#she tried to jump in the bin today

[changingplumbob]

You're under arrest for your 5th picture in your phone!

Tagged by @eljeebee and @cyberneodog but I'm replying seperately as I don't want to push a long list on people who may be scrolling quick... 5th picture... I would like to think someone else should be under arrest for this travesty

[orangedogsquad]

Market trip this morning with these two! Got some sunshine for it and everything 🥰

[frombookstoretobookstore]

Request if you have time!!! Could u do an Abbott surgical tech reader ( surgical techs assist during surgery abs um going to school for it!!) where the comfort eachother have the pit fest accident maybe a lil spice!

Alright so I really tried my best to nail the surgical tech but but what do I know? I work with plants for a living! I hope you enjoy this and I'm so sorry it took me so long!

TW: Mention of mass casualty event, blood, medical inaccuracies, hint of spice at the end.

Masterlist

The Offer

Today has been hell. No, Y/n was positive not even hell was this bad.

Y/n had spent the first few minutes before the onslaught of the shooting victims running around and gathering supplies, doing her best to anticipate what they’d need downstairs. Her and her colleagues had started throwing everything they could into disaster bins.

She’d been pulled down to the ED floor shortly after, running around with supplies, responding to calls for chest tubes and intubation trays, and trying not to slip in the blood that continued to pool on the floor.

“Can someone stabilize for a flip?” She isn’t even sure who calls for it, just that she’s there to stabilize a neck as a doctor rolls the patient to check the exit wound of a bullet. She’s handing him an IO and a unit of O Neg before they can even ask.

“Always four steps ahead.” Abbot breathes, working quickly to get an IO in. “If needed, bone marrow transfusion is just as good as an IV.”

“Need a hand?” She hears Robby ask as she’s passing over a laryngoscope before Abbot can even hold his hand out.

“I’ve got two hands.” Abbot says a small smile forms on Y/n’s face as she’s passing over an endotracheal tube. She nods at him before taking off again to help someone calling for more tools.

A few minutes later, after having to catch herself on the nurses’ station as she slides, she hears Abbot calling that the patient she’d just assisted on, hadn’t made it.

She doesn’t even have time to think of the loss before she’s off running again, answering a call for another set of hands. She can feel the stress and exhaustion sitting in the base of her skull, her shift having ended hours ago, but she pushes it aside as she’s dodging and weaving around patients, doctors, and nurses.

This goes on for hours, something that feels like a lifetime. She’s running around, anticipating needs, and helping where she can.

Y/n can still feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins, a harsh counterpoint to the utter exhaustion in her bones. Her reflection in the mirror stares back at her, pale and drawn, her eyes shadowed by the ghosts of what she can’t unsee.

She’s fully determined to pull herself together, to not let the tragedies follow her home and into her dreams. She wanted the reprieve of being able to leave everything at the doors of the hospital, to not go through every moment that had happened today, every choice she’d made.

However, she isn’t so lucky today. After helping clear the ED of the remnants of the mass casualty, she’s sitting up on the roof, breathing in the fresh air like a lifeline.

She’s so in her head, she jumps slightly when Abbot sits down next to her, a juice box offered to her as he opens his own.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d see Dr. Jack Abbot drinking a juice box while sitting on the roof. Standing near the edge sure, but sitting here? Never.” He chuckles softly as she all but chugs the juice, the sugar helping her with her adrenaline come down. 

“I’d have brought you a sandwich, but Whitaker snatched the last one.” He’s looking out at the skyline, the silence between the comfortable. He knocks his knee against her when he notices her hands are still shaky.

“I know it’s literally the point of your job to be one step ahead of all of us, but down there, you were incredible. I’ve never seen someone so focused.” She nods slightly, a flat lipped smile on her face. He places his hand in hers, squeezing it slightly.

She inhales deeply, willing the night air to fix her, to calm her, to let her leave all of this behind when she leaves.

“I’ll be washing my hands every ten minutes for the next week.” She laughs slightly, squeezing Abbot’s hand back. 

“These things,” he says as he sighs, “stick with you longer than we feel it should. But down there, that isn’t normal.”

“A brief reprieve to witness the worst of humanity.” She says, a dark chuckle erupts from her chest.

“Yeah, something like that.” He laughs, understanding her need to be sarcastic after what they’d both witnessed.

“After something like this, what do you do? Not the processing part, but the decompressing after the initial event.” She’s letting her head fall on his shoulder as they keep looking out.

“A shower, a nice bottle of whiskey, listen to a few records.” She laughs at his nonchalance. He places a small kiss to the top of her head, their fingers intertwined. Neither thinks too hard about the intimacy, both are too busy relishing in the contact.

“Care to join?”

“What?!” She sputters, coughing slightly on her juice as she removes herself from Abbot to look at him, his eyes shining as he laughs. 

Abbot’s laughter fades as he leans back to look at her. “I was serious though. Sometimes, when the night gets too heavy, you need something to snap you out of it. Music works for me—helps me tune out the noise.”

She couldn’t help but smile faintly, “Never pictured you as the vinyl type,” she murmurs, teasing him.

He shrugs, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know, yet.”

“Yet?” She asks, raising an eyebrow while still letting herself relax, their hands still faintly brushing.

He chuckles, turning to face her fully. “Well, if you ever decide to take me up on that offer; whiskey, records, and maybe even a decent meal.”

“Does that offer extend to tonight? Wasn’t it supposed to be you day off? I don’t want to crash it.”

“I would love nothing more for you to crash my day off, or what’s left of it.” He laughs, their hands intertwining again.

She turns to look at him; his eyes appear sunken and fatigued, and his hair is disheveled, likely due to repeatedly running his hands through it. He smiles softly at her, and she finds comfort in his gaze, returning his smile.

She stands and offers her hand down to him. He smirks as he takes her hand and allows her to lead them inside to the elevator.

“I take it that’s a yes to my offer?” He asks, an eyebrow raised, and his arms crossed as they descend.

“Nah, figured I’d continue my existential crisis at home by myself.” She laughs, earning a soft chuckle from Abbot, his gaze still trained on her. “I’d do just about anything for a decent meal.”

He chuckles softly, letting his head rest against the elevator wall, his gaze still on her, on her lips.

“Anything?” He asks.

“Just about anything. Who knows. After a shower and a meal, I could be down.” She’s stepping towards him, a sultry smirk on her face. He inhales slightly as she enters his space.

“Depends on how good the meal is.” She winks, breezing past him to gather her things from the surgical floor. She turns to him before the elevator doors close. “That, and how willing you’d be to get on your knees and show me a good time.”

He closes his eyes with a groan, her laughter filtering in through the doors as they close. He smirks to himself when he exits the elevator, intent on showing her just how good of a time he can be.

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

A/N: Requests are still open so feel free to send some in! As usual let me know what y'all think!

[mayrose713]

Beautifully Cruel World-Chapter 15

Series Masterlist | Previous | Next

ABO Non-Idol Stray Kids Universe Poly OT8 x Reader 18+ MDNI

Warnings in the Series Masterlist as well as any other information needed

A/N: Idk if anyone else's seasonal depression is hitting them harder at the moment but man is mine kicking my ass right now. But I finally managed to get this written so hopefully it isn't shit. I'm just happy to always get notifications of new people reading this and wanting me to still continue so I know my writing isn't completely trash at least. Enjoy!

Chapter 15

Jeongin and Hyunjin rush into the Omega’s room seeing her curled up to Seungmin before both of them jump on the bed.

“Wake up.” Jeongin says in a sing-song voice as he cuddles up to Y/n and Hyunjin puts his whole weight on Seungmin. 

“Get off you pabo.” Seungmin groans, pushing the older beta off of him, causing Hyunjin to land between Y/n and Seungmin.

“Innie.” Y/n groans. 

“What time is it anyways?” Seungmin leans over to look at his phone on the nightstand. “What’s got you guys up so early? Hyunjin is never up willingly before ten.”

“We’re doing our beach day today.” Jeongin beams looking at the two. “Felix and Jisung are waking Minho and Channie hyungs up right now.”

“Changbin just got back from the gym and is in the shower.” 

“You get to wear your new swimsuit. Ow.” Hyunjin glares at Seungmin who pinched  his side.

The omega blushes turning away from the two betas, not sure how to feel about wearing the swimsuit in front of all of them. 

“Jagiya.” Jeongin leans over Y/n, tilting his head to the side. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, it’s just us.”

“That’s exactly why she’s embarrassed.” Seungmin pushes the younger one over to lay back on the bed. “All of you are nothing but horny males.” 

“You say that as if you aren’t a horny male yourself.” Hyunjin tackles Seungmin to the floor and they start wrestling. 

Jeongin pulls the omega to his chest as they watch the two tumble with each other.

“What’s going on in here?” Felix’s eyes widen as he walks in with Chan. 

“Alright, break it up.” Chan bends down to separate the two beta’s but Hyunjin pounces on him. “So the pups wanna play huh?” Chan looks up at Hyunjin before flipping them over, pinning the younger male under him until Seungmin jumps him, tackling the alpha to the ground.

“You’re getting slow old man.”

Felix quickly joins Y/n and Jeongin on the bed taking notice of the glint in the youngest alpha’s eyes and takes the girl from him.

“Join them.” Felix nudges him, making Jeongin look at him unsure. “Go on, I’ve got our girl.”

Jeongin takes a second looking at both of the omegas before smiling and jumps off the bed onto his alpha’s back.

“Ah, Innie, claws.” Chan groans in pain.

“You like it when I claw you.” Jeongin huffs as Chan shrugs him off of his back before suddenly Hyunjin tackles the youngest. 

Changbin, Minho and Jisung step into the doorway to see what's going on, shaking their heads at the antics going on. It’s when Seungmin bites Chan that the alpha has enough and picks up the youngest beta.

“Put me down, old man.” Seungmin squirms.

“Who’s your alpha?”

“Fuck off, I’m not saying it.”

Minho and Changbin quickly grab the omegas off the bed just before Chan flings Seungmin on it, pinning him down.

“Yah, careful.” Minho shouts. 

“Sorry babies.” Chan turns to the two in the other two alpha’s arms.

“Bin, help me.” Seungmin tries to fight Chan’s hold on him.

“You got yourselves into this.” Changbin holds Y/n closer to his chest as Minho has Felix and Jisung leaning against him.

“You know how to get hyung to stop, just say it.” Jisungs smiles.

“Yeah pup, just say it.” Chan beams down at the beta. 

“Not happening.” Seungmin continues to struggle until both Hyunjin and Jeongin fling themselves at the alpha making them all roll off the other side of the bed. 

Y/n flinches at the thud heard from the three of them hitting the ground. She tries to move forward to maybe try and stop them but Changbin holds her in place.

“They’re okay, pretty girl.”

“Trust us kitten, it’s better not to get involved.” Minho holds Felix and Jisung close to them as they had tensed up too at the thud.

“How did this become you three against me?” Chan huffs as he stands with Jeongin locked in his arms and Hyunjin on his back. “I was only trying to separate two of you originally.”

“I couldn’t help but to join.” Jeongin tilts his head innocently. 

Chan lets go of the youngest before throwing Hyunjin off his back and onto the bed next to Seungmin.

“Who’s your alpha?”

Hyunjin looks up at him with an evil grin. “Jeongin.”

“Wrong answer.” Chan growls leaning down to bite the beta’s shoulder.

“And that’s our queue to leave.” Changbin turns Y/n away from the room, Minho doing the same with Jisung and Felix. 

“Does that happen a lot?” The omega asks as she’s led to the kitchen. 

“With them. Yeah.” Minho starts making an easy breakfast. “Innies still a new alpha so the pup likes to play, especially if it’s ‘challenging’ our alpha.”

“The betas just like ruffling some feathers.” Changbin laughs. “Occasionally Lixie and Ji do it too.”

Seungmin walks in smiling. “Hyunjins getting his ass handed to him by both alphas.” 

“He knew better.” Jisung shakes his head. 

“I don’t know why you’re so smug, pup.” Changbin grabs the beta’s arm. “You weren’t any better.”

Seungmin looks up at the older male and gulps.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Y/n stands hugging herself as she watches the boys all running around the beach getting umbrellas, towels and beach chairs set up. Hyunjin and Felix have already run out into the water ignoring Chan’s calls to put on sunscreen first. 

She manages to stay unnoticed for a while until all of them get in the water, playing and swimming. Well almost all of them. Minho sits in a beach chair watching her behind his sunglasses as she stands there watching her pack, still wearing her coverup over her swimsuit.

“Y/n.” She jumps when he calls her name and turns to look at him.

The alpha motions for her to join which she hesitates before walking over to the chair where he grabs her waist and pulls her onto his lap.

“Yeah?”

“You look uncomfortable.” He looks over her closely. “Talk to me. Tell me what's going on in that pretty little mind of yours.”

She manages to smile as he taps her head and she playfully pushes his hand away. 

“It’s just… I haven’t worn a swimsuit since I was a kid.” She whispers looking away from him back at the rest of the boys in the water.

“You’re safe with us kitten.” Minho turns her face to look back at him. “It’s just us here so you won’t be harassed like you would be being an omega at a public beach.” He cups her cheek and she leans into his touch. “Besides, you didn’t seem to feel that way the other night when you went skinny dipping with Lixie.”

“That was different.” She rolls her eyes and resituates herself on his lap causing him to grip her hips. “Felix is practically another omega, he’s comforting to be with. And it’s not like I see you with your shirt off joining the others.”

“I don’t like water.” He pinches her hip but then gets an idea. “How about this baby, you take your coverup off and quit being insecure and I’ll join you in getting in the water.”

Y/n looks at him in disbelief. “Did you really just tell me to quit being insecure?”

“Yes, I did.” He places a finger under her chin. “Because you are beautiful and there is nothing for you to be insecure about. We love you how you are.”

“Thanks Min.” She smiles down at him and his hands move to the bottom of her coverup.

“Can I take this off now?” 

The omega nods and he pulls the coverup off her and over her head. He takes in the swim shorts and tankini top she’s wearing as he caresses her sides. “My beautiful girl.”

“Wanna go get in the water now?”

“Let’s go kitten.” He lifts her off his lap placing her on the sand before he gets up, pulling his shirt off, grabbing her hand. 

He drags her along the beach towards the water but stops just where the sand is wet from the waves. The others take notice of this and Chan and Changbin move, Chan running, before picking Minho up and carrying him into the water. 

“Chan put me down.” 

“Are you sure you want that?” The older alpha asks as he walks them deeper into the water.

“Binnie.” Y/n squeals as Changbin picks her up and follows the other two alphas. 

Chan drops Minho into the water causing the male to freak out a little and Y/n holds onto Changbin scared he’ll drop her in the water too.

“Relax, pretty girl.” He kisses her head. “I’m not letting go unless you ask me to.”

The omega relaxes in his arms as they walk deeper into the water. Once the water reaches up to their chests she readjust herself, wrapping her legs around his waist and arms around his neck as he holds her thighs. 

“Hi angel.” Jisung comes up to the two, happy to see her in the water.

“Wanna learn to swim princess?” Hyunjin swims over with Felix.

“Umm...” Y/n looks around at everyone.

Jeongin and Seungmin have joined Chan and Minho now. Chan holding the other alpha while the two pups are splashing them.

“I promise that none of us will let you drown.” Changbin squeezed her a little.

“Yeah, Channie, Hyun and I are all really good swimmers.” Felix reassures his fellow omega. “We’ll teach you properly. And you have all eight of us watching over you and will save you if you need it.”

“Seven.” Hyunjin corrects him as he looks over at Minho who's clinging onto their pack alpha. “Min won’t be saving anyone in the water.”

“I’ll go get one of the floaty rings for him.” Jisung starts to head back to shore.

“Get both so Y/n can have one too.” Changbin calls out before looking at said girl again. “So what do you say Y/nnie? Will you let us teach you?”

“I guess.”

Felix, Chan and Hyunjin made work on teaching Y/n how to swim, and also attempting to teach Minho, again. The other four were always close by in case she needed to cling on to one of them. Which it wasn’t until late evening when she finally stopped latching on to one of the boys or the floaty and actually swam a little by herself. It was only a few feet between Hyunjin and Felix but she did it without clinging onto Chan who stayed next to her the whole time, just in case she needed him.

“That was great, babygirl.” Chan praises once Felix grabs her into his arms. “Now go back to Jinnie.”

Felix helps push her towards the beta and she swims, more like doggy paddles, to Hyunjin who continues to back away a little so she has to swim farther but eventually lets her catch him when he notices her start to panic a little and almost grabs onto Chan again.

“Good job princess.” Hyunjin holds her close. “When we get back home we should do a pool day at least once a week so you can get better.”

“Don’t expect me to partake in those lessons.” Minho calls out from where he rests on the floaty, Jisung also somewhat laying on it.

“Hyung, you have to learn to swim eventually.” Jeongin pokes the alpha.

“I don’t have to do anything, pup.”

______________________________________________________________

Taglist will be close for now as I'm not able to tag more people for some reason

Tag list: @pixie0627 @sinfulfic @estella-novella @mbioooo0000 @ms-flowergirl

@blindspot143 @ihrtlix @arishoriasims @fic-for-readers @motheraiya55

@hwangrfrnd @lxvxchxrlxttxbxrsx22-blog @juskz @borahae-reads @dreamerwasfound

@galaxy4489 @kayleefriedchicken @lostgirlinthewoodss @catkight @royal-shinigami

@notevenheretbh1 @passionandsuga @m00njinnie @sukss @n1nme4r

@blueberrydish @xxeiraxx @ionlyeverwantedtobeyourequal @aalexyuuuhm @kaleigh-2002

@btskzfav @hyunmikim @ot8girlfie @sillygoosegoose @tr0p1cal

@eastjonowhere @hime-honne @furfoxsake22 @luvlino23 @iknow-uknow-leeknow

@im-sinking-in-mud @fiest4plum @forevermoremagcon @comicnerd557 @nchhuhi

@alyxcatspost @danceonmyheyday @maisyyyyyy @shycreationdreamland @chanshugsaretherapy

@mo0n13 @yumuramma @nuggiesnuggetdog04 @idkwhoisthis1971 @violet-hatake

[heartsforvin]

FAMILY TIME

for the nonnie who requested this, you’re welcome !!

pairing: vinnie hacker x fem!reader

warnings: cussing possibly, use of pet names, fluff

summary: you and vinnie introduce the your newest addition to hera and luffy

finally, after twelve strenuous hours of labor, your beautiful baby girl was born. spending two days in the hospital was easy, well, easier than most.

now, today you two finally get to bring her home. both you and vinnie are ecstatic to bring your baby home and introduce her to your guys' two fur babies.

it was definitely going to be an adjustment as to how the cats react to the baby, but you and vinnie will think it'll go well.

after an hour long car ride, the three of you finally m ake it home. vinnie puts the car in park and turns it off before helping you out.

he grabs your daughters car seat, slipping his arm through it so it lays in between the crease of his arm.

he then helps you out carefully, shutting the door when you're out. his free hand rests on your back guiding you into the house.

once inside, you immediately go to lay on the couch while vinnie sets down the car seat on the floor, unbuckling your daughter and holding her in his arms.

he goes to sit down next to you, looking over at you with a smile. "can't believe we're home." he tells you.

you softly smile. "glad we are," you sigh. "longest two days bin that hospital bed ever."

vinnie chuckles softly, rubbing your daughters back. the two of you sit in silence for awhile, needing to regroup from everything the past few days gave you.

later in the day, vinnie made you some real food, as you told him. you sat on the couch with your daughter as he made you some lunch. after it was done, vinnie plated it up for you and put it on the coffee table.

"thank you, baby." you smile at him.

he smiles back. "you're welcome. you want me to take her while you eat?" he asks.

you nod, handing over your daughter to vinnie. as you eat, he shows her around the house, telling her which rooms are which. he smiles down at her when they reach the nursery.

"this is your room, baby," he whispers softly. "you're not gonna be in here for awhile, though."

vinnie continues what he's doing before he makes it back out to you and sits on the couch.

"get enough to eat?" he asks you.

you nod. "yeah, thank you again."

vinnie smiles. "of course, sweetheart," he replies. the baby starts fussing a bit, so he shushes and bounces her softly. "i think somebody's hungry herself."

passing you the baby, vinnie stands up and grabs your plate, bringing it into the kitchen. after putting it in the sink, he grabs the baby bottle and starts making the baby her food.

once done, he hands it to you and sits back down on the couch. the two of you soak up being parents, smiling at the little baby in your arms.

early evening soon roll around, the two of you ate dinner a few minutes ago and now your both just watching tv on the couch.

the cats peer around the corner and vinnie smiles before looking at you. "we should introduce the baby to the cats." he suggests.

you nod with a smile. vinnie stands up while you move to lay your back against the arm of the couch.

vinnie gets the cats' attention, luring them over to where you're sitting. puffy is the first to jump up, meowing once he sees you.

you carefully lean over and let the cat sniff at your daughter, getting acquainted with her. you and vinnie both smile , seeing that its going well.

once puffy had enough, he jumped down and ran off somewhere in the house. vinnie had hera come up on the couch next.

she did the same thing, sniffed the baby's head and clothing to get familiar with her.

the two cats seemed to like the newest addition in the family, of course it would take a lot more than just one interaction to really find that out though.

once the cats were done, you and vinnie both smiled. the moment was soon interrupted by the baby's cry, you tried everything to soothe her but soon realized she might be tired.

both you and vinnie put her to sleep for the night, knowing it won't be long until you two had to get up with her again.

hiii !! hope you guys liked this, it was kinda rushed 🥲 i just feel like i HAVE to post somethin atp , like it’s not fun for me so i might have to figure something out

taglist (i need to update this so im only tagging my moots that i know are on it) @deansbeer , @leqonsluv3r , @slvthrs , @chrissturnslovergirlx , @louloulemons-blog , @angellocket , @mattybsgroupie

[firegirl888101]

Insatiable Madness (13)

|Sagau Yandere Fatui Harbingers x Reader|

Progress then no progress, progress then no progress... You're beginning to grow sick of this, aren't you?

Reader is Gender Neutral!

You shut the door behind you, taking the last bite of your chocolate bar and scrunching up the plastic to put in the bin later.

“AH! Capitano, you scared me! Don’t just stand there and say nothing, the least you could do is greet us!” You jumped back, flinching forwards in pain when feeling the door handle dig into one of your hip bones.

“I was going to, but didn’t get the chance. Anyway, welcome back. Nothing changed whilst the two of you were out.”

“Thank you, whatever is looking out for me right now.” You silently prayed in gratitude. “I’ll be going back to my room.”

“Don’t cause trouble.” Arlecchino eyed you, walking away to somewhere else in the house. 

“Damn, I wasn’t that bad company, was I?” You questioned yourself, mumbling death threats whilst walking up the stairs towards your room.

What should you do now? Although you should probably be finishing the clean-up of merch, now that you think about it, you’re way too lazy to continue. You’ll probably just pick up where you left off the next time you feel especially disturbed by it. Anyway, today has been alright so far, very positive actually. If you ignored the fact that you were being held hostage, you could even call it good. Apart from failing to ask for help when there was a clear opportunity of course. Sure, you were most likely being followed by another harbinger, but you still could’ve thought of something!

Oh well, you’re back home now. You should stop worrying about things that have already happened, there’s no use doing so when in your situation. Let’s think about what to do next.

