#me thinking about which young x rush au should i imagine before i fall asleep

[aenslem]

he does look good on his knees 👀

[lubdubsworld]

Someone to Love.

Hello!!!

Here is my gift for 8k subscribers!!!

Alpha Jungkook x Omega OC Werewolf Au!

Genre ! : Fluff . Mild Angst. Mild Smut.

Work Count : 6k

Summary : Widowed Omega Aerin isn't really looking for love. But Jeon Jungkook the handsome alpha who gets washed over a waterfall, is willing to offer it to her anyway.

Complete!!!

The thing about living in a clan as small as ours, was that word always travelled fast.

We were a close knit pack, everyone knew everyone and more importantly, everyone was always in everyone’s business. Which is why, it was no surprise that, even before the Head Alpha could send word for me, I already knew about the young alpha who had , apparently, washed over the waterfall. The drop was a good twenty five feet and the bottom of the pool littered with sharp rocks. He was obviously injured.

As the healer, I would have to be there to examine him.

Nevertheless, I waited till Jinyoung came knocking on my door, sometime after the midday meal, his face urgent and voice a little shaky. I had just finished wrapping my daughter against my breast, tying the end of the flannel across my back and over my shoulder . I pulled on the ends, securing the wrap around my torso, and making sure her limbs were free to move about.

Sera giggled, chubby fists wet with drool as she shoved them into her mouth. She was teething and that meant excessive drooling and a penchant for biting everything I sight. But like this, she was usually well settled, the warmth of my body and my scent lulling her to a drwsy state. She would be asleep by the time we reached the injured wolf.

My son was still out playing with the other alpha pups in the woods. He wouldn’t be back till sundown. And even if he did, Joowon was almost nine winters old now. He could fend for himself in the hut till I got back.

I quickly grabbed my shawl, wrapping it over my shoulder, before moving to the door and opening it.

“Aerin? Alpha Kim sent for you, there’s an injured wolf you need to tend to.” He said urgently and I didn’t miss the four or five young omegas hovering behind him, giggling and coy. I shook my head. Apparently, even a half dead, injured alpha wasn’t safe from these younglings. I gave them a chiding smile but they merely laughed some more.

“Of course, Jinyoung . Let me just grab my bag.” I quickly picked the small carry-all tote I used for visits. It had almost all the tinctures, ointments and salves that I stocked in the apothecary attached to my hut, in smaller quantities. I also kept a polished set of needles and tools in case I had to extract stubborn splinters of jagged rock ends out of flesh. For being one of the strongest breed, it was ridiculous how often alphas got hurt doing the silliest things.

Like going over a waterfall.

As we began the short trek over to the Head alpha’s cabin, the throng of smitten omegas surrounded me, looking bright eyed.

“They say he’s very handsome, unnie. And young!” One of them laughed.

I hummed.

“Then one must hope the rocks in the pool didn’t leave too much of a mark .” I said casually.

“I wouldn’t mind a scar or two, as long as he has his…you know..” Another set of giggles.

I shook my head, laughing. The girls were incorrigible but that was their right. They were all young, barely twenty and unmated. They knew nothing about the marriage bed , nothing about the intimacy that came with it. The love the commitment. My heart ached.

Two years and still my heart ached something fierce .

“Just tell him he has to rest for a month at least, unnie. Tell him he can’t leave for a month and I’ll work my charm.” The Head Alpha’s daughter Jisoo gave me a sharp little smile and I shook my head.

“I’ll do no such thing. And I don’t appreciate you lusting after a man who may well be dying.” I said sternly and Jisoo had the good grace to blush.

“Unnie, its just that…. I’m bored of all these dumb alphas panting after me. They’re so…uncouth. I just want to meet someone new.” She pouted.

We reached the small hillock that would lead to the Head alpha’s house and I gave her a smile.

“Well, in that case, I’ll patch him up real good for you. But till then, you and your girls, why don’t you go occupy yourselves elsewhere.”

Jisoo wrinkled her nose but listened and I smiled at Jinyoung, hugging sera closer to my chest and making haste to the hut in front of us. Jinyoung led me to a side door and further into a room at the end of the narrow corridor.

“Aerin! Child… You’re here!” The Head alpha held his arms out and I embraced him quickly. The injured alpha was laid out in the middle of the room on a thick pallet of straw and blankets. They had stripped him of his wet clothes and he looked like he was sleeping. I stared at his face and felt my breath catch.

He was breathtakingly beautiful. I couldn’t look away. Right up , I could make out three flesh wounds, jagged and slightly deep : one across his brow, another across his shoulder and one right over his chest. Dark ink curled all over his torso and he looked young but also like a warrior.

“We just found out he’s from the Jeon clan. The head alpha’s son.” Yugyeom, knelt by his shoulders, pointing out the inked shoulder which marked him as the heir to the Jeon pack.

“We’ve already sent word. They’ll be here to fetch him in a day or so. We need only tend to him till then. Well. Give him all hospitality and treat him like a king. We need to remain in the Jeon’s good graces.” The Head alpha said sternly and all of them bowed.

I quickly, grabbed my bag, laying it out on the floor and crawling over to his side.

“Hot water and spirit , please.” I told the maid standing by but the Head alpha quickly held a hand up.

“Aerin ah? I have a meeting here with the Min and Jung clan leaders. The autumn festival is set to begin tonight. Its impossible for me to keep him here and all the other alphas are going to be busy too. I want him to get the best care possible and I can think of no one better than you, fort this task. Can we shift him to your hut?”

I swallowed nervously. I didn’t really entertain patients in my house. Especially not alphas. My son got jittery and my daughter was too used to my own scent.

“As a personal favor to your alpha?” He said insistently, eyes flashing red and I realized it wasn’t a request. Rather a command.

“I… Yes, alpha.” I said hesitantly. “ Can I just examine him now, make sure nothing’s broken, before we shift him?”

“Yes of course my dear.” The alpha bowed before stepping aside. I quickly glanced at everyone else.

“Please leave.” I said quickly and they flushed, bowing before moving out of the room.

“Should I stay , Aerin?” Jinyoung asked nervously and I shook my head. “ Just wait outside and close the door for me, Jin.”

Once the door shut, I quickly glanced down at Sera who had curled into my chest and fallen asleep. I brought a bit of the fabric by chest over her head, so she wouldn’t get too much of the alpha’s scent. Kneeling down, I went about peeling the blanket off him.

He was a beautiful man, I thought absently, long limbs and thick muscles all over and it was no doubt his strong, well kept body that had saved him.

Other than a few more surface wounds on his legs and a gash on his thigh, he seemed relatively unharmed. I did run my fingers over his joints and arms, carefully looking for any swelling or discoloration that would signify broken bones. I carefully gripped his shoulders, turning him over gently to examine his back. I made a mental note of all the cuts that looked like they would have to be sewn together, so I could prepare enough string for it. I leaned over to press my ears against his chest, noting the rise and fall of his lungs.

A hand brushed over the back of my head, gentle and soft.

I jumped, wrapping both hands around sera and scooting back in panic, eyes wide as I stared at the man on the floor, now blinking tiredly at me.

“I… I..” I couldn’t get my words out and he groaned .

“Am I dead? Are you an angel?” He whispered.

I blinked, blood rushing to my face as I tried to calm my breathing.

“Jinyoung!!!” I yelled sharply and the door opened, Jinyoung stepping in and staring wide eyed at the alpha on the pallet. He was struggling to sit up and I quickly pulled myself together.

“Alpha Jeon! Please… You must stay still. ” I said quickly, pushing my palms against his chest, helping him lay back down, trying to ignore how his eyes danced all over my face, nostrils flared .” I’m Aerin, the healer from the Kim pack. You remember what happened today?”

He groaned again, lifting a shaky hand to press against his head. I moved closer, gently reaching out to grab his wrist, pulling his fingers away from the still wet wound on his brow, and his eyes clashed against mine, wide and steady. He stared pointedly at where my fingers curled around his wrists and I let go quickly.

“Yes….. one of the pups almost went over the waterfall. I… I tried to get him out.” He said softly. He glanced at Jinyoung. The latter looked away, clearly nervous.

“Pup?” I asked, heart dropping and he gave me a small smile. I tried not to let my gaze linger on his lips as he chuckled lightly.

“Can you help me up, kid?” He asked softly and Jinyoung startled, glancing at me.

I shook my head. I turned to Jungkook, heart racing. He sighed, resting back against the bed.

“Don’t worry, angel. I managed to toss her back to her father just before I went over the edge. I’m certain that she’s perfectly alright.”

“well, that’s a relief.” I hesitated, feeling awkward. Sera stirred and Jungkook’s gaze went to her again.

“she’s yours?” He asked gently and I blinked, glancing at Jinyoung nervously. It seemed too personal but I couldn’t imagine not answering without seeming rude.

“Yes, sire.” I bowed politely, moving back a bit more as Jungkook inhaled and reached out again, this time gripping my wrist. He scented the air and I flinched , yanking my hand away and quickly standing up, uncomfortable. He was still staring at me, gaze steady.

“You… You can tell the others that he’s conscious. We can move-” I stopped when the alpha cut me off.

“You don’t smell mated. You haven’t been with a man in years.” He said quietly and now Jiyoung looked uncomfortable too.

“Alpha Jeon, I-”

“Jungkook. Call me Jungkook.”

My heart jumped at the thought of addressing him so intimately. I shook my head.

“I’m looking for a mate. Can I court you, angel?” He said suddenly and my jaw dropped.

“There’s… There’s a dozen unmated omegas outside.” I choked out. Was I dreaming ? This couldn’t be happening.

“That’s not what I asked. Whom must I speak with? To court you? Your Head alpha.” He turned to Jinyoung. “ Please send word to Alpha Kim that I require an audience with him. And that its very important that he come here as soon as possible.”

“Please don’t.” I said quietly, feeling my body tremble and he froze.

“What’s wrong?” He said quietly.

I shook my head.

“I have a son. I’m not… I have a son. He’s almost nine winters old. He still… He loves his father. The man who raised him… I can’t…. it would break him. Please, Alpha Jeon. You have power here and I have none. Your word is law and I’m bound to honor it but please, please consider. My son…”

Jungkook’s gaze softened incredibly at that.

“I have a ten year old brother.” He said gently. “ What you’re saying is that it isn’t the head alpha’s approval that I need. It is your son’s.”

I blinked, thrown.

“I…”

“Then you must promise me this. If your son…” He paused, “ What’s his name?”

“I… Joowon.”

“If Joowon tells you that he wouldn’t mind having me in his life….will you consider letting me court you.”

I could only stare. Jinyoung cleared his throat looking completely enthralled by the drama unfolding in front of him. I saw a glint of mischief in his gaze and felt my hackles rise.

“Alpha, there’s a festival in our clan. It lasts three weeks and is filled with festivities and joyous celebrations. I do believe the Kim pack would be honored to have you stay with us, enjoying our hospitality and the bountiful gifts of nature we here in the lowlands enjoy.”

I gaped at him in disbelief.

“I… “

“That’s settled then. I will send for my pack members as well. They would love to share this time with you.” He turned to me.

I exhaled, certain that he had hit his head on the way down the falls.

“You’re insane.” I said softly, shaking my head. “ You’re free to enjoy all that my clan has to offer…. But, I’m not on the menu, Alpha Jeon.”

I quickly stood up.

“Tell Alpha Kim that he can fend for himself in one of the huts we have for heats and ruts. I’ll send one of my apprentices to sew up his wounds and apply salve on him.”

“I’m afraid not, Aerin. You know what the chief said. It has to be you.” Jin grinned and I glared at him.

Jungkook was smiling too.

“Come now, angel. Just because you don’t like me ….yet… don’t shun your duties.”

Good Lord.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Fucking hell, what the actual fuck…” Jungkook swore and I glared at him, grabbing a strip of white linen and balling it up before pressing it into his mouth, gagging him.

He stared at me, eyes wide in surprise and mouth open around the fabric.

“Stop swearing in front of my son.” I snapped. Joowon laughed, carefully threading the twine through the eye of the cleaned needle. He dipped the twine and the needle into the warm water and the spirit again.

“Come now mother, you know I can say worse things.” He stuck his tongue out and I glared at him.

“Not in this house, you can’t. Also keep it down… I’ve just put Sera to bed.” I carefully pinched the skin over his chest together before reaching out and slipping the needle into his skin. I worked carefully and diligently, focused on the task and when I was finally done, I glanced up, only for my gaze to clash with Jungkook’s.

“I.. were you staring the whole time?” I asked, blushing. Jungkook spat the gag out and grinned, boyish and naughty.

“Can’t help it. The view is truly breathtaking.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I wasn’t kidding when I said that there are omegas here who would love to be courted by you. You haven’t met any of them yet and that is why you seem to be … so… “ I shook my head.

“Joowon ah… Who’s the most beautiful woman in this clan?” Jungkook asked firmly and my son hummed from next to me.

“Mother, of course.”

I gaped at the pair of them.

“See? I trust Joowon’s judgement implicitly. “ Jungkook shrugged.

Joowon laughed again and I didn’t miss the looks he kept tossing at the alpha. Curious but also laced with a lot of admiration. I wasn’t surprised. Joowon had never been suspicious or hesitant in offering his friendship to people. And Jungkook had regaled him with tales about hunts and fishing trips and kayak rides in rapids….. and the younger was now clearly intrigued and almost halfway to smitten with the man.

My own heart raced , pulse pounding in a way it hadn’t in years. And yet, I knew it was futile. Men like Jungkook…. They didn’t really fall in love with women like me. All these flowery words, all this flirting….it was for one thing only. And once he got it, he would leave. Of course he would.

But that was the problem. For the first time in two years, I considered it. Considered letting him have it….have me. But with it , came a nagging wish that he wasn’t joking. That perhaps, I wasn’t as….undesirable as my late husband had made me feel.

I shook my head to clear the haze of dreams, impossible girlish dreams that came with his scent and his proximity. I didn’t want to go down that road. I wasn’t… I may be younger than Jungkook but I was still too old to be courted and to start a new life with someone. Least of all someone like Jungkook.

I glanced back up at him as I carefully applied salve on the stitches, fingers light on dusky smooth skin. He was still staring at me, and as I bent in closer, his hair brushed my forehead. My eyes fell on his nipple and my mouth went dry. I breathed out and looked up at him, shaking my head and pulling away.

“You’re all done alpha.” I whispered.

His hand crept up to my knee, squeezing gently.

“I’m just getting started.” He whispered and I bit my lips, looking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Father… you shouldn’t have come .” Jungkook was groaning and I could only stare in horror , trying to process the fact that both Alpha Jeon and his wife were now standing in my hut, fussing over their son and ruffling his hair like he was five years old.

“Nonsense !” Alpha Jeon thundered, making me jump. “ You went over the waterfall and you expect me to not be worried. I brought our healer but I see the Kim clan has an exceptionally talented young healer themselves. My son looks as good as new , dear girl.” He grinned at me and I smiled shakily.

“I’m going to court her, father.” Jungkook said without any preamble and my heart dropped to my knees. Lady Jeon’s gaze snapped to me and I retreated further, clutching Sera to my chest in panic.

“No.. I.. no he’s not. I’m sorry, Alpha, I… I should go…” I dived for Joowon’s wrist, yanking my son along and moving to the door.

“Wait, child.” Lady Jeon’s voice made me still and I bit my lips, squeezing my eyes shut in horror. Surely whatever was coming…it couldn’t be good… t would be the same thing I’d heard over the years, the same threats, the same insults…

“Let me look at you.” Lady Jeon said and I trembled a bit, turning to her nervously, prepared for rejection and annoyance.

I found none.

All I could see was genuine interest that morphed into pleasure as she took in my features.

“What a beautiful girl you are.” She whispered , “ You can do so much better than my savage son, who apparently doesn’t know his way up or down a waterfall.”

Jungkook growled from the bed.

“Mother.”

Lady Jeon gave him a look.

“I’m serious. The Kim clan , I’m sure must have several fine young men, all of them willing to court her. What makes you think they would hand her over to you, Jungkook.” He said regally and I hesitated.

“I… I’ve been mated before. These are my kids.” I said hesitantly.

Lady Jeon blinked.

“Does that make a difference?”

I couldn’t respond, mind in shambles.

“Unless …what we’ve heard about the Kim clan isn’t true? And they are archaic and small minded when it comes to their women?” She said sharply, turning around to glare at my Head Alpha who looked horrified as he bowed.

“of course not , my lady..we… We all treat Aerin with the utmost respect.. She is as our daughter.”

“That is not what I asked. Has she not been courted?” Alpha Jeon asked gruffly and Jungkook made a noise of impatience.

“I’m saying I’ll court her, why is everyone-“

“Quiet Jungkook. “ Lady Jeon said sharply before turning to me.

“Have you not been courted after your husband’s death. Its unheard of for a young wolf to remain without a mate. Did none of the men in your clan step up?”

I hesitated before deciding on the truth.

“Joowon-ah? Could you go play outside for a while?” I said softly and he hesitated before glancing at Jungkook and running off. Once I was sure he was out of earshot I turned to Lady Jeon.

“They only offered to take me on as a mistress.” I said honestly, staring at my feet. “ And … I have a son. Old enough to understand these things. He… He heard his friends talk about how I was … He asked me if what they said was true…. If I was just anyone’s to use or take, now that his father was dead. I…. I had to reassure him that it wasn’t the case…. That I wouldn’t… That I didn’t need to warm anyone’s bed to survive.”

“She’s coming with us tomorrow.” Jungkook growled from the bed and I glared at him.

“Please let me finish.” I snapped. “ And yes, there are men here who feel that way but Alpha Kim is right. They have for the most part, treated me with great respect and I … I enjoy my life here. I’m not lacking for anything..” Except someone to love, someone to hold through cold winter nights, someone to share bright spring sunshine with…someone to kiss in the rain… someone who would go to war for me…

“So? You don’t accept my son’s offer of courting? Is that what you’re saying?” Lady Jeon asked gently.

“Don’t answer that.” Jungkook’s voice came from my right and I stared at him.

“Alpha Jeon…”

“Could all of you give me a moment alone with her?” Jungkook said quietly and Alpha Kim bowed.

“Please let me show you to your resting quarters.” He said gently and Jungkook’s parents shot him one last look before leaving the cabin. I stayed still as everyone filed out, one after the other.

Once it was just him and I, Jungkook cleared his throat.

“Just three weeks.” He said softly, “ Give me three weeks. Three weeks and if at the end of it you tell me that you don’t want to leave your clan…I’ll accept it without argument. You’ll never see me again.”

I sighed in exhaustion.

“You’re going to be here for the three weeks of the festival anyway. My answer isn’t going to change. I’m not going to fall in love with you, alpha Jeon. ” I said quietly.

He grinned.

“I’m going to remind you of what you just said….six months from now…when you’re my wife.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jungkook was out and about three days later and to my utter horror, jealousy reared its head when I saw the extent to which he was popular with the other omegas. I stayed in the sidelines, holding sera and keeping an eye on Joowon, watching Jungkook get accosted at every turn.

But Jungkook it seemed, had no interest in wooing me.

He was wooing my son.

“These are delicious, Jungkook.” Joowon said excitedly, hands full of candied fruits and honey dipped grapes.

“Stop calling him that…” I hissed , but Joowon merely stuck his tongue out at me, stuck firmly to Jungkook’s side. Jungkook sat on the hard ground of the hut, surrounded by wooden strip and workmen tools, building a miniature windmill for Joowon who had never seen one before. The wind didn’t hit the lowlands much but Jungkook’s clan lived up hill and the windmills helped bring water to the canals.

He gave me a grin, his eyes trained on my lips as I sung gently to Sera, rocking her back and forth on my arms.

“You must give some of that honeyed fruit to your mother too, won-ah… perhaps she will have something sweet to say to me.” He grinned.

I rolled my eyes.

“I believe you’ve heard enough honey dipped words from the many omegas who can’t get enough of you.” I said impishly.

Jungkook laughed.

“ All I need is one word from you my lady….” He whispered and I flushed.

“ One word? No matter the question…? What word is that. ” I shook my head.

“Yes.” Jungkook smiled. “ Because it is that way with me. No matter the question , if you were the one asking, my answer would be yes.”

I stared at him, thrown by the magnitude of sincerity in his tone.

“Mother, ask him if he hates you…” Joowon giggled snapping me out of my thoughts.

I laughed and Jungkook glared.

“You’re supposed to be helping me brat.” He said with faux anger, eyes still excessively fond as he pulled my son into a playful headlock.

I watched them wrestle around Joowon smiling in a way that I had never seen him do in a long long time and my heart ached. Was it wrong… I wondered, to be this greedy? To want a lifetime of this….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ They say you never mourned him.” Jungkook sat on the rocking chair, shirt unbuttoned and Sera lying on his chest, the warmth of his body and the staccato of his heart lulling her to sleep . I sat on the floor, leaning back against the wall, Joowon was already asleep nect to me, head resting on my lap.

I watched him, watched the large, rugged hand, so gentle on my daughter’s back, stroking her gently, as he hummed sweetly.

“there was nothing to mourn.” I whispered bitterly, threading my fingers through my son’s hair, the silky strands falling through like water.

“He wasn’t a good man then.”

I shook my head.

“He married me when I was sixteen. And when I was old enough to see him for what he was, he didn’t want me anymore. And he died because he tried to rape the Head Alpha’s daughter.” I felt that familiar sickening feeling of disgust.

Jungkook didn’t say anything merely staring off into the fire blazing in the hearth.

“Is that why you think…you’re too old?” He asked gently and I flushed.

“It didn’t help with my self esteem.” I admitted.

“And is that why you..hesitate? To tell me how you truly feel.”

“It’s complicated. I … It s not easy baring my heart to you…” I looked away.

“You’re beautiful. I want you. Everyday I feel like I’m falling deeper.” Jungkook said quietly.

I stared at him, stunned.

He turned around and smiled at me.

“It’s not complicated for me. Its hard to watch you keep me at arm’s length. It’s hard to go to sleep on the floor, knowing your warm body is at touching distance. Its hard watching these omegas mistreat you because they’re jealous of the attention you get from me. And its hard….telling myself I can’t just pull you into my arms and kiss you in front of them all so they know . ” He smiled, “But telling you how I feel? It’s not hard at all.”

I felt my mouth go dry and stared at my knees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Marry me.” Jaebum had cornered me by the apothecary and I stared at him in shock.

“What?” I snapped, “ What nonsense is this? Move out of my way.”

“Alpha Kim wants Jisoo to marry Jungkook. He has asked one of us to get you out of the picture. And no one else wants another man’s sloppy seconds. I’m the only one who agreed so you should be honored. Just say yes and come with me.”

He made to grab me and I stumbled back in terror only to crahs into a broiad back, right behind me. A familiar scent and strong arms coming around to hug me.

“Perhaps, Alpha Kim should reconsider his plans. Because I’m sure he doesn’t want the entire Jeon clan to come to war with him.”

Jaebum stepped back.

“you would start a war over some omega?” He scoffed.

Jungkook grinned shaking his head.

“No. But I would start a war over my woman.”

Jaebum scoffed again before spitting at his feet and walking away. Jungkook glared at him till he disappeared from view. My limbs started trembling the moment I realized what had just happened. After years of working for these people…healing them and mending their wounds….Was this how they saw me?

I went limp in his arms and he hugged me close.

“Angel….are you alright?” Jungkook whispered and I swallowed, turning around and staring at him.

“I… They… Why would he do that?” I whispered and Jungkook reached out cupping my face gently.

“I don’t know. But he’s an idiot. As if I would let another man lay a finger on you…” He said softly and I laughed, shaking my head.

I looked back up at him, letting my gaze fall to his lips. As if on cue the heavens opened and it began to rain… Jungkook swore, moving to find shelter but I grabbed his arm, pulling him closer.

“Alpha Jeon…” I said quietly, water dripping down my face as the rain intensified . “ Will you kiss me?”

Jungkook’s eyes went comically wide. He was already dripping wet, hair falling in soaked strands into his eyes.

“Wh-What?”

“I’ve waited for many years for this kiss. A kiss in the rain. With a man who would go to war for me.”

Jungkook laughed at that and I stared as he leaned down, gently pressing his lips to my forehead. Tears sprung at the tender gesture and I gripped the fabric of his tunic hard. Laughing I buried my face into his chest, as he pressed a multitude of kisses on top of my head.

“Angel. When I kiss you for the first time…it’s not going to stop with a kiss.” He winked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaving my clan was easier, when I reminded myself of what they had done. But I did my duty, offering my greetings and farewell to all the elders, before moving to link my fingers with Jungkook , who held Sera in his arms.

“ I owe you my gratitude. Because you’ve kept her safe all these years. But from now she holds no ties to your clan.” Jungkook said firmly, and I stepped closer to him.

I watched as Jungkook’s father shared a ceremonial glass of wine with the head alpha.

And just like that, I was no longer a Kim.

I was a Jeon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mother…” I whispered , mortified , watching Lady Jeon, wrap my daughter in her baby clothes, Packing her clothes and Joowon’s clothes as well. “ Please it isn’t necessary.”

“Nonsense. Jungkook and you need to spend time together. Alone. And I need to spend time with my grandchildren. I’ve already missed out on nine years of Joowon’s life , I refuse to miss out on another second. Besides, he has never seen a windmill he says? My husband has made arrangements for us to pitch our tents right next to one.”

I could only smile and watch as my excitable son practically bounced off the wall, eager to go on a trip with halmeoni and harabeoji.

Jungkook stood next to me, wrapping both arms around me.

“Say the word and We’ll leave in a hour right behind them.” He said gently and I smiled, shaking my head.

“No… your parents want this. I can tell. Let them enjoy some time with their grandkids.”

“Excellent.” Jungkook gripped my shoulders and turned me around.

“I’m in the mood for some honeyed words.” I said quietly.

“Jeon Aerin. My angel. Mine and Mine forever.” He said softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six months later :

Jungkook pressed kisses down my back and I grinned into the sheets, watching the springtime sun spill into our room, soaking the sheets in warmth . I stretched as he gently turned me over, feather light kisses on my belly, now slightly curved . He pressed his ears to the taut skin, listening.

“What is that, pup? Oh…yes.. yes yes… You’re right . Absolutely right.” He pulled away and climbed top of me, gently parting my thighs before slotiing himself in between. I sighed as he pressed against me, gently pushing in till he was buried to the hilt inside me.

“God, that feels good…” I whispered and Jungkook hummed, pressing a kiss to my ear before biting the lobe between his teeth.

