#Automatic Paper Roll Wrapping Machine

[amostimprobabledream]

The Sweetest Violence (Homelander x Reader)

Just a lil drabble, also available on Ao3! https://archiveofourown.org/works/57696463

"Sssh..." Blood. So much blood. The fetid stink of it is everywhere. It fills up your nostrils and chokes up your senses. It's thick and sticky in your hair, hot and drying in stiff patches on your skin. You feel like you could take a hundred showers, soak in the bath for hours and hours and it still wouldn't get rid of the sensation of blood clinging to your flesh. Homelander doesn't seem to notice or care about the blood. He carries you easily, clasped to is chest, his own face splashed with blood, dark patches of it staining his blonde hair. The brilliant blue of his eyes seems to burn through a streaky veil of scarlet, made all the more vivid by the contrast. "It's all right," he whispers to you as he walks, his soothing tone at odds with the gore-soaked state of him. "It's okay now. Ssh. You must've been scared, huh?" Yes. You were. The people who took you saw you as nothing more than an object, a tool with which they could use against Homelander. You could tell by the impersonal way they handled you, the way they barley looked at you and didn't bat an eyelid at your screams and shouts. That scared you more than anything, the dead, cold looks in their eyes, like you were trying to communicate with machines, not people. If they could be so indifferent to your fear and confusion, what would they care about doing more permanent damage?

So, when you heard it - the rush of air and signature boom of one of Homelander's signature landings, those dramatic superhero drops that signify I am here, it was like divine intervention. The relief that hit you was like no high you'd ever experienced before, the way you imagine a shipwreck survivor must feel when they finally see the boat that's come to save them after being stranded in the brutal, unforgiving seas. That was, until Homelander got to work. Bodies. Ripped apart like paper. Heads not rolling but exploding like watermelons struck by a bat. Unholy shrieks of horror and agony drowned out in wet gurgles of blood. Eyes shining like warning lights in the gloom - inhuman, like a monster from a nightmare. You could only curl up as best you could and close your eyes to the carnage, a sob tangled in your throat, but you couldn't quite drown out the screaming and your imagination supplied you plenty of images that rivalled the horror of what was happening.

When Homelander calmly melted the chains on you and hoisted you up into his arms, you briefly wondered if you were about to die too - even though he'd come to rescue you. Your mind  is in a haze -a long time ago, somebody had explained to you the difference between horror and terror, and you felt it keenly now. You're not screaming or thrashing to escape, or outwardly freaking out at all. Instead, you feel like you've been plunged into a pool of still, frigid water and simply wait under the surface, unwilling to expend any energy into swimming up to the surface and peering out at whatever may lay above. You retreat into numbness, curiously swamped with cold despite how hot Homelander is. Your fingers curl into the fabric of his suit, your breath coming out in sharp little pants. Homelander can hear the frantic pounding of your heart and how you breathe like there isn't enough air, but he assumes that it's from the fear of being kidnapped, of men in dark clothes and with dead eyes. It probably hasn't even crossed your mind that the one who has driven you to this heightened state of fear is him. And you don't want him to think it, so you nuzzle deeper into him, you can't seem to stop hyperventilating no matter how you try. "S'okay," Homelander shushes you, misunderstanding your trembling, a gloved hand petting your hair like he's trying to soothe a skittish animal. He's so monstrously strong he can hold you, a grown woman, easily to his body with just one arm, and you automatically wrap your legs around him, a gesture you've done many times before, but never in this context. He's being so gentle with you that it's hard to believe you just witnessed a man being torn in half by Homelander's bare hands. "You're safe. I've got you." Yes, he does. You're locked in his powerful embrace like a rabbit in the jaws of a wolf. You bury your face in his chest to hide your expression as well as seeking comfort - it seems perverse to look for it from a man soaked in blood, but what else can you do? You let yourself be lulled into a calmer state, his warmth seeping into you and the slow, rhythmic motions of his hand in your hair weirdly comforting.

But you don't miss the gravel, the hint of threat in his voice when he speaks again. You know it's not directed at you, not his sweetheart, but you still feel a shiver lick down your spine as he speaks; "No one will ever take you away from me."

[miscfandomwrites]

A/N: I did want this to be longer yet I don't have the motivation to finish it, I'm honestly just exhausted. BUT I have like ten more chapters planned for this...and the next one is going to be extra special for all my long time followers. If you would like to be on the tag list please let me know.

Pairings: Natasha Romanoff x Mom! Avenger! Reader

Warnings: Language, mention of bodies

Word Count: Little over 1k

Located: Marvel > Avengers > Natasha Romanoff

Tagging: @tyler-t0t

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”  I snapped at Natasha into the comms as I landed and rolled onto the ground, running after her into the forest. 

Branches and tree limbs smacked me as I ran between the trees, dodging the odd fallen log and boulders that laid in my path. 

Thank god my I had decided to get some good boots, because otherwise I probably would’ve lost an ankle tripping over some of these tree roots, 

Up ahead I could see the trees thinning out, signaling the start of the clearing, where the Hydra base was located. 

Once I ran into the clearing I halted, skidding to a stop in front of a fence as I watched Natasha run into the building. 

“Natasha, wait!” I yelled out, and I could see the flash of red hair pause, then turn and keep running. I silently cursed her out as I climbed over the fence, getting caught in some barbed wire and having to untangle myself, and ran after her, finally being able to follow her more clearly now that she was in front of me. 

I kept running after her, passing hallways and endless rooms filled with who-knows what, and having to jump over the occasional body or debris that laid across our path. She stopped at what seemed to be an unmarked door, and I finally was able to catch up with her, pausing to catch my breath. 

“Nat, what-” 

“This is the room where you and Bucky were, right?” She asked me, pulling open the door that led into the warehouse.

I nodded at her, and she started across the building, dodging the debris and bodies like, well, a ballerina. 

I was quick to pursue, taking a more direct path and getting there just as she got onto the last landing that led into the office. We entered, seeing the book shelves and chairs scattered about, along with a mass of wires coming out of the desk which was more than unusual. 

Why hadn’t I noticed that earlier?

Natasha easily lifted the top of the desk off, tossing scattered papers to the floor along with a rather ugly table lamp, revealing several tubes and mechanical things which I could hardly make sense of. There were a bunch of gears rotating and causing a large flip timer to count down in the middle. 

“These are mechanical clocks, we can’t fully stop them but we can add time, I need something sticky-and hurry!” Natasha told me as she started messing with some of the wires, yanking on a few that made the timer go slower, but it still kept ticking. 

A desk bomb? 

I dug through my kit, checking pockets and flaps, before I found something I knew I probably had: Candy. 

This in particular was some twizzlers, wrapped tight in a plastic ziplock to keep them from going stale. Lilith brought out a sweet tooth in me sometimes and it was useful to have candy on hand, and especially in this case apparently. 

I handed Natasha the bag to which she looked at quizzically for a few seconds before ripping it open and shoving the candy between some rather large gears of the machine. 

“Why can’t we just stop it?” 

“Failsafe, if we stop it a secondary timer starts and usually that has less than fifteen seconds before it detonates. Besides, if we tamper with the secondary gears, it will trigger automatically.” 

“Right, so in case it was being tampered with-”

“We’d be fine minced meat.” 

I nodded at her as we saw the clock slow down, going from seconds to minutes. 

“That gives us another twenty minutes at least, so we have almost half an hour to get any information we can from here. We should’ve made that a priority but we got too caught up with fighting to realize it.” Natasha said with a sigh, her shoulders still full of tension that I could almost feel. 

“What are we looking for?” I asked as I looked around the room, particularly in the top corners, expecting cameras or some other sort of tracking element. 

“Barnes mentioned that he wasn’t actually here, as if he was a hologram, so we need to look for any sort of device that can project images like that.” 

I started pulling out some books from a shelf that was around shoulder-height from me, taking extra care to look at the books themselves until I finally found something that seemed weird. 

Natasha was on the other side, checking posters and various picture frames, and I turned to her just in time to see her take a picture frame off the wall, exposing a square hole behind it with some sort of camera behind it. 

“Found one, there should be more,” 

“Well, this book is surprisingly hollow, and I can’t open it.” I mentioned, resorting to pulling out my knife to wedge between the ‘pages’ and break it open. Inside there was a burner phone, covered with dust and had no sd card. 

“That looks important, we’ll take that.” She nodded towards it, grabbing an empty duffle bag from outside the room and tossing the camera she found into it, then grabbing the phone I found. 

Our hands brushed just slightly, but it was enough to send shockwaves through my body, making the back of my neck hurt. 

Weird. 

We kept digging through the books, picture frames, anything that looked as if it could disguise a camera or some sort of projector. 

We ended up with seventeen different cameras, four different projectors, and two more phones missing an sd card. An odd collection of things, but ultimately it would help us in the long run. 

We checked the timer, and seeing as only had less than ten minutes left we high-tailed it out of the building, the bag strapped to my back and following Nat through the corridors, ducking around pipes and sharp turns that had me stumbling but she cleared with ease. 

Fuckin’ Ballerenas. 

We finally made it outside, the bomb going off just as we learned the treeline and into the woods, and Natasha slowed down beside me, yelling at me to run, there’s a secondary! 

I barely had time to glance her way before she disappeared from view, running behind me. I kept going for what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes. 

I skidded to a stop in front of a small lake, dropping the bag and turning, expecting to see Natasha right behind me. 

She wasn’t there. 

[dagonggou]

Profile Wrapping Machine: A Comprehensive Overview

A profile wrapping machine is a specialized piece of equipment used in various industries, particularly in the production of wood, plastics, and composite materials. These machines are designed to apply a veneer, laminate, or decorative film to the surface of profiles, which are typically shapes like edges, mouldings, and trim pieces. This process is essential for enhancing the appearance of products, providing surface protection, and adding unique texture and finishes.

The profile wrapping machine uses a combination of mechanical, thermal, and adhesive systems to wrap a material, often a paper, PVC, or melamine, around a workpiece. These machines are widely used in the woodworking, furniture, and door manufacturing industries, as well as in the production of automotive trim and various other consumer goods. The result is a seamless, high-quality finish that improves both the durability and aesthetic of the product.

Key Features of Profile Wrapping Machines

Profile wrapping machines are built to handle a variety of tasks, and their design is optimized for both precision and speed. Some of the key features include:

Feeding System: The feeding system is the mechanism that moves the profile through the machine. This system is designed to ensure smooth and consistent movement, preventing misalignment or damage to the workpiece. It includes rollers, belts, or conveyors that hold and transport the profiles.

Adhesive Application: One of the core features of the profile wrapping machine is the adhesive application system. Adhesive is applied to the workpiece surface to bond the wrapping material to it. The adhesive can be applied in different ways, such as by roller coating, spray, or direct application. The precise application of adhesive is critical to achieving a smooth, consistent finish.

Wrapping Mechanism: The wrapping unit is responsible for applying the film or veneer to the profile. This can be done with different techniques, including manual and automatic systems, depending on the machine. In automated systems, the material is fed from a roll, ensuring a continuous wrap without interruptions. The wrapping process should ensure that the material is applied tightly, without wrinkles or gaps, and that it adheres firmly to the profile.

Drying System: After the adhesive is applied, the profile may need to pass through a drying system to ensure that the adhesive cures properly. Some machines incorporate infrared or hot air drying to speed up the process and improve bonding efficiency.

Trimming and Cutting: Once the wrapping is complete, the profile may be trimmed to remove any excess material. This ensures that the wrapping fits the profile perfectly. Trimming units are incorporated into the machine, using rotating knives or cutting blades to ensure precise cuts.

Control Panel: Modern profile wrapping machines often come with an advanced control panel that allows operators to set various parameters, such as speed, adhesive application, temperature settings, and the type of wrapping material. This gives operators flexibility in adjusting the machine for different types of profiles and materials.

Roller and Pressure Units: To ensure proper adhesion, profile wrapping machines use rollers or pressure units that apply uniform pressure to the wrapped material. This helps eliminate air bubbles and ensures that the wrapping adheres evenly across the surface.

Material Options: Profile wrapping machines can be used with a wide range of materials, including paper, PVC, melamine, wood veneer, aluminum, and other decorative films. This gives manufacturers flexibility in choosing the material that best suits the desired finish and function.

[sadik165]

Automatic Cigarette Making Machines: A Complete Guide

Introduction

According to Peter Drucker, efficiency outperforms what is currently being done. This quote perfectly captures the essence of automatic cigarette making machines in china, a revolutionary advancement in cigarette manufacturing. Whether for personal use or large-scale production, these machines have changed how cigarettes are produced, offering convenience, speed, and cost efficiency. With the rising demand for custom-made cigarettes, cigarette making machines for sale have become a hot commodity in the industry. This guide will walk you through how these machines work, their benefits, and what to consider when choosing one.

How Automatic Cigarette Making Machines Work

1. Understanding the Basic Mechanism

Automatic cigarette making machines streamline the process of cigarette production by automating the rolling, filling, and packaging process. Unlike manual rolling, these machines ensure cigarette size, weight, and quality consistency.

The primary components of a high-speed cigarette making machine include:

Tobacco feeding system: Ensures a steady supply of tobacco.

Paper rolling unit: Wraps the tobacco in cigarette paper.

Filter attachment system: Places a filter at one end for a finished cigarette.

Cutting and packing module: Cuts the cigarette to the required length and packages them.

2. High-Speed Cigarette Making Equipment

For commercial use, high-speed cigarette making equipment like the m2500 cigarette making machines in uae can produce thousands of cigarettes per hour. These machines are ideal for large-scale manufacturing and ensure uniformity in production.

Advantages of Automatic Cigarette Rolling Machines

1. Cost-Effective Production

Purchasing cigarette rolling equipment can significantly reduce the cost per cigarette compared to store-bought alternatives. The initial investment pays off quickly due to reduced production costs.

2. Customization

With an automatic cigarette rolling machine in pakistan, users can select their preferred tobacco blend, rolling paper type, and filter size, providing a personalized smoking experience.

3. Efficiency and Speed

Machines like the M2500 cigarette making machines are designed for rapid production, making them ideal for businesses looking to produce high volumes in a short time.

4. Consistency and Quality Control

Unlike manual rolling, these machines ensure each cigarette maintains the same quality, preventing variations that can impact taste and burn rate.

Choosing the Right Cigarette Manufacturing Machinery

When looking for cigarette manufacturing machinery, consider the following:

Production Volume: Are you making cigarettes for personal use or commercial purposes?

Speed and Efficiency: High-speed models can increase productivity significantly.

Customization Features: Some machines offer advanced settings for filter length, paper thickness, and tobacco blend.

Durability and Maintenance: Opt for a machine with easy maintenance and durable parts to ensure longevity.

Budget: Compare prices and choose a machine that offers the best value for money.

Final Thoughts

We specialize in providing the best cigarette making machines for businesses and individuals worldwide. Our machines are known for their durability, high performance, and ease of use. We proudly export to countries including Iran, UAE, Pakistan, China, and Russia, ensuring global availability and top-tier service. If you are looking for a reliable and efficient machine, contact us today to find the perfect solution for your needs!

[ippnoida]

Valmet to supply high-capacity winder to Wuzhou Special Paper in China

Valmet will supply an OptiWin Drum two-drum base winder to Wuzhou Special Paper’s paper machine PM 19 in China. The main target of the investment is to have one winder to handle the high quality and capacity targets of the high-speed paper machine. The winder includes Valmet Perforating Splicer, a new innovation to support the fast parent roll change. The start-up of the winder is scheduled for 2025.