You sat down on your desk chair, pushing the keyboard away from the edge of the desk and grabbing your notepad which you effortlessly threw in front of you. After flipping through a few scribbled pages, you found a clean page ready to be written on.

Okay, so, you have some of the Harbinger’s working and supporting the house now. At least this guarantees the house won’t starve. As much as you hate to admit it, Pulcinella was right. Having their wages will definitely help things. But what should you do now? You’ve already tried communicating with the game, and that backfired horribly. Originally, you thought that consistently trying would be a good use of your time, but are you still sure about that? You’ve tried at least two times now, and nothing’s changed! You probably look like an idiot from an outsider’s perspective, screaming at the screen the way you have been recently.

…Maybe you should try one more time. Your mother used to say you were the stubborn type, and it seems she was right. It won’t harm things, since your previous attempts did absolutely nothing. And it’s not like the Harbinger’s will know what you’re up to… Yeah… just one more time! If you put your hope into this, something will definitely change. And if it doesn’t, you’re kind of stuck on ideas. Man, having a friend or two who cares about you would be so handy right now. 

Oh, another thing! You need to get a lock, or find something to bar up the door with whenever you’re in and out of your room. It probably won’t stop them entirely, but their struggle to enter the room will give you enough time to look normal when they force themselves through and not cause suspicion. Childe’s entry was cut way too close this morning. You’re very lucky he wasn’t paying attention to your room due to his own excitement.

You’ll get the lock later. For now, just turn on your computer and leave the game on. Although the idea freaks you out a little bit, perhaps you should also actually play the game whilst waiting instead of just staring at a character staring back at you with soulless eyes. Eh, actually, now that you know the characters are real, they’re probably not that soulless. 

The screen flashed a blinding light, before fading into the familiar scenery of Mondstadt’s city with Aether’s back facing you. You looked up, putting down your pencil and reaching over to the keyboard.

Let’s just start with daily commissions. That should be easy enough, right? Ah, but maybe you should add more people to the party first. Your commissions are all in Mondstadt, luckily, so you should probably include Mondstadt characters only. Albedo would be a good choice, and Venti… Hm, just add Fischl for the fun of it. There’s no synergy here, at all, but it doesn’t matter. Your characters are all strong enough to solo the enemies if you really wanted them to.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …

Yeah… You’re hooked.

You’ve been playing Genshin for over an hour now, you didn’t even realise your tension easing away as you played the game! It started off as just completing your commissions, then old habits kicking in and completing leylines to get rid of resin. Then you decided to use your condensed resin in artifact domains and–

You’re going crazy.

Time really flies when you’re having fun, huh? Anyway, you should probably stop for now. During the time you were playing, nothing tried to contact you or looked out of the ordinary in the game. It’s safe to assume that nobody is coming to help you from the other side.

…Maybe it was all planned amongst everyone in the whole of Teyvat? The reason nobody’s come to help you is because the character’s are in on making you suffer for controlling them for so long?

No, snap out of it. Think logically, that can’t be the reason no one has come to help you. There must be something blocking them from communicating with you. Something that’s also affecting the Harbinger’s from returning to Teyvat in the first place.

‘This is hopeless’ You buried your head in your hands, the desk’s temperature cooling your forehead. ‘Seems like I’ll have to hold out for as long as possible. Perhaps I could–’

Ding!

‘Huh? What was that noise?’ You raised your head, squinting your eyes at the screen.

Ding! Ding!

That noise… It sounds like the mail notification! You reached for the mouse, your posture straightening and heart rate quickening. You dragged your mouse over to the mail button, clicking on it and reading the notification.

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

We can hear you, can you hear us?

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

That was the first notification… It says it was sent yesterday, during the time of your first plea for help! Why did it only come through now!? Better yet, why is the unknown writer communicating through the mail system? Couldn’t they have just vocally replied?

And the ‘We’... There’s more than one person who heard you! This is good. Does that mean the Traveller and potentially Paimon are the ones writing to you? Quickly, let’s read another one.

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

Why did you walk away? We’re trying to help you.

Could you not hear Paimon shouting?

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

Paimon was… shouting to you? No, you didn’t hear her. Yesterday you left because nothing was happening, you were unsatisfied with the results! Was she really trying to communicate with you? Ugh, this is why you need to be patient!

Anyway, this must be the reason why they’re communicating through mail. Their voices must not be able to come through to the real world! Something feels wrong though… The mention of ‘walking away’ is strange. How did they know you walked away? You’re looking too deeply into this, it was probably just written that way as a generic saying without any meaning behind it. They probably just meant that they couldn’t hear you anymore and assumed you left.

What does the third notification say?

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

You’re back, that’s great!

If you can see this, it appears we can’t communicate vocally for now. We can hear you, however, so feel free to update us on your current situation whenever comfortable and possible.

We’re working on finding a solution to communicate with you further. The Traveller, Paimon and I are working to gather geniuses all across Teyvat to come up with a solution to our current problem: you. As of writing this, we’ve managed to gather all the scholar’s in Sumeru, Liyue and Fontaine to join Mondstadt’s efforts in research to establish a stronger connection. Although this is a theory, we believe you will be the most important part of the process in figuring out how to return Teyvat back to normal. 

Speaking of returning Teyvat back to normal, I should probably tell you more about that other problem too. A problem that has caused almost every nation to join their intelligence together in the first place. Teyvat is currently suffering through imbalances - and nobody knows the reason why. Coming from me, I’m unsure why Celestia hasn’t intervened in the problem. My suspicions lie in Snezhnaya, and from what you’ve told us, I fear I might have been correct. You said the Harbinger’s were with you, beyond Teyvat, right?

Buer informed the rest of us that their existence in Irminsul is becoming more unstable by the day. Normally, I’d have an idea on how to correct the problem and deal with it privately. But this…? This has never happened before in any of the passages of time I’ve witnessed. Nobody can find any of the Harbinger’s anywhere, those who were personally with them claim they saw them just deteriorate from existence!

What’s worse is we can’t even get a direct account from Snezhnaya themselves! They’re violently turning away any messenger from any nation, some returning traumatised. We don’t know what they’ve done, in fact, I personally don’t think they know what they’ve done themselves!

We need your help. And to get your help, we need a more efficient way of communication. I’ll have to end this transmission here, any more words and I fear the machine might overheat completely. Please trust us, and don’t lose hope. We want to help.

-Venti

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

“I don’t… understand…” You breathed out, leaning back into your chair with shock bubbling over your limbs.

What did you just read? Is this actually happening? Teyvat is in danger… because the Harbingers left? And Celestia refuses to get involved? Well, that’s not too surprising considering the lore. Let’s read the message again, surely there’s something you’re missing!

You scanned the message again, noticing the time it was sent. An hour ago… Why did all the messages suddenly come through now? What about now changed!? Did they change something? The mail claimed they’d gathered geniuses from all over to tamper with ‘the machine’.

Are they even aware they’re in a game!? From the mail, you don’t think so. You’d like it to stay that way. Keep it professional, Y/N! Stay calm and reply, if what Venti’s saying is true, it could be their entire world that’s in danger. You thought it was bad that the Harbinger’s could potentially kill someone here. But their appearance elsewhere might be hurting their original planet? God, you’re all so fucked!

“Thanks for the reply… even if it was a little late. But you know, I’m happy that we’re now on the same page!” You coughed into your hand, laughing awkwardly after.

“Sorry, this isn’t the time to feel regretful. We’re in trouble right now and I’m clearly not helping. If I understand you right, we need to get the Harbingers back to Teyvat before Irminsul corrupts… no, imbalances further. I’m glad the majority of Teyvat is working through this, the reason I approached Mondstadt in the first place was because of Albedo. I hoped he would have an inkling on how to solve the problem, and now knowing lots of others are helping really puts my mind at ease.”

You closed the menu, watching Paimon bounce about with her usual idle animations.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer you Paimon.” You apologised, smiling softly. “I was really frustrated with my situation. If I heard you shouting to me, I think you would have really cheered me up.”

“Could you… maybe wave? Or do something that I don’t normally see? I could really use a boost of confidence right now. Not like this isn’t already very reassuring! Words can’t express how relieved I feel at the moment!”

You looked at the screen, watching it begin to glitch and show a dark blue which didn’t suit Mondstadt’s colour scheme. Your whole screen turned into a night’s sky, stars swirling into each other in a warped formation. You marvelled at the pretty display, recognising the almost identical appearance to the Abyss.

That’s… strangely coincidental. You won’t question it for now though.

Eventually, it cleared, and showed Paimon waving with a beaming face. Her expression didn’t show any evidence of what happened to you also happening to them, making you sigh in relief. You waved back, laughing at her enthusiasm to keep doing so. So, this is what Teyvat really looks like? You noted the surroundings after the glitchy screen changed slightly, and the graphics more realistic. Maybe that was all the glitch was? Or maybe it was a sign of Irminsul being imbalanced? You’re not an expert.

Ugh it still looks unrealistically beautiful despite the world becoming less smooth and more detailed. Is your PC even gonna cope with this?? These graphics look insane!

“Alright, alright! I’m happy now. I feel a lot better, thank you… Let me know when something changes, or rather when something develops. I have nothing new to report really, other than the Harbingers have been desperate to also return. I mean, occasionally they’ve told me they felt a bit weird and alienated, but that’s probably nothing.” You put your arm down, Paimon doing the same and giving you a thumbs up.

“Listen.” You spoke in a different tone. “We’ll have to be very careful from now on. I don’t want the Harbinger’s to catch wind of what’s currently happening, nor do I want them to find this PC and realise their predicament fully. They think that there’s still a chance they can return to Teyvat by their means, but from what I’m hearing, there’s no chance when Irminsul has no record of their existence anymore.”

Paimon nodded.

“I’ll keep my computer on for now, so you can keep me updated. I’ll be leaving the room to try and strengthen the security of the room itself since my PC is full of passwords already. Stay safe, Teyvat doesn’t sound like the best place to live in at the moment.”

You turned around and walked away from the PC, opening the door and closing it behind you gently with a determined expression.

It’s finally happened, something’s actually gone your way for once, and you didn’t even have to work for it! Well, saying that, you did have to shout in desperation and cry a bit to get your way, but it all ended well so you’re not complaining!

Although… Why did their connection come through so easily? Surely trying to connect with something not only out of their universe, but also BYPASSING FUCKING REALITY should be impossible? Now that you think about this further, shouldn’t your suspicions be leaning towards Hoyoverse?

Whatever, you don’t know how they did it, and it really doesn’t matter right now. You’re curious, but your questions will have to wait for when you’re finally at a comfortable point where you see no risk of being harmed by the Harbingers.

Now, about that lock…

You opened the storage cupboard in the wall, grabbing the ladder and heaving it out of the small cubby with a grunt. Settling down the dirty ladder onto the clean carpet, you pulled out the supports and picked it up again, positioning it underneath the small door above the top of the stairs. Climbing the ladder with shaky legs, you breathed in nervously before pushing the door upwards.

Climbing through the open door and successfully planting your feet on the firm floor, you left the ladder behind you. You froze when officially entering the attic, noises scattering over the walls. Your body relaxed when you saw a familiar person in front of you.

“Sandrone?” You called out in confusion, hearing rummaging and familiar ramblings echo through the room. “That’s not you I can hear, is it?”

She looked behind her shoulder with a flustered expression, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing in the first place. Her rummaging paused, a rusty metal pipe in one clenched hand and the other holding a ring with lots of different keys.

“This isn’t what it looks like.”

“I think this is what it looks like. Why are you in the attic? Also, how did you even get up here without a ladder?” You walked up to her and peered into the box she was rummaging around.

“I didn’t feel like playing house.” She looked away from you, continuing her rummaging when realising you weren’t going to stop her.

“Playing house?”

“The girls were trying on clothes, which heavily disturbed me I dare to mention. I decided to do something useful with my time, unlike Dottore, and see if there’s anything useful which can aid our efforts to return to Teyvat.”

“How on Earth did trying on clothes disturb you?”

“Well, I felt there was a better use for my time. The Captain found this hatch suspicious and asked me to investigate for any danger as he wouldn’t be able to get through the hatch himself.” She retorted, raising a pipe to her eyes and staring at it intently, nodding before placing it next to her.

Why can you just imagine Capitano giving Sandrone a piggyback now?

“Well, since you’ve been searching here already, you haven’t found a lock in here by chance, have you?” You asked her.

“No, I haven’t.” She gave a judgemental side eye. “Even if I had, I wouldn’t help you find it as I’m too preoccupied with my own search. Not only this, but your efforts to find a lock is useless. Do you take us Harbingers as a joke?”

“No! It’s for… self comfort. That’s all.”

“Self comfort?” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you an idiot?”

You shrugged, feeling uncomfortable in continuing the conversation. Sandrone sighed when noticing your expression, before pointing to a box she hadn’t opened yet.

“That’s the last box I haven’t gone through yet. There’s a high probability there will be a lock and key in there. Don’t think for one moment this will help you escape.”

“Thank you.” Your eyes widened. “I can’t believe you actually just helped me.”

“Just be quiet and grateful whilst finding it, you’re bothering me enough as it already is.” She scoffed, purposefully not looking at you to hide her rosy cheeks. “I expect you to help me when I ask for it in return. If you’re truly going to become my partner once we return to Teyvat, we must learn from each other dutifully.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘partner’?”

She violently threw a pipe behind her, the sound crashing across the floor, and narrowly missing you. “Don’t worry about that for now. First and foremost, we must deliver you to the Tsaritsa. I will worry about gaining her permission to have whatever’s left of you when you’ve finished your purpose.”

It’s times like these that remind you these Harbinger’s are horrible human beings. Oh, and that Sandrone makes puppets like Katheryne, and she’s most likely referencing she’ll turn you into one for knowledge. Nice, that makes you feel comforted, these goosebumps on your arms are definitely just from the cold.

“I won’t worry.” You gulped in a quiet voice, using the keys she tossed to you on the closed box and opening it. 

Did she really help you without expecting something immediate in return? This can’t be right, there must be something she wants to ask you that she hasn’t revealed yet. She said it herself. She always expects something in return when she helps someone. Oh! Maybe she’ll ask you for a favou–

“Tell me about this world’s technology.”

Ah, there’s the question. There goes your optimism as well.

“What do you mean?”

“A couple days ago you mentioned that the humanity of this planet created new weapons. I’d like you to elaborate.”

“I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about. When did I mention what and why?”

“A couple days ago. You mentioned. Humans creating new weaponry. With dangerous chemicals. And different minerals. Explain.”

“Uhhh… Where did I mention this a few days ago?” You held back a smile, showing you were teasing her.

“The dinner table.” She was practically sneering, her voice threatening to get louder if you pushed her one sentence further.

“Ohhh, now I remember! Chemical warfare, sheesh, wow.” You whistled. “Yeah, these new weapons are unique because up until that point we’d been using swords and shields. Then we evolved to using shitty guns using pure gunpowder, then suddenly less than a hundred years later we’d evolved to use pure gases instead. And now? Ugh, don’t get me started.”

“Go on.” Sandrone nodded, attention solely focused on your words with her eyes sparkling in anticipation.

“That’s it. That’s the whole elaboration.”

“Excuse me? There’s clearly more reasoning than that!”

“Nah. That’s it.”

“Explain about a few of the specific inventions, don’t be so selective!” She argued. “You led it up to be something much bigger a few days ago, why so stingy now?”

“I can’t really say much, sorry.” You shrugged with a neutral frown. “I don’t know anything about it, truly. You’ll have to ask someone else, like a historian, for help with that question.”

“...You’re lying, I can tell.” She scowled. “I detest liars.”

And you detest your current situation. But beggars can’t be choosers, can they? Even though you definitely think she knows this, Sandrone needs to relearn that life isn’t fair. Here, she can’t threaten those around her using her Harbinger title to get the information she wants. Well, minus you of course.

“I helped you find the lock you were looking for, you’ll answer my question in honesty at once!”

“Pfft, you didn’t help me find the lock. This is my attic, I’ve been in this house longer than you’ve been in this world. Besides, there isn’t a lock in this box.”

“Actually…” She trailed off, physically pushing your body away from the box so she could shove her arms in it. After rummaging for a few seconds, a lock emerged from the pile of metal scraps inside.

“How did you-”

“Inventor's instinct.” She hid her hand behind her back after you tried to swipe the lock from her. She laughed in your face mockingly.

“Now, about that question I asked…” She chided, head tilting sideways.

This bitch! You gritted your teeth. I feel confident enough to tease her once in revenge, when she teases me all the time first, and now she’s hanging the lock against me like a dog!? Who does she think she is, Scaramouche?

“Ugh, fine.” You rolled your eyes, trying to hide your frustration.

You thought to yourself for a while, trying to dig up any information you could remember from secondary school when you learnt about this stuff. Should you just make a weapon up? They think you’re ‘The Decider’, which means y–

Hold on a minute, you forgot to ask Paimon who exactly ‘The Decider’ is in the first place! You knew you were forgetting something earlier! Oh well, that’s something to ask for next time you get a message, if you remember to ask it that is.

Anyway, that’s not what’s happening right now, keep your mind straight in front of you. If you don’t answer Sandrone, you’ll have to find a sturdy lock somewhere else. There’s no way she’ll give it to you if you don’t.

“Well, you wanted something particular, right?” A lightbulb practically lit above your head, remembering a specific piece of evidence from an essay you wrote years ago.

“Indeed.” Her eyes narrowed in warning.

“Let’s see… In World War 1, the janky technology used on the frontlines was very outdated. To combat this, countries began to develop new weapons in an attempt to overrun the trenches at a faster pace with lesser casualties. Of course, talking from the future, this only made the amount of casualties sky rocket. In particular, the Battle of the Som–”

You felt a sudden harsh tug at your hair, causing a yelp to escape from your lips that interrupted your explanation.

“I don’t care about your dumb history.” She seethed, eyes darkening in anger. “This world can rot in the lowest depths of the abyss for all I care. What I care about is the machinery of this decaying world, with its workings and purposes. Stop wasting my time with explanations that lead to nowhere but a readily dug grave for an organic lifeform to claim it as home.”

You trembled in fear, squinting your eyes closed when she pulled on your hair harsher. 

“Who do you think you are, testing my patience in a manner such as yours? You’re a nobody, especially considering the type of person you are. Without me by your side, you’re worth nothing. Your only use to me is your brain, and even then 50% of the time it’s lacking in anything convenient.”

A moment passed after that, silence ringing through the dusty room and a light breeze causing goosebumps to erupt on your arms. You opened one of your eyes cautiously to see Sandrone’s staring into your own, widened with shock.

She flinched her hand away from you, looking at it and back at you with her mouth gaped slightly open.

“You…! I can’t believe this, utterly ridiculous! To think that I…, me of all people,” She breathed in and out quickly, stepping back in realisation.

“No. I don’t believe it.”

What on earth is she rambling about now? Is she struggling to come to terms with threatening you directly in your face or something? That doesn’t really fit into her character though… Oh shit, did she realise you're not The Decider or something as stupid as that? 

“Enough of that.” She shook her head violently, grabbing her shaking raised hand which touched your hair moments ago.

“Continue, and if you dare mention something meaningless again, I’ll grab more than your filthy hair next time. Oh, and I’ll make sure it hurts.”

You’d laugh at the potential innuendo if you weren’t shaking from fear right now.

“The Germans made a harmful gas called mustard gas, whilst the British invented a new vehicle suitable for combat called a tank…” You were barely able to reply with a strong voice, watching her lips turn into a satisfied smile.

“Music to my ears! Was that so hard? What a good little assistant you are.” She cooed, tossing you the lock carelessly.

You didn’t catch it, the lock landing on the wooden floor with a harsh thud that startled you despite watching it hit the floor. You bent down without a word, picking it up and clutching the lock to your chest. Looking up, you saw her looking down at you with a threatening glare.

“Test my forgiving patience once more, and you’ll face something far worse than a ‘light’ tug to the scalp. Do you understand?”

You nodded silently, worrying your voice would betray you if you tried to give a vocal answer. Sandrone hummed, satisfied with your compliance and fear, turning around and walking back to her own box.

“Now leave me, you’ve already bothered me enough as is.” She didn’t turn back to look at you, loud sounds of rummaging cutting off any answer you might have replied with.

You should leave quickly before you annoy her again. Lesson learnt: don’t bother Sandrone if you don’t wish to be hurt in the process. In fact, just don’t approach her on your terms in the first place. Her patience is miniscule, she barely lasted two comments before blowing up in your face about giving detail.

You thought she’d prefer detail since that’s what she always asks for, what about now was different!? If you didn’t give detail, she’d get angry and blow up in your face about it. Give detail, and she replies the exact same way! What does she want from you!? You did nothing wrong!

The more you try to figure her thought process out, the more your head hurts. Your scalp is screaming at you right now, and she called that a light tug? She practically ripped out your hair! Forget it, the more you think about it, the more you’ll fall into a panic. Forget, forget, forget.

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

Walking back in your room with a sigh in an attempt to calm yourself down, you closed your bedroom door behind you and attached the lock to the handle, making sure that it worked.

It did indeed work, much to your relief. If it didn’t work, you’d have been so annoyed that your efforts from earlier would have been worth nothing.

Now… What should you do? Should you ask about The Decider, to try and get more information on them? But, you just communicated with Paimon not that long ago, it would be weird to suddenly strike up a conversation again. Quickly, let’s write down more questions to ask for tomorrow.

Once you finished scribbling on your notepad, you put your pen down and shivered slightly. Rubbing your arms aggressively, you noticed your goosebumps were still across your arms from the attic. Maybe you should get a blanket and have a nap for a while? You don’t feel like actually going to bed yet, it’s far too early.

Trudging over to your wardrobe with the intent of putting on pyjamas and finding your favourite blanket, you lightly put your hand over the indent and gripped it. Slowly opening the door, you revealed something behind it that definitely wasn’t clothes.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” You screeched, falling backwards in pure shock.

Columbina’s back was facing you, the girl holding one of your t-shirts to her chest, hugging it tightly as if it were trying to leave her embrace.

“What are you doing in my wardrobe!? More importantly, what are you doing in my room!? Get out!” You screeched again, Columbina turning around to face you.

“Your room is really nice, it’s such a shame you kept me out of it for this long.” She giggled at your bewildered expression.

“Although, now that we’re finally alone after days of waiting, I must ask… How long do you plan to keep your act up for?”

Somehow, you immediately knew what she was talking about.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy,” She giggled again, walking out of the wardrobe. “Although I was also tricked in the beginning, don’t treat me like the others.”

How did she… How did she figure it out? When did she figure it out is the real question, what gave away that you weren’t ‘The Decider’!?

“How…?”

“It was easy to figure out.” She shrugged with a lax smile. “For one, you’re extremely weak and fall victim to the other’s very quickly. The extent to you fighting back is arguments, which is not something I’d expect from someone so seemingly strong as The Decider. Which leads me to question your actual purpose in Teyvat.”

“My… purpose?”

“You, The Decider, can see the future. Our future. You take care of and strengthen any vision user you possess in return of using them for combat to aid the traveller’s journey. This is all we’ve known of you for a long time, which is why I was ecstatic to finally have the pleasure of meeting you!” She explained, eyes glistening in excitement.

“However… You were a lot more disappointing to meet face to face than I thought you’d be.” Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, the irony. Did you know that everyone in Teyvat considers you to be one of the strongest? Poor Childe, he was so excited to spar with you.”

