feel. "Gwi ma, tortured me... with it... making it play- over and over," I pause. "Louder, every time," my voice just above a whisper. It hangs in the air for an uncertain amount of time.

“Can I please- hug you?” her voice is so soft, I barely catch her words. Looking up in surprise. Wondering if I even heard her right. My eyes find hers already staring at me. Switching between either one in desperation. I barely finish my nod and she on her feet.

We crush together in the middle. Arms wrapped tightly around each other. Tears ruining each others clothes, not that we cared about that in the moment, or ever.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” her voice is shaky as she whispers the words, over an over. Hiding her face in my shoulder. I feel us sink to the gravel, never letting go.

I don't know how long we stay there, just crying while we hold onto each other desperately.

“I missed you so much,” she whispers when we finally stopped crying. Pulling away enough to look at me up close. A shaky smile forms on my lips as I nod in agreement.

“I missed you too, even though I felt betrayed,” I sigh, using one hand to wipe away left over tears. “Mira and Zoey too.”

“I know they miss you too,” it surprises me. Her voice is so full of raw emotion I know she’s not lying. “We regret it so much, me the most,” she points at her own chest. “I lost my voice, I couldn’t sing anymore. I didn’t think I deserved to either way.”

We are hunters, voices strong

I start, which she quickly catches on to. Joining me.

Slaying demons with our song Fix the world and make it right When darkness finally meets the light

Our foreheads meet in the middle. It held a lot more meaning now. We weren’t singing about slaying literally demons. It was about our thoughts. How we can speak our truth to each other now. Where her darkness meets my light and we can still fix all this. “That is the first time I’ve sang since the performance before… you know.”

“Meeting Jinu, my voice returned. I had someone who I could talk about my patterns with again,” Rumi confesses. “Someone I could be completely me with, but it was different.”

“It is,” I nod, separating our connection. “Because he is your mate. I had the same with Baby. Even if I didn’t want to believe demons could be nice at first,” I shake my head, getting a smile from her. “Also, would you believe it! Not all demons are ugly like we thought,” this gets her to laugh uncontrollably, happy tears playing on the rims of her eyes. She pulls me impossible closer, letting out a shuddering sigh of relief.

“Hey, can demons only have demon mates?” I ask, still confused by Romance, Mystery’s and Abby’s recent behavior changes.

“Uhm, no,” Mystery answers my question surprisingly. His expression unreadable. “Could be a human too,” the way he drags out ‘too’, only confirms my suspicions.

“Am I correct in assuming you three have found your mates in my human band members?” it’s hard to hide the smirk that starts tugging at my lips. Abby is the first to react, his gaze flicking to me in an instant. Got you. “I knew it!” I fist pump the air in excitement.

“Why does our misery excite you exactly?” Romance asks, sinking lower into the couch.

“Well,” I draw out the word as I get off of Baby’s lap. Much to his dismay. “Because it changes everything!”

“What are you talking about?” Abby asks, confusion written on all over their faces. Except, Baby, which surprises me only a little. Maybe my feelings about this have bled into him more than I thought.

“Don’t you see,” I start, pacing in front of them. “All of you have mates on this plane. Hunters to be precise,” I explain it like it’s obvious. “If we destroy them, you’ll never be with them!” this seems to make all of them pause.

“They hate demons, remember,” Romance’s voice is edged with a depression I had never seen on the man.

“That doesn’t mean they can’t change!” my voice is almost desperate. Trying to get them to see what I see. “If- if,” my thoughts go too fast for my mouth to keep up. A hand takes mine, Baby. I breathe. “If we can convince Rumi that we will help them seal the Honmoon-”

“What!?” that comes from all three of them at once.

“Listen to me!” I snap, gripping Baby’s hand tighter. “If we help them seal the Honmoon, while we are on this plane. It will keep us here!” slowly their gaze shift from disbelief to something I can’t place. Something like… hope. Or maybe fear of even the thought of hope. “Gwi ma won’t have control over us.”

“How are you so sure?” Mystery asks, his voice soft. Unrecognizable from his normal confident self.

“Because Rumi and I were already born when the Honmoon was last sealed,” I tell them. “We stayed here, lead normal human lives. Even if we had to hide our patterns.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you on this,” Abby says sitting up straight. This gets the other two to agree soon after.

“How do we make it happen?”

“Jinu, you need to talk to Rumi. Tell her our plan,” I turn to Jinu. “She’ll do whatever she can to ensure Mira and Zoey will not harm us. I’m sure of it, but we will have to keep pretending to do this for Gwi ma,” the plan was simple really. It would all end tomorrow at the International Idol Awards.

“Two bands, one award,” the intro starts playing on the tv in the Saja Boys’ dressing room. “Every snowflake is special. But one snowflake is probably the best. Who will be the top the the mountain?”

“Is this guy for real?” Abby asks in disbelief. I smack his arm playfully.

“Hey, this is a respected award show,” I tell him. “We are five-year reigning champions, I’ll have you know,” Baby chuckles at my defense, squeezing my side.

“Fans from around the universe will decide!” The stage comes into view. The stadium filled to the brim with fans. “Finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Here are the five-year reigning champs of the International Idol Awards, Huntrix!”

“Okay, it’s time,” I tell them. “Fake the fight,” immediately they start arguing about stupid things like stolen shoes. Men, am I right? But it sounds believable, especially through he nearly sound proof door.

“Versus the heart-stealing newcomers, the Saja Boys! Who will win?” “Please welcome to the stage, the Saja Boys!”

“The Saja Boys, are having a fight,” I tell a staff member as I open the door just a peep. “They will not be performing tonight,” Their eyes seem to widen. Rushing away. Most likely to tell other staff and Bobby of the earlier performance of the Huntrix.

Closing the door behind me, I give them a thumbs up. “Now we just let it play out.”

Everything quiets down in the room. Watching in anticipation, hoping it would work.

“Uh, okay, there’s been a slight change in schedule,” the host announces.

Baby is sat on the arm rest of the leather couch in the room. I sit right on the edge between his legs, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. Possessive, protective. Afraid of loosing me, just as I am to loose him if this goes bad.

Romance, Abby and Mystery actually sit on the three seater leather couch. Jinu, nervously sat on the other arm rest. Tension was high.

“Here to preform their hot new single, Golden, it’s Huntrix!”

“What?” my voice is laced with confusion. The door to the dressing room slams open. Startling everyone in the room.

“Y/n, quick.”

“When you told me to wear my golden costume, you could have told me this was the reason for it,” I tell Rumi while she throws a headworn microphone at me.

I lock eyes with Baby, portraying that I didn’t know.

“You go this,” he winks confidently. “I’ll be right here when you return,” I smash our lips together in a desperate kiss. Pouring all my fear into it along with anxious hope. “Go, darling,” his voice soft as he wipes a tear I didn’t know escaped off my cheek.

Breaking away, I watch as Rumi pulls away from a similar kiss with Jinu. A blush covering her cheeks. With that we run out the room.

“Do Zoey and Mira know I’m here to perform?” I ask on the way.

“Uhm, kind of?” Rumi admits, grimacing.

“Rumi!”

“I told them to trust me, alright!” we reach the girls just in time. It luckily doesn’t give the two the chance to ask any questions as we get lifted up to the stage.

I start my part, the crowd cheering in surprise.

I was a ghost, I was alone. Eo du wojin, ap gil sok e Given the throne I didn’t know How to believe I was the queen that I’m meant to be!

Thankfully, it all goes smoothly as we continue the song. Leaving the stage when its time for Rumi’s solo. I anxiously keep my distance from Zoey and Mira. Though I’m not too worried with so many people around.

“She’s killing it out there!” Zoey nearly screams overjoyed to see my sister sing well once more. Mira on the other hand doesn’t seem to be sure whether she should be glaring at me or feel grateful that I’m actually still alive. In the end she shakes her head.

“Let’s go finish this,” but commotion backstage draws our attention. We watch Bobby being dragged away by to people, their eyes flashing gold before disappearing around the corner. “Bobby?” Zoey turns to glare at me instantaneously.

“This isn’t us, I swear,” I hold up my hands trying to prove my innocence. “I didn’t do this!”

“Stay away from us,” Mira hisses at me as I go to follow them to help Bobby. My breath quickens as I watch them run away. The staff yelling after them that they’re on in 20 seconds.

“What is happening?” I mutter, dashing in the other direction. I crash straight into the dressing room. All five of them are still sat there, watching Rumi perform.

Baby is at my side in seconds. “What’s going on?”

“Who took Bobby!?” my voice is more confused than accusatory, but its there. Their brows furrow. “I thought we agreed.”

“We did,” Mystery stands up confused. “What do you mean, who took Bobby?”

Realization dawns on me, my eyes darting to the screen. “Rumi…” I breath, watching as the music changes from Golden to an entirely different song. One I didn’t know. Mira and Zoey join her back onstage… but something is off about them. “I have to get to Rumi!”

Emotion crowds my chest as I teleport in bursts, racing closer and closer to the stage. But I’m too late.

The fakes have already exposed her patterns.

“No!” Rumi’s voice pierces the air. Lights break in her wake. Her patterns start glowing purple. Unable to hide them anymore. She’s trembling. Frantic, scared, exposed.

Out of the corner of my eye I see the real Zoey and Mira return on the other side of the stage. Stopping in their tracks at the sight of Rumi. And slowly they step back. Back… away from her.

Rumi gains enough control of herself and runs off stage. I quickly run after her, but I’m not fast enough to stop her from running into Mira and Zoey. Witnessing their conversation from the stairs.

“How are you here?” I hear Rumi’s shaky voice. “You were just on stage. That wasn’t you?” She trembling like crazy. “Oh, thank goodness,” she takes a step closer to them. But they just take a steps back. “No. No!” her gaze falls to her hands, the patterns on full display. Not hidden like she expected them to be.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Zoey’s voice is surprisingly soft as she questions Rumi. “You knew about Y/n because you are one too.”

Her breath hitches. “Yes, but-” she stutters. “I didn’t have a- have choice.”

“You lied to us,” Mira’s voice is sharp. “This whole time?”

“No, I-” she shakes her head vividly. “We had a plan.”

“We?”

“Sealing the Honmoon,” I finally speak up. Revealing myself to them. Joining Rumi. Mira and Zoey take another step back, drawing their weapons on us, but not yet pointing them at us.