The order is included in Valmet's orders received of the second quarter 2024. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

“Valmet winders are equipped with technologies necessary for high-speed printing paper machines. Also, the collaboration between Valmet and Wuzhou has been good in the past years: Valmet has actively participated in Wuzhou’s projects and always tried to respond to our needs. We are willing to take this opportunity to establish a long-term cooperation,” says Zhang Yanchen, deputy general manager, Wuzhou Special Paper.

“Wuzhou Special Paper was searching for a supplier capable of providing a single winder solution. Our OptiWin Drum two-drum base winder together with the new Valmet Perforating Splicer solution helps them reach their long-term investment targets,” says Ze Fan, vice-president, Capital Sales, China, Valmet.

Delivery’s technical information

Valmet’s delivery will include an OptiWin Drum two-drum base winder with automatic functions such as set change with core and tail gluing and slitter positioning. To meet the high-capacity targets reliably with only one winder, it is additionally equipped with Valmet Perforating Splicer which will improve capacity with fast parent roll change. The delivery will include spare parts packages and Valmet Industrial Internet solutions with connectivity.

The winder will handle parent rolls with a width of 8,210 mm at a design speed of 3,000 m/min and a daily design capacity of 830 tonnes. The PM 19 produces uncoated woodfree grades with a design basis weight from 55 to 100 g/m2.

Founded in 2008, Wuzhou Special Paper Group in Quzhou City, China, is mainly engaged in the R&D, production and sales of special paper. The offering includes food wrapping paper, glassine paper, tracing paper, transfer printing paper and special fine paper. The company is one of China’s largest manufacturers of glassine paper and tracing paper.

[marsons-group]

The Evolution of Cigarette Manufacturing Machines: Revolutionizing Production

Cigarette manufacturing machines have played a pivotal role in the tobacco industry's evolution, transforming the way cigarettes are produced on a large scale. These sophisticated devices have streamlined processes, increased efficiency, and enhanced the consistency of cigarette production.

The emergence of cigarette manufacturing machines revolutionized the industry by automating what was once a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. These machines, specifically designed for the efficient production of cigarettes, have become the backbone of large-scale tobacco manufacturing facilities worldwide.

Evolution of Cigarette Manufacturing Machines

Early cigarette manufacturing involved manual labor, with workers rolling and packing cigarettes by hand. However, the introduction of the first-generation cigarette manufacturing machines marked a significant turning point. These machines automated certain stages of production, such as tobacco cutting, rolling, and filter attachment.

As technology advanced, so did these machines. Modern cigarette manufacturing machines are highly sophisticated and computer-controlled, capable of handling various aspects of production with precision and speed. They are equipped with advanced mechanisms for tobacco processing, paper rolling, filter insertion, and packaging, ensuring consistent quality and output.

Key Components and Functions

Cigarette manufacturing machine comprise several essential components, each serving a specific function in the production process:

Tobacco Processing Unit: This unit processes raw tobacco leaves into the fine-cut blend used in cigarettes. It involves tasks such as conditioning, cutting, and blending to achieve the desired tobacco mix.

Cigarette Rolling Mechanism: Automated rollers create the cylindrical shape of the cigarettes by tightly wrapping the tobacco blend with paper, ensuring uniformity in size and density.

Filter Insertion System: Filters are automatically added to the cigarettes to meet varying consumer preferences for strength and taste.

Packaging Module: Once the cigarettes are manufactured, the machines facilitate the packaging process, which includes grouping, cartoning, and wrapping the cigarettes for distribution.

Impact on the Industry

The introduction of cigarette manufacturing machines has brought about several notable changes within the industry:

Increased Efficiency: These machines have significantly increased production rates, allowing for higher output levels compared to manual methods.

Consistency in Quality: Automation ensures uniformity in the size, weight, and construction of cigarettes, maintaining consistent quality standards.

Reduced Labor Intensity: With automated processes, the need for manual labor has decreased, leading to cost savings and increased workplace safety.

In conclusion, cigarette manufacturing machines have undergone remarkable advancements, reshaping the tobacco industry's landscape. Their evolution has propelled the industry forward by enhancing production efficiency, ensuring product consistency, and meeting the demands of a competitive market. As technology continues to evolve, these machines will likely undergo further refinements, continuing to play a crucial role in cigarette production.

[textilesmachine]

Krishna Engineering Works dealing on manufacturing and exporting Roll Wrapping Machine. A genuine specialized supplier of Roll Wrapping Machine, Coil Wrapping. Our machines are designed with a wide range of quality for long lasting heavy duty process, specially for cutting in different sizes from 12 mm to 1000 mm. Also, we manufacturing of all types of Technical Textile Machinery. Stretch Film is an elastic polyethylene film, also known as Pallet Stretch Film. Fabric Roll Wrapping Machine is extensively used for packing & securing loads stacked in pallets & gives extensive protection from dust & rain.

[baobikhangloi]

What is large format PE film, technology to produce large format PE film? Large format PE film is the main material to cut out to make large plastic bags, in which the main size is the width of the mouth of the bag, and the length can be up to several hundred meters because it is packed in rolls. This PE is extremely convenient when used as a greenhouse film, lake lining, concrete floor covering or agricultural mulch. Large format PE film is made by melting virgin plastic at a suitable temperature, then blowing it up into air bubbles and then folding it to form a film with the correct width as required and wrapped in a paper or plastic core to Maximize space saving. The larger the film size, the larger the machine must also have a blown head and the higher the body height, which can be up to 30 meters. Technical factors, technology and skill level of workers operating the machine. also very strict requirements to be able to ensure the quality of the product. High applicability of PE film in the packaging industry Packaging made from PE (polyethylene) plastic has excellent properties such as high strength and good bearing capacity, and at the same time is flexible and flexible. In addition, it also prevents water, does not allow air to pass through, and has clarity. Transparent to clearly see the product inside. Therefore, PE film or large format PE film is very popular in the packaging industry, especially in the heavy industry or for export. PE film, in addition to being cut to make bags in a semi-automatic method, can also be used for large automatic presses and packaging machines or left in rolls when used for spreading, lining, and roofing surfaces with large area. as big as greenhouses, mushroom growing houses, shrimp ponds..... Products of plastic film, large format PE film of Khang Loi company Plastic film products, plastic bags, plastic bags of Khang Loi Packaging Company are manufactured 100% from primary plastic particles, ensuring the transparent and supple characteristics of the product and safe for food. completely meet the strictest export standards to the US or European countries. Besides, if it is necessary to add additives to create color, or ensure static electricity, resistance or other special requirements, with a team of technicians and skilled workers with many years of experience in the field. In the packaging industry, we are completely confident that we can meet all the requirements of our customers. Large production capacity, flexible shipping and payment methods as well as commitment to quality are also one of the reasons that customers trust and choose Khang Loi to become a supplier of packaging products. large format for their business activities. Companies wishing to cooperate or want to know more details about products, please contact us for the best preferential price. Thank you very much!

https://www.tuiniloncolon.com/2020/02/mang-nhua-mang-pe-kho-lon.html

[chubbyreaderchan]

Review | Seto Kaiba x youtuber!Reader

Warning: Female Reader

Kaiba bit his lip, watching the fairly popular video. A young woman was reviewing quite a few different tech products. One of them happened to be his newest duel disk.

He was pissed.

He wasn't sure if it was her she was pissed at or the production company he employed but this video was tarnishing his reputation. Seto thought about forcing her to take it down but that would only make people think he did it. It would also hurt his sales.

It wasn't as if it was her fault that upon opening the box it fell apart and wouldn't even turn on. He picked up his phone, calling to see if the manufacturer had found out anything about that particular batch.

It was why it went viral. People where saying Kaiba was cheapening his products.

Scamming people.

"Well?" he said roughly into the blue Kaiba brand cell phone.

"S-Sir! It does look as if that batch was dropped off of the pallet before shipping." A nervous voice said.

Kaiba huffed. "Did they get fired?!"

"Y-yes sir,"

"Good. Also, I need a new duel disk sent to my office in the colors of that woman's channel colors..." Kaiba responded coolly.

He had a plan.

"Sir?"

"You heard me. It better be on my desk by tomorrow,"

Seto pressed the end button aggressively. The next step he took was began an email to the young woman. Hopefully this would be good press.

--

"Hey, guys!" (Y/n) said into a camera as she walked. "You won't believe where I am! I am in Domino City! This is like a gamer's Disney!"

She spun happily to show the city. "I have a big surprise as to why I'm here too!" She continued her introduction, filming her day up until she was standing in front of the original Kaiba Corp building.

"Here we are! The big surprise! The real Seto Kaiba saw my video on the duel disk. He wanted to be able to explain the whole situation! I even got a special key badge for today," She grinned and pushed through the crystal glass doors.

Putting the camera at her hip, she stopped at the security desk explaining why she was there. They were pointed to a special blueish chrome elevator. She walked over, scanning her badge. It pinged. The doors opened smoothly, she stepped in carefully. It made her feel a bit claustrophobic for a moment that was until she turned around to see how beautiful the lobby was. The shaft of the elevator was all glass inside, encased by a clear waterfall. The building had cubicles and workers but large statues of different duel monsters filled the center. They were disturbingly realistic. As if that giant blue eyes white dragon could fly off any second. She couldn't resist filming her trip up.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the elevator opened to his floor. Three doors, a desk with a secretary... Or was he security? Both? He looked up at her with a grumpy look, noticing the camera.

"So you must be her." He crossed his large arms. "Mr. Kaiba is waiting."

(Y/n) swallowed hard, nervous suddenly. It wasn't her first celebrity she's met. At least gamer celebs. She even met Yugi Moto once at a convention they were both guests at. But they had all been good.

Seto Kaiba's reputation really wasn't the best.

She stepped forward, knocking on the large doors at the end of the short hallway. The way it looked, his office must take 1/3 of the floor.

They opened automatically, there sat the handsome young CEO. A big box with blue wrapping paper and a silver ribbon sat on the desk.

"Sit." He nodded towards a blue chair across from him, sewn in a blue velvet.

He really knew themeing.

"Where do you want to set up the camera?" He asked coolly, looking her over.

He could admit she was... Cute.

She had appeal. Maybe he could use her as a face for Kaiba tech? Interesting.

"Oh! Uh." She had been wearing a large bag all day filled with equipment, she almost forgot she had it.

She placed said bag down and glanced around. There was a nice white leather couch with blue pillows and nodded. "That looks comfortable."

Then she moved to grab her bag only for that large security man from before to grab it politely.

She frowned but let it slide, Kaiba stood up.

"Wow, you are tall."

Did she just say that out loud?

Kaiba raised a neatly manicured eye brow at her. It was always interesting how he made people feel. Nervousness reflected so differently on different people.

"I mean I've only seen you on tv," She was so embarrassed.

He smirked but didn't say anything as he sat down. The man grabbed the wrapped present and (Y/n) began to set up her video equipment. Maybe she should hire a producer?

It took a bit of time but she finally sat down next to Seto. He was so tall that when sat at an angle his knee gently bumped hers. This made her face feel warm. Why was he so handsome?!

The camera was rolling but Kaiba barely changed his personality. "I noticed your duel disk didn't meet Kaiba Corp standard." He explain. "It seems there was an incident in shipping that I wasn't informed of. We recalled all of the duel disks from that shipment."

He picked up the gift making it obvious for the camera. "I want you to be the first to get your replacement."

Her heart fluttered when her eyes met his, what she didn't know that his did the same thing.

"Oh! I see! I'm so glad that you are accepting responsibility! So many companies just brush it away!" She was actually shocked that this was what it was about but yet had a feeling.

Her hands shakily opened the wrapping paper showing the custom machine. It was her favorite colors and matched her channel asthetic so well. Internally she was squealing.

"Oh wow!" She moved and began to open it on camera showing a beautiful working piece of machinery. "I'm very impressed." They talked a little longer. Kaiba using it as an advertisement moment and they finished it quickly. That was when a young man with black hair walked in. Probably only nineteen. He must be the now older Mokuba. His eyes widened.

"Woah! Seto. I didn't know she was coming today!" He was excited it seemed. "I loved the videos where you just unbox capsule monsters. Even though I have most of them it's so satisfying!"

She was in shock he even knew her.

"Thank you! I'm so glad." She glances at time. She needed to be at her hotel soon to call her friends back home.

"I'm sorry" she bowed. "I have to go soon. Morning back home is happening and everyone wants to see me safe!"

Mokuba watched her leave with a frown then looked at his older brother.

"If you don't ask her out... I will,"

[jeongjaebae]

Love Station

⇢ Jaehyun x reader | AO3

⇢ 7k of fluff, heart fluttering moments, and meme references

⇢  You never expected anything good to come out of a train delay, much less for it to play cupid on this Valentine’s Day. 

Turning 23 wasn't something you were overly excited about.

Nothing good could come out of being this age anyway—you were starting to feel old and life was starting to feel stagnant. Besides, everyone's seen the meme about checking up on your friends born in a certain year because no one likes you when you're 23. But heck, you'd already felt that way for long enough so it doesn't really matter that it's your birthday today because no one liked you at 22 either. Or at any age.

Maybe that's why you're still single on this Valentine's Day, which coincidentally happens to be the date you enter your 23rd year since birth. Whatever deity that's up there probably planned this to give you a headache every year, making you watch couples all around you broadcast their PDA everywhere while you only became one year closer to growing old and wrinkly. And dying single.

"Are you on the train yet?" Yoojin's loud voice comes through the phone. "Also what are you wearing, because I'm having an outfit dilemma again."

"Almost at the station," you reply, checking the time for the sake of it. You knew your best friend would be late regardless of the occasion, so you never had to rush. "I didn't expect it to be so cold out here. Wearing the pink blouse with the bow, that black skirt, and some thin tights. Long coat of course."

Yoojin was your best friend of seven years and happened to be the complete opposite of you. While you were generally shy, she had no qualms about talking to strangers. She'd always been bold and unabashed with her opinions, attracting quite a large group of friends and enemies alike, whereas you have always stayed within your comfort zone of invisibility. And whereas you were completely dense and unlucky when it came to boys, she had a list of them long enough for the both of you.

"Tell me you at least have some tall boots on," she replies with some rustling sounds in the background as she probably flips her entire closet upside-down. "You should've gone with a warmer outfit; there won't be any boys around for you to impress! It's only your date with boring old me."

You roll your eyes and play along. "I'm dressing to impress the cute waiter, obviously," you say, "the one with the super sweet smile who looks like NCT's Doyoung." It's all made up, of course. In reality the two of you didn't have a reservation or even a restaurant in mind yet, and of course, there's obviously nobody who could ever be as cute as Doyoung.

Your best friend was all about being spontaneous and winging it, and even letting fate decide things.

"Oh you better hope that he's not out with his girlfriend tonight then," she singsongs. "Anyway, I'll go pick out an outfit now and bring a pair of leggings for you or something. Oh and before I forget, happy birthday!"

"Thanks," you say with a smile as you approach the train station. "I'll see you soon!"