Wait… you can save this! She thinks you’re just weak, but still The Decider! This is great, you can indirectly get more information this way if you follow along with her! Just be careful, one ounce of suspicion and she’ll question you more.

“Well, I’m sorry to be a big disappointment.” You rolled your eyes. “Could you leave my room now?”

“I’m not finished.” The tone in her voice changed, sending electric shivers down your spine.

“Now that we’re on the same page, I would like to know the truth to your powers. And also… if you’re a secret fan of us.”

“What.” You deadpanned after hearing her last few words.

“I must say, I’m very disappointed. Never, during our stay here, did I think you’d prefer Tartaglia over me. Rather, over anyone else. Your actions certainly don’t convey that opinion, although, it’s clear your affection lies in harsh truths over sugar coated lies.”

“Okay, now I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hmm, that whale on your bed. It looks quite familiar. I wonder where I’ve seen it before?…~” She hinted, pointing to the plush toy laid across your pillows from where you threw it this morning.

No way. Does she think you’re a fangirl!? Not anymore you’re not!

“Ahhh, you’re referring to that.” You laughed off her suspicious smile. “That’s just a toy my aunt got me a couple years ago.”

“I see. Then, would this allow you to become a bit more truthful?” She covered her unnaturally wide grin with her dainty hand, pulling a familiar body pillow out from under your bed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”

HOW… HOW DID SHE FIND THAT!? FUCK, YOU’RE DEAD! YOU DIDN’T THINK SHE’D CHECK UNDERNEATH YOUR BED! WHAT KIND OF SICKO DOES THAT ANYWAY!? Wait, if she went under your bed… that means… oh shit.

“Why is your first instinct, when trespassing in my room, to look under my bed!?” You covered your flushing face, embarrassed beyond belief.

“Because that’s where everyone keeps all their secrets, silly!” She giggled with a few claps from her hands. “You’re not original you know, and besides, I found a lot worse under there.”

You’re cooked. You’re actually cooked. Goodbye actually okay reputation, goodbye not feeling embarrassed in the Harbinger’s presence, goodbye– yeah, you get the point.

“Anyway!” Her voice pitched higher. “What a nice pillow! Strangely hug shaped, and it’s not new either, I can smell your scent on it. I wonder what could possibly be on the other side, hm?”

“Please no…” You groaned in your hands, feeling your face grow even warmer somehow.

“You put this on yourself when you chose Childe over me!”

“I didn’t even know that you existed before Childe! How can I prefer someone over another when I don’t know the other existed in the first place!?”

“I suppose you have a point.” She put a finger on her bottom lip. “You met Tartaglia in Liyue, right?”

“Yeah, where are you going with this?”

“Oh, nothing!” She waved her arm in dismissal. “I’ve changed my mind about questioning you, I want to do something else.”

…That’s it?

“You’re… not going to tell anyone about this, right?” You hesitantly asked, grabbing her shoulder in a pleading tone.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Should I?”

“No.”

“Then it’s settled, it’ll be our little secret, mhm?~” She clasped her hands around yours on her shoulder, wings behind her head flapping.

“Our little secret. Thank you, Columbina.”

She simply laughed at you before turning around and walking towards your door. She swiped the lock easily with a raise of her hand, the speed so quick you could barely see the movement. You stared incredulously at the metal lock with a clean cut down the middle in pieces on your floor.

“Don’t thank me.” She didn’t turn back around. “I expect to be allowed in your room whenever I want to be in it now!~ You know what they say, don’t you?”

You didn’t reply.

“Huhu, nevermind. It seems you understand what I’m referring to anyway. Bye bye!” She gave a backwards wave before the door closed behind her on its own.

To be honest, you’re not even surprised anymore. You’re just tired at this point. Maybe it’s not too late to go to sleep after all. What a waste of time and effort it was getting that stupid lock.

Still… you should at least do one more thing before you go to bed. Something that would calm you down and not involve going on your PC to play a game. Hmm… ah, you might have one idea. It seems you’ll need your blanket after all.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …

You walked through the dining room, passing by the Harbingers who didn’t seem to notice you. Opening the sliding door to the garden, a chilled breeze flew through you and past the doorway, the Harbinger’s heads snapping towards the direction it was coming from.

“Close the damned door, it’s cold!” Childe screeched from the sofa, hugging one of the pillows, with his eyes glued to the TV. He seemed to be watching a boxing match of some kind… well, at least he’s taking his new job seriously.

“I was doing that. You shouldn’t be complaining anyway, you grew up in Snezhnaya.” You closed the door behind you, taking a deep breath in to embrace the fresh air. They never said you couldn’t go in the garden, so you should be fine. It’s not like you could escape this way anyway, the fences are way too high to climb over.

Hugging the blanket around your shoulders tighter, you laid down on the dry grass and gazed up at the stars, their twinkling patterns almost hypnotising you.

“What are you doing here?”

You groaned at the familiar voices’ intrusion and didn't bother looking at him to confirm your annoyance.

“You know, there is a reason I came out here on my own.”

“And there is a reason why I came out here to accompany you too.” Scaramouche folded his arms, looking unimpressed with your decision to come outside.

“To make sure I don’t escape, yeah, yeah, yeah.” You replied.

He didn’t say anything after that, groaning in annoyance to himself before laying down next to you with an unusually serene expression. There was a silent agreement amongst the two of you when you turned to him in confusion, eyes talking instead of words. It seems he wants to join you in looking at the stars, is he just shy to admit that out loud or something?

“I can tell exactly what you’re thinking, get that idiotic cloud out of your head.”

You hate this guy. He had to ruin the mood, didn’t he?

“Shh, I’m busy thinking.” You lightly scoffed in a gentle voice, turning back to the stars and tracing their patterns in your head.

“How rare.” He commented, snickering at your sudden turn to him. “What? You’re looking at me as if it’s not true.”

“...Whatever.”

He was the one to look taken aback this time. “No argument in return, really? You really must be out of sorts then.”

“I can’t be bothered to fight right now. I’m so tired, but my eyes won’t let me sleep. Today’s been an emotional day, and a pointless one without meaning. Every single time I feel like I’m finally progressing in something, something else gets rid of all my progress and pisses me off!” You sighed, closing your eyes.

Well… Apart from the successful communication with Teyvat of course, but you can’t mention that to him. Still though, you’re feeling really shitty right now.

“You went outside with The Knave, and even bought some of your favourite chocolate. That’s one good thing, isn’t it? Ungrateful brat…”

“Yeah, I suppose so.” 

Your eyes snapped open, realisation in your eyes. “I was right! There was another Harbinger following us outside! And it was you?”

Good thing you decided not to ask the girls in there for help after all, they might have been killed by Scaramouche once you and Arlecchino left if you had! The more you think about it now, the more your stomach hurts…

“Yes. So what?” He shrugged.

“I just… didn’t think you’d reveal it so quickly. I thought you would’ve kept it a secret or not mentioned it at all, you know, like a normal person.”

“I didn’t care whether you figured it out or not, I didn’t think it was a secret.” He smirked to himself. “I’m also not a person, idiot.”

“...”

“...”

“Was that meant to be funny?”

“Shut your mouth, you knew what I meant.” He elbowed your stomach lightly. “I’m now fortunately in a good mood, you should say what you want to now.”

“That’s good for you.”

He sighed again, shaking his head. “Will you stop moping like a saddened sunflower? It’s annoying and starting to make me uncomfortable. And that’s saying something.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” You rolled your eyes, feeling jealous. “Go somewhere else if it bothers you that much.”

“And here I was, thinking my presence would invigorate you.” He shook his head in disappointment. “Speak. What’s wrong now?”

“Don’t act like you care, I would never confide in you for anything.” You glared at him, the Harbinger gritting his teeth in reply with furrowed eyebrows.

“How dare you…! After trying to be nice, this is what I get in return!?”

“You don’t get it, do you?” You asked him apathetically. “You can’t just expect me to tell you after you order me to, that’s not what being ‘nice’ is. That’s controlling and just making me not want to tell you more.”

“Hmph, you say this, yet you’re not taking my effort into account.”

“If this is what you call putting in effort, shouting when things don’t go your way, you must be tired from putting ‘effort’ in everything all the time.” You watched his expression grow into one of something you didn’t recognise, seemingly letting your words sink into his head.

At the end of the day, Scaramouche during this stage of his life is just an angry traumatised toddler who acts all tough to prevent his gentle nature from leaking out. He doesn’t want to care about anyone again, so he pushes all who talk to him away rudely in hopes they don’t approach him.

To be honest, he alongside Childe are probably the easiest Harbinger’s to deal with. …In terms of getting them on your side at least. Sure, Childe would probably be harder considering his unwavering loyalty to the Tsaritsa and connections with Pulcinella taking care of his family, but you feel as if you could do it.

Scaramouche on the other hand is a temperamental landmine on the opposite side of the spectrum as Sandrone. That’s how you see it anyway, you could be very wrong and offend die-hard fans if you told someone that. Actually, you’d probably offend both Sandrone and Scaramouche as well since they hate each other.

“Stupid. You’re a stupid mortal who doesn’t know their place. Defying one of your kidnappers, as you like to call us, is a dumb idea. Are you asking for death?” He finally answered your small scolding, breaking your previous thought process.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” You said, voice mellow. “Anyway, could you let me stargaze in peace now?”

“Pfft, that’s what you came out here to do? You could have worn warmer clothes than that!”

“A blanket is enough, I don’t plan to fall asleep out here. Besides, you’re not wearing warm clothes either.”

“How many times must I tell you…” He trailed off before dropping the topic. “Besides, I don’t see what’s so great about the stars,” He commented. “They’re not even real anyway, just because they look different from Teyvat doesn’t change the fact that they’re fake.”

You gently laughed at him. “You just said it yourself, these stars look different from the ones in Teyvat. If you’re really that interested, then yes, these are indeed what real stars look like.”

“I thought as much.”

“If you thought as much, why say it?”

“...”

“What is the focus of constellations in this world?” He ignored your question, asking his own instead.

“Well…” You thought to yourself. “It depends on who you ask, as everyone believes in different things. Some believe them to be the souls of others who have passed on and watch over their families, some believe them to be heroes from legends, some believe them to exist for interpreting a God's will. Some even believe them to interpret human’s behaviour. - Those are called horoscopes.” You listed to him.

“What are the Gods like in this world?”

“It depends on who you ask. Once again, there are many different religions here. Some religions don’t believe in Gods, and focus on morals and ethics instead.”

“...If only it were like that in Teyvat.” Scaramouche grumbled. “Maybe then worshipping the current Archons wouldn’t be as common.”

“Maybe so.” You shrugged, choosing to ignore his clear jealousy. “Not everyone has a religion, you know. Kind of like Teyvat, actually…” You decided not to continue in courtesy of Khaenri’ah.

“So, people can freely choose to worship? Interesting…” He mumbled to himself.

“...What do the stars mean to you?”

“Me?” You thought out loud.

“Yes, stupid.” He deadpanned. “Who else would I be asking, the grass?”

“Ha-ha, very funny. For me, I don’t really know. I’ve never thought about it in detail before, I believe they mean nothing but something at the same time.”

“Are you talking gibberish? You contradicted yourself.”

“I know.” You sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know what I meant myself. I just replied with the first answer that came to mind.”

“Speaking of saying what first comes to mind, this is the first time we’ve talked alone since…” You stopped yourself, not wanting to think about it further.

“Ah.”

“Yes, I think ‘ah’ is an appropriate response.”

“Hmph, I’ll let it slide. What are horoscopes in the first place? I find it hard to believe they can control humans. At the end of the day, nothing can control those greedy insects.” Of course he wouldn’t know what they are!

“They’re a group of constellations that many believe impact a person’s personality and lifestyle. You get one when you’re born, depending on when your birthday is.” You explained.

“Do you have one?”

“Yeah, it’s ‘.....’.”

“And how does that impact your lifestyle? I’m guessing being stupid is a part of it.” He snickered in his hand.

“No!” You argued back. “I don’t know how it impacts me, I don’t follow horoscopes as seriously as others do.”

“Well, aren’t you useful?” He sarcastically replied.

“Your birthday is January 3rd, right?”

“...What the fuck is ‘January’?”

“Oh riiiiight, you wouldn’t call it that in Teyvat since Janus is a Roman god. Think of it as what your birthday would be considered here, I did the calculations.” You sweated, a chuckle escaping your lips.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

“Don’t mock me! Anyway, from your birthday, you’d be a Capricorn… Or would you be a Libra? I can’t remember, I’m more confident in you being a Capricorn.”

“And you gather that from my personality?”

“Nah, I’m talking about remembering when a friend and I geeked about it once for a project years ago.”

“Funny.” He bit his tongue.

“Hey, I…”

?

“I...” 

“The great and powerful Scaramouche hesitating to say something? What an honour to witness such a sight!”

“You’re clearly feeling better.” He narrowed his eyes, not appreciating your comment in the slightest. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, okay?”

Huh?

“Sorry about what?”

“I’m not repeating myself.” He scoffed, leaving you confused.

Wait… Is he genuinely apologising to you? This version of Scaramouche, the Balladeer, is apologising TO YOU?? And it’s him confessing a mistake!? You didn’t think this version of him could even say the word ‘sorry’, and yet here you are hearing it first hand! Has he hit his head? Or maybe this world is affecting his machinery?

“Do you really mean that?”

“I guess.” He shrugged, hiding his face from your view. “What’s done is done, I can’t take it back. I only said it to shut you up, you should feel grateful that I said it out loud.”

And grateful, you indeed are. Whilst you’re definitely not accepting his apology inside, you won’t deny this heartwarming act did make you feel better, did make you feel like you’re actually a person in at least one of the Harbinger’s perspectives.

It’s also very clear that he’s hiding his face in embarrassment. If you weren’t shaken up from earlier, you probably would have teased him about this already.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this, I’d never hear the end of it from those imbeciles.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” A smile appeared on your face, feeling a lot better. “Oh, and Scaramouche?”

“...What is it now?”

“Thank you.”

He turned over to look at you again, ready to reply but stopped himself when he noticed you were stiller than usual. He panicked for a moment, placing fingers on your neck before sighing in relief to find you were simply asleep.

“‘I don’t plan to fall asleep’, huh?” He mocked you in a whispered tone, looking up at the stars above him.

The stars… to him, it seemed like a personal audience to the two of you’s conversation, waiting eagerly to see what he’d do next. He didn’t know how to explain it, but these real stars made his porcelain feel strange. Shivers coursed through his body when thinking about it further. Perhaps this is the reason the stars were covered in Teyvat?

Enough gaping at the scenery, he should probably carry you to bed before you turn ill and become more argumentative than you already are. As much as he loves to see you more docile than usual, seeing you give up makes him feel like shit. He doesn’t know why, either, which is the annoying part. If you need him to cheer you up at your lowest, he supposes he could spare his time for you to pick you back up into a stable zone.

And it better just be him next time. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he saw you finding comfort in someone like the Knave’s presence again.

Picking up your body with care, he walked back into the house with your sleeping body draped over his back, your chin resting on his right shoulder. He shut the door behind him and walked through the living room with all the Harbingers staring at him.

“Want your eyes gouged out?” He warned them, clutching your legs tighter to not only control himself but steady you on his back.

“Pfuhu~, Balladder, I can take them back to your room. It must be tiring to hold them up.” Columbina smiled politely at him, doing a grabbing motion with both hands like a toddler wanting to be picked up.

“No thank you,” He also gave her a polite smile, the smile stretching across his face occasionally twitching. “They’re as light as a feather. I don’t blame you for being wrong, and neither would they, you’ve never given them a piggyback after all.”

“Now, now,” Pierro gave a warning glance. “I see exactly where this is leading. Control yourselves, both of you.”

“The Decider is asleep, don’t make too much noise.” Pulcinella coughed. “It’s been a long day for them, going outside must have tuckered them out.”

“They’re not a child.” Scaramouche recoiled in disgust.

“They sure do act like one!” Dottore laughed from the sofa. “No wonder they get along with Childe so well.”

“When will I be free?” The ginger prayed to the skies, muttering soft words.

“We’re moving off-track. Take The Decider to bed, I’m sure they’d rather you go in their room to tuck them in rather than leaving them to freeze outside. Come downstairs when you’re finished, we have a lot to discuss.”

“Indeed we do.” Dottore interrupted him. “Now that we’ve seen they can somewhat be trusted in going outside, I plan to go to the library with them.”

“Might I remind you we can’t read this world’s alphabet?” Sandrone hissed.

“A minor obstacle.” He replied to her comment before continuing. “The Decider will be my translator, I will pick up the rest easily.”

“Enough, The Decider could stir awake and hear something they shouldn’t. Off with you now.” Pierro waved him away, Scaramouche gritting his teeth before walking slowly up the stairs with your added weight.

“Balladeer.” Columbina called out sweetly from the bottom of the stairs. She didn’t wait for the puppet to acknowledge her so she could reply. “You’ll come to regret this, I swear to you, this won’t be the last of our bickering.”

“Hmph! ‘Bickering’, you say? I look forward to the challenge.” He cackled before disappearing at the top of the stairs.

This chapter really came full circle lol

Don't mind the fact that this View is 4 days over the newly proposed schedule. I'm getting used to it though!

I finally got to implement two rivalries, so exciting!!! I'm sorry if some people don't like the parallel situation I made with Sandrone and Scaramouche, I just see them as very similar to each other! Both see each other as what they want to be, and any conversation always ends in jealousy.

...Does anyone actually read these?

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[binthecloud]

read the patterns - s. changbin

seo changbin x female!reader | fwb, angst, fluff, suggestive, one small smut scene | wc: 3.6k | notes: he’s an oblivious idiot, she’s aware of that; dialogue heavy; i like it by skz meets read your mind by sabrina carpenter

~~~~~~

“so you’re saying we don’t have a relationship similar to valentines, did i get it right?”

“yeah, i mean– we do some stuff they do, but it’s just the difference between a dotted line and a solid line, you know?” he explained, still naked on your bed while you got ready to work. “i like what we have, no need to go that deep.”

you stared him down, trying not to laugh.

“then you won’t be upset if we can’t see each other for a while?”

“what would be the reason?”

“i don’t know, i might be too busy or overwhelmed to meet up and have sex.”

“we’ve spent time together with no sex before, so give me another reason.”

“now you see, that’s valentines behavior right there,” you pointed out. “since we’re not friends to avoid deeper intimacy, why should we spend time together doing things other than sex?”

changbin narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

“are you trying to end what we have, is that it?”

finally, you broke out laughing.

“no! i just find it funny that you give me all these goofy punch lines while doing the exact opposite,” you cleared, walking closer to the bed. “i’ll give you some time to read the patterns, but if you refuse to accept them, i’ll have to change our dynamics for the type of relationship you really want.”

when changbin tried to pull you back to bed, you were quicker to escape, going for your bag over your desk.

“can’t be late today, bin,” you warned. “you can sleep longer, but don’t forget to wash your dishes and make the bed before you leave.”

“why are you telling me what to do? did i ever forget?” he whined.

“no, you didn’t, exactly. that’s pattern number one.” you threw him a wink and left the room.

changbin whined your name again, making you hold a smile. you pressed the elevator button with thoughts wandering around your non-established relationship with the man on your bed. you were well aware of his bad experiences with dating before, that’s what gave you the patience to deal with his detachment speeches. the thing was that changbin was the clingiest friend with benefits to ever exist– the sex is amazing, of course, but what made you stay was his attentive demeanor, his dedication to make you feel the best in bed, to prioritize your pleasure, to make you want to come back.

since you lived quite far from each other, both agreed to spend the night and just leave in the morning for safety reasons. changbin was the one to pitch the idea, to be honest– on your third night together.

“i don’t believe it’s safe for you to go home right now, so just stay the night,” he said, head buried on the curve of your neck, pressing slow lazy kisses on your skin.

“oh, so you’re making up an excuse to cuddle me?” you asked, eyes closed, enjoying the aftercare way too much.

“i mean, i won’t be rude and tell you to leave. i’m thinking of your safety, if you’re safe while cuddling me, what can i do?”

you gave a light slap on his thigh resting over your waist.

“yeah, alright. is cooking included in the package? ‘cause i’m getting hungry.”

changbin raised his head, you could visualize a cartoon light bulb right in the air.

“i can cook in the morning, but my favorite diner is open until late,” he announced. “your feedback might affect your next orgarms for the night.”

you frowned at his choice of words, but couldn’t help an endearing laugh.

“is it that important to you?”

“oh, you have no idea.”

“then call them, i’m gonna shower while you’re at it.”

changbin giggled and jumped off the bed to reach for his phone.

the food was actually amazing, so he made you come at least three times before you blacked out on his arms. the breakfast didn’t happen, though, you had to leave as soon as you woke up for a work meeting. the tiredness of the night before almost made you late, but you went through it even with your focus far away from your apartment.

changbin’s excuse to stay the night at your place was that the streets weren’t safe for anyone to drive that late.

“that’s when drunk people go out there and mess up everything. do you mind me staying?”

“to cuddle as well?”

“that’s non-negotiable.”

in fact, these late night hook ups weren’t usual. the first time was after a daytime party for your friends engagement, two months ago, the first time you really met changbin in person. you knew him from pictures with your friend's fiance, but never crossed paths until that very day. lots of talking, dancing, laughing and flirting later, you ended up at his apartment with no clothes on and a pretty fun afternoon.

you decided to leave in the evening, since you also weren’t looking for attachment – even though changbin’s number was already saved with a promise of another good time soon. your hookups were planned to be whenever one of you needed a release, so the first rule was to respect each other's free periods on the day.

“i have no fixed hours, so you might not get lucky sometimes,” you warned.

“guess i’ll just have to sadly handle it myself.” he shrugged.

you took the opportunity to bring up another topic.

“do you plan on doing it with other people?” your eyes didn’t leave his.

“i don’t think so, it’s not easy to match the chemistry these days,” he answered honestly. “but i can’t give you the hopes of a deeper commitment, i’m not available for that.”

you turned your body to lay over his, pressing a peck on his lips, “don’t worry about it. this is fun as it is.”

“they say the trailer is always the most fun part, anyway.” he cocks a brow, smirking.

“oh, so you got some punch lines? nice to know what i’m getting into.”

changbin laughed, pulling you closer to kiss you properly. the rest was history.

~~~~~~

“bin,” you whispered in the darkness of your room.

he was sleeping right beside you. it took one more grind of your ass over his crotch to take a hum out of him.

“need me, baby?”

“please, put it in me, this wet dream won't let me go back to sleep.”

with one hand, you took off your panties, with the other, you played with his cock over his pajama shorts. his left arm goes under to hug you by the waist, keeping you close enough to still allow you to roll back onto him. he left kisses all over your shoulder, aware that you were in the mood to be his pillow princess. which was okay with him — changbin loved being your service top.

“oh, i’m so lucky… having the best pussy just for me,” he moaned, trusting slowly from behind. he holds your right knee up to your stomach so he could have more access to your creamy hole. “is it okay, baby? want me to go harder? talk to me.”

