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lemonjoonah · 4 years

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Blood Bounty - Part 2 (M)

Pairings: Yoongi x Reader, Taehyung x Reader, ft. Seokjin x Namjoon Word Count: 15.5K Rating: M Genre: Historical fantasy AU, Vampire AU, Thriller, Drama, Smut Warnings (contains spoilers): unprotected sex, fingering, oral (f. receiving), vampire feeding during intercourse, referenced non-consensual vampire feeding, attempted non-consensual vampire feeding, attempted vampire feeding on a minor, referenced captivity, referenced injury to animal, blood, violence, gore, threats, obsession, poisoning, murder, minor character death(s), illness, referenced death of brother, historical medical practices, self-inflicted injury (for the sake of vampire feeding), contemplation of action which might result in self-harm, discussion of drugging (with vampire blood)

| Series Masterlist |

Summary: He’s taken everything from you, your blood, your memories, your life, and after months spent as Taehyung’s own personal feast, you eagerly take your chance to flee. Unfortunately your escape doesn’t go as well as you had hoped, as you are soon caught by another blood thirsty beast. The vampire Yoongi claims to know you, and that he wishes to return you home. But when you can only remember the pain caused by his kind, you find it difficult to trust him, since he too could just be another monster waiting to feed.

A/N: Just a quick note, there will be a few flashbacks in part two, all of which should be italicized (as long as Tumblr doesn’t fail to format properly). Hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know what you think!

...

You wake before Yoongi at the start of dusk, after having fallen back asleep propped against his chest. The tension in your thighs from your two days of riding resurfaces as you stand. Restricted to a strained hobble, you grab the nearest supply sack. Heading outside to take a moment of privacy and address your bodily needs, while leaving Yoongi to continue his rest.

As you finish putting on the fresh clothes you acquired the day before, swapping out for a new tunic and the much needed smaller boots, Yoongi bursts out the door of the ramshackle house. His face fraught with worry. “Your Highness?!”

“Here,” you call over to him, stepping out from the cover of the trees. “I’m here.”

His chest heaves with a sigh as he relaxes. “You should have woken me.”

“So you could hover over me as I change?” You ask with a raised brow as you fit your cap back on your head.

“N-no... it’s just best if...” Yoongi’s reply is marked with stuttered speech and a tone of frustration. “H-how can I keep you safe if you wonder off in the night? You act as though you don’t have a bounty on your blood. There are sure to be hunters about and still looking for you.”

“I didn’t stray far, and there was still light out when I left you.”

“Even so, it worried me to wake, and not find you by my side.” He mutters, before returning inside to fetch the horse’s tackle and the rest of the bags.

“It won’t happen again.” You promise to his turned back, disarmed by his compassionate concern.

While he readies the horse for the day's journey, you keep to the front of the stead. Holding on to the bridal, you brush the dark mane as you make a request. “Are we able to stop at a river soon? The waterskin is running low.”

Yoongi nods, “We will cross one shortly before my ally’s post.”

“Your ally?” You ask, your heart starting to race as you panic over the suggestion. “You never said we would have to meet with more of your kind.”

“He has a residence he keeps for the clan between here and your castle. He will have a spare room and bed for us. I can promise you resting there will be far more comfortable than it has been the past two nights.”

“And it’ll be safe for me to be around such company?”

“He has no need for your blood. He resides there with his blood consort, a human-”

“A human! A captive-”

“No, no of course not.” Yoongi cuts in. “They are companions, Namjoon feeds Seokjin by choice, and in return Seokjin looks after him with his own blood, keeping Namjoon free from age and ailment.”

“But-”

“Seokjin will not approach you if I ask him not to. I trust him.” Yoongi comments as he straps the last bag in, the horse now equipped to depart.

Placing your foot in the stirrup before Yoongi can even offer to assist. Muttering your apprehension over the situation as you attempt to mount the stead. Though your endeavour to reach the saddle on your own fails miserably, resulting in your back colliding with Yoongi’s chest as you fall. His arms catch yours while your foot remains caught in the metal brace. “Careful now,” Yoongi warns you.

“I know. I can do it on my own.” You urge back, frustration edging out into your voice over your apparent state of helplessness, as you struggle to right yourself.

“I’m sure you can.” He chuckles, while pushing you up and onto the horse, before joining you himself. “But it doesn’t mean you have to.”

You shrink down between his arms trying to avoid his touch, continuing to fume over the prospect of spending the day within reach of another vampire. Yoongi may have become less of a concern after the revelation last night, but the thought of being in such close proximity to someone of his clan puts you on edge.

As you shift in the saddle trying to find a comfortable position for your seat, one of his hands comes to clutch your waist. He presses you back against him, mercifully relieving some of the weight from your thighs.

“Better?” He asks.

You nod in reply. Despite your bitterness you lean into him further, the ache being a far more pressing issue at this moment, then the ally you meet later tonight. Soon finding comfort in his support, you turn your concern to the other vampires that neither you nor he can dismiss so easily. “Earlier you said that Taehyung’s hunters are still about, you don’t think they would make it out this far and this quickly do you?”

“For you? Most certainly. I’m sorry to say, I doubt they are far behind.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I was forced to work among them. The swiftest way for me to get to you on my own was to be granted an invitation inside, but to do that I needed to hunt. I gave them a false identity, calling myself Agust, and my services in an attempt to gain their favour.” You go rigid in the saddle. Yoongi must have sensed the change as he is quick to clarify his words. “I never gave them people, only blood I acquired in the same way that I obtained it for myself.”

“And how do you do that?”

“You know I can’t tell you,” Yoongi mutters. You’ve come to despise this answer, still huffing at his need to keep all a secret. “When you keep insisting on hiding it, I start to doubt more and more that I will like the answer.”

He hesitates before replying. “What if that is what I want?”

“I thought you said I shouldn’t judge so quickly? Now you wish for me to dislike you and your ways?” You blurt out in confusion. Why after attempting to build your trust would he want you to hate him so.

