#I am really pleased with how the colouring turned out for all the scenes and the quality too

[desert-fern]

Pairing: Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw X Fem!Reader

Summary: You’ve had Rooster’s eye since he first met you, the only problem? You were in a relationship. But when you come to the Hard Deck newly single, looking to have a good time, your ex reappears. Things get heated, what’s a man to do other than shoot his shot (and maybe throw a few punches)?

Warnings: swearing, cheating (not from our main characters), confrontation about cheating, physical fights (it is a bar fight after all), reader is a quippy little shit. Lmk if I missed anything.

Word Count: 5.5k

A/N: hey all! Welcome to my second ever Rooster oneshot and my entry for @roosterforme’s Rocktober event! This piece is inspired by Van Halen’s Jump and is my excuse to write a bar fight.

===

Friday nights out with Mason sucked. Well, the drinks were always good at the Hard Deck, the other Navy men who frequented on Fridays were very pleasing to look at, the only shitty thing was, well, Mason. He would ditch you multiple times throughout the night, spending hours chatting with people he saw at work all day while you sat awkwardly in your seat people-watching.

Needless to say, you didn’t like those Friday nights very much. The nights where it was just the two of you were wonderful; you had his undivided attention and it was just easy. Your boyfriend would be all over you, smothering you with affection and it was so unlike the pilot you had come to know.

Mason just became a completely different person when he went out to the Navy bars with you. Maybe it was your fault, you weren’t really the kind of person who liked going out, so you couldn’t really blame him if he ditched you.

That was reasonable right?

Those were your thoughts as you sat at the bar, sipping on your water watching Mason and his group of friends chat with a group of girls. “You doing okay?” A voice next to you asked.

You turned, catching sight of what was probably the prettiest man you’d ever seen. Tall with tan skin just the right side of sunburnt, his whiskey coloured eyes were watching you over a pair of aviators perched on the edge of his nose. You swallowed, watching as his biceps moved, straining against the white and yellow printed Hawaiian shirt. “Yeah,” you croaked out, wincing at the sound. “Uh, yes. I’m alright, thanks.”

He smiled at you, his mustache crinkling just a little and you had to take a sip of your drink to try and keep your composure. “Glad to hear it. I’m Bradley, most people around here call me Rooster though.”

“Good to meet you, Bradley,” you replied, smiling back at him. You introduced yourself and couldn’t help but grin when he repeated your name back to you, loving the way it rolled off his tongue.

“Are you here with anyone?”

You nodded, smiling sadly. “I am. My boyfriend is over- well he was over there. I don’t know where he went,” you said after a minute. “But I don’t mind a little conversation.”

Bradley grinned. “Glad to hear it. So, at the risk of sounding like a sleaze, you come here often?” You could hear the humour in his tone and it made you laugh.

“I do, but it’s really not my scene.”

“Not a fan of the Navy?”

You shook your head. “That’s not it, my boyfriend is a pilot for the Navy. I’m just not really one for crowds,” you admitted. Your job as a nurse brought you close to a lot of people and sometimes, all you wanted was just to cuddle up on the couch with Mason and watch a movie. However, your boyfriend was much more of a social butterfly than you were and you often went along with what he wanted for the sake of not arguing.

But Friday nights were ‘for the boys’ so you often got dragged along to the bar whether or not you wanted to go.

“Did you want to step outside? I’d hate for my gorgeous but taken conversation partner to be uncomfortable,” Bradley said, shooting you a sly wink that had warmth blooming in your cheeks.

“Does that line often work for you?” You teased, enjoying how his blush grew.

He took a swig of his beer, rolling the bottle between his palms on the bar top before replying. “Wasn’t a line, sweetheart. You’re taken, but I can’t understand how he could so easily leave someone like you sitting all alone.”

You had to bite your lip to stifle the grin that threatened to grow larger the longer you sat chatting with Bradley. A reply was half way out of your mouth when a hand gripped your arm and you heard Mason’s voice next to your head. “Piss off Bradshaw, she’s taken.”

“Maso-” you started, but Bradley took a step back from you. You hadn’t noticed how close the two of you had been, practically sharing the same breath, but now, it was like someone had doused you with ice cold water. “We were just-”

“I don’t care,” your boyfriend growled. “Stay the fuck away from him.”

“Why?” You demanded. “You fucking ditch me at the bar YOU wanted to go to and expect me to not talk to anyone? Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

“Cannon…” Bradley muttered. “Of fucking course.”

Mason turned to look at you and you had never seen this kind of look in his eyes before. He looked dangerous, a wildness seemed to have taken over his entire being and you were scared. “Don’t embarrass me,” he hissed softly, his grip tightening around your arm.

Bradley must have seen the look of shock in your eyes because he stepped in. “Cannon, man, we were just talking. Let her go.”

Your arm was released and you finally took notice of his dishevelled appearance, a stone plunging your stomach down, down, down. You had known. Smelt the perfume that was not yours, you never wore it because Mason had claimed it gave him a headache. You had turned a blind eye to the random scratches, the strange bruises, even the lipstick on his shirts. You had willingly chosen to push your doubts aside for the sake of living the same boring life you had lived for the better part of two years.

But not anymore.

Pushing your doubt down, you let him lead you out of the bar, making the short trip to your car. You drove in a stony silence, ignoring every criticism Mason threw your way. But you said nothing, at this moment, you weren’t his girlfriend but his DD, and you thought long and hard about what you wanted from your life. If you were honest with yourself, it wasn’t Mason.

You wanted the simple life you had before he’d stumbled into your life with all the grace of a drunk elephant, a fairly apt description for Mason as a person.

He had made it fucking transparent that the last two years were a waste of your time. Mason’s friend, Max or Nuke as he was known to your boyfriend, lived a few blocks away from the bar, it was his house where you dropped him off, all but pushing him out of the car. “Don’t call me,” you snapped, watching his face go from confused to angry. “We’re done. I’m bringing your shit here tomorrow.”

The drive back to your place was strangely quiet. No drunk ranting, no criticising your shyness in the bar, none of that. It was like you pulled the bag off your head, unknowing that it was suffocating you and now you were finally breathing fresh air again. You thought back to Bradley, his strong arms, the ease with which he’d carried himself and the pink hue of his cheeks when you’d teased him back.

He was different.

And maybe you deserved different, but maybe that was your newly-single brain getting ahead of itself. All you knew is that your heart felt lighter as you climbed the stairs to your apartment, it was freeing and constricting all at once.

Inside, you ignored your phone buzzing incessantly. You plugged your phone in, ignoring the flash of angry messages that appeared as quickly as you could blink. You groaned, watching as Mason’s name popped up on your phone, this time calling you, but it disappeared just as fast, clearly he hadn’t meant to call you. It took less than 10 seconds for you to power your phone off, the screen going black as your eyes finally gained a reprieve from the onslaught of angry, hateful messages directed at you.

Mason could sober up before you had any type of conversation with him, not that you would be doing so for a long time, but still. He ran a short fuse, blowing up so quickly over the smallest things. You figured you were saving yourself the headache of not engaging, so you began to grab his things, throwing them in a pile in the living room.

Somewhere between cleaning out his clothes and throwing his knick knacks into the living room, you felt a tear run down your cheek. “He doesn’t deserve these tears,” you muttered angrily, swiping them away. “He didn’t deserve you.”

===

A few months later, you let your friend and coworker bully you into going out with her. You had often told Blair about your people watching at the Navy Bar and it had only taken one mention of it from you and she had been obsessed with the idea.

Now that you were single, for a whole three months, as Blair had ever so helpfully pointed out, she had decided that it was time for you to get back out there.

So here she was standing in your bedroom, clothing scattered around her as she pulled shirt after dress out of your closet. “Why have I never seen any of these before?! This shirt would look so hot on you!”

Shaking your head, you had to say that you didn’t know. “I just never felt comfortable wearing it around Mason’s friends and-”

“And you two never went out without at least one of his douchey friends.” Blair finished for you, giving you a look. “I swear, hon, his cock must have been huge for you to put up with his BS for as long as you did.”

You snorted. “That’s the sad part…”

“No! He was a fuckhead who cheated, a selfish bastard, and he had a micropeen?!” Blair exclaimed, whirling around to look at you. “Why were you with him to begin with? And don’t say that he was different when you first met. Mason wasn’t smart enough to hide all of that.”

The room was silent for a beat before the both of you burst into laughter. “I don’t even know why I said yes when he asked me out!”

“Girl! Me neither!”

You’d doubled over, clutching at your stomach as you laughed. It had morphed into a cackle of a sound, filling the room with raucous noise that had Blair laughing harder.

Tears streamed down your faces as you both tried your hardest to calm your breathing. “Here,” Blair said breathlessly. “Wear this.” She threw a pair of tight, high waisted blue denim shorts at you, a pair that you had bought once and quickly forgot about. Which was a shame, because these shorts in particular had two star-shaped cutouts filled in with red fabric on the ass.

You paled a little, thinking about what would happen if Mason had seen these shorts. “You broke up with him,” the little voice in your head chided. “Who gives a shit what Mason would’ve thought. You’d look hot.” So you grabbed them and a black tank top, changing quickly before Blair wrangled you into getting your makeup done.

The little voice in your head had been right, you did look hot. You could feel eyes on you from the moment you and Blair walked into the Hard Deck and while you wanted to run and hide, the thought of proving Mason wrong kept you motivated to at least have some semblance of fun. And that’s exactly what you did. You found yourself chatting up at the bar with another aviator who’d introduced himself as Fanboy. “You look familiar,” he’d said when he came up to the bar to buy another round for his group in the back of the room.

“She used to come here with her ex-boyfriend,” Blair chimed in, shooting you a wink before she slipped away to join the crowd around what looked like an intense darts game.

Fanboy - Mickey - had paused a little at her words before turning back to you. He’d asked you about your job, seeming very interested when you took the time to explain what you did. It was one of the best conversations you’d had in a while, both parties very interested in what the other had to say.

You didn’t know how long you’d been chatting when a dark haired woman in jeans and a plain t-shirt appeared by Mickey’s side. “So this is where our drinks went,” she teased, watching you both flush. “Why don’t you invite her over to the table, that way Jake stops whining about a pretty redhead picking Javy over him.”

He turned back to you. “Did you want to come hang with the rest of the group?” You must have hesitated because he quickly backtracked. “Or I can go run these over to them and I’ll come back.”

“No, it’s fine. Lead the way,” you told him, grabbing your drink. “Who picked this song?” You mumbled under your breath, wrinkling your nose at the Motley Crüe song blaring out of the juke box set against the side of the bar.

The woman snorted. “That would be Jake. Tall, blonde, dumb as he is tall. I’m sure you know the type.”

Biting back a laugh, you nodded. “Though if he’s a pilot like most of the people here, he can’t be that dumb.”

“Only when it comes to emotions.”

Ahh. One of those. You wove through the crowd, dodging groups of college aged girls all trying their hand at snaring a Navy man for a night.

Mickey stopped, dropping the drinks on a table nearby. “Finally! What took you so long, Nerd-Boy?” A tall Black man chided teasingly.

“Shut it, Lay-Back,” Mickey quipped back and you had to bite your cheek to hide your laugh at the banter that erupted on your arrival. “I was preoccupied.”

The woman behind you snagged a beer and flopped onto a stool near the edge of the pool table. “Guys come on. If you keep this up, he’ll never be post-occupied.”

“Nix c’mon!”

“That was awful.”

You watched their joking with interest, keen on figuring out their dynamic. No one seemed to act better than anyone else, namely the pilots who you learned were Phoenix, Payback, Coyote (or Javy to Blair who was leaning against his chest), and then Hangman AKA the ‘dumb as he is tall’ Jake. It was refreshing to see a group of people who had the same job as Nathan and his asshole friends, but who were the most welcoming people you’d met in a while.

“So,” Payback said, turning the conversation away from that morning’s hop. “What possessed you to follow Fanboy of all people?”

You swallowed harshly, feeling their attention turn to you. “He actually asked me questions about myself rather than try and slide into my shorts for a night.”

A few “ooohs” rose out of the crowd, the pilots around you chuckling at how quickly you’d lambasted Payback for his bad question. You just shrugged and took a sip of your drink, ignoring the little whoop Blair had let out.

“Well, well, well,” Jake suddenly said, smirking at something behind you. “Looks like Birdbrain finally decided to grace us with his presence.”

You turned and nearly gasped. The man behind you gave you a crooked smile before replying. “I was a little busy.”

“Rooster,” you breathed, finding yourself suddenly very shy. He looked the same as he did the night you had met, maybe better because now you were single, but regardless. “Hi.”

“Hey.” He was watching you closely, brown eyes flicking back and forth over you as you averted your eyes. “Haven’t seen you around lately. Everything okay?”

You nodded, meeting his eyes and promptly feeling your face turn a brilliant red under his gaze. “Yeah uh… I’ve been busy at work.”

Bradley moved to stand beside you, grabbing the lone bottle on the counter and taking a swig. “You’re a nurse, right? Long shifts?”

“Something like that,” you mumbled, narrowing your eyes at Blair who was making a kissy face in your direction. “Just had a lot on my mind lately, plus crowds…”

“...aren’t your thing,” he finished for you, laughing at your reaction to the woman under Javy’s arm.

Your eyes shot up to meet his, your mouth falling agape at his words. “You remembered.”

“That I did, sweetheart.”

A flush spread up your neck. Somehow it had been easier to flirt when you weren’t single and now you felt like a goldfish that someone had plucked out of the water. Completely out of your element and you felt like dying at your uncertainty. “Lucky me,” you breathed, sipping your drink. “A man like you remembering little ole me? That never happens.”

“How could I not, sweetheart?” The grin on Bradley’s face sent butterflies racing through your stomach, the charm just radiating off of him. “You made quite the impression.”

You gave him a flat look. “My social awkwardness was enough to catch your eye? Nice try, Bradley, but I’m not buying it,” you replied teasingly, watching his eyes light up. “That poor attempt at a line doesn’t work on me anyways.”

“Who said it was a line?”

A loud smacking noise had you and Bradley jolting away from one another, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that there were other people in the room besides the two of you. “Finally!” Phoenix said, rolling her eyes. “There are other people here besides you two, ya know.”

“Sorry…”

“Sorry Nix. Couldn’t help myself,” Bradley said, sheepishly. A hand came up to tuck his sunglasses in the collar of his shirt and you couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t changed from your memory. Still kind, still handsome as all hell, still dressed in a loud Hawaiian shirt. This one had white and orangey coloured flowers against a creamy light yellow fabric. But it was him and you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since you’d met.

Despite that, you let yourself get dragged into a game of pool, pairing up with Phoenix against Bob and Mickey. You hadn’t played in a long time, so you weren’t great, but everyone else was sort of around your skill level so it wound up being more fun than you’d thought. “Okay, so after that show of mediocrity, anything will look good,” Hangman said loudly, clapping his hands and snatching a pool cue off the wall.

“Just means that we set the average. If you lose, you’ll land among us,” you snarked back, grinning widely at him. “No pressure.”

A hand on your lower back startled you and you spun around only to come face to chest with Bradley’s sunglasses. “Hear that? You got a lot riding on this one, Bagman,” he jeered over your head, shooting you a wink after. “You wanna take him on with me?”

“I’m not…”

“It’s just for fun, sweetheart. No pressure at all.”

“Sure. Why not?”

And you were off. Round and round the table you went, watching Jake and Bradley duke it out over the velvety table. But when it finally came time for your turn, you had to lean over the table far more than you had initially wanted, giving the pilots and Bradley behind you a good look at your ass in those shorts. You could feel his gaze on the red stars neatly framing your hips in the colour, and you preened a little.

A solid hit with your cue, you stood up, watching the white ball shoot towards a purpley coloured one and send it careening into the pocket. “Yes!” you whooped, jumping up in your excitement, bumping into Bradley behind you. “Oops.”

“All good sweetheart. No harm done,” the lazy smile on his face had your knees buckling and you quickly grabbed the pool table, using it to steady yourself. “Besides, I’m tougher than I look.”

You laughed, the sound mixing with the general din of the bar and you watched as Bradley’s eyes filled with the same mirth that was bubbling inside of you. “Self-burns are rare to witness,” you teased, grinning wider at the look that skittered across his face.

“I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

“Yup.”

He groaned jokingly, his lips twisting into a devilish smile that sent heat racing down your spine to pool between your thighs. “Damn it. I was hoping to play it cool.”

You opened your mouth to reply, but shut it quickly when Jake started complaining about the pair of you taking too long and Bradley stepped up to play his turn. You watched the two of them keep at it, playing as though neither you nor Mickey were there. “I’m going to grab another drink, did you want anything?” you asked, setting your cue against the wall.

“Nah, I’m good. Before you go, I’m guessing you’re more into him than me?” Mickey saw the surprise cascade over your face. “It’s okay! I just want to know if I should get my hopes up.”

“I’m sorry Mickey, that really wasn’t fair to you at all,” you apologized. “I do have another friend that I think would be perfect for you, but I am sorry for wasting your night.”

“Hey. It’s fine. Seriously,” he added when catching your unconvinced look. “I still won. Rooster finally shut up about the pretty girl he met a while back that was dating this douche we have to work with. You did us all a favour.” Mickey gave you a kind smile, before turning back to the game and leaving you standing in shock at how calmly he’d handled the rejection.

But you didn’t dwell on it long. You needed another drink; the first one long gone by now. Penny had just handed it over when a voice from behind you caused the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end. “So this is where I find you, you fucking cunt.”

Only one voice sounded like that and it belonged to your ex.

Fucking Mason.

You groaned, turning around with your new drink in hand. “Can I help you?” A few of the people next to you, two men and a woman dressed in civvies, dropped their own conversation, listening intently on the drama that was sure to unfold. “I was fairly certain I told you not to contact me in any way.”

“You fucking abandoned me at Nuke’s place! Didn’t even have the courtesy to call him!” Mason growled, stepping closer to you. “I had to explain what happened like a fucking loser!” You could smell the alcohol on him. He reeked of it, his sweater wafting vodka-flavoured fumes in your direction each time he moved. Biting your tongue, you shifted in place, keeping your body close to the bar and watching for Nuke or another of Mason’s cronies to make an appearance.

Normally by now, you’d be trying to placate him, telling him not to make a scene and to lower his tone. Tonight however, you couldn’t find it within you to care. If he yelled and threw a tantrum, that was on him, not you. “How is any of that my problem, Mason? You cheated, and had been doing so for months as I later learned. You literally fucked around and found out.”

Mason’s face turned a shade of purple you’d never seen before. There was madness in his eyes and you finally learned why they had called him ‘Cannon’. He was unstable, quick to anger, and once set off, nothing could be taken back. “How can you be so unaffected?! I was the best thing that ever happened to you! No one loved you. If it weren’t for me, you’d still be the same ugly bitch I met two years ago.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mason,” you told him calmly. You had no idea if the whole bar had gone quiet; all you could hear was your frantic heartbeat thrumming like a butterfly’s wings. “You were a stepping stone to who I really am. If I meant so little to you, then why not love me and leave me like you did to all those girls you had in between?”

You paused, drawing in a sharp breath and trying to ground yourself in the moment. Trying to force yourself to pause, to centre yourself. “I’ll tell you why. It was never me who needed you. You needed me.” Taking a step forwards, you forced your eyes to meet his own, taking stock of the wildness that raged unhindered in the deep blue of his irises. “Your game wasn’t fun unless I had no idea. You needed me to make you feel good about yourself. By all means, live in your delusion, but let’s not kid ourselves and say that this break up was my fault.”

Mason let out an unintelligible noise, his hand flying out and slapping you. The sound echoed through the room, snapping your head to the side. “You whore!”

It took you not even ten seconds to right yourself and punch him back, your fist slamming into his nose with a sickening crunch. Blood stained your knuckles and you watched his face contort in pain as his nose began to bleed and he let out a shout of pain. “If anyone’s the whore it’s you, Mason. You got laid more times by women other than me so often your body count is higher than a fucking motel bed.”

He lunged for you, anger staining his face a brilliant scarlet that matched your shorts, but was blocked by one of the men who had been standing next to you. Mason’s fist thudded against this man’s arm, shock evident on his face.

A few seconds passed. No one moved. Mason was still held by this other man, who was both taller and wider than him. You stood against the bar watching it all slowly tick down. “5, 4, 3,” you thought to yourself, noticing how some of the men in the room looked twitchy. “2, 1.”

Just as the opening notes of Van Halen’s Jump blared through the jukebox, the man holding Mason swung, clipping him in the jaw and sending him sprawling back into another man, who spilled his drink all over himself. He whirled around, shoving your ex away and yelling at him.

Shouts erupted, fists began flying as the bar dissolved into complete chaos as small fights broke out. People jumped out of the way and you heard a few glasses smash against the floor. You heard Jake’s loud “What the fuck?!” over the din as he waded through the fight, dodging a rogue fist that went for his stomach.

The Navy personnel were trying to stay out of it. The Daggers at the back were standing in barely concealed shock as a girl shrieked like a banshee and came running at you. She grabbed your hair, yanking you away from the bar with a surprisingly strong grip. “Fuck you!” You yelled as you kicked a leg out to trip her.

She fell, hauling you to the ground with her. You landed on top of her, prying your hair from her fist, feeling some strands get ripped out as you tried to stand up. Wrenching yourself from her grasp, you backed up, tucking yourself against the bar once again. You saw Mason get shoved back from a group of men, his hands coming up to swing at his attacker, but fail and get punched in the face for his trouble.

Rooster saw the red flash of your shorts through a hole in the crowd and immediately pushed his way through the people, ignoring Phoenix’s hand trying to hold him back. He couldn’t see you anymore; he saw Cannon swinging wildly nearby and his heart sank, praying that it wasn’t you.

It wasn’t. Thankfully.

His focus was diverted when a punch went wide, slamming into his mid-back and making him stumble forwards a step. Bradley whirled around, glowering at the man, a young pilot on base, until he raised his hands in surrender. “Go home,” he snapped, watching the younger man blink in what looked like fear before backing up against the wall and staying out of the way.

Bradley pushed his way over to where he last saw you, but found nothing. You had vanished and the bodies thudding into one another, smashing glasses, and shouts did nothing to help him find you. He was tall enough to see over most of the crowd, but unfortunately it gave him no advantage in trying to find you. Half the girls in the bar were dressed like you and unless he could see your face or your ass, he would come up empty every time.

“Get the fuck off of me!” You screeched loudly, slamming your hand against a man’s throat when he groped you. He started wheezing, anger in his eyes as he tried to catch his breath, still advancing on you all the while.

A hand grabbed the man’s shoulder and you caught a glimpse of Rooster’s mustached face over his shoulder. “Get lost.”

The man in front of you turned around, eyes widening a little when he saw Bradley behind him. “I was just-”

“I don’t care what you were doing.” The chill in Rooster’s voice sent shivers down your spine and you could see that the man in front of you was scared shitless. “She told you to fuck off.”

Under Bradley’s firm gaze, the other man ducked his head and hurried off into the crowd, tossing a half-hearted apology your way. “What the fuck happened?”

You opened your mouth to reply but quickly shut it having seen Mason run up behind him, a beer glass in hand. “Behind you!”

He turned quickly, catching a glimpse of Mason who froze in his tracks. You couldn’t see what happened next, but you did see Bradley’s head snap to the side and next thing you knew Mason hit the floor with a crash. “Fucking coward. Starting a bar fight because you cheated on your girlfriend and she called you out.”

He crouched down, mouth close to Mason’s face and hissed out “You’re fucking lucky that there’s witnesses and that your ex-girlfriend is watching this whole thing, otherwise I’d make sure you looked as small as you made her feel.”

Unable to watch more of this, you stepped forwards, letting your hand fall on his shoulder. Bradley’s head turned, his eyes softening as he took you in. “He’s not worth it,” you mumbled, barely audible over the noise in the bar. “Let Penny ring the bell and let him get his ass beat tomorrow in training.”

Bradley stood, towering over Mason before kicking his leg and turning to pull you into his arms. “You okay?”

“Ish… my cheek hurts. Fucker got me good.” You cast a look over his face, smoothing your thumb over his jaw, prodding gently at the red mark that had started blooming from Mason’s fist. “Are you okay?”

“Fine now.” He brushed your concern off, a small smile beginning to form as he saw the concern in your eyes. Even after a bar fight that you had inadvertently started, you were still concerned for him. You had faced your ex head on and he’d laid his hands on you. Sure you’d hit him back, but he’d still drawn blood when your teeth had smacked against your lip.

But here you were, in his arms, asking him to follow your finger so you knew that he really was okay. Cannon hadn’t deserved you and Bradley had thought of no one but you since you’d agreed to chat with him that one night months ago.

“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” he finally said, catching your hand in his own. “Trust me. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

Your heart stuttered from its steady pace. The sincerity in his brown eyes gave you pause because you couldn’t believe that this man, another Navy pilot, could be so different from your ex. “I know,” you whispered. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I nearly had to call an ambulance because my fuckhead of an ex tried to knock you out.”

Bradley snorted, shaking his head at your scathing words. “I liked ‘fuckhead’ better than Cannon anyways.”

“Seriously? That’s what you took away from this?”

He shot you a lopsided grin, the end of his mustache tilting a little with the expression. “I’m pretty sure I got you in all of this, sweetheart. Best prize I ever won.”

“Who says you won me?” You shot back, trying to hide the smile that threatened to break free under the teasing look Bradley was giving you. You had found yourself doing that all night, every comment, each passing look you’d been given had filled you up with giddiness.

“I do, if you’ll have me, that is.” A hand brushed hair over your ear and you couldn’t contain the shiver that the gesture elicited. “If not, then I hope you let me try and win you over.”

You couldn’t hide the smile that erupted at his words. The bar fight continued in small pockets around the room, but right now with Bradley’s hand resting just above the swell of your ass as you curled into his side, you found a peace you didn’t know you needed.

Looking up, you pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “All good things require a leap of faith, right?” He nodded, smiling down at you. “Might as well jump if you’re there to catch me.”

===

A/N: So there we have it! Rocktober is checked off my WIP list now! Now to make sure I don’t start anything new 😂 Big thank you to @startrekfangirl2233 for punching the shit out of my imposter syndrome and being the best beta-reader a girl could ask for!

Tagging: @roosterforme @startrekfangirl2233 @cassiemitchell @sarahsmi13s @cherrycola27 @multifandomlover4life @horseshoegirl @bobgasm @thedroneranger @beyondthesefourwalls @dcyllom

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[simp-ly-writes]

Suits, Ties, and Thus Spies (pt.3)

Pairing: Spy!Task Force 141 x Handler!Reader

Summary: Its the task force's first mission as Agents at Taylor Tailor's. How will it go- will other agents accept them and most of all- will you be able to handle working with so many agents on the same mission?

Warnings:2500 words, light swearing and teasing, depictions of blood and violence. A/N: sorry for the delay... decided to change the look of these stories too (hope you like the change!). Masterlist | Taglist | edited.

6:00 PM | Autumn | National Museum of Art and History

Agent Whitby grips the back of another man's suit into a fist, slamming his face repeatedly into the brick wall of the storage room. Blood pours out from their nose, a harsh gash forming against their left cheek and forehead- the skin purple and blue as one of their eyes swells shut. “You really are wasting my time here- you’re a waste of time really for anyone so why not just tell me what the code is, make it easy on your looks and my patience- hm?” he challenges, flicking his head back as the man tries to elbow him in the face. 

Letting out a tisk, Whitby drops the man, holding him in place with a dress shoe to the chest as he feels the man begin to cough up blood as he cringes, eyeing at the lower fabric of his suit becoming damaged by the liquid. Letting out a sigh, while shaking his head, glass slipping down his face as he reaches into his waistband leveling the barrel of the gun in between their eyes. 

“Let us try this again, where-” Whitby pauses at the sound of your voice coming through his earpiece, tilting his head to the side as he continues to stare down at the man, waiting for him to speak the answers he evers-so needs. 

“Whitby, do you have a moment?” you ask coated in sweety-coated sarcasm as you watch him through a hidden camera put on his glasses- observing the man on the floor with mocking pity on your features as you turned to Laswell and point to the room Whitby closed himself into as various enemies flooded the floors below him, making their way upstairs and into the ancient egyptian part of the museum. 

“All my time is yours, love. Only to ask,” Whitby says lovingly while stepping into the man's chest harder, hearing as he wheezes out from the pressure. “Warming my heart here darling,” you start to say, hands moving across the keyboard as you add the scanned models of your newest agents into the digital model. “Whitby, I am sending my newest agents in to help you as a gage for the training that needs to be done. You are in charge, congrats- you are a new father of four!” 

“You’re joking-” Whity begins to say before Handler Jacobs patches themselves into the call, a still image of them setting on your computer screen as soundwaves spike and drop in rhythm to his speech. “Agent, this is Handler Jacobs, you are green to finish him off- passcode is.” You wince as the gunshot rings in your ears- stilling the blood in your body as switch yours and Laswell’s calls over to the boys comms as they arrive at the scene. Their once greyed out figures now bursting with colour and moving in sync to their current actions. 

“Alright Agents, give me a sign that you hear me,” you test, watching the surveillance coverage with a nervous smile as you begin to pick at your nail polish, blood pumping and making it way upwards to your head- settling its thundering beat in your ears. Laswell scoots her office chair closer, placing a hand on your shoulder for reassurance as you let out a large breath. “Loud and clear” rings through your comms as you shake Laswells hand off of you, moving to stand and lean over the diagram. “A physical sign please-” you stress as silence is all you receive on the line, watching as they start to whisper to one another and look around, feeling around their suits. 