“You told us to trust you,” Zoey's voice is colder than I have ever heard it.

“And it back fired, on not just us, but on you too,” if looks could kill, Mira’s gaze would have sent us straight to hell.

“No,” I tell them, shaking my head. “This wasn’t us,” I say referring to me and the Saja Boys. “We wanted you guys to seal the Honmoon tonight.”

“It was supposed to save us,” Rumi adds, taking my hand with her shaky one. “We were supposed to become normal… and be together again.”

“How could we be together if we can’t tell your lies from your truths, Rumi?”

“I knew it, I knew it was too good to be true,” Mira’s voice is filled with disappointment.

“Mira, no! Didn’t you see?” Rumi tries once more as a desperate attempt. “See the gold? We’re so close!” instead they only back up further as she tries to get closer to them. “No, don’t leave! We can still…”

“Fix this!” my voice combines with hers makes the Honmoon ring magenta. Loosing us whatever trust that would have been left from the two. Mira pointing her woldo at us.

“Zoey, please,” my voice trembles. Tears in my eyes. It doesn’t change anything. She too readies her kunai’s. Before they can try to use them on us. I squeeze Rumi’s hand and teleport her with me.

I wasn’t entirely sure where I took us. But it became clear as our eyes followed how the Honmoon was breaking apart. Our gaze landing on the Shinmok. Celine stood there, back to us. But she knew we were there. Turning around with her nat suddenly, as if to catch us off guard.

“Rumi? Y/n?”

“I thought we could fix it,” Rumi says. Staring blankly at the ground. Voice going static.

“They know of both of us now,” my voice seems to do the same as we near Celine.

“There is no denying it now.”

“There is no fixing it.”

“This is what we are,” The slow tearing of the Honmoon had both of us looking mostly demon, mirrored glowing patterns, one gold eye each.

“Y/n, how?” they had to have told Celine the truth of what happened that night. She wouldn’t have been as surprised to see me if they hadn’t. They thought I had been dead. “I tried to protect you,” Celine continues, stepping cautiously closer to us. “When we lost your mother, I swore to protect you both. But I never thought that you would be children like this,” her voice trembles as she reaches out to us but can’t seem to touch us. Doesn’t dare to touch us. “Everything I was taught told me you two were wrong, but I made a promise. So I did my best to accept you and help you-”

“Accept us?” Rumi asks, meeting Celine’s tear filled gaze. “You told us to cover up, to hide.”

“Yes, until we can fix everything-”

“And look where that got us,” I scoff. “If we had been honest… from the start,” I choke on my own emotions. “We wouldn’t look like this now.”

“The Honmoon would have been golden already.”

“We can still fix this,” Celine mumbles she steps away from us.

“Don’t you get it!”

“This is what we are!” Rumi and I speak sentence after sentence like we had rehearsed this. But we hadn’t, we just knew exactly what we were trying to get across to her.

“Look at us,” we state when she will no longer dare to look us in the eyes. To truly see what she caused. “Why can’t you look at us?! Why couldn’t you love us?!”

“I do!”

“Every part of us!” our combined cry for acceptance creates another magenta ripple to run over the Honmoon around us. Spreading wider than before.

“This is why we have to hide it,” Celine sounds desperate and out of breath. Looking around frantically at the Honmoon. “Our faults and fears must never been seen. It’s the only way to protect the Honmoon.”

Silence.

“If this is the Honmoon we’re supposed to protect, we’re glad to see it destroyed,” with that we leave her there.

Our agreement is silent as we meet at moms grave once more. “We’re going to have to create a new Honmoon,” I tell her. The both of us pacing the ground.

“Yes, we do.”

“I have a plan, one sec,” I leave her for approximately five seconds before returning with the Saja Boys. Jinu immediately takes Rumi in a protective hold.

“Do you know, how hard it was for me to not follow you,” Baby whispers in my ear as he stands behind me. Wrapping an arm around my waist.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize, turning sideways to peck his cheek. “Thank you for trusting me,” he responds to my words with a bite to my mating mark making me shiver deliciously. “Not now," I scold him.

“Anyways, plan,” Romance asks.

“Right, have you guys spoke to Gwi ma yet?”

“Yes,” Abby answers. “He believes we are still on his side. He just thought it took too long. Sorry for that Rumi,” he apologizes awkwardly to my sister.

“We genuinely didn’t know this would happen,” Jinu adds, squeezing the girl who accepts the apology.

“That’s good, did he miss me there?” I ask.

“I don’t think he could care less,” Baby says, seemingly relieved knowing I’m pretty much not a target for Gwi ma. “But Gwi ma has everyone in a trance. They are all going to Namsan Tower.”

“Okay, we can work with that,” Rumi says, running her brain for ideas.

“Including, Zoey and Mira,” Mystery adds, worry lacing his voice.

“Okay, that makes it a bit harder,” I admit.

“Gwi-ma wants us to do a show there, to keep the people tranced,” Jinu goes to explain Gwi ma’s plan. “That way they will willingly walk into his fire.”

“Do it,” I tell them, seriously. All six of them stare at me like I grew three heads. “We can put a stop to it,” I point my finger between me and Rumi. “Trust me.”

It doesn’t take the boys a lot of convincing, they nod. Jinu leaves a linger kiss on Rumi’s lips. “Take care of yourself,” he tells her sincerely. She nods in silent promise.

“If anything goes wrong, I will protect you,” Baby says to me. “Even if it kills me,” I want to tell him no, but he connects our lips and disappears before I can melt into it.

Rumi and I meet eyes, scared but ready.

Oh!

Rumi’s voice rings loud and clear through Namsan Tower. Cutting the boys off. People clear the way for a view of Rumi. Stood there, broken but true.

We are hunters. Voices strong. Slaying demons with our song. Fix the world and make it right. When darkness finally meets the light.

“You come here like this?” no one is walking towards the flames anymore, just like I suspected. “You think you can fix the world? You can’t even fix yourself,” Gwi ma plays with her shame and insecurities.

“I can’t,” she admits, sullenly.

“And now everyone finally sees you for what you really are.”

“They do.”

“And the Honmoon is gone.”

“It is,” Gwi ma thinks he’s won. “So we can make a new one,” her gaze grows serious.

Nothing but the truth now. Nothing but the proof of what I am.

She walks as she sings, closer. Transforming unknowingly, but I see it. Patterns glowing like iridescent glass, shifting though colors with every note she sings.

The worst of what I came from Patterns I’m ashamed of Things that even I don’t understand I tried to fix it I tried to fight it My head was twisted My heart divided My lies all collided I don’t know why I didn’t Trust you to be on my side

That’s when I join, appearing right next to her.

I broke into a million pieces, and I can't go back But now I'm seeing all the beauty in the broken glass The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like

My eyes find Zoey, who is emerging from the crowd, soul glowing bright. Rumi finding Mira just the same.

Why did I cover up the colors stuck inside my head?

Zoey joins with her own truth.

I should've let the jagged edges meet the light instead

Mira, putting her trust in us more than she ever could.

Show me what's underneath, I'll find your harmony The song we couldn't write, this is what it sounds like

“Stop this song!” Gwi ma demands. Three tears open at the center of the stage. Demons crawling out fast. But we don’t stop.

We're shattering the silence, we're rising defiant Shouting in the quiet, you're not alone

We draw our weapons. Rumi, her sword, Mira her woldo, Zoey her Kunai’s. And me, I draw my dual daggers.

We listened to the demons, we let them get between us But none of us are out here on our own

We fight through the demons with ease, continuing our song. Souls lighting in the crowd as our voices harmonize and grow strong.

So, we were cowards, so, we were liars So, we're not heroes, we're still survivors The dreamers, the fighters, no lying, I'm tired But dive in the fire and I'll be right here by your side

Meeting in the center, we hug, creating a brand new Honmoon.

“I promise you, I am on your side,” I tell them.

“We know,” Zoey breathes with relief.

“Trust me, when I tell you that the Saja boys are on our side,” they hesitate for a moment when our eyes connect. But with a nod from Rumi, they nod too.

We broke into a million pieces, and we can't go back But now we're seeing all the beauty in the broken glass The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like Why did we cover up the colors stuck inside our head? Get up and let the jagged edges meet the light instead Show me what's underneath, I'll find your harmony Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like

More demons spawn, crawling their way to us. The Saja boys flying up into the air. Rumi pushes forward while, Zoey, Mira and I take care of the crawling demons coming at us.

Though, Gwi ma, quickly calls them back. Abby and Romance swooping down, pretending to attack Mira. A spike of fear runs through me at the sight. Afraid she’ll attack them anyway, but she pretends right back.

Mystery lands before Zoey, staring her down menacingly. Baby, grabbing a hold of me from behind. I know he’s trying to protect me and fight away a smile that’s threatening to break on my face.

“You’re voices cannot ... defeat ... me!” Gwi ma yells, sending a blast directly at Rumi. She reacts quick enough, using her sword as a shield.

“No!” I scream out. Jinu and I seem to have the same plan.

He is there first, taking the brute force of the blast.

But I teleport behind him. Pushing him at Rumi, they both gasp. Turning to me.

“Y/n!” my eyes shift to Baby. He tries but fails to get to me. Teleporting in spurts before collapsing on the ground. Feeling exactly what I feel.

It’s not just physical. It’s like my body and soul are being torn apart from the inside out. It's that hell fire all over again, but triple the pain.

“Y/n, no,” Rumi’s voice is filled with fear. Jinu’s eyes shift from mine to Baby where he lays on the stage floor.

“I’m sorry,” I whimper. “for wanting revenge.”

“No,” she shakes her head vividly. Not agreeing with what I said. “I deserved it!” she nearly yells at me.

“It’s okay,” I struggle to smile. The pressure of the blast almost becoming to much. My heart pounds in my ears, louder and louder. Deafening me as my eyes slowly blur to a close.

But I don’t wither away like I expect. I can feel my body fighting the blast. A war raging beneath my skin. I don’t need to see it to know what’s happening.

The iridescent patterns, spread. Like veins of molten light weaving across my skin. Swallowing my entire body, covering every inch of me in the iridescent glow.

Growing brighter like a blinding radiant light, gasps ring in my head as my body blinds everyone present. Drowning the tower in an otherworldly glow.