“Not necessarily, just to question and be critical once you have all of the information, to hold your own opinion and not my own view. If your memories come from me how can I know that they are unbiased.”

“But how is that a memory of mine if it’s your method of feeding?”

Yoongi doesn’t respond but merely clenches his jaw when you look back at him, refusing to speak anymore on the subject.

The silence between you stretches on for most of the night, he checks in on occasion to ensure that you are well. But other than that you hardly exchange another word, right up to when Yoongi slows the horse at the sight of the moonlit river and bridge. He helps you dismount, and unhooks a pack from the saddle, giving you access to the provisions you require.

“Our stop is only a few more minutes away down road. We have several hours until day break.” He nods to the river, “Take all the time you need. I’ll give you some privacy and take the horse just around the bend.”

When Yoongi leaves your line of sight, you remove your boots, roll your trousers, and step into the chill waters. You take one stride in and another unit you are submerged almost to your knees. Filling up the waterskin you take a long daft, while also savouring the coolness of the river your skin and sores. The bandages on your heels are a ragged mess, in desperate need of being replaced. You reluctantly return to the banks, crouching to rummage through the pack to hunt for something that could be of use to protect the broken skin.

You have no such luck in locating any spare cloth, but find instead a heavy roll of leather at the bottom. Dragging it up to the surface of the pack, you are curious as to what it might be. While peeking up to ensure that Yoongi has not come back to check in, you loosen the string ties and unravel the well-worn wrap. There’s a small clang from whatever lies inside as it unfolds. Your heart races as you attempt to brace the objects within, slowing your motions to prevent the noise from happening again. Not wishing to draw attention to your invasion of the vampire’s belongings.

But your cautionary actions come to a swift halt when tucked inside you find sharp metal instruments, encompassing a variety of shapes, sizes, and serrations. Kept well enough to glare back at you as they reflected the moonlight. You immediately drop the leather carrier to the ground, and stumble away from the horrific implements. Though in your fear and hurry, you miscalculate the security of the ground on which you stand. Teetering on the rocks at the river’s edge, you fall back. Losing your hat to the current, while your hands plunge into shallow water. The sharp pebbles of the bank dig into your palms, skinning off the scab of Taehyung’s bitten wound.

You gasp in pain, pulling your hand out from the river to inspect the freshly opened break in your skin. Yoongi appears seconds later, reaching out for your hand from the edge of the water. “Are you hurt?”

You look from your palm up to Yoongi. The sting of the lesion and his presence triggering a memory of a darkened cobblestone street, a fanged monster hidden beneath a hood, reaching out for your hand, caked with dirt and blood. Then a gap, a break in your recollection, ending with a flash of Yoongi taking that same hand and passing his own blood over yours to close the cut. The brief glimpse ends, leaving you with a bleak look at your alleged friendship.

“You... you gave me your blood?!” You ask, delving further back into the river out of fear, the prospect of the freezing water is nothing compared to the demon who seems to have poisoned you long ago.

“What are you-”

“You gave me your blood. You used your sway to compel me into-into caring for a monster like you!”

His face falls at your accusation. “Is that how you truly view it then? You do in fact see me as a monster?”

“How else can I? Why else would someone like you carry those tools other than to harm? ”

Yoongi looks down, his lips tightening upon seeing your discovery. “Because you gave them to me!” He counters, to your shock and horror, allowing his forced confession to sink in for a moment before continuing in a more sombre tone. “If you feel that I influenced you poorly, for that I am deeply sorry. I thought, I hoped you might have seen it all differently. I had your blessing back then, but I can see that I was right to question my undue-influence on you.”

“I’m not talking about your influence, but your blood, you used it to manipulate my thoughts and actions! If I gave you such things I was surely under your spell.”

“No, I would never intentionally force you to think a certain way! But your circumstances back then made you vulnerable, I fear they made you open to my persuasion, and to desire my good graces.” You stand there thigh deep in the river, frozen in place, as his words continue to challenge your perception and memory. “If you revoke your once good opinion of me I will not fault you for it. But I don’t know how else to remedy my mistakes other than to take you home. Can you please trust me long enough to do that?”

“I-” You begin, while trying to figure out where your answer will end, your head swimming with conflicting recollections of his blood, and kindness to you.

But your answer is halted by the sudden change in the vampire before you. Yoongi turns his head back to the line of trees his nose lifting before like it did when he caught the scent of the highwaymen. “Hunters, they’ve found us.”

A shiver passes over you, unrelated to the cold water. “You can smell them? Are they Taehyung’s?”

“No, not them per se, but the blood they are dressed in, and based on that...” He turns back to you, his expression fraught with worry as he points to the river. “Go in further and remain in there until it is safe to come out. They will not be able to fetch you if the river reaches past the leg of their mount. Promise me, whatever happens, whatever I say, whatever you hear, you will not leave until you are certain it is safe.”

You nod unable to verbalize your agreement. Your breath catches in your chest as you continue to lower yourself into the water's depths. The slow current comes to reach your waist, just before a mounted hunter and his much larger companion on foot break near the banks of the river.

“Agust,” the mounted hunter address Yoongi by his false persona, confirming your dread of who they serve. “Fancy meeting you here. We thought we smelled something sweet, but had not realized you would be attempting to collect it too. Since when do you capture live prey? I thought you dealt more in bottled goods.” He proceeds to laugh at his own words, while his fellow remains silent.

“This bounty is mine Thane.” Yoongi commands from the ground standing between you and them. His attention focused solely on the vampire with the stead, marking him as the superior of the two hunters in your eyes.

“Is it now?” He asks with an air of conceit. “It looks more like it’s just beyond your reach. Smart of her to use our weakness in such a way.”

“She’s just playing a game,” Yoongi mutters. “She won’t last long in there, the cold will send her out soon.”

You wish it wasn’t so, but there’s truth to his words, for you are unsure of how much longer you can bear the frigid temperatures. The chattering of your teeth brings further evidence to them that the chill has sunk deep into your skin.

“If she was so difficult to control why did you not give her your blood?” The larger of the two hunters asks.