“Know what our pup just told me , wife? “ He whispered and I looked at him, curious.

“What?”

“Well, he told me that I should remind you that you were so sure you would never fall in love with me.”

I shrugged.

“I’m sure you were once, pretty sure that you would never get washed over the waterfall.”

Jungkook laughed.

“Touché. So we both admit we’re wrong ?”

“The perfect marriage.”

Jungkook kissed me nose before beginning to move gently inside me again and I closed my eyes in bliss.

Someone to hold during cold winter nights.

Someone to kiss in the rain.

Someone to love in the springtime sun…

Someone like Jeon Jungkook, the perfect alpha.

AUTHOR'S NOTE : I LOVE ALL OF YOU. THANK YOU FOR 8K.

[mysticprofessoralienhumanoid]

Maribat ideas I will probably never write

Now, before we start.

I realize that those may have already been made but I've never seen them and everything here came from my mind. But if you remember the titles, please tell me them or send a link to the stories, I'd love to read them.

This can be whatever ship you want Connorette, Daminette, Cassandra x Marinette, Brucinette... Any ship.

Here I'll refer to them just as the bats or one of the bats, or just choose a random one of them simply because I don't know the exact person that'd fit in the au with Marinette so I'm just leaving it up to you but... yeah.

[And yes, I know I said it could be Connor or Jon or anyone else, and I know they are not part of Batclan but for the lack of better word, just roll with it]

Yes, you can use any of them, but please tag me (i really want to read what you came up with) and include the link to my post so maybe someone else could use any other of these.

And if want to add anything or just brainstorm in the comments I'd love to do it with you, so don't be shy and say what you think (constructive critism only).

Maybe i will update this, but for now feel free to use any of these over 20 (i think at least) ideas I came with in these past 2 weeks cuz i was bored.

And before you start, I'm thinking of making mafia boss! Marinette AU, but i don't know what ship it should be... Suggestions? (Just not the love square please)

Hope you like it.

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

Violinist Marinette. The Waynes got invited to a concert in which Mari played a solo. And they're all just enchanted with her talent.

Marinette a Badass Dancer. None of the bats is a dancer in this AU and I don't really have any direction where this would go, but i just had a scene where she kicks their asses even though she doesn't have much (or any) exprience in martial arts. Just her spinning and kicking one of them mid-spin in the face or... somewhere else...

So the scene is a Wayne Gala, right? Jagged Stone dares Marinette to sing a song on a stage (there’s live music band, i guess?). Everyone’s mesmerised by her voice and Jagged can be heard screaming “That’s my niece!” in the backround. I really want her to sing Creep , a cover by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox ft. Haley Reinhart or Crazy in Love , also a cover made by Sofia Karlberg, though any other song is fine too

Bats and Marinette in a band. That's it. That's the whole AU.

One of the bats is sitting under a tree, all peacefully and relaxed, but then they look up to see a random girl with dark blue hair (??) just hanging upside down from a branch like an actual freaking bat. She gives them a heart attack.

Another Au with singing Marinette lol. In this one Marinette likes to sing in a park every other day and Damian comes here one day and hears her and is like “wow.”, and since then he comes there everyday in hopes of hearing her sing and getting her number. And maybe Luka or Adrien play while she sings, that’d be cool

Guys, Marinette and the Waynes being neighbours. No, but imagine. Them seeing some girl watering plants every week for a month or two and then not seeing her for a long period of time, and they're kinda worried, but then she's back and they're confused, because where the hell she'd been, the house looked like not used and just where the hell was she? Marinette seeing some... Weird things happening in the Wayne backyard. Balconies being in front of each other, so they're balcony neighbours too (the romance, the fluff, even the angst, guys). Marinette going to them with baked goods and introducing herself as their neighbour. Them going to hers and welcoming her with a basket of Alfred's cooking. 

Jason has to participate in a dating show because he lost a bet and Mari's one of the participants too...

Duke needs a date to a wedding (i don't know whose, your choice) and Marinette's his best friend, so be my fake date to this wedding?

Marinette as Tim's daughter??

The greatest showman AU. (Sibling dickinette. On the trapeze-)

Forget rouges, superheroes and vigilantes. Underground dancers. Because it's what i need, y'all

So in this, WE is a dance company, and Marinette's maybe an intern in a fashion department. One day Dick's going to one of the practice rooms where's been scheduled a meeting with a designer for his costume for the next show. Instead he's met with a girl he sees for the first time, practically flying on the dance floor. Just as he's about to reveal himself the rest comes and it turns out this is the fashion designer and it seems as no one knows she's an amazing dancer too

Teachers AU + Rivals AU = utter chaos. Them teaching the same subject and competing for their class' loves and/or arguing whose close is better. [Bonus points if everyone's thinking they hate each others guts, but they're secretly dating]

Fencers AU - on the same team on different teams, your choice. (And this honestly suits with Kagami too. I'm up for kagami x bat/marinette)

Damian in the park with Mar'i, but he's having trouble, because this kid has so much energy. How?? Just when he thinks he can take a breath, he notices Mar'i has wandered off and is talking to a young woman, so he rushes there and try to apologize, but she says it's no problem at all. Suddenly this gorgeous girl offers him her help. It looks like Mar'i has taken liking to her and he's so tired, so he agrees and for the rest day watches two Mari's play together and falls in love with the older one. Plotwist: this was plan all along. Mar'i is the ultimate wingwoman.

All the Wayne siblings decided to go to one of those haunted houses for a halloween and there's this petite girl who tagged along their group somehow. They didn't expect to see this tiny girl punching the worker dressed as a monster and knocking the daylight out of him. But it was so worth getting kicked out.

Marinette's a ghost and these four men came to her house and apparently they're doing a ghost investigation?? I mean, she was getting a bit lonely and bored, maybe it's time to "gain some friends" (read: scare the living out of them).

Pretty much the above but with bat/s as ghost/s and Marinette as the paranormal investigator with her team (i honestly want one of them to be Kagami, i don't know why). In both you need to decide who's a skeptic and who believes. It's fun, the ghost is trying to scare them off, but they're stubborn.

Sibling dickinette where Marinette calls her older brother everytime she wants to get out of a date and so he pretends to "arrest" her. (And then maybe dick decides to play a matchmaker and sets her up with one of his adoptive siblings)

Marinette as a lawyer. Her going against LexCorps who framed Wayne Enterprises for something. Or maybe Bruce was accused of murder (that he obviously did not commit) and now she has to prove his innocence. I just really want to read about badass lawyer Marinette, guys

Merlin AU. Is there any AUs with Marinette being Merlin and saving Arthur's ass (I honestly think it should be Chloe, no joke)?

Mominette where she adopts Cassandra. I just imagined them going to ballet lessons together and cooking and now I'm soft.

Marinette got dared by her friends to set a trap for the passerby that involved eggs, toy train and glitter and to then to pretend they're her ex and they cheated in her, and Jason had the misfortune to be that passerby. (Yes, this is probably crack lol)

Tim can rap. Marinette can rap. What could go wrong?? (Yes, this is probably crack too)

There's this girl they see every year when to go on trick-or-treating and she always has the most amazing or scariest costumes. But Damian will not go without a fight and so every year they compete over who has the better costume. This year they just so conveniently dressed up as the famous Halloween couple.

Jon is 17 now and it seems as no one is interested in him. He jokingly tells Damian he supects theres a ghost that's in love with him and they keep away any potential lovers from him. He doesn't know how much he's right. Marinette though, is freaking out.

Marinette decided to take a part-time job at a local pool as a life guard. There's a sudden increase in people coming to said pool but also a dramatic increase in people pretending to drown. Conner is one of them.

Marinette plays a therapist to all of the batfam. The amount of the ridiculous problems she had to listen to... She could write a book and she would make millions out of it, she swears.

"Some say "revenge is a dish best served cold.", then i read "revenge is sweet", so i came to conclusion revenge is ice cream." Huh, so that'd explain the sudden disappearance of ice cream in whole Gotham Jason had been hearing about for the past week from Bruce. The question is, what that petite bluenette is planning to do and who is going to be a victim of her ice cream revenge?

Tim had been in coma for a month after the drug bust, and he has just woken up. The first thing he does? He picks up the argument he and Marinette had been having before he's been put into a coma.

The couple at the place Jason had been at, started making out loudly, so he started making loud noises while eating his ice cream. They stopped. And he got this cute barista's phone number when she was walking past him.

Marinette's at the spa when she overhears two guys betting who can eat more slices of cucumber (that were supposed to be put on their eyelids) and she decided to participate. Safe to say they were all banned from all the spas in Gotham

Can i please get Jason/Duke/anyone making up a bedtime story for Marinette after she woke up from a nasty nightmare? I need it

Every morning and night Marinette pretends to be asleep just so she can feel Damian pull her closer, kiss her temple and whisper how much he loves her

Roy listening to Jason complaining about each first encounter of her girlfriend with his siblings and Bruce. Each is more ridiculous than the one before. He listens to it, after he and Marinette had gone through their own weird af first meeting.

Dick was so busy laughing at the bluenette who'd just walked into a post, he ran into the same post minute later. She asked him out... After she finished laughing and telling him karma's a bitch

Dick likes to think he's the reason Jason and Marinette got married. To his last days he will brag about how at his and Kori's wedding Marinette caught the bouquet, tripped and Jay caught her.

Jason asked Marinette on a date to one of the restaurant the WE owned. Then as a test, he told her he couldn't pay for all the expensive dishes they ordered. She took his hand and they ran out of the building. He's convinced he's going to marry her.

[bunnygirl330]

𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗;

pairings: ander muñoz x omar shana, background guzman nunier osuna x nadia shana

genre: fluff, angst, future au - established relationship

word count: 4.3K

warnings: chronic illness, hospitals summary: Ander and Omar love their daughter more than anything in the world. Their lives have been much harder but also so much more joyful since she came into the world. But what happens when parenting takes it's toll on Ander? Will their relationship be able to survive?

a/n: I loved writing this, I don't think I'll ever get bored of Omander! It's so fun to imagine what they'd be like as parents. The title of this is the title of a U2 song I love that you should totally go listen to. I have at least two more works coming up in this series and I've started writing a one-shot book which I will start posting soon so keep an eye out! And, as always, thank you to my amazing beta, ( @alytavzla​ ) I don't know where I would be without her. AO3

part one - part two

Anyway, enjoy!

Ander was sat on the sofa staring into space when suddenly he was startled by a loud knock on the door. It turned out he’d actually been taking a power nap with his eyes open in one of the very, very few moments of peace he got nowadays. He got up and practically zombie walked across the apartment to get to the front door before swinging it open.

“Hey!” Lu said, far too cheerily, as she wrapped her arms around Ander. “Wow, you look like hell.” She said, taking in his appearance. Ander was dressed in sweats with stains all over his sweater and very large dark circles under his eyes.

“Thanks.” He replied sarcastically. “I’d like to see what you would look like if you had a five month old baby. Not to mention the fact that she’s just started teething.”

“Darling, I always look gorgeous.” Lu stated as she slipped off her coat and went to sit down.

“You do know I have photos of you when you were literally in labour right?”

“Your point?” Lu deadpanned, as if she didn’t understand why Ander thought that was a threat. “Anyway, where is my favourite god-daughter?”

“Omar took her out in the car to try and get her to fall asleep. She basically hasn’t slept in the past three days. And thus neither have we.” Ander flopped down on the couch next to her whilst struggling to keep his eyes open.

Lu laughed and then headed towards the kitchen to make coffee for them. Just as she flicked the switch on the coffee maker she heard the door open and a loud screaming which made Ander curl up and put a cushion over the top of his head in order to try, and fail, to block the noise.

“Urghhh,” Omar groaned, as he slammed the door shut behind him while keeping a tight grip on his daughter. “I’ve tried literally everything but she just won’t sleep.”

Omar then heard Lu laughing from the kitchen and shot her a glare as he walked over to Ander and dumped Carmen in his lap, unable to take it any longer.

“Here,” Lu said, walking over and carrying the coffee. “you two drink this and I’ll take her.”

Ander practically shoved his daughter into Lu’s arms and started nursing the coffee she’d just handed him. He loved his daughter more than anything else in the world but at the same time he hadn’t slept in 72 hours and felt like he was about to collapse.

Within five minutes Carmen was sleeping peacefully in Lu’s arms as she rocked her back and forth. Ander and Omar stared at each other in disbelief.

“She’s a witch.” Omar whispered as Lu giggled.

“How the fuck did you do that?” Ander whisper-yelled, unable to believe that it was finally silent.

“Well clearly she just loves her Aunty Lu.” Lu replied smugly.

Honestly, neither Ander nor Omar cared how she did it they just cared that Carmen was now blissfully quiet. Carmen had always been able to sleep more easily in Lu’s arms. At first it worried the couple as they thought maybe their daughter was in need of a maternal parent but quickly brushed away the worry when it turned out another person could also make her magically fall asleep and that person was Guzman, much to Ander’s annoyance.

Lu spent the next couple of hours cradling and cooing at the baby she’d given birth to a mere five months ago before she decided it was best to get back to her apartment.

———

It was now seven o’clock in the evening and Ander was attempting to put Carmen to sleep for the night as she hadn’t cried again since Lu left and the two of them were hoping that they could keep it that way.

Omar was washing up dishes when he heard screaming coming from Carmen’s nursery once again which made him want to bang his head against the kitchen cabinets.

“Ander!” He screamed, hoping that his husband would be able to get their daughter to calm down again without him having to intervene. “Ander, why is she crying again?” Omar shouted as one last pitiful attempt to try and avoid going to help but unfortunately there was no reply. Omar wasn’t surprised though, with the amount of noise Carmen was making it would have to be a miracle for Ander to hear him.

Omar entered the room and immediately tears sprung to his eyes. The first thing he saw was his baby girl sat in her cot and screaming as she looked down at the ground in front of her. As he followed her gaze he saw something that years ago he’d hoped he would never have to see again. Ander was lying face down on the ground, unconscious. Omar ran to his husband and kneeled by his side, gently trying to shake him awake. He remembered all too well what had happened last time Ander had fainted out of the blue and exactly what had come after it.

Omar now had tears running down his cheeks just like his daughter, but he also knew he needed to take action. He ripped his phone out of his pocket and dialled an ambulance.

“112, what’s your emergency?” Came a voice from down the phone.

“I-I need an a-ambulance.” Omar said, his voice shaking with fear.

“Ok, can you tell me what’s happened?” The operator asked.

“It’s my husband, he-he-” Omar’s voice was cut off by a sob that wracked his entire body. He was panicking and upset and couldn’t get his words out straight.

“Sir, I need you to calm down okay? That’s the only way I’m going to be able to help you. You just need to take deep breaths.”

Omar breathed heavily until the sobs had mostly subsided and then he continued. “I’m sorry, it’s just my husband has just fainted, he’s not coming round and he has a history of leukaemia.”

“There’s no need to apologise, it’s a perfectly normal reaction given the circumstances. An ambulance is on it’s way, it’ll be there in ten minutes, do you need me to stay on the line with you?” The woman asked.

“No, no, that’s okay. Thank you so much.” Omar said before hanging up the phone.

Once he’d calmed down, he rang Azucena who immediately burst into tears and promised to meet them at the hospital and last but not least he rang Lu as she lived only seven minutes down the road and he was in desperate need of someone to come and look after his daughter.

Less than five minutes later Lu burst through the front door of the apartment and ran to the nursery where Ander was still passed out on the ground while Omar had now picked up his daughter and was attempting to sooth her whilst also crouching over Ander.

Lu immediately took Carmen from Omar’s arms and mere seconds later paramedics came rushing into the apartment.

Omar sobbed as Ander was loaded onto a stretcher and Lu did the best she could to comfort both him and the young child in her arms.

———

Omar was now in the ambulance with his head in his hands, unable to look at his husband attached to so many wires once again.

Suddenly a memory flashed through his brain which brought a whole new wave of tears.

It had been late at night and Ander was drained of all life as he’d now been undergoing chemotherapy for six very long weeks. Omar had been watching him as he brushed his teeth, clinging on to the sink in order to stay upright as he refused to let Omar help him. Ander looked better than he had earlier and so Omar decided to quickly run downstairs to get water for the two of them before they went to bed, however when he returned to their room Ander was lying across the bedroom floor clearly having fainted on his way from the bathroom to the bed. That had been the worst night of Omar’s life as ander hadn’t regained consciousness for over twelve hours and Omar had spent the entire time blaming himself.

At least, that had been the worst night of his life, until now. Omar couldn’t help thinking that maybe it was his fault again. Had he missed any warning signs? His love for Ander had grown even stronger over the past twelve years and he couldn’t picture his life without him, especially now that they had a beautiful daughter and what was set to be an incredible life ahead of them.

Omar was snapped out of his thoughts as the ambulance pulled up to the hospital and the paramedics began to move Ander out of the ambulance.

The next three hours went by in a blur. Omar had met an almost hysterical Azucena at the hospital entrance and had to spend twenty minutes trying to calm her down even though, internally, he was just as worried. Ander had regained consciousness half an hour after arriving at the hospital and then the next two hours had been spent with nurses running in and out of the room performing a series of tests on Ander and refusing to explain to any of them exactly what was going on. Half an hour ago a nurse had entered the room saying that a doctor would be with them shortly but that in the mean time Ander could get dressed as he was being discharged.

None of them were sure what to think of him being discharged. On one hand it could mean there was nothing wrong but on the other it could mean the hospital was busy and needed the bed.

Omar was sat next to his husband on the bed, clutching Ander’s hand in his own, as Azucena sat in a chair to the side. Then suddenly a doctor entered whilst looking down at the clipboard he was holding in his hand.

“Hi, I’m Dr Powell.” He said with an obvious American accent. “So I’m sure you’re all probably confused as to what’s happening but I’m afraid that at this time I can’t give you any solid answers. You do have a history of leukaemia so I’d just like to go over a few things with you if that’s okay?”

Ander nodded his head as he squeezed Omar’s hand in an attempt to reassure him.

“I just wondered whether you’d been experiencing any of your old symptoms recently? Nose bleeds, fatigue, etc?” The doctor asked.

“Um, I’m honestly not sure. I’ve been very tired and I’ve had headaches and little dizzy spells but we have a five month old daughter so I’d just put it down to the tolls of parenting. It’s been so long since everything happened that the thought of a relapse honestly hadn’t even crossed my mind.” The more Ander spoke, the more worried Omar began to get. If Ander had been experiencing symptoms of an kind it surely couldn’t be a good sign.

“There is a chance it’s just exhaustion and a lack of sleep, especially if you have a young child. However at the same to time I don’t want to give you false hope. Many people experience a lack of sleep when they’re new parents and but not very many of them end up in hospital. I just want to prepare you for the fact that there is a possibility that your leukaemia has returned. But I’m afraid there’s nothing else I can tell you until we get the test results back and that won’t be for twelve hours so I’ll need you to come back tomorrow afternoon so we can go through them.”

Azucena let out a small sob from where she was sat in the corner as Omar wrapped his arms around Ander who was staring vacantly at the wall, unable to process everything he’d just been told.

———

Once the three of them had left the hospital Ander and Omar hugged Azucena before saying goodbye with the promise that they would meet her back here in the morning.

When they got back to the apartment Omar quietly shut the door behind them as they made their way to the living room. They looked down at the couch to see Lu asleep with Carmen also asleep on her chest.

Carmen started making soft noises indicating that she was waking up so Ander lifted his daughter off of Lu’s chest causing Lu to also stir.

“Hey baby girl.” Ander whispered to Carmen as he rocked her back and forth. “Shhh it’s okay. Daddy’s here, it’s all okay.”

“Hey.” Lu said, looking up at both of them with sleep lacing her voice. “How did it go? Is everything okay?”

“We don’t know.” Omar said as he plopped down on the sofa next to her. “We get the test results in the morning.”

“I’m sorry.” Lu said, beginning to rub Omar’s back. “Look, I’ll stay here tonight so that you two can get a proper nights sleep and I’ll stay with Carmen in the morning when you go back to the hospital.”

“You would do that for us?” Ander asked, looking up from his now sleeping daughter and towards Lu.

“Well I gave birth to your fucking baby for you so I’m pretty sure I can stay the night.” She replied, chuckling lightly.

“Fair enough.” Ander said as he kissed his daughter good night and then handed her back to Lu who made her way to the nursery with Carmen.

Once Lu had disappeared Omar stood from the couch and took Ander’s hands in his. Ander didn’t move away but remained staring down at the ground.

“Hey,” Omar said using his index finger to push Ander’s chin upwards so he was looking him in the eyes. “it’ll all be okay. I promise.”

“But you can’t promise that. There’s nothing you can do. What if it is back? What if there’s a chance we could lose each other all over again?” Ander whispered, not wanting to face the reality of what could happen if he was ill again.

“You’re right. I can’t promise that nothing’s wrong. But I know you and you’re a fighter so if it is back then you’re just going to have to fight it even harder than you did last time. After all, you have so much more to fight for this time.”

“But what about Carmen? We’ve only just got her and I can’t bear the thought of leaving her.” By this point Ander had tears streaming down is cheeks as he looked up at Omar who was trying to old back his own tears for the sake of his husband.

“You’re not going to leave her.” Omar replied as he put his forehead against Ander’s. “We fight for the people that we love. So if the leukaemia’s back then you’re going to fight for her, and for me as well. I can’t do this without you. I can’t live without you, and I refuse to even think about it. We can’t let this ruin us. Not again. I love you and Carmen more than anything in the world. We’re a family and I won’t let this tear us apart.”

“I love you too.” Ander whispered as he leaned in to gently kiss Omar, salty tears running down both their cheeks.

———

The next morning Ander woke up and immediately ran into the ensuite attached to his and Omar’s bedroom, throwing up as soon as he got there. Omar quickly appeared behind him, rubbing his back as he crouched down next to him.

“Are you okay?” Omar asked, his voice laced with worry.

“Just nerves I think.” Ander replied, grabbing Omar’s hand to stand up before rinsing his mouth and face in the sink.

The two of them wondered out of their bedroom and were met with the smell of delicious breakfast. In front of them they saw Guzman cooking breakfast while Nadia was feeding Carmen at the kitchen island and chatting to Lu.

“You people are aware that this is our apartment right?” Ander said, taking in the scene in front of him which made Omar laugh.

“Babe, it’s fine. They’re being helpful.” Omar said as he pecked Ander on the lips and made his way to the kitchen to help Guzman.

Ander shook his head in despair but secretly found it quite amusing. After all, he should probably be used to it by now considering all them seemed to just come and go from his apartment as they pleased.

“Uncle Anderrrrrrr!” Ander was snapped out of his thoughts by a scream as Marina ran into his arms and his quickly picked up the five-year-old.

“Hi sweetie.” Ander said as a smile grew on his face as he hugged his niece. He then made his way over to the kitchen where the rest of them were.

“Uncle Ander.” Marina said, poking him to get his attention as a sad look appeared on her face.

“Yes?” Ander replied, placing Marina down on the kitchen island so that she was facing him.

“Are you okay?” The little girl said timidly as if she was afraid of the answer.

“What do you mean? Of course I’m okay.”

“Well I heard Mummy and Daddy talking to Aunty Lu this morning and they said that you might be poorly.” Marina was now on the verge of tears and Ander felt a pang in his chest.

Ander shot the others a glare over the top of Marina’s head as they all looked at the young girl, shocked that she’d heard them, as clearly they’d believed she wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m fine. I promise. I think you must have heard your Mummy and Daddy talking about someone else.” Ander looked down at his niece reassuringly as she wrapped her little arms around him and hugged him tight. There was no need to worry her over this, not yet anyway.

———

Two hours later Ander was sat it the hospital waiting room, with his mother on one side and Omar on the other, having a serious case of deja vu.

All he could think about was the countless times he’d walked into this very room and prayed that the doctor would tell him the cancer was gone, but then again and again he’d been disappointed. What if this time was like those? What if it really was back?

He’d felt a sense of dread ever since he’d left the hospital last night but now the panic was setting in and he didn’t know how to get rid of it.

Suddenly Omar noticed that Ander had begun hyperventilating next to him and was struggling to breathe.

“Ander! Ander!” Omar shouted, crouching down in front of his husband as Azucena sat looking incredibly concerned. “Ander I need you to breathe okay? You need to take a deep breath.” Omar was trying his best calm Ander down but it didn’t seem to be working as Ander’s breathing had only slowed very slightly.

Then Omar got an idea and took Ander’s hand and placed it on his chest. “Ander, look at me and breathe with me.” Gradually Ander’s breathing slowed as he followed the rise and fall of Omar’s chest.

Omar moved back into his seat beside Ander and took his head in his hands. “Are you okay? What was that all about?”

“I think it just actually hit me.” Ander said. “I mean, what if it has come back? I’ll have to do chemo and everything all over again. I’ll lose my hair, I’ll constantly be sick, you remember what it was like last time. I wont be able to help with Carmen and I really don’t want her to see me like that. I don’t want you to see me like that, not again, not after what this did to us last time.”

Omar sighed, trying to take in everything that Ander had said. “Listen, there’s no point in worrying until we know okay? But also, if you can’t help with Carmen it’s not the end of the world. The important thing would be to get better for her, plus we have so many people in our lives who would be more than happy to help look after her. Also, Carmen’s too young to remember what you look like right now so you would just have to focus on getting better faster so she never has to see you like that.” Ander was nodding but Omar knew that there was still something else he needed to say. “And if it’s a repeat of last time that you’re worried about then you don’t need to. The cancer didn’t ruin our relationship, I did. I’m the one who fucked up and I have to spend every single fucking day of my life regretting it and wondering to myself how I could ever have done that to you. I swear to you that that would never happen again. I love you so much that it scares me sometimes and I love our daughter just as much. We’re a family okay? And nothing, not even this, is going to fuck that up.”

Ander grabbed Omar’s face and brought his lips to his own, kissing him passionately and not caring that they were in a waiting room full of people or that his mother was right next to them. Ander pulled back but their foreheads remained touching. “Thank you.” Ander said. “And, just for the record, I love you too.” A smile broke out across both their faces as they pulled apart but kept tight hold of each other’s hand.

“Ander Muñoz-Shanaa.” Came a voice ten minutes later and the three of them stood and made their way into the doctors office. They sat in the chairs facing Dr Powell’s desk with Omar holding on of Ander’s hands and Azucena holding the other, Ander having given up the ‘tough guy’ act quite a while ago.