It's slightly more crowded at the station than the emptiness that usually greets you at this hour, but that's not surprising since it's Valentine's Day after all, and people would have plans in the city. And just as you would expect, there are people holding big bouquets wrapped in a special paper with hearts all over it, packs of chocolates in pink and red boxes, and delicate single roses encompassed in beautiful ribbons.

It wasn't something that you felt like you were missing out on. You've never spent Valentine's Day with someone special anyway; it was always some sort of birthday celebration with friends. Until your friends started getting into relationships and then the birthday thing got pushed to different days. Either way you didn't mind because people don't need particular days to show their love for others, so Valentine's Day was all just a big marketing scam.

Or so you tell yourself.

The February air is cold and makes it hard to pry your transit card out from your wallet with your frozen fingers. When the machine nearby is finally free, that's when you go to tap your card.

"Don't."

A hand slides right in between your card and the machine, blocking it from being detected.

"Excuse me?" you automatically respond.

The first thing you notice about this annoying stranger is that he's tall, as it takes a while for you to look up to see the face of said annoying stranger. The second thing is that he's incredibly good looking. Nice skin, large eyes, and some evidence of dimples slightly visible on each cheek. A strong jaw line and sharp gaze.

But none of that matters because he better have a good explanation for you.

"Don't waste your money tapping your card. The train's been delayed and won't come until maybe an hour later."

"What? An hour? Is this some kind of joke?"

He shakes his head. "There was an announcement a few minutes ago but they'll probably repeat it soon."

"But it's not even April Fools Day," you mutter under your breath, but proceed to put your card away anyway. "Are you serious?"

That earns you a funny look from the annoying stranger, a mixture of a smile and a grimace of sorts. "Yeah, I'm really just going to go up to strangers and prank them by telling them about a train delay."

"Well, maybe if you're one of those YouTubers who go around pranking people for reactions?"

He rolls his eyes. "No, but your reaction was terrible, by the way. A two out of ten at most."

"Hey, you're the one who had to break the news to me like that!"

The corner of his mouth twitches but before he says anything back, the blare of the announcement comes on.

"Attention all passengers! Attention all passengers. The line 1 eastbound train is experiencing delays due to a technical issue on the tracks. It may be over an hour before the track can get cleared. Once again, the eastbound train is currently experiencing delays of an hour or more. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

"And there it is. Do you believe me now?" the annoying stranger asks, raising an eyebrow at you. It's not so much of an 'I told you so', but rather a sad 'welcome to the club'.

"Yeah... sorry for not taking you seriously."

"Nah, no worries," he shrugs and gives you a quick smile. The first you'd seen from him. "We're all just stuck here now."

When he turns to look at the announcement board, that's when you take the chance to really study him. He's dressed like he's walked out of a Korean drama: turtleneck and a nice formal jacket. He looks to be about your age, maybe a university student or fresh grad. Hair gelled up and parted at the side. Perfectly dressed to go on the perfect Valentine's Day date with his perfectly stunning girlfriend.

As perfect as it can be with this whole train delay issue anyway.

You follow his gaze to the announcement board and see that it now has red words everywhere, indicating all the delays of the trains. It definitely wasn't looking good. Even if Valentine's Day was nowhere close to being one of your favourite holidays, you were looking forward to at least seeing a friend on your birthday.

"Yeah, I guess so. On the one day I had plans in the city." You sigh at the thought that seeing your best friend might not be possible anymore.

 "I know the feeling," he frowns, somehow still looking just as good as before which is entirely a mystery to you, "I'm also supposed to be in the city tonight."

You nod, then pull out your phone to shoot Yoojin a quick text about the delay. The cold wind sears your hands and you yet again regret wearing so little when you knew this train station didn't have an indoor waiting area.  

"So, what are our options for getting out of here now? Do you think the buses are still running because we could probably take one?" he suggests.

The 'we' takes you by surprise, but then you realize that he's probably talking about everyone here. All of the ten or so people that are just stuck at this station in the cold for the next hour.

You grimace at the thought of dissipating his ounce of hope. "Well, the nearest bus station is all the way across town, so by the time we get there maybe the trains will have already started working."

The handsome stranger sighs. "Maybe an Uber then?"

"It'll be rush hour soon so that only works if you want to be going during the most expensive time of day using the most expensive form of transportation."

"Ah, that's true." He looks disappointed. "Hmm, if the trains don't come by the next hour, maybe I'll just head to the bus stop."

Oh how nice it would be to have a car to get there yourself.

Buzz. The phone vibrates in your pocket and you could already imagine how Yoojin would be reacting to your news. Hopefully she hadn't already started on her crazy makeup routine yet, because who knows if your meet-up could actually happen at this rate.

"It's chill, don't worry about it! I'll head to you instead. Text you when I'm near."

Sometimes Yoojin's spontaneity was just what you needed. You message her a quick thanks and then shove the phone into your pocket before your fingers freeze off.

It's quiet for a bit and you almost forget about the handsome stranger entirely until there's a crinkling sound and you find yourself staring at the rose in the pocket of his coat, the clear foil around it blowing gently in the wind. It was on the side facing away from you earlier, which is probably how you didn't notice upon first glance.

Of course, he has a girlfriend. With a face like that, who wouldn't have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend. Maybe even multiple.

"Special occasions, right?" The corners of his lips are curled as if holding back a grin, and like this his dimples are visible.

But why was he still talking to you? You figured he was probably just trying to be friendly seeing as the two of you would be stuck here for an indefinite amount of time. Maybe you'll even become all buddy-buddy by the time this ordeal finishes. While you weren't a fan of small talk or talking to strangers, it was nice to be able to have someone by your side who was experiencing the same struggles.

And besides, he clearly has a girlfriend so there was no point in writing that "strangers to lovers" fan fiction in your head.

You clear your throat. "So... Valentine's date with your girlfriend?"

"Valentine's—" he pauses for a second and you can almost see the gears turning in his head. "Right, it's Valentine's Day today. Nah, I'm celebrating my birthday instead." Then he holds up the rose up and glances at it as if he'd also forgotten about it. "And no girlfriend. This is for my cousin. Her boyfriend's overseas so it's hard for them to meet up, so I thought I would get something nice for her and keep her company."

That actually takes you off guard and causes you to replay the words in your mind to make sure you heard correctly.

"Wait, it's your birthday today? Really?"

He gives you a strange look. "Yeah, there are actually people born on Valentine's Day, believe it or not."

"That's not what I meant—"

"I'm just kidding." His eyes twinkle in amusement. "It's also your birthday today, isn't it?"

"What—how did you know?"

He chuckles. "Your reaction said everything."

"Wow, someone is a smartie."

"What about you? Valentine's or birthday date with your boyfriend?"

"Best friend," you correct him. "And yeah, it's a birthday dinner."

"That's nice. I've actually never met anyone else with a Valentine's Day birthday."

"Honestly, same."

His eyes curve up into crescents as he smiles with his entire body, and it's dazzling and is so bright that it makes you want to stare for just a moment longer. The two of you laugh for a while at that coincidence, still amazed.

"So, how old are you turning?"

You groan, "The age where no one likes you."

"Ah, I just passed that." He wrinkles his nose as if remembering how terrible a year it was. "But hey, can't have no one liking you at that age if no one liked you anyway."

His words immediately put an image of that roll safe meme into your head and you find yourself laughing.

"Wow, those are my thoughts exactly."

The handsome stranger only gives you an innocent shrug. His meme game was on point, and that almost makes your heart flutter for a second. Almost.

Another cold breeze whips your hair into your face and blows straight through your thin tights, making you shiver.

"Hey, um, I hope this isn't too forward... but since we're stuck here anyways for the next while, do you want to possibly go hang out in town?" He bites his lips a little, making his dimples stand out even more. "It just kind of sucks to see our birthdays go to waste like this. Only if you're comfortable with it though, but of course we'll be in public areas the entire time."

You couldn't believe your ears for the second time today.

On one hand, the logical voice in your head was screaming stranger danger because you just met him! You hadn't even exchanged more than a few sentences! On the other hand, you could already picture Yoojin telling you to never waste an opportunity, to go with the flow and live life a little recklessly. To stop waiting for a train that might never come, to stop waiting for perfectly planned moments in life that might never occur.

"So, what do you think?"

Besides, if he's not some crazy serial killer or anything along those lines, the only other danger you could possibly see was getting heartbroken. But of course there's no way you'd fall for a stranger in one day; you didn't believe in love at first sight or fate or whatever other mushy romantic cliches that movies love to portray. This would merely be a fun time between two people who happened to be stuck together because of a train delay, on a day that happened to be both of their birthdays. A simple coincidence, really.

"You know what," you smile. "Screw it. Let's go."

***

The smell of the arcade brings back memories from when you were a child—friends' birthday parties, hangouts in middle school, the occasional school trip. It had been fun as a child even though you hadn't been very good at any of the games and probably never won anything worth keeping. Looking back, you hadn't set foot in this place in years.

"We'll get the one with the most tokens," the handsome stranger—Jaehyun—says to the guy behind the counter, flashing you a smile when you raise an eyebrow at him.

Jaehyun. It had sounded so pretty when he introduced himself.

You'd been afraid that conversation would come out awkward and forced between two strangers brought together by no more than a train delay, not knowing where or when or how to start. But there was actually never a dull moment between the flow of words and laughter that made you feel as if he was someone you've known for a long time. The short walk to the arcade had been spent on reminiscing and comparing past memories of growing up in this town, brainstorming fun places and cool restaurants that you'd been to or have yet to go to, pointing at familiar buildings and telling funny stories about interesting moments spent in there.

"Come on, let's go." He leads the way into the main area where all the action is.  

The arcade still looks the same as the last time you were here, though everything seems smaller than you'd remembered it. Bright lights flashing from every machine, loud noises at every corner. So many games that you'd once thought it was impossible to play through all of them.

"Let's start with this one?" You point to the zombie shooting game. It was something that you had always wanted to try as a kid out of pure curiosity, but you'd been too scared to at the time.

"That one? Really?" He raises a brow at your suggestion. "Alright, but I bet I can beat you."

"I would also bet on you winning," you respond dully.

After choosing characters and weapons on screen, the two of you settle in your seats and finally start. It's like watching a horror movie where you expect huge jump scares at every corner except there's no music build-up or anything to warn you that a zombie might just show up. Horror was definitely not your forte but maybe he was better at handling these things than you were.

You get your answer when the first wave of zombies finally show up. Jaehyun screams. You scream.

Somehow you manage to shoot some of them by pure instinct guiding you, however your aim isn't exactly good with your eyes closed half of the time. By the time the screaming dies down and you notice that both your characters had died in the zombie battle, you finally turn to see how he's doing. The way his face is twisted in a mixture of utter shock and horror would've been something to laugh at if you hadn't been just as scared.  

"If I recall, someone said they were going to beat me at this," you tease after seeing the final score. Neither of you did particularly well, though your score somehow turned out to be much higher than his.

"You should've given me a warning that it would be this scary."

You burst out laughing at his expression. "I didn't know either!"

That's when you notice how you're clinging to each other. Your hand clutching his arm, his hand right on top of yours.

"Oops, sorry," you mutter and quickly detangle yourself from him.

"It's fine," he says with a laugh. "But yeah, those zombies were next level."

Needless to say, you guys don't go back to that game.

The arcade is quite empty on this afternoon and you're glad that most of the games are unoccupied and can be played right away. Even with everything going well so far, you still have the fear of having awkward silences and uncomfortable conversation.

It's a while later when you try again at a different shooting game, though luckily this time it isn't zombies that you're dealing with, so it isn't scary at all. It's a teamwork game this time, and what surprises you the most is just how good your teamwork turns out to be.

"To your left, in the corner."

"Phew, got him. Thanks," you reply, promptly shooting the character before he could shoot you. "Watch out—right above you."

"Got it."

It lasts a few rounds but you manage to make it to the end and finally clear the game.

Jaehyun's whole face is lit up when he turns to you. "Wow, that was awesome. Great teamwork."

He holds up both his hands for you to high-five, and just as your hands meet his, you can't help but notice the way they linger together a little longer.  

Time flies as the two of you go from game to game and you're trying your best to beat him at any game possible. While he does let you win some of the time, more often than not, he ends up winning. Though it's not like you could be upset about it at all when he looked so happy after each win, excitedly showing you his score or prize. It was definitely nice to be as carefree as kids again.

Yet there was something deeper with the adrenaline coursing through your veins and heart racing that it becomes hard to tell whether it may be from the excitement of the games, the warmth of his body right beside you as he patiently teaches you his strategies for winning, the bright smiles that seem to light up his whole face, or those damn dimples.

Why did this Valentine's boy have to be not only heartbreakingly handsome but also incredibly kind and considerate?

"Hey, you want to try one of those?" The sound of Jaehyun's voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you silently pray that you hadn't been staring at him subconsciously. And if you had been staring, hopefully he didn't notice as he's pointing to the line of game stands at the side where the games are always rigged and you can never win big prizes.

"I've never won anything from there before, so I sure hope you're good at those."

He ends up picking a dart game out of all the options, but maybe this one would be easier than the rest.

The man at the dart stand greets you and explains the rules. "Are you trying to win something for your girlfriend?"

"Oh, we're not—" you start but stop as soon as you hear what Jaehyun says instead.

"It's Valentine's Day after all," he says easily then follows with a wink at you.

He didn't deny...?

It's three shots dead center to win one of the biggest prizes or five within the smallest ring. It makes your heart pound a little faster seeing Jaehyun so focused with his nice stance, sleeves rolled up slightly, and intense eyes on the target. However, he misses on the first shot with his dart going off the board.

"Well that's no fun," the man says, frowning at where the dart landed. "I suppose I could give you another chance, since it's Valentine's Day and all. Wouldn't want to end up empty handed, right?" He laughs to himself but puts the dart back in Jaehyun's hand.

"Thank you," he says, flustered judging by the hint of a blush that sweeps his cheeks. "I'm not usually this bad."

"It's okay! You're doing great, sweetie," you joke.

He rolls his eyes at you despite the way his lips curl up at the corners, then gets ready to throw the dart again. And this time? You're sure your jaw is to the floor when he manages to get all three darts to hit the board dead center. The man congratulates him for winning and then they disappear into the back room to pick a prize. Jaehyun later comes out holding the biggest dog plushie you've ever seen.

Once you're back outside after the arcade adventure, that's when he stops and turns to you.

"I wasn't sure what you'd like but I hope this is okay," he says quietly, gingerly handing you the giant plushie.

"It's great, Jaehyun." You meet his gaze as you take the plushie and he quickly looks away. "Thank you."

"You know, I'm really glad we ended up doing this. It's even better than what I had planned originally." Then he adds more quietly, "One of the best birthdays I've had in a while."  

"Yeah," you smile. "Me too."

It's only then when you realize that Yoojin and the rest of your plans had totally slipped your mind.

***

It's chilly outside as the two of you walk around town. Valentine's Day decorations were everywhere, with the chalkboard menus of local restaurants featuring couple meal sets with tons of hearts drawn around them, various pink and red plushies lined up on the windowsills of nearby shops, and even lamp posts on the streets covered with mini heart shaped lights. The sight of those things usually would've made you roll your eyes and pretend to puke, but somehow it doesn't seem to bother you quite so much today. It's as if you're seeing everything through a new perspective—one that might find the rosy decorations pretty and one that might understand the hype of such a holiday.