“What, and taint the product with my own?” Yoongi spits back, looking offended that the hunter would suggest such practice. “I plan to take her back to Lord Taehyung, unspoiled, and alone.”

The lip of the leader, Thane, curls at Yoongi’s comment. “I do not think you will. She seems like more than you can handle.”

“Then you and your partner leave me to fetch a human who may breach the water’s banks.”

“No, you will come with me. Averill will stay and watch her.” Thane nods to the hulking vampire next to him.

“And leave my blood bounty with you? I think not.” Yoongi’s worry starts to cross into his voice, his wavering tone evident to even you. He stands down with a fake chuckle and proceeds to dismiss their presence by busying himself with the task of repacking the belongings you left out of the sack. “If you're not going to send for assistance leave me be, for I plan to wait as long as it takes to recollect her for his lordship.”

“And what will you do when the sun rises? You are not in a position to negotiate Agust. You should be glad that we are offering to even do you this favour. I hear the reward for this one is greater than any before. Lord Taehyung is offering an immediate position among his keepers to whomever can capture her.”

It becomes clear to you that they will not give in so easily, and Yoongi too pauses upon hearing this news. “Since you insist, I will go with you, but he does not make an attempt to touch her until we get back. If I find out you’ve tried to cross me-”

“He will stick to the shore of the river, until our return.” Thane looks to his companion who nods to confirm that he will abide to such terms.

Yoongi turns his back to them, the light of the moon granting a dim view of the concern on his face. He points one figure at the ground, what you can only only read as a supposed signal for you to stay, before mounting up and riding off with one of the hunters in the direction of his ally.

The vampire on the water's edge began to prowl back and forth, watching you with intrigue. “You look cold and tired my dear. You should come out, let’s not play this game any longer.”

“It’s not a game.” You mutter in response to the vampire.

A menacing grin takes hold of his face. “Of course it is, your kind consider hunting to be of sport, do they not?”

You turn your head and ignore his comment. Letting minutes pass with you in silence, until the vampire's pacing comes to a halt, and the smile has all but faded from his features.“Where the hell are they?”

Considering the torment his clan has brought you, you take great pleasure in seeing his frustration rise. “What’s wrong?” You tempt him, hoping that he might be foolish enough to try to reach you on his own. “Does the night wane too quickly for you? Is the vampire afraid of a little sunlight as well as running water? With so many weaknesses it’s a wonder you’ve survived.”

“There are still a few hours to go until sunrise human, I wouldn’t raise your hopes just yet. Because when I pull you from that river, I will show you just how well I survive. ” No sooner than the threat passes from his lips, a single horse rides back into view. Though to your terror it is not Yoongi’s stead, but Thane’s, with it’s rider wrapped his tattered and blood stained cloak. Your chest tightens and breathing stops, as you consider what might have happened to Yoongi. His absence brings grim thoughts to your mind regarding his fate, fearing what kind of situation he must be in to prevent his return.

Looking downriver with a choked sob, you contemplate your only escape with Yoongi now gone, ready to take the current to its end, or yours.

The imposing vampire that was left with you calls out to his ally. “What in the devil's name took you so long? I thought you were going to deal with Agust, and bring back someone who could assist? I see no humans!”

Thane doesn’t answer out loud. After dismounting he pulls his cloak tighter, and approaches his friend, leaning in to talk to him. It’s not until a stake pierces Averill’s chest that you see the true face of the rider. Painted with blood from, and contempt for, the being he just slaughtered.

A sense of déjà vu grips you once again, and refuses to let go. You’ve witnessed something like this before, so many years ago. Another memory starts to resurface, another vampire slaying much like this, both executed by the hand of... “Yoongi?!”

...

-10 years ago -

Just a few hours outside of the palace walls, that is all you desire. Dressed in your lady’s maid’s change of clothes you go in search of the sights outside. Hoping to find something unfamiliar and new. After hearing the very maid you ‘borrowed’ the clothes from, discuss the bakery, the public houses, the marketplace, and more. You could no longer hold back your curiosity. Your books and maps are not enough to quell your taste for adventure, your eyes seek to explore the areas that the tomes in your library fail to touch. And since it all resides on the crown's land, surely you have a duty to study it?

As much as you would have preferred to go out in the day, the cover of darkness is so much easier to slip out under. No one should look twice at a person your attire, and you yourself are not expected to be anywhere else other than bed.

Unfortunately that means the bakery is closed and the market packed up. The only place warmed with light and presence is the tavern, but you know it would be foolish to go in there. For you have no coin on hand for a meal, and are far too young to have any other sensible reason for entrance.

Despite your first expedition not being everything you wanted, it only makes you determined to plan better for your next. After two hours pacing the streets, looking for sites of interest, you consider heading back. You turn to face the direction you had just travelled and look for another route home, not wishing to view only the same roads as before. Travelling one side street and another, though you soon make an error and find a dead end greeting you on the third.

Turning about, you double back, but fail to notice the slick pile of refuse, which sends you falling forward. Your hands reach out to stop your face colliding into the cobblestones, while the rest of your body flattens painfully in your tumble.

Following the shock of your plummet you take a moment to inspect your well-being from the ground. You curse your foolish inattention when you find your palms coated in mud, and stinging with scrapes. Resulting in a small amount of blood, beading on the surface of your skin.

A man dressed in a long cloak and hood from the nearby road turns into the alley and encroaches upon your, no doubt pathetic looking form. You thought he might be there to offer his assistance after such a fall, but he only looks down upon you with a hunched posture.

“Well aren’t you a rare breed. Surely you are not from these parts, or I would have found you before.” His sinister words immediately put you on your guard, after giving you the impression that you are something to be collected rather than aided.

“I’m sorry sir but you are mistaken.” You ascend from your knees and brush yourself off, seeking to flee his uncomfortable presence, but the stranger blocks your path. With an outstretched arm, his hand rests against the wall, taking up the entire width of the alley. The lower half of the man’s face peaks out from beneath his hood, only to show his tongue darting out to wet his lips. You clench your jaw and stand firm, attempting to give him reason to reconsider preying on one such as yourself. “I hail from here, and my family expects my return soon. Now let me pass.”

