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[somedaytakethetime]

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[hopelikethemoon]

The Aftermath (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: The Aftermath  Rating: PG-13 Length: 4000 Warnings: Pregnancy Complications (Ecelempsia, Seizures, lots and lots of medical discussions in this one)  Notes: You can find the Maybe Today, Maybe Forever Timeline here. Set June 1997. This is a really heavy chapter, ya’ll. As always I will assure you that things will be okay. But if you are at all triggered by pregnancy complications, discussion of seizures, medical discussions, or the effects of not being able to breast feed you might want to just skim.  Summary: Javier grapples with the complications around Sofia’s birth.

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“You’ve got to hold it together, Javi.” Chucho told Javier, his fingers curling around his shoulder tightly. “You’ve got Josie and Sofía. They need their father.”

“She needs me too.” Javier hissed out, jerking his shoulder out from his father’s grasp. He knew what his father was trying to remind him. He didn’t want to lash out at him, but fuck. How was he supposed to think about the girls in a context where they wouldn’t have their mother? He couldn’t let those thoughts get to him.

He raked his fingers through his hair, before he rose to his feet. “Where the fuck is the doctor?”

“She’s gonna be okay, Javi.” Steve assured him, looking up at him from where he was sitting. “When has she ever let something like this bullshit get the best of her?”

Javier swallowed thickly, stopping mid-pace. “After all the shit she’s been through…” He really wanted to punch something. But he couldn’t really risk breaking his fucking hand. That wasn’t going to help with his guilt. Fuck. There was so much guilt. So much of the shit that she went through in Colombia had been his fault. 

And the stress. The goddamn stress was all his fault. She wouldn’t be laid up in the hospital if he hadn’t pushed a stressful situation onto her. He should’ve left the DEA shit alone. Somehow he’d managed to fuck up the birth of their second child. God, if he lost her....

The waiting room door opened slowly, a doctor appearing in the doorway. “Mr. Peña?” Javier couldn’t tell if the doctor had grim news or if the son of a bastard was born with that dourer expression.  

Steve stood up, clapping Javier on the shoulder. “We’re here for you.” He said something else, but Javier wasn’t entirely certain what it was. Everything seemed to focus in on the doctor who was waiting for him. Steve and Chucho felt like they were at the far end of a tunnel, the distance obscuring their voices. 

Javier waited for the waiting room door to close behind him before he spoke, “How is she? Can I see her?”

“She’s stable.” The doctor told him calmly, guiding him across the hall to a private room. He’d seen families come out of that same room with bad news. He truly felt like he was going to be sick. 

The doctor waited for Javier to sit, before he continued. “We have her sedated currently. Once we get her settled into her new room, I can take you down to sit with her.” 

He swallowed thickly. “Are we out of the woods?”

The doctor shook his head. “Not yet. Despite our best efforts, there were complications. She suffered a mild seizure, which was to be expected given her condition. Fortunately, the CT scan didn’t show any damage from the episode. We’ll get her scheduled for a MRI and prepped for a PET scan in the coming days.” He offered Javier a sympathetic smile. “As much as I’d love to send the three of you home tomorrow, we’re going to need to keep her for observation for a few more days.” 

Javier nodded slowly, trying to process everything the doctor had just told him. So many scans and the potential for something being wrong. Really wrong. “I just want her to come home.”

“She’s a fighter, Mr. Peña.”

“I know she is.” A brief smile spread over his lips. “She’s fucking incredible.”

“And we’re going to make sure she goes home.” The doctor promised him. “We’ve already started her on some hydralazine intravenously. It’s already started getting her blood pressure under control.” 

“Good.” 

“After she’s released she’s going to have to monitor the hypertension. She’ll be prescribed medicine to help stabilize it, but she won’t be able to breastfeed.”

Javier nodded slowly. At least the doctor was talking about the after. Going home. That sounded positive. 

“Have you been down to the nursery to see your daughter?”

“No.” He rubbed at his forehead. “My pops went to see her.” Everything had been perfect. 

Sofía was gorgeous. 

They let him cut the umbilical cord. They let him be such an active participant in their daughter’s birth. Everything had been going in the right direction. 

But she didn’t look right. 

She was exhausted, which was understandable, but her coloring was all wrong. She looked weak. 

And then the seizure. 

Javier wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to get that memory out of his head. It was worse than watching her bleed out on the ground. 

It had been maybe three hours. Maybe five. 

He hadn’t seen either of them since. 

“When do you think I’ll be able to sit with her?”

The doctor’s brows furrowed as he stared at him. “Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to call down to the nursery and have them bring your daughter up to her room. That might be good for the three of you.”

Javier swallowed thickly and nodded. “Alright.”

“I’ll have a nurse come and get you from the waiting room.”

“Thank you.”

 ——

 It was another two hours before the nurse came to get him. 

Steve had gone home to help Connie with the girls and Chucho looked worn out, he wasn’t easily convinced to leave. Eventually, Javier won out because Stevie needed to be let out and he knew Monica had work. 

It felt wrong to care about anything outside of the hospital, but he knew she’d kill him if anything happened to that damned dog. 

But then the nurse came and he was ushered to her room. The floor was eerily quiet — it was after visiting hours, but the doctor had made special arrangements just for him. Even in the worst situation of his life, at least the hospital was treating him like he belonged. 

She looked awful. Hooked up to machines and monitors. Wires running from her hands, little censors stuck to her temples. 

“We’ve started decreasing her sedatives,” The nurse explained to him. “We’re still waiting for the doctor to look at her MRI—“ That must’ve been why it took so long. “But everything is looking really good, Mr. Peña.” 

The nurse gestured to the burgundy vinyl-covered reclining chair in the corner of the room. “We brought this in for you. In case you wanted to stay.”

“I do.” 

Javier looked away from her then, his eyes drawn to the bassinet Sofía was in. He knew he had to focus on her as well. She needed him just as much as her mother did. 

“When was the last time she ate?” He asked the nurse, moving towards the bassinet to pick up the swaddled infant. She cooed softly as she woke up and his heart melted. “It’s alright, daddy’s got you.” He whispered as he cradled her against his chest. 

“Half hour ago.” The nurse smiled. “Do you have other children, Mr. Peña?”

He nodded. “We have another daughter. She just turned four.”

“What a fun age.” She gestured towards Sofía. “If you need any help or if anything happens, there’s a call button on the bed. You’ll get one of us on the floor in here.”

“Thank you.”

Javier kept Sofía cradled against his chest as he moved towards the hospital bed. It broke his fucking heart to see her like this. There was nothing peaceful about being sedated. He had seen peaceful sleep on her and this wasn’t it. 

“You’ve got to wake up for us, baby.” He said gently as he gingerly curled his fingers around her unresponsive hand. “I don’t think you really got to see how beautiful Sofía is. She’s perfect just like her mother.” Javier looked between the two of them. “She reminds me so much of Josie at this age. She’s so little.” 

Javier sniffed quietly, trying not to cry. But he’d been holding it in for hours now. And there was a lump of emotion wedged in the back of his throat. Raw and painful. How was he expected not to cry when the love of his life was fighting for her life? 

He settled Sofía back down in the bassinet, before pulling the rolling stool over to her bedside. “This better be the last time I have to see you laid up like this, baby. I fucking hate it.” He took her hand again, rubbing his thumb over the back of her knuckles. “We’re not doing this again. We’ve got two daughters. We don’t need any more kids.” He lifted her hand up as he leaned over to kiss the back of her hand. “I’ll get the snip tomorrow, if it means never putting you in this position again.” 

Some machine beeped, making Javier jump a little. He glanced up, brows furrowed as he studied the monitors beside her. “They told me they’re decreasing the sedatives they have you on. I think that means you’re going to wake up soon.” Javier told her, squeezing her hand. “I wish I knew if you could hear me.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. 

Javier stood up, leaning over the bed so he could press a kiss to her forehead, his fingers tenderly brushing over her cheek. “You did such an amazing job delivering her, baby. I’m in awe of you. Your strength.” He let his nose brush over her forehead as he sighed. 

He studied her face, hoping to see some flicker of alertness. He knew she was going to wake up — she had to. But he wanted to talk to her now. It had been hours. He’d lost track of the time. 

“I’m so sorry, baby. This is all my fault.” He raked his fingers through his hair as he sank back on the stool. “I set all of this into motion. I should’ve known better, starting this shit while you were pregnant…” He shook his head. 

Javier pressed his face into his hands, letting the tears finally fall. It had been such an emotional day. The elation of seeing his daughter born, giving way to the fear of losing the woman he loved. 

The reality of the social worker meeting with him. Going over what his role as her POA meant, ensuring he understood what wishes she had made known in the document. His father had listened, because he hadn’t. He had been in shock. 

He couldn’t lose her. He’d lose his fucking mind if he went home to a house that didn’t have her in it. 

And it would be his fault. 

Sofía started fussing in her bassinet and Javier went to pick her up. “Are you hungry, sweetheart?” He questioned as he looked down at her. She had the longest lashes he’d ever seen on a baby. A nose just like her mother. 

Javier hit the help button on her bed, waiting for a nurse to turn up so he could tell them Sofía needed formula. 

He sat on the rolling stool beside her bed, feeding Sofía and talking to them both. He told his daughter all about how brave her mother was, how good she was. How much he hoped both of his children ended up like their mother. She was far too good for him.

Javier went through the bag of clothes she’d brought with her to go home. Not tomorrow. Not like they had planned. 

“There it is.” He smiled as he saw the stuffed dog that Josie had made certain she had with her. “Baby, if you wake up I’ll get you another dog. I know how much you love having Stevie.” 

He moved back over to the bed. Javier lifted her hand up and tucked the toy into her palm. “Josie wanted to make sure you had this, baby. It’s Bruno.” 

Her fingers twitched faintly and he swore his heart skipped a beat. 

“I’m right here.” He curled his hand around hers, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. “I love you, baby. Just rest, okay?” 

Her fingers twitched again, coupled with her lashes fluttering. 

“Hey.” Javier whispered, staring at her face. Looking for a sign that she was waking up. Three short squeezes, weak but there. 

“I love you too, baby.” He smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Her lips parted, inhaling shakily. “W-where is she?” Her voice was hoarse, barely recognisable as her own. 

“She’s sleeping.” Javier brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Do you want to see her?”

“Yeah.” She mumbled, her eyes still closed. “Feel weird.”

“You’ve been through hell the last few hours.” Javier said as he reluctantly left her bedside to pick up Sofía. “She’s beautiful.” He told her as he walked back over to the bedside, brows furrowed as he looked down at her. “You gotta open your eyes, baby.”

“Just wanna... hold her.” She said wearily. 

Javier frowned when she just laid there motionlessly. She was still clearly under the effects of the sedative. 

“I’m just gonna lay her on your chest, okay baby?” 

“Yeah.” 

He carefully maneuvered Sofía, keeping a hand on her back as he laid her against her chest. Sofía opened her eyes, cooing quietly as her little fingers grabbed at the hospital gown beneath her. “That’s your mommy, baby girl.” He whispered. 

“I’m so tired.” She whispered, her lashes fluttered a faint glimpse of her eyes before they fell closed again. 

Javier reached out and took her hand, lifting it up gently to hold it against Sofía’s back. “Do you think you can hold her?” 

Her fingers twitched as she flexed them, spreading them out across her little back. “She’s tiny.” 

“Two ounces smaller than Josie.” He smiled at her as her eyes opened, though they were still heavy and groggy. “You did so good, baby.” 

“Did I?” She blinked slowly, her eyes very unfocused as she looked at him. Her fingers moved again, weakly brushing over the blanket Sofía was wrapped in. “Javi…”

“I’m right here, baby.” 

“Take her. I don’t want to drop her.”

“Whatever you want, baby.” Javier leaned over the bed to scoop their daughter up, moving to put Sofía back in her bassinet. He stared down at her, fingers brushing over her cheek as she blinked slowly before falling back to sleep. He remembered how much Josie slept the night after she went home that first night. 

“I feel weird.”

He turned back to look at the bed, “Do you want me to call for the nurse.” Javier was already at her bedside, primed to press the call button. 

“They’ll give me more…” She gestured vaguely to her IV. “Wanna stay awake.” 

“You need to rest, baby.” He insisted, reaching out to cup her cheek. “But I don’t want them to sedate you again either. I missed your eyes.” 

She laughed quietly, sinking back into her pillow. “My eyes?” 

Javier nodded slowly. “Yeah. I was afraid you’d never open them again.” 

“And leave you to raise two daughters?” A weak smirk quirked at the corners of her lips. 

“I wouldn’t be able to cope without you.” 

She raised a brow, even as her eyes flickered closed. “Calm down, Romeo.” 

“Really?”

“Really.” She turned her head towards him and grinned as she opened her eyes slowly. She looked down then, picking up the stuffed dog that was still laying in her bed. “Was Josie here?”

“No.” Javier frowned. “She gave it to you to pack, remember?” 

“Right.” She said distantly as she sat the toy back down. 

“Do you not remember that?”

“Everything is a little hazy,” She admitted, reaching up to touch the nasal cannula in her nose. “I fucking hate this shit.”

“Oxygen is good for you.” 

She rolled her eyes. 

“There’s the woman I know and love.” 

“I’d flip you off but....” She taunted, staring at him a little harder then. “You look like shit.”  

“It’s been a fucking awful day, baby.” Javier pushed his fingers through his hair. “But they gave me this hideous chair over there to sleep in.” 

“You should sleep.”

“Don’t worry about me.” He shook his head. “This is about you. You’re the one who scared the shit out of me.” 

“Sorry.” She reached out and curled her fingers around his where they were curled around the side of her bed. 

“Why the hell are you apologizing?”

She shrugged, “I dunno.”

“Well, don’t.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m gonna get the nurse, alright? I think they were waiting for results. MRI? CT scan. One of them.” 

“Did someone let Stevie out?” 

Javier shook his head incredulously, “Yeah, pops went to stay with her.” 

“Good.” She smiled up at him. “I feel worse than I did when I got shot.” 

“You had a seizure.” 

“I did?” Her brows drew together, confusion marring her features. 

Javier nodded. “Is everything hazy?”

She lowered her gaze, picking at a piece of fuzz on her blanket. “Yeah. Tell them not to give me whatever they’re giving me. I feel really weird.” 

“You just have to stay calm. Okay?” Javier reminded her, reaching you press the button to call for the nurse. “That’s the key thing. Okay? If you keep your blood pressure down you’ll get to go home.”

“Home sounds nice.” She smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. 

Javier glanced at the door as it opened, “She woke up.”

The nurse beamed, “That’s great news, Mr. Peña.” She looked towards the hospital bed then, “How are you feeling?”

“As bad as he looks.” She quipped, looking at him as she reached for his hand. 

He squeezed her hand. “Nurse, she’s having… not memory loss, exactly but… confusion? Is that the medicine?”

The nurse checked her vitals before putting them up on the whiteboard across from the bed. “That may just be the sedation, but there is always the chance that she may also be experiencing side effects from the seizure. The doctor will discuss the postictal phase when he comes down.” 

She looked towards the hospital bed then, “Let’s do a little memory test, shall we?” She tapped the dry erase marker against the board. “Do you know what your daughter’s name is?” 

“Joséfina Peña.” She answered and the nurse frowned. 

“Our older daughter,” Javier explained.

The nurse nodded and wrote the name out on the board. 

“She has an accent above the ‘e’.” She corrected the nurse. “And it’s ‘f’ not ‘ph’.” 

“Do you know your newborn’s name?”

“Sofía.” She rubbed her lips together slowly. “With an ‘f’ and an accent over the ‘i’.” She looked towards Javier there. “We named her after Javi’s mother.” 

“Do you know what day it is?”

She shook her head. “I think… I came in on the thirtieth.”

“Thirty-first.” Javier squeezed her hand, before glancing back at the nurse. 

“It’s June second.” She supplied. 

“Shit.” 

“It’s okay, baby.” 

“When was she born?”

“The first.” 

She laughed quietly. “May first and June first.” 

“Easy to remember.” Javier leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You’re doing so good.” 

“Do you have any pets?” The nurse questioned. 

“A dog. Stevie Nicks.” 

“Very good.” The nurse wrote the names up on the whiteboard before making a big square around ‘PLANS FOR TODAY’. “It looks like the doctor still wants you to get that PET scan today. Once we get that over with you are one step closer to going home. We’ve just got to keep that blood pressure down.”

“How is it?” Javier questioned. 

“Good. Still a little high, but nowhere near as high as it was when she came in.” 

Sofía started crying and she sat up quickly, looking towards the bassinet. “She needs food. She sounds just like Josie when she was hungry.” 

“I know.” Javier cradled her to his chest, but he wasn’t giving her what she wanted. 

