#'yeah. and get this: he inspected my TEETH???' GAG GAG

[dollypopup]

canon divergence AU where Penelope confides in Marina and they actually become friends slaps soooo hard tho

Penelope coming to Marina when Portia locked her up in her room and Marina telling her about George just like in canon, but this time, Penelope sympathizes with her and listens as Marina laments about George, and shows her their letters, and Penelope is so moved by how open Marina is and so touched by their love story that she shyly says "Marina, in finding this out, I cannot help but feel I have judged you unfairly. I was so upset at your growing closeness with. . .well. . .Colin. . .Colin is like my George. I am not with Colin’s child but I feel as though I feel about him the same as you do George. The way you talk about your George is the same as…well…I feel about Colin. Our feelings mirror one another." and Marina being so appreciative that Penelope confided in her and immediately being so understanding and supportive. She's waiting for George to come steal her away but she gets why Penelope is into Colin. They're bonded through their love being a difficult thing for them or a thing they cannot fully act on. they find kinship with one another through it and decide to help each other

Just imagine how much better *both* their lives would be if they just formed a real friendship? Penelope helping Marina with writing letters to George, having secret sleepovers in her room even tho Portia forbids it, banding together to stand up to her, snooping with one another after that letter she forges and discovering the truth together, thirsting over Colin!!! So many of Penelope's frustrations would be eased if she just had *someone* she could thirst over Colin with. Marina telling Pen how babies are actually made. Penelope using LW to help Marina find a husband and/or to attempt to find George. Marina telling Colin he's a sweet man, really, and that he's been nothing but kind to her, but he already has people that make him happy and people he makes happy, in turn. Marina's 'You have Penelope' actually making sense. Penelope becoming Marina's wingwoman and Marina becoming Penelope's. The two of them giggling behind their fans in a ballroom, whispering about how he just looks *so* cute when he's bumbling about looking for them on the dance floor and did you notice his waistcoat is especially form fitting tonight?

we could have female solidarity. we could have sisterhood. we could have Penelope's circle widening. we could have them openly thirsting on Colin having Cake on main!!! Marina can have a full support system. Penelope can have someone to vent with. Penelope introducing Eloise and Marina to each other! The friendship! The sarcasm! The roasting of nonsensical ton rules and expectations!

We can even still have Marina in a carriage with Phillip, so long as she chooses it, because Penelope in this AU would ensure Marina got *more* choices, not less, but this time Penelope runs to her, clutching her hands, telling her she'd write. we could have Penelope coming to visit, having an opportunity to leave her mum's house whenever she wants under the 'I'm going to see Marina' excuse. we could have Penelope playing with Amanda and Oliver as Marina teaches them French or going on promenades with her out on the *massive* grounds. We could have Marina tell Penelope how good it is to have family over. . .well, *some* family, and the two of them laughing about it. We could have ALL the Portia roasts. We could have Marina slyly going 'soooooo, what of Colin?' when she stops by and Penelope going 'soooo, what of *your* affairs?' in return as they titter about it

we could have it all

[yourmomni]

RIVALS -Chapter 2

I rolled over in my bed and grabbed my phone trying to look at the time. i gasped " SHIT GUYS GET UP WERE LATE" i screamed. Minyoung fell out of bed groaning while everyone else popped up. "IT 5AM WE HAVE AN HOUR BEFORE TAKE OFF." we all rushed out of bed tripping over minyoung and eachother trying to make it to the bathroom to get ready. "Where's my neck pillow." areum yelled from the living room. "I cant find my other croc, Minyoung did you wear my shoes again." i screamed. "omg i cant believe we slept through 7 alarms whats wrong with us."

A flashback played in my mind from last night. we were all up sitting in circle with a jeju island plampet out circiling all the activities we wanted to do. "oh lets go for a hike, i heard the sun rise from mount hallasan is beautiful." jiwoo cirlced the trail on the pamplet, i shrugged drink what was left in my soda can. "sure i gues. ohhh what if we go to a museum?" i asked pointing at a picture of a big brown building. Minyoung gagged. "ew learning on a trip i dont think so if i wanted to learn i would of went to school." i smacked her with a pillow. " the museum sounds fine y/n, i was thinking we could maybe go fruit picking, my uncle has a farm down there and i know he would love some help on it it'll be fun." Areum scoffed "yeah no me and dirt dont mix but ill wave from the patio." we laughed. I got up and walked to the kitchen throwing away my can

then sun went down hours ago but it was still hot and humid outside. Spring was just around the corner and it was already feeling like summer. i glanced at the memeber seeing them joking and laughing at eachothers ideas. It brought me back to when i first moved to korean in 2018 not knowing anyone and being to scared to talk, until i met them.

I just joined our company and was staying in the company dorms in a room with 7 other girls. They we loud and annoying and were always leaving me to clean up their mess.I was to shy to tell them off, thinking that if i did it enought maybe one day they would just leave me alone. On the day before evaluations and dorm checks I only cleaned up my side of the dorm leaving theirs the way it was. When the inspecter came by and graded us he yelled at them for having such a messy arean and praised me for being so organized. After the evaluation the girls yelled at me for "making them look bad" and not cleaning thier side. " I bet you did that on purpose you want me to leave your so selfish." she threw he towel at my face. My dads words repeating in my head over and over "Never let them get a reaction out of you." i stared down at the towel that ws thrown at me and picked itup putting it in the dirty hamper. " Hello are you deaf im fucking talking to you." i jumped at her words. " its not my fault you didnt clean up your mess im not your maid." i said gritting my teeth, trying hard not to sound how i felt.small. she scoffed at my answer. " in korean culture the youngest always cleans up after the older memebers thats just how it is." she grabbed the clothes and empty noddle containers and placed it on my bed. My eyes widend. "now clean." My hands began shaking and my heart was racing. Confrontations were never my strong suit. everyone was now standing around us watching the argument go down. I slowly walked to my bed and began taking everything off of it. She started laughing and so did a couple of other girls. A tear slipped from my eyes and quickly whipped it away. When i reacher for a noddle container someone grabbed my wrist.

"what the hell is going on here."

I looked up at the voice and a girl with long wavy brown hair and basketball shorts was standing infront of me blocking my veiw.

"nothing nani were just teaching the new girl some korean costums." i bit my lip looking down and contiued taking everythign off my bed and into the trash. She turned towards me again and grabbed my hand locking them into hers. "clean up your own mess sejin this isnt the villa." my eyes widded as long as ive been here ive never heard anyone stand up to Sejin. "Shes not your maid and she sure as hell isnt going to keep cleaning up after you and your rat tails." the girls beside sejin gasped holding their ponytails. She swipped all of sejins stuff of my bed and began throwing her clothes out the window. Sejin screamed grabbing Lanani's arms. i grabbed nani an tried to pull her off of sejin

I smirked at the memory. Remembering how i made my first friend during my trainee days after Nani, jennifer came to our company,then kazumi and so on. Minyoung was the last to join us as we became one group. Looking out for eachother and taking care of one another. Building up eachothers confidence. We we basically a family.

I was brought back to reality when i saw minyoung drifting off to sleep leaning on the couch grasping her her phone in one had and a fry in the other. I smiled "Okay lets wrap thing up its almost 2am and we have a flight to catch in 4 hours lets all get some rest." Jenn said picking up the scattered soda cans and takeout boxes. "ok but lets all put a alarm on our phones so we wake up on time." kazumi added. we nodded and all pulled out our phones " with this amny alarms we cant be late to the flight hell we might even be early for a chance." Sena joked. we laughed and made our way to bed. Flashback to now we were running in the airport to our flight. "Guys i really have to pee." Minyoung whinned. we all yelled about how she could use it on the plane " Gate Number 5 For jeju will be closing in 5 minutes." the voice echoed on the intercom. "WERE NOT GONNA MAKE IT." Areum cried slowing down. I grabbed her hand and contiued to run "guys look i see 5." Nani screamed. we all zoomed to the gate making it just in time before the flight attendent closed the door. we presented our tickets to her and we walked to our seats.

I sat down in my seat and relaxed my body exhaling out of my mouth recling the seat back. "first class is the best class." Areum slumped beside me pulling down her privacy window putting her eye mask on i nodded. "tell me about it." The next hour went by really fast only allowing me to get only 20 minutes of sleep. We landed and i was the first one off than plan, i was too excited for our day of fun to start that i totally forgot about my friends. "Y/N slow down girl were gonnaa be here for a month your not going to miss anything." sena said counting us one by one making sure she didnt forget one of us. " we cant have a repeat of last year in italy."

Minyoung frowned. "i swear that lady looked just like kazumi how was i supposeto know she wasnt, and you guys eventually found me." Nani scoffed. "um yeah like 4 hours later." we grabbed our bags at baggage claim and mde our way out of the airport. A sign that had our groups name on it was being held up by a small man waving it aroud frantically. "halabeoji" areum squeaked running to the guy who i now recongnized as areums grandpa. "hi my love, welcome to jeju hopefully the flight was comfortable." she kissed his cheek and moved out of the way so we could talk to him

"Oh my girls you've aall gotten so big." we smiled and hugged him. "halabeoji its been so long." i said smiling at him "i almost couldnt recognize you, you look so much smaller." he blushed. "aw you girls make me feel young everytime i see you." he helped load our luguage into the trunk of the car and we were on our way to the house. "you girls are gonna love the house, when areum was young she would spent hours in the play room. Oh i also stocked up the fridge for you girls so dont worry about any shopping." we all thanked him.

we made it to the house and un loaded te car. "wow this house is beautiful." I said looking at the beautiful lake house in front of me. " Y/n omg they have jet ski's" minyoung squealed from the side of the house. She appeared smiling now running all the way to the back. " They have a speed boat." She screamed. I smiled and helped carry the rest of the bags in the house.

Areums grandpa bid us Fairweather immediately after saying he had a business call to take and he'll be back at the end of the week. We waved bye to him and went to see our rooms.

"OK guys welcome to the Parks summer home in jeju." Areum announced making us laugh. "So there are only 6 bedrooms-" "SIX" We said collectively. "Yes six and 4 bathrooms, we also have a game room, indoor pool, movie room, and a upstairs balcony. So please enjoy your time here and remember your break you buy." We laughed at her finishing sentence and clapped.

"OK so who's sharing a room?" Kazumi asked already heading to a room. We looked at eachother and ran upstairs to the rooms. I ran for the first door but sena beat me to it closing the door yelling a sorry after. Areum was fighting minyoung over a room saying it's always been hers. I ran for the 3rd door throwing my stuff in and closing it resting my back on it signing in triumph. "Fancy seeing you here." My eyes shot open seeing jiwoo sitting on the bed smirking at me. "Shit." She laughed." Dont worry I bought face mask."

I shrugged and we opened the door to see the set up. Minyoung and kazumi were sharing a room while the others got their own.

I headed downbstairs to check our food choices and started pulling out some food to put on the grill." Um I don't see any ramen in here." Jiwoo was looking through the cupboards and drawers. "Damnit maybe we do have to go to the store." I closed the fridge putting everything I took out to the side so I can wash the meat. "NO we don't our neighbors are really n8ce maybe they have some extra ramen laying around I'll take minyoung and go ask." Areum slipped on her shoes. "Wow our Sophia is so amazing." We clapped and she blushed." OH stop it."

Areum and minyoung walked to the neighbors house that was just down the drive way. "So are you excited for everything." Areum asked minyoung. She nodded smiling " yeah I really need this break I'm super excited to go to the aquarium and to see all the museums hopefully this trip is going to be amazing." We walked up the neighbors drive way and areum stopped

"Well that's weird." She tilted her head. "When did they get a van. We lookedbat eachother and minyoung shrugged. " maybe they have company." We walked to the door and areum ringed the door bell. We waited then heard feet patrering ." Sunoo I got it." We looked at eachother. " Sunoo." She mouthed at areum. Their eyes were turning big. The door opened and Jay was standing there

Minyoung gasped he smirked. "OH hello ladies how may I help you." Behind him you could see the other boys throwing things. " Nevver mind have a good day." Areum grabbed my hand and we ran down the hill. " SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT."

[neon-junkie]

what do you HC the clones' moans to sound like? personally I HC fives as being unabashedly loud but his moans are rough and ragged and he tends to run his mouth, echo is quieter, more panting than anything but he whimpers when he's close, jesse growls and tends to grit his teeth, hardcase likes to talk too just like fives, but he's not as loud and his moans are mostly long and drawn out when he does moan (lots of "mhmm"s) and rex's moans are soft and smooth

Decided to do a few of the 501st boys for this, else I'd be here all day xD Gender neutral reader, 500 words.

Rex - Literally music to your ears. Rex isn't the loudest man out there, but he never fails to express how much he's enjoying you. He lets out deep, soft, and smooth moans, along with the occasional words of praise. Rex likes to compliment everything; your body, your expression, how you look beneath him, etc. He's a very sensual lover.

Echo - Like Rex, Echo is also soft and smooth. He's somewhat quiet, but far from silent, and lets out the prettiest whimpers known to man. Echo often gets caught up in watching you, and forgets to express how much he's enjoying this. He's used to his partner asking if he's okay, to which he shakes his head and mumbles, "me? Oh, yeah. Sorry, cyar'ika. I was busy admiring you."

Fives - Loud. Chatty. Always gets noise complaints from the neighbours. Fives doesn't want to be louder than you, but he typically is. If you're a loud person, then he'll challenge that; he likes to bounce back whatever energy is being given to him. He dabbles in both praise, and degradation, depending on what you're into. However, he goes silent when he cums. Silent. Orgasms short circuit his poor brain!

Jesse - Very similar to Fives, definitely a loud king. Jesse loves being in charge, and he loves reminding you that he is. He's essentially going to chew your ear off during sex, so having quiet sex is basically impossible. You can try and gag him - try being the key word - but he'll always find a way to talk through his gag. Good luck keeping the noise down!

Tup - With new partners, he's somewhat shy. He likes to see how loud you are, then match your noise levels. Tup isn't one for dirty talk, but if you dirty talk to him, his face will turn redder than Mustafar. He likes muttering the occasional praise, but the main thing that flows from his lips are soft pants and moans. Over time, he will become more audible, he just needs to see what you're like first.

Dogma - Most of the time, he's quiet, mostly because he knows he shouldn't be doing any of these things with you. It doesn't matter if you're hooking up at your apartment, Dogma is going to keep the noise down. However, if you edge him, and turn him into a desperate mess, then his mask will swiftly slip away, and you'll find out what a needy and babbling man he is.

Hardcase - Chatty. Giggly. Hardcase likes to ensure that his partner is enjoying themselves, and he'll check in on you at least 5 times per hookup. He's the type of man to remember things mid-sex, and mutter them out loud like, "Oh, yes! Cyar'ika, you feel so good, you... kriff, I forgot to turn my blaster in for inspection... Anyway, keep going, darling, that's it!"

Kix - Like Rex, Kix sounds like music to your ears. He’s never too loud, and always sends the right amount of praise your way. Kix is a sensual lover, with a bit of kick to him, and he expresses that in the bedroom. Expect soft whimpers, deep moans, and the odd sprinkle of dirty talk.

[fruitcoops]

I'm not the anon that asked about Remus and subspace/aftercare but I'd love to see more of it if/whenever you would like/have time💜 The way you write these things is so respectful, loving, and comforting and I love it so much!

Thank you so much, anon! I hope everyone who requested this enjoys it <3 Coops credit goes to @lumosinlove!

TW for implied smut (not super explicit), nudity, aftercare, subdrop/ subspace, restraint, tears (the good kind)

“Easy,” Sirius murmured into the sweaty skin of Remus’ neck, holding him close as he splayed his hand over Remus’ belly. The muscles jumped under his palm and a shudder ran through him as he scrambled for a clumsy hold on Sirius’ arm and shoulders. “Re, easy.”

A hoarse whine slipped out beside his heaving breaths and he let out a low moan when Sirius adjusted his grip to keep him upright. “More,” Remus begged, grinding his hips back even as he shook through the aftershocks. “More, more, more—“

“You’re done,” Sirius interrupted gently, pressing a kiss to the junction of his neck and shoulder.

Remus shook his head frantically. “No, no, I can do it, I gotta, no, please.”

“You’re done.” Sirius leaned back to take more of his weight despite the fact that he was practically holding Remus already. He slid the arm locked across Remus’ chest up to brush the damp hair from his eyes and guided his head to lay back against Sirius’ shoulder. “Deep breaths for me, just like that. In and out.”

“I can’t,” Remus panted, swallowing hard as he gripped Sirius’ thighs weakly. “Baby, please, just—just let me—one more time, just one more.”

“Remus.”

“I’m sorry.” A tear squeezed from the corner of his eye, following the path of many from the throes of pleasure that had left him gasping in the way Sirius loved. “Fuck, it’s always so much. ‘m tired, and ‘m horny.”

Sirius kissed his cheek and ran slow fingers through his curls until Remus went boneless into his chest with a punched-out sound; he closed his eyes and snuggled into Sirius, rubbing his cheek along his collarbone. “There you go,” he praised quietly. Slipping into subspace wasn’t super common for either of them, but when it did happen, Sirius was only too happy to help him through it.

If his memory served, Remus’ adrenaline would finally be draining and the steady slide into the land of the living was beginning. His own drop was a little different, but he recognized the signs well enough. “Love you,” Remus managed, watching him with hooded, adoring eyes. “Love you. Y’know I love you, yeah?”

“I do,” he assured him, laying back to pull Remus onto his chest—they were entangled almost instantly as Remus mouthed aimlessly along his chest and shoulders. Teeth sank into the ridge of his collarbone. “Ouch.”

“Sorry,” Remus mumbled, snuggling closer. His hair was a mess from both their hands and his lips were swollen red, sure to be chapped when the shine faded. Sirius felt guilty for half a second before remembering that Remus was the one who bit his own lips when he got close. And, fuck, had he been close.

“How are you feeling?” He inspected the light scratch marks on his forearms as Remus’ heartbeat went from rabbit-quick to just-worked-out. Maybe we should have chosen a different position for the end, he thought, then shook his head. Marks on his forearms would be less likely to get chirped than ones on his back.

“Alright.”

“How can I help you?”

Remus made a face, but didn’t open his eyes. His thigh was slick and tacky where it rested on Sirius’ hip. “Warm. Uncomfy. Don’t wanna go.”

That was the hardest part of aftercare, in Sirius’ opinion. Remus’ accent was pretty mild most of the time, but it came out full force after something intense and the small fragments of words rarely connected with Sirius’ limited English as his own brain came back online. Still, it was the least he could do after Remus worked him through five straight minutes of rambling French each time he dropped.

“Water,” Remus sighed, toying at the sheets with a trembling hand. “Sticky.”

“I’ll get a washcloth when you’re ready.”

“Take m’ with you.”

Sirius laughed softly and kissed his forehead, pushing the heel of his hand along Remus’ spine to work out any knots or stiffness. His knees ached, and he wasn’t even sure if he could carry his own weight before a few moments of rest. “I can’t carry you yet, mon coeur.”

“Sexy nickname. Sexy times.” Remus hitched his leg up over Sirius’ hip with great effort. “More?”

“Not right now, sweetheart.” A dopey smile spread over his face and Sirius felt a well of affection bloom in his chest. Remus hummed, running his thumbs over the middle of Sirius’ ribs. “Good job. Are you coming down a little more?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’m going to keep holding you, then get a washcloth, then some water, okay? But I’m not going anywhere right now.”

“Sticky.”

“I know. We’ll fix that in a minute or so. Was that good?”

Remus squirmed around until his front was pressed against Sirius side, sharing their radiating warmth. “Real good.”

He traced the outline of his mouth with the pad of his thumb and smiled when Remus nipped at it. “Your lips look sore.”

“Hmmm.”

“Next time, we should remember to use a gag if I’m not keeping an eye on you.”

Remus looked up at him eagerly, his gaze clearing of some of its fogginess. “Yeah, yeah, for sure.”

“How’s the rest of you?” Sirius watched him carefully as he straightened all his limbs with a heavy sigh, making faces here and there. “Nothing too bad?”

“Knees hurt, but I like it. Fingers are a little sore.” Mischief flickered over his face. “Ass hurts.”

“Color me shocked,” Sirius deadpanned, drawing a snort from him. “It wasn’t too much?”

Remus shook his head and stretched; his back arched, then popped, and he flopped back down with a contented noise. “Nope.”

“You look better now.”

He raised an eyebrow and rolled to face Sirius, bringing him closer with a hand on his cheek. “I needed that.”

Sirius nuzzled their noses together. “Any time, mon loup.”

They had moved well past adrenaline, latent arousal, and dizziness, and he was willing to bet Remus would be okay in bed alone for longer than a minute or two soon. The stress of a week of back-to-back interviews from people questioning every aspect of Remus’ life as the new rookie had just built and built and built until he had snapped over dinner, his rare temper flaring up before he looked Sirius dead in the eyes and all but demanded to be fucked until he couldn’t think about anything else.

“Way-it,” Remus said into the skin of his shoulder. Sirius hummed in question and felt a hand pull at his waist. “Weight, please.”

Sirius gathered him close and maneuvered until he could press down on Remus without making him feel trapped—my own personal weighted blanket, Remus teased. “Better?”

He felt the steady rise and fall under him and the buzz of a happy sound in his neck. Remus always got cuddly once he was done with the desperation and the confusion; that was the part that stuck around longest, and if Sirius was being honest, his favorite part of the whole process. For someone who was usually so ambiguous about physical contact, he could be wonderfully tactile.

There was a fine art to making sure the transition was as smooth as it could be—it was a team effort, despite the fact that Remus was fairly out of it for the first half. Sirius rubbed his back to get his attention and rested their foreheads together. “I’m going to get a washcloth and water, d’accord?”

Remus held him tighter.

“Re.” He trailed his finger along the slope of his nose, then tilted his chin up. “I need you to trust me. I’ll be right back for snuggles, but you’re sticky and we’re both dehydrated.”

Rebellion and familiar stubbornness sparked up. “No.”

“Three minutes. You can time me.” God, I hope that’s enough time.

“Stay with me.”

“You were just telling me you were uncomfortable and sticky.”

“Take me with you.”

“My legs are tired.” He combed both hands through Remus’ hair and watched his eyes, still a little red from tears and exertion, flutter slightly closed from the feeling. “Three minutes, and then I promise I’ll be right here. Do you trust me?”

Slowly, Remus nodded, and his hold released.

“Thank you.” Pull it together, Sirius reminded himself as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, using the edge as a crutch for a brief moment. His muscles begged to be left alone on the bed with Remus, but they both needed to get cleaned up before sleeping and Sirius really had to pee. Who knew holding a 180-pound hockey player in place as he shook and writhed would take so much effort?

Sirius. Sirius knew. And it had absolutely been worth it.

He rinsed his face in the sink and ran the damp washcloth over his arms—the scratches didn’t sting, but they were fading to a nice pinkish crosshatch with small lilac bruises where Remus’ fingertips dug in as he finally came, clinging to the forearm that held his back to Sirius’ chest. Without Sirius’ other arm applying pressure to his hips while his hand moved tight over his shaft, Remus would probably have slid right down onto the duvet in a puddle of endorphins.

“Stay awake,” Sirius reminded him as he entered their bedroom once again and settled into his old spot to lean Remus against his ribs so he could drink.

“I’m—” He cleared his throat and took a sip. Remus wasn’t much of a howler or moaner, not like Sirius, but his babbling and breathless sobs of overwhelming pleasure had certainly done a number on his throat. “I’m awake.”

“You sound stronger and look more like you.” Sirius stabilized his chin between his thumb and pointer, carefully wiping Remus’ face clean with the small towel; some of the frazzled edges smoothed out, and soon he just looked tired. Settled. Sated.

Those were all good things in Sirius’ book as he washed away some of the mess along Remus’ thighs once the tear tracks were gone. They would need to shower later, but he didn’t think either of them could stand long enough at the moment, and a bath would quickly turn into a nap. “You’re so good to me,” Remus whispered.

“Because I love you and you deserve good things.” He set his supplies aside and relaxed into the pillows, pulling Remus down with him. “Are you okay with not seeing my face at the end?”

“Yeah. It’s nice to change up sometimes.” His thumb moved in curling patterns over the light, mouth-shaped bruises littering Sirius’ skin. “You’ll tell me if I go too far, right?”

Sirius smiled and turned so they were face-to-face. “That’s my line.”

“You’re always bruised.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I really like it.”

“Kinky motherfucker,” Remus teased, poking his sternum. Sirius didn’t protest, just admired the grounded look on his face and the happy post-orgasm glow that rose high on his cheeks. “You’re staring again.”

“I stare at you all the time. You’re too pretty not to be looked at.”

Remus smiled, slinging a leg over Sirius’ hip and drawing him closer with an arm around his ribs; callused fingers tapped in random rhythms between his shoulder blades, and Sirius let the tension flow from his whole body. This is what people mean when they say ‘warm and fuzzy’, he thought sleepily, sinking into a gentle kiss from plush lips. The drop could be difficult to navigate sometimes, but it was always, always worth it to melt together at the end.

[krxideprnz-archive]

I was wondering, if you would be able to do one with Gojo half stuck in the prison realm. You know, powers sealed and half kneeling 🌚 and let’s just pretend nothing happened in Shibuya

Omg I totally thought of a similar thing when I read it in the manga.

I’m so glad you requested this 😭✨ I was actually so excited that I started right away.

I hope you enjoy this 💕

A special thanks to my friend who helped me out with trying to figure out a way to get (Spoilers) Gojo stuck in the prison realm outside of Shibuya. You’re a legend 🙏

Sub! Gojo x Dom! Reader

This includes content not suited for minors

Includes- orgasm denial/blowjob/handjob/Gojo being stuck

You didn’t mean to do set it off.

Satoru and you were meant to take a look at the new cursed objects that were found and secured.

You inspected the different intend closely, Satoru following close behind you.

You grabbed a cube, spinning it in your hand, and when you were about to ask Satoru about it’s use, you accidentally set it off.

To prevent you from getting sealed, he quickly pushed you away, trying everything to not get sealed himself.

To his luck, he didn’t get sealed completely, only one half of him was inside of the prison realm, looking into the dark void filled with skulls and bones.

He could hear your muffled voice, calling out to him, asking him if he was doing alright.

“Yeah, I’m fine I think”

You could faintly hear his response, but instead you only concentrated on the sight before you.

The only thing you could see of your boyfriend was his lower back to his feet, his knees almost meeting the ground, ass practically begging to be touched by you.

“Can you help me? You need to- h-hey!”

You rubbed over his clothed ass, grinning when you heard his shocked yell.

Your hand wandered lower, tracing over his inner thigh, your other hand touching his back under his jacket.

“Really? Here?” He was trying to sound annoyed, but you could hear his voice shake when you palmed his clothed cock in his boxers.

You only continued rubbing against him, feeling him hardening underneath his layers of clothing.

“Your reactions tell me that you want this as much as I do”

He didn’t respond, only trying to push himself further out, wich resulted in him pressing even further into your hand, his ass meeting you hips.

A moan tore itself from his throat when your hand slipped into his pants, cold hands touching his hardened dick.

You pushed his jacket up to kiss his back, leaving hickeys and small marks on his skin.

After you pulled his pants and underwear to his ankles, you walked away from him to close the door.

You could hear a muffled whine, he was wiggling around, searching for your touch.

Walking behind him slowly, you heard him whimper a little louder.

“(Y- Ngh!!”

His breath got caught in his throat at the sudden feeling of your hand touching his inner thigh again, hand wandering towards where he needed you the most.

“Do you want my hands around you, Toru? Ask for it nicely and I’ll give you what you need”

His hips pressed further back against yours, a small ‘yeah’ coming from the prison realm.

“Yeah? Come on, you can do better than that. Show me how bad you need my hands wrapped around your cock”

You could hear his voice coming from inside the prison realm “I need you! I need your hands around me, I’m so horny!” You could only imagine how he looks right now, face flushed and sweat dripping down his brow, he was always so needy and desperate for your touch.

After he said what you wanted, you grabbed him completely, his hands frantically searching for something to hold on to.

You moved your hand up and down his length, touching his swollen tip with your thumb, your other hand was busy toying with his balls.

His moans got louder and louder, his mouth hung open, drool dripping down the corners of his lips.

You continued pressing kisses against his muscular back, teeth touching his warm skin ever so often.

After speeding up your movements, twisting your hand around his length, you could see his legs shake and heard his moans getting much more frequent.

Soon after, he came into your hand, some of it flowing down your forearm in a thin stream.

You spread his legs and told him to kneel down lower, lying down between his legs, his cock over your mouth.

He twitched at the feeling of your breath fanning over his wet dick and your hands grabbing his hips.

Without a warning, you took him into your mouth, licking and sucking all around his sensitive length.

He threw his head back, hands touching every part of him he could reach, twisting his sensitive nipples and touching his toned stomach under his shirt.

You moaned around him, the vibrations of your voice making him see stars.

Never once did he think this small job would lead to him getting sucked off by you, but he was enjoying every second of it.

His hips tried to move in sync with your lips, but you were quick to pinch him as a warning.

Satorus moans got more high pitched, ‘oh’s’ and ‘ah-s’ leaving his lips at the pleasure you were giving him.

You took him in even deeper inside of your mouth, throat tightening around him deliciously.

“Ye-ah! ngh! so- hnn~ so close!!” he whimpered, moans cutting him of every time he wanted to say something.

You heard a knock on the door.

“Gojo! (L/N)! Are you still not done?”

Quickly removing him from your mouth, not missing the pained yell falling from his parted lips, you answered

“We’re gonna be done soon!”

“Why is the door closed?”

You wanted to answer, but his frequent needy whines made you change your mind.

Without answering you took him into your mouth again, his eyes rolling back and legs almost giving out under him.

You went even faster than before, his head hitting the back of your throat, almost gagging around his length.

“Yes! Cl-ngh! close a-agai-ah!”

Satoru released with a staggered yell, cum shooting down your throat and coating the insides of your mouth.

After moving away from him when he came down from his high, you wiped your lips and readjusted yourself.

You pulled his pants back up after giving him a slap on his ass.

“Hey!” you heard from the other side.

With a small giggle, you pressed a kiss to his back and walked over to the door.

“Time to get you out of there, Toru~!”

[justyouraverageanonbloghere]

Survival of the Fittest 2

I gotta say, I knew my brother wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed but the fact he didn't suspect a thing from me was honestly mind blowing. I've yet to learn to access Devin's memories so I was in the dark the rest of the time at the bar. And to act like I understood an iota of football rules was nothing short of an extreme sport. But sure enough, the alcohol that Anthony was downing helped me get through it. The only other obstacle- if you'd call it that- was playfully flirting with the male bartender throughout the night. Not audibly of course. Just through subtle and discreet actions.

He'd wink and I'd bounce my pecs.

He'd grind his half hard reaction and I'd nonchalantly adjust my half hard cock.

Needless to say when Anthony went to the bathroom he slid me his number.

To do all of this in the body of a former homophobe was nothing short from a power high.

To keep up appearances, I helped sober Anthony up and take him to his car until I got to mine. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and attach my psyche to Devin's. Within seconds I was gripping my head as information flooded into me while my body accepted 24 years of memories into a new vessel. This felt like hours as I grit my teeth to endure this agonizing pressure until it just ceased. Just like that.

"Motherfuck-" I groan only for Devin's voice to come out. I blink and give a quick test. Yep. Still in control. Which means. "Now I have all your memories, asshole!" I laugh triumphantly and crack my neck. "But I like my voice coming out more. It's a better reminder of who owns this body now." I chuckle with my voice coming out instead.

To better show I have control, I peel off my shirt and toss it in the back and bring the car to life once the key was turned into the ignition. "Now let's see what kind of place I live in now."

The drive went by smoothly if you don't take into account that everytime I'd wait at a red light I'd be groping my neglected dick through my shorts. Can't be helped after all that's transpired today. Once I made it back to the apartment complex that Devin lived in, I wanted to gag once I entered his home.

Talk about a fucking pig sty! Beer cans in the kitchen sink, a dead houseplant with cigarette butts overflowing from the pot, crusty dishes piling on the three stove burners while the other one had stacked pizza boxes on it. I was going to relax but I guess that will have to wait.

Needless to say I was cleaning until the early hours of the morning only to be awaken by the sound of angry pounding on my door. Checking my phone I saw I only slept for a good three hours.

Groaning, I threw on a clean shirt and trudged to the door. I opened it to see the landlord looking at me incredibly pissed.

"I have HAD it with you, Devin! Everyone complains about the parties, the smoking, and the smell, but the neighbors are FURIOUS of the constant in and out you were doing last night."