“I am not mistaken, I know a new and valued vintage when I smell it, and you are quite something...” He steps closer as you back away, continuing to cut off your escape by dragging his fingers along the stone wall. His stride resembles that of a predator, narrowing in on their presumed feast. You raise a hand in to signal for him to stop, but he merely gives it a keen stare.

“Did you hurt your hands my dear? Here let me take a look.” He reaches out with his own taloned hand, his long fingers ending with sharpened nails. “I can help heal them right up for you.”

“Thank you sir, but I would rather just go home and tend to them myself.” You give one last plea, one last appeal to his humanity. Fearing that his next action against you will be truly monstrous.

“It will take only a moment, and I promise,” the fabric of his hood falls back to reveal his feral face with pointed teeth, “You won’t remember a thing.”

He grabs your hand, pulling it to his mouth. You try to tug it back, but his grip is like none you’ve felt, so firm that even the strongest pull you can muster has no impact on him. Even a push to his chest from your other fist does not disturb him. You close your eyes waiting for the pain of his strike but there’s nothing of the sort. Only a soft grip on your wrist for a second and your hand is released. You open your eyes back up in hesitation, to find your attacker pinned against the wall by another.

“We do not feed on children! Have you forgotten our clan’s law?”

“Yoongi, I’m sorry sir you’re right. But you must understand, you must smell how sweet her blood is. Do you not find it as tempting as I?”

“We do not feed on children.” The newcomer reiterates his tone drawing into a low growl.

“Surely she is not so young that you cannot make an exception this once? No one else in the clan has to know sir, it’s just us here. I’ll even share her with you.”

There’s a swift flash of movement and the second has impaled the first through the chest with a wooden stake. The predator who cornered you looks on him with shock before slumping down the side of the wall, leaving a strip of blood in his wake.

You stare into the vial stranger’s blank eyes, unable to quell the worry that he might still launch an attack on you. “Is-is he, is it-” You manage to stutter out, as you battle your nerves, deeply shaken, but increasingly grateful for the intervention of the one before you.

“He’s dead.” The vanquisher tends to the cast-off on his coat and skin, brushing his hand over the crimson stains while he addresses you. “You should run along princess, it’s not safe for you to wander about at night.”

“You-you know who I am?”

“I’ve come across your scent before, it was just after one of your family’s gallant displays of authority.” You tilt your head confused by what he could mean. He takes in your bewilderment and explains further. “One of the royal processions, I spotted you just after dusk when you returned to the castle some years ago. Your aroma is not one my kind would forget.”

“Your kind, what do you mean your kind? What was he?”

“A weak willed monster who feeds on blood, and hunts by night. He is not alone out there, so you should stay very far away from the darkened streets.”

“But you are not like him.”

“I swear to you, he and I are the same.” The man comes towards you lowering himself on one knee and baring his fangs. “He is a vampire, and so am I.”

You don’t turn away but look at them with curiosity. His brow furrows as you move in closer. “And what of your name?” You ask, desperate to know more about him, for his appearance, his very existence, has certainly become the most intriguing part of your night .

“You don’t need-”

“But I would like it.”

“Yoongi. I go by Yoongi,” he mutters, looking taken aback once again. “May I?” He extends his hand for yours. You give it to him with little hesitation, wincing as his thumb brushes the mud away. He pauses upon noticing your discomfort and extends an offer to you. “If I take away this pain, will you promise to go straight home?”

You nod back, wondering how he could offer such a thing. He bites his hand before taking your own, rubbing the blood over the scrapes. And to you surprise, the cuts vanish before your eyes, the skin forming back together as though your fall never happened. Regardless if this being thinks he is a monster or otherwise, it’s apparent a miracle cure flows through his veins. Your brother's condition jumps to the forefront of your mind. “You can heal wounds? Cuts and contusions too?”

“I can.” His answers with a raised eyebrow.

“So you could help my brother?”

“Your brother, what of him?”

“He has an illness. My parents don’t want to spread word of his condition, but whenever he gets hurt, he bruises and bleeds without end. You can save him, right?”

“I cannot assist your brother.” He rises from his knee and proceeds to drag the body of the former vampire deeper into the shadows, all while continuing to answer your request. “Making myself even known to you goes against the wishes of my clan. I should wipe your memories, but if I do, I fear you’ll forget the danger and return here once again.”

“Please! He needs your help.” You beg, hoping that he’d agree to be your salvation once again.

The self proclaimed monster looks at you, while tugging the stake from the chest of the corpse. Meeting your eyes when you refuse to look away from him or the gruesome sight. “If you swear to stay within the walls of your castle and tell not a soul... I will see what I can do.”

You lead him back to your home, the vampire following a few paces behind. Returning to the passage hidden in the roots of the hedge, the trap door beneath the flora, from which you ventured out earlier tonight. You open it stepping in first. Your companion stops as if being held back by some invisible force. “I need your permission to enter.”

“Why?”

“Consider it a courteous limitation of my race. Now do you want me to heal your brother or not?”

“Yes, you may come in.”

Lighting the lantern you left for yourself at the entrance, you lead him through the dark tunnel beneath the castle.

“What is this place used for? I can’t imagine anyone ventures down here much.” He remarks brushing away cobwebs that stretch across the path.

“It is an escape tunnel, to ensure the safety of the royal line. Only my immediate family knows of it. If there were to be danger we could flee down here and leave the grounds. And no, they do not visit here, only I come down myself when I wish to hide away.” The hidden offshoot of the cellar is ample space for you, and far less restrictive than the palace above ground.

You climb a set of stairs ending in a door which returns you to the halls of the castle, the entrance to the secret route concealed behind a painting of a king who came long before. Peeking out into the corridor you find it clear of guardsmen and servants, and doing the same again at your brother’s door.