The nurse looked a little anxious. “Now, due to the medicine you’re currently on you’re not going to be able to breastfeed for a little while, okay?” 

“Oh.” She sank back against the pillows, “Can I… is there formula?” She questioned, looking around the room. 

“I can get that.” The nurse excused herself from the room then. 

“I know this fucking sucks.” Javier offered as he passed Sofía to her mother. She seemed stronger now, able to hold her without his assistance. “It’s not at all how we planned it…”

“It never is.” She said quietly as she looked down at Sofía, brushing her fingertips against her forehead. “She’s so little. Is she smaller than Josie was?”

“She is.” Javier rested his hand against hers. “She looks so much like her big sister.” 

“I’m sorry.” She glanced up at him. “I know this isn’t… this isn’t what you wanted.” 

“Hey, hey. No.” He reached out and brushed away the stray tear that slid down her cheek. “None of that, baby. No. All I care about is the two of you being healthy. You could’ve given birth in the back of our car and I’d still be the happiest man alive.” 

She inhaled raggedly, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “Can you take her?” 

“Of course.” Javier cradled the back of her head as he picked Sofía back up, rocking her gently in his arms. “Baby, please don’t cry. I really don’t fucking care about anything except you, okay?” 

“I’m leaking.” She admitted, covering her face ashamedly. “My baby is crying, my breasts are leaking, and I can’t fucking feed her!” 

“It’s not your fault.”

“It is.” She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to hide the damp spots forming. 

The monitor beside the bed started beeping and the nurse appeared seconds later with the formula and a look of concern. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t feed my baby.”

Javier’s heart felt like it was being torn out of his chest. 

“I’m going to need you to calm down.” The nurse said lightly as she passed the formula off to Javier. “You can still feed your baby with the bottle, okay? But I’m going to need you to calm down, otherwise I’m going to have to sedate you again.” 

“Please don’t.” She whispered, hastily wiping away her tears. “Please. I don’t want to feel like that again. Please don’t sedate me.” 

“Are you going to calm down?” 

Javier kinda wanted to yell at the nurse for the vague condescending tone she was speaking to her with. But that wasn’t going to do anyone any good. “Her breasts… are leaking.” He told the nurse, trying to intercede for her. “Can you get her a fucking pump or something? Please.” 

The nurse just glared at him, before she backed down. “That’s probably a good idea.” 

Sofía started crying louder, which only seemed to make the dark stain on her mother’s hospital gown grow darker. “Shh. Sweetheart, your mommy’s going to help you. Okay?” 

How would he have done this without her? How could he handle Josie and Sofía on his own? The mere thought made him want to join in with his girls and sob his fucking heart out. 

Once again he helped her take her daughter into her arms, nestled safely against her chest. He passed her the formula, watching as she brought the bottle to her lips and waited for her to latch on to it.

Javier sank down onto the rolling stool, head in his hands while she fed Sofía. He was so fucking tired and so fucking tired of feeling helpless. 

If his father and Steve hadn’t been there with him… he would’ve lost his fucking mind. He couldn’t imagine dealing with this in Colombia. There was no way in hell he would’ve been able to go back to the DEA and work, knowing she was incapacitated. She was a fucking fighter and it made him want pull the world apart knowing that she was hurting. There was nothing he could do. The decision he had made had gotten them into this situation. 

It was all his fucking fault. 

[its-sixxers]

Aftermath

Whumptober Day 1 Prompt: Let’s Hang Out Sometime (Waking Up Restrained)

Charon x Lone Wanderer, Fallout 3

Charon opened his eyes. He was greeted by the sight of a crumbling ceiling. A machine beeped nearby, in time with his heartbeat. When he tried to sit up he found himself strapped to the bed he lay upon.

The events before unconsciousness claimed him crashed into him like a freight train. Grief threatened to drown him.

Lizzy was dead. She was in his arms, and now…

Now he was restrained in some sort of medical room, sensors stuck to his skin. His arm was wrapped in thick bandages. There was only one place it could be. The Citadel. To his dread, he realized it meant that the Brotherhood was his new employer. He had failed to protect Lizzy, and now he was a slave again.

It was a cruel irony. The room reminded him of one ages past - sensors and scientists, tearing into his skull and ripping free will from him. Again the cycle had continued, another turn of the wheel. Another employer to serve. He wouldn’t be lucky this time. Lizzy was a comet, seen only once a century, perhaps - and her light had faded from the sky. The Brotherhood… he’d seen the mark they left on the world over the decades.

Charon started to hyperventilate, the prospect of another lifetime in hell settling over him. No. Not again, never again - he’d seen the light now, tasted freedom - he couldn’t bear to return.

The leather strapping him to the medical bed dug into his chest as it rose and fell, the machine he was hooked up to starting to beep frantically with his increasing heart rate. He struggled against his bindings - maybe if he escaped he could run. He could try to make sure the first person he stumbled across was humble, a farmer who wouldn’t use him for ill. Charon had tried it before and failed, but that was decades ago - maybe time had worn his conditioning thinner.

With a snap the leather belts restraining him split open, freeing his arms. He unfastened the rest with haste and pulled the sensors from his ruined skin. The machine let out a high pitched whine as it flat-lined.

Charon reached for the door and pulled it open - the hall beyond was empty and dimly lit. What time was it? Observation windows lined it next to doors, granting sight into the rooms beyond. He started down the hall, gazing into each window to make sure he could pass by unseen. 

A pounding began in his head once he’d made it several yards from his room. The conditioning was impossible to ignore, but it didn’t stop him from trying to fight past it. He couldn’t do it again, he couldn’t live under someone who saw him as a soldier instead of a friend. More than anything, he couldn’t bear to serve the very people that had abandoned Lizzy in the purifier, the people that were willing to let her sacrifice herself. They had all fed into the pressure on her, told her the only way she could help the world was by martyring herself. So hard she had struggled, so many tears he’d wiped away, and for what?

The headache turned into a full blown migraine as he rounded a corner, pressure pushing against the back of his eyes. Charon stumbled - he knew if he turned around it would fade instantaneously but going back was even worse. The halls were like a maze, and the pain made them even more disorienting.

When he next rounded a corner he was greeted by the sight of Sarah Lyons speaking in low tones to Madison Li outside one of the doors. The sound of tearing metal screeched in his head as he staggered back, trying to escape their notice. At six and a half feet tall, going unseen was impossible.

Dr. Li’s eyes widened, and she tapped Lyons on the shoulder to get her to turn around. “He’s not supposed to be awake. We gave him enough tranquilizers to down a brahmin.”

“Shit.” Lyons murmured, starting to take a few slow steps toward him. “Hey, big guy. Your arm’s still pretty messed up - you should be in bed.”

It wasn’t an order, and for that he was grateful. Charon lunged, elbowing past her and Dr. Li and sprinting down the hall.

Lyons was hot on his heels, the white hot pain in his skull flaring to life again. It was getting hard to see - his shoulder hit the edge of a doorway, and he collided with a wall. Balance as well as his sight started to go - the floor felt like it was moving under his feet in waves. He wondered if the conditioning would kill him, if he continued to disobey - fail-safe was the word.

The paladin caught up with him and tackled him, sending the two of them careening into one of the observation windows. Charon struggled, but she grabbed what little hair still remained on his head and forced it forward.

“Look!” Lyons shouted in his ear, and he could do nothing but obey. Immediately the pain lifted, obedience granting relief. His eyesight cleared.

In the room beyond the observation window a small figure lay in the bed amidst a web of tubes and censors, encircled by monitors and other equipment. Layers of clear plastic hung from the ceiling, separating the bed from the rest of the room like a veil. The face of the patient within was wrapped in bandages, but the pip-boy on their wrist was unmistakable.

Lizzy was alive. 

“Impossible.” he murmured, on the verge of weeping from relief. Lyons released him and stepped back, still panting.

“That’s what Dr. Li said.” she breathed, the sound of heels clicking down the hallway signalling the doctor’s approach. “The purifier’s completely off limits, the rads are off the charts.”

“She’s not out of the woods yet.” Dr. Li replied as she came into view, mouth curved into a scowl. “Usually such a potent dose so quickly kills instantaneously, but it’s not unheard of for it to take days.”

“Let me in.” Charon was free for the moment - if he had any sense he’d keep running so that when she inevitably died he’d be somewhere safe, but now even the separation of the glass was unbearable.

“It’s a contamination risk.” Dr. Li shook her head. 

“I’m a ghoul.” he gritted out between clenched teeth. “I do not intend to leave that room.”

Lyons looked to Dr. Li out of the corner of her eye. The look was returned - the two women contemplating if it was worth the fight that was likely to ensue. Lyons didn’t seem too keen on wrestling him.

“Fine. It’ll save us the tranquilizers, at least.” The doctor sighed. “I’m going to lock the door behind you. When the nurses arrive, stand in the corner and don’t touch them. They’ll be in hazmat suits, but don’t think you can act normal.”

Charon was already standing at the door, waiting for her to key in the access code. “Just let me in.”

Dr. Li huffed and pressed the required keys - Charon watched the sequence and memorized the numbers. The door slid open, he took a few steps inside, and it shut abruptly behind him.

The room stank of iodine and Rad-Away. He took a heavy step forward, terrified that he might upset the precarious balance. Despite all the machines it was fairly silent - the heart monitor beeped weakly, the others whirring gently away. Charon reached out to the plastic and gently pushed it away - he felt his skin tingle as the veil was broken, matching the gentle clicking of her geiger counter.

There was another layer of plastic he had to step past before he could occupy the same air she did, another breeze of radiation settling over him as he did so. The poison still clung to her body, likely tearing apart her DNA with every passing moment. Every inch of her skin save for that covered by her pip-boy was wrapped in bandages. He could see the blood leeching through.

Acute radiation poisoning was one of the worst ways to go out in the wastes. He’d seen enough of it in his time to guess what sights lay beneath the gauze.

Charon gently slipped his hand under hers, letting her fingertips trace over his palm. “Zaychik.” he choked out, ruined vocal cords rasping and sore. He’d sworn to protect her, the duty was written in his skull as well as his heart - and now he could do nothing but keep vigil. If he had to watch her die, he would.

A little noise came from her, muffled through the bandages. She was awake - he saw her try to shift her body, a broken whine of pain coming from her throat with the effort. He could only imagine the agony she must have been suffering.

“Stay still.” he said gently. “I’m here now.”

Lizzy’s fingers curled against his palm, and she exhaled.

The wait began.

[leggomylino]

light switch 2 | yandere!seungmin

Genre: Yandere, romance/fluff (sorta?), thriller, a little angst, some comedy

Pairing(s): yandere!Seungmin x reader

Word count: ~8k

Warnings: Author rambling, run-on sentences, mild language (censored), a few memes, moments of high tension and possible anxiety, ooc, and mild abuse/violence

A/N: Requests are open! | Masterlist in bio! | I told you guys I was working on this!! Lol I’m so sorry it took so long! :(( But, nevertheless, here it is! ...And yes, there’s a surprise waiting for you at the end... >u>” Enjoy!! And please be sure to tell me what you think! c: I love hearing from you all~ <3 (For those of you that missed it, part one can be found here)

Oh my gosh it’s finally back

Can you believe it’s finally back

Seriously what took this chick {author} so long to write this sh*t wtfudge man

Okay okay I know I’m sorry

It’s been really chaotic and I’ve had a lot on my plate (and mind) but we’re finally back now and that’s all that matters

So

My question to you all is

ARE YOU READY TO FINISH THIS THING?!

(enter your response here)

...THEN YEEHAW LET’S GO 

  Okay so

To recap:

AT A CERTAIN DANDY BOY™ HOUSE

Your mother had just made a phone call to Seungmin asking to talk to you

She wanted to remind you to bring the mail inside before y’all got too comfortable and side-tracked since you told her you were at Minnie’s (a fatal error on your part) and she and your father are out of town on a cliche business trip

Things always go wrong during cliche business trips

Anyway Minnie was pretty confused at first but he caught on pretty quickly that something was up

Something rotten in the state of Your Town Name Here

And knowing that you must have lied he decided to play along, beginning to gather the materials he needed

*cue ominous soap opera music*

 “......”

“...Seungmin? Is everything alright?” Her voice is growing more and more worried with each consonant. “Where’s (y/n)?”

“......” 

He laughs.

Just laughs for a moment, shaking his head.

“...Yeah, yes, she’s here. Sorry, my connection has been on the fritz lately.”

“O-Oh, I see...can I talk to her?”

“She’s in the bathroom getting cleaned up right now. I’ll have her call you as soon as she’s out...”

He paces over to the blinds, peeking out into the neighborhood from his second story window. Like a lot of cliche villains or suspicious people do. “...but it may be a while. You know how long she takes just to brush her teeth.”

Mrs. (L/n) gives a relieved, but still somewhat nervous chuckle, sighing at the end to ease her tension. “Yes, I certainly do. Thanks so much, Minnie. I know I can count on you to take good care of my little girl.”

“Yes...” He smiles, nuzzling the phone between his ear and shoulder as he’s scouring his room for things: a bottle labeled “Witch Hazel”, some cloth, a copy of his dad’s car key...as well as an additional key he never thought he’d get to use until now. “You can always count on me. I promise she’ll be out like a light before the clock strikes twelve.”

“That’s a relief. In that case just tell her to bring the mail in, would you? Thanks again!”

“It’s not a problem. Good night, Mrs. (L/N).” 

“You too dear.”

Beep. He hangs up.

Looks back out the window. Sighs.

It wouldn’t be a problem at all.

“...at least, not for long.”

 ~~~

 Back at Lucas’ house...well really, your imagination...you’re having a nightmare you used to have as a child

You’re walking down the street, minding your own business...

When all of a sudden the sky turns red, then black

The faces of the people around you turn sinister; they look like they want to hurt you

You begin to run as fast as you can, but your whole body is weighed down, like gravity is twice as strong on you

But not on anyone else 

So while the people who are slowly turning into monsters are gaining on you

All you can do is cower in fear and pray that it will be over quickly

But then there’s a burst of white light

Like a light switch has been flipped on

And the ground crumbles beneath you, bursts of white shining through the cracks

And you go tumbling down into the earth

Down

       Down

             Down

Until you land into a pair of soft, strong arms

Your face instantly buries into the figure’s chest, because you know you can trust him

He smells sweet, like lavender and fresh Spring daisies

It’s a calming, pleasing scent

And all the monsters who were chasing you before vanish as they fall into the crumbling Earth, disintegrating into nothing but ash that’s carried someplace far, far away

You look up to see who your savior is

It’s never the same person

At first it was your dad; then it was your sixth grade crush; a couple times it was the cute actor from your favorite movie

But this time, and sadly like the last five times you’ve had this dream since you started high school...that person is none other than Kim Seungmin

He’s looking so ...

There isn’t a word for it

His edges are soft

So are his eyes

And he’s looking at you like you’re responsible for hanging the moon in the sky and making all the stars glow

He has such high expectations for you

From you

That you’re afraid to let him down

To tell him the truth

You aren’t God, after all

But...

......

You just—

“gaAAAAAHHH—!!!”

!!?!?!!!?!

What the heck was that?!?

Your eyes shoot open to the sound of someone crying out

It sounds like a man’s voice...

And it’s nearby

You’re stunned into shock for a few seconds before you can get your body to move, and when you do you grip the plushie in your arms against your chest—

Wait, plushie...?

You look down.

Your eyes are adjusting while a struggle is clearing going on outside 

It’s the plushie that Seungmin gave you

The one from your house; you know it is bc it smells like your bedroom

But you didn’t bring this with you...

You’re scared, but you quickly throw yourself out from the safety of the tent—

And immediately wish you hadn’t

The window beside the bed is open

A cold draft blowing in

Lucas is pinned down, struggling 

The shadowy figure above him

Is none other

Than Kim Seungmin

He’s ripping something off of his belt-

It’s a syringe

He stabs it into Lucas’ arm with a curse, and not but two seconds later the boy is little more than a vegetable; no longer moving, barely breathing

Holy sh*t

I mean

Holy sh*t--

You gotta bounce sis

You gotta MOVE

Seungmin tosses a bottle of some clear liquid aside in anger, and it spills open in the middle of the floor

The smell hits you pretty quickly; it smells of lavender and fresh daisies

Just like in your dream/nightmare

It makes you feel a bit woozy upon inhaling it

But you don’t completely pass out 

Which apparently is what Minnie was going for

There’s a thump as Seungmin jumps to the floor

And you’re scared

Actually, saying you’re scared is an understatement

This is pretty freaking serious man

You don’t think you can meme your way through this one

You can’t move

You just kneel there outside your tent in shock, trying to convince yourself this is one of those nightmares that stems from another; you simply woke up into a new dream is all

But it’s not so

Something in your heart is telling you

This is real life

Seungmin is doing something...

He’s...filling another syringe 

Now that your eyes have adjusted, you can see he’s completely surpassed resting b*tch mode

He’s gone off the deep end. Like, he’s really gone this time

Looking so serious and genuine, so certain about what he’s doing...

Yet having lost all the light in his eyes

“Now, (y/n)...I need you to be good and take this for me.”

Uh

Uhhhh

No thanks bro that’s okay

P h A t pass on that one man

Phattest pass, phattest pass

You get your legs to finally work as he’s approaching you, scurrying towards the door and only stopping when your back hits against it, because dammit all, he’s still too fast for you

Seungmin is just right there man

He’s got you trapped

His fingers brush over the soft palate of your arm, gently feeling about for a vein

Apparently he wants to be more careful and professional when he drugs you

For whatever reason

You’re back to being immobilized

It’s like your feet are stuck in blocks of cement

Oh dear Lord you’re gonna die ಥ_ಥ

This is it

He wants you dead

He’s gonna throw you and Lucas into some twisted vegetable soup and that’s going to be the end of it

And you may have thought that had it not been for the blue and red sirens flashing outside

Minnie turns around mid-prodding, an obvious cringe on his face, and then suddenly he’s tackled to the ground by none other than Big Brother of the Year Lucas oh praise Jesus you may live after all

Wow this guy is your hero

He’s weak and there’s blood all over his face, his breath heavy as he heaves out desperate words to you

“.....(y/n)........g-get out...s-side.........cops....will take...care of y-you...”

Welp, he don’t have to tell you twice

Through all this, he’s still trying to protect you. He’d been drugged, his face cut into, beaten senseless without warning, yet he was still trying to save you...like a guardian angel or something

...Wow, maybe the author should have made this a Seungmin x reader x Lucas instead hubba hubba

But unfortunately she’s spaghetti and swamped with updates so we’ll never know 🤪🍝

You fling yourself out the door and down the stairs as some officers have just broken down the front door, and you don’t grab no shoes or nothing Lord, you r u n outta that place, choosing to consult with a kind-looking female cop that’s waiting outside on standby

Frantically you gush out what’s going on as best you can, even though you’re not so sure what’s going yourself

Most importantly, you’re sure to tell her that Lucas is hurt first. He needs immediate medical attention from what you gathered in the faint street light pouring in the open window

She comforts you and assures you that they’re handling it, all the while wishing and hoping and praying with every fiber in your being you’ll wake up soon, any minute now...

...but unfortunately, you never do. The reality hits you when Lucas is carried out on a stretcher and Seungmin is forced out in handcuffs.