"Ma'am, I can explain."

"No! No more explaining! I refuse to allow pigs to live in my complex!"

I knew words weren't going to get her to listen so I just stepped out the way and opened the door wide to show her. "I've been cleaning all night. I guess you can say something came over me and I realized I couldn't keep living like that. So I'm sorry. I assure you things will be different."

She was stunned, jaw to the floor. So much to the point where she let herself in to inspect the whole apartment. "I-I don't understand-"

"You don't need to, ma'am. Like I said I had a revelation yesterday and I'm trying to be a better me. Here, I'll make us some coffee."

Oh yeah, when I was cleaning I was buying groceries afterwards. Healthy shit mostly to keep my body in shape, but I always had a love for caffeine. The landlady agreed and had a seat, taking in every major difference within the apartment. Once the pot was ready, she was getting ready to stand up until I shook my head.

"Please, have a seat. I'll serve you myself." I got her a mug and poured her a cup in front of her before serving myself afterwards and sitting opposite from her at the table. Even then she stared at me like I grew a second head.

"I have to say, I never expected this from someone like you. I know people can change but it's like you're a completely different person."

I couldn't help but laugh out of how accurate she was at that statement. "Sorry for laughing. I can't help but feel proud over how stunned you are. But I promise you this Devin is here to stay." I grin before taking another sip.

We ended up chatting for a bit before I bade her farewell and closed the door. Finally. Now to catch up on some sleep.

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

I awoke sometime after 2 in the afternoon feeling more refreshed. Though waking up to see two mounds of muscle rising and falling with each breath made me grin. I walked over to the bathroom to take it all in again.

"See that, Devin? Even your landlord prefers me over you." I gloat as I take a pic of me flexing my biceps. Fuck I looked hot. I'd then remove my shirt to now get better acquainted with my new body.

"Such power in these muscles." I hiss as I slowly move my hands along my abs, taking in each deep groove and incline of muscle as I slowly cupped my pecs. "I could easily pummel Anthony with my newfound strength." I laugh while licking and kissing each mound of muscle that lined my arms before pinching my nipples and jolting in response.

"You may have been physically stronger than me, Devin, but I am stronger in mind, soul, and will. And soon I will use your own hands to punish your best friend for partaking in my death!" I laugh hysterically before reaching for my phone and going on Instagram to find one person in particular. My former boyfriend, Sven. He was built due to his family having him do heavy lifting at their company. I can only imagine how he's been after my death. I was about to rub one out but I had to enact phase one of my plan.

To get Sven back.

[the-soliloquies-of-sadists]

#192

“Is this your truck? I’m here to inspect the cargo…. No, no, no, I see you don’t have a trailer attached. I was told that you are a new driver for us. I’m referring to the cargo you have in your cab…. I’ll follow you up…. Well fuck. This isn’t a standard slab of meat I normally see. This one is huge. It’s hard to tell how tall it is because of how you have its legs spread wide secured to the sides of the cab....

“How tall would you say? It looks like about 6′ 4′ or 6′ 6″?… Oh you have its profile from the hook up app. Let me see. 6′5″ and 290 pounds. Wow. Some of my fellow troopers are that big. He’s 46. Damn that’s twice the maximal age we like them. The young ones bring in the cash on the auction block. But this one is unique; its size and muscularity should fetch a healthy amount. There’s this Scotsman from Glasgow who likes pale skinned gingers. Those blonde pubes are gold. And it’s hard to tell because you have a cage on its pecker, but it seems to be huge there as well. Those balls alone are probably the largest I have ever seen. First thing I would do if I owned this piece of meat would be to have a ball press installed constantly inflicting pain. Now, the cage is not standard. I’m surprised they didn’t tell you to not use the plastic variety….

“What? It came to you with its own cage on?… No way. It walked over to you buck naked across the parking lot of the vista view wearing only that cage. It was just you and it right?… Good. That must have been one hell of a sight. Look at those arms and those pecs. I mean it must have been one hell of a gorilla…. It wore its hood too?…

“Are those its blindfolds and noise cancelling headset?… No, those are yours. Good. So he can’t hear what we are saying. Let me read is profile on the app again…. ‘46 year-old muscle head seeks sadistic trucker to submit to. Whore me out to your buds in your truck stop shower room, or leave me all night bound in the trees behind a rest area for any other trucker, make me your urinal. No act is too degrading. No abuse is too brutal. Into mind fucks like kidnap fantasies and rapes. I am a no limits slave other than no animals, no kids, no blood, no body mods and no scat. Total sub here, I do not top. Truckers only.’

“These fags are fucking hysterical. No limits is followed by six limits. Although we are cruel slavers, animals and kids are off totally limits. The first thing I would have done to establish my authority after reading that is to take a dump in its mouth…. Oh you did? That’s hysterical. It ate it?… Good fag. Let me check it out further. Nice chest hair pattern. It will probably get to keep it. Nice plump titties. They don’t look worked over. Even better. Great balls. Now for the ass.

“Well, I knew something was bound to be a problem; it was too perfect. This hole has been used, stretched. That is one large gape. This is a mess. It’s leaking cum. When was it fucked last?… An hour ago? Damn! How many times have you fucked it? Seven in two days. That’s fucking impressive. Any one else? No. Good. Anyone see him submit to you? Good. Any security cameras?… I know that vista view. You’re good.

“By chance did you snag its wallet?… And you wore gloves when you went through its stuff in its truck?… Excellent. Heh. Heh. Yeah you know how to abduct. Let me see…. Oh shit. This is a wallet for law enforcement. Here’s the flap where a badge would go…. Oh fuck. I know who he is. He’s a fellow trooper—well former trooper. He was relieved of duty as he was arrested last month for raping a thirteen year old girl. He’s also one of a handful of slavers I know. But since his arrest they’ve cut ties.

“Now I didn’t believe that rape story, as he’s a fag, a total fag. He loved fucking fags. He couldn’t stand women or girls. What the fuck is he doing? Oh wait. Oh wait. He wants to disappear. A cop raping a girl? Prison is not going to treat him well. So he wanted to disappear. And he knows we know how to do it. So he set himself up on that app, knowing we follow those things. Jesus. He set you us as bait.

“The Hierarchy will definitely take him. They have to. I’m gonna call this one in to see what they want to do. Oh wait a minute. He’s been trying to become a trainer at one of our facilities. That’s a long process, and he’s been talking about this for years. This will force them to take him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he arranged that rape. Damn, he played this well.

“So this is what we are going to do. There’s a truck stop up ahead about fifteen miles, called Dick’s Truckstop. About a quarter mile from there is a biker bar. There’s room around back for you to park. Two other collectors work there. They really have a set up. They have potential wannabe slaves that willingly come in and are scrutinized for potential sale. I’ll arrange for them to take him in and install him as a toilet for the weekend. They don’t allow toilets to speak. That will give the Hierarchy time to figure out what to do with it. Take off the noise cancelling headset. Leave the blindfold and gag on.

“Hey John, it’s Gary. Just lay there and listen. You fucked up. The Hierarchy is not happy. This is what’s going to happen to you. You will be taken to a facility. You will be branded. Your vocal chords will be cut. Your will be castrated, painfully. Your pussy will be stretched to the point of being useless. Teeth removed. And you will spend most if not all your time as a toilet. This was a bad move. Bad fucking move.

“Put the headset back on. Good. I have no idea what they are going to do, but he’s going to be panicking for a few days. Let’s get going.”

[binniesthighs]

hello stranger | reader x changbin |

this drabble was inspired by binnie’s outfit from the hello stranger vid and oh also! we are finally getting changbin’s thighs on this acct dedicated to them teehee

Part 1

Pairing: self insert, female reader x seo changbin, past reader x han jisung  

Genre: smut n’ a lil fluff 

Tags: (for this part) softdom!changbin, sub!reader, undergroundrapper!changbin, chan, felix and jisung side characters, hook-up, scraping knees & mentions of blood, thigh riding, oral (m receiving), gagging, protected sex, praise kink, slight breeding kink, orgasm denial and edging (f receiving), begging, fingering (f receiving), squirting, use of handcuffs, cockwarming at the end

Word count: 4.9k 

Chapters

PART 1 | PART 2 

gif creds to @iconicspearb​ ♡

2am, and you felt euphoric. Like a fucking cloud. Even though it was typical, there really were no other words that could describe it. Music was blasting on several speaks mounted to the walls and the ceiling. The bass was booming at such a low frequency you felt it reverberating in your chest--or maybe that was your heart. 

You had been shoved up against sweaty bodies for nearly four hours now, and your friends Chan and Felix hadn’t told you if they planned on leaving at any time soon. Not like you minded. Nothing felt better than a feeling like this. In a place like this, you could forget the rest of the world for a little bit; who you were and what you needed to do. The buzz in the room was infectious. Everyone in the room threw their bodies together, clashing in one big, beautiful mess. 

After four hours, you still wouldn’t get tired of it. Next to you, Chan and Felix were bouncing up and down with you, thrashing their heads to the rapid fire syllables spat by the rappers. Your ears would ring during every tiny moment of silence.  

“How much longer do you wanna stay for?!” Your scratched voice called to your friends. 

“SpearB hasn’t come on yet!! We have to see him!” 

“SpearB?!” 

The widest grin attacked Chan’s face, flashing his dimples. “Yeah! I heard that he’s insane!” 

Felix threw his arm over your shoulder to dance with him and the two of you fell into a rhythm, shouting over the lyrics of the rapper on stage: you had seen him dozens of times, Chan and him were even on a first name basis. 

You new his name too, but that was because you had plenty experience screaming it out for him...both at concerts and in private. Jisung was his name. He was the one that turned you on to fuck buddies. God, he was way too cocky for you to ever to consider anything else. 

He dished out out of his signature winks while he buried his teeth into his lip. 

You wondered if you would be going home with him again tonight. Not like you minded. The way that he would suck on your clit was unreal. 

“--THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT!” Jisung bellowed into the mic, leaping off some structure and launching himself into the air. 

You and your two friends cheered for him and clapped for him until your hands turned red. He was cocky...but he was sure as hell talented. 

“SpearB is coming next!!!” Felix shook your shoulders in his excitement. 

A couple stage hands changed around the stage a little bit by moving around a couple speakers, adding a smoke machine, setting out a new computer at the little table in center stage. 

“He-he’s gonna LIVE MIX ON THE STAGE” Chan’s eyes widened.

“He’s gonna what!?” There was almost nothing left of your voice. 

“JUST WAIT AND SEE.” 

The lights dimmed and Felix and Chan clung to your arms, nearly squeezing the life out of them.

If he was this of a big deal to them, he must be something special. 

He stepped out a black shadow, swirls of smoke at his feet. He hadn’t even said anything yet, but his aura was massive. The lights rose slightly so you could see his face better: smoky brown eyes, light brown hair that was nearly silver. He wore a thick silver chain around his neck, contrasting with the rest of his darkly colored clothes. Most of all, your eyes were drawn to his thighs, perfectly shaped and curved under his pants, toned and thick. On his fingers he wore bands of sliver rings. 

As soon as his fingers touched the keyboard, Chan and Felix lost their minds clawing at your arms. You had never seen the two of them so giddy. 

He didn’t even look at the audience at first, like they weren’t even there. With the tap of his fingers he started making a beat; it was piercing and catchy with snares and 808′s vibrating the room. He had a small keyboard next to him that he used, the silver glimmer from his rings reflected off the stage lights--they were nearly blinding. 

The crowd started moving to his beat which he sped up gradually creating a type of tension that you could only really describe like the mere seconds before a climax. 

He rose the mic to his mouth after licking his lips tantalizingly slow. He finally let himself look at the crowd. With the mic to his mouth, his eyes met yours, striking you with electricity. Even though his backing music was ridiculously fast, he sauntered to the front of the stage, not breaking with your gaze. This time you definitely knew it was your heart that was throbbing in your chest—not the music.

Chan and Felix were clawing onto you even harder, but you couldn’t feel a thing. 

He was fucking mesmerizing. 

He hadn’t even said a word. 

He crouched down to be eye level with you with his gaze still deathly fierce. Every single inch of him oozed with confidence and unbridled mystery. 

Almost like he was teasing you, he shot up and away, turning into his mic, his gruff voice growling over the start of his lyrics. 

He never looked at you again for the rest of the performance. You found yourself aching for his eyes on your body again, but he never gave it to you. 

No one had ever made you as soaked as he made you. 

╚ ——————————————— ╝

“Aren’t you glad that we stayed, Y/n?” Chan nudged you hard once the three of you had left the club. 

The chill of the winter stung at the back of your sweaty neck wonderfully. It felt amazing compared to how stuffy it had been in there for the past several hours. 

“--how he looked at you?? Y/n, that was...” Felix laughed out a little in disbelief. 

You dig your hands further into your coat pockets. Just above you, tiny flakes of snow started to fall. You huffed out, your breath was wispy floating in the air. You were still getting over it all. How could he have looked at you like that and then pretended that you didn’t even exist? What kind of sick shit was that? 

Chan ran in front of you to skid on a patch of ice with child-like giggles. 

“You okay?” Felix asked, linking his arm through yours. He was always the best at reading you. 

“--yeah, it was just strange. There was something about him that...” 

“--I mean, he’s really hot. I’ll give him that.” 

You chuckled a little. “You think so too?” 

“I’d be blind if I didn’t think so.” 

“I don’t even know him...but why did he look at me like that...like he did?” 

“I dunno.” Felix shrugged. “We should catch up with Chan before he actually slips.” 

“Heh, you’re probably right.” 

“You just gonna head back home? It’s really late.” 

“Yeah, I’m super tired after all of that.” 

“Want one of us to walk you home?” 

You pondered for a minute, eyes cast up a little to the sky. The night had turned perfectly quiet during the early hours of the morning. Maybe a walk by yourself could do you some good. 

“I’m fine. Thanks for offering though.” 

“Text us when you get back?” Your friend gave your arm a little squeeze with a little worry dancing across his freckled cheeks. 

“Of course.” 

“Okay...don’t forget!” 

“I won’t!” You waved your friends away just as you reached the intersection separating your path from theirs. 

You sucked in a deep inhale, letting the cold air burn a little in your lungs. The sensation snapped you out of your yawn perfectly. It was just a few more blocks away and you knew the way well. Two rights, one left, two straight ahead. 

A blur started to cover your eyes and one more yawn escaped your lips. 

Or was it one right and two lefts? 

The street lights blurred into green and white lines. 

I should be there shouldn’t I? 

Behind you the horn honked, loud and shrill. 

You thought to yourself, what is someone doing honking so loud at night? 

“Watch out!!” A hand grabbed at your arm and jerked you back hard. 

You were definitely awake when your body crashed to the cement sidewalk knees first. A burning pain seethed at the skin of your knees. 

“Fuck! Sorry, I didn’t mean to pull that hard--” 

At first you saw your scraped knees, then you saw him...finally looking at you again. 

“What the hell are you doing walking into the middle of the street, didn’t you see the light?” 

“Are you fucking stalking me?” Was the first thing your brilliant brain could think to ask. 

He scoffed. “You’re welcome for saving your life? You were stumbling around... are you okay? Did you take something?” 

Before you knew it you were surrounded by him and his friends: inspecting you for any signs. 

“No, I am not on anything.” You hissed. “I just...I think that I’m tired an--wait...where are we?” 

“That tired huh?” He helped you to your feet, making you wince. “Shit, you’re bleeding.” His hand lingered on yours. 

“Oh. Yeah, it’s fine. Honestly it’s my own fault.” Your tone dropped. “I should have had one of them walk me home.” 

“--You need someone to walk you home?” 

“No, I got it, thanks. I’m just over that way.” You took two shaky steps forward, your knees immediately buckling in pain. 

“No-listen, my place is over there, I can help you get cleaned up--you’re not gonna find any taxis back to your place at this time of night.” 

“Are you luring me right now?” 

“What?! No!” 

You chuckled a little. It was a bit funny how different he was off stage compared to on. You almost forgot how embarrassingly soaked he had made you before. 

“Trust me.” He nodded to his friends and they split, leaving the two of you alone under the flurrying snow. “You coming?” 

You tentatively took his hand. Funny. This was kind of how it started with Jisung too. All of them were the fucking same. You pitied yourself for thinking that he would be any different. 

╚ ——————————————— ╝

Changbin, as he introduced himself, lived in a modest apartment with three roommates in a place with creaky floorboards and walls of painted over brick. He swore up and down that there was heating in there, but it didn’t feel like it. He kept very few things in his room save for some things that looked like synthesizers and a TV. The two of you had to tip-toe to his room. He warned you that nothing could be kept secret in that apartment. 

“Here, you should clean it first to get anything out of it. Then put this on it, you don’t wanna get infected or anything.” 

“oh. Thank you--” You reached out, but instead he knelt at the edge of the bed at your knees. He tore the whole in your tights even wider to start dabbing at your scratches. 

“Hey! What the--” 

“--They’re already torn. What’s the use in them now?” 

He got to work, being as careful as he could tending to you. His hands gently held your leg still. You watched as he did everything. Being this close again, you remembered. Those little silvery and wavy trellises of his hair...he really was gorgeous. 

Changbin’s hand smoothed down your calf once he was done, tickling you slightly. 

“All done. Better?” 

“Yeah...thank you.” You shied away. After seeing this other side of him you didn’t quite know what to think. 

“I’d love for you to stay but, seeing as you thought that I was luring you before--” 

“--Have I met you before?” 

“Me?” Changbin unclipped his earrings. “I don’t think so. But...that’s interesting. I was thinking the same thing earlier. There’s something about you that I recognize.” 

“--That’s why you looked at me like that?” 

“I looked at you like that, because I thought that you looked sexy.” 

You felt a heat rise in your cheeks. There was something especially hard to ignore about how gentle he had been with you before and how his eyes seemed to devour you now recalling the memory. It was...different. Maybe he wasn’t like all the rest of them. 

“I guess you must not think I still am if you’re trying to send me home.” You edged him on. It was undeniable how good it felt to have him give you his undivided attention. 

“I’m sending you home because it’s the respectful thing to do.” 

“That’s honorable.” 

“You rather me do something else?” 

“You rather me do something else?” 

“You want me to continue being respectful?” 

“Do you want to be?” 

Changbin paced the length of his room, cradling his neck up. “Stop playing fucking games and tell me what it is you want.” 

You thought that him performing was enough to send you over. Seeing him mad was something entirely different. You knew exactly what you wanted; what your body wanted.  

You narrowed your eyes. “Obviously. I want you.” 

You saw it in his eyes first. It was like the first spark of a flame right before he was set ablaze. All you had to do was say it. 

He tore his jacket off and launched himself on top of you, crashing his lips needily into yours. His mouth was addictive, perfectly soft, but running over yours roughly over and over. He kissed you, starving, breathing exhales into your mouth. He wasted no time meeting his tongue with yours, twisting around it slowly, forcing you to slow your pace. He gave you everything at once, then slowly started taking it away again. Changbin sucked on your bottom lip slightly, then pulled. He returned, kissing you again agonizingly slow. He let his hands cascade down your sides, sliding them up your shirt. Further down, he wedged his thigh between your legs, pressing in and issuing a little whimper from you. 

“I like to take things slowly...I hope you don’t mind.” He kissed down your jaw to your neck, taking care of the skin he craved here. He pressed harder with his leg. 

You cried out before grinding your hips into his thigh hopelessly seeking some kind of pleasure. When you did so, the friction of your clit was just enough. 

“So fucking needy.” His warm breath spilled into your ear. “You just can’t wait to have me, can you? Can’t wait to have me filling you up, fucking you deep inside, stretching you out...just like you want to?” He painted more kisses into your neck. “You’re not getting it yet. Not until I say so.” 

“Please...” You felt pathetic grinding on him so hard, but you couldn’t stop, not when it felt so good. 

“Awww.” He tutted. “Feels good doesn’t it?” 

“Mmmm...” You dug your fingers into his arms to pull yourself even closer to him.

He scoffed out a laugh and moved himself off of you. “Quit doing my job for me.” He smirked, then reached down to your legs where he coursed his hands up your inner thighs right where you were most delicate. His fingers reached your throbbing and drenched pussy properly wet through your panties from grinding on him. He ghosted over your clit, letting his fingers fall up and down just slightly, never giving you the satisfaction. Your whole body jerked just for him. Wordlessly, he tore a hole again with one continuous rip. 

“fuck. You’re so wet for me.” He wondered at your body. There he was, looking at you as he had done before. His thumb permitted you a couple soft circles to your clit as you helplessly grinded into his hand. His hands looked beautiful teasing your pussy with his silver rings.

“I’ve got something special I wanna use on you.” Changbin rubbed down harder with one hand and drew a pair of shiny metal handcuffs from his beside with the other. “Pretty right?” He twisted them around.

Seeing them instantly made your whole core cry out in desire for him even more. 

“Can I?”

You nodded quickly and even provided for him your wrists. As expected they bit with a cold, but how they made you feel...so helpless and usable was euphoric. Changbin rose your arms above your head, then removed the remains of your tights, skirt and underwear. By contrast, he was still completely clothed, but you could see his dick, hard and swelling with girth, pressing up against his pants. 

His hands explored all over your legs while you squirmed. The touch of his skin on yours was hypnotic. You had already felt his fingers, so you figured he wouldn’t let you feel them again soon. He drew little scribbles into your skin, sometimes pressing hard, grabbing at you in greedy handfuls. 

“You’re so gorgeous Y/n, so pretty for me, so pretty tied up and squirming. You’re such a good girl...I’m gonna make you cum harder than you can even imagine.”

Your little whimpers came out along with a string of explicatives while he teased at you relentlessly, still not going to touch your clit again. Your hands trashed together a little in the cuffs, the cold digging into you. You couldn’t do anything about it. Your hips writhed when his fingers traced up to your belly, then up to your nipples to pinch at them until they were painfully hard. Your whole body craved him so badly everywhere. 

“fuck--please stop, please--” you panted out, “touch me.” 

Back down again went his hands, and you watched as he devilishly smiled at his work. “I said, not until I say so.” Suddenly his fingers slid right into your pussy with ease. He had tricked you. You nearly screamed at the feeling if he had not slapped his hand over your mouth. “be fucking quiet.”

Changbin pumped in and out at his favored slow pace, curling his fingers up perfectly to rub at your g-spot. Your hands were still useless, so you bit down hard on your lip to keep your moans from escaping. 

“You like it this way don’t you? You’re taking my fingers so good, beautiful. Keep being a good girl and I’ll let you cum okay?”

“Mmm-yes, please.” Your words were breathy.

He moved on to fucking you with his fingers relentlessly. He would switch between pumping you full to then pulling out and robbing you of all feeling. As soon as he could sense your walls tightening, he would pull out, eyes greedily watching as you would fall apart from his edging. 

Your body betrayed you while you were being cruelly teased and your mind went blank as he brought you back and fourth each time. A tension deep down inside you built every time he would curl his fingers--any moment you knew that you could explode if he could only just let you. You even considered letting your hands fall to rub your needy clit yourself, but you had more than enough of punishing. 

“You’re doing so well.” Changbin soothed you at last. “Do you wanna cum for me?” 

“Yes.” You sighed out with utter exhaustion. 

“Alright. You deserve it.” He kissed into the skin right under your bellybutton where your shirt had tucked up a little. 

Finally he rammed his thumb against your clit to give it simulation as he continued fucking into you with his fingers, giving careful attention to your sensitive bud as he wiggled his fingers with speed. The metal on his fingers grazed you too inside, and you felt yourself tightening around him once again. That same tension gathered low and it was so intense and unfamiliar that it scared you. Your back arched as you felt it getting closer..closer...

You cried out, “Changbin, I--” 

“Just let it all go, babygirl.” He spread out your legs farther. 

You came with such ferocity that you felt lightheaded: you squirted hard with your release. It took every ounce of your will not to make a sound, only letting shallow gasps escape. Changbin removed his fingers as you came, rubbing your clit as you did, giving it a couple slaps where it was swollen. Tears fell down the sides of your face as your whole body shook with each release and your hips buckled together. 

Changbin laughed out in awe at the shaking mess in front of him. You felt your whole body flush with heat, and you couldn’t bear to look at him--you had never done anything like that before in your whole life. In fact you didn’t really know what it was. You hid your flustered face under your arms. 

“Fuck, that was so fucking hot.” You heard him chuckle. “Why are you hiding? Hey, come back--” 

He jingled with the keys and let your wrists free, which were also throbbing with a bit of pain. He kissed both of them one after the other. 

“Are you okay?” 

You let yourself look at him and you noticed that his shirt was splattered wet from droplets of your liquids. 

“Fuck--I’m sorry, I don’t know what that was--” 

He laughed softly then crawled over you again. His hands ran up and down your body still in aftershocks. “You don’t have to apologize.” He pressed his lips into yours. “I’m guessing that was your first time squirting, huh?” 

“I-I think so.” 

“Did it feel good?” 

“It felt...so good.” 

“I fulfilled my promise then didn’t I?” He caressed the sides of your face to give you even more careful kisses; they weren’t needy anymore, but this time more caring and passionate. Hell, he didn’t even know you but he kissed you like he loved you. 

“You want me to do you now?” 

“Not yet, you’re still coming down, I don’t wanna ruin this for you.” 

“ ‘Kay.” This time you were the one to lean in to keep kissing him. His lips curled into a smile against yours. 

Changbin unbuttoned your cropped shirt, then took off his all of his clothes after. He laid down next to you, both of you completely bare and the warmth of his mouth found yours once again. Maybe it was just because you had just cum because of him, but the sense of closeness that you felt to him made you feel impossibly safe. You could have kissed him like this forever. 

“You’re perfect.” He whispered onto your lips between kisses. 

You slung one of your legs over his hips and his member twitched on your stomach. You had come down enough. 

“My turn now?” 

“I wouldn’t object to that.” He grinned. 

The bed sheets crinkled a little as you descended farther down the bed and he sat his back against the wall. You got your first proper chance to look at his full length: veiny and perfectly thick, dripping just a little with pre-cum. You could only imagine what it would feel like inside you. Changbin’s eyes followed as you wrapped your hand around him and teased the tip with your pointer finger. You licked fat strokes up and down the sides, feeling him hardening even more. The saliva gathered in your mouth seeing the head grow redder and redder. His chest shook with a broken sigh. You gave him one teasing squeeze that made him wince beautifully. 

“Keep going.” He commanded, raking his fingers through your hair and gripping there. 

“I don't need you to tell me that.” You hushed and flicked the tip of your tongue over his tip. 

After he got to do all of his teasing, how come you didn’t get to do some too? 

“Don’t make me make you.” He growled. 

“Ooo scary.” 

Your hand began to pump him and he relaxed, exhaling out with the trailing of his voice hiding his soft moans. Your free hand dug into the skin of his thigh, letting the sharp of your nails pepper little pink crescents. They were so perfect, you rewarded them with kisses and little bites while your hand kept pumping. Changbin’s fingers dug into your scalp needily. 

He hissed out, “Give me your mouth.” 

A surge of confidence swelled within you knowing he was completely in your control. “You aren’t even going to say please?” 

“I don’t say please.” 

“Then maybe I won’t suck you off then?” 

A flash of betrayal ran across his smoky eyes. “What?!” 

“Fine. I won’t make you say it.” You smirked and took him in generously, deeply, pushing down your tongue and taking him down your throat. You were just a little too ambitious: his length made you gag, but you swallowed down the reflex. Changbin’s head fell back and hit the wall. 

“fuck yes.” The words escaped his tongue. 

You grabbed at him and squeezed, hard, twisting him and flicking your wrist with each turn. He was delightfully hard in your mouth, and with each step closer he gasped out faster and faster. Your head bopped in your rhythm, still taking him in deeper with each move, chasing gags away just as fast as you got a new one. You would stop for a few seconds to let him quiver in your hand and he would groan out once your warmth disappeared. 

“Not-not yet,” He gasped out and squirmed, then pushed you lightly off of him. He scrambled over to the beside again, throwing the drawer open and finding a condom which he tore open with his teeth, then impatiently rolled it over his pink length. He threw his body off the bed, grabbing at your hips to align you with the edge of the bed and situating himself between your legs. He was just as impatient when he took some lube into his hand to rub over his dick curled against his stomach. Changbin coaxed his dick into your opening, leaning down over your body with forearms resting on both sides of your head. Once the two of you were connected, you both let out sighs with the feeling consuming you. He filled you up so wholly, so deeply, it even hurt just a little bit, kind of like the first time. 

“Baby you’re so tight.” He thrust in slow at first, exactly how he liked it. It felt fucking amazing when he stretched you out grinding his hips even in little to let your clit feel the sensation as well. He attached his lips with yours to lend them his warmth. Your arms latched around his neck and your legs around his waist as you pulled him in even closer. The heat from his sweating chest emanated on you. He started to pick up his pace, giving your g-spot attention again as he angled himself above you. 

The two of you sucked in each other’s air as it lasted between your lips for only a few seconds. You moaned directly into his mouth hoping that it was enough to muffle the sound and he returned back with his own arousal spilling all over you and sticking on your tongue. 

Changbin pulled away to shove your legs together and press against his torso, making you even tighter. He shut his eyes upon feeling it, focusing on nothing else but his thrusts. His forehead gathered with little beads of sweat and one fell down his brow. 

His name flew off of your mouth naturally as he fucked into you, and your second orgasm pooled. His toned arms flexed from where he grabbed onto the bed and he choked out little airy gasps before announcing that he was about to cum. 

“Cum inside me baby, fill me up...I’m all yours.” 

Upon hearing your words, he set himself loose, pounding into you with astonishing speed doubling over you as he came, leaving himself inside to throb against your walls. There was something so primal inside of you that craved to feel his cum inside of you knowing that he wanted you, that he desired you and that you could unscrew him until he was vulnerable like this, all for you. 

“Can we...stay like this for a little while?” 

He chuckled a bit, and swept a few strands of your hair off of your face. 

“You like how it feels like this then?” 

“...yes.” 

“Okay beautiful. Anything that you like, can I come back up first? Kinda hard to do it like this.” 

You nodded and let himself get situated sitting on the bed, resting himself against the wall once more. Your bodies shivered as you sat back down on his softening dick, but it was the feeling of being connected to him that you craved. He traced his fingers up and down your back, his eyes full of admiration. 

“You’re perfect.” He echoed. 

“You hardly even know me.” Your fingers twirled his curly hair. 

“You’re perfect.” 

“Thank you...and...thank you for making me feel so good.” 

“My pleasure,” He laughed out the words, “And yours too I guess.” 

“Very funny.” 

There he was, looking at you again like that. Like he loved you. He didn’t even know you. He didn’t know that things you had done; who you were. 

“I’d like to get to know you though. If you’ll let me.” 

╚ ——————————————— ╝ 

AHHHH so writing this I kinda fell in love with the potential for this plot, esp with the stuff with the readers history with Jisung???? SHould I make this a series???? Softdom!bin romancing us?? Let me knowwwww

[ozarkthedog]

Reparations

Summary: Andy takes what he’s owed.

Pairing: Dark!Andy Barber x Fem!Reader 

Word Count: 1,519

Warnings: Power Play. Noncon. Swearing. Rough Oral Sex (Male Receiving). Asphyxiation. 

Author’s Note: I had way too much fun writing this little fic. No Beta. Feel free to Join the Tag List in my Bio. 💙

📖 Master list  

Reblogs and Likes are amazing! Feedback and Comments are encouraged!

Grinding metal and shattering glass jolt your body awake as you instinctively try to right the wheel that slipped from your grip. Swerving to side of the dirt road, you park in front of the Black Audi that you just sideswiped. You will your heart to calm as you lay your head on the steering wheel.

Warily, you peer up at the rearview mirror, watching as a man flings open the driver’s side door with a force.

“What the hell!” The stranger shouts getting out of his car, leaving his door wide open and marches around the Audi.  

You hear him shouting obscenities as he surveys the damage. Other than the obvious destruction to your car, you had made it through the fender bender unscathed.

“Fuck.” You mutter, quickly exiting your vehicle.

You don’t bother checking the front of your busted-up car as you made your way over to the fuming stranger. The summer heat swelters even though dusk had set in covering the quiet back road with shadows as the sun slowly disappeared.

“How did you not see me?!” He bellows, eyes still trained on the broken taillight and scratched bumper. Broken pieces of glass crunched under his shoes as he inspected the carnage.

His eyes exploding with anger as he whips his head towards you. “Well?!”

“I don’t know! All I can remember is that I was driving one moment and then the next…I’m sorry!” You choke back a sob not wanting to cry in front of a stranger.