The physicians and surgeons had left him for the night, which allows for Yoongi to slip in behind you. He checks over your sleeping brother, paying close attention to both the recent injury to his knee and the incision on the inside of his elbow. “Why was this made?” He points to the latter. “It’s too clean to be an accident.”

“Bloodletting, they bleed him regularly to dispose of the weakened blood.”

“Weakened Blood?” Yoongi shakes his head as he reopens the spot on his hand, spreading his blood over your brother's wounds. They close up with the skin returning to its normal state and hue. “I hadn’t realized that surgeons practiced such things. If you want to keep him alive don’t let them bleed him anymore. Come to think of it...” He examines the tools of their trade, and roles up the leather pouch in which they are contained. “May I borrow these? I might have a use for them.”

“Take them, please.” You urge, breathing a sigh of relief. It’s a shock to see your brother's condition, which has plagued your family since his birth, so easily remedied with Yoongi's help. But the worry over the uncertain future still holds. “What if it happens again? How will I find you if I shouldn’t leave the castle?”

“You said few know of the cavern below? I’m in need of somewhere safe to rest during the day when I come to town, that spot will do. If I have your consent to use it?”

...

It’s been a couple weeks since your first meeting. The vampire, Yoongi has grown more comfortable within the tunnel beneath, and far less hesitant around you. You’ve learned so much about him, and his shrouded kin, both the good and the bad.

He lays back against the stonewall his eyes closed in satisfaction. Far different from the first few times you met him. “You look... more relaxed.”

He keeps his eyes closed as he gives you his answer, “I had the ability to address some of my needs I’ve been neglecting. I’ve been able to feed on a far more frequent basis.”

“Oh...” You exclaim, not knowing how to comment further on the topic.

One of his eyes opens to peek at you while he remains at rest. “Does that scare you? Do you fear me now?” He chuckles darkly.

You respond with a quick and decisive, “No.” Catching the vampire by surprise judging from his tongue in cheek and open mouth.

“And why is that?”

“If you took no issue with human suffering you wouldn’t have saved me. You wouldn’t have saved my brother. Did you bring pain to the person you feed on?”

Yoongi scoffs, his tongue still rolling in his cheek as he looks to the floor. “No, I did not. And I have you to thank for that.”

“How did I help?” You ask in utter bewilderment. The two of you have never discussed his own meals before.

“When a vampire feeds they don’t often care about the damage they cause, they can make their prey forget they ever saw them, becoming nothing more than a bad dream. I have been struggling with this way of life for a while now. But you, you gave me another method to feed, and for that I am eternally in your debt.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“I know,” he chuckles back. “I’ll show you one day. When I can be certain it is safe to do so.”

...

A month later, Yoongi sneaks into your room in the dead of night, waking you from your slumber.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” You ask with slurred words as you rub your eyes.

“Nothing, nothing, but I’m ready to show you. Dress in what you wore when we met. We can’t have anyone recognizing you.”

You bolt up out of bed and dash over to your desk. Yoongi watches as you tug out the false bottom you created in one of the drawers that hides the cotton-spun dress from sight.

“You appear to be well versed in the art of hiding secrets princess,” Yoongi laughs, as he examines the panel.

“When every eye in the household seeks to critique you, you find ways to hide your less-than-amiable indulgences.”

“And is that what this is?” The vampire holds up a book of cartographic exploration also stored in the secret nook of the drawer. “An indulgence?”

You take the tome in question from his hand and return it to the drawer, replacing the panel to conceal it. “For a situation like my own it is.”

After changing into the plain garment Yoongi takes you from the castle, bringing only the leather roll of surgical instruments you had given him. He doesn’t take you far, a house, located only a five minute walk beyond the gates of your castle. “Are you sure you want to see this?” He asks as his fist hangs above the door.

You nod, curious as to how he’s been feeding himself.

“Very well, if anyone asks you are my assistant.”

“Assistant for what?”

He answers only with a wide grin as he knocks. The door opens a fraction, by the hands of a startled woman, whom Yoongi is quick to greet. “Sorry to intrude, and so late too. I heard you might be in need of a surgeon?”

“W-we can’t pay,” she croaks back, and attempts to close the door, but Yoongi stops it by placing the leather case in the gap.

“I require no monetary payment. My services have already been covered.”

“By who?” The woman is sceptical, and rightly so. Based on your experience with your brother’s past needs, you know a surgeon’s fee to be no small price.

“The daughter of the crown.”

“The crown? But why would she-”

“Because there are those in this kingdom in need of my assistance. I’m sure you’ve noticed the rapid recovery of your neighbour just a few doors down.”

Her eyes widen, lighting with hope. “The surgeon was you?”

“It was.” He answers with a closed lip smile.

The resident looks from Yoongi to you, her gaze lingers for a second on your appearance, before opening the door further. “You may come in.” She takes you to a small residence, her hands trembling as she escorts you into a nearby bedroom.

The stench of a sickly-sweet rot overpowers your nose the moment you step into the room. You cover your mouth in an attempt to keep down your rising dinner, while Yoongi goes to the aid of an unconscious man laying in bed. A deep and putrid gash extends from the inside of his thumb to his wrist.

“Another surgeon said he might need to take the hand... it’s not so bad is it?” Her voice quakes. “My husband won't be able to work if he loses it.”

“No, he’ll keep it.” Yoongi states, as he lifts a ceramic bowl, notched at the rim, from the bedside table and props the wounded man’s arm over it. Several small cuts already adorn the weak skin at the crease of his elbow joint. “I take it you've bled him regularly?”

The wife nods. “Yes, but we ran out of money. I couldn’t afford to have anyone else continue the bleeding. So I attempted it myself.” She looks down at the floor in shame, clearly upset that she had not been able to help her own husband.

“He will be well again. I promise I can heal this.” He assures her, before turning to you. “Can you hold these for me?” Passing you the same tools you gave him just months before. You unravel the leather pouch. Exposing the sharp tools for his selection, his slender fingers choose one of the smaller blades to make the incision. As the scarlet fluid drains, Yoongi calls for fresh linen and the wife leaves the room in search of his needs.