"Y/N," Jaehyun suddenly says, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you to his side. Before you could even react, he's quickly switching positions with you so that you're sheltered between him and the wall of the nearby building.

Then he's turning to you. Hand on the wall behind your head, body leaning towards you.

So close that you could see the individual eyelashes framing his eyes.

But in the next instant he's looking behind him where a car drives by and splashes up a large amount of water from the melting snow on the side of the street. Which lands right where you were standing just a moment ago.

Jaehyun turns back to you, eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," you breathe. "Um, are you?"

"That's good." He glances behind him and then reassures you with a quick smile. "And yeah, all good."

"It was a close call. Thanks for saving me."

"Wouldn't want your clothes to be ruined by that." He laughs. "How are you doing though? It's pretty cold out here."

"I'm okay," you automatically reply.

That earns you a skeptical look. "Your cheeks are all red. Come on, let's go warm up somewhere."

When you resume walking, he's taking the outer edge of the sidewalk.

A couple of blocks later is when you find out that the place he had in mind turns out to be the local coffee shop. You'd never been there before but had always thought of it as a cute place when you pass by it, so when you enter, the interior definitely matches up to your expectations. It has a rustic theme with warm glow from fairy lights hanging from the ceiling and there's soft music playing in the background, a nice place to study if it's as empty as today.

Jaehyun buys you your drink. Kind of.

"I bought one, but they gave me one for free," he says, beaming when he comes back to the table with the drinks—a coffee for him and a latte with a cute little heart floating in it for you. "Maybe the barista was charmed by my smile."

"Hmm." You look behind him to see a sign at the front of the store saying, 'Buy one get one free—Valentine's Day special'. "Are you sure it wasn't because of my charming smile?"

"You're right, that could be it. You are quite cute."

"Exactly."

Wait, what did he just say?

You do a double take but he's merely staring back at you with dimples just barely visible and eyes sparkling through thick eyelashes that you could only wish yours looked like.

Suddenly it feels like the heater's on extra high in this cafe or maybe it was the way the latte burns your tongue as you take a big gulp. Whatever it was, it definitely succeeds in warming you up a little too well, especially your face.

"You okay? Don't burn yourself," he says, the amusement in his eyes betraying the concern in his voice.

You nearly spit your drink out at him. "Nah, no burn. I'm good, thanks," you say dryly.

Time seems to slow down as you relax in your seat, body finally warming up in the coziness of the cafe. The small corner you're in almost feels like a liminal space; such a transient place you'd only ever noticed while passing by, yet a whole different world on the inside where one can hide forever. Perhaps you wanted to hide here, to enjoy the fleeting moments of a strange but amazing birthday.

Conversation ebbs and flows though you're a little surprised when Jaehyun opens up about his life. His passion for music, especially, is what picks up traction as he happens to know your favourite group, NCT. From there it becomes a debate of whether Doyoung or Taeyong was the best looking member (you insist that Doyoung's Instagram was all the proof one needed, whereas he points out that Taeyong's sharp jawline could totally cut that VVS diamonds they keep singing about). You definitely don't tell Jaehyun the fact that maybe—just maybe—he's even more attractive than your NCT biases and that he could totally be an actor from a Korean drama.

Everything you hear about him makes you appreciate his vulnerability, yet you can't help but wonder if he's so open with just anybody. You were a complete stranger, after all.

Yet every time you see the twinkle in his eyes when your gaze accidentally meets his, part of you wonders if 'strangers' no longer fits the definition of where this strange relationship was going. It leaves you with wanting to avoid looking at him which is quite difficult with him seated directly across from you. Maybe you should've sat where your plushie was, taking up its own chair between the two of you, but it's too late and now you're left to deal with the audible thud of your heart every time you make eye contact with him.

And yet when you think about it, you realize that it wasn't Jaehyun's cute dimples or his deep voice or his lame jokes that had your nerves acting up.

It was probably the caffeine.

But maybe it was the small things that you hadn't even realized you'd noticed. Earlier at the arcade when he patiently taught you the games that you were unfamiliar with, letting you win games but also winning at them himself just so he could give you the prize. Saving you from a car first then from the cold with the warmth of the cafe. Opening the door for you, sitting closer to the door to block the cold wind from reaching you.

And how despite the number of reschedules and plan cancellations you both had to make due to the train delay, he hasn't pulled his phone out a single time. You admired how in the midst of all the chaos today, he was still nothing but calm and polite the entire time and seemed to have everything under control. He was a comforting presence that made you forget about the madness of the outside world for a little while.

Nah, it had to be the caffeine.

Still, you find yourself glad to be stuck here with him, even as far as dreading when you both had to leave. You're definitely appreciating Yoojin's ability to be late right about now.

A lull in the conversation has you sneaking a glance at your phone to check up on your best friend. There's no text from her as she's either still doing her extravagant makeup or still on her way here, but for some reason you let out the breath you held in relief.

"I wonder if the trains are running now." A glance out the window shows you the remnants of sunset and the quickly darkening skies. Then you cautiously throw out the question that you'd been holding onto for a while. Something that you'd been reluctant to bring up, carefully stepping around it the whole day, and something that he hasn't talked about either. "Oh right, didn't you say you would end up taking a bus? If the delay is still going on."

Maybe it's a test to see his reaction, maybe it's to end this vague relationship before you become even more attached than you already are. Because any rational person wouldn't just throw away all their birthday plans for someone they'd just met.

"Oh. Right." Jaehyun looks down and swirls the stir stick in his drink. Clockwise, counter-clockwise, back and forth. "I, uh, actually forgot that I didn't drive here today." He shoots you a sheepish grin then runs his fingers through his hair that has deflated quite a bit since you first saw him. "So can't exactly drive over to the bus stop."

You smile back weakly. "Ah, that's okay. There's probably a ton of traffic out there now anyways."

An ambiguous answer for an equally ambiguous relationship. It could definitely be a real excuse, yet somehow the thought of that makes you almost disappointed. Maybe there are no answers to the questions and uncertainties muddled in your mind.

"But did you want to get rid of me so fast?" He actually pouts at you, as if his regular face weren't already enough to break hearts.

"What? No, of course not? I—what?" you manage to get out.

"Okay, good!" The pout immediately goes back into his regular smile. "Phew. It's sad enough being single on Valentine's Day; no need to get rejected on top of that."

Then his phone buzzes and it finally pulls it out.

"As if anyone would reject you," you mutter under your breath while he's distracted.

It's true. You might've expected Jaehyun's appearance to be making up for other areas, or maybe even hoping he'd be too rude or too blunt or have a bad character. Because the cognitive dissonance in your head wants a reason or excuse to remain distant and emotionally detached from him. But the kindness and authenticity that you saw today just leaves you without a reason, which makes it that much harder to stop yourself from liking him.

"Sorry about that; what did you say?"

"Nothing!" You plaster on a cheerful smile.

"Okay, my cousin is going to be here soon."

"Oh."

Then there's the sinking of your heart, the inevitable dread that this unexpectedly enjoyable afternoon is coming to an end. Somehow it manages to crush the anticipation you had for your birthday celebration with Yoojin.

"You know, I kind of feel bad that you paid for everything today," you say. "Let me pay you back?"

"It's fine, Y/N. We had fun and that's all that matters."

"True, but you should've at least let me buy the drinks!"

That manages to make him smile but it quickly dies as he bites his lip, suddenly hesitant. "If you really want to..."

"Yes!"

"...you could just pay next time."

What.

"Next time?" you repeat, afraid to believe what you were hearing.

"I mean, if you—maybe—want to hang out again sometime?"

You open your mouth to say something, or maybe it was already open in your state of shock. Nothing comes out as if you lost your voice.

Jaehyun briefly meets your eyes before continuing. "Well, um—I just wanted to say that I had a really good time with you today. I know the train thing was probably an inconvenience to everyone else but to be honest, I'm kind of glad that happened." He laughs a little. Stops. Bites his lip. "And yeah, if you're down, we could hang out again sometime. Because I'd love to get to know you better."

Thud.

You could only stare back at him as the roaring of your pulse becomes all you can hear. The whole day you were telling yourself that it shouldn't be possible to develop feelings for someone within a day, almost trying to hold yourself back from enjoying your time with him to the fullest in the fear that you might be wrong. And it's not like you developed crushes very easily, but here in front of you was a boy so friendly and good-natured even to a stranger he'd just met, someone who really seemed to care about you.

"Jaehyun..."

He continues, "I know it's weird meeting like this, and I don't really believe in this whole fate thing where we just happened to be stuck here and we happen to have the same birthday. All I can say is that I really enjoyed talking to you and hearing your thoughts and um, youknowyou'rereallybeautiful."

The logical inner voice had been screaming stranger danger the entire time because you didn't know him at all! You'd just met him today! Yet the small fic writer voice in your head, which definitely sounded a lot like your best friend's voice, was trying to convince you that maybe fate does exist. That if it doesn't, how likely was it that you met someone with the same birthday which happened to be Valentine's Day? That you met at exactly the right time and that the train the two of you were going to take was delayed? That you managed to have one of the best birthdays that you could recall?

Maybe sometimes you need to let go of any fears and just live life to its fullest. Let yourself feel a wide range of emotions without being afraid of getting heartbroken. Stop holding back and just be true to yourself.

It suddenly feels too hot in the cafe once again.

"Yeah," your voice comes out quiet, unsteady, but his words give you the courage to reach over to hesitantly take his hand. "Today has been amazing and I'm so thankful that you're the one I was stuck with."

His eyes flicker to yours then away. "But...?"

"There is no 'but'. Jaehyun, I'd love to see you again."

"Yeah?" He lets out a long exhale before his face visibly brightens again. "That's a relief. I didn't think you would agree, but I didn't want to have you walk out of my life just like that."

Then there isn't a need for any more words as shy smiles are exchanged and fleeting gazes meet and there's a warmth bubbling in your chest. It's as if you spent the whole day worrying over nothing. That somehow, everything worked out. That maybe it was fate, and maybe it wasn't, but the connection you thought you felt wasn't just one-sided. It was something real, something tangible.

"Jeong Jaehyun!"

The booming voice jolts the two of you out of the moment and makes you immediately spring apart.

"Did you seriously make me take the train all the way here just for you? Who is this girl because she better be real nice for you to ditch me—" The loud voice from the woman walking into the cafe stops right when her eyes land on you. She smiles sheepishly, dipping her head lightly as if apologizing for her outburst. "Never mind; forget I said anything. I approve."

"Nice to see you too, Minah," Jaehyun greets as you both stand. You can see how his face is still flushed from earlier, but now he's put on a neutral expression again and what you'd seen just a moment ago has been erased. "Don't worry, I won't make you take the train back. I'll drive you home after."

"Oh, you have the car. Bless." Minah brushes her hair back, tidying it from the effects of the wind. Then she stops suddenly and narrows her eyes at him. "Wait, why didn't you just drive over if the trains stopped working?"

"You—have the car? I thought you said you got a ride," you muse out loud.

"Oh, uh. Actually I forgot I had it since I usually get a ride here and it would've taken too long to drive there in rush hour anyway... so... yeah..." He trails off and shifts his weight from one foot to another, and it's even more evident how flushed his face is, from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

You hear a snort and see Minah practically shaking with quiet laughter.

"Y/N!" The bell at the door rings again as Yoojin steps into the cafe, bringing a rush of cold air in with her. "There you are! And oh—" she stops mid-sentence when she spots you with Jaehyun, his cousin, and the massive plushie sitting in its own chair. "Minah?"

"Yoojin?"

"You guys know each other?" you ask tentatively.

"We were friends in high school!" Yoojin replies. Then gives you a questioning look. "Minah, it's been so long. We should totally catch up."

Minah nods enthusiastically, jumping up to give Yoojin a warm hug. "Totally!" Then she briefly glances at Jaehyun. "Well, I was supposed to have dinner with my little cousin over here but if you and your friend are free, then we could all go somewhere together?"

"How about we head over to that cute little diner that was our hangout spot for the longest time?" Yoojin suggests with a glance over at you and Jaehyun.

Minah squeals. "Let's do it; it'd be just like old times!"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I wanted to borrow Y/N for a bit," Jaehyun says. "We'll let you guys catch up in peace without a third and four wheel."

"Yoojin, we can always hang out another time if you want to go with Minah."

Your best friend looks at you suspiciously with her eyes narrowed. "Hmm, yeah that works. I'll call you later and you better give me all the details though."

"Okay, deal."

And with that, they both head for the door. Yoojin turns to give you one last wink before they're gone.  

"I guess it's just us." Jaehyun's eyes are sparkling when they meet yours and he gives a gentle smile before shyly holding you hand. "We're probably too late for my reservation, but there are some good food places not too far from here."

"So..."

"Have dinner with me?"

"Hmm, I thought you didn't have your car here."

He looks pained. "Y/N!"

"I'm just kidding! I'm actually starving so let's go."

***

It's hours of delicious food, good conversation, and shy glances later that he finally drops you off at home. When your phone buzzes this time, it's not from Yoojin—it's a text from an unknown number followed by an image attachment.

"I have a feeling this is very false for you :)" it reads. And your heart skips a beat when you see the image.

It's the "no one likes you when you're 23" meme.

On the day of your 23rd birthday, you definitely weren't expecting anyone to like you, just as you haven't for the past 22 years. But with the words in Jaehyun's text that you read and reread, the light fragrance of the rose now in your vase and the giant plushie on your bed, and your mind replaying his bright smile and dimples and the sparkle in his eyes, it seemed like today was different.

Maybe today, someone just might like you when you're 23.

[pluckydean]

It’s a Tradition

A gift for @tlakhtwritesdestiel for the @destielsecretsanta2020 exchange

Title: It’s a Tradition Pairing/Characters: Dean/Castiel, Jack, Sam Rating: T Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, Fluff, Christmas, Traditions, First Kiss, Mistletoe Word Count: 1.3k

Summary: Team Free Will scrambles to put together a Christmas celebration for Jack, and Cas finds one tradition he'd like to try with Dean.

[ao3]

"We're gonna try and hit as many Christmas traditions as we can," Dean said. "I know Jack's expectations are high, but Christmas is tomorrow so we don't have much time." He grabbed a shopping cart and led Cas through the automatic doors.

"What traditions?" Cas asked, and he yawned. Understandable since Dean had dragged him out of the bunker at six that morning. "I thought you and Sam avoided celebrating Christmas."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to do it." He wheeled the squeaky cart toward a sign that said "Decorations". "First thing is trimming the tree. Sam is taking Jack to pick one out later, but we're gonna need ornaments."

The selection was pretty dismal. Dean probably should have expected that since it was Christmas Eve and most people had put their decorations up weeks ago.

Cas held up a dented box full of sparkly neon ball ornaments. "These look festive."

That was one word for it, Dean thought. But there weren't any better options so he took the box and dropped it into the cart. He also grabbed a few strands of lights in assorted colors while Cas spent a suspiciously long time looking at the bows on the other side of the aisle.

Dean crossed "tree" off his mental list.

"I would've said wrapping paper is next, but Sam helped him wrap gifts yesterday apparently." Dean, Sam, and Cas had all agreed that they would only exchange presents with Jack this year. Dean had gotten him a collection of Scooby-Doo on DVD that was packaged in a cardboard replica of the Mystery Machine and could double as a decoration in his bedroom. Truth be told, Dean nearly bought another one for himself. "We should see if they have any gingerbread house kits left."