This is what does it. All souls seem to come to life. I can’t see it, but I can feel it. From where I’m floating. The crowd sings the song. Letting Rumi, Mira and Zoey use their souls to defend themself against Gwi ma.

We broke into a million pieces, and we can't go back But now I'm seeing all the beauty in the broken glass The scars are part of me, darkness and harmony My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like Why did we cover up the colors stuck inside our head? Get up and let the jagged edges meet the light instead Show me what's underneath, I'll find your harmony Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like

My eyes finally seem to open as I float with them. High, higher. My voice returns and I’m able to join them in over powering Gwi ma. Our voices sealing the new Honmoon.

My voice without the lies, this is what it sounds like Fearless and undefined, this is what it sounds like Truth after all this time, our voices all combined When darkness meets the light, this is what it sounds like

“Shit, Y/n,” Mira curses when the four land back on stage. But Y/n doesn’t stay standing. If it weren’t for Mira’s quick reaction time to keep her up.

Rumi is quick to help her keep, Y/n up. Worry running through her body. It’s Zoey who checks for a pulse.

“She’s alive,” she announces quietly. Their eyes find the Saja boys, still there, back in human form. Mystery and Abby carrying a, in a similar state, Baby.

A groan escapes me lips, turning around. Or trying to anyway, to face away from the light shining onto my face. The sharpness of it, not helping my headache in the slightest.

I finally manage to turn around in the tangles of my covers, taking in a deep breath. Snuggling my face into the pillow in front of me. Why is it so hard tho? I go to punch it, so it's soft but my hand finds a chest instead.

"Ow," it's not a sound of actually pain, but my eyes shoot open anyways. I instantly regret it when I'm hit with a sharp spike from the headache. Squeezing my eyes shut, arms wrap around me tighter. Pulling me closer to the person. Opening my eyes again, slower this time.

I look up, finding Baby already lazily staring back at me. A gentle smile on his lips. "Hello, darling," his voice deep from sleep.

"Hi..." I melt back into him. Snuggling my face back into his chest. Wrapping my right arm around him, grabbing hold of him tightly. The room stays silent for a while, apart from our soft breathing.

"Wait," I mumble, my eyes opening once me. "I'm alive...?"

"I guess we are," Baby agrees. A flash of him not being able to make it to me in time has chills running down my spine.

"But..." I'm so confused. "But how?" I don't remember anything of what happened after I closed my eyes when the blast got too much. "How long have we been asleep for?"

"I don't know, but it could have been longer had you not punched me," he smirks teasingly, making me pout. He kisses it away, his hands finding my waist, tickling me.

Laughter filling the room, headache gone with the wind.

"What is going on!?" the door to the room gets thrown open. Smashing against the wall. Startling us, our gazes turning to said door.

There we find, Rumi, Jinu, Zoey & Mira, Mystery, Romance and Abby close behind them.

"You're awake!" Zoey scream, rushing over to what I now realize is old my bed at the Huntrix apartment. Pulling me from Baby, she hugs me tight, Rumi and Mira not far behind. Engulfed in a hug of the people I love the most. Well, besides Baby of course.

"You guys," my voice muffled by Rumi's hoodie. "I need to actually breathe," I chuckle when they actually give me some room. "What happened?"

"Later, first food," Mira says, pulling out of bed. Had they put my pajamas on me? I wonder as I stare down at my llama pants. The men in the room just chuckle, including Baby. He to gets out of bed, wearing his own set of pajamas. Not once I had ever seen before though. They matched mine too, only his were black and white, while mine were white and black.

Before I can ask anymore questioned we're being ushed out the room. Straight to the living room where I'm made to sit down. In an instant I'm being handed my flavor ramyeon. I don't question why they had it ready already. Baby taking a seat next to me, being handed a cup of my flavor ramyeon.

They all gather around us, just staring at up with grateful smiles which kinda creeps me out. But I let it slide for a second when I notice Zoey sitting close to Mystery. My eyes shooting to Mira, happy to find her as she takes a seat between Abby and Romance.

"... Okay, now tell us what happened," I demand as we eat slowly. Wanting them to stop gawking at us.

It's a story told like a disoriented bird. It goes left, right, up down, never straight. But it's nice to hear them talking. I sink against Baby.

Listen to them explain how they all thought we were dead, pointing at both Baby and me. Relieved when they found a pulse on both of us. "Going to a hospital wasn't gonna do anything," Zoey rambles, shaking her hand dismissively. "So we brought you here."

"And we waited," Mira adds.

"And waited," Rumi adds, grinning.

"And totally did not prepare two ramyeon for you everyday in anticipation or anything," Zoey continues. Making my eyes widen. Turning my head I look at our kitchen. Stacks upon stacks of opened, hopefully empty, ramyeon cups stood on the counter.

"Oh don't worry, thats only like, idk 50 cups," Jinu shrugs.

"What!? We were OUT for 25 days!?"

"Uhm..." Rumi, Mira and Zoey both count on their fingers. "No, 26 days," they say casually, pointing at the cups we were currently holding.

"Wha-" I look at Baby whose eyes are just as wide as mine.

"We knew you two would be fine," Romance says, shrugging his shoulders. "The fact that you two sealed your mating bond protected you."

"You can feel each others pain, yes," Jinu continues. "But you also take. So while yes, you took the full blast of it. Baby over here, took half if away from you."

"That saved you from it being a lethal blow," Mystery finishes. "It just took a while to recover," he smiles sweetly.

"Okay, wow," is all I can think to say. Leaning forward to put the now empty Ramyeon on the coffee table, taking Baby's before he can protest. "But I'm still confused, did we ... win?"

"Yes," Mira chuckles. "You actually sung with is, do you not remember that?"

"No, I don't remember anything that happened after I closed my eyes. and thought I would die," Baby sat cross legged. So I swiftly placed my self between his legs. Instantly his arms wrap around my shoulders. Pecking the top of my head, lingering.

"It was so cool!" Zoey goes off. "You turned like fully iridescent! It was blinding! But that is what let us defeat Gwi ma."

"Okay, one more question," I state. "Is everything good, are we good? Did you guys tell them...?" instantly Zoey blushes and Mira turns surprisingly red. A rare sight.

"Yes, we are mated," Mystery smiles lovingly at Zoey, who turns to him. Pecking his lips sweetly.

"Us, too," Abby smirks. "We managed to tie this beauty down," he says squeezing Mira's waist who sends him a playful glare. Romance chuckling and pecking her cheek.

The end!

#kpop demon hunters #saja boys #baby saja x reader #Rumi x Jinu #Rujinu #Zoey x Mystery #Romance x Mira x Abby #plot with smut #minors do not interact #english is not my first language #I poured my heart and soul into this #please don't crush it #femhuntrix reader #huntrix reader #huntrix reader x baby saja

200 notes · View notes

useless-catalanfacts · 1 year ago

Text

A day in the life of someone who posts on the internet in Catalan *cue dozens of Spanish people asking "what's wrong with your mouth", ordering him to speak in Spanish or "in Christian", saying he's rude for speaking in Catalan, calling him "polaco" (derogatory Spanish word to mean a Catalan person), calling the Catalan language a dialect, saying he is possessed because he's speaking Catalan, etc*

This is a video by Sergi Mas showing some of the comments he gets on YouTube. He makes videos about mountain biking that he posts on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. And the first comment he got on his first YouTube video was already someone telling him he should do it in Spanish.

Some days ago, another creator who posts his videos in Catalan (Joan Sendra, find him on Instagram and TikTok) answered to a Spanish person who was complaining that it's rude to speak Catalan/Valencian on the internet instead of Spanish because then there's people who don't understand you (as if everyone in the world spoke Spanish lmao). Joan, who is tired of getting this kind of comments so often, answered: there are already endless videos and things to watch on the internet in Spanish. In fact, if you look for [the topic he was talking about in the video that this guy commented] all the videos are in Spanish except for mine. And yet you had to come to me, the one in Valencian, and tell me that I can't make a video in my language and that I can only make it in yours. If you don't like it, it's so easy to find another one!

However, it's not a matter of actually being interested in what's being said in a language they don't speak. It's about the imposition of the language they consider superior (Spanish) and telling speakers of the languages whose land Spain had occupied that they are useless and should be ashamed of existing in public. Well, we aren't. Like Sergi's video, don't let the comments disturb your macarrons.

#català #valencià #actualitat #languages #language #catalan #cultures #valencian #diversity #minoritized languages #imperialism #influencers #sociolinguistics #minority languages

1K notes · View notes

nibmoss · 1 year ago

Text

did you hear there’s a new short film that is GAY?? LESBIAN, even???

AND it’s filmed in a minority language?? a CELTIC language, one might say??

AND that it’s available for FREE, with SUBTITLES in both irish AND english??

“FAN” (2024) dir. cúnla ní bhraonáin morris

watch here 🫶

729 notes · View notes

no-passaran · 6 months ago

Text

Are you 18-35 years old and an activist or academic from a minoritized or minority language? This might interest you!

(And even if you don't meet the criteria but are interested in participating in another way, the organizers still encourage you to write to them!)

Website link:

#minoritized languages #minority languages #minorities #sociolinguistics #language revitalization #languages #langblr #lingblr #coses de la terra #indigenous #indigenous languages #internationalism #stateless nations #national liberation #💬

257 notes · View notes

deadsetobsessions · 1 year ago

Text

This is based off of that one tiktok from @sorruna where it’s the audio from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.

——

Dick Grayson was a sneaky, intelligent little shit.

He was also dumb. These things are not mutually exclusive.

To this day, one of his best kept secrets- one of the many, many that he had now- was something he’d take to his grave.

Or to Jason’s grave, at least.

Dick sat down and began telling the story to ears that would never truly hear it.

——

Batman’s voice rumbled behind him as Dick, in his Robin suit, stood blankly on top of a roof.

“I know you snuck out last night, Robin.”

Dick froze, train of thought about his dinner derailed. Holy busted, Batman! Quick! Play dumb!

“Who’s Robin?” He asked, the years of performing in front of a large crowd coming to save his ass.

Not that dumb!

Batman sent him a dry look, reprimand already poised on his lips. Dick, however, was nothing but a good performer. Nay, a dedicated performer.

Quick! Do something out of character! He shouted at himself, panicking visibly. He stepped backwards, an idea appearing in his head. In his defense, it sounded like an amazing idea at the time. He had no idea it would blow up into a Justice League issue. If he had known… Dick would have lied better, probably. There was no way he was going to let B bench him for weeks!