“i'm so tired and sensitive, just want to go back to sleep,” you whine, playing with your nipples and pressing harder against him.

he gets the message and speeds it up, pounding harder, making your whines go louder.

~~~~~~

things started to get weird when changbin got teased by your friends in common. during a dinner hang out in dan and aeri’s apartment, changbin got comfortable enough to have you sitting on his lap while everyone was around in the living room. no one was drinking, to be fair, everyone had work and classes the following day, so a hangover wasn’t an option. changbin was holding a cup of juice on the hand that wasn’t around your waist, you were holding a small plate of snacks to share with him.

later that night, the line was dropped:

“oh, but it’s so nice to see changbin being as married as aeri and dan!”, jun cheered.

“right? thought it would take longer to see our bin this happy again,” yujin agreed, the biggest smile on her face.

you could feel him tense slightly under you.

“thank you, everybody. glad to know you were paying that much attention to me, i feel very loved,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue.

being too busy chewing on your food, you just smiled at the interaction. everyone was aware of changbin’s issues with commitment, everyone was aware that he wouldn’t be the one to admit that the joke wasn’t that much of a joke, after all.

when they changed the target to another friend, you thought it would be fun to keep on teasing him by yourself.

“guess i gotta take our marriage off my vision board now?” you whispered, putting a snack on his mouth to shut him up and make him think first.

changbin narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. he licked his lips, then left a small kiss on your arm.

“you better hide this hypothetical vision board when i’m around, or else i’ll have to take two steps back.”

he said that with such a cute smile that your reaction must have been what he expected for his comeback teasing. your smile wavered instantly, so you averted your gaze to the conversation happening outside your bubble. your body that felt so comfortable against his, started to feel itchy to get out of there as soon as possible– but you didn’t, you didn’t want to make a scene for something you knew was bound to happen.

“hey, i didn’t mean i don’t want to know about your plans, of course i do.” he squeezed your thigh softly to get your attention back.

“no, you’re right. honestly, i think we’re doing everything wrong at this point,” you mumbled, trying to be discreet. the mood obviously changed, but you hoped that you two were invisible in the room.

“what do you mean by that?” changbin asked, confused.

“aeri, where did you find these goodies? they don’t sell this flavor in my area.”

your friend got up excited, as if willing to share her newest discovery. she took you to the kitchen the showed you the pile of snacks she stocked for a week. aeri gave you two packs – for you and changbin, but you immediately let her know that those would be just for you.

“how are things in paradise?” she asked, leaning against the counter.

“been good, but i realized changbin has a twisted idea of a friends with benefits dynamic, so i’ll have to remind him of how it’s done.”

aeri watched you carefully, letting silence take the room. she didn’t have to search for disappointment on your features, it was pretty evident.

“yeah, it’s time he gets shaken up,” she agrees. “he’ll be a real loser if he lets you go.”

you gave her a faint smile, nodding. before sad thoughts took over your brain, you decided to leave, it was getting late– of course aeri didn’t believe it one bit, but she hugged you goodbye anyways. on the other hand, changbin was alert when you returned to the living room. he got ready to leave as well, hugging everybody while pretending he wasn’t the reason for your sudden change of mood.

the silence remained in the elevator and all the way to his car. changbin’s brain was overworking to come up with a solution for his mistake. unlike him, you looked oddly calm.

“y/n,” he decided to break the wall. “i’m really sorry for what i said. i didn’t mean to be insensitive about your plans.”

you shook your head, eyes on the street. “that’s not what upset me, actually,” you admited, changbin frowned. “i just realized i already told you about all of them, and i shouldn’t have done that.”

“what? why wouldn’t you?”

“because this isn’t what a sex-based relationship is about.”

“alright, no need to be rude,” he couldn’t help but scold you. “i never said i wasn’t interested in your life, i never said it was all about sex.”

“didn’t i tell you to read the patterns? did you even try?"

changbin paused, being able to look at you properly after stopping at the red light.

“i thought you were joking. i know i have crossed some lines, but–”

“you have crossed all of them, bin, that’s what i want you to realize.” he went silent. “i’m not ending things, i’m just acting differently from now on, like it’s supposed to be.”

a few minutes later, changbin parked in front of your building. he waited for your invitation, not sure if he was still welcome.

“you can come up, if you want,” you say, grinning when his face brightened a bit. “but there won’t be cuddles nor staying the night.”

his face fell again.

“but, baby, look at the time…”

“you can risk it tonight, that’s your call. we can give up the nightly hookups too.”

“stop teasing me, i’m warning you,” he said, his voice lower.

changbin took the car to your building’s parking lot, then you waited for the elevator together. you could feel his hand restless near yours, so you intertwined your fingers with his, feeling him relax. he didn’t stop looking at you once you got inside. for the both of you, it was not a thing to make out in public, but changbin hadn’t kissed you in what seemed like hours, so it was freaking difficult to stay sane in that moment.

as soon as you locked your door, changbin grabbed your waist to pull you closer, but you turned away when he tried to kiss you.

“we won’t get freaky tonight, okay? don’t want you too tired to drive back home later.”

changbin let out a frustrated goan locked his fingers on the back of your neck, tearing a moan out of you.

“baby, please, just shut the fuck up and let me give you what you deserve.”

~~~~~~

in the following days, changbin got busy with a project and you got overworked by your boss, so you couldn’t meet even once. the pent up stress joined the sadness of not being able to talk about it with changbin. you were aware that it was probably immature to just let him out like that, but you couldn’t give him all of yourself if he wouldn’t do something about it. changbin was the proud one in the situation, you were so tired and fragile to give him an ultimatum.

“is he fucking dumb, aeri?” you cried once. “how can he act that way and not actually be with me as a boyfriend? am i the only one fucking loving? didn’t i prove enough that i’m not his ex?”

aeri hugged you while dan prepared a cup of tea in the kitchen.

“i’m being honest when i say yes, he might be fucking dumb,” dan uttered from afar. “changbin is contradicting himself with this detachment shit. he’s unable to not care about someone’s feelings.”

“darling, don’t be wordy,” aeri advised, which made you laugh a little.

“y/n, i felt really sorry for bin when his ex messed him up.” dan returned holding two cups, giving to you and aeri. he held a finger up as a sign to wait, then he came back with his own cup. “but it’s been over a year, that’s why everybody jokes about him being happier, it isn’t actually a joke.”

“yeah, it’s clear as day that you and bin make a pretty good match”, aeri added. “he might be scared, but these actions are starting to hurt you because it’s obvious you’re not just friends with benefits anymore.”

you sniffled, less tears falling. the warm cup on your palms helped grounding you, somehow.