 ~~~

 You’re at the hospital with Lucas

Seungmin really did a number on him; after beating him black and blue, he pulled out a knife and nearly blinded him

Luckily it was dark and Lucas put up one heck of a fight. He wasn’t on three sports teams for nothing. 

He’d put up such a defensive display that Seungmin had just missed his left eye...sadly, though, he got the right one

Lucas lost half his eyesight because of you

You don’t know what to say...what to think, even

If only you hadn’t gone over there. If only you’d just stayed home...or...or maybe...

You swallow as tears begin to fall. What the heck were you supposed to do? You’d had no idea this would happen. You didn’t know things had gotten this bad...

...but you also kind of did

The poem? It was a warning

No

A threat

You’d been given a heads up long before, and you’d chosen to play dumb and ignore it

And now Lucas would have to be called Patchy for the rest of his life

The only Halloween options he’d ever have are Pirate or...parrot with an eyepatch

And it was all your fault

Thank God Seungmin had been arrested…

...Wait

Seungmin--

Omgosh

He’d been arrested. Kim Seungmin had been arrested.

Why was this just now hitting you so ha--

“Oh my gosh, my baby! (Y/n)!!”

Oop. Mama (Y/n) in the house.

Your mother comes charging in like a swarm of bees, enveloping you in her arms but also giving you a bit of a sting for lying to her like you did. Lucas’ parents had caught them up to speed already, your father glaring angrily but thankfully from the doorway. 

After hugging them both and explaining everything from your point of view, they agree to give you a few more minutes alone with Lucas before you’re grounded young lady no TV no video games no books well okay reading is important for your future but nothing enjoyable and no dessert. They also plan to have a serious discussion with you about Kim Seungmin as well. Great.

Not wanting to let you go your father drags your mom out, her protestant whimpering echoing down the hall and they retreat to discuss things further with Lucas’ parents.

Oi vey

What has all of this come to? What are you even doing? How did things get this bad…?

You turn your head slowly from across the room, examining the boy’s eye (or in some ways lack thereof) as you make your way back, settling carefully into the chair beside him.

𝑊𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩𝑡

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑑

𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠

𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑜 𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑...

...You now hate poetry

You’ll never read another sonnet ever again

“Hmn…”

!!

Lucas is waking up

It’s now five o’clock in the morning

You’re both dead tired, but you can only imagine how he must be feeling, being the one in the hospital bed…

……

...This is seriously all your fault

You hate yourself for it

You just

You just…

Ping!

There’s a text on your phone. You choose to ignore it, of course. Lucas is way more important right now than some Instagram or trivial weather update

Tenderly you reach, taking Lucas’ hand...or start to. You hover over it, wondering if you even deserve to be...if you even…

A warmth envelopes your fingers as Lucas takes them weakly into his own, the faintest smile present on his face. He carefully reaches up to pat the white surgical tape and bandages over the upper right half of his face. 

“...It’s never going to get any better, is it?” he asks.

You practically jump at the question: “No, it will. It definitely will.”

...Lying to him in order to not cause him any more panic is the best you can do for him now. Pathetic, but it’s better to remain hopeful, at least until he can handle it later.

His smile turns sad as he gazes at you with his one good eye. 

“I meant for you.”

……

“......”

You slowly shake your head no

He sighs, turning towards the fluorescent lights on the ceiling that have been dimmed to allow the patient on the other side to sleep. “I’m so sorry, (y/n). This is my fault. I should have just brought you to the police station, and they would have handled it professionally right then and there. I didn’t think...things had gotten this bad.” He squeezed with what little strength he had. “But I’m really glad you’re okay. Did he hurt you at all?”

……………

This man

Was lying in a hospital bed

Drugged

Bruised to a bloody pulp

He’d permanently lost sight in one eye

And he was worried

About you

->

So author, what was that about no love triangle going on here??

Smh

The only thing you can do is look downward, at the nightstand, the bedding, the far wall...anywhere that isn’t Lucas’ face right now

You don’t have it in you to accept his incredible kindness and heroic humility. You don’t even bother answering his question, except to mutter out, “thank you.”

 ~~~

 So what’s going on with Seungmin now?

Well, glad you asked

Cause you were just about to find out from a friendly sit down with three guest stars on the (Y/n)’s Chaotic Life show: Mom, Dad, and Officer Jenny

...No, not from the Pokemon TV series. Though you had to admit, the resemble was almost uncanny...not that this was anytime for jokes

“So,” Officer Jenny asks, pen and notepad in hand, “I’m sure you must be feeling many things right now, but let’s start from the beginning, if that’s alright. When did this all start?”

Your mom and dad just shared a look before turning to you, your mother gingerly patting and rubbing your knee. “Go ahead, sweetheart. Take your time.”

You take a deep breath and tell her everything you know. From the moment you first met Kim Seungmin, to the moment you first noticed him changing, to the events of some twenty-four hours ago. Your mother and father gave their piece as well, though really they claimed to be completely in the dark to any of Minnie’s chaotic and violent behavior, insisting he was always a sweet and well-behaved boy for as long as they’d know him. It was quite a shock finding out what he’d done.

Minnie…

…

Did you even still call him that? Would you? Could you?

He was practically a murderer. A complete psychopath. And you still had no idea why…

“So what do you think brought out this behavioral change?”

Your head snapped up from where it’d dropped downward, spacing out after having contributed your part of the story

Mom and Dad were glaring at you. Officer Jenny was waiting patiently.

But you had no idea what to say

Because you didn’t know

You didn’t

You didn’t…

...Did you?

Idiot.

바보

Does this sound familiar?

 “...I can’t do this anymore, (y/n)...not if you’re not going to listen to me or do as I say. It’s driving me crazy. Don’t you get it? Don’t you f***ing see how I feel about you? Have you really been so dense this whole f***ing time?!?”

“(Y/n). I need to know...tell me, do you…”

“...Do you feel the same way?”

 ...The part that scared you

The part that really scared you

Was that

You didn’t know…

 ~~~

 That night

After the talk show was wrapped up and everything was out in the open

Officer Jenny reassured your family that you were safe staying at home

Seungmin had been captured and a few officers had done a thorough investigation on your house to make sure there were no cameras or bombs or anything fishy like that

So it was essentially safe and there was no need to go the extra mile of changing identities and moving across the country

Except well

If you’re new to this story

You’re in for a bit of a shock because

Of course the author likes to shake things up :D <3

It wouldn’t be a story without something going wrong

And (Y/n) was just about to find out what that something was

It didn’t happen suddenly that night

Some time had gone by, about a week, maybe a week and a half

You were still pretty shaken up over the whole thing, and stuck in a mental state of Twilight Zone

You knew it was real but your brain almost refused to accept and process it

It was like a never-ending nightmare, too farfetched to be true

Because Lucas had to remain in the hospital for further examination and therapy, you brought all his school work to him

You’d taken a few days off yourself and then insisted you were fine to go back

You needed something to distract you from the reality

But, in reality, it only made it worse in some ways, students swarming you with questions and facility repeatedly asking if you were alright or needed a break

The only place you were allowed to go was the Student Council room, and Lord knows you did NOT want to be alone in that place again

Even though the school had already granted Lucas an extended leave of absence, he insisted you bring him a copy of your homework so he could “keep up with his studies”

But

In reality, he just wanted an excuse to see you. And you liked seeing him as well. It was nice to be in his company and check up on him, and he felt the same

When you weren’t at the hospital visiting and quote-quote “studying” with Lucas, you were either going through the motions on autopilot at school or sitting in your room, doing anything and everything to erase what had happened

That was, of course, easier said than done though

Often you found it hard being at home. It didn’t feel safe anymore knowing Seungmin had been here, so many times before, in the very room you sat in. Laughing with you, smiling, comforting or taking care of you…

He was everywhere. His laughter practically filled the walls and echoed down the corridors, his smile reflected in every glass sheen of sunlight

And when the lights flipped off, so did his expression. It was like you were reliving that horrific night all over again

You had to break out of there, your house and your mind

So you went to the park with a couple of new friends you’d made, Felix and Changbin. They were just as surprised as anyone else to learn what had become of Seungmin, and they’d actually been the first ones to shelter you and protect your privacy on your first day back, when your classmates started popping out of the woodwork to drown you in questions and condolences

As you may or may not have guessed, you’d gotten a new phone, during the Officer Jenny visit, along with a new number

After sh*t had really hit the fan, though, you’d become much less social, only registering your parents, Officer Jenny’s number by request, Lucas, and the day after, Felix and Binnie. Despite your previous crush on Jaemin, that had all but flown out the window and exploded upon colliding with a powerline, and you’re pretty sure after he heard what happened, he probably felt the same

And anyway, again, you’d become much less social since the whole incident. You really didn’t feel like talking to anyone unless it was your parents or these three boys. Maybe Jenny if there was some kind of emergency, which you sincerely hoped there wouldn’t be

...I’m pretty sure that covers everything

Yeah

So

You were now at the park with Felix and Changbin

Just strolling aimlessly, you in the middle with Felix to your left and Binnie on the right

Your two bodyguards

Felix, you’d come to find out, was a professional at taekwondo, which was nice

And though Changbin was rather on the short side, just his looks and voice alone was intimidating enough

So you felt relatively safe in their company, taking a quiet stroll at sundown

The park was mostly vacant save for a few late-evening joggers or cyclist passing by

Birds and squirrels and other wildlife were just getting settled in their nests for the night, the owls and probably a raccoon or two taking their place

The three of you walked at a steady pace, hands behind your back or shoved in your pockets as you stared straight ahead, at the sidewalk, or the surrounding forest life

...It was peaceful but a little awkward

Probably because you all had the same thing on your minds

Something you all knew you needed to talk about, but had been avoiding to spare an awkward conversation

Instead now there was nothing but Awkward Silence™

“So,” Felix spoke up after your second and a half time around, smiling awkwardly. “How are you feeling today?”

Both boys looked at you. You gave them each a short stare in return before shrugging just as uncomfortably. You knew you needed to talk about Seungmin, but you’d left your house to escape him, not engage him elsewhere.

After a few more paces you noticed the two had fallen a bit behind, muttering to each other in hushed tones:

“She probably doesn’t wanna talk about this right now. Why did you bring it up?”

“Yeah...I dunno, I didn’t know how else to break it in. Sorry...”

“Apologize to her, not me! We’re trying to ease it in, not break her.”

“That’s what I said, bro.”

“...No, you said-- never mind, just go do something.”

“Like what?”

“Like apologize! Am I the only one that knows how girls operate?”

“...Says the man that’s been single the entire senior ye--”

“Shut up and go talk to her!!”

At that point you heard a shove behind you, and Felix came stumbling back up to your left, Binnie steadily catching back up on the right. He gave you a calm and peaceful smile while occasionally casting eyes at Felix expectantly.

Felix took a deep breath while he scratched the side of his head, looking up at the sky for a second before tossing his whole gaze down on you. It almost caught you off guard how intense and smoldering it all was

“(Y/n)...listen, Changbin and I were thinking-- …”

He opened his mouth, but no words came. Instead he pointed toward the restaurant district of town. 

“...You wanna grab dinner after this?”

You blinked. Changbin facepalmed, a small groan escaping him.

But then all your stomachs growled, answering the question for you. You couldn’t help but smile, even just a little, as the other two laughed and the three of you headed off toward the nearby city lights.

Your phone gave a small ping! as a notification came up, but you failed to notice it thanks to the nearby rustling of what you assumed was active forest life, a stray cat or maybe a mouse

You had no idea how wrong you were.

 ~~~

 I know, things are starting to get a little slow

Just bear with me, okay?

Cause we’re about to pick up big time

Spoiler alert?

Oops

Anyway

You were now sitting at a small, quiet, but decently populated restaurant

There were a fair number of customers but it wasn’t overcrowded at all, more of a cozy cafe styled place

It was the compromise Changbin insisted you all agree on, he being the most vocally worried about your mental state. He didn’t want you to be overwhelmed by all the noise and chaos of some famous barbecue joint or a popular family restaurant, so after you insisted you could handle it and would be fine (he had been pitching the idea of just grabbing some food to-go and heading back to his place), the boys let you pick a cafe you often passed by on the way to school but never got a chance to try

...until now

Ironically and thankfully they were a particularly special cafe that served dinner because the author said so yeehaw B))

So yes, you’re all sitting at a small booth off to the side, Changbin on one end, you and Felix curled up on the other. You order your food and as you’re waiting, Changbin and Felix are locked in some dumb debate about a few of their other friends while flicking straw wrappers back and forth. They tried to get you in on it at first but, seeing that you’re still in a weird place, decided to leave the invitation open if you wanted to join.

Everything is just so weird right now. You’re still in the Twilight Zone. It just doesn’t seem real at all…

The whole spectacle refuses to leave your mind. You’re coming to accept you can’t get away from it no matter what you try.

Kim Seungmin, from the moment you met him, has always been a part of you. And he always would be. It was just going to be weird from now on because...because…

Ping!

Your phone again?

Honestly it had kind of been doing that a lot before but you’ve been ignoring it because, again, you’re not much for talking to people right now. Or getting involved with any social media events or news flashes or...or uh…

……………………..

Huh??

There’s...a message. From Lucas?

Bro when did he get his phone back tho

You’d been communicating through his mum and the hospital when you weren’t there cause patients can’t have phones so like

Nani the heck??

Wait

Maybe this was good

Maybe he was being discharged early

The treatment had gone well and--

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖧𝖾𝗒! 𝖨 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝖺 𝖿𝖺𝗏𝗈𝗋.

Oh? A favor you say?

You were so there. You kinda owed Lucas your life after what happened.

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖮𝖿 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾! 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖨 𝖽𝗈 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎? 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 :) 𝖶𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗐? 

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨’𝗆 𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌. 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌? 

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖸𝖾𝖺𝗁 𝖼: 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗇𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗌

> - > Bro why he wanna know tho--

Okay whatever

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖥𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗑 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖻𝗂𝗇? 

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗅 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝗇𝗈 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒

………..

*gulp*

It’s not?

Why

Why isn’t this okay

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖶𝗁𝗒 𝗇𝗈𝗍? :𝟢 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖨 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖢𝖺𝗇 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗐? 

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖴𝗁, 𝗒𝖾𝖺𝗁 𝖨 𝗀𝗎𝖾𝗌𝗌? 𝖢𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗌? 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾

Lucas is typing a reply as your food is being set down, the boys cheering and mouths watering while all you can do is nervously glare at your new phone.

Seriously, what was wrong with Lucas? He wasn’t in danger, was he?

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖨’𝖽 𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗇𝗈𝗐. 𝖯𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾. :(

…

Y’know, this don’t really sound like Lucas

All of this is hella sus sis

But you’re so worried about him anyway, and so distracted by the excuses running through your mind that he could be on medication or what if it really is an emergency that you instead grab your coat and are just about to tell Felix to yeet when something else catches your eye

Ooooooooh boy

Ooooooooh bro

Ooooooooh buddy

It’s uh

Well

All those previous notifications

They’re all news articles and the like, as you already had guessed they’d be

Most of them aren’t very important: Attorney so-and-so does this, City of Hoopla does that, Guy Catches Phone on Roller Coaster, band drops new album and it’s a huge hit, yada-yada-yada

But there’s this one

This one in particular

That nearly makes you break down and cry

I mean

You’re close to screaming sis

It’s pretty bad

You probably know what it is already

Yep: you guessed it

 KXX News: Local Malefactor Escapes [Your Town] Jail; Police Baffled

 ...Okay

Y/n

Y/n--

Don’t freak out y/n

Deep breath sis

Deeeeeeeep breath

Breath nice and deep now…

Oop too late you’re already panicking

Hell I would too sis :( This is some bad juju

But

It’s going to be okay

...Maybe

I mean

You are kinda having a panic attack right now?

But don’t panic bc it’s going to be…

...you just passed out so I’ll be switching povs now

I’ll sort of summarize too since this is about you and - h i m - anyway

Basically you totally black out, the restaurant/cafe panics a bit (the few people who happen to notice) but Felix manages to catch you (thank goodness you were still seated at the booth so you just toppled over on his shoulder more or less)

In five seconds Binnie and Felix come up with a game plan where Felix carries you outside, trying to look as natural as possible, Binnie taking care of the check.

They argue and walk laps around the cafe about whether or not to take you home or the hospital

Home

Hospital

Home?

Hospital!

But when you start to come to, they agree it’s best to get you home to your mother

You fall in and out of consciousness all the way there, the only thing flooding your mind being the faintest scent of lavender and Spring: and Kim Seungmin.