You stare at the irate man as he kicks the shattered bits of glass to the side of the dirt road. His dark blue suit and expensive car said he was well off and that’d he wouldn’t just let this slide.

You were totally screwed.

“Are you high?” He asks, reaching for your face as he stalks closer. You back away swatting at his hands nervously.

“No, I am not! I’m just exhausted! I obviously fell asleep at the wheel. It was an accident.” You yell before rubbing your hands over your face. Your heart pounded harshly against your ribs.

“Uh, so what do we do?” You ponder, wanting to rip the band aid off and be done with this nightmare.

The man stands with his hands on his hips looking at you with exasperation. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath trying to calm himself. After a few seconds, his eyes whip open and narrow in on your anxious frame.

“We’ve got to exchange info. What’s your name and number?” He asks with a controlled voice, taking out his cell.

You answered him while copying his actions, trying to look like you knew what you were doing.

“What’s your insurance companies’ info?” Andy asked, flicking his eyes to yours.

“Uh… well…” You voice trails off knowing you don’t have any.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” His face falls flat. “You don’t have insurance?”

“Hey man, I can’t afford it right now.” Your voice raises, arguing back.

“It’s illegal to drive without it you know.” He scolds, tucking his cell back into his suit coat.

“I know. I’ve been saving up for it. I just didn’t think this would happen.” You wave your arms around like a game show host towards the cars.

It sets you on edge the way he huffed out a dark laugh and rubbed his beard.

“Ok, let’s make this quick. I’ve got to be home in 20 minutes.” He peers at his watch before his hands fall to his slacks.

You jolt when you notice his belt coming loose. “Whoa! What the fuck are you doing?”

“Well, since you can’t pay me, how else were you going to make amends?” His tone heavy with impatience.  

You step back until your legs hit the bumper of his Audi. “Uh, I don’t know. But I’m sure there’s a way.” You try to reason with him as he walks towards you with a menacing aura.

He unbuttons his pants, “The only way you’re getting out of this without the cops getting involved is if you suck my cock. I’m a high-profile lawyer. I know exactly what to do to have someone put away for a very long time.” He states with an eerie calmness, almost like he’d done this before.

You shake your head, pleading, “No, there has to be something else I can do.”

He grinds his teeth with annoyance. “Come on, you’re just wasting time.”

His warm breath fans over your face adding to the sweat already dampening your skin. “Don’t fight me.”

You scream as his hands shove you down to your knees, trapping you against the hot metal of his car, his legs caging you in. Fear racks your body sending you into fight mode regardless of his previous statement.

You push against his legs hard, but he growls down at you, “What did I just say?”

He traps both your hands high above your head with his left hand, before grabbing your neck with his right. “If you bite me, I swear to god you will never see the light of day again.” His ominous threat sent chills down your spine.

You whimpered and closed your eyes. The stressful tears finally falling as your shoulders shake with hopelessness.

Something soft yet solid nudges against your lips, “Open up.” He pries your jaw open with a hand squeezing against your face.

You painfully moan as he succeeds and shoved his thick cock inside your mouth. He hits the back of your throat causing your head to thump against the car with an ‘-oof”. He stuffs your lips wide with a low, raspy groan forcing you to choke around him.

Saliva saturates your tongue as Andy thrusts in and out with a steady pace, “Yeah, get my cock nice and wet.” His eyes narrow on you when he feels your tongue move underneath his aching member.

Dirt scrapes your knees as he bucks into your face, letting out sinful moans. “Fuck, that’s it. Make me feel good.”

Your eyes slam shut hating the way he spoke to you. Your lips quivered around his length as he plunged into your mouth with quick jabs. Your throat tightens when he bottoms out, pushing hard against the back of your mouth.

“Let me feel that throat.” He purrs.

A sly yet crude smile meets your eyes when they open. It was like looking at the devil. The handsome beast finally showing his true form.

You gag forcefully as his right hand holds your head against the trunk by your scalp and thrusts vigorously over your tongue.

“You’re gonna to give me that throat or else.” He demands, eyes hardening with a darkness you’d never seen before.

Tears slip down your cheeks as you gag under his ministrations. His girthy cock cutting off your air supply with every thrust. “Come on, give me it.” He grits, shoving his hips harder into your face.

You dismally acquiesce and relax your throat allowing him to slide down your gullet. His lewd moans fill the air as your throat convulses around cock.

“Fuck, that’s tight.” He recants his hips letting you breath for a spell before slipping back into your warm channel with a pounding force.

Spit runs down your chin and ruins your shirt making you feel filthy as he stared down at you, grinning. “Your mouth was made to suck dick.” He slammed his right hand on the trunk of his car as the pleasure consumed him.

He pants, bucking into your face harder and harder before his hips stall and he lodges his cock in your throat.

You frantically try to shake him off while he explodes his releases down your throat, but his grip is back on your scalp holding you still as he coats your esophagus with his thick seed.

Your heart lurches and lungs burn as he stays put, “I can feel you trying to breath. Your throat is milking my dick, it feels fucking amazing.”

Then suddenly he steps back, ripping his cock from your mouth as you fall into a heap on the dirt road coughing heavily. Cum, dust and spit cover your jaw line and tongue as you suck in desperate breaths.

Andy fixes his clothing and peers around, surprised that not a single car drove by chalking it up to good luck.

He gazes over your pitiful form as you push yourself onto all fours and cautiously look at him through water eyes. His temper seemed to have faded, an orgasmic hue radiating from him now.

“Don’t worry about the cops. That mouth of yours saved you.” He said with a smirk.

You sighed with relief as you watched him walk to the driver’s side before he turned around with a malevolent smirk.

“I’ll be reaching out soon for another payment. But next time it’ll be with interest.” He winked and adjusted his cock in his slacks before getting into his car and driving away.

You swallowed thickly knowing you’d have to see him again before stumbling back to your run-down car to head home for another sleepless night.

[gingerpeachtae]

Concentric [24]

masterlist

Words: 25.5k 🤡

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut

Warnings: angst, mentions of violence, blood, trauma, guilt

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: pls accept this long update as apology for making y’all wait 6 months 😭 also brace yourselves cuz whew this one is a doozy. ENGOY! 💙

The forest was a blur of green and brown in the Saeni’s eyes. Their feet pounded against the ground in controlled yet rushed footfalls. The air was filled with sounds of rustling leaves and creaking trees. Bird calls and trickling water. Ragged breaths and suppressed groans.

Wincing at his burning thighs, Tae slowed his pace ever so slightly to allow Jungkook to have the lead. The blue-eyed Saeni glanced to the side and took in the blood on his brother’s back. The crimson flower was getting bigger. Red flowed from the maknae’s back, trailed down his leg, and stained the earth behind him in small marks. Yet, Jungkook continued to press on.

Just as Tae went to open his mouth to try to reason with his brother again, to try to get Jungkook to stop and stay put while he went on and looked for Jimin and Y/N, a putrid smell floated over with the breeze.

The distinct smell of death and decay.

“Hyung,” Jungkook whispered in a raspy voice as he came to a stop and turned in the direction of the stench.

“I know, I know,” Tae said back quietly while also slowing down.

Both male’s chests heaved rapidly and their bodies felt heavy and sluggish from exhaustion. Tae rolled his shoulder and retrieved an arrow from his quiver before silently notching it. Then, they began to creep through the trees and shrubbery with soft steps. Neither of them could hear anyone or anything besides the forest… but they still went slowly.

Once the putrid smell was strong enough to make his eyes water, Jungkook grit his teeth and reached over his shoulder to unsheathe one of his short blades.

The metal flashed in the sunlight and Jungkook held it firmly, but Tae placed a hand on his arm and warned, “Don’t do anything stupid. You’re in no shape to charge in full force.”

Jungkook shook his head. “If it’s for her… for her and hyung… I can do it.”

Tae fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Shut up. We go in slow and see what we’re dealing with. Got it?”

The other male huffed, but after a few seconds he nodded.

About a minute later, when the smell almost made them want to gag, the two Saeni brushed through a collection of leaves and thin branches. And then they saw them. The bodies.

A quick count revealed there were thirteen in total. All dead. Some were riddled with arrows, others with stab wounds and slash marks. One of them was even speared to a tree.

But what made Tae and Jungkook freeze was that they recognized some of them.

Three of them, to be exact.

The female speared to the tree trunk, the male with an arrow impaled through his throat, and the male slumped against the base of a tree.

Jungkook released a shaky, uneven breath and whispered, “Hyung, they were the ones… the ones selected to go with-”

“Chim and Mingi. I know,” Tae answered in a quiet voice as his body started to tremble with both fatigue and fear.

As the burgundy head released a weak “fuck fuck fuck!” and stumbled to the side to brace himself on a low-hanging branch, Tae lowered his bow and stepped forward to silently walk through the gruesome scene. He inspected the other bodies strewn across the forest floor. All draikensu. No sign of Chim, Y/N, or Mingi. Exhaling, he went to walk back to Jungkook, but a disturbance on the ground caught his attention. Crouching down, the blue-eyed Saeni lightly trailed his fingertips over the overturned dead leaves and lifted his gaze slightly.

The same disturbance continued into the trees, leading away from the bodies.

A dull, thumping sound broke Tae’s attention and the noise made him quickly turn his head to the side. The Saeni saw Jungkook pull his arm back from the tree he was leaning against and pound his fist into the trunk again.

“What happened to them? Where are they? Where are they!?” The younger male squeezed his peridot eyes shut and ground his fist into the rough bark.

“Kook? Hey, calm down!” Tae shot to his feet and ran to his brother. Before the younger male could punch the tree a third time, Tae grabbed his wrist. “Jungkook! I checked the bodies. They’re not here… they’re not here.”

Jungkook whipped around to face his brother and pulled his arm free. “Then where are they?”

Tae had no answer. The male just opened his mouth and almost instantly closed it again.

“Hyung, where are they!?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” The older male shouted back in a stressed tone, his crimson-stained feather earring swaying erratically from the outburst. “I don’t know, okay? But I saw some tracks leading away from here, so I’m going to keep going.  You should stay here an-”

“I’m not fucking staying here.” Jungkook’s jaw ticked and he returned his short sword to its sheath with a grimace. “Let’s go.”

You tightly gripped the buckle on Jimin’s armor as you both limped forward over the stones and vegetation scattered on the creek bank. You were supporting each other as you took slow, heavy steps, and Jimin was clutching the strap of your quiver just as desperately as you were holding on to him. Neither of you were willing to let go of the other. It was almost like you both needed the physical reassurance that the other person was truly there and breathing.

That you both were.

Water splashed around your ankles and onto your legs as you both stumbled into the creek. The water was so cold it made you sharply inhale through your teeth and pause your explanation of why you’d left the field and how you’d arrived at the rift. Before you could return to your story, the stone you had begun to step on tilted dangerously to the side under the water and almost made you twist your ankle.

“Ah! Stupid fucking rock,” you muttered under your breath while defiantly kicking at the stone with your heel, causing water to spray into the air.

Jimin tugged on your quiver strap to get you moving again while asking if you were okay.

“Yeah yeah, I’m fine. I’m just…” You let out a lethargic sigh and looked up at the sky. “I’m really over today.”

Water sloshed over the sand, pebbles, and weeds on the bank as you both reached the other side of the creek and exited the stream. Resisting the urge to just drop your ass down on the sun-warmed rocks and never move again, you squeezed Jimin’s buckle and begrudgingly heaved yourself up and over a large tree root. As you looked down to see where you were stepping, you saw the wooden tendril was speckled with droplets of red. It was just a mere piece of the dotted trail you were forced to follow as you left the rift’s location, and although it was your umpteenth time catching sight of it, it still made your chest tighten painfully. You tore your gaze away from the blood, not wanting to think about who’s it was. Or how he was no longer with you.

You sniffed, cleared your throat, and raised your eyes in front of you. Through the sunlight filtering in between the leaves, you recognized a dark lump wedged between two rocks.

Remembering you were supposed to be sharing how you had found Jimin, you pointed your chin at the body of the wolf. “Anyway, I heard the howls an-”

“Jungkook, you need to slow down!”

Your body flinched at the sudden sound breaking the peaceful chirping and buzzing of the forest then stilled with one foot left raised in the air.

“Jungkook?” You whispered in disbelief and placed your foot down gently while Jimin asked, “Was that… Tae?”

Jungkook…? And… Tae…?

Apprehensive hope surged in your heart at the thought of the two Saeni being near, but… why would they be out here? Why weren’t they at the field? Or were you simply so tired that you’d imagined the voice? You slowly blinked then turned your head to look at Jimin in confusion. Your gaze met his brown eyes but he looked just as unsure as you felt.

Neither of you moved. You barely breathed. With your heart beating wildly in your chest, you waited to hear the voice again.

One… two… three seconds passed…

But you heard nothing besides the trickling of water, shifting of leaves, singing of birds and bugs, and light, anxious breathing coming from yourself and the half-Saeni next to you.

It was probably just the wind and my mind making shit up. There’s no way Kookie and TaeTae are actually here.

But…

Jimin heard it too.

Tentatively, you lifted your free hand and wrapped your fingers around the hilt of the dagger at your side as the wind picked up and blew strays wisps of hair in your face.

“For Exia’s sake, you’re going to pass out!”

Your eyes widened at the voice and you involuntarily tightened your grip on the dagger. At the same time, Jimin sharply inhaled and lifted his head in the direction it had come from, making his sweaty apricot hair shift over his forehead.

He nodded once to himself. “That-holy fuck-that’s definitely Tae.”

You had also verified the owner of the voice that time and before you knew it, you were hoarsely screaming the Saeni’s name into the dense trees. Jimin joined in moments later, your scratchy voices mixing and resounding into the air together. After your screams faded into dry coughs, you and Jimin gulped air back into your lungs while you let go of the dagger and adjusted your hold on the half-Saeni’s buckle. Then, you both surged forward. As fast as your wobbly legs could manage, you and your best friend limp-ran past the remainder of the blood trail, the dead wolf, and a couple of scattered, stray arrows to where the earth began to incline.

As you stepped over a large rock on the ground and started to climb out of the gully, the familiar deep voice shouted back in surprise, “Chim!? Little scorja!?”

Tae’s voice made you close your eyes for a second; you were just so happy to hear him, to know that he was alive. A tiny, relieved smile tugged at the corner of your lips and after sucking in a breath, you quickly yelled back that you were coming. Your voice echoed into the expanse of the forest as you grabbed on to thin tree trunk with your free hand. Using the tree to pull yourself up a few more steps, a hiss escaped past your lips in between your ragged inhales due to how much your thighs were burning and shaking. You were honestly shocked they were even still working, but you kept telling yourself you were minutes or possibly even seconds away from seeing Tae and Jungkook. You would be damned if your legs gave out before then. Likewise, Jimin was mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like “I think I can, I think I can” over and over again to keep himself motivated and moving through his own pain.

Less than a minute later, you were nearing the top of the gully. Impatience swelled inside you, and you somehow forced your aching body to move just a little faster and pulled Jimin with you. Though in your haste, you slipped on a clump of loose dirt and fell forward to your knee with a sharp curse.

“Come on. Come on.” Jimin reached over to grip your arm and heaved you back up with a subdued groan in his throat.

The two of you staggered the rest of the way up until the ground finally leveled out. Breathing heavily, you both paused and sagged against each other in exhaustion. But only a couple heartbeats later, you were tugging on each other to move again. Leaves and twigs crunched under your feet, thin branches whacked against your legs and hips, and the low shrubbery violently shook in your wake as you hurried through the trees.

While you shivered in the cool shade cast by the leaves and branches high above your head, you darted your eyes around to desperately search for signs of the Saeni. Your gaze flickered over the endless tree trunks, moss-covered boulders, thorny vines…

And then you saw it through the blur of leaves. The smallest splash of pinkish burgundy among the greens and browns of the forest.

Jungkook.

You whispered his name gently, feeling your eyes begin to sting as you fully made out his figure. In your peripherals, you saw Jimin look at you then follow your line of sight.

He let out a soft, breathy laugh and released his hold on your quiver strap. “Go on. I’ll catch up.”

Tearing your gaze away from the Saeni in the distance, you glanced at your best friend to see him smiling at you. The half-Saeni kept his warm brown eyes on you but tilted his head toward his younger brother, silently telling you to go on ahead. You pressed your lips together and peeked back at the burgundy-haired Saeni before returning your attention to Jimin. You stared at him for a split-second then nodded, your stiff hand falling away from his buckle.

After lightly squeezing Jimin’s arm, you turned back to Jungkook and took a step forward.

Then another.

And another.

And another and another and another until you were nearly running. You barely registered the throbbing pain in your legs. All you cared about was reaching him.

“JEON JUNGKOOK!” You screamed with a big, dumb smile on your face.

Immediately, his burgundy head was facing your direction and it almost looked like a shudder ran through his body. Not even a second later, though, he was sprinting toward you.

Somewhere to the right, you heard Tae’s deep voice call out. “Little scorja? Where is…? Chim? Chim! Oh, thank goddess.”

You didn’t even look to the side to see where your blue-eyed friend was. You were entirely too focused on who was in front of you. Who was almost to you.

Closer. Closer. Closer.

So close that when he ran through a ray of sunlight, you could see the gold flecks in his eyes flash brightly. You also noticed the dried blood coating his skin and armor but it didn’t faze you. You too were stained with crimson. It was just a nasty aftereffect of fighting for your life and taking others.

Lengthening your stride to avoid tripping over a bundle of roots in your path, you felt the stinging in your eyes turn into a waterier sensation as your tears threatened to spill over.

Closer. Closer. You got closer closer closer…

And then you collided with each other, the thudding impact nearly forcing you to lose your breath. The male stumbled back from your momentum and you both teetered on the uneven ground before he firmly planted his feet and wrapped his strong arms around you.

As you closed your eyes and leaned into him, a small voice in your head said it was strange how Jungkook had stumbled back. You’d launched yourself at him countless of times yet he’d never done that before. It was unusual, but you mentally told the small voice to fuck off. He’d just fought in a damn battle, for Exia’s sake. He was probably exhausted just like you were.

“Y/N, f-fuck. Fuck. I was so worried,” he murmured in your ear while holding you as close as possible. Like he though you would slip through his hands and disappear if he didn’t. “Y-You weren’t on the cliff anymore… you… you weren’t there. I thought you-goddess-I thought you died.”

The end of his sentence came out choked and he shakily breathed in. Your heart panged at the grief filling his voice, and a single tear slipped down your cheek and cut through the dirt and dust on your face. Once the lone tear met the crease of your lips and you tasted its salt, several more tears followed suit. As they trailed down your skin, his fingers moved up your spine until they found the back of your neck and lightly grazed over your mark.

“I’m sorry-I didn’t mean-Jimin needed help.”

Chuckling lowly at your stammering, Jungkook slightly pulled back to cup your face in his hands. While holding your gaze, he traced his thumb over your cheek to wipe away your tears before they could drip off your chin. Your lips parted slowly and you looked into those bright peridot eyes, finally feeling safe for the first time since the sun had peeked over the horizon. Finally feeling like you could let your guard down. Finally feeling like you could breathe easily. With a content sigh, you unwound your hands from Jungkook’s neck and went to gently hold his wrists.

But right as you touched his forearms, his legs suddenly buckled and he collapsed to a knee. With your face still caught in his hands, you involuntarily followed him by bending at the waist and your eyes widened in confusion. Lowering his head, Jungkook released a pained moan while you heard Tae and Jimin call out in concern. Worried, you opened your mouth to ask what was wrong, but it was then that you finally registered how pale his skin was. How colorless it looked compared to the deep red spattered across it.

Wha-?

Jungkook raised his peridot eyes to yours and gave you a strained smile while his grip on your face weakened. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Just a… a little tired, but I’m the best, remem-…rememb-” His words were cut off as his eyes rolled back into his head and he limply crumpled to the ground with a solid, dull thump.

A series of curses rose into the air from the other males while you frantically said Jungkook’s name and dropped to your knees. He was on his side, limbs loosely splayed out. Your breathing got faster as you placed one of your hands on his shoulder and the other near his hip. Tenderly but firmly, you shook Jungkook to get him to open his eyes. To move. To say something. To do anything. But nothing happened. He was utterly silent and still except for the smallest rise and fall of his chest. You swore, shifted your gaze to his face, and was wondering what the fuck you should do when realized one of your hands felt strangely warm… and wet. Body going rigid, you slowly drew your eyes down to your hand resting on Jungkook’s hip… and then you lifted it. Your palm and fingers were smeared with red. Blood. Fresh blood. And it was coming from Jungkook. Flinching at the sight, you felt your stomach drop and body go cold as full-fledged panic instantly rushed through your veins. Yet you couldn’t do anything but stare at the blood for a few seconds, completely frozen and scared. You watched as the crimson liquid gradually ran down your wrist in small, thin rivulets, and your hands began to tremble. Everything else in the world faded to some distant, fuzzy background. You couldn’t see anything but red. Couldn’t hear anything but your own pounding heartbeat. Couldn’t smell anything but the now familiar reek of iron. No trace of peridot or burgundy or florals mixed with hard steel. It almost felt like you weren’t even in your own body anymore. You were just in a suspended state of bloody shock and disbelief. It lasted for one… two… three… four seconds and then you were slammed back into reality. After gasping and pushing the unconscious male onto his back, you leaned over him to grab his ghastly face in your hands, causing his cheek to be painted with even more red.

“Jungkook? Jungkook!? Hey hey hey, come on. Come on, wake up.” Distress and fear laced your words. “You gotta wake up Kookie.”

“Shit, I told him not to push himself so hard!” You heard Tae’s frustrated voice carry over with the wind and it sounded closer than before.

Pressing your lips together to hold in a sob, your throat grew tight and your vision went blurry as tears started to drip onto Jungkook’s face. The droplets rolled off his cheeks and you shook your head while a whimper came from your lips.

Letting go of his face, you fisted your hands on top of his chest. “You need to hear what I wanted to say earlier. You said I could tell you later, right?”

But he still didn’t move. He didn’t even stir.

You couldn’t hold back anymore. After a single shuddering inhale, cries began to wrack your body and you collapsed forward until your forehead weakly laid against Jungkook’s armored chest.

Not even a second later, you heard Tae skid to a stop beside you and then felt him tugging at your arm. “Stab wound on his back. On his back. On his back.”

His words seeped into your brain and it threw your already overwhelmed mind into a daze. Your eyes grew unfocused and you blinked as you let the Saeni pull you away. Then you started replaying those words over and over again like a broken reel. Stab wound. Stab wound. Stab wound. On his back. Stab wound on his back.

“Fucking Exia! Why didn’t you stop when I told you to!?” The blue-eyed male shouted at Jungkook before rolling his unconscious brother back to his side and applying pressure to the wound.

You squeezed your eyes shut for a moment, forcing more tears to quickly stream down your cheeks, then crawled a few feet so you could gently lift Jungkook’s head into your lap.

After brushing his hair out of his face and tucking it behind his long ear, you quietly said, “You… You said I could tell you later.” You traced the edge of his ear to the tip as your voice cracked. “Well, it’s later so you gotta wake up, okay? You need to wake up so I can tell you.”

No response.

Your muscles tensed and your bottom lip quivered, but your body suddenly felt hot and your cheeks burned. “Don’t be a coconut-headed asshat and go back on your word! Wake up so I can tell you, dammit!”

Tell you that I love you. That I’m in love with you.

Please.

The snap of a breaking twig made you shoot your head up and you saw Jimin hurrying over with a handful of big leaves. He dropped to the ground between you and Tae and wordlessly shoved the leaves at the blue-eyed Saeni. After grabbing them with one hand, Tae hastily shoved them under his other palm that was pressing against Jungkook’s wound.

He was using them to help control the bleeding.

The apricot head then turned to you and abruptly requested that you give him Jungkook’s dagger. Too caught up in your mind-numbing hysteria and not understanding why he needed a blade right then, you slowly looked from your best friend to the ruby gemstone glittering at your hip in bewilderment.

“Dagger. Dagger now, Y/N!”

His sharp tone cut through the fog in your brain and you sniffled while shifting your hand over the dagger. Your fingers briefly hesitated; knowing how important the weapon was to Jungkook, you didn’t like the idea of someone using it without his permission. Even if it was his brother. But Jimin was also aware of the dagger’s history and you knew he wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, so you curled your fingers around the hilt and pulled the blade from its scabbard. Flipping it in your hand, you held it out to Jimin, who snatched it from your grasp and leaned over his legs. As blood continued to leak out around the leaves and Tae’s fingers, the half-Saeni yanked the hem of his pants out of one of his boots and maneuvered the blade underneath. Then, a ripping sound came from the fabric. A few more seconds and rips later, Jimin was holding a decently-sized chunk of the durable fabric and was giving the blade back to you. Quietly, you took it from him while steadying Jungkook’s head in your lap with your other hand. As you tightly squeezed the hilt, Jimin nudged Tae and told him to move aside. Somehow, they managed to smoothly transfer jobs and Jimin was now using the patch of fabric to try to staunch the bleeding as Tae stood up unsteadily. The male’s now blood-covered hands hung at his sides while his blood-soaked feather earring swayed in the breeze.

His blue eyes solemnly gazed down at Jungkook’s face before they suddenly sharpened with resolve. “I’m going back for help. Don’t let him die.” Then, after taking a deep breath and a final look at his brother, he pivoted on his heel and ran into the trees.

His soft footsteps swiftly melted into the symphony of the forest, and you prayed that he would come back quickly. Returning your attention to Jungkook, you gripped the dagger in your hand until your knuckles strained against your skin while hoping the familiarity of the action would bring you some sort of comfort. It made you think of glittering peridot eyes and cocky smirks. Nervous stammering and provoking comments. You tried to hold onto those memories as firmly as you could. Both the good and the bad ones. Memories filled with tender touches and shy words. Memories made of angry glares and heated emotions. Memories of him. Memories with him. But as you listened to Jimin try to coax Jungkook back to consciousness, you looked down at the unresponsive male and could only think of how you were on the verge of losing him.

Losing the person you loved.

While your breath stuttered as you tried to inhale deeply, you brushed your thumb up and down Jungkook’s strong jaw and silently pleaded with him to open his eyes.

Wake up… wake up… please please please, wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Please wake up.

Your eyes shot open and your body flinched as you recoiled from the painful dream. But the attempt to get away was stopped short as you realized you were laying down and had nowhere to go. Then it hit you that it was completely dark. Head spinning and breathing rate rapidly increasing, you squinted into the blackness. It took you a few seconds for your eyes to come into focus, and you let out a relieved exhale when you registered the familiar room. Slowly unfurling your curled-up body, you pushed yourself into a sitting position on the bed and gazed out the window. The faint glow of the moon and distant tree lanterns came in through the open spaces where the branches were woven together, and a gentle yet warm breeze was floating into the room. But despite the warm air, you still had to hug yourself as you shivered from the dream.

No, not a dream. You reminded yourself and squeezed your arms around yourself more tightly. It actually happened.

It had been nearly two weeks since that day, or Draikiltho – The Dark Morning – as it was now being called. Two weeks since Amarok and the rift. Two weeks since Mingi sacrificed himself. Two weeks since you last saw Jungkook.

The dream was your memory of that day, and as much as you didn’t want to remember it… your brain began to recall what had happened next.

“You’re not allowed to die until I’ve made you watch all of ‘Ablatar,’ Spongebob, and Game of Thrones, you idiot,” you faintly whispered to the unconscious male while pressing down hard against the wound on his back.

Red stained your palms and wrists, and continued to slowly seep out around your hands and the patch of fabric beneath them. Jungkook was still breathing… but it seemed like his inhales were gradually getting weaker and further apart. Biting your lip, you looked over to Jimin, who now had his brother’s head in his lap and was running his hand through the male’s burgundy locks.

“It’s going to be fine, Kook. Tae will be back soon and he’s bringing help.” Brown eyes lifted to meet yours and he tried to smile reassuringly. “He’ll be back soon. It’s gonna be fine. Totally fine.”

A broken laugh that sounded more like a weak sob came from your lips. “Don’t make it sound like that damn meme.”

“It’s… It’s gonna be fine.” His eyes went back down to Jungkook’s face. “It’s gonna be fine.”

You pulled your knees up toward your chest and took long, deep breaths as the memory continued to play in your head.

You weren’t sure how long you had both been sitting there in uneasy silence. You were too focused, too worried, too scared to really have any insight into how much time was passing. It could have been five minutes, thirty minutes, over an hour since Tae had left. You had no idea.

Despite your arms trembling from applying constant pressure and your body shivering from the cool shade, you continued to press down against Jungkook’s back. Your tears had finally stopped some time ago, but you didn’t dare wipe at the dried tracks they had left on your cheeks. You were terrified that if you shifted even the barest amount, if you let up just the slightest amount of pressure on the wound, then Jungkook would be gone.

“Y/N, you’re shaking like crazy. Let me take over,” Jimin offered in a soft voice but you shook your head.

You were about to reply that you didn’t want to risk switching positions again when you heard a faint rhythmic sound rise up through the rustling leaves and creaking trees. It steadily grew louder and you stiffened while Jimin carefully lifted Jungkook’s head so he could stand. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched the half-Saeni limp forward a few steps until he was beside you.

“I hate to ask this, but I think I’m gonna need Kook’s dagger again.”

Slowly taking in a breath to try to ease your mind, you nodded. The sound was so close now that you could make out that they were footfalls. Someone or many someones were coming your way. Jimin muttered a curse and braced a hand on his knee to bend down and reach for the blade at your waist.

Please don’t be more trouble. You closed your eyes. Please be you, Tae.

The apricot head had just closed his fingers around the hilt when your prayer was answered.

The familiar grey-haired, blue-eyed Saeni burst through the dense thicket followed by three other Saeni you didn’t know.

Tae’s eyes widened in utter relief when he saw you. “Thank goddess,” he gasped out before collapsing to his knees and harshly sucking air into his lungs.

While Tae leaned over to support his body on his hands, the other Saeni kept moving forward. Blinking, you noticed one of them was carrying two long, thick branches and there was something that looked like cloth hanging between them.

They were next to you in the next second, and you did your best to keep up with the sudden barrage of movement and sound. The Saeni with the branches and cloth, which you realized was a makeshift stretcher now that it was up close, went to the side and laid the stretcher flat on the ground. The second roughly told Jimin to step aside while the third crouched beside you. The Saeni looked at you expectantly, but when you didn’t do anything, he nudged you with his arm. You didn’t move. You looked down at Jungkook’s pale face and shook your head. You were still too scared to move away. Even though the small part of your mind that was still coherent and not overwhelmed knew that you should, you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

I can’t. I can’t just leave him. They’re going to take him away. I know they need to. I know they have to. But I… I…

You felt a light hand on your shoulder interrupt your mental discourse and your best friend quietly said your name. Pressing your lips together while you silently took in Jungkook’s face, you thought of his peridot eyes and crooked smiles. A gentle ache filled your heart. After hanging your head for a moment, you then scooted over an inch or so to let the Saeni know they could take over. In a flash, his hands replaced yours and you held your breath as the other two Saeni situated themselves at Jungkook’s head and feet, counted to three, picked him up, and transferred him onto the stretcher.

You didn’t want to leave him. You didn’t want him to leave you.

The Saeni lifted the stretcher.

I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them. I would just slow them down.

The Saeni that had nudged you looked your way and gave you a sharp nod but your eyes never left Jungkook’s figure.

He needs to get help as soon as possible. That’s what’s important.

The Saeni at the head of the stretcher barked out an order to move out.

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you last night. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry. Please stay alive. I need you.

A final brief glimmer of pinkish burgundy hair through the leaves and shadows…

I love you.

Then they were gone.

Jimin’s hand tightened on your shoulder and you clenched your own blood-coated hands into fists where they rested against your thighs. Breathing heavily, you tried to reign in your swarm of emotions but you felt like your heart was made of cracked glass that was ready to shatter at any moment.

“Oh, you’re going to shatter?” It was too easy for your mind to imagine Jungkook’s teasing voice and arrogant chuckle. “Is it too much for the little human to handle?”

Narrowing your eyes, you deeply inhaled through your nose then slapped a mental Band-Aid over the cracks. No… no, asshat, it’s fucking not.

Reaching up to cover Jimin’s hand on your shoulder, you let your eyes linger on where you had last seen Jungkook for only a few more seconds.

I’ll see you soon.

Then you shifted your gaze to Tae, who was struggling to catch his breath as he braced himself against the earth. Patting Jimin’s hand, you let out a long puff of air and pushed yourself up to your feet with a groan.

Hooking arms with Jimin, you both stumbled over the rocks, roots, and low shrubs until you made it Tae.