They all sat nervously, waiting for Dr Powell to enter the room. “Hi, sorry for the wait.” He said when he finally did. The doctor took a seat behind his desk and picked up a rather large looking file with Ander’s name printed onto the front. Ander remembered seeing that file many times before, only it seemed to get bigger every time he saw it.

The next ten seconds that the doctor inspected the file felt more like ten years. Finally he put the file down and looked at them.

“Your white blood cell levels are normal, congratulations, your still cancer free.” A smile grew on Dr Powell’s face as tears filled the eyes of the three people sat in front of him.

Ander gasped, not quite able to believe it, when he heard the words come out of the doctor’s mouth. He was cancer free. It must have just been exhaustion. Omar seemed speechless and Azucena had happy tears running down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms tightly round her son.

After thanking the doctor the three of them made their way out of the hospital and Azucena waved them goodbye, promising to visit her granddaughter the next day.

The ride home was silent, but not an uncomfortable silence, just one of disbelief.

They arrived home and made their way up to the apartment, Ander closing the door behind them once they’d entered.

Omar turned around to gaze at his husband and immediately they were kissing as if there was some magnetic force pulling them together.

“You’re cancer free.” Omar whispered, breathless, as he pulled back.

“Yep, there’s no chance you’re getting rid of me now.” Ander said before moving his mouth down to Omar’s neck.

“Good.” Omar said between moans. “You know, Guzman, Nadia and Lu took the kids out and they won’t be back for another hour. What do you say we use this time to celebrate?”

“I’d say that sounds like a very good idea.” Ander whispered before reattaching his lips to Omar’s and dragging him towards their bedroom.

———

One hour later Ander and Omar were lying in bed when they heard the front door swing open and voices enter the apartment.

“Shit! We lost track of time, they’re back already.” Omar said, looking sideways at Ander.

They were about to jump up and get dressed when their bedroom door swung open to reveal Guzman looking round the door.

“Hey are you guys in h-” Guzman started before noticing them in the bed and beginning to laugh. “Guess we know your cancer’s not back then.” He said, struggling contain his laughter. “I’ll let you two get dressed. But please, don’t carry on, there are children in this house.”

Guzman left the room whilst laughing at his own joke and Ander and Omar looked at each other, only slightly mortified.

Five minutes later the couple emerged from their bedroom to see Lu, Nadia and Guzman all looking at them with smirks on their faces as Marina was watching cartoons and Carmen was in Nadia’s arms.

“So, it’s good news then?” Lu asked, giggling, as the two of them approached. Ander took his daughter from Nadia and then gave Lu the finger after checking that Marina was still looking at the TV.

“Well at least I’m not the one who found you.” Nadia said, sipping the coffee in her hands. “You are still my brother, I don’t want to see that.”

“What, you mean you’ve never walked in on them before?” Lu asked her best friend, looking slightly shocked.

“No, have you?” Nadia said, looking equally shocked.

“Yeah, like five times. I did live here for nine months remember?” Lu replied.

“Five times?” Guzman snorted. “Huh, that’s nothing. I’ve walked in on them more times than I care to count.”

“Okay.” Ander said, his tone firm. “Can we stop talking now? As Guzman previously pointed out there are children in this house so could everyone please choose a topic other than mine and Omar’s sex life.” He hissed the last part of his sentence whilst covering his daughter’s ears in order to try and prevent either child from hearing them.

“Yes, can we?” Omar said, walking over to Ander and taking his daughter’s tiny hand in his.

“Fine, whatever.” Lu said, rolling her eyes as they all started chatting about what the three of them had taken the kids to do.

Ander looked down at his daughter and then at his husband. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if the results had been different. He couldn’t possibly imagine leaving either of them. He just loved them too much.

[palindrome17]

A Beautiful Nightmare ☾ Bang Chan

Genre: non idol!au, slice of life, angst, fluff

Pairing: Chan x Reader (w/ bestfriend!Changbin)

Word Count: 12.2k

Warnings: mental health issues (implied), swearing/cursing, alcohol use, smoking, physical fighting, blood

Synopsis: They say that when you find true love that it’ll last forever. Though, you never knew that forever would come to an end so soon. Your relationship with Chan was at its last breath when you finally decide what to do.

Disclaimer: I do not endorse the use of alcohol or smoking. The use of either is a serious issue if used in excessive amounts. If you or someone you know is going through this issue, please reach out to someone. I did not put these topics in the story to try and glorify the use of them. These are put in to show the negative effects it can cause not just the user, but also the people around them.

➵

Fairy tales about knights and horses, princes and princesses, love and hate seemed like a hazy, distant memory to you. Those days seemed numbered as you grew up. Stories were replaced with facts, fantasy with reality, and pleasant memories with harsh moments. They say that time never stops, it never waits for anyone, it is merciless, and it does not care about your feelings. It didn’t take you long to realize that when your father left you and your mother when you were young. That was the day that you shut down the feeling of love and what it stood for. Your heart grew cold and empty. As the years pressed on, there wasn’t too many people who were able to break you from your aloof demeaner. Though, there was only one person who showed you what love really is, and how to feel it again. How to fall in love with love.

 His name, was Bang Chan.

 You met him through your childhood best friend, Changbin. Really, you should be thanking him for everything. You fit in well with the friend group as you started to open up as a person again. You felt like they accepted you and took you into their group with open arms. Being around them made you feel happier and you thought that nothing could change the moments you had with them. To you, they were your everything. Although, you never imagined that one of the members would ask you out. Chan was what every girl would want their boyfriend to be. He was attractive, funny, insanely talented, kind, and so many more things that made him almost seem like a perfect guy. You didn’t understand why he would want to go out with someone like you. Someone who was so broken and unlovable, certainly nobody would want to love you. Chan, however, was perfect and lovely and everything that you weren’t.

 ➵

 The sun’s rays poured into your bedroom, giving everything a yellow hue. You held onto your warm cup of your favorite drink as the heat warmed your hands. A large comfortable blanket was placed on your lap as you watched your favorite movie for the thousandth time. The chill of autumn knocked on your window, the trees rustling with the cold air. You took a deep breath as you took in the moment of the perfect autumn feeling. Your phone rang beside you as you looked to see that it was a text from Chan.

 Chan: Hey baby. Do you want to go on a date today? It’s a perfect day for one.

 You smiled to yourself as you replied, thinking, he’s too cute.

 You: Sure! What do you want to do?

 Your brain started to think of ideas of what you two could do, but frankly, anything you do with him made you happy.

 Chan: How about going for a walk outside? I know a beautiful place where we can go. I can pick you up in 15minutes if that’s okay.

 You: That sounds like fun! I’ll be ready in time, I promise :)

 You let out a small laugh, remembering the last time you went on a date. You were very late to the meeting place because you accidently fell asleep and forgot to put on the reminder on your phone.

 Chan: You better be on time, or else I’ll just leave you this time :)

 You: I swear, Channie, you leave me and it’s all over :P

 Chan: I promise I won’t ever leave you, baby. Don’t worry. I’ll see you soon <3

 You quickly turned off the movie and started to get ready. You put on your favorite autumn outfit and looked at yourself in the mirror, straightening everything that looks out of place. You stared at yourself, wondering how lucky you were to find someone who loved you no matter what. Chan was the best thing to happen to you for a long time, and you were so grateful for it. You told him every day how much he meant to you, how he made you feel happy, how he made you feel loved again, how he was simply perfect for you. You soon felt a smile grip at your lips at the thought of him. It was soon interrupted by the sound of a knock on your front door. You quickly grabbed your phone from your bed and turned off the lights in your bedroom and rushed to the front door. You opened it and were presented with a casual looking Chan. You smiled as you rushed to hug him. Your figure engulfed by his bear hug around you. You could hear a laugh from him as he just stood there and hugged you.

 “Nice to see you too, baby.” He said teasingly.

 You looked at him with a pout, “What? Can’t I be excited to see my boyfriend?”

 He let go of you and placed his hands on his hips, “No. Absolutely no affection. No excitement.” He said sarcastically.

 “Oh, says the one who hugged me.” You accusingly said as you pushed him in the arm.

 “Hey, I was just making sure you didn’t fall!” Chan laughed as he motioned for your hand, “Lets go, or we’ll be late.”

 You turned to close and lock your door, then looked to him and placed your hand in his, “So, where is this place that you said you’re taking me?” you asked curiously.

 Chan turned around and pulled you along, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll figure it out.” He casually stated with a slight shrug.

 You gave out an audible sigh. You enjoyed a nice surprise, but you also wanted to know where he was taking you.

 The feeling of autumn reverberated throughout the air as the colors of autumn were placed upon the city. The crisp air blending with the feeling of being invincible.  The surrounding buildings flying past you as the car drove on. Your heart started to beat faster with the beat of the music playing on the radio, being completely lost in the moment of bliss. A smile pulled at your face as you glanced to see Chan peeking over towards you.

 You let out a soft laugh, “What’re you looking at? Pay attention to the road.” You pointed at the road.

 Chan simply flashed a smile at you as his eyes looked back toward the road without a word.

 You soon drove out of the city as the scenery changed. An abundance of trees soon filled the entire land. Red, yellow, orange, and brown shades were decorating the earth. You let down the window, the wind playing with the wisps of your hair. The sound of your phone buzzing made your heart jump. The moment ruined, you looked down to see who it was.

 Changbin: hey, I heard that you and Chan are going on a date.

 You gave a quiet scoff as you replied.

 You: Uh, yeah. Why’re you texting me if you know I’m going on a date?

 Changbin: Just to make sure that you’re ok! You’re my best friend. I want to make sure you’re doing good.

 You gave a small scowl, thinking, you fucking idiot.

 You: Yeah, I’m fine. Next time I see you, I’m going to punch you. You’re such a brat Binnie.

 You paused, then smiled a little as you sent another text.

 You: But thanks for checking up on me. Even if you’re a piece of shit <3

 You placed your phone back on your lap as you laid your head against the door again. Closing your eyes to try and get back into the mood.

 “Who texted you?” you heard Chan ask softly.

 “It was just Changbin. Wanted to check up on me.” You replied, eyes still closed.

 You heard his sweet laugh against the radios soft music, “I told them to not bother us while we were out. Guess I’ll have to talk to them when we get back.”

 “It’s fine, Channie. Changbin always wants to make sure I’m alright. Don’t take it personal.” You reassured him.

 “Okay, okay. I understand~ I’m just teasing you.” You felt his hand rest on your thigh.

 You opened your eyes and placed your hand on his, “I love you, Chan.” You spoke gently, eyes on the road ahead.

 “I love you, too.” Chan replied as you could feel him smiling at you.

 You soon arrived at the place Chan was talking about. You read the sign that said High Trails. You looked at him with a huge smile, you love to go on walks. The car soon came to a stop as Chan parked the car. You immediately jumped out of the car and giggled with excitement. You looked around to see a large building and several trails leading into the forest. A car door slam caught your attention as you motioned for Chan to hurry up.

 “C’mon Channie! Let’s go!” you enthusiastically burst out as you grabbed his hand.

 Chan simply rolled his eyes, “I knew you’d like it.”

 You dragged him to the trail map and looked at all the various trails. You decided to go on the one that seemed to be the most scenic.

 “Does that one look good to you?” you asked before leading the way down the trail.

 Chan didn’t answer, which caught you off guard as you turned to him with confusion, “Chan? Is something wrong?”

 He gave you a beautiful smile, “Nothing is wrong, y/n. You’re just too gorgeous to say anything.” He confessed, slightly bashful.

 You felt your face start to grow hot, “Shut up. You’re embarrassing!” you grabbed his hand and lead him down the path without another word.

 The path was freshly cut as the dead leaves laid on the ground. The trees becoming frozen and bare. You heard the crisp crunch at the bottom of your feet as you walked deeper into the forest. The quietness of the atmosphere was calming, in contrast to the rambunctious city. You smiled to yourself as you held onto Chan’s soft hands, thinking how perfect this moment is with him. You heard his low, soft voice of a tune that seemed to be stuck in his head. God you could listen to his voice forever if you could. You glanced over to see a downhill slope. An idea forming in your head.

 “Wanna roll down the hill?” you asked excitedly to Chan, not breaking eye contact with the hill.

 “What are you, five?” he laughed, but then paused, “only if you want to, cause that honestly sounds really fun.”

 You looked him dead in the eye, “Of course I’m five.” You observed back to the hill, “Ready to rock and roll?”

 “I was practically born ready.” Chan replied as he let go of your hand and turned towards the hill.

 You smiled widely, counting down from three. You fell forward and crumpled into a somersault, feeling the cold hard ground mixed with the sound of leaves flying out from under you. You let out a small scream down the hill, slowly getting quieter once you landed at the bottom of the hill. You sat up and looked over at Chan who was equally as happy. His sun kissed hair complemented the colored leaves. Chan’s eyes were closed as he laughed, arms stretched out with hands opened wide. You smiled at the scene you were witnessing. He soon opened his eyes slowly as you locked eyes with him. The birds chirping echoed through the woods as he propped himself up by his elbows.

 “Wow, that was so much fun. It feels like forever since I’ve done something like that.” Chan gave a toothy grin at you.

 You nodded your head, “Yeah, me too.” You spoke softly.

 You laid down beside him on the ground as you looked up at the blue blanket of sky, tree branches hovering above you. You heard Chan lay back down with the crunch of leaves. The sounds of nature submerging you into a trance as you laid there with him. You let out a sigh, getting lost in your thoughts.

 “Hey, Chan?” you questioned.

 “Yeah, baby?” he replied.

 You took a pause, “What do you envision when you think of the future?”

 “Well,” he started, taking your hand is his, “I imagine you being by my side. I imagine living in a nice house. I imagine our friends being as close as we are right now. I imagine a life where everything is good.”

 You gently rubbed your fingers against his knuckles as you processed his words, “I do too, Channie. Though, I do have another question for you.” You stopped and looked towards him.

 “Go on.” He assured you.

 You looked back towards the sky, “Why have you been so kind to me? When I was at my lowest, you somehow showed me how to love again.”

 There was a long pause after you spoke. The silence almost deafening.

 “The day I first met you,” Chan finally said, “I thought to myself, how can I make this girl mine? You were so beautiful, lovely, charming, just… so many things and I just fell for you.”

 You felt a small drop in your stomach, “But I wasn’t what you needed. I was so messed up and broken. I felt like I was nothing.” You slowly added, “I’m not good for you at all, Chan.”

 You heard Chan sit up and look at you in a serious manner, “Don’t say that. Don’t you dare ever say that, y/n. You’re the best thing to happen to me, you’ve taught me so many things... you make me happy. Don’t ever think that you’re not enough.” He slowly leaned down towards you, “I love you so much.”

 He closed the gap between you two, his soft lips sweet and passionate. You leaned into the kiss, reciprocating the feelings. You felt his hand cup your cheek in a loving embrace. You soon broke the kiss, letting in a small breath of air. You opened your eyes to see Chan gazing at you with starry eyes.

 “I love you, Chan.” You replied with a wide smile.

 Though, that moment seemed like a distant memory to you now.

 ➵

 You slowly opened your eyes to be greeted by the brightness penetrating through your blinds. You squinted your eyes to try and read your alarm clock, hoping that you haven’t slept for too long.

 14:28

 You let out an audible groan as you rolled over to your other side. Fuck… I don’t even want to get up. You pulled your warm covers up over you again as you tried to avoid the sunlight like the plague. An obnoxious loud ringing suddenly emitted from your phone. You let out a loud curse word as you sat up and looked to see who was calling. It was Changbin. You felt a small scowl forming as you picked up the phone.

 “Hey Binnie. What do you want?” you asked, almost stumbling over your words.

 “Did you just get up, y/n? It’s the afternoon, you should’ve been up already.” He questioned, sounding concerned.

 You paused, trying to think of an answer, “No, no. I’ve been up, I promise. I was just up late last night, and I couldn’t fall asleep, that’s all.”

 “Y/n you’ve been doing this to me for a while now. This seems like it’s becoming a regular occurrence now.” Changbin stated, almost in a scolding way, “I’m coming over. We need to talk.”

 The call ended with that and left you with a pit at the bottom of your stomach. Shit, what does he wanna talk about? I don’t want to talk to him right now. What’s he gonna say to me? Dammit, why do I feel so scared? You quickly got out of your bed and got dressed in some lazy clothes. You opened your blinds to see the soft petals of spring falling gracefully to the ground outside. You quickly ran out of your room and grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the kitchen table. Your hands scraping the edges of the box, finding the opening and taking a cigarette out. Your hand then glided across the table to pick up the lighter as you walked out onto your tiny back deck. You slowly lit your cigarette between your lips, and you puffed out the toxic smoke. You set down the lighter on the small table outside as you looked out into the city. You took a deep breath as you tried to slow down your heart. A buzz from your phone alarmed you as you jumped a little. It was a text from Changbin.

 Changbin: Please come open your apartment door. I look like a weird stalker standing here.

 You took a drag as you read the text message. You didn’t like smoking in the apartment because the scent would linger inside. Honestly, you didn’t really remember when you even started smoking in the first place, but you hate that you’re doing it. You glanced down at your cigarette gently placed between your two fingers, then behind you as you tried to decide what to do. You gritted your teeth as you opened your backdoor with cigarette in hand and walked inside. The slight creek in the floorboards echoed your lingering footsteps. You grabbed the doorknob, taking a drag before opening the door. You tried to give a smile to Changbin, but you had trouble doing so. Changbin only stood there and looked at you, running his fingers through his pitch-black hair.

 “Hey. What do you want me to talk about?” you asked as you stepped aside, letting him walk inside.

 He walked in and took a seat at your little kitchen table, “Why don’t you sit down, then I’ll start to talk.” He gave you an odd expression, one you haven’t seen before.

 You closed the door and went to sit across from him, “Why’d you come and see me?” you questioned, almost feeling intimidated by his concentration on you.

 He took a sigh, “Well,” he glanced down at the pack of smokes on the table, “we haven’t seen you for a few days, maybe it’s been a week now, but we all were wondering where you’ve been. Why do you seem to be hiding from us?”

 You placed your lips around the cigarette, then took it out as smoke exuded from your lips.

 “Sorry about that,” You muttered, sounding almost insincere. “but no one is perfect. Why would you ask me that anyway? You know I’m going through some things right now.” you added with bitterness in your voice.

 Changbin crossed his arms and placed them on the table, “I’m aware of what’s been happening, y/n, and I’m sorry that you’re going through this.” He leaned forward and grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the table, “But this? This isn’t who you are. You know these are bad for you, right?”

 You gave him a tired expression as you frowned slightly, “I’m aware its bad for me, but it’s too fucking early for this.” You got up and extinguished your cigarette in the ash tray, then walked away towards your bedroom.

 You could hear Changbin angerly follow as his footsteps pounded on the ground. You sat down on your floor and looked up at Changbin who gave you a disappointed look. He sat down across from you, crossing his legs like a child would.

 “I care about you. I hope you know that.” Changbin said seriously, “I’ve known you for a long time, ever since we were young kids. And I hate to see you this way. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to see you go down a path that you may regret in the future.”

 You stayed silent, thinking of what to say, “I don’t think I can make it.” You finally said, “Things seem to be going downhill for me. Chan and I are taking a break right now, so that’s fun. I miss him so fucking much it hurts. Whatever, I don’t even care anymore. Fuck everything, am I right?”

 Changbin could only look at you with a saddened expression, “Where is the old you? The one who persevered through tough situations? The one who loves to go out exploring into dangerous territories? The one who would smile and laugh and love living life? Where is the y/n I grew up with?” he grabbed your hand and held it in his.

 You stared at your hands placed in his, “I don’t remember who I use to be. Things have been so fucked up lately. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t know what to do now.” You tried to pull away from Changbin’s grip, but you couldn’t, “What are you doing, Binnie?”

 “You’re not going anywhere, y/n. You need to seriously talk with me, and don’t give me that bullshit of not wanting to burden me with your problems. I hate when you do that because it makes me feel incapable as a friend.” Changbin said as nicely as he could, “The other boys feel that way too lately. Like whatever we try to do, you just seem to keep pushing us away.”

 You felt your heart break as he spoke those words, like a million pieces of glass shattered into your heart. You felt pain and guilt wash over you like a wave in the ocean. You looked down from his gaze at you as you felt ashamed of even being near him. Tears started to form as your thoughts echoed through your head.

 Why don’t you just tell him?

Why can’t you tell him anything?

Why don’t you be honest?

Why’re you so scared?

He’s trying to help.

Why can’t you see that?

He is putting in so much effort and you’re giving him nothing.

You’re a horrible friend.

Why can’t you do anything?

 You felt tears start to fall down your cheeks like a slow and steady rain. Your face getting red from shame. You couldn’t hold it back anymore. You felt your voice hitch as you started crying in front of him. Your mind completely blank but running wildly. You slowly leaned into Changbin’s chest as you felt his strong arms around you for comfort. You let out a cry as he stayed silent, rubbing his hands against your arms. The pale light of the day quietly shined through your window. The floating dust catching the light and drifting along the space of the room.

 “What’s wrong with me?” you muttered with a tear stained face, looking up to see Changbin’s comforting expression.

 “Nothing is wrong with you…” Changbin said softly with a smile, “You just need a little push is all.” he lightly laughed as he shook your body by the shoulders.

 You let out a small laugh, “Thanks Binnie. For everything.” You gave a tired look but managed to show a tiny grin.

 “Here, let’s sit on the couch and watch movies together, huh? We can watch whatever you want. I’m not going to leave you today.” He stood up and dragged you out of your bedroom and into your living room.

 You sat down on the couch as you watched him do all the work. Your mind seemed to be foggy from crying, so you weren’t up to much talking too much.

 He was searching through your DVD drawer to find any movies that you may enjoy, but then looked at you, “What movie do you want to watch?”

 A memory suddenly occurred to you, almost in a flashback kind of sense. You looked at Changbin as you remembered a time where you two were much younger and spent every waking moment together. You and him always watched movies at your house, wasting entire days, but having fun, nevertheless. You felt a small pain in your chest as the memory soon began to fade away. A longingness pulled at your heart almost made you cry again.

 Changbin gave you a confused look, “You okay, y/n? You just kinda spaced out.”

 “Yeah, yeah. I’m okay. I just… remembered something from a long time ago, that’s all.” you confessed with a droopy smile, “but any movie will do.” you gave a shrug, pulling up a blanket over you.

 “Alright.” He replied, lingering his stare at you before pulling out your favorite comedy movie, “How about having a good laugh?”

 He put in the movie and hopped beside you on the couch. He pouted to you, but you just rolled your eyes and invited him to get under the blanket with you. You always knew what he wanted, even by just the way he looks at you. You suppose it was just because you know him so well. He made himself seem small as he curled up beside you, leaning his head on your shoulder. You smiled to yourself, thinking that you don’t deserve someone as caring as Changbin. You watched the movie with him, knowing almost all the lines due to watching it so many times. Laughing made you almost forget about how much shit is going on in your life.

 You fell quiet during the movie, “Hey, Binnie?”

 He leaned up from you as he looked towards you, “Yeah?”

 “My father finally decided to reach out to me and try to talk to me, but I keep declining his offer. I don’t ever remember what he fucking looks like.” You stated, tucking your legs closer to your chest.

 “Your father? How did he even find you?” Changbin gave a strange look.

 You shrugged, “Probably my mother. He used to send holiday cards to me when I still lived with my mother. Though, the letters eventually stopped, and I didn’t know why.” You glanced at him, “He wants me to go out of the country to meet him at his new home.”

 Changbin tilted his head slightly, “I know you weren’t close with your father, but have you considered going to see him?” he said slowly.

 “At first I thought about going, but then I was reminded how much of an asshole he was for leaving me and my mother.” You replied in spite.

 He nodded his head, “That’s understandable. But he seems to be trying to make up for it now.”

 You stayed silent, “I don’t care, Binnie. He hurt me and my mother, so, I don’t care to see him right now.” You looked back at the movie, “Forget I even brought it up. I want to try and have at least a half good day today.”

 Changbin didn’t say a word as he leaned back onto you, focusing on the movie again. You gave out a sigh as you watched the rest of the movie. The soft outside sunlight glistened in the room, hovering midair as it illuminated. A black screen appeared on the tv screen as the credits started to roll. Changbin got up from his position of tiny person beside you as he walked over to the tv to take the DVD out of the DVD player. He placed the disc back into the DVD case and in the drawer. You tossed the blanket aside as you watched him look at you with a goofy smile. You looked at him and gave a laugh.

 “What’re you smiling about?” you asked.

 “It’s just… we haven’t hung out like this for a while. But it was really nice to be with you again.” He replied, not giving up the goofy smile on his face.

 You felt a joyful smile pull at your lips, but a sad feeling pulls at your heart, “Yeah, it feels nice to be with you again like old times.” You paused but then added, “Maybe next time you should invite the rest of the boys here so we can have a movie night.”

 Changbin nodded vigorously at your suggestion, “Yes! That sounds like a great idea.” He got up and tackled you on the couch, laughing, “How’re you so smart?”

 You laughed as you felt a heavy weight topple over you, “I was just born smart!” you teased him, trying to fight back, but knowing damn well you would lose to him.

 He simply laid on top of you to make you stop resisting, “I’m happy to see you smiling again, y/n. Even if you are a brat.” You felt his arms embrace you in a gentle hug.

 You slowly placed your arms around him, “Yeah. I could agree.”

 ➵

 The sound of the loud city cried out against the dead of night. You never noticed how beautiful Seoul was until now. The lights illuminating the surrounding area, giving off so much light it was almost blinding. You sat on a chair on your back deck, taking a smoke break. You put the cigarette to your lips as you saw the small red fire at the end of it. The thought of nothing and everything started racing in your head as you simply sat there. Everything seemed to be in rapid slow motion to you. The feeling of loneliness started to creep in your mind as emptiness started to fill your heart. You looked at your phone to see the group chat with the boys were flooding your notifications. A small smile started to take shape as you read through the long line of messages. You loved to see them talk about whatever. You went to go and type something, but you quickly deleted the message. Shit, what do I even say to them? ‘Hi, what’s up? You haven’t seen me for weeks but I’m doing perfectly fine. Don’t come and try to talk to me because I’ll just end up hurting you, cause that seems like the only thing I can do. Hahaha I’m so very funny. Well, goodnight.’ Yeah cause that’ll go over nicely. Stupid piece of shit. You lifted your cigarette to your lips again. You gazed down into the burning fire at the end of it, hating every part of the cigarette. You extinguished the rolled-up cancer in the ash tray placed on the table. There was about a half dozen in the tray. You frowned, why am I like this? All I do is self-sabotage myself. The ringing of your phone snapped you out of the trance, you saw it was an old friend of yours.