“I don’t think I copy, Dee…” Gaz says, rubbing the back of his head. “I watch your every move boys while on a mission. And that is Handler D, please. Turn left and go through the staff entrance, inside the envelope is a swipe to get through the door. Charlotte has already put your biometrics into the security. You will have to climb up the disabled  elevator shaft. Agent Whitby is on the third floor in the Egyptian exhibit awaiting your arrival as we speak.”

“Oh,” Soap responded, waving his hands widely in the hair as you shake your head- looking at Laswell who is struggling to contain her laughter as you grip at the table, knuckles turning white. You watch as the task force makes their way, peering down each corner and into the elevator shaft as they begin to climb the ropes. You watch their technique, writing a few notes on a nearby paper-pad from your desk upon their technique. “We are on the third floor,” John states. 

“Walk as I talk please, turn left, left again, open the yellow door to your right there is a card swipe behind the suit of armour. In 10 steps you find a closet door, open it,” you order, falling back into your chair as their digital models work through the space, guns raised as you click your pen on and off, listening as your clicks sound in tune to the digital clock on your screen. You continue your notes as a ping vibrates through your phone. Mouthing a thank you to Laswell, the report you asked for finally in your inbox. 

“Well hello there,” Whitby states, picking up the dead man's handkerchief as he cleans his hands before shaking each of the task force’s in a strong grip and tight smile. “Agent Whitby, do follow me,” he commands, dropping the piece of cloth to the floor before ushering the group outside the closet as he starts to jog down the hall and places the code into the staff hallway before continuing to navigate the maze of white tiled floors and beige walls without a blink of worry. Handler Jacobs rattles off directions in his earpiece as the task force remains impressed by his supposed memorization of the building. 

“Alright boys, there is one hostile coming up on your west in 5, 4, 3 2, and…” you watch as Johnny tackles the forager into a nearby cart, various vitals of chemicals spill across the floor as they hiss and fizzle amongst one another, eating away at the leather of his shoes. Loosening his tie, Whitby restrains the woman, humming to himself while scanning the rest of the hallway. “Good work, agent,” Whitby compliments, clapping a hand down on their shoulder before continuing to move down the hall and sporadically turning on 90 degrees to slam the door back on another forger, they curse out in pain, dropping to their knees before quickly standing and rushing out into the hall, starting to swing at Whitby.

Dipping down and extending his leg outwards, the man falls over, face slamming into the tile floors below just before they grip his ankle, tackling the agent down with him. Various punches are shared before Whitby has their purple-head in between his thighs- they whimper for air, slamming their fists repeatedly against his thighs while. Whitby signals over for another tie as John wraps the fabric tightly around their wrists. Straightening his jacket one more, Whitby’s chest rapidly rises and falls- needing air he unbuttons a series from his dress shirt before punching in a code back into the door as it creaks in welcome. 

Flicking the lights on, Whitby now walks with a limp to his step- observing the various artifacts in the room sat beside the fakes that were to be sold. Pinching the edge of his glasses, he takes a series of photos- uploading them into the system. “Ghost and Soap, right? If you could demolish these fakes.”

“You have 12 combatants coming from the roof, 20 minutes until they reach you all,” you comment, eyes flicking from the model to the surveillance photo as you chew your lip anxiously. “I have already informed Kyle and Price in the hall but the police are on their way- 30 minutes tops you all. Destroy and set the forgers in place. We cannot be seen,” you state, setting a timer to each of their watches. 

“Then let the fun begin,” Whitby announces to the room before they all get to work smashing through the various fake vases and statues that were to be sold for profit through these criminals. Porcelain shards fly and rattle against one another, crunching beneath their shoes. Glass cabinets are flung open, mixing with the debris on the floor as Soap sets fire to a fake wooden ship carving. Flicking your vision back to the hall, John and Kyle made their way back into the room, tying the criminals to desk chairs and placing a bat at their feet with a smirk. Just as they shut the door behind themselves, you clicked a button on your console as the ties fell from their hands and the forgers scrambled and scratched against the door for an escape to only find none besides the prison cell that awaits them. 

“You are to take your cars back, Whitby is driving to get your gear cleaned before you step back into the facility- safety protocol. Good work today, boys- a few training notes I have for later but other than that, a successful mission is all that matters- management is pleased,” you note watching as they descended from the window, grappling with their belt and buckle before skirting off into the city streets.

A rock station began to bang through the car's audio system just before you shut off communications and watched them drive to the specialty cleaners. Taking a stand and clapping your hands, Laswell rubbed her eyes before announcing her departure. Taking a long hug together you showed her back to the store front before running across the street to pick up a bottle of liquor. Smiling at the black label brand you pay and dash back to the lobby - pouring out a series of cups with ice and phone for Charlotte, Jason, Jacobs, and Samantha to join you all for a debrief. 

–

You smile, watching as the boys do their best to flatten out their freshly primed suits and straighten their ties before walking up to you lounging in one of the many chairs in the large living space of the lobby. The leather creaks under each of their weight, each man smiling as you hand over a glass of Tennessee whisky just as Whitby sends you a knowing wink while eyeing up the bottle. 

“Interesting choice, sweetheart.” He teases as you roll your eyes, shoving his shoulder with your own playfully before he starts to lean closer to you, lips drifting featherlight words into your ear as your cheeks turn back. Charlotte smiles at the bottom of her glass, emitting an echoing chuckle before locking her ankles with Jacobs sat across from her. 

“Are you all dating? Or is this an agent-handler culture thing we don’t understand?” Johnny asks. Eyeing the way Whitby's hands drift across your clothing, finding hidden bits of your warm skin with a small frown as you furiously shake your head. “No, no, no, definitely not. But in this line of work specifically… you only want to get with people who really know you- for you. Not the management-mandated mask externally…” you drift off just as Whitby places a hand on your knee, smiling reassuringly before standing and distributing the rest of the bottle as you each cheer for a successful first mission. 

Returning back home, flicking on the bedroom lamp and getting ready for the night and the subsequent morning after. You could only close that night, snuggling into your cold empty sheets of your house- praying that your remaining “favour-missions” go just as smoothly as the last.

But as the cold night air wept its way through the curtains and into your harrowing dreams as you tossed and turned through the night, gripping and digging into your sheets as the streets became lively in the morning light. Your alarm sounded as you felt around to slam it down shut, another day, another mission done and with your bags packed in preparation. It would be a quick training session and the team's first international mission as a kidnapped royal needed your help. 

You groaned at the panic voice mail, the personal bodyguard shaking like a leaf before pleading through your home's digital system speakers. You start a voicemail while pouring a cup of coffee, the toaster pops up as you navigate through the kitchen and settle down at the island. 

“I have an agent close by to their last known location- they will be forwarded until I can get me and my team into a local base of operations. We will bring them home for the country,” you finish the note with, chugging down the rest of your drink before washing your plates in the sink. Feeling underneath the counter, your fingers dip into crevices- a light flashes red and the floor just beside your slides open. 

A fireproof box hisses open to your fingerprint, various foreign currencies and passports from your past missions flood your memories, fingers drifting over each material and number before settling them on the countertop. 

Stepping into your pantry you push back on a wall, the surface rumbles for a moment before turning itself and revealing a series of steps down towards your basement. The lights flicker on to your presence, humming slightly above your head as you make your way down the firing range and towards your collection. Gently picking up and cleaning each gun, you place them in their travel safe and locked containers before slamming the door behind you. 

Packing your belongings into a bulletproof suitcase- made from the same material as your suit. “X?” you request to your house, “Yes, Handler Daniels?” the AI responds in a pleasant accent back- awaiting your every order. “Please make a suit reservation in one hour, request for beige to be brought out- we are going tropical,” you state. “Very well,” X responds back before going silent once more. 

Suiting yourself up, tying up your dress shoes and slinging a shoulder bag on, you look between the car options you have before deciding on an SUV- needing the seating space for their airport trip that awaited you. Checking your appearance one last time in the rearview mirror you rolled out the driveway and down the country roads. Your house is locked automatically with the lack of your detected presence.

Clicking on the radio, Skyfall began to play through the radio as you tapped your fingers against the steering wheel while awaiting a light change. Rolling your eyes as a driver in front of you almost clipped a pedestrian on the sidewalk wishing to cross on their signal. You pulled into the underground garage underneath the building before driving into a specific parking spot off in a dim corner. It scans the bottom of your car, clicking with approval once finding your matching icon before lowering you deeping into the ground. You smile seeing the various sports cars and SUVs already parked in a line- workers busy or some that even worked through the night as you smile at Samanatha as she waves you in from the front desk, settling yourself in the office once more you read through Lasswell's report before sending out the email. Back your bags boys, we are going international.

↳ Taglist: @thriving-n-jiving @cringeycookies @lilliumrorum @brokenpieces-72 @infpt-zylith @kaoyamamegami @ashy-kit @notsaelty @hindi-si-ikay @sleepyycatt

[sxtvrns]

the firsts i’ve never felt

🎶 now playing: clementine - grentperez

P: Kim Jongseob x Fem!Reader

S: You find yourself wandering the headquarters after being left unattended. He finds himself unreasonably intrigued by you.

C: meet cute, fluff, puppy love, inaccuracy, a bit sloppy, mentions of bullying, kinda rushed?

N: i’ve transformed my entire feed and started a bunch of masterlists and stuff! this fic is part of one of them that i need to design and stuff but i hope you’re loving the organization because i certainly am. i really wanna write but my brain is running out of scenarios i can work off of so if you dont hear from me for a while you know why. if i don't get a hair colour right sue me i can't memorize everything | all ages listed are korean, not international!

view the rest of the conversations ☆彡

please interact if you enjoy!

“Hey, honey, do you wanna come and visit my new job today? They’re showing me around, and you’re planning to work in the entertainment industry behind the scenes, aren’t you?”

…sounds like a super unprofessional thing for your mom to say on her first day of the job. However, the staff gave her leeway somehow after saying you were an aspiring makeup artist with a growing following. She said you could join in a few years, if you’d like. You still had time to think about it.

“So, how old is your daughter?” The employee asks.

“16.”

“What kind of makeup does she do?”

“She has a rather… broad spectrum. I could go into specifics but that would require me showing you examples and taking up your time.”

“Oh, go ahead! Besides, I could use a break from the work.”

The door to the elevator opens with a ding, both adults behind you not seeming to pay attention. You quickly but stealthy walk off the elevator, their attention still focused on your mom’s phone. As the doors close, they still don’t seem to notice, instead they continue going up, and you’re left alone in the quiet, empty hallway.

Somewhat quiet, actually. There was loud music coming from some of the rooms you could hear from outside as you walked by. Your phone buzzed in your hand, though you aren’t bothered to check it until another staff member sees you in the hall. She goes on her phone, types rapidly on the screen, and starts walking towards you.

You walk away from her at a quickened pace, turning the corner and beginning to run. You turn the corner again, briefly glancing at the rooms as you pass by, all of them with people inside and the lights on. Except for one.

The sound of steps sounded like it grew withe presence of multiple people, so you had no time to check and instead opened the door, and to your relief, no one was inside. You shut it quietly, hiding against the wall in hopes that the crowd passes by.

The buzzing from your phone earlier was frantic texts from your mom, asking where you went and specifying that the staff was now looking for you. You replied calmly that you ‘took yourself on your own tour’ and ‘got off as a joke in hopes she would notice’. You could practically hear her sigh at her phone as she responds with ‘i’ll keep you updated’ before leaving you on read.

You slide down against the wall, sitting and observing the environment around you. This was a dance studio, one of many that looked the same as some of the others. You didn’t want to get caught, so you stayed there for a bit on your phone, caught off guard at the sound of someone opening the door.

At first you panic, thinking someone from staff found you, but it was just some guy adorned in all black with a beanie and a mask, taking both of them off and somehow not noticing you.

You spoke too soon.

the first meet.

His eyes widened at the sight of you, the door he held open by a sliver. You hear something from outside.

“Jongseob, there’s some new hire’s daughter on the loose and she was last seen on this floor, have you seen her?” A staff member asks, the boy’s head peeking back in to look at you. You frantically shake your head and gesture for him to keep his mouth shut as he peeks out the door right after.

“I haven’t seen her, sorry.”

He fully closes the door this time, a sigh of relief escaping you as your eyes stayed glued on the boy that was nice enough to not snitch. “What are you doing here?” He asks, a reasonable question since you were in the studio for a reason other than dancing. “My mom works here. She’s starting today. And… I may or may not have gotten off the elevator too early.” You try to sum it up.

“Why?”

“Um, they were distracted. And I didn’t think the door would close right after I got off.”

“How did they even let you in?”

“I might work someplace like this as a makeup artist. When I’m older. My mom brought me along for her tour, and… that’s how I ended up here. I was running away from staff. If you want, I can leave.”

“I didn’t lie just for you to get out and defeat the whole purpose of it. It’s okay, you can stay as long as you need to.”

“Really? I’m not intruding?”

“My members won’t be here for the next little while, if you’re overwhelmed by the presence of multiple men.”

His joke makes you laugh, and you inch out of the corner you’re hiding in more, seeing him walk towards you and open the laptop on the desk. “How old are you now?” He suddenly asks, a question you find odd at first.

“16.” (international age = 14, turned 15 after a few weeks)

“Really? Me too.”

“You looked a little young. Are you a trainee?”

“I actually debuted a few weeks ago. We’re doing some promotional stuff and we have practice today.”

“Do you want me to leave when they arrive?”

“You can stay for now. It’s up to the leader if he wants you in or not. I guess if you aren’t distracting, you could watch. But I gotta wait for him.”

“I’ll check you guys out sometime. All the groups are listed in the lobby, so…”

“P1Harmony. You’ll find us easily.”

Quiet clicks come from the mousepad, as you merely stare up at him, who seems to be so focused on the screen in front of him. He looks up, then looks down at you, and your observing gaze fixed on his face. He ponders, before holding his hand out. “Nice to meet you. I’m–“

“Jongseob. You’re Jongseob.”

You finish his sentence for him, leaving him visibly surprised as you shake his hand.

“Um, I heard them say your name from the hall.” You explain, him nodding. “I’m Y/N.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

You find yourself blushing. “Thank you… um, also for not snitching. I texted my mom that I was okay, so everything should be fine now.”

“That’s good. Maybe don’t get off the elevator while she’s distracted next time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Music starts playing from the speakers, Jongseob walking away to the center of the room to warm up. Your eyes are on him the entire time, since there was nothing else you could focus on. Even if you tried going on your phone, the music would draw your attention away from it.

You had a short attention span.

But watching Jongseob merely warm up seemed to prove otherwise. Your eyes were glued to his movements and small yet precise spotting, how precise he was when he matched every beat and transition. You stared at his reflection and his back the whole time, gaze moving to his face.

He caught you staring, looking back at you through the reflection of the mirror with a subtle smirk before going back to dancing.

He comes back to pause the music while you space out staring at the floor, as he takes off his beanie and runs his hand through his hair. “How’d I do? Seemed like I caught your attention.”

You clear your throat. “Good. Really good.”

He believes you have another reason you aren’t telling him, still deciding to sit down beside you despite doing so. “What are you doing?” You ask, looking at him. “Sitting with you. Why, does this bother you?”

“No. Just… I thought you’d be warming up more. That seemed short.”

“It seemed short because you were watching me. I was dancing for, what, a little over 10 minutes? I think I’ve warmed up enough.”

“Right.” You say, kind of understanding what he’s saying. “I like your hair. The colour is very pretty.” A light purple that could be described as lavender was what it was. It painted him as docile, gentle. He seemed to be so, given he was sitting with you like this along the side of the room.

“Thank you.” He smiles, sounding genuine. So genuine, in fact, that he smiles at you for the first time with his teeth showing, his hand covering his mouth right after. You take a mental note of that habit. “When did you start training?” You ask.

“When I was 12.” (international age = 10, turned 11 later that year due to late birthday)

“That young?! When I was 12 I was still scared of the concept of paragraphs…”

“I’ve always wanted to be a singer. Perform for others. There was a chance, so I took it.”

“I admire you for that. Taking risks that benefited you later in the future.”

“You took a risk today.”

“I did?”

“You stepped off the elevator and outran a bunch of staff successfully.”

“And I benefited from it how?”

“You met me.”

You’re unsure if he’s flirting with you, but your face heats up regardless. “Yet I’ll never see you again. But… I enjoy your company. And I appreciate your kindness.” When you look up from the ground, he’s handing you his phone, the keypad open.

“Let’s keep in touch.”

At first, you’re a little stunned at his boldness. But you accept his offer, typing in your phone number and letting him do the same with your phone right after. “I’ll try to text you back when I can. I’m pretty busy.”

“And I’ll try to not keep my phone on silent. I’ve missed so many interviews because of it…”

“For part-time jobs?” You nod. “I later learned they weren’t paying what they should be, so I guess I dodged a bullet.”

“Do you have a job now?”

“I work at a convenience store for income. My mom’s always saying I never needed to take a part-time job claiming we’re somewhat rich, but I wanted a bit of independence for myself. And I get free food and snacks sometimes, so that’s a bonus.”

“If I come visit, will I get free food?”

“Convenience store snacks are cheap enough already. Maybe I’ll give you ₩489 off.”

(₩489 = 0.50 cents)

He laughs at your offer. “I’ll take it.”

The door suddenly opens, five other men coming in all at once, stopping once they notice the two of you sitting together against the wall.

“Hello.” Jongseob greets, getting up. “Who’s that?” One of them asks, looking at you. “A… friend.” He responds.

“How did she get in here?”

“Long story.”

Their stares are reasonable, yet they make you feel uncomfortable as you feel out of place cooped up against the wall. Jongseob seemed to notice, shooting you a quick question. “Are you okay?”

The sound of his has your head turned to face him as you nod, acting like you weren’t spaced out prior. “I’m fine. This is the rest of your group?”

“Yeah. You can stay for practice if you’d like. I’ll ask Keeho.”

Surely they wouldn’t mind, you were just afraid you’d misinterpret their gazes for glares that would scare you off. “I would, but I should go. I already texted my mom earlier that I’d be leaving while she was still working. But I’ll leave. I don’t want to be… distracting.”

“You aren’t distracting at all.” He attempts to reassure you.

“Says the one who was looking at me through the mirror’s reflection.”

“Jongseob, should we warm up?” One of the boys asks, taking off their hoodie and beanie while they all simultaneously look at the two of you. That was an indirect invitation saying that they were about to start, him getting up his spot and lending you a hand to do the same.

“Thank you, Jongseob. I’ll text you.” He nods with a smile as you leave the room, your fast paced steps almost being heard from the inside of the room.

“Who was that, Jongseob?” Theo asks as the youngest walks over. “A new friend. She kinda abandoned her mom unintentionally and hid in here from the staff.”

“Oh, her. The people downstairs were talking about it.” Intak adds.

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“Mixed. How come her mom brought her here?”

“Y/N’s planning to work in the industry as a makeup artist, and her mom wanted to show her a potential place for hiring since she’s already working here.”

“She said she’d text you.” ‘What does that mean?’ Keeho meant to ask.

“I gave her my number.”

They’re all surprised, wide eyed and everything. “Really?”

“I wanna talk to her more. I think you guys scared her off.”

“We don’t look scary.” Intak looks at himself, then everybody else. Jongseob’s eyes dart over all five of them briefly. “You guys look terrifying.”

“As if you weren’t wearing the same thing when you left the apartment.” Theo sneers, looking at him weirdly. “Hey, she liked my hair and I saved her from a bunch of staff. I’m a pretty approachable person even with the coverups.”

“You approached her.” Theo retorts.

“And?”

Intak, very obviously antsy, whines. “Can we just start, please? We’ll talk about this later.” He groans in distress, convincing the rest of the boys to move on. Keeho speaks up first from the sea of silent stares.

“Let’s go, then.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

On the way home from school, you usually take the shift right after at the convenience store you worked at. It was close to home but not far from school, you managed to be on time for majority of your shifts.

Your coworker seemed to be eye candy for the girls your age that came in, but you saw him more as an older brother figure. He was super nice and always filled in for when you weren’t feeling well, and frankly, you thought it was a bit strange girls your age were pining over a man in his late 20s.

You had your fair share of attraction to more famous people that were older than you, but the fact you knew your coworker long enough to know things about him kind of made some situations awkward. Sure, he was cute, but come on. He’s practically looking for an actual job already and the fact he’s stuck with you is because he actually enjoys his part-time and you two were always only available for the same time slot every day.

You weren’t working today. You knew he was. So you assumed that it would just be a straight shot walk home.

Until you remembered you were a victim of verbal harassment.

You never did anything wrong, you were just laughed at and picked on by a specific group of girls for a reason you didn’t know. You always believed it was because you were prettier than them, given that their crushes ended up all mutually pining over you rather than them.

It’s a joke that you laugh at with them at times, yet the girls still don’t seem to like you.

At least they weren’t cutting your hair or anything. You could take words but you couldn’t take a pencil being dug into your hand.

So when you saw those girls turn the corner, you ran, fingers crossed they didn’t see you.

“Y/N, come back! We have something to tell you!”

They saw you.

With your backpack almost falling off, and the sound of rapid footsteps that sounded like they were getting closer, you spot the convenience store you worked at and run in, your coworker behind the desk and watching you hide behind the shelf closest to the wall.

At first, you’re panting, out of breath and coughing as you try to get it back.

“Y/N?”

You look up.

Jongseob is standing there, fridge door held open by his hand with a drink in the other, small clouds of steam coming from the cool air hitting the heated room. “Hi.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You would’ve told him the truth if the story was so long. You peek up from the shelf, fully standing up when you see no one there. “Are you hiding from someone?” He asks, obviously and reasonably clueless as he lets the door close. You merely nod, seeing the girls out of the corner of your eye through the glass and ducking down again, dragging Jongseob along with you.

The bell above the door rings as shuffling can be heard going towards the counter.

“Shin-Il! We saw Y/N come in here, did you see her?” One of the girls’ ear piercing voices rings in your ears, their attempt at acting cute and desperate simply making you cringe. Luckily you told your coworker about your complicated situation with these girls. “No, sorry. She isn’t working today.”

While you’re mentally pleading that they don’t care enough to check around the store, Jongseob’s eyes stay on you and dart around just in case, being able to hear the brief conversation as he stares.

“We’re looking for her! Are you sure she isn’t in the bathroom or something?”

“She isn’t here. Maybe she went somewhere else.”

They all whine, leaving the store as you let out a sigh of relief. You look up to see Jongseob offering you a hand, which you accept, helping you up as you lean against the fridge door, in disbelief that those girls were so clueless.

“Why were they looking for you?”

“They hate me, that’s why.”

“Why would they hate you?”

“Because I’m prettier than them. Long story.”

“The boys they liked all ended up liking Y/N collectively. Friendly with the boys, tormented by the girls.” Shin-Il suddenly appears out of nowhere, handing you a small bottle of water. “Who’s this, Y/N?”

“My friend.”

“How do you two know each other?” Jongseob asks.

“We work together part-time. We always end up picking the same shifts, and I make sure she doesn’t get killed by her fellow classmates when they come to visit.”

“Are these girls really bullying you, Y/N? Have you brought it up with anyone?” Jongseob asks, the worry noticeable in his tone. “They haven’t physically harmed me. When you consider all the details, they’re just jealous.”

“I don’t know any of the details, and that’s why I’m concerned.”

“I’m fine, Jongseob, really. I think I just… need to stay in here for a while. Just in case they’re in any of the other stores.”

“I can walk home with you, if you’d like.” He starts. “Um, just in case they show up or something, I can like, cover you–“

“I’d like that.”

You cut him off with your straightforward answer, and he seemed to be content as he sends you a closed lip smile. “Are you ready to go? Do you want anything?” He asks, looking out the window just in case. “I haven’t eaten lunch today, but I don’t have enough money on me.”

“I can pay for you. Get whatever.”

“Really? But I don’t know when I’ll pay you back.”

“You don’t have to if you can’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Jongseob–“

“Y/N, please. It’s okay, really. If you want to stay here and eat, you can do that too. I’ll wait.”

You feel a bit guilty as you get yourself dosirak and a small container of banana milk, seated at the window seat as Jongseob pays for your food. He sits down beside you, looking at the window and staring at you through your reflection in it. “Is it okay if you can tell me why those girls don’t like you?”

You swallow. “It’s really not a big deal, Jongseob.”

“Yes, it is. I know we’ve only ever talked a few times through text, but I’m… it sounds concerning that they’re willing to chase you for a few insults.” You sigh, taking a sip of your banana milk before trying to rack together all the pieces of the story.

“Well, Shin-Il kind of explained it to you already. Those girls have a crush on some guys, and those guys, at one point, ended up liking me. Now I just make fun of them for it as an inside joke, so I’m friendly with them. They don’t like me in that way anymore. Those girls dislike me because the guys liked me instead of them. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah. That’s… stupid.”

“It is. They’re too ignorant to see that there’s really nothing there anymore. Otherwise, I feel we could be good friends. But I’m patient enough to wait until they realize their harassment was for a reason thats existence already faded away.” You continue to wolf down on your food, as hungry as you were, Jongseob merely keeping watch outside and of you. To make sure you weren’t choking, of course.

As you leave the store and your walk home begins, so does the empty feeling in the air.

“Are you sure the walk home isn’t far?” You ask. “No, I’ll be okay. It won’t be dark for a bit.”

“And… I promise I’ll pay you back, okay?”

“You really don’t have to…”

“Yes, I do. I know you’re an idol and all that, but you’re still a human with morals.”

“If you insist. But if you can’t, you don’t have to.”

“I will.”

Jongseob’s beanie hides his vibrant purple hair, and as much as you are disappointed you aren’t able to see it, you understand that it would be a dead giveaway that he was in the entertainment industry.

“I watched your show the other day.”

“Really? How did I do?”

“You were awesome! I think it’s cool that there’s an idol out there my age, and I’m friends with you, no less. You looked really good, too.”

“Thank you…” He wasn’t expecting to get so flustered over your compliments. Lucky he had no choice but to wear his mask. Jongseob watches as you bring your phone to your ear as you send a greeting over to the person on the other side of the line.

“I’m coming, I’m on my way home.”

“Yes, I’m okay. I’m with a friend right now.”

“He’s walking home after me, he’ll be okay.”

“Look, can you not be go crazy over this right now? I’ll talk to you later.”

“What do you mean ‘you want to meet him’?! You never want to meet anyone!”

“Okay, okay, fine, just stop screaming in my ear. Bye.” You end the call and let out a frustrated growl as you tighten your grip on your phone. “Everything okay?” Jongseob asks hesitantly.

“Just because I said I’m walking home with a ‘he’ my mom’s freaking out over it and now she wants to meet you.”

“I think I’ve run into your mom while at headquarters. She acknowledges me but is usually in a rush.”

“She’s usually late, that’s why. But she always gets one step ahead of her work, so she always gets excused. But seriously, is it just because you’re a guy that she wants to meet you? She didn’t ask to meet my other female friends and they just met her voluntarily while walking with me.”

“What about your dad?”

“Overseas for work. He’s coming back in a few weeks. He’s much more laid back. I think my mom is a bit… overprotective. I can understand that, but she could’ve asked me to introduce you without screaming at me…”

“Is she… abusing you?”

“God, no! It’s just one of those days, y’know? Maybe she got pissed off she stubbed her toe or something. And just because she always wants to keep watch over me, I feel like retaliating.”

“Is that why you stepped off the elevator?”

“Not really. Maybe.”

He can’t help but smile after uncovering your true motive.

As you approach the door, you have no choice but to knock given that your keys were probably buried somewhere deep in your backpack. Your mom opens the door with a relieved sigh as she opens her arms for a hug, which you reluctantly accept in front of Jongseob. “I’m so sorry for yelling at you, honey, I… I was having a bad day and I took it out on you and I was worried that–“

“Mom. It’s okay, I get it.” She smiles softly, any grudge you held against her melting away instantly. It was surprising how she was able to manipulate you so quickly. “You’re friends with Jongseob?” She asks.

“You know his name?”

“Of course I know his name, your mom works at FNC too.” She says, referring to herself in the third person. “Are you sure you can walk home alone? Isn’t it a bit far by foot?”

“I’ll be okay, ma’am.”

“I can give you a ride, it’ll be much faster.”

“My dorm isn’t too far from here and it won’t be dark for a while. Thank you for the offer.”

“Get home safe, okay?”

“I will. Bye Y/N.” He says his goodbyes as he walks away from the premises of your house, your mom letting you in and closing the door fully. “You didn’t tell me you were friends with Jongseob. I would’ve started bringing you to work after school so you don’t have to stay home alone. I could get you a pass to come in.”

“Isn’t that an abuse of your position?”

“I care about my daughter, what kind of abuse is that?”

You sigh followed by a smile as you begin to head up the stairs.

“You should’ve gotten his phone number before he left!” She yells before you disappear into your room.

“I already have it!” You yell back.

“Since when?”

You freeze, unable to think of an answer.

“Long story!”

“I have time!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Shin-Il!”

“Shin-Il, I got this for you!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Shin-Il!”

You roll your eyes as the countless crowds of girls just keep coming into the store. As much as it was annoying, you were glad you basically hogged all the free time since Shin-Il just had to be at the counter to tend to the flock.

“You could be doing better things right now.” He says, turning back to look at you. “Like what?” You rhetorically ask, looking up from your phone. “Restocking the shelves, cleaning the floors, doing your homework.”

“I am a very diligent student, thank you very much.”

“You don't even go to cram school. What about your fans?”