“i’m so fucking overwhelmed, i just wanted to feel safe with him.”

~~~~~~

the next day, all of changbin’s texts to you stayed on read.

bini: good morning, baby

bini: day off today, uh? any plans?

bini: how did that project go?

bini: my friend took me to the cutest ice cream shop yesterday

bini: let me know whenever you’re craving for it

bini: they have your favorite order there

bini: hey, answer me when you wake up

bini: was thinking of taking you out to lunch

bini: you’re probably overworked as always

bini: please take care of yourself

in the afternoon, you looked over the blanket to see your phone vibrating. changbin was calling.

“hey,” you picked up, not even a bit of excitement in your tone.

“sleeping late today?”

“no, just rotting in bed, actually.”

“everything okay? do you need anything?”

“just an awful week at work. i’ll hang out with aeri later, see if i can cheer up.”

“did you check my texts? i can come over right now, if you want. i’m an amazing company, as you know.”

“not in the mood for sex today, bin.”

“what? didn’t even think of it!”

you sigh, no energy left to have that conversation.

“well, you should. that’s all we have in common. don’t try crossing the line you created yourself.”

“y/n, don’t be stubborn, i want to take care of you.”

“you don’t have to, it’s not part of your role.”

“is this some kind of sick punishment? why are you doing this? i am your friend.”

“no, you’re not. the only time i get to be vulnerable with you is when we’re horny in bed, that’s all. my struggles outside our rooms are none of your business because that would require a level of intimacy that you made sure i knew is forbidden,” you ramble without noticing. “so, no, changbin, you can’t take care of me because i’m just your fuck buddy. i’ll text you when i get better, when i feel like i can be a good partner to you again, alright?”

“yeah, sorry. i get it, i’ll wait for you.”

but you didn’t hang up, you waited for him to do it. far from that cheesy couple action of not wanting to hang up first, you heart hurt just to think of doing it– distancing yourself.

you only realized you’d started crying when you heard his voice again.

“i’ll be there in ten. can you leave the door open for me, baby?”

you sniffled, just mumbling a weak “yes”. you heard the sound of keys and changbin moving around.

“just wait for me, okay? i’ll be with you in a few.”

then he hung up, leaving you with your heart on your sleeve. you got up from the bed and went to the door, unlocking it. after drinking some water in the kitchen, you got back in your room, throwing yourself over the sheets. didn’t take long for you to fall asleep again, burnout messing up your sleep schedule for a couple days now.

changbin woke you up in the softest way possible. he patted your hair carefully to bring you out of your slumber– it was great to see his face again as you opened your eyes.

“hi, baby.”

“hi,” you said. wasting no time to cuddle him by the waist, forcing him to lay down and get comfortable with you.

changbin left a kiss on the top of your hair, feeling your heartbeat due to how close you were.

“i’m sorry for being such a stubborn dumbass,” he started. “thank you for being so patient, for waiting as long as you could. sorry i couldn’t wait for you like i said i would today– couldn’t handle the thought of having you crying by yourself.”

“so you came to cry with me?” your voice was muffled by his shirt.

“of course, that’s part of my role as your friend and your boyfriend.”

silence again.

“that’s not the best way to make it official.”

“probably, but the label’s been here for a while, we just had to voice it out.”

“yeah, that’s why we all agreed you’re fucking dumb sometimes.”

“don’t tell me ‘we all’ includes dan and aeri.”

“won’t tell you, then.”

changbin changed his position to put you on your back, facing him. he used his thumb to get rid of the tear paths on your face, then started pressing kisses all over.

“i wasn’t planning to fall in love, but loving you is the easiest thing in the world,” he said, eyes locked on yours. “the only thing making me scared was my own memory of a bad time, ‘cause you never got me triggered, ever.”

you nodded, biting your lower lip nervously.

“i’m terribly sorry for pushing you away with my words, i know i can be quite contradictory.”

“speak your truth, cuddle monster.”

changbin’s eyes widened, hands immediately going to tickle your ribs. he couldn’t even be offended, he actually felt relieved knowing that you read his patterns so well.

“you know i’m sorry for your past experiences, and i’m glad you didn’t change your ways of affection, that’s what made me fall in love,” you stated. “i didn’t believe your goofy lines once, but you had to get a reality shock for your own good.”

his smile got bigger before kissing you softly. his tongue touched yours with an electric wave that came from longing and loving each other so much.

“have you eaten? we can cry together about your work and then i can cook you something,” changbin offered, playing with your hair.

“can we cry while you cook, though? i’m feeling hungry right now.”

“however you want it, baby.”

[starconstruction]

Relocating Reunion

Yandere Chaewon + Yena (SFW)

The three of you knew each other since you were all just children.

The inseparable trio, never breaking apart, not even for a minute.

That continued for years to come, every day you could meet up you three would meet up.

Time was the greatest force of them all, breaking apart your bonds in one fell swoop, it was your parents. They forced you to leave, they moved away.

They didn't see it that way.

They saw it as an act of betrayal, in their eyes you were a traitor. And never called you again, never ever texted you, just left you on read.

You couldn't believe it, many tears were shed those first few weeks at the separation. You were desperate to maintain a connection.

But it was futile.

So eventually, it was time to move on. Which you did. Finding new friends, new life, the old wounds started to close. and eventually they started to heal.

Not for Yena though, not for Chaewon either.

They realized far too late it wasn't your fault.

But at that point you weren't responding to calls or texts. Straight to voicemail and eventually the line went cold.

They were miserable.

They tried to move on with themselves, but it wasn't possible, they desired your conversations, your guidance, your connection.

Yena stalked your social media, looking for any traces of your life, of your whereabouts. But she couldn't find anything, you didn't post enough for them to track you down.

That's when things started to decline for them, the lack of rage made them hollow, empty, it all fell so fast.

Chaewon had a better idea than Yena, one more involved.

She dialed your parents, who were all so conversational, giving them all the information they would need. Chaewon almost hit herself at how easy it was.

It was time for a road trip.

-

"See you later!" You waved off to your partner, waiting for them to shut the door and officially close this date. Minju gave you a soft smile and matched your goodbye, your heart fluttered.

Is this what love was?

You took the slow route home, basking in the afterglow of the date, every memory replaying in your head. The brisk air pierced through your clothes, it was really fucking cold. But it didn't matter to you, only had a few more minutes until you were home safe and sound.

There was a lot more cars on the street than usual, from cars that cost more than your entire family's cumulative wealth to ones that did not pass the MIT. And of fucking course! They had to park in front of your house in particular, wheels basically mantling the curve and blocking your way in.

You vented the frustration in the form of very slightly kicking your rubbish bin. Couldn't break anything too expensive, your family would find some way to teleport back home and kick the ever-living shit out of you.

You tried to unlock your door, jamming the keys inside, but it was already unlocked. Fucking clumsiness! You opened your door, scanning around but on the bright side it didn't appear you had been robbed today.

Your house was somehow even colder, a chill flowing through the air, a gentle whir coming from your bedroom, you could swear you turned that fan off.

You walked upstairs, ready to throw your bag and go to sleep, social battery well and truly drained. You were walking in the dark, vision only gently granted by Selene's moonlight.

"Ugh." You groaned, finally getting to your room and turning on the light.

"Surprise!!" What the fuck?

You jumped out of your skin, nearly out of this mortal plane as you turned around.

Yena, Chaewon?

"What the fuck are you doing in my house????" You asked, the two of them sat comfortably on your bed like they owned the place.

"Well, we've been so bored without you!" Yena began, but Chaewon cut her off, "And you didn't answer our texts, our calls, stopped even opening them! So we came to see you instead!"

"I-What..? You ignored me first! I don't want to see you!"

"It was our fault, we thought you wanted to leave... But we realized eventually, we can move on!"

You stood your ground against them, who were now right in front of you, their proximity didn't deter you in the slightest.

"No, we are not moving past this. I told you in those messages I didn't want to leave and you ignored me like trash, like dirt, like everything we did together was meaningless. Now. Get out of my house."

Yena gasped, grabbing onto your shoulder, pain visibly etched onto her face as if you dug a knife into her heart. "Y-You aren't even gonna, hear us out? We came all this way to meet you and you want us gone? Really? I..."

"I wanted to stay in touch then, but now I don't. I have new friends and a new partner, I'll always hold fondness for you two but I want you to leave. Breaking into my house like what the fuck is wrong with you two?"

Chaewon glared at you, seeing right past your defensive nature. "Partner? There's no way, no way! You always told us you loved us!"

"Platonically."

"Don't you dare lie to me. I knew there was a spark there!" Chaewon pushed you against the wall, Yena watched in shock but didn't move, only observing her best friend.

"You are crazy, both of you..." You groaned out.

Chaewon looked insane, confused, angry and so much more. Like they expected a fairy tale and got a nightmare. Her eyes widened, Her hand pressing against your stomach, she was warning you.

"We aren't leaving. Not until you hear us out! Now sit down, please..." Chaewon held you there for a few moments longer, her gaze anticipating a reply.

"If you don't leave I'll call the cops."

"Oh Y/N, that's the wrong answer." A sudden strike came to your chest made you kneel, falling onto the ground in agony. Tears coating the corners of your eyes.

"Yena, grab his phone. If he won't listen we will force him." A hand probed around your pockets, another pinned you down.

"Get off me you two!" You thrashed, but it was futile. Your phone slipped into her grasp.

Yena descended down, sitting on your trapped legs, your movement now constricted. She dangled your phone in front of you like a toy, flaunting it. "Now will you hear us out? Please... You never used to be this irrational."

"We thought you'd be happier to see us, after all you left your door unlocked... Obviously you wanted us to surprise you? We tried to tell you we were coming, honestly its your fault." Chaewon closed the door.

"My fault? You broke into my house and have stolen my phone!"

"And we'll return them! We just want you to calm down... You can do that for your friends right?" Chaewon sat on the floor next to you, leaving you completely surrounded.

It was truly a rock and a hard place, a bookshelf blocking your right and one angry girl blocking your left with another blocking your movement.

"You aren't my friends anymore, but I'll hear you out." You sighed venomously.

You could see Yena's eye twitch in the darkness, your words being becoming even more painful, agonising.

"You will be, we've been in misery without you. We wanted to reconnect, to go back to how things were. We've missed you so much Y/N, it's been agony, torture, like we've been trapped. Please, just let's go back to how things were..." Her voice petered out.

"No. I've moved on, you should move on Yena, and Chaewon."

Chaewon grabbed your head, snapping you to face her. "You don't fucking get it! We can't move on, we've tried! I don't get why you are so cold towards us, so cruel! But we will stay until you accept us back into your life."

"I-" Chaewon's hand blocked you speaking anymore.

"No more speaking today, I don't think it'll do us any good... Let's go to bed."

They dragged you up, their combined strength far stronger than you remember. Your heart was pounding, breathing heavy, they sandwiched you. Holding you against their bodies, Yena's heart beated against your ear, what happened to the people you knew?

You couldn't get out, no matter how hard you tried. Their sleeping forms imprisoned you subconsciously.

The next morning they weren't there, but their stuff was. There was no sign of your phone.

You descended down your stairs, the smell of cooking permeating your nostrils. The sheer audacity took you by surprise, how they could be so cocky to cook your food.

You carefully approached the kitchen, trying to scan around for your phone. Only to get greeted eye to eye with Chaewon, who was essentially beaming her smile. It unnerved you with how happy they seemed.

"Morning babe!" Ew. Choke down the bile in your throat and ignore that remark for your own sanity.

"Don't call me that, ew... I have a partner." Yena giggled to your right, operating your pan like she owned the place.

"Wouldn't be too sure about that one..."

What?

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing..."

"What the fuck do you mean?!" You shouted at them.

"We - well... Messaged her. Threatened her a little bit, took her number from your phone." Your heart shattered into a million pieces, they had appeared for a day and ruined everything.

"What the fuck!?" Chaewon waltzed over, only just realising she was wearing your shirt and nothing else.

"She was just going to get in the way sweetie, now we can reconnect!"

"You aren't the girl I knew." You muttered.

She flashed you a twisted smile, shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe not, but that's fine, we have a long drive back home so be sure to eat lots of breakfast!"

"What the fuck are you on about Chaewon?" Your heart pounded, swallowing hard at the potential meaning.

"Was it not obvious? We are all heading home!"

You backed up, she didn't let you.

"And baby," she whispered, breathing against your ear, "Yena has a knife..." Shit.

The sounds of plates clicked against your table.

"Come eat. I made your favourite." Yena called out, Chaewon backing away.

You turned around.

Tried to run.

You didn't make it very far.

Chaewon knocked you to the ground.

Sigh. "I guess you'll starve then and we'll have to start on the wrong foot. Anything we do to you is your fault, don't forget that."

"Crazy bitch."

"Yeah yeah yeah, say whatever you want! Last chance to eat with us."

"Fuck you."

"Fine. Starve. Don't say I didn't warn you."

She dragged you to the table, forcing you to watch them. Her legs interlocked around yours, you couldn't run.

And you had a feeling this was just the beginning.

[bananahoneycomb]

Scoundrel

Steddie ficlet one shot I wrote all today because May the 4th be with you.

It is actually a bit light on the steddie and more a Steve thing but it gets there in the end.

Scoundrel

“Alright, alright. Stick together. None of you assholes go off on your own. I mean it Dustin! Lucas, you keep him from getting into trouble. We all meet back here at 12 for lunch”, Steve said and pointed to the ground at his feet.

They were standing in the hotel lobby off to the side by a giant potted plant. 

“Yeah, yeah”, Mike rolled his eyes. Jesus the sass on this kid. He used to be sort of sweet, or maybe it was just that he used to be sort of quiet around Steve.

“Here. by. 5.” Steve punctuated each word with a point towards the ground. “Don’t be late or I won’t get you Italian Ice at the place around the corner,” Steve said.

“We will not be late”, El said, reaching for Mike’s arm at the elbow which made the kid’s pale face go all red.

Steve smiled. El reminded him of a much littler kid sometimes, “Thanks El. Have fun, yeah?”

She nodded with a smile.

Steve looked at all of them again, “Okay, now go get your nerd kicks or whatever.” He whirled his hand in the air as he spoke.

The kids all took off towards the large hall. The opening of the double door lets loose the loudness of the crowd within. Steve stretched his arms over his head then swung them in front and behind himself. It had been a long drive. It felt good to be able to move around. He had told the kids he would be checking out some things in the city but he didn’t really feel like driving again. Maybe there was something interesting nearby? He started walking towards the hotel door but stopped dead in his tracks.

Golden bikini.

There was a girl in a princess Leia golden bikini.

His entire Middle School crush came barreling to the forefront of his brain so fast he forgot how to speak and-

Oh shit he was staring like a creep. 

He turned his gaze away quickly, walked over to an armchair and sat pulling out the flyer Dustin had crammed in his hand at the entrance. He could see from the corner of his eye that ‘the Leia’ had noticed him staring but thankfully she got distracted as several other people in costumes ran up to meet her. They moved into the main hall the same as the kids had.

Steve sat for a moment. He had only been pretending to read the flyer before but now some of the things on it were jumping out at him. The kids said conventions were usually for one thing but this one was a mix up of things and there was a lot of Star Wars. Hmmm. He never actually got to see the last movie. It had come out a couple months after everything had gone down in ‘83. Nancy hadn’t been interested and it wasn’t like he was hanging out with Tommy anymore. There hadn’t been anyone to go with. He pursed his lips and ran a hand through his hair as he considered the flyer.

Well, what the hell, huh? He thought as he stood up and went to get a ticket. He didn’t feel like driving around. He might as well see what all these nerds were so excited about since he was already right here.

*

 It was so crowded. Jesus Christ, there were a lot of nerds in Indianapolis today. Steve felt lost. There was a lot of nerd shit, no wonder the kids had been so excited. Well, they deserved it after everything. He smiled, hoping they were having a good time. A poster caught his eye, Star Wars. It wasn’t like any movie poster he could remember. It had Luke and Han Solo and it looked cool so he made his way over. 

There were some toys, and bins of what seemed to be hand drawn art. However, the bulk of what was at this stall looked like a mix of magazines and folders for some reason. Weird. He started looking through them after sending the woman who was running the little stand a smile. That was another thing- Steve was a bit surprised at first that so many of the nerds were women, but then he thought of what Nancy might say about that. He tried to shake the idea of Nancy with Leia buns and a blaster out of his head. Girls could be anything and girls could most definitely be nerds. 

“Looking for something in particular?’, the lady asked from where she was sitting behind the table at the back of the stall. She wore cat eye glasses and her eyes behind them were sharp but not unkind. She kind of reminded him of his mom. 

“Uh, yeah. I never saw the 3rd one. I want to know what comes after the second movie?’, he said. He wasn’t sure why he made it sound like a question, probably nerves, but it must have been okay because the lady smiled and came closer.

“Sorry, it’s loud in here. I didn’t hear the first part. You said you want something after 'The Empire Strikes Back’? That’s my favorite too! Here, have you read this one? It’s one of my favorites.” she said as she handed him a thick folder. The title on the front looked hand typed, not like a regular book or magazine. Maybe something like a script or something? He remembered the kids talking about that sort of thing. People really got into it and typed whole scripts up to comb over. That might be sort of fun to look at since he hadn’t seen the movie.

“Oh no, I haven’t read it”, Steve said.

“It’s $2.50 or 3 for $6”, she said.

“Just this is fine”, he said and pulled out the money from his wallet.

“Thanks! Have fun”, she said with a wink.

He ended up walking around and actually had a lot of fun with it. It was fun to watch people talk about things they loved even if he didn’t completely get it. He ran into the kids at different times and they teased him for staying but he supposed he deserved that a bit. By the time he was waiting for them outside the script was in a bag with a few other things he had gotten for the kids and Mr. Spock pen he got for his mom. 

When he got home he hung the bag on the back of his desk chair and there it stayed until the weekend. He supposed he must have picked up something at the convention because he had to call in sick. Whatever. That chick Robin seemed to hate him anyway. It was as he was getting himself back up to bed that he saw the bag hanging right where he’d left it and decided to grab it.

“It’s got to be better than daytime TV,” he said to himself and settled down in bed to read. He realized quickly it was not actually a script. It was a novel, but hand typed like the cover. Weird. It normally would have turned him off to start a novel, but he was already settled in and did not feel like going downstairs. Plus it was Star Wars. He decided to try a few pages.

He could not put it down. He was even annoyed with his body when he got hungry and had to take a break to go grab something to eat. He stayed up later than he should have to finish it.  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this into a book.

Over the next few weeks when his mind wandered at work he’d think about it. The end was definitely not anything he would have guessed, especially with the Luke and Han thing. He was sure he would have heard something about that if it were in the movie though, right? He’d put in the 1st two movies, but everytime he tried to get a copy of the third it had always been out at Family Video. There were teddy bears on the movie poster and those sure weren’t in the book so maybe they changed that in the movie too? Robin had gone on about things like that with her weird movies and weirder books today. Maybe he could talk to her about it sometime? It turned out she was actually a lot of fun.

“You scoundrel!” a shrill voice interrupted his thoughts and he looked up from where he had been mopping under. Mrs. Wilson was marching out of the store on a mission and there lounging back in a booth with a group of his friends, was the Freak of Hawkin’s High. Eddie Munson. 

Maybe it was just the choice of insult from Mrs Wilson, but the way he was sitting reminded Steve of Han Solo just before he shot Greeto. It was sorta hot- Ah, nope. No way. 

Steve quickly rolled the mob bucket to the storage closet grumbling to himself “Munson is NOT Han Solo, if anyone is Han it is me”. He repeated that every time he saw Munson, hoping it would actually stick in his brain. It does not.

The events of the 4th of July might have knocked the idea of talking Star Wars with Robin right out of his head, but every time Steve saw Eddie Munson he couldn’t stop seeing it. Scoundrel. Gah. Eddie didn’t even look like Harrison Ford; it was ridiculous. It was irritating. It was confusing. It was, unfortunately, also hot.

*

“Don’t be like that. Yes, people are dicks about it but things are changing. It’s the 80s Robin! They even had that thing in Star Wars and people love those movies”, Steve said as he turned left on Elm St.

Robin was quiet a beat too long. “What? What thing in Star Wars”

“The thing! You know, with Luke and Han Solo and the kissing and the uh, well you know,” Steve said.

“No Steve I do not know. Wait, have you, have you not watched the last movie? You said it was your favorite!” Robin asked.

“Psh, no! I was kinda busy after the 1st go around with the kids, but I read the book. That should be better, right?” Steve answered, confused at why he felt suddenly nervous. He had wanted to ask Robin about this.

“The book?” Robin asked.

“Yeah. I got it at that convention I took the shitheads when the Mall just opened”, Steven said.

“Oh. Oh! Oh Steve, that was… did it look like a normal book?” Robin asked.

“Well no. It was typed. I thought it was screenplay at first”, Steve said.

“That was not a normal book Steve”, Robin said.

“Huh?”

“We are watching the movie as soon as possible, just in case I’m wrong”, Robin said.

“Yeah, yeah okay. I guess that’ll be another perk of working here: Never finding the movie we want is gone”, Steve said.

“Wait. Oh my god, does this have something to do with that weirdness with you and Eddie Munson”, Robin asked.

Shit.

“No! Any weirdness there is all very much from him”, said Steve tightly. 

“Steven. You do not grumble to yourself quietly’, Robin asked. 

“Ok, fine, maybe, maybe a little bit,” Steve said. They were at a stop sign but he just stayed stopped.

“Oh”, Robin said.

Steve sighed, “Yeah ‘oh’, eh, I don’t know I-”

HOOONK

“I’m going I’m going! Sheesh!”Steve hit the gas. 

“So, Han Solo”, Robin asked.

“And Leia! Leia first actually”, Steve said.

“Well of course Leia. She’s the best thing about those movies”, Robin said. 

“Bass ass, gun wielding princess? Now that’s an upgrade in taste Robin,” Steve said as he parked. Her hand was suddenly on his over the shifter.

“…and the scoundrel?” Robin asked.

“Yeah. Yeah I think I like him too”, Steve said.

*

Eddie was bouncing about the house, absolutely full of chaos energy. Steve was happy to see it after everything they’d been through, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to heckle the guy a little.

“Oh, I hate your guts Steve,” Eddie said with a smile that said the exact opposite.

  “Nah, you love me”, Steve said with a smirk. 

Eddie just looked at him for a moment, suddenly stilled.

“I know”, he said. 

Steve thoughts were a rapid stream: ‘Damn, he is the Han Solo. Hey, I bagged Han Solo! Wait Oh. He loves me.

Then they were kissing.

[drowninginblox]

"Night Crawler, my beloved,"

After a week, you stopped thinking about it. The likes and reblogs calmed and soon enough you were feeling even better than you normally did. Honesty, getting such an awful secret out was one of the best things that ever happened to you. Your fellow X-men could see it too. You were sharper in the training room and far more lax when you taught. Even Logan made a comment about it and you barely know the man. For lack of a better term- it was euphoric. That was until Kurt noticed you and waved you over.

"Oh! Oh! Y/n! You will not believe what I just saw-" You tried not to panic- taking a deep breath through a smile before walking to Kurt. "Oh hey, Kurt- what's up?" He was jumping from how excited he was "I was looking through that one app- the hellscite you were rambling about-" Oh no.

"And I struck gold- look at this!" He shoved his phone into your face- sure enough it was your post. You chuckled awkwardly. "Oh- uh, that is it?" Kurt laughs. "It's a love letter! A confession! Ein geständnis für mich!" You slowly nod, biting the inside of your cheek "O-Oh. Wow- um... congratulations?" Could you vacate New York in under twenty-four hours without altering the X-Men? Probably. Depending on how this conversation goes, the risk may be worth it.

"I can't believe it! I've seen stories and art but this- mein gott... ich weiß es nicht! Es ist wirklich wunderschön... wunderbare syntax. Definitely creepy." You swallow down a bundle of nerves. What dose this mean? "Oh um, how so?" You mumble. "Y/n this is a fan, they're reading me like a book and talking like I'm Jesus. Hold one-" He scrolls through his phone, the realization of what he's doing makes your throat dry. "Oh- Kurt you don't have to-"

"'... If I told him that he is the affinity of being touched by heaven’s light. If only I could tell him that his eyes were the sun at its brightest and his skin was the mark of where he came from.' Mein gott- Bin ich jetzt eine religion für sie? Y/n, these people are sick right?" He looks up at you, eyes bright with enthusiasm- expecting you to agree. "Oh- Well, uh- yeah. They kind of amp it up do they?" You mumble. Kurt only laughs "Hold on- wait it gets better, 'That he is not the byproduct of sin but rather a gift to humanity dressed in the touches of angels.' What is that? How delusional are they? Sie reden, als wäre ich die wiederkunft Christi!" You can only look away as he tears further into your words.

"Oh- Oh- and later- 'What I would do to hold his face in my hands-' Yeah, keep dreaming! 'I would happily hold his hand in public, kisS-! KISS?!" He glances between the post and you expectantly, only to see you withdraw. "What's wrong mein Freund?" He asks, his posture growing straighter at the realization that this wasn't the time to joke. "It's... It's nothing Kurt, I don't think I feel too good. I'll have to take a raincheck on our walk today, okay?" You start to turn and walk away only for Kurt to grab your wrist loosely. "Hey, did I do something wrong?" You shake your head, putting on a friendly smile that only comes out as bittersweet. "No, no Kurt- You're fine. You're the same as you always are, it's not you. I just feel a little sick." He eases although his eye reads otherwise. "Are you sure? If it's something I said-" You shake your head. "No. Please don't blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong." You assure. "I'm just a little sick Kurt, honest." He looks you over for a moment before letting go of your wrist. "If you say so," You walk away before he even starts, heading up to your room and texting Ororo if she could cover your lesson for you. You don't wait for a reply back to flop onto your bed and just let loose. Raw emotion and your mutation lead to absolute, but controlled, chaos as your heart breaks at the reality you live in.

You shouldn't be mad, you knew the risk and its likely outcome. But you can't help but sob. Because unlike all those other posters, you were the closest one to the real deal. And even though he has no idea that it was you- it still hurts like hell. The sadness of your rejection carried on to all the others that watch from afar- hoping and praying that he could save them too. All the while you and Kurt laughed behind their backs. Yet you can't help but envy them- at least they can live in blissful ignorance.

But you have no idea that Kurt was online that day.

[jahayla-writes]

New Chapter : Freddy Carter x Reader

Description: 4.2k wc, Freddy and his wife welcome their newborn into their lives. Can be read as a stand-alone or as a part two to Pregnant Pause. Fluff, family.

Warnings: pregnancy and newborns and related topics including by not limited to: pregnancy, labor, blood, discharge, accidents, changing diapers, breastfeeding, hospitals, etc.

This is a Ko-Fi request from @missdreamofendless 💜 thank you so much darling for your support! 🤗

“How are ya feeling, love?” Freddy asked as he checked in with his wife for the millionth time. He hadn’t left y/n’s side since they arrived at the hospital, but he was still worried he would miss a sign that she needed him to do something for her. She’d just given birth to their newborn baby and Freddy wanted to make sure she was okay. “You did so great, my darling,” Freddy praised when y/n gave him a tired smile and a weak thumbs up in response to his question. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her still clammy forehead.

“Aren’t they just the cutest?” Y/n mused tiredly as she gazed at the clear roller bin coated with a fuzzy blanket the hospital had their newborn resting in. Her mind and body were exhausted beyond belief. But she hadn’t ever been happier than this moment, here with her husband and their newborn.

“Just like their mum,” Freddy agreed, squeezing y/n’s hand as he admired their baby. “You’re seriously so amazing,” he whispered lovingly as he turned back to his wife. He caught sight of the bashful expression she had after his earlier compliment, grinning as he watched it increase with his latest one. He was so amazed by her, especially after today. “You can sleep darling, I’ll watch over you two,” he promised as y/n tried to stay awake.