"What are we going to put on the top of the tree?" Cas asked.

Dean turned to find him staring at the last angel and three star toppers left on the shelf. "Well, since I guess it would have to be an awfully big tree to get you up there without breaking limbs-" Cas glared at him "- grab the gold star. Now c'mon, we're gonna hit the baking aisles. Hopefully those are better stocked."

They weren't.

Dean found a gingerbread house kit wedged behind a few boxes of cake mix, and though it was a little dented it was better than nothing.

Cas took the box back out of the cart after Dean added it. "This looks very messy to eat after it's built and decorated."

"That's why we're not gonna eat it," Dean said. "That and the fact that it probably tastes like plastic. It's just for decoration. Besides, the next thing on our list is cookies and those are gonna taste awesome."

Dean continued to shop for another twenty minutes while Cas followed him around like a lost duckling. Only when he was satisfied that he had everything he would need for a decent Christmas dinner did he finally head for the check-out.

As they waited in line, Dean watched Cas browse the candy that lined the check-out lane.

He picked out a king sized bar that boasted "Now with even more nougat!" and put it into the cart.

"That one is Jack's favorite," he said.

Dean chuckled. "Yeah, I know, but between that and the cookies I'm gonna let you deal with the sugar high tomorrow."

-

Cas had been acting suspiciously ever since they got home from the store. Dean couldn't pin it down, but figured he'd get to the bottom of it later. Right now it was all about giving Jack the best Christmas he knew how.

They all sat beneath the haphazardly decorated tree as midnight approached. Sam had the great idea to string popcorn and Jack had loved that most of all. He was still making another strand as Sam read The Night Before Christmas off his phone screen.

Dean grabbed another sugar cookie from the plate between him and Cas. It kind of looked like a reindeer, if reindeer were purple with yellow stripes. Delicious, though.

"Is it time for presents, now?" Jack asked when the story was finished.

"Sure, kid." Dean pointed to his gift under the tree. "Open mine first."

Sam gave him the stink eye, probably because he knew Dean's gift would steal the show.

Jack tore into the wrapping paper with glee. "Scooby-Doo! This is so cool, thank you Dean." And he scooted forward on the ground to wrap Dean in a hug.

"Oh," Dean said, patting Jack's back a little awkwardly. "That's… that's good, I'm glad you like it."

When Jack pulled away to investigate his remaining gifts, Dean caught Cas smiling at him.

"What?" he asked, feeling a little defensive.

Cas' eyes crinkled at the corners. "You're a good dad, Dean," he said quietly as Jack started to rip up more paper.

Dean flushed.

"Oh wow!" Jack said, holding up a thick leather-bound journal and the king-sized candy bar from the store. "These are great!" He already had half the candy bar in his mouth when he went to give Cas the same thank-you treatment.

Dean didn't realize he was smiling until Cas caught his eye. Huh, he thought. "You're not so bad yourself."

They watched their kid open his final present.

Dean groaned. "A laptop, Sammy? Really?"

Sam just gave him a shit-eating grin over Jack's shoulder.

-

An hour later Jack was off to bed and his laptop was confiscated until Dean could set up some parental controls on the damn thing.

Cas lingered as Dean picked up the last of the wrapping paper from the floor. He leaned against the door frame casually, which wasn't casual at all. Dean glanced at him suspiciously and that's when something caught his eye. He stepped closer to see what it was.

"Cas, did you shoplift a piece of mistletoe?" Dean asked, not sure how to react to the strange situation he had found himself in.

Cas narrowed his eyes. "Did you buy the other supplies with a fraudulent credit card?"

"Point. But, uh… why?"

"It's a tradition," Cas said. He stepped closer to Dean. "One that I wanted to experience for myself."

His eyes never left Dean's, but Dean couldn't help the way he dropped his gaze to Cas' lips.

"Oh," Dean said. He looked up at the mistletoe above his head. "Might be bad luck to break tradition," he said, only half-joking.

"Then you'll kiss me?" Cas asked, his voice a low rumble.

Oh, Dean wanted to. He wanted to more than anything.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Dean hated the words that left his mouth when they caused Cas to fall back half a step. "This," he pointed at the mistletoe, "is convenient. An excuse. But it'll be gone after tomorrow."

Cas furrowed his brow. "I thought you would be glad of that."

"No, Cas." Dean reached out to touch his jaw lightly, just with his fingertips. "If I kiss you now, I'll need to do it every day for the rest of my life."

Cas' eyes widened and he surged forward to crash their mouths together.

At first it was too desperate to be a proper kiss, all teeth and bumped noses. But Dean slowed them down with one hand pushed into Cas' hair and the other rubbing gently between his shoulder blades until Cas' lips softened into something less fierce. When his hands unclenched from Dean's shirt to settle on his waist, Dean pulled back just a little and pressed their foreheads together.

"What do you say we continue this conversation somewhere a little more private and mistletoe-free?" he asked with a grin.

"It's actually holly, you know," Cas said, "so in theory we are not beholden to the tradition if we continue to stand beneath it."

Dean rolled his eyes, but nevertheless leaned in for another kiss.

[hiscyarika]

Landslide: Chapter One

Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: Ten years after leaving her on their wedding day, Javier returns to Laredo and runs into Reader

Warning(s): Angst

A/N: Here’s the first chapter of the Landslide series! I’m really excited to share this with you and I’m glad that I was able to get it done. Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as I want this to be my best work so far. There were a few tags that didn’t work and for that I’m sorry! Also, a  very special thank you to @aerynwrites​ for editing this chapter before its publishing! You’re the best, girl! ❤️

Masterlist

Tag Lists

No amount of time will ever change Laredo.

Stubborn as a mule, it refuses to move forward with the rest of the world. Some people, like you, come and go, but the vast majority stands still—a moment frozen in time. You’ve spent years trying to escape this place, but when inevitably you’re forced to return, everything is just the way that you left it: down even to the sharp creak in the door as you enter the mini market in town.

It’s still owned by the same family. You smile and wave at Anita Robinson from where she stands at the register, refilling the machine with a new roll of receipt paper. She’s an older woman, with a son your age and a daughter just a couple of years younger. Just like everyone else in this town, you’ve known her since you were little. Her eyes light up as she looks up to give an automatic greeting, and even from your distance you can see the crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes. For just a moment, she abandons the task at hand. “Well look who’s back! How have you been, honey?,” she asks, her deep Texas accent bleeding into every word.

You pick up one of the wicker baskets from the bin by the door, carrying it with you down the first aisle. The shelves are short enough that you can still see Mrs. Robinson as you start your quick grocery run. “I’ve been alright. I’m back in town for a while until I can find another publisher,” you explain briefly.

She shakes her head, picking up the receipt paper again. “Oh, sweetie. That’s too bad. Where were you this time? I think your dad said something about Seattle, but I can’t quite remember,” she replies. You can’t help the way that your smile falls to a more gentle expression at her words. Anita has always been a sweet woman, beloved by everyone she’s ever met.

“Yeah. I was in Seattle. But it’s alright. I’ve already contacted some other people. Hopefully things will pan out this time. How are Will and Sadie?,” you ask.

She closes the compartment on the register, laughing softly. “Oh, they’re both doing great. Sadie and Jason got married a few months ago. Then Katie and Will just had their first baby. I’m a grandmama now.” She beams, and you glance up from the jar of peanut butter you’d just placed in the basket to see her pulling out a couple of photos. “But I’ll quit pestering you for now and show you when you’re done,” she laughs, leaning with her side against the counter.

“Alright,” you reply, giving a soft laugh.

With nothing to distract you, you make your way a little faster down the aisles, going over your mental shopping list while muttering things to yourself under your breath. You’re so lost in your own little world that you don’t hear the bell over the door ring as another customer walks in, and you don’t notice the soft gasp that escapes Anita’s lips when she sees who it is.

A thought strikes you, and you realize that you’ve passed the taco seasoning. You turn quickly on your heels and take a step forward in what is nearly a single fluid movement, but collide with the broad chest of the man who’d been standing not too far behind you. You immediately step back and begin to apologize, but then your eyes meet his gaze. You go silent, save for the sharp gasp that leaves you as the breath is sucked from your lungs.

“Javi?”

Your blood is pounding so hard in your ears that you see your name formed on his lips but you don’t hear his voice. Every thought leaves your head as you try to form words again. But the effort is futile. You take another step back, putting more distance between the two of you. A glance in the direction of the counter shows that Anita is gone. Whether that’s to escape this awkward reunion or to go tell the rest of the town about it, you can’t be sure.

When you look back, Javier’s face has morphed from shock to a softer expression that you don’t have a name for. It’s somewhere between sadness and grief. Regret, maybe, though even that doesn’t feel quite right. But you hate the way that his gaze has softened, his eyes looking down at you like he deserves to feel anything as intensely as you do.

Your shock is quickly replaced by anger, and a hurt that you’ve never managed to fully extinguish.

“It’s...It’s been a while,” he starts, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. It’s a poor choice of first words, so appalling that you have to hold back a bitter laugh as it bubbles up in your chest.

“Ten years does seem pretty long when you don’t bother trying to contact someone, doesn’t it?,” you seethe.

Regret is written clearly across his features now, but that’s no matter to you. “Querida, I–”

“Fuck off, Javier.” You cut him off before he can even begin whatever apology he might have come up with. You don’t want to hear it. You want nothing to do with him. Not anymore.

You push your way past him in the narrow walkway, returning the items in your basket to their places on the shelf. As much as you want to just drop the basket and walk out the door, you won’t leave it for Anita to deal with. You don’t hear Javier’s footsteps behind you, and for a moment you think maybe he’s smart enough not to pursue you any further. But just as you drop the wicker basket back in the bin, his hand wraps around your arm. He gently pulls you back towards him.

You whip around, pushing hard at his chest and yanking your arm from his grasp. His touch triggers a switch from flight to fight. “Don’t,” you warn, your eyes burning. You feel the heat of your anger flooding your body, the fury making you tremble. He doesn’t try to grab you again.

“Just let me talk to you, damn it,” he demands, his hands placed firmly on his hips.

Now you laugh. It’s humorless. “Oh now you want to talk? Well that’s too damn bad.”

He huffs out a sigh of frustration. “I need you to understand wh–”

“To hell with what you need, Javier. Your needs stopped being my concern when you left me on our fucking wedding day. Now if you’ll excuse me, I should be going,” you bite back. Without letting him have the last word, you walk out of the mini mart, back into the relentless Texas heat. Paired with your anger, it makes your skin feel like it’s being prodded by thousands of tiny needles.

You don’t look behind you. You don’t want to see Javier looking at you through the glass pane of the door. How he managed to come home to Laredo without you hearing about it is beyond you, but it would have been nice to know that he was back. It would have at least given you some time to mentally prepare yourself for the moment that you might see him again. Now you just feel jarred, out of place. Like your soul was taken from your body to watch all of this happen.

You try to take in a deep breath, in through your nose and out through your mouth. But your lips tremble as you exhale and your vision blurs with a new wave of tears. You force yourself to move forward, one foot in front of the other. With your mind in overdrive and your body on autopilot, you somehow make your way back to your apartment without losing your way.

By the time you make it to the front door, your tears have broken free, flowing down your cheeks. Your breath comes out in sharp gasps, and your hands shake as you take out your small ring of keys. They fall to the ground from your weak grasp, and you curse under your breath as you bend down to pick them up again. You force the apartment key into the lock, turning it and opening the door.

You all but collapse as you make it through the doorway, dropping the keys and falling back against the door as it shuts behind you. A gut-wrenching sob claws its way out of your throat, and despite your efforts to stifle it with your hand over your mouth, it’s no use. You shut your eyes tightly, sinking to the ground with your back against the door.

His face. His voice. You’ve worked so hard to leave them behind, to let him go. After so many years it felt like you had finally buried him in your past, never to be found again. And just like that, all of the pain and hurt and heartbreak has been dug up and hauled out for you to bear once more. To bear alone. This isn’t something that you’ll burden your parents with. You don’t want them to worry about you. You’re not a lovesick, heartbroken young woman anymore. You’ve changed and grown. You can handle this, no matter how difficult it might be. 

Mind clouded by the agony of raw emotion, you push yourself up from the floor, walking back to your bedroom and throwing the door open. You drag a suitcase out from under the bed, tossing it onto the mattress. A new resolve takes over you, and you start throwing things into the suitcase. You can’t stay here. There’s not enough room in Laredo for your grief and Javier both. And if it means you’ll never see him again, you’ll leave tonight.

You raid your drawers and your closet, throwing in random articles of clothing. Every movement is frenzied. In the back of your mind, you make sure that there is at least one professional outfit, knowing that you’ll need it for meeting with publishers should you ever get a call.

That in mind, you go to your desk next, pulling out the typed up manuscripts and outline journals. In the height of your fury, hot tears leak from your eyes. Though they go unnoticed by you. The only thing you can think about is leaving. The more miles between you and Javier, the better. You’ll drive as long as it takes for the distance to soothe the throbbing in your chest.

When there’s no more room in the suitcase, you put all of your weight into keeping it closed as you zip it up. You curse at the strain, but you’re too determined to make this any easier on yourself by packing a second bag. By the time you do get it closed, your energy is spent.

You grip the edges of the mattress until your knuckles turn white, finally beginning the descent from your hysterics. As you come down, you go quiet again. Your chest no longer heaves with labored breaths. No sound falls from your lips. Your tears have lessened, but still fall silently from your eyes. Exhaustion seeps into every part of your body, a bone-deep ache from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.

You crawl onto your bed, not bothering to move the suitcase or bury yourself under the covers. You lay your head down on your pillow as it begins to throb, the aftermath of your emotional release coupled with the never ending thoughts of the man that so easily erased any healing you’d managed to do in the last decade. The pillow is soon wet and stained with black mascara tears. But at least now you can think a little more clearly.

And as much as you hate it, you know that you can’t leave.

There’s nowhere for you to go. The whole point of coming back home was to have a place to stay until you could get another meeting lined up and save up some more money. More importantly, you can’t—you won’t—give Javier this power over you. You won’t let him be the reason that you uproot yourself before you’re ready. He’s the one that left town. He doesn’t get to be the one to drive you away.

Mind made up, you sink a little further into the mattress, groaning softly as the movement disturbs your aching body. Before you can fall asleep though, your eyes catch a glimpse of a piece of cardstock lying on the floor beside the bed. You sigh when you realize that it’s an invitation to Danny’s wedding, which you’ve already committed to attending, and it’s in just a few days’ time.  

Javier will be there. That you’re absolutely certain of.

But you’ll go anyway, because you could never disappoint the Peñas with your absence. Despite the fact that you never officially married into the family, they’ve always treated you like you were one of them regardless. And for that you’re grateful. They could have turned their backs on you the moment that Javier skipped town. Instead, they chose to hold you that much closer to their hearts. And you’ve done the same with them.

For their sake, you can endure being in the same room as Javier.