“Who the fuck are you?!” He yelped. Dick apologized mentally to Alfred and his parents. Batman paused, stunned.

“That’s my question. Who are you?!” Bruce asked, immediately hostile. His son doesn’t curse. Well, not in any normal way anyways. Dick quickly backpedaled by yelling at him with a heavy Vlax dialect, missing his parents terribly as he screamed stranger danger in rudimentary Romany. After this, he was going to have to convince Bruce to get him a language tutor. He refused to forget one of the only ties he had left to his parents.

“Wait, wait- you’re my son.” Bruce replied back, in perfect Romany. He looked more convinced but still skeptical.

“My dad is a circus performer! Not a flying rat!” Dick screeched back. He couldn’t help but feel touched about Bruce seeing him like a son.

“Oy! Keep it down out there, you assholes! Some of us like our sleep, damn!” A random Gothamite screamed out of their window.

“Yo, shut the fuck up! The vigilantes are helping to keep the rent low, motherfucker!” Another Gothamite shouted back.

….

Needless to say, Bruce quickly brought Dick back to the cave- with precautions to make sure he didn’t figure out where the Cave was if Dick was actually someone else.

——

“You would have loved it, Little Wing. B was running around like a headless chicken. The memory loss protocol was actually made because of me, you know.” Dick chuckled, sniffling as he talked to the carved gravestone.

It did not reply.

——

The blood tests came back. Yeppers, Dick sarcastically thought, who woulda thought I’m me?

Reinforcements were called in.

Meaning, Batgirl.

“Watch him while I contact Justice League Dark.”

“You think it’s magic?” Barbara asked.

“Yes. There was no one else near our vicinity that could affect Dick like this. He has no head wounds.”

“Eesh. Okay, go. I’ll watch him.”

Bruce disappeared in his zeta tube, looking harried. So, to everyone that’s not a Bat, he looked absolutely terrifying.

“What did you get yourself into now, Boy Wonder?” Barbara sighed. Dick was careful to keep any signs of recognition out of his face.

“Stop calling me that! Where are my parents?!” He asked back. Barbara coughed and looked uncomfortably away.

That’s right, Babs. I’m pulling out the orphan card. Feel bad. Dick hid his feral grin.

“They’re… uh, busy.” Busy being dead, Barbara thought, immediately wincing at her own thoughts. Apparently, Dick thought the excuse was lame too, and he sent her an incredulous look.

“Would you like refreshments, Master Dick?”

“What?”

Alfred held out some cookies on a platter, giving Babs a quelling look as she tried to reach for his share.

“Oh, wow, these are really good!” Dick said as he shoveled cookies into his mouth. He tried to replicate the reaction he had when he tried these for the first time, and from Alfred’s satisfied look, Dick nailed it.

——

“Robin doesn’t remember who he is.” Batman rumbled as he all but dragged Zatanna and Constantine by the scuff of their jackets towards the zeta tubes.

“Hey, wait-”

“We have no time.” Batman snarled, tossing the two magic users into the zeta. He punched in the destination.

When they got there, he glared at the two magic users until they got into the cave.

“Damn, Bats. Really living up to your name, huh?”

“Not bad,” Zatanna said as she looked around.

“Robin,” Batman- Bruce- reminded them. He did a quick glance over to check on his kids, and found them satisfactorily uninjured. Though, Barbara was looking worse for wear. Bruce quickly found out why as she stalked to him.

“You deal with him.” She muttered. “I’m going home.”

Bruce blinked and nodded. “Get home safe.”

Zatanna and Constantine followed Batman as he walked towards Robin. It was odd to see the normally laughing child frown.

“It’s you! The kidnapper! Where are my parents?!”

Bruce winced which, for him, was akin to a full body flinch and recoil. No wonder Barbara was so tired.

“Fix it.”

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Batsy.” Constantine grumbled.

“Well help, Batman. Though… I’m not sure if he should be doing that.”

Bruce sharply turned his head back to where Dick was. Emphasis on was. Because now, he’s halfway up the giant dinosaur the Robin had insisted they keep.

“Robin, get down from there!”

“Stranger Danger!” Dick hollered back.

Batman- Bruce Wayne- sighed.

“That’s high level magic,” Zatanna hummed. “I can’t feel anything, but I know for sure that he won’t die. Magic like that either dissipates naturally or…”

“Lasts forever,” Constantine finished.

Bruce groaned, shooting off a grappling line and swooping upwards to catch Dick as he fell from the giant dinosaur.

——

“I pretended to get my memories back later,” Dick chuckled. “And pretended to forget the whole thing. Bruce was so relieved that I stopped knocking things over and trying to do cartwheels in high places that he totally forgot I snuck out.”

Dick patted the headstone.

“But between you and me? I’m pretty sure Alfred knew. I think B pissed him off that week.”

#y’all is the Romani language spelled Romany #idk if im reading that wrong but did you know the Vlad dialect is the most widespread?#nightwing #dick grayson robin #dick grayson #dick grayson’s gaslight gatekeeper girl boss moment #Bruce Wayne #Batman #Batman and the trials of parenthood #google what to do when your vigilante child seems to have forgotten that he’s a vigilante #Batman using the magic Justice League like a wiki how #minors angst disguised as crack #also my favorite thing to write is brice and dick coping by talking to graves #but not actually talking to the grave’s owner who is actually alive #dick gets better about it #Bruce? not really #English is the fucking worst #Jason Todd #jason Todd’s grave

746 notes · View notes

meredithmoriarty · 1 year ago

Text

Help, I'm being bullied by an amnesiac!

#we're bffs and our love language is questioning each other's poor life choices #baldur's gate 3 #shadowheart #bg3 #fan art #tav #astarion #adeline #minor spoilers #comic

877 notes · View notes

fizzyapplecandy · 2 months ago

Text

Ateez as Romance Tropes

The one with the one night stand

Other members

Seonghwa x Fem reader

Word count: 3.7k

Genres and warnings; accidental pregnancy, wrap it before you tap it!, minors dni, mild smut, mature language, fluff, humor, strangers to lovers

One night of passion brings you more than you can handle, but luckily Seognhwa is there to ease your jumbled mind.

"Oh God."

You stared at the two bright pink lines.

The lines that were about to change your whole life around.

"Oh my fucking God! Jongho!"

You rushed out of your bathroom and ran into the living room where your best friend was waiting, eyes wide with anticipation.

"So?" He asked, frozen in his spot when he noticed how frantic you were.

"It's... It's positive."

Both of your gazes dropped to your stomach, and you slowly lifted your hand to feel around it.

There was a tiny... Something inside of you. Something you never really thought about having, but weren't opposed to. But that something came too soon, too rushed.

"So... I don't mean to be that person, but... Is it, you know? Is it his?" Jongho questioned, being careful not to say the man's name out loud.

Your eyes widened, just now realizing what you have gotten yourself into.

"Oh no."

One month ago

"Woohoo!"

"Get down from the chair Wooyoung!"

You tried grabbing your friend's arm to pull him down, but he was too into the song to stay still. Luckily, his boyfriend knew how to handle him in situations like these.

"Come on now Woo, you're giving the poor girl a headache." San put his strong arms around his waist and lowered him to the ground.

"You guys don't know how to have fun!" A pouty Wooyoung shouted, placing kisses all over San's face. You just shook your head and went to the bar to get another drink.

It was a Saturday, and you always went out to your usual club with the boys. Jongho was deep into an arm wrestling contest with Yeosang, San and Wooyoung were now all lovey dovey in the corner, Mingi and Yunho were showing off their amazing dance moves, but Hongjoong was nowhere to be seen.

He usually stayed by your side, watching over the friend group, but he told you he was going to be late tonight. Hongjoong went on a business trip recently and met another aspiring designer along the way. You forgot his name, but you knew your friend was bringing him over tonight to meet you all.

You weren't in the mood, to be honest. Maybe it was because you had a tough week at work, trying not to strangle your new boss, or maybe because you were watching couples being all loved up. Honestly, you yearned for someone to hold onto at night, but it just wasn't meant to be yet.

"Why so sad, sugar?"

You turned around, surprised to hear his voice, even though you knew he was coming tonight.

"Hongjoong!"

He wrapped his arms around you, lifting you up and giggling along with you.

"Hey there! I missed you!"

"I missed you too! Gosh, I can't parent these kids no more!"

You laughed, but he understood how stressed you must have felt.

"No worries, daddy Hongjoong is back!"

"Joong, I'm glad, but please don't say it like that!"

You grimaced, and your friend only chuckled at your expression. It seemed like Hongjoong suddenly remembered something, because he turned around and waved someone over.

"Y/N, I want you to meet Park Seonghwa, the new friend I was telling you about."

"Hi there."

Goodness gracious. Park Seonghwa had to be the most handsome man on planet earth. His dark hair was cut short, but some of the longer strands fell over his eyes. He was dressed to the nines in something you probably couldn't afford to look at, and his stance was confident.

Almost borderline cocky, if you were being completely honest.

"O-Oh... Hello."

"You must be Y/N, right? Hongjoong has told me a lot about you, but I must say..."

He leaned over, whispering the next sentence in your ear.

"... I get why he calls you sugar, because you look like a real sweet treat."

Ah. There it is. You knew something must be wrong about such a handsome man. Of course he was a fuckboy.

"Yeah, thanks. I'm gonna go now, you two enjoy your night! Joong, come catch-up with us later!"

You blew a kiss to a confused Hongjoong, leaving him with Seonghwa and walking over to the rest of the group. They've settled down at the table in the meantime, and you were glad the chaos was over.

For now at least.

"Major fuckboy alert!"

Mingi gasped.

"Who's competing with me?"

You scoffed, pointing at the arm he had wrapped around Yunho.

"Please, be serious. You haven't left Yunho's side in how long now?"

Mingi pouted, leaning into his boyfriend's side.

"... Five years in August."

"That's right." You nodded, plating yourself beside Jongho.

The younger tapped you on the shoulder to make you look at him.

"What's up?"

You sighed, sipping on your vodka.

"Hongjoong's new friend is to die for, until he opens his mouth."

Jongho pointed his finger, making you follow along.

"You mean that one? They already said hi to us before going to the bar to find you, he was really cool."