“I already posted last week. They know how intricate the process can be.” He begins to leave when you stop talking. “Gonna use the bathroom. The minute you stand up, you’re on register duty for the rest of the shift.”

“Then I’m not gonna stand up.”

He snatches the phone out of your hand, dangling it above his head. “Hey!” You jump up, struggling to reach your phone. Curse men for being so tall. “Give it back!” He hands the phone back to you, putting a hand on your shoulder and whispering into your ear.

“Your shift begins now.”

Jerk.

“That wasn’t even fair!” Shin-Il ignores you as you hear a door from a distance shut and lock. You sigh, annoyed, shoving your phone in your pocket before briefly scanning whatever was in view in case it needed restocking.

You don’t seem to be paying attention, because by the time you blink, a person is waiting at the counter.

“I’m so sorry, I’ll take those.” You apologize, embarrassed, scanning the person’s items and bagging them for him. You’re struggling to make eye contact as the person pays you, insisting you keep the change as they walk off. “Next.” You call, the person in line putting his things on the counter.

“Did you find everything you–“ You look up to see Jongseob, an innocent, toothy smile on his face. You noticed his fang, something you couldn’t help but find charming. “Hi.”

“Hi. Slow today?”

“All the customers came for Shin-Il and that’s it. You’re the second person I’ve served today.”

“I’m honored.”

“I don’t even know where he is and why he’s taking so long in the stupid bathroom. Anyways, how come you came here? Isn’t there a place closer to your dorm?”

“I just happened to be in the area. I also wanted to see you.”

Your heart flutters at the thought, but you shove those feelings down before it can reach your head. “Really? You could’ve just went someplace closer.”

“I figured I’d come say hi. I feel like this is the only time we can see each other like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like normal teenagers with normal lives.”

He pays for his items, leaving a container of banana milk out of his grasp. “You forgot–“

“It’s for you. Take it.”

“Jongseob, how am I gonna pay you back?”

“Don’t.”

“But–“

“Shhh.” He leans in, sliding the container towards you. “Let me be nice to you, okay?” He pulls away, acting as if he wasn’t so bold a few seconds ago. “Do you want me to walk you home again? I’ll ask the guys to come find me so I won’t have to walk home alone.”

“I don’t– um... I’ll be off a bit late.”

“Which gives me more of a reason to walk with you. It’s dark and you’ll be alone.”

“You know I don’t live far.”

“And you know that this is a safer decision and you’re ultimately denying it for the sake of my safety and convenience.”

“Jongseob, your safety matters way more than mine. You’re a freaking idol, for God’s sake. And I thought you came alone, what do you mean the guys can find you?”

“We decided to go out together. We ended up splitting up to explore and look around by ourselves. I think I’m the only person that went alone."

"I can tell. Did you ask them if they wanted anything?"

"Theo and Jiung are grabbing food for later." He pauses. "My offer still stands." He reminds, persistent. You look at him, appreciating his kindness but unsure if he was willing to wait. "I don't get off until 8."

"I'll walk around after I eat. You can call me when you're done."

Though you feel a bit guilty, it really seemed like he wasn't backing down. "Sure. Thanks. You're also holding up the line." He smiles before taking his items with him as he finds a seat, you taking the banana milk and sliding it closer to you and to the side. Shin-Il finally comes back after taking who knows how long in the bathroom, eyes landing on your friend.

"He's here again. You two must be close."

"Eh... lucky circumstance. What were you even doing in the bathroom, you weirdo?"

"What else would I be doing besides use it for its intended purpose?"

"No one pisses for 5 minutes, Il. You aren't fooling anyone. Is it that girl you're talking to?"

"I am not talking to anyone."

"When those girls find out they are gonna freak."

"I was buying tickets for a thing."

"I thought all public events were closed. You aren't that slick."

"Okay, maybe it is about that girl, but we're just going somewhere, that's all. But I was buying tickets for an exhibition, she loves art."

"Aw, how cute. So when's the wedding?" You take a sip from the small container of banana milk Jongseob bought for you, noticing he isn't in his seat anymore. How did he eat so fast? "Y/N, can you do restocks? We'll make more sales if I'm at the counter."

"You aren't that handsome. The schoolgirl rush is over, no one's gonna come in."

You were wrong.

Many people came in, just not his usual audience, but at least they weren't all up on him. You could hear the compliments from the fridge, but nothing seemed to bother you or him one bit.

As you take an empty box to the back, you go to grab another one until Shin-Il stops you. "I'll take it from here. Mun-Hee clocked in early. And you have a visitor." He pats your back as you get up, seeing Jongseob waving at you with a smile, taking his phone out and showing you the screen.

"It's 8 o'clock."

At first, you're shocked by his dedication, but frantically hurry to the back to clean up and grab your things in order to not keep him waiting. When you get back, you see him talking with your coworker, and you interrupt in order to stop Shin-Il from potentially saying anything embarrassing.

"All ready? Let's go."

You both say your goodbyes as you walk out the store, Mun-Hee nudging Shin-Il in the side. "Kid's got a boyfriend now?" She asks, only receiving a shrug in return. She's content with the answer, going back to your unfinished restocking job.

"You really did mean it when you said you'd wait."

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

"Sometimes people change their minds or things happen out of their control that they just can't make it."

"I just walked around the park nearby and stuff. And– oh, I just remembered something." He stops, taking his beanie off and putting it on your head, revealing the alluring lavender that coloured his hair, something you secretly found appealing. You don't even have time to process that you were wearing the hat that covered his beautiful colour. "Jongseob, your hair. People might recognize you."

"Brought an extra. It's a bit late, so I doubt I'll get asked for a photo."

"So you planned this?"

"Whenever you send me selfie updates, you're never wearing a hat. You aren't even wearing a scarf, are you not freezing?"

"I am. I didn't think it'd get this cold, so I didn't bring one since it was warmer this morning."

"It'll always be colder at night, Y/N. You need to remember that, especially since you're working late."

"Did you even wash this?"

"Five times through the cycle. You seem to like it when we see each other, and conveniently, colder weather is approaching so I thought you should have it. You don’t have any hats at home?”

“I forgot to bring one. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. No need to pay me back, by the way.”

By the time you look back at him, his hair is covered again with another beanie, his stealthiness making you stifle a chuckle. “What?”

“I like your hair. I sometimes wish you didn’t have to hide it.”

“Well, I don’t necessarily hide it, I usually just wear hats because it’s more comfortable for me. A lot of people are dyeing their hair now, so I don’t think I’ll get recognized if I didn’t wear one.”

“How many people have you seen with purple hair in public?”

“Quite a few people, actually. So do you want me to take it off?”

“Huh? Why? Aren’t you cold?”

“At least I have a scarf. And you said you wished I didn’t have to hide it.”

“Weren’t you the one who said we shouldn’t risk anything when asking to walk me home?”

“Fair. But that’s a completely different scenario. I took a risk going down the path I’m still on today.”

“That is irrelevant.”

“Worth a shot.”

He walks with you to your door again, ringing the doorbell as you waited an unusually long time for your mom to answer.

“My mom said she could get me a card for FNC so I could stay there instead of alone at home after school. I tell her once and I’m already being pampered.” You laugh, Jongseob’s face lighting up. “Really? You should text me when you arrive! I’ll come find you, and I won’t bother if you have homework to do!”

“She hasn’t gotten it for me yet, I’m still thinking about it.”

“You should say yes so we can see each other in person more often! As long as your school isn’t far from headquarters, though.”

“We see each other when we call.”

“Seeing you like this is often just my luck. Otherwise I’m busy practicing or resting in the dorms. I like being able to talk to you in person.”

And as he smiles, that same one always on his face whenever you two seem to be together, you remember that he’s still just a kid. He’s the same age as you and he’s already in the spotlight, under the watchful eyes of so many fans through their screens.

You get to see him beyond that screen. You’ve been able to see him, meet him, know him beyond his idol persona. And he’s comfortable enough to share who he really is with you. You feel grateful for that.

The front door opens, your mom welcoming you in and noticing your friend by the door as well. “Jongseob, what a nice surprise! Such a coincidence you two ran into each other again. Thank you for walking with Y/N.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. L/N.”

“Do you need a ride back?”

“Jongseob!” Someone calls, a group of five guys crowded outside your house, which you then identify as his group. “Let’s go, dude! Food’s gonna get cold.” Another one adds.

“I should get going. See you tomorrow, hopefully?” He asks, almost promising.

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

You both stand there for a moment, looking at each other as if you were anticipating something as your mom goes ahead inside, the door still open. He suddenly steps forward and wraps his arms around you, one of his hands resting on top of your head.

You’re surprised, but return the hug carefully before he pulls away, sending you a small wave as he goes to join his group in departing.

Jongseob feels an elephant in the room as he walks with them, Theo carrying on a conversation that didn’t seem to make the vibe go away. It doesn’t seem to until they all got back to the dorm, when they started eating.

“That’s a different hat. What happened to the other one?” Intak asks rhetorically. “Y/N had it.” Soul answers nonchalantly, not seeming to understand the sarcasm behind it. “I gave it to her. She was cold.”

“Is she borrowing it?” Jiung asks. “I gave it to her. It’s hers now.” Jongseob reiterates, his point clarified.

“How does Soul know her name and we don’t?” Keeho asks, mouth full. “I talk to her all the time, do you not hear?” Everyone but Soul shakes their head. “She’s nice.” Soul adds.

“Hopefully she can come after school tomorrow. Her mom is trying to get her admission in so she doesn’t have to stay at home.”

“You met her mom?” Intak asks, Jongseob nodding. “I run into her in the halls, sometimes in the elevator.”

“What was the hug for? I swore she looked like she could’ve fallen asleep in your arms.” Theo asks, pointing out something that had Jongseob questioning.

“I… I don’t know.”

his first crush.

“I was feeling nice, I guess. It was cold. She looked cold.”

Jongseob didn’t really have a reason. He couldn’t think of why he left you off with a hug that night. The question kept him up all night.

Along with the speed of his racing heart.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

seob

seobie

jongseob

hi sorry

whats up?

my mom is looking for you what dance room are you in

why is she looking for me?

has to give you something? idk she told me to ask

okay im in 205

thanks

Jongseob puts his phone down and goes back to warming up, taking off his hat and focusing on himself. More specifically, his hair.

‘I really like your hair. I sometimes wish you didn’t have to hide it.’

Why couldn’t he get that out of his head?

As the song begins to end, he hears a knock on the door, finishing off and pausing the music before answering. He opens the door to reveal you, still in your school uniform.

“Hi!” You greet. At first, he’s stunned. You’re really here, and you’re really visiting him. “I got a card from the front desk.” He’s still standing there, jaw slack, staring at you in disbelief. All of a sudden, he’s hugging you, hiding your face in his shoulder as he looks up to check the halls, guiding you in and closing the door.

“Don’t want them to see you. But hi.” He mutters, clearing his throat after pulling away.

“They know I’m here. Have you warmed up yet? Are the rest of them coming?”

“Not for a while. I think I’ll take a break–“

“You dyed your hair!”

He freezes as your hand goes up to touch it. His color changed from lavender to a deep, light red. “Yeah. Do you like it?”

“It looks really good on you.”

“Do you prefer this or the purple?”

“Honestly, you look good with any color.” You sit down on the ground, opening your backpack but pausing before going any further. “Can I do my homework? I have one question left and it’s super easy.”

“Go ahead.”

Jongseob can’t help but focus on you the whole time, when you take your papers and pencils out, when you read through the worksheet, when you begin to write, so concentrated in the moment. He finds himself staring, and you do too.

“All done.” You look up to see him returning your gaze, something there when your eyes meet. “What was so interesting about me and my schoolwork?”

“Huh?”

“You were staring at me.”

He flushes, shaking his head and denying immediately. “No! I wasn’t!”

“Come on, you can admit it. You think I’m pretty.”

“I–“

“I think you’re pretty.”

You cut him off, answering with no shame and an innocent smile on your face. He can’t help but think you mean more than you really do. “You do?”

“Oh, I do. Your hair, your face, your style. It all compliments so well. Take it from me, I’m an artist.”

He thinks to himself as you await his answer. “I think you’re pretty too.”

“Really?”

“Really pretty.”

You both have the same kind of war going on in your head. You wish the other really meant it, but something was holding you back from believing they did. To outsiders, you looked like two people in love. In your head, you were hoping he really meant what he was saying.

“I, um, hope you don’t mind if I stay in for practice. And I do want to talk to you before your members get here.” You try to divert the conversation with the atmosphere telling you closure was needed. “Yeah, we’re working on our comeback actually, so…” He holds out his pinkie.

“You have to promise not to tell anyone. Not a peep.”

You lock your own with his. “Promise.” You both giggle at the gesture as your fingers pull away. “I know this is gonna sound like a really stupid, cheesy question, but do you mean it?”

The way you start off catches his attention. “Do I mean what?”

“When you said I was pretty.”

He’s stunned, stuck in place as he stares at you while forgetting to answer. “I know we’re still young, but I’ve had my heart toyed with before. And all he did was laugh.” You scooted closer to him. “So what I’m asking is, ‘seob, do you really think I’m pretty? Or are you just being nice?”

“What answer are you hoping to hear?”

“That you do. That you mean everything you’ve ever said to me.”

He’s frozen, all he can do is stare into your eyes as you await a response. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I do mean it. You, Y/N, are one very pretty girl.”

“How many pretty girls do you see while out for work?”

“Many. None of them are as pretty as you.”

her first crush.

You know you’re the one that instigated this conversation, but still, you can’t help but blush at his response. “You’re all red.” He points out. “Do my words really mean that much to you?”

“All I wanted was closure.”

The door opens, Jongseob patting your head and joining the rest of the guys as if he didn’t just have you melting a few seconds ago.

You sat in the corner of the practice room, your face still hot, and your eyes focused on Jongseob the entire time.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

i want you to come visit but my mom isnt letting any visitors in the house

how come?

apparently we’re having a dinner party here in a few days or something? idk shes trying to keep it clean beforehand cuz my dad is finally coming back from his trip

he’s been overseas for how long??

a few months now, some promotion that he got resulted in him staying longer

oh wow

well you could come over to my dorm

actually?

i gotta ask the guys first

oh if u have to ask then its okay maybe next time

they said yes

i hear them cleaning up

what

are you coming or not

omw

You knock on their door, and when no one responds, you call Jongseob, and it suddenly opens to reveal sight of him holding the phone up to his ear.

“You have… a lot of stuff.” He points out, eyeing the large bag you’re carrying. “Are you sleeping over or something?”

“I actually… if it’s okay with you… wanted to do your makeup. I know you’ve been saying how much you want to try it and stuff and I figured we could do it if I saw you today but I forgot to ask–“

“Absolutely. Yes, please, come in, no one’s in my room. ‘Cause… I share a room, and, Jiung’s out and the rest are watching a movie.”

“I get it. I get your whole rooming thing. Am I gonna be in trouble for being here?”

“Not if you don’t get caught.”

“How mischievous of you. If you were to ever get into a scandal with me, would you care?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

You laugh it off as if your face wasn’t on fire, closing the door to his shared room.

“Ew, are they gonna make out in there?” Intak says in disgust with fake repulsion. “Just because Jongseob can get a girlfriend and you can’t is not a valid reason to be petty.” Keeho holds back his laugh. “Theo– you can’t say that! That is not funny!”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“…watch the movie.”

Meanwhile, in Jongseob’s room, you finish off his base, tapping brushes against palettes before gently stroking the pigments against his face. His eyes, specifically. The medium shade brought out the orange in his hair, but really, you’ve been wanting to try out a specific look for a while.

“Keep your eyes closed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why?”

“Makes me feel old.”

“You’re older than me.”

“I’m the same age as you. Now hush.”

He blows a raspberry as you do his eyeliner, a miracle it didn’t smudge or that you didn’t mess up in any way. It was almost adorable how eagerly he nodded when you showed him your container of extra rhinestones.

You hand him a mirror, putting your extra equipment away before finding a tube of lipstick. “Wow.” is all he says until he puts the mirror down and sees you putting on said lipstick. “Oh, you were actually gonna… do that part?”

“Oh, no. I was just swatching. It’s a pretty shade, don’t you think?” Your lips are painted with a vibrant shade of red, bold and eye-catching as you turned to face your friend who’s struggling to keep his jaw from hanging. “Yeah. Really… bright.”

“Well, you know my style. Bold and bright. I decided to… take a break for a change. And I took it out on you.”

“You call this a break? I look fabulous.”

“It’s the rhinestone effect. But yes, this is a break since I only do my face most of the time. And the colours are neutral, but defined. Makeup therapy for me is a total stress reliever, but obviously my face can’t handle powders daily. And… I really needed this, especially after this week.”

“Exams?”

“I took them already.”

“This early?”

“I’m taking AP classes since I don’t do cram school. My school is aware, and honestly, surprised at my career choice. Peer pressure is getting to me more than it should.”

“I hope you don’t feel guilty about this in any way. You’re so talented.”

“My only talent is this. Maybe I’ll work behind the scenes in the entertainment industry all my life. And… there’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

You exhale. “I got the job.”

“The job?”

“I’m your travelling makeup artist. I’ll be going with you for future tours and everything.”

He can’t stop his jaw from dropping now. “No way. You’re serious?” He asks, watching you nod eagerly as a big smile grows on his face, going in for a hug which you tightly return. “Y/N– that’s amazing! Does this mean I’ll get to see you every day?”

You nod. “It’s why I’m taking AP. Maybe I’ll switch next year, but I’m exempt from classes because of my success.”

“Wow, so privileged.”

“I’m just good at my job.”

You hear him chuckle, his eyes focused on you and that damn red lip. “I’m proud of you. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” You stifle a laugh. “I’m sorry, it’s just hard to take you seriously with the makeup.”

“You’re the one that did it!”

“You’re never in my style, and it’s over the top!”

The door opens and you immediately pull away from Jongseob, taking out cleansing products after sorting everything else in your bag. Theo stands there, still, staring at your friend all glammed up.

“How do I look?” Jongseob asks with dramatic poses to show off his makeup, Theo taking out his phone and taking pictures of him silently. “You did this?” He asks you, pointing at the boy that had your heart racing. “Did I do good?”

“He looks great. You should come out and show the guys.”

“I don’t wanna watch the movie out there though.”

“You can go back in here and continue making out with Y/N or whatever it is that you were doing in here in the first place.”

“I was not– hey!” Theo’s dragging Jongseob out of the room by his wrist, unable to keep his grip on the doorframe as you hear him groan. You can all hear the guys gushing over Jongseob’s face from the room, poking jokes at him and teasing him.

“Is that lipstick? Did she kiss you?!”

“No, no, nothing like that! She was swatching and it must’ve smudged on me…”

“I thought you two were kissing when I walked in.”

“We hugged.”

“Sure.” One of them snarkily replies.

“I’m gonna tell you who dies if you don’t stop talking.” You hear Jongseob threaten, referring to the movie that was currently on pause in the living room.

“No!”

He silently comes back to the room, seeing you sitting there, cleansers still out as he shuts the door. “Is there really lipstick on me?” He asks, turning his head so you could see all angles of his face. “Oh, right there. How did I not notice that?” You get up with a makeup wipe, swiping it gently against the mark until is goes away.

It was only until you moved away that you noticed how close you were, and that he notice something missing. “You wiped off your lipstick already?”

“I told you I was swatching. I took photos.” ‘And I could see the way you looked at me.’ You thought. “I’d like to post them, but you’re an idol and all, so…”

“A shame, really. Do you wanna eat? Jiung got some takeout, and I don’t wanna take off your hard work for a little while.”

“Sure, but don’t expect me to take you seriously while you’re all glammed up.”

“You did this to me!”

“We are not having this conversation again.”

his first love, where he can’t imagine being with anybody else but you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Jongseob’s met a lot of pretty girls. As an idol, it’s only natural he has to work with them, be in the same premise as them. Yet he can never see anything more to them because they aren’t like you.

Your snarky replies, your teasing, your genuine questions and need for reassurance, your automatic response to rely on him, contact him whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed. Maybe it was because he’s spent so much time with you that he built this connection, but he learned that no one else could replicate this feeling he was so comfortable with.

This feeling that he only felt with you.

His members teased him mercilessly, especially on your first day on the job. You were assigned to him and specifically him (according to a colleague, he requested you), and every time anyone of his fellow group saw you working so close with him, they’d start laughing.

Jiung and Intak would take Jongseob’s phone from him if they were to ever find him on call with you. Keeho would give him those looks whenever he saw him smiling at his screen, and on his screen was you. Theo and Soul… they left him alone for the most part. They’d say hello and you guys would chat, but of course, Theo with his natural older brother energy, would occasionally tease him about it, usually through complaints.

“Jongseob, can you stop talking to your girlfriend and go to sleep? We have practice tomorrow.”

“Geez, you wanted her to swatch on you, didn’t you?”

“Watch where you’re going with that! I know you’re practically in love with her, but you should still pay attention to your surroundings!”

Soul simply encouraged the idea of you two together.

“She really likes you, I can tell.”

“Will you be out of the dorm more often when you two start dating?”

“You got her a ring? When is the wedding?”

And all Jongseob really wanted was to figure out if you really did like him or not. Because he felt like he could never experience such euphoria with anyone other than you.

He was only 18, why did he seem so sure about this? His mind was certainly older.

The door to the studio opens, and you enter, dropping your school bag onto the floor and looking absolutely spent.

“Are you okay?” He asks as you walk over, head in his chest. “Not even a hello?” You joke, looking up at him. “Tired. Long day. School’s a real pain in the ass when you have things to do outside of it. You’re lucky you’re busy enough that you don’t have to go.”

“Sometimes I wish I could. I’d enroll at your school and take all the classes with you so I’m not alone. Speaking of school, what happened to those girls who chased you?”

“Oh, them?” You laugh. “We’re cool now. One of them apologized to me. The rest followed. It took one longer than the rest to muster up the courage. They thought I hated them which is why they couldn’t talk about it in the first place, which is understandable.”

“Did you forgive them?”

“Not right away. I accepted their apology, but I’ll talk to tomorrow. It’s a little bit scary leaving work in fear of being chased and they kinda ignited that in me. I could never hate them, though. Maybe that’s a lie, but I guess when I thought I hated them, I was just afraid.”

“You’re so insightful it’s honestly attractive.” You look at him, amused. “Are you flirting with me, Jongseob?”

“Oh, I’m just being honest.”

“Sure. Your birthday just passed and your ego is suddenly through the roof.”

“Well, I am Kim Jongseob, so maybe my ego should’ve been through the roof a while ago.”

“Now you’re just sounding arrogant.”

“I’m just better.” You roll your eyes, looking at the computer in the corner of the room on the counter. “Can I change the music?” You ask, watching him walk over and open the right tab for you. You change the keyboard language to English, searching up a name so fast he doesn’t comprehend that the music already started. You walk away as he stays and reads the name off the screen.

Clementine – grentperez

He looks at you, who happened to already be waiting for him in the center of the room. He walks over, spinning you around and catching you, visibly surprised when the singing begins. “It’s in English?”

“Mhm.”

“Can you understand it?”

“A little bit. Otherwise, I like how it sounds. Can you understand it?”

“I’ve been getting better… at least I try to. It sounds good.”

“I should send you more of his works. I think you’d like those too.” You feel his arms wrap around your waist, pulling you close enough into a hug. “Is this okay?” He feels you nod against his chest, your arms wrapping up and around his neck as the two of you simply sway to the music that filled the room.

To be in Jongseob’s arms, your best friend’s arms, like this was something you didn’t know you wanted to experience for as long as you could. This felt intimate, feeling closer with him like this more than any other hug you’ve shared.

You two probably looked like idiots to anyone that would walk in, but it was just the two of you, and all you could think about was how comfortable it was in each other’s arms.

There’s a spark. A spark that turns into a growing flame when your eyes meet. A flame that you wanted to keep ablaze but was on the edge of extinguishing. “You… you look really pretty.” He suddenly stutters, the flame growing a little bit more. “Thank you.”

“I really want to kiss you. Really, really bad.”

His abruptness catches you off guard, and it’s almost funny how the song began to near its climax.

“I’m sorry, was that too forward? Forget I said–“

“No one’s stopping you.”

It’s so cliche how the song reached its peak when his lips are on yours. You both were young, yet your minds were older. To kiss someone at such a moment for the first time in your life only made you fall in love with him even more, and really, you never thought you’d experience it so soon. With an idol, no less.

“Kim Jongseob!”

The sound of his name makes both of you pull away and look at the door, Intak, Jiung, and Theo standing there like they’ve seen a ghost. “What the hell are you doing?!” Intak exclaims, probably more aggressive than he meant to.

You both stand there, dumbfounded, and it wasn’t until you were back in your head that you both decide to separate from each other instantly. They looked angry. They probably didn’t feel that way, but in the moment, you felt humiliated. One second later, your face is hidden in his chest again, feeling his other hand on your back.

“I’m sorry.” You mutter against him, his hand patting your back reassuringly. “No, there’s nothing for you to be sorry about.”

“Don’t you feel the slightest bit embarrassed? Your friends just walked in on us kissing.”

“Oh, I do, absolutely. They’ll never let me hear the end of it.” You look up at him, and he’s smiling. “Then why don’t you seem that way?”

“Because I was kissing you.” Your heart beats faster than it ever has before when you’re with him. “You’re the only girl they’d want to see me kiss in the first place. Lucky for you, you’re the only girl I’ll ever wanna kiss in my whole life.”

“Since when did you get so romantic?”

“Since the day I met you in this very studio.”

Your worries suddenly melt away at his words, further assured he feels the same way you do.

“I really don’t mean to interrupt this very sentimental moment, but we have practice, so can you guys hurry it up a little bit?” Intak speaks up, appearing behind Jongseob out of nowhere. You pull away, going to get your things in the corner of the room, realizing he was following you. “You’re not gonna stay?” He asks, holding onto your hand.

“I have schoolwork to do, ‘Seob. And I need to talk to my coworkers at my part-time.” He pouts. “I know there’s so much more we need to talk about, but I’m eating into your practice time right now. I’ll call you, okay? We see each other tomorrow. Promise.” You squeeze his hand, feeling his other hand on top of yours.

“I thought you already quit that job.”

“They’re still my friends. I check in with them from time to time.” He sighs. “Goodnight, Y/N.” He kisses your forehead before letting you go.

Once you’re out of sight of the doorway, you can’t help but giggle and jump around out of pure excitement. You catch sight of Keeho and Soul in the hallway, greeting them briefly. “What’s got you so excited?” Keeho asks.

“He kissed me.” You watch his expression change to match yours, jumping around with you in the middle of the hallway. “No way! Are you serious?”

“The rest of them walked in on us…”

“I’ve literally been waiting for months for him to make a move and the one time I decide to leave later– ugh, I’m so happy for both of you!”

“And then he…” You point to your forehead. “He…” Keeho puckers his lips while you nod, the both of you proceeding to squeal almost too loud in the hallway. “Girl, please, you two are literally so freaking cute, you need to tell me more!”

“I really need to leave, I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay, we’ll see you tomorrow!”

You’re on your way to the convenience store, relieved to see both Mun-Hee and Shin-Il behind the counter, both of them equally shocked to see you there. “Y/N! I thought you were working.” Shin-Il says.

“I need to tell you guys something. Can I still come back here?”

“No. But you used to work here, so whatever.” An indirect invitation to come behind the counter given by Mun-Hee. “Judging from the look on your face, you either made progress with Jongseob or made out with Jongseob.” She adds.

“I kissed him, thank you very much.”

“Oh, shit.” She curses. “And he did it first?” You nod. “Damn, girl! He’s really down bad for you!”

“Is he your boyfriend now? He should be.” Shin-Il asks. “We didn’t have time to talk about it… he’s in a dance practice right now and I promised I’d call him.”

“Honey, no. This is the kind of thing you talk about in person. If he’s really dedicated and really loves you, he’d tell you. But with the amount of times you’ve breached health protocols with something to say about him, I think he really does love you in that way. But still, call him later. You promised.”

“You give all this advice as if you’ve ever been in an actual relationship.” Shin-Il jokes, resulting in a death glare from the most helpful former coworker in the moment. “Listen to her, not me.”

“Obviously.”

The welcoming bell chimes as someone enters, coming to the counter as quick as they came in. Mun-Hee looks in awe at the person as he stops at the counter, face lighting up. “We still on for tonight?” He hands her two 5000 won bills.

“Mhm.” She says in the most obvious lovesick tone, sliding the man’s items back towards him as she gives him his change. “I’ll see you later, Mun.”

You hold back a laugh at the nickname, glancing between her and the man as he leaves the store.“Who even is that guy?”

“They’ve been hooking up but then they actually started liking each other for more than the sex. Total K-drama material.”

“She did not need to know that!”

“If she can tell us about her love life, I can tell her about yours.”

“This is something entirely different! And what about you? Does she know that your little girlfriend calls you Shinnie now?”

You can’t hold back your laughter. “Pfft– Shinnie!? You guys are so corny!”

“Don’t you call your boyfriend ‘Seob’?” Shin-Il retorts. “Okay, but that’s just his name shortened. At least she didn’t add or double anything to it.” Mun-Hee reasons, receiving an eye roll from her coworker.

“I can’t believe we’re all in relationships now.” She adds. “I can’t believe you’re in a relationship! You’re so grouchy all the time, it’s hard to believe anyone would love that. You too, Y/N! You’re only 18 and you already kissed someone.”

“You still haven’t kissed anyone at your old age?!” You exclaim.

Mun-Hee sighs. “Can you tell it’s been rough without you here?”