 “Hey, Jihyun! What’s going on with you? It feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.” You asked happily.

 “Oh, nothing much, really. Hey, so… I know you’re not big into parties, but I’m hosting one at my house tonight. I was wondering if you’d like to stop over?” she said loudly, trying to be louder than the background music.

 You thought for a moment, “It sounds like the party already started.” You yelled back, “But I’m free right now to stop by and spend a few hours there.”

 “Oh yes!” Jihyun yelled excitedly, “Alright, I’ll see you soon then?”

 “Yeah. I’ll be over soon.” You replied as you hung up.

 Fuck. Why’d I say I’d go to the party? I don’t really want to go. Maybe I’ll have a few drinks to help me. Knowing her she’ll definitely have alcohol. You got up from your chair and headed back inside. You walked back into your room to change outfits. The closet was filled with various types of clothes, but you weren’t too sure what to wear. You decided on a casual but fancy look as you grabbed your phone and keys and walked out your door. Once you got outside your apartment building, you called for a taxi to come and drive you. You laid your head back on the head rest as you closed your eyes, feeling a sense of tiredness before you even entered the party. You opened your eyes to see that you arrived at her house, you kindly payed the taxi driver and got out. You stood at the entrance of the mansion-like house. You remembered her house to be large, but you didn’t remember it being this big. The loud thumping of the base pounded against the walls, almost completely audible from outside. Thank god she lives away from everyone else, or she would be getting a lot of calls right now. You knocked on the door a few times, waiting for someone to answer it. It soon dawned on you that the people inside probably couldn’t hear the knock.

 “Idiot.” you said out loud to yourself.

 You took your phone out and called Jihyun to come and open the door for you. The quiet waiting was getting annoying as you stood there for what seemed like forever until the door finally opened. You were greeted by the blasting of music coming through the door and your friend with a glass of something in her hand.

 “Oh my god, y/n!” she hugged you tightly, “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you! How have you been?” she yelled against the pounding music.

 You smiled, “I’ve been doing pretty good!” you walked into the mansion, “But have you thought about turning down the music so I can hear you?” you questioned.

 “I guess it is a little loud,” she agreed, “here come follow me. I want to catch up with you!” she walked away, presumably to turn down the music.

 You followed in her footsteps, answering her questions when she asked them. You glanced around at the seemingly hundreds of people inside, all dancing and talking to each other. The decorations around the house gave it almost like a ‘classic teen romance party movie’ vibe. The entire mansion had a deep aroma of alcohol. You could tell there was a dimness to all the rooms you passed, because you could barely make out the faces on people. The loud music almost made it to where you could barely hear conversations as you continued to follow Jihyun. You finally reached a small room down the corridor of hallways, probably where the music was being played from throughout the house. You saw her turn down the music slightly to where it was still loud enough to hear, but able to concentrate on a conversation. Jihyun turned out of the room and back into the hallway, she looked towards you.

 “Wow, it’s so nice to see you again, y/n.” she smiled widely.

 You laughed a little in agreement, “Yeah, it’s nice to come to a party once in a while.”

 “Here, let me get you a drink.” She offered, “What do you like?” she started to walk away towards the kitchen where the beverages are being served.

 “Oh, it doesn’t really matter. I’m not picky.” You assured her.

 The kitchen was large and full of people. Glass and fancy décor were strewn all about the kitchen. The scent of alcohol was overwhelming, but for obvious reasons. The bar area was particularly crowded as you weaved your way through. You placed your hands on the counter as you looked at the bar tender, ordering your go to drink for parties. The glass hit the table, making a noticeable clank. You quickly took it and tried to get away from the crowd.

 “Let’s go sit down somewhere.” She suggested, leading you like always.

 You nodded, “Yeah, that seems nice.”

 She easily snaked through the ocean of people, occasionally asking how the party was to the people you passed. Frankly, you didn’t know anyone there, which made you feel like the odd one out. You took a deep breath and drank some of your drink, hoping it would make you feel a little better. You entered to what seemed like a “VIP” area. The dark luxurious expensive looking couches and daunting glass table was intimidating to you. The large window behind everything gave a distant view of the city’s lights. The room felt huge, but there weren’t as many people in here as other areas in the house. Jihyun found a cozy spot on one of the couches next to her other friends, leaving you in the doorway. Your eyes scanned the room, finding a place to sit. Suddenly your heart stopped mid-beat as you locked eyes with him.

 His name was Park Hajoon and he was the last person you ever wanted to lay eyes on.

 You felt frozen in place as he looked at you with a smile, seemingly forgetting everything he has done to you. Hajoon was surrounded with people but he didn’t dare look away from you. His styled jet-black hair and strong facial features ostensibly haven’t changed since high school. Though, you knew his personality probably hasn’t changed much either. Your knees felt weak and a heavy drop in your stomach. Shit. Oh, fuck why is he here!? God, I wish I never saw him. Damn it all. Fucking shit! Just leave. Right now. Your hand started to slightly shake as your feet were bolted to the ground. Your throat felt dry as you saw him finally get up from his seat and walk towards you.

 “Y/n? Is that you?” he questioned, looking at you with a slightly tilted head, “Wow, I haven’t seen you since graduation. How have you been?” he gave you a hug, which you tried not to freak out.

 You reciprocated the hug, trying to calm down your beating heart, “Yeah. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been doing fine, though. Nothing much.” You tried to keep it calm and casual.

 “Here, why don’t you sit down with me.” He offered as he walked to sit back down where he was originally.

 Your feet felt like they became rocks as you dragged them across the hard wood floor. You felt your vision blur and then come back into focus as you sat down beside Hajoon. You tried to become small and unnoticeable as you took a big gulp of your drink, trying to not freak out. Conversations were floating around the room, ranging from various topics. You felt a nudge on your arm, and you looked over.

 “Why so tense? Don’t you trust me?” he questioned, giving you a reassuring smile, “Here, I’ll get you another drink and then we can catch up.” Hajoon took your empty glass and walked out.

 You quickly got up out of your seat and marched over to Jihyun and looked at her in the eyes.

 “Jihyun! You didn’t tell me Hajoon was here!��� you scolded, “I haven’t seen him since high school.”

 She looked at you surprised, “I’m sorry, y/n. I honestly didn’t know he was here either. I thought you would’ve gotten over the fact that he was your bully.”

 You frowned, a knot in your stomach forming, “No, Jihyun. I haven’t seen him to even try and make up.” You paused, getting more anxious, “It’s just that now he is here, and every time I see him, I get scared. I get all the memories of all the bad things he’s done to me. I remember every insult and action he did to me.”

 “Well,” she started, “why don’t you try and make up now? While he’s here so you can move on?” she suggested with a small smile.

 You slowly nodded your head, “I’ll try. Thanks.”

 “Just remember, if you need backup or help, just look at me. I’ll understand right away and kick him out.” Jihyun said confidently.

 Not a moment passed once you sat down that Hajoon came back into the room. He sat down and gave you a new drink that you’ve never seen before.

 “Here. It’s one of my personal favorites.” He laughed.

 You took the odd liquid and smelled it, it was a very strong drink, “Oh, thanks.” You took a rather large sip and almost coughed, “What the hell? Its foul, Hajoon!”

 He shook his head, “Probably should’ve gotten you something else, huh? It’s more of an acquired taste.” He peered into the dark liquid in your glass, “So, what have you been doing since high school?”

 “Nothing too major. I’m just doing some temporary work until I can find the job I want to do.” you casually responded, “What about you?” you placed the glass down on the table.

 “Well,” he ran his hand through his hair slowly, “I recently became one of the CEO’s of POSCO.” He leaned closely to your ear, “My father knew a guy to help me get the job. So, it’s not like I should take all the credit.” He whispered with a small smirk.

 You felt spite burn in your soul, “Why’d you tell me that?” you questioned with a hint of attitude.

 “Just being friendly is all.” he shrugged, “We were classmates after all. Besides, sharing secrets is what’s beautiful about life.” He took his drink from the table and took a swig.

 “So, is that why you knew so many things about everyone in the school?” you frowned, hate flowing through your veins.

 He laughed, “Sometimes it’s who you know, not what you know.” His fingers tracing the design of the glass, “It really is survival of the fittest in this world, wouldn’t you agree?”

 You felt a slight headache forming, perhaps from the alcohol, “How come you’re such an asshole, even now?” you spat angerly.

 “What the hell, y/n?!” he gave you a serious look, “I’m just trying to be a better person than who I was before! Why’re you bringing up the past?”

 “Hajoon, do you not remember what you did to me? How you made my life a living hell every day for three years straight?!” you got up quickly, maybe a little too quickly, “Maybe you need a reminder. Do you remember when you and your friends dumped dirty cleaning water on me during lunch? Or maybe when you decided to spread rumors about me and how I was a slut and a whore? That I was sleeping around with all the guys in our school?” you felt the room start to spin when you talked, you always hated drinking too much.

 Hajoon stood up in front of you, you almost forgot how tall he was, “What the fuck, y/n?! You wanna play the victim here!? Go ahead.” His hands formed into fist and he had an angry look to him, “I will admit that I was a bully, and what I did was wrong. Don’t you think for a moment that I was let off the hook for it. My parents were disappointed in me every day for the things I did.”

 “Oh bullshit, Hajoon! Your parents adored you, and you knew it.” You felt a fire burning inside, “You could get away with anything and just pay off the people to let you off the hook. You had everything you ever wanted, so it gave you a free pass to be a complete asshole jerk!”

 You felt the room slowly get quiet from the scene you were making. The music still blasting throughout. You looked towards Jihyun for assistance, but you knew she would be no help. This was a fight you had to go through.

 Hajoon smirked ever so slightly, “Yeah, at least my parents loved me, unlike yours.” He seemingly towered over you, making you feel small, “You were the one who picked this fight with me, but let’s just drop it, darling.”

 You felt sick to your stomach. You knew he got you pegged. His stupid face said it all. You felt your heart start to race as if it was going to explode, your brain pounding against your skull. You felt the room start spinning out of control, your vision starting to blur. You rushed out of the room in a hurry, searching for the nearest bathroom to puke. The loud music rang through your ears, disrupting your panicked thoughts. Fuck this. Fuck this so hard. Dammit it. Dammit it all. I hate him. I hate myself. I hate- you finally found a bathroom and fell into it. There were ambient lights strung up around the room, giving off enough light to barely see everything. You closed and locked the door and knelt to the toilet. You placed your head right at the entrance of the seat, hands on the sides, ready to throw up everything. You felt your stomach pulse up through your body. You felt something come up, finally. It felt like a long time before you finally got everything out. You felt physically tired afterwards. You flushed the toilet and washed your hands. Your eyes gazed up to the mirror and you saw your reflection. You never realized how tired you looked around the eyes. You touched your cheek and that’s when you felt something snap in your head. Tears started to fall down your face. You tried hard to muffle your screams against the music banging against the walls. You slowly slid down one of the empty walls and place your hands over your mouth. You felt so tired. Everything was going wrong in your life. You felt like nothing anymore.

 Why is everything so shit for me now? Why can I not feel better anymore? Why did Chan and I split? Why is my life not going right anymore? Why can’t I become better? Why do I feel like shit? Why can’t I do anything right? I’m done. I can’t anymore. I feel too tired anymore. I hate myself.

 The tears started to stop as you took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm down. You felt physically and emotionally exhausted. Your brain felt fried as you sat on the bathroom floor. You didn’t feel like going back out to the party. It would be too depressing. The music felt distant to you, like you were underwater listening to it. Everything felt null and void.

 “Fuck this shit. Life sucks, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” You muttered to yourself out loud, hoping it would make you feel less alone.

 You slowly got up from the floor and noticed the lavished white bathtub. You climbed into it carefully and sat there for a moment with your thoughts. You took out your phone to call Changbin.

 After a few rings, there was an answer, “Hey, y/n. Is everything alright?” he questioned.

 You took a deep breath, “Honestly, no. Nothing is okay right now. Can you come and pick me up from my friend’s house?”

 “Of course, I’ll come over. What happened?” he sounded concerned.

 “I uh…” you stopped, trying to think of a way to explain the events that happened, “I just met Park Hajoon. You remember him from high school, right? Well, he’s at this party and I just fled to the bathroom. So, that’s where I’m at. It’s just depressing here now, that’s all.”

 “Wait, you saw Park Hajoon at this party? Shit… did he do anything to you?” you could hear a little aggravation in Changbin’s voice.

 “No, nothing happened. But he was just trying to be friendly towards me, that’s all. Though, I snapped on him and uh… he didn’t take it too well.” You explained, “I’ll just tell you more when you get here.”

 You heard a car door being slammed in the background, “Alright, I just got in my car, and I’m on my way to get you. I’ll just use your locations to get to the house, so just sit tight. Maybe we can get something to eat.” He suggested, trying to make you feel better.

 You felt a hint of a smile start to form, “Yeah, maybe.” You said, almost at a whisper.

 “Alright. I’ll see you soon. Just hang tight, y/n.” Changbin said and hung up.

 You placed your phone back and leaned your head back, trying to relax from everything. You soon heard a knock on the door after what seemed like forever. You got out of the bathtub and unlocked the door and opened it to be greeted by a familiar face.

 “You wouldn’t believe how many bathrooms I had to search to find you.” Changbin said as he tried to give you a smile.

 You were in no mood to smile, all you wanted was to go home, “Really? I’m sorry.” You apologized.

 Changbin suddenly wrapped his arms around you in a comforting hug, “It’s okay. Don’t apologize.” He let go and grabbed your hand, “Here, let’s go.”

 You could only nod as you were being dragged throughout the house. The noise almost deafening to your ears. Your vision could only look towards the ground; you didn’t want to speak to anyone, nor did you want to see anyone but Changbin. Your grip tightened as you almost felt yourself on the verge of crying again. You almost ran into Changbin as he suddenly stopped. You looked at him as you snapped out of your daze. You followed his gaze as you saw Hajoon walk towards you. You felt yourself wanting to disappear more and more with each step he took. Changbin stepped in front of you and glared at Hajoon, trying to be more menacing despite the difference in height.

 “Y/n! Your leaving so soon?” Hajoon asked, ignoring Changbin in front of him.

 “Shut up, Hajoon. She’s not going to speak to you.” Changbin spat, getting increasingly agitated.

 Hajoon only gave a small pout, “What? Can’t I say goodbye to y/n?” he spoke, almost teasingly.

 “No. We’re leaving now. I hope you’re happy knowing how much of a piece of shit you are.” Changbin walked away, pulling you along to the front door.

 Before you could exit, you heard Hajoon make one last snark remark, “I bet you fuck that entire group, y/n. Or maybe you suck all their dicks and that’s the only reason why they let you hang out with them.”

 You felt your heart sink from his words, though, in a matter of seconds it was replaced with deep hatred. Fuck Hajoon. Those are my best friends he’s talking about. Dammit, I’m going to kill him. I don’t care anymore. You turned around and walked over to him.

 “The fuck you say to me, Hajoon?” you gritted your teeth, your last straw almost to the breaking point.

 Hajoon only gave you a proud smirk, “Oh, you heard me, y/n. You definitely heard me.”

 You soon felt yourself swing a punch to wipe the proud smirk off his face. Your hand felt slight pain as you made contacted with his face. You saw him stagger back and looked at you with surprise. Without a moment’s hesitation, you leaped towards him as you two landed with a loud thud to the ground. Your heart rate pulsing out of your chest. Punching whatever you could of him, the pain soon increasing but it wasn’t much of a bother. You felt too much hate to care about the pain. Hajoon retaliated and used his stronger body build to throw you off him. You felt pain in your back as you were now the one on the ground. You could faintly hear the crowd in a ruckus from the fighting. A heavy weight was crushing you as you tried to get him away from you. Your vision was blurry, but your senses could tell that with every punch he gave you, it felt like fire being burned on your face. Soon, you felt the weight being lifted off you as you were dragged back up on your feet. You saw Hajoon struggling with two other guys holding him back. You looked over to see Changbin holding you up right. Your gaze shifted back to Hajoon; you noticed the damage you made on him. His lip was swollen, and you could notice where a bruise on his pretty face will form later tonight. You wanted to see him bloodier, though, he looked fucked up from what you saw. You felt proud of yourself as you were being dragged out of the house and to Changbin’s car. Still, you couldn’t look away from the screaming Hajoon, still being held back by the two guys. The door soon closed as you turned your attention to a worried Changbin.

 “Honestly, y/n, do you even think about what you do?” he asked, almost angry as he helped you into his car.

 You kept quiet until he got into the car and stared the engine, “For as long as you’ve known me, Binnie, when have I ever thought about what I was doing?” you scoffed.

 Changbin drove off with his wheels spinning away from the nightmare of a house, “You could’ve gotten seriously hurt. I’m not happy that you chose to fight him, but,” he glanced at you with a small smile, “you did get a good number of punches on him.”

 You couldn’t help but laugh, “Yeah, I guess I did.”

 While you were calming down from the rush of fighting, you felt something flow down your nose. You lifted your hand away from your nose and saw fresh blood on your hand.

 “Shit. I didn’t even realize my nose my bleeding.” You said aloud, pulling down the car’s sun visor and looking in the mirror.

 Your nose didn’t appear broken, but it hurt like a bitch. Your face looked relatively okay, but you knew you would feel it in the morning.

 “Yeah, but you still look fine. I gotta say though, I’m a little surprised that you still managed to look good.” He said with a shrug.

 You flipped the sun visor back up, “I suppose so. But it’ll hurt tomorrow. Can you stay at my apartment for a little and help me look less fucked up?”

 “I guess I could spare you a few hours. I was supposed to hang out with Seungmin, but I guess he can wait.” Changbin complained like a child.

 “Yeah, I think I’m a little more important than them right now.” You teased, trying to wipe the blood off your face.

 He didn’t respond immediately, “Why did you fight Hajoon? I know he said some things about our group, but that wasn’t worth fighting about. I can take an insult.”

 “I couldn’t handle the hateful and wrong remarks he made about you or the other guys. I couldn’t take it from him. He was fucking wrong anyway, which made me so upset that I just, couldn’t hold it in anymore.” You slowly spoke, “I guess I just got too tired of him being an asshole that I wanted him to shut up.”

 “Thank you, y/n.” he said quietly, “For sticking up for us. You know we all still love you, right? We all wish you can come back to us. So, when you’re ready, we’ll be waiting for you, alright?”

 You felt hurt from his words, in your heart you longed to go back to them, though, you didn’t know if you could. You felt a painful smile start to creep on your face.

 “Does Chan still love me? After the big fight and everything that happened afterwards, do you think he still loves me?” you asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

 Changbin paused, “I’ve never seen Chan love someone more than you, y/n. And that’s the truth.” He responded, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new end.”

 You knew he was right, but it still hurt. You took out your phone and called Chan. You never spoke to him since the fight, but you never wanted to talk to him more than at this one moment. The ringing continued, but it soon went to his voicemail.

 Hello! This is Chan. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer your call right now, but I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible.

 The beep rang clear in your ear, ready to take your message. You looked outside of the car’s window, seeing the city lights shine bright.

 You stuttered, “H-hey. This is y/n, but you probably already know that by the sound of my voice. I know this must be weird to hear from me after so long but… I just wanted to say hello. How’re you? I hope you’re doing well. I hope you’re eating good and resting a lot.” You spoke, almost in a wistful sadness, “I just wanted to say… I miss you. I miss the days we use to laugh together. I miss the way you smiled at the dumbest things. I miss the way we made each other better. I know you don’t feel the same way about me. But I just needed to tell you, just in case.” You hung up and almost felt the need to cry.

 “I think your message reached him, y/n.” Changbin spoke after the quietness.

 Your heart broke as the sound of his words as you let it out. Your face becoming tear stained as your voice became numb and raw. You never knew you would miss someone as bad as him. You didn’t even realize that you were at your apartment when Changbin opened the car door. He led you through all the way to your bathroom. He said nothing, but you knew he was comforting you. You cleaned yourself up from the dried blood, looking at the mess you are in the mirror. You simply walked away and went straight to your bed, covering yourself in the warm sheets.

 “Y/n. I’m staying here for the night. Just in case you need me for anything, please wake me up. I’ll just be on the couch. I’ll tell Seungmin that I can’t make it tonight.” Changbin petted your head with a faint smile.

 “Okay. Thank you.” You managed to say as he left.

 A wave of tiredness flowed through you as you felt your eyes slowly close. Your vision becoming cloudy. You wanted nothing more than to sleep away the night.

 ➵

 You felt your body start to wake up, though, the pain in your body said differently. A curse word flew from your mouth as you felt pain course through your face and hands. You sat up and walked out of your bedroom to get a drink to help the feeling of being shitty. As you walked out of your bedroom, you saw a tuft of blonde hair sticking up from your couch. You slowly walked towards your living room and looked at your couch. You were speechless to see that it was Chan on your couch. He looked almost peaceful resting, though, it’s been a while since you’ve seen him.

 “Chan?” you lightly pushed him to try and wake him up.

 He slowly lifted his head and looked up at you, “Y/n!” he suddenly leaned up, “I know this must be weird to see me here. I heard your voicemail last night, and I got a text from Changbin telling me what happened, so I came down to your apartment right away. I told him that I could take over for him, and uh… that’s why I’m here.” Chan spoke quickly.

 You rubbed your head, “Okay, okay. Whatever. It’s early and I don’t know what you said.” You walked away, going to get a drink from the kitchen, “I don’t even remember the voicemail.”

 You heard Chan get up and follow you to the kitchen. The sound of the chair being pulled squeaked across the floor. You got a glass of water and sat down across from Chan. You noticed that he looked more tired than usual, like he wasn’t getting enough sleep.

 “I-I didn’t know you smoked, y/n.” Chan looked down at the pack of cigarettes on the table.

 You took a sip of water, “Yeah, I do now. But I don’t want to anymore. I hate that I started though.” You regretfully said.

 There was silence growing between you with each second that passed. You didn’t want to ask, but you knew that you should.

 “Chan, what did I say to you over the voicemail?” you questioned, “I was too emotional to know what I was doing or saying.”

 Without a word, Chan opened his phone and played the voicemail. Your voice from last night speaking in the quite room. It soon stopped and he put his phone down on the table. You stayed quiet, trying to come up with something to say to him.

 “Chan, I-” you started to speak, but were cut off.

 “No, let me tell you something, y/n. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since our fight. A lot of self-reflection.” Chan gave you a small smile, “Y/n, I want to make this work. You’ve always known how to show me love and happiness. Being with you, I feel like I can do anything. Please tell me you feel the same way.”

 Seeing his smile made you smile back, “Chan, I want this to work, I really do. It’s just that… I don’t know if I can. Things have been so fucking messed up for me. First it was our breakup, then my work was piling up on me, my mother nagging me constantly, and my father trying to get me to see him out of the country in his new home.” You took another drink, glancing away from his gaze.

 “Wait, your father contacted you?” Chan asked with a surprised tone, “I thought you said you would never want to see him, even if he contacted you.”

 “Yeah, he contacted me recently.” You nodded your head, “But, I think I do want to go see him. I think it would be good for me to change the scenery. Get out of the country for a month or so. Try and figure out some things for myself.”

 Chan looked at you in surprise from your response. His eyes filled with emotion. You got out of your seat and placed the cup in the sink. Chan got up as well and you could tell he wanted you to say something. Though, you had no clue what he wanted. His face carried so much emotion that it was almost unbearable to even look at.

 “Y/n, please give me an answer to what you want. I’m so tired of trying to give you space that I don’t want you to find someone new. Y/n, I’m scared every day that you will leave me or the guys. I’m scared that you might end up in a place you don’t want to because of your bad habits. Y/n, can’t you see that I care for you?” You could hear in Chan’s voice all the pent-up fear and sadness, his desperate cries out to you almost made you look away, “I’m losing sleep over you. I can’t eat as much because I never know what you’re doing. I can’t do anything! Y/n, I love you so much it hurts. Can’t you see that?”

 Hearing his words echo in your head made you dig up all the emotions you tried to bury. You saw that Chan went through so much after the breakup. You knew he could only take so much until he fell apart. Your feet took you to Chan as you slowly wrapped your arms around him. His touch made you remember all the times you spent in his arms. His scent made you remember all the times you stole his sweatshirts. His heartbeat reminded you of the times you fell asleep in his arms. Everything felt more painful in his arms, but it felt so nice to be hugged by him again.

 “Channie,” you whispered in the silence.

 “Yeah?” he responded, not ever wanting to let you go.

 You knew saying these words would hurt you, but you knew it would hurt Chan a lot more.

 “I want this to work out, you know that. But I don’t think right now is a good time.” You hugged him tighter, knowing what was to come.

 ➵

 You found yourself sitting in the Incheon International Airport as you noticed a plane fly out of the airport. A crowd of people walking in every which direction. The noise filled airport wasn’t something you were too fond of, though, you found it interesting to look at all the different people crossing your path. You clung onto your phone a bit tighter as you patiently waited for your flight to be boarding soon. The aroma of food from the food court filled the surrounding gates. You finally hear that your flight is now boarding, you got up and waited in line to board the plane. Suddenly, you heard a loud voice call your name amongst the large crowd. You turned around to see who it was; however, you already knew who it was by the sound of their voice. A heavy pit in your stomach started to form. Palms started to get clammy. Your heart started to race as you met him face to face.

 “Channie, what the hell are you doing here?” you asked in a confused manner.

 “Y/n, I just wanted to tell you goodbye before you left.” Chan said with a small smile, “And I just wanted to see your face again one last time.”

 You chuckled slightly, continuing to follow the line to enter the plane, “Well, here is your chance to say goodbye.” You replied, almost too bluntly.

 Chan took you by the shoulders and dragged you out of the line, “Please don’t give me that attitude when I’m trying to say goodbye.” He paused and let his grip go, “Sorry, I just… can’t believe you’re actually leaving.”

 “Yeah, I can’t believe it either.” You gave a small smile, “Thank you for coming to say goodbye. I mean it.” You looked him in the eyes with a soft expression.

 Chan gave you almost a hurt look to you in return, “All I wanted was for you to be happy.” Chan spoke in a broken tone, placing his hands on your arms.

 “Chan, don’t-” You tried to interject, but he continued.

 He looked you in the eyes, “Y/n, you make every day worth living. Please, I need you here. You believe me, don’t you?” he gave you a pleading appearance.