-

Chapter Two

-

Permanent Tags: @bestintheparsec​ @hail-doodles​ @aerynwrites​ @murdermewithbooks​ @themandjalorian​ @longitud-de-onda​ @readsalot73​ @lovingtheway​ @talesfromtheguild​ @mystical-934​ @tiffdawg​ @lokiaddicted​ @adikaofmandalore​ @blue-tidal-wave​ @forever-rogue​ @acomplicatedprofession​ @fleurdemiel145​ @cable-kenobi​ @opheliaelysia​ @pedropascalito​ @creamysacrilege​ @bandofmarvels​ @paryl​ @phoenixhalliwell​ @agentmoonshine1​ @randomness501​ @starlight-starwrites​ @keeper0fthestars​ @stilllivindue2spite​ @hdlynn​ @theocatkov​ @coonflix​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​ @ahopelessromanticwritersworld​ @wickedfrsgrl​ @frietiemeloen​

Landslide Tags: @b0nchan @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol​ @mskitty79 @larakasser @pascalesque​ @mrsparknuts​ @weirdowithnobeardo​ @lesqui​

[untaemedqueen]

The Lions Den

Mafia!Jiminx Wife!Reader

Genre: Mafia!AU, Smut, Fluff, Angst

Chapter 17.

Warnings: Smut, Blood, Guns, Knives, Excessive Cursing, Excessive Alcohol Intake, Smoking (Cigarettes and Cigars), Mental Health Issues

Warnings In This Chapter: Mentions of Mafia Heists, Cocaine Transport, Jimin Being A Psycho, Idiots Breaking Y/N’s Expensive Things

A/N: Man do I love my power couple. Shout out to my forever squad @ppersonna, @xjoonchildx, @ladyartemesia.

TagList- @ayyyocee, @mysugabear03, @wisebtsgot7prune, @imaforeigner, @yeonkiminnie, @stories1907, @ppersonna, @brilee64, @gooplibrary, @vivpurple7, @xjoonchildx, @brightwingr5, @yaniposts22, @rjsmochii, @taeslittletiger, @pjmcth, @bts-chub, @kpoppingthempills, @kim-ji-hyeons-world, @jikooksgirl19, @yoong-i, @ruinsofangels, @absolutefantrash, @chiminies-noona, @eclectically-esoteric, @simplybree, @outrofenty, @yxnxxli​

“But Mommy I don’t want to go stay at Aunt Hyunah’s house! I want to stay with baby!” Hawon whines as she clutches on to your leg. 

Your heart strings tug at her words as you stand in the entryway of the house. The way her small hands clutch onto your dress earns softened eyes from your husband as he stands at your side. 

The silver cross is purchased between his teeth as he feels at the back of his waistband for his gun. It’s becoming a habit he can’t seem to break. 

With a pout, you crouch down to your daughter’s height as you brush some stray baby hairs off of her forehead.

“I know you do but in a few days it will all be over and you’ll be able to see the baby all the time, okay?” You ask her softly as she wraps her arms around your neck.

Burying her face into the crook of your neck, she nods solemnly as she hugs you.

“That’s a good girl.” You whisper, pulling back and pressing your lips to her forehead. 

Jimin checks his Rolex before petting Hawon’s head as she pulls away from you. 

Your eyes flicker to Yoongi, who scratches his scar as he watches on at the sight before him. 

“When you come over to my house, you’ll be able to eat all the sweets you want.” He suggests to your daughter.

She furrows her small eyebrows as you put her small backpack on her.

“Mommy and Daddy say candy is bad for your teeth, Uncle Yoongi.” She murmurs, earning giggles from both of her parents as she trudged to the doorway. 

“Okay big boy! Time to go to Uncle Yoongi’s.” Jimin whispers, kissing his son’s forehead.

Minseok looks up at you with big eyes before smiling widely. You’re so grateful that your children have such innocent souls. 

You watch the door close, seeing their small silhouettes slink out of sight before standing up straight and brushing off your dress.

“Okay.” Jimin whispers before pulling his gun out from behind his back. 

He whistles loudly throughout the silent house as he wraps his arm around your shoulder before loud noises begin to travel up through the maid’s quarters.

Wrapping your arms around his waist, you bury your face into his sweet smelling chest. 

“Boss.” You hear from the kitchen as his crew enters the sitting room.

“Let’s make this place a fortress.” He says before looking down at you and smiling.

“Watch the fucking vase, Haneul!” You yell.

The priceless vase teeters on the stand before stilling and you breathe out a sigh of relief as your husband picks it up.

“Sorry, Madam!” Haneul calls as he sets up the tripod for the automatic machine gun.

“Fucking idiot. You break it, you buy it.” Jimin seethes as he smacks the back of the younger man’s head.

Your husband’s arms extend as you stand in the entryway watching your house become a gun museum. 

“Kitten. Why so serious?” He asks as he sets the vase on the coffee table approaching you slowly.

His hand rubs at your stomach first before engulfing you in a hug. Rubbing soothing circles on your back, you cringe loudly as you hear glass breaking.

“Oh you fucking morons!” Jimin yells as he turns his head to the broken vase on the hardwood floor.

“Sorry Boss! Shit!” One of the boys curses as he begins to pick up the pieces.

“Fucking stupid idiots.” He murmurs as you stomp your foot angrily.

Raising your eyebrows expectantly, he gives you a nervous chuckle before kissing your forehead.

“I’ll buy you a new one?” He asks, giving you a fake smile.

Rolling your eyes, you scoff before shoving people out of your way to enter the kitchen.

“Oh Kitten! I’m sorry, baby!” Jimin calls to you before punching the boy at fault.

“Baby! I’m sorry!” He yells as you step out into the garden.

Stepping along the newly placed pebble walkway, you take in the nice weather as the red and orange leaves fall from the limbs of the trees you’ve become so familiar with. 

This is madness, everything around you is chaotic and you’re smack dab in the middle trying to make sense of it all. 

As psychotic as Jimin seems to have become, you can understand his heart. 

You can understand just how detrimental this all is to him. To have family and loved ones in danger would make anyone go crazy. But, he seems to have a plan, and when your husband has a plan he would stop at nothing to go through with it. 

Your hand lands on your stomach as you sit down on the chaise lounge by the fire pit. Your fingers drift over your small bump as you watch the sun nestle into a cluster of clouds sending the skies into various shades of pinks and purples. 

“Kitten, I’m sorry my love.” Jimin calls to you as he jogs down the walkway. He sheathed his gun behind his back before frowning as you slowly turned your head to him. 

“I want all the priceless things removed before they break everything in my fucking house.” You tell him sternly and he nods as he steps over the stone steps to approach you.

“Anything you want.” He whispers before seeing a feminine body wade through the kitchen.

Both of your heads turn to the woman as she steps out of the kitchen into the backyard.

Rina stands with a manila folder between her two fingers closely followed by Kirsoon as he fixes his suit jacket.

Jimin smiles widely before flagging them over.

“Oh, it’s a party now.” He mumbles before pulling you into his lap as they make their way over. 

“Good evening.” Rina says as she sits in the chair opposite you and your husband.

“Hey.” You say as you look her over.

She was so nervous and frail when you first asked her to take over for you at the casino. Now, as you look at her you can’t help the elation you feel watching her confidence grow. 

“I have the plans for the party if you’re interested.” She says, holding up the folder.

Jimin smiles widely, his hand opening and closing as he leans forward. 

She giggles at his enthusiasm handing him the envelope as he purchases the silver cross between his teeth. 

“Oh, Kitten. This is going to be so much fun.” He murmurs as he places the folder on your lap.

Opening it, his chin hooks over your shoulder as you peruse through the documents.

If everything goes to plan it would be a grand welcome. This is one of the only things you can contribute but with so many mafia families being invited, something is bound to go wrong.

The theme of Casino Night is roaring twenties but more importantly it’s a chance to take in information on all of the mafia families in the area. 

One of them has to be against you and all you have to do is work it out. Easy, right?

Your husband runs his hand over your stomach as he holds you closer.

“You got all the extra cameras installed? Everything is set up?” He asks Kirsoon who nods in agreement.

“I don’t want someone taking a shit without me knowing about it. I don’t want anything to fall out from underneath us. One of these fucks is putting my family in danger. So help me God, I will find out who it is.” He mumbles through clenched teeth as you look at the documents.

“What about weapons, where will we be storing them?” You ask your husband as he runs his fingers over the silver chain around his neck.

“In baggage claim. No one is coming in with weapons, Kirsoon. If they do, I’ll cut your balls off and put them on a necklace for you to wear.” 

The bigger man swallows thickly before nodding wearily at his bosses words. 

“Yes Boss.” He whispers before clearing his throat and bowing his head.

“In just a week’s time. We’ll get these fuckers. Until then, I want you both to be careful. Don’t go anywhere without each other.” 

“That’s um… something I came over to talk to you about. If you turn to the last page, you can see why we can’t do it in a week's time.” Rina whispers as she points at the manila folder.

Your husband's eyebrows furrow before tossing all the pages onto the grass underfoot.

His eyes scan the paper before scoffing loudly.

“What do you mean it’ll take two whole months to fortify the safe and security features?! I’m asking to install automatic guns, not fucking switch bombs!” Your husband yells as he wiggles the paper back and forth.

You give a loud sigh in disappointment before turning to your husband. You watch as his neck veins protrude and thicken as he goes through his bout of anger. 

“Well...two months is worth the wait. I guess.” You say to him as you fix some of his hair behind his ear.

“You’ll be five months pregnant and showing by then.” He mumbles to you.

“That’s alright.” You whisper, earning a loud scoff from him.

“No Kitten. It’s not alright, then if whoever it is sees my baby growing inside of you they’ll work harder to attack us. Goddammit!” He screams, crumpling up the paper and throwing it at Kirsoon.

The paper ball hits the man’s broad chest and he looks at you nervously as Jimin repeatedly taps your thigh to get off of him.

You do as told, sliding down the chaise lounge as he begins to pace back and forth. He pulls his gun out from his waistband and you watch on with bored eyes as he begins to shoot the large trunked tree that has been through quite a bit in this garden of yours. 

He empties the whole clip, screaming in anger all the while before men file out of the kitchen with their guns drawn.

 His fingers run through his hair before sneering at them.

“Get back to work!” He yells before putting his gun back in his waistband. 

With a grunt, he kisses your forehead.

“I’ll be back.” He whispers.

“And, where do you think you’re going?” You call to him as he takes off down the pebbled road.

“To have some fucking fun!” He calls back as he enters the kitchen.

“Jimin...I don’t know if we should be doing this.” Taehyung whispers to his best friend as they sit in the back of the van. 

"Shut up. If you feel so terribly about it then just stay in the truck." He murmurs before purchasing his silver cross between his teeth.

"I don't feel terrible about it, I just don't want any aftermath." His best friend mumbles beneath his breath, something the keen mafia leader hears anyway.

"There will always be aftermath, Tae. Always. Don't go pussying out on me because you got your wife pregnant." Jimin mumbles as he loads bullets into his gun.

There's silence in the van apart from Jeongguk shuffling around and taking swigs of his whisky. 

"You're stinking up the van with that sh-" His voice is cut off to the youngest by the loud ringing of his prepaid phone.

Answering it, he puts the phone on speaker as Taehyung peaks out the driver's side window.

"We got a shipment on our twelve. Looks like a heavy load." He hears Jin call through the phone.

"Clean take, no left overs." Jimin says back as he rolls the silencer onto the mouth of his gun.

The same words are uttered by the men, one the phone and in the van before the call ends.

Jimin tosses the prepaid phone to the youngest who takes off the back and pulls out the battery. 

His fingers are sloppy but quick as he pulls out the prepaid SIM card. Jimin makes it a point to watch the youngest put the card in his mouth before taking a swig of whisky to wash it down. 

"Open your mouth." Jimin instructs and he nods pleased with Guk before pressing his body against the back doors of the van.

"They stopped." Taehyung whispers as he cock his gun.

Jimin holds his hand up in a fist, before lifting his fingers ever so slowly counting.

"One...Two...Three." He whispers aloud before barreling open the back doors and jumping out onto the dirt road.

With the guys quick on his tail, they slowly sneak around the parked van.

"Junggoo is going to flip when he sees all this coke. This is our biggest delivery yet!" The driver cheers happily.

Jimin stations himself below the driver's door and waits for Taehyung's signal.

What the Im's were doing in the cocaine business was anybody's guess but they're taking money and land away from Hyunah and that would not do.

Taehyung whistles loudly and Jimin stands up.

"What the fuc-" The scream is cut off as Jimin smiles widely, his silver cross purchased between his teeth as he pulls the trigger.

The blood splatter is something out of a modernist painting as it coats the windshield and he can't help the throaty chuckle that leaves his throat. Wipin bgg some blood off of his cheek, he begins to whistle as Guk opens the back doors of the drug trunk.

"We got kilos on kilos, Boss." He slurs and Jimin's smile widens as he slowly makes his way to the back. 

Jin's van pulls up in a matter of seconds, dirt flying into the air as he backs the truck up. Taehyung pulls open the doors and the unloading begins. 

Hoseok jumps out of the passenger's side, holding up the phone. Pulling off the back and battery, he swallows the SIM card in Jimin's line of sight before going to change the plates of the abandoned van by the side of the dirt road.

"So where are we taking it?" Namjoon asks as he hangs his body out of the window of the van.

"To the Lee's den. Yoongi is waiting there with some men to distribute and cut." He tells him, earning nods.

"We heard about Casino Night, sorry Chim." Jin says as he walks around the van to his boss.

Jimin lights a cigarette before posting up against the side, his foot purchased on the white metal before shrugging.

"Guess I'll just have to raise hell until I can get my revenge." He notices Jeongguk's smirk out of the corner of his eye before smiling widely.

"And raising hell has always been a skill I've been extremely good at."

[jolieflows]

—Solo—

There are few films and scripts that suit Angelina, so when the opportunity to star in GIA came along, she hesitated to take it. She wasn't attracted to the writing or story-it was her connection to it. In her small apartment, she struggled with herself as she read the script. Letting it be known to her agent, assistant, and close friends that she loved the writing—but personally...it was very close to home.

She was now acting, reciting the lines, living day by day as if she were GIA herself; an honor Angelina felt it was. And it was. Each day of filming further immersed her into the world of modeling. It allowed her to share a part of her that she kept to herself. Cristofer had called her ‘The apple to his pie’ at the end, of the 16 hour filming and that solidified Angelina's big smile that night. And also solidified any, gut-wrenching and nervous feeling in the pit of Angelina's stomach. Because there were some days where she never thought that she'd be the leading lady in a film—much less playing such an iconic person.

The actress had learned from her father and her mother, that work never stops. One project, doesn't exclude you from entertaining or dabbling in the works of other projects. The moment Angelina landed her first role, she devoted everything she had to the role. Choosing to ignore the other opportunities that came her way-much like her dating life which was definitely one for another time. But it was that hyper fixation that she found herself missing the other elements of her personality—the call to grow as an actress. Not this time, she had said to herself. Work, process, grow, dabble, be interested; was the motto for life now. GIA was wrapping up and that opened a window for Angelina to take her sniff around the block into other avenues of different roles.

“Lisa Rowe...” She whispered to herself as her hand caressed the cover of the worn and torn script.

Worn and torn from the aggravated trips the script had gone on. From suitcases, purses, hand swaps—you name it. Angelina searched around for one of the many lighters she had bought; she had a specific routine when she read scripts. That made her laugh. It made Angelina angry to read scripts. Following written instructions made her feel like a machine, almost like an automatic response. Her limp cigarette moved as a muffled chuckle echoed from her body. With another pat around for her lighter she had found it and lit up the tenth or 100th cigarette that night.