“Definitely.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“So does my dad approve?”

You ask as Jongseob enters your bedroom, shutting the door gently before sitting across from you on your bed. “Of course he approved, I’m Kim Jongseob.”

Your dad had to go on another trip, which was prolonged, right after his first one due to a promotion offer that was promised if he continued to work efficiently overseas for a little longer. He got the promotion. He didn’t come back until mid-2021, and you didn’t tell him about your little relationship until today.

“I bet he’s pissed at me. I swore I meant to tell him, I just forgot.”

“He isn’t. He’s just… very surprised.”

“Understandable. I may or may not have rambled to him about you.”

“Did you say anything embarrassing?”

“No.”

“Then what did you say?”

“He asked me what I loved about you. It’s a long list.”

“We have time.”

He chuckles. “Okay, well, I said I love that you’re such a hard worker, and how devoted you are to anything that you do, how you never settle for less. How there’s a sparkle in your eye only I’m able to see when you get excited. How beautiful you are when you’re at your happiest, when you’re doing something that brings you comfort. Should I keep going?”

You’re too flustered to answer his question. “What did he say?”

“‘When’s the wedding?’”

You hit him playfully, hiding your face in the side of his arm, embarrassed that your face was so warm from something so simple. “You really noticed all of those little things?”

“Of course I did, you’re my girlfriend.”

You wanted to kiss him so bad in that moment, being interrupted by your mom barging in the room. She simply stares at both of you. “You’re nearly 19, I expect you to know what we don’t wanna hear in this house.” She closes the door, Jongseob getting up to lock it this time.

“My mom’s gonna get so suspicious next time she tries to open the door.”

“Valid. But we know our boundaries, don’t we?”

You fulfill what you imagined in your head, kissing him briefly and pulling away when you feel his hand tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“Wanna know something?” He mutters.

“What?”

“I don’t think I could ever love someone else the same way I love you.”

“Is that so?”

“Honey, I admire you. You’re amazing.”

“Speak for yourself, mister. So talented and famous for it. I think we’ve been keeping these words bottled up for years when we were just friends.”

“Mhm. There’s so much more I wanna say.”

“We have time.”

“It’ll take all week.”

“I have all the time in the world when I’m with you.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🐺: guys where is jongseob

🐶: is he not at y/n’s house??

🐺: we have a shoot tomorrow why is he at y/n’s house

🐿️: the shoot is next week are u dumb

🐺: damn bro mb

☀️: they’re gonna get married someday i just know it

🍟: he wanted her ring size (о´∀`о)

🐺: why is he there anyway??

☀️: he went to meet her dad

🐿️: OKAY JONGSEOB I SEE U MEETING THE FAMILY

🐯: are you guys talking bad about me

🐶: nah we’re just thinking about what kind of ring ur gonna get her

🐯: im still 18 calm down 💀 y/n’s dad said the same thing

☀️: even mr. l/n agrees

🍟: how is y/n?

🐯: she’s good, i actually might stay over tonight

🐺: WHAT

🐶: on a weekday is crazy

☀️: why arent u coming home?

🐯: she fell asleep on me i dont wanna wake her up

🐿️: do you have clothes?

🐯: 👍

🐶: bro is prepared he predicted this

🍟: say hi to her for me!!!!

🐯: alr goodnight guys im lowkey tired

🐺: jongseob sleeping early? thats new

🐯: i hope you have nightmares

and if you’re fadin’, then honey i’ll be fadin’ too. darling, i don’t even know who i am without you. 🎧

[dia-souls]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Imajin Tokuten Drama CD “Chaos of Amnesia”

Original title: 記憶喪失による混乱

Source: Fanmade Tokuten Drama CD

Story by: Admin Irsa

Seiyuu: Suegara rie, Midorikawa Hikaru, Toriumi Kousuke, Katsuyuki Konishi, Takashi Kondou, Kaji Yuki, Hirakawa Daisuke, Takahiro Sakurai, Kimura Ryouhei, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Kishio Daisuke, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Morikubo Shoutaro, Tomoaki Maeno

Admin's note: I am back at writting after a long period of time. This CD is related to chaos lineage and it's a change or an alter to the chaos lineage opening scene. I hope you will like it. I lost a bit of my grip cuz of break. I hope I get back on track one more thing yui will be a bit OOC like. It's really difficult to write dialogue for 14 people. Shot out to that one follower whom wanted the CD drama in which all dl boys appear with yui. You my dear motivated me (A big thanks to @crazyasffr ). Give reviews because I like reading your reaction 😤!

Yui was awoken by the sound of a lot of voices. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't open it,She tried to move her body but couldn't. She started getting scared as she noticed her situation. Then she felt as if she was being kissed she felt disgusted. She heard thoes voices again they were males she could tell by their tone and they were arguing. Again she felt as if she is being kissed and her disgust was increasing.

??: Is she not going to wake up?

???: The propherecy said that if you kiss the sleeping Eve she will wake up? But she isn't waking up?!!

????: Maybe because you are a bad kisser. Let Ore-sama try!

?????: Fufu, how about all of us take turn in trying.

????: You all are disgusting. If you all are going to kiss her then I won't kiss her it makes me vomit to think I will kiss someone who is already defiled by you all.

?????: Then don't kiss her it's not like we want you to do that besides you doing that isn't necessary.

*Thud*

????: You perverts don't touch her you aren't allowed to!! Only Nii-san has the right to do it!!

???: You bas-

Yui then felt as if her energy was returning she opened her eyes and saw a young boy whoes face was dangerously cloes to her. The guy upon noticing her awake smiled at her.

?????: Ohh!! So you are awake you have really cute eyes!

_Yui immediately pushed that guy off her and got up.

Yui: Have you no shame you were kissing a sleeping women!??

Kino: Excuse me I didn't even got the chance to kiss. The one who assaulted you are them.

_He said as he pointed at Reiji and Ruki.

_Yui looked at around to see a lot of men who are now looking at her. She scanned all of them.

Ruki: Quick grab her!!

Yui: Wha No-o don't c-ome near me leave me-e!!

Ruki: Look we won't hurt you we just want you to come with us.

Yui: I d-don't want to go anywhere! please just let me go!

_Yui looked at them with fear in her eyes as she was feeling overwhelmed with a lot of men around her.

Reiji: Shu!! Hurry grab her!!

Shu: How annoying. Do it yourself.

_Yui got startled as she heard a voice right besides her she noticed a guy on floor. She didn't realized he was this cloes to her she hurridly moved away.

Shu: Pink.

Yui: Huh?

Shu: Colour.

Reiji: Colour of what?

Shu: Of your underwear.

Yui: ............

_Yui flushed at his remark and scooted away from him while shu gave her a lazy smirk.

Ruki:You!! How dare you!!

_Ruki said as he took his sword out seeing this everyone took their sword out yui immediately flinched at it.

*Cling* *Cling*

Yui: Wha-ts happening here?! Why are you doing this?! Who exactly are you all??!

Kino: Eve don't worry we won't hurt you after all you are our princess!

_Kino gives her princely smile and moved towards her but was blocked by Shin who moved infront of him.

Shin: Not so fast!! I won't let you touch her.

_Shin drew his sword he looked at his shoulder to look at yui.

Shin: Don't worry Eve I will save you from them and get you out of here!!

Yui: Is it real?

Shin: Huh?

_Kino and Shin both looked at yui confusingly.

Yui: The sword?

Shin: Of course it is!?? What are you thinking?

Yui: What? But why?!

Shin : Why what?!

Kino: Look stop all of you I am confused here?! What are you trying to say princess??

Yui: You are confused but, I should be confused who exactly are you?! All I thought you all were cosplayer?

Kino: Cosplayer?!?

Shin: Why would you think that?!

Yui: Well... you all are calling me Eve and acting like a knight and your dress is weird too you all are dressed weirdly!

Kino: Excuse me!? I have the best sense of fashion among all of them also don't call our dressing weird rather you are acting strange!

Reiji: Eve you do know what purpose you have.

Yui: What?

_Yui looked at him confusingly. She then looked around.

Yui: Also where is the priest?

_Now all of them looked at her.

Reiji: Pardon. What priest?

Yui: Well this is church so there must be a priest! Where is he?

Yuma: Eve you do realize that we are the only ones here!

Yui: Eh?

Yuma: Don't tell me that Eve is mentally unstable?!

Ayato: What but isn't she Eve??!

Kino: Isn't Eve is supposed make a ruler? Why is she talking weirdly?!

Shin: Come on she isn't unstable like you can clearly tell the difference between her and Kanato.

Kanato: Exactly---What did you say???!!!

_He gave a murderous look to Shin.

_Yui than felt someone circling her waist she looked at her shoulder to see a red haired guy.

Ayato: Oii!! No one will touch her!! She is now my property!!

Kanato: Hah when did she become yours Ayato???! Teddy waited so long for her to wake up!! I DEMAND YOU GIVE HER TO ME!!

_All of then covered their ears because of his screeching.

Yuma: You brat!! Shut up!! You aren't alone here!! All of us waited here for sow to wake up!! You ain't special go and play with your toys.

_Kino, Shin and Ayato snickered. Kanato seeing this walked up to Yuma.

Kanato: What did you say to me?

He said as he grabbed his collar. But their difference in height made the audience except Yui chuckle. Which further increased Kanato anger.

Kanato: YOU!!!!

_Yuma flinched at his sudden outburst.

Kanato: IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!

Yuma: What?? But you were the compla-

Kanato: YOU MADE A JOKE OF ME!!

Yuma: I didn't you yourself made-

Kanato: SHUT UP!! I WILL KILL YOU HOW DARE YOU MAKE FUN OF MY HEIGHT!!

Yuma: When did I made fun--

Kanato: SHUT UP!! SHUT UP YOU RUINED TEDDY'S MOOD! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!!

Yuma: I never asked for your forgiveness-

_Yui took advantage of the distraction and elbowed him. Ayato who was caught off guard let her go and Yui escaped. Yui immediately ran for the door.

Ruki: Eve is escaping Shin go after her!!

Reiji: Yuma this isn't time to play around. Be quick Kino catch Eve. Shu you too!!

Kino: Roger!!

_All of them then became alert and started running after her.

_Yui who was running with all her might started screaming hoping the people will hear her and help her. She hurridly entered a room and locked it's door she decided to put furniture infront of it so it could remain locked just as she turned around she saw all of them.

Yui: AHHHHH!!

Shin: Ouch! Stop screaming!

Yui: HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?!!

_As she lifted vase.

Ayato: Well we are- Put that thing down!!

Yui: I won't don't come closer you weirdos!!

Yuma: Eve listen we won't hurt you we are here to save you just come here!

Yui: Don't come closer!!

Ruki: Huh! As if she thing like that can stop us!!

_Yui threw the vase towards Shu as for some unknown reason he was lying closer to her but Shu dodged it.

Shu: How dare you!

_Yui noticed a balcony in room and sprinted toward it seeing it all of them followed her but stopped as soon as they say her climbing the railing she was able to balance herself on it she looked towards them.

Yui: Look don't come closer otherwise I will jump from here and you will be sentenced to death!

Kanato: Eh? Death sentence what are you saying?

Yui: Tell me who are you all and why are you doing this to me?!

Kino: Doing this to you?! Excuse me we haven't even started doing anything to you!!

Yui: Liste--kyahhh.....

_Yui was, lifted from the railing into air.

Kou: Hyahhhhh!!! M-Neko-chan Kou has came to your rescue Fufu.

_Yui realized that she is hugged by strange blonde hair guy the guy then placed his head on her shoulder glancing at the crowd.

Laito: Nfu~

Yui: Kyahhh...

_She felt another pairs of hands hugging her.

Laito: Nfu~ Eve-chan~~ you made your suitors wait a lot for you this isn't fair we spend a lot of time without you. Now need to make it up to your Laito-kun!

Kou: Wait a minute!! Laito-kun I am talking to M-Neko-chan you should let us talk alone and leave her I can carry her alone.

*BANG*

_The door exploded and three men entered the room.

Carla: How dare you all come here before us!!

Ruki: Well excuse you, don't tell me you expect us to inform you that barrier is broken. Isn't it your fault that your comrades are foolish.

Subaru: Tch!! It's not like you already took her she is still here and besides we aren't late.

_Subaru cracked his knuckle and looked at all of them before his eyes went to the girl. He immediately blushed as he saw her being gropped by two men.

_Yui who was now confused and scared as she noticed their strength. They are way too strong to take a door down but thinking about what they are wasn't her concern her main concern was to get away from them.

_Carla looked at Yui for some reason Yui felt a lot of scared his presence was dominating and she wanted to hide. He continue to peirce her with his gaze and walked towards Yui. This guy is very intimidating for her.

Yui: Let me go!!

_She said as she started swaying her legs.

Kou: EV-wait stop we will-

Laito: Eve-channn this not a place to get excited, I know you are excited to see Laito-kun but wai--

Yui: Kyaah!!!

"EVE!!"

_Yui was falling she closed her eyes to accept her fate only to feel someone below her.

Yui: Owe!

Shu: You are in no position to say anything like that considering you fell on me!

_Yui got up from floor and saw Shu beneath her.

Yui: Why are you always on floor?!

Shu: ..............

Yui: Aren't you going to answer?!

Shu: Uwa! Troublesome.

_As he got up Yui for the fist time Yui saw their differences in height, as it's the fist time he got up since their meeting and Yui was startled as she saw him trying to grab her.

_Yui immediately bolted towards dark forest.

Meanwhile:

Laito: Uwahhh Eve died I can't believe I didn't get to play with her.

Subaru: Idiot she isn't dead.

Ruki: We really need to find her quickly.

_Carla raised his eyebrows at him as they all were creating too much fuss.

Reiji: Can't you sense her presence?!

Subaru: Tch! What's wrong with you all she is just around here we will find her and that's it!?

Shin: Looks like you don't understand the severity of the situation.

Ayato: You see Eve has slept for too long that's why she is now unstable.

Kou: What? M-Neko-chan no way I don't believe you she is perfectly stable.

Shin: You see she acts weirdly and ask stupid question I am not saying she is fully unstable like Kana-

Kanato: WHAT DID YOU SAY!!?

_Kanato walked up to Yuma and grabbed him by collar.

Yuma: Oi-i!! What did I do?! Why are you coming at me!!?

Kanato: IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!

Yuma: What type of logic it is-

Kanato : YOU MAKE ME BAD INFRONT OF EVERYONE YOU ALWAYS DO THAT! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT PEOPLE THINK I AM LIKE THAT!!

Yuma: It's literally our first meet--

Kanato: SHUT UP I WON'T LISTEN TO YOU ANYMORE!!

Yuma: When were you listen--

_The two continued to argue.

Laito: Eve. Poor Eve-chan she must be scared while walking alone in this scary forest.

Carla: If whatever you said is true that Eve truly is out of her mind then we need to hurry and find her before she does harm upon herself because of state.

Reiji: Hurry!! After her she must be in forest we need to find her before she hurt herself!!

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

Yui: Hahhh!! Hurry I need to find someone!! Ngh.

_She fell on her butt after she collided with someone. She looked up to see a guy who was covered in bandages.

Azusa: Eve.

_The unknown guy immediately hugs her. She then started pushing him but he didn't nudge.

Yui: Leave me-e!

Azusa: I waited so long for you to come Eve I am so happy to meet you!!

_Yui looked at him confusingly. Are all guys here have their screws loose.

_She then heard footsteps behind her.

Laito: Nfu~ Ara, Ara Eve-chan you are finally united with your number 1 fan.

Yui: Numbe-er one fan?

Laito: Yes!! Azusa-kun seems to have special attachment to you, you see.

Shin: Hahh!! I finally found you Eve-

Yuma: Eve found yaaa. Ya made everyone so worried about you!!

Kino: Eve here you are!

_All of then looked at each other it appeared as if now they are ready to fight and not so soon the fight began Shin who remained it shadows saw the opportunity and grabbed yui.

Yui: Hel---

_Her voice was muffled by shin hand he hurridly took her away from scene.

Yui: Stop!! Leave me ugh!! Please stop!!!

Shin: Kch!! Shut up and come with me to orange house.

_He roughly grabbed her and started dragging her.

Yui: Please don't sell me-

Shin: Sell you??

_Shin now stopped and look at her confusingly.

Yui: Isn't it what you want?

_Yui thought they all might be drug dealers and are trying to sell her to brothel that's the reason they are so careful with her.

(They all are doing this so that my body remains unharmed and I could be sold at higher price otherwise why were they so concerned when I was falling from railing!)

_Shin confusing expression changes to pity and sad.

(She really is mentally unstable that's why she is saying weird things I shouldn't put more pressure on her fragile state.)

_Yui upon noticing Shin sad eyes and his silence as an agreement to her statement and her tears started welling up in her eyes.

Subaru: Ev-- Hah Shin why is she crying?

_Subaru immediately separated the two and grabbed Yui. Yui again resisted to get away from him.

Yui: How can you do this don't you have a sister will you do something so terrible to her!!??

_Yui questioned subaru.

Subaru: Huh? But I don't have any sister?!

Yui: That- but still you should have some humanity in yourself to do something this disgusting!!

Subaru: Humanity? I am not a human to begin with!!

Yui: That's right you are monster!!!

_Subaru became confused at her outburst he wondered what he did that made her like that?! He didn't deserve to be called a monster, considering it's their fist meeting.

Subaru: Look I just want to take you home to my older brother-

Yui: Huh!! You__ I can't believe you are going give me to your brother as call girl!!?

Subaru: Wha--

_Subaru looked at Shin who still had sad expression on his face. He looked at Shin and Shin upon noticing him made a gesture of saying that she is unstable and shook his head.

_Subaru looking at him realized how bad Eve's condition is became sad as he thinks that his behaviour might upset her more. He looked sorrowfully at yui.

_Yui than notices change in demnor thought that this might be his purpose.

Yui: Please leave me alone!! Let me go!

Kou: Ahh! Found them!! GUYS EVE IS HERE!!

_All the family immediately teleported to the place.

Yuma: Hahh!! Finally!!

Yui: Look please stop all this. Leave me alone don't sell me.

Ayato: Sell you but why would we? I mean you are important for the plan after all you are Eve? Why would we sell you?

Yui: But why me why me out of all the girls in the world why does it have to be me??!!

Laito: 'Girls' there are girls here?

Ruki: Eve you are the only women here along with us!

Yui: Wait a minute!? Aren't you going to sell me to some brothel??

Ayato: First you called Ore-sama cosplayer and now you are calling me a dealer make up your mind cosplayer or dealer!!

Shin: Huh why would we? What do you think we are! Besides there is no brothel here!

Yui: If there isn't then why all of you are chasing me! And why are you saying I shouldn't be harmed!!?

Ruki: Ahh! Things are now getting clearer.

Kino: Yeah!! Right seriously I can't believe it was all for this.

Reiji: It seems Eve has misunderstood our intentions.

Shin: This means that she isn't crazy like Kana-

Yuma: SHUT UP!! Shut your crap!!

_Yuma said as he glanced at Kanato whom upon noticing that he is staring at him glared at him Yuma flinched and immediately looked away.

Yuma: Ain't no way. I am gonna let that kid scream at me!! He mumbled.

Shu: Hah!! Uwah! I just want to go home.

Carla: Don't tell me women you don't know what's your purpose in the game.

Yui: Game? Purpose? What are you saying?!

Reiji: I hope I am not wrong but it seems sleeping for too much has caused her to forget her purpose.

Carla: Say women do you know how to make me the supreme ruler.

Yui: Huh!? What is that??

Ruki: Hah looks like it's time for us to explain you the situation you are in.

I am Ruki, the eldest of orange family there are 13 man over here and there is no women here except for you. There are in total of three family violet, scarlet and orange. The main purpose of these family is to obtain Eve. Once Eve-

Carla: I am Carla eldest of violet. Eve had the ability or power you can say to make a supreme overload. Meaning a king and you are Eve and you have power to do that.

Kino: That's we all were after you we aren't some cosplayer or smugglers.

Yui: Well you did seem like that..

Kanato: Teddy she really thought we were crazy and we all thought you were crazy the whole time.

Carla: Now that everything is cleared out you will now come with us to violet household.

Subaru: Wait a minute!! You all are missing one detail.

Laito: Nfu~ let's not tell her guys poor girl will be so scared once she find out about that.

Kou: Ara~Ara Cmon Laito-kun I really want to see her reaction.

Azusa: Eve..is.. sane.. Eve.. Please.. come with.. us we... will... take good...care of.. you.

Yui: Wait a minute!! I can believe all this, all of you are lying it's impossible that there is no one here except us!

Ruki: Oh really! Where is the proof?

Yui: Proof--I might not have it right now but I am telling truth.

Kino: Hah! Why don't you just stop resisting and come with us? You have no place to go to!

Yui: That's true but I still won't come.... You all are brothers but you don't look alike at all!!?

Kanato: Teddy also thinks exact same!! They all are too weird to be my brothers and that red head idiot to be my twin.

Shin: Excuse me!!? You are actually weirdest of us brothers!! No you are the weirdest of us all--

Yuma: Bro you just shut up!! Don't anger him!! Why are you digging my grave?!?

_Yuma said as he put a hand on Shin's mouth to which Shin immediately removed.

Shin: You aren't my brother you vile--

Ruki: Shin!! Behave yourself!!

Shin: Yes, Nii-san .

_Ruki looked at yui and said.

Reiji: Yeah! that's true! We don't look alike. So what?! Does that change the fact that we are brothers? No it doesn't!

Yui: So basically you all have no parents?

Laito: Parents?!

Yui: Yeah... I mean you all must have different parents to have such different features.

Kou: Okay! Now it's crepping me out!

Yui: That's what I am trying to say that this place, you all something is not right!!

Kino: Princess don't stress too much. It's not that much of a big deal you know to have no parents.

Yui: But still that doesn't change the fact that they might have existed that's why you all exist!!

_Yui immediately blushed after saying this statement.

Laito: Well Eve-chan you are right! Nfu~we all already know how babies are made.

Shu: Lewd women you said it on purpose.

Yui: No I didn't I just want you all---

Ayato: Hah!! Stop!! Ore-sama is parched.

_He said as he came closer to yui.

Ayato: Why don't you take responsibility.

Laito: Aha! Now that you mentioned it she really is giving off a really sweet smell.

Subaru: Guys aren't we supposed to hide it-

Kanato: Teddy wonders if it's like a candy.

Yuma: Sow really does smell delecious. Hey! how about giving me a taste.

Laito: Nfu~Eve-chan you made me run all around to find you.

_He said as he got near her ear.

Kou: M-Neko-chan really is cruel! She really is selfish she made me do a lot of work how about you return favour as this is give and take world!

Subaru: Oii!! Stop saying that scary stuff to her and you both keep your hands off her!!!

Yui: Wai-it you.. all are again saying weird stuff?! Delecious and parched what do you mean by them?!

_Shu looked at Yui and smirked and gave her a show off his fangs.

Yui: Wha-

Shu: You now realize. Do you?!

Ruki: We aren't some bunch of humans. We are vampire.

Yui: Vam-mpire! You mean you all suck blood.

Kino: Hey!! I am offended we don't just do that! You humans have ruined our name.

Shin: What are you scared? I mean cmon don't tell me you don't realized it?!

Reiji: Having this level of strength isn't possible for a human man right? You should have realized it earlier that we aren't human.

Shu: I hope this answers your question about how I always get where ever you are.

Ruki: I guess you now know everything your purpose of being here and lastly our identity.

Carla: Hah! That's funny we didn't even try to mask our identity. You really are a dense women.

Yui: No-o that's impossible. I don't believe you!!

_Yui backed away from them.

_All of their eyes started glowing showing their animalistic nature.

Ayato: Say are you gonna choose who to come with or we decide it.

Yui: Wh-hat?

Kino: I mean you aren't gonna stay here right a forest is really a bad option for a fragile girl like you.

Subaru: Tch! It's not like a house full of male vampires is the best option.

Ruki: That's true but you are forced to choose between us we aren't requesting at first place that's an order. So hurry up and choose.

Carla: Eve choose which house are you going to live with. Choose wisely and carefully as it will decide the future supreme overload.

Reiji: So what's your decision Eve.

_Yui looked at all of them their attention fully focused on her.

"I will choose_______"

[majorproblems77]

Sacred Realm updated which means im actually so excited to be making this omg

Hi there Sacred Realm fans! :D

It is I, the one who makes the analysis posts on various comics on the internet. (With permission course) Because I love doing them and they bring me joy.

If you are unaware of what Sacred Realm is, it's a Legend of Zelda AU about a new Link who gets a little medallion that makes him a badass, also it can hold the spirits of heroes from across the realms (Including my fave boy ever okay)

Before I begin, I'll get the important stuff done, This is done with permission from @zelda-the-sacred-realm, and all art from the comics belongs to the comic artist. Please do me a favour and go and check it out because it's a wonderful comic and extremely well-drawn and written.

Now, grab some popcorn, and a drink and please enjoy me rambling about a comic that I enjoy so much. :D

Lets begin!

First, some sass

Damn, possessed Link got a mouth on him. Low key I love him, he looks like he could go for round two like right now. Wouldn't be surprised if he went for the hero of time next.

My eyebrows shot up at this.

Time KNOW's

let me repeat that

TIME KNOWS. HE KNOWS WHATEVER IS IN THE MEDALLION CAUSING THIS.

(More on this later)

He knows he knows he knows he knows he knows

I can hear the mocking voice of Link while he is saying this. Time has experience with this particular entity before.

Okay, so here is when it gets interesting.

Possessed Link or this entity I suppose, referring to Time and in turn Hylians as 'Your Race' Tells me a couple of things.

This thing in the medallion isn't a Hylian spirit. So as much and as fun as a dark link theory is, I dont think it could be.

Time arguing that we're not perfect, again referring to Hylians sounds very much like an "I'm speaking with a god speech"

I present my theory on what is in the medallion.

An extra spirit, a god of some description, from the spirit realm. Out to get revenge on Hylians.

Time has been to the spirit realm, in his games. (I am under the assumption that those still occur in this canon please do correct me if I'm wrong here.)

I'm convinced that this thing in the medallion is a deity of some kind because of the eye colour. I can't get over it.

This style of blue, with no pupils.

We've seen it before.

On Hylia.

From Chapter 2 fate PT2

And here is the first time we see it on Link for comparison, With Sky's alongside him for comparison for what Hylian eyes look like.

From Chapter 2 Fate PT3

The colour isn't exact so it can't be Hylia herself I dont think, but, i believe that there is a spirit trying to escape the sacred realm and is using Link to do it.

Okay, enough of my conspiracy theories moving on!

Link you gotta wake up!

Sky thinks so, I love the coloured speech bubble, what a good idea.

OH BOY I LOVE THESE PANELS

You know those scenes in video games when you're fighting off something that's trying to possess you and you have that ominous-sounding echo that seems to reverberate through your head. But is also muffled at the same time?

(If I find a game example I'll link it)

This. Put that noise you think off over this.

KICK ITS BUTT LINK GET IT, GET BACK IN HERE.

These five panels tell so much when it comes to how much effort Link has to go through to fight off the medallion possession. I wonder if its going to be easier or harder for him to fight it off as he gains spirits in the medallion.

You can really feel his struggle and I just love it. The visual storytelling is incredible in this comic and I will fan girl about it all day because I just love it so much

I'm thinking he says this to gauge just how bad this possession is. time seems like the guy who would, especially as he already seems to know what this is.

I wonder if he really is the hero of realms?

Yes, Time. Yes, he is.

The face he dosent remember any time he's possessed by the medallion is a little worrying.

Makes me think that could be used later.

Like, Link dosent remember fighting this ice comet now. What if he fights an enemy while possessed, breaks the possession then has to relearn how to defeat it because as possessed link he's not gained any information.

Man Link is a cinnamon roll sometimes and I love him dearly okay.

Alrighty, thats me finished with my rambling. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this! And thanks again to @zelda-the-sacred-realm for the permission to do these i really appreciate it.

Please please go and check out the rest of the comic if you haven't it's amazing :D

Thats me finished for this chapter, so I'll be headed out!

Hope you have a wonderful day! :D

[foolforharrry]

Bunnies And Buckets

Word count: 2.8k words

Summary: Protective Harry to just pure fluff at the end.

This doesn't really make all that much sense. Again. It went a lil away from what I had planned initially.

But i hope you like it anyway. And if you wanna read more of my work, I have it all linked on my masterlist.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and if you have any requests please feel free to give them to me and I will do my absolute best to do it.

I love you 🫵🏻

“You’re imagining things, darling.”

“Am not!”, I protest, scowling up at him accusingly. “You totally fell asleep.”

Harry rolls his eyes, “I could tell you everything that happened at any time during the movie. Name a scene and I’ll prove it.”

“What did they do to the rabbit?”, I inquire. He tries his best to make it seem like he’s just building suspense and proving me wrong. We both know it’s useless because Harry dosed off exactly around that scene of ‘Now You See Me’.

The fluffy curls around his ears sway with the same wind that’s turned the tip of his perfect nose red and tinted his cheeks in the same colour. His arm is draped across my shoulders, keeping me tucked into his side as we stroll through the quiet park. The barely illuminated short cut peaceful and inviting despite my fear of the dangers that lurk in the darkness.

There hasn’t been one moment since we started down this gravely path where I’ve felt an ounce of fear or anxiety. The warmth and comfort of being so close to Harry quiet my mind in a way I had never experienced before him.

“It was turned into a pigeon.”