The male flicked his blue eyes up as you unsteadily approached. “The fighting is over… but no magic users… could come. Too many… injured… at the field… and many of them… are drained.”

Weakly smiling at the male, you ignored your shaking legs to bend down and offer him your hand. “Thank you for getting help TaeTae.”

Jimin did the same and you both helped the spent Saeni stand.

“He’s… He’s going to okay, right?” Tae asked in a small voice as his chest continued to heave rapidly.

Your teeth tugged on your bottom lip. His words made another fracture appear on your fragile heart and paralyzing worry started to seep into your mind again…

“Come on sweetheart, I thought you were tougher than that.”

Steeling yourself, you slapped yet another mental Band-Aid over the new crack before sniffing and raising your chin to look Tae in the eyes. “Kook’s a big boy, right? If anyone can survive getting stabbed, running around like crazy, and losing a shit-ton of blood, it’s that annoying, stubborn asshat.”

The boys stared at you in shock for a minute, thrown off by your sudden change in attitude, until Tae broke out in his signature boxy grin. The sight made you smile again, this time more brightly, and the corner of Jimin’s mouth pulled up too. The three of you looked at each other, grins slowly growing and growing and growing. And then you were all laughing. It was absurd and crazy and you didn’t even know why or how you were actually laughing, but there you were. The three of you wrapped your arms around each other as your sore bodies shook and your eyes got teary. You laughed until your stomach muscles hurt even more than they already did and kept laughing until your giggles transformed into hiccups and cries. You buried your head into Jimin’s chest and he muffled his sobs against your hair while Tae clung on to your arm and wept on his brother’s shoulder. Eventually, you all quieted down but you stayed in each other’s arms.

As you were sniveling and clearing your throats, Tae suddenly looked around the area then furrowed his brows and tilted his head. “I didn’t have time to ask earlier but where’s… where’s Mingi?”

You clutched at the bedsheets and pressed your lips together, telling yourself not to cry. After slowly counting to ten in your head, you looked over at the small table in the corner of the room. Even without sunlight, the ruby gemstone of Jungkook’s dagger seemed to shine brightly in your eyes from where it rested on the table. Your hand twitched, aching to hold the weapon, but you just sighed heavily instead and reached up to touched the silver feather and chain at your neck.

The sun was beginning to lower behind the treetops when the three of you finally made it back to camp a few hours later. It had been a slow, painful journey, and your nerves had only increased with every sluggish step you took. Your legs were cramping, your stomach was churning, and your eyelids wouldn’t stop drooping but you couldn’t let yourself rest. You needed to find Jungkook and the rest of the kiela.

Jungkook first. You told yourself while limping through the trees, Saeni, and campfires with Tae and Jimin. Make sure Jungkook is okay then go find the others.

You weren’t exactly sure where the medical area was set up but it wasn’t hard to pinpoint the direction it was in. The agonized screams and cries echoing through the forest sadly made it easy to know where to go.

You let out a tired exhale and lifted your eyes from the ground to take in the gloomy atmosphere of the camp. All around you, Saeni were in different states. Some were frantic and crying, some were staring blankly into the trees, and others were talking in hushed voices.

I wonder which one I’ll be like in thirty minutes. You thought while carefully stepping around a small scattering of white wildflowers in your path.

The wails and sobs had gotten louder, and you glanced sideways at the boys. They met your gaze and gave you weary nods, but in the process of doing so, Tae stubbed his toe on something hidden beneath the foliage and tripped. He nearly face-planted but Jimin was fast to grab his brother’s arm and steady him. The blue-eyed Saeni grumbled in annoyance before a small pout flashed across his face, which made you release an amused puff of air. As Jimin made sure Tae was alright, a fast, dark blur out of the corner of your eye suddenly caught your attention. Your brows furrowed and although you assumed it was just a bird of some sort, you turned your head to see what it was. That was when the blur raced past you and tackled Jimin and Tae in a hug. Sucking in air through your teeth, you watched as someone enveloped both the boys in their arms and your hand unthinkingly went to the dagger at your waist. You curled your fingers around the hilt without hesitation, ready to pull the blade free from its sheath, when you realized the person had simple silver hoops in his ears, dark, raven-black hair, and broad shoulders.

A smidge of tension left your weak body and your fingers fell away from the dagger as you lightly called out the male’s name in astonishment, “Jin?”

“Get in here little scorja.” The eldest of the kiela peered over Jimin’s apricot head with a smile and reached his hand out toward you.

“You scared the shit out of me,” you murmured and your body relaxed further as your brain fully registered there was no actual threat.

“At least you didn’t get slammed into without warning,” Tae tried to pointedly gripe but his voice came out muffled from being smushed against Jimin and Jin’s bodies.

“Sorry,” the raven-haired male said, but his face didn’t show any remorse. “I just got so excited when I saw you, I couldn’t stop myself.”

Rolling your eyes, you took a tiny step forward then yelped as Jin’s hand wrapped itself around your wrist and forcibly yanked you into the hug.

“You were taking too long,” he whispered as the boys shifted to accommodate you.

Sagging into the warmth of the hug, you clutched at whatever buckle or strap your unsteady fingers could find. The four of you slowly swayed back and forth with the gentle breeze, just holding each other. Blowing out a long breath, you rested your head against Tae’s back and closed your eyes. But instead of a calming darkness, you stiffened when a crimson-covered face with peridot orbs and burgundy hair appeared behind your eyelids.

“Wait. Wait.” You suddenly pushed yourself away from the embrace and your heartrate began to beat fast once again. “Jungkook. Jin, have you seen Jungkook? Do you know if he’s… um, if he’s…?” Your heart jumped into your throat and your voice got small as the unfinished question trailed off into silence.

You were too scared to finish forming the words. Too scared to hear the response you were dreading but also so desperate to know what happened.

As Jin’s dark eyes widened at your pleading tone, Jimin stepped back and searched his brother’s face for an answer while Tae quietly slipped his hand into yours. Grateful for something to hold onto, you gripped his hand like a lifeline as you waited.

Jin’s face then softened and he rested his hand on your shoulder to look straight into your eyes for a moment before moving his gaze over to his brothers as well. “He’s going to be okay.”

Your heart skipped a beat and you faintly gasped.

“What did you say?” Your best friend asked in a demanding yet bewildered tone.

“He’s going to be okay.” Jin gave you all a reassuring nod. “Jungkook’s going to live.”

He’s going to be okay. He’s going to live. I get to see him again. You slumped, the tension in your body disappearing, and you placed your palm over your racing heart. I get to see him again.

At the same time, you felt Tae give your hand a squeeze as he bowed his head and sighed. Jimin let out a shaky laugh and looked up at the sky through the leaves while muttering under his breath.

“I was just with him, actually. He’s sleeping and in a stable condition but he’ll be healing naturally, without magic.”

You listened intently as Jin explained there were simply too many Saeni with more serious and pressing injuries. The magic users couldn’t spare to use their energy to heal Jungkook completely, so they had only used a small amount to get him stabilized and sleeping. Then they had bandaged him up and were now letting him rest. The medical personnel were going to watch over him and change his bandages as his body healed itself but he probably wouldn’t be up and moving for at least a few days.

Feeling your heartbeat finally slowing down to a more normal pace, you moved your hand so your fingertips could lightly graze the ruby on the hilt of Jungkook’s dagger. “Can I see him? Please?”

Jin’s shoulders dropped and he shook his head. “I wish you could. I really, really do, but they’re only allowing in one member from a patient’s kiela at a time unless the wound is fatal.” He made an aggravated noise while removing his hand from your shoulder. “And although we view you as family, you’re not officially recognized as part of our kiela.”

“Oh…”

You looked down at your feet. I can’t see him?

“Why did they even make that rule?” The blue-eyed Saeni next to you complained, which drew your eyes back up. “It’s stupid.”

Jimin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Even Illai agrees with that.”

“Huh?” Jin leaned forward to peer at his brother’s face in curiosity. “You can still hear the mother goddess?”

“Ah, yeah. She told me that she isn’t able to…”

You tuned out their conversation, too caught up in the thought that you couldn’t see him. You couldn’t see him. You couldn’t see him. Fuck, you couldn’t see him. You trusted Jin, of course, but you still wanted, no needed to see him.

What if he gets an infection? What if he never wakes up? What if-

Two firm pumped to your hand pulled you from your thoughts and you looked over to see blue eyes worriedly gazing at you.

“…you’d think them sharing a bond would be enough reason to bend the rules,” Jimin said with an irritated expression.

“You’d think.” The raven-haired male released a dry, condescending laugh before glancing your way and clearing his throat. “Maybe we can explain the situation once things are calmer.”

With a level voice, he then promised you that Jungkook was fine and no longer in danger. In response, your head jerked down in a small nod but you didn’t say anything else.

“Alright, well for now let’s get some rest. You all look like you really fucking need it.” The eldest Saeni gestured for you all to follow him as he swiveled on his heel. “Joon’s in a meeting with General Son but Hobi and Yoongi should still be at the fire we claimed a couple hours ago.”

“They’re all okay?” Tae asked almost timidly while stepping over a fallen log with stiff movements.

“Yoongi is passed out from using so much energy but he’ll be fine after a lot of sleep. Hobi almost died but Yoongi was able to save him, hence why he’s so exhausted. Joon is okay too, besides taking a knife to his thigh.”

They’re safe. Maybe not in perfect condition, but the whole kiela is safe.

Jin looked back over his shoulder. “By the way, what happened to Mingi? Did he go meet someone when you got back to camp or…?”

You, Tae, and Jimin all paused and uneasily looked at each other until you softly said that Mingi didn’t make it. You tried to ignore the heaviness in your heart by turning to look at the setting sun through the trees. The burning orange peeking through the leaves was beautiful but it didn’t do anything to ease the dull pang in your chest, so you returned your gaze to the forest before you. Meanwhile, Jin hadn’t said anything in response but you could see that his body went rigid and his hand was closed into a tight fist.

About ten more minutes passed of quietly weaving through the forest and the scattered fires. The sounds from the medical area could still be heard but they were starting to fade into the symphonic sounds of the birds, bugs, and leaves. The Saeni were the same, though. A haunting mix of mourning wails, empty gazes, and low whispers. You involuntarily flinched when a particularly violent sob screamed into your ears, yet you forced yourself to keep your eyes on Jin’s back. You didn’t want to see the face of the male who made the tormented noise.

I just spent the day experiencing so much death but somehow, it’s the aftermath that unsettles me the most.

You rubbed your temples then dragged your fingers down your face.

I guess sometimes death is more painful for the ones left alive.

The memory of hazel eyes flashed in your mind but you hastily blinked it away while ducking below a branch.

The sky was getting darker and darker; only a thin stretch of orange sunlight was still visible on the horizon. Within a few minutes, the forest quickly became a blend of cool darkness and pockets of warm, flickering light.

Although he was only a few steps ahead of you, Jin peeked back to make sure you were all still with him before he turned left behind a thick tree. You, Jimin, and Tae followed and you had to contain a moan as you suddenly felt the soothing heat of a fire.

“This is us,” Jin said with a gesture to the small area illuminated by the flames.

The fire snapped and crackled as Jin crouched down and poked the embers with a stick, and through the flames you could see the silhouettes of two people against the base of a tree. A bloody and bruised Hobi had his back to the tree trunk with his legs stretched out in front of him. In one hand, he absentmindedly twirled a small blade in his fingers while his other hand rested on the torso of the male curled up on his thighs. Yoongi was facing away from you but you guessed the magic user was deep asleep from the slow rise and fall of his shoulder.

At your arrival, Hobi’s eyes lifted from where they had been looking down at the other male and his face lit up. A dimpled smile appeared and he cheerfully waved with his blade.

His body isn’t shiny like it usually is. You noted with a tilt of your head as you and the boys staggered around the fire.

As you moved closer and squinted through the flickering light you realized it was because most of the sheathes strapped across his body were empty. You also saw there was a large gash in his armor at his side and while the area was stained red, the skin itself was unmarred. The sight made you recall Jin’s words of how Hobi had almost died and the thought made you frown.

The male must have misunderstood your expression through because he looked down at Yoongi then back up apologetically. “Sorry, I can’t get up for a hug.”

“You’ll owe me one later, hyung!” Tae warned with a grin as he ungracefully sat down.

Meanwhile, you raised your hands. “No, no don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Hobi’s light brown eyes softened. “You too, little scorja. You too.” The Saeni then transferred his gaze to the apricot head beside you. “You did good Chim. I’m proud of you.”

The kiela’s spy proceeded to shut his eyes and angle his head back to rest it against the tree trunk. He resumed flipping his blade and his thumb began to gently move up and down Yoongi’s abdomen. You didn’t miss the gesture but all you did was send the two Saeni an earnest smile.

Shuffling closer to the fire’s warmth, you then plopped down to the earth with a tight wince. Your feet cried with relief and the feeling of utter fatigue settled over your body. You tiredly began massaging your spasming leg muscles as Jimin awkwardly made his way to the ground beside you. After glancing at your best friend and releasing a drawn-out exhale, you realized you didn’t know what to do now. Your mind had been on high alert for so long it was like it couldn’t not be wary of every miniscule sight and sound. You just couldn’t let yourself fully relax. The battle was over, you knew that… but you were still scared a sudden attack would erupt out of the vast darkness of the forest.

Am I-are we really safe? You squeezed your thighs.

In the end, you just sat there and stared at the luminous embers of the fire as they ate away at the wood. Your eyes bore into the mesmerizing red-orange glow until your eyes stung and watered. Then, a sniffling sound moved your attention to your best friend and you saw him harshly wiping at his cheek with his palms.

Blinking quickly to counter the dry, stinging pain in your eyes, you quietly asked if he was crying.

“Oh, it’s, uh, ‘cuz of the smoke.” The apricot head let out an exaggerated cough and waved his hand in front of his face.

You lightly bumped his shoulder with yours. “It’s okay, you know. To cry.”

“…I know.”

After a couple of minutes, Jimin lowered his hands and placed them on the ground behind him. Wordlessly, he caught your gaze then nodded at his legs.  You pursed your lips, subtly shook your head, and adjusted your body so your forearm could rest against your knee. Jimin merely shrugged at your choice and was about to change positions when Tae made a whining noise, drowsily crawled over, and subsequently trapped the half-Saeni’s legs underneath his silver-grey head. The corner of your mouth went up as you watched Jimin squint down at the male for a few moments before letting out a stuffy snort and beginning to pat Tae’s head.

“Hey…” Hobi lightly said and you turned your head toward the spy to see his brow was furrowed. “Where’s Mingi?”

Body stiffening, you braced yourself to answer the painful question yet again but Jin gently called Hobi’s name from across the fire then sadly shook his head.

Hobi’s light brown eyes widened and he halted his movements with the knife. “Oh.”

The male sharply cursed in a whisper as you somberly looked back into the burning embers.

“Uh, Chim,” Jin hurriedly spoke up, “tell us how you closed the rift.”

Pulling your legs up toward your chest, you rested your forehead against your knees. Everyone had begun sharing their experiences from the hellish day one by one. It wasn’t pleasant hearing about what they had each gone through, and it only got worse when Jungkook was brought up. A shudder ran through your body as you remembered listening to Jin describe how he and Joon had ran into an injured and panicking Jungkook on the field. The eldest Saeni in the kiela had said he’d never seen the youngest so distraught and out of it before.

You breathed out through your nose and shut your eyes. You sometimes wondered what would have happened if you hadn’t left your position on the cliff to search for Jimin. Would Jungkook have come out of the battle unscathed? Would your best friend have been able to defeat Amarok and close the rift? Would Mingi still be alive?

You lightly banged your head on your knee twice then the vivid memory continued playing.

A branch collapsed in the fire, sending a handful of sparks into the air, as Hobi depicted the matchup between him and Yoongi versus a draikensu magic user.

“We went up against the one with purple magic,” the male shifted uncomfortably before resuming his gentle caresses on top of Yoongi’s mint-blue head.

Oh, that one. You remembered the magic user who had seemed to stare directly at you while you were on the cliff.

Hobi’s jaw clenched in the firelight as he described her magic, and you were stunned by how wicked her abilities sounded. You had reasoned she was strong from what you had seen on the cliff, but it was insane hearing how Hobi and Yoongi had struggled against her. Your brows even lifted in surprise when Hobi detailed how he had gone to deliver the final blow but was instead struck by the draikensu’s magic. A grimace appeared on the male’s face and his hand went to his side like he could feel a ghost of the pain he’d endured.

“I remember looking at hyung for a split second before I colla-”

“Fucking Exia, I thought that meeting would never fucking end.”

Immediately, all your heads swiveled over to the new yet familiar voice, and you saw Joon frozen-mid step. The leader of the kiela was staring at you, Jimin, and Tae, and he slowly brought his hand up to cover his open mouth.

“You’re okay… you’re actually oka-wait…” His yellow eyes flitted around the fire. “Where’s-”

“Medical area but he’s going to be alright,” Jin interrupted the leader with an easy smile.

At the news, Joon trailed his gaze over the group and blinked as if he was in a daze. “We all… made it?”

“Not everyone,” Tae whispered so faintly it could barely be heard over the crackling flames.

Joon’s yellow eyes narrowed then went big in realization.

You hugged yourself more securely for a minute, seeking brief comfort for the ache in your chest. Any relief you found would be temporary, though. You knew this and accepted it. There was nothing you could do to stop the memory of hazel eyes from weighing heavily on your heart, so you just let the emotions course through you.

When the dull pain finally faded, you lifted your head from your knees and opened your eyes. The morning sun was beginning to peek through the thin branches of the window and illuminate the bedroom. The pale light reminded you of Joon’s bright eyes.

You listened as the leader of the kiela explained how the surviving draikensu had been detained and were being closely watched at a separate camp nearby. They would be interviewed over the upcoming days then the king would decide what would be done with them. Originally, you would have hoped for them all to burn in hell, but the situation turned out to be more complicated than that. While some draikensu still believed in Uzjuk’s mission of chaos and death even after the god’s disappearance, there seemed to be others who had been acting against their will. Those draikensu had unknowingly fallen under Uzjuk’s influence and had become mere puppets for the god to use as he pleased.

You had no idea how the king would come to a decision for such a fucked-up situation, but you were just glad you didn’t have to worry about such things.

Cheers to not being politically important. You mentally raised an imaginary shot glass and saluted yourself.

“I also received a message from King Bang.” Joon momentarily rubbed his forehead and sighed before continuing. “He sent an order for our kiela to return to the palace.”

Jin blew out an annoyed raspberry and poked at the fire with his stick again. “Well, we can all head out in a few days once Kook is up and moving again.”

“We were told to return without delay except for Yoongi hyung who will stay to help the wounded.” The yellow-eyed Saeni lifted his tired gaze to watch the smoke whirl around in the air. “Jungkook will have to stay as well since he physically cannot go at the moment.”

You scoffed, but in the next second your jaw dropped in surprise when none of the Saeni let out similar reactions. Not even Jimin said anything against it. Your best friend just opened his mouth, hesitated, then finally conceded by hanging his head.

“You’re kidding, right?” You asked in disbelief which caused Joon to wear an apologetic expression, and you let out a cynical laugh in response. “Sweet Neptune, they can wait a few days… we just fought, for fuck’s sake!”

And Jungkook is here… I don’t want to leave him.

Hobi sleepily flipped his blade in the air then caught it. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that little scorja.”

“The king calls, you go,” Tae mumbled but his tone revealed that he obviously didn’t like the idea very much.

“Well, he’s not my damn king.”

You crossed your arms defiantly, but a small movement made you glance to the side and you saw your best friend’s shoulders weakly shaking with quiet laughter.

“How did I know you would say something like that?” he whispered to himself.

You glared at the half-Saeni before huffing and tilting your head toward the unconscious magic user on Hobi’s lap. “I can just stay here with Yoongi.”

“Ah.” Joon awkwardly coughed. “The king requested your presence as well.”

‘Requested’ my ass. You rolled your eyes while stretching out your legs and arms. More like demanded my presence for just one damn meeting.

“Stupid,” you mumbled before letting your body relax and flopping back down onto the bed.

That one, singular meeting had been exhausting. You had to explain what you’d seen, heard, and done down to the smallest detail. You were asked to repeat yourself numerous times and describe scenes you didn’t wish to recall. Then, you had to answer question after question, mostly about Amarok, Uzjuk, and the rift. It seemed like the process went on for hours. Once you’d expelled everything in your brain, you had been dismissed and were no longer “requested” to attend any meetings. The boys weren’t as lucky, though. They were being called into meetings every day since returning to the palace, which quite honestly sucked. For both them and you. You’d grown so used to being surrounded by the kiela night and day, and it was fairly jarring to suddenly be alone. It felt wrong not having them around. Simply put, you didn’t like it. On Earth, you might’ve delt with this by hunkering down on the couch and binge-watching Netflix to fill the hole, but that wasn’t exactly an option in this world. The lack of internet meant all you could do was just keep yourself as busy as possible.

The first thing you did was take up practicing with the BTS trainees every morning. Training was familiar. It was routine. Over the past couple of months, your days always began with training and you didn’t want to change that. It was also nice to see Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, and Heuning Kai again. They had all grown taller and stronger since you last saw them… but you managed to kick each of their asses every time you sparred. They never complained or sulked at the result, they were just eager and excited to train with “the disciple of the Jeon Jungkook.” The name made you snort but spending your mornings with the younger boys helped ease the loneliness you were feeling.

After exerting yourself at training, you would usually have lunch with Jiae if she was free. When she had nothing scheduled, she would wait at the edge of the training grounds with Chungha silently watching over her. Once you were finished, the lilac-haired Saeni would march over, hook her arm through yours despite your sweaty body, and drag you to the kitchen regardless of your desire to shower before eating. After arriving at the kitchen, one of the palace chefs would kindly instruct you both to sit down then inspect your appearances for a moment before grunting and starting to cook. A short wait later, edible heaven would be placed before you on a plate. Yours would always have more carbohydrates and protein than the princess’, and your sore, tired body would eagerly welcome it. As you and Jiae ate, you would talk about the boys and how annoying it was to not see them much. You also spoke of the differences between your worlds, and what you and Jimin were doing before coming to Illain. There was another topic you had been wanting to bring up. Something you wanted to apologize for. But every time you went to finally say it, you would hesitate, glance at Chungha sitting to the side, and snap your mouth closed. The guard hadn’t changed the way she interacted with you, but… how could you bring up Mingi in front of her?

You couldn’t find the courage to breach that topic just yet.

You’d also started to explore the palace grounds by yourself. There was so much you had missed out on when you first came to the palace, and you figured now was the best time to see it all. Unfortunately, you weren’t allowed to venture into the nearby village or its market due to “security reasons,” but there was still a lot within the expansive palace grounds to discover. You would blindly walk down the countless paths, hoping one of them would lead you to something captivating. So far, you’d found several courtyards with glittering streams and tiny waterfalls weaving through them, as well as a few gardens with flowers bursting with fragrance and excited little bugs buzzing around in the air. On the third day, deep in the trees, you found a collection of stalls holding some sort of unknown creature. You had been and still were curious as to what was kept inside, but the shrill hissing and reverberating growling coming from within the stalls ultimately made you keep your distance. It sounded like something that shouldn’t be fucked with, meaning you weren’t about to go poking your head in like some ditsy horror movie character. As you had warily backed away from the stalls, you saw devices similar to saddles on the walls, so you thought they might be some sort of overly aggressive horse. Whether they were only horses or not, you weren’t about to find out yourself and you reasoned you could just ask one of the kiela members if your curiosity continued.

Your favorite discovery, though, was a tiny clearing you stumbled upon while walking off the main path earlier in the week. You had been following a bubbling stream through the forest and found it ran into a small, secluded pond before spilling over in a narrow cascade and disappearing into the trees. There was a single weeping willow tree at the edge of the clear pool of water and coiled around its trunk was a vine covered in vibrant orange flowers. The area was peaceful and quiet and made you feel at ease. Somehow, you didn’t really mind being alone while you were there. It was a comfortable solitude, and you often napped curled up beneath the thin swaying branches of the weeping willow.

That was how you had been spending your days: training, eating, exploring, and relaxing. Whenever one of the boys was free from the meetings, they would join you while they could. Hobi was getting leaf messages from Yoongi about every other day, and they would usually include a small update on Jungkook’s condition. The kiela’s spy was always sure to stop by and share the news with you when he had time to spare. The two of you would talk for a while about the absent Saeni, and it commonly ended with either one or both of you showing burning cheeks and embarrassed smiles. In the mornings, Jin and Tae would sometimes join you for training. At first, it had only been your dear blue-eyed friend, but once word came that the head instructor did not survive Draikiltho, Jin began showing up too. The eldest kiela member turned out to be a great mentor, and you wondered why he never helped train you. It would’ve been a nice change of pace to be smacked with a joke rather than a glare in the wee hours of the morning on some days. With Joon, you would have pleasant conversations about what things you found around the palace grounds and he would give you suggestions of places to check out. He even promised to take you to his favorite vendor and weapon seller in the market when clearance to leave the grounds was finally given. You barely saw Jimin, but the brief moments you spent with him were remarkably normal. You would have your passionate rants about some random topic and your best friend would listen and chuckle before saying something to get you worked up even more.

The one thing you hadn’t done was tell anyone about the place you’d found with the pond and willow tree. Not even Jimin or Tae knew about it. You weren’t entirely sure why, but you kind of wanted to keep that small, calming place to yourself.

Maybe I’ll go there again today. I just have training and-SHIT! Your eyes bugged out when you noticed how much sunlight was now peeking in through the branches and you threw the covers off your body. I’m gonna be late!

An amused grin broke out on your face as you chewed on an apple slice and watched Jiae mist an orange peel in your best friend’s face. Jimin reeled back, sputtering in surprise, before trying to grab the princess. Jiae nimbly danced away from Jimin’s hands while giggling, making the half-Saeni playfully narrow his eyes.

The lilac-haired Saeni just waggled her fingers, causing Jimin to turn back to you with a sigh of defeat. “Anyways, as I was saying before I was attacked, we decided to wait until after the ceremony to make sure things are settled down.”

“It’s so weird that she’s just chilling in your head,” you quipped and went to cut off another slice from the fruit in your hand but the knife froze as you realized you had yet to greet the goddess. “Shit, um, good morning Illai!”

Jimin rubbed his temples as he listened to the voice nobody else could hear then swept his hand through his hair and grumbled out, “She says good morning to you too and she hopes you trained well today.”

“Geez, it’s even weirder that she’s watching us like a damn movie,” you whispered to yourself before flashing a quick thumbs up. “Thank you Illai, hope you have a swell day doing whatever it is you’re doing!”

Well, watching whatever it is Slim Jim is doing.

Then a thought dawned on you and your eyes flashed mischievously while you leaned closer to Jimin. “Wait, so does she watch when you and Jiae are fuc-”

“Y/NNN!” Jimin lunged forward and covered your mouth before mumbling, “It’s already uncomfortable, please don’t make it worse. And Illai please stop talking.”

You snickered and looked to the side to meet Jiae’s gaze out of curiosity, but the lilac-haired princess just shrugged.

Okay, damn girl. Maybe she’s into voyeurism.

Raising your apple and knife into the air in surrender, you waited for Jimin to move his hand, but he just blatantly ignored you while exclaiming that the atmosphere had suddenly become so quiet and peaceful. After pursing your lips for a moment, you licked the boy’s palm which caused him to pull away with a disgusted gasp. Rolling your eyes at his dramatics, you then asked when said ceremony would be.

Two nights ago, you’d spoken to Joon for a bit and he mentioned the king was planning a ceremony to honor those who’d fought and lost their lives at Draikiltho. At the time, there was no set date for the event, but you figured that must have changed.

Jimin didn’t respond to your question right away. Instead, he shared a knowing look with Jiae before beginning to smirk at you. One of your brows lifted as you scrutinized the suspicious action.

“It’ll be in a week… the same day the med facility from the field will arrive at the palace.”

Excitement pulsed through your veins and your heart pounded in anticipation as you made your way through the palace hallways with light steps and fidgeting fingers. It was quite early in the morning, but there was an unusual amount of Saeni bustling about.

You skirted to the side to avoid being run over by a very stressed-looking male and breathily laughed to yourself. It may be a magical world, but I guess they can’t escape hectic last-minute preparations either.

After a week that had lagged on and on, it was finally the day you’d been eagerly waiting for. The day you and the boys would be reunited with Jungkook and Yoongi. Although you had no clue as to when they would be arriving, a frenzy of emotions had relentlessly crashed over you throughout the entire night. The result was a fitful night’s sleep full of tossing and turning, but you somehow didn’t feel tired. Whatever weariness you would normally feel from little to no sleep was overwhelmed by the intensity of your excitation. It even made you to ignore the rare opportunity you had to sleep in since training was cancelled for the ceremony. You simply had too many thoughts to lay still in bed, and too many feelings to sit around and do nothing. So, when your internal clock had alerted you it was the usual time to get up for training, you had swiftly flipped the covers off your body to allow a surge of cool air to sharpen your senses. Your mind was wired, body itching to do something, and you had hastily racked your brain for what that something would be. Ultimately, since the training grounds were closed, you had decided eating a big breakfast was the best option.

Continuing your journey to the kitchen, you tapped your fingertips against the ruby hilt of the dagger strapped to your side.

He’s coming back today. You looked down at the blade and changed your tapping to more of a gentle pat. You only need to put up with me for a little longer.

“Little scorja!” A distant, muffled voice gasped out.

Your head lifted, and you saw Tae walking toward you while smiling around a pastry that was shoved against his lips.

“TaeTae!” You exclaimed brightly as he crammed the rest of the pastry in his mouth and skipped over.

The blue-eyed male slid to a stop beside you and gave you a light nudge accompanied by a wink. “Well, someone’s looking quite happy this morning.”

“I’m about to eat, you know how that gets me going.” You affectionately knocked your shoulder into his while reaching down to hold his hand.

He giggled and sent a sly smile your way. “I’m sure you’re just famished after last night if those red and puffy eyes are anything to go by.”

“Ah yes,” you replied dreamily while rolling your red and puffy eyes, “that’s just what every girl wants to hear in the morning.”

You weren’t entirely sure what being famished had to do with sleep deprivation but you decided it wasn’t important enough to wallow on, so you switched topics by asking what time he thought they would be arriving.

“Who?”

You gently flicked the male’s chest while rolling your eyes. “Uh, who else? Kook and Mr. Sparkle Hands.”

Slowly, Tae’s boxy grin vanished and was replaced with a look of confusion while he cocked his head to the side. “Wait, you have you not seen him?”

“Who?” You echoed the male with furrowed brows.

The Saeni nervously cleared his throat, the playfulness in his eyes evaporating into unease. “They arrived a few hours ago… Kook hasn’t gone to see you?”

You stilled, quietly absorbing the news, before withdrawing your hand from Tae’s so you could grab onto your own arm. “Oh… um, no. He hasn’t.”

The male frowned but was fast to shake his head and give you a reassuring grin. “Maybe he fell asleep! He did seem really tired at the meeting earlier.”

“Yeah… maybe.” You pressed your lips together and looked at the floor.

The bright, elated feeling in your chest began to wilt into something heavy and stinging, but before it could completely wither away, you made your brain call a timeout. Okay. Okay. Okay. He’s here… he’s been here for a few hours. And he hasn’t come to see me, but let’s not think too much into it. Tae’s right. He could be tired, still recovering, wanting to get his energy back up… Though it’s not like it takes much to do a quick check-in. Wait. He probably doesn’t even know what room I’m in… but he could’ve just asked one of the bo-

“Want me to take you to his room?” Tae’s soft voice interrupted your rambling, conflicted thoughts.

You lifted your head at the idea and parted your lips, a “yes” dancing on the edge of your tongue. Yet you couldn’t bring yourself to say it. You couldn’t remove the splinter of disappointment that was now lodged in your chest. Jungkook didn’t want to see you right now. If he did, he would have found you. The thought pushed the splinter deeper into your heart and you winced. Shaking your head at both the tiny, piercing pain and your friend, you told Tae that he was probably right and that you wouldn’t want to disturb Jungkook if he was resting.

“I… Are you sure?” The blue-eyed male tugged on his feather earring as his brows drew close together, but you didn’t say anything else. “Want to spar for a bit then? I know the training grounds are closed today, but we’re used to doing it in the forest anyway, right? Or! Or I can walk you to the garden where Yoongi hyung and Hobi hyung are!”