What...was it about Lisa Rowe that intrigued her so? Was it the idea of dying her hair blonde again? Maybe. The effects of being able to possibly smoke on camera? That's a thought. Or, was it the crippling fact that deep down, past the punk girlish—ravished facade Angelina was Lisa. Just as she was GIA. No method acting required to be these ‘intense’ characters. Angelina was already these people.

Ashes collected at the tip of the cigarette; she refused to let them fall. Her hands were white knuckling the script, fully engrossed in it. Tears sprang to her eyes. A sea of anxiety washed over Angelina as she read through the next pages of the script. Incoherent mumbles, murmured curses that tumbling from the corner her mouth, yet still refusing to let the ash drop. A tear rolled down her cheek. God. It had her. The script had her. More tears, more pressure to keep reading, more tears, more reading. It felt like a slow take on an old action scene—

“—Lina! Angelina! ...You didn't hear me calling you?” Her brother stood in the doorway, voice bouncing off the bare walls almost; slightly concerned.

Angelina looked up from the paper a bit in shock. She didn't realize she had been crying, spilling salty tear discharge and ash onto the script. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, flinging the mess off the paper she sniffled. “No. I didn't. What's...up?”

Her brother James was around more often. More than he had been in earlier years. They were taught when they were children that family, was always important. They understood -- but when shit happens... it happens. And so they grew. Each charting and following a similar yet unique path as they grew up. James, was a phenomenal writer; earning him much deserved and well received accolades for his talent. Angelina was a proud younger sister. Then around 96’-97’ the pair didn't speak. Maybe, it was due to Angelina's very fast, quick tempered, over in a snap marriage—that was always possible. Or, maybe it was due to the interchangeable differences they shared in regards to their father.

James and their dad had a smooth, solid relationship. They were men... Brought together by sports, scotch, and the occasional ‘busting of the chops.’ Nevertheless, James always seemed to do whatever their father told him to. Angelina couldn't and wouldn't be a lap dog like that. Which in the end caused strife and strain to the relationship with her father. They were so intense, causing she and James to be intense. Then... something happened; the pair became close. Friends almost. James taking on the big brother role—offering immense advice, guidance, leadership, but most importantly that aspect of friendship. Which in the beginning was slightly odd to Angelina—odd in the sense that her older brother could be a friend to her. She found herself now confining in him, they shared secrets, laughs; everything that they had possibly missed out on years ago.

“The takeout is here. What's...going on? Why are you cooped up in this room..? Why are you crying?” James paused his questions, and took breath. His own large blue eyes scanned the quality of Angelina's room— an unpleasant look served as his facial expression. “Did something happen between you and J—”

“No.” She cut that question off quickly as she inhaled another puff of nicotine.

“Why are you crying?”

She removed the cigarette from her lips, now arranging it between her thumb and forefinger, Angelina looked at him. How could she explain the strong emotional connection she felt to words on a page? She didn't want to sound like a total lunatic. The script revolved round the plush and prickly luxury of a Ward for women—and it didn't help that she had to sound nervous or odd, within her explanation of why she was crying.

“Just...” Angelina began while stubbing the cigarette out in the ashtray. “Reading.”

James scoffed leaning his body in the curve of the door. “So that's make you cry now? Simply reading.”

“Words can move you, Jamie.” His boyhood nickname rolled off her tongue playfully, as another sniffle came right after.

James didn't pry or budge with any more questions. Instead he kept a glowing glare on his sister—and Angelina would be lying if she didn't feel slightly uncomfortable from his stare. Lowering her head she held her breath, his stare was becoming increasingly rough. “Stop it.” She mumbled.

He did. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of a stare down or completely lay all her emotional worries on him—Angelina kept her head low. James took that cue and had left the doorway disappearing somewhere else in the apartment. The actress shook off all jitters removing herself from the bed and ran a hand through her hair. Without a mirror she could tell, the black dye was fading from her roots—she didn't mind it. It would probably look cool...having jet black hair, with roots that almost looked grey, sorta.

After gathering her cigarettes and whatever else she was going to bring with her, Angelina tucked the script underneath her pillow, almost like a secret. And maybe it was a secret. Her pillow would protect this secret. She'd return later on tonight, pick that script back up, and find more ways than one, on why she was Lisa Rowe and why Lisa Rowe was her.

[ghostesez]

I’ve been seeing that post going around claiming that FFN is dying. So, I’ve decided to slowly bring my fanfics from FFN/AO3 here to Tumblr as well just so they’re archived in more than one place. They’re all kind of old, but I still want to save them.

This one is probably my best, Atramentous Inferno. Warnings for vivisection/dissection, blood, gore, and implied character death. Word count: 1480

Finally! Finally we caught that damnable specter. Now, we can get to work…

Nice to know that the new guns are calibrated correctly.

—

Danny’s eyes flickered open, struggling to take in even the small amount of light in the darkened room. Around him, familiar sounds and smells filled his head, cutting through his mind like daggers of onyx. Even before his vision fully adjusted, he was well aware that he was in a laboratory. The smell was of latex and bleach, the sounds of clicks a rough dragging of a pen over a roll of paper, no doubt monitoring him. Next to his head, a few feet above, an IV dripped a bright, green liquid through a small tube. The tube wrapped around the pole of the IV machine like a venomous viper before burrowing into his bare arm, the needle taped down snuggly against his skin. The sleeve of his right arm had been cut up to make access to the needle easier, his glove sat on the table next to him.

As Danny’s eyes began to adjust, he took in even more of his surroundings. It soon became obvious that he was not in FentonWorks. This lab was strange, alien and foreign. Danny lifted his head, only vaguely aware of the IV in his arm. He glanced around, observing the computer to his left, automatically logging his breathing and heartrate. Spread out on the desk across the lab was a mountain of paperwork. Scrawled across the papers in hastily, but well thought-out handwriting was a vast array of mathematical calculations and words that Danny could not quite make out. The clock on the wall read a bit past four. Danny was unsure which four it meant to convey.

Danny peered down his body, ready to take in what exactly was happening.

He screamed.

—

Stand back! Something’s happening.

What in the world? Rings? He’s… he’s changing? Oh my God. It can’t be…

It’s a trick. Don’t be fooled by the face. This is some defense mechanism.

It’s… it’s…

—

His suit was shredded, having been cut unceremoniously with dull scissors. The few scraps which remained hung limply upon what remained of his torso. Pins were stuck into flaps of skin, piercing through the flesh below. Grayish bones and greened organs were visible in a hole the size of a basketball. Danny could see the bones of his ribcage move with his expanding and contracting lungs. His intestines twitched as he moved, like a swarm of snakes in his gut. An organ he didn’t recognize was nearly sawn in half, a clean cut, as though the experimenter has taken great care in the slice. Danny felt his heartrate escalate, as the computer next to him confirmed. Danny beat his head back against the stainless steel table which held him, clenching his restrained hands as hard as he could.

What had happened? There was a fight… Skulker? Danny had defeated Skulker, sucking him into the thermos as a white van of the Guys in White screeched onto the scene. It all went fuzzy after that. Danny felt that he could vaguely remember other non-Guys in White ghost hunters being there. A scream in the distance was audible. He recognized that scream… Was it Jazz? No. It was Sam. It was definitely Sam. She had been there. Of course she had been there. It was a routine fight… It was only Skulker. He’d fought Skulker an uncountable number of times before.

Now, everything was silent, save for the whirls and clicks of machines. Danny couldn’t even hear the ticks of the clock on the wall. The clicks in between the silence became deafening. As he twitched, more of his ectoplasm tricked out the gaping maw in his abdomen. His chest rose and fell as he breathed. Everything went dark again and Danny slipped from consciousness into blissful blackness. He was only slightly aware of light pouring in as a door was opened.

—

I don’t care, I really don’t. I just don’t care who this is… or was. He’s a ghost. He’s a monster. We have to do this.

We can’t possibly vivisect him. I don’t understand why you think that we can. It doesn’t feel right… he’s… he’s…

No. He isn’t. This is what ghosts do. They trick you. Demean you. Manipulate you. Don’t give in. This must be done for the advancement of science. For the good of the human race.

How could you possibly…?

—

Danny awoke to a torrential flood of light. A lamp had been placed above his head, searing a brightness into his eyes. He shut his eyes, tightening his eyelids as much as possible in an effort to drown out the blinding incandescence. A squeak was heard and the lamp was pushed away. Danny slowly opened his eyes as a scientist came into view. Even under the complete, white hazmat suit and helmet, he could make out that this scientist was female. She leaned over him, hands gripped the examination table tightly. She made eye contact with him, or at least Danny thought she did. Her goggles were as black as midnight, shadowy abysses in their own right.

The scientist began to move around the room, gathering papers and tapping her pen on various machines. She ignored the ghost boy’s pleas for mercy and questions as to who she was and why she was doing this. In fact, she seemed completely indifferent to the struggling and pained child in the room with her. The blackness of her goggles made even worse to Danny. Not being able to see her eyes made its seem as though she had no soul at all- a monstrous being of pure hate and loathing.

After what seemed like days to the subject, the scientist wheeled over a small table used to hold scalpels. Stopping it a foot from the examination table. Danny began to hyperventilate in fear of what was happening. The scientist said nothing as she picked a blade and cut into his cheek, just below the eye. Red and green liquids alike flowed from the slice, staining his face and shoulder with blood and ectoplasm. The overwhelming scents of iron and chemicals filled the air. The scientist scoffed and leaned over a table behind her, jotting down a few sentences on the papers which were strewn there. After a moment, she chose another scalpel from the tray beside her. She carefully lifted a flap of skin near the top of his gaping wound, slicing further up. She exposed a broken sternum and began to pick away the bones there as Danny shrieked in pain. All he could see was red now, a bright, blinding red of pain.

—

The Ecto-Dejecto should keep him from changing shape again.

Maddie, what if he’s not changing shape? What if…

Don’t think that way. This isn’t Danny. This… thing… has never been Danny. It’s all a trick. Can’t you see that?

I can’t Maddie. I just can’t.

Fine, Jack. Leave. You’re a spineless oaf anyways. I’ll do this on my own.

—

As she chipped away at the bones protecting his heart, the scientist ignored a desperate and bleeding phantom. She stopped only occasionally to scribble on the papers behind her. Ultimately, she ceased chipping away the sternum, and began to break and yank out the ribs which interfered with her work. She took six in total, examining and observing each as she pulled them out. Each landed on the surgical tray as she went. Eventually, her path to the hybrid’s heart had become unobstructed.

Danny pleaded with her, promising to tell her everything if only she would stop. She did not listen, only choosing a new blade in which to use in her experiments. The scientist did not hesitate as the she placed the scalpel and dragged, slicing open his heart. Blood and ectoplasm in equal amounts gushed forward into the maw of his chest like a demented sort of floodgate. As he gasped in his final breath, Danny could make out a pair of purple eyes and a wisp of reddish-brown hair behind those goggles of inky blackness.

[captainillogical]

Home Ch.2

The domesticity of living with an alien who hasn’t quite had the chance at a normal life.

Distant Lands sequel.

Spinel/Reader

collab with my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants​

The door in front of you is red.

The two of you are standing outside the entrance to, er, what the both of you will now be calling home. It’s.. a strange feeling. You’re excited to be here. And although you’re eternally grateful for the crystal gems for taking you in when you needed it, you’re also happy to be starting a new chapter in your life. 

Pearl should’ve had the last three of your boxes brought up already for you, as you didn’t really feel like doing that all yourself all the way up to the 9th floor if you’re honest with yourself. Your body is still pretty sore in general, especially your legs.

You watch Spinel pull keys out of her pocket and go for the door. 

"Why weren't those in your gem?" You ask as she fumbles with said keys in hand. "I didn't even know you had pockets.."

"Sometimes I forget." She furrows her eyebrows, a bit of her tongue peeking out as she squints, trying to get the key into the deadbolt right. It's kind of comical. "Don't act like you're expecting me to lose 'em already."

"Eh." You shrug, and watch her struggle for a couple more seconds. "Did you want help with that, orrrr,"-

She opens the door, interrupting your sentence with an enthusiastic whoop, and you can see the formidable stack of boxes in the small living room. You take one last look at the long sprawling hallway and the many, many doors on this floor and wonder what your neighbors are like.

"Are 'ya gonna just stand out there or what?" She says from inside the doorway. Looking a bit further down the hall, you can see that one of the doors has several strange notes taped to it - as if there's some sort of weird neighborly interaction going on there.

One of the other front doors opens just as Spinel wraps her hand around your wrist, and she nearly yanks you into the apartment. She slams the door shut behind you almost forcefully.

"You're not even gonna let me introduce myself to the neighbors?" You say, like you had any intention other than to snoop a little. Spinel fixes you with a look. It makes you feel a little giddy when she looks at you like she’s full of impatient affection, which makes you want to be a little obtuse on purpose.

"You can do that later." She folds her arms in slight irritation that you can definitely see in her eyes. "I've been wanting you alone for what feels like weeks now."

"You're a little dramatic," You walk further into the living room, taking note of the small deck outside the sliding glass doors. "It's only been a few days, and we've texted."

“I’m not, and you and I both know that it ‘ain’t the same.” She says from behind you, following you closely. You’re pretending you have no idea what she’s talking about.

You take a peek inside the small kitchen, and you love it. It’s cute. Gems don’t need to eat or store food, but these particular apartments have small amenities in place, as well as a bathroom and bedroom just to keep up with building code. You think it’s kind of hilarious that regular city ordinance gets a say in how aliens should build things, and you kind of wish you were present for the meetings that Bismuth had to have had with them.

You open the fridge, and realize nothing is in there. Oh, right. Of course. You don’t know what you were expecting.

Closing the fridge door, you feel a presence next to you and turn to realize that Spinel is RIGHT there. Like, maybe six inches from your face.

“What,” You say, feeling your heartbeat pick up a little. She’s watching you expectantly, as if she’s waiting for something. “Am I not allowed to check out our place? You’ve already been here for the last few days.”

She takes a half step closer, and grabs your face with the both of her hands to kiss you.

Ah. 

Her lips are soft. 

You won’t lie, you’ve been thinking about her like this on a constant feedback loop ever since the both of you confessed your feelings. 

You exhale out your nose and tilt your head enough to deepen the kiss, and she hums against your lips. She slides down one of her hands to the small of your back, and presses you flush against her, almost possessively. Your face heats up a little at the lack of space between you two.

Your phone dings twice in your pocket, and Spinel makes some kind of displeased sigh against your mouth as if you were even going to answer it. One of your hands finds its way to the side of her face, and you trail it over to the edges of her hairline just to touch more of her. She leans into it automatically. Her hair is soft to the touch, and you wish you could run your fingers through it. 

The hand on your back is searingly hot through the shirt you're wearing, and you can only focus on that and the sensation of her lips on yours.

Your phone dings three more times, and Spinel growls impatiently, and well, that certainly doesn’t do anything to you, no sir.

She pushes you against the fridge, and you’re extremely embarrassed about the groan that comes out of your mouth - she doesn’t seem to care because she’s kissing you a lot more forcefully now. It’s like she can’t keep her hands off you. 

“Spinel,” You pull away to breathe, lips wet. She goes right for your neck.

“What?” She hisses against your skin, and you shudder. A gloved hand slides up your shirt.