  You glanced back to see the line becoming shorter, then looked back at him, “Chan, I’m tired of living a life where I’ll never be happy.” You confessed, your emotions spilling over, “I’m not happy here. I’m not happy with who I am. I’m not happy with who I’ve become. Channie, I have to leave to try and fix myself before I try to be in a relationship again. Please, can’t you understand that?” you tried to plead with him.

 “Please don’t forget me and the things we did.” Chan spoke softly, almost woefully.

 “I promise.” You nodded.

 The line was gone as the woman at the desk was waiting for you. You got out of his grasp as handed the woman your flight ticket at the entrance of the gate. You couldn’t stand to see him. It made you too sad to see him like this. But you knew it would hurt him when you would leave. You started to through the tunnel when you heard him call your name again. You stopped and turned around again. You turned to see a crying Chan. His eyes red and puffy. His sobs echoing through your head. His perfect lips now stained of sadness. You felt your heart break with every tear that fell from his eyes.

 “Y/n.” Chan spoke shakily, trying to walk towards you.

 You met him halfway, “Channie.” Speaking softly, your hands brushing through his soft blonde hair comfortingly.

 “I love you, y/n.” He wrapped his arms around you tightly, you felt his emotions cover you like a blanket.

 You hugged back lightly, knowing how it’ll hurt to let him go. You stayed in the moment, trying to remember the way he hugged you. You soon let him go, knowing it hurt him when you ripped apart from him. You turned and walked down the tunnel. Chan’s sobbing started again, watching his only love walk away from him. You turned to see him at the entrance of the tunnel. You gave him your best smile.

 “I know you do.” you spoke gently, your heart breaking with every breath you took.

 Once you knew you were out of sight of Chan, you let yourself be completely destroyed by your emotions. You started to feel a stream of tears run down your face. You tried to keep your cries at a minimum as you attempted to find your seat in the plane. Faces of people looking at you. You felt embarrassed, wanting to become invisible. Finally, you climbed to your window seat and sat down. You looked out of the window as you wiped your eyes. You hated crying in public. You felt a light tap on your shoulder as you looked over to see an elderly woman.

 “Why’re you crying, dear?” she asked politely.

 You stayed silent, trying to figure out how to say it, “I just walked away from the best thing in my life.”

 The elderly woman gave you a smile, “There’s always light, in dark situations.” Her words were simple, but it hurt you to hear it, “Sometimes it’s good to start over.”

 “Why’re you so kind to me?” you felt a tear slip down your face.

 She leaned forward slightly, you saw her eyes were filled with the stars, “We all need someone to kiss us goodbye.” Her words felt like they came from experience.

 The plane started to take off the ground. The view from down below started to become fainter with the rise in elevation. You always loved the city view, but this became almost too depressing to look at.

 It’s been a few months since your departure. You finally got to see your father. He didn’t seem to change that much from what you could faintly remember. Though, it was a little strange to see him again, in all honesty. However, he showed you that he has changed since. You decided to go outside to the park just to relax. You saw that the sun was soon going to set, so you decided that you should make it quick. The walk down was peaceful, there wasn’t many people out, so it was almost perfect. You eventually got to the park and sat down on the bench. The green grass soon changed the tips of the blades to an orange to match the setting sun. You felt your phone buzz and checked to see who it was.

 “Changbin! Oh wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? What’s going on?” you asked, completely surprised from his call.

 There was a moment of silence, “Y/n. I have to tell you something.” He seemed off to you, “Chan- airplane-”

 His words seemed to drift away like a boat out into the ocean. Your heart sank to the bottom of the vast sea as you listened to the muffled voice coming from your phone. Your mind drew a blank. You couldn’t come up with any thoughts. A loud ringing in your head started to reverberate in your skull. Your vision became cloudy. Everything was wrong. Nothing could fix this. You felt like time stopped dead and everything hovered motionless.

 ➵

 You opened your eyes to see a bird chirping in the nearby tree. The crisp autumn leaves covered the ground in fire. The wind blew a cold breeze across the land. The sound of dancing leaves soothed your body as you swayed with them. The tall trees orchestrated the wind to tell it which way to go. You breathed out a loud sigh.

 Everything seemed like a hazy distant dream to you, even if it happened two years ago.

 “It’s been a while, huh?” you asked aloud, “I hope you’re doing alright. Eating well and resting a lot.” no response.

 You looked down and kicked the leaves, “Y’know, the stars would be so proud to know their atoms created someone like you.” you felt a smile pull.

 You turned around to see a lonely gray gravestone. The words written on it almost were unbearable to read.

 In Loving Memory

Christopher Bang

A loving son and best friend

May you rest in peace knowing how you impacted those around you

 You felt overwhelmed, even now to see him. You got on your knees and stared at the stone slab, wishing it was never there.

 You tried to give your best smile, “I’m glad we met, Channie. I really do.”

 You longed to see him again, but not like this. Even after two years, it still hurts. You reached out and touched the stone, the cold feeling rushed up your arm. A tear slipped down your face without you noticing. You heard footsteps approaching, but you didn’t even care.

 “Let’s go, y/n.” a familiar voice called to you.

 You looked up to see Changbin stretch his hand out towards you. You took it slowly and got up, keeping eye contact with the stone.

 Changbin noticed, “C’mon. Chan would be sad to see you like this. Let’s try and be happy.” He gave you a reassuring smile.

 You nodded, “Yeah, I suppose.” You smiled at the grave, “I love you.”

 The surrounding gravestones seemed to try and speak to you as you were leaving. As if to say to not leave them. You never knew how sad a graveyard could be. Changbin led you away as the other boys were waiting outside of their cars. You felt at home being with them again. You loved them with all your heart. But it never quite felt the same without him.

[strawberriestyles]

Part 3: Candles

(BANNER MADE BY MY TALENTED SWEETIE PIE @adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy)

Harry X Reader (AU)

In which you’re persuaded to help a young witch named Harry.

Read previous parts here.

Word count: 4.5k+

Author’s note: ONCE AGAIN SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. I really hope y’all like this one. It took me months and short bouts of motivation to write. PLEASE do not forget to reblog and leave a little bit of feedback. It helps us writers out TREMENDOUSLY.

Magic. That seems the be-all and end-all. It’s what your translations are helping Harry to work, and what the two of you have decided his payment will be. Magic. In exchange for your help with his Latin, he will teach you how to harness magic. At least, as far as your mortal self can harness it.

“All beings have a li’l bit o’ magic in them,” he explained to you. “Some more than others. Witches an’ creatures have the most—more than yeh can probably imagine. But I think you have a li’l bit more than the average mortal. Maybe there was a witch somewhere in your ancestry, way back down the line.”

“Really?”

“Way down the line,” he emphasized.

But the idea was still there. You might have witch blood in you. And you had thought you couldn’t be any more enthusiastic about what you were doing.

Now, the inside of Harry’s car smells of his usual spice, but also of damp leaves and dirt. The windows have been cracked open. It’s one of the nicest days that you’ve seen since fall began, and even though the sun is descending, there’s still a subtle warmth in the air. It beats the biting chill that you’ve become accustomed to. With the soft sounds of the car’s engine and the outdoors, the even softer hum of an acoustic guitar from the stereo, you’re at risk of being lulled to sleep.

Harry puts the vehicle in park when you reach his house. The little cottage has come to offer a sort of comfort to you. Perhaps it’s the fascination that Harry and his knowledge have to offer you, or perhaps it’s only the tea that he serves you.

“C’mon,” Harry murmurs, rolling up the windows.

With a bit of effort, you unbuckle and lift yourself from the car, following Harry inside. The windows of the house have been cracked open as well. Nicks sits on the sill of an open window in the living room, peering at the little insects that float by. It smells fresh inside. Not so much clean, with the scent of dirt wafting through the air, but less shut in, less stifling. You take a deep breath and let out a yawn.

Harry glances at you as he sheds his jacket, slinging it over the arm of the couch.

"You tired?"

You shake your head, covering your mouth to hide the end of your yawn. "No, no, I'm fine."

"Y/N, no offense, but yeh look like yeh haven' slept in days." Harry cocks his head and raises an accusatory brow. "Yeh almost fell asleep in the car."

"I'm sorry," you say. It's punctuated by another louder yawn, and you lean against the wall where you're standing. "I had some pretty important exams the past couple days."

"'S fine. Yeh can take a nap upstairs an' we'll just do some work when yeh're better rested."

"Harry, I don't need—"

"Yes, yeh do." Harry wanders over to the windows and scratches at Nicks's head. You can hear her purring from across the room. "Don' need yeh mistranslating a word and makin' me blow up the whole house. Go ahead. We're not in a rush."

Despite your protests, you're relieved by the offer. You don't say another word before you slip off your own jacket and shoes, and make your way up the narrow staircase behind the couch. It's the first time you've been in Harry's bedroom, and it's just as simple as the rest of the house. A bed, a side table with a candle atop it, and a wardrobe. You wonder briefly whether the wardrobe might take you to Narnia, and then laugh to yourself as you climb into the bed. The window in here is open as well. The air temperature has begun to drop with the sun. You pull the blankets around yourself and yank them up to your chin. The bed smells like Harry. Your head has barely touched the pillow before you feel sleep pulling at you, dragging at your heavy eyelids.

You almost think you're already asleep and dreaming when you hear the stairs creak beneath someone's weight. You crack your eyes open to find Harry hovering in the doorway. He hesitates for only a short moment before making his way to the other side of the bed. He doesn't pull back the covers, only lays down beside you.

"Yeh mind?" he whispers.

You hum in response. He wraps an arm around your waist, pulling your body back against him. You lean into his touch and that's all you remember before sleep finally closes in.

***

Harry wakes you accidentally as his body jostles yours. You peel your eyes open and find the room dark, no light but that of the moon. Harry lifts his head beside you and hushes you when you begin to ask a question.

“Think I heard somethin’,” he whispers. His arm tightens around you in the silence and you strain your own ears.

There’s a distant sound from downstairs. Something like a cough before it becomes clearer. Retching.

“Fuck,” Harry grumbles, and then he pushes away from you, lighting the candle on the bedside table with a press of fingertips.

“What is it?” you ask, throwing back the covers. The air has chilled significantly and you shiver at the first brush of it over your skin.

“Nicks.”

Harry waits for you to climb out of bed and then tromps down the stairs with you in his wake. The candlelight is dim and you stumble into the back of the couch at the bottom of the stairs, gasping when Harry waves his hand and the small flames along the walls blaze into glowing fires which light the room. Harry takes a quick glance around and drops his head.

"No," he murmurs, raking an agitated hand through his sleep-mussed hair. "No, no, no."

Harry whips around the corner toward the kitchen and you're hot on his heels. You hear the sound of retching again when you reach the doorway and find Nicks atop the wooden table, spilling the contents of her little stomach over its surface. Flower petals and herbs litter the rest of the wood. Harry swears under his breath.

"Yeh stupid fuckin' cat," he chastises, leaning his forehead against the frame of the entry.

"I'm guessing those were important ingredients," you observe softly, hoping not to upset him any more than he already is.

"Fuckin' rare," Harry replies. He turns back to the table and his eyes glow that intimidating, fascinating blue.

"Harry," you warn, "be gentle with her."

"Took me hours to find those plants out in the woods!" he shouts, but the glow diminishes and you feel the tense muscles in your shoulders slacken. Nicks looks up from her place at the table, just long enough to catch the anger brimming around the edges of Harry's face, and has the sense to hop down and scamper out of the room.

"An' that was a week ago," Harry continues. "The closer to winter we get, the harder they get to find. Who knows if there's even anythin' left—Christ, I could just kill her." Harry spins into the hall, looking as if he might do just that.

"Harry," you say again, catching him by the elbow. "It's okay, that's what cats do. I'll help you find more, okay?"

He glances at you, struggling to relax his clenched jaw, but eventually nods. "Lucky they weren' fuckin' poisonous," he mutters under his breath as he turns once again and makes for the door on the other side of the kitchen. "Could ring her li'l neck. S'posed to be smarter than the average cat."

As he pushes into the outdoors, you have the sense to turn back into the house and collect your jackets. The kitchen smells sickly sweet and florally when you enter it again. The muddied mess that Nicks made has spread across the tabletop, seeping through the cracks where planks of wood meet, dripping mutely over the floor.

Outside, the air is brisk, and you immediately wrap yourself up before navigating into the trees after Harry. He’s still fuming, fists tense at his sides and shoulders squared. His eyes scan the forest floor for signs of the plants he needs to gather.

“Harry,” you mutter, draping his jacket over his shoulders before he can move away from you, “can you please chill out? Like, just a little?”

“I’ll ‘chill out’ once we’ve got the fuckin’ ingredients,” he snaps, “all right?” But he takes the jacket with a murmured thanks and slips his arms into it. You ignore his attitude and follow him deeper into the trees.

"What should I be looking for?"

"Most important is the bloodflower," Harry says, scanning the ground with every step he takes. "'S a really dark red. Almost black in the center an' kinda scarlet at the edges o' the petals. The rest I'll probably be able t'find close to the house. The bloodflower only shows up at night and it thrives on moonlight, but it prefers warmer weather. Tha's why I collected it weeks ago."

Harry's voice begins to rise in irritation again and you don't say anything else for fear of upsetting him further. The two of you fall into silence as you trek farther and farther from the cottage and Nicks and the ruined flowers and herbs. It feels like nearly an hour before Harry stops abruptly, staring up into the sky with a blank expression on his face. You come to stand beside him, hands stuffed into your coat pockets and chin buried in your collar to shield your skin from the cold breeze that has picked up.

"Don' have time for this bullshit," Harry whispers, closing his eyes and letting out a deeply frustrated sigh as the moon appears from the cover of a dark cloud.

You nod absently, though he's not looking at you. Your cheeks began to ache a while ago, and you've been quietly hoping that he would give up for some time. But as you turn your gaze toward the ground again, your eyes widen.

"Harry," you prod, pulling at the elbow of his jacket, "are those what you're looking for?"

At the base of a tall, bare-branched oak off to your right lays a bed of dark flowers, their edges glimmering ruby in the patches of moonlight that filter through the treetops. You move the few paces to reach them and kneel down in the dirt.

"Don' touch 'em!" Harry shouts as you stretch out a hand. His own fingers curl around the back of your coat and tug you backward rather roughly. You scramble out of his reach, startled.

"What the hell, Harry?" you gasp.

"'M sorry, 'm sorry," he mutters, holding his hands out to help you up. "Yeh can' touch 'em with your bare skin. Suck the life right outta yeh. Yeh'd be dead in ten seconds flat."

You take another glance at the flowers before reaching for Harry's offered hands and letting him pull you to your feet. "Nicks ate them though, didn't she?"

Harry nods and wipes the dirt from his palms. "She's a Familiar, though. No one's really sure what they're descended from, but they have immunity to bloodflowers. Maybe they have some Nymph or Dryad ancestry somewhere. Do yeh have some gloves?"

With a deep frown, you reach into your pockets again and pull out your gloves, handing them over. Harry slips them on despite the tight fit and squats down where you were kneeling, carefully tearing up a handful of bloodflowers by the stems. When he rises beside you, you find that the stems are spotted with sharp thorns like roses. Another cloud passes in front of the moon and you watch, entranced, as the leftover flowers on the forest floor curl in on themselves, retreating from the darkness. The plucked flowers in Harry's gloved hand, however, remain open and beautiful.

"Weird," you whisper. Harry cracks a smile, his mood visibly lifted since he's found his most elusive ingredient.

"Let's get back, then."

***

The fragrances of varied flora fill the kitchen, sharp, putrid, and unexpectedly bitter. Nicks’s mess has been cleaned. Harry grinds a mixture of herbs and flowers by hand, pulverizing them with a mortar and pestle that appear ancient and foreign. You’re almost afraid to ask him about them—they could be made from human bones for all you know—so you refrain.

Nicks, hoping to be back in Harry’s good graces, paces back and forth in the doorway, flicking her tail behind her. She lets out a soft meow every once in a while, but Harry pays her no mind.

“So what really is a Familiar?” you wonder aloud. “What do they do?”

“They’re like all-around sidekicks,” Harry answers with a chuckle. “Lot o’ witches end up pretty lonely. Familiars are companions, assistants, protectors. Help to gather ingredients and things like that, ward off hexes and harmful spells.”

“And how does a witch end up with one?”

“‘S kind of weird.” Harry chuckles again. “But I’ll tell yeh if yeh really wanna know.”

You nod encouragingly, and Harry pauses to add yet another sprinkle of a new plant to the mix. He begins to grind the ingredients together once more.

“Well, ‘s a toss up whether you’ll get a male or female. But the cool thing about relationships between witches is tha’ there’s always a female Familiar involved. Could both be females, or one could be male, but yeh know yeh’re not with the right person yet if there are two males.”

“So, like soulmates,” you suggest. “If you’re soulmates there has to be a female Familiar in the mix.”

“If yeh wanna think of it that way, sure,” Harry agrees with a smirk. “When the woman gets pregnant, the Familiar does too.”

“But you said there could be two female Familiars.”

Harry raises an eyebrow at you and sets the mortar and pestle down for the first time in what feels like a half hour. “Know what I said.”

“So what, the cat’s just pregnant?” You scoff. “Like the Virgin Mary or something?”

“‘M not very familiar with Christianity, but if that’s how it happens, yeah.”

Your mouth drops open. “I was joking.”

Harry grins at you and tries to smooth a stray chunk of hair from his face with the back of his flower-stained hand.

You frown and turn to look at Nicks, who sits staring at you, her tail flicking as it usually does when she’s in your presence.

“What about gays?”

Harry turns to the sink to rinse off his hands, but you see his brow furrow. “What about ‘em?”

“How do the kids of gay witches get Familiars? They can’t have them. Does it work for adoption, too?”

“No.”

“What, so magic is homophobic?”

Harry chuckles beneath his breath. “D’yeh hear yourself?”

“You just said they don’t get Familiars.”

“They’re adopted,” Harry says. “Chances are they’re not witches, an’ if they are, they’ll already have a Familiar.”

“Oh,” you mumble, pressing your lips together, “right.”

“Familiars aren’ always cats, though,” Harry continues, as though you haven’t been dumbstruck. “Can be any animal, really. M’ dad’s is an iguana.”

“You’re telling me that an iguana gave birth to that cat?” You point almost accusatorially toward Nicks.

Harry lets out a bark of laughter as he turns to leave the room. “Was m’ mum’s Familiar that had Nicks,” he corrects as he exits into the hall and rounds the corner.

You stick in the kitchen, leaning against the back of a chair. Nicks follows Harry into the living room, where you can hear him turning the thick pages of a book—probably the book. You tilt your head back to stare up at the textured ceiling.

“So, what about mortals?” you ask. At first, you think he doesn’t hear you, but then he grunts and snaps the book shut. His footsteps sound as he returns to the kitchen.

“Mortals?” he prompts, staring down at a paper in his hand.

“Yeah, say a witch ends up with a mortal. They don’t have Familiars. What happens then?”

Harry lifts his eyes to yours and leans against the frame of the entryway, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Doesn’ happen very often,” he answers. “I don’ know a single couple like that. But I would assume, if they were supposed t’ end up together, the witch would have a female Familiar and it would work pretty much the same way."

"But if I have witch blood in my ancestry like you think, shouldn't I have a Familiar too, then?"

Harry licks his lips. "Not if the witch in your ancestry had a male Familiar."

"So, what you're saying," you begin, "is that whoever it was had a kid outside of their 'soulmate' sort of relationship? Like, not with the person that magic said they were supposed to end up with?"

"Smart girl. Now—" Harry moves into the kitchen again and lays out his piece of paper on the table. Nicks, in her nosy way, has followed him, and twines herself between his legs. "Think I've gotten all the ingredients for this one, but I could be wrong. There was just a paragraph a' the end there that I couldn' really make out."

You settle your palms on the tabletop and take a quick glance over the sheet of paper. With each passing translation, the Latin has seemed to grow more difficult, more complex and intricate. Harry's scribbles have transformed from short words and chopped sentences to a full paragraph of text.

"I'm confused," you mutter after a minute or so.

Harry, nosy yet patient, has positioned himself at your shoulder, watching your fingers trail over his handwriting. He raises his eyebrows.

"Are yeh stumped?" he asks. "Hmm. Maybe I need t'start lookin' for a new translator. If yeh can'—"

"Shut up." You cut him off with a huff of breath and the amused quirk to his lips only serves to infuriate you. Perhaps it's the lack of sleep still gnawing at you. "I can read it just fine, thank you. I'm just confused about what it means."

"Well, how 'bout we start with what it actually says," Harry suggests. You have to make an effort to keep your tone even.

“Blood drawn with love,” you reveal. "It says you need blood drawn with love. What the fuck does that even mean?"

Harry grins at your agitation and turns to the stove, lighting a burner in his usual flashy manner and placing a closed pot on top of the flame.

"We'll worry about tha' when we get to it," he says, and the mystery of everything grates on your already sensitive nerves.

"What's in the pot?" you ask, ready to snap if he refuses to answer this question too.

"Tallow."

“Tallow?”

“Yeah. Animal fat.”

You wrinkle up your nose. You're surprised at the straightforwardness of his answer, but also confused.

"What are we doing with tallow?"

"Makin' candles."

"Candles?"

"Candles."

Harry smiles at you again and when you don't smile back he sighs. "D'yeh want me t'make yeh some tea again? Seem upset. Tense."

"No, I don't want any of your weird tea. I wanna know why we're making candles."

"Makin' candles for the spell," he says calmly.

Despite your protest, he's digging through the cupboard above the sink, lighting another burner, pulling out the familiar ingredients for his soothing tea. You cross your arms across your chest.

"Relax," coaxes Harry. "Please. 'M not actin' any different than usual, you're just tired. Still can' tell yeh everything about the spell, okay? But you'll figure everythin' out once it's put together next week."

"Next week?"

"Halloween. Tha's when the full spell goes into effect. Now, please drink this."

Harry hands you a steaming mug of tea. You're amazed at how quickly he's come to make it, without much thought at all, it seems. You take the drink from him and just the warmth of the cup on your fingers seems to help your muscles settle.

"Okay," Harry says once you've taken a few cautious sips and he's watched the frustration in your face smooth out. He opens up his pot of tallow and stirs it with a wooden spoon. "Can yeh hand me tha' bowl? Don' touch the bloodflowers."

You set your tea down and grab the mortar full of its ground up plants, passing it to Harry, who dumps the contents into his melted tallow and stirs everything together. Steam rises from the pot, filling the room with a sort of aromatic haze that makes you even more tired than you already were.

Harry looks silently down at Nicks for the first time since you've returned to the house. With a flick of her tail and a short mew, she hops up onto the table, biting the head off of a bloodflower and jumping over to the counter beside the stove. You've never seen this type of interaction between the two of them. It's almost as though he's spoken to her the same way he asked you for the herbs. She drops the full flower into the pot and then sits back on her haunches, purring elatedly when Harry finally pays her some attention and scratches at her cheek.

As you watch from the other side of him, Harry stirs the tallow. The bloodflower dissolves right into the concoction and the liquid wax transforms from a pale yellow to a red that's so bright and vibrant, you're unconvinced that it's not actual blood.

"Yeh feel better now?" Harry asks, resting the spoon against the side of the pot. He turns his attention away from the stove and faces you. When you look back up at him, you're suddenly very aware of the close proximity, of the blue that still rings his irises, thought it's not currently glowing. "Yeh had enough tea?"

You give him a soft nod.

"'S good," he says, placing a hand on your hip. The fingers of his other hand cup the side of your jaw, and though you can feel it coming, you still gasp as he presses his mouth strongly, confidently to yours.

Your surprise doesn't keep you from gripping at his arms and returning his kiss. You're sure that somewhere in the room the candle mixture is bubbling and Nicks is pointedly annoyed, but your eyes have crept shut and you can't hear anything but your own blood pumping in your ears, the soft parting of Harry's lips from yours before they return with a vengeance. He backs you into the wall beside the counter, wrapping his arm around your waist to tug your hips against him. His other hand slips to the back of your neck, holding you steady as he sighs and tilts his head to kiss you deeper.

Your fingers tighten on Harry's arms as you try to keep up. It's like he's spent his entire life perfecting the way to make you melt, and you just can't seem to catch your breath. His tongue teases at the corner of your mouth. Your lips part and he fits his own between them, pulling on your lower lip. Your breath shakes.

And then his teeth clamp down sharply.

You shove Harry forcefully away from you as your tingling lip bursts with sudden pain. When you open your eyes, he's looking at you blankly. The daze of your kiss doesn't keep you from feeling the constant sting in your mouth. You lift your fingers to the source and when you pull them away, blood is spreading over the skin. You swipe your tongue across your lips and taste copper.

"What the fuck, Harry?" you whisper, lifting your other hand to your face as a drop of blood trails down your chin.

Harry doesn't say anything as he approaches the stove again and spits into the bubbling pot. A mess of black smoke rises up into the air, but you're too preoccupied to wonder.

"C'mere," Harry says quietly, and when you look up he's standing in front of you again, his hand reaching for your face. You turn away from him, swiping at his hand. He catches your wrist and his other hand takes hold of your chin, his thumb cleaning away a line of blood. Before you can do anything more to protest, his lips are back on yours, gently this time, just barely grazing the skin. Your eyes don't close. Harry raises a brow at you and presses one more slow, gentle kiss to your mouth. When he pulls back the pain has dulled, the blood stopped. His fingers brush against the side of your neck and somehow you find yourself relaxing.

"'Blood drawn with love,'" Harry quotes when he realizes that you won't be speaking first.

You shake your head quickly, face screwing up. "I don't love you," you tell him with conviction. "I've known you for three weeks."

Harry chuckles and nods. You shiver despite yourself as his fingers lower to trace your collarbone, struggling to keep your eyes open and steady on him.

“Lots o’ spells are pretty straightforward. Some of ‘em are more vague. The vague ones are usually pretty lenient with their requirements,” he informs you. "And for the record, I don' love you either."

Your frown deepens.“Well, couldn’t I have made you bleed?”

“Doesn’ work like that." Harry takes a careful step closer to you dipping his head into your shoulder. His lips follow his fingers along your collarbone. You shiver again. It's frustrating, but you have to tilt your head back against the wall and clench your hands into fists to keep from pulling on him again. "Can’ harvest ingredients from the speller," he utters against the base of your throat, "unless it specifically tells yeh to.”

When Harry finally releases you and takes a step back to lean against the table, you're glaring at him.