Y/n hummed softly and shook her head. “You need to rest too,” she whispered. She sat up, despite Freddy’s protests, and leaned forward until she could gently roll the baby bin towards them. Once she stationed it between them, up by her head, she smiled down at their newborn. “There,” she said, looking up at her husband. “Now, you can sleep too,” she offered.

Freddy grinned and kissed the back of y/n’s hand.

“Oh, let me slide over so you can use the bed too,” y/n suggested. But before she could move, Freddy’s hands clamped carefully over her forearms as he restricted her movements.

Freddy shook his head. “I’m fine where I am,” he promised. “You need to let your body heal, darling, you’ve been through a lot,” he reminded her softly.

Y/n gave him a tired smile, clearly not in a state to argue. “If you’re sure,” she mumbled as her eyes became heavier. Once she saw Freddy was seated back on the cushioned window bench beside her, she fully let herself rest against the pillow behind her head. “But, when we get home, I intend to sleep beside my husband,” she said lovingly.

Freddy smiled and squeezed y/n’s hand. “Of course. Anything you want, darling,” he promised. He watched y/n closely until he was sure she’d fallen asleep. He kissed the back of her hand as he checked on their newborn. When he knew his family was safe and resting, he curled up on the bench and laid down beside them to rest.

Y/N’s eyes flew up upon hearing her newborn’s cry. She groggily leaned up, blinking rapidly to get her vision to clear.

Freddy snapped awake upon hearing y/c/n crying. He jumped up from the bench and reached into the rolling bin crib that was beside him. He carefully lifted the baby up into his arms and rocked them slowly as he shushed them. He gave his wife a loving smile briefly upon feeling her eyes on him.

Y/n watched patiently for a few minutes as Freddy desperately tried to get y/c/n to settle down. He was doing everything right, but their newborn hadn’t stopped crying. “Honey,” y/n whispered, setting her hand on Freddy’s forearm. “I think (s)he needs me,” she explained cautiously. She could tell Freddy was a bit upset that he hadn’t succeeded in calming down their little one. Y/n could also tell he was feeling bad that he couldn’t take care of this for her.

Freddy nodded sadly and passed their baby to y/n.

Once y/c/n latched onto her, y/n laid her head back and looked up at her husband. She smiled upon seeing Freddy beaming down at her and their newborn proudly.

Freddy leaned down and pressed a long lingering kiss to Y/N’s forehead, his hand resting on the outside of her far shoulder lovingly. As his lips left her head he leaned back to take it all in, a blissful look in his eyes. “May I?” Freddy asked, grabbing his camera, “just for us”.

Y/n giggled lightly and nodded. She gazed down at their newborn as Freddy snapped some photos.

“Okay, one with you looking up, please, love,” Freddy requested. He smiled as y/n quickly complied with his request. Once he’d taken the photo of his incredible wife and precious newborn, he set the camer aside and rushed back to y/n. “Okay, sorry,” he gushed as he rubbed her shoulder as their baby continued to nurse, “I’m done”.

“You don’t have to apologize, Freddy,” y/n said with a smile as she turned her head his way.

Freddy gave her an appreciative half-smile. “You’re over here feeding our baby,” he pointed out, “after just having gone through labor for thirteen hours”. He shook his head. “Meanwhile, I’m just taking pictures,” he sighed.

“Freddy,” y/n said. She frowned upon seeing the tears in her husband’s eyes. “Stop,” she ordered, wanting to squeeze his hand but having to settle for a reassuring expression since she was cradling y/c/n as they nursed. “You were by my side the whole time, getting me everything I needed and helping me through as much as you could,” she pointed out with a smile. “You’re an amazing husband and already a wonderful father, please don’t let your tired brain make you believe otherwise.”

Freddy smiled lightly as he tried to blink away the tears in his eyes. He bent his head and kissed y/n’s chapped lips gently as he whispered a thank you. His smile grew when their baby stopped nursing and he was able see their face again. Freddy applied the hand sanitizer beside him and let it dry before putting his left pointer finger against their baby’s tiny soft hand. Y/c/n’s little fist clung onto Freddy’s finger, making both parents smile at them and then each other. Freddy used his right hand to brush some loose hair away from Y/n’s face and gave her another loving kiss. “I’d do anything for our family,” he whispered.

Y/n gazed lovingly at y/c/n as (s)he lay in their crib, sleeping peacefully. She felt Freddy wrap his arms around her carefully, being extremely gentle with her as he knew she was sore. She practically melted back into his embrace as her eyes stayed on their newborn.

They stayed like that for several minutes, just silently admiring their baby and each other.

Freddy was the one to step away first. He placed a tender kiss to y/n’s cheek before unwrapping his arms from her waist. He moved in front of her and took hold of her hands. Freddy slowly and silently guided her towards the rocking chair in the nursery, neither one wanting to wake the baby.

Y/n watched from the padded chair as Freddy quickly made his way out of the room and back. When he returned, he had a y/f/c gift bag in his hand and a smile on his face. Y/n shook her head in disbelief. He’d already gotten so much for her and the baby since finding out she was pregnant.

“Before you say something about how I didn’t need to get you anything,” Freddy whispered teasingly. “First, don’t, because you’ll wake the baby,” he joked with a smirk. “But also, it’s your push gift,” he explained as he passed her the bag.

“Freddy,” y/n whispered, also keeping her voice low as to not wake y/c/n. “You’ve already gotten me, and us, so many gifts that could be considered push gifts, you really-“ she mumbled.

Freddy just shook his head and nodded towards the gift bag he’d set on y/n’s lap.

With a light chuckle, y/n smiled appreciatively at her husband before she opened the gift. Her smile grew ten times as her heart soared upon pulling out the first item. It was a framed heartbeat sound wave of y/c/n from the first time they had heard their baby’s heartbeat. Tears welled up in her eyes as she whispered a shaky thank you. She bit her lip as she also pulled out a beautiful photo album. Inside it were photos Freddy had taken throughout her pregnancy and from earlier earlier today in the hospital. “Sweetheart, this is beautiful,” she cooed.

“I can’t have you forgetting just how incredible you are,” Freddy said as he moved to stand beside her. “You were unbelievable today, my darling,” he said as y/n flipped through the photos from the last 24 hours. When she stared up at him with teary eyes and a prideful smile, he knew he’d chosen the right gift. “Thank you,” Freddy said, echoing his appreciation for y/n giving life to their little bundle of joy.

“Freddy, do you know where the diaper bag went when we got home?” Y/n called out from the nursery.

Freddy rushed in with the diaper bag in hand. As he caught his breath, he placed a hand on y/N’s back. “I’ve got this, love,” he offered.

“Oh,“ y/n smiled, “you don’t have-“.

“I know,” Freddy promised as he kissed y/n’s cheek. “But you’ve done more than enough,” he stated. “Now, please, go rest,” he pleaded, “I’ve got this little one”.

Y/n smiled gratefully at her husband. She pressed her lips against his stubbly cheek for a quick kiss. “Alright snuggle bug,” she whispered to their baby. “Daddy is gonna take care of you, okay?” She cooed, making Freddy grin. She gave Freddy another appreciative kiss before heading out of the room.

“Did you change your shirt?” Y/n asked as Freddy entered the living room. She knew she was exhausted, but she could’ve sworn he was in a blue shirt when they left the hospital earlier.

Freddy blushed and nodded bashfully as he walked over towards where y/n was seated.

“Why-“ y/n began but cut herself off and laughed. “Oh,” she giggled realizing what must’ve happened when Freddy was changing y/c/n.

“I’ll get better,” Freddy promised as he sat beside y/n and took her hand in his.

Y/n calmly shook her head. “Sweetheart, I’m not worried,” she assured her husband. She quickly rested her head on his shoulder as he held her to him. “Is (s)he asleep?” She asked tiredly.

Freddy hummed a soft ‘yes’ as he pulled y/n closer. “We should get you to bed too,” he commented. When Y/n gazed up and over at him, he smiled at her. “The book says you should be sleeping when the baby is sleeping,” he explained.

Y/n grinned and pecked Freddy’s nose. “I love you so much,” she remarked.

Freddy beamed. “I love you too, my amazing superwoman,” he replied sweetly.

“Love, it’s alright,” Freddy said trying to stop y/n from crying more. “It’s just bedding, alright?” As he removed the dirty sheets from their mattress he gazed over at his exhausted wife. “Let me go get the laundry started, and then I’ll come help you in the shower, okay?” He offered.

Freddy’s heart broke as y/n simply cried harder. He knew part of it was surely her hormones and exhaustion after everything she had gone through in the last few days. But he was still worried about her nonetheless. “Love, ‘ey, what’s wrong?” Freddy questioned, sensing there was more at play than what he was noticing so far.

“I made a mess, and we’re both tired, but now I kept us from sleeping, and it’s gross, I’m gross, and-,” y/n rambled as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Woah, woah, woah, no,” Freddy argued gently. “Love, you are not gross.” “This is extremely natural. The doctor said this could happen, it’s part of the process,” he reminded y/n. He set the bedding aside for the moment and cupped her face in his palms. “I’m terribly sorry you have to deal with this, but you’re not alone. I’ll be here with you through this as much as I can, love,” Freddy promised. “There is nothing gross about this. Besides, as far as I’m concerned, you can make as much of a mess as you want or need, you just gave birth to our child, do you realize how incredible that is? How much with your body just went through?” He gushed in admiration. “You’re not gross, and don’t worry about my sleep, darling, I promise that’s not a problem in the slightest.” “Come on,” he whispered as he helped y/n stand and lead her to their bathroom. “Can you strip out of these clothes for me while I start the wash?” He asked.

When y/n nodded slowly, Freddy smiled warmly and kissed her forehead. He rushed out of the room to start the laundry. On his way back, he peaked in the nursery to check on y/c/n before quickly making his way back to his wife.

Upon entering their bathroom, Freddy noticed the way y/n was staring at herself in the mirror. She had taken her clothes off and was now just looking at her reflection with a deep frown on her face. Freddy shook his head to himself in disbelief before he walked over to her. “You look beautiful,” he commented casually.

Y/n shook her head. “Freddy-,” she began to argue.

“Yes, you do,” Freddy defended. “I’m still so amazed and appreciative of what you just went through,” he admitted. “And yet, you still look radiant after all of that. I’ll never understand how you do that.”

“Love,” Freddy sighed upon seeing y/N’s tears. He cautiously held her to him, rubbing her back slowly as she tried to calm down. When y/n stopped crying he could see her eyes were once again soft, he smiled down at her. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and back to bed.”

Freddy helped comb through the knots in y/n’s hair that had likely formed during her lengthy labor. He lovingly massaged her shoulders and muscles as he went about cleaning her up after the bleeding incident she’d had in their bed. He had always been careful with her; as if she were glass. But tonight he was extremely cautious around her hips/pelvis, only faintly even touching her just enough to get any blood off. Once y/n was cleaned up, Freddy helped her out of the shower and dried them both off. He led her over to the toilet for her to sit on while he dried her hair. But when y/n winced as she sat, Freddy quickly realized the hard surface was a bad choice. “Shit, one moment, love,” he said as he helped her back up. He rushed out of the room, only returning once he had her hospital bag. He helped y/n step into her postpartum underwear. He then set the folded up blanket on top of the toilet seat lid for a better cushioned seat. Freddy was pleased when y/n sat back down without as much pain showing in her eyes. He quickly blow dried her hair before putting it up for her. Freddy helped her off the toilet seat and back to their bedroom. He guided her as she slowly get into bed, each movement clearly hurting her. “I’m going to get your meds,” he said; hating setting her in such pain.

Just as Freddy had reached the doorway to their bedroom, the baby monitor went off with the sound of y/c/N’s crying. Freddy knowingly whipped his head around to look at his wife. “No,” he said, stopping her as she tried to sit back up in order to get out of bed. “I’ve got it!” He rushed out, slightly panicking. “Just rest, please,” he begged as he darted out of the door.

Freddy sprinted into the nursery and scooped their newborn baby up into his arms. He rocked the baby as he walked to the kitchen to grab y/n’s meds. He knew the prescription was not super strong, as the doctor said there was only so much y/n could take while breastfeeding. But, Freddy still hoped it would take the edge off and help her sleep. He very carefully held the baby to him with one arm as he picked up the pills and put them in his pocket before cradling the newborn in both of his arms again. The baby finally stopped its crying as Freddy whispered lovingly to it as he walked back to the main bedroom.

Freddy smiled at his wife as she watched him enter with their child. “Figured you might want to say goodnight,” he smiled, kneeling down beside y/n with their baby in his arms.

Y/n grinned and reached out to take the newborn. She held them to her chest as she sleepily gazed down at them. “Goodnight my little angel,” she cooed. As her eyes began to get heavier, she looked over at Freddy who seemed to have already noticed.

Freddy smiled and kissed y/n’s forehead as he took their baby back into his arms. “Pills are in here,” he informed Y/n as he turned his hip to her; the bottle of medication visible in his pocket.

Y/n smiled appreciatively and pulled the bottle out of Freddy’s pocket.

“I’ll be back with some water, don’t move,” Freddy said as he walked to their door.

After placing the baby back in the crib, Freddy hurried to the kitchen again to grab a water bottle. He filled it and made his way back to the bedroom. Upon entering, he quickly passed it to Y/n to have her take the pain medicine. He bent down and kissed her forehead before he went to his side to get into the freshly made bed. He scooted over and snuggled up to her, carefully holding her.

When y/n noticed Freddy’s resistant and worried touch, she leaned into him. “Thank you,” she whispered. Sensing his confusion, she continued. “You were absolutely incredible today, I’m really glad I had you,” y/n told him.

Freddy kissed y/n’s head. “Ditto, my love,” he whispered. He turned and ensured that the baby monitor was on before facing his wife again. “Rest my dear,” he advised, smiling as she willingly closed her eyes.

“Don’t you dare,” Freddy scolded as he walked into the living room and noticed Y/n was about to vacuum.

“It has to be done, we have people coming over in-“ y/n argued.

“I know,” Freddy nodded, walking over to y/n. “But, I’m doing it, you’re resting,” he said as he took the handle of the vacuum from her.

“Freddy!” Y/n exclaimed with a sigh.

Freddy simply shook his head. “No”. He leaned forward and kissed y/n’s nose. “You should know by now, I’m not going to lose these arguments,” he grinned.

Y/n shook her head back at her stubborn and protective husband. “That was when I was pregnant,” she reminded Freddy. “The baby is fine, me doing chores isn’t going to risk hurt them,” she promised warmly.

“No,” Freddy agreed as he plugged in the vacuum cleaner. “But, it will risk hurting you,” he argued, glancing up at his wife. When y/n sighed, Freddy moved closer to her. “You didn’t truly think my worry when you were pregnant was only about y/c/n’s well-being, did you?” Freddy shook his head in response to his rhetorical question. “I was always worried about you too, my love.”

Y/n closed the space between her and her husband. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and snuggled into his embrace as he held her. “I love you, Freddy,” she whispered against his chest.

“I love you, darling,” Freddy replied tenderly. “Now please, go sit your sweet little arse on the couch, before I have to carry you,” he scolded playfully.

Y/n giggled loudly and shook her head. “I’ll secede to not vacuuming, but I’m going to go check on y/c/n since the sound will likely wake them up,” she argued. “Plus, I want to change them into that insanely cute bear onesie you bought!”

Freddy chuckled happily as he smiled at the excited state of his wife. He nodded in acceptance, “deal”.

“Freddy!” Y/n squealed, coming out of the nursery, holding y/c/n in her arms. The hood on the bear onesie was resting just about their baby’s eyes. Y/n was smiling widely as she showed her husband how cute their child was.

Freddy smiled back and quickly took his phone out to snap a photo before asking y/n to wait so he could get his good camera. With his camera in hand, he ushed back and snapped a ton of photos; some of y/n and y/c/n, some of him and y/c/n, and then some of both of them and y/c/n.

Presently, the new parents had settled y/c/n on one of their blankets on the couch in order to get some photos of just y/c/n. Y/n was gently playing with y/c/n the whole time as Freddy took the photos of their newborn. As such, they did not hear nor see Freddy’s family enter until they were done with the impromptu newborn photoshoot.

Y/n softly rubbed y/c/n’s tiny little nose as Freddy put his camera’s lens cap back on. She smiled to herself as she looked up to see her husband. Only, she caught sight of a group of people behind him. Before she could even process the fact that she knew these people, she had leapt you from the floor and had y/c/n securely in her arms.

Freddy noticed his wife’s fear and instinctually threw himself in front of his wife and their baby. Once he realized that it was their family, he settled and slowly moved to the side. “Did you forget how to knock?” He teased; slightly.

“We did, honey,” Freddy’s mother teased. She slowly made her way over to the couple and gave her son a hug.

“We worried something happened to you lot when no one answered,” Freddy’s oldest brother, Tom, laughed.

Y/n smiled as she watched Freddy’s side of the family embrace and congratulate him. As they turned to her, so too did her husband.

“Not until you use some hand sanitizer,” Freddy ordered his family as he lifted up a new bottle from the table.

Freddy’s family smiled at his protectiveness and complied with his orders before they made their way to y/n and the baby. They all took turns holding the baby, the others talking to y/n and/or Freddy as they waited for their turn to greet the newborn.

Freddy had been watching his wife closely the whole time and realized she was feeling a bit emotional still and overwhelmed. So, he lead her to the couch, making the others follow. “Your mum should be over any minute,” he explained, having been the one to arrange the timing for everyone’s schedules.

Y/n nodded and leaned against her husband as she kept an eye on their newborn.

Freddy noticed y/N’s behavior and kissed the side of her head before resuming doing the same thing himself.

Both sides of the newborn’s family had hung around for quite awhile, even throughout the countless breastfeedings and diaper changes. It wasn’t too late in the traditional sense, barely having hit 5pm, but Freddy was exhausted and he knew his wife was too. So, he kindly asked everyone to leave so the couple could have some alone time with their little one before bed.

“There are just so many cute onesies!” Y/n gushed as she flipped through the collection of baby clothes in y/c/n’s nursery. “Not that (s)he’s not cute enough on their own!” Y/n added quickly.

Freddy chuckled and wrapped his arms around y/N’s waist, placing his head on her shoulder. “I think (s)he should wear the frog one today,” he suggested, eyeing the fuzzy green outfit.

Y/n hummed and picked up the onesie Freddy had requested, setting it to the side. “Frogs it is!” She grinned. She spun around and smiled as she moved in to kiss her husband. “Time to get this little one dressed!” She said walking to the crib.

“Can I?” Freddy asked quietly as he watched his wife approach y/c/n’s crib with the onesie in hand.

Y/n turned to Freddy, her confusion evident on her face. “What?”

“Can I dress them?” Freddy asked with a bite of his bottom lip.

“Of course, handsome!” Y/n reassured. She walked over and cupped Freddy’s cheeks. “Why do you feel you had to ask?” She wondered.

Freddy shrugged with a light laugh. “Sorry, it’s just all so new,” he explained.

Y/n smiled widely and nodded. “In a good way though, right?” She checked.

Freddy vigorously nodded. “Yes,” he promised quickly. “I love this new chapter of our lives,” He grinned.

Y/n hummed in agreement and passed Freddy the frog onesie. “So do I,” she agreed. She watched from the side in bliss as her husband gleefully and cautiously dressed y/c/n inside the crib. “They’re going to adore the frog onesie,” y/n complimented, “great choice, love”. She smiled to herself as she thought about how their friends would react when they came over in an hour to meet y/c/n and were greeted by an adorable little 3 week old baby in a green frog onesie.

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[viesanterieures]

Locked In Mind

Robert Fischer (Inception) x female Reader

note: Welcome to my third Cillian Character fanfic, hope you like it :) I love plots like Shutter Island and tried to do something similar here & it‘s also a story about parasocial relationships and unrequited love. I think this is my darkest story and the one that stays with me the most, years after I wrote it...

summary: The reader is hopelessly in love with her boss Robert Fischer, but he doesn't seem to be interested in her. By an unexpected coincidence, they meet in the city and his sudden intense affection for her confuses her. The reader begins to suspect that something is wrong, and when she finally uncovers the truth about her encounters with Fischer the heartbreaking reality is revealed to her.

word count: 5000+

Masterlist

warnings: mental illness, depression

you don‘t have to watch the movie to understand the story.

It was just half past seven when she heard the familiar footsteps in the corridor approaching the office next door. A key was inserted into the lock and a moment later the door opened.

Glancing around to make sure her workspace wasn't too messy, she threw an old paper cup into the bin before her boss poked his head through the door.

"Good morning, Miss YN, so busy already?" he asked with a tired smile. "It doesn't reflect well on me as a boss to have my assistant here before me. I'm sorry, Monday mornings are always a bit stressful for me."

"No problem, Mr Fischer. I've already sorted the mail for you, it's on your desk," she said kindly, watching him as he took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack, a little damp from the rain.

"Thank you, I can count on you."

He was a very elegant, handsome man, about ten years her senior, with dark hair, blue eyes, high cheekbones and an elegant black suit. She must have stared at him a little too long, because he turned to her with a questioning smile.

Immediately her cheeks flushed and she turned back to her computer screen, but by then Mr Fischer had already approached her and placed some documents on her desk. "Please scan them all and email them to Mr Parker, he's been waiting for them for days," he said to her. It would be best if we sat down together later and quickly discuss my tasks for today, there is a lot to do. If I'm not mistaken, I have a client meeting at three today.

"At two, sir," she corrected him, handing him a planner with today's date thickly underlined.

He started to grin. "You see, this is exactly why I have an assistant."

Fischer disappeared into his office.

She sighed slightly and went to work scanning the documents. She had been working for Fischer Morrow, one of the world's largest energy companies, for barely a month. Their headquarters had moved from Sydney to London after the death of their CEO, Maurice Fischer. Her current boss, Robert Fischer, was a direct descendant.

She liked Fischer Jr a lot. He was friendly, supportive and didn't get angry when things didn't go to plan. But in some ways he always seemed so unapproachable. For example, he never talked about his private life and YN had no idea who he was outside of work. Then again, he was her boss and his private life was none of her business. But deep down she admitted that she was very interested in him.

The days flew by and she finally felt as if she had been employed by Fischer Morrow for an eternity. But who Robert Fischer really was remained a mystery.

One evening, as she was about to leave, she quietly opened the door to Fischer's office. He was sitting in front of his computer, his chin resting on his hands. "Have a nice evening, Mr Fischer." He jumped slightly, obviously not having heard her come in, but then he smiled. "Thank you, you too."

YN looked at her watch. "It's almost half past seven, don't you want to finish your work soon? Don't you have a wife waiting for you?"

Mr Fischer shrugged. "I've been divorced for a few years now, and I only see my daughter at weekends. The only thing waiting for me is an empty, dark apartment."

YN held her breath. It was the first time he had told her anything about his private life. But in the same second, he seemed to regret his words.

"No one waits for me either," she said. "Except for my cat."

Fischer raised an eyebrow with a smile. "At least that's something."

Finally she said goodbye and left the office. But all the way home, she kept thinking about her conversation with Fischer.

Was he perhaps as lonely as she was?

Tired, YN lay in bed. She didn't even have the strength to change her clothes and remove her make up. Although she wanted nothing more than to get out of that itchy, uncomfortable dress and tights. A soft meow sounded beside her and she felt something soft brush against her arm. Smiling, she pulled the cat closer and buried her face in its white fur.

Since leaving her small home village for London, she had no one to talk to. Her old friends had all left her and moved on with their own lives. Robert Fischer was the only one she spoke to regularly, though it was far from a friendship. With the cat in her arms, she turned to the other side. But what if she had feelings for him?

Maybe she should tell him. But wasn't that too much? He was still her boss, after all, and there were probably plenty of women who were interested in him.

She quickly pushed the thought aside and closed her eyes.

Robert Fischer turned curiously when he heard the quick clicking of heels in the corridor. Panting, his assistant opened the door and dropped her bag on the desk.

"Miss YN, are you okay?"

Her hair was messy, her coat hung loosely over her shoulders as if she hadn't had time to put it on properly, and her lipstick was a little smudged.

"I… overslept," she said, panting. "I'm sorry."

Fischer looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "It's okay. But it shouldn't happen again."

"Of course not, sir," she replied immediately.

He quickly disappeared into his office and returned with a thick stack of papers and a folder.

"Would you be so kind as to sort these documents alphabetically for me? They've been on my desk for days. I know it's not an exciting task."

She nodded and took the heavy pile from his hand. Fischer thanked her and hurried back to his office.

Sighing, she set to work. But with each page, she found her concentration fading and her mind wandering. Her head ached, her eyes burned and she felt incredibly tired. But she tried not to show it, kept working as hard as she could and finally put the sorted file back on Mr Fischer's desk.

Exhausted, she walked back to her office, sat down in her chair and buried her face in her hands. She was shivering and her ears were ringing. Was it because she had forgotten to take her medicine today?

"Miss YN?" she heard her boss' voice.

She turned immediately and forced a smile. "Yes, Mr Fischer?"

"I have an job interview scheduled for ten, would you be so kind as to prepare the conference room for it?"

"Of course, sir."

He stopped halfway and looked at Victoria questioningly. "Are you okay? You look so pale." She nodded quickly, forcing a smile. "Everything's fine, Mr Fischer." Fischer looked at her, raised his eyebrows, then handed her the key to the meeting room and disappeared back into his office.

A strange feeling of dizziness spread through her head as she walked down the long corridor leading to the conference rooms.

What was wrong with her today?

When it started to get dark outside, YN finally turned off her computer and grabbed her bag. The strange dizziness had improved during the day, leading her to conclude that she simply needed a break from work. Fortunately, it was Friday. She knocked gently on Fischer's door, as she always did before leaving, to wish him a pleasant evening. He was sitting there as usual, his chin resting on his hand, deep in thought. He glanced up briefly and nodded politely, noticing her in the doorway. He looked stunningly handsome today, even after this long and exhausting day.

"I didn't ask you how the job interviews went this morning," she asked curiously. Fischer shook his head. "Terribly," he said. "None of these people I'd want in my company." His voice was cold and dismissive, and for a moment she thought he was referring to her, even though she knew he meant someone else. She smiled awkwardly and shrugged slightly. "Well, maybe the next one will be better."

Fischer remained silent.

"Have a good weekend, Mr Fischer."

"You too, Miss YN." He gave her a friendly smile.

"Do you have any plans for the weekend? I know a good restaurant, would you like to join me?" The moment she realised what she had just said, she bit her lip, her face turning red. Had she completely lost her mind? She desperately hoped he hadn't heard what she'd asked, but it was too late. She could see Fischer raise his eyebrows in confusion and stare at her.

"No, Miss YN. I'm not interested. I keep my work and personal life strictly separate." She immediately looked down, embarrassed. Thoughts raced through her mind like a rollercoaster and her cheeks felt as if they were on fire. "I'm sorry, Mr Fischer, I shouldn't have asked you that." She finally grabbed her bag and left the office without another word, feeling Fischer's gaze on her back.

It was drizzling lightly as she walked through the busy streets of London. The cold air did her good and she felt her head clear a little.

Why had she done this? It had been clear from the start that a man like him would reject her. But the words had come out of her mouth as if she had completely lost control. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. She didn't want to have a mental breakdown in public, even though it felt like Fischer had torn her heart into a thousand pieces. Suddenly the strange dizziness returned and her vision blurred slightly. The sounds of London became muffled, as if she were incredibly far away.

Miss YN, wait!" she suddenly heard a voice behind her that seemed to be getting closer.

She turned around. The dizziness had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Startled, her eyes widened as she saw the person in front of her - it was Mr Fischer. What was he doing here? Had he followed her? She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a hoarse stutter.