I almost feel bad for shaking my head, with how confident he seems in his answer. Magic tricks have never really been Harry’s thing, so I’m not exactly sure why he was so intent on going to see this movie in the first place. He has a habit of falling asleep if whatever movie or show we’re watching isn’t engaging him enough.

“Better luck next time pretty boy.”, I quip at him, momentarily tightening my arms around his waist.

If it weren’t for the way Harry is guiding us both, I would probably have tripped over my own two feet from how much I keep looking at his gorgeous face.

“Last time I’m taking you to the cinema, I swear.” The slight upturn to his mouth gives away that he’s not serious, but nevertheless, I give him my best pout, “Do you not want your girlfriend to be happy anymore?”

Harry opens his mouth to reply, but he’s interrupted by an unfamiliar voice popping our bubble.

“What are you doing out so late at night, sweetheart?”

Turning around at the speed of light, Harry keeps me behind him protectively, my own body tensing up with the immediate discomfort that settled in the pit of my stomach the second that sleazy voice spoke up.

“She’s with me. Now leave please.” Harry is curt and crystal clear, shoulders broad and tense as he stares at the man who’s leisurely closing the space between himself and Harry and me.

Everything about this stranger feels wrong.

From the way his eyes drag up and down my body to how he’s clearly intoxicated. The brown paper bag disguising alcohol gripped tightly in his hand and the way he’s stumbling every other step. He looks to be in his twenties. Dark messy hair and an expensive-looking suit.

“C’mon, popstar. Don’t be like that.” He slurs out, directing his attention to Harry now. “Big star like you? Bet your little whore wouldn’t mind being shared a little, huh.”

My nose wrinkles in disgust and I feel like I could throw up when his droopy eyes meet mine. The way he looks at me makes my skin crawl. I’m about to tell Harry that I just want to leave, but before I get the chance to he’s taking a strong step forward, making the man stop in his tracks.

“What the fuck did you just say?”, he snaps in a tone I’ve never heard from him before. It’s low and angry and he sounds dangerous.

But in the fucked-up state of mind, the stranger just laughs maniacally as if Harry had just delivered the funniest joke he’s heard in his life.

“Harry, leave it.”, I beg Harry quietly, gripping his arm to get his attention. “He’s not worth it.”

I’m not even sure if he heard what I said as he doesn’t budge when I tug on his jacket.

Instead, Harry takes another step forward, leaving me to wrap my arms around my body as a sort of shield from the anxiety that’s making it difficult to catch my breath.

“I’m gonna give you one chance to get the fuck out of here before I break your nose.”

The man stops laughing, instead straightening himself, gesturing to me, “You willing to ruin your squeaky-clean record for some cheap slut?”

Before I can even process what’s happening, the man is on the ground and Harry is standing over him with his whole body vibrating with anger. I can see Harry’s mouth moving, forming words at him, but all I hear is noise.

I can feel my own body shake with all the strong emotions ravaging my veins.

Our night changed so quickly that I’m not even sure how we ended up here.

One moment I was teasing Harry about how he had fallen asleep at the cinema, feeling so safe and serene, just disgustingly content. And now I’m frozen. From fright or shock or disgust or all three, I don’t know.

It isn’t until Harry’s face morphs from fury to concern when he looks at me that I realise that there are tears tumbling down my cheeks.

“Oh, baby c’mere.” Harry wraps me up in his arms and I fall into him instantly with a sob. Clinging to his back as if he would disappear if I were to let go of him even for a second. My face is smushed into his firm chest, no doubt staining his jacket with salty tears and mascara.

Shushing me, Harry keeps a protective hand on the back of my head as he rubs my back to help me calm down all while coaxing me to walk with him.

And I do, blindly setting one foot behind the other and trusting him to not let me fall.

“I’m fine, I promise.” Harry steps in front of me, blocking my access to the staircase.

“You’re not.”, I tell him. “You need to ice that hand.”

As he’s about to protest again, I grab his wrist before gently brushing my fingertips against his knuckles. The contact has Harry whining in pain and ripping his hand away from me, cradling it to his chest. “Ow! What’d you do that for?”

“If you want that to get better faster, you have to ice it for a bit.”, I explain even though I know he knows it. “Acting tough doesn’t help.”

Harry considers it for a moment before he steps aside, “Ok, you win.”

Cupping his jaw, I stand on my tippy toes to plant a kiss on his lips, Harry’s hand automatically going to the small of my back. “Good boy.”, I say jokingly before giving him a last peck and bouncing down the stairs to fetch him his frozen back of peas along with a tea towel.

The “You’re lucky I love you” that was sent my way nearly had me tumbling down the last couple of steps from laughter.

Harry is in the exact spot I left him, a grumpy pout on his lips.

“Here.” I hand him the towel-wrapped bag of peas, which he accepts, a small thank you mumbled as we make our way down the hallway, turning right and into our bedroom.

Even though we don’t officially live together, it might as well be ours considering that every time Harry has time off, he stays here.

At first, I was shocked he even wanted to come visit, let alone sleep here since I have two roommates. Now, a year and a half later, he adores them and they’re equally fond of him. It’s gotten to the point that Lauren said she and Vera would kick me out on my ass and give my room and space in the fridge to Harry if it came down to it.

Can’t say I blame them.

Harry wraps his arms around my waist from behind, pulling me out of my thoughts as I relax into him and his familiar scent. That is until I feel a freezing cold hand sneak under my shirt and lay flat on my tummy.

The stark contrast in temperature has me screeching and pushing his hands off me, careful not to hurt his bruised one.

The words die on my tongue as I watch Harry double over in laughter, bracing himself on his knees to keep upright. Any frustration I had at him for that freezing cold hand dissipates and turns into swarming butterflies as I can’t help but join him, my demonic laughter joining his.

Once we’ve both calmed down, Harry hugs me again, this time without the cold. Instead, the loving kiss he places on top of my head has a warmth travelling through my whole body.

“I love you, and I’m so sorry about what happened.”, he murmurs, nose buried in my hair.

I shake my head. “There is nothing to be sorry about, my love.”, I tell him for what feels like the hundredth time.

He has been apologising so many times for punching that man ever since it happened.

“No, there is.”, Harry protests, pulling away enough to look me in the eye, his hands cupping my face tenderly. “I don’t know what came over me. I was so scared for you just thinking about what could’ve happened if you were alone. And when he said those things, I just snapped. And I shouldn’t have. I should’ve gotten us out of there and not escalated it. I scared you and I fucking hate myself for-”

“Hey, stop that.”, I interrupt him, “I get why you did it, baby. If he spoke about you like that I would’ve punched him too.”

Harry laughs at that, and the sound tugs a smile on my face automatically.

Still, I tell him seriously; “But you didn’t scare me. He scared me. People like him scare me. What people like him do scares me. Never you. You’re the person I feel safest with than anyone else on this whole, stupid planet.”

“Do you promise?” He searches my eyes as if to see if I’m lying when I tell him yes. The relief that washes over his face when he believes that I’m being 100% honest is like someone just smoothed out all the unusually harsh lines that contoured his features.

“Plus. You defending my honour was kinda hot. I’m not gonna lie.”

Shaking his head, Harry rolls his eyes playfully, “You’re fucking impossible.” “You love it though.”

“I do.”, Harry nods, dipping down and connecting our lips in a sweet kiss, my eyes fluttering close as I hum into it.

I’m never going to get tired of the feeling of his soft lips on mine.

“Ok, wanna make that bucket list now?”, Harry asks once he pulls away, caressing my cheek with the pad of his thumb. Nuzzling into his hand, I nod, “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Reaching into my nightstand drawer, I pull out my journal and pencil case while Harry lights the lavender-scented candle on my desk, sending me a sweet smile when our eyes meet. While I’ve always been a sucker for scented candles, my love for them is nothing compared to Harry’s.

Almost as if he read my mind, Harry says; “We need to order some more candles. I found some online the other day if you want to try something new.”

“What were you thinking?”, I ask as I slide onto the bed, my back against the various pastel-coloured throw pillows. Shuffling in next to me, head on my shoulder Harry lets out a relieved sigh as he holds the cold peas to his hand.

“I thought cherry, pomegranate or pumpkin sounded pretty nice.”, he tells me.

Kissing the top of his head, I hum in agreement. “Yeah, let’s buy those.”

“Now. Let’s get this bucket list going, shall we?” The excitement in his voice is infectious and I can’t help but smile as I flip to the first free page in my tattered, leather-bound journal.

I write ‘Bucket list’ in large letters on top of the lined page. My heart swells in my chest when Harry takes the black pen from my grasp and takes a minute doodling flowers and small hearts with a line across the middle. His tongue pokes out in concentration and the only sounds in the room come from the tip of the pen dragging across the paper and Harry’s soft hums.

“You’re so damn adorable.”, I speak my mind, making Harry stop what he’s doing, a half-smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he lifts his head from my shoulder to look at me. “Yeah? You think so?”

“The cutest.”, I confirm, booping his nose with my pointer finger. A squeal leaves my mouth when Harry tickles my stomach. A smile bright enough to light up the world on his face as I firmly plant his hand back on his thigh, my cheeks flush with colour.

Harry kisses my shoulder as he settles his head back against it. “And you call me the cutest.” He says it as if it’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever uttered out loud.

As soon as we get started on the list, it grows with points neither of us even considered until now. Everything from wanting to adopt a pet bunny and name it Dora to parachuting. It���s as if the second we let ourselves just say all of our little hopes and big dreams without judgement crossing either of our minds.

“Are you serious, Harry?”, I ask him through tears of laughter. The shock of what came out of his mouth had me clutching my stomach from laughter for the past few minutes while Harry just observed as I tried to catch my breath with amusement and fondness on his face any time I managed to keep my eyes open for long enough.

Once I’ve calmed down, Harry kisses my burning cheek lovingly before he says matter of factly, “Anyone would want to have sex on a pile of money.”

“Whatever you say.” I don’t question it anymore and write his wish down right below dog sledding. “I can’t think of anything else right now.”, I confess.

Harry smiles softly at me. “Me neither. But I think we did pretty good.”

“Me too.”, I agree. “Where were you thinking of crashing a wedding though?”

He thinks for a second, the crease between his eyebrows deepening in thought, “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. But I wanna give a speech to the happy couple.”

“What would be in this speech?”

“Seeing that we would wait to crash this wedding for a few years, I would reminisce about the time I got married to my loving wife, Helga. Throw in some words about how I hope they have a marriage as happy as ours. And of course to remember that if either of them snores as bad as Helga, earplugs are their new best friend.”

I brush the curls that have fallen in front of his eyes back off of his forehead again. “And who is this Helga you’re married to in the future?”

“We can’t use our real names, now, can we?”

I’m not quite sure if it’s the meaning behind his words or the way he’s looking at me as if I hung the moon for him or both but before I know it, my throat is tight with emotion and I’m burying my face in the crook of Harry’s neck to hide the tears that are leaking from my eyes.

“Hey, darling. What’s wrong?”, Harry asks, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“You can’t just say shit like that and expect me not to.”, I whine, more tears wetting the warm his soft, warm skin.

“Oh, my love.”, Harry chuckles, “I thought I’d made it obvious that I wanted to put a ring on you someday.”

Detaching my face from his damp neck, I warn him; “That’s not fucking funny, Harry.”

“I’m not fucking joking.” The impossible warmth that spreads from my heart and fills my whole chest from his words as he swipes the tear streaks off my cheeks with his thumbs has more falling from my eyes. The pure sincerity and love bathing in his sage green eyes make me feel like I’m floating on a pink cloud, and I never want to get off.

What if I don’t ever want to marry you?”, I ask teasingly.

Harry doesn’t miss a beat, “Then I’ll keep asking until you’re so sick of hearing ‘Will make me the happiest man alive and marry me?’, that you’ll just have to say yes.”

-

[that-ari-blogger]

Persephone Is Stray Gods' Thesis Statement

I mentioned this when I wrote my post on Pan (check it out, I'm rather proud of that), but Persephone is also a weird choice to include. When you think of the Olympians, Persephone is there, but its "Hades and Persephone" or "That time Hades kidnapped Persephone" or "Persephone, wife of Hades." There is a duality to her pop culture appearance, but here, Hades is absent, and Persephone takes a central role. Why?

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Let's start simple. Who is Persephone? The answer to that is complicated, and thats the point. In the modern understanding, Persephone is the wife of Hades, and that's pretty much it. She's the goddess of spring (although not really). She exists in relationship to her husband and nothing else.

But mythologically, Persephone is terrifying. Her name predates Hades' in terms of archaeological evidence, and she has been equated with the name Kore, meaning "maiden" which, yes, is why that name gets referenced in stray gods. Essentially, Persephone is old, but she had a nickname that people used instead of her actual name.

My theory of this is because you don't want to say the name of a death goddess or she'll notice you, but that is mostly because OSP proposed that idea in their video, and I liked it. Check it out for more detail on Persephone.

The point that I'm going for here is that Persephone is multi faceted in nature but has been whittled down to a 2D archetype in general knowledge. And that's how she is introduced in Stray Gods, she's mean and unpleasant and fits into the "so obviously the killer that she's probably a red herring" archetype. But she gets more complex as a character the closer you look.

Anyway, let's examine this song.

The visuals are phenomenal. Take this shot, for example. Persephone stands raised above everyone else, with her symbol glowing behind her, symbolising how her influence is enormous and that this challenge will be tough. It's also colouring the rest of the room, all of the nameless NPCs are entirely lit in purple, a colour associated very clearly with Persephone. She is in control of this scene. It's also worth noting how small and indistinguishable grace is here, she fades in where Persephone stands out. Grace is weaker here. Thats some cool visual storytelling right there.

Also, The Underworld is a dope as all hell name for a club. (She's queen of the club called the underworld. So, she's queen of the underworld).

Similarly, this is cool. Its a bridge, symbolising connection, or a crossing. As Grace argues and fights with Persephone, she crosses into Persephone's world and starts to understand her more.

This shot is just cool, not much else to it. It's confronting Persephone with herself and her emotions about Calliope, cast in the colours of a sunrise as she forces Persephone to mage a choice about what to do in the future.

"If she had something to say, would you turn her away?" "Please don't do this."

This neatly shows that at this point in the song, Grace has "won". She has succeeded in the challenge, but neither combatant looks particularly happy. The reason for the victory dominates the camera, the connection has been formed because of Calliope.

"You hear that? Silence"

I am a sucker for the simple things. A blank stage with a single image on it is all you need to win my heart. This shot is my favourite in the song. It's the moment when you finally get through to Persephone, if you do that. (I'm not telling you how to get here, work that out yourself). What do you see when you finally get through all of Persephone's walls and defences? What do you hear?

Silence.

Persephone stands before you in an enormous ribcage, where the heart should be. It's overgrown, and empty, and the rest of the body has disappeared. There is just enough there to know that there is a hole, a void.

Phantom Pains sets up a metaphor of anatomy. Specifically, anatomy that has been removed or lost. And here that metaphor is again, showing the wounds at the heart of Persephone. This is a character who knows loss and trauma and betrayal, who is trapped by the memory (I wonder who else is like that).

In one ending, this area is where you get the explanation of Hades' absence. Persephone killed him.

Stray Gods is a story about family, about how, when it goes well, it can be amazing, but when it goes badly, things get dark. Of course, Persephone would be included in that story, she is part of the archetypal dysfunctional family in Greek mythology. But like the myth, this character is more complex than that. Stray Gods is also about moving past trauma, overcoming it, being more than it, and Persephone's characterisation in the entire musical embodies that philosophy.

Previous - Next

[auspicioustidings]

Make your own way home

Word Count: 850

SPOILERS for MWIII BELOW THE CUT!

Summary: Short little drabble of what happens a few weeks after that ending cut scene.

CW: Dubcon/non-con by virtue of spirit possession.

If there was ever an example of wrong place, wrong time, you think you were it. The trip alone to the Highlands was supposed to be a journey of self-discovery. It was supposed to calm your mind, let you meditate in nature and find some peace. Not be in your head so much.

And now here you were, in your head. Stuck in your head. 

You hadn’t ever really given much thought to whether you believed in ghosts or not. You thought of them as something from horror films, always creeping in the dark and spooking young couples in their new house. You had never considered that they could be out in the hills during the daylight, waiting for a warm body to commandeer. 

And he had commandeered you without too much of a fight. For a few hours you had wrestled him for control, but his will was overpowering. It didn’t help that whoever had rudely put themselves in the driver's seat was an arse.

Let me out

“Cannae dae that, got places to be.” 

It’s my body!

“Our body hen.”

No, absolutely not, this is not a communist body, this is single ownership

“In that case, it’s my body” he laughed, seemingly finding your screaming in your (his?) head amusing.

It is NOT

“Let me see if I have a pretty wee body tae match my pretty wee voice.”

You could only watch as he took your body to the lakeside and peered into the glassy surface. It was bizarre, watching your own face light up in a grin that looked nothing like yours. He seemed pleased with what he was looking at, and you thought if you were in control you might have blushed. In fact, you knew that to be the case seeing a dusting of colour appear. Interesting, your body at least still reacted to your emotions. 

“Fuck me, look at this,” he all but purred, a hand coming to squeeze at your chest.

Oh, oh it wasn’t just your emotions that your body still reacted to. You felt the touch as if it was someone else’s hand on you and you certainly felt the sick little bolt of pleasure from it. The little bit of excitement of how horribly wrong this was. 

“Dinnae tempt me hen, told ye we have places to be. Once we get there we can play together as long as ye want.”

You could not think of a single thing to say to that and you almost felt a sense of motion sickness when your body started moving again, trekking through the mountains at a pace you would never go at. You tried everything. You pictured a battering ram to try and smash through to get control and he responded by putting thoughts in your shared headspace of the ramming turning lewd. You sang obnoxiously and he only joined in using your voice, delighted with how it sounded. You gave him the silent treatment and got so painfully bored of it that within 30 minutes you were back to just wailing in your head. 

“Ye know, they dinnae usually stay.”

What do you mean?

“When we take a body, the previous tenant disnae usually stick around.”

Am I going to die?

“Naw if ye dinnae want that. Even if ye did, might keep ye around. If ye behave might even let ye have control for a wee bit, would ye like that?”

If being possessed was not terrifying enough, the concept that the thing possessing you one, had plenty of experience and two, had never had anyone survive was making you feel sick. You felt that feeling in your body and he felt it too if his confused little grunt was anything to go by.

“Come on hen, be nice,” he said, not stopping but shoving a hand unceremoniously into your pants to rub gently. “Just relax.”

It was an insane feeling, you touching yourself but it actually being someone else controlling the movements. He wasn’t going fast, the languid pace seemingly aiming to soothe more than anything. It was wild that it sort of worked, that sick feeling fading out to a hazy rolling pleasure that was only just a gentle simmer.

At some point you felt your thoughts drift off to a strange sleep even though your body was still awake and moving. When you felt consciousness leak back in, you could see yourself approaching a house. 

“Look who's finally awake! Good timing princess” he said. You could hear the exhaustion in your voice, you wondered if he had let himself and the body sleep at all. Maybe if the body slept, you could wrestle back control.

You watched as your hand came to knock at the door. Watched it open to reveal a huge man in a skull balaclava. Watched and very much felt when your body launched at him, pushing the mask up to get your lips on his. He reacted as if he knew you, holding your body tight and laughing into your lips.

“Knew you’d make your own way home.”

“Always do LT.”

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

starting a tag game for writers

Hi, it's Asmi! Okay, so, I've seen so many people afraid to start/continue writing because they're afraid it'll be garbage. And it's so sad how much joy and creativity is getting lost because of that fear. I've written utter shit before, and looking back on it is actually hilarious, and also, it's a reminder of how far I've come as a writer.

I really, really want people to be less afraid of the written word and of creating, and to get rid of that aura of mystery and elitism that often covers the writing process. Writing is messy and it's hell and it's torture. And it's amazing.

So here's the tag game:

Give me three lines/paragraphs that you've written that you love [fiction, non-fiction, from different works or the same, from completed stories or poems or WIPs, from yesterday or ten years ago] that you love. If that seems hard, even one will do. It doesn't have to be perfect. It can just be something silly that gives you joy.

And give me three lines/paragraphs that you've written that you dislike and find shitty. Anything at all as long as you wrote it. If you think it's ridiculous or absolute fucking garbage, even better! That's the point of this game. To see that we all write good things and bad things. Yeah? You can do this. And remember that both these categories are subjective.

I'll start. It's not as scary as it seems, I promise.

Things I've written that I find shitty:

The first man grabbed him by his collar, pinned him against the wall of the cave in which they were standing, and spat, “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done before. If the Queen’s not in the graveyard tonight, King Baza’s going to plan a most delightful execution for you. And even if he doesn’t, you being his nephew and all, I will arrange an accidental blowing up of your house when you are, tragically, inside.” [discount wall slam scene courtesy of 2016 Asmi, you're welcome]

“Overreacting?” said Dextor in disbelief, staring at Jay like, ‘What is wrong with you, dude?’ [sigh. my serious-scene-writing left a lot to be desired.]

“Don’t go,” I said, fighting tears. “Please, don’t leave me, too! You’re all I have left.” Strange thoughts for a child, but I meant every word. She looked at me with anguish. “I am sorry, Phil. Believe me, you are all I have, too, and this hurts me more than it does you. You’re like my son.” [I'm hysterical rereading this melodramatic shit, which was NOT the intended effect]

Things that I've written that I love:

He dropped the books onto a nearby chair and pulled her into his arms as he’d been longing to do all day, the smell of blueberries and hair product and her. The books she was holding were pressed against his chest, and he didn’t care. Why did he need to love the stars when he could love her, why did he need to look up at the sky for answers when they were right there in his arms? [I love this because when I first wrote it, I thought it was romantic, but I realised later that the boy, Ant, is aroace, and it doesn't change a thing about this scene, except that their love is platonic]

"Maybe being happy is the best that we can do. Maybe that’s more than most people manage, anyway.” They stood in front of the entrance, over puddles that reflected all the broken skyscrapers and the colours of the street and the grey-yellow sky. “Whatever you do with your parents,” she said. “Don’t let your guilt get in the way of doing ballet. It’s not wrong to be happy. It’s not.” [This is from the book I finished and I published, and I just really like this paragraph. It's not my favourite, but it makes me smile.]

The last you may leave wherever you please, wherever it is birds land to die. [A line from a poem I wrote in 2022, I like the rhythm]

(It took effort to find ones that I wanted to share, oof. If you find this difficult just know you're not alone. I usually like my writing, but turns out it's hard to take something you created and go hey, look, I'm proud of this. But we can do it.)

Alright, of course anyone who sees this is welcome to join, and tag the writers you know so we can all be uh writerly together :") but to start it off, no pressure tags @howmanyholesinswisscheese, @1800ineedshelp, @queermarzipan, @thescholarlystrumpet, @madfangirlontheloose.

Oh, and also tagging @neil-gaiman, @dduane, @drchucktingle just because maybe if you see this and join in, new writers will find comfort in knowing their role models have ups and downs, good and bad days too :")

Have a lovely day, everyone, and keep writing.

[safedistancefrombeingsmart]

#1, 13 and 20 please!

Hello and thank you so much for the ask! 😃

1. What’s something new that you tried in a gifset this year? How did it turn out? Oh, I tried a lot of things the last 12 months. New transitions, layouts, overlays, fonts... pretty much everything you can think of. Watching what other gifmakers are creating is always nice for inspiration. (@usergif is agreat source for that) I surprised myself sometimes with how good things turned out. And I had many gifs which just looked like sh*t and were never saved, let alone posted. Especially with colouring gifs I still struggle sometimes.

This gif is probably the best example of new things I tried this year: (link)

13. What gifset was the most satisfying to finish? (link)

Oh, that's easy. The

If the BBC Sherlock characters had iPhones... -

gifset (Link)

Even tho I used a template (link in the original post) it was a lot of work fiddling around in Photoshop. Plus, I think I was able to include a lot of humour here. I was really pleased with the final result. I probably spent 15 - 20 hours on the entire set. Also, a set I wish had more notes...

Close 2nd place: Martin all tied up (Link)

20. What’s something you are expecting to gif in the upcoming year?

I hope to try out a lot of new techniques/ styles.

I am impatiently waiting for Miller's Girl, which hopefully has some sexy Martin scenes. 🥵And the 2nd season of The Responder.

Thanks again for the ask! 🥰

(more questions here)

[sunghanne]

STAR RACER － ENHYPEN GREASE AU SERIES | PART 3 🚦

racer!enhypen & flaggirl!reader

PARTS: PROLOGUE, PART 1, PART 2 , PART 4. coming soon...

TITLE: ST★R-RACER : PART 3. MAKING ENEMIES

feat. ENHYPEN, TXT, STRAY KIDS?!

PLOT: in a small town during the 1950s, seems the only thing keeping careless teenagers entertained are drag races where only the elite participate. and those elite are known as star racers.

WARNINGS: coarse language, sexual themes, sexist remarks, ooc idols, illegal acts, violence, tba...

TAGLIST: @lalalalawon , @strvlveera comment your @/user to be added!

WORD-COUNT: 8.5k

NOTE: heyy, in hopes to keep the 1950's setting authentic, there are sexist jokes so please watch out for that. because the reality is, that mindset was not rare to come across during those times. this chapter is NOT EDITED at all. i'm sorry if its not my best one. likes, reposts and comments are all heavily appreciated, thank you and enjoy!!

"ow, that hurts y/n! you've never done this before have you?!" the whining male cried out as you shushed him with a harsh tug of the tuff of his dark hair, his yells echoing off the bathroom walls.

you shot him a death glare through the mirror of your bathroom, standing behind riki's sitting figure with foil and bleach encased around his head like someone's grandma with a head of rollers, "no, but i know what i'm doin'! i saw this on a commercial, it's a piece of cake," you reassured, even snorting quietly in your throat at the stupidity in your words. riki wasn't sure whether to be even more terrified than before at such unhelpful guidance.

"if i come home bald, you're gonna tell my folks exactly what you'd done," he huffed as you painted a thick coat of hair dye on a handful of his strands. you tutted at his childish nagging and focused on the task at hand.

"the ladies are gonna be all over you," you sang while lifting a foil-covered bunch of his hair and waving it in the air for him to see in the mirror. his dark eyes shot open at the new colour enveloping his virgin hair, "look at that."

"shit, how many times do i gotta do this?" he asked when a concentrated yellow appeared from his roots to the ends of his hair.

you hummed at his inquisitive question and with a cheery smile you replied, "only around four times." his head was thrown back while he wailed out with a mocking cry, like a child on his first day of school. you nudged his head back forward with the bleach applicator in your hand so the foil wouldn't fall out of place.

"i better win this upcoming race," he sulked while sitting up properly as you enforced harshly. you giggled and immediately started teasing him if he didn't win, he'd be on a permanent ban from racing ever again. except, when the day arrived. you didn't know what kinda racer yang jeongin really was.

"shit," you cursed out aloud, having to almost yell it to be heard over the jostling barracks, feeling guilty, "we missed riki's takeoff," your eyes searched for sunghoon's and he ducked his head low am tousled some of his light silver hair in a fluster. you originally wanted to be cheering your heart out for riki's first race back in action but you were so lost in your conversation with chan and felix that you forgot all about it.

"right, yeah," sunghoon plainly responded, eyes scanning the scene of the flag girl skipping off to her side of the track, "he's made in the shade. let 'em be," he nonchalantly finished while the crowd's volume gradually decreased and currently in a waiting period.

definition:'made in the shade'. > success guaranteed.

"yeah, she'll be right," felix grinned, most likely referring to his mate, jeongin. you were curious about brace boy, particularly that last conversation he looked like he held with riki where riki held his pinky up and did a promise in the air. your attention was placed back onto felix who has turned away with a hand tucked into his pocket.

definition:’she’ll be right’. > he/she/they will do fine.

"you're a star racer?" you questioned the freckled-faced male diagonal from you and he shone a proud smile at your acknowledgement.

"that's right. why is everyone always surprised when i tell them this?" felix asked while turning his head to his familiar, chan. his voice uncertain and high-pitched at the backhanded reaction from you.

"you're just so friendly, the other stars i've met are too busy touching their gearsticks to come up to another star and chat," you explained and his nose scrunched at your misleading metaphor of gearsticks. sunghoon snickered beside you quietly, silently agreeing in his mind. you weren't entirely off the mark saying that, hell, soobin never cared for his opponent at the beginning or end of the event. too busy stroking his machine on wheels to unsuspecting girls from his side.

"aw, that's real peachy of you. where's this star of yours?" he wondered while pressing a flat hand above his brow bone and squinting his eyes, deliberately looking over sunghoon during his theatrical act. of course, only chan found this bit funny. sunghoon on the other hand was driving forward to brush his hand on felix's shoulder to spin him back around to where hyunjin stood.

"cut the gas. i need another weed," sunghoon demanded the childish counterpart of his, hiding his internalised annoyance for being overlooked. felix let out a toothy laugh and called out for the red-haired male several metres from where we stood.

definition:'weed'. > a cigarette.

hwang's fierce eyes faltered at the outlandish male calling his name in a deliberate baby voice and reluctantly came to his heed. leaving the makeshift spotlight of the lamp post behind him, his charming features were illuminated in the natural moonlight, half of his face hidden in the shadows. and as he approached even closer, he was surprisingly almost as tall as sunghoon.

"what is it?" he grizzled out, annoyance evident in the way he spoke at felix's antics. the male in question patted his disgruntled friend on the back and gestured towards sunghoon with his free arm like a tour guide.

"a cig for the gentleman here," the playful boy announced and hyunjin's dark pupils shrunk upon landing on sunghoon.