"Yeah, maybe to you."

You wanted to continue your rant, but the very man you were gossiping about approached with Hongjoong.

"Finally! Come on people, make room. We're about to get this party started!"

Hongjoong sat opposite you, making the only free seat available the one next to you. Seonghwa planted himself there, throwing his arm around the back of your chair.

"So, what's your story sugar?" He whispered into your ear.

You jerked away from him, surprised he got so close to you. The other thing that surprised you was how nervous you got.

"I don't have a story. And don't call me that, we just met."

Seonghwa looked confused for a second. He wasn't used to the cold shoulder from girls, but he figured you weren't his usual type.

Not that he particularly had one, but being in the fashion industry only lets you meet a certain amount of people. Fake people, only interested in your connections.

However, you were someone real. Someone who wasn't about to give into his charms so easily. Seonghwa was hooked before he realised it.

The night went on like this - you running away and being rude, while a desperate Seonghwa tried to get a smidge of your attention. The other boys found it hilarious, and Seonghwa seemed to fit right into your little group.

The other thing that certainly progressed was your drink intake. Maybe you were frustrated with the fact that you were warming up to the handsome fellow, and you tried to drown it with vodka.

A hefty amount of it, too.

It seemed like everybody was on the same page, because two hours later, Seonghwa was a blushing mess who couldn't stop giggling at Yunho's bad jokes.

The smile on his face brought out a small one of your own. He didn't seem so bad when he was like this. Or was it just your mushy brain convincing you?

It didn't matter anyway, because before you knew it, you were hollered up in a corner, making out with him.

"You finally warmed up to me, huh?"

"Stop talking."

You grabbed his face and brought his lips to yours again, continuing the dance between your teeth, tongue and lips. Seonghwa's hands explored your body, staying respectful despite the fact you were literally pressed up against each other.

"Wanna get out of here?" He asked before putting his lips back onto yours.

"Hell yeah."

The ride to his new place was spent giggling into each other's mouths as you tried to continue kissing, the poor taxi driver having to listen to your antics.

The elevator ride was something else, because you managed to unbuckle his belt while he accidentally ripped one of your dress straps.

It was hot, heavy, and you couldn't wait to take his clothes off.

No time was wasted when your back finally hit his king sized bed. Your hands were all over each other, squeezing and caressing places that made you both moan out in pleasure.

Once he finally entered you, the look on his face changed. Seonghwa was taking it slow, trying to set a good pace because he knew he'd come too soon. You just felt that heavenly around him.

"I like you, Y/N. It's crazy how much, knowing we just met."

You wanted to respond, but his thrusts sped up and you could only sigh while wrapping your arms around his broad shoulders.

"I-I'm close. Harder, Seognhwa, please."

"Yes, yes... Anything you need, sugar."

You hit your climax before you even realised it, Seonghwa following soon after.

He slowly pulled out, laying on his side and wrapping you up in his arms.

"That was..."

"Yeah..." You said, exhausted, but incredibly satisfied.

The night went on like this after you both caught your breath for a moment.

When you were both finally spent, Seognhwa made sure to clean you up before settling back into his bed. For some reason, you couldn't fall asleep even after he drifted off.

So, you sneaked out of his place as the sun went up, feeling guiltier than you should. You only just met him, and he didn't really leave the best first impression, but the spark between you was undeniable.

You had no idea how badly you messed up until the next time he came to a friendly gathering at Hongjoong's place. Seonghwa acted as if nothing happened, and you were devastated.

It was your fault, honestly, but you were still a bit hurt about it. There was no point in ruining the fun for everyone, so you just went along with the situation.

You weren't aware just how much your lives would change in a month's time.

Present day

"Did you use protection?" Jongho asked, holding onto your hand as you sat next to each other on your couch.

"We... I think we did, I don't know? I was too drunk, and besides, I'm on the pill... I thought..."

"Hey, hey, I'm not judging you. I'm just asking, it's a valid question." He tried to calm you down, but it wasn't working. Tears were already falling down your cheeks, and the positive test on the coffee table was starting back at you like it was about to consume you.

"What... What am I going to do now? This is so messed up Jongho." You cried, placing your head into your hands.

"Oh baby... We'll figure something out, okay?"

That's when you heard your doorbell go off. You snapped your head up, looking at Jongho who seemed too calm about everything.

"Don't worry, I know who it is." He stood up, going over to let the person in.

"Y/N?" Hongjoong asked, coming to kneel in front of you. You glanced at Jongho who just shrugged.

"I had to call for back up. I know he can be of better help than me."

"Y/N, is it true?"

You looked at Hongjoong before throwing yourself into his arms. He only sneezed you tight, patting your back as you sobbed.

"Oh sweetie... It's okay, you know that? We'll figure something out."

"B-But Joong... You're going to hate me when I tell you who... You know." You cried, refusing to let go of him.

"Y/N, look at me. Come on, I know already."

You froze, slowly detaching yourself from him. He didn't look mad, or even disappointed. On the contrary, he had a small smile on his face.

"Hwa couldn't keep it to himself, but he made me promise not to tell you. The man has been devastated about fucking up his chance with you."

"He what?" You mumbled, not believing him.

He only nodded and continued.

"Yeah, he really likes you. Why did you run off on him?"

"I... Well... I don't know, okay! We had such an amazing night, and then we did what we did, and I don't know... I got scared."

"At least now you have a good enough reason to talk to him again." Both your and Hongjoong's head snapped towards Jongho, and the poor boy looked frightened.

"Sorry, I told you I'm not good at this."

You laughed, the tears slowly drying up.

"It's okay, thank you. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you both."

You spent the rest of the evening sandwiched between the two men, considering all of your options.

"I take it you want to keep the baby?" Hongjoong asked while peeling an orange for you. You've told them how sick you've been feeling for the past week, and oranges were the only thing you could stomach easily.

"Yeah... I think I do. I don't know, I've always wanted to have a family, and this baby is here for a reason. I just don't know how I'm going to manage being a single mom."

"A single mom? What about Seonghwa?" Jongho asked, continuing to run his fingers through your hair.

"Oh come one, he's a designer for god sakes. He's traveling all the time, and he's not about to drop all of that to become a dad. Be for real."

"You haven't even talked to him yet, how can you know?"

"Jongho... I can't get my hopes up in any way, so please, let's not talk about this anymore."

Hongjoong stayed silent throughout your debate with Jongho, itching to tell you how wrong you were.

Seonghwa was constantly pestering his friend about you, day and night. He was so into you it hurt, but he wasn't sure how to approach you after the night you shared. The one where you left him without a word, and never mentioned anything again.

"Okay, here's your orange. I'm going to run you a bath, and then we can watch a movie. We'll think of a plan along the way. You're not alone in this, that baby already has seven amazing people out here who will gladly be of help whenever you need."

You looked at Hongjoong, thankful to have such an amazing friend by your side.

"Let's... Let's not tell anyone else before I talk to Seonghwa, okay? I don't want him finding out because Mingi couldn't keep his big mouth shut."

The two men laughed, agreeing it was for the best. The rest of the evening was spent on the couch, in the comforting arms of your two friends as your brain went haywire.

Your life was about to become much more complicated, and you still had to do the toughest thing of them all - Tell Seonghwa.

"Y/N? Hey there... Where's Hongjoong?"

A confused Seonghwa stood by your table as you gestured for him to sit on the chair opposite you. Your tea was cold, hands wrapped around the mug only there to keep you grounded.

"Hi. Hongjoong won't be joining us today. I have to... I have to talk to you about something, so I asked Joong to call you. I wasn't sure if you'd show up otherwise."

"Oh..." Seognhwa was confused. Why would you all of the sudden want to talk to him? It's been a month since you two shared a wonderful night together, but you made it clear it was just that. One night.

The waitress came and took his order, and you took the chance to rummage through your bag for the little black and white photo. You hid it under the table, waiting for him to settle in.

"So, what's this about? I know we aren't exactly on speaking terms..." He wandered off, his eyes never meeting yours as he spoke.

"Listen, there is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to... Well..."

You placed the little photo at the center of the table, pushing it slightly towards him.

"This right here is... Our little blip. I know it's yours because I haven't been with anybody for a while, and after our night as well. So... Yeah."

It took a while for him to react. His eyes were still glued on the tiny sonogram photo you took, not even sure where exactly he should be looking.

"You're... You're pregnant?" He whispered, slowly moving his fingers over the edges of the photo.

"I am. I'm sorry, truly. We were kind of... Careless that night. I'm keeping the baby, it's something I want to do, but you won't be obligated to do anything you don't want. I'm fully prepared to tackle this by myself. I just wanted you to know."

He seemed... Angry all of the sudden.

"Obligated? What are you talking about? This is my blip too! I'm not letting you do this by yourself. We'll... Work something out."

You sighed, finally looking straight into his eyes. You couldn't quite decipher his feelings about everything, but there was a strong determination behind his intense gaze.

"Are you sure? Seonghwa, this is something life changing, you know? We don't exactly... Know each other the best. You don't have to decide this instant."

"I am absolutely positive. I won't let you go through this alone. I'm as much responsible as you are, so we're in this together. Besides, this way you won't run off on me, again."

Silence enveloped you after he said that. He was right, you had to give him that. You sighed, giving him a shy smile afterwards.

"I guess you're right."

"How do we... How do we do this? Do we move in together? What should we do?"

You noticed how flustered he suddenly got, probably realizing what you'd have to figure out in the span of nine months.

"Relax, Seonghwa, it's still early to think about that. Besides, I have a room in my apartment that can be transformed into a nursery, and I really don't want to move right now. So, we'll go from there and, I don't know, see how things progress?"

You shrugged, while he only nodded along.

"Okay, fair enough. When's your next appointment? I assume you have weekly or monthly check ups?"

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I want to. I think I made it clear by now that I really want to be a part of this. So, when is it?"

The way he looked at you suddenly made you blush, but you blamed the hormones for your reaction.

"Next Thursday."

"Great, I'll be there."

The two of you spent another half hour discussing your predicament before you started feeling too tired to speak. Seonghwa noticed your change in mood quickly.

"Want me to take you home?"

"I really want to be polite and decline but I'm too exhausted to do so."

Seonghwa chuckled, gesturing for you to go ahead. You exited the cafe and made your way towards his car. For some reason, he was staring at you intensely while you walked.