“Wha’? Yeh still mad abou' the bite? Listen, I—”

“Don’t say ‘harvest,’" you tell him with a shake of your head. You're sort of embarrassed by how easily you've folded and forgiven him. But your lip feels unmarred already, the taste of coppery blood replaced by the taste of Harry. You take a deep breath. "Makes me feel like a field of fucking corn. Or the dove that they kill in witch movies.”

"Dove?" Harry smiles smugly. "I like tha'. But I won' kill yeh, my dove." He takes your hand and brings it to his lips, spreading wet kisses over the back.

Your own teeth settle into your lower lip. You're charmed. And irritated. You don't want to be this easily molded, like wet clay, putty in his adept fingers.

“Will yeh help me pour this into molds?” Harry asks, lowering your hand but steering you back toward the stove. When you glance inside the pot, you find that the contents have turned an ominous, absorbing black.

You nod, taking the handful of wicks that he hands to you.

“These special wicks too?” you wonder aloud.

“I bought ‘em at the craft store.”

“I didn’t think you knew what a craft store was,” you inform him with a soft laugh.

“‘M a witch,” he says with a grin, “not a hermit. Now, let’s pour these candles so you can go back to bed.”

Part 4: Pentagram

[sofreakinmanyfandoms]

November 22 - A Tingle and an Itch

I probably should have made the 22nd’s fic a Thanksgiving one, but my brain was in the mood for a soulmate!AU instead.

So - soulmate!AU in which soulmates have each other’s signatures somewhere on their body. That soulmark acts up when they get near their soulmate until their first kiss.

Word count: 1863

Warnings: None

Pairing: Tony Stark X Reader

You shifted the stack of files in your arms as you navigated the overly-busy hallway. For your second day, you felt like your boss was requiring an awful lot of you. That was to be expected, though, when you worked for someone like Pepper Potts.

Two months ago when you’d been let go from your last job because the company went under, you’d applied to be Ms. Potts’s assistant on a whim. It was a high-profile job for an assistant, one that would ensure you could get a good job after if you ended up deciding to switch fields, and since she used to be an assistant herself you would be sure she would have absolutely fair expectations for what a human could do.

You’d forgotten she had been the golden standard for assistants.

Not that she asked you to do anything unreasonable as part of your job, but after your first day she expected you to know her schedule backwards and forwards and be able to handle what she threw your way. It was taking every ounce of organizational skill you had; your poor apartment hadn’t been unpacked yet beyond absolute essentials because you had no motivation left beyond stuffing your face with takeout and falling asleep when you got home at night.

The absolute worst part, however, was knowing your soulmate was somewhere in the building and you didn’t have time to search for them around doing your job.

Like everyone, you had a soulmark – your soulmate’s signature was scrawled across your skin. Yours was on the inside of your left ankle, and try as you might you couldn’t decipher it. (You were maybe sixty percent sure the first name was Anthony, but all you could make out of the rest of it was the initials E and S.) When you got within a certain distance of your soulmate, your mark would get a tingling buzz to it that supposedly went away the first time you kissed them. Whenever you were at work, your soulmark tingled almost constantly. It made doing your job that much harder when you had to fight the urge to run through the whole building until you found them.

Then again, you reminded yourself, as long as you worked in the same building, odds were that you’d run into them eventually. Maybe they’d be the one who got time to look and found you! It had to happen eventually. Soulmates were inevitable.

----------

Tony was trying to listen to what Pepper was saying, really he was, but the constant itch on his collarbone was terribly distracting. His soulmark had been acting up the whole work day for almost a week now except for the two times when he’d had to go out for an Avengers call.

(Which had been a blessing, really, since fighting off weird chimera things was hard enough without that distraction.)

“Tony, pay attention.”

His head shot up from where he’d be trying to sneak a glance at his mark. “I am, Pepper dear, really I am. Just a small itch. It’s nothing. It’s not like it’s making it hard, impossible really, to focus on anything except for oh hell it’s getting worse –”

Tony cut off his rant at a knock on the door because Pepper shot him a look before she called for the person to enter. That and damn, he didn’t know his soulmark could hurt that badly.

----------

The tingle in your ankle had reached epic proportions as you entered with the paperwork Pepper had requested you bring to her office. Walking was becoming rather difficult, but you somehow managed to keep your expression neutral, an accomplishment you were even more proud of when you realized Mr. Stark was also in the room.

“The contracts you requested, Ms. Potts,” you confirmed as you passed the stack of files to her.

“Thank you, Y/N,” she told you. “Can you take a seat, please? I’ll need you to run these to legal once they’re signed.”

“Of course.” You sat and absently crossed your legs, most of your attention focused on not showing just how much pain you were in.

Pepper flipped open the files and signed where she needed to, passing them to Mr. Stark when she was done. He signed them rather absently, seeming far more focused on scratching what must have been a highly persistent itch than he was on what he was doing or even what Pepper was telling him.

Brave man, you couldn’t help thinking. Even if his name was on the company, you had a hard time imagining anyone being comfortable enough with Ms. Potts to outright ignore her.

Your boss slid the now signed contracts back to you and dismissed you with a nod. As you shifted to get up your mark twinged, and although you managed to keep your expression neutral your first step wobbled a little. Pepper didn’t catch it because she was again facing Mr. Stark, but he was staring at you with far more intensity than you were expecting.

To your relief, the tingling in your mark faded a bit as you made your way to the floor where legal was located. You must have been pretty close to your soulmate for it to have been that intense.

----------

“Tony! I can’t believe you’re ignoring me to stare at my assistant! Who am I kidding, of course I can believe it. I really shouldn’t be surprised with how long I’ve know you. I’m warning you, stay away –”

“Pep,” Tony interrupted, absently rubbing at his mark where the itching had started to fade as he kept staring at the door, “I know that you know me well enough you’re  not going to want to believe this, but I think I saw my signature on her ankle.”

Pepper gaped at him for a moment, before collecting herself.

“Tony,” she said softly, “are you sure?”

“My soulmark’s been bothering me since Monday and it was by far the worst it’s ever been when she was just in here. Yeah, Pep, I’m sure.”

“Well,” she straightened up and shot him a look he knew meant what she was about to say was law, “Monday was her first day. I’ll find out for you. You are not to go anywhere near her until I do. We do not need a sexual harassment suite in the making.” Pepper paused in the doorway as she exited, sighing and turning back to shoot him a rueful look. “I really liked working with this one.”

Tony felt the smile spread across his face once she was out of the room.

Maybe now he could get rid of that damn itch.

----------

Your boss was waiting for you when you arrived back at your desk.

“I’m going to ask you two questions,” she said as soon as you entered the room. “I don’t want to, but if I don’t ask them, someone else will, and he’ll be much creepier in how he does it, I’m sure. If the answer is no I’ll pass it on and it will not affect your job in any way. If the answer is yes, we’ll figure it out.” Pepper took a deep breath and held out a piece of paper to you. “Is the signature on the bottom the same as your soulmark, and is it on your ankle?”

You froze when you saw the familiar scrawl across the bottom.

“Is that a yes?” she asked you softly after a few moments of silence. All you could bring yourself to do was nod.

Pepper sighed. “He was right, then.” She set the paper aside and took your hands in hers. “I take it you know your soulmate works here? You’ve felt in in your mark?”

You shook your head, then realized what that would look like. “Oh, um, yes, I knew that from day one. I just haven’t had time to figure out who it was. I promise I would never use company time for personal business,” you rushed to assure her.

“I appreciate that,” she said with a smile, “but you’re about to on my orders. You’ve realized by now that I know who your soulmate is.” It wasn’t a question. “Do you want me to tell you who it is or just direct you to them? I know that the pain of a soulmark is intense when you’re close to them, so you won’t exactly have time to process who it is when you see them, but I don’t want to take away the surprise if you’d rather find out face to face.”

You worried your lower lip as you considered her offer. “I’m guessing the fact that you’re even offering means it’s someone I’ll know well enough be surprised to be paired with?” She nodded. “I… I think I’d still like to find out in person.”

“I understand,” she said, and from her eyes you knew she did. “Take care of them for me, okay? They’ll be waiting for you back in the conference room we were in earlier.”

----------

You weren’t an idiot. As soon as you’d realized what Pepper was asking you, you’d known who your soulmate was. The pain you’d felt when you’d brought her the papers made sense.

It was honestly annoying that you hadn’t realized sooner. Anthony E. S… Anthony Edward Stark.

Tony Stark.

You were working in his building, for goodness sake; the name and the times your mark tingled should have been enough of a clue.

Your soulmark was nearing the point of pain again as you reached the conference room door. Before entering, you paused and reminded yourself that just because you were pretty sure you knew who was on the other side of that door didn’t mean you weren’t wrong.

You weren’t wrong.

Tony’s eyes shot to yours as you entered, his hand again pressed over his right collar bone where you assumed his mark must be.

“I… I know I’m probably not what you were hoping for,” he said hesitantly as you stood in the doorway. “I’m older than you by a bit, unless you look remarkably young for your age in which case great job, and I’m kind of a mess which meeting you honestly probably won’t change too much. I mean, I’m still gonna forget to sleep and spend hours in my workshop and, and leave for dangerous Avengers stuff… I’m not safe, and being with me wouldn’t be safe, and I understand if you want to turn around and walk out that door again –”

“Oh, shut up and kiss me already,” you interrupted breathlessly, and then you were meeting in the middle and his arms were around you and his lips were on yours. The tingle from your mark spread through your whole body, the pain an immense wave of pleasure as you angled your head to deepen the kiss and he pulled your body closer to his. You were both gasping for breath when you finally had to pull back.

“Hi,” he said with a grin, “I’m Tony.”

“Hi, Tony,” you replied with a smile of your own, “I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.”

[justpeachyshua]

good luck

pairing: hoshi x reader rating/warnings: teen+ for language; no warnings au: college au??  word count: 4,045 summary: “Ever since my first date, I’ve had the absolute worst luck when it comes to relationships. Bad dates, lying, cheating - I’ve seen it all. So, I decided to give up dating completely. It’s just better that way. No hurting, no heartbreak. I’ve strictly stuck by this rule for years now. That is, until I ran into a particularly spunky dancer on campus.”

note: so uhhh, I should definitely point out that I haven’t posted in months and that this was supposed to be for hoshi’s bday but it’s.... definitely way past that. but it’s done ya know! I’d like to believe that the quality maybe makes up for how late it is. It’s worth noting that over the summer I was on kind of a hiatus since I was in japan for a month and, now that school’s going on, updates are probably gonna be even slower, at least for longer fics like these. that being said, I’m gonna try branching out and making shorter imagines, maybe even some bulleted ones? just so I can post more often without my content being actual shit lmao. anyways enjoy the fic <3

I've never been the type of person who was good at dating. In fact, I'm fairly confident that some force in this universe was entirely dead set on making sure that every single relationship I entered ended in disaster. It all started in 6th grade when a classmate of mine asked me to watch a movie with him. I was all done up, wearing an outfit I had bought only the day before, and yet halfway through the movie, I felt something come up my throat and before I knew it I was vomiting onto the floor in front of me due to the sheer amount of caffeine, sugar, and nerves running through me. In sophomore year, I got my first real boyfriend, but that relationship lasted about a week before he revealed that he asked me out as a dare and couldn't bring himself to break up with me until then. This pattern of misfortune only continued through high school with various failed dates and boyfriends who lied and cheated. At some point, I got sick of it and, after graduating, I vowed to give up on dating completely.  

From then on, I avoided romance like the plague. If anyone seemed to like me or even asked me out, I would gently let them down. I made sure that close friendships were just friendships and that I never led anyone on. At least, I tried. You see, for the first time in my life, there was an exception to my rule. Towards the beginning of my freshman year of college, Kwon Soonyoung stepped, or rather crashed, into my life.  

I was a few yards away from the entrance to the dorms and I was rushing inside to retrieve a textbook from a friend, when someone ran right into me, knocking me down. I fell against my bag with a thud and, looking up, I saw the small wheels of a... Razor scooter? The person riding the scooter – a young guy with floppy black hair – had fallen, too, and I could see that he had scraped his knee on the concrete.  

"Are you okay?!" The guy crawled up to me, still on the ground. He looked me over, checking to see if I was injured with a comically concerned face.  

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it," I assured him. "What about you, though? Is your knee okay?"  

I pointed to his scraped knee which was already beginning to bleed. He looked down, noticing the wound and, to my surprise, laughed. "I'll be okay! It happens all the time when I'm practicing." Before I could ask him what he meant, he added, "Which reminds me!" He shoved a flyer into my hands. "You should come see the dance team's performance tonight!"  

I turned the flyer over, revealing a hand-drawn night sky with a large star in the center, containing the information for the performance. It was endearing. "Did you do this?"  

"Ah no, my friend Mingyu did, actually. He's an art major so we asked him to design the flyers for us. I'm just the leader of the team," he explained, a large grin ever present on his face.  

"Oh." I folded the flyer and stuffed it into my bag. I stood up, offered my hand to the guy, and helped him up. "I'll see if I can go." My eyes landed on his scooter again. "Uh, what’s the scooter for?"  

"It's a faster way to get around," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm pretty new with it, though, so I need to get better at riding it."

"Well, good luck with that. Try not to run into anyone else today," I said, turning to enter the dorm again.  

"Oh wait!" He called out. "What's your name? I'll put you on the VIP list. For, you know, accidentally running into you."  

"It's Y/N. What's yours?"  

"Soonyoung! But when I'm performing, call me Hoshi!" His grin grew wider and spread to his eyes, which shut into half-moons. The brightness in his eyes was captivating and his happiness was infectious, so much so that I practically forgot about our little crash entirely.  

"See you later then, Hoshi." I waved him goodbye and finally went inside the dorm as I planned.  

After I finished my last class that night, I decided to attend the performance and, to my amazement, Soonyoung was spectacular. He had kept his word of putting me on the "VIP list," though I found out when I got there that I was the only one on the list and that there wasn't really a list to begin with, just a simple promise. Before the show began, someone from the team (who I presumed to be a long-time member) brought Soonyoung out on stage, after which he gave a small introduction and revealed that he choreographed the whole show. I seemed to be the only one in the audience that was shocked at this and I was only further impressed when I saw the choreography itself. As soon as the team stepped on stage together and began their first song, my eyes were locked on Soonyoung – Hoshi in this setting – who was front and center. His moves were simultaneously fluid and powerful and unlike any dancing I had seen before. I began to wonder if he was secretly a professional choreographer masked as a college student.  

When the performance ended, I was the first to approach him and congratulate him on his job well done, going on and on about the quality of the show. He seemed ecstatic, his face lighting up ten times brighter than it was earlier in the day.

"So, you'll come to our next performance, right? It'll be a couple of months from now." He asked with the widest smile on his face.  

I nodded. "Sure." I pulled my phone out of my bag. "Here, put your number in my phone and let me know about the next performance." He took my phone and quickly typed in his number before handing it back to me. I noticed he had put it in as "Kwon Hoshi ☆" and I couldn’t help but laugh.

"I'll make sure I remind you of everything we do, don't worry!" He beamed. "You know, I think we're going to be good friends."  

"I think so too."  

That was years ago and, in the time between then and now, we really had become great friends. He convinced me to become the manager of the dance team, though that just meant giving them song suggestions and feedback when they practiced and lounging around with them when they hung out outside of meetings. Through that, I managed to make a ton more friends than I was anticipating, including the other "founders" of the team, Minghao, Jun, and Chan. The five of us became extremely close and, before I knew it, we were drinking together, spilling secrets, and having movie nights every week. Soonyoung especially became my best friend with him often spending the night at my apartment off-campus and even exchanging clothes with me sometimes.  

He was a grade ahead of me, so I had to watch him graduate a year before I did. Admittedly, a lot of tears were shed, but he came back the very next year to cheer for me as I crossed the stage with my degree. After that, we decided we might as well become roomies as we figured shit out and he officially moved into my tiny apartment, taking what used to be the guest room. We've been living together for about a year and a half now and, over the course of this time, I've come dangerously close to loving Kwon Soonyoung.  

What used to be small, cute mannerisms when we were in college have become all too alluring now that it's just the two of us. Before, neither of us would really cook when he was over and instead just order chicken and pizza, but now that he lives here full-time, I've noticed how he talks to himself as he figures out online recipes. When he styles his hair every morning, he always asks how it looks and I always push a few stray hairs away before I tell him he looks cool. Often, he'll wake up and walk straight to the kitchen without his pants on because he took them off before sleeping and forgot to put them on again. I don't stare, of course, but I can't ignore it either. Of course, the other guys do come by and make it feel like the old days again, but I can never shake the image of him falling asleep on the coach after a long night of watching anime or him dancing around the living room as he brushes his teeth. Everything he does totes the line between goofy and charming and it has me falling for him harder than I’d like to be.

Which brings me to a very important day: Soonyoung's birthday. See, for as long as we've been friends, Soonyoung and I have always made each other's birthdays as stellar as possible. One year I took him to paint a giant mural with me; The next year he took me bungee jumping. Generally, we tried to one up what we did the year before or at least do something equally as spectacular This year, however, I did something different. For his last birthday I had taken him to a SHINee fansign and had already planned to take him to Japan the next year, but I ended up changing my mind. This year, I instead decided to go on a simple picnic with Soonyoung. This decision came partially from the lack of funds for plane tickets and partially from one desire: To finally tell Soonyoung my thoughts on dating. For as long as we’d been friends, I had never quite opened to him about my fear of dating and, even considering how endearing and comfortable he was, I had to set some sort of boundary to prevent misfortune. So, it was decided. I would have to make our relationship clear – just friends, no feelings. At least, I hoped.

When he woke up that morning (wearing his pajama pants for once), I was already awake and making breakfast for the both of us. He sniffed the air and instantly became more alert. "Pancakes? You're spoiling me." He rushed over to sit at the island counter. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"  

I placed the last finished pancake onto a plate and carried it over to him, setting a bottle of syrup in front of him as well. "Well, I was thinking we could just have a chill day and maybe go on a picnic at the park nearby?"  

He looked up at me, scanning my face for any sign that I was joking. When he saw that I was completely serious, he silently nodded. "Awesome! What time should we go?" I could tell he wanted to ask why we weren't going all out this year, but he probably sensed that it would've been an awkward thing to pry about. I didn't want to disappoint him, so I hoped that he would at least enjoy today's activities.  

"Maybe around 1:00?" I checked my phone, seeing that it was only 10:28. "That gives us about two and a half hours before then."  

"Sounds good, then." He smiled before digging into the pancakes in front of him. He let out a long and satisfied sigh. "God, these are so good." I only grinned as I watched him eat, slowly picking at a plate of my own.

Within a few minutes we were both finished, and I took his plate to put in the sink. He padded over to the couch and I soon joined him, plopping down in the crevice I'd made from sitting in that exact spot for over two years. "By the way, I'm going to need you to leave the house for at least an hour before we leave."  

He whipped his head towards me. "Aha! So there is a catch!"  

"What?"  

"You're planning something special for me, aren't you? That's why you want me out of the house, right? So you can bring a whole bunch of people in. Or better yet! You're bringing a dog home!" He exclaimed.  

"I’m- I’m sorry, Soonyoung. No, I just need the time to make the food for the picnic and to get some things together. It's a surprise so I don't want you to see it.”

He became visibly more disappointed, albeit by just a bit. "Oh. That's okay. I'm sure I'll love whatever we do." He gave me his usual toothy smile. "I could see about hanging out with Chan for a bit to give you time."  

"Thanks. And let him know he left some socks here the last time he stopped by."  

"You got it," he said, already messaging Chan and beginning to get ready. "I'll be out of your hair in a bit. Just let me know when you're done!"  

Within a few minutes, he was out of the door and I was left to begin my plan. I had already gotten a few recipes from my mom on a terribly long phone call the night before and cooking it took about an hour on its own, so the rest of the time was spent gathering everything else such as fruit, chips, drinks, and of course the crucial basket and blanket. At that point, I still had about 40 minutes remaining, so I found myself scrolling on my phone and becoming increasingly worried as my thoughts roamed. What if the food spills in the basket and we don’t have anything to eat? What if he has a secret allergy he never told me about and he goes into anaphylactic shock because of something I made? What if he ends our friendship after I tell him how I feel? The whole point of my plan is so I can avoid ruining our friendship, but what if that’s exactly what happens? What if he has feelings for me?  

My phone pinged with a new text, snapping me out of my thoughts.  

Kwon Hoshi ☆: hey! you almost ready? I can start heading back anytime you want~

I was relieved to be pulled out of my mental spiral. Looking at his message, I smiled at the squiggly he so often used when texting. It was cute and somehow evoked the exact tone he spoke with in person. I wanted to be able to hear that for a while, especially after today.  

Me: hey, yeah I’m all done. you can come back now. just meet me at the entrance to the park, ok?

Kwon Hoshi ☆: you got it!!  

The walk to the park took only a couple of minutes and, once I arrived, I sat on the neartest bench and waited for Soonyoung to walk up any second. Twenty minutes passed by, then thirty, then fifty, and soon well over an hour had passed and I was still sat there. No messages. No Soonyoung. Plenty of people had passed by – families with small children, a few groups of teenagers looking to play some sports in the open fields, and couples walking along the path, hands intertwined. I tried not to watch.  

Finally, once I was about ready to give up and just head home, I heard someone shout my name from a few yards away. It was Soonyoung, out of breath and jogging towards me.  

“Soonyoung, are you okay? Where have you been?”

“I was,” Pant. “In the car with Chan,” Pant. “He was driving me back.” Pant. “And I-”

“Okay, you need to sit down and catch your breath, you’re breathing way too hard right now.”  

He sat and took a moment to calm down. “There was a huge accident that happened right in front of us. Someone completely swerved out of their lane and crashed into another car. So, for a while, we were in shock. At that point, my phone was dead because my charger stopped working while I was at Chan’s. Anyways, traffic was so bad that we were there for like twenty minutes just waiting to go past this super busy intersection that was all clogged up. In the end, Chan said I should just get out of the car and walk to the park since he’d probably be there a while. The walk took me a while, but I’m here now.”  

“Sooyoung that’s- that’s crazy. I’m really sorry that all happened.” I had to take a few seconds to comprehend all that he had recounted to me. There was a very visceral, very unnerving feeling within me at that moment. Something was telling me that this wasn’t going to go well.  

“No, I’m sorry. I’m super late and you’ve probably been sitting here for so long after you went through all the trouble to make food and everything.” But then again, with Soonyoung’s radiating optimism, I’m sure I’ll be able to get over it.  

“It’s all good.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m just glad you’re here now. Now come on, we should find a good spot to sit.”  

We walked, gazing at the various photo-esque locations and quickly finding their flaws: a cute spot under the shade of a tree (too many bugs), a spot with some breeze by the stream (uncomfortable rocks and uneven terrain), a spot on the stone in front of a water fountain (as cute as they were, too many screaming, jumping kids). Yet finally, as we approached the far end of the park, we found the quaintest, quietest, most peaceful spot in the grass. It was sunny and warm and surrounded by yards of bright flowers. We agreed to settle there and placed our blanket down, beginning to unpack our lunch.  

I found my initial bad impression begin to fade as we calmly ate, going in and out of conversation and generally just enjoying the other’s presence. Despite the simplicity of the meal, Soonyoung continuously reminded me how much he loved it. I was pleased to hear his compliments even if I did deny them. Soon enough we were finished with the food and I was reading the newest novel I had bought, picking back up from where I left off. In the cool and comfortable atmosphere, it almost felt as though we were one of the many couples in the park that day, enjoying a nice day out in the sun together, in love. I could see how a random passerby could glance at us and think, “Ah, what a cute date.” After all, with Soonyoung’s head laying on my lap as I read out loud to him, he did sort of look like my boyfriend. The entire time my eyes were fixed to the page as I focused on following the story and adding voices to each character for entertainment’s sake, but I took a pause for once to look down at Soonyoung. He was looking directly at me, eyes peering into my own, and I suddenly felt very vulnerable under his gaze.  

“Soonyoung, I have to tell you something.”

Plop. Right in the middle of Soonyoung’s forehead landed a drop of water. Plop plop plop. Quickly, the rain began to fall and spiraled into a thunderstorm within seconds. Soonyoung jumped up as I rushed to throw my book and all our containers into the basket and run for cover, using the picnic blanket to shield the both of us. The other parkgoers also hurried to find a spot to stay dry and, evidently, we were left with nowhere to go.  

“Let’s try to catch a bus home!” Soonyoung suggested. I nodded, and we sprinted to the stop outside the park entrance, dodging the rain under a couple of trees along the way.  

“You have got to be kidding me!” I shouted. Just outside the gates was a bus, empty and unmoving, with about ten bus drivers with varying degrees of intense protests written on picket signs.  

“Shit, how could I forget? Bus drivers have been on strike all week, there’s no way we’re gonna convince them to bring us home.”  

By now we had been out in the rain for at least four minutes and we were drenched despite our efforts to protect ourselves with the blanket. I should have known. Soonyoung being late in the first place was the first red flag, but I chose to ignore it. I chose to ignore it because I knew I was enjoying what we had, pretending we were a couple. It was so incredibly selfish. It was selfish the way I let myself get caught up in the moment. It was selfish the way I let my bad luck get in the way. It was selfish the way I ruined Soonyoung’s birthday by making it all about me.  

I kept my head down in shame. While my body was freezing cold, my eyes began to burn with tears. I willed them to stay back but I couldn’t stop them, and so they fell and I heaved.  

He turned to me and began to rub my back. “Hey, are you okay?”

I sobbed then. “I’m sorry, Soonyoung. I wanted to make your birthday nice, but I just ruined it.”  

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”  

“No, this was supposed to be your day. Today was supposed to be special. I was supposed to take you to Japan and instead we’re stuck here in the rain, freezing our asses off,” I choked out.  

Looking up, I saw his brow furrow into an unreadable expression. “Maybe we don’t have to be.” He shrugged the blanket off his shoulder, wrapping it around my head, and gently grabbed my hand. In a spontaneous burst of energy not uncommon to Soonyoung, he took off in a run with me trailing behind. He dragged me to the nearest store awning and plucked an umbrella from the bin beside the door.  

“Soonyoung, what are you doing?” I asked.  

“Just follow my lead.”  

With a flourish, he pushed the umbrella open, held it over his head, and sprang out onto the street with a splash. He motioned back to the bin, urging me to grab an umbrella for myself. I hesitantly pulled one out and opened it before joining Soonyoung on the street. He grabbed my hand once again and led me into a simple dance. As we moved about, we kicked up large splashes of rain on the street below us. We spun around, making large strides from side to side and twirling the handles of our umbrellas. Once we were both completely out of breath, we returned to the store awning.  