"park, where's your little groupie?" the newcomer asked, their voice tainted with boredom like he didn't care about the answer regardless. you were curious about their history together so you kept a keen eye on their interactions. hyunjin's slim hand hid in his jacket's pocket and when he retracted it, a cigarette was flown at sunghoon in an instant. your friend paused and reeled forward to catch the stick, startled. "need me to light it for you too, eyebrows?"

sunghoon's brows dipped at the name-calling from his opposite, ignoring such disruptive teasing and lighting his cigarette smoothly. he sighed peacefully, blowing smoke that lapsed the red-haired male in spite. the misty effect around the said boy with the mole beneath his left eye made you want to jump out of your sneakers and hope to catch a ride with him home. he had no reason to look so effortlessly gorgeous. eyes starting to water from the lack of blinking, a carefully placed hand spun you around towards the upper slope of the concrete walls.

"hitting the road so soon? tell lee i said hello," hyunjin's voice poured and you felt sunghoon's nails almost dig into your fabric-covered arm in frustration. he couldn't answer why the other men weren't with him, it'd only open more holes for the opposition to pry. so for your safety and his, the only thing he could do was turn his back and exit without a word.

"want a drink?" he questioned to break the defeating silence on the way up the slope. it felt like it was the two of you against the world, a familiar feeling with you and sunghoon being placed in difficult positions to crawl out of. it was so lonely, jungwon and sunoo didn't come with you and jake was somewhere in the crowd preparing for his upcoming race.

if you weren't sure which of the two boys from earlier would be against jake, you'd be safe to assume ruby locks. chan the creep was a close competitor but something about his appearance didn't scream racer. the reason you weren't familiar with this handful of boys was that they were not in town often. why? because they were from a nearby suburb and only came to your drag strip because it was better than whatever set-up they had. this only lead you to ponder what kind of people they were.

"yeah, please," you agreed to sunghoons suggestion and he changed directions of your footing to a nearby huddle of people around a foldable table, impatient hands of money held out to whoever was running the alcohol-selling get-up.

the rumble of an engine, the screech of tires, the painful sting of car oil and your sweet face amongst the strands of hair flying behind you. that's all heeseung could recall in his last moments of racing before everything turned cold.

when he saw you and sunghoon running away from him, getting chased by soobin, beomgyu, taehyun and kai, he knew he was at a loss. he fidgetted with his door lock, hands soiled in grease resulting in his fingers being slippery with the hard surface. then, with a dip in his legs, he limped out of his messy car and turned right back around to look at the state it was in. just his luck, the white shine of his vehicle was ruined by a clear brown slick splattered inside and outside it.

"fuck. fuck, what am i gonna do," he cursed while his wet fingers came in contact with the back of his hair, jostling his strands in frustration. he had two options, go to you and the mobs surrounding yeonjun or hit the road. he couldn't go home like this, and neither could he relish in humiliation from everyone. so, weighing his options, he began his journey up the closest slope with heavy footsteps.

he loathed the way his favourite jacket was now dirtied with car oil and his footsteps left marks on the dry pavement behind him. he just prayed to god that they would dry up by the time anyone else came to find him.

this side of town for heeseung was unexplored. the neighbouring school's turf, that's all he took in as his head turned while walking past the tall, brick building. the school for the higher-ups. the school where students probably didn't spend their after-school time in gas-ridden garages as he did. he had made quite the change in progress from the race track he crawled out of and now found himself deeper in the bramble bushes on the opposite side of town.

he smelled awful, like a gas station set on fire. he still wore his damp jacket, knowing it was a smarter idea to throw it off but the evening breeze was way too cold to discard it so easily. and, part of the boy believed there'd be a chance to save it when he got himself out of the mess.

a deafening beep of someone's car brought the boy out of his clashing thoughts when he found himself crossing a road, green appearing on every street light around him. his eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his teeth in annoyance, throwing up a middle finger to the driver as he picked his pace up while meeting the other side of the pavement.

he wasn't the type to dawdle stupidly. he was irritated at his thoughts tuning him out of the real-world enough to make him senselessly cross a road.  also half irritated at the scare and the loud beep made his heavy shoulders flinch. he was wondered what was going on in the drag strip right now. the other school was having their bash and you were probably with the other boys heading home or to sunoo's diner for burgers and shakes.

just his luck, the neon wiring on a shop's board spelled '24hrs' stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the dark windows of already closed establishments. he'd found a 24-hour dry cleaner and maybe he didn't hate the previous rage road for rushing him to it. the entrance bells rang as he stepped in, his hand leaving a thin coat of car oil on the door handle.

the cleaning service smelled of lavender-scented washing detergent and the warm smell of an iron pressed to clothes, a nice change from his burnt tire-smelling 'cologne'. behind a run-down service desk was an employee, looking up from her newspaper, glasses tilting up her nose bridge. her face was partly distorted behind the tip jar that only had two coins in it. the stranger's mouth was parted, most likely surprised a customer even came in at this time of night or maybe at the appearance of heeseung who looked like he'd crawled right out of some swamp.

heeseung was just as surprised to see a girl his age working, assuming it was a family-owned business and she was most likely forced to stay late nights as punishment for bad test results. but, he knew he would be able to use this to his advantage.

"pick up for, er, nathan," he fibbed while fiddling with the cuffs of his jacket, praying to whatever god above that there was a customer named nathan. the girl's eyebrows raised, realising she actually had to do her job. so with the fold of her newspaper, she jumped down from her seat and tiptoed towards the long hanger racks with a collection of clothing hanging.

heeseung tailed behind her, proceeding to the opposite side of the two stripes of clothing racks and clicking the hangers together as he frantically sought clothes that could do the trick. long floral nightgowns, tuxedos, and even a wedding dress yet, no clothing fit for a teenager. "i'm sorry, no clothes under the name nathan," the employee fret while turning around to look at heeseung's opposite spot to hers.

he clicked his tongue in annoyance, not replying but only heightening his pace in scrolling through articles of fabric till his hands paused at someone's long pair of coveralls, clean and freshly ironed. he unhooked it and held it to the girl observing and smiled, "found it," he responded and the girl pushed her glasses up her nose bridge at the awkward feeling of being bested by a customer.

"really? oh, there we go then," she replied without a console and padded back towards her counter, leaning her elbows on the surface while picking her newspaper up. heeseung was silently celebrating in his mind at his successful act, treading towards the girl whose stationed right at the exit.

he calmly slid off his oily jacket and threw it on the edge of the counter she didn't lean on, a few rolling coins with it, "thanks, buttercup. i'll pick this one up next," the boy spoke with a wink at the broad. then, he pressed forward and left the building, stolen coveralls folded over one of his arms. as he disappeared from the store's large windows, he couldn't help a long arm of his being pulled back to his side in a celebratory dance, hoping on his light feet to an imaginary beat in his head as he skipped past dimly lit buildings.

you and sunghoon were regretful forgetting to watch riki's departure. because when he rolled in a fraction of a minute after jeongin, that's when hell broke loose.

you leapt up from your sitting position and pulled sunghoon with you to the middle of the track where riki had just parked. before getting a word in, the protruding male shoved through the circle of students encasing jeongin and raised a fist to the unsuspecting boy's face. about to strike, he was roughly pushed to the floor and met with the untamed clashes of three pairs of shoes.

"watch it, greaser!" chan yelled before laughing and settling his foot right on top of riki's reddening ear, earning a hiss of pain from the younger. your eyes widened in worry while you mirrored riki's shoving tactic to maneuver the crowd out of the way for you and sunghoon. you'd never expect such a rocky entrance from your friend.

"beat it!" you yelled while trying to shoo off hyunjin, felix and chan who had been kicking and stomping on riki's fetal position. sunghoon aided you by rutting his shoulder into the trio of men to make space for you. you placed your drink on the floor while ducking down to help riki up. he was roughed out, swipes of dirt in the pattern of shoe prints all over his clothes and face.

"what's the big idea?" sunghoon grumbled while glaring at the prosecutors, chan swiped his nose, sniffing inwards while his eyes searched the crowds like he was expecting someone. the look in the other two boys echoed the same reaction and sunghoon was taken aback by their behaviour. they were waiting for everyone else, jay, jungwon, sunoo and heeseung to interfere but no one came. sunghoon could tell, another light of pride flickering off in his mind. they weren't here.

only jake was running down the concrete slopes while his dark leather jacket flew behind him with every airy step he took.

"what's our prob? like you didn't just see your yoot strike ours first," hyunjin replied while his shoulders seemed to relax at the lack of our crew members. your head turned to riki as he grappled onto your hand and slowly unfurled himself, wincing during the gradual motion.

definition:'yoot'. > a younger sibling.

he wasn't looking at hyunjin, nor sunghoon at that. he was only staring at one boy. the boy with a sadistic grin spread across one cheek to the other, braces shown and all, "what happened, riki?" you questioned lowly in case you'd tripped on a wire that lead to the alarms going off in his head. his eyebrows furrowed while he wiped the back of his palm against his nostrils, a crimson fluid left behind on his pale skin.

"take a look at it yourself, this brute just dented jay's ride," he explained while your head flicked back to the boy's car he had borrowed from jay to use. jake positioned himself next to riki and viewed the area like a radar, a serious scowl on his face from his usual sweet smile.

"no rules in drag racin'," jeongin spoke up, and it was the first time you'd ever heard him. he sounded youthful and the cruel smile still on his face only added to it.

"you wanna pay for your damages? go ahead," riki rasped, a clothed arm against his nostrils to try and soak up his bleeding nose. the boy opposite to him only raised an eyebrow, looking over to his older peers like riki had just told a bad joke.

"i'm not the one losing the race, why would i?" jeongin rhetorically questioned while his smile finally dropped and only then did he finally give you the creeps. riki seethed through his teeth and stepped forward with hunched shoulders before he was stopped by sunghoon's hand.

"relax, he's just tryna bug you. ts'only the first race. jake and i got this," sunghoon reassured and rubbed his hand on riki's shoulder. the younger affirmed with a nod of his head and took a few steps backwards, almost bumping into you if you didn't move away at the right time.

"come on riki, let's get you fixed up," you persuaded the other and tugged on the cuff around his free hand. he reluctantly turned around, his eyes being the last of his body to disappear from the four boys.

"his mom came to pick him up, ain't that nice," you heard jeongin mock, only earning a small snicker from the crowd here and there. but you didn't care. cheaters would never have real skill and that's that.

you lead riki back towards the slanted pavement, in hopes of finding some tissues or an ice pack around somewhere. as you left lightly, you heard jake's voice question sunghoon about what happened and the crowd slowly disburse in preparation for the next race.

with a cold glass of beer against riki's sore face, his eyes never lifted off the concrete you two sat on. you clutched onto your long skirt and bit your bottom lip while mindlessly tracing your eyes on the tire tracks left in the dirt as jake and hyunjin already started their race.

"so... what really happened?" you asked the boy gently and he groaned at the forming bruise on his cheek that hurt every time he tried to speak.

"that son of a bitch' decided to play dirty when i was ahead of him for half the race," his voice was nasally due to the two twisted tissues stuffed up his nostrils and you could laugh at his state if it wasn't such a serious situation.

"he just rammed into you?" you questioned in uncertainty a boy so sweet looking like jeongin could be so fierce on the racetrack. but riki wanted to prove you wrong.

"yes. before the race, he told me no hard feelings for whoever won. so much for that act," he spat in betrayal, his gold locks draped around the sides of his face like a curtain. you assumed that's why riki held his pinky up before his race, motioning a promise to that flawed oath. you lightly chewed on the insides of your mouth, thinking his outrage seemed justified.

"what a joke," you commented while tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear and looked off towards the distance to not pile on the shame the boy was already drowning in.

"ts'tough. i wanted to win so badly. now everyone still thinks i'm a joke," he vented while continuing the shield on his expression. you immediately consoled the doubtful boy, a gentle hand stroking his back soothingly.

"that's not true. shit, i doubt anybody could handle the stress of being crashed into during a race," you pleaded while trying to cheer the boy up. he lifted his face slowly and his bangs fell to their correct placement, eyes lightened at your encouraging resolve.

"think so?" he asked in a low voice and you nodded with a small grin at his change in attitude.

"keeno," you responded and he sighed in relief while closing his eyes and rocking his head back.

definition:'keeno'. > keen, sure.

"this little kindness thing you do, is this what you learn in bible study, y/n?" his tone suddenly changed as he teased you with his usual banter. your eyebrows furrowed before you abruptly tore a tissue down from his nostrils and he cried loudly at the sting and the gush of blood that came out with it.

jake won his race. you were glad to see the smug grin wiped off of hyunjin's face upon his arrival. this glimmer of hope made your shoulders lift at the chance your crew could still win the night. it was you, jake and riki sitting together along the pavement waiting for the winner. riki's previous beer was now being used for its actual purpose and he gulped it down without a care in the world once his bruise stopped hurting and his nose quit bleeding.

jake was talking about how some pack of girls kept crowding around him like flies when he first arrived, hence his disappearance when you and felix first met. you thought it was a little funny why jake was always trying to run away from his group of fans every time he raced and riki made some comment about how jake probably swung the other way which he immediately denied.

the topic changed, rotating between what holiday jay was forced upon by his father, whether riki's voice had dropped yet and if heeseung was going to come back or not. where would he be? what could have taken him two weeks of his life from racing? not only was the absence at his desk at school starting to grow a pit in your stomach but also the doubt whether he was coming back or not.

you and the seven boys were childhood friends, in preschool, middle school all the way to high school the seven of you were inseparable. heeseung wasn't the kind of person to throw away years like that just for some hurt pride. so he had to come back.

the loud echo of an oncoming vehicle's radio sounded from atop the slope opposite your side. it was a roofless, bright blue automobile but the pack of men inside it is what surprised you the most. the two boys in the backseat were standing up and cooing like wild animals, fists in the air that held bottles of liquor. the people sitting on the concrete slope had to jump and run out of the road for the vehicle barging through them to avoid being squashed flat.

the men standing up only held onto the top of the front seat headers to retain their balance as the car veered forward down the slope dangerously to the point it could almost tip over. the air out of your lungs was socked out at such a stunt as the rolling vehicle came to a halt once it met the flat ground. the bass of the radio reflected off the pavement and you could hear your ears thumping to the same rhythm of the music before it clicked off and the four men jumped out.

"yeah, the boys!" chan's loud voice yelled while he ran from his previous viewing position to greet the other individuals with bear hugs and handshakes. your head steered towards the two boys beside you, curious about their reactions as well. jake's lips were parted and with clenched teeth, he fidgeted in his position steadily. riki's eyebrows were raised far enough for his forehead to crease in interest to what the appearance of these newcomers entailed to the event.

your eyes squinted while watching the figures below where the three of you say upon and their interactions. they behaved like sleazy, booze-infested apes who only knew how to communicate by yelling and wooing at everything. "who are they?" you questioned, not directed to either of your friends but jake took the initiative.

"that's the rest of their gang," he cooly replied and his lips licked out of habit and discomfort. if sunghoon didn't win, he would be the bud of jokes between the just-arriving men.

"shit, there's a mob of them," you cursed while counting up the numbers of your crew. four to eight did not look appealing to you at all.

"they're bad news," jake quietly continued while his eyes traced the furthest he could of the race track for any sign of sunghoon or felix. and you believed him. the appearance of such a feral group muddled with the only familiar handful of men you knew from them completed a perfect puzzle in your head. they were much worse than yeonjun and his group. way worse.

heeseung didn't have anywhere to stay the night. but when the company of his worn coveralls found him tiptoeing in the night, they invited him in. the owner of the repairman company, an old, balding man asked heeseung where he found the uniform which the boy answered shamelessly. unexpectedly, the old man laughed at such brutal honesty and offered heeseung a job.

so for the upcoming days, heeseung spent every day and night on the job, using the telephone outlet to call home and promise his temperamental mother that he'd be home soon and was just out with the boys. the owner of the establishment loved heeseung and his surprising work on vehicles.

"you seem to know a lotta 'bout cars, son. your old man a mechanic too?" his low antique voice asked while heeseung lay on a creeper on the undercarriage of a car, toying with something. a bead of sweat rolled down his dirt-staining temple while he licked his lips to answer.

"nah. just a knack i picked up," he lightly responded in such a bent-over position, his voice was coarse and throaty.

"impressive. skilled with your hands, aren't ya," the old man chuckled at his gag and heeseung just softly chortled at the dirty joke.

"no sweat," heeseung replied while focusing back on his work. that was the domestic dynamic he held with the owner who so generously offered food, shelter and a job to him. but all things come to an end and heeseung had a group to return to and a race to win.

and that's where heeseung found himself, sprinting out of the joint with nothing but a cigarette in his mouth and handfuls of scrunched cash stuffed into his pockets and crowded against his stomach as he ran away with the infuriated man behind him. of course, being at such old age made the owner give up easily and retreat to inside the store and to the nearest telephone for the police.

heeseung was smiling, laughing breathlessly at such a successful act that merely took a week and a half to achieve. the loud steps of his black converses came to a stop in front of the only store with a neon sign at this time of night. the dry cleaners where he could finally collect his jacket.

he swung the door open, ignoring the glare of the same girl at the run-down counter as he raced to the hanger racks to find it. the loud scratch of the girl's chair bounced off of the poster-ridden walls when she stood up in disbelief at the return of the boy who left her with a hand of dirty pennies and a destroyed jacket.

"nathan?" she abruptly spoke up and heeseung's pace faltered for a brief moment while he ignored her calling. she had a lot of questions in mind as to why he was running with wads of cash glued to him and why it took him to long to collect his jacket.  "those aren't yours, are they?" her glasses adjusted on her nose bridge as two shakey fingers pressed against them. she was referring to his coveralls now soiled in stains. he had almost forgotten the fake name he used so he didn't even realise she was referring to him.

"s'course they aren't mine. you realise this world is full of cheaters," he rhetorically asked through messy heaves of his chest while still flicking through articles of clothing. he was drenched in sweat and, motor oil and dirt, almost as dishevelled as the girl first saw him. her hands, once preoccupied with the newspaper she once read grasped onto her long red polka-dot skirt, uneasy with such a mean response.

the brief moment of silence broke at the relieved sigh that left the tall boy's parched lips as he found his beloved jacket. before he could pad back towards the entrance, the bright flash of red and blue reflected off the windows as police cars drove past at a deathly slow pace. they were searching for him. heeseung's dark eyes widened and he ducked down in an attempt to hide before his vision was clouded by red and white polka dots. "nathan, behind here," the gentle voice above the endangered male brought him back to reality and the crisis he was in.

the employee gestured to behind the front desk and he complied, side shuffling on his aching knees behind it. the girl was like his reflection, mirroring his positioning to take light steps and use her wide skirt to cover his face while he made haste getting to behind the desk. he met with the grim dusty table legs and leaned his back against it with a clamouring heartbeat. the unnamed girl returned to her usual position, reading a newspaper but all the tiny printed letters were too blurred by her adrenaline to actually process anything.

police cars swarmed by, their loud tires burning rubber against the road outside and their brash sirens singing out. heeseung was more than grateful for the little helping hand as he would've been toast if he was still out in the open. the only thing he thought about was the son of a bitch who ratted him out and sent a flock of police after him. he'd understand one or two cars but half a street full was asking for too much. it wasn't like he robbed the man's entire life savings, only a till full.

his partner in crime only took the flashing reflection in her glasses as a signal that the police cars had finally passed by and she craned her guilty head down to the man below her. his pearly white teeth shone, smirking in his pleasing tactic of avoiding the authorities, "thought you were a good girl. turns out y'not," was the only sentence he formed as his nerves calmed as his breathing regulated.

the quiet girl suppressed the tint of red growing from one of her cheeks to the other at his words, turning away in an instant to not blow her cover. "hit the road, hood," her voice changed while she referred to the criminal acts of the boy and now realised the kind of character he was.

the smoke of heeseung's cig left an imperfect line in the air as he stood up cautiously, eyes darting through the wide glass panes to see if the coast was clear. once he confirmed it was, he graciously stepped out of the desk and back on his previous path to the exit. the nickname 'hood' amused the boy, as well as the sudden fierceness in the girl he only thought was innocent.

"thanks, sweetheart. my name's heeseung," he revealed through a light whisper before he ducked out of the thrown-open door and to the opposite direction the police cars came from. the employee raced to the doorway upon his departure and leaned her head out of it to watch as the male escaped to an alleyway hidden in the shadows.

a knot in her heart snapping at the thought it would be the last time she'd ever see the boy. she knew from the beginning the coveralls weren't his and she knew his name wasn't actually nathan. because the tag on the jacket he left behind was claimed with blue pen that spelled his real name. all she knew about the dangerous boy was that she had fallen head over heels for him.

heeseung swerved past tight corners, cautiously avoiding the open from the fuzz that was most likely circling the area. he was trying his best not to move so violently and risk papers blowing out his pockets so he stopped once and found himself in an alleyway between some grocery store and two large skip bins where the stink was more detrimental than being caught by the police.

fortunately, there was a telephone hooked to the wall of the grocery store and as long as it wasn't hooked up to the services of the actual store, this could be his one-way ticket out of this muck. so, within two beats he held the phone up to his ear and dialled the only reliable service he knew. park jay.

sunghoon lost. the ear-defeating celebration from the pack of animals in the middle of the track only rubbed salt in the wounds when sunghoon exited his vehicle and scrambled his hair in his fingers out of frustration. jake stepped forward and rubbed the dishevelled male on the shoulder out of encouragement but he didn't bite into it. the cold winds brushed against the equally cold atmosphere and it sucked having two losses in a row.

you stood beside riki and began to turn away as sunghoon and jake were an inch past you when felix's loud voice yelled, "that race was child's play. i thought you had more fire in you, but i guess you put out," he mocked cruelly, indicating something unrelated to racing.

"s'got a broad with 'em. whaddya gonna do on the way home? this a gangbang?" another male you never met before slurred out, clearly mixed with alcohol. the disgusting comment made your nose scrunch and riki's steps froze.

"ey, let me tap in then," another one drunkenly laughed while his arms were slung around chan and the previously spoken male.

"what'dya meant to do the other 23 hours and 45 minutes in a day, han?" hyunjin teased immediately and han was laughed at while the other boys yanked his clothes mockingly.

the laughing group of hyenas in contrast to your silent crew made you grow embarrassed by the inappropriate remarks. well, until riki's fist banged into han's snickering face and made the boy almost collapse like a folding chair. your eyes shot open, sunghoon and jake immediately spun back around to stop the incoming throttle the seven active men were about to induce on riki.

the mobs of drunken teens were reeled around the scuffle, making it almost impossible for your two friends to pull their youngest out of the rut. your fingernails seeped into riki's shoulders as you attempted to help them hold riki back from going any further than a punch against han and the other men did the same with the said male.

"bust a gut, but you'll be blown off when i get my hands on you-" riki hissed out, voice hindered by the violent thrashes he used to try and get out of the lock sunghoon and jake had on him. han's lips were sneering in anger, cheek reddening while fought against his kind.

definition:'bust a gut'. > laugh out loud.

'blown off'. > defeated in a race.

"bite me!” han yelled before getting shoved to the ground by felix and chan, the two men who were slightly guilty for their friends' behaviour having met you beforehand. you stole a glance at felix, eyebrows furrowed in anger at the switch of personalities the men had around their friends. you thought they were cool at first before their true colours showed.

"cool it!" chan shouted while han was still itching to get his hands on riki. riki finally complied with the grip on his arms, calming down his heaving chest that was so clouded by anger and humiliation.

"i'm warnin' you ever utter a word about y/n," sunghoon rasped, for once his pink lips not clouded by the smoke of a cigarette between them. felix gulped down dryly, eyeing you through the gap between jake and riki's shoulders sympathetically.

"these chicks're only good for one thing," the male with dark hair who previously brought up the idea of the 'gangbang' spoke so confidently and your stomach turned at his controversial words. riki's body jerked at the immorality of the other and sunghoon called out for him to relax.

"fuck up, changbin, for fucks' sake," felix cussed in irritation while turning to his aggravating companion who never got the hint of the situation. you hand rubbed at riki's warm back to continue to settle him down as a blanket of intense silence ensued, consisting of death glares being shot from one boy to another.

"if you're cruisin' for a bruisin', this is our turf and we can get you kicked out anytime y'want," sunghoon warned lowly and felix's head angled downwards at his threat. before he uttered a word, hyunjin stepped forward with his red hair stealing the attention of everyone else.

"how 'bout we settle this? let's cop this side of town so you looneys can't reach us," hyunjin suggested and it piqued interest with his clique nodding in agreement.

"this s'not your turf and neither is it ours," sunghoon retaliated referring to the other side of town owning it. and to be exact, he meant yeonjun and his lackeys' ownership. hyunjin's head tilted in amusement, one eyebrow raised at the correction.

"well then, better defend their turf or you'll be bruised by 'em too. lets race. same spot, same time, tomorrow," hyunjin gambled and for one, you knew bets like these never ended well. you bit your lip uneasily and stole a glance at sunghoon. his eyes didn't falter, and neither did he move an inch from his position when his hands clapped against hyunjin's in a passive-aggressive handshake.

"winner takes the turf," he concluded while he released his hand from hyunjin's robotically and started to turn around to his vehicle parked behind him. you, jake, and riki copied his mannerisms and with hunched shoulders, you refused to return the sorry gaze felix conveyed to you. the tension in the air broke and was followed up by the loud celebration of the opposition's win.

sitting on four leather seats, you and the three others leaned on the counter, chewing your nails anxiously at the upcoming rumble in 24 hours. "i mean, surely you can bring your salt shakers and maybe sprinkle it in their eyes," jake humoured while looking over at sunoo who burst out laughing at the idea.

definition:'rumble'. > a fight among gangs.

"effective, don't you think? five bucks if i land it in jeongin's eyeballs just for you, riki," sunoo joked, previously hearing all about the events thirty minutes ago. riki just sighed out a less than enthusiastic laugh, clearly still torn on jeongin and his personal fight.

"you learnt better than that to set up bets again," you spoke with upturned eyebrows, staring at sunoo with a smile on your face to try and get him out of the habit.

"five bucks is not gonna empty my wallet," he replied while pouting his lips slightly to exaggerate his pronunciation.

"you paid your debts back?" you questioned, sounding a little more surprised than you intended to and the male was almost insulted.

"yes, actually," he rolled his eyes at your tone and then shifted his gaze to sunghoon whose head was in the clouds somewhere, only the fog of a cigarette blowing out of him. your eyes traced the long, slowly wavering line of smoke all the way up to the ceiling that danced before it disappeared into the air.

"sunghoon," you called his name and only his eyes moved to the direction of your voice, which you flinched in your seat, "oh my god. he's possessed."

sunoo and make cracked up quietly, not wanting to bring the male back to his right senses by being too loud. because for some reason, sunghoon's spaced-out periods were entertaining to watch. "must be heeseung's ghost. hey hyung," sunoo piled to the humour and you chewed the inside of your mouth not to giggle as well.

"stop," you begged while silently laughing while tugging sunoo's wrist to try and stop his hand from waving like a robot at sunghoon as if he were greeting heeseung.

finally, sunghoon's eyes blinked and he awoke from whatever curse was placed upon him, "fuck. we are so canned this rumble," he groaned while his hands clawed at his roots, palms drowning his eyes in darkness while he covered them.

"cool it, hyung. we've got weapons," sunoo calmly reassured while sliding a bottle of ketchup to jake which the male effortlessly caught and raised in the air playfully.

"'m being serious. six of us and eight of 'em, if they don't bring any other hobos with them, we're dead," he responded while his hands dripped from his anguished face and resided on the table.

"it was your bet, jackass," jake's brows crossed as he placed the bottle on the table and crossed his arms. sunghoon grunted while he slowly looked back at the other.

"yeah, i know that. how else would i have gotten them off us," his dark faze darted to riki's unsuspecting face next, "some fucker decided to strike 'em first, not once but twice."

riki's mouth fell open in treachery at his scolding, "lay off, hyung. you saw the way they were talkin' to y/n," he retorted while his blonde hair bounced with every word he spoke.

"i saw, we were jus' outnumbered. it was a bad move," he explained as quickly as he could before you got the wrong idea. his reasoning made sense but riki still thought he was getting heat for shit.

"whatever," the younger scoffed, pride partly hurt when he recalled the amount it took to calm him down from lashing out at han further.

"hey, riki. you wanna drop jay's ride at his garage for jungwon in the morning?" you asked the other to change the subject and ease the growing pressure in the room. the boy nodded his head and jumped up from his stool without another word and you trailed behind him to the entrance, "catch you later."

"i don't get it, he would've done the same for you," riki opening complained, hair grasping at his roots in stress as he steered with one hand. you leaned your chin on the back of your palm, listening intently to his worries while the gusts of cold night winds blew past you through jay's roofless automobile.

"no one was in the right in that situation," you responded and riki's eyes flicked up to you in the rearview mirror for a split second while he tried to piece together why, "i don't care about the shit they said. i know the only girl they'd ever kissed is probably their moms so why should i," you grumbled and a quiet noise in riki's throat signalised that he was laughing just a tiny bit.

"so you agree with sunghoon hyung then?" he mindlessly questioned as he turned a corner and the come and go of neighbourhood lamposts illuminated him briefly.

"i didn't say that. riki, he would've done the same if heeseung or jay was also there. but they weren't. can't you see that their absence is affecting him more than you think?" you asked with a simple reflection and riki's lips closed while he thought about it for a second.

"you're confusing me," he blabbered while his eyebrows furrowed at your complex analogy. you hummed for a second to piece together a version that maybe he would understand.