Once the two of you settled into his car, you turned towards him.

"Okay, spill. You're being really weird."

"Well..."

He sighed, glancing where your hands laid out on your stomach.

"I... I just can't believe I'm going to be a dad soon. I mean, I've always wanted a family, I just didn't think it would be so soon."

He noticed how you frowned and quickly corrected himself.

"Not that I mind! Don't get me wrong, please. I can't wait to meet our little blip, I just have a bad way with words. And... You make me kind of nervous."

Your eyes widened.

"Me? Make you nervous? Why is that?"

"Well..."

He kept silent after that, building up the courage to finally get his feelings off his chest. Almost a month has passed since your night together, and he tried pretending like it never happened for his own sake.

"Seonghwa? You're kind of leaving me hanging over here." You chuckled, lightly pushing his shoulder to make him snap out of his trance. He shook his head and started the car.

"Listen, I know this is not the moment, but we have to talk about that night. I need to know if... If you felt the same about it as I did."

His eyes were focused on the road, but you could tell it was easier for him not to look at you right now.

"And how would that be?" You asked, subconsciously putting your hands over your stomach.

"I... Something clicked, Y/N. Something in my mind, and my heart, telling me you're the one. Is that crazy? I know it probably sounds like it, but I just... I can't stop thinking about you, sugar."

"Is that why you're so calm about the baby?"

Seognhwa smiled lightly, glancing at how you cuddled into yourself.

"Maybe. I've always wanted to be a dad, and knowing you're going to be the mother of my child... I can't be mad about that. I can only feel... Excited."

"Oh, Seonghwa... We'll make this thing work, I promise." You reached over the console and placed your outstretched palm for him to grasp. He did so without thinking twice, happy to finally clear the air with you.

The rest of the ride went by smoothly, and you were in front of your building before you knew it.

"Here you go guys, you're home." Seonghwa said, looking at your belly before bringing his eyes to yours. You smiled, amused by the way he addressed both of you.

"Thank you, daddy."

His face made you burst out into laughter.

"Oh, lighten up! It's a sweet thing to say!"

Seonghwa shook his head, chuckling along with you.

"You're going to be the death of me. Go rest, our blip needs it."

"Seonghwa..." You said, cautious about the way you should approach him.

"Do you want to come with us? I mean, that's what blip's asking, you know."

He stayed silent for a moment, watching as a rosy hue printed your cheeks. Using your child was definitely a way of avoiding showing your true feelings for now, but he understood you needed more time to open up. However, he was not about to decline such a nice invite.

"You know what? Tell blip I'd love to hang out some more. But..." He stalled, looking into your eyes, the smile on his face mirroring yours. He leaned over, close to your ear. Your cheeks brushed against each other, his lips grazing your ear lightly.

"You can also tell our blip I'd like to spend some time with mommy as well."

Oh yes, this would truly be the most interesting and exciting experience of your life.

You could only be thankful someone like Seonghwa would be a part of it.

#ateez #ateez imagines #fluff #imagine #ateez fanfic #ateez seonghwa #mature language #mild smut #accidental pregnancy #minors dni #humor #ateez seonghwa x reader #park seonghwa

296 notes · View notes

call-me-strega · 3 months ago

Text

How to Become a Step-Dad in 5 Easy Steps: ch.5/5 of p.2 (The Corridor, the Favor, the Lunch, & the Hero)

I wanted this done way sooner, like around Valentine's day, but I had a keyboard malfunction and am currently using a temp workaround until I either fix or replace it.

Edit: It auto-restarted one night and it's working again!🥳

This is a longer chapter so I hope you enjoy. Anyways Happy Stab Caesar Day Y'all!

first, prev, next, lore, ao3

~~~

In the end, Jason moved on. All he could do for now was hold his feelings in his chest and try not to think of them. (At least till he figures out how/whether to act on them)

Of course, this meant those coiled feelings burst forth the second he saw a distressed Ellie sitting outside the door of her apartment.

Jason had finished his meeting early and decided to take his paperwork home so he could (pretend) to do it (while getting distracted by his case files). He had just turned into his corridor when his blood froze as he saw a small figure sitting on the floor, leaning up against a door. He picked up his pace to a brisk walk and approached the small figure, only to find that it was Ellie.

The young girl's eyebrows were scrunched in frustration. The pout on her lips gave away her upset-ness and her eyes glistened with the beginnings of tears. Her little fists clutched tightly to a small backpack decorated with blue butterflies.

'Help her!' his gut screamed at him.

He immediately knelt down, reaching out to her gently.

"Hey kiddo, you okay there?"

The girl looked up at him, "Uncle Jason?" she questioned in a shaky voice.

"Yeah, it's me Ell. What are you doing out here?"

Her lip quivered. "I'm stuck out here 'cause I'm stupid!" she cried out, startling Jason.

He rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey now, none of that!" he tried to calm her. "You're not stupid Ellie, don't talk about yourself like that. Just tell me what happened."

"I locked myself out," she sniffed. "Daddy had to go work today, sniff, b'cause someone got sick and they needed more help. So he talked to Sasha's mom and they said I could play with them this afternoon, sniff, b-but Sasha had to go to the dentist later so I-I was supposed to bring my key with me so I could get back in, sniff, and then I'd only have to wait a little while for daddy b'cause he said he'd be home by six! So Sasha's mom made sure I got to my door but then she and Sasha had to go. And, sniff, then I checked my bag bu-but they weren't there!" She said, proffering out her bag to him. "Then I 'membered I left my keys on my nightstand instead of putting 'em in my bag a-and now I can't get in, cause I'm stupid and forgot'em!" she finished tearily.

"Hey now, what'd I say," Jason reminded her, gently pulling the girl into a hug. "You are not stupid, you made a mistake. It happens, sometimes even I forget things. One time, I was taking my brother to school and I got halfway there before I realized I left my brother at home!" he reassured her.

She huffed a bit, not quite giving her usual giggle, and started rubbing at her eyes.

"Really?"

Dear god, she sounded so small it made his heart clench.

"Yeah really," he smiled. "How about this gimme a second to see if I can talk to your dad. I'll ask if you can come over to my place till he gets back. If he can't pick up or doesn't feel comfortable with it, then I'll wait out here with you."

She nodded in affirmation, turning to fiddle with the straps of her bag.

Jason whipped out his phone and shot Danny a text explaining the situation and how he found Ellie.

"If you're cool with it, she can hang at my place till you get back?"

He got a quick reply:

"That would be great Jason

I'd feel so much better knowing she was somewhere safe

Thank you so much"

"Your daddy said he'd be okay with you coming with me since it'll be safe. I guess that means you stuck with me for the next," he paused glancing at his phone, 5:13 pm, "hour or so munchkin!"

He reached over jokingly poking at her stomach, lightly tickling a smile out of her. Oh, and smile she did as she shyly held out her arms to Jason. Wordlessly, he scooped her up and the two entered his apartment.

He set her down in the living room, allowing her to get comfortable on the couch and assuring her she was allowed to touch the books littering the coffee table or even turn on the TV if she wanted. He left her to her own devices as he migrated to the kitchen to make a snack to offer her.

When he returned with a plate of apple slices cut to look like little bunnies and a small dish of animal crackers he usually reserved for giving out to street kids, although Dick always tried to sneak some when he came over. As he set the plates down on the table, he saw that Ellie had elected to ignore the TV and was instead nosing at an old, worn copy of The Boxcar Children.

That had been his own copy, one he'd gotten when he was a kid. It had been his 8th birthday and his parents had decided to get him a book. Probably because they'd noticed how he devoured any reading material he could get his hands on: discarded magazines, old newspapers, battered books from recycling bins. They had decided if they were lucky enough to have a literate kid, they might as well give him something to read. It was one of the few things he remembered coming from Catherine and Willis both. One of the last things they'd done for him together before they started falling apart.

He snapped out of his thoughts, quickly pushing them to the back of his mind. He'd only had it out because he'd offered the book to Damian recently, who'd read it to be polite before returning it. The story had simply not been his taste.

Now, he smiled down at Ellie, who stared at the page with great concentration. It was a bit above her reading level, but she seemed so determined to read it, he wondered if she'd be able to absorb the store via osmosis or something.

"The Boxcar Children eh," he began. "It's a good read." He continued conversationally.

"Whazzit 'bout?" She asked curiously.

"Well, it's about four siblings: Henry, Jess, Violet, and Benny, who try to take care of each other after their parents die. They are scared to live with their grandfather because they haven't met him and think he's mean because he didn't like that their parents got married. So they run away and manage to find an abandoned train car called a boxcar in the woods to call home. But living in the woods is tough and they're just kids. They do their best and in the end they get a happy ending." He explained trying not to spoil the story for her.

She nodded at him, appearing to be in deep thought before turning to him with a big pair of puppy dog eyes and pleading, "Will you please read it to me?"

Jason didn't think there was a universe in which he could have said no to that.

Jason picked up the book and began his narration. He made an effort to do voices for the characters and change his tone to reflect the story. And for the first time since he'd met her, Jason saw Ellie sit completely still, too absorbed in the story to even shift in her seat like she often tended to do. The largest move she had made the entire time he read to her is when they had just started and she'd moved over to lean her head on his biceps and stare at the page.

At some point they paused to eat the crackers and apples that had begun to slightly brown. Apparently, Ellie had stored up the energy she hadn't used while sitting still, because she now used it to channel a dragon who she insisted was snatching up animals from the forest that was Jason's coffee table. Of course, as the humble peasant he offered up his livestock as an offering to appease his mighty dragon lord. Which devolved into a session of pretend where the Dragon Overlord quashed the foolish peasant's rebellion (Jason tried to take the plates back to the kitchen) and asserted her dominance by holding him down and demanding he entertain her(she crawled into his lap and told him to keep reading) or else there would be consequences(she'd bop his nose).

And just like that the time flew by so quickly that the two actually startled a bit when they heard the bell ring. Ellie crawled off him and began to gather her stuff as Jason hurried to answer the door, book still in hand. He was hit with a slight chill as he opened the door for a slightly nervous looking Danny.

"Hey," he said a bit breathlessly.

"Hi," he got back

"Daddy!" Ellie called rushing out from behind Jason and crashing into Danny's legs.

"Hey Ell," grinned, picking up his daughter. "Did you have a good time with Uncle Jason?"

Ellie nodded vigorously, "We had a lot of fun! Uncle Jason read his book to me and we played and I was his Dragon Overlord!"

Danny took it all in stride, grinning at them.

"So what do we say?"

"Thank you Uncle Jason!"

She leaned over and pressed a clumsy kiss to his cheek.

Jason's insides melted. "You're welcome Princess, I had fun too." He glanced at the book in his hand before making a split second decision. He held it out to her, glancing back at Danny. "Here, keep it. Maybe Dad can read to you some more later."

"What- Jason, we couldn't pos-"

"I want her to have it." Jason cut off Danny's protest. "I'd be glad to have someone else appreciate as much as I did."

Ellie clutched the book to her chest and her eyes turned glossy.

"I'll take care of it daddy! Promise!"

"Oh alright," Danny relented.

He turned his attention back to Jason, thanking him for watching after Ellie and wishing him a good night. And with that, the two left him to his empty apartment and his neglected paperwork.

Later that evening, as Jason worked through his paperwork, his thoughts drifted through memories of digging through junkyards, kind doctors, a rich man's home and a grandfatherly face.