The second she is out of sight, you start to question the vampire. “Bloodletting? But I thought you said-”

“It’s both a cover, and an exchange. He gives me his, and I’ll give him mine. I must thank you for the tools, they’ve been very helpful in keeping up the disguise. But do you think you can keep her out? I can’t let her see this next part, the improvement to his hand will be too drastic and too quick for her not to suspect a mystical source.” Yoongi requests as he breaks the seal on a bottle filled with thick crimson fluid. Pouring out a drop he rubs his blood onto the festering wound of his subject's hand.

You nod, watching the two sides of the laceration seal together, leaving only a clean scar. When the wife returns with a knock at the door, you take the material and ask her to wait there. Thankfully she obeys without much resistance, taking a seat just outside the room, her eyelids drooping from exhaustion, and her skin slick with the sweat of worry.

You hand over the linen to Yoongi who wraps it around the previously infected area. The man, much to your concern, remains unconscious. “Will he wake soon?”

“It might take some time, but yes. He still has a fever, but that should break in the next couple of hours with the infection gone.”

“And that?” You nod to the basin of blood.

“That, I will keep for myself.” Yoongi finishes wrapping the man’s hand before taking a wine skin from his coat, carefully pouring the viscous fluid into the flask, and taking every drop.

“It won’t affect you adversely even though he was ill when he gave it?”

“No, his ailment won’t harm me.” Taking a draft as if to prove his point, he wrinkles his nose as it goes down, and licks his lips clean to hide the evidence of his feast. “The taste isn’t always perfect, but it fills my needs, and it’s far better than the alternative.”

Yoongi passes off the patient’s care to his wife and warns her not to remove the bandages for several days. A continuation of his ploy to maintain that his methods have a more realistic recovery rate.

After returning you to the passage of the castle shortly before dawn, Yoongi looks to be apprehensive, wringing his hands as he bids you farewell for the day. “Seeing that... taking part in it wasn’t disturbing to you? You do not think it malicious for me to lie and profit in such a way?”

“No, not at all.” You shake your head, and beam at the vampire before you. “I was pleased that you showed me.”

“I owe my thanks to you,” he whispers, as a smile starts to cross his own features.

“But I did nothing.”

“You gave me the idea. I was not aware, nor did I think to benefit from such a human norm. I thought I was condemned to feed like a monster until the end. So as long as you approve, as long as you think it decent to conduct myself in this way, I will continue.”

“You’ve already helped us so much, how could I not? You are the reason my brother is well again, the reason that man will continue to live and work. You are more a saviour than any being I’ve met before.”

...

You thought him a hero in your past. Every action had a valid reason, every motive morally sound. His store of blood, the surgical knives, every memory of his history with you is beyond reproach.

“Yoongi?”

The friend of your past, falls to his knees beside the body of the hunter. He raises a hand to his face to contain a cough, but even from your distance you can see scarlet sputtering from his lips and spilling down between his fingers.

“Yoongi!” You wade through the water as quickly as you can. Reaching his side while he continues to expel blood. “What happened?”

“Powdered silver.” He sputters again spraying your drenched trousers and ground with scarlet. “The bastard asked for some of my drink. I obliged to maintain my cover, but I didn’t notice he poisoned it in the process, and then took a sip myself.” Despite his state he proceeds to hastily shove the body of the vampire into the river, where it starts to burn and disintegrate in the current. “Don’t worry, much like this one, he is far worse off than I.” Yoongi chuckles darkly before doubling over in another fit.

“We need to get you somewhere safe to heal.” You take his shoulder and help him on to the stolen horse.

“Seokjin, he's waiting for my return. I left everything with him. Down the road,” he whispers as another clot of blood leaves his mouth. “You’ll find a stone house.”

Once he is mounted you take the spot behind him this time, in an attempt to keep him in the saddle. “Yes, I remember it now...”

...

- 9 years ago -

You’ve fallen into a routine, where every morning an hour before sunrise you wait in the underground passage to see if Yoongi will show. It’s been over a week since he’s visited last. In the year you’ve known him he has never stuck to a schedule, his visits are random but frequent. You pass the time waiting with a travel log of a famous explorer, and an atlas for reference, studying the map and marking his trek as you pass through the pages. Cartography has long become a hobby of yours, much to the disappointment of your mother, she deemed such interests as unladylike forcing you to hide your activities. Though your hands stained with ink from your nightly studies, have betrayed you on more than one occasion.

The trap door to the outside opens, revealing your long awaited friend. “Yoongi!” You run and pull him into a hug. When you allowed him to rest here and tend to your brother as needed, you never thought that he would become your salvation too, your craved glimpse into the outside world which you have long since been denied. “You said you’d only be gone a few days!”

“I know forgive me princess, something came up. The travel back was slower than expected.”

“Were you able to do what I requested?”

“I was.” He pulls out several pages you had torn from your atlas marking them with details important to those of his kind. “Excuse my penmanship. It’s not as practiced as it once was.”

Dismissing his concerns with a wave of your hand you peer down at the sheets eager to see the world from his eyes, starting with the details closest to your own home. “Who is Seokjin?” You ask pointing to a dark spot labelled ‘Seokjin’s Post’ less than a day's ride away.

“I see you waste no time.” Yoongi smiles at your enthusiasm. “A member of my clan, a keeper, one who is stationed at a waypoint for ease of travel.”

“A keeper?” You ask unfamiliar with the vampiric title.

“One who has a claim to our land, and can give permission to other vampires to enter. It’s an honour to be trusted with such a responsibility.”

“Are you a keeper?”

“A form of keeper, yes, I share claim to the main stronghold with our clan’s lord. It took me near a quarter century as a clan hunter to be given permission to even enter, and three times as long to gain my current status. It is a prestigious role, but also a double edged sword, for it also is what keeps me away.”

“I should like to see it.”

“My clan’s fortress? No, I will never take you there, your scent could plunge the whole estate into chaos.”