 ~~~

 You were honestly a little surprised when you finally woke up

You were sure seeing those words in that news headline, all in one coherent sentence, was going to be the death of you

I mean, he did want you dead, didn’t he?

He…

…

Sigh

You don’t know

You have no idea what’s really happening

A reoccuring theme in this story

You dunno

You just

Don’t

Know 

:)))

But it’s going to be okay because--

Ping!

SCREECH \(ϾAϿ)/ 💦

Bro

Bro man

Your phone almost gave you a heart attack

A real one this time

Oof

Oi

Oi vey to hell and back

All of this is really getting to be too much man

You dunno if-- ...well

We done went over this already

You don’t know anything anymore 🙄😔

I mean

What even is life anyway??

You roll over on your bed to snatch the phone on your nightstand, an eerie feeling in your gut

Whether that’s from the fact you’re still recovering or you’re terrified it has something to do with everyone’s favorite Dandy Boy is a toss up

It could also have been the few nibbles of food you’d managed to have before zonking out…

...actually no scratch that, you were still pretty hungry. Which was a good sign, honestly

It meant you were already recovering well and most likely not gonna die

(ღ˘⌣˘)

That was always nice, y’know, not dying <3

So anyway

You glare at the lock screen in the dark, the brightness blinding you for a moment as you’re squinting and fumbling to turn it down

And when you do

You see there’s another message

A message from Lucas 

Oop. You forgot about him in your whole fainting episode

Hope he’s okay--

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖸/𝗇. 𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗆𝗈𝗆 𝖼𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗈𝗅𝖽 𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗉𝖾𝗇𝖾𝖽. 𝖨 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎’𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗅. 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗈𝗍𝗍𝖺 𝗐𝖺𝗋𝗇 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝖻𝗈𝖽𝗒 𝖻𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎’𝗋𝖾 𝗀𝗈𝗇𝗇𝖺 𝗀𝗈 𝗌𝗄𝗂𝗍𝗓𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍, 𝗁𝖺𝗁𝖺

e-e

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨’𝗆 𝗌𝗈 𝗌𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒, 𝖨 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗌𝖾 𝖨’𝗆 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒 

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖣𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎?

It takes a minute for him to respond.

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖭𝗈, 𝖽𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗂𝗍. 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍.

And then…

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖨’𝗅𝗅 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎.

…

Uhhh

He’ll what now?

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖣𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗀𝗈 𝖺𝗇𝗒𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾. 𝖨 𝗐𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝗅𝗈𝗇𝗀.

UHHH

wat

Sis honestly

what?

Lucas you ho what are you doin you’re sick

Sorta

You on them drugs boy

You needa be staying yer ass in bed so you can--

Ping!

Again? 

Oh now what does this crazy bish want??

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖲𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗒! 𝖩𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝖿𝖺𝗏𝗈𝗋 𝖨 𝗇𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗒𝗈𝗎

Uh

Sure? What is it??

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖮𝗄𝖺𝗒?? 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: :)) 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗒/𝗇 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖦𝗈 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝗈𝗋.

………………………………………………………….

Bro man

……

Okay you know what

This is a little too weird

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖨𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗒𝗈𝗎? 𝗈𝗇𝗈” 

𝖫𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌: 𝖸𝖾𝖺𝗁, 𝖼𝗁𝗈𝖼𝗈𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾? 𝖨𝖿 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗅𝖾𝖿𝗍 𝗅𝗈𝗅

oooOOOOOH

Oooooh man what a relief

If you’ll recall

Cause ik it’s been a hot minute

In the last episode (Light Switch 1) it was Valentine’s Day

He just wants something sweet =7=” Bro you know that jello sh*t they serve in them hospitals must be nasty af

He just wants some good stuff is all

Who doesn’t want chocolate when they’re sick? Or sad?

But author eating chocolate when you’re sick isn’t good for you do you want to die

Hey bro bold of you to assume--

...anyway

𝖸𝗈𝗎: 𝖮𝗁, 𝗈𝖿 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌𝖾! 𝖨 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗅𝗈--

…

Hold on

Wait just another hot minute

…

Sis how he know you keep chocolate in your closet??

He wasn’t here when you shoved everything in there

Heck he ain’t ever been in your house once

…

Enough ellipses you’re just gonna go for it

Screw it

It’s just Lucas

He probs just assumed it was a cliche or normal thing to do

You really needed to stop overthinking things and just

Do It ✔™

So you do it

You walk to your closet and open the door

…

Well you start to anyway

On the way over something catches your eye now that your sight’s adjusted

You make your way to your desk, where a stack of letters and junk flyers are just sitting there taking up space and making the room look trashy

You’re easily distracted at times, and a bit nosy, so you pick up the first flyer on the stack to figure out what it is

Such-and-So’s Pool Service!1!1 We clean--

Yeah okay you don’t care

About that anyway

What you do care about, or what piques your interest rather, is the date

It’s labeled as being delivered almost two weeks ago

…

All of the letters and junk mail are labeled as being delivered two weeks ago

…

You’re about to set them all back down when you see something flapping beneath the gentle circulation of the ceiling fan

A Post-It note?

A Post-It note

It says…

   It doesn’t matter what it says

Because you’d recognize that handwriting anywhere, after all the notes he’d written you

It’s from Minnie 

𝐼 𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔𝘩𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝘩 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒? ;) 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦, 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑎𝑧𝑦! -- 𝐾𝑆 <𝟥  

𝑃.𝑠. - 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑒. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟. 

Deep breaths deep breaths deep breaths

He was here

He’d been here

He’d come here the night before--

He’d known

You were such a dumdum

Of course you should have known one of your parents would call. Probably your mom-

UGH

WHAT IS THIS LIFE OF YOURS?!

Okay

But

He was arrested so it’s fine

No wait

He got out

He…

...He got out ._.”

And you

Were

Home

Rn??

……………………

Okay time to get those chocolates and move move move

Just make a small right turn and

Ca-chunk.

……………………………………………………

The closet door just...opens

A familiar figure stepping out from the shadows

He’s wearing his favorite striped blue t-shirt and faded blue jeans

And he’s holding a rose between his teeth

He removes it with a muffled sigh, tossing it back into the closet

“I wanted to surprise you but, I should have known it’s just like you to get easily sidetracked.”

He shoves a phone into his pocket

Lucas’ phone.

He smiles.

“Did you miss me?”

 He paces over to you, touching your face

Stroking it softly with ghost-like fingers

It’s...cold and somehow oddly comforting at the same time

Sending you down a trail of mixed signals and warning signs all over again

But you can’t move

He’s backing you up against the desk--

Wait yes you can move

You gotta get out of here. Don’t think. Just get out.

Scream! Yell! Do something!

You scream. He places a hand over your mouth, shoving you back down against the desk. His breath is hot against your skin from where he hovers over you just inches, centimeters away…

...Maybe you should have gone for using a brain cell or two instead

“Why are you doing this again? Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?”

You’re struggling but he must have been hitting up the gym again cause this beach is strong

He’s rambling things to you under his breath, but with the pounding in your ears it’s hard to make out everything he’s saying

Oh dear Lord in heaven you have to get out of here

Use your brain cells y/n use your brain cells

PLS

He’s forcing you both to stand upright. He pulls you so hard that the momentum causes the desk to sway, a drawer popping open

A drawer containing your knife. The same knife Seungmin had given you.

He wanted you to sever some bonds?

Okay, you could do that alright

Braincells: Activate!

You go for it

Raising a knee to his xxxx, you shove him back with all your feeble might and snatch that bad boy, whirling around to slash your way out of here if you have to

But somehow Seungmin has become a Superhuman™ and he parries your attack, twisting your arms behind your back and slamming you back down onto the desk

You almost hear him grimace as you cry out in pain, like he’s in just as much turmoil as you

And before you know it a rag is held up over your face, Seungmin gently laying his cheek against yours. Somehow in the span of time all this was going on, he’d managed to throw a mask over his face...

“I’m so sorry, y/n...I never wanted it to come to this...I was hoping to take you quietly…

...But it’s also not my fault you’re so damn difficult all the time.”

Moonlight streaming in through the curtain was blurring together, your thoughts slowly growing more and more incoherent