~~~

As July grew into August and summer began to dwindle, back-to-school season took the market by storm. Parents were hunting for deals on school supplies, teachers were prepping their classrooms and Jason was gathering up some more personalized items for the tutoring center.

Fern had already bulk ordered the supplies for the free tutoring center they set up in the alley in hopes of improving the education levels, but there were a couple of kids Hood knew were too scared or embarrassed to go. He hoped a more personalized gift to show his investment in helping them would encourage them to reach out or show up.

And that's how Jason found himself staring at a value pack of animal-themed eraser pencil toppers. He looked at the label "GARDEN FRIENDS" which boasted including a butterfly, a ladybug, a cat, a bunny, a blue bird and a hedgehog. He contemplated whether giving these to Damian as a gag gift over the next family dinner would earn him a stabbing attempt. With a grin he slid the erasers into his basket. The little brat would probably use them even if he refused to admit to liking them.

He began making his way back up to the registers when something caught his eye. A bright blue fabric pencil case, decorated with hot air balloons, biplanes, jets and rockets, dancing through clouds.

'I bet Ellie would love that.'

Without thinking he reached out and plucked it off the shelf, adding it to his basket. He rushed up and got into line behind the register with the shortest queue, trying not to dwell on what he'd just done.

Shortly after another customer came up behind him to join the line. She was short, had a puffy pixie cut and radiated nosy and privileged. Jason internally sighed. He knew what was coming. Any second now this woman would open her mouth and-

"So who are you buying for?"

It should've been a question but her tone made it feel like a demand. As if she had a right to know who he was shopping for. There were still two people ahead of him in line. Jason turned to the woman resigning himself for a few minutes of painful small talk.

"Oh, just a couple of things for my niece and little brother. A gift for back to school and all that ya know." He said showing only a cursory level of politeness, ignoring the way the woman blatantly began staring at his basket.

Only one person to go and they only had 4 items. He'll be free of her soon.

"Well I'm sure your niece will love the erasers! Why, my own little Aspen begged me for a butterfly eraser when she was young. Of course I allowed it, there are certain things young girls can't help but love!"

Jason took advantage of it being his turn to step to the register to ignore her. This did not appear to dissuade the woman. As he started putting his items on the belt, she continued to prattle on.

"Oh and my boy Hudson simply adored all types of machines: cars, planes, trucks, boats, and the like! Ah but all boys go through phases like that! I'm sure your brother will adore the pencil case! I know my Hudson-... "

'Was this woman for real?' Jason thought as he began to pull out his card to pay while the cashier, an older teen with purple hair and a nose piercing, began bagging his items. He turned to the woman feeling resigned and vaguely pissed.

"Look ma'am, not that it's any of your business, but the erasers are for my brother and the pencil case is for my niece."

"Wha- but, but! Those are girls' erasers and that's a boy's pencil case!"

"Again ma'am, I don't see why it's any of your business or why you're assigning gender to school supplies but I hardly think it matters as long as the kids like them. Please," he paused taking the bag from a somewhat amused cashier, who was definitely enjoying seeing this woman get shut down, "keep your unsolicited opinions and notions of gender conformity to yourself. Oh and have a good afternoon or whatever I guess?"

Jason finished as he quickly made his exit from the store, leaving the woman red in the face with her mouth gaping.

"Would you and Ellie wanna come over for dinner tonight?

I'm making tortellini al forno"

"Sure! I wanted to talk to you about something anyway!

What time should we be over?"

"Does 7 work for you?"

"Ofc!

See ya then😊"

Jason's apartment filled with warm smells as he prepared dinner. Cooking had become almost meditative for him. The repetitive motions, the clear instructions, the satisfaction of creating something. It was all so soothing. And if he managed to convince himself that he wasn't nervous in-between cooking his bacon and thickening his roux for his bechamel sauce then well-

'It's not even a big deal, we've had dinner before. Hell! I've given them gifts before!' Jason thought to himself, remembering his welcome cookies and his book. 'This is totally fine.' He repeated to himself topping his pasta with shredded mozzarella and bacon before sliding it into the oven and moving to set the table.

Jason continued to navigate through his kitchen with practiced motions as he got ready for dinner. Grabbing utensils, setting out some juice for Ellie, cutting up a peeled orange into circular slices to go with the cheesy pasta.

He had just finished setting the table when he heard a knock on his door. He left his tortellini down on a heat absorbent pad on the table to cool before yanking off his apron and rushing to get the door.

A refreshing rush of cool air flooded his senses as he pulled open the door to greet the Nightingales. He was greeted by those heart-melting twin smiles and a hug to the knees from Ellie. Danny chuckled softly, holding up a rectangular tupperware container.

"Here," he offered. "Ell and I made dessert! It's that fudge I promised you." Danny grinned as Jason accepted with reverence for the heavenly fudge this man produced.

And with that Jason led the pair into his apartment as they sat down for dinner.

'A feeling,' Jason thought, 'I really shouldn't be getting used to.'

Dinner went much like the previous occasions: small talk, light hearted banter, compliments to the chef. Although, Ellie managing to smack herself in the face with the cheese pull from her tortellini was new. Luckily the girl had laughed it off, complimenting Jason for the stretchiness of his cheese.

As they wrapped up, Jason pulled out the fudge Danny had brought. When he pulled the lid off the container, he found that it wasn't the same fudge Danny had given him originally. This new iteration was topped with *sniff* cocoa powder and a coffee bean in the center of each square. He glanced at Danny, raising an eyebrow, who gave him a devilish grin in return.

"Seeing as were having Italian tonight, I thought it'd be nice to stay on theme," he purred out. And oh gosh-, wow, did that tone do things to Jason. "I took it as an excuse to experiment. They're tiramisu flavored."

Jason simply huffed and turned back to get his plates for dessert, hoping that the burning he felt in the tips of his ears wasn't a visible blush. Instead of acknowledging it, he turned back to the conversation they'd been having with Ellie, who informed him she would be going to 1st grade soon because she was a big girl.

"So princess, where are you gonna go?"

"Gotham Academy!" Ellie informed him cheerily.

Jason glanced at Danny, slightly raising his eyebrows. Danny sniffed and crossed his arms.

"Vlad insisted on paying for it," he began dryly. "And while I'd normally never let him have a say, Gotham Academy is probably the best school in the city. It can give her a better education and more opportunities," he sighed, his face softening. "And that's something I want for her."

Jason nodded in understanding. As much as he tried to help with his after school programs and tutoring centers, there was only so much he could do. The shitty public education system would remain shitty till the community could work toward solutions on a city-wide level. Which would be like pouring water into a leaky bucket, what with all the corruption in Gotham.

Danny was just trying to give his daughter the best future he could with all the resources at his disposal and Jason couldn't begrudge him for that. So, Jason decided to capitalize on this opening instead.

"Hey speaking of which, I actually got you a little somethin' Ell." He addressed Ellie. He got up quickly, ignoring the curious looks that followed him, returning with a small gift bag. "Consider it a present for starting the first grade."

Ellie's hand shot into the bag and pulled out the pencil case Jason had bought with her in mind. She stared at it in quiet wonderment, she stroked the fabric gently, examining different aircrafts that danced across it.

"It's a case for all your pencils 'n' markers 'n' stuff. I saw it at the store and thought you'd like it."

An ear-splitting squeal erupted from Ellie as her face broke into a wide grin. She hopped out of her seat and barreled into Jason's lap.

"Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou THANK YOU! I LOVE IT!" she said, throwing her arms around him, the pencil case still in hand.

Jason wrapped his arms around the young girl, holding her close. He glanced up, making eye contact with Danny. He was almost startled to find a steely look of determination in his eyes. For a second, Jason worried he'd overstepped. But then the look gave way to something so undeniably fond that Jason couldn't help but relax.

The evening continued to close and the adults sent Ellie into the living room to watch some cartoons while they cleaned up. But with the way the air was charged, Jason could tell Danny was gearing up to say something important.

As the two began on the dishes, Jason washing and Danny drying, Jason tried to calm himself. It was super unlikely Danny would suddenly say Jason was no longer welcome around them, right? Maybe he just wanted Jason's pasta recipe?

"So you know how I said I needed to ask you something earlier?" Danny began.

Jason nodded in confirmation.

"Well, I wanted to ask you a favor and this evening has all but confirmed for me that you're probably the best person to ask."

Jason felt the curiosity well up in him as the voice in the back of his head declared that he'd give Danny anything he wanted, no questions asked. Jason did not verbalize this thought to the voice's dismay. Instead, he waited for Danny to continue.

The man in question took a deep breath before setting down his rag and turning to face Jason.

"I wanted to ask if I could list you as Ellie's secondary emergency contact for school."

Stunned, Jason pulled his hands out of the sink, his plastic gloves dripping with soapy water.

'That's - that's' Jason tried not to lose his mind at the implications of this request.

He gaped quietly at Danny, who flushed and averted his gaze.

"It's just, my friends from my hometown all live out of state and normally I'd ask my older sister but she's also lives out of town and she's working on her PhD so I don't wanna have to bother her, and I'm not really particularly close with anyone else on that level quite yet, and like hell am I trusting Vlad or my parents with any form of guardianship over her and-" Danny ramble, slowly becoming breathless.