“I should probably run to the store for a grocery trip before it closes, there’s no food here and I’d like to eat this week.”

She pulls her mouth away from your skin, and your neck feels a little exposed.

“Can’t we do that tomorrow?” She sighs, giving you another look.

“If I wanna starve tonight, sure.” You reply, deadpan. It's not like you actually want this to stop..

“Uggghhhhhhhhhh FINE.” She rolls her eyes, and removes herself from you like it’s the worst thing to ever happen to her. “But we’re continuin’ this later.”

“You mean I’M continuing this later,” You poke her right in the gem, and she glares at you. Her cheeks tint a darker pink, and you find yourself grinning. “If I have anything to say about it, anyway.”

“Is that a challenge?” She replies, lowering her eyes at you in a way that makes the little hairs on your neck stand up. 

“Maaaaaybe.” You side step her, walking back towards the living room before you decide that actually yeah, maybe fucking her in the kitchen is a great idea right now. 

“I hate the tone you’re using.” 

“Why, does it make you nervous?” You open one of your boxes of clothes, looking for a sweater to wear out. A specific one. The one with the strawberries on the front. 

“No, you’re just smug.” She says, and you bark out a laugh.

You can’t find the sweater you want, which means you put it in a non-clothing box, or you left it at Steven’s. Ugh. Actually most of the clothes you’re rifling through kind of smell weird even though they should be clean. You shrug, coming to the conclusion you’ll also have to do laundry tonight.

“Do we have a washing machine?” You ask her. She looks at you a little confused.

“A what?”

“Y’know, like for washing my clothes. These smell funky and I’d like to wear something tomorrow.” You open one of your regular boxes, but it’s just filled with books. Many, many books.

“Oh! Yeah, Bis mentioned something about there bein’ one on the first floor. Although, I wouldn’t exactly mind ‘ya not wearing anything tomorrow.” She grins, canines shining in the low light of the apartment. 

“I’m not walking around naked, idiot.” You sigh at her, trying to keep your blush at bay. She’s so blunt with her affections now that you don’t really know how to deal with it. “Let’s just go to the store and get it over with.”

You grab your bag, making sure you have your wallet on you, and the both of you head out the door.

Spinel locks the door behind you, and the both of you make your way back down to the base level via elevator.

-

There’s a nearby market that’s still open for the next two hours, and the two of you end up walking there as it’s only a couple of blocks away. 

You look over at the neon sign saying ‘Open’ with the hours listed, and can see quite a few people and gems inside. Eugh. You were kind of hoping it wouldn’t be busy at like, 7pm, but here we are.

“I hope this won't take too long,” You head inside, Spinel trailing next to you. “I don’t even think you have toilet paper, so I’m gonna have to get quite a few things.”

“Toilet paper?” 

“Exactly my point.” You look around, seeing the cash registers at the front and the produce section immediately to your right. It’s.. a little loud in here.

Spinel is looking around in curious wonder, staring pretty hard at some of the sale display signs with obnoxious print.

You grab one of the carts off to the side, and make a beeline directly for the toiletries section, because you don't want to forget anything like you usually do.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind," You feel a hand grab yours, Spinel jogging briefly to catch up with you. "Why are 'ya being so fast? We've got time."

"Sorry, stores make me a little anxious when they have quite a few people in them," You narrowly avoid a few teenagers joking loudly and passing next to you. "I hate busy places."

"They ain't so bad. It's kinda lively." She replies, squeezing your hand. 

You pass four different aisles until you get to the one you're aiming for, having to maneuver around a couple gems that are in the way. You catch one of them looking pointedly to the hand you're holding with Spinel, and you try to ignore the way it makes your stomach lurch a little. 

You hate shopping.

You stop your cart in the toothbrush area, because you might as well get a new one as well as some toothpaste.

"Ooooooooh." Spinel reaches out beside you, grabbing one of those sonic kids brushes with all the lights. "What does this do?"

You grab what you need, throwing it in your cart and looking at your girlfriend (even just referring to her like this inside your head makes you unbelievably giddy) who's.. intensely studying the characters on the toothbrush. She presses the button in the middle, and the whole thing lights up and starts playing music. Her eyes go wide.

"Is this some 'kinda torture device?" She pokes the spinning bristles, eyebrows shooting up inquisitively. She then presses it against her face, and her reaction to it is immediate unpleasantness, and you laugh at her.

"It just cleans your teeth, weirdo." You grab it from her, turning the annoying music off and placing it back onto the shelf. "Although, I bet I could find a way to torture someone with it."

"Let's test it on Peridot." She grins, eyes a little gleeful.

"Do you really want to try her? See what she's capable of?" You ask her, trying to stifle your laughter.

"Oh, jeez, 'ya probably right. Pretty sure she'd tie me to a chair and make me watch reruns with her." She answers disdainfully. “Maybe Lapis, then.”

“If you want to drown, sure.”

She continues to peer at the many kid’s toothbrushes on this shelf, and you walk a couple feet over to grab shower supplies. You toss a couple more objects into your cart, nabbing a pack of toilet paper as well and tossing it in.

“What’s this?” You hear her ask, and when you turn to glance at her she’s got a bottle in her hand. It looks like some ibuprofen or tylenol.

“Painkillers. Toss that in the cart will you?”

“It.. kills pain?” She stares at the bottle. “Why do humans need doctors if they have this?”

“They only temporarily ease pain. Mainly for headaches and a sore back and stuff.”

“You meatbags come up with some weird stuff, there’s so many different types..” She grabs another couple bottles, squinting at them and them placing them back on the shelf.

“Yeah, well us meatbags had to create solutions to make our lives a little less awful.” You roll your eyes at her terminology. “Not that I’d expect a fucking rock to understand.”

“A fucking rock,” Her mouth is agape in offence, and she crosses her arms in a huff. It’s so fucking cute. “At least I don’t gotta eat.”

“You could. I bet you’d liiiiiike it.” 

“Yeah I’m ‘gonna pass on that one.” She scrunches her nose, as if the thought is wholly unappealing. You want to laugh.

“You liked sex.” You say bluntly, giving her a knowing look. She sputters, cheeks turning a much darker shade of pink.

“Shut upppppp! We’re in public, Y/N!” She glares at you, and you can’t stop yourself from grinning. 

A couple turns their cart into the aisle you’re in, and you decide to say nothing further.. For now.

You push your cart out of the aisle, Spinel instantly grabbing for your hand again. You like that she just does it whenever she wants to. 

You’re in the refrigeration section, and there’s a couple people here much to your displeasure. Some lady is loudly talking on the phone with one of her kids on speaker, and you glare a couple daggers her way even if she can’t see it.

Side-stepping a gem, you grab a block of cheese and some butter and you’re looking at the eggs when Spinel scoots right up to your side. She places her chin on your shoulder, and watches you open a carton to check the contents. The gesture has your heart doing a couple flips inside your ribcage.

“What ‘cha doooooin?” She inquires quite cutely, and you realize this probably looks weird to her.

“Trying to get a full, non cracked container of eggs.” You state. She grabs one from the open container you’re looking at. “Careful, only the outside is hard. The inside is kinda fluid-like.”

She squints at it in her palm. “That sounds disgusting. You eat these things like this? ‘Aint that crunchy?”

“You don’t eat it raw, normally.” You shoot her a quick look, and she’s looking at the egg like its existence disturbs her. “Most people cook them or add them to other things for consistency. Stop being so judgemental.”

“I’m not being judgemental..” She mutters, placing the egg back into your carton. This one’s got an egg that looks like it’s about to crack so you decide to put it back on the shelf. The woman talking on the phone near you howls out a laugh. “That lady sure is ‘annoying.” Her breath tickles your neck, and you hold back a shudder. 

“Yeah, I hate people like her. It’s fucking rude honestly.” You mutter back, grabbing a different carton. The last three had eggs missing, weirdly enough. Are people just taking single eggs and sticking them in their pockets? “Like how hard is it to just place it against your ear? Why do the rest of us give a shit about what you’re eating for brunch tomorrow?” Spinel chuckles, vibrating against your shoulder. “I ever tell ‘ya that you’re amusing?”

“No, but I’ll remember that next time you call me unfunny.” This carton has all eggs intact inside, so you place it gently into your cart. 

“Psssshhh.” She replies, and you move over to grab a half gallon of milk. You open the door to where all the milk is refrigerated, and Spinel makes a weird noise of disgust. “What the fuck is that? Why’s it white?”

“It’s just milk.” You give her a look. “And it’s white because of the proteins, chill. It comes from cows.” You point to the cow on the carton of 2% you’re buying. “Fucking judgey-ass gems..”

“That animal is in there??” She makes a face. “You guys are so weird.”

“No, idiot,” You laugh, trying to not lose your shit at her conclusions. You point to the udder. “They produce it, it’s not their flesh. Humans can do it too..”

“Can you do it?” She stares at you strangely.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You say, not wanting at all to elaborate on this and she barks out a laugh. You put the milk in the cart.

You’re in the bread aisle trying to figure out what kind of bagels you want, and Spinel is.. deeply studying the colorful bag clips hanging off the display strip on the side. You hear her grabbing the package and snapping the clips like crab claws, and you can’t help but snicker a little to yourself. 

She doesn’t seem to notice when you wander off to the other short bread aisle, because there's a few more options here that you want to look at. You missed bread so much that you’re feeling like you could eat all of them.. So you grab three different kinds to toss in the cart.

“Y/N?” You hear shuffling from the other aisle, and the rising panic in Spinel’s tone. “Where’d you go..?”

You walk back over to where you left her, and she looks slightly stressed out. She makes eye contact with you and visibly relaxes immediately.

“Sorry, I was just grabbing something from the other side.” You say to her, and her hand shoots out to grab onto your arm. “I wasn’t going to leave you, if that’s what you’re worried about..”

You raise an eyebrow, and she rubs the back of her head, embarrassed.

“Sorry, I know it’s irrational.”

You move your hand to lace your fingers with hers in comfort, palm fitting nicely against it. She seems a little taken aback with your gesture, but she doesn’t say anything by it.

“It’s not irrational.” You squeeze her hand, and seeing no one else around you, you lean in to give her a kiss on the cheek. 

“Y/N!” She hisses, looking around the aisle frantically as a small blush forms on her face. She places her other hand against where you kissed, like it’s somehow sacred. “In public?!”

“It’s not like there’s anyone around to see,” You can’t help the grin forming on your face. The lines on her cheeks look a little bolder with how flustered she is, and honestly? If you could pepper her face in kisses right now, you would. You’ve got this overwhelming amount of affection you’d like to give her, with nowhere to put it. Not until later, anyway. “God, you should see your face. It’s cute.”

“Will ‘ya shut up?!” She pointedly looks away from you, and you laugh. “I’m not cute.”

“I’ve got loads of proof that you are, but okay.” You give her hip a little bump, and her face looks back to yours to shoot out a glare that you’re not intimidated by in the least.

“Yeah, like what.”

“You know..” You trail off, and lean in close to the side of her face. You whisper something to her about the other morning, and she chokes, face going completely red. 

“I’m going to KILL you one of these days, Y/N.” She retorts, avoiding your eyes on purpose. You give her another nudge, and you can see her try desperately to stop the grin forming on her face.

“Let me at least finish shopping,” You reply, grabbing your cart to swing around to get a few more things on your mental list.

It doesn’t take that long to get the other staples you need, and before you know it you’re standing in line at checkout. You start placing your items on the belt once the other customer is finally paying, and you watch Spinel as she hilariously just tosses the items out of the cart and onto the conveyor. Ahhhhhh yeah you knew she wasn’t exactly graceful, but still.

“You find everything you need?” The cashier makes small talk with you, as you see her eyebrow raise at Spinel’s heart-shaped gem. Said gem seems utterly fascinated by the clerk’s bagging speed. 

“Yeah.” You politely answer, grabbing for your wallet as you watch the total rise. You maybe need another job, ugh..

Spinel raises an eyebrow and looks like she's about to say something asinine, so you step on her foot lightly to shut her up.

She yelps a little, and glares at you. You stifle a snicker, finishing the transaction so you two can get out of here. 

Once you're done, Spinel makes the effort of just placing the bags of groceries inside her gem conveniently, so you don't have to carry anything the short distance home. 

-

You don't give yourself the chance to relax much though because as soon as you get home and the groceries are put away, you've left Spinel to unpack your stuff as you go do a quick load of laundry.

The elevator dings and you're on the first floor again, hamper in hand. Opening the door to the communal washing room, you see several units here. There’s no one else around, and you’re so glad for that, honestly. Now you can look at memes in peace.

You fit all your clothes in one load thankfully, and you lean against the machine in wait after you fill what you need with soap. The wash cycle shouldn’t take too long, and you’ll go back upstairs briefly to help your girlfriend after you leave it on the drying cycle. You’re maybe in here alone for five minutes when a man and a giant basket of laundry comes in grunting. It’s another human.. You try not to stare too much.

“So, you live here?” He turns to say to you after dumping half his clothes in the machine in front of him. Of course he’s chatty.

“Yeah. Just moved in today.”

“Sweet, another human here! Now I won’t have to feel so alone.” He replies, swiping his brow lightly. He’s a bit older than you with some dark facial hair, and you don’t know how to say this.. He’s just extremely nonthreatening. “I live up on the 5th floor! Convenient for me since I work nearby, and the rent is so cheap..”

“How long have you lived here?” You ask, typing out a reply to Steven’s messages from earlier.

“A few months. It’s not as quiet as I hoped, gems are a bit on the wild side sometimes but everyone’s friendly!” He grins, pouring soap into his machine. “My boyfriend thinks it’s too loud, but he doesn’t pay the rent so he can’t complain. You live here alone?”

A boyfriend, huh? Maybe you can be friends with this guy.

“Nah, I moved in with my girlfriend.” You state, and the man just kinda stares at you for a moment, as he’s putting two and two together, realizing you’re the only two humans in the building.

“Are you dating a gem?” He asks a little apprehensively, and while you think you might be a little offended if someone else asked this way, the look on his face makes it obvious that he’s just extremely curious. “What’s that like?”

“Yes, and uh.” You stop, not knowing exactly how to answer, and the man barks out a laugh at the look on your face.

“You’re the only human I’ve ever met that’s dated a gem. I’m so telling my boyfriend, he’ll freak. He might have a buttload of questions for you next time I see you. Name’s George, by the way.” He holds out his hand in greeting.

“Y/N.” You take his hand to shake it, and the two of you talk for a little while as he asks you a few probing questions.

After ten minutes or so, your load is done and you put it in the dryer, saying your goodbyes to your new human neighbor.

On your way back upstairs, you manage to bump into a gem right as you turn to the hallway into your apartment.

“Oh! Pardon me,” The gem apologises, looking up from their cell phone.

It’s that same Rose Quartz from earlier.

“It’s you!” She says, slightly taken aback, but nonetheless pleased. “What do you happen to be doing here?”

“I live here.” You give her a small smile, and you notice her eyeing you up. Uh.

“That makes me very happy to hear.” She says in a way that kind of makes you a little nervous? 

“Well, it’s nice bumping into you here, I’ll see you around!” You make quick for your door, and she watches you the entire time, smile on her face. 

It gives you a bit of the heebie jeebies.

You slam the door behind you, and Spinel’s excited face greeting you immediately puts you at ease.