"i'm saying that he was trying to keep you outta trouble. he was scared of them and scared you'd get hurt even more," you finalised and riki released the grasp he had on his blonde tufts while he sat up straighter.

"hyung doesn't get scared, y/n. we could've taken them, easily," he contradicted whilst he pulled up to jay's father's abode. you clicked your tongue at his stubborn disregard and unlocked your door to step out.

"you didn't see it but i did," you swore before knocking on the garage door a few times and awaited a response. jungwon was usually still here at this hour so you had nothing to worry about. riki stayed inside jay's car and tapped his long fingers on the steering wheel to an imaginary beat. the garage door finally revolved upwards and you saw the expected boy alone in the empty garage. your eyes widened at the lack of heeseung's car that left behind a few splatters of oil in the centre of the room it used to be in.

"where's heeseung's car?" you asked the boy and furrowed your eyebrows at the last remnant of the boy being gone. jungwon's cat-like eyes peered back at you and stepped to the side of a wall to make way for jay's car.

"what do you mean? i gave it away," he quietly muttered while carefully scanning your shift in expressions. your heart panged at the very words and although you expected it since it was a race for the pinks and all, this just revealed that the only reason jungwon spent late nights at the garage was to clean the vehicle for the enemy.

your mouth pursed and you steered your gaze away from jungwon, hurt, "oh. right," you mocked remembering the bet. you tried to hide your solemn expression through a thick lie, "i forgot."

riki turned off the engine of jay's car and stepped out after parking it in the middle of the garage, he tapped the hard metal of the vehicle and looked up at jungwon, "it's dented. when i took it out for a spin, i didn't know if be racing with some psycho," riki explained while jungwon walked away from you and towards the rear of the vehicle to see the damages.

"that's totalled," jungwon's eyes widened at the large vacant indent captured just beside the boot of the car. he slipped his white thick gloves off and placed them in the pocket of his coveralls, "you guys win or lose?"

"lose," you softly responded laced with a layer of anguish and defeat. jungwon's lips just downturn at the disappointing reply.

"i was about to catch some z's so i'll head out nd fix it tomorrow, cool?" he questioned the male who was striding closer towards him from the hood of the car.

riki's eyes show up and he immediately shook his head, "you gotta fix it sooner or later, i don't want jay to flip when he sees i've broken his car," he wailed while he put his palms flat together as if he were praying.

"don't flip y'lid, rug rat. jay isn't coming home anytime soon," jungwon conceived while he buttoned down his coveralls and took his arms out of the sleeves, revealing his clean white tee in comparison to the dirty pair of coveralls he wore. he linked the two sleeves of his coveralls and tied them around his waist, settling on his hips. from the lack of fabric around his forearms, you could finally see what laid underneath that baggy fabric. well-toned biceps formulated by the tired labour of car work.

"first thing in the morning," riki pleaded next and earned the eye roll of the older male as he turned on his heel and began to walk the other way.

"they still at the diner?" jungwon asked, knowing the usual routine of the guys after a race and completely disregarding riki's whining.

"i'll tell you if you promise to do it tomorrow!" riki yelled out from within the garages jungwon was already skipping towards the direction of the diner anyways. you just gave the asking male a nod at his question and that's all he needed to go. the male now left with you sighed through his nostrils and you made haste in clicking the automatic door button to start to close the door, leaving the boy inside. he screamed out and jumped out of his frozen position to meet you outside, making you laugh out at his skittish behaviour.

sunghoon was worried about being outnumbered. if sunoo and jungwon came with us tomorrow, that would be six to eight. it would be fine if the race really was just a race. but from the intense atmosphere where the bet took place, you knew it would most likely result in a rumble regardless of who won or not.

rumbles happened every blue moon or so. your crew never really thrived on gang fights but only did when it was necessary. and to get these stray kids off your turf was definitely needed. so you needed allies, at least a handful of them for undeniable succession.

that's where you found yourself outside snob-high. the place where you wanted to find the very man you dread. choi yeonjun.

[polutrope]

Hello! I am no longer in an airport so I can now send this ask!

Please tell me your thoughts on Maedhros + Maglor in "And Love Grew" so far - I am especially interested in Maedhros' perspective on the decision to send Maglor separately with the survivors. These two moments stood out to me (and Hurt Me) and I would like to hear your thoughts on what is going on in that ginger skull.

“Enough!” Maedhros shouted, then nervously glanced at the tent’s thin walls. His hand trembled. With lowered voice, he said, “You suffocate me, that is why. Your displays of remorse shame me.” With this confession, all the defiance burning in Maglor’s breast turned to ash. How long? he thought. How long have you wished to be rid of me?

Maedhros stood upon a hill watching the long caravan of Maglor’s host retreat south: a grey snake winding through the golden fields. The sun curved west behind them. Beyond, the woods of Taur-im-Duinath spread across the horizon like a vast canker. Such, also, was the shape and colour of the future Maedhros foresaw when he searched his heart.

[And Love Grew, WiP, T]

My primary motivation for writing this fic was to answer two questions about Maglor's fostering of Elros and Elrond. The first, and biggest, is how did "love grow"? That's the incentive for the plot of the fic, though I've barely gotten there in 4 chapters, oops. The second is: Why Maglor?

To me, the simplest and most obvious answer is to remove Maedhros (physically; he's ever a shadow over Maglor) from the beginnings of the relationship. Space is made for love to grow because Maedhros wasn't there. So that's narratively why I separated them.

What going on in Maedhros' head? It's a mess, frankly. I started writing a full scene for chapter 1 from his POV and his voice was just too disjointed and bleak to endure. It's either madness or despair, and I think you get a glimpse of the latter is that final paragraph and the way he views the world. At least, some readers told me that lol.

It's not untrue what he says to Maglor, at least not to me (one can read it differently). He does find Maglor suffocating. He envies Maglor's ability to process his grief (perceived ability: Maglor is not processing things very well, either), but it also angers him that Maglor is able (apparently) to distill the magnitude of their situation into something that can be processed. Maglor has become an emotional burden. Meadhros hates himself. He can't stand that Maglor doesn't hate him.

One could also read Maedhros pushing him away as a way to keep Maglor from falling even further with him. But personally I don't think Maedhros is feeling that altruistic at this moment. Maglor's presence upsets him and he wants him gone.

All that being said, I do think Maedhros is right that Maglor is the best person for the job of leading the host of refugees. Although, as he forebodes, being the "best person" at this stage of the Feanorian failure arc doesn't really count for much.

It's complicated. Which is why I'm so stuck with this fic. Thank you for the ask and for reading! It helps nudge my motivation to continue.

[ravs6709]

An X-Ray Ain't Needed To See Within- Dex Study (ish), Minor Fedex

Word count: 7.9k words

Ao3 link here.

Aaaaaaaand here I am, nearly a whole month late, but my kotlc secret santa gift from @song-tam 's exchange is finally done!

@an-ungraceful-swan I'm your secret santa!!! So sorry for being as late as I am (the shit going on in my personal life was unreal) but I hope this near 8k fic will make up for the wait!

Because I was told to just "surprise you", I let the brain pick out a concept and spun it around in my head until this fic was made

That is, I took the vague premise of a fic from a different fandom -> the idea that every person is to be entrusted with taking care of someone else's heart—quite literally. Other than that, it's basically a canon rewrite of books 1-4 (ish, not all through 4) from dex pov with minor (pre-relationship) fedex

Warnings: depiction of the kidnapping/torture scene from book 1, bug stab Fitz scene from book 4, descriptions of heart anatomy (not too graphic but still fair warning), brief mention of vomit

Hope you enjoy!

•~•~•~•~•~•

"What's that?" A young Dex asked his mom. He'd barged into his parents' room without warning them, and saw Juline holding a heart in her hands, singing softly while Kesler held her hand with one hand, holding a different heart in the other.

"They're hearts," Juline said, but Dex knew that much.

"Why?" There were a whole slew of questions, like why the hearts were beating despite not being connected to a body, or why they were coloured in different shades of blue and green and yellow even though they should have been red, or where they even got a heart from. Dex was just barely older than a toddler, and while elves were born with some understanding of the world around them from birth, he’d never seen this before.

Kesler and Juline shared a look, and Dex didn't like that his mom was starting to frown. Was this supposed to be a secret?

"I don't want him to know everything yet," Juline said.

"He'll have to know eventually," Kesler said, "and it's not that bad."

Juline raised an eyebrow. "Tell me you weren't terrified when you first held a heart in your hand. I know I was."

"Fine, yes, but we'll help him adjust. The risk is minimal, very few have--"

"But she was one of them. Kesler, please," Juline said, her voice quiet, "We'll wait until he's older, okay? He’ll already have enough on his plate as is."

Kesler closed his eyes and took a breath, then squeezed her hand. "Sorry, I didn't think of her--okay. We’ll wait."

"Wait until I'm old enough for what?" Dex asked.

His parents both startled, turning to look at him, as if they'd forgotten he was right there.

Juline hummed, letting go of Kesler's hand so that she could trace gentle lines across Dex's face. "I'll tell you a little bit, but I won't tell you the rest until you're older, okay? Once it’s relevant to you."

"How much older?"

"Three years," Kesler answered.

For Dex, that sounded like a really long time. But as young as he knew he was, he was old enough to be able to tell when there were certain topics that made his parents upset. Abilities were one of them. Discussing the triplets with the other elves was another. He didn't know all the details, but he knew that the other elves didn't like his parents and they thought his siblings were wrong, and he knew they didn't like talking about those things in front of him.

Dex nodded. "Okay."

Juline held the heart out to him. "When you grow older, you'll have a heart to take care of."

The heart in her hand was a myriad of colours, it reminded him of Slurps and Burps with all the random splotches of colours all over it.

"Does it bleed?" Dex asked.

Juline smiled at him. "No, it doesn't. Do you want to touch it?"

He nodded, curious. When she held the heart out to him, he gently traced a finger along an artery. It was warm. It really was beating, and he didn’t imagine it. 

“It represents the heart of another elf."

"Another elf?"

"It represents your dad's heart. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Dad's heart?" Dex looked at Kesler, who had a fond look on his face. He was cradling a heart of his own in his hands, this one lacked the same colourful whimsy, but the various shades of blue with hints of colour had Dex thinking that it suited his mother. He opened his mouth to ask if elves always married the person who held their heart, then realized that was a stupid question because the elves didn't like his parents' marriage.

"Will I get a heart to hold too?" Dex asked.

"Yeah. You will."

•~•~•~•~•~•

What Dex assumed to be "several years later," Dex woke up and found a teal heart on the nightstand beside his bed. Blue-green, with hints of navy and gold that seemed to trace along where the blood would have flowed had the heart been in an actual body.

He'd had full intention of just lazing in bed for the entire morning, but he knew he had to tell his parents. He took the heart in his hands, beating softly, a rhythm unfamiliar to him. He walked to his parents room--they were already awake, Kesler preparing for work, while Juline was gently carrying her husband’s heart.

"Dex?" Kesler asked, "what's up--oh."

"It's about time he received his heart to hold," Juline said. "Dex, come sit down on the bed."

He sat down. Despite how he'd seen them direct plenty of fond looks towards their own hearts, neither of them seemed particularly excited to talk about his heart.

"To have a heart means to take care of it. But there's more to it than that, isn't there?" Dex asked.

"Let me be blunt with you," Juline said. She looked pained, her turquoise eyes slightly dull. "You must take care of your heart. If you do not take care of it well, the person who that heart belongs to will die."

To the average elf, it would probably have an initial shock. Elves lived forever, as far as they all knew. Elvin deaths were rare, a few wanderlings planted, but still, only a few.

To Dex, he himself had never witnessed a death. He had never known, never had been in this world long enough to know, but still, he knew, he knew that his family was haunted by a death from before he was born, and that because of it, he rarely ever got to see his aunt and uncle because they isolated themselves from everyone else. He'd never be able to grow up knowing her.

"Did cousin Jolie's heart..?"

"Her body was in a condition where she could have lived," Juline said, looking away. "But her heart–her heart had been burnt too much in the fire."

"Oh," he said, because what else could he say?

"To take care of that heart, you must keep it physically safe. But not just that, you also need to keep it emotionally safe too. An emotional or mental issue can be just as severe as a physical one."

"So I'll need to keep it around me often," Dex understood.

Kesler nodded, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "It'll be fine. Elf hearts aren't too fragile, so don't stress too much, okay?" Then looked down at his heart that was Juline's, the blues looking slightly pale. "You'll be able to recognize signs beforehand." He traced along an artery, and Dex watched as his mother closed her eyes, the tension releasing from her shoulders. Vibrancy flowed through like blood, painting it. "I know you'll take care of it well."

•~•~•~•~•~•

On occasion, Dex noticed how the heart would react differently. It wasn't at any regular occurrence, though it always seemed to last a few hours at a time. When that happened, he held the heart closer, turning it over in his palm. It tended to have a slow, steady pulse; the beat of a drum, the tick of a clock. Slow, steady, controlled, but during the odd moments the heartbeat would grow faster and weaker, like panic seeping into his bloodstream sometimes, when it made his skin all clammy and pale. It was the gold of the heart that would fade first, then the navy, though the teal always seemed to stay intact. At least though, the heart didn't get clammy like his hands would. No gross sweat or blood, just a beating heart.

He wasn't sure why, but sometimes he got the feeling that the elf the heart belonged to was kind of lonely. He'd seen Kesler's heart, bright and vibrant. Even Juline's had its own sort of uniqueness to it. The heart he held was beautiful, a piece of art, but distant. A painting that was not allowed to be touched after having been made.

Dex wondered how old the other elf was. The heart in his hands was smaller compared to his Kesler's or Juline's, so maybe it was possible that they were around Dex's age? He'd hope so. He'd be starting Foxfire at some point, it'd be nice if he had a friend there. One that wouldn't mind Dex being the son of a bad match, one who wouldn't be too judgmental.

•~•~•~•~•~•

When Dex started Foxfire, he had high hopes. Hopes that were quickly crushed. As he walked in the hallways, he could sense gazes following his path. No table ever wanted to let him sit there, so he tried finding random corners in the hallways to eat by himself, until one of his mentors noticed and took pity on him, allowing him to eat in that classroom. There was Stina, who openly insulted his family, so he got his revenge only for the situation between them to escalate.

And then there was Fitz Vacker. His first meeting with Fitz wasn't special, he happened to be with his dad and sister as customers for Slurps and Burps, and just like all the stuffy nobles, both him and Biana Vacker cringed at the sight of his family's apothecary. Maybe he wouldn't even have remembered him if he wasn't a Vacker. There were tons of people who shopped at the apothecary only to never acknowledge him in Foxfire. But then he saw Fitz again. And again. And again. In the hallway on his way to class. In the cafeteria as they waited in line to get the same food. The winner of the splotching tournament--had been, for years, if the screaming was to be believed.

Fitz was everywhere, popular, so many of the girls had a crush on him. He heard non-stop mooning about whether the heart they held would belong to him. Top marks, perfect looks. Dex was sick of it. Fitz wasn't special.

It made him almost want to hate the heart that he held, that teal heart that matched his eyes. He scoffed at the thought that the person whose heart he held was Fitz, or even Biana. Yet it was still a beating heart, his to nurture, and no matter how much the colour irritated him. Somewhere out there, there was someone who was relying on him. The thought alone pushed him forward.

•~•~•~•~•~•

During his next year at Foxfire, a new elf named Sophie Foster came out of nowhere. She lived with Aunt Edaline and Uncle Grady, she was an elf that once lived with humans. If that weren't cool enough, she didn't seem to care about his family and their status. Yeah, sure, it was because she didn't really know anything, period, but she still took the information in stride and chose to be friends with him.

And she was kind of cute. And smart, and totally fun--she'd gotten on Stina's bad side and destroyed Lady Galvin's cape. And...

And of course she liked Fitz. Because of course she did. Why wouldn't she? The perfect guy.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Is that a--is that a heart?" Sophie asked.

They were taking a break in between one of Sophie's alchemy tutoring sessions, and Dex had grabbed his heart to unwind.

"Yeah? Why do you sound surprised? Don't you have one of your own?"

"No???"

Huh. That was weird. "Wonderboy didn't mention it to you or anything?"

"No??? Is this a normal elf thing?"

"Each elf gets a heart to take care of, it represents the heart of another elf. It's important, because breaking the heart means killing the elf."

"Oh. Am I exempt from this, because I don't remember a heart? Or did I accidentally kill an elf?"

"You're probably fine. While the elf who holds your heart isn't the only elf who can take care of your heart," he began, "the fact that you haven't died yourself says something. Besides, elvin deaths are super rare, remember? I can't remember the last time there was a Wanderling--Wylie Endal's mother, maybe?"

There had been a change in her facial expression, but Dex decided not to press. The Council actually explored that, ensuring there was no risk of attachment. Besides, the elf that Jolie loved--Brant, if Dex recalled his name correctly--was still alive as he proceeded to take care of his own scarred heart. That's what his mom had told him when he'd asked.

"Huh," Sophie said. "Well, whoever's heart I was supposed to take care of, I hope they're doing well."

"Yeah," Dex murmured, "me too."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Sophie started hanging out with Fitz and Biana, much to his annoyance. Like, going to his house on a constant basis hanging out. She even had him promise to keep the Wonderboy bashing to a minimum.

(But she also considered him her best friend, so he supposed he could take it as a win.)

•~•~•~•~•~•

Sophie. A Vacker. Or, potentially a Vacker. Grady and Edaline had cancelled her adoption, and she could be adopted by the Vackers. Siblings with Fitz and Biana? Gross.

Maybe he was too harsh on Sophie when he'd told her not to trust them. But she didn't understand—they didn't look at people below them and view them as equals. And it was proven as such, when Stina, of all people, exposed Biana for only having befriended Sophie because her dad told her to.

I told you so, he wanted to tell her so badly, but they were in Study Hall. Do you see what they're truly like—

"Dex?" A voice called out, and he nearly jolted as he realized that Fitz was talking to him. Ugh.

"What?" he asked, the acid in his voice so strong even Fitz flinched as if he’d been burned.

"You need to be with her."

"You two are the ones who caused this mess—"

"She won't talk to us. She needs you."

Dex almost started screaming at him for cutting him off, but the words made him freeze. He paused, took a deep breath. "Am I supposed to put in a good word for you? Newsflash, Wonderboy, I'm not doing that."

Fitz sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Just be there. I don't-- I don't want her to be alone."

And that got Dex standing up, immediately grabbing his stuff. Damn it, leave it to Wonderboy to get him to realize that Sophie's comfort meant more than his own petty sense of righteousness.

When he made it to the cave at Havenfield, something felt off. He took a few tentative steps forward. Another few steps, and a voice that sounded like Sophie's rang out in his head, telling him to run. Before he could even think, someone grabbed him from behind, shoving a cloth over his mouth.

No, he thought. Sophie. He fought against his captor and...

•~•~•~•~•~•

He woke up, restrained. Everything was dark and he could barely breathe and it was burning it was burning—

In the off moments where he was awake and not burning until he fell unconscious again, he would barely be able to muster worried thoughts. His parents, how were they doing? The triplets.

Sophie. Sophie, who must be somewhere close and was also in the same situation and she was being tortured too. His heart. The one he normally held wasn't with him since he kept it at his house when he attended Foxfire, but what about the elf who held his heart? Did the elf care?

He fought against his restraints, managed to break free of them.

He'd barely made it two steps before a voice said, "One more step, and the girl dies."

"We should just kill him anyway," another voice said. "He's useless to us. A hindrance."

Dex sank back onto the chair, feeling absolutely useless for not being able to do anything.

•~•~•~•~•~•

When he woke up, he was in some unfamiliar area with Sophie, no kidnappers in sight. Turned out that they were in the Forbidden Cities. But that was fine, they were safe. Well, for now. Apparently there were a lot of secrets that Sophie had kept hidden from everyone. A telepath.

He'd also at some point manifested as a technopath. Huh. He was relieved that he had an ability, but ugh, did it have to be technopathy? It wasn't nearly as cool as telepathy.

The kidnappers had come again, one of them wielding a fucking melder, and as he was shot by it once, twice, and he was incapacitated on the floor, he could vaguely see Sophie trembling in rage as they all fell over. He couldn’t move, talk, or even see, but he knew when Sophie had picked him up to leap despite them being too injured and—

•~•~•~•~•~•

When Dex woke up again, he was laying in a bed. He had half a mind to just sink into the soft comfort of the bed, but as he woke up, all his senses awakened: the burns on his skin, the sting from the melder.

"Sophie," he gasped.

"Hey, relax," a voice said, and Dex opened his eyes to see Keefe staring at him. "You can't get out of bed yet."

"But Sophie--"

"Foster's alive," Keefe said, "she's alive, and Elwin's going to see her before he comes to see you."

Dex tried to pull himself into a sitting position, but it hurt too much, and Keefe had to help him out. "Is she okay?"

Dex watched as Keefe paused. His eyes closed, as he took a deep breath. He turned away, then back at him, and Dex had a feeling that he wasn't going to like what his answer was going to be. As if delaying to increase the weight of impact, turning to the desk next to him and picking up a heart.

"This is the heart I hold, it belongs to Foster," Keefe said. "I realized it when... well. You'll see."

Dex sucked in a breath. The heart, brown and gold and red looked so frail in his hands, just barely beating. The entire left side was nearly transparent, from ventricle all the way up to the aorta. He could actually see the red flow of blood, slow but not steady.

"The light leap," he realized. He remembered being carried, remembered being leaped. All of him was intact, not a single cell faded away, and he wasn't conscious enough to provide his own concentration to leap them. Sophie she-- she put everything into him.

"Foster's alive," Keefe repeated, "and Elwin's going to see her."

Dex stared at the heart that Keefe had, desperately hoping that she'd be okay. Looked at every heartbeat, to see if each pulse would become slower paced. So when the heart was still faded and Elwin had walked into this room, he was worried.

"Sophie's sedated, and I can't lie and say that she's okay right now," he explained before Dex could start rapid-fire asking questions, "but I can't do much else for now without waiting to see if what I've done for now will let her heal. So for now, I'll work with you."

Dex had been to Elwin once or twice for minor incidents at Foxfire for his elementalism class, and while getting healed wasn't bad, it wasn't really something he liked per se. However, there was no trace of discomfort as he could only focus on Sophie. His eyes couldn't leave the half-faded heart.

Elwin's gaze followed his own. "That's... a weird heart. Sophie's, I'm guessing?"

Dex nodded.

"That's probably good to keep close, given Sophie's already high attendance at the Healing Centre."

Elwin had said it as a joke, but neither him, Dex, nor Keefe felt like laughing.

"Are you going to tell her about the heart?" Dex asked.

Keefe paused, surprisingly hesitant considering what he knew of him. "You two are close, have you seen the heart she has yet? Would you say it reflects me well?"

"Sophie doesn't have one with her," Dex said. "She's got no memory of ever seeing a heart like that."

Though, now knowing what he knew, Dex guessed that the Black Swan probably had her heart? Since no human would be so accepting of a living, beating heart.

Keefe blinked. "Oh. Then... I guess I won't tell her yet. Don't tell anyone else either? At least-- not until she gets her own." He looked back up at Elwin, and Dex had forgotten that he was even there. Elwin nodded.

After the worst of Dex's injuries were healed, Keefe and Elwin left to go see Sophie, while he was ordered to rest for a bit. He knew that sleep wouldn't come easy, but the stress of everything had kicked in and eventually he was knocked out. At some point, the door had opened, quiet but enough to rouse him into consciousness. He was too tired to open his eyes. Footsteps approached the bed, close, stopping a few steps away. There was the sound of a heart beating, maybe. He could feel his own heart in his chest beating in time to the sound.

"It’s you..." A whisper sounded out. Quiet, low, familiar.

He wanted to open his eyes and see who was there, to see if it was who he thought it was (not that it made any sense at all for him to be here), but it was nice and warm in bed, his heart feeling warmer than ever as he drifted back to sleep.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Dex!" Bex called, running up to him and hugging him. His two brothers joined the call, all of them shoving to hold him close. Dex wrapped his arms around them.

His parents stood slightly off to the side, their skin paler than he remembered. Both of their hair was messy, and he could see as they clung to each other's hands.

"Don't leave us ever again," Rex cried, smearing his tears on his shirt. Neither of the other two triplets made fun of him for crying as they both fought back their own tears.

Dex could only nod, his throat too choked up to speak. He could only hope that would be true.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Weeks passed, and slowly, Sophie recovered from having almost fading away. He'd spent his fair share of the time alternating between hanging near Keefe to stare at Sophie's heart, and taking care of the heart that he had.

His own heart... during the kidnapping, what had it looked like? Did it mirror his state too? Had there been burns all over it? He could vaguely picture someone cradling it, oh so confused as to what was going on. Did they panic? He supposed that no one had been able to connect the timing of it all back to his disappearance, given that nobody came in rushing to tell him.

Then again, who would have wanted to admit that they held Dex Dizznee's heart?

•~•~•~•~•~•

For the next few weeks, everything went back to normal. Sort of. He visited Sophie to help her with the animals at Havenfield, helped his dad at the store, sat in his room and tinkered with gadgets—this time using his ability.

He'd tried working on a variety of inventions, his major priority having been a device that would somewhat replicate telepathy.

He also had a side project, he wondered if it was possible to be able to know the heartbeats when he was not with the heart.

His parents were concerned, rightfully, but they were getting way too on his case. Between them and looking after his siblings, he felt suffocated.

But other than that, things were back to normal-ish (if he ignored the nightmares and the constant dread he felt).

...until Sophie found an alicorn, then suddenly she had a whole bunch of secrets she couldn't tell him, and she was so busy that he could barely even see her. Both Fitz and Biana weren't coming to Foxfire.

The heart he had, it was doing something weird, and it had him panicking. It was slightly swollen, the arteries and veins bulging a faint red, not unlike the way the veins in his hands would when he clenched his fists trying to hold back his anger at the triplets for breaking yet another thing of his. But that kind of anger was situational, just a brief moment. Maybe at worst, lasting a day, if he was having a really bad day.

The heart represented an elf's physical and mental state. He didn't know much about how hearts worked physically, but Dex had the feeling that the problem with the other elf wasn't physical. Obviously though, everyone would go through a variety of feelings, and not every feeling could be reflected from moment to moment.

So the problem was clearly mental, and it was clearly huge. The weird bulging persisted for one, two, three, more days.

"So, just the three of us?" Marella asked during lunch. "Again?"

Sophie and Keefe had ended up in detention, so the group at the lunch table was the smallest it'd been in a while.

"Something's clearly up," Dex said.

Marella rolled her eyes. "Obviously. The Vackers not being here is proof of that."

The group fell into an awkward silence, and not even Jensi's generally uplifting demeanor could ease it.

"The heart I have has been acting weird," Dex said suddenly.

Matters of the heart were generally kept private, but he didn't want to keep it to himself, and he didn't really want to tell his parents yet, even though they'd probably have some kind of solution.

"Weird how?" Jensi asked.

"It's getting all bulge-y, it's kinda gross."

"Mine's been paler than normal lately," Marella said. "Not quite shrinking in on itself, but curling weirdly. It almost feels like it wants to hide away. Been like that for a few days now."

Nobody said anything else after that, and they went back to eating their lunches in silence.

•~•~•~•~•~•

The whole elf heart scare had him working harder on his invention. He couldn't keep the heart on him at all times, it was too fragile to do so. But he needed to know. Needed to know if the heart would burst.

When it was revealed that Alden's mind had broken, when his wanderling had been planted and he'd learned that Fitz was blaming Sophie, he almost thought that it'd be another thing for Dex to hate Fitz for.

He thought back to the heart, ready to burst, and Fitz's explosive anger. This much... this much he didn't think he could hate Fitz for, even if he was being an ass. He thought of his parents trying to keep him in his house, the triplets telling him what they'd been like while he'd been proclaimed dead.

Fitz's own manifestation was a stranger to him in the sense that Dex had never been in that state before, but understandable nonetheless. If he didn't dislike Fitz, if they'd became friends, maybe Dex would comfort him.

But Dex did dislike him, and they weren't friends, and so Dex turned all his attention towards the heart. It was the only thing he could really do, while Sophie had her own things to do and Keefe was helping her.

Nothing he did seemed to work, but whether the other elf had gotten over it or if circumstances had changed, the swelling had eventually gone down and the heart looked normal again. The beats were slightly unsteady, but the heart didn't look like it was ready to burst.

(He tried to not think about the timing of it all.)

•~•~•~•~•~•

Someone decided to be a snitch and tell Dame Alina that he'd manifested as a technopath. Ugh. He blew up on Sophie a bit, and then learned from Dame Alina that the Council had told her.

The Council.

The Council? They cared about his ability? Enough to have his mentor be Lady Iskra? The most famous technology who invented like... everything cool.  Sure, his ability wouldn't do much, but he got to work with Lady Iskra.

•~•~•~•~•~•

He finished the heart monitor, and then began to work on a panic switch for Sophie, because the kidnappers would come again. He knew it. He made them both into rings, and he gave Sophie the panic switch ring. And yeah, he knew that a ring wasn't the greatest, but it was the best option he had.

He could see it on her face though, that she wanted nothing to do with it. Half of Foxfire were talking about their matching rings, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Sophie needed other ways to be able to reach out. Not just to Fitz via telepathy, but also to him.

Because he was important too. She was his best friend. He was her best friend, as she'd called him. But lately, he didn't feel like that was the case.