"And I trust you, Jason." He breathed out. "And Ellie trusts you too. She calls you Uncle Jason for a reason ya' know." He tries teasing, but his voice is too sincere to have the intended effect. "You've been nothing but kind and supportive and caring since we met you. You're always looking out for us and reaching out. Hell- you bought Ellie a gift for school entirely unprompted!" Danny continued. "You've proven to be someone trustworthy, someone who wouldn't take advantage of either of us when we were vulnerable."

Images flash in his head: that night they comforted each other on fire escapes, the day when Danny had heat exhaustion, the time he comforted Ellie in the hall.

"I want it to be someone I can trust with her, Jason. And- well, I'd like it to be you."

Danny's gaze had never felt more heavy on Jason's shoulders. The overwhelming weight of trust he was being shown. The stark confidence and sincerity showed in his eyes. For a moment Jason's world seemed to stand still.

He only snapped out of it when Danny began to stare at his feet muttering.

"I know it's a lot to ask, especially when we haven't actually known each other all that long. And- you don't have to say yes. I won't be offended! I can always ask Ja-!"

"Yes."

Jason pulled Danny into a hug, not even bothering to take off his soapy gloves.

"Yes, I'll be her emergency contact." He pulled back to stare the other man in the eyes. "I want to be there for you. For both of you. Thank you for trusting me with this."

Danny pulled him close once more.

"Thank you," he murmured into Jason's shoulder, "for being so trustworthy."

Jason doesn't remember when they pulled away, or even when the father-daughter duo left his apartment. He just floated around his apartment in a haze. And if anyone saw the Red Hood absentmindedly trip over a crack in the sidewalk later that night- well, no they didn't.

~~~

About a week or so later, Jason stood in front of his fridge staring at leftovers from last night's family dinner.

As much as everyone hated to acknowledge it, Alfie was getting up there in years. That's why Jason had started showing up earlier to help him in the kitchen, since with the way the Bats ate it was like cooking for a small army. Of course this also meant Jason got sent home with heaps of extra leftovers.

~"You helped make it my boy, only right to take your fair share home"~

Not that Jason was complaining, that meant more food he could offer to some Alley kids or someone else who could use the meal. He pulls out the disposable tupperware he keeps of situations like this and begins portioning out pasta salad and chicken biryani into the smaller containers.

Something in the back of his head made itself known as he did this.

'The cafeteria food kinda sucked at Gotham Academy when you went there. Ellie starts her first full week tomorrow. What if she has trouble focusing because she's not getting proper nutrition?' it whispered. 'And didn't Danny say he was picking up a late shift this evening? What if he's too tired to pack a lunch for either of them cause he's tired from a long day at work?'

Jason's brow creased in discomfort at the thought. The little voice grew bolder.

'You have plenty of food. You should pack some up for them! It's not like you haven't fed them before!'

Before Jason fully realized what he was doing, he began setting aside portions for Danny and Ellie too. He tried not to think too hard as he neatly printed their names on to brown paper bags. Maybe not the prettiest, but they got the job done.

'It'd be even better if you had one of those bento lunch boxes. Like the ones those moms use in those aesthetic food packing/serving videos that Tim likes to watch.'

Hhmm, had his inner monologue always been this ... vocal?

Jason wanders out his door and into the hall, brown bags in hand, still contemplating the merits of getting a specialized lunch box. It was only after he knocked on the Nightingales' door that he realized what he'd done.

Danny shouldn't be working till later, but he instantly regrets not asking if it was okay to come over as chills cover his body and the door swings open.

"Jason?" Danny asks quizzically, raising his eyebrows. "Did you need something?"

"Uh I-" Jason flushes with embarrassment. His hand comes up to touch his nape only for Jason to realize he's holding the bags in that hand. He panics for a second before thrusting an arm out to Danny.

"I made lunch for you and Ellie. Something she can take to school, and- uh, for you to take to work?" He gulps, bashfully handing over the lunch to Danny. He winced at how that ended up sounding like a question and rushed to explain himself further.

"You, uh, mentioned picking up a shift later today so I thought I'd- um, save you the trouble of cooking for tomorrow's lunch." He stuttered.

Danny simply took the lunches from Jason's hand and gave him a soft smile in return.

"Thanks. For thinking about us, I mean, and for the lunches."

'His smile is so nice.'

Jason nodded dumbly before pointing down the hall.

"No problem. So I, I should get going. Stuff to do ya know?"

He didn't wait for further response before turning away and leaving with the tips of his ears burning.

The next day Jason gets a text in the middle of the day. It's a selfie of Danny beaming at the camera holding up a spoonful of rice.

Jason bangs his head against his desk, scaring Fern, who looks up from where they were doing paperwork. They try to ask if he's okay but Jason simply waves them off.

Later that night Jason gets another text.

"She's planning to slip it under your door"

Followed by a picture of a thank you drawing Ellie made him. It's a messy crayon rendition of, who he assumes is himself based on the white streak, in a chef's hat holding a plate of something yellow and brown that he assumes is Ell's rendition of biryani.

A couple of startled henchmen drop the supplies they were moving into a warehouse upon hearing a loud groan. They all turn, on high alert, only to find their boss hunched over as if someone punched him in the gut.

They begin to freak out, asking if he's okay. One of his lieutenants rushes to his side but Jason can't respond. He's too busy internally dying of cuteness.

The drawing finds its way onto his fridge by the next morning.

~~~

Hood would like to say he's surprised but honestly, if you don't experience (or attempt) at least 3 muggings a month or a Rogue attack at least every three months then can you even call yourself a Gothamite?

It's late September now so he supposes they were due for one soon anyway.

But why'd it have to be fucking Kite Man?

At least it was just a D-lister, no need to call in the cavalry. In fact, this was technically Spoiler's take down for the night. The only reason Jason got involved is because the chase led them through the Alley.

The fucker had sent out some of his kite devices to pick random civilians of the street as a distraction cause the man didn't even know how to leverage hostages correctly, the chump.

Hood ended up having to jump in so that Spoiler could continue the pursuit and they were heading out only a few minutes after they came in, leaving Jason to get the civilians down.

Jason set down a young woman who had been on her way home before she'd been "lifted off", for lack of a better term, who hugged him tightly, thanking him for saving her. That's when his comms sprang to life.

~Bzzt~ "Hey Hoodster, just a head's up, those hostage kites are apparently experimental. Might wanna get everyone down before the stop working!" ~Bzzt~ Steph's voice rang through.

Jason cursed as he locked onto the remaining kites. He'd have to be quick about this. Panicking civilians dangle from great heights on experimental kites that could give at any moment were soooo not a good combo.

Jason shot his grapple gun, planning out his route to the-, 1, 2, - 4 civilians that remained in the air. At least he had the advantage of being higher up than the kites were able to go.

Assisted by this height and gravity swooped down, wrapping an arm around another civilian, an older man who hadn't bothered flailing and simply hung in the air, looking like he'd been over this type of bull for the last 20 years.

'Felt, my guy.' Jason thought to himself as he set the man down on an adjacent rooftop. The guy didn't wait for Hood to check if he was okay, simply giving him a quick nod before scaling down the fire escape. Hood huffed internally, amused by such a typical Gothamite response. He turned back to the kites only to notice they'd begun to waver.

'Shit,' Jason though. 'Time to pick up the pace!'

Jason executed two more rescues as fast as he was able to. He was approaching the location of the fourth when a cool sensation washed over him and a sense of dread formed in his stomach.

The kite holding the last remaining civilian gave out and the dark-haired figure began to plummet.

Hood could feel his body go on autopilot as his mind swung into overdrive. He plotted the arc of his swing, adjusted his body position, calculated the angle he'd have to catch this guy at, and shifted his strength into one arm, leaving his other open for catching.

40 feet off the ground, Jason made contact. He wrapped his arm around the young man's waist, pulling him close in sort of messy dance lift. The man hadn't bothered to flail or struggle as he fell, which made catching him way easier. He felt the man lean into him as he followed through his arc, aiming for a decent place to land.

Once they touched down on a nearby three-story building, Hood released the man, finally allowing himself to take a good look at him.

Of -Freakin'- Course

The Red Hood stared into the icy blue eyes of his neighbor, and more importantly, his crush. Who, decidedly, did not know he was the Red Hood. Shit.

Jason internally freaked out. He could have lost Danny. Ellie could have lost Danny. Jason felt sick at the thought.

However, he couldn't afford to act suspicious and blow his cover. This was technically their first meeting like this and he needed to say something quickly!

Years of training allowed Jason to default to the regular civilian check-in questions.

"Are you okay, sir? No injuries?"

"I'm good, Mr. Hood. Thank you for catching me."

"Well, thanks for not flailing, made yourself easier to catch. Not too shaken up though? Ya weren't too scared?" Hood double checked. Danny gave him a small smile and shook his head.

"Nah, I knew you were coming."

Something in Jason fluttered at the sight. A small sense of pride grew as he realized Danny must have seen him save the others and had faith that Red Hood would save him too.

"I'm glad you're okay. Are you fine to get down yourself?"

Danny nodded at him, before biting at his lower lip. He leaned in to Hood's space and planted a brief peck on the side of his helm.

"Thanks for saving me. My Hero," he whispered before turning tail and booking it to the roof access stairwell.

Hood stood there shell shocked as he watched him go.

'He could have died. But I saved him. And he called me his hero ... and oh-' Jason realizes. 'This is more than a crush. I don't just like Danny. I am in love with him.'

And an odd sort of feeling swirls in his chest because he's not quite sure what to do about that.

~~~

Omake:

Jason: *staring at the place Danny kissed on his helmet*

Jason, angrily: I should have just gone with a like everyone else!

Danny: Wait, I kissed his helmet... is that sanitary!!

Danny: *proceeds to go home and wash his mouth with soap*

As you know I'm obsessive abt including recipes I researched so Tortellini al Forno - Insanely Good and https://www.sobeys.com/en/recipes/tiramisu-fudge/

Honestly I should add food as a love language in the tags for this

As always I'm open to comments and constructive criticism!

#long post #dc x dp #dead on main #jason todd #danny phantom #dp x dc #hbsd #HBSD #How to Become a Step-Dad #food as a love language #gift giving #hero rescue #displays of trust #fluff #like 3 second of extremely minor angst #ides of march #happy stab caesar day!

71 notes · View notes