"I wanted to apologize, Miss YN. It wasn't very nice of me to brush you off like that," he said with a gentle laugh. His voice sounded strangely different, softer than usual. Wordless and spellbound, she stared into the pair of light blue eyes before her, apologetic and gentle in their expression. She knew Mr Fischer had blue eyes, but she'd never noticed how incredibly bright they were.

"It's okay, don't worry," she managed to say, her knees shaking with excitement.

"No, no, Miss YN. I'll think about the dinner offer, okay? Just because we work together doesn't mean we can't have dinner together, does it?" Fischer suggested, and she nodded slowly, then smiled.

Why this sudden change of mind?

"Well, see you soon." He waved goodbye and YN, still completely confused, raised her hand in response. But before she could form another thought, he had disappeared into the crowd.

Carefully, YN pressed the shutter on her old camera, focusing the lens on the small lake in front of her. Satisfied, she lowered it. She was confident that this snapshot would turn out well. This park was a place she often visited to clear her head and pursue her passion, photography, as it offered many beautiful subjects. Especially now, in autumn, when the trees were covered with colourful leaves and the silence was slowly descending, with only the occasional pedestrian passing by.

Her dizziness had eased a little, but not completely. Fortunately, it was Saturday and she had the whole day to herself. YN sat down on a bench under a tree that looked to be at least a hundred years old.

She sat there for a while, lost in thought. Eventually she got up and made her way to the West End. The streets of London were noisy and busy as she walked, looking for a warm place in a café and something to eat. Crowds of people rushed past her, music played from somewhere and loud voices filled the air. Exhausted, she rubbed her temples. Maybe she should have stayed home and rested.

Suddenly she held her breath as she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Dark hair, high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes. Fischer. But before she could think, he had already noticed her and started to smile at her.

"Miss YN, how nice to see you! What a coincidence!"

It was the first time she had seen him in his casual clothes rather than one of his business suits. But this was no less elegant and stylish. He was wearing a well-fitting black coat, a grey knitted jumper underneath, black trousers and leather shoes. It was so strange to see him outside his office at Fischer Morrow Company. Suddenly he didn't seem so unapproachable and distant anymore.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

He paused for a moment. He seemed to be considering whether or not to tell her.

"I brought my little girl to her friend's house for a sleepover. She's been asking me for weeks because her mum won't let her."

"So you're a cool dad," YN replied.

Fischer rolled his eyes. "I'm the one who lets her get away with everything. We had to turn back twice because she realised she had forgotten her favourite stuffed animal and her toothbrush."

She laughed softly. In a strange way, she enjoyed him talking so openly about his life.

"Oh wow, that looks amazing. It's quite old, isn't it?" Mr Fischer pointed to the camera around her neck. "From the 1960s. But it takes incredibly good pictures for that time," she explained. Fischer seemed genuinely impressed. "Do you have more like it?"

"I have quite a few. From the 50s to the 80s, actually, and of course some modern digital cameras. Photography has been my passion since I was a child," she explained. Fischer looked at her with an interested smile. "So there's actually film in there that needs to be developed?" she nodded in confirmation. "Some photo shops still offer that service, yes."

Mr Fischer seemed genuinely interested in her hobby, asking her questions about it as they walked side by side through the streets of London. She felt incredibly comfortable in his presence and hoped he wouldn't leave so soon. Finally he pointed to the camera again. "Would you take a picture of me, please? I'd like a 60's style photo of myself." YN's heart began to race in her chest. What had he just said?

"Of course, Mr Fischer," she replied nervously. "Robert. My name is Robert," he replied. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, completely surprised. No one at Fischer Morrow Ltd called him by his first name, and outside the company she had only heard his uncle, Peter Browning, call him Robert.

"Let's find a nice spot for the photo," he said, letting his gaze wander until it settled on a beautiful fountain.

Carefully, she picked up the camera, took a few steps back and held it directly in front of Robert's face. "Smile, please," she instructed him, finally pressing the shutter.

A pedestrian who had just passed them looked at YN with a confused expression and shook his head. Frowning, she looked after him before carefully tucking the camera into her handbag.

Are you hungry?" asked Robert. "We could go to a restaurant."

Surprised, she looked at him. "I don't know…" she said hesitantly, chewing her lower lip. In fact, she had never expected to be asked such a question.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows and she could see the disappointment in his eyes. Finally, she worked up the courage to say what was on her mind.

"It's just… To be honest, you told me yesterday that you were someone who kept your work and personal life strictly separate. Maybe it would be better if we did. After all, I'm your employee."

As much as she wanted to spend time with him, she was afraid of developing any more feelings for him. Robert nodded slowly and shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

"I really like you. I just never wanted to show it, that's why I was so reserved with you and told you I wasn't interested in you".

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh as a ton of thoughts went through her head. Robert finally nodded at her with a slightly disappointed look on his face and turned on his heel.

"Wait!" she called after him.

He stopped immediately and looked at her hopefully.

"Let's give it a try, shall we?"

YN… is that a French name?"

Robert's voice sounded slightly tipsy as he grinned curiously at her, twirling his wine glass casually in his hands. The plate in front of him was empty and he had now carefully placed the cutlery on it, waiting for a waitress to take it away.

He had taken her to a rather fancy and expensive place, the walls were dark wood panelling, the chairs were covered in red velvet and soft jazz music was playing on one of the radios. Robert looked hauntingly beautiful that night. His skin seemed incredibly soft and flawless, his jawline even more prominent, and his blue eyes shone almost ghostly in the dim light, almost like he wasn’t real…

She smiled, nodded and took a sip from her glass. "My father is French. I grew up in France but moved to England when I was 15."

He nodded with interest, rubbing his chin with his forefinger.

"And you? I heard you're Australian," she asked curiously.

Robert laughed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Well, my accent makes it obvious."

YN blushed and looked down at her plate. What a stupid question.

But Robert didn't seem to mind too much, because he started talking about his life in Sydney, how he had finally moved to London after his father's death, and she listened with interest.

But suddenly he stopped and looked at her thoughtfully. "But I'm probably just boring you."

YN immediately shook her head. "No, you're not," she told him. "I find it really interesting to find out all this about you."

At that moment a waitress came to their table with a smile and asked YN in a friendly tone if she had enjoyed her meal. But the waitress paid no attention to Robert, YN noticed with surprise. Perhaps she was just being extra polite to the lady.

YN's date pulled out a black leather purse and rummaged through it. Quickly, YN pulled a few notes out of the bag and handed them to the waitress. "Keep the change," she said.

The waitress looked at her with wide eyes, "Thank you, ma'am," she said gratefully, "have a nice evening.

Then she turned and left the table.

"You didn't have to do that," Robert said. "As a gentleman, it's actually my job to pay."

She shook her head in amusement. "I bet that's never happened to you before, has it?"

Robert shook his head and took the last drink from his glass. There was a moment of silence between them.

"All right. So what's the plan for the rest of the evening?"

She looked at him in surprise. As soon as he said the words, she felt a tingle in her stomach.

The church clock struck twelve as she crossed the street hand in hand with Robert. It was freezing, and she had pulled her scarf so far up her face that only her eyes and nose were visible. Her date looked at her with amusement. "Are you going to rob a bank?" he asked, laughing out loud.

"Shh!" she snapped at him, putting her fingers to his lips. "You'll wake up the whole neighbourhood."

Although it was quite dark and she could only make out Robert, she knew that his typical mischievous grin was back on his face. She pulled him firmly behind her until they reached the small white building.

"Is this where you live?" Robert asked.

She put her finger to his lips for a second time until Robert stopped talking and looked silently into her eyes. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she finally stood on her toes, put her arms around his neck and placed her lips on his. Robert returned the kiss without hesitation and gently pulled her into his arms. YN could hardly believe what was happening. It was everything she had secretly wanted for months. They remained like this for a moment before she finally let go of him and reached for her key.

She felt for Robert's upper arm and finally pulled him into her apartment, closing the door behind him. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and began to kiss him again. His lips were a little cold and tasted of wine. Together they stumbled backwards into her bedroom, taking off his coat, which she tossed carelessly to the floor.

Robert's fingers stroked carefully along her hip and fumbled a little with her belt while she was busy planting little kisses on his neck. With slightly trembling hands she pulled his jumper over his head and Robert took her hand.

"Are you nervous?" he wanted to know. She remained silent.

"Don't be," he whispered softly into her ear, taking her in his arms again and pulling her onto the bed. Breathing softly, she clung to his chest, leaned back and finally closed her eyes as she felt his warm skin against hers.

The sun shone through the half-open curtains, creating a narrow, bright streak across the floor. Blinking, she opened her eyes and stretched. But immediately a sharp pain shot through her head again and she held her forehead tiredly. Confused, she sat up and tried to remember what had happened yesterday.

But when she heard soft breathing next to her, she turned quickly and all the events of last night came back to her. Smiling, she looked over at Robert, snuggled up next to her in her beige blanket, sleeping peacefully. Tenderly stroking his messy hair, she lay down beside him again and then began to caress his chest. Perhaps what they had done was wrong. After all, they were two people who should never have fallen in love. But it had happened, and it felt so right. They remained in this position for some time, Robert asleep and YN lost in thought.

Her eyes swept through the bedroom until they settled on a small white box on her dresser. Quickly sitting up, she reached for it and put a small pill into her mouth. Eventually, Robert began to move a little beside her, opening his eyes tiredly. Smiling broadly, she gave him a small kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Good morning," she whispered.

"Good morning," Robert murmured in a raspy morning voice.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes, wonderfully." He yawned loudly and took her into his arms as she laid her head lovingly on his shoulder.

"Wait, what time is it?" he suddenly wanted to know.

"Quarter past ten, why do you ask?" she replied.

"Shit," Robert muttered as he let go of the hug, jumped out of the bed and started to pick up his clothes, which were strewn all over the floor.

"Wait, wait, where are you going?" she asked, looking at him in confusion.

"I should've picked up my daughter by now," he replied, hurrying to get dressed.

Sighing, she pulled the blanket around her a little tighter. "Can't it wait? Can't you stay for breakfast?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm sure she's already waiting for me.“ Robert dodged her questions, grabbing his coat on the floor and sighing when he saw her disappointed look.

He walked slowly towards her, stroking her chin with his finger, and finally whispered: "We can catch up later." Then he put a soft kiss on her lips before turning around and disappearing through the door. She sank back into the pillows and pulled the blanket over her head.

The rest of Sunday flew by. Mostly because her mind was on Robert and she could hardly wait to see him again tomorrow at work. She had probably never looked forward to a Monday in her life as much as she did that day.

The next morning, YN carefully applied her lipstick and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She noticed that the collar of her white blouse was a little crooked and quickly adjusted it. She wanted to look her best for Robert today, so he wouldn't change his mind and lose interest in her.

Humming softly, she put on her black high heels and grabbed her handbag. She quickly put another pill into her mouth and put the box in her bag. Her headache was completely gone and her head finally felt clear and light again. In a good mood, she breathed in the fresh morning air and made her way to work.

Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked down the familiar corridor of Fischer Morrow. The lights were on in Robert's office. She ran a final hand through her hair, smoothed her blouse and opened the door to her own office.

The air was stuffy and hot. Coughing, she ran to the window and opened it.

"Good morning, Miss YN, I hope you had a nice weekend," a familiar voice sounded from behind her.

Startled, she turned to see Robert's face as he stuck his head through the door, as he always did.

Why didn't he call her by her first name? Confused, she stared at him, trying to form a clear sentence. "But… But… we spent it together…" her voice finally broke. Her head suddenly hurt again.

He seemed so different again. Not the Robert she had spent the weekend with, not the one who had apologised for being too rude to her, not the one who had made her laugh and told her about his life. He seemed more like the one she had worked with for months, the one who never revealed anything about himself.

"Miss YN? I haven't seen you since Friday, when you left my office after… asking me that question."

Her heart almost stopped. Suddenly her knees gave way and she sank to the floor.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?" Concerned, he bent down to her. "Do you want to go home and rest?"

She nodded slightly and wiped a tear from her eye, which had turned her fingers black from the carefully applied mascara. Then she got up and left the office.

At home, she lay motionless on her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't think straight and her throat felt incredibly dry. The door to her room, which was only ajar, opened gently and something small and white slipped through. Sniffling, she stretched out her arms and lifted her cat onto the bed.

Everything that had happened that weekend had been fake. She had made it all up. And all of this happened because she had forgotten to take the pills she was taking for her hallucinations. Robert hadn't really followed her on Friday evening; it was all a figment of her imagination. While his real self was still sitting in the office, probably not thinking about her at all. Everything suddenly made sense: why Robert looked a bit different, why his voice sounded different, the waitress who ignored him on Saturday because she couldn’t actually see him, the pedestrian who gave her a confused look because she was talking to herself while taking the photo.

The photo.

She immediately got up, put on her shoes and walked to the photo shop where she had left the film to be developed. Her heart raced as the staff handed her the envelope with the photos. Trembling, she finally grabbed the Saturday night photo, without looking at it herself, and held it up to the staff's face. "What do you see?" she asked.

The young man looked at her in confusion, but remained polite. "The fountain at Piccadilly Circus. Great picture, it turned out really nice."

"Anything else?" she asked.

"No, ma'am," he replied, and it felt like a slap in her face. Fischer had never been there with her. Only her lonely and sad mind had led her to believe that he was interested in her and loved her. Tears welled in her eyes and she left the shop without another word. When she got home, she immediately took the white box of pills from her handbag, rushed into the kitchen, opened the box and poured the pills into the bin.

Crying and with burning eyes, she finally lay down on her bed and buried her head in the pillow as her cat purred softly beside her. She must have stayed like that for hours, as the sun began to set again outside her window. When she finally lifted her head and wiped the tears from her face, she saw a dark-haired man sitting beside her bed, looking at her lovingly with his pale blue eyes. A smile suddenly appeared on her face and she began to laugh, pulling the man into a tight embrace.

some explanations because i know that story is kinda mind-fucking:

• Is Robert Fischer all a creation of the readers mind?

- No he actually exists, he’s her boss and she‘s in love with him, so she imagines dating him.

• When is he real, when is he fake?

- The version Robert Fischer in the office is real, he turns her down when she asks him out, leaving YN heartbroken. The moment she leaves the office, she starts to imagine what it would be like if he apologised to her, so the man who follows her is just her imagination. The real Robert Fischer is still in his office at Fischer-Morrow.

When she visits the city on Saturday and meets "Robert" and goes on a date with him, it's also just her imagination. That's why other people react to her with confusion, because she's basically talking to herself all the time. On Sunday morning, when she wakes up next to him, he's still fake. When she takes her pills, he quickly "disappears" (he says he has to pick up his daughter...) because they stop her delusions.

On Monday morning, when she gets back to her office, the real Robert Fischer is there again, who hadn't seen her since he had rejected her on Friday evening.

When she gets home, she throws away her pills and her hallucination starts again. The man who sat next to her on her bed and comforted her is again the imaginary version of Robert.

[ceasarslegion]

Sometimes work can be fun. Today i spent 5 minutes chasing a cat across the checkpoint with its owner after it leaped out of his arms and sprinted under the x ray machine. We bribed her out with treats and then she tried to stick her face in the sharps forfeit bin and commit a crime right before my eyes while on duty and in uniform. This is the only type of unruly passenger i will accept.

Moral of the story if your cats arent great in security consider either getting a drowsy pill from the vet or ask for a private search room. But even if it jumps out and decides the half foot of space under the x ray is a prime hiding spot we will be delighted to spend more time with your kitty and feeding it treats and shaking its toys at it to coax it back out

[rkivestation]

Those Eyes Ch:2 ||KTH

»chapter 2: Connection access (Masterpost)

»ratings:pg-13

»genre: romance,fluff,angst,smut (might add some if requested later,or else,it has non rn)

»summery:it's a mystery how two pair of eyes finds solace in each other when they are strangers and when they are not. can they solve the mystery their eyes behold and explore beyond the horizon of their workaholic life?

»wc: 4.0k

Your eyes flicked open,startled by the voice.

"The heck, why are you here?" the grumble within your tone radiated nothing but annoyance as the owner of the voice not only ruined the moment but also yelled at you,hoe?

"Because ma'am we are running late. Don't tell me,you planned to sleep off the whole day?" the same voice said calm yet angrily.

You looked at the clock as it showed 12:30 and then you shift your gaze to her with a tsk still lying on the couch eyes half open,"Yeah? So what?Its not like we are going any-" you face palmed jumping from the couch and sit up as realization hit you.

"Shit,I totally forgot,"you sheepishly smile & scratch your back.

"Now you are awake sweetie" Auri flashed you a thin smile. Silence before storm,"Now get ready in twenty minutes before I kick you to Antarctica!"

You look at her in annoyance as you drag your body to stand up. "Hey, sleepyhead!" a loud voice startled you as your eyes shifted to the other side of the couch,"Jae-ah? Why are you here?"

You felt a smack on your head as you yelped rubbing the aching area, "Thank her. She cleaned your dirty ass room which's been a representation of a trash bin,for I dunno, maybe the day you rented this apartment?" Auri decided to get on your nerves today.

"Sassing are we? You need to pay me for ruining my so realistic dream. Do you know how dreamy that dream was. I had my-" you started fangirling over your enchanting dream but got cut off,"I have no interest in listening to your perverted dream specially when we are running late. And dreams are supposed to be dreamy my love." she is really in a mood of sassing with you.

A blush crept on your cheeks as you realized what would happen next with him if you didn't get woken up.

"Kim Auri. For the love of God,it wasn't perver-" Auri threw a towel on your face as your voice got muffled before you could finish.

"Make sure to wash all your sins too sweetheart" she cooed.

"It wasn't a wet dream!"

sort of. but she doesn't need to know that.

You stomped your feet whining as Auri and Jae-ah chuckled seeing you pout like a baby. "You did moved a bit,you know-" Jae-ah shifted her gaze on you nervously fiddling her fingers awkwardly, "-oddly" she flashed you a eye smile.

You scoffed throwing the towel on your shoulder,taking steps towards the kitchen.

You didn't even utter the main evil's name yet the evil is right before you handing you a cup of coffee which was very much needed after all this mess as you entered the kitchen yawning, ruffling your messy hair, "The entry code was too easy to not barge in" she piped,mouthing a half hearted 'sorry'.

You rolled your eyes not even surprised as you sipped your coffee. Gosh Mirae made the best coffee.The sweet taste lit up your mood but the mixed of bitterness came after making you realize something, "Don't tell me, shin-"

"Hey sweethearts,I thought its better if a beautiful girl like me heads with you all?You might even get some free passes." you had no doubt who that screechy voice belongs to.

Mirae glanced at you with an uninterested face , "Speak of the devil." she pointed nonchalantly with her thumbs pointing to the door shrugging. You also tried to avoid the high pitched sounded woman roaming all over your house.

Its even worse than your house getting infested with rats,you swore.

"What a nightmare of a voice" Mirae scrunched her nose sipping her coffee. "Nightmare! How can I forget to tell you?" you excitedly yelled startling Mirae.

Thank God she was finished with her coffee,"What? You had one? What's so exciting though? Isn't it supposed to be scary?" she frowned.

You couldn't stop squealing at the thought of him. "No,I had a dream. You won't believe,I had my-"

"Ouch,let go,what the fuck?" you suddenly felt a sharp pain in your left ear as it got pulled by none other than the devil Auri Kim. "I told you to make it as quick as possible.But you're still not over your stupid dream talk." she scolded as her voice almost got your ears feel numb.

"My oh my, look at you Y/N,you haven't even properly brushed your hair, correction, you didn't brush your hair at all, you're not planning to go like this, are you? you scoffed at Shina, struggling to run from Auri as you glanced at Mirae with a 'help'.

Mirae chuckled coming between you & Auri, "Auri,let her go. she just woke up its been only five minutes!" Mirae glared at Auri playfully.

"No its been seven minutes!" Mirae rolled her eyes over Auri's strict time maintenance.

She turned to face you with a strict smile,"And you.I will never say no to your dreams and I'm eager to know what happened cause you seem a bit too excited than usual" she smirked as you smiled widely;you knew she would never say no to your anything.

"But now is really not the time.We have the whole day for this but we don't have even half an hour to get ready,so sis you needa hurry up." you pouted as she looked at you apologetically.

"fine.."

-

"I didn't walk all this way for shopping Shina."

"Oh c'mon,it's gonna take less than twenty minutes,I promise" she pleaded to Mirae who had her hands folded against her chest with raging anger. "Listen,the more we get late-" Jae-ah tried to calmly state but got cut off, "The less fun we can have!" Mirae yelled,finishing.

"I totally agree with her.It still will take ten minutes to reach that peculiar amusement park. And if we spend twenty minutes here it will take a total of thirty minutes. Oh my gosh and then it will take a solid ten minutes to get all our tickets cause of it's a holiday. And then each rides take approximately-" Auri was cut off as she felt a pat on her shoulder,

"It's okay, breath Auri-ah" you laughed as she finally exhaled. "Bro Seoulmusement ain't peculiar,it's beautiful and fun,mostly mysterious & mythical."Mirae scoffed as Auri rolled her eyes.

"Listen.Shopping is fun.Slow down there.We have a lot of time.It doesn't matter if we waste some,right? Look at all these discounts!" Shina squealed smiling fondly but coughed nervously as she got no response from her friends. So she had to go all 'sweet Shina mode'

Mirae felt two hands snaking from behind towards her shoulder, "They're selling the best brand of edgy cloths and accessories with them are free!" Shina cooed smirking; she knew what can temp Mi. You had to scoff at how Shina went for her next pray as if she is the predator here.

"You don't wanna lose the chance of buying the latest shoes in half prize do you? Also I heard they are giving branded purses here." She whispered as Auri gulped,eyes glowing.

"And," Shina clapped gaining Jae-ah's attention,"Jae-ah you wanted to buy some branded makeup items,right? This is the right place,I swear." and Jae-ah had to be the first to enter already,almost running.

"Er.. just twenty minutes k? What do you say Auri-ah?" Auri nodded slightly looking at Mirae as she couldn't leave Jae alone. She had plenty of edgy clothes so Shina didn't really temp her but she let it slide.

Shina looked at you, "Oh yn-ah you can-" you cut her off placing your palm between you & her, "Sorry but you can't tamp me" you smiled and looked at the other two, "Let's go,make it quick" they all laughed uncomfortably sensing your distaste as they entered.

As you were entering you saw something crash at the narrow area beside the huge mall, almost unnoticed. You decided to shrug it off as you were going to push open the door but another loud thump was heard. Loud enough for you but not for the busy people walking on the street.

You felt curious & concerned as your legs led you there, "Is anybody there?"

It only felt creepier as you stood in the middle of that small narrow path. It was so silent unlike the noisy street and it felt chillier here.

"Is anyone in trouble? Should I-" a large body collapsed with yours as you both fell on the ground behind several abandoned blue plastic drums.

"Ouch..hey-" it took some moments to get your senses back as you yelled at the huge human who apparently seems to think it's funny to play ninja games?

Ninja games yes; cause he was hiding behind the big drums, holding you tightly against his chest.

"Miss I'm sorry but don't talk please,I'm in a mission" you had to scoff at this 10 y/o brain.

"Mission? Mister I'm literally dying from a headache? You don't even know how to apo-" he pressed his palm on your mouth letting go of his hold as your eyes met with his for the first time.

"You're so talkative. I'm fighting with life and death here" he whispered lowly as he quickly averted his gaze.

Eyes concentrated on the street before him anxiously fear written on his face.

You could not think straight the moment your eyes met with his.

Mesmerizing beautiful eyes. Unrealistic yet so real. Any earthly word is not enough to describe it.

He had a plain black mask on so you could not quite make out his face. But his eyes gave it all. Those eyes. It had to be. You just knew it.

"Look." There's a hint of urgency in his deep baritone."I'm so sorry for dragging you here, although you chose to be a curious cat. But I really need to go. So, bye." He shook you breaking your trail of thoughts as you looked startled and almost red for the undying thoughts and his little logical accusation. Before you could properly utter a word,much less defend yourself,he was already out of sight.

What just happened?

-

You didn't lose your way back to the mall but you sure as hell nearly lost your mind and didn't even know what you were doing,"The hell why are you pulling the door? It says push it." You got startled looking at Mirae with a 'huh..uh' look.

"Oh my, don't tell me all this time you were pulling it?" Shina tried her heart and soul preventing herself from laughing but did she really.

"Oh gosh you look so pale!" Mirae panicked. "Yet feel so warm! How?Wait fever?" Auri gasped placing her palm on your forehead checking your temperature.

"Best shopping ever" a cheery Jae-ah exited the mall but her face fell looking at your horrible state,"Did something happen? You look like you got haunted by some ghost?" She cried.

"Hey,what's the matter? Did something happen? Where were you!?" Mirae shook you once again looking disturbed.

"A lot" you finally uttered looking at her with your widened eyes.

.

"So you're telling me,you were oh so lost into his eyes for you to recognize his actual face?" you swore to God you never saw Auri talking so loud and add sarcasm all these years; its much of something Mirae would do.

Whatever this that Auri was having fun with got on your nerves. She was enjoying it more than anyone expected. Making fun of you and all the things that happened today.

She glanced at everyone laughing so hard that tears glistened at the corner of her eyes as she glanced at you once again, "And you bumped into the same guy?Is this your Disney world? " She threw her head back laughing holding her belly tight.

"I said it might be him. And Auri Kim aren't you being too much? Hallucination & things like pre-recognization exists.They are scientifically proven; you believe or not nobody cares."you snapped not believing how she is taking her jokes so far. "Yeah for dreamy girls like you it might be. Like c'mon y/n-iie-" 

"Enough Auri-ah,you are being too much. It can be true. There's always fifty percent chances of everything becoming true if a person strongly feels it. Its true or not I'm loving it! Its been decades y/n & i haven't talked like this. So don't dare to come between us. Since morning she is trying to tell me all this but everytime you are laughing it off! Like this isn't funny to me anymore. She is now a grown up & her words carries the same weight as ours. This jokes you're pulling are actually turning very much disrespectful. If you are not interested just sit there zipping your mouth shut until she is done with her story,alright?"

Mi finally huffed a long breath after finishing up realizing how maturely she handled the matter. You chuckled seeing her heart swell with proud.

Auri gulped already shutting her mouth. She realized she was overreacting.You weren't surprised nor mad honestly because you knew this is Auri Kim,your soulmate. Who else right?

"I'm so sorry. I really shouldn't have gone this far. We all have our own imaginations and thinking. I shouldn't have questioned yours. I'm so sorry I didn't mean it that way. I really am sorry y/n." Auri pouted looking at you and you sure as hell already melted for her cute face as Mirae was smiling proudly.