A scream still caught in your throat, the last thing you recall is again the scent of lavender and Spring daisies. Except it was much stronger now, because that scent was now carrying you somewhere up, up, and away…

 ~~~

 The faint sound of laughter is what awakens you for the 47294907204 time

Seriously how many more times were you gonna clock out like jeez

Not to over exaggerate but man alive

…

……

………

You’re blinking up at the ceiling when it all comes back to you

Seungmin

Your room

Kim Seungmin

Your closet

Minnie

You being carried away somewhere…

It doesn’t take you long to throw yourself up right, but when you do you instantly regret the action, as a splitting headache takes hold of your cranial

It causes you to wince, reaching both hands up to grab your skull...which are, surprisingly...rather heavy…

…

Holy frick and frack you’ve been chained

Your wrists

There are cuffs around them

And you’re literally connected to a bedpost

…………

You swallow

This isn’t good

It’s not good at all

What the heck is going on now…?

You gotta examine your surroundings. You need to stop being in the dark all the time

Time to flip on a light switch brother

Let’s see

You’re sitting in a bed

Your bed

…

Wait

Your bed?

That can’t be right

You distinctly remember, despite the running gag of you not knowing anything, that Minnie had hoisted you off somewhere

He’d deadass climbed out the window or something

You look up and around next

…

It was unmistakable

This was your room: here was your bed, your bookshelf, your desk, TV, closet…

Even your stuffed animals and stationery was here. Exactly as you’ve always had it.

Except, normally your bed was on the right side of the room. Currently, it was on the left

So it was like

A parallel of your bedroom

A weird mirrored version, like you’d stepped through the looking glass…

...You supposed essentially, in some ways, you already had. Starting around high school.

Argh

This was really bad

You had to get out of here

Thankfully the chains were pretty long, so your movement wasn’t too restricted and you could move around for the most part as normal

If you had to guess, you could probably make it about halfway across the room before you ran out of chain

……

A thought you’d never thought you’d be having

Swiftly, you raise the sheets to check your legs

They’re free, save for a few bruises. Yours arms are in worse shape with twice as many and these damned heavy cuff links

This was honestly an outrage

And hella dehumanizing

You weren’t sure what was scarier: the fact that you were sitting in a mirror copy of your bedroom chained like an animal, or the fact that Minnie had done this

…

Seungmin

No more Minnie

He was Seungmin now

Maybe even just Kim

Because you would no longer have any ties to him after this

He was long gone now

It was over

Bam!

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

Oh gosh

IT REALLY IS OVER

HE’S HERE

WHAT WAS—

Wait was that laughter just now?

It sounded...familiar…

As in

Recorded

…

You strained your ears, holding your breath a moment

If you focused really hard

You could just barely hear it

Voices. Sound effects. More audio laughter.

Someone was watching TV

That or Seungmin had sold you to a circus act

Which might have been preferable actually because you really didn’t know if he wanted you dead or not

I mean

On one hand

Why would someone go to so much trouble to make an exact replica of your bedroom?

But on another

There were some major sickos out there…

And you really could never tell what he was thinking

…

No, no, no y/n

No tears

We’re not going to cry

Big girl pants big girl pants

We’re going to get ourselves out of here and hop on the first plane to a new country

Move to Switzerland and start a cute little sheep farm

Change your name to Olga

Marry a huge scary-looking huntsman that was actually very sweet

And spend the rest of your days baking apple pies and schnitzel and shaving wool from sheep to knit fluffy sweaters and sell them on the Swiss version of Amazon

Yeah something like that

Everything was going to be a-o—

“You’re awake.”

ACAHNDUSLILIAHDSLINUFARJDSA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

It’s Kim Seungmin

He’s standing in the doorway

You didn’t even hear the door open

He takes two steps in before pausing to admire what a mess you probably look like

Only to him, you’ve never looked more beautiful

You don’t know this of course, but in his mind: you’re stunning

I mean, absolutely breathtaking

Sitting here in the room he worked so hard putting together for you

Your hair a wind-blown bed-mangled mess the way you toss and turn in your sleep sometimes

The natural glow that radiates off your face when you’re not wearing any makeup

The shine from the rays of faint sunrise as they hit your tear-stained face

It’s a work of art

What he’s worked for since he first laid eyes on you all those years ago

He’s wanted this so badly for such a long time

And it’s finally happening

He’s finally gotten what he’s pined for all this time: you

All that time he took getting to know you, forming a bond, taking measurements and pictures and writing down numbers, formulating the perfect plan

It may not have gone exactly how he imagined it would, but it’d still produced the same results. You were now, finally, his. All that was left to do was to clean you of any ties you had to your past life, and then the war would be over. The climax had come and gone. It was all downhill from here.

He told himself over and over again, that this is what he’d wanted...but yet

A part of him felt almost guilty for some reason

Of course he was happy, but also

…

It this really what he’d wanted?

He wanted to celebrate

But

Though you looked so beautiful

He also didn’t like seeing you so sad

…

It was fine

You just had to get adjusted, that was all

It’s hard being whisked off from one place to another

In a few days you’d be all settled in and then you could both celebrate being happy and alone together

You’d realize what a wonderful thing he had done for the both of you and thank him

And he’d never have to worry about anyone touching you or so much as looking at you ever again

You’d be his special treasure

Something he’d be able to look forward to coming home to each and every day after he landed his dream job as a photographer

Of course, you’d never get to accomplish the goals you’d told him about for your life, but…

That wouldn’t matter after a little time had passed, once you realized you only needed rely on him from now on

And there would be lots of fun things to do at home, he’d make sure of it

He’d take good care of you, here at his father’s old cabin house

And no one would be any the wiser because his parents were scarcely ever home

They were never around, always traveling from one place to another. He’d learned to take care of himself when he was 13, and from then on had been fiercely and undeniably independent

He really hadn’t seen or heard from his parents since, they’d just left him with the house and sent monthly checks to take care of the bills. If he thought hard enough, the last memory he had of his mother was probably at an unexpected Christmas visit when he was 15

And after that, nada

So as one could guess, his life had been very lonely…

Of course, he’d normally preferred being alone and if he was bored, he had Felix and Changbin to check up on him

But that all changed the moment he laid eyes on you

Oh sure, he’d seen you before that fateful rainy afternoon. When he actually bothered showing up to class. But…

Catching you alone that day was like a sign to him

He’d been wandering the back alleys as he normally did

On his way home, he realized he’d forgotten one of his cameras at school

So he had to make a detour to get it

He really wanted to take some shots of the coming storm for a new collection he’d been working on

On the way over, it wouldn’t leave his mind that something was missing…

He needed a host, a muse, a character

Some sort of other life force to give breath to the photographs

They were fine as they were

But just fine wasn’t fine for him

He could do better

Surely there was something—

...Drat. They’d already locked the doors.

He’d have to hoist himself in through a window now—

 ...And there you were.

He couldn’t explain it

He’d seen you before, sure, rarely, on occasion. But you’d just been a passing figure in the sea of endless faces

Now you were more than that. You were the figure, the face, the missing piece he’d been searching for

But he knew how fickle the human race was. So he’d have to play coy and civil before going in for the kill

If he turned out not to like you, he could always toss you back out into the sea

But the moment he swooped down to catch you from that (minorly hysterical) fall, he’d felt it. The missing spark he’d been waiting for all along.

He couldn’t take his eyes away. You were simply too real, too alive, too beautiful and unwavering

Yet shy and clean and simple all the same

It was a perfect paradox

An acute conundrum 

And he was loving every second of it

He knew, in that moment, that he had to 

As cringey as it sounds

That he had to make you his

And now you were...almost

It was just a bit further before he reached the light at the end of the tunnel

He’d never be lonely or lost for inspiration again

Because he’d have you

And that was all he needed...

 𝑇𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒𝑑...𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 ♥

[badboy-mysweetboy]

Crazy Ace

Joker x reader? Kinda.... you’ll understand once you read. I don’t wanna spoil

Jared Leto joker is so fucking....yum. I love Harley just saying this now. Warning this does get....graphic about wounds. Random tags: @missmarrinette​ @jokeresques​@jokerimagines​ @suicidesquadimagines​ @pindragon13​

A series of small beeps could be heard from a distance before heavy cement is rubble on the ground.

Turning on my heel my henchmen form in costumes all overtaking the asylum. Arkham Asylum.

They say Harley Quin and the Clown Prince is here. Good.

The henchmen in teddy bear costume on tables shooting the guards aimed to kill. It was a blood bath, all for my doing. All at my pleasure.

Skipping down the halls as my eyes scan the area locating the criminal lockup, music blasted from every speaker. With every time my foot connects to the ground, another 5 bodies hit the floor. Hiding my pales skin with layers of black and blue, my lips followed words of the song without effort. 

The tattoos that are drawn on my skin prominent against the harsh paleness of my skin. The streak of the speaker idolized the end of the song, dead silence. A foul smirk overcame my bored expression as one of my boys opened the door for me. Walking in, there they were. In large cages. Harley cornered herself as Joker watched curiously.

My henchmen stood frozen waiting for my next move, nodding towards the girl they immediately got to work. My stare held close to his, approaching his cold bared solitude. The dark hair covered most of my eyes until looking up, “Well, look at you Harley. All grown up after being a stripper. Must have... grown out of it.” Switching my focus to her. Who I came for. “Me? Not Mista J?” She quirked in confusion. “Give me my package boys then roll out.” Almost within seconds, she’d retrained on her way to my mansion. Turning to meet blue eyes once again, “Let him out after I’m gone.” I wave off my last few men before walking out. 

The only sound heard was my boots meeting the groud as a cold tune of whistling left my lips leaving Joker to rethink everything over.

Joker sat looking around before my men released him, smirking he got up and strolled passed the guards. A firm hand to the Clown Prince's chest stopped him before the door. His cold stare meets a card. A black ace turning it over in front of Jokers' face his eyes now meet with a location. Then they left.

Joyriding around the city, weaving between the traffic with sirens blaring behind me. Music screaming from its speakers as I jerk the wheel to my will. After losing them, which took way to long my eyes gaze upon my place of crime. 

Meeting me at the front door the henchmen welcome me back, “Wassup Shaggy! Got my toys?” Talking to the leader of my boys, Shaggy. He smiled, yes he was older than me. Yes he’s 25 and I’m 15 but he’s my homie. “Yes, Miss Quinzel is in the playroom. Do you need anything?” Shaking my head I headed down to the playroom, skipping 4 steps at a time. The concrete echoed my boots as a curling whistle left my lips once more, one that terrified Harley to her core. 

The door opened, to meet her tied and gagged in a steel chair bolted to the ground. Pure anger took over my expression but a grin found itself on the corners of my lips. “This should be fun.” Shaggy ripping off her gag from her, questions flew from her like a child on crack. “I will gag you again, but with a needle and thread this time.” Immediate silence came from her. Shaggy’s pocket vibrated as he left to take it. 

I stalked her, walking around her like prey. Slightly playing with her pigtails. “I’m gonna have so much fun with you Harley. And then when you’re barely there, I’m going to stop. Then I’m going to tell you why you’re here, and I’m gonna keep you here. Joker can’t save you, because of what you did. You are sitting there for a reason, you put yourself there Dr.Harleen Quinzel and you didn’t even know it.” A menacing laugh erupted from my mouth before going to look at my toys. 

Fingers dancing over the many toys before deciding on my blade, holding it up, admiring it I spoke up,” Do you know why this is my favorite blade Harleen?”

Her head shook violently, “Now let us use our words Harleen. Is that the way you speak to me after I broke you out of that place? Ungrateful.” Approaching her she squeaked out, “I’m so-sorry. W-why is i-it your fa-avorite blade?” Smiling I level my face with hers, “You see, this is the blade that I killed my adopted father with. I stole it when around 7.” Tracing her cheekbone with the old blade leaving a fine line across her face as she whimpers. Smiling I continued drawing in red, her screams filled my ears as I covered every inch of her pale skin. 

Letting out a dramatic sigh, “I’m starting to get bored. How about you Harleen? Are you bored?” Searching her eyes, “Now, now, now Harleen. We spoke about responding.” Not leaving her stare, the knife plunged into her leg with a scream, “I’m sorry! No, I’m having fun. Please, why are you doing this?” A whisper left her lips, smirking leaning into her ear. “That the question isn’t it?” 

“Hey Boss, The Joker is here.” Shaggy pronounces, standing straight a look of hope gleamed in Harleen’s eyes. I too smiled. “Awww that’s cute, look at that Shags, she thinks he’s here for her. No, honey, I gave him my location. Stay here honey I’ll be back!” I yell pass my shoulder leaving the room. Checking my watch, “Ah ya see, he’s late Shagster. People have no sense of respect nowadays.” Walking up the final stair the green-haired Crime boss stood, “Why am I here Ace?” He grumbled, smiling I walked to him. “Where’s the fun in that?!” Skipping away to the staircase and whispering to the men on top of the stairs, they quickly went down as I returned to the clown. “Come on we don’t have all day.” Leading to my office deeper into my home. The massive gold doors opened to reveal my business room. 

Harleen was sitting in the middle of the exquisitely expensive room. “Ah! You’re here! Shag, what would I do without you.” Exclaiming punching him on the shoulder, the doors shut behind Joker as I hopped on to my chair sitting particularly strange to most. 

Watching the scene unfold, Joker eyed me cautiously. “Puddin’! Ya here to save me! I love ya so much! Baby!” My ears were ready to fall off, “Harleen shut up!” My voice boomed over the room, “Slightly better, if ya kept going I was going to throw up. Now here comes the best part of the story.” I eyed Joker than the chair, he placed himself in the chair. Standing from my chair and circling in front of Harleen. “Ok now, you’re probably thinking, ‘hmmm why am I in a nice ass house in front of a 15-year-old crime boss like myself?’ well I’m going-well Harleen is going to do us that favor.” Turning my heel I re-level myself with her face. 

She shook with fear as I got closer to her, it clicked. “Dr. Harleen Quinzel, you are the doctor who took care and loved the Clown Prince over there. La-la lovely Dovey shit later Dr. Harleen Quinzel helps Joker get out, and continue Doc. Why did you really help him out?” Turning to met jokers face before sitting back into my chair. She shifted before gulping. “Harley.” Joker's voice was stern, she looked at the floor. 

“Today Junior! Speak puppy, speak!” I yell as she jumped at my voice. “Well Puddin’ ya see when I was helping you in the Asylum, and during one of-of our sessions I started getting sick.” Joker’s eyes widened, sitting forward. A smile came over my face, “Yes come on keep going, 7 months forward!” I place my chin on the chair waiting for the story to continue. “Puddin’ you said ya didn’t want any kids so when I got pregnant I ditched it and came back to ya baby!” He growled before I jumped in, “Where did ya leave her Harleen? Where did ya leave it? A fire station?” 

“No.”

“Oh, then an orphanage?” “No.”

“Then possibly a random doorstep?” “No! Stop!”

“Then where did you leave her Dr. Harleen Quinzel?! Where did you leave this perfectly and completely innocent baby in the dangerous streets of Gotham?!”

Silence followed, the air thick in tension. “Where did ya leave her Harley?” The Joker spoke up, even she didn’t meet his eyes. Finally, she spoke but never looked up, “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” Joker repeated himself, Ya know ya club, I may or may not have put the baby in one of the dumpsters before rejoining you at the Acid storage factory. When you fell in love with me baby.” 

Joker stood and looked away from the woman, I smile letting out a sigh. “Wasn’t that a lovely story! But, I know the sequel. Here sit down, I’ll let you know the ending. Sit Mr. Joker, please I insist.” I jump up and offer his chair with a glass of Jack, he takes it and sits. “Now let us wrap this up with a bow, Once upon a time a little girl was born, born in a very dangerous place but this baby believed in the trust of her beloved parents even though her father never known of her existence. But instead was left in a dumpster to die outside a Crime Bosses night club, until a druggy-acholic found her when he was dumpster diving for some heroine. He brought her home, not to love her and to take care of her. No, he saw something to raise into the perfect slave for any need he may have. No censor bars there sweetheart. Take that any way you want, or how dirty you want because it happened. When she was 7 she killed the horrid man, then she found someone to help her-” Shaggy had a sad look over his face, but met my eyes when I spoke, “He helped her grow and learn what happened to her, he helped me become the biggest Crime Boss there ever was. Even bigger than you Joker. The End! What a beautiful story don’t you think, Harleen? Well, that’s all I wanted. You can leave goodbye.” 

Walking out of the room and into the kitchen while my boys made sure Harleen left in one piece with Joker. “I wonder how it will go? How about you Shags?” He sat across from me as he handed me a drink, “Well by his reaction, I believe he will get rid of her by tomorrow or the next hour. How are you?” Chewing on the straw a muffled,” I’m fine, really actually. How about you, shagster?” He thought while standing next to me. 

“It was hard not to kill her right then and there but this plan of yours should work perfectly, it always does.” Patting my shoulder before the door sung its normal melody. “A lot sooner than expected.” He mumbled before the Joker came in and passed the henchmen. They detained him, “Hey. It’s okay to let him go. Come and sit. We have milkshakes and alcohol for all mental fun.” 

After they let him go he sat on the patted stool, “So, I’m guessin’ the story was bout you?” He finally spoke up after a short silence. I chuckled, raising my hands. “How’d ya guess? I thought I told the story for the plot twist.” I chuckle but mumble the last part. He chuckled too. Our eyes meet once again like the first time we meet, the same icy touch and the paleness of our skin made us right out of a comic book. 

“So, Ace. is that your real name?’“ 

“No Jack, It isn’t.” His eyes widened and stayed on me for a while. “How’d you--?” 

“I won’t tell anyone but 21 and Me. Man those ads always get me. But my name Y/n. After Shagster's mother. But people call me Crazy Ace”

[menatiera]

Quick Prompt: Dum-E and JARVIS playing matchmaker. Could be Tony/Bucky, Tony/Steve, Tony/Pepper or even a non-Tony pairing - whatever the Muse suggests!

Thanks for the prompt, @polizwrites darling! Under the cut is what I came up with for it, I hope you’ll like it! :) Also counts as a fill for my @buckybarnesbingo :)

Title: Dummy’s faboulous ideas 

Collaborator: Menatiera 

Square Filled: C5 - Sidekick 

Ship/Main Pairing: Gen, mentioned Winteriron, possible Steve/Pepper 

Rating: Gen 

Major Tags/Warnings: none 

Summary: Dummy is determined to help the people he cares for. Jarvis is concerned, Bucky is amused. 

Word Count: 744 words 

Also available on AO3.

Leave a comment if you liked, and even if you didn’t, please! :)

“No, DUM-E, I don’t think that is a good idea,” Jarvis said.