•~•~•~•~•~•

His next invention was an ability enhancer. Sophie was going to heal Fintan, which was definitely going to be dangerous, and she needed to be able to have every card in her favour. An Ancient's mind wouldn't be easy to penetrate.

But when he told her about his invention, she didn't want it. She didn't seem to trust him. But she trusted Fitz, enough to let him past her blocking apparently. Because they had a "connection."

What about her connection with him? Did they not matter?

"Seriously?" Fitz asked, staring at the circlet. He couldn't for the life of him tell if that was curiosity or disgust, but when Keefe grabbed it out of his hands, he forgot all about that.

Dame Alina told him to put it away and for them to all be quiet, and he was hurt that Sophie didn't even consider using it.

I think... A voice said in his head, and he jolted when he realized it was Wonderboy. I think it's cool, but it's too risky.

Seriously?

This entire task is risky, he thought, carefully trying to not think of anything too awful.

I know. But that's exactly why we can't use it yet.

Was that Fitz's way of comforting him, or what?

We can't rely on technology to replace telepathy in this situation.

Wonderboy, get out of my head, he thought bitterly, turning his gaze down to his notebook as reread all his notes on the circlet.

...surprisingly, Fitz left without another word.

What was even the point of that? He didn't understand, he would never understand. What would someone as privileged as him know what Dex was feeling, to be able to even attempt comforting him?

•~•~•~•~•~•

As the healing proceeded and Dex was just stuck at home, he couldn't just sit and rest. His siblings were running around screaming as though everything were normal, but everything was not normal.

He alternated between holding the heart, fidgeting with the ability enhancer and looking at his panic switch. When the heart started beating fast, somehow Dex knew that something was wrong. And even though he knew he wasn't capable of helping at all, he rushed out to see his parents—

—only to find his dad just as distressed as he was.

"Dad, what's wrong?" He asked, trying to swallow his panic.

Kesler only said one word, but that was enough: "Everblaze."

He started rushing out, grabbing all his alchemy supplies and Dex followed after him.

"No," Kesler grabbed his shoulders, and Dex froze. "You can't come."

No no no absolutely not. "You'll need every alchemist."

"I said you can't come, Dex. And that's final."

They're in danger, he wanted to say, and he had no idea if he was talking about Sophie and the others, or the elf whose heart he held.

When Kesler left, Dex didn't even take off his shoes. He kept staring at his ring, wondering if Sophie would call for him.

...of course, she didn't.

The next few hours passed by in a blur, even though he was just holed up in his room. He kept himself busy, and was surprised when his dad came back, Councilor Terik accompanying him. What was a Councilor doing in his house--his room? It was even weirder when Kesler nodded at him and left the two of them alone.

"Dex Dizznee, the technopath. I see you've got quite the workstation here."

Dex bowed, flushing at his words. Was that supposed to be a compliment? An insult?

"Dame Alina mentioned that you were working on an ability enhancer?"

"Y–yeah. I am. It's untested, and—"

"Can I test it?"

"Um," Dex said, not knowing how to reply to that. "I designed it with telepathy in mind specifically, so it wouldn't work on you."

"I see. I think your inventions have great potential, Mister Dizznee."

"Really?" Dex asked, beaming. A Councilor thought he showed potential? "You think it'll work?"

Councilor Terik smiled at him, a thin, wan smile. "Maybe not an enhancer. But... an ability restrictor, possibly."

Dex could tell what he was talking about. If Fintan didn't have his pyrokinesis, he wouldn't have set Everblaze.

"But that's not what I wanted to ask you about. The Council would like your help in the creation of weapons."

He mouthed the word, hating how it felt on his tongue. Weapons. Elves didn't usually use weapons.

...but Dex had a weapon used on him, and he could still remember the shock of the melder—

"I'll do it," he said.

His own inventions, needed by the Council. To think the Council would want help from a Dizznee. If only Stina could hear this, see that Councilor asked for his help specifically, had thought he displayed potential in his talents. No one would talk bad about him or his family again.

"I'll get back to you on what kind of weapons that we will want soon. I'll also be bringing up the restrictor with the others, so it may be possible that we'll ask you to create one."

Dex nodded, and Councilor Terik left.

•~•~•~•~•~•

No. No no no, it couldn't be like this. They'd told him that the restrictor would be used on people who needed their abilities taken away, and Dex had imagined those black-cloaked figures, those murderers.

He didn't think it'd be used on Sophie.

He watched as she convulsed in pain, falling to the floor, curling up. A few cries had escaped her, and nothing could be more haunting than that.

Apologies spilled from his lips, and when Sophie looked at him, she looked so broken.

"I'm not having anything more to do with this," he said to the Council, "I'm not helping you with that."

"And need I remind you that disobeying a direct order from the Council is an exile-able offense?" Councilor Emery asked.

He didn't care if he went to Exile. Not if it meant this.

"It's okay, Dex," Sophie said, "Just do what they're saying."

"How can you say that?" He asked, his voice cracking.

How could she bear that pain? Bear her abilities being taken away, becoming Talentless, and knowing it was due to the hands of someone who proclaimed to consider her his best friend? How could he live like this? It was a betrayal. And he couldn't do anything, he couldn't fix it, because they threatened to exile his family.

He thought... he truly thought he was helping. Making a difference. Being useful.

But never in his life did he feel more useless than he did now.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Sophie drank slumberry tea. A sedative. Something he knew she refused to use. He visited Sophie, apologizing uselessly, and he came across the others--her friends. They were Sophie's friends, not his.

Unsurprisingly, none of them were able to meet his eye. None of them jumped him, beat him or anything like that, and he supposed that was the best he could ask for. For a moment, he thought he'd felt Fitz's gaze on him, and he wondered if Fitz was going to transmit in his brain again like he did earlier. When he looked at Fitz, he turned away, and his mind remained silent.

...he wasn't sure why that hurt, considering he didn't like Fitz, and Fitz sure as hell wouldn't like him. It's not like anything he could have said would make things better.

(But anything, anything, would feel better than the ashamed glances directed at him.)

•~•~•~•~•~•

He had Sophie promise to use her panic switch if she needed anything, but he didn't think she'd use it so soon. She wasn't at Havenfield. He leaped there as soon as he could, and saw Everblaze burning.

A pyrokinetic, holding a ball of fire ready to be thrown at Sophie and Grady. Dex didn't think, he ran and tackled the elf. It bought Sophie a few seconds, but the elf had grabbed him by the throat, his voice that had haunted his nightmares. Fingertips searing his skin just like his memories.

With the help of another invention he made, he was able to send Brant--he was pretty sure he was Brant, based on the little he'd heard--reeling, and they restrained him. He was ready to make sure Brant was captured, but Brant knew about the Black Swan's ambush.

He didn't hesitate to take off that circlet from her head, throwing it into the Everblaze. The Council could exile him, that's fine with him. But he refused to let anything happen to his friends.

•~•~•~•~•~•

After everything, the Council would be after them. Sophie was planning to run away to the Black Swan, and he knew that he wouldn't let her go without him. They left for there, Keefe, Fitz, Biana too. It was weird, being roommates with Fitz and Keefe. He hadn't exactly been friends with them--eating lunch together at Foxfire had always been more about their mutual friendship with Sophie.

The riddles unfortunately did not stop, but at least they were assigned a mission. Of course, that didn't stop them from doing their own snooping.

•~•~•~•~•~•

"Did Mr. Forkle ever give you your heart?" Dex asked Sophie.

"I did try asking once," Sophie replied. Her face scrunched in annoyance. "He said it'd be a distraction. I mean, come on, I get to be the freaky brown-eyed elf with lots of abilities, and they think I can't take care of a heart? I feel bad for whoever's heart that is, I'm sure the Black Swan's too busy to notice every detail."

"I'd feel bad for them too," Dex said, trying not to think about how Keefe's mom was a part of the Neverseen. That heart would definitely need a lot of comfort.

"Are you two talking about hearts?" Fitz asked, walking into the room, holding a heart in his hand.

Huh. He never thought he'd actually see Wonderboy holding one. It was on the smaller end, blue and rusty copper and bits of green.

"Oh, that's cool, can I touch it?" Sophie asked.

Fitz's eyes flitted to him for a moment, then nodded.

"Is it hard to find out whose heart belongs to who?"

"Depends," Dex shrugged. "If the elves are already close with each other, then they're more likely to figure it out."

"It's not a documented system like Matchmaking is, so there are plenty of elves near ancient who probably have no idea who their heart belongs to," Fitz added.

"So I'm guessing it'd be stupid to ask if you knew who your heart belonged to?" Sophie asked.

Surprisingly, Fitz tensed. Both him and Sophie started staring into each other's eyes. Probably having a telepathic conversation. Gross. He waited a minute before he pretended to gag, and the two jolted.

"You should... tell them," Sophie said quietly.

"I know," Fitz replied, his voice just as soft, "but they won't be ready to hear it. I don't want them to feel obligated."

Ew, they were still ignoring that he was there. And what was that about what Fitz said? Feel obligated? People would give the world to be able to brag about holding Fitz's heart, even if it wasn't romantic. But like everyone had a crush on him anyway, so how on earth would it be an obligation?

He was surprisingly loyal, got angry and spiteful like everyone else, that golden image just a coverup. Not as perfect as what they all thought him to be, but he was a good friend. He was willing to run away from his perfect life and perfect family, to side with Sophie. To do everything in his power to help his world.

And that, Dex could respect.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Dex had spent days practicing working on the lock from Exile so that they could rescue Prentice. He was a little worried when Sophie's directions were apparently taking them to the surface. Even more so when the lock was changed, and they couldn't even access the inside of the cell.

The Council even showed up, trapping them. Things were escalating, and Mr. Forkle was ready to turn himself in. But not if Dex could help it. He'd brought several different small cubes with him, in case anything happened. The first filled the room with burning green mist, the second squawked and served as further distraction.

The third was zapped by Councilor Zarina, and--

It was going to explode.

"Everybody get down!" He screamed, but the room was too loud and no one could hear him.

No one but Fitz, who grabbed it and flung it away from them all. But not in time for the explosion to send him flying, landing right on the sharp horn of an arthropleura.

He was running before Sophie could even scream stop, was already kneeling at his side. Dex reached for his chest to stop the bleeding, only to see that one of his hands had already been stained with blood without having even touched him yet. It dripped down his palm, originating from one of his rings.

No.

He hadn't known his ring could do such a thing, but he knew what it meant.

Fitz got sent flying because of his own gadget. And he wasn't stupid to not realize why his ring that monitored the heart would suddenly start streaming blood staining his hands. He hated that he couldn't tell which of the blood came from Fitz, and which came from the monitor of his heart as it all mixed together. He just knew he had to fix this. He had to, because he couldn't let Fitz die like this. The blood was thickening from the venom, and it didn't look good.

Dex took his chance and leapt out of Exile with Fitz, where an elf with a sparkly mask was waiting.

"You're back quicker than I thought, where—oh." She froze when she saw Fitz in his arms, and they both carried him to the medical room. "Are the others still there?"

He nodded. "He needs a physician, can you get them?"

The other elf was hunting through cabinets, pulling out several vials and bottles and salves. "Physic, resident physician. I'll take care of him from here. It'll be really messy."

He opened his mouth to protect that nothing that he could see could be messier, she repeated that he should go, and she'd give updates.

He reluctantly agreed, and went to wash his hands dry of the blood. But the ring was still bleeding, and when he picked up the heart, it wasn't in great condition either. The gold lines were black with venom, and it had left a bloody mess on the nightstand. He grabbed a basic first aid kit and a bunch of towels and sat on the floor by the fireplace, carefully tending to the wounds on the heart. He hoped that bandaging the heart would help slow down the bleeding in Fitz's body. If nothing else, he could do this much.

Now that he looked back at the heart, wasn't it obvious that it belonged to Fitz? Teal like his eyes--something which had long bothered him, but he'd grown used to, gold like his image he always portrayed.

Fitz's heart, huh. That's whose heart he held.

When the others arrived back, they all stared at the bloody heart in his hands, but they said nothing. He didn't say anything either, taking comfort in every beat, because every heartbeat was proof that Fitz was still living.

Mr. Forkle told them that Fitz had stabilized, and they all rushed to his room. And oh. He looked even worse than Dex had thought. Black spiderwebs painted his chest. It looked even worse than it had on his heart earlier. Maybe his heart would've reflected it too, if it weren't currently bandaged.

"Oh, you have his heart?" Physic asked, turning to Dex. "That'll make his recovery from near death go smoother. You should've told me earlier."

"I only just found out," he mumbled, reluctantly handing her Fitz's heart.

"Good thinking for bandaging it. I had thought that the bleeding had gone down easier than expected."

She went back to treating Fitz, and it was messy and the vomit was disgusting, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He had to stay. Once Physic was no longer needed in the room, he decided that he and Fitz should probably talk.

Fitz looked at him, and Dex didn't know if he wanted to meet his gaze or look away. He settled for looking at his neck.

"How long did you know?" he asked after a few seconds.

"Know what?"

"Don't play dumb." He picked Fitz's heart off the table from when Physic left it there. "This."

"A while... your kidnapping."

Dex tensed. Since then? He knew since then? Though, with the burns, maybe it wasn't hard to figure out.

"And you never told me?"

"Would you have wanted to hear it?"

He let out a breath. It wouldn't. He would've hated it. He would've hated the irony that the elf he'd hated most held his heart.

His silence must have been enough of an answer, as Fitz didn't say anything else.

"I'm sorry," Dex said, trying to keep his voice from cracking. The heart in his hand both comforted him and pissed him off at the same time. "I almost got you killed."

"You were trying to get us out of there," Fitz said, smiling weakly at him, "and we made it out. You don't have to blame yourself for this, you wouldn't predict Councilor Zarina's electricity."

"Not just that. I'm sorry for hating you so much. I'll try to hate you less."

Fitz blinked. "Why do you hate me?"

He almost wanted to roll his eyes, it felt like such a stupid question. But it wasn't like he had a good reason to hate Fitz at this point either.

"You're everything I'm not. I hated it."

Those few words couldn't represent the waves of emotions that had flooded him for years, but he didn't know how to say it.

"I..." He said, knowing he was going to sound stupid for saying it, "I wanted you to notice me."

The heart in his hands skipped a beat.

"Do you-- do you want to try being friends?"

Friends. With Fitz Vacker. If the Dex from a few years ago heard that, he would've laughed.

"I'll try," he mumbled. "I don't promise anything more. If nothing else, your heart is in my hands."

Fitz's weak smile turned bright, blinding him. Dex turned away, not knowing how to react to that. He wasn't sure how to react to the twitch of Fitz's arms either, as if he wanted to ask for a hug.

"Rest well, Wonderboy," he whispered, as he rushed out of the room.

Thump. Thump-thump.

Fitz's heart beat steadily in his hands, and Dex thought that his reluctant words would probably end up a reality.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Kotlc taglist: @my-swan-song, @stellarune, @impostertamsong, @subrosasteath

Want to be added/removed from the kotlc taglist? Just let me know!

[esperata]

End of year wip round-up

Time to look through my files of notes and see what plots I have still waiting attention, and perhaps assess where they are in the scale of projects. Colour coded for riddlebird, hattercrow, wahsbands or octogoblin. I'm always open to questions on my projects. In fact, please do ask if you want to encourage them to be written.

Starting with some I have posted as unfinished works.

OTT (LEGO Batman) : I intend to post a second chapter for this, showing how well Riddler's plan turns out.

Gay Attorney (Gotham/Ace Attorney) : This is supposed to have multiple chapters with the various 'witnesses' taking the stand.

Little Bird (Batwoman) : Not sure where this is heading but a follow up chapter seems necessary.

P.I. Riddler (DC comics) : I have an outline of the idea for this but not sure how many chapters it will require to complete.

Urban Legends (Batman - all media) : There is going to be a continuation here with other rogues making an appearance.

What Is Reality? (Btas) : I already have a second chapter started and a concept of where its going, including a 'final' scene.

A few extra Mahou AU story ideas.

Killer Croc vs Jonathan (Arkhamverse) : This is an interesting conflict I'd like to write.

Grown up Ed gets powers (Burtonschumacher) : We only saw one half of this duo in my first story so it seems fair to bring in Riddler.

Take A Chance on Me (Arkhamverse) : Pitting the pair against the machinations of Hugo Strange.

Oz mentors Ed (The Batman) : Does what it says on the tin.

The Curse of Alice (1960s) : Again an interesting development I'd like to explore.

Future Hattercrow (Gotham) : Not sure about this but considering this pair twenty years further on.

The Telltale series.

You Only Live Twice : Oswald is being mentored but demands Edward treat him as an equal if he truly respects him.

For Your Eyes Only : Edward gets trapped by the Agency and suffers their virus before returning to Oswald.

The Spy Who Loved Me : Oswald helps Edward through the aftereffects, unwilling to lose anyone else to madness.

Live and Let Die : Riddler is planning his return to Gotham, letting Oswald into the secrets of his past to convince him.

The Living Daylights : A continuation of the story arc.

New stand alone ideas.

Babysitter : Wario is cajoled into babysitting Bowser's kids and calls Waluigi in for reinforcements.

Sherrif Wario : Waluigi rides into town and immediately gets called a trouble maker by the Mario bros. Wario makes his own assessment.

Good Omens : A friend suggested Alfred Molina as Aziraphale and Willem Dafoe as Crowley which is a fantastic idea.

Fate Or Something Like It : I really wanted to consider the timeline after Norman got back from No Way Home. How he might try to save Otto from his fate.

Old Friends, Bitter Enemies : I watched the Spider-man PS game and love the dynamic of Norman and Otto. It would be worth playing with.

Skyscraper : Basically a PWP. Be fun to write.

Misunderstandings : Oswald overhears Ed saying something he shouldn't.

Batman vs Dracula (2004 cartoon) : A re-write of the film except bringing Riddler into the story.

Halloween Topsy Turvy : A fancy dress party at the Lounge causes feelings to run high.

Streamer Ed (btas) : Ed works as a streamer, with Jon and Jervis as mods, and a habit of review Iceberg Lounge promotional videos.

Gotham Gossip (Gotham) : Newspaper column style fic charting their rising and falling relationship. I still like this concept but am struggling with the media.

Kids museum meeting (comics) : A look back at how they might have met as children.

Secret Admirer : Where both Oswald and Ed are the other's secret admirer.

Tattoos (comics) : Oswald has tattoos - Ed is intrigued.

Olga My Queen (1960s/Gotham) : What if the Queen of Cossacks was Oswald's maid?

Gotta Shape Up (Harley Quinn series) : ngl I lost impetus with this show but I still like this idea - Ed having to step up with Joshua after Oswald's demise.

The King Is Dead : Similar concept in that it looks at how Riddler might react in the wake of Penguin's demise.

Wrap You Around My Finger : Ed is new to Gotham and thinks it'll be easy to cajole favours from Penguin. He is wrong.

Western AU : I wanted a fic with Jonathan on a horse thus this idea was born.

Are We Friends? (Gotham) : Ed struggles to pin down just what their relationship is during Oswald's eye recovery period. Again, not super confident writing in this media now.

Rogues Go Skiing (LEGO) : Cutesy vacation style slice of life.

Arkham sitcom : Exactly as it says, chapters done with mini plots happening, all within Arkham asylum.

Bookshop (1960s) : Penguin owns a book store and has suitors competing for him - Riddler vs Bookworm

Pre-Arkham : What if Jon and Jervis met before either became rogues?

Trans Oswald (The Batman) : Not actually a romantic fic but more angsty, considering what if he'd had a child in his younger years.

Merman Oz (2004 cartoon) : I just like the visual of him as a mermaid.

What You Love Most (Arkhamverse) : Another angsty piece where Ed doesn't realise Oswald's feelings.

Drive-in Movie (Batwheels) : Simultaneous riddlebird and Ducky/Quizz.

Music Meister (Arkhamverse) : Don't tell me the concept of Oz being forced to sing isn't hilarious.

Rumour Mill : Jonathan steps in when rumours spread about Jervis.

Trans Ed (Arkhamverse) : I wanted to write Oz facing his own transphobia but I'm not sure I can do the topic with the required sensitivity.

Hypnotism : As a hattercrow fan, its almost a rite of passage to write Jervis using his powers on Jon.

Merry Little Batman : I'm always drawn to new media variations.

More continuations.

The World Is Your Oyster sequel : What would life be like living with an octo-person?

Post Game (Arkhamverse) : A possibly final installment to my arkham Games series.

Nobody Said It Was Going To Be Easy sequel (btas) : Not sure this is something I still want to do honestly.

The Boss (The Batman) : Picking up their story post film.

Angel!Ed/Demon!Oz (2004 cartoon) : Bringing the contrasting pair actually together.

Pax Penguina sequel (Gotham) : I have no impetus to continue this one at present.

The Real Deal sequel (btas) : Considering whether Ed might get his own larger than life Penguin doll.

The King Of Gotham sequel (comics) : Picking up where the story ends off. Not finished posting the original yet.

[willowpenguinwritting]

I've got you---- A short Broadchurch fanfic

Well hello there, I've got myself fixated on Broadchurch again..... and well an Alec/Ellie idea came into my head so I had to write it obviously. The gif I chose I thought was actually almost like them if Ellie had purchased herself a pinkish maroon coat (I am really sorry I can't describe colours.... rhubarb perhaps?)

It had started as an ordinary day for both Alec and Ellie, Their boss had called out "DI Hardy, my office." across their floor. In response to this most of their coworkers rolled their eyes before really thinking, since Ellie's promotion to detective inspector and also her marriage to Alec they had constantly got to witness the joy of the pair of them rushing around gathering papers and then franticly racing towards whoever had called them.

Some of their coworkers said they should have really made bets on them getting married, some even claimed to have said things to Ellie along the lines of "You'll turn into a DI Hardy if you're not careful." which now had only proved to be extremely ironic. If their coworkers were being honest after entering the relationship they seemed to only mess with eachother even more and if anything were even more professional than they were before.

Once the pair had both arrived at their boss's office she couldn't help but release a laugh and a small comment "I do simply adore how easy it is to summon you both to me." Alec rolled his eyes in response and Ellie had to suppress a giggle and the comment she so desperately wanted to make of how she could probably get Alec to do anything for her but Alec would say she was sounding too much like some of their coworkers who would eagerly taunt them at any given second.

"We received a call just minutes ago containing a possible case of robbery and I would like to send you both out to check the scene, the only issue is that the caller seemed to be in the belief that they stole very important government papers and also a gun." explained their boss.

Alec grumbled slightly whilst Ellie nodded taking a few notes in her notebook. To reach a clean page she had needed to flip past one of the pages that she hadn't written on but the messy scrawl of her husband's words filled the page. "You are beautiful" they read, Ellie was still in quite a bit of shock if she was honest about how much of a soppy romantic he could be.

"I have sent Alec the address to your satnav so head off right away." Their boss told them. Alec continued to roll his eyes but he held out Ellie's coat to her and then hastily sped down the stairs to the car park.

At this point in time Ellie could claim that she had now been trained to catch up with her ever-racing husband as he sprinted downstairs faster than she ever thought her legs could take her.

Once they were both sat in the car with their seatbelts buckled Ellie began to talk "So how are you feeling about all this? I can tell something is bothering you."

"The gun El, why did they take a gun? Were they feeling threatened by something?" Alec explained as he clicked the indicator to turn left.

Ellie hummed to herself for a bit, "Do you think they would still have it in their possession if we were to encounter them?"

"I wouldn't doubt it but if they have a large bulge in their trousers we should just assume it is a gun and not that they are pleased to see us." Alec joked.

His wife shook her head in disbelief "Oh my god I never should have let you watch Sherlock with Tom especially not scenes with Moriarty in them."

"Well I think the best thing for it is to just hope that we don't encounter them. I really wish we had more information to go on but we can't know much until we bloody arrive." Alec complained.

Ellie tried to create a reassuring smile in response but internally was unsure about whether or not it would actually be a good idea to say anything. Cases like these with little to no information to go on always agitated him but he claimed his anger fueled him so to let him be angry. At first, she hadn't realised how much his anger powered his job until he started seeing im outside of work more and that happiness and smile was something she felt sure she would never find again no matter how hard she looked.

Once they had reached their destination according to the navigation system Alec found them a place to park and then the pair departed from the car to walk up to the house with the supposed break in. It was a rather large house and was easily obvious that somone with at least a bit of money would live inside based off the gates alone. Alec opened the black metal gate and led Ellie in to the grounds. The gate swinged benhind them and shut with a cling.

"I think we should walk the perimiter before we knock on the door, get to know the exits and everything." Alec suggested. Ellie nodded in agreement and waited for Alec to lead their way walking as usual. Alec however did not instantly start to lead them, instead he grabbed onto Ellie's hand without any prior warning.

Confusion paints itself all across Ellie's face so in an attempt to reassure him she says "I am not scared you don't need to hold my hand."

"You might not be scared but I need to know you are here, especially with the possibility of a gun involved." Alec tried to explain in a rough whisper.

It takes a moment or so for Ellie to fully process what he said but by the time she has she informs him "I'm here, I've got you don't worry."

Alec then says "I know Tom's friends call you a badass or whatever and you can handle things yourself but that doesn't mean I don't worry." as they begin to walk around the house. Alec pauses on occasion to note down the location of any windows big enough to exit out of.

"I can't decide if you worrying about me is worrying or not," Ellie mutters under her breath.

Alec at this point is back into detective inspector mode so doesn't reply.

Once he believes he has constructed a suitable map of the house they head to the door. Ellie reaches her hand out to ring the doorbell. Alec lets go of Ellie's hand in an attempt to restore professionalism and that his wife is fine. They remain stood outside for another three minutes before Ellie asks "Should I try knocking, the bell might be broken?"

"I think we will have to force our way in," Alec sighs as he begins to twist the handle. Surprisingly it turns and allows them to push the door open and enter the house.

Ellie follows Alec into the house and slowly closes the door with a slight creak, "The door hasn't been oiled for a while, which could suggest a lack of care for the house or lack of use."

Alec nods in agreement and jots down a quick note about it. "I think our first step is going to have to be finding out who made the phone call to us it was only what fifteen minutes ago at max?"

"I'd say so." Ellie agrees, "So what are we looking for?"

Alec announced the mental list he had begun to construct "Any signs of forced entry to the property.... any signs of where the person who made the phone call to us is and... also possibly the phone they called the police from."

"Should I take upstairs and you take down?" Ellie asked making notes in her notepad of the things her husband mentioned.

Alec nodded in agreement and so Ellie began her journey up the polished wooden stairs. Alec was heading into what he believedeved to be the kitchen when he heard her call "Alec, I am in the third bedroom. I suggest you call for forensics."

Alec began to franticly click the phone button for their boss's number as he franticly climbed the stairs to reach where Ellie was. He pushed the door open to see his wife's shocked face and the body of a man lying accross what was a previously white duvet and pillow set.

Before finishing processing the body he began firing instructions at his boss to send backup and forensics NOW. Ellie bit her lip as she tried to observe what had happened.

"I think this might be the man who phoned us, Jenkinson didn't happen to mention if he finished the call abruptly but the smashed phone next to him suggests it could have been." Ellie explaied her findings.

Well, I don't have the time to work more on this right now but I might keep writing it at somepoint and publish a full version onto AO3.... the main intention of this was the hand holiding but I could always turn into a longer actual mystery.

[orangesyellow]

Hi! Would you mind making a colouring tutorial? Your control over colours is so impressive! The way you always know how to make vibrant background colours while keeping the skin tones perfectly pigmented. I’m sorry for leaving such a bothersome request :( I always feel lost when it comes to colouring because I never quite achieve the result I have in mind and I don’t really know what setting to modify.

HI! It's not bothersome at all! I do have an old tutorial up about how I color my picspams and I use the same method for gifs so for fear of sounding like a broken record, it might be more useful to check that out here. ^.^

a little more thoughts about the bear edit (i'm assuming this is the post you're referring to, please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong) + if there is something specific you're looking for, it might be easier for me to answer:

scene choices - never underestimate what i'm willing to sacrifice for the color i am aiming for. i wanted the gifset blue so these scene choices were chosen specifically for blue backgrounds with little movement. with that, i sacrificed the # of frames, other scenes that might have matched the lyrics better, other scenes that i thought were prettier but I knew i wouldn't be able to get the blue i wanted etc.

masking layers - this works really well in combination of choosing scenes with very minimal movement. i was only able to bring out the blue in this gif bc carmy didn't move at all. which meant i was able to create a new layer > color the background in > set to soft light > erase parts i didn't like such as blue that covered faces

adjustment settings - as for which layers to edit, i always go through selective colors, color balance, brightness, and curves. with selective colors, if you're not willing to learn color theory (like me bc i'm lazy) then it just comes with messing around with the sliders. for instance, there's a lot of white in the original scenes of those gifs and i know that if i use selective coloring > white > the whites can be turned cyan. then i add another selective coloring > cyan > and ramp up the cyans in there. i also duplicate selective coloring layers multiple times. sometimes i'll end up with 3 of the same layers just to get a vibrant blue. this is how i achieved the blues for this gif. now, i would go back to those layers and use the mask layer to erase all the blues i don't like over carmy & syd.

TLDR; i use a lot of brushing backgrounds and setting those on different modes (soft light, multiply, darken, etc..). i then will brush out all the areas i don't like (over faces, clothes, if it makes a section too grainy). then to enhance the color, i use selective layers. note that you can select for multiple colors in one layer, i personally do it one by one. (ex. if i'm trying to edit the cyan, i just do one layer of cyan and not edit the other colors in the drop down and duplicate to my desire). then finally, a color balance layer to tie it all back together.