Sliding your hand down your arm to hold your wrist, you kept yourself from reaching for the glinting blade at your side. “Thanks TaeTae, but I’m sure Yoongi and Hobi want some alone time… and I’m actually pretty sore from training yesterday, so…” You were lying and you knew that he knew it. You could visibly see the worry plastered on the Saeni’s face, but you forced a tight smile and told him you were going to head back to your room to lay down. “It’s going to be crazy later, so I think I’m just gonna relax before getting ready for the ceremony.”

Tae’s eyes scanned your face, uncertainty consuming his features, until he gently exhaled and said he would walk you to your room.

You could easily tell Tae wanted to say something else, but he surprisingly held himself back and kept quiet. When you made it to your door, the Saeni pulled you into a hug to squish you close for several seconds. He left a light kiss to your cheek then stepped away. With a pointed look that silently told you to get him if you needed anything, the male swiveled around and strode away. You watched his receding figure until he disappeared around the corner then blew out a long puff of air and went inside your room. After the door weaved itself back together behind you, you squeezed your eyes shut and leaned against the branches. You felt somewhat empty, the hurricane of excitement from earlier now dull and washed out. A knot was also gradually forming in your stomach, the unpleasant and tight feeling reminding you that you never did make it to the kitchen and likely wouldn’t for the rest of the day. Not that you thought it would matter much. You’d lost your appetite anyway.

Pulling the fabric behind your back, you blindly formed a bow over your spine. You secured the knot while internally praying the result wasn’t too lopsided. You were never particularly good at making bows look nice and pretty. It was usually Jimin’s job to laugh at your poor attempts until he took pity and provided help. Unfortunately, the apricot head was nowhere in sight.

No Slim Jim… and no coconut-headed asshat either. You sighed and smoothed your hand over the light, gossamer-like fabric draped on your body.

The dress was long, loosely falling to your ankles, with asymmetrical bell sleeves that stopped just below your elbows. The garment was courtesy of Jiae, who had it delivered a couple days ago alongside a note specifying she had had it made for you since you didn’t have any of Illain’s custom mourning clothing. Of course, your human ass had seen “mourning” and expected black or some other dark color, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. The fabric was a pale yellow and green that was so light and soft it was reminiscent of morning sunlight peeking through tree leaves. The material was sheer but not entirely see-through, giving the dress an almost milky translucence. The neckline stopped at your collarbones, allowing your silver necklace to be displayed. You would have been feeling graceful if not for the worn boots that were laced over your feet. They roughed up the entire look, but you merely shrugged before tugging them on. They were the only footwear you had since you didn’t know what had happened to your sneakers after you’d switched shoes during your first visit to the palace.

At least they’re comfy and won’t make me suffer. You gently knocked one boot against the other.

“Unlike some people,” you mumbled as you plopped down on your bed.

You still hadn’t seen Jungkook, or rather, Jungkook still hadn’t come to see you. You had been holed up in your room since the morning, not wanting to leave in case he showed up but… he never did.

Blowing out a raspberry, you hung your head and allowed yourself exactly ten seconds of moping before slapping your hands against your thighs and standing back up. Stepping over to the table in the corner, you picked up Jungkook’s dagger and its sheath.

Thankfully the brown leather will match the boots. You slipped the belt around your waist just below the bow at your back.

Just as you were threading the strap through the buckle, a short rap came from your door. Your fingers froze while your head darted up and your breath got caught in your throat. Hastily crossing the room, you tightly gripped the leather in your hands as your heart swelled with hope. But as the door’s branches untwisted, you came face to face with a lilac-haired princess instead of your boyfriend. Your chest twinged but you swallowed down the disappointment to smile at the female.

“Hey Jiae-whoa.” You openly gawked at her dress because it was seriously fancy.

Like yours, it was a pale yellow and green, but it was more elaborate and detailed with embellishments, sparkling jewels, and an airy cape that covered her otherwise bare shoulders.

“Ah… yeah…” She followed your gaze to her dress and pulled at the fabric of her cape with a tiny roll of her eyes. “It’s excessive, I know, but it’s what comes with being a princess.”

“Sure, it’s excessive, but you look good as hell.” You nodded approvingly as you moved to finish buckling the dagger to your body. “Slim Jim’s nose is gonna bleed… if it hasn’t already, that is.”

The female’s nose scrunched. “His nose… is going to… bleed?”

“It’s a good thing, I promise.” You smirked then casually leaned against the doorframe and crossed your ankles. “So, what brings you here? I would’ve thought you’d already be in the ceremony room.”

“I’m about to head there, but I wanted to see if you would like to walk down together?” Jiae asked with kind eyes and a hopeful smile.

You blinked in surprise. “You’re actually asking and not just dragging me there?”

“Hey! Don’t make it sounds like I kidnap you for our lunch dates!”

“I’m kidding. I’m kidding.” You laughed, pushed off the frame, and took a step forward so your door would weave itself back together. “Let’s go then.”

You forced yourself to not look down at the ruby gemstone on the dagger as you shoved your desire to have Jungkook be the one to pick you up and take you to the ceremony to the far recesses of your mind. You had been wishing for Jungkook to show up all day. You had been waiting for him. But no more. You still desperately wanted to see him, hold him, kiss him… but you refused to sit around and twiddle your thumbs for another minute.

The princess beamed at you then hooked her arm through yours to begin leading you down the hallway. A few doors down, Chungha was watching you both approach with her usual serious expression. She was also wearing pale yellow and green, but in contrast to you and Jiae’s delicate and nearly sheer fabric, her outfit was thick and armored. As she started to walk beside Jiae, you pressed your lips together and gave the female guard a polite nod which she returned. Meeting Chungha’s eyes made your guilt flare up again, though, so you quickly averted your gaze and swallowed hard. Taking a shaky, deep breath, you rolled your shoulders to try to rid yourself of the tension while the three of you strolled toward the ceremony room. Minutes and corridors passed by, but none of you spoke. The event you were going to wasn’t exactly something to giggle excitedly about. Instead, the only sounds came from you and Chungha’s boots thumping against the wooden floor and Jiae’s low humming. Eventually, you found yourself in the midst of other Saeni also heading to the ceremony, and you merged into their yellow and green stream that was filled with hushed murmurs.

A short while later, you were finally entering the room hosting the ceremony. The space was like the throne room you had seen the first time you entered the palace, with spaced out trees serving as the walls and swaying leaves creating an open-air roof. The difference was this room was bigger and more spacious. Plus, there was a huge, blazing fire in the middle of the room that was sending swirling tufts of white smoke through the leaves. All around you, there was an abundance of light. Not only was the fire burning brightly, but the sun shone through the gaps between the tree trunks and full leaves, and there were also multitudes of lanterns hanging from the branches that casted a soft glow throughout the room. Altogether, it created a stunning blend of shifting lights and shadows. The room was crowded too. So many Saeni, all wearing pale yellow and green, were already packed into the space and were milling about.

A small tug on your arm made your feet come to a stop, and then Jiae was speaking into your ear about how she needed to go find her father. Before moving away, she also said she believed the boys should be toward the far side of the room if you wanted to look for them. You half-smiled in understanding and she tenderly touched your shoulder before pulling away and following Chungha into the sea of Saeni.

You stood still for a minute, just taking in the atmosphere surrounding you. Breathing deeply, you tilted your head back and stared at the treetops gently moving back and forth.

Alright. You blew out a long exhale and releveled your gaze. Let’s go find the boys.

Suddenly, your palms grew sweaty at the prospect of seeing Jungkook. You were nervous, antsy, and worried about how you would interact. Would things be normal? Would they be different? Were you completely overthinking it all? A small part of you was even tempted to hide and avoid the encounter. But you also wanted to see Yoongi. And you really did want to see Jungkook, you were just a little jittery. Chastising yourself, you told your brain to pull up its big girl panties and get itself together.

The other side of the room. You recalled Jiae’s words and went on your tippy toes to try to see over the crowed for any glimpse of the kiela, but you couldn’t make out much. It was like being at the very back of the pit during a concert and having several people shift into your line of sight. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, really, but it still made you want to grit your teeth in frustration. With a huff, you brought your heels back to the floor and plunged into the throng of Saeni. Blindly, you began to work your way towards the opposite end of the very large room. While shouldering your way through the crowd as politely as you could, you kept trying to get a peek of the kiela members, but you weren’t having any luck.

You were craning your neck and standing on your toes for yet another mostly obscured scan of the room when someone bumped into your side. It wasn’t a hard hit by any means, but the angle of the contact made you stumble. You internally sighed, knowing you were either about to fall on your ass or into an unsuspecting Saeni, when hands miraculously grasped your shoulders and kept you upright. Steadying your feet and letting out a relieved breath, you looked over to thank your savior, but the words got stuck when you recognized the Saeni. You’d interacted with him only once before, and you didn’t know if you could really count exchanging punches and kicks as an interaction, but you still remembered the male’s face and how his originally shy smile had turned serious.

Narrowing your gaze at the Saeni, you cleared your throat and lifted your chin. “You.”

The male, whose name was Yoo Yong-something, stared at you then flashed you that damn shy smile. “Um, do I know you?”

“You kicked my ass at the sparring matches. The ones with Jeon Jungkook officiating. I’d like a rematch.”

Recognition finally flickered in the male’s eyes and he let go of your shoulders. “Ah! That’s why you look familiar. Sorry I didn’t remember you at first, my mind was kind of overwhelmed with the Jeon Jungkook being there that day. He’s a freaking legend.”

Yeah, a legendary pain in the ass. You rolled your eyes at the return of the asshat’s ridiculous fanclub as Saeni continued to shift and move all around you.

“But sure, we can have a rematch if you want.” The male crossed his arms over his chest and studied you briefly. “Though the outcome will be the same as last time.”

You only hummed thoughtfully and gave him a once-over in response, but the sound contained such a sharp edge that the male blinked in surprise. You smirked at his reaction then morphed your lips into a genuine grin. “Thanks for catching me by the way.”

Before he could say anything else, you pivoted on your heel and began to move away while calling over your shoulder, “Well, I’ll see you around soon then. I’m looking forward to our rematch!”

You dove back into the crowd and continued your search for the “legend” and the other boys. To your right, the fire was snapping loudly. Above you, the lanterns swayed, and the leaves rustled soothingly. All around you, conversations at respectful volumes floated into the air. And up ahead, after somehow breaking into a less populated area of the room, was what appeared to be a refreshment table. It was lined with small snacks on tiered plates and tall silver pitchers were next to stemmed glasses. The sight of food made your stomach grumble, and you were reminded that you hadn’t eaten anything all day. After a moment of contemplation, you decided it was worthwhile to give the spread a quick inspection. You approached the table and scanned its contents but unfortunately none of the dainty finger foods or fancily decorated desserts called out “Eat me! Eat me!”

Dammit. Is a singular mini corn dog too much to ask for?

While you pouted and wished for some simple fried comfort food, a Saeni passed you to snatch up one of the silver pitchers at the end of the table. You watched, mouth suddenly going dry, as they poured a clear liquid into a glass, downed the drink in three big gulps and a hiccup, then poured another glassful before shuffling away.

Water is better than nothing, I guess. Smacking your lips together, you moved down the table, selected a glass, then picked up a pitcher.

“I wouldn’t recommend the viitulx unless you want to numb yourself to reality.” A voice filled with warning came from across the table.

Your actions halted and you lifted your head to see a merlot-haired Saeni regarding you with soft eyes.

“Yugyeom!”

“Hi there, Y/N.” The male’s lips twitched at the corners before he put his hand over yours to gently guide the pitcher back to the table. “It’s one of the strongest alcohols in Illain. Believe me when I say it will put you on your ass.”

You frowned at the pitcher and its clear contents. “I thought it was water.”

Yugyeom withdrew his hand and said you wouldn’t be finding any water at the ceremony. Tilting your head, you tried to piece together why there wouldn’t be any water, but he didn’t elaborate so you ultimately just accepted the information. As you pushed the pitcher back to where you’d found it, Yugyeom trekked around the table to your side and held his arm out toward you. You blankly stared at his arm for several seconds until he thrust it toward you a little more. Finally, you got that he was wanting to do that forearm grasp greeting thing you’d seen the boys do before. Making a noise of realization, you belatedly slapped your hand against the male’s forearm while he suppressed an amused chuckle and told you how nice it was to see you again.

“You, too. I’m really glad you’re okay Yugyeom.” You looked at him sincerely and noticed the violet in his hair stood out more vibrantly against the color of the mourning clothes.

“I heard that Kook was injured…” The easy-going expression on the male’s face faltered for a moment before he let out a soft laugh. “But I’m sure he healed up fast, right? Nothing can keep that bastard down for long.”

All you did was slowly move your head in agreement, feeling somewhat awkward since you actually didn’t know how Jungkook had healed besides what Yoongi had written in his messages.

“You know, I’m actually surprised he isn’t with you.” The Saeni stepped back and his eyes dropped to your waist. “Especially since you have that damn dagger of his strapped to your side.”

Resisting the urge to tap the handle of the weapon, you instead toyed with the frabric of your dress. “I, ah, just haven’t had the chance to return it to him yet.”

I mean, that is the truth.

“Heh, have you two been that busy?” Yugyeom chortled to himself then looked at you curiously. “Tell me, did he finally choke you properly?”

Now that made you choke on your own spit, which in turn made you cough and gasp for air. “You-You think I haven’t given him back his dagger ‘cuz we’ve been too busy canoodling!?”

“Well, I’m not wrong, am I?”

“As a matter of fact, you are. I, um…” Your voice trailed off and you gripped at the fabric under your hands. “I actually haven’t seen him since that day. Since Draikiltho.”

“Didn’t he arrive at the palace this morning?”

You flashed him your best finger gun alongside a self-deprecating laugh. “That’s a bingo.”

As Yugyeom’s brows knit together, a Saeni with swollen eyes quietly excused himself past you to reach for the viitulx. You slid out of the Saeni’s way and turned back to Yugyeom, who was studying you. The male silently looked at you for a couple heartbeats, sort of making you feel fidgety, before randomly saying there were some people he wanted to introduce you to.

“We can ask if they’ve seen Kook or the other members of your kiela too.”

A warmth rapidly spread across your chest. Your kiela. The thought had the corners of your lips turning up, and Yugyeom must have seen it since his own eyes softened.

“Okay then.” You motioned for him to move while trying to calm your happy heart. “Lead the way.”

He took your wrist in his hand and pulled you back into the dense crowd. A couple minutes later, you were standing beside Yugyeom with a group of six males before you.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Y/N,” Yugyeom called out to the males to get their attention then gestured toward them as he spoke to you. “Y/N, this my kiela.”

Surprised, you jostled him with your arm. “Hey, I didn’t know you had a kiela.”

“Who you got there Yugyeom?” A male with long, icy blue hair asked with narrowed eyes but an intrigued tone.

Another Saeni with olive-colored orbs that were glinting teasingly slug his arm over the blue-haired male’s shoulders. “Wow, is it finally the day he has us meet a girlfriend? I’m not going to lie, though, it’s kind of a bad event to do it at.”

“Shit, do we need to act over-protective?” A bleach-blonde head started to panic but then he caught sight of your face and looked at you funnily.

“No way.” The male with short pink hair denied as his gaze stopped on the dagger at your side. “She seems too badass to be with him.”

The last two males didn’t say anything, just trailed both their deep red eyes over you in a way that made you feel like you were being thoroughly inspected.

“Um, hi? I’m Y/N, nice to meet you all.” You habitually raised your hand to wave but cursed and hastily placed your thumb over your chest and drew it down.

“Well, that was weird,” the pink-haired one muttered with an openly judgmental look.

“The rude one there is BamBam,” Yugyeom informed you, causing BamBam to send you a wink accompanied by a finger salute.

“My name is Mark.” The olive-eyed male used his free arm to perform the greeting gesture.

The rest of the group introduced themselves one by one. Youngjae and Jinyoung were the males with red eyes, and it was Jackson with the bleach-blonde hair. Finally, the icy-haired male stepped forward and dragged his thumb down in his chest and said his name was Jaebeom. Politely smiling, you shifted your gaze over each male while mentally matching them with their names.

Beside you, Yugeyeom cracked his knuckles. “Alright, now that that’s out of the way, have any of you see-”

“Ughhhh, I just can’t believe she doesn’t recognize us!” Jackson suddenly wailed, interrupting the merlot-haired Saeni.

You peered at the now sullen male. “I’m sorry? Am I supposed to…?”

“Yes!”

At a complete loss, you glanced at Yugyeom but he mirrored your look of confusion.

“Jackson, Youngjae, and I have briefly encountered you before,” Jinyoung offered helpfully… but it still didn’t ring any bells.

That must be why the three of them were looking at me oddly.

You squinted at the three males to try to place where you had supposedly met them before, but you kept drawing blanks, so you could only wince apologetically. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I really don’t remember.”

Jackson gasped and looked downright offended while Youngjae sighed and added, “You were with Namjoon’s kiela. We stopped you right outside the palace grounds a few months ago.”

A hazy memory came to mind. A small group of Saeni had indeed stopped you and the boys. One of them had blonde hair and Hobi said something about training with him in the past. You couldn’t remember the faces or names, but if it was a blonde then you figured it must have been Jackson.

Sheepishly, you told them that was all you recalled.

“Aha! You do remember me!”

Jinyoung slapped Jackson on the back. “Congratulations. She remembers your hair.”

“And probably only because you were the one who spoke,” Youngjae quipped dryly.

“Whatever. It counts.”

Their banter made you stifle a laugh. It reminded you of your boys and their crazy antics, yet you didn’t linger on the thought for long, instead refocusing on Yugyeom’s kiela because there was one thing you were wondering about.

“Why weren’t you with Yugyeom at the field?” You asked to none of the males in particular.

BamBam let out an annoyed exhale. “You could say we weren’t invited.”

“Er, sort of,” Jaebeom said shyly before explaining they had been told to stay back to protect the palace and village in case any draikensu showed up. Yugyeom, though, had been ordered to go with the troops because of his speed and endurance.

“Our Yugyeom is perfect for being a messenger boy.” BamBam strolled up to said male and tickled his fingers under Yugyeom’s jaw, making the Saeni squirm away in agitation.

“So, Y/N…” Mark abruptly yet coyly said, making you hum questioningly. “How’d you start dating our sprout?”

You blanched. They actually think we’re dating!?

Luckily, Yugyeom pushed BamBam away and saved you from having to clarify your mutually platonic relationship yourself.

“Oh my goddess, we are not dating! I met her right before Draikiltho, and she’s actually with Jungkook, so please don’t say that again or he will try to kill me.”

Understanding dawned on the males’ faces and some of them even had the audacity to look at you aghast, as if they couldn’t believe it. You just raised a brow, daring them to say something about you or your boyfriend.

Jackson whistled and jerked his chin toward you. “So that’s Jungkook’s dagger then? I knew I had seen it somewhere before.”

“Yeah yeah, it is,” Yugyeom answered for you in a dismissive tone. “Anyway, have any of you seen that bastard? Y/N hasn’t seen him since the field, and I would like to be the one to kickstart their beautiful reunion.”

“You haven’t seen him at all?” Jinyoung asked.

Grimacing, you told the males that Jungkook had been injured at Draikiltho so he hadn’t returned to the palace with you. Then, even though he had finally arrived at the palace this morning, you still hadn’t seen him once.

BamBam suddenly snorted, drawing your attention, and he gazed at you pitifully. “You got deciduoued.”

The other males whipped their heads in BamBam’s direction to send him warning glares. A couple of them even whispered at him to shut up.

Meanwhile, you just blinked at him and cocked your head to the side. “I got Dewey Decimal what now?”

“Deciduoued.” The pink-hiared male ignored his kiela and gave you an incredulous look when you continued to blink at him. “As is deciduous? Like the trees that shed their leaves? How have you never heard of this?” He scoffed at you in astonishment while you frowned at his attitude.

Considering I am from another world and don’t have an extensive list of horticulture terms in my chickpea brain, it’s pretty fucking reasonable I haven’t heard of this.

You were about to tell the male off when the meaning of the word registered and caused you to stiffen.

Shedding leaves? Don’t tell me this is… Saeni slang for ghosting? Is Jungkook… ghosting me?

At the same time you bit your lip at the possibility, Jaebeom strode over and smacked BamBam upside the head while Yugyeom elbowed him in the gut.

BamBam promptly whined and rubbed his side, and Yugyeom turned to you and told you to disregard the male. “He’s just an asshole sometimes.”

You released hollow chuckle and were about to reply that you could deal with BamBam. He wasn’t the only asshole you knew, after all. Yet before you could say so, a loud chime-like sound flooded the the air. You perked up as a hush fell around the room in the chime’s wake. The Saeni started to move, and you could just barely make out them leaving a wide circle open around the fire. Then, little by little, everyone’s attention turned toward the side of the room you had been trying to get to. Following suit, you also looked over. Through the heads and shoulders, you could see King Bang standing on a platform of sorts with Jiae at his side.

The king, outfitted in yellow and green armor, took a step forward. “Three weeks ago, there was a morning that was not kissed by light. Rather, it was a morning tainted by blood and death. Many lives… too many lives… were lost that morning. We are here to honor those lives.

“Tonight, we pray to our mother goddess, Illai, to tenderly watch over the Saeni from that morning. Tonight, we thank Exia for giving those Saeni the courage to fight and the will to protect who and what they love.

“Every Saeni who has met the mother goddess because of Draikiltho will be named. Those that wish to honor them may do so.” The king extended his hand toward the fire roaring in the center of the room before lowering it. “There will also be fires outside if you prefer a more private setting.”

The king then called for one, cohesive prayer to begin the ceremony. While he and Jiae bowed their heads, all the other Saeni shifted to face the fire. Yugyeom gently guided you to do the same with his fingers. You held your breath, waiting for what would come next. The entire room seemed to go stagnant. None of the Saeni moved. The breeze died down, the leaves went motionless, the lanterns stopped swaying. All was still except for the snapping flames licking at the warm air.

Then…

“To our Saeni, who lived and fought bravely and are now resting with the mother goddess!” The king’s voice loudly resonated throughout the space and drove the world back into motion.

The Saeni echoed his words with passionate shouts, many of them even throwing their heads back to scream it into the sky that was visible through the tree branches. Once the remnants of their voices were carried away by the wind, the Saeni lowered their heads and began to murmur under their breath. Inhaling deeply through your nose, you closed your eyes and repeated the king’s words as a whisper while feeling your chest pinch with emotion.

You stayed that way for some time, just emitting as much gratitude as you could, before Jiae’s light voice soothed over the room. “We will begin the individual prayers in a few minutes.”

Slowly, the Saeni lifted their heads and started to move. A large portion of the crowd dispersed, spilling out between the gaps of the tree trunks and toward what you assumed were the fires outside. Craning your neck and shifting your weight from side to side, you once again tried to spot the boys through the crisscrossing bodies.

“Yugyeom?” You heard BamBam approach and you glanced over while trying to keep your footing against all the moving Saeni.

“Yeah?” the merlot-haired Saeni replied with wary eyes and blocked his throat with his hand.

“You said you were looking for Jungkook?”

Yugyeom apprehensively dropped his hand. “Yes…?”

“To the right of the dais by maybe seventeen steps.” With that, BamBam met your gaze, gave you a small nod, and wandered back to his other members.

As the males started razzing him, your head swiveled to the right of where the king and Jiae were still standing and began to search. Filtering through the faces and modge-podge rainbow of hair colors, your eyes carefully scanned the area… and saw a glimpse of apricot-orange next to mint-blue.

In the next second, you could see the entire kiela. None of them were wearing armor and it was almost shocking to see them sans weapons, but it was them without a doubt. A small gasp came from your lips and your heart thudded and skipped when you locked onto Jungkook’s profile. Maybe you were only imagining it, but you could feel your nape tingling and growing warm too. Scouring your eyes over his figure, you exhaled a relieved sigh that he no longer looked hurt. He was back to standing in that infuriatingly cocky yet intimidating way of his. You wished you could see his stupidly cute smile and his bright, glittering eyes, but the angle didn’t allow you to see his face very well. You did, however, that his jaw was clenched in what seemed like a scowl.

I’ve been on the receiving end of his glare enough times to know when he isn’t pleased… but why is he upset?

You watched as his hands formed fists and he walked away from his brothers to disappear into the crowd, making Yoongi throw his hands into the air in frustration. Without thinking, your foot lifted off the floor and your body readied itself to go after Jungkook, but you paused. You didn’t know where he went and had no idea where he was going. Not to mention, the other boys were right there.

Kookie’s made me wait this long to see him, so now he can wait until I’m finished seeing the other boys. You decided somewhat pettily.

“Let me know if you need me to kick his ass later.”

You tore your gaze from the kiela to side-eye Yugyeom skeptically.

“What!?” His jaw dropped in shock as if he’d been betrayed. “I could totally kick his ass!”

“Mhmm. That sparring session I witnessed says otherwise,” you deadpanned.

The Saeni grumbled then dismally told you to get going before the ceremony started back up. After thanking the male for his help, you cracked a smile when he made you promise to organize a hangout between both kielas. Peeking over Yugyeom’s shoulder, you waved to the rest of his kiela and let out a small laugh at how Jackson was shaking his fists at you in encouragement. Then, you turned around, gave the ruby gemstone on Jungkook’s dagger a light tap, and started making your way over to the boys.

You squeezed through Saeni, bumped into a handful more, and tripped over a few stray feet, but you finally found yourself closing in on the kiela. You were weaving between several more Saeni when you saw Tae’s face light up and he began pushing his way through the crowd while lightly calling your name. He moved fast, getting to you in no time to excitedly sweep you into a hug. Rocking you back and forth and not caring if he knocked into other Saeni as he did so, the male gushed about how beautiful you looked. Humming in content, you leaned back and squished his cheeks between your palms. You giggled at his smooshed face as the ends of his grey hair tickled your fingers despite his trademark headband still resting above his forehead. Wordlessly, Tae reached up to grab one of your hands and tugged you through the Saeni to the kiela. When you were a few yards out from his brothers, you pulled yourself from Tae’s grasp and rushed over to Yoongi, who was trying to act nonchalant and like he wasn’t totally watching your approach out of the corner of his eye. Hurrying over and waving at the other boys as they happily greeted you, you threw your arms around Yoongi. The male’s petal pink eyes widened in surprise and he even tried to raise his hands to ward off your sudden attack, but there was no real intent behind the movement as you easily enveloped him.

“I missed you, Mr. Sparkle Hands.”

“Well, I didn’t miss you,” he said grouchily but then wrapped his own arms tightly around you. After a couple seconds of peaceful silence, he whispered in your ear, “You’re going to need to talk to him. He’s being a fucking idiot.”

You sighed into his shoulder, not needing to ask who he was talking about.

“I will later,” you whispered back, “Once the ceremony is over, I’ll find him.”

Yoongi grunted in acknowledgement and rubbed your back twice before separating from you to let Jimin hug you from the side. As the apricot head heavily draped himself over you and dropped one of his arms to poke at your ribs, you breathed out comfortably and surveyed the kiela. It was still jarring not seeing them with their weapons or armor, but they were all here and they were safe. Instead of being prepared to fight and wreck anyone who stood in their way, they were empty-handed and dressed in casual shirts and loose-fitting pants that were tucked into their boots. It was a different but nice change to see.

Blocking Jimin’s next poke without looking, you hooked your elbow around his and grinned at everyone. “The gang’s all here… Mostly.”

“Idiot.” You heard Yoongi mumble while your best friend muttered something about running out of Spongebob references one day.

Simultaneously, Namjoon winced at the reminder of Jungkook’s absence while the other members tried to hide their grimaces. You knew exactly how they felt. It didn’t feel right without the youngest member of the kiela. It made your fingers twitch and your senses more alert. Tempted your eyes to scan your surroundings for enemies. Tricked your mind into thinking it was the night after the battle when you were emotionally and physically drained but so scared and on edge that you couldn’t rest. Fighting back a shiver, you ran your hands down your dress. It was obviously doing no good for you or the boys to dwell on the lack of the asshat’s presence, especially when it was his choice to not be here, so you decided to forcefully change the topic.

You jabbed your elbow into your best friend’s ribs. “So, did your nose bleed when you saw Jiae?”

The half-Saeni wheezed, though you weren’t sure whether it was from your hit or question. Jimin deliberately looked away as you waited for an answer, causing Tae to snicker and his blue eyes to flash naughtily. This made Jimin dart his head toward his brother and subtly shake his head.

The blue-eyed male payed no mind to the plead, instead turning to you cheerfully and declaring, “His nose didn’t bleed but something else sure made its presence known!”

Something else?

…

…

.. OH.

You gaped at the now blushing apricot head before saying his name in the most “scandalized” tone you could muster. While your willpower barely kept your laughter at bay, the announcement rippled through the kiela with varying degrees of reactions.

“I don’t want any more sprouts!” Jin cried out, earning a few looks from bystanders, and Namjoon simply pinched the bridge of his nose. The eldest of the kiela then pointed at Jimin’s crotch with a fearful expression. “I don’t care that Yoongi makes us that potion, make sure you keep that thing in your pants. Kookie alone is enough to deal with.”

Knees growing weak, you had to smack a hand over your mouth to muffle your cackle while Yoongi looked unimpressed and Hobi just coughed into his fist and casually shifted a couple inches away from the group. A whine rose into the air and Jimin begged for you all to stop with flushed ears. Lucky for him, he was saved from more teasing by the same chime sound from before softly ringing throughout the room, causing you and all the Saeni to quickly quiet down and redirect your attention to the dais.

After a few moments, King Bang’s voice once again took over the room. “Every Saeni who was lost to Draikiltho will be remembered and revered until the day our trees are uprooted from the earth and our sun goes into a permanent slumber… but because of their courage, that day will not arrive in this liftetime! We will cry their names to the setting sun! We will sing of their valor to the treetops! We will make them feel our recognition even as they rest with the mother goddess!”

The king took a moment to calm his voice and you leaned forward on your toes.

“All who were present that day were vital to our prevail over darkness. But there were a select few who’s daring actions and selfless spirits directly influenced our victory and allowed us all to continue feeling the sun’s warmth. Let us honor them first.”

A plume of sparks went up in your peripherals right as King Bang raised his chin.

“Kim ‘Suho’ Junmyeon!”

Your body jerked, muscles involuntarily spasming at the name. You scarcely registered that Jiae was stepping down from the dais and that Chungha was following as the princess strode to the fire. Hardly noticed that the kiela was also moving. Your vision was only filled with the recollection of a twisting blade and eyes becoming dull and glossy.

“Little scorja?”

Blinking, you refocused on the room and saw Namjoon looking back at you, waiting. The rest of the kiela were already heading toward the fire, but the yellow-eyed male stood still and sadly smiled in a way that said he understood and was there with you.

Then he lifted his hand out to you. “It’s okay. Come on.”

Exhaling, you took his hand and Namjoon began to lead you through the crowd. Once you finally broke through the circle of Saeni surrounding the fire, the male let go of your hand as you both joined his brothers in front of the flames. Sweltering heat thrummed out from the burning wood in constant waves, making your skin feel like it would surely be scorched if you went any closer. Peering side to side, you saw Jiae and Chungha standing before the fire as well as several other Saeni you didn’t know. Many of them were in the same guard uniform as Chungha too. Tilting your head, you followed the dense smoke whirling above you and listened to the leaves tremble in the breeze.

“To Suho, who lived and fought bravely and is now resting with the mother goddess!”

Sucking in air through your teeth, you shouted the words back alongside everyone else in your small, separated circle around the fire. Lowering your gaze to the sizzling embers, you rubbed your thumb over the ruby gemstone at your side and remembered the guard.

In a soft voice, you spoke, “I know Namjoon said that sometimes there’s nothing we can do, but I’m still sorry for not being able to save you. Thank you for fighting with us, and I hope you’ve been able to rest peacefully.”

A minute later, the group honoring the guard broke apart and you all returned to the crowd. Despite the warm air flowing through the open walls, you felt a chill go through you as you followed the boys and left the roaring fire behind.

King Bang then called two other names in succession, and while you didn’t recognize them, Jimin went to the fire with guilt and regret in his light brown eyes for each one. You reasoned they must have been Saeni who had escorted him to the rift. Your assumption was proven correct when the next name called included ‘Stem.’

You didn’t hesitate this time. Immediately, you joined Jimin and pushed through the fire with him. Standing beside your best friend, you repeated the commemorating phrase with a yell. The memory of the male’s life bleeding out as a consequence of your fingers made you flinch, but you steadied yourself and told Stem that you finished the favor he had asked of you. You had helped and saved your friend, and you had only been able to do so because of him.

“Thank you for helping me.”