The bot responded in a series of beeps, some of them sounding positively frustrated, and Bucky listened, amused, to the half of the conversation that happened in a language he understood. 

“I know you want the best for Ms. Potts, DUM-E.”

It still was amazing to listen to Jarvis, because it was impossible to tell that he wasn’t human. Bucky had heard Siri, and Alexa, and even the limited capacity AI SHIELD used in its buildings, and none of them managed to really sound human. Not to a supersoldier, knock-off serum or not, at least.

DUM-E’s beeps reminded Bucky of R2-D2 from Star Wars. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that Tony was heavily inspired by the on-screen robot when he (probably drunk) coded the heavy lifter robot’s voice modules. Also, in Bucky’s opinion, R2 always sounded like he was censored because of using exclusively swear words of his vocabulary, and DUM-E definitely sounded angry now.

“I know it had a positive outcome last time, but I am obliged to remind you, Sir and Ms Potts have very different personalities, just like James and Captain Rogers have.”

Bucky decided he had heard enough to guess what the conversation was - again - about. He stood up, strode over to DUM-E and patted the strout of the robot affectionately while he looked him in the camera. “Hey, buddy. I hope you don’t plan to lead Steve and Pepper in a supply closet and lock them in?”

The answering beeps were enthusiastic. 

“I’m afraid he took it in his head, yes, James,” Jarvis sighed, more amused than exasperated.

“You’re such a nosy matchmaker,” Bucky laughed.

Jarvis was right - it worked last time. When DUM-E figured out that his Creator Unit would be happier if he was together with Bucky, the bot did everything in his power to herd them closer to each other, both physically and emotionally. He kept Bucky in the workshop, he mixed up their drinks so they should talk while switching, and eventually, he managed to lock them in a storage closet that was barely big enough for them, so they were forced into addressing the elephant in the room. Or the erection in the room. Whatever, it worked.

Bucky still grinned as he recalled the memory, then grinned wider as he imagined the same scenario with Steve and Pepper.

He was sure one of them would die, and his bets were on Pepper surviving. His only question was if Steve died of self-induced heart attack by embarrassment, or by a stiletto punched through his forehead after he opened his mouth.

Not like Pepper didn’t have doe eyes around Steve, but that woman had principles, okay, and Steve was awkward with women on a good day, but when it came to his crushes? Oh god that idiot turned into the proverbial bisexual disaster he really was.

DUM-E dragged Bucky out of his thoughts by a series of excited, imperious beeps.

“Sorry, bud, but Jarvis is right.” He was kind of grateful that since that fiasco with Ultron, Tony seemed necessary to separate the systems of all of his AIs and therefore Jarvis had to talk to the bots out loud just like to people. So Bucky sometimes had the chance to join in on the conversations. And the chance to stop DUM-E from unintentionally killing Steve. “Miss Pepper wouldn’t appreciate your help, believe me. She’s quite self-supporting if she wants something. Where did you get this idea in the first place?”

Jarvis sighed.

“I’m afraid DUM-E watched one too many romantic comedies.”

Bucky snorted. “There’s no such thing as too many romantic comedies,” he clarified, just so Jarvis also knew where Bucky stood, then he turned back to the robot at hand who beeped almost sadly. Almost. Bucky wasn’t fooled for a second, knowing that DUM-E would still go with his plan, stubborn little thing as he was. “Hallmark’s still your favorite, right? Come on, bud, let’s watch some TV together, will ya?”

DUM-E perked up immediately.

“Thought so,” Bucky smiled, leading the way back to the couch he was coming from, looking up at one of Jarvis’s camera. “Jarv, let Tony know about this, okay? Just to be safe.”

It would be a shame to lose his best friend. Also, he wanted to be the one to lock Steve in a closet, with or without Pepper. He also had principles, after all.

[honeymoonjin]

warm (yoongi x reader x hoseok)

A/N Here it is! The smutty sequel to Running Man Bangtan I promised! If you haven’t read Running Man Bangtan, read it here first. Word count for this is 3.8k. Warnings: explicit sexual content, handjob (mxm), oral (female receiving), doggy style, slight overstimulation, masturbation (m).

It’s still drizzling outside when the three of you are woken up at 3 in the morning and quietly herded out of the dorm.

Director Lee isn’t with the crew members, one of the production assistants, Kyeong-eun, is giving you directions. She’s on the phone with Lee for the majority of the time you spend in the company van.

It’s early and it’s cold and you can barely keep your eyes open wider than a squint, so you ball up your scarf into a vaguely pillow-like shape and press it against the window so that you can have a nap.

When Hoseok gently shakes you awake at the end of your journey, the sun is beginning to rise, and the bright light helps you become a little more alert.

The crew take another twenty or so minutes to get everything ready for a day of shooting, and you and the boys huddle up outside the entrance to a bathhouse.

Once all the cameras are set up and it’s a little lighter outside, you read off the instructions you’ve been given about the punishment.

“In the winter months, many Korean people like to warm up in the sauna. Today, the winners of last week’s episode get to enjoy a relaxing day at the spa. Y/n, Yoongi, and Hoseok will have to use the cold sauna instead.” You furrow your eyebrows. “Cold sauna? I’ve never heard of a cold sauna.”

Yoongi fiddles with his beanie, grumbling and moaning. “This sucks. They’re like, minus twenty degrees or something ridiculous. All because I knew you were the spy.”

You harrumph. “Well, let this be a lesson that next time you should trust me.”

“But you were the spy!”

“Yeah, but if you lived in ignorant bliss like Namjoon or Tae, you wouldn’t be here!”

“Ladies, ladies, you’re both beautiful,” Hoseok teases, stepping between the two of you. “Some people actually choose to use cold saunas, so they must be pretty good for you.” He gives each of you an encouraging smile, but you just stare at him in disgusted silence. He clears his throat. “Okay, let’s get this over with,” he mutters.

Cruelly, you have to walk past the baths and saunas to get to the freezing area, and the aromatic steam wafting around the three of you is like salt in the wound.

The cold saunas are individual, upright columns, looking almost like tanning beds that are stood up on end, and the moment you enter the room you break out into goosebumps.

A worker quickly explains how to use the machines, as well as safety precautions, and the three of you stare at each other like deer in headlights when she mentions that you get into the cold sauna naked.

You give the camera your best imploring gaze of pity while the two men argue back and forth. Clearly, neither one of them is interested in seeing the other’s junk, particularly not when they’re all shriveled up with the cold.

Kyeong-eun reminds the three of you that you have to spend twenty minutes each in the cold sauna, and Hoseok offers to go first to get it over with.

“Look away!” Yoongi heaves a long-suffered sigh and shuffles around until his back faces Hoseok, and you do the same, albeit a little more reluctantly.

It’s not like you haven’t seen each other naked before. After a while of shooting, mishaps are bound to happen, and while the editing team can add a blur or a censor for the wellbeing of the fans, you’ve been faced with unexpected genitals more times than should really be reasonable for someone your age.

He squeals like a pig for the first three or so minutes while in there, hopping around in the cramped space, holding out his arms to show the angry lines of goosebumps that he desperately tries to rub away.

After a while, though, something inside him gives up, and he dangles his arms over the side, and rests his chin on the edge in miserable defeat.

You and Yoongi half-heartedly try to make conversation with him to keep something decent in the footage, but his spirit has been truly broken by the brutal cold that’s dragging down his body temperature.

Between the two of you, Yoongi decides to go second. It’s not like him to volunteer go to next, but he’s noticed three identical thermoses lined up on the floor by the cameras and is eager to get done so that he can discover what warm delight awaits.

As the LED timer on the sauna ticks down under a minute, Yoongi launches into action. Wrangling the hoodie over his head, kicking off his shoes and socks, and wiggling out of his jeans, he’s too preoccupied to ask you to look away, so you patiently observe the quickly undressing man.

He pauses when he gets down to his underwear, and hovers by the sauna, ready to wrench it open and swap places with Hoseok as soon as he can. Yoongi’s been slowly packing on muscle in the past few weeks, ever since he lost a weight-lifting challenge because he was too weak, and you’re sure the fans will appreciate it as much as you are right now.

He still has pretty skinny legs and a small waist, but the fabric of his boxers stretches taut against his thighs and his shoulders boast beautiful planes and angles when he reaches up to open the door.

Hoseok, whose eyes have been scrunched up as far as he can squeeze them, barely gets a moment to cheer up and celebrate as the timer beeps, before Yoongi is wrenching open the door and tugging Hoseok out. Hoseok lets out a ’hey!’, then comes to his senses and realizes he’s standing, stark naked, directly in front of you and fifteen-odd crew members. He yelps and covers himself, hobbling over to his clothes pile with stiff limbs.

He gestures with his head for you to look away before he takes his hands away to start getting changed. You laugh but acquiesce anyway. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, Hobi.”

You grin at the sound of his offended whine. “I’d prefer if you didn’t ogle my dick after being in that death trap for twenty minutes.”

“Okay, oppa, I’ll just ogle your dick later.” He harrumphs again, but you half-turn to face Yoongi. “How’s it in there?”

“Just peachy, thanks,” he drawls sarcastically, “I really love the feeling of frostbite on a Friday morning.”

“That lady said you won’t get frostbite until you’ve been in there for at least two hours.”

“Okay, clever-dick.”

“What, you didn’t pay attention to the safety briefing? Yoongi fans, be aware! He’s a real bad boy, this one.”

Hoseok is finally back in clothes, and gratefully accepts the thermos handed to him. “Yeah, hyung, it’s safety first, safety second, and style third.”

“Being naked is pretty stylish,” you agree. You turn to the staff. “Couldn’t I get in another one so we can get done quicker?”

In the end, they set up a second pod, and after a few minutes of warming up, or rather, cooling down, it’s ready to go. Yoongi’s timer is down to seven minutes, so it really hasn’t saved you that much time.

You strip down quickly, ignoring the heavy stares of your two coworkers, and hop on in, barely holding back the curse that comes to your tongue when you’re fully encapsulated in the cold.

Twenty minutes goes by slower than the most boring math class, but eventually, you stumble out and will your numb fingers to dress you again.

There’s a bit more faffing about with the cameras before you can actually go home, but once the three of you are finally dropped off, it’s not quite lunchtime, and the other five are still out.

You all automatically make your way to the lounge and collapse in a heap on the nearest couch.

It’s a little cold in the apartment since it’s been empty for several hours, and none of you, not even Hobi, have warmed up properly again. You find yourself snuggling into Yoongi’s side, with Hoseok’s head in your lap.

“You know,” Hoseok starts, breaking the comfortable silence, “I know a good way to warm us up.”

Yoongi grunts. “I’m too tired to fuck right now.”

Hoseok grins up at you, catlike. “I never specifically mentioned having sex, but I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

You glance down quickly to sneak a peek at Hoseok. He’s hard already, the tent in his jeans a dead giveaway that he’s clearly being serious. Your gaze flicks back up to his and he wiggles his eyebrows at you.

Yoongi sighs deeply. “Do whatever you want, I just want to lie here and take a nap.”

Feeling the telltale stirs of arousal blooming between your legs, you turn your upper torso around and rest your chin on Yoongi’s chest, staring up at him. His eyes are lidded, but not fully closed, and through the narrow slit you can see his eyes flick over to yours. “But, oppa,” you plead in a soft murmur, “you don’t have to move if you’re too tired. We can take care of you.”

You can’t tell if he genuinely is too sleepy to get in the mood, or if he’s just playing it cool, so you trail your hand down, resting your elbow on Hoseok’s forehead (much to his disgust) and dipping your fingers underneath the waistband of his jeans.

His skin is clammy with the cold, but you can feel the muscles jump under your fingertips. Hobi moves his head off your lap so that he can get off the couch and sit on the floor in front of the two of you. You let a nail drag along the skin just below the edge of Yoongi’s jeans, relishing in the way his breath stutters. His eyes have fallen shut fully, now, and his head is tipped back on the couch.

It’s Hoseok that reaches up to undo the button and drag down the zip, not that Yoongi could tell either way, and you let your hand slip under his shirt to run up his chest while Hoseok starts jiggling the jeans down.

Yoongi lifts his hips off the couch slightly, but the tight material pulls his boxers with it, and before you get a chance to process it, his dick is slipping out and coming up to rest against his stomach. He lets out a deep groan in the back of his throat at the feeling of the cool air against his bare skin.

Your hand, which froze under his shirt when his pants came off, resumes its trek upwards, bunching up the fabric so that you can lift it off and really see him, but before you get the chance, his hand flies up to latch onto your wrist, halting you in your tracks. “Too cold,” he murmurs, “just leave it on.”

You frown, dropping the fabric but dragging a nail against one of his nipples in retaliation. He whimpers, and it’s the first time you’ve heard such a noise from him. You take back your hand and lie back down against him, waiting for Hobi to make his move.

He’s left Yoongi’s jeans and underwear bunched up around his knees, so he can’t spread Yoongi’s legs and move between them. Instead, he pushes Yoongi’s legs towards you and moves in closer on the other side.

A lean, tanned hand reaches up to grip Yoongi gently, and a desperate sigh leaves Yoongi’s mouth.

Hoseok smirks darkly, hand applying pressure but not moving. “What was that?”

“Ah, please,” he breathes, face scrunched up in concentration. You can see the muscles in his thighs and hips moving beneath the skin, flexing with want but trying not to move.

With a Chesire grin across his face, Hobi bends down to spit on Yoongi’s cock, and finally begins jerking him off in slow, deliberate strokes.

The erotic sight of one of your closest loved ones giving a handjob to the other has you wriggling your hips around, trying to move the fabric of your jeans between your legs for some much-needed relief. When you press your crotch to the couch, you can feel the damp fabric of your underwear slide against you, but it’s not enough.

Hoseok’s picked up speed now, and you sit up from Yoongi’s side so that you can properly take in his glorious expressions. His eyebrows are still tensed up, but his mouth is open in a pout, and whenever Hoseok grips a little harder or twists his wrist on an upstroke, beautifully needy grunts and groans come out.

As divine as the sight before you is, you find yourself getting more and more impatient. A quick lick of two of your fingertips is all you need to slide your hand into your pants and start rubbing your clit.

Yoongi doesn’t see you, but Hoseok certainly does, and his eyes are dark with lust, trained on the rhythmic shifting between your legs. There’s not much room, though, and you tug off your jeans with a frustrated whine, hand immediately returning to its rightful spot underneath your wet panties. Your movements are desperate, and you can’t stop your hips from juddering back in forth in a call for more friction. Your grinding attracts Yoongi’s attention, and he cracks open his eyes to see you.

You lock gazes with him, and he swears, batting Hoseok’s hand away. “Fuck, you guys have convinced me,” he growls, “let’s do this.”

Without bothering to see if you two are following (which you most certainly are), Yoongi slips his jeans off fully, leaving a haphazard pile of clothes in the lounge as he makes his way to your bedroom.

You and Jeongguk both have your own rooms, while the other six share, so it makes sense that he beelines for your bigger bed. When Hoseok, still fully clothed, and you join him, he’s taken off his shirt as well, and is sitting on the edge of the bed wearing nothing but a pair of socks.

You copy him, shucking off your jacket and shirt, and waste no time in unhooking your bra and stepping out of your panties.

Hoseok, although he was the one to initiate it, seems taken off-guard by the speed at which things are suddenly progressing, and he races to undress.

Not wanting to stand around and wait for him, and too horny out of your mind to care about propriety, you join Yoongi on the bed, pushing him onto his back so you can climb on his thighs.

His cock fits snugly between your two stomachs, still dribbling precum. As you look down on it, you’re brought back to the last time you were in this exact position with Tae, just a few days ago.

Both Jimin and Jeongguk know, because Taehyung couldn’t help himself, but you hadn’t told either of the men about it.

As Hoseok hops onto the bed beside you two, you sit upright again. “Wait,” you breathe, “this is just sex, right? It doesn’t have to mean anything?”

Yoongi pauses. After a moment of silence, he nods slowly. “Sure, if that’s all you want.”

You curse your muddled brain. “No, I mean… It can be more, if we all want it to, but… you’re okay with it just being sex for now?”

Hoseok’s face lightens. “Oh, you mean Tae? We all know about that, you know. It’s fine with us.” Yoongi nods in genuine agreement.

“He told you?”

Yoongi lets out a breathy laugh. “He told everyone. Was extremely smug that he was the first of us to get with you.” The two men share a look. “We’re quite happy with silver and bronze.”

You make a surprised noise in the back of your throat. “Well, it’s not a competition, is it?”

Both men look guilty.

You scoff. “Okay, well, I’ll process whatever the fuck that means tomorrow, right now I just need to cum or I’m going to lose my mind.”

Yoongi groans, hands falling to latch onto your hips, and you feel the bed shift as Hoseok tips you over onto your back, hands wrapping around your knees, and lifting your hips up to his face.

Your legs drape over his shoulder, and you’re all but upside down, resting on the bed with the top of your back. As Hoseok licks a broad stripe up your pussy, you shiver, hands flying out to steady yourself on the mattress.

The obscene sound of Yoongi jacking off fills your ears as Hobi buries his face between your legs. At first, he drinks up your arousal, scooping it out of you with the curve of his tongue and sucking it off your lips. As he moves, the bridge of his nose rubs up and down your clit, and you feel all the muscles in your upper thighs firing as you’re finally given proper stimulation.

Once his roving tongue cleans you up, he props your lower back up with one hand and uses the other to curl a finger inside you, wiggling it back and forth rather than thrusting in and out. He pairs the insistent rubbing against your g-spot with his teeth dragging lightly over your clit, lighting your nerves on fire.

You keen and arch your pelvis up to meet him, and slowly feel around for Yoongi, as the wet smacking sounds get faster and faster. Your hand bumps into his, and your heart soars in the midst of everything as he interlocks his fingers with yours, holding on to you tightly with one hand hand as he furiously jacks off with the other.

It’s an embarrassingly short time before you feel the momentum of an orgasm building, and Hoseok takes the opportunity to slowly increase the number of fingers he’s crooking inside of you; two, then three bunched up, until he’s fucking you with three fingers held out flat, working you open.

It takes one solid suck on your clit to catapult you over the edge, and you clasp onto Yoongi’s hand until your knuckles turn white as Hoseok only speeds up, tearing you through your orgasm. At some point in the blinding pleasure, he has to take his dripping fingers out of you so that he can hold your pelvis to him and stop you from accidentally breaking his nose with your wildly bucking hips.

As pleasure turns to the stinging bite of overstimulation, you hear a guttural ‘fuck!’ and the squeeze of Yoongi’s fingers around yours as he reaches his own orgasm. The two of you come down together, breathing heavily, moaning softly until the aftershocks die down.

Hoseok lets you down onto the bed gently, before shaking out his wrists to work out the tension in his muscles.