I regulated my breathing before starting. “Now what was all that about?”  

“I wanted to show you that this day hasn’t been completely ruined. Even if it’s pouring, we can still have a good time if we’re together.” He took my hand in his once more, this time clasping both of his hands around it. They were comfortably and unusually warm considering the current weather conditions. “I say we head home with these umbrellas and make some frozen pizza. What do you think?”  

“That sounds pretty good.” I couldn’t help but smile. “But I still feel pretty shitty about today. I- I don’t exactly have the best luck with these kinds of things.”  

The corner of his lips tugged into a sympathetic grin. “Don’t worry about it.” He gingerly pressed a kiss onto the top of my head. “This is the best birthday date I could ask for.”  

And in that moment, I came to accept what I had with Kwon Soonyoung, my best friend, my roommate, and the object of my affection. After all these years of letting guys into my life and repeatedly getting knocked down, I found the one boy who could quell those worries. I found the one boy who could step up to the universe and tell it to fuck right off as he danced away in the middle of a thunderstorm. I found the one boy who I finally felt lucky to have.  

[m0onbean]

I Know

category: angst angst angst, fluff fluff fluff, friends to lovers!AU, BFF!moonbin, badboy!moonbin, neighbors!moonbin, highschool!AU, basically all my favorite AU’s combined in one LMFAO (i rlly went all out in this scenario)

pairing: moonbin X reader

warnings: cigarettes, abusive parents, cursing, so much fluff omg

note: … you know i had to do it to em

word count: 3.2k 

prompt: don’t do these things or else you will fall in love

(imagine this is as how he looks like)

Don’t fall in love… don’t fall in love

That’s what you repeated in your head as he swung his arm around your shoulder and greeted you playfully like he did every morning. It wasn’t always like this. At one point you actually considered Moonbin as your best friend and adored him only to that extent. But the day a group of girls approached you at your locker and told you they thought Moonbin had a crush on you, your outlook on your friendship had changed.

You didn’t believe them, of course you didn’t! Moonbin was the celebrity of your school: he was cute, sexy, friendly, and rode a motorcycle. He was too good for you. What was not perfect about him?

But those nights when he would crawl into your window and cry into your shoulder, those nights when he would sneak out and take his motorcycle for a late night ride, those nights when he would call you and just sob without any words said… Moonbin wasn’t perfect. His parents neglected him, father would abuse him, and was constantly taken advantage of. So whenever you overheard someone gush about how perfect Moonbin’s life was, all you could do was chuckle.

1. Don’t let the guy next door befriend you.

You peeked out the thin curtains of your window and saw people shuffling around in the house next door. They had moved in right after the previous neighbors had immediately evacuated when they found out rats lived in their roof. You wondered if the current residents were aware and wondered if they would move out too.

Across from your window was one of their bedrooms. Your windows were parallel to eachother although you never got to see inside the house from your room since it was always hidden behind curtains. Now that there were new neighbors, the window was left wide open which inevitably raises your curiosity. Your eyes widened when you realized your houses were only apart by six feet! Who builds houses this close to eachother? In the midst of your amazement, you didn’t notice someone was looking back at you.

There was a tall boy staring at you from across with soft brown eyes. He was wearing a red hoodie and had earbuds plugged in although you couldn’t hear a trace of music playing. His brunette hair was tousled like he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. You two had a stare down, examining eachother cautiously like two puppies forced into a cage together.

“Hey.” you softly greeted with a small wave. You were abnormally shy. After all, when a new boy that’s extremely attractive lives right across from you how are you supposed to react?

He gave you a wide smile and responded with a loud “Hey there!” in contrast to your quiet greeting. “My name is Moonbin!” he cheerfully introduced himself. It startled you at first, but your lips curled up by themselves. You could get used to this.

“And my name is (Y/N)!”

“(Y/N), that’s a cute name.” he nonchalantly complimented although it had your heart racing. Cute? “I guess I’ll be seeing you around! Let’s be friends!”

“Sure, why not?” you practically sang with joy. His optimism was really rubbing off on you well. The two of you talked for a bit about what school he was going to attend.

When you found out he was going to the same high school as you did, you couldn’t help but beam. You were intrigued with Moonbin, you wanted to learn more about him. You started to imagine how everyone at school would be like. They would all want to be his friend most likely, judging from your encounter, he seemed like a chill dude.

The both of you said farewells and closed the curtains for the night.

2. Don’t be friends with bad boys… especially extremely attractive ones.

When Moonbin pulled out cigarettes from his pocket, you instantly snatched them out of his hands.

“Hey!” he yelped but was too late for you had already threw them into the nearest trash can and stomped them in. When you turned back to him, Moonbin was pouting like a baby who had his toy taken away by his parents.

“Cigarettes are bad for you. You’re still at a young age… You can’t get addicted!” you scolded.

“What if I already am?” he shrugged and occupied his hands by shoving them in the pockets of his leather jacket.

When you first met Moonbin, you would find it hard to believe that the boy was a troublemaker. A bad boy, as they call it. Every girl gloried the idea of falling in love with one but you didn’t find the appeal. Although bad boys who act tough on the outside but have a heart of marshmallows sounds cute, you still found their habits disgusting. But whenever you thought of this, it always sounded like you were trying to convince yourself.

“Moonbin…” you ran your hands in your hair and deeply sighed. “If you want to have a better future and escape your family you need to get good grades and quit bad habits. They’ll only slow your progress down.”

If anyone else was lecturing him like this, Moonbin would’ve already hopped onto his motorcycle and drove away. But since you were you, and you were his best friend, and Moonbin knew you were always right, he listened and sighed. When was there a time you were wrong?

“You’re right (Y/N), but it’s harder than you think. It’s my only relief other than riding my bike.”

“Find something else that eases your stress!” you suggested and offered him an encouraging smile. Dammit. That smile always gets to him. You could see his tense muscles relax and now he was smiling back at you.

“I think your smile makes me relax.” he cheesily confessed. It made your heart flutter, although he always said corny platonic things like that.

“Great, then I’ll smile all the time if it means you’ll quit smoking!” you cheer and loop your arm with his. He chuckles and you both continue to happily stroll around the streets.

3. Don’t break rules for him.

The moonlight from your window shined onto your clock where it now read 1:00 AM. Why couldn’t you fall asleep? You had been laying on your bed for around an hour now but no matter what position you shifted to, or how many sheep you could count, you just couldn’t fall into slumber.

Maybe it was because you knew that Moonbin was probably dangerously driving his motorcycle around town at this time and is probably breaking all speed limits. You have come to learn that he did this every time his dad would yell at him. His anger would fuel his bike, and you would always get paranoid that he would get arrested or even worse: crash.

You shuddered in fear. You tried to voice your concerns but Moonbin would just wink at you and say, “Worried about me sweetheart? I’ll be fine. I’ve driven this thing for more than two years now!”

Just when you were about to open your curtains to check if his lights were open, you saw your phone light up from your desk. You tossed your heavy blankets off your body and reached for it. It was a text from Moonbin.

1:01 am dumb bff: come outside 1:01 am you: why? 1:01 am you: are you okay? 1:02 am dumb bff: yes 1:02 am dumb bff: escape ur window and meet me in front of my house

You were about to type a protest until one last message popped up.

1:02 am dumb bff: & hurry up

4. Don’t join him.

You decided to join Moonbin. It was a crazy idea, you know. Your parents were in the other room and they could easily catch you. But judging from their snoring, you knew that you would be fine. Or you hoped.

Before quickly fleeing from your window, you threw on a warm hoodie but kept your sweatpants on. With the adrenaline rushing in your blood, you quickly jumped out from your window (you made sure to close it behind you) and ran to the front of his house.

Moonbin was leaning against his jet black motorcycle and his eyes were closed. You almost wanted to stop and take a picture of the view. His hair was messed up (probably from the wind) and he was wearing his black ripped jeans. The moon reflected off his face, highlighting his face structures and jawline. Damn. He was handsome.

“Moonbin!” you whisper-shouted when you approached him. You were angry at him but relieved to see that he was safe as well. “I told you not to ride at night!”

He opened one eye and examined your attire. He smirked and stood up straight, brown eyes boring into yours. “Why aren’t you wearing my hoodie?”

“I-what?” you looked down and saw that you had thrown on a basic hoodie you really liked. What was wrong with it?

“Tsk tsk tsk.” he playfully scolded. “I gave you my red hoodie for a reason (Y/N)! You’re supposed to wear it every time we meet.”

You rolled your eyes at his possessiveness although you appreciated the attention. Maybe you SHOULD wear it if it made him happy. But don’t only couples do that stuff? You shook that thought away… Nope. We aren’t going to be thinking about that now.

“Here, wear this.” He turned his body around and pulled out another one of his hoodies that came out of nowhere. Does he just have a stash of clothing for you to wear? You gratefully took it from his hands and inspected it. This time it was a baseball jersey that had “Moonbin” written on the back with the number “7” on it.

“You played baseball?” you inquired while putting your arms through the sleeves and enjoying the extra warmth from it.

“Yeah, I was the star player.” he boasted. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

And that was true. You didn’t know much of his past other than the fact that his family hated his existence. You didn’t know the reason for that either but decided not to push it since it seemed like Moonbin was uncomfortable talking about it.

“That should change.” you murmured and dusted the dirt off the jacket.

He didn’t respond but instead watched your every move. You looked good in his clothing.

“Anyways, let’s not waste time. Hop on the Moonbin train, we’re going to my favorite place!” he exclaimed while straddling his bike. You followed, sitting behind him and tightly wrapping your arms around his torso. Without warning, he started the engine and drove into the night.

With your body so close to his, you felt your cheeks burning and were thankful he couldn’t see your face. Although you’ve ridden with him many times before, it always felt so intimate. You were scared he could feel your heart rapidly beating in your chest.

After making several sharp turns and racing red lights, Moonbin stopped at a tall building that looked abandoned from the outside. There were no cars parked around it and the signs were all washed off.

“Moonbin… are you going to do the cliche thing and take me to the rooftop to stare at the stars?”

“…Perhaps.”

But you weren’t complaining. You two raced eachother up the stairs and planted your backs on the concrete while admiring the twinkling balls of fire above. If you rolled on your back you would be kissing noses with him which sounded tempting but you were careful not to do. It was especially hard to resist when the floor was so cold but… comfortable. You wanted to curl up and sleep away the hours you were deprived of earlier.

“Are you sleeping?” Moonbin finally breaks the peaceful silence.

“Almost.” you quietly replied.

“Well don’t. I don’t want to carry you back.”

“I’ll try not to asshole.”

You both giggled at the friendly banter and your heart felt so warm and safe. It always felt nice in Moonbin’s presence. It was like you both understood eachother even if you didn’t exchange words.

“I want to go to space.” Moonbin breaks the silence again.

“Why?”

“It’s far away from here.”

“That sounded really emo.”

“But it’s true.” He rotated his face and stared at your side profile. It made your heartbeat accelerate. The proximity of your faces was so small.

“Thank you, (Y/N).”

“You’re welcome, Moonbin.”

From the corner of your eyes, you could see him frown.

“I’m serious… thank you. You know I’m bad at expressing myself.” A tinge of sadness was hidden in his voice. He didn’t need to explain himself. You knew that it was difficult for him.

“I know Moonbin. It’s okay, you don’t have to explain.”

5. Don’t kiss him.

Another fight.

You didn’t have to check, you could hear his dad screaming from the other side of your room.

“You’re useless ! You can’t even get good grades, and you’re always sneaking out at night! When will you learn? Do you want to move to another state AGAIN?”

You winced at his words. If only he knew that he was the sole reason Moonbin couldn’t raise his grades. But at the same time, his dad was his motivation. The sooner he could end high school with a diploma, he can run off and attend a college with the money he had been saving up.

Usually during their arguments, Moonbin wouldn’t try to retaliate. Because his dad was like bubble, his words would bounce off and wouldn’t even be taken into consideration.

“I would be more than happy if you just fucking hopped on your motorcycle and left by yourself. You’re taking up too much of my money anyways.”

That last sentence hurt. It made you clench your fists and blood boil. No parent should be talking to their child like that. Plus his dad BARELY spent ANY money on Moonbin. Most days Moonbin would go without eating (but you of course forced him to eat.)

You predicted the door would slam and the window would creak open. Moonbin would hop into your room and just lay down next to you without a word. If it calmed his nerves, you would always let him in.

And that’s just what happened. You heard his window creak which made you shoot up and open your window for him. This night he looked ESPECIALLY tired. Eye bags hung underneath his usually shining eyes. His hair was oily like it hadn’t been washed in days. He looked so exhausted, like he could knock out any moment.

You helped him in and shut the window behind him. Immediately your arms flew around his torso and you embraced him. You thought back to his wish of flying to space. More than anything, you wanted to go to space with him. You wanted him to have a better life. You wanted him to go far far away and not worry or stress about anything.

He silently hugged you back, and although you knew he was deprived of strength, he hugged you back just as tightly.

“Moonbin, let’s go to sleep. You’re tired.”

He emits no reponse.

“Moonbin?”

When you look up to his face, you were taken aback. Two, fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

You had never seen him cry before. He was so strong, shielding his emotions for so long now. And now that shield was shredding as more tears followed and now he was sobbing into your shoulders. His hands were trembling uncontrollably and were gripping so tightly on your shirt. His body shook with each sob.

You reached for his hands from behind your back and interlaced fingers.

“It’s okay Moonbin, you can cry.” you comforted.

Suddenly, he lifted his head from your shoulder and disconnected your hands. You look up expectantly, only to feel his face smash into yours. His soft, pink lips fit so perfectly against your lips.

Your whole body froze. You felt dizzy and your whole body was in a daze. Months of confused emotions and months of you trying not to get feelings, you finally realize that this was what you wanted.

To be with him.

After a few seconds of processing what just happened, you finally were able to react and you kissed him back just as passionately. No words were exchanged once again as you two pulled back and stared at eachother’s eyes.

A small smile crept on your face and you saw one creep onto Moonbin’s as well.

Finally.

6. I love you.

Those words escaped from his mouth so smoothly like water flowing from a faucet.

You two were sitting across from eachother at a table inside the cute cafe that was located by your school. You were furiously scribbling onto your notepad, taking notes for your presentation the next day. Moonbin was watching you intently, finding the way you would just stare at your paper like it made no sense or how you would quietly mouth the words to yourself adorable. Plus you were wearing his baseball jersey and he couldn’t stop admiring it and wondering how you always manage to look better in his clothes than he does himself.

He never felt that spike in his heart unless he was around you or thinking about you, and now he could feel it aching with passion just watching you study. So when he said those three words, it was so effortless. It was like he opened an enclosed bird cage, and the birds were escaping freely and happily. He always felt trapped whenever he would try to say those three words but immediately stop himself at the last nerve wracking minute. Something about the word “love” made him scared. Scared of the consequences.

Which funnily enough was what he taught you not to be. All those times he made you sneak out of your house or ditch school, he was teaching you to not be afraid. But all of the time he was afraid as ever. Afraid of emotions which he thought didn’t exist. He was a hypocrite. Regardless, you were still always by his side. Always there for him. Which is why when he finally said it, he felt like he was finally let go.

Your pen froze as you slowly looked up at him. His eyes were hopeful and mouth was smiling so widely it could fall off his face. He wasn’t scared about you not requiting. Because, for a fact, he knew you were just as in love as he was. Okay, but he was still more in love than you were with him. THAT is something you two would argue about in the future.

“I love you too.” you quickly reply when you realize it probably looked like you left him hanging. You wanted to say more but it all came out as incoherent stammers. Moonbin chuckled at your stuttering and cut you off.

“I know, you don’t have to explain yourself.”

note: PHEW! sorry i know it’s not much of a highschool!AU but still… i literally just combined every single genre i love and omg im so proud of myself! *pat pat* gj becky! hoped you guys liked it, i’m currently working on a similar scenario for sanha :)

[nikky-the-writer]

The verdict

Son of Ragnar x Reader

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Masterlist

Summary: AU

Reader is a Goddess and one of Odins best warriors, but when something bad happens, she is forced to run away.

Warning: blood, cursing

You couldn’t sit still in the Great hall. You kept turning around and every time your eyes would stop at something different. There were so many people there, all with different clothes and hair and you didn’t know what to think about it. That is why you were constantly tapping Floki on his shoulder to ask him things. ˝So is Lagartha bad? Do we hate her or do we love her?˝ You asked suddenly. ˝What?˝

˝Well I don’t think that I will get a chance to talk to her. I just want to know which opinion to have about her. I know who she is, but not what kind of a person.˝ ˝Go talk to her.˝ Floki said finally getting up from his sit. When he disappeared from your side you placed your elbows on the table and held your chin on your palms. Now when you weren’t talking with Floki you actually had time to listen to other people’s conversations to hear for what they stand. There weren't many things that took your attention it was mostly drunken conversations and nothing more. Still, one conversation got your attention at the same time when you heard something dragging against the wooden floor. You saw a man dragging his body but you couldn’t see his face, but that wasn’t what irritated you at the moment. The man next to you was insulting the man on the ground with his friend and you couldn’t think of the reason why so you turned to him when you couldn’t find Floki.

˝Can I ask you something?˝ You tapped man’s shoulder and he turned around with a smile after he saw you. He was young, at least you thought so. For you he was young, but among them, you didn't know.  ˝Is he a bad warrior?˝ You asked him and he looked at you not answering so you changed your question a bit: ˝The man that you were just talking about, is he a bad warrior?˝ ˝Why are you asking that?˝ He asked leaning closer to you. ˝He is a Viking just as you are, but you are mocking him. Is it because he is a bad warrior?˝ You asked again not understanding this type of behavior. On Asgard, warriors were celebrated not mocked at and you knew that almost every Viking was a warrior so that left you confused. ˝No, I mean he is…˝ He stopped, coming closer to you. ˝Just look at him he is a cripple. You shouldn’t worry about him he could never win anything for you. You should hold your attention on me. I could bring you gold from the raids.˝ He placed his hand on your thigh and you just stared at him because nobody has ever touched you without your permission. And about the gold, he couldn’t even imagine that you possess things that worth hundreds times more than it. ˝Just because he is a cripple? I’ve seen great warriors falling from the swords of blind or crippled man, my friends. So I do not understand why are you saying those things. If he is a such a bad Viking why don’t you fight him?˝ You asked finally taking actions on his hand that was moving higher. You grabbed something that looked to you like a fork and then you placed your hand on his. ˝I…˝ Fear was written on his face and he tried to move his hand, but you held it in the place. ˝I think that in the battle you would be the first one to fall.˝ That set him off.  ˝What do you know about fighting? You are not a shieldmaiden. You are just a woman waiting for someone to put a child in you. You don’t worth more than a thrall.˝ You smiled dryly squeezing his hand and forcing it on the bench where you were sitting. Not even blinking, with all the strength you had in yourself you stabbed him. You got the attention of some men around your table and the whole hall went quiet when the man next to you let a loud scream cursing. ˝I want to fight you.˝ You let go of the fork, standing up. ˝Woman just sit down and shut up˝ He sat placing his wrist closer to him. He cursed again if you were any other woman he would take you on that and possible rape you after, but he knew that maybe just a few man in the Great hall would have balls to do what you just did in front of everyone and that worried him. He would rather find you in the dark when you will have your guard down than now in front of everyone. ˝Are you afraid? I will even fight in the dress.˝ You said smiling and in the corner of your eye you could see Floki rushing to your side through the crowd. Your words and behavior didn’t go unnoticed by the queen Lagartha or any son of Ragnar who were amused to see a foreign girl trying to pick a fight with one of their warriors. ˝Is this something that you should deal in the privacy of your home?˝ Lagartha asked and you had to stop yourself from laughing. ˝No, my queen. I do not know this man, but he insulted me and my honor. I am not one of your warriors or a man, but I know how to fight. I do not doubt in myself as the man next to me does. He doesn’t even want to fight a cripple even after he said that the cripple couldn’t win any fight.˝ ˝Y/N!˝ You heard Floki’s voice. ˝Sit down!˝ You wanted to protest, but something caught your attention. A young man that was taking his axe into his hands. You recognized him, but not just as a cripple, but as a son of Ragnar. He maybe looked a bit different than his father, but you could never forget that look that Ragnar would have on his face before he teaches someone a lesson.  So it didn’t surprise you when he threw his axe towards the man who insulted him. You could’ve stopped it, you could’ve caught it in the midair before it hit the man’s head, but you didn’t because that would be just like another insult for him in front of everyone. You respected Ragnar and part of you respected his sons although you didn’t know them. When everyone calmed down after his assault somebody spoke. ˝You know her Floki?˝ One son asked. He was the same as Ragnar with the same hair and blue eyes. ˝Yes, she is my cousin. She is just visiting.˝ Floki said quickly pulling you closer to him. He was about to drag you out when you heard someone’s voice: ˝Fight me.˝ ˝Ivar stop it!˝ Floki said still trying to leave, but you stopped him turning around. ˝And why would you want that?˝ You said staring at him. You tried to analyze him as you would analyze your every opponent. ˝You wanted to fight him, a coward˝ People around you start to whisper and you smiled sweetly. ˝How can we know that he was a coward, maybe he just didn’t want to waste his time on the battles he thought he could win.˝ You stated aware that you were playing with fire, but you didn’t care because that kind of fire could never burn you. Ivar parted his lips to say something, but no words came out. He moved in his sit not breaking the eye contact. ˝Than he is an idiot, a dead idiot. And now is the moment to decide what you are.˝ ˝I know who and what I am.˝ You said breaking the staring contest and before taking Floki’s hand you added: ˝I do not need a word of a man to see the greatness, I do not need your decisions or your permission. But you do, don’t you? Your father would be disappointed in you.˝ Ivar’s mind became clouded with rage in the blink of an eye, he was on the floor hurrying towards you. You stayed standing in the same place daring him to do something, but his brothers stopped him pulling him from the ground. ˝Floki, get her out of here!˝ One of the brothers yelled while Lagartha was observing everything. There was something inside her telling her that she should keep you close to herself as a new ally. Floki had to throw you over his shoulder to get you out, but he couldn’t stop you from smirking at the young prince.

Floki didn’t ask you anything when you came back to his cabin. He let you alone as you placed your palm around the blue stone. You were on the ground staring at the sky talking. ˝Father, forgive me for failing you. I will find you, I promise you. I spent too much of my time being loyal to someone who destroyed my family, but he was never aware that the root of my loyalty is towards you. When I find you, we will kill him together and then the accusations for both of us will finally be true. My heart is with you.˝ You feel asleep on dirt not caring about it, you slept in places worse than that, so sleep easily found you.

A/N: Thank you for reading!! Tell me if you want to be added to the tag list

Tag list:

@skeletoresinthebasement, @zadyalyss, @alphabet-baby, @som3thingcr3ative, @sweetvengeancee, @no-fate-but-what-we-make, @asenseofadventure, @human-dorito, @ally22042000, @haukrhjarta, @irishhiggins, @tinymoonshine, @alwaysandforeverfangirl,

@seremedyxiii, @radi0active-thoughts, @ballerinafairyprincess, @titty-teetee, @unicorntrooper, @fuckthatfeeling, 

@the-greatest-1919, @evieatepies, @anyrchy-is-coming,

@alexa040004

 @weirdestmentalityphilosopher, @acunningstargazer,

@onjacks-blog

[korean-hellhole]

Everything.

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Fluff/Christmas/YouTuber AU

About: You receive cute bunny plush from one of your viewers for Christmas.

Word Count: 2k.8

Date: 11 December 2017

A/N: This is the first story for my BTS Christmas Masterlist which is being updated throughout December! I hope you like this story I’m crying over how cute this guy is. ;-;

“I still can’t believe so many people send you so many Christmas gifts every year. Honestly (Y/N) …your viewers are so fucking devoted, I can’t even. Look at this! Somebody got you something from fucking Swarovski!”

You giggled at your friend’s astonishment before turning to continue stacking up the Christmas presents that had piled up in your room.

“Remember not to open any of them Lexi!”

She huffed, slightly disappointed she wouldn’t be able to see what was inside the fancy blue jewellery box and walked over to you with another wrapped present. “Yeah yeah I know, you open all the gifts during the filming of your video.”

You nodded, smiling as she groaned playfully every time she saw an expensive gift. “I swear I would become a Youtuber just for the sake of receiving this many presents in Christmas…”

Lexi grabbed a heavy package from the floor before turning around to leave it on the heap of gifts on top of your bed when she bumped into another present.

The gift box fell from the presents tower, tumbling into the ground and you watched as the lid slid towards your bedroom’s door before rushing to pick up the box.

Kneeling down next to the package, you couldn’t help but shyly peek inside the topless container and your breath hitched. Your friend’s apologies fell silent to your ears as your eyes landed on the grey bunny soft toy resting on top of a velvety surface.

Before your mind could even process what you were doing, you had picked the soft rabbit from the box so you could hold it closer to you. The bunny’s ears flopped beside its face in an endearing manner and the two large black eyes shined innocently back at you.

You tugged at the bright red bow tied around its neck marvelling at the rich smooth texture of it and glanced back to the box to notice a rectangular shaped card lying where the bunny once lied.

Picking up the cream coloured card with your free hand, you smiled as you read the neat handwriting written.

His name is Kookie.

“Kookie huh?” Your eyes lit up at the cute name and Lexi chuckled while smirking at you. “What happened with not opening any gifts before filming (Y/N)?”

“Well you were the one who knocked the present.”

She puffed her cheeks indignantly when she couldn’t think of anything to counter your argument but grinned at the bunny in your hands. “It is pretty cute. Who’s it from?”

You looked for the name of Kookie’s last owner and shrugged when it was nowhere to be found. “I don’t know; they didn’t leave their name.” Your friend gasped dramatically, her eyes glinting mischievously. “What if it was a boy? Oooh (Y/N) you have a secret admirer ~~”

“Oh hush.” You smiled at her antics and placed the last present on top of your bed before resting your hands against the curve of your hips and admiring the pile of gifts your precious viewers had sent you. Just like Lexi, you were extremely surprised when your followers had started sending gifts, it had started three years ago when one of your fans had given you a Christmas present. You had been so excited, you uploaded a video thanking the sweet girl for the package and to your dismay, the following year you had found a pile of Christmas gifts from your viewers on your doorstep that seemed to increase during the whole month of December.