Two more names came after you went back to the kiela, and you watched as Jimin honored them both. Your best friend returned with stiff limbs and languid breaths. You reached for him, ready to offer whatever comfort you could provide…

But then the name came that was like a jagged stake to your heart.

“Song Mingi.”

All your movements froze, the ache you had grown familiar with blooming once more in your chest, before you squeezed your eyes tightly shut and slowly counted to three. Opening your eyes, you then marched toward the fire with the entire kiela on your heels. A glance sideways confirmed Jiae and Chungha were both at the fire again, but you moved your gaze off them quickly. You still couldn’t bear to look at Chungha. Especially not right now. As Tae and Jimin settled on either side of you, you noticed a group of males gathered on the other side of the fire as well. Half of them were blocked from view by the dancing flames, but for some reason, your eyes locked onto those you could see and wouldn’t look away. The males held on to each other, grief overtaking their faces in the glowing, flickering light. Their eyes welling up with tears and lips quivering.

“To Mingi, who lived and fought bravely and is now resting with the mother goddess!”

Without pause, you repeated the king’s words and they erupted from your throat in a scream. It was a wild sound full of remorse but also respect and gratitude. It blended with the Saeni’s shouts and the smoke to soar past the leaves and into the sky. The aching in your chest panged as everyone’s voices scattered in the wind and your fingers automatically shifted, searching out Jungkook’s dagger. Breathing out with tensed muscles when your fingertips touched the warming gemstone, you continued watching the group across the fire. Strangely, you didn’t feel compelled to whisper to the hazel-eyed Saeni even as you could faintly hear the kiela doing so. Illai had said Mingi would only know peace now, and you didn’t want to bother him with more of your dreary apologies. Instead, an idea began to form in your mind as you stared at the unknown group of males and how they were sniffling and struggling to keep themselves together.

I don’t know who they are or who they were to you, Mingi, but you are obviously very important to them… so I’m willing to bet they are just as important to you.

The prayer for Mingi ended, yet you didn’t go back with the boys. Rather, you hurried around the blazing fire and toward the group of males. You trailed after them, trying to catch up without making a scene as the king announced the next Saeni to honor. Some of the males had their heads down and were stumbling, but they moved fast, and it took you nearly a minute to reach them.

“Um, excuse me?” You tentatively stretched your arm out to the closest one but wavered just before you touched their back.

Although you didn’t make physical contact with the male, he must have sensed your proximity because he abruptly stopped. This in turn made the others in the group come to halt one by one, and then they all turned around.

You faltered slightly at their broken expressions but stammered out, “M-Mingi saved my life. He sacrificed himself to save my life. I’m still here only because of him and-”

The tallest Saeni in the middle of the pack suddenly sobbed into his hand. His whole body shuddered, and his red eyes grew glassy before he placed the palm of his free hand over his forehead to hide his face.  He took a shaky step backwards, then spun around and hastily raced away. In a heartbeat, most of the other males went after him. All except for two. The shorter male left had strawberry-red hair, and the other was a dirty blonde with one side shaved.

What did I just do? You moved to cover your mouth, shocked by the insensitivity of your own words.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just thought you deserved to know.”

You poured all the sincerity you could into your apology, feeling so ashamed of yourself. You approached them thinking Mingi would appreciate you checking in on them… but here you were making them hurt and cry even more.

“Thank you,” the strawberry head replied somberly but there was no anger lacing his tone. “We’re all taking it hard, but Yunho… Yunho is taking it the worst.”

The male shifted, misery etched on his features, and the blonde male clenched his jaw and glared at the floor while yells rose into the air behind you.

“If you… if you ever want to talk or know more about what happened…”

I want to be there for you. For Mingi. And this is the only way I can think of doing that right now.

The shorter male sharply inhaled, and his companion was quick to place a steadying hand on his back.

Sniffling loudly, the strawberry-haired Saeni raised a knuckle and bit down on it which made his eyes clearer. “I think that might be good for us, just…”

“Not right now,” you finished for him gently, acknowledging the shit timing.

The male sent you a sad, miniscule smile, and you told them your name and to find you whenever they were ready.

“Thank you, Y/N.” The strawberry head lowered his head slightly as the other male guided him to pivot his feet.

Then they left, and all the sudden it felt like the wind was knocked out you. Your arms went around your middle and your breathing picked up and went uneven as your shoulders heaved. When your throat started to constrict, you briskly pushed through the Saeni to get back to the boys.

Just as your lungs were becoming too tight, the kiela came in sight.

Jin perked up at your arrival. “We were wondering where you we-oh shit.” The male’s dark eyes bugged out at your distraught appearance.

“Y/N?” Jimin hurried to your side and pulled you against his chest.

You were also smothered from behind and the worried noises you heard told you it was none other than Tae sandwiching you. Your head turned to the side, and you saw Hobi’s gaze narrow and flit around as his hands traveled over his front. The white-haired Saeni looked down confused before he sighed and leaned over to whisper in Yoongi’s ear. Whatever he said made the magic user’s face twist. Consequently, Yoongi called Namjoon and Jin over as Jimin and Tae continued trying to calm you down. You felt a little better being held by both of your closest friends, but the entire situation was becoming too much. The memories, the guilt, the hurt, the disappointment. They had been building and building and you felt like they were about to spray out like an over shaken soda bottle any second.

You breathed deeply, trying to screw the cap on over your emotions more securely, when Namjoon trotted over and instructed you to follow him. Both Jimin and Tae unwrapped themselves from you and while the latter switched to holding your hand, your best friend told you to grab onto the back of his shirt. The apricot head began to trail after his leader and other kiela members, safely towing you and Tae through the crowd until you exited the room between the tree trunks. You nearly stumbled at the sudden openness and gasped at how it instantly helped you breathe easier, but the spaciousness also allowed your tears to well up and begin rolling down your cheeks.

Pouting, Tae came close and wiped them away with his sleeves while you clutched at Jimin’s shirt.

I want Kookie.

Tae studied you as he dried your tears. “Does anyone see Kook?” he asked his brothers, as if he could read your mind.

The kiela did a quick three-sixty, looking around the Saei, trees, and visible fires, but nobody spotted the burgundy head. With a tired groan, Yoongi stalked over and nudged Jimin and Tae out of the way so that he could place his hands on your shoulders. The magic user swiftly turned you around and began to steer you through the trees from behind. He guided you down the first path you came across, past countless occupied fires, and under the shade and sunlight until he found an empty fire to his liking. Leading you off the path to where it was warm and out of the smoke, Yoongi pushed down so you were forced to sit. In the next second, Tae situated himself beside you. He stayed silent, just being there for you as you leaned into him and slowly settled down now that you were away from the commotion. Meanwhile, once they were satisfied you were going to be okay, the boys made a loose circle around the fire and started to honor more Saeni.

Several prayers went by and you kept hearing quiet whispering by your head, so you mumbled, “You should go and honor those you need to TaeTae.”

“Don’t you worry about me, little scorja.” His voice contained a smile and he shifted to lightly poke your cheek. “I can honor them all just fine from right here.”

After some time, you got a grip on yourself and the boys finished their prayers. The Saeni rested on the ground and you all listened to the forest and nearby fires. It was an orchestra of buzzing, creaking, snapping, and distant shouting. The symphony went on and on, never ending, until the busy silence was interrupted by someone saying your name in surprise. Jerking your gaze to the path, you saw five young Saeni waving at you.

While you were shocked at the unexpected appearance of your training buddies, Jin grinned and gestured for them to come sit.

“Are you sure?” Soobin asked in an awestruck but unsure tone. “We wouldn’t want to overstep.”

“Just get your asses over here baby BTS Saeni,” Tae called to them.

Shyly, they made their way to the fire and sat down next to each other, as if they were scared to spread out and take up too much room. Jin just laughed and asked how they were doing while Tae purposefully matched over to squat directly in the middle of their safety nest. The younger Saeni jumped at the intrusion but began to relax as Tae and Jin brought the others into the conversation.

“You all remember them, right?” The eldest member of the kiela crossed his arms and scrutinized his brothers. “Little scorja’s friends from the sparring match?”

As Hobi defended his memory, Soobin scooted over to you and flicked your knee to get your attention. “Hey, I saw Jungkook sitting by himself. Is everything okay?”

Despite your pulse spiking at the mention of the male, you whispered back that you didn’t know if everything was okay. You peered down at Jungkook’s dagger, it’s presence on your body light yet undeniable, before focusing back on the chocolate-haired Saeni and asking if he could point you in the direction he had seen the male. Once verifying the general route from his index finger, you thanked Soobin and gently rustled his hair, making the young male complain and yank his head away with a grumpy expression. Suppressing a snort, you stood as all the other males were distracted by their conversations. Observant as ever, though, Yoongi managed to catch the movement but he merely rolled his eyes and faintly shooed you away with his hand while never looking away from the speaking Taehyun.

Besides the delicate shaking of the shrubbery, you quietly made your way back to the path. You shivered in the absence of the warm fire, but you rubbed your arms up and down and set off in the direction Soobin had pointed in. Following the path, you wandered past a few careening Saeni that were slurring and babbling as well as numerous fires with bodies gathered all around the flames. Although Soobin said Jungkook was alone, you still paused long enough to make sure he wasn’t at any of the fires before moving along the path. Plunging further into the trees, the shade was cool on your skin and the breeze left goosebumps where it blew against your open arms and collarbones. You continued to meander down the winding path. You listened to the bugs click and the birds chirp… but for the last minute, all the fires you walked by were deserted and dying out. Any prayers you could hear were distant echoes. There was no one around and you started doubting you were going to find Jungkook. Clenching your hands into fists in frustration, you told yourself just a little further. Just a little more and then you would turn back.

What if he’s at the next fire and I turn back now?

What if he’s just ahead?

What if he’s right around this curve?

Then you saw a fire through the trees that was burning more brightly than any you’d passed in several minutes. Holding your breath, you approached the glowing area with quiet footfalls. Hope surged in your heart, making the muscle pound in your chest, while the shadows and rays of sunlight shifted with the swaying trees.

And through the leaves and branches you saw him.

He was in front of the flames with his back to you and one forearm resting against his propped-up knee. His body was partially covered by the low foliage, but burgundy consumed your vision. It was him. For a moment, you didn’t make any movements. For a moment, you simply looked at him. For a moment, you let your body fill with the ache how much you had missed him. As you took him in, you noticed his fist was against his hip and the hand was constantly tightening and relaxing. It was right where his dagger was usually strapped to his side. Without thinking, your fingers went straight to the sheath at your waist and undid the buckle before your feet moved on their own accord. Almost as soon as your boots were off the path, Jungkook was twisting around at the sound of crunching leaves. Your stomach fluttered as you finally saw his aggravatingly handsome face and the way his peridot eyes brightened at the sight of you.

Neither of you said anything as you walked through the vegetation, but you smiled knowingly and extended the dagger and sheath in your hand out toward him, fully expecting him to flush cutely and rub the back of his neck before reclaiming the weapon and tugging you down onto his lap.

What you didn’t expect was for his eyes to darken angrily and for him to turn to face the crackling fire.

You smile faltered, as did your steps, so you stopped and stared at Jungkook’s back with your arm still outstretched.

“It’s yours. I gave it to you,” Jungkook lowly said and you recoiled at how detached he sounded.

Your arm dropped to your side. Jungkook’s muscles tensed, but his mouth didn’t open again.

Why won’t he look at me? Why does he sound like that?

The breeze picked up, rustling the forest, and you slightly tremored along with the leaves. You felt yourself growing hot with both confusion and frustration, but in the end, you tightly gripped the dagger and marched over to the male.

This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with asshat Kook. I can handle this. It’ll be okay.

Wordlessly, you sat down next to him and placed the blade on the ground between your bodies. Schooling your face into a normal expression, you folded your hands over your lap but there was nothing you could do to fully hide the shaking of your body. You were startled by his words and actions, especially because you didn’t know why he was being like that, but you ignored it the best you could and glanced at Jungkook whose gaze bore into the blazing embers.

Sighing and spreading your skirt while you crossed your legs to sit more comfortably, you picked up a tiny twig and tossed it into the flames. “So, uh, how’s your back?”

“It’s fine,” he replied bluntly and free of any emotions.

Your brow twitched as you watched the twig warp and blacken. “You know you scared the shit out me then.”

“Yeah well, so did you.” Jungkook’s voice was abruptly soft, so much so that you almost didn’t hear him over the sounds of the forest and the snapping flames.

You looked at the burgundy head again as the already meager conversation came to a standstill. His face was shrouded in both shadows and glowing light… and his expression was completely empty and void. You could see the fire reflecting his hardened gaze, but his green orbs were dim. There was no teasing glint or cocky confidence illuminating them. It made your heart hurt. Why the hell was it like this? What had happened? What should you say?

While playing with the hem of your dress, you swallowed and gingerly spoke up again, “I… I think I’m gonna go back to Earth soon.”

It was something you had been debating over the recent weeks. No matter how much you loved this world, you still had a life back there. You had a family, who currently had no idea where you were or if you were even alive. You had bills and school and obligations and so many things you would have to take care of before you coul-

Jungkook let out a rough scoff but just continued glaring into the fire.

You looked at him with wide eyes. “That’s it?”

That’s his only reaction? A laugh?

“I’m not sure what you’re wanting from me.”

You flinched, a new splinter of pain digging into your chest to cut past your ribcage and gouge into your heart.

Your gaze lowered to your trembling hands. I want you to ask me to stay… Biting your lip, you raised your head to plead with Jungkook’s profile.

But his peridot eyes never shifted over to you and it was suddenly difficult for you to form words.

You grasped at your dress in a poor attempt to stabilize yourself. “I, um-okay.” Your voice was tight. “I’ll leave you alone then since you don’t want me around.”

He didn’t negate you.

Standing up on unsteady legs, you willed yourself not to react as you brushed the earth from your bottom and left the fire.

Don’t react. Stay calm. Don’t react. Stay calm. Don’t react. Don’t react. Don’t react.

But once you got back on the path, your pace became faster and faster and faster until you were hurrying away as fast as you could while your mind fell into disarray.

He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want me. Did his feelings change? Were they ever real in the first place? Was I just some sort of sick challenge for him?

A stray pebble ricocheted into the forest after being kicked by your foot.

It hurts.

Your hand pressed down over your heart in an attempt to relieve some of the pain.

It hurts so much more than it ever did with Jimin. Your upper body curled in on itself. Why does it hurt so much?

You hardly registered where you were going or what you were walking past. You had no clear destination in mind, you just knew you needed to get away.

But how could you get away from your own heartache?

You couldn’t wrap your head around it. You and Jungkook had been physically apart for weeks, you both had practically hated each other at first even, but this… this moment was the furthest you had ever felt from him. Even when you would be at his throat and vice versa, he would still interact with you. He would talk to you and glare at you and…

Fuck…

It felt like your body was concurrently freezing cold and burning hot, and there was a deep, throbbing pang resonating across your chest. It coiled up into your airway, making you struggle to breathe. It crawled up into your eyes, making them blur and go in and out of focus. Leaves and twigs were suddenly crunching loudly under your boots and you realized you had strayed off the path with your bleary vision. You hiccupped and just kept going. Occasionally tripping over roots and the uneven ground, you plunged deeper in the forest. A small stream eventually appeared by your side and you listened to the lull of flowing water as you followed its bends. The sun was beginning to dip below the tree line, casting a golden light on the world and causing the shadows to grow longer and darker. Your vision slowly cleared, and you sniffled while forcefully wiping at your cheeks. Then the forest opened, and you paused. You knew exactly where you were.

Good job guys. You tenderly patted your legs before walking around the small pond with heavy steps. The light of the setting sun bounced off the pond’s rippling surface, and you admired the beauty of it out of the corner of your eye as you made your way to the willow tree. Gently brushing past the thin, scratchy branches with your hands, you collapsed beneath the tree’s canopy. Your eyes traveled over the pretty floral vine twisting around the trunk before shifting to watch the tree’s elegant limbs move back and forth in the wind. The familiarity of the scene dulled some of the hurt, but you couldn’t help the broken laugh that spilled from your lips.

Weeping willow… how fitting right now.

Beyond the leaves and branches, you could see the darkening blue sky become mixed with a vivid array of colors around the setting sun. You tried to appreciate it, but… it only reminded you of a rainy night on a cliff. The night when Jungkook…

No. Stop. Fuck, I can’t sit here and wallow on memories. I should go back to the boys. Or maybe find Yugyeom and take him up on his offer. No… if anyone is kicking that asshat’s ass it’s me.

The impulse to fight briefly flared in your veins but it died out just as quickly.

I don’t want to kick his ass. I just… want him to…

You harshly pinched yourself, making you hiss through your teeth.

The thin branches lurched in the wind, the water flowed and gurgled, and the sunlight gleamed through the forest, reminding you of golden flecks in perido-

You pinched yourself again and whimpered.

I’ll just keep thinking about him if I’m alone.

What you desperately needed was a comforting distraction, and you knew exactly who could provide that. It might be a little awkward since they were Jungkook’s brothers, but Jimin was your best friend and the other boys were like family now. They would take care of you.

With your decision made, you soaked up the calm ambiance for one final minute before picking yourself up and trudging back to the tree line. Your feet moved more sluggishly; your energy sapped. As your boots practically dragged, you wondered what Yoongi was going to say when he saw you.

I hope he isn’t disappointed. I don’t know if I can handle more of that today.

You sighed and stepped around a sapling to reenter the thick forest. I just want TaeTae cuddles and some of that viitulx. And food. Maybe Jin will be willing to ma-

The loud crack of a branch snapping came from up ahead. You flinched and went on alert as you scanned your surroundings. Inhaling quietly, you reached over your shoulder but froze as you remembered you didn’t have your bow and quiver. You cursed and prayed it was just a branch falling to the ground or an animal on a casual evening stroll. That prayer was instantly revoked as you noticed a figure stumbling through the trees as they followed the stream.

Shit. You panicked, frantically looking around for something to use as a weapon when you finally came to your senses. You weren’t at the field. You weren’t in danger. It wasn’t a draikensu.

Fucking hell, it’s probably just some lost drunk.

Your shoulders slumped and you breathed deeply to try to calm your racing heart. You looked back to the person, contemplating if you should approach them or not when your body stiffened.

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…

It was fucking Jeon Jungkook.

The burgundy head was looking down and shuffling through the forest with both his hands up to his head. One of them held his dagger and pressed the weapon against his temple. You gaped at the male, watching his mouth move as if he was mumbling to himself. He was straight ahead of you and coming closer with every passing second but he hadn’t noticed you yet.

It felt as if you were caught in a headlight. You couldn’t bring yourself to move and weren’t sure what you should do.

Jungkook continued nearing and he got close enough that you could hear him groan, “I’m such a fucking idiot. Why did I do that?” He tugged at his hair and lifted his head to look up at the blackening sky… but froze as his gaze locked on to you standing there.

“Y/N?” he whispered, so heartachingly soft, but you ducked your head to avoid his peridot eyes.

You thought maybe you could hide him if you pretended he wasn’t there.

You squeezed your hands into fists and took slow, measured breaths.

“Y/N…” he said your name again, this time closer and more choked up.

Yet, you still didn’t move. Neither to walk away or to look up at him.

You heard him come even closer. He was so near that you could find traces of his scent in the air, but you continued to stay still.

“I fucked up. I hurt you… again.”

You could sense his body right in front of you. Feel his warmth. See his boots almost touching the toes of yours. You didn’t move your head, but you lifted your eyes a bit. You could see his hand gripping the dagger at his side while his other went to reach for you before hesitating and dropping back down.

“I… At first, I was embarrassed,” the male said quietly, “Embarrassed that I got injured when I said nothing would happen, which is so stupid, but I was worried you would think less of me.”

You forced yourself to breathe slowly.

“And then I was healing, and I was so anxious to get back to you, to hold you, to be with you… but then I started thinking of how you only came to Illain for hyung and how you might leave me now that everything was over.”

Your chest tightened and you noticed Jungkook’s hand that was holding the dagger was starting to tremble. Against your better judgement, you steeled yourself and raised your head.

Jungkook’s face was highlighted by the glow of the setting sun, the golden light enveloping him like a halo… but his peridot eyes were burning with panic and shame. His breathing was ragged and his eyebrows were drawn close together. His entire demeanor was meek and small and so unlike him that you almost took a step back.

As you finally looked at him, Jungkook lips pressed together while he made a noise in his throat, and he momentarily flicked his gaze up to the treetops before exhaling heavily. “Every time I thought of you leaving, I could barely breathe. It hurt… it hurt so much and I fucking hated it.” Jungkook’s voice was getting increasingly weak and his eyes glistened with as they lowered to focus on your neck. “But there’s no way I could ask you to leave your entire life on Earth behind, so I thought it might hurt less if I pushed you away before you could just… vanish from my life.” The corner of his mouth twitched into a melancholic ghost of a smile. “Then you said you were going back to Earth and the exact thing I was terrified of was suddenly happening. Next thing I know, I was watching you walk away…”

Your hammering heart was barraged by a swarm of confused and conflicted feelings, and you could only stare at the male while you tried to process through them all.

The leaves rustled all around you, and Jungkook shook his head firmly as his peridot eyes suddenly brightened with determination and he looked straight at you. “I shouldn’t… I know I shouldn’t… but I’m going to be selfish. I have to be. I love you too much to just let you walk away. So please… please stay. Stay in Illain. Stay with me.”

A single sentence blew through your crazed, jumbled emotions like a rifle shot.

I love you too much to just let you walk away.

A rush of heat traveled through your body and your breath hitched. “You love me?”

You heard a gentle thud then Jungkook was cupping your face with both his hands. “I love you. I am in love with you, Y/N. Please stay.”

Your entire body tingled, your face grew warm, and you silently regarded the male for several seconds. The way the tips of his long ears were burning, the way you could feel his body shaking, the way his lips lightly parted as he nervously waited your response.

Slowly, you reached up to encircle one of his wrists in your hand. “Remember how I wanted to tell you something before the battle, but you said to wait?”

He hummed, anxious hope swimming in his eyes.

Tenderly brushing your thumb against his skin, you deeply inhaled then whispered, “I love you Jeon Jungkook.”

The trees shook, the stream burbled, and Jungkook’s hold on your face became stronger so he could pull you in closer.

“Really?” he asked in a small whisper as his eyes searched yours.

You smiled and gave him a tiny nod, making Jungkook immediately wound his arms around you to bury his face in the crook of your neck. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m an idiot for thinking I should try to protect my heart-”

“More of an asshat, actually.” You declared, still smiling as warmth swirled through you.

The male pulled back to glare at you, but it contained a playful heat. “Well, my idiotic heart is entirely yours. Break it, stab it, do whatever you desire with it.”

Shifting forward, you placed a gentle kiss on his chest right over his heart. “I desire to love it.”

“So, you’ll stay?”

You leaned back into him and gripped at his shirt while breathing in that intoxicating scent of his. Humming in content, you whispered you would stay… but that you did also need to go to Earth for a bit to settle some things before permanently moving to a different world.

The ending of your answer made the male whine loudly in your ear and sag most of his weight on you.

Staggering a step, you rolled your eyes and patted Jungkook’s back. “You’re a big boy, you can handle it.”

The Saeni chuckled against your neck before straightening and sending you a cocky smirk. “You know what I bet you can’t handle?”

“If you’re about to say your dick, I’m changing my mi-”

“My love!” he blurted out a little too quickly, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “You can’t handle my love for you.”

You raised at brow at the flushing male that was now pointedly averting his eyes, not believing for one second that “his love” was what he originally intended to say.

While you fondly looked at the male, Jungkook began shifting his gaze from behind you to your face to behind you repeatedly until he asked how you were there. “Did hyung tell you about it?”

Your brows furrowed. You had no idea what he was talking about. “Tell me about what?”

“The pond and… the willow tree.”

You pursed your lips, still not understanding his initial question. “No? I found this place last week while wandering around. It makes me feel safe and calm when I sit under the willo-wait. Why are you here? Did you follow me?... Why are you smiling like that?”

The burgundy-haired Saeni was grinning happily, as if he knew something you didn’t. “Do you remember when Tae hyung did your morning training because I said I had to check on something?”

You tilted your head to the side. How could you forget that morning? It was the day you learned about Tae’s draeva.

“I had to come here.”

“Why? So you could jack off in extremely secluded privacy?”

“I-… no.” The Saeni gave you an exasperated look which soon transformed into an enamored smile and he shifted to lightly touch the mark on your nape, making you shiver lightly. “The willow tree is my draeva.”

You jaw dropped. “Your… draeva…”

Laughing, Jungkook grasped your hand and he excitedly tugged you out of the tree line and back toward the pond and willow tree. “I’ll show you my handprint!” Stunned by the sudden knowledge, you let him pull you along as he pleased. Not that you wouldn’t have gone anyway. “Also, I guess you could say it’s our draeva now…”

You gaped at the area, in disbelief that you had inadvertently found Jungkook’s draeva. The stream continued to flow leisurely. The pond was shimmering with the fading sun and rising moonlight. The willow tree was standing tall and its thin branches were gently swaying. You were so distracted that you ran into Jungkook’s firm back. Letting out a surprised noise, you hastily grabbed his waist so you wouldn’t fall. Huffing, you went to complain to the male for stopping so suddenly, but you noticed he was fixated on the willow tree. Specifically, he was staring at the orange flowers wrapped around its trunk.

“Scorja,” he murmured.

“Hmm?”

“No, the flowers,” he said in wonder, “There are scorja flowers on my draeva, our draeva.”

He swiveled to face you, and you only got a glimpse of the lustful delight on his features before he yanked you close and pressed his lips against yours.

previous [23] — next [25]

taglist: @cookied-dreams @apurpledheart @james-herondale023 @lorengarcia-yut @kittycuptea @toddsgirl27 @a-feeling-of-euphoria @treatpeoplewithkindnesshoe @kthdior @taigaajin​ @lylanie12​ @kassandravictoria​ @namjoonsslutakakoreanmanswhore​ @xionysus​ @jihoonspout @loverliketwilight​ @palomaxaxaxa​ @keeleybeaver​ @i-like-puppy-mg @lpayne612 @suchgayaesthetic​ @mono-kookie​ @lexus-stanley​ @butaes​ @midnight1199​ @katbonv​ @blossoming-cherrytrees​ @mxrzan @yeontanismypresident​ @starggukie​

[theladyscarlettt]

Petals (pt.1)

*I have returned and I bring with me a Bucky x Reader mini series. This takes place during #TFATWS. Also, this is a bit lighter (yet darker) than my regular stuff. Not fluff but sweet because god knows Bucky deserves to be happy every now and then. Also, this does have references to the X-Men comics and WandaVision*

-The Lady Scarlettt

Synopsis: Madripoor had everything you needed to forget your past, and everything you needed to lose your future. 

Part Warnings: suggestive scenes, language, mentions of mutilation

---

Sunlight caught the blinds in a dance of shadows. Her eyes twitched with the familiar warmth of the morning star across her face. She slowly opened her eyes taking in the sight of their small room. It was bland and empty, just like their luck in finding Karli. (For a girl to be everywhere, she was also nowhere.) 

A grunt came from across the room, she sat up in the stiff bed to find Bucky lying on the floor with a blanket barely clinging to his sweaty body. She let out a soft sigh and rubbed her eyes. While he was capable of so much, she found it heartbreaking he had so little, it broke her to see him robbed of even the simplest of things such as rest and a bed. She pulled on his black tee shirt from the night before and snuck over to sit beside him. She watched as his eyes darted side to side behind his dark eye lids. If he didn’t sleep well before, he surely didn’t now with the constant traveling, search for Karli, run in with America’s Next Top Asshole and the literal cause of his night terrors in the next room. 

“Did you know it’s considered an invasion of privacy to watch someone while they’re asleep.” Bucky grumbled, his eyes still closed.

“Good thing you weren’t asleep then.” she stated.

A slight smirk tugged on his lips, “Did you sleep well?”

“I would have slept better if my pillow didn’t wonder off in the middle of the night.” she teased.

He opened one eye to look up at her, “Sorry.”

She only smiled sweetly, her hand finding its way to his stubbled cheek. “You really need a razor.” 

He grabbed her wrist pulling her down to him, and began to nuzzle her neck with his chin.

She gagged at the sensation, “Ugh- for an old man you really behave like a child- hey!” In one swift motion he was on top of her tickling her neck.

“Stop. Stop it.” She hissed as she playfully swat at him to get off her. He chuckled and leaned back still, straddling her waist. 

“You have so much energy in the mornings for literally no reason,” she groaned, rubbing her lightly burned skin. 

He leaned down to her, a smirk on his lips, “I can come up with a few, if you’d like.” 

She rolled her eyes, even though her cheeks began to flush, “Knock it off.”

He made a tch sound with his teeth, and sat back up.

She smiled and sat up on her knees, her hands clasping behind his neck, a finger twirling the slightly grown out hair. He leaned into her, looking up at her from where he sat, a sad expression came across his face. 

“What is it?” she asked, rubbing her nails lazily through his thick hair.

“I just,” he sighed trying to find his words, “I want to stay with you, but I just can’t make myself. I’m afraid of what I might do, if I stay too long.”

She tilted her head, searching his eyes, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t want to have an episode at night and lash out. Sometimes they feel so real and I get can’t control myself and the last thing I want to do is hurt you and-”

“Hey, Hey, Hey” she interrupted, “Look at me.” She lifted his face up to hers, “Look at me, you could never do anything to hurt me. I know you don’t trust yourself sometimes, but I trust you and I know you. I’m not afraid of the ‘what if’s.” Please, hear me when I say, I want you to let me in, I want to be apart of this, all of it. I want to help you Bucky, but I can only go as far as you’ll let me. And if it takes time, ok but it’s going to take more than a nightmare to make me go anywhere. Ok?”

He stared at her for a long time, a blank expression on his face. She couldn’t tell if she had overstimulated him with her cheesiness or he simply was dead. 

“Bucky? If I’m overstepping, I understand-”

He abruptly wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her small figure to his. She melted into his touch, just as she had the first time he held her. They stayed like that for awhile until she heard him whisper.

“I love you.”

She smiled against his cool skin, “I love you too.”

He brought her face up to meet his and kissed her softly. His lips were always so soft and warm, something you wouldn’t expect. His thumb made tiny circles along her jaw, as she kissed him back. His hand slowly snaked their way down to her thigh where he pulled her onto his lap. She subconsciously, wrapped her legs around his waist and arched her back pulling him upward slightly. He held her thigh with one hand and reclined back with the metal one, smiling into her touch. She pushed forward as he pushed back, every kiss becoming more passionate than the last. She pulled at his hair, causing a longing moan to escape from his lips, exposing his neck. She began to place light kisses along side his neck, his breathing became deep as he massaged her thigh in return.  

He flipped over, now pressing her back against the ground, topping her. He kissed her back deeply, his tongue becoming well acquainted with her mouth. One hand began to find its way in between her thighs. 

Her eyes snapped open, “James.” She grabbed his hand, “It is 4 in the morning.” She hissed.

“HELL YEAH IT’S 4 IN THE GODDAMN MORNING!” Sam blurted out from the next room.

Bucky buckled forward burrowing his head in her neck holding back his horror.

“Shit,” Her face became the next 50 shades of red, as she covered her mouth with her hand to prevent a wave of uncomfortable laughter.

“HERE I THOUGHT AT 11pm I WOULD GET MY BEAUTY SLEEP BUT NOOOO. IF I HEAR THAT DAMN SHIT AGAIN I WILL COME IN THERE AND BEAT BOTH OF YALL’S NASTY ASSES.”

There was a moment of silence as the two looked between each other with mischievous smiles. He rolled his eyes and licked his lips knowingly. She let out a staged moan loud enough to be heard from outside.

“Fuck. Y/N.” Bucky grunted, his face tinted trying to remain collected. She covered her face with her hands moaning back at him.

Seeing her smile only made Bucky ham it up more as he began slapping his hand on the floor to create more of a scene to which she erupted in a fit of choked laughter. Sam yelled something from the other room about Jesus Christ and Sin. Bucky stood up with that smug look on his face, as he did whenever he won at annoying Sam Wilson. He gave her his hand and hauled her off the ground with barely any effort.

She finally settled down from laughing and looked at him, “I think we should do that more often.”

“What? Piss off bird boy or have sex?” He asked.

She grinned, “Can it not be both?”

Bucky made a face as if he was scheduling the next when and where.

She gave him a light slap, “Now don’t get cocky about it. Also, you stink. Go take a shower.”

He looked at her offended then gave a sly look, “Or we could ta-“

“No” she snapped like a mother to her child, “Get.”