For being the only person in the room who hasn’t cum yet, Hoseok looks pretty self-satisfied. The whole bottom half of his face, from his cheeks down, is gleaming with your juices, and the sides of his hair are pressed against his temples from where your thighs tightened around him.

“Why are you so smug?” you manage to huff out, heart rate slowly returning to normal.

He dips his head towards Yoongi. “This idiot blew his load, so now I’ll be the one to get to fuck you.”

You shift onto your elbows so you can follow his gaze. Yoongi is lying on his back, panting like he’s run a marathon. The hand that isn’t still linked with yours is covered with his own cum, the rest of which is spattered around his stomach. His dick is softening, spent. The man in question scoffs in displeasure. “I’m older than you, punk, don’t speak to me like that.”

“Well, do you think you can fuck her right now?”

Yoongi’s silence is his answer.

You roll your eyes. “I’m still here, you know. Besides, who ever said only one of you got to fuck me?”

Yoongi lets out a miserable whine and lets go of your hand, throwing his arm over his eyes.

Hoseok licks his palm and tugs at his dick a few times, making sure he’s ready. “You can stay and watch, or you can go have a shower, up to you. But if you fall asleep with your dick out I’m not going to move you.”

Yoongi huffs, but sits up and gets off the bed slowly, ambling over to your dresser, where there’s a box of tissues. He pulls out a wad and begins cleaning himself off.

Hobi, not interested in delaying any longer, shuffles over on his knees, hand still wrapped around the base of his cock, and stops in front of you. “How do you want me?” he asks, ignoring Yoongi’s scoff of derision from the other side of the room.

You hum a little, considering. “I’m too tired to do much. Can you just take me from behind?”

Hoseok’s mouth opens and closes a few times. “Can I just-? God, I love you,” he groans, and helps you flip over onto your stomach, sticking your ass in the air and resting on your forearms.

You feel him line himself up, and with a long, drawn-out groan, he sinks into you languidly. He’s certainly less girthy than Tae, and maybe a bit shorter, but it means that it’s no time at all for you to adjust and give him the all-clear to start moving.

He doesn’t last long with the rate he goes at, clearly too horny and desperate to think about drawing it out, and his lightning-quick thrusts take him only a few minutes to get to the edge. At one point, to his credit, he reaches down a hand to rub at your clit, but you’re too tired to come again, and you bat his hand away.

He doesn’t protest, instead putting all his energy into reaching orgasm, grunting and moaning far louder than Yoongi did before. You feel his rhythm begin to falter, and a few moments later you feel a hot rush deep inside you as he comes.

Ever the gentleman, Hoseok, pulls out and collapses onto his back beside you rather than on top of you.

You reach down a hand to cup your vagina, trying to avoid cum dripping onto your sheets, and wiggle your way off the bed.

Hoseok sighs. “You didn’t cum again, I’m sorry.”

Yoongi’s sitting in your armchair when you stand up, and he holds out a bunch of tissues to you with a grin. You accept it gratefully, cleaning up the inside of your thighs and your pussy before getting the semen out from where it seeped between your fingers. “It would’ve been too much too soon, oppa. Don’t worry,” you say breezily, “there’s always next time.”

“Is there?” Yoongi asks softly, his eyes looking imploringly into yours.

“I’d like there to be,” you reply honestly.

He smiles at you warmly.

[miss-agent-e-15-jedi]

Chapter Eight

There was an open area a few kilometers from my swamped X-wing, just the right place to set up camp for the night. I had Artoo wait there, then took off my soaked flight suit and draped it over the branch of a nearby tree to dry. After setting up a long plank to use as a bridge stretching from the tip of the ship’s nose all the way to the muddy bank, I then began unloading as much supplies as I could before the ship sank further—possibly all the way—into the water.

Another fantastic feature about X-wings is that there’s a way to access the cargo unit via the cockpit. It’s not as easy as unloading from the belly of the ship, but in this situation, it was better than not being able to access any of the supplies at all. I had to make several hasty trips to and from the camp site until at last, I was able to unload the last of my provisions. I swung a small satchel over my shoulder and took the final box into my aching arms. As soon my hands were full, the lights on the X-wing went out completely, and I ended up having to squint to see in front of me. The thin bridge creaked beneath my weight; everything I was carrying only added to it. Fearing it would snap and send me into the water, I scurried across, keeping my balance and a firm grip on the corners of the box.

As muddy as it was, I was glad to be back on firm, dry land. Pushing my way through tangles of vines, I was soon reunited with my little droid friend. He began to beep rather excitedly. I guess he somehow sensed I was finally finished unloading. I didn’t have a translator of any kind, so I had to guess what he was trying to communicate with me.

“What?” I sighed, tired from all the heavy lifting. “Ready for some power? Okay.”

I ignited a small fusion furnace, welcoming its bright orange glow to penetrate the darkness of the clearing. After briefly warming my hands before it, I began to hook Artoo up to a converter.

“Let’s see now,” I said absentmindedly. “Put that in there…There you go.”

Artoo whistled his appreciation. I slapped my hands together to dust them off and sighed, “Now all I gotta do is find this Yoda…If he even exists.”

I glanced around the eerie swamp, inhaling the thick, translucent mist and eyeing several of the black, dead, willowing trees and their vines; becoming deeper and deeper in doubt about my quest. It occurred to me that I would most likely have to continue the journey on foot. I hoped this wretched environment would have a few things to offer that would increase my chances of survival. I remembered the murky water where my ship was now sinking and hoped there would be at least a small spring that was drinkable, or at least able to be purified somehow. Thinking once more about my X-wing, I began to wonder how long it would be before it sank all the way to its swampy grave. I dreaded the possibility that I’d probably be stuck in this wretched marsh forever, unless the Force could help me find a way, and if Yoda—if I ever found him—would be able to help me out of this situation.

I commented, “Really strange place to find a Jedi master.”

I sat down near Artoo, and opened a ration box, selecting a dehydrated bar. A low growling noise sounded in the distance. I flinched slightly at the sound of it and added, “This place gives me the creeps.” Artoo beeped in reply as I began to eat, and I had no doubt he shared my opinion of the environment.

The nutrition bar had no flavor, which didn’t really surprise me. The food was processed; in other words, designed to last for long periods of time and to keep you alive; not to taste good, as was most of the food issued by the alliance. Having been with the rebels for a few years now, I’d gotten used to bland, processed rations, but that didn’t mean I didn’t get occasional cravings for something flavorful; moments like these made me miss my aunt’s cooking back on Tatooine.

Artoo was beeping comments to me as I nervously chewed and looked around the jungle, listening for potentially dangerous critters that might jump out and attack me.

“Still,” I said. “There’s something familiar about this place.”

Artoo’s next beeps came out as a question. I had no doubt he was wondering what it was about this place could possibly ring a bell to me. To be honest, I couldn’t necessarily place it, either.

“I don’t know,” I answered the droid. “I feel like…”

“Feel like what?”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence before I was startled out of my skin by that weird croaking. I whirled around in the direction of the voice, snatching my blaster out of its holster and aiming it at the source. About a meter in front of me, perched on top of a rotting log and shielding its face from my gun with two reptilian, three-fingered hands, was a minute alien dressed in grayish brown rags that were torn slightly in a few places. Long, pointed ears jutted out from either side of the head, the back of which was draped with thin, ancient, white hair. In one of its hands was a wooden stick, which I immediately assumed it used as a cane. The creature had wrinkles all across its face, making it look extremely elderly.

I swallowed hard and then finished what I was going to say. “Like we’re being watched!”

“Away put your weapon!” shouted the creature. “I mean you no harm!”

Slowly but surely, it lowered its hands to gaze at me with its large, bulbous eyes. I had a feeling the thing really didn’t mean me any harm, but looks could be deceiving, so I kept my gun poised. Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them, Old Ben had told me on the Falcon.

The creature continued, “I am wondering, why are you here?”

Rather puzzled, I hesitantly lowered my blaster. I decided to give this stranger a hosed-down version of the truth; I was unsure if he could be trusted (I was certain by this moment the creature was male), so I answered, “I’m looking for someone.”

He brightened up immediately. I could see his wrinkled face completely now that his arms were no longer hiding it. “Looking? Found someone you have I would say, hmm?” he asked, chuckling.

Quite amusing. Simply because it was true. I had found someone, even if it wasn’t the someone I was looking for. Still, I didn’t feel like giving this stranger the satisfaction. I tried very hard not to laugh, and in an effort to censor my amusement, I simply replied, “Right.”

The creature continued, “Help you I can. Yes! Mmm!”

Taking a mental note of the thing’s backwards speech, I put my gun away rather hesitantly and said, “I don’t think so.”

His ears flared for a moment, as did his eyes.

“I’m looking for a great warrior,” I finished.

This seem to further amuse the creature, who began hobbling in my direction, leaning on the gnarled cane for support as he chuckled.

“Wars not make one great,” he said, groaning as he lowered himself from the root.

Ignoring Artoo’s disapproving beeps behind me, I pinched a couple small bites from the food container into my mouth and motioned toward the creature as something caught his attention. I heard a half-croak, half-gasp of amazement as he picked up the bar I’d been eating.

“Put that down,” I said.

Artoo beeped even louder, the creature took a bite, and that’s when I got mad. “Hey!” I shouted, snatching the bar out of his hand. “That’s my dinner!”

I quickly noticed that my ration box was right next to him and feared he’d take a taste of something else, so I hastily snapped it shut and took that away as well. I heard him spit out the bite he’d just taken.

“How you get so big eating food of this kind?” the creature asked, climbing onto a supply box.

I almost didn’t the question. He was getting on my nerves. Sarcastically, I snapped, “Listen, friend, we didn’t mean to land in that puddle and if we could get our ship out, we would, but we can’t, so why don’t you just…”

I’d barely tossed the bar into the swamp when I was cut off.

“Aww, cannot get your ship out?” the stranger mocked, digging into one of my supply cases.

Above Artoo’s loud beeping, I shouted, “Hey! Get out of there!”

The stranger held up a small device. I made a rough grab for it. He resisted like a petulant child, whining, “No!”

I won the battle and snatched it out of his hands. He groaned.

“Hey, you could’ve broken this,” I scolded.

He paid no attention and began tossing items that weren’t interesting to him over his shoulder, sounding disgusted at each thing he threw.

I couldn’t believe this. I was already in a ridiculous enough situation, and now this curious little creature was rummaging through my supplies and tossing it everywhere. My survival depended on that supplies!

“Don’t do that!” I ordered, shrugging my shoulders. 

Artoo’s beeps and whistles suddenly became softer, and the creatures face lit up. Not just metaphorically, but literally as well. A tiny power lamp had caught his attention, and he laughed in wonder as he shone it across his eyes.

Picking up discarded items, I groaned, “Oh! You’re making a mess!”

I saw the lamp in his hand and reached for it. “Give me that!”

The stranger pulled the lamp out of my reach, snapping, “Mine! Or I will help you not!”

I was on the verge of losing my temper by this point. “I don’t want your help!” I yelled. “I want my lamp back! I’m gonna need it to get out of this slimy mudhole!”

Too late to stop myself from shouting the insult. As I tried to grab the lamp from him again, the creature glared at me, and solemnly replied, “Mudhole! Slimy! My home this is! What?”

Taken by surprise, the imp turned his attention toward Artoo. I then watched as an appendage emerged from one of Artoo’s sockets and clamped around the lamp. Now my little droid friend was gonna try and wrestle the lamp from this imp. Brilliant.

The creature hollered, yanking valiantly against the droid’s grip. I realized right then and there that there was no use trying to get the lamp back. Perhaps if I let the imp keep it, maybe he’d leave me alone. With that in mind, I ordered, “Artoo, let him have it!”

The little droid continued to wrestle with the stranger, who reached for his cane and began whacking Artoo with it, shouting, “Mine! Mine! Mine!”

“Artoo!” I hollered, becoming assertive.

The droid finally complied, releasing his hold on the lamp. The imp tapped the panel from which the metal arm had protruded shut with the end of his cane. He laughed as the tap produced a ring that resounded against the droid’s metal insides.

Taking a breath and trying not to lose my cool, I thought, Alright, you have your lamp.

“Now will you move along, little fella?” I asked caustically. “We’ve got a lot of work to do!”

The creature responded, “No! No, no! Stay and help you I will!”

Once more, I took note of his backwards accent.

“Find your friend, hmm?” he giggled.

“I’m not looking for a friend,” I said. “I’m looking for a Jedi Master!”

The imp’s face drastically changed when he heard that name.

“Oooh!” He gasped in awe. “Jedi Master. Yoda. You seek Yoda!”

My heart began to race. Kneeling down at the stranger’s eye level, I almost desperately asked, “You know him?”

He nodded, saying. “Take you to him I will.”

He laughed once more and then continued, “Yes, yes! But now, we must eat. Come. Good food. Come!”

He then scampered in another direction toward my left. For a moment, all I could do was stare as trotted into the jungle, with the cane the only thing keeping him from falling. The prize lamp lit up his face. I wondered, how can this thing possibly know Yoda? I mean, he did say his name, but still…

When he was about five yards away from me, he turned, noticed that I wasn’t following him, and coaxed me again. “Come! Come!”

Well, what else could I do from there?

“Artoo,” I said, turning to him. “Stay and watch after the camp.”

I hurried after the creature, ignoring the indignant beeps from my little droid friend.

Stay Tuned for Chapter Nine!

[whispers-of-ink]

2186, Chapter VIII: The theater of the human species

Harper had gathered the strength to cross the yard, blocking away any fears, jumping into the void and... they wouldn’t be opening until seven hours laters. The whole world fell to the ground, as doubts filled back the gaps around the courage. Leaving now meant probably never coming back. Harper wasn’t even sure of wanting to get in there.

Taking a deep breath, reading the poster again, it said: “We open from 3-19.00 to 3-21.00“. Lucky, even; they only opened every third day, the last third of an optay, which also was that day.

Once again, the naughtiest part of Harper’s mind remembered that, in movies, the greatest heroes always have to wait until they open the door, even if they tell them no for a whole day, and have them stand there, hungry in the cold and the rain. A challenge to overcome, part of demonstrating one’s worth and discipline. Harper knew this wasn’t the case. No one was forbidding the entry, except for the hateful poster. Also, Harper was hungry.

Looking around and deliberating, it became obvious that neither leaving or entering were valid options. And so, Harper decided to suck it up and stay in the zone. The last jump into the void had been liberating, and enough for a little courage to go deeper into the Former Old Town.

Not too deep.

Harper had lunch at a local that seemed... correct, compared to the rest, and took all the time in the world to dilate having more adventures. That had been enough.

When the moment to attend the theater arrived, Harper had already been waiting for half an hour, thinking at the stairs. Those who arrived gathered at the gates, talking animatedly. Others chose to sit at the stairs, and just like Harper, they looked around as if everything was about to explode. One of them looked directly at Harper, startling herself, and turned to look straight ahead, to the theater. Harper sighed, standing up. It was at that precise instant that the watch beeped the hour, and someone opened the doors.

The group entered amongst nervous gigles and haughty looks. These last one were guiding the flock. They climbed the stairs to what yore must have been a theatre pit. The stage was partly ruined by something heavy that still sticked out among the debris. On the space left, a group of several men and women awaited. The age difference between all of them was evident, yet not as much as the nudity of their torsos and the tattoos on their skin. In Harper’s time that would have been heavily censored, women nipples were considered scandalous to say the least, yet nobody there seemed to care. 

Making an effort to not seem affected, Harper took a discrete seat near the entrance, and waited for it to start, unable to stop staring at those almost naked people. Harper found that it wasn’t morbid pleasure, but mental conflict. Those people were naked from the waist up, yes, full of tattoos, legs and arms separated, chests out, defiant postures. They sought conflict, to inflict that shock in their audience. And Harper couldn’t find any of them attractive. Not by  TV standards. The women weren’t skeletal and the men weren’t mostly muscle. They were just people, normal people, in all colors and sizes, their nakedness was just as anyone’s before getting in the shower at night, and that was why Harper could not look away. That visceral reality, that for which Harper claimed to fight for, was presented before everyone unabashedly. Those people had nothing to hide nor where to hide it, They were of the human species. There was that, and nothing else.

A woman and a man took the stage and positioned themselves in front of the posturing ones. They waited for the whispers to cease. Most of them were already sitting or standing in the sides.

The woman took a step forward and pierced the public with her eyes. “We’re here today for many reasons,” she said. “All and each of your reasons.”

“We are here today,” the man repeated, mimicking her step, “because we have won as much as we have lost.”

“I see new faces...” She swept the public with her eyes and stopped at Harper. “... and not so new ones.”

"Amongst you there are men and women, organics and optimals, and everything in between those extremes.”

“Amongst us there are brave warriors.”

“You’re here because you want to join the cause. To stand up and do something about it.”

“You’re here because you want to celebrate the victories and mourn the defeats of whatever little is left of the human race.”

Silence fell. The constant change between speakers had been befuddling, yet each word had resonated so much, each word thought ever since weaking up to this world. It all sounded tremendously illegal. All of it seemed designed to drag them into madness. They had taken noticed in Harper’s face, the spot that had seemed discreet hadn’t been a good hideout, but they couldn’t stop anyone from leaving. Harper was free to leave. And, deep inside, knew that didn’t want to.

The woman and the man directing the meeting looked at each other, taking a deep breath. They said nothing, but she nodded and left the stage.

“I know the new ones must be confused. Optimals and improved, here? Everyone is welcomed here. Anyone makes mistakes. We cannot blame these people for trying to have a better future, a better place amongst the brainless machines that have taken the planet from us. To err is human, and many are here because they understand what was taken from them. There’s no blame on that. There’s no better proof of their commitment, of your commitment, that knowing that you risk your lives to be here today. An optimal can’t be awake more than seventy five hours. They might die at any moment after the seventy hour mark.

He sighed. “I know that some of you might still be in doubts. I know some of you are afraid. Who are we? Why do we do this?”

He took a step back and the tattoed people advanced until they were standing directly beneath the ceiling lights.

“Here are our bravest warriors,” he said. “All of them fight for the same cause and under the same flag. Their tattoes are proof of their achievements. They have all sworn and demonstrated loyalty and commitment.”