So, you had decided to make it a tradition to open all the presents in annual video you posted mid December. The gifts ranged from cute cartoon drawings of yourself to luxurious and sparkling jewelry and despite adoring every single present, you silently wondered if you were worth all this affection from people you’d never even met before.

You looked away from the heap of presents, your gaze setting on the white scenery outside your house. Small snowflakes sat around the edges of your window and they seemed to slowly melt away with the late afternoon winter sunlight. “I should start filming before the sun sets.” You muttered softly, hugging the bunny close to your chest before glancing at your friend with pleading eyes.

Lexi rolled her eyes, knowing she was about to get kicked out and walked out of the bedroom, waving as she left. “I know when I’m being asked to leave, text me when you finished (Y/N)!”

You waved back before closing the door and rushing to set up your film gear and camera out and sat on your bed. Hiding the bunny behind your back, you smiled and faced the the camera just as it started filming and smiled sweetly, waving enthusiastically at the lens.

“Hi guys, Merry Christmas!”

Jungkook stumbled into his room in a hurry, groaning as he bumped into the walls and furniture and flopped onto the bed to reach for his laptop desperately.

After receiving a Twitter notification from your account informing your followers that your new ‘Opening viewers’ Christmas gifts’ was being released today at 8 PM (PST), he soon realized that was exactly in 5 minutes and immediately rushed to wait for the video.

Struggling to plug in his headphones, his mind went into frenzy as he watched the time on the top corner of the screen.

12:56PM (KST)

“Fuck.” He muttered, noting the video was 4 minutes from being uploaded. The YouTube page popped up and he typed in your name hurriedly in the search bar. Your smiling face appeared on the bright screen and he clicked on it, his cheeks flushing at how cute you look in that picture.

His finger tapped the cool surface of his laptop and his leg bounced impatiently as he stared at the time intently. The raven haired boy silently willed for time to speed up, cheering loudly when the digits on the clock shifted.

12:57PM (KST)

The boy’s eyes darted around the room, trying to find a distraction and spotted the trashcan which was filled with cream coloured cards with the phrase: ‘His name is Kookie’ written on them.

His heart pounded loudly against his chest at the thought of watching your adorable expressions and hearing you giggle at the crazy gifts your viewers had bought.

Jungkook had been watching you for exactly 2 years now, your cheerfulness and endearing clumsiness capturing his heart, and it had taken him exactly the same amount of time to get past his fear of rejection and buy you a Christmas present. It had started out as spark of curiosity when a classmate of his introduced your channel to him, he found amusement in how embarrassed you could get at small insignificant things, until he soon realized that the interest had grown into affection while he wasn’t looking and all of his thoughts were gradually occupied by you, your smile, your laugh… everything about you made his knees weak.

The raven haired boy had been taking a walk down the streets of Seoul with his friends when a grey bunny soft toy sitting on an armchair in a store window caught his eye and the boy immediately rushed into the shop.

He remembered Taehyung and Jin asking what was wrong as the six boys awkwardly walked into the girly store to stand behind their maknae. Jungkook gingerly took the rabbit and he couldn’t help but imagine you holding the grey bunny, playing with its long floppy ears, snuggling with it while looking outside the window with sheets wrapped heavily around your body and his heart sped up in excitement.

12:58PM (KST)

“Is it for your girlfriend?”

Jungkook turned to see a girl staring at him expectantly, when they made eye contact she grinned and gestured towards the name tag on her shirt. “I work here.” She explained and the boy nodded in understanding before looking back down at the bunny.

“Hyungs! What do you think of this for (Y/N)?”

The boys groaned, realizing what this was all about, except Jimin; who grinned and gave him thumbs up. “Are you finally getting her a Christmas present Jungkookie?” Jungkook smiled fondly and nodded, before gulping nervously when he read the price tag.

“She’s worth everything.” He whispered after a while and handed the bunny plush to the girl.

She beamed and took the grey rabbit over to the cash register, the boys following, snickering at the love struck expression on their maknae’s face.

12:59PM (KST)

Min Yoongi sighed as he watched the young boy walk cheerfully with a small skip on his step and wondered loudly. “Jungkook-ah I don’t want to question your judgement but in what fucking world do you think 150,000 won on a soft toy for a girl you don’t even know is a good idea?”

Jin smacked the blonde boy, worried he might have angered Jungkook. He knew how sensitive the youngest was when it came to the famous American YouTuber: (Y/N) but was shocked when all Jungkook did was chuckle at Yoongi’s bluntness and swing the bag cheerfully.

“Like I said before…(Y/N)’s worth everything.”

1:00PM (KST)

The moment the digits shifted once more, Jungkook snapped from his daze and before he knew what he was doing, his finger had tapped on the refresh button and your new video popped up.

The boy’s fingers guided the mouse clumsily towards the most recent video and and clicked with so much force he was sure the trackpad would crack.

Your smiling face appeared on screen and Jungkook swore at that moment, he had never been more in love with anyone else as he was with you. He stared at the cute red antlers sticking up from your glossy hair framing your face and the way your large baby pink sweater sleeves engulfed your hands in the most endearing manner as you raised them to wave at the camera.

“Hi guys, Merry Christmas!”

Jungkook blushed heavily at the sight of your sweet smile and gentle eyes that seemed to twinkle under the Christmas lights hanging on your bedroom wall. He yearned to be sitting next to you on the bed, to wrap his arms around your waist and have you lean against his chest fall asleep, listening to the sound of his steady heartbeat and to wake you up by showering your adorable face with light kisses until you were giggling uncontrollably.  

The raven haired boy tore his gaze from you to look at the presents neatly stacked on your bed and tried to find that familiar cardboard box with the huge red bow he’d spent countless hours making and tensed when it was nowhere to be seen.

Had the present not arrived to California yet?

Did it get lost in the way?

Did you even know it existed?!

Fear and disappointment washed over Jungkook as you slowly started opening each present with care, your eyes lighting up at every gift before thanking the person with a bright beam. He watched you with a sad smile on his face, even though he had just lost almost half of his savings on a gift that was never going to reach you…even though his heart ached at the thought of you never being able to hold the soft bunny he had picked out for you with so much fondness, just watching you grin and giggle brought a smile into his face.

Deep inside though, he was slightly relieved you hadn’t gotten his present. Compared to the expensive crystal necklaces and earrings you had received, a simple grey rabbit seemed so small and inferior. The boy gazed at your figure longingly as you turned your head to look for more presents to open before twisting back to the camera, your grin lighting up your entire face, arms hidden behind your back.

“Well, I guess we finished opening all the gifts!”

Jungkook sagged, his head hanging low. So his present really hadn’t arrived…

“…Well...all except for one.”

The raven haired boy tensed, looking back at the laptop screen to watch you giggle nervously. “I know I always open all the presents so you guys can see my reaction, but my best friend, Lexi, was here and she bumped into one of the boxes while we were organizing them and I just couldn’t help but peek inside when the lid fell off the package!” You avoided looking into the camera lens as you confessed what you had done in shame.

Jungkook’s eyes widened as you brought your arms from behind your back, holding a grey bunny plush in your hands and his breath hitched.

Is that…?

“The person who gave this to me never wrote their name on the package but I really want to thank you mysterious gifter! His name is Kookie, isn’t he just the cutest!”

The boy read the Korean subtitles as fast as he could before glancing up at your face and he was sure at that moment, he had never felt to happy. You had the bunny hugged against your pink sweater, your cute nose nuzzling the top of his head making Jungkook’s heart feel like it was about to burst from his chest.

He was in love with you. He was sure of it. He loved you so much it physically hurt him to watch your grin on the screen, to know that your bright laughs and warm smiles weren’t directed to him and him only, he was so close yet so far away from you, before he knew it, a tear had slipped  onto his pale cheek, followed by another and another.

“Anyways, before I finish this video I just wanted to let you guys know I will be travelling to another country for the holidays…In fact, by the time I’ve uploaded this video I will probably be already there! I’m not telling you guys where I’m headed but I’ll keep you updated so make sure to not miss any of my travel blogs!”

You winked playfully at the camera and waved goodbye before the screen went black. With that, Jungkook closed the lid of his laptop and lied on his bed, eyes fluttering shut, an involuntary grin stretching across his lips.

He was right…You were worth everything.

The raven haired boy stuffed his hands into the pocket of his red hoodie and shivered at the cold. It was snowing in Seoul and as much Jungkook enjoyed the beauty of the first snow slowly falling into the city streets, he definitely did not appreciate the the crude cold it brought with it.

As he turned around the corner, a flash of pink caught his eye and the boy’s gaze fell on a girl standing a block away from him. Her fingers clutched a map of the city as she looked around the streets in confusion. Jungkook could only see her back but he was sure that large pink sweater looked familiar and those glossy locks that enticed him like a moth to a flame could only belong to one person.

“I just wanted to let you guys know I will be travelling to another country for the holidays…”

Realization hit the boy like a ton of bricks as Jungkook continued staring at the back of her head… Was he dreaming? Of course, he had imagined scenarios where the two of you would meet someday but he didn’t think it was possible!

…

Could it?

There was only one way to find out.

With his heart pounding so loud he was sure the girl would be able to hear it even from a block away, Jungkook gulped and walked towards her, his hands shaking as he stopped, his dark eyes never leaving the girl’s figure as she turned her map sideways, oblivious to the nervous wreck behind her.

“E-excuse m-me?” The raven haired boy tapped her shoulder lightly and held his breath as he waited for the girl to notice him.

As soon the boy spoke, you froze and stopped fidgeting with the paper map you had bought after leaving the airport. His words were heavily laced with Korean accent but you clearly recognized them as English and you turned around to face him, a relieved smile stretching across your lips at the thought of speaking to someone in a language you actually understood.

“Hello…Can I help you?”

Jungkook felt his heart stop when you turned on the heel of your boot to glance up at him, those dazzling eyes he could recognize anywhere meeting his, and a warm smile lighting up the entire city that was dedicated just for him and him only.

No fucking way.

Thanks for reading and don’t hesitate to reblog, like and comment if you enjoyed it!

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[promptoargentumsgirlfriend]

Runaway Royalty (Chapter 1?) - Prompto x OC

@self-insertlove

And here we have the Royalty AU prompt!

Now, some of you might be wondering about the (Chapter 1?) up there, and that’s because while I intended for this to be a one-shot, I do have some ideas and left this open-ended in the case that people find this interesting and want to see it continue! So let me know if you want to see more! I had a different royalty related AU I wanted to do as a project, but I can always do this instead if people prefer it.

If you can’t tell, I got a bit out of hand with this one, but it’s only because I had so much fun writing it!

Words: 3625

This was total bullshit.

Katia knew that being the next in line to the Lucian throne wasn't easy, living the life of a princess wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But hearing this? This was completely different. They'd lost the war with Nifelhiem, and were now being forced to sign a peace treaty. Not only were they losing all land that was not the capital city, but the deal required her to get married to their prince, some guy she didn't even know and didn't want to. She had already assumed he'd be just like his father Emperor Aldercapt, a man hungry for power and control. While the idea of marriage had never crossed her mind, she certainly didn't want to be married to someone like that.

But being who she was, she didn't have a choice in the matter. It was for the good of the Kingdom, that's what her father had said anyway. So here she was, stuck in the car with her entourage, on her way to Altissa to meet her soon-to-be husband. "Just so you all know, I am not happy about this." she pouted as she stared out at the landscape passing by her.

"Yes Katia, you've made that exceedingly clear by this point." Ignis, her royal adviser since she was three, responded.

"Honestly, you couldn't make that any more clear if you tried." Gladiolus, her personal bodyguard and trainer, added on.

"I mean, you're acting like this is the end of the world or something, Kat." Noctis, her best friend since high school, chimed in.

Katia turned to the backseat where he was casually resting, probably trying to fall asleep no doubt. "That's easy for you to say, you're not the one getting married here," she said. "So tell me again why we know next to nothing about my betrothed again?"

"Aldercapt's son isn't out in the public eye," Ignis explained, almost as if he'd memorized this information before hand. She wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. "It is known that he exists, but it would seem that Aldercapt has sheltered him and does not let him leave the castle. He's so isolated that finding out anything about him is an exercise in futility. All that could be found is that he is around your age. Everything else is just rumors."

For a brief moment, Katia felt sorry for him. His life was the complete opposite of hers. Her father had allowed her to live her life, even sending her to a public school instead of some fancy private place. But this guy didn't have any freedom. She couldn't imagine what that was like.

"We don't even have a name?" Gladio asked.

"I'm afraid not." Ignis said.

"Well that sure is helpful." Noctis remarked.

"I'll say. How are we even supposed to know who he is when we get there?" Katia asked, her sour attitude returning.

"Nifelhiem's chancellor will be with him. He will be waiting for us and will be our key to meeting the prince in person," Ignis answered. "And Katia, at least pretend to be nice to him."

"I can't make any promises, sorry." Katia said.

The car pulled in to Galdin Quay, their only stop before getting on the boat to Altissia. "Finally, I thought we'd never make it!" Noctis said as the group stepped out. "Mind if we chill out for a little while? I need to stretch my legs before I have to sit on a boat for who knows how long." Katia had to suppress a smile. Thank the Six Noctis was here, she was running out of reasons to stall the trip any more than they had. She didn't care if Noctis was making shit up or telling the truth, she'd be happy with just an hour of freedom.

"He's got a point. No reason to jump on the boat straight away after all." Gladio added.

Ignis sighed. "I suppose we can wait here for a while. I should check the boat schedule anyway so we know when to leave. We'll meet back here in an hour. Until then, feel free to explore, but don't leave the resort." He glared over at Katia in particular.

"Oh come on, Iggy. Like I'm gonna try to sneak away by myself without any way to get back home," she said. "Anyway, see you guys in an hour!" Without waiting to hear another word, she ran off towards the beach, hoping to relax with her hour of freedom in hand.

However, fate had a different idea in store for her. Upon separating herself from the guys and thinking about what to do first, she felt her arm being grabbed and turned her head to see some random guy holding on to her. "Hey! Sorry, no time to explain! I need you to come with me!"

Before she could object, she found herself randomly being dragged away by this strange guy. They kept running until they reached the dock, hiding under it as the guy tried to catch his breath. "Who the hell are you, and why did you just drag me underneath the dock?" Katia asked.

The looked at her with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that," he tried to apologize. Now that they weren't running, Katia could make out what he looked like. He had messy blond hair, styled in a way that reminded her of a chocobo, his blue eyes seemed to reflect an air of innocence, which was only enhanced by the freckles littered around the bridge of his nose. He was actually adorable, but she had to shake those thoughts out of her head. She was about to get married soon, she couldn't be hooking up with some random guy at a time like this no matter how cute he was. "I was just in a hurry to find someone and you were the first person I spotted."

"Why were you in such a rush?" Katia asked, trying not to stare at his face.

"It's a long story," the young man responded. "You wouldn't even believe me if I told you. Let's just say I'm hiding from someone who's following me."

"Alright, fair enough. I'm not gonna force it out of you," Katia said. "What's your name though, I kinda need to know that."

"The name's Prompto. Prompto...Argentum! Yeah, that's it," he introduced himself. It almost seemed like he was trying to think of something in that moment, but it wasn't worth prying into. "What about you?"

Katia froze. She was technically supposed to be incognito right now, but she was terrible at coming up with a fake name. That and this guy seemed trustworthy. She had no idea why, she'd only known him for five seconds, but this Prompto probably wouldn't tell anyone who she was. But she had to make sure. "Okay, don't go telling anyone this though," Before he could ask what she meant, she continued. "I'm Katia."

It only took a second for it to click in Prompto's head and he looked at her with surprise. "Wait, you mean Katia Lucis Ferrum, don't you?!" he asked.

"Yep! That's me!" she said. "Princess of Lucis, heiress to the throne, and a bargaining chip."

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

Prompto seemed to be at a loss for words, only able to stare forward at the cute girl he had grabbed by chance. Out of all the people he had to run into, it just had to be his fiance. Or rather, that's what the lie was.

Being Emperor Aldercapt's son, Prompto knew what was really going on. The peace treaty was a farce, the marriage a sham. It was all an excuse to attack Insomnia, steal the Crystal, and eliminate the line of Lucis. His father had never planned to make peace, all he wanted was the crystal. But Prompto wanted no part in this plan, so he escaped Nifelhiem in the hopes of sending a warning of some sort. In hindsight, he hadn't really thought his plan through all that much, so now he had just been running as far as he could. But he never expected to meet the princess in person, especially not like this. This could be a good thing though, he just had to see where this encounter went.

"Anyway, um, w-what are you doing here in Galdin?" he asked, praying to the Six he didn't sound too flustered or suspicious. The last thing he wanted right not was to scare her away.

"I'm heading to Altissia, or at least I'm supposed to," Katia explained. "Then I'm gonna get married."

"Oh yeah, because of the peace treaty, right?" Prompto asked, receiving a nod from the princess. "You don't sound too happy about it though."

"You got that right, I'm not," Katia said. "I don't even know a thing about the guy I'm supposed to marry! But knowing my luck, he'll probably end up being a total jackass."

"What makes you say that?" Prompto asked, nervous to hear her answer.

"I...I don't know..." Katia mumbled. "I guess I just have a bad feeling about this whole thing, if that makes any sense. I mean, a sheltered prince who's never left Nifelhiem? How am I supposed to feel about that? There's no information about him, and I'm just supposed to accept that he's gonna be my husband? That doesn't sound fair to me. I didn't ask to be the heiress after all," She suddenly stopped in the middle of her rant. "Oh Six, I'm sorry, I just started rambling on to you and you didn't even ask and-"

Prompto stopped her by suddenly grabbing her hand. He wasn't even sure why he did it, he just felt worried about her. He wouldn't lie, the things she said concerning him hurt, but he couldn't really blame her. He had been sheltered, never allowed to leave his estate and kept away from the world. No one knew what he was like, her assumptions weren't without reason. But he couldn't just straight up tell her who he was, could he?

"I get how you feel, it isn't fair," he said. "But think about how he feels about all this. You think he enjoys being locked up like a caged bird, only to be told he has to marry someone he doesn't know either? You're both just pieces in the Empire's game, forced into this crappy position where neither of you can win."

"Hey, are you alright? Your hands are shaking," Prompto looked down and just as she'd said, his hands had started to shake without him even noticing. He hadn't realized just how this whole false marriage thing was making him feel until now. "Prompto, is there-"

"Well then, now that that matter is settled, I should get back to my search." A voice from above drawled out. Prompto's eyes widened and he quickly placed his hand over Katia's mouth. As she was about to attempt to speak through his hand, he brought his finger to his mouth, silently telling her to be quiet. He knew that voice far too well, and just hearing it directly above him was enough to send shivers down his spine. He knew he was being followed ever since he'd escaped Nifelhiem, but he didn't realize his pursuer was Chancellor Izunia.

His footsteps echoed above them, as if he was pacing. "This really is quite troublesome," he mused. "How can this marriage continue without the beloved prince? It surely won't do for the princess and her entourage to arrive in Altissia if her betrothed isn't waiting for her," Prompto could feel his heartbeat racing. If he said too much, his cover would be blown, and who knew what Katia would do then? "No matter, he couldn't have gone too far. If he's not here in Galdin Quay, then I'm certain that he's close by. It's not like he has a means of transportation anymore. Perhaps he's on his way to Insomnia? In that case, I'll just run into him on my way there. Either way, Prince Prompto will not escape my sights for much longer." Ardyn chuckled to himself and walked away, until his laughter and his footsteps could no longer be heard by either of the royals.

Prompto panicked internally. That was exactly what he didn't want to hear from the Chancellor. Now Katia knew who he was, and it wasn't likely she would take it very well. He let go of her mouth, watching as she backed away from him. Just as he thought, she looked confused and hurt. "Prompto, who was that?" she asked. Well, no point in keeping quiet at this point.

"His name is Ardyn Izunia. He's the person I'm running from."

"Izunia? You mean Chancellor Izunia?"

"Yeah."

"And he said Prince Prompto, right? As in your name?"

"...Yeah, he meant me."

"What the... What's going on here?"

"Katia please, let me explain!" He had to tell her the truth, well, as much of the truth as he could. Hitting her with all of his father's plans probably wouldn't go over well with her. "It's true, I'm Prince Prompto Aldercapt, but you have to listen to me! Everything I said earlier is true! I don't want to be part of this marriage either! Not that it has anything to do with you, you seem like a nice and fun person to be around! But I've had no say in how I've gotten to live my life, I don't want to follow in my father's footsteps! I didn't want this life either! That's why I escaped, that's why I came here, I wanted to get as far away from Nifelhiem as possible and live a normal life! I'm sorry I lied, but I didn't know what else to do! I-"

"Woah, Prompto, calm down! You're crying!" Just like before, Prompto hadn't even realized he'd started crying until Katia told him and he wiped his face to find the warm tears falling from his eyes. He noticed that she didn't look upset anymore, it seemed more like she was worried. "It's not your fault, I'm not mad at you," she explained. "It's obvious that neither of us want to be in this situation, and you're definitely not the person I assumed you'd be. You seem to be a nice guy, and I wouldn't mind being your friend. But I'm not sure what we're going to do since I'm supposed to be going to Altissia to get married to you, and instead you're right here. And if what that Ardyn guy said is true, you can't really go anywhere either. We're kinda stuck."

She was right, going to Altissia was pointless now and she couldn't go back to Insomnia. It'd take a miracle for them to find a way out of this awkward position.

"You know Kat, it's not right for you to try and hook up with someone when you're about to get married." A voice Prompto didn't recognize snapped them both out of their thoughts. Standing outside was a young man with black hair and blue eyes, a smirk on his face as he looked over both of them.

"Dammit Noct, that's not what I was doing!" Katia shouted.

"Whatever you say. I won't tell anyone. Anyway, Ignis says that the boats aren't running right now. This reporter said he'd be willing to get us there if we got some rare stones for him, but Ignis wants your opinion on things. So wrap it up and get your ass back to the car before he actually shows some emotion, alright?"

"Okay then, be there in a sec," Katia sighed, as the young man walked away. "Well this just keeps getting more and more interesting."

"It's true, the boats aren't running right now," Prompto said. "Best case scenario, this reporter guy won't be able to get you out of here until tomorrow." And tomorrow would probably be when Insomnia's fall would happen.

"I can live with that," Katia said. The two of them got out from underneath the dock and started walking back to the car. Prompto wasn't sure why he was following her, but she hadn't objected so he didn't say anything. "Hey! I just had an idea!" she suddenly said. She turned around to face him. "Do you know how to fight at all?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Prompto said, he pulled out a gun he'd been keeping in a side holster. "I mean, I was trained in using firearms, but I don't think I'm very good with them."

"That'll work! I'm sure that's good enough!"

"Why do you ask?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to come with me!"

"Huh? But why?"

"Well, you can't stay here. Ardyn's going to realize sooner or later that you're probably still here and will probably force you back. And you can't leave on your own without transportation. But we have a car, and I'm sure you'll fit with the rest of the guys! I mean, we're gonna have to get married eventually, might as well take this chance of freedom to get to know each other."

"But what about when we get to Altissia?"

"We'll worry about that later. Like you said, it'll be at least until tomorrow before we can get there and that's if this guy can pull through for us. Besides, Ardyn can't look for you in Altissia if he's over here, so it's a win-win in my book!"

Prompto wasn't sure he really understood her reasoning, but it wasn't as if she was wrong. Besides, as terrible as it was to think about, they wouldn't even go to Altissia tomorrow if his fathers plan went through. So perhaps rolling with this weird plan would benefit them. "Alright, makes sense to me I guess!"

The pair made it to the car. Prompto saw not only the black-haired guy from before, but a large buff man with tattoos and a man wearing glasses as well. The man with glasses looked over at them, a raised eyebrow the only change in his stern expression. "Katia, who is this?" he asked. This guy was probably Ignis.

"His name's Prompto," Katia explained. "I ran into him on the beach and he said he wants to help us."

"Really now? And what's in it for him?" The burly man asked, his arms crossed. Prompto made a mental note that this guy was not to be messed with.

"Nothing. I just told him about the danger we've been getting into and he offered his services as a sharpshooter." Katia lied.

"He does have a gun on him," The black-haired guy, who Prompto remembered had been called "Noct", pointed out. "A guy like that might be useful, especially since I doubt those stones we have to find are gonna be easy to get."

Ignis sighed. "Katia, you know I dislike it when you lie to me. What is the real reason this Prompto wants to join us?"

"Damn, can't hide anything from you I guess," Katia admitted. "Prompto's running from someone and he doesn't have anywhere to go. He didn't do anything wrong, but he'll be in big trouble if he's caught. I can't stand here and do nothing, it wouldn't be right. I figure that if we take him with us to Altissia, maybe he'd be safer there. Please Ignis, can't he come with us?" Well, she wasn't exactly lying, but it wasn't the truth either.

"You gotta stop putting your heart on your sleeve like that. People'll take advantage of you like that." The buff man said.

"But isn't compassion key in being a good ruler?" Noct asked.

"Yeah, but Kat has this problem where she feels bad about everyone and wants to help them, even when she can't," The buff man stated. "She cares too much to the point that it's a flaw."

"No one asked you, Gladio." Katia said.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt if he came with us," Ignis finally spoke after spending his time thinking things over. "It's not as if he'd be traveling long, just until Altissia, correct?"

"Yeah, I'll get out of your hair then!" Prompto said, figuring that he should at least say something. If Katia kept talking for him than it was bound to look suspicious.

"So it's settled then! Prompto's coming with us! Now let's get those stones or whatever!" Katia said.

"Someone's in a better mood." Gladio said.

"I'm pretty sure I know why." Noct said, the smirk returning again. Katia punched him in the arm.

"No you don't Noct, just get in the car." Katia said.

Before they joined the others, Prompto took hold of her hand. "So when are we gonna tell them who I really am?" he asked in a whisper.

"I guess when they realize we're not gonna find the prince," Katia whispered. "Gladio might be a bit pissed, but I'm sure they'll understand."

"...Thank you again for doing this."

"No problem. Now let's go, we don't want them to get suspicious."

The two royals got in the car, and the group left to find the stones. Prompto felt a pang of guilt in his chest, but it was too late. The lie had already gotten to the point where it was. And it wasn't like he could tell them the fact that he knew the Empire's plans. He looked over at Katia, who was smiling in her set next to him. He couldn't deny it, she looked adorable. He began to wish that they were supposed to be married, he didn't think he'd mind if it was her. But it just wasn't meant to be. He knew it better than anyone.

The car drove off, the five unaware of what lied in store in their future.