He held up his hands up in defense, “Alright, Alright, but I’m going to need my shirt back.”

She groaned and peeled off the shirt and tossed it at his face. He pulled the shirt down and gave her a once over, “I like that color” he said inspecting her black laced undergarments.

“Good Lord, Go.” she shoved him towards the bathroom. He chuckled at her and whipped the shirt over his shoulder, sending her a cocky grin as he left the room.

Once the door closed behind him, she let out a sigh and sat on the edge of the bed. A wave of depression washed over her as she longed for the day they could just stay in bed and not battle some end of the world threat. She looked to the blanket on the floor where he slept the night before. He deserved so much more than this. They deserved so much more than this.

She couldn’t lie, after the blip the thought of going off grid looked truly appealing. With Nat, Tony, Vision, Bruce, Wanda, Thor, and Steve gone, the Avengers felt more like a club then an actual organization. While she had always been closer to Sam, Bucky and Steve the hole left behind by the others made it too hard to go on some days. What was the point? Every time something was fixed something worse happened. And they never were thanked properly, only ridiculed by what should have been done, because everyone always expected them to be heroes; yet they never saw they were also human. The only reason she stayed was for Sam and Bucky, they had become her family, especially after Steve’s passing, who was like a father figure to her.

She pushed away the memories that came rushing in. She could not allow herself to get emotional, their job here needed her full attention. She stood and changed into her suit and left the room. 

Zemo was reclined on a sofa, drinking a cup of tea. When she entered he gave her a solemn nod. She cringed slightly, the anger at what he did to Bucky and T’Challa creeping back in.

“You’re up early.” She stated flatly.

“Hard to sleep with all the noise.” He shot her a look. “I can start you a kettle if you’d like.”

“Sorry, and no thanks, I got it.” She said. Grabbing a kettle and filling it with water.

Zemo stood, “Do you mind? I’ve read of your powers but never have I seen them.”

She shifted on her feet, “Well, sure but it won’t be a firework show or anything like that. It’s still a new thing to me and I can’t really do much.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?” Zemo asked, approaching her, finding a spot at the bar.

She looked at him as to say something but decided against it. She looked back to the kettle and placed her hands along the side. Zemo watched her every move; observing, analyzing. 

She took a deep breath in and reached for a part in her to attract the sensation she feels around her. The kettle began to warm and in a minute it was boiling.

“Fascinating” Zemo whispered, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration.

She poured the steaming hot water into a cup and placed two teabags in it. “See, nothing special.”

Zemo looked at her as if she had said something absurd. “You have a gift.” He countered.

“Feels more like a curse.” She scoffed.

“When did this begin?” He asked.

“I don’t know, I feel like I’ve always had these... these abilities but it wasn’t until after the blip did I truly began to use them.”

“Fascinating.” Zemo repeated.

She pursed her lips, while she loathed everything about Zemo, she couldn’t lie having someone appreciate her abilities felt nice. She normally just felt like a freak, too afraid to show too much emotion, in fear she might lose control.

“Can I have you try something?” Zemo requested.

She scoffed, “Sorry, I don’t feel like playing lab rat today.”

Zemo made a face, “I understand your negative emotions towards me, but to say I have had failures in this field would be an incorrect accusation.”

She rolled her eyes, “Fine. What?”

He leapt off his seat, seemingly excited to play mad scientist again. He fetched a candle from the table and sat it infront of her. She cocked an eyebrow.

“Light it.” He said, gesturing to the wick.

“I- I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Light it.” He repeated, pushing the candle towards her.

She reached to touch the wick but he slapped her hand away.

“Hey!” She blurted out, glaring at him.

“Without touch.” He said calmly.

She looked at him then back to the candle, frustrated.

“Focus on what you wish for it to be, what it will look like, how it will feel.” Zemo coached.

She shifted on her feet again, finding a more comfortable stance. She focused on her breath and stared at the wick.

“Breath in, and when you breath out try to push your energy at it.” Zemo said.

She closed her eyes feeling a tingling sensation around her, she inhaled slowly, feeling the sensation grow. She opened her eyes and focused the sensation onto her target. She heard a crackle sound, as if a fire was trying to start. She looked to Zemo wide eyed, he never looked up.

“Again.” He said, staring at the wick.

She shifted and this time held out her hand. She took a deep breath and this time flicked her hand at the wick on the exhale, a flame consumed the wick and began to slowly burn. She gasped.

“Beautiful.” Zemo smiled.

“Well shit,” a voice was heard. They looked over to see Sam propped alongside a wall. “You got sparkly fingers, Y/N.”

She laughed, delighted in herself, “Did you see it?”

“I saw it.” He smiled.

She looked to Zemo, “How? How did that happen?”

Zemo held out his hand and she reluctantly lended him hers. He flipped her palm up and traced a distinct ‘M’ she never noticed before, with his finger. “You are a mutant. You were born with this gift and just now have discovered it.”

“A mutant.” She echoed. “How do you know?”

“All mutants have the symbol ‘M’ mapped on their palm. Each with a unique ability. Your friend Wanda, she is a mutant as well.”

“There’s more?” She gasped looking at Sam.

“Many more, we walk beside them each day, yet we do not know it.” Zemo said.

She looked back to Zemo, suddenly desperate for knowledge. She knew she had these powers but half the time she felt it was all coincidence, and was honestly too afraid to attempt to use them. Knowing what happened to Wanda.

“I want to know everything, please tell me what you know.” She said.

“Woah, woah. Look, the magic trick was impressive but I don’t think you should be getting your information from him, Y/N.” Sam said walking towards her.

“Sam, he’s the only one I’ve ever met, who knows about this stuff, besides Wanda and I don’t even know where she is.” She protested.

“I assure you I do not intend to mislead-“ Zemo started.

Sam pointed at him, “No. You do not get to say that after all you’ve done. The only thing you do is mislead. Hell, you’ve probably already done something to sabotage the mission.”

“You think so little of me, Sam.” Zemo pouted.

“Yeah, I do and for good reason.” Sam stated.

“Sam,” Y/N started.

“Y/N! Sam!” Bucky’s voice echoed throughout the small apartment.

The two took off in the direction of the noise immediately. They came into the room to find Bucky staring out the window.

“What is it?” Y/N asked, coming to stand beside Bucky. She looked out the window, her eyes widening in horror.

“My god.” Sam uttered.

Outside the window was a some kind of mutilated animal strung upside down. Blood dripped menacingly to the ground below. 

“What does it mean?” Sam asked.

“It’s an invitation.” A voice said. The three turned around to find Zemo.

“The Power Broker requests our presence.”

Link to Petals (pt. 2)

[macnevercries]

So for my request, can you write a story with Toshinori and a male reader practicing exhibition please? In the story, Toshi would do errands with the reader while wearing nothing but a trenchcoat, sandals and a face mask. In truth, Toshi is butt naked underneath with his cock in chastity, a vibrator and his mouth tape gagged. The reader would tease & taunt him in public. His goal is to finish his errands without anyone catching them or him cumming in public. What do you think?

Warnings- exhibition, d/s, established relationship, degrading, oral (receiving), dom reader, male reader

Word count- 1k

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

“You ready to go Toshi?” You smile at the man of boney stature, still quite tall despite being in his original form. He looked over to you from his spot in front of the mirror. His legs were shaking, you weren’t sure if he was nervous or excited but either way you were doing this.

“Y-yeah” he mumbled. His chastity belt felt a little tight, he was excited already. The vibrator you had stuffed up his ass wasn’t on but he almost moaned at how full he felt. All of this was hidden under his tan trench coat that barely went past his knees.

You came up behind him and taped a gag over his mouth, silencing his quiet whines. Sliding his mask up over his nose, you caressed his cheek lovingly.

“You’re such a good boy doing this for me Toshi, we’re gonna go run some errands and you’re gonna behave yourself okay?” you ask, already knowing his answer. He gives you a hurried nod, excited for what’s to come.

As you two walk around town, visiting the laundromat, post office and the bank you mess with the remote of his vibrator. Whenever you play with the settings he jumps a little, his legs quivering as he leans into you for stability so he doesn’t fall if they give out. You could feel your pants tightening at his adorable behavior. Who knew the ex-number one hero would get off on exhibition?

Your next destination was the grocery store, the last errand before you guys head home. You walked inside the store, strolling around and making Toshinori bend over to get your groceries, leaning back to get a nice view of his ass every time. He returned to the cart you were standing by with apples in his hands, his walk a little crooked from all his failed stimulation. Right before he reached the cart you turned the vibrator on its highest setting, causing him to drop the apples and fall over.

“Tsk” you muttered, leaning down to pick up the apples and place them with the rest of your stuff before helping him up. He clung to you desperately as his legs shook. You noticed a little drippage on the floor and you were taken aback. Had he come from the vibrator or from drawing attention to his barely covered form?

“You weren’t supposed to come Toshi, you decided to be a bad boy huh?” you spat in his ear, a quiet rage in your voice.

“mmmmh” he couldn’t help but groan, he felt too good. If you stayed here any longer people might start to notice. You pulled his slumped form up so he was standing straight, dragging him and your shopping cart into the nearest bathroom. Your cock was throbbing, but he didn’t need to know that, he needed to be punished.

You pushed him into the single person bathroom, practically ripping open his trench coat as soon as you locked the door. You undid his chastity belt and inspected his still hard length. The tip was red and pulsing, the entire thing was sticky with his cum.

“You broke the rules Toshi” you sighed, you were angry but you were buzzing with adrenaline. Seeing your partner desperate and getting off from other people seeing him like this, it excited you.

“You’re going to have to make it up to me, on you knees now” He scrambled to sit in front of you, setting himself so he was facing the painfully hard tent in your pants. Your removed his mask and ripped the tape off, earning a whimper from him. You grinned.

“Just like that, I know you can make it up to me, I know you can take my cock Toshi” He practically drooled at your words, his quick hands started unzipping your pants until you slapped them away.

“Use your mouth” you growled. He mewled in response, tucking his hands behind his back and unzipping your jeans with his teeth. He looked so pretty for you like this, so dirty. When your cock sprung out against your stomach he moaned loudly at the sight. You laughed at his reaction.

“Be as loud as you want baby, after all you want people to know don’t you?” you sneered. He quivered at your harshness, shaking with anticipation.

He licked the side of your cock, tracing circles around the tip lightly. You couldn’t take it anymore. You grabbed a fistful of his hair and used his face to your liking. He hollowed out his cheeks so he could take all of you, spamming and gagging as he did so. The way his throat contracted around you felt like heaven. Your head had been nodded back in pleasure but when your eyes snap down to your lover, you find him touching yourself. You slap him hard enough to leave a red mark, a hot stinging hand print engraved on his face.

“Who said you could touch yourself slut” you snapped.

“Are you really suck a cock-hungry whore that you get turned on by sucking me off? Pathetic” your words only drove him on, his dick was overflowing with pre.

He tucked his hands behind his back and you continue to fuck his face like he was a doll. A few more gags around your length has you cumming, shooting your hot seed down his throat and closing his mouth after pulling out.

“Swallow” you state. Toshinori saw a dark look in your eyes and he was unsure if it was lust or rage. Or both.

You tucked yourself back into your pants and helped your boyfriend up and get redressed.

“Seems like you made it up to me this time, now if you can make it out of this grocery store without cumming again then just maybe I’ll give you a present when we get home.” You told him, his eyes trained your lips, nodding eagerly at your deal. You left the bathroom and continued shopping, teasing him every once in a while.

People stopped to stare, pointing at the two of you. But that was what he wanted wasn’t it?

[annabethy]

under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow: day 2

Day 02/25 Days of Christmas: Character A’s best friend rigs the Secret Santa because they know Character A has a crush on Character B,, percabeth

Percy is so distracted that he almost doesn’t catch someone whispering his name across the room. When he realizes that it’s Leo calling his name, he wishes he hadn’t noticed because he knows that whatever is about to come out of that kid’s mouth is not going to be good.

“What?” Percy hisses when Leo doesn’t stop the rather obvious hissing.

Leo stands up from the table along the wall so that he can make his way across the dorm’s common room and plop down directly next to Percy. “So.”

When he says nothing else, Percy prompts, “So…?”

“You’re in love with Annabeth, yeah?”

“I’m sorry — what?”

“You, like, want to marry her.”

Percy swallows, eyes darting towards the girl that was only sitting a few feet away. “I don’t.”

“Yeah, okay big boy. Suuure you don’t want to marry her.”

“Maybe shut up, yeah?”

Leo gives his signature impish grin. “I’m just speaking the truth.”

“Yeah, well, your truth sucks.”

Percy wishes he could say that Leo was lying through his teeth like he usually does, but this one’s the painful reality. He was in love with his best friend, and Leo was shouting it out to the world, and also to Annabeth who was practically right next to him. For once, he’s glad that she can’t ever listen to people talking while she’s studying.

“Here’s the thing.” Leo pats Percy’s hand like he was consoling a child. “Secret Santa.”

“What about it?”

“You’re going to get Annabeth.”

The way that Leo whispers it is only mildly comical. It sounds more like he’s praying than telling, in Percy’s opinion. “What, are you manifesting it or something?”

“No. I’m rigging Secret Santa.”

“What!? No!”

“You want to date her, don’t you?” When Percy opens his mouth to disagree, Leo continues, “The answer is yes, you do. And to be honest, I’m sick of watching you two flounder around each other, so this is more for my benefit than yours.”

“You’re an ass.”

“You won’t be saying that when you get married, buddy.”

Percy gives him a scathing look as he pointedly turns his head away from Leo. Leo mutters something under his breath that Percy does not bother to decipher because it would probably make Percy want to stab someone in the name of Christmas spirit. He’s already mortified enough that everyone seems to know about his infatuation with his best friend, probably including Annabeth too, so he does not need Leo to rub it in even more.

“Percy,” Leo grunts as his fingers wrap around Percy’s neck and pull in an attempt to get Percy to face him again. He ends up choking for air as Leo cuts off his trachea, and Leo clambers to grab a fistful of hair instead. Percy lets out a strangled shriek as he is pulled off the couch sharply by his head.

“Stop it!”

“Listen to me,” Leo says, peering over the edge at where Percy is now laying on the floor, rubbing the back of his head. Percy ends up staying on the floor so that he’s out of Leo’s reach. “When we get together for Secret Santa, you’re going to pick first. Pick the one that has green marker on the outside.”

“And break the rules of the game?”

“It’s still a secret to her. Do it.”

Percy doesn’t plan on doing it. The few hours waiting for the rest of their friends to meet up are spent with him going back and forth in his own mind as to why he should definitely not pick her name. It defeats the whole purpose of the game, but at the same time, she won’t know that he purposely picked her. But on the other hand, if he somehow manages to win her over with whatever gift he picks out, he’ll have to admit it at some point. With his luck, they’d be married about to have a baby when he’s like oh yeah, by the way, I purposely got you because I’m a cheater, and she’ll be so offended, all oh yeah, by the way, I’m also a cheater and it’s not your baby, and his heart will shatter into a million pieces.

So perhaps he’s being a little dramatic, but he likes to think his concerns are at least somewhat legitimate. Like, maybe 43 percent valid.

In the end though, Percy catches sight of that green mark on a slip of paper, and his hand grabs it with a mind of its own. As he uncurls the paper, he traces over her writing with his finger. He swears he could pick her writing out of a line up, with the unique curves of her penmanship.

Percy pretends not to notice Leo’s mocking grin from across the circle, instead turning his attention towards Annabeth, watching her pick out his name.

For the next few days, Percy doesn’t think he’s ever been more stressed. It’s as though Percy doesn’t even know Annabeth anymore because he’s suddenly at a blank for anything that she likes. He can’t even remember her favorite color or lifelong dreams because he’s just that nervous. He’s beginning to wish that he hadn’t picked that green slip, but it was too late to go back now. He had no choice but to make an embarrassment of himself when he shows up with something awful, or nothing at all.

It comes unexpectedly when he finds the present. It’s a simple ring with a silver band and an emerald sitting in the center, and it practically has her name written on it. He imagines what it would look like sitting on her finger, the green gem gleaming in the sunlight, reminiscent of his eyes.

It’s not until after he makes the purchase that it dawns on him how much of a boyfriend thing it is to buy someone a ring. And, of course, Annabeth would say something about it being an engagement ring because that’s just what she does, and he would die on the spot. He loves her so much, but she doesn’t know that, and a ring would no doubt reveal at least some of what he was feeling if she somehow didn’t already know.

He dreads the day of Secret Santa.

All too soon, he is sitting in a circle with his friends, everyone holding a present in their hands. When it comes time to exchange the gifts, Percy hesitantly hands his to Annabeth. He can sense the shock on her face, and a warm sense fills him as he also senses the underlying excitement in her face.

“You got me something expensive, right?” she asks playfully.

“You wish,” is what he replies, but his painfully empty wallet disagrees.

Annabeth smiles at him, a cute dimple appearing on her cheek, as she pulls the tissue paper out of the present bag. She makes an offhanded comment about the Rudolph gift bag before she pulls out everything at once. He hadn’t wanted to just get her one thing, so he stuffed it with a few of her favorite snacks. Leo had called him a simp when he found out.

“Hurry up,” he chides. “Get off my ass, Percy,” she says, but she picks up the small box he knows contains the ring. The rest of the room seems to drown out as she flicks open the top. He catches sight of the ring in the box, and now he really wants to pass out, or throw up, or both.

Annabeth’s face is unreadable as she thumbs the gem. Then, her face breaks into a soft grin and he feels marginally better. “A ring?”

“I saw it and thought of you. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until it was paid for.” He bites his lip. “I can return it if you don’t want it. I know it might seem weird, but I just really wanted—“

Annabeth uses her socked foot to nudge his knee and get him to stop talking. “I really love it, Percy.”

“You do?”

“Of course I do,” she says, rolling her eyes. She slides it onto her left ring finger, holding it up for her own inspection. “It’s like an engagement ring!”

Percy cracks a grin. “I knew you’d say that.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” she adds. “I’d love being engaged to you. You’d be the world’s best husband.”

Percy’s heart nearly stops.

“God, I love you,” she groans, crawling over the floor so that she can collapse in his lap like a wet noodle. It’s not unusual for them. They’ve always been the two to cuddle platonically during a movie, or just take a nap together, but nothing more. Right now though, Percy feels like this is a lot more than usual as he wraps his arms around her in a hug.

Annabeth lifts herself back up, and he nearly whines at the loss of contact. That is quickly taken off his mind though as she turns around with a present in hand.

“Your turn,” she says, and Percy’s jaw drops open.

“You got me!” he exclaims excitedly, reaching for the present.

“I know,” she says teasingly. “I nearly gagged when I picked your name.”

“Nice to see that you care.”

She patters her feet against the floor excitedly. “Open it!”

And he does. The bag is slightly bigger than hers was, so he struggles a bit to get the item out. When he does though, he feels like crying. He’s met with a thin silver frame, but inside of it is what really gets him. It’s a painting of the two of them — a picture he thought he lost a long time ago. Her arms are thrown over his shoulders from behind as she gives him a kiss on the cheek, and Percy is staring directly into the camera, the biggest smile on his face. He remembers taking that years ago on a stranger’s polaroid. He carried it around forever, everywhere he went, until it just seemed to disappear one day. He was so distraught because it was the only copy, but he’s forgotten about it until now, and—

Percy’s eyes begin to brim with tears. “Where did you get this?”

“I took a picture of it,” she says gently. “There was someone on etsy that was painting pictures, and so I thought you’d like to have this one.”

“God.” Percy’s eyes trace over the image, trying to burn the picture into his mind, every single curve and color. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

“It’s no ring, but…”

“Annabeth,” Percy says, stopping her. “I love it.”

“And I love you.”

Something burns in Percy’s stomach. There’s something in the way that she’s looking at him that makes his breath stutter. It’s too soft and she’s too close to him. He wants so badly to pull her in close, to hug her and kiss her because she’s wearing his ring and a sweater she stole from his closet and she’s his best friend that he’s in love with.

Percy’s face is suddenly in front of Annabeth’s, and he can feel her breaths hitting his face. He doesn’t know if people are watching, but he can’t be bothered enough to check.

“Thank you,” Percy whispers. “It means a lot.”

“I’m sure it did.”

There’s a comfortable pause where Percy just looks at her, counts her eyelashes, appreciates the perfect curve of her nose before she says, “Are you going to kiss me or just stare?”

Percy smiles and takes that as an invitation. He wraps his fingers around the curve of her back, pulling her onto his lap and bringing her lips to his. It feels like he’s kissing his best friend, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s not a perfect kiss because she’s tangled awkwardly in his limbs, both of them sprawled on the floor, and there are people screaming around them, but it’s still everything he’s ever thought it would be.

When he finally pulls away, she’s looking at him with something akin to love. He smiles, and so does he, and Leo makes a snarky comment, and he never wants to leave this moment.

“So,” she says, breathless and happy, “I have something to tell you.”

“You love me?”

“That, and I may have purposely picked your name.”

Percy throw his head back and laughs, and he thinks that he’s met his soulmate.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

Ok ok I’ve had this thought for a while now, how about this. When Touya was a lil baby man his “dad” introduced him to his fellow pro hero’s daughter. Maybe the hero is a high ranking pro of another country. They hit it off and become friends. But his “dad’s” shit is too much and she notices his change and asks him and he maybe takes his anger out on her. But she just calmly takes it all, smiling and says after his rant, that he isn’t alone and tells him that her father is the same and that since her quirk (Emma Frost’s powers maybe) is powerful she’s doing the same to her. Then their friendship grows and later somethings happen Touya can’t take his BS so leaves without a trace. Years later she’s a pro hero ranking in top 5 in her country. They meet through pure coincidence. And he sees that she has an engagement ring on, and he’s like wtf and she just gives him a heartbreaking smile and says that maybe if he stayed it could have been him who gave that to her 🥺 you can go on from there Sorry it’s so long😥

I’m not going to force you to write it, just trying to give you ideas to inspire your writing. please don’t think that I’m forcing this on you 🙏🙏🙏 if you want to then ONLY should you write it okay 🥺😭

Can we just take a moment to look at him😭💔❤

Ps: sorry about the quirk part ;-; only after I saw it was a specific one

"UGH!" The once red haired kid hissed in pain as his body double over... sometimes he wished he could just had gained the blessing of not only rememberinh his mother, but inhering her quirk as well... his blue flames accordinh to his father cartied more potential than his... that he was almost perfect...

Yet he wasn't. His body couldn't handle the heat... as well as his mind couldn't tolerate more of the mental and physical abuse Endeavour put him, his siblings and mother too...

His forehead was against the ground as hs gritted his teeth the best he could to not pet out one miserable yey possibly inhuman shout... both of pain and anger.

Although he flinched back up when he fept a touch near his hot shoulder... thinking that was possibly his baby brother Natsuo worried abiyt him once again.

But it wasn't the white haired kid... it was you... standing in front of him with a worried face wjile holding a bucket of possible icy water and some towels.

"What?" He scoffs, doing his best to stand up without trembling.

(L/n) (Y/n) was the daughter of a famous pro hero from America... Her father being a close friend of Endeavour, somehow, introduced his daughter to the old man... the girl was a compassionate soul with a telepathic diamond kinda like quirk. Both of you grew closer as time went by... yet, he couldn't sadly hide it the pain he felt as his father slowly grew to be a abuser...

He couldn't just tell you about it. For what? Ruin the pertect Todoroki family sterotype and for yoi just to rub into his face about your perfect little lovingly family?

He would rather not.. bit todaay he was just fuming. Angry at his father, angry at his quirk... angry at himself

"You're burning up Touya-kun..." you whispered while kneeling down next to his fetal position form "Rough training..?" You whispered softly whiel clenching the towel before slowly rubbing the visible parts of his skin...

He remained silent, a frow present on his features as he clenched his legs closer to his torso.

"... Touya-kun?"he grunted at your call amd tried not to wince at the cold wet towel on his cheek "Is not only training right?"

"Took you long enough smartpants..." he chuckled darkly, brushing you off and putting his legs on a crossstype sitting.

".. wanna talk about it? It usually he-"

"Oh, like talking will just stop my stupid father to beat my mother and treat me and my siblings like shit.." he gritted his teeth at the memory and for spilling out what he didn't wanted to.

He saw how your eyes widened from the corner of his turquoise ones... scoffing at your reaction.

"Touya-kun I.. I know what is-"

"Oh dont come with the "i know how you feel" talk." He growled, glaring at you in anger "The spoiled princess have everything to goods and food in your home. A dad that just doesn't smiles as often as All Might, a mother that always remain by your side no matter what and you come with that bullshit?!" He widened his eyes at the curse he let out and how he shouted at you... a billions of regrets already forming inside his head until he saw a bit of tears on your eyes yet a kind and painfull smile on your lips.

"You think is like that?" You almost sobbed the words until you pulled your sleeves up to show him marks of cigaretes, cuts and purples dots adoring your skin as his eyes widened in horror...

"W..what?" He almost whispered as he grab your arm to inspectes closer.

"The comet hero, example of a father... does this to me every single day he comes back from a fight that didn't ended well or when I mess up with something on my training... while my mom is always drinking and watchs from a safe distance to not be hurr as well..."

Horror was present on his face as anger slowed build inside of him... so this was what heroes do to their children?! Him and you had been suffering in the hands of the most powerful and respected heroes out there...

If he had control over his power he swore he would chase your father down for everything he done to you.

"So yeah... I know how you must feel... Touya. You're not alone..." your arms slipped from his grasp only for you to fill the empty of his hands with yours, interviewing your fingers with his.

He couldn't even answer as he pulled you gently to hug as he craddled your head between his neck and hand, carresing your back with his free one.

If only he could be a little more strong... only to protect you and himself...

Yet that didn't stopped him to vow to himself to get some revenge on both of you.

.

.

.

Finally he was meeting wuth his baby brother Shouto. And now he was ready to burn all of the heroes and students present there just to prove his point that none of them were worth of even living.

Yes he was crazy, a sociopath that killed more than one hundred people. But whose fault was that again? Oh right! Endeavour... Todoroki Enji. His father that could dance with his son on the deepest parts of hell.

Just when he was about to send a attach towards Shoto the chaos around him was mute for a short few seconds.

'You would really hurt your younger brother like that..? Touya?'

"What the fuck..?" He muttered before receiving a kick on his hut wnough for him to gag on his own blood.

Quickly recovering he sended another attack only to see a woman made of diamond standing next to him, panting as her grip on the blades remained.

"Touya..." you blinked and a soon more human like appearance got back as the woman stared at him with horror "What happened to you?"

"Do I even know you sweetcheeks?" He asked nonchamtly before sending another wave of flames towards your direction only for your arm to get back on a diamond like shape as you blocked the attack.

"Seriously?!" You gasped while holding your blades.

He was about to attack before a flash of memories of his childhood appeared as he groaned at the pain it actually felt, but still reamained stood until his eyes widened at a image of his long lost childhood friend...

When his vision got back he stared at you... recogjizing finally after so many years.

"So you devided to become one of those fake heroes too (Y/n)..?" He snarled, forearm in front of him as he lit it into flames, hiding the actual hurt he felt.

"Our parents may have acted this way, but that doesn't mean all heroes belong to a world full of lies!"

"Bullshit." He attacked once again as you dodged, coming closer to him as he groaned and managed to lock you in the ground... seing a golden ring on your left hand as you tried to controp your breathing at seing his hand on your throat.

"What the fuck...?" That was a weeding ring... a fucking weeding ring. The woman that was supposw to be his was married to someone else...

You realized his grip lessen up a bit only because of the sign of the ring on your finger... realization come into your senses as you felt tears start to form in yout eyes as you manage to smile a bit... unknown to Dabi that you were contacting your side kick and husband to come for your rescue.

"... you know..." you brushed your fingers on his scarred face much like you did years ago, making him freeze qith turquoise eyes wide open "... it could have been you.. but.. you .. I thought you were.."

"Dead..?" He mumbled, still on top of you as his eyes narrowed at the golden ring ".. I wish.."