He approached a skinny woman.

“Thanks to Tina, yesterday the European Court recognized the problem of organic poverty in the cities and ruled in favor of reinstating us into society. They have commited to ending our situation and declared as a human right the choice to not improve oneself.”

The host was cut. Some stood up and applauded. Harper saw a man crying in a nearby aisle. The man on the stage smiled and joined the applause to Tina. She humbly nodded.

The host continued after the public had calmed down. He put a hand in the shoulder+ of an asiatic man. “Ahmed lost his daughters in a terrible accident. Two optimized lads had a fight at the park where they were playing. They were workers from a nearby warehouse. They weren’t aware of the added strength their improvements gave them. The police said it was involuntary. They hadn’t learnt to control it properly yet.” He looked at the public. “Supposedly, there are means to prevent this, yet more than fifteen hundred kids have died in accidents like this one in the last decade.”

The man kept a moment of silence to look at Ahmed, who was fiercely piercing the floor with his eyes. “Ahmed is a hundred, fifty-seven years-old,” the host continued. “He has not much left because he optimized late in life. He did it hoping for a better future. He and his husband were able to concibe two beautiful girls thanks to modern science, something for which we will always be grateful. But they took them from them. Nowadays, it is thanks to him that less and less warehouses open near parks or places frequented by the organic youth. Neither warehouses or other dangerous buildings. He has not only achieved this legally, but he also lead the direct confrontation. Thanks to him, our little ones are safer in the street.”

There were more applauses and tears and cheers. Harper applauded too, though not standing, the head filled with the clear image of two girls crushed in the debris of a metallic castle. The man in the stage carried on to the next, and the next, and the next, and as in trance, Harper observed and heard each story the host was serving them, pointing at each signicative mark in their bodies as he talked on.

“Not everything have been victories,” he finally stated. “Last week, two of our people died in a organofobic attack. The police said they were agitators for defending an old couple. Last month, the North Optimal Alliance tried to evict a whole organic neighborhood by setting their houses on fire. Their parasite has reached our city, and we witness every day to more and more outbreaks of violence towards our kind for the mere fact of walking down a street. These people have improvements capable of detecting body heat, and they’ll know right away which of you are human.”

Harper hadn’t heard of any of those outbreaks. Hadn’t lived them at the school —except for the rare case of misbehaviour among students— nor had watched any of it after discovering the modern television. Harper wanted to believe, anyway, and noted to look it up in the internet once home. Then, remembering that smartphones do have Internet, they were also traceable. With a twinge of panic in the chest, Harper hastily turned it off.

“This is the theatre of the human species. This is what we face, day after day, when we go out there and mingle with those who chose to lose all their humanity. And I’m not going to lie to you; we don’t have a solution. It’s dangerous and it affects us all. You may go if you want to; no one is going to stop you. If you ever talk about what you saw here, if you point at us, it will be your hands full of our blood. The ones to survive will start it again somewhere else.”

Harper felt the heart pounding in the chest. It took the man five heart beats to sweep the room with his eyes full of gravity.

“There are many ways to help, and we will always protect those who do with our flesh and blood. I am certain you will have many questions, and I know you are afraid to ask. We will be waiting in the room next door, those of us here and many others, to answer all your doubts and explain how you may start to help. We will never ask a blood oath from you. We will never persecute you to ensure your loyalty. You are free to stay or go. After all, it is you, the last of the human species, who will decide everyone’s future.

The doors suddenly opened, including that behind Harper, who jumped in the seat. The stage went dark. The man came down, followed by his tattoed warriors, and got lost in the group already cramped in the exit.

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[drabblewatch]

Glow

Contest Information

All Contest Entries

Writer: @wrywires

 “Kat, it’s going to fall apart if you keep that up.” Mei warned me, lounging in her bed across the room with a pad of paper and pencil in hand. It was late, though hard to tell; we hadn’t seen the sun since we arrived at Eco Point: Greenland. The rest of the personnel assigned to help set up the base had either already flown out or were asleep, waiting for the final flight in the morning. Most of the holiday season had come and gone, and with New Years right around the corner, everyone was eager to get home.

  I sighed to myself, opening Genji’s letter for what felt like the hundredth time that night. The contents had been censored to avoid giving away details of the mission. The date stamp on the letter was from nearly a month ago, the last bit of communication from either of them before their mission required they go silent. I found myself going over it every time a pang of loneliness hit me. Which lately had been often. One paragraph in particular, just a few lines at the bottom of the page, offered the most comfort.

I must apologize again for the distance between us. Even in terms of our line of work, the amount of time we’ve been apart is unusual. I know it has been hard on you. I can only hope for this situation to be resolved quickly, but Zenyatta believes we will not make it home before the new year. For now, know that you are in my thoughts, as always. Keep safe. With much love, Genji

  Even after several dozen read-throughs, the contents hadn’t changed. Nothing to indicate when my wayward cyborg and his mentor might return. They weren’t technically overdue, which was the only thing keeping my worry concerning their mission in check. Folding the letter away again, I glanced through the window at the snowstorm outside, the same one that had been giving us grief off-and-on for the last week. No change, and according to Mei, there wouldn’t be for several hours. I sighed and hauled myself out of the folding chair Mei had offered to me when I came to visit, lonely and a little jittery from nerves.

“I think I’m going to bed.” I yawned, stuffing my hands and the letter into my coat pockets. Even with the heater going, just being at the eco point made me cold. “Thanks for the cocoa, Mei. Sorry for interrupting your personal time.”

Mei shook her head. “It’s no problem. I hope you feel better soon.”

“Thanks,” I repeated. “Well, have a good night.”

“See you in the morning!” She sang, waving after me as I shuffled into the hall and off to bed.

  It was the green glow that woke me. It shifted behind my eyelids, swirling in soothing patterns. The hushed, hurried whispering that accompanied it had me bolting upright, eyes wide and searching my cramped little room. The intruder froze in the doorway, stopped in the midst of scolding the small, glowing green dragon at his side.

  “Genji!” The exclamation came in a half-whisper, mindful of other eco point personnel asleep in the rooms around us. The cyborg dropped his bag in favor of folding me against his chest when I launched myself across the room, nearly tripping over my bedsheets. His armor was chilled from the outside air, raising goosebumps on my skin, but the quiet laugh that rumbled from him warmed me. The dragon floated around us, a slight breeze swirling through the room.

  “My little Kat,” Genji murmured sweetly in my ear. The hard edge of his faceplate pressed against the side of my head, and the ache in my chest that had been present for the last month lessened considerably. “I have missed you so.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked after a long moment, pulling away to look up into his visor. The dragon settled on my shoulders, nuzzling my face. I automatically scratched behind its horns. “Are you on a mission?” Genji chuckled, raising a hand to brush against my cheek.

  “No. I’m officially on leave, starting tomorrow.” I paused, frowning.

  “Me, too. But…wait, what are you doing here? Nonessential personnel are supposed to have left. How did you even get here?” His thumb pressed to my lips silenced me.

  “There will be time to talk later,” he promised. “For now, there is something I want to show you. Do you trust me, Katrina?”

  “Of course.” I replied without hesitation. “You know I do.” The dragon around my shoulders chirred. Genji nodded.

  “Put on your coat. We’re heading outside.” Intrigued, I quickly donned my snow gear. The dragon lifted from my shoulders, floating off again. There was a soft click and I turned to see Genji holding his scarf in one hand, the tip of the dragon’s tail just disappearing behind his back. The sharp V of his visor seemed to flash when he nodded to me again, lifting the scarf. “Please, close your eyes.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him, but did as he asked. With the improvised blindfold in place, a pair of mechanical hands slipped into my gloved ones, squeezing lightly.

  “Are you ready?”

  “I’m not really sure what I’m getting ready for,” I reminded him, “but sure.”

  “Just trust me.” Genji pulled me forward gently, leading me by the hand out the door. I tried to map in my head where he was taking me, but even after living there a month the base was easy to get turned around in. I wondered vaguely how he knew where he was going, or if he really did at all. The silence between the two of us brought all kinds of questions to mind. Why was he there, and how had he gotten there first among them. I doubted Winston would have approved a leisure trip to Antarctica, of all places, especially when we were supposed to be packing up for good in the morning.

  “Genji,” I tried, but he shushed me gently.

  “Patience.” He soothed, rubbing a thumb over my knuckles. “We are almost there. We’re stepping onto the lift, now. Brace yourself.” The floor beneath my feet shuddered and I clutched blindly at his arm for support as we were carried upward. The lift shuddered to a stop after a moment and he guided me off, onto solid flooring. The faint whistle of wind reached my ears.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “The comm tower.” Genji replied simply. “Don’t worry. I have the proper clearance.” There was a series of beeps somewhere in front of me, and the sound of heavy doors grating open. A sudden burst of frigid wind whipped past us, making me jump. I burrowed further into the collar of my jacket, squeezing his hand tight. Genji pulled me onto the catwalk that encircled the tower, holding me close until the doors slid shut behind us.

  “I will have to carry you from here.” He explained. “Climb onto my back and hold on tight.” He guided my hands into place on his shoulders and hefted me onto his back. I locked my limbs around him, burying my face into the plating covering his neck. I felt him tense, and with the first upward surge my stomach dropped.

  “Genji!” I yelped, gripping tighter out of fear. “Don’t-”

  “Kat,” his voice was calm, maybe a little amused. He kept a steady upward pace. “I will never let you fall.” Nevertheless, I clung desperately to him until, only a few moments later, I felt him climb over an edge. The wind lessened considerably, though the cold was still prevalent. Genji finally straightened, tapping my legs.

  “You can let go now. We have arrived.” Cautiously, I lowered one leg. Feeling something solid beneath me, I clambered off him and sank to my knees, shaking a little from nerves. I felt him settle behind me, his larger frame carefully surrounding my own. There was the familiar click of his mask sliding away and I felt him press a soothing kiss to the top of my head.

  “I apologize for startling you; there was no other way to reach this point.” I felt a tug at the scarf around my head, and the material fell away. “But I think you’ll enjoy this. Open your eyes, Kat.”

  I had been expecting darkness, the remnants of the storm creating a vast, inky expanse bracketed by the bleak canyon walls. Instead, the sky was awash with color. Towering, fluttering curtains of light twisted across it, illuminating the icy landscape in hues of brilliant green. The aurora almost seemed to dance, its ethereal ribbons undulating in the flow of solar winds. The sight stole my breath away, and I felt tears stinging my eyes as I struggled to take it all in at once.

  “How…” I turned to find him grinning back at me, amber eyes alight, the glow from the aurora glinting off his armor. “How did you know about this?”

  “Mei forecasted this solar storm weeks ago.” He explained. “Remember when I disappeared for those couple of days in November? I was…preparing.” I shook my head at him, incredulous.

  “I thought you were busy with missions.” I breathed, staring back up at the sky. “You might have mentioned you were planning something like this. You took me a little by surprise.”

  “It was a mission.” I felt him shrug behind me. “A personal one. You had mentioned you wanted to see an aurora at some point in your life.” I laughed at that, nearly choking on the elation swelling in my chest. We sat in silence until I’d recomposed myself a bit, basking in the glow of the lights and the presence of the one person I’d missed most over the holiday season.

  “Are you the one who convinced Winston to send me to Antarctica for a month?” I asked, the thought occurring to me suddenly. Genji made a suspiciously guilty sound in the back of his throat.

  “Well, Mei did need some help with the lab. Technically, you were the next best qualified for the job.”

  “Antarctica!” I repeated, twisting around to smack him lightly in the arm. “Antarctica, Genji!” He laughed, cheeks rosy from the cold.

  “You’re missing the aurora, Kat.” He pointed out. I yanked the collar of my coat down enough to stick my tongue out at him.

  “You just don’t want me yelling at you.” Genji shook his head, wrapping his arms around me to hold me close while we admired the celestial display above.

  “You never did say what you were doing here.” I recalled. “Or how you got here. Actually, nothing about you being here makes sense. And who authorized you for access to the comm tower, anyways?”

  “What is it McCree says? Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?” He replied flippantly. The answer set off a little bell inside my head.

  “Genji,” I warned, “I do trust you. But I don’t like being left in the dark. What have you been up to?” The cyborg was quiet for a moment, his arms tightening around my waist.

  “Before I answer that, there is something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

  “Alright.”

  I felt him take a deep breath. “Are you happy with me, Kat?”

  Frowning, I twisted to look up at him. He met my gaze evenly, expectant. Any outward sign of insecurity was happily absent, but that left me wondering.

  “Of course I am.” I assured him, shuffling around in the circle of his arms to fully face him. “Genji, is everything alright?” He relaxed a bit, offering a small smile.

  “I just wanted to be sure. Sometimes I wonder if I can properly give you what you are looking for.” I smiled back, raising a hand to cup his cheek.

  “Well, I didn’t really go looking.” I admitted. “But I found you just fine, anyways.” Genji’s eyes slide fluttered shut briefly and he leaned into the touch, white vapor rising from his lips in a sigh.

  “I apologize for being gone so long this time.” He murmured against my gloved palm.

  “You don’t have to apologize, I understand. It’s an occupational hazard.” His eyes opened again, nearly golden under the light from the aurora, and the intensity in them nearly burned.

  “Kat.” He said after a moment’s pause. “I love you. I…I don’t want to leave you again.” I gave a rueful smile and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his scarred lips. He was warm despite the frigid air. His arms tightened around me, pulling me closer to deepen the contact. We broke apart after a minute, breath crystallizing between us.

  “I know.” I murmured, resting our foreheads together. “I love you, too, Genji. I miss you when we’re apart, sure, but I know we’ll always find each other again. Besides, we both willingly signed on to this crazy ride.” Genji chuckled.

  “And we will see it through together. But I was hoping you might also join me on a different one.” I frowned in confusion when he pulled back, bringing a hand up between us. He flicked his wrist, but instead of a shuriken springing into place, a much smaller piece of metal slid into his hand.

  A ring, silver like his chest plate, with a glowing green band around the center. The same hue as the aurora above, and the lights covering his body. I stared, an odd flutter filling my chest as he held it up to me.

  “Katrina.” His voice was low and achingly sincere. “Will you marry me?” For a long moment, words failed me. I knew I had started shaking, my heart beginning to hammer in my chest. I suddenly felt as though I might cry, or scream, or be sick. Maybe all three. Genji was patient, eyes soft and watching closely for my reaction. Feeling the corners of my eyes begin to prickle, I sucked in a slow, steadying breath.

  “Yes.” I choked, unable to help the sob that tore from me. “Of course.” The next thing I knew Genji was crushing me to him, and I was sobbing helplessly into his shoulder. His dragon had appeared from somewhere and was zooming around above us, letting loose little chirrups while Genji murmured to me in English and Japanese, voice cracking, and nuzzled the side of my head. I pulled back enough to press another, more desperate kiss to his lips. It was wet and clumsy, too much teeth from all our grinning, and both of us were shaking from nerves and probably cold. It was the happiest I had felt in a long, long while.

  When icicles started forming on our eyelashes, we finally broke apart. Genji’s dragon floated down between us, nuzzling both our faces and earning giddy, breathless laughter between bouts of intense scratches. The dragon melted into a puddle on our laps, purring happily. Genji shook his head at it, muttering fondly in Japanese. He looked up at me, reaching for my gloved hands.

  “May I?” He breathed. I yanked the gloves off. The air was freezing, but his hands were warm as he slid the ring - also freezing - onto my finger. He squeezed my hands as though reassuring himself that yes, this was real, before I slide the gloves back on. Genji took my hands again and stood, the dragon spilling from our laps with an indignant squawk. I stumbled, giggling, still punch-drunk and my legs half asleep.

  “Come on,” he smiled, ignoring the wordless griping from the dragon as it swirled angrily around his head. “Let’s go inside before we all freeze up here.”

  “But the aurora!” I protested, turning on the spot for one last, long look at the shifting lights.

  “We can watch from the comm tower.” Genji reassured me, giving my hands another little tug. “The inside of the comm tower. Where there is heat.” I stopped turning and stared at him. The dragon was floating away, toward the edge of the tower.

  “Why didn’t you just propose to me there? Why’re we freezing our butts off?” Genji chuckled, pulling my arms onto his shoulders. He crouched down and hefted me onto his back once again, carrying me to the edge of the ice-encrusted tower.

  “It’s special, don’t you think?” He replied, reaching for a handhold. My fear of heights hadn’t dissipated with the onset of euphoria; I clung to him, burying my head in his shoulder so I wouldn’t have to see just how high up we were.

  “Yeah, I have to agree with you there.” I said into his plating. “How many people can say they’ve gotten engaged on top of a comm tower in the middle of Antarctica?” Genji chuckled.

  “Very few, I’m certain.”

  “You know, you lied to me.” I said once we’d settled into the comm center, Genji and I snuggled into one of the big chairs with the dragon sprawled in our laps. He frowned down at me over his cocoa, genuinely concerned.

  “I did?” The worry in his voice was certainly touching. I nodded sagely.

 “You promised you’d never let me fall.” I reminded him. “Well, that was a dirty, rotten lie. I fell for you.”

Genji took a sip of his cocoa, hiding a grin. “It’s true. But I did finally catch you in the end.” I felt his fingers squeeze my hand, his thumb brushing over the ring.

  “Yeah. I guess I can’t be too mad about that.” I sighed, wiggling further into the crook of his arm. “You know you’re not getting out of telling me how you planned all this, right?”

  “Aren’t I allowed to keep any secrets?” He lamented. I hummed thoughtfully, warm and content and not too invested in prying at the moment.

  “We’ll see. You’re not going to get in trouble with Winston, are you?”

 “Of course not.” He replied haughtily. “I always go through the proper channels when planning a proposal. Although you wouldn’t believe the amount of peanut butter it took to get me here.” I snorted, shaking my head at him. 

  “Was it worth it, ninja boy?” I asked. Genji chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. 

  “Of course.”