You frown at the inability to visit his station, but continue to search the map. Finding another castle marked much like his own out to the west. “What of this one? ‘Lord Taehyung’s Fortress,’ you have never spoken of him.”

Yoongi goes rigid as he hovers over the mapped sheets with you. “I have not, for he is of a different clan, with far darker ambitions than our own. I choose to mark it as a warning and a place to avoid. If you should ever hear of or be near someone in his service, run. Run as far and fast as you can.”

You swallow any further questions regarding the rival clan, uneased by Yoongi’s words. Changing the subject again to learn more of your confidant and friend. “Where did you come from if you have not always resided with your clan.”

Yoongi forgoes the sheets you have given him of the surrounding area, taking the atlas out of your hands, he flips the pages to a wider view of the land. “I come from out here.” Pointing to an area not on the page, but to the right of the book, far more east than the last recorded city.

“Off map? Could we visit your old home instead?” You ask, your excitement bubbling to the surface.

“No it is far more than a night’s journey away, making it too long of a trek for you. It would take months on foot, and even if we were to make it, I doubt there would be much left, for the hearth kept by my family grew cold long ago.”

“I would like to see the area at the very least. We could get a horse. Money is no object, I have-”

“Princess, even still, your absence would be noticed. You cannot just disappear for weeks on end and return when you please. You would lose your home, your own station.”

“What if I told you that I don’t want to be a princess. That my dream is to leave this castle, and find an adventure with you.”

...

- 5 ½ years ago -

For years this disagreement raged between you both, with you desiring to leave, and him insisting you must stay. His return is always a bright moment, but your partings always cast a dark shadow when he once again embarks alone. Existence without him in the kingdom is so cold and rigid, to the point where you’ve come to rely on his visits to breathe life back into you, needing his company to live as much as your brother needs his blood. To your dismay the length between each of his appearances grows longer. Though his apologies still accompany him each time you must wait beyond his promised return.

“I told you, you should invest in a horse.” You mutter as you cling to him, greeting him with your usual hug the second he slips into the underground tunnel.

His hand draws across your back soothing you with his presence. “And I’ve told you I don’t need one for myself alone.”

“Then you will get one when we leave together?” You ask, pulling away looking up with hopeful eyes.

“Princess...” He growls as you once again bring up the dreaded topic.

“We need to talk about this Yoongi. We can’t go on like this forever.”

“No, but how is your brother? What would happen if you left?” Yoongi asks, setting up his bed roll for you both to sit on. He never leaves anything behind out of concern that someone in your family will find it while he’s away. Requiring him to get re-situated upon every return.

“He is well...” Your statement trails off unable to make a further valid argument regarding his situation.

“But that could change in an instant. And if you’re not here-”

“I might not be here much longer anyway!” Your statement hangs in the air between you both.

His face reads only of confusion, with his mouth hanging open as he attempts several false starts to respond. “Wh-What do you mean?”

You take your seat next to Yoongi determined to make him see it your way this time. There has been something weighing on you, feelings that you’ve found difficult to approach, but if you don’t say it now you worry you’ll never get to. “I am eighteen Yoongi, and well of age to marry. There have been suggestions of prospects and matches. I’ve tried delaying them but I know I will not stay in this castle much longer either way.”

His eyes darken and brows furrow. “I suppose congratulations are in order then.” His words in no way match his expression.

“No, they are not! I don’t want that life, I’ve told you this before. I have no wish to leave this castle only to become locked in another. You know that is what will happen! Any union made will be to benefit the kingdom in an alliance, they will have their own expectations, their own walls I cannot cross.”

“Maybe that is for the best though. You will live the life you were intended, saving you from a life with a monst-”

“You are not a monster Yoongi, I do not need saving from you!”

“If not from me, then at least from my kind. I cannot give you the life nor the safety which lies here, or in another castle with your own kind. A life alongside a vampire will not have a happy end.”

“And what of a life without living one’s dream? Without the one you’ve come to admire and befriend. Can that have a happy end? Would it not bother you to yield me to another who is not as kind, nor caring as you? Yoongi, I lo-”

Yoongi emits a low growl halting your argument and paramount confession. “I profess I would loathe to lose you too, but dreams and desires change. I do not wish for you to regret your path with me as I once regretted choosing this life too. If it weren’t for you... ” His voice trails off as he hangs his head in shame. “I could not bear to see you suffer knowing I brought you the pain which haunted me for years. The loss of a family, of a home, I do not wish for you to endure the same.”

“Then what would convince you? What will show you I am truly earnest in my desire?” You ask hoping to find the answer to not only show your determination to leave, but your true feelings for him too.

He pauses the discussion, getting up to pace the room. His fingers run through his hair as he ponders your query. “I don’t want you forced into this because of circumstances beyond your control...” He stops his stride mid thought, and glances to you.“I can still supply your brother with blood if you choose to marry, and leave my side. Now in having that safety I need to know that you’ve given this consideration more time. Without the weight of your brother's life hanging over you.”

“It has been all I’ve wanted these past few years, to leave this place with you.”

“But first I need you to give this life the honest chance without my presence. I will leave you with enough of my blood for the time I’m gone. Though we should discuss who you will entrust to take care of him if you are in another castle, or with me.”

“My lady’s maid.” You suggest, for you know she loves him as much as you, though she tries to keep it concealed. “I would trust his life to her, but how long do you plan to stay away?”

“My clan intends to launch a wave of hunters into rival territory, it’s the best chance we have to take down Taehyung’s stronghold.” Yoongi explains while returning to the seat next to you. “If we can do this before you wish to leave then I will be as far greater ease to take you from here, but knowing that they are out there now worries me when it comes to your safety.”

“How long Yoongi?” You reiterate, scared by his avoidance of your question.

“Six months.”

“But that’s such a long time!”

“If you want to leave with me you will have to endure it, but I wish for you to take this time and consider your options. Don’t close every door yet, simply because of how you feel now.”

You inch closer to him, “My answer will be the same half a year from now. I want you to take me will you.”