[dadsbongos]

It’s in the Walls

Movie/Game/Show: The Boy

Dynamic: Brahms Heelshire/Reader

Warnings: you got a whole ass man living in your house without you knowing, you’re a mom

Summary: There’s a large house up for sale on a massive price-cut, who wouldn’t take that deal?

~~~

“Mom!” the shriek was high-pitched and echoed through the winding walls of the maze the manor made itself out to be.

(Y/n) closed her eyes, pretending the scream didn’t happen for a few seconds of cheap bliss before breaking back into her mothering persona. She crept down the corridors, reminding herself to take down every painting on the wall, the eyes followed her. Eventually, she came into her younger son’s new room, leaning her body against the doorway.

The blond child was huddled in a box pressed against the right wall, his small body curled tightly into itself inside the cardboard. He looked to his mother, large blue eyes sprinkled in delight that she came. Pointing to his bed, he murmured, “I saw a rat.”

“What?” she muttered, the realtor said the rodents that only stuck to the yard, but of course, that was a lie, “Oh, sweetie, come here,” the boy stumbled out of the box and grabbed onto his mother’s extended hand, “I’ll take care of him, you go make sure Joey hasn’t lost in mind in the library, okay?”

“Thank you, Dylan,” she cooed, pressing a short kiss to his forehead before sending him off.

His pink lips, shaped nearly identically to his father’s, stretched into a large grin,

“Okay, Mama!”

As soon as her son was gone, the smile drooped and suddenly she felt the weight of her eye bags drawing on her face. (Y/n) carefully approached the bed before getting onto her hands and knees, pulling up one of the draping blankets to peek underneath. A squirming, round, fat little frame poked out in the darkness before it squealed and began scurrying away.

Her hand shot out and she squeezed the fatty body between her fingers, grimacing at the rat in her hand. She never hated the things, they just never piqued her interest in the best ways, either. It thrashed and scratched at her, a small hiss leaving the woman before she tossed one of the windows open and left the rat on the sill outside to crawl away. Shutting and locking the window once again, (Y/n) made another mental note to get rat traps. Unless there were already traps.

Exiting the room, (Y/n) huffed at every creak in the wooden planks of the floorboards. The manor was old, oh, so old, it only made sense that none of the wooden boards would be silent. Even so, it was annoying and she liked to think she had the right to complain.

Eyes drifting to paintings and peeling wallpaper, she tried to remind herself to be thankful. Divorce wasn’t easy, much less so when your ex was a greedy, manipulative joke that milked you for nearly all of your possessions - she was lucky to find the mansion. Especially at such an astoundingly low price - she doubted a typical house would be cheaper than what she got the place for. None of those houses came fully-furnished anyway. Admittedly creepy and strange, but you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, you might not like what you see.

As (Y/n) scanned through cupboards and cabinets, a loud thud alerted her of a new presence in the kitchen. She shot up, banging her head on the interior of a cabinet, her hand settled on the tender curve of her skull, softly rubbing as she stood. At the counter was her elder son, black-dyed hair messy and glasses slipping down his nose.

“Hi, honey,” (Y/n) chuckled at his frazzled appearance, “just get done wrestling one of the stuffed bears?”

Joey rolled his eyes, thumping a thick, hard-cover book against the granite countertop, “No, actually, I was looking for my shoes. Where are they?”

The woman shrugged, “How am I supposed to know?”

“I left them by the door and they’re not there anymore,” the teenage boy scratched at the back of his head, “Dylan’s either lying or genuinely didn’t steal them so I came to you.”

“Did you check everywhere?” (Y/n) questioned, brows furrowing at the absurdity of the situation, “Shoes don’t just walk away on their own, you gotta have feet in them.”

“Yes, I checked everywhere,” the boy grumbled, no longer bumping the book on the hard surface, now content to flip through the pages and allow the smell of old parchment to fill their nostrils. What a lovely smell that was.

Shaking her head, the mother fumbled for an explanation to the whereabouts of her son’s shoes, “I don’t know what to tell you, you brought more pairs, right?”

Joey nodded slowly, eyes scanning through fragmented sentences before turning to the next page, “Yeah, I just really liked those ones.”

“Alright, well, I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually, don’t worry yourself over it,” she grasped her boy’s shoulder, rubbing her thumb into the flesh tenderly before letting go, “We have a rat problem, by the way, if you see any traps, let me know.”

“Oh fun,” he mumbled, forcing a wide smile onto his lips, “I think there’s some in the backyard if you haven’t been out there. They look like shit but they’ll probably get the job done.”

“Language, but thank you.”

“English and you’re welcome.”

Deciding it was better to just walk away at this point, (Y/n) headed for the back door. It was heavy to pull open and nearly slammed shut if she hadn’t pressed her foot into the thick wood, grunting at the responding pain. A trash bag was set out with a pair of gloves next to it on a quaint little side table with spider webs running between the beige wicker legs. As if somebody had put them out for a quick run but forgot they wouldn’t be using them after they left.

After that, what caught her eye was the glint of rusted metal in the thick, untamed bushes of the surrounding greenery. Upon closer inspection, she could see that grass had entangled with the metallic gate on a small wooden box, buzzing flies being the next eye-catcher. She crouched down, instantly picking up on the putrid smell of corroding flesh and dried blood, flies nibbling on the swiss cheesed corpse of a rat.

“Shit!” she gagged, backing away, rubbing her hands on her pants despite having not touched the cage at all.

Looking back up at the house, (Y/n) barely noticed the outline of a person in one of the second-floor windows. She blinked twice, shaking her head before squinting back up at the same window. Just a coat rack. Didn’t seem right - there were pants in the outline! - but then she realized how outlandish it seemed. If there was a secret person living in the house, surely it would’ve been mentioned by the realtor.

‘Forgotten’ rats were one thing, an entire person was another.

“Mom!” another soprano level scream ruptured her eardrums.

In turn, (Y/n) huffed, clenching her eyes shut before turning around and walking back towards the porch. What she first noticed was her seven-year-old, the second being the extremely off-putting, cracked porcelain doll in his arms.

It was half his size and looked to have been haphazardly put back together with some unnamed brand of superglue. Dark hair framed its head quite well with glassy, hazel eyes and pale, pretty pink lips. Grossly realistic and abandoned in a mansion, it seemed to be perfect fire material. Or it would be, if she hadn’t been told by the realtor, very explicitly, to not use the fireplace.

“Whole house could go up in flames,” Mindy had waved her hands about, “I’m not sure how that’d work, but just… don’t test it.”

Dylan held up the doll closer to his mother’s face, “Isn’t he cool?!”

“Yeah,” she lied through her teeth, carefully taking the doll, “Does he have a name?”

Leading his mother back inside, Dylan shrugged, but his loose limbs and lack of control made it appear as though he was trying to toss his shoulders off from his body, “Don’t know.”

“Hmm,” she quietly hummed, pulling back the tightly sewn collar of the doll to peek at a possible name tag, “I’m not seeing anything here, baby. You wanna name him yourself?”

There was another creak, easily dismissed as the manor’s old bones settling as the woman handed the fragile doll to her son. Dylan pressed his lips into a tight line, staring at the toy for a few moments before bursting out an answer, “I think he looks like a James!”

(Y/n) nodded to the boy’s antics, “I think that’s a great name for him.”

Before they could continue the conversation, a hard bang on the wall knocked a picture from its spot above the stove, toppling onto the rather shiny surface. Their heads turned, eyes wide and Dylan was suddenly shaking, grasping onto his mother’s shirt and huddling into her side. The woman settled a hand on her son’s shoulder, pressing her thumb into the tensing muscles before pulling away to inspect the wall. 

It was a wall, obviously. Flat, leveled, wall. Nothing particularly interesting about it aside from the wallpaper’s collection of grime and peels. Looking down, she took notice of the framed picture. Three figures stood in front of the home (Y/n) now found herself in possession of. Garden controlled and clean with no windows boarded, cracked, or dirtied. A young woman not much older than (Y/n) herself was holding a four-year-old brunette boy to her hip with, who one could assume was, her husband beside them.

Glancing between the picture and the doll, she frowned at how similar the toy looked to the little boy. Not to mention that haunting family portrait at the foot of the staircase. Turning the frame over in her hands, she opened up the back before pulling the picture out of its frame. (Y/n) searched for a scrawled title of the photograph, quickly finding an answer.

Mummy, Daddy, and Brahms!

She replaced the picture just as quickly as she got it out, debating between putting it back and tossing it out before deciding to leave it on the counter. (Y/n) took her son’s chubby cheeks between her hands, planting yet another kiss on his freckled forehead, “I think his name is Brahms, sweetie.”

“Brahms?” Dylan muttered, almost as though he was testing for another bump. When there was none, he nodded, “Brahms.”

Running away and back up the stairs, (Y/n) was ready to force herself into forgetting the whole thing happened when her older son’s voice was heard.

“It’s funny, you little brat!” followed by a loud wail.

“Give him back!” Dylan screamed.

(Y/n) rushed out of the kitchen to see Joey holding Brahms out of Dylan’s reach, the older boy was visibly angry, “Funny, I could say the same thing to you!”

“Joseph Lowy,” the woman muttered, snatching the doll from her son, and giving it back to her pouting little blond boy, “Here, go play with Brahms,” as he ran up the stairs, she called after him, “Don’t get too crazy up there, you two!”

Joey shook his head, rubbing at the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses, “Little asshole.”

“Hey!” (Y/n) looked over to the sixteen-year-old, “Don’t talk about your little brother like that.”

“He stole more of my shit,” the dark-haired boy tapped at the wall a few times with his knuckles, shaking his head, “Shoes I could deal with but now two of my shirts are missing.”

“Did you leave them at the house?” she tried to reason, leaning against the wall, “Dylan’s been with me for a while, maybe you’re losing it, sweetpea.”

Joey cringed at the pet name briefly before deciding to carry on with his point, “No, I didn’t leave my clothes at the house. I wouldn’t leave a single sock with that dick.”

“Don’t call my ex a dick,” (Y/n) breathed out, turning her son around and nudging him towards the den, “Only I can do that.”

“Unfair.”

“This isn’t a democracy, it’s a dictatorship,” (Y/n) waved off, standing there long enough just to watch the boy sit down on a leather chair and open the book in his hands. She’d have to go into town for rat traps, then.

She bit at her lip, turning towards the flight of stairs and beginning to go up the steps. Without the creeks flowing alongside her movement, the house seemed even more eerie - she didn’t bother to stop and figure out why there were no creeks. It didn’t matter to her at the time.

(Y/n) peeked into Dylan’s room, smiling softly at the sight of her little boy seated at a play table with plastic plates and cups and faux food set delicately on it. He was holding a small pink teacup with Brahms porcelain fingers using a hair tie to keep a similar purple one in his grasp. When the little boy noticed his mother in the doorway, he waved wildly, taking one of Brahms’ arms gently and copying the motion onto the doll.

Continuing down the hall, (Y/n) came upon her room, pushing it open and immediately seeing that her suitcases and bags had been peeled open. She was sure that she’d left them all zipped and sealed before leaving, but, of course, you can never be too certain. Going over to the luggage, she moved clothing around and peered through when she noticed how strewn about her things were.

The ‘fragile-minded’ female role after a heavy divorce was not something (Y/n) ever imagined herself as being. It was so played out and disgusting, she despised it with everything in her body. Yet, as she found that one of her dresses was missing, she suddenly felt as though it was depressingly truer than she’d hoped.

(Y/n) turned to another suitcase; her apple red-tinted skirt was gone. She dug deeper into the case, pulling out a few stray, tossed-around shirts in her endeavor to find her favorite skirt. She tossed a hand up, giving up on finding the articles of clothing for the time being. Not that she’d admit it, but worry was beginning to fester in the deepest crawlspaces of her gut.

Stepping over to a different suitcase, (Y/n) pulled out what probably wouldn’t make her look as though she just woke up and went over to the bathroom connected to her bedroom. 

Mindy had made it abundantly clear that the two previous owners drowned themselves while on a ‘two-month’ vacation after leaving the house to a nanny. Who the nanny was or why she left wasn’t made clear to either woman, just that the house wasn’t right. Cryptic language, always appreciated.

Taking into mind the deaths and sudden missing clothing combined with bumps from the kitchen, it may be time to call the kettle a kettle. The home may be haunted. Not that she wanted a literal haunted house, but what other choice was there at this point?

Not even apartments were renting as low as the manor was selling.

As she finished getting dressed, (Y/n) began her way out of the house, stopping at her younger son’s room, “I’m going out for some things. Want me to bring you back anything?”

Dylan looked over to the cracked doll, “Do you want new clothes, Brahms?”

The doll, of course, was completely silent. Unmoving. Watching. 

“I think Brahms wants new clothes, Mom,” Dylan beamed at the woman, holding up his plastic cup.

(Y/n) giggled, nodding as she pat the doorway, “Alright, honey, I’ll see what I can do for Brahms.”

“Thanks, Mom,” the bubbly little boy lowered his cup, settling his hand on the doll’s back, “Say thanks, Brahms.”

No words came from the toy, as one would be expected to expect. It sat still, not moving but still watching. Always watching. Unblinking, glassy, hazel eyes stuck on his flesh-and-blood blond friend.

“He says thanks.”

Nodding, the woman gave her boy a thumbs up, “I’m sure.”

The next son was still in the den, reading quietly to himself. Every now and again one’s ear would pick up on a small mumble of a word, small stutters slipping from the teenager’s lips. (Y/n) came up behind the boy, hands slamming onto the back of the chair loudly.

Joey jumped in his place, turning swiftly, “The hell, Mom?”

“I’m going out, bookworm,” (Y/n) teased, running a hand through the boy’s messy black hair, “Need me to pick something up?”

“Coffee grounds would be great,” he confirmed, “There’s none in this entire, literal, mansion.”

“Alright,” she gently brought her older son’s shoulders back so his head was laying against the chair, “Take a break sometime soon, okay? Stretch for a bit, make you and your brother some lunch.”

He hummed in acknowledgment but otherwise, there was no indication of him having even listened to his mother. 

~~

The next morning was just as drab and bland as the previous, and there was no doubt that the morning after this would be the same as always. (Y/n) huffed as she climbed out of bed, rubbing a hand over her droopy eyes. She stood, no longer remembering much of what had happened yesterday other than buying children’s clothes for a doll and coffee grounds for her son.

Not even the drill holes the previous owners must have never paid much mind to, which she noticed after dinner. They were strangely large for any typical drill she’d seen or owned.

(Y/n) managed to trudge into the kitchen during her dazed state, neither one of her boys was eating and so she correctly assumed both were still asleep. Scratching under her shirt at her stomach, the woman picked the coffee grounds from under the sink, laying the hefty tub on the counter next to the maker. Seemed a bit counterproductive to have a coffee maker and not a single crumb of grounds or even any beans to actually use. Not that she could say it to the owners’ faces.

“Oh, filters, right,” she mumbled to herself, immediately recalling the thin papers in the walk-in closet style storage compartment. 

Her hand scanned over a few shelves, one arm crossed over her chest and the other still running along canned goods and cereal boxes. She tilted her head to rest on the raised shoulder, beginning to hum quietly to herself. The air was pleasantly crisp, oddly crisp for the interior of a house let alone a pantry. It had the same feeling as being inside an attic, if that made any sort of sense it didn’t matter to her at the time. Not much about the house mattered to her at the moment.

A few creeks and Joey was walking into the kitchen, the poor house was only getting older and with his naturally heavy steps, Joey found himself making more noise than he’d like. So much noise. Too much noise. Why did he have to be so loose with his footfalls? He’d been walking for over forty years by now.

Forty years? Forty years.

He was a grown man, he should be able to walk quietly. Just because Greta left him, he suddenly can’t be a ghost anymore?

A scream clutched the air as the pantry door slammed shut. (Y/n) turned, not finding herself much a fan of the darkness. She took the doorknob into her grip, violently twisting and pushing on the knob, “Joseph?! Dylan?!”

The door refused to budge, like a weight was pressing down onto it. It creaked and rocked ever so slightly but there was no way of getting it open.

“Joseph fucking Lowy, open this God damn door!” she pounded on the busted wood, beginning to kick when her hits proved no help, “Dylan! One of you open this door, right now!”

Suddenly, the lock made a click, and all the invisible weight was gone, a sixteen-year-old boy staring quizzically at his mother, “Mom, what’s wrong with you? How did you lock the door from the outside?”

“What are you talking about?” (Y/n) shook her head, giving the pantry a glance over her shoulder, “You locked me in there.”

“You woke me up with all your yelling,” Joey instantly denied, “I’m surprised Dylan’s not up yet.”

“Joseph, I’m not playing with you right now,” she crossed both arms, “It’s not cute.”

“I’m serious!” he shouted in his own defense, neither of them taking notice in the seven-year-old cradling a porcelain doll with a cracked face to his chest, “I wouldn’t lock you in a pantry!”

“Mom…” the boy muttered.

(Y/n)’s jaw clenched, eyes slamming shut and body turning away from her older son to look at the disgusting wallpaper of her kitchen. She sniffed hard, rubbing under her nose before looking back to her younger son, “Yes, sweetie?”

“Brahms made a mess,” Dylan quietly replied, going up to his mother and grabbing her hand, “It wasn’t me, really. It was Brahms.”

“What do you mean it was Brahms?” she huffed, following after the child as he began leading her up to the second floor, “He’s a doll, baby, it was probably just the wind knocking something over.”

“No,” he shook his head, pushing his bedroom door open wider, “Brahms made a mess.”

A mess indeed. Clothes and toys had been absolutely hurricaned around the little boy’s room, some glass from pictures and abandoned dishes shattered across the floor. Dylan’s play table had been toppled over with all the plasticware left on the carpeted ground. Looking over to her son’s feet, (Y/n) felt herself puzzled at the lack of blood; glass was everywhere. How could his reckless little feet avoid all of it?”

“Baby, did you step in any glass?”

“There’s glass in there?” the boy peeked around his mother before looking down at Brahms, “How did you do that?”

(Y/n) turned back to the bedroom, poking her tongue into her cheek as her hands found their places on her hips. Confusion laced into her bones, trickling down the marrow and soaking into her shaking fingertips. Brows knit tightly downward in the midst of her conflict and head thumping for answers, no - no, that was a headache. She was getting a headache.

Taking her son’s shoulders, (Y/n) spun him around to face the way they just came down, “I’ll take care of that tonight, sweetpea, don’t go in here for a little bit, alright? I don’t want you cutting up your feet.”

“Okay, Mama,” Dylan grinned up at the woman, holding Brahms a little tighter in his grasp, “I don’t want Brahms to get hurt either.”

“That’s very nice of you,” she cooed, taking his cheek between thumb and forefinger and pinching gently, “What a good little boy I have.”

Beaming at the praise, the mother-son duo didn’t even notice the panel in the wall rolling back and it’s spidery tendons creeping around the curve of the wall’s edge. Instead, they giggled over nothing as (Y/n) took her son’s small, fragile hands into her own and puppeteered him down the stairs. Doll boy Brahms left to sit on the landing of the house’s flight until somebody, anybody, picked him up.

Passing the portrait of another family was easy enough despite how creepy it seemed. They’d have to take it down, feeling like a guest in one’s own home was never appreciated. Then again, neither were pests in your walls, especially when you didn’t know about them yet.

~~

“Sleep tight, sweetie,” (Y/n) blew one final kiss to her son before closing the bedroom door to her own room.

“Wait,” Dylan whined, stopping his mother in the motion, “Brahms is still gone…”

The woman pursed her lips, “I know, I know. Just try to sleep without him for now, okay? We’ll probably find him tomorrow morning.”

Pouting, the boy kicked his legs out slightly before nodding solemnly, “Alright…”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” she smiled tenderly at the child before shutting the bedroom door genuinely. Turning to her other son, (Y/n) forced a much faker smile onto her lips, “And thank you for your upcoming sacrifice.”

“I never said it was a sacrifice,” Joey grumbled, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, “You’re just dramatic.”

“Incorrect,” (Y/n) turned her boy around with a few small pats on the shoulder, descending the stairs as a pair until they reached the comically large portrait of a family that wasn’t their own.

Her hand settled against the groove of the curvy golden frame, the other resting against the painted surface as she and her son lifted the painting from the wall.

“Shit,” Joey hissed, assisting his mother in her lifting, “this thing’s heavy. Really heavy.”

“Probably wasn’t meant to be taken off the wall,” the woman reasoned with her son, muscles straining in their removal of the ridiculously big painting.

As the woman handled the painting, deciding to let it rest on the floor. Her backbones screamed as she slowly bent at the knee to lower the portrait of the wealthy family. Knuckles and joints beginning to ache as she did so.

“Mom…?” Joey muttered, voice much smaller and more fragile than she was accustomed to.

“Yeah?” she gruffed, finally letting the painting down completely. Her hands came to press on her tailbone ever so gently, practically already feeling next morning’s soreness, “Something wrong?”

“Only if you think a human-sized hole in the wall is a problem?” the boy chuckled dryly.

“A what?”

Turning swiftly, (Y/n) was quickly faced with exactly what her eldest son had just described to her. A human-sized hole in their wall. Large enough to fit a six-foot person, maybe they’d have to duck, but the fact remained. Her hands reached out for the edges of where the frame met the actual wall. She turned her head both ways, it was dark but when her eyes adjusted she could tell that there was a clear path running through the wall. Pulling her head back out, (Y/n) nodded towards the hole.

“I’ll go first, you follow.”

“Fine.”

Stepping into the hole, she noted how disgustingly crisp the air felt, it reminded her of being trapped in the pantry. It made her question what ways were waiting to be opened up by creeping little fingers inside that quiet, confined space. Her skin bumped and hairs raised at the thought of whoever had made these pathways still being inside the house. But that was insane, not a chance that somebody could live inside the walls of a manor without anybody finding out. There’d be too many creeks.

And suddenly she was remembering being locked in the pantry again, when those loud creeks were cracking into her ears and her sons had still been asleep. Her sons had still been asleep.

(Y/n) stopped, glad that her son’s eyes, though faltering, had adjusted to the dark well enough so he wouldn’t bump into her, “You’re sure you didn’t lock me in the pantry, right? There’s no way you were sleepwalking or anything?”

It was silent, so silent that there was a deafening buzz drumming into her ears.

“Joey?”

Again, all she was met with was the droning, consistent blare of buzzing in her ears.

“Joseph, I’m not playing with you.”

Once more, she was hit with buzzing.

“Joseph,” (Y/n) turned around, not meeting the eyes of her sixteen-year-old bookworm son, but instead with a stained, smelly, thin white shirt.

It hung low enough to expose the oddly shiny slick of sweat glistening over a hairy chest. Her breath grew rapid, fear racing through her body as she shook her head.

Looking up, her gut was wrenched at the dirtied prosthetic mask angled as if the person behind it was looking down upon her, as though she were a frightened rabbit. Now that she thought about it, she was a frightened, shaking little rabbit.

“Where’s my son?” when there was no response, she tossed herself into his body, attempting to push past him, “Joseph?! Dylan?!”

The arms of the secret man in her walls wrapped around her, squeezing tightly. One arm abandoned her waist, scrambling for something a little ways behind them, when he found it, the arm raised above her head.

“Joseph?!” she sobbed weakly, beginning to choke on her own nasty cocktail of tears and mucus, “Dylan?!”

A thwack left no more screaming to be heard, the tall man dropping his makeshift club in favor of picking the woman up as though she were his cute, delicate bride. 

Brahms turned, heading back for the largest panel of the walls with (Y/n) dangling limply in his arms.

~~

Finally coming to, (Y/n) sputtered in a soft muffle, eyesight unclear and spotting in the corners. The spots and blotches eventually leveled and began to mop themselves into one concise picture of the kitchen. She let out a soft hiss, wrists stinging when she suddenly realized that there were ropes binding her arms back and to her chair. 

Head toppling to the left, a snoring Joey was also tied down with his glasses already having slipped from his nose. Crashed onto the floor and shattered, it reminded her of her youngest son’s room; her youngest son.

She looked over to her right, spotting an empty wicker chair immediately beside her and Dylan after that. Dylan was leaning far back, head resting on his shoulder and mouth having fallen open to let out quiet whimpers and whines as though even in Dreamland, he was frightful. 

Finally, she looked forward, squinting at the collection of chairs in front of her. They were chairs, obviously, nothing too interesting about that but it’s what was in the chairs that alarmed her. Pillows conjoined together by stolen articles of clothing ranging from Joey’s shirt to her favorite dress and skirt and Dylan’s sweatshirt. Between her pillow copy and Dylan’s was the Brahms doll; staring ahead silently. Watching. Always watching.

A high-pitched, airy, childlike voice rang in her ear, it didn’t match the fully grown man standing behind Dylan. Brahms, the real Brahms, pat the boy’s blond hair before ruffling Joey’s untamed dark tresses, “Little brother… big brother…” he moved behind (Y/n), his hands settling on her shoulders before his mask moved to press it’s  cold, hard lips against the goosebumped, terrified skin of her neck, “Mommy…”

Sitting down in the empty chair, Brahms smiled beneath his mask, staring into the dead, glassy eyes of his doll before letting his voice take on the deeper octave more appropriate of an adult.

“Daddy…”

[nerdified]

Procedural Notes: Patient #3 (FKA Hugo Jensen)

NOTE: [At the time of this audio recording, Mr. Hugo Jensen (NKA Norville Nerdlinger) has just begun the process, and is restrained. The identity of the speaker is unknown. This transcript is reproduced here in order to assist with identification of this man, who has since disappeared, absconding with an undisclosed amount of the process agonist. Efforts to locate him have, to date, been fruitless. If anyone knows anything about this man or his whereabouts, please report the information to Central Command.]

[BEGIN TRANSCRIPT]

Quiet, now. It’s no use struggling.

I’m not going to hurt you. Quite the opposite.

I see that look in your eyes, like you don’t think I could hurt you. You’re probably right. I’m not much of a fighter. But I know what you think of me, and other guys like me. I’ve been listening to you on the phone, you know. Hacked your telecommunications. What was it that you called me, on that call with the client yesterday?

Oh, yes, I remember. A walking pocket protector. I’ll admit, that was a new one for me. I’ve had “pencil-neck” and “four-eyes” and the good old-fashioned “nerd” lobbed at me before, but “walking pocket-protector”… Heck, it’s got a little poetry to it!

Shh. I know, it feels strange. It’s a little unsettling, at first, I’ll agree. But you’ll get used to it. It’ll go easier for you if you just relax and quit fighting it. In time, you’ll even begin to like it.

I’m sorry about the gag. Unfortunately, it’s just the beginning of the process, so I have to leave it in for…twenty-three more minutes, at least, if my calculations are correct.

Ha! Who am I kidding – my calculations are always correct.

I can see from your eyes that you hate my guts right now. That, too, will change.

You see, what’s about to happen to you isn’t out of the ordinary, or even very noteworthy. As far as I can tell, it happens to a lot of guys, especially those that zip through their twenties and then hit that speed bump called thirty, bank accounts empty and career opportunities shot. Those of us who didn’t win the genetic lottery couldn’t get by just on our looks and our charisma, like you did.

I remember how it felt when I was in high school, and guys like you were all A+ students and perfect jocks, too… gosh, it’s enough to make me swear.

But no. You couldn’t leave well enough alone. You couldn’t just be a jock, be good at sports, and leave the academics to the rest of us. We didn’t ask for much, you know. We just wanted to be left alone in our science labs, and in our tutorials, in our lives.

There's no escaping guys like you. You’re everywhere, and you’re spreading. For a time, we ignored it. Figured it was some kind of anomaly. But it wasn’t – it was a trend. And despite the fact that we didn’t see it coming, we are now prepared for its end.

Like I mentioned – it won’t surprise most people to see you change. Maybe a few of your close friends will worry about you. Express some concern. But by that point, you’ll already have accepted your new self. You’ll be able to say “This is just who I am,” and it’ll be their choice how to proceed. That’s a side benefit, by the way, of the process. You get to find out who your real friends are – and, spoiler alert: they’re not exactly big football fans.

You have to be prepared for some major shake-up in your life, though. The good thing about the process is that it won’t faze you in the slightest. Everything will be gee-whiz gosh-darn super-duper spiffy keen neat-o, if anyone asks, and for you, it will be.

Now, I know those terms are a little outdated. We’ve had to make a bit of an adjustment to the process in your case. The earlier version wasn’t quite strong enough for you, so we’ve had to over-compensate in a few directions. You won’t just be a little bit nerdy, you know, a couple of odd quirks, some new hobbies. For example, Derek – well, that’s his dead name, he goes by Derwood now – Derwood can sometimes get by in normal society. He even kept a few of his old friends. He’s just more into things like superhero movies, and he’s left behind all knowledge or passion for sports. I think I even saw him reading a comic book the other day, come to think of it.

But that’s not going to be you. Oh, sure, you might develop a taste for superhero movies, but if you do, it won’t just be a passing interest. You’ll become a rabid fan. I believe…obsessive…is the operative word, in fact. Yes, you see, that earlier version of the process would have worn off, and you’d have been back to your old self in no time, which would wreak havoc on your psyche, not to mention put our entire operation in jeopardy. We can’t have that.

It looks like some time has passed, but not quite enough for me to remove the gag yet. Do you feel your perfect white teeth shifting around in your gums, almost impatiently? Nod once for yes.

You don’t have to nod at all, not if you don’t want to. I don’t need you to confirm for me what I can already see happening in your eyes. Speaking of your eyes – how’s your vision? I can see you starting to squint every now and then. Trying to see past that blur? Don’t worry. I’ve already got your glasses, right here, for when it gets too bad for you to see. Talk about your Coke-bottle lenses - my calculations again predict that you’ll settle somewhere around…hm…negative six diopters, which is even worse than mine.

To put it simply: you won’t even be able to read the big E on the eye chart without your glasses on.

I know, you’ve never been to the optometrist in your life. You never needed to. And don’t think about getting contact lenses, either. I mean, go ahead and try, if you really want to embarrass yourself.

Oh, I can see it now: timid, nerdy little guy like you, shuffling into the doctor’s office – you say you want to get contact lenses, and they get you in the back for a fitting. They show you how to do it, you know, hold your eyelids apart and then just plop the lens on there. But you have to do it three times before they’ll let you leave with them, and you won’t even be able to get one in, because you’ll keep blinking it out. I wish I could be there to see it, honestly – you, all frustrated, trying to swear, but only able to say things like “Fudge!” and “Gosh darn it!”

It’ll be so beautiful. I’m getting teary just thinking about it.

I’m glad you’re starting to settle down a bit. Let me know when you need your glasses. Maybe while we wait, I’ll get started on your hair. That trendy fade has got to go, and so does that scruff on your face. At the start, you’ll have to shave a lot, but as the process continues, you’ll start producing more of a 5-alpha reductase enzyme. This will convert your testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, which will actually miniaturize your follicles. Kind of like using a shrink ray on them! Oh, and there will be no taking of inhibitors, like finasteride or anything like that – our process contains a potent agonist, with an affinity of 0.25 to 0.5 nM for the human androgen receptor.

It’s all very scientific, I assure you. And with the miniaturization of your follicles, your sebaceous glands will begin to over-produce sebum, which results in – you guessed it! Acne. Pimples. Zits. I know you’ve never had to deal with that before, so I’m just preparing you for it now. Pizza-face, I think the popular nickname is. Get ready for a lot of that.

Let’s see…what else can I tell you.... Gosh, this is kind of like the orientation for a new job, isn’t it? Ah, yes. I know. Speaking of jobs...

Yeah, this is the tough part. It’s all very natural, I assure you. Just like with your friends, your co-workers will come to see you in a different way. I know you have quite a few cutthroat underlings who would eat one another alive to get your corner office, and the moment they sense you’re not as much of a threat as you used to be, they’ll swarm.

I give it two weeks, tops, until you’re gone. If you choose that road. Or you could make it much easier on yourself and resign. You won’t be financially ruined – not with all that new information surging through your brain – you’ll be an asset to the right company, the right department. Maybe IT will take you. Or accounting. Maybe you won’t work corporate. Maybe you’ll work retail.

God, that’s cruel even for me. I wouldn’t wish retail on anyone, even a jerk like you. But there’s no telling what could happen. For all I know, once the process has completed, you could end up one of those Geek Squad guys at Best Buy! Have you seen the uniform they have to wear? It’s company-mandated dress code. You’ve seen them, haven’t you? White, short-sleeve, button-down shirt. Black polyester clip-on necktie; black, pleated trousers; black lace-up shoes…and white socks. Yes, white socks, kept completely spotless and bright. All this is enforced, too, with routine inspections, to make sure you’re being compliant!

You see, there’s really an infinity of possibilities for you. If anything, this is a new chance for you – a fresh start. I know it feels scary, all this change. But change is the only constant. Everything is always in flux. Heck, every seven years, your entire body regenerates – every cell is new and different, so why shouldn’t your personality and identity change, too?

It’s logical, isn’t it? Nod once for yes.

Good! You’re starting to come around, aren’t you? Like I said, it won’t be so bad if you just accept it. If you don’t fight it. That sudden urge to position your tongue up behind your teeth when you say ess. Eth. Eth. How your voice keeps breaking, and in the most unfortunate ways, and at the most unfortunate times – all of this is being etched into your muscle memory as I speak to you.

There isn’t much longer now until I can remove your gag, and I can see that the physical alterations are beginning. Too bad all that hard work at the gym all these years is so easily eroded by our process, but then, those muscles were mostly for show, weren’t they? Well, no longer. It isn’t exactly sarcopenia, but it’s close. You’ll be at least one and a half, possibly two, standard deviations below the relevant population mean, and no amount of exercise will restore your former abilities.

Yes, the ropes are looser now, because you’re much smaller. Rapid onset muscle deterioration. You could struggle out of them. Maybe you could even escape. You could try. But there’s no way you’d make it very far without your glasses. Who would believe you, anyway? What would you even say?

Like I said, you might as well give in. It’s not so bad, once you get used to it. And you’ll have me. I’ll be with you for the whole beginning process, so you can acclimate to your newly nerdy life. You won’t be able to continue living in that luxe apartment you’ve got – no, you’ll be moving into a nice little basement apartment I’ve got fixed up for you, in the suburbs outside the city. The landlords have just got it refurbished, with some nice wood paneling, and there’s a spare twin bed that should be just your size! There’s also tons of room on the walls to put up all your posters. You won’t need much room for anything else, really. You definitely won’t be needing that enormous closet of tailored, fitted button-down shirts, or all those sneakers, definitely not those expensive Under Armour boxer-briefs. What a waste. No, the new you is way more frugal with his money, seeing as he’s paid so little of it. The new you doesn’t even think that much about clothes, or fashion.

This must be a lot to handle. Maybe I should have a little mercy on you.

Tell you what. I’ll let you choose your underwear. How’s that, pal? That make you feel any better? Nod once for yes.

See, I’m not that bad. That’s right. So, here. You can choose…Hanes, or Fruit of the Loom?

Oh, I see. You thought I meant what kind of underwear. Haha, no. You’ll be wearing tighty-whities from now on. Sorry, them’s the rules. Besides, you won’t need much support…down there, if you catch my drift!

Don’t look so horrified. You won’t even notice that it’s gone. Mostly. You’ll still have some length, just, you know, not a lot. You won’t be able to call it a “cock” or a “dick” ever again, either. Oh, look how cute – you’re blushing just hearing me say it! You might call it something else, like your ding-a-ling, or your wiener.

Okay, okay, I can tell you’re getting embarrassed, you’ve gone all red and blotchy in your cheeks. We don’t have to talk about the … “no-no place” anymore, little buddy.

All right. Here’s your glasses. I’ll just set them on your nose, for you…there. Wow, they sure do make your eyes look tiny!

I can tell you’re getting near to the end of the process, and I’m curious to see how big your two front teeth have gotten. From that bump in your upper lip…gosh, it looks like you might be giving Bugs Bunny a run for his money!

You’ve really been behaving better, so I’ll bring you a mirror, okay? So you can see for yourself. I must say, it’s already quite the improvement. I wasn’t expecting your hair to turn so red, or get so curly. Maybe if you can’t get a job at Best Buy, you could run away and join the circus as a clown!

I’m just horsing around with you, pal. Don’t pass out on me. You promise not to scream? I hate it when they scream. Nod once for yes.

You’re a little excited, aren’t you? It’s okay. You can tell me. I bet you get a little more excitable than you used to. Maybe you even get a little clumsy, with the loss of all that hand-eye coordination. Trip over your own two feet and go sprawling.

But who knows. There’s so much potential.

And you’re just the beginning, too. Let’s just say that my proposal for introducing you to the process wasn’t well-received by Central. What do they know? They have this power, and they don’t use it. Well, you snooze, you lose, by golly! If you have a gift, you use it, otherwise it goes to waste.

Anyway. Enough of the supervillain speech. You don’t need to know anything more. It’ll probably be wiped out in the massive crush of nerdy trivia about Star Trek and Star Wars that’s going to download into your brain soon, anyway.

So, this is it. Are you ready to see? Nod once for yes, and I’ll pull the cloth off this mirror here.

Alrighty, dweeb, you asked for it. Here goes.

Say salutations to the new you!

[END TRANSCRIPT]