Auri apologizing is rare but genuine which both of you respected her for. 

You chuckled,"Of course I wasn't mad in the first place!"

Auri let a sigh of relief placing her palm on her chest,"Thank God I can't see my soulmate being mad at me for even one second.I love you!"

Her sudden cuteness made all of you chuckle as you all shoved another spoonful of ice cream in your mouth. It has always been like this with her. No matter how mad you both get and no matter how many silent treatments you both end up giving each other in the end you both miss each other.

Today was so fun despite all the mystical weird things happening to you. Although you got the best friends in the universe who absolutely made you forget all these disturbing events during this whole time but the memories kept coming back. Yet you told your brain a 'not today' to not ruin these rare moments.

 You sure as hell was a dreamer, not loving the reality that much but when reality included your best friends and fun you couldn't but put it first despite the fact that every little details of those moments made you think of it. When you guys went for the roller coaster ride Mi was so shocked how you didn't even flinch for once as you were so in your thoughts. You really did feel like any of your muscles didn't move an inch. 

You knew these are nothing but overthinking yet you couldn't help but smile at those memories which is still so freshly present in your brain. You legit felt his touch when you were getting ready, you felt him smiling the whole way to Seoulmusement & you felt so lost for that bloody hell boy that bumped into you. It has to be him.

You couldn't stop thinking that to but again it can't be it's just the dream that controlled your brain for too long and you saw those eyes in the masked boy. You decided to take it that way to convince yourself and not look anymore crazy. But again you bumped into some other guys as well yeah the clumsy girl you are; but you didn't feel the same at all. You didn't even feel anything at all. 

Mirae seemed to have the same theory as yours about this whole thing & she was very much excited about it when you & Mi walked the whole way to Seoulmusement leaving the others behind as they weren't interested; you could be so talkative when it came to telling everything that happens to you everyday. It's just how you love to share your thoughts about the little things that happens & takes you to another world of thoughts. Auri absolutely loved that side of you,so did Mirae. They loved how you look so cute letting your thoughts out to them. 

You couldn't fix the puzzles of all these yet. This is so saddening how you can't remember any other thing of both guys or maybe the same guy other than the eyes. You sighed taking another spoonful of Ice cream as the cold feeling hit you & a loud voice pulled you out from your trail of thoughts,"Hey, Y/n what do you see in my eyes? Are you psychic? I'm so curious for real I swear! I mean how about we test you!? You must have some incredible powers? I mean who knows right." Shina laughed ignoring Mirae's whole speech she gave just a sec ago absolutely getting on your nerves as always. 

"For once act like an adult will you?" Mirae snapped.

You could see that she didn't enjoy how everyone is treating you. You smiled at her, "It's okay mi I'm not bothered, you know these assholes were and will forever be like this."

Mirae laughed a historical laugh as the others pouted except Jae-ah who looked so deeply in her own world as she suddenly clapped her hands in the air,"You know what, this whole dream thing can actually be true? Like I had something similar to this! I saw a hand-"

"Shouldn't we already head for the maze?" Mirae announced standing up from her chair completely ignoring the copy cat sitting beside you as you had to scoff at Jae-ah too.

Everyone one around the table let out a groan throwing their heads back. "Oh please what's so fun in there? It's nothing but a never ending path with thousands of ways,I ain't going!Auri whined.

"Thousands? Miss there's just eight different paths! And that is what makes this game interesting!" Mirae argued excitedly.

"Game? what is so game like there? Huh!? It's just a way of getting lost in a park like a 2 years old kid. It is a headache finding the way back."Shina fought back.

"That is why it's called 'maze' okay? It needs brain. And guess what? You don't have one." Mirae sassed losing herself as she felt heartbroken pouting & turning at you & Jae-ah. 

"Um..Mirae-ah I love how wild & free you are but this idea seems a bit well uh too wild,tiring and you know uh what I mean" Jae-ah sheepishly flashed Mi a smile.

You weren't very much fond of her idea as the last time you guys got out of that hell after sunset. Even the memories haunts you and you know all feels the same except Mi the wild & free girl of course.

But you didn't want to turn her down & make her upset after all she has ever done to you. So you felt determined to sacrifice, "Um yea-" and you couldn't thank the power high above more as you felt your phone vibrate in your purse.

You excused yourself pulling your phone out checking the caller ID. You jumped from your sit squealing like a five years old, "Oh my God!"

Auri grinned at your sudden cute squeals, "Who's it? S-?" Mi with sudden awakwardness roughly held Auri's  arms stopping her as Auri yelped.

Clearing her throat she asked chimming,"Who? Who?!" without thinking twice of her weird behavior you squealed further, "It's dad! I haven't heard from him for so long,I can't believe this." 

"Bish pick up and stop flashing us those bunny smiles! I'm melting"Mi yelled pretending to get attacked putting her palms on her heart. You chuckled at her picking up the call excitedly,

"Hello dad,I missed you! It's been so long,how are you doing?How's your health!?-"

"Good God, y/n ah-"

"How's mom? Are you guys doing good in busan? It is so hot in busan right now? Isn't it? Does the Ac work alright?Mom isn't overworking, is she?"

"y/n ah calm dow-"

"Oh and how's Aiden? He is still that naughty kid, isn't he? I'm sure he gets in trouble time to time? It wasn't something too big,was it? Oh and dad? Dad? Hello?

you checked the connection and found it well secured.

"My daughter is still the spritful human being huh?"

he suddenly chuckled from the other line making you release a sigh of relief. 

"You scared me!"

"Why? you thought I died huh? well that is very much possible though when someone hears you talk non stop"

"My voice ain't that scary!"

"Not at all. It's too beautiful to be scary. I wanted to hear it for so long. I still remember how your voice drifted me off to sleep every night . Those beautiful memories are so majestic yet so short."

"Hey dad,now I didn't tell you to flatter me & make me cry. I already miss you guys an awful lot! Will you tell me how are you all already?"

"Everything is just fine here my daughter, don't you worry at all.Your mother can't stop telling the neighbors how much of a genius and intelligent professional her daughter is."

"Not surprised at all."

"Aiden seems to respect you a lot. He wants...same path...d-d...id"

"Dad? Hello?" you checked out the connection as it showed weak network.

You were really eager to hear about Aiden and the weak connection was getting on your nerves. With a groan you slapped the screen.

.

"Please just this once. It's so fun! Why are y'all suddenly being such grumpy lazy aunties?" you looked at your friend trying to convince everyone around the table for you don't know how long.

But none of them seemed to  move a muscle at Mirae's plea. You checked for the connection pacing back and forth around the cafe but no sign,not even a little. Sighing you went back to your table, "Guys the connection here isn't stable. I'm gonna head out for a bit to get some network access. Go on." you sympathetically grinned at everyone but mostly Mi seeing her struggle. You mouthed an 'its okay' to her before leaving.

You went for the exit,walking fast and holding your phone close to your ear as you tried calling him again. As you were about to pull the gates a firm hand pushed it at the same time. You stared at the silver handle for a sec thinking how you were going to embarrass yourself by pulling it when it says 'push'.

You looked up at the person who just opened the door thinking it might be the security but rather it was a tall enough guy face completely hidden behind a mask and a cap. 

You could faintly see his long eyelashes resting on his cheeks as he looked down at you. His black mask hid half of his face and his long cap hid another half. His brownish locks were slightly touching his eyelashes trying to hide them too. His clothes were casual although you had no intention of checking him out. He was wearing a plain black T-shirt under his half red & half black jacket. All oversized.  And maybe casual navy jeans.

Goodness he isn't mysophobic, is he? You were so stunned at how he protects his face. He can't be an Idol, is he? Whatever his reason is you had no mood to judge. 

Connection access. You reminded yourself. Just as you were thinking to let him step out first you saw a hand gesturing you to step out first almost in a 'lady first' manner as his other hand held the handle preventing it from closing. You slightly looked up at him as you stepped out bowing your head , "thanks" and hurriedly tried to call your dad again. It was ringing as you let out a sigh of relief. It was the fourth ring but he wasn't picking up yet and you took that moment to admire the pinkish sky above you.

It was cloudless yet splashed with purple and orange hues in between. As if the pink sky let her friends make a miraculous portrait on her. It looked so peaceful around at this time.

Everybody went to the nearby cafes to take a break after a long bright fun day. Your eyes roamed around the area filled with lovely colorful flowers and large trees filled with leaves giving you spring vibes. And just as you turned your head the other side you saw the same guy scrolling his phone just beside you. He seemed to have the same problem of network as you saw him struggle placing his phone close to his ear and then again tapping on his phone aggressively. He looked so familiar yet unfamiliar now that you see him so closely. 

Could he be- No. Y/n don't go insane again. You'll end up being a clown.

Your eyes couldn't stop but roam on his navy jeans and the first thing you noticed is the shinchan key ring hanging loosely with several keys on his belt chain. You squealed inside finding your shinchan mate yet chuckled outside seeing how gorgeous he was looking with it. The belt chain made him look ten times hotter yet the key ring made him look so adorable.

You averted your gaze before he caught you staring, smiling to yourself. See dad! I'm not the only one. As if your father read your mind from Busan to Seoul he picked up,

"So? Do you still watch shinchan?"

You were so surprised & shocked at the same time for asking you about the thing you were thinking just now teasingly.

"Yah! The first thing you ask is this? Can't you just ask why the call got cut!?"

"What is there to ask about? It can happen! Now answer me? Do you still watch your idol?"

"Of course I do. He is forever my inspiration. I learnt a lot about life for him."

You felt the guy turn & tilt his head slightly to you as you blushed. Please don't listen.

"Yeah whatever you say. My daughter is rebellious. Never will win."

"Now you know"

"A..y..wa...s, Ai...de..n said he...wants..to..y..o.."

Why does this bloody network have to act like this whenever dad talks about Aiden.

"Hello? Dad? Hold on.Let the connection get better" you walked faster stepping out from the small yard of the cafeteria going forward where your feet was taking you to.

 .

He had to remove his other ear phone too now to hear your voice clearly. It was better than the song he was mindlessly hearing. Your voice was something he craved for decades it seemed. It sounded excitingly beautiful and soothing.

He couldn't but stare at your every movements amused as you were excitingly talking to your father. He was feeling frustrated when he didn't get a better connection and chose to leave yet the girl beside him was the same one who he opened the door for smiling to himself at your cuteness. He decided to stay for some more time as his mind told him to admire you.

Stupid you don't even know her. You're just here to get the goddamn network access. 

Yet he could not control himself from melting for you cute smiles,laughs,frowns,grins & chuckles. He found you every habits cute including the foot stomping. He loved the way you talked to your father so dearly as if you missed him for so long.

Earlier he was amazed seeing you admire every little details of the nature around. He could see it in her eyes how she didn't miss a single detail. The sky above sure looked mesmerizing but he was busy admiring the art before him. Still now he can't stop capturing her every details with his eyes and saving it in his heart. He couldn't understand why he felt so drowned neither he wanted to understand. 

The frown on your face was back as the connection went weak again. Funny how his mind was urging to bring her the strongest connection of the world just to see your face light up again. Just as you were leaving, something dropped from your shorts pocket. Without thinking much he called for you,picking up, "Miss!? You dropped something! Hello?"

He called for you but the dreamy girl you are, he knew you won't hear him. As your only motto for now was 'getting the connection back'. 

He stood up picking up the neatly folded handkerchief as his smirk grew wider behind his mask eyes slightly squinting tilting his head, "Is this why you were staring at my pants so dearly miss? So shinchan didn't go underrated after all huh?"

He smiled again running to find the beautiful owner of this plain white handkerchief with shinchan's famous smiling face printed on the corner of it. 

.

You can win a marathon. You run when walking so what do you do she when you run. Probably drive yourself? He thought thinking how thoughtless he sounds. He is confident about which way you went but there was no trace of yours. He could see a silhoette coming from the right turn as he followed the path. Turning he saw you far from him still unable to reach her father. 

"Miss!You dropped this!"

Finding it of use he ran again as he saw you enter some garden absent mindedly. Without thinking much he finally reached infront of it too about three minutes after you.

Needa workout again boy! 

He breatheheavily holding his knees for a second and entered the garden too, totally forgetting his important call.

Wait but is it really a garden?

next

[poems-and-cows]

Hello everybody! It’s day two of Sasha’s cool birthday thingy!

For breakfast today, we went out somewhere quite fancy. It was this lovely crepe place, that does some of the best rated crepes in the city. We had to wait in line for a good while, but it was definitely worth it. I got the Nutella and marshmallows one, Sasha got the strawberry and blueberry one, Tim got the lemon one, and Jon got one that was cooked with blueberries inside of it. We all had a small portion of everyone else’s, and Sasha’s was probably the best in my opinion.

We sat underneath this tree on a bench while we ate, but we didn’t realise that there was a wasp’s nest above us. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I shrieked when I noticed, practically jumping off of the bench and backing off at a break-neck speed. I only stopped because I bumped into a bin. Everyone looked confused, and had a little giggle about me freaking out, until a wasp landed on Tim’s shoulder. I’ve never seen everyone look so horrified before. We quickly evacuated the area, and it took a minute for my hands to stop shaking.

The first major activity of the day was bowling! We all ordered mocktails to go with our game, and they tasted delicious. I had a Pornstar Martini, Tim had a Mojito, Jon had some raspberry and mango sofa concoction, and Sasha had a cherry Bakewell tasting thing. Again, Sasha’s was by far the best. She’s the best at picking food. I should just having whatever she’s having to be honest.

Bowling went great! Tim tried to use the heaviest ball at one point and almost broke his toe, and Jon was struggling substantially to get any momentum. He ended up using the ramp. It was hilarious. Surprisingly, I ended up winning! I kept accidentally hitting all the pins down and getting strikes, and I don’t even know how I managed it. Tim was a close second, and he definitely would have won if he wasn’t messing about so much. Overall, it was so much fun.

For lunch, we all got pizza at the bowling place. We shared two large pizzas, and that sparked the pineapple or no pineapple debate. It turns out, everyone was team pineapple other than Jon! I can excuse it though, as his stance wasn’t “it doesn’t belong on pizza.” but “I don’t personally like it on pizza.”

Me and Tim ended up sharing an Americano, which is basically every topping you can think of. Onions, peppers, pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms, pineapple, chicken, you name it. That’s also my favourite kind of pizza! Jon and Sasha shared a spicy meat feast, which looked divine. I got to steal a slice, and yet again Sasha had made the best selection. How does she do it?

After lunch was our time to visit a lovely market that just popped up today. Everything was either home grown or hand made, and it was all very homey. It reminded me of that wool and trinket shop. Anyways, I made a bit of a childish purchase. There was this adorable, hand sewed, highland cow toy. I fell in love with it when I saw it. It was so intricate, and its little eyes looked so hopeful. The seller told me that he had dried lavender in his belly to make him smell nice, along with very soft fur for cuddles. He let me hold them, and I was completely sold. They were the perfect weight, the perfect squishiness, and the perfect texture. I bought them on the spot, and happily carried them around the market with me while we looked at the veggies and crochet stalls. I probably should have been embarrassed, but who cares?

For dinner, we had to go back to the hotel and get changed. This was another one of Sasha’s surprises, and apparently it had a dress code. I’m not particularly comfortable in formal clothes. I’ve never liked how they look on me, and I find it hard to find fancy clothes that I’m happy to wear. I ended up wearing a knitted jumper and some nice trousers. They made me feel the least uncomfortable. I placed the highland cow on the bed before I left, giving them a small wave goodbye.

We all met at the lobby, and everyone looked amazing. I felt a bit out of place, to be fair. Jon was wearing that same outfit he’d been wearing to “grab a quick drink” with me, Sasha was in a lovely black dress that had some lace around the top and bottom, and Tim was in a suit and tie. Tim in a suit and tie?! I hear your cries, and I’m reassuring you that the tie had dinosaurs all over it. He’s not been replaced by a clone.

The restaurant was breathtaking. Classical music, waiters dressed like it was the Ritz, and gourmet food. It turns out that Sasha had booked us a place as the sushi bar, and I was ecstatic. It was one of those revolving ones where you just pick up the plate, like how Yo Sushi works. I’ve always found those really fun. I ended up having hoisin duck rolls, and then some tuna and salmon rolls. Tim got some spicy tuna stuff that was covered in some orange sauce, Jon got tuna and cucumber, and Sasha got those ones with the salmon and prawn tied to a rice rectangle. Nigiri? Yay, the sushi emoji popped up when I typed it, so I’m definitely right.

It was late when we got back to the hotel, due to everyone heading to the restaurant’s bar. I was the token sober one that lead everyone back to the hotel. I didn’t mind one bit. It was lovely to see everyone so happy and carefree, laughing like no one was watching.

When we got back to our room after saying our goodnight wishes to Tim and Sasha, we discovered that room service had been! The best part? They’d tucked in my little cow, and given him a little packet of Haribo. It reminded me of those ‘naughty Christmas elf’ scenes when they’ve toilet papered the Christmas tree or something.

Alright, I better stop typing. It’s late, and I’ve got an early start in the morning! Goodnight everybody ^^

[glazedsnail]

FF For Free right here

I honestly thought I'd have this part done and then the last but I got WAY CARRIED AWAY

What's new, when you remember this was supposed to be a 1 part type of thing.

Misery Loved Company

ShanexOCFarmer (♀️) 18+

It's now 3rd person time and I hope it doesn't feel too awkward. Felt better to write tho. So. Idk. Enjoy.

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7 • Part 8

(8 parts lmfao)

My farmer and Shane are married by that point but it still feels like she's intruding. GO AWAY POPPY IT'S SHANE AND JAS TIME FFS

A late morning sun attempts to reach the earth through the clouds. In suspension, thick in the air, they dance in anticipation of the possibility of rain release, in anticipation of covering the ground with the relief of another fulfilling day for the roots, the trees, the worms.

Waking the forest in its track, the sound of a distant truck arises. 

The dry mud expels its scent, bursting, tired of waiting for the salvation of renewed rain water.

It’s silent in the valley, as fall settles in slowly.

‘Uncle Shane!’

The little girl runs towards the man jumping down in the mud from his stopped truck. His tired gaze smiles at the sight of the pigtailed child. He lifts her up in his arms.

‘How’s my little chicken?’

She giggles.

‘I’m not a chicken!’

‘Are you not Charlie?’

‘Uncle Shane!’

They laugh. He carries her inside the ranch.

On the other side, behind a closed door, he can hear chickens happily clucking. A fickle distraction.

Everything is as he left it this morning. The smell of hay tickles his nostrils, welcoming him through the kitchen. He releases Jas who thanks her with a sticky kiss on his unshaved cheek. He smiles, somewhat proudly, knowing that she only gets candy when she’s had good grades with Penny. She runs to her bedroom, leaving him alone in the messy empty room. The bin is overflowing with boxes of frozen dinners and frozen pizzas. A dark cloud slowly settles in, giving the already sad little room a gloomy air. He sighs, passing his hand through his stubble, now incapable of hiding the tiredness in his longing eyes.

The buzz of the old fridge joins his groans as he tries to stretch from the long drive, the long morning. The length of the past two days.

He turns to his only accompanying noise and bites his lip. He knows he shouldn’t, it’s not even noon yet. But he knows the momentary blur would help him. He knows signing his responsibilities away to the alcohol sitting in the fridge would bring everything back the way it was before, and gives him the reprieve he craves.

But it would mean throwing all the work away.

He knows he can limit himself, however he knows that’s not what he wants right now. He doesn’t want a sip or to loosen up. He wants to forget.

‘Fuck’s sake’ he says under his breath. He pats his pockets, grateful to find the pack of cigarettes he was looking for. 

‘Shane!’ Kitchen lights explode in his face.

He jumps, cigarette falls from his mouth.

‘You were NOT going to smoke in my kitchen.’

‘Lighter’s in the truck’ he only says to his defence. 

Marnie brings her hand to the bridge of her nose.

‘I swear sometimes I wonder what I’ll do with you.’ She drops her grocery bags on the kitchen table and sits down. ‘Where were you this morning?’

‘Had some errands to run.’

‘I talked to Harvey,’ she continues, ignoring him. ‘Well I joined the conversation he was having with Caroline. You know how they brought Fern to the clinic yesterday. What a shame.’

Shane started to unload the groceries.

‘You saw it yourself haven’t you? Thank Yoba you were there for Jas, she was a mess! I spoke to Jodi too, she says Vincent keeps telling people he saved the farmer. What a precious little thing.’

She stretches.

‘Harvey says she’s fine. She’s in Zuzu city just now apparently.’

‘Huhuh.’

‘You’re awfully quiet today. More so than usual. Are you ok?’

Shane scoffs, rubbing his red eyes.

‘Just tired, Marnie, I’m fine.’

‘You haven’t snuck in a drink?’

The can of baby corn headed to the cupboard slips from his hand and bounces off the floor.

‘Of course not!’ He answers, outraged, desperately wanting a drink.

‘Oh well, I trust you. Still can’t believe she made you drink.’

Shane slams the runaway can onto the table.

‘She didn’t make me drink, we already had this conversation.’

Marnie stands up, she clearly wasn’t done with it.

‘All I’m saying is, she had her motives for bringing alcohol to a date with you.’

‘I am not an alcoholic.’

‘Shane. Shane. It’s not a bad word, it’s not an insult’ She says in a soft voice, walking towards her nephew. ‘But the sooner you realise you don’t need it the better.’

‘I know I don’t need it, I’ve not been binge drinking in ages.’

‘And I’m proud of you for that. Jas is happy. Now if you could just stop completely. And not let the first cute set of eyes looking at you drag you back down.’ 

‘I am the only one responsible for my decisions, I dug myself to an early grave, not Fern.’

‘Drag me back down? You think a beer or two will take me back to that sorry mess of a man I was every day?’

‘Bad company will, Shane.’

‘There are things that you can’t possibly know, you can’t work on yourself with someone like her around.’

‘What the fuck are you talking about?’

‘I like Miss Fern.’ she manages to scream above the noise.

‘Language, Shane!’

Voices are rising, fighting, higher than the other, not realising they all sting the very young heart walking in the room, seeking acknowledgement, wanting the voices to die down so she can play in silence. Words are unfiltered. She’s way too unfazed by this scene for her age.

The two adults stop.

‘Jas, please, go back to your room.’ Says Marnie, extending her arm to the child. She runs to Shane whose expression instantly softens. He crouches down at her level.

‘I like her too.’ He says, silently choking on his words.

‘We all like her!’ Adds Marnie. ‘She’s been nothing but an excellent neighbour, she takes care of the animals we sold her. But you both need stability.’

‘Jas, do you wanna go for a walk?’

Shane stands back up. He wants to talk, clearly having something in mind. Something bothering him that he needs to clarify. But the words slip away before they materialise.

He’s tired, and powerless.

‘With you?’ She asks, expectantly. She squeals as he nods, and runs to her room to grab her shoes.

‘Don’t you dare bring her to the saloon.’

Shane plants himself on the table, both fists clenched, eyes locked into Marnie’s who slowly sits back down. 

‘I’m ready!’

‘Is that how you see me? A helpless drunk? Will I be nothing else but a screw up in your eyes? Do you think I don’t already know that? Everything I have ever touched just breaks right in front of me. I have been swimming, powerless, in this… dark sludge for ever. I had lost all hopes of ever being able to climb out of this hole I was digging myself in. The effort I was putting in was forever in vain, I wasn’t worth anyone’s lifting their single little finger. I’ve always felt like I wasn’t strong enough to swim back to the shore. I tried so many times, disappointing everyone at each failed attempt. All the times I’ve ever closed my eyes I prayed to who knows what that they would never reopen. 

I wanted to stop swimming. I wanted to shut the voices and the easiest way was to stop fighting back and let the abyss take me. Let grief take such a hold of me that it would just let me die here and there. Simple, right? Give up. Yield. Throw myself back down the hole I am desperately climbing up without a moment of respite. I didn’t.

That’s the strength you will never see. Never want to see. You’ve only ever seen my shortcomings, my failures, my hours passed out drunk on the floor. Has anyone ever stopped to wonder why? 

I hate myself, Marnie. I hate what I’ve put you through. I hate what I’ve put Jas through. I know, deep down, you’re only looking out for me, but you… No… I drove away the only person who actually stopped and listened.’

The gleeful voice of Jas cut the density of the air in the kitchen, like a breeze pushing the darkest cloud away. Shane wipes his eyes and grabs Jas’ small hand.

‘What do you say we go to the beach, little chicken?’

Shane takes a deep breath of the humid air. The ranch's distinct smells meet the beginning of autumn. A few leaves have started swirling down in the distance. He closes his hoodie up.

‘Do you have your coat, Jas?’ He looks down at the little girl who quickly zips up her raincoat, flashing him with a beautiful smile, missing a few teeth. A warm smile creases Shane’s cheeks. Who can miss the summer’s sun when accompanied by the everlasting smile of the fiercest person he knows. 

‘Let’s go’ he says, clasping Jas’ hand in his.

He’s tempted to stop by the truck to grab his lighter but swiftly decides against it. The toxicity of her home life is enough, too much, shouldn’t even exist, if it weren’t for him.

The grey skies free up the path to the beach. They don’t meet anyone, much to Shane’s relief. They cross the old stone bridge, and Jas leaves his hand to go look overboard. The water is slowly flowing underneath, progressively picking up speed as the sky darkens. 

Jas throws leaves and twigs she’d been collecting on the walk from the ranch. They gracefully twirl in the air and fall on the water, floating away in the distance. 

Shane leans on the mossy stones, looking at Jas getting rid of her short lived collection. He catches a faint glimpse of his reflection in the moving water. Tired eyes, falling on a crooked nose. Thin lips distorted into a pathetic scowl. He’s not shaved in two days and it drastically accentuates his already rough appearance. His eyebrows seem to be constantly furrowed in an expression of contempt, and it takes him some effort to release his forehead muscles.

No, he doesn’t look any better.

He groans, leaving the moss covered parapet, resuming his walk to the beach. With a giggle, Jas rapidly follows.

The salty air attacks them both the moment they leave the safety of the town trees bordering the path. Shane grabs Jas and equips her with her raincoat’s hood, tightening it around her round smiling cheeks. He looks into her joyous bright eyes.

‘You’re such a strong child, Jas.’ he tells her. ‘Never let anyone make you feel any less than that.’

She smiles and hugs her uncle. He struggles to let her go, but definitely cannot fight against the alluring power of the tide pools.

Shane glances at the other side of the beach, connecting directly to the forest, and sighs.

He does not want to remember.

But her laugh is suspended in the air, caught in the neighbouring branches slowly losing their leaves. 

He shakes his head. For a moment there the flying sand looked like two lovers lost in a passionate embrace. And he can’t fight back. The memories of that evening crowd his disturbed mind. 

How was all of it only two days ago?

Eyes half-closed, he sees her proud smile as she hands him a slice of her own homemade pizza. He remembers her trembling body recalling events better left in the past. The tenderness with which she cradled him in her arms, showing her strength against what would have made anyone else bitter at life. 

Her golden hazel eyes wet in the setting sun looking at him with genuine fondness. What he took for genuine fondness. What he thought. The feel of her hair in his hand. Her body in his arms. Her lips.

‘Uncle Shane! Look!’

A shiver takes him back to the present. He turns to Jas. She’s crouching next to a tide pool and waves furiously at her godfather for him to come and see her exciting find.

‘What’s that, kiddo?’

She points at the slowly flowing strands of what looks like thick purple hair.

‘An amemom, anom… Anemone!’ She manages to say despite her excitement. ‘Miss Penny showed one to us once at the library.’ 

Shane crouches in a groan, ignoring the creaking of his knees.

‘What’s it doing here?’

‘It lives here. Look, it’s stuck onto that rock. And if you touch it, it hides away, like a snail. But you shouldn’t touch!’

He smiles at her, pride swelling up in his chest, and finds himself praying for nothing bad to ever happen to her. Again.