“Nevertheless, I would like to wait, and hear it again upon my return.”

“I will do as you ask, but after that wait, I expect you to be ready for me to leave alongside you. We’ll need a travel plan, supplies, and a decent horse too.”

“Whatever you require, I will have. I’ll even let you name the stead.” Yoongi promises with a smirk. Taking the glass vial of blood he uses on his patients from his coat, he gives it to you. Cupping your hands as you take it from him, he leans in, putting his lips enticingly close to your own. “I’ll be back for your final answer, just please think it over. I will bear you no ill will if you decide...” He pauses, a grimace weighing heavy on his expression. “If you decide, you would be better off if you forgot me entirely, and moved on with your life.”

“I would never wish to forget you.” You give another thought to confessing further, telling him how much you’ve grown to love him. How you crave more than just to leave with him. Wishing to close the gap between you and seal your deal with a kiss. But despite your determination to confess to him earlier, you hold your tongue and lips in place. Suspecting that he will dismiss those desires too. When he returns, you reason with yourself, putting it off for a little longer. Yes, then you will express it all to him.

...

Just as Yoongi said, further down the road and nestled between the trees, there resides a small stone house. Had you not been looking for it, you might have missed it entirely. You stop with a pull of the reins, sliding down from the saddle you tie the horse to an outdoor post, and proceed to help the increasingly catatonic vampire with his own dismount. Propping one of his arms over your shoulder you approach the dwelling and hammer on the door.

A booming voice responds from the other side. “It damn well took you long enough!” It opens to reveal a tall man draped in a spattering of blood, extending from his broad shoulders to the small of his waist. He curses upon the sight of you and the barely conscious Yoongi on your shoulder. “I told him he wasn’t well enough to return to you alone.”

He looks human at first glance but a small chuckle reveals pointed teeth hidden by his set of full lips. “‘I must do this Seokjin,’” The vampire utters in his imitative tone of Yoongi. “‘Just look after this one’s body for me.’ That is the last time I do you a favour. I swear I’ve never seen a vampire’s corpse so saturated with blood.... even ruined my favourite shirt.”

Seokjin takes Yoongi from you and calls out to another. “Namjoon? Come help me with this determined fool and his human princess.”

You cringe from the unexpected use of your title, but the vampire pays you no mind. Looking to his human partner who descends the stairs. Namjoon ushers you into their residence, looking troubled by the state of your soggy clothes.

Just as with the abandoned house from the night the windows have heavy shutters that close from the inside, most of which are currently open, letting in the night air. But this dwelling is thankfully well lit, with several lanterns bolted to the walls, a fire roaring off to the side, and an iron candelabra at the centre of a massive wooden table.

The vampires take the lead up the narrow wooden stairs, with you and Namjoon trailing behind. Gliding through an open door in the upper hall, Seokjin places your now fully unconscious companion on the bed of a well furnished room. He takes Yoongi’s tunic and tears it open, exposing a trail of burns down his throat and chest.

“I’ve never witnessed a silver poisoning to this extent. It’s a miracle he was able to still retrieve you.” Seokjin mutters.

Namjoon grabs a blanket from the cupboard, and wraps it around your damp shoulders, before attempting to take you from the room. “Come let's get you some dry clothes.”

But you stand firm and refuse to be parted from Yoongi. Concern grows within you over Seokjin’s statement. “Will he- will he recover?”

“Yes, but it’ll take time. Though if he feeds soon, his injuries will heal far quicker.”

“Do you have any blood on hand?” You ask on his behalf. “With his supply poisoned he has nothing else to drink.”

Seokjin’s eyes bore into you expectantly, a smile coming to the corner of his lips. “Am I not looking at his blood consort now? Has he not fed from you?”

You shake your head, backing away from Yoongi’s supposed ally.

He takes in your reaction with a tilt to his head. “That must have been a struggle for him, considered I’m using all my power to not feed from you now.”

Namjoon steps in between. “Let her be Seokjin, you know who she is, and where she’s been kept. She’s clearly scared to do so, I can spare-”

The smirk on the vampire’s face dies with the offer of his human. “You will do no such thing! Your blood is mine, and mine is yours is it not?”

“It is, however-”

“Then that is the end of this discussion. If she wishes to help him then she must make that sacrifice, not you.” The vampire pushes his human out of the room before he turns back to you. “If I were in your position I would heal him, and do so quickly... for he has given up far more for you than a few drops of blood.” Seokjin then shuts the door behind him, leaving you alone with Yoongi.

You pace back and forth at the foot of the bed, hugging your blanket close in comfort. When you consider feeding him, your anxiety starts to rise to an undesirable peak, with the feeling of your heart rising to your throat and pounding in your ears. Your mind can’t help but draw on the memories of Taehyung's feeding, but this instance is different, with you in control, and the one who requires blood is not a monster but your past saviour, and love.

You empty his bags on the desk provided in the room. Making one last effort to look for any additional store of blood that might have remained unpolluted. Finding nothing but clothes, and basic supplies, until the roll of surgical instruments hits the wooden surface with a dull thud. Left with no other option but the tools before you, you grow more determined to push down the horrors of your past. Doing it for the sake of Yoongi, and the returning portion of you who adores him so adamantly.

Freeing one of the knives, you take a deep breath, and slice along the partially opened scar on your hand. The pain takes control for a moment, forcing your jaw to clench and your breath to seethe between your teeth, as the sight of scarlet turns your stomach. But seeing Yoongi suffering brings your mind back to focus as the blood wells to the surface, creating a thick pool in your palm. You go to him and straddle his form taking his chin in one hand to open his mouth. You clench your ruby drenched fist and tilt it over him. The first drip hits Yoongi’s lip, the second entering his mouth. His eyes fly open, and a snarl leaves his throat. Reaching out he grabs your hand, not to draw it closer but to push it back towards you.

“You’ve spilled enough of your blood for my kind.” He whispers, his ache evident in the hoarseness of his tone.

“Seokjin said you needed it. Will you just take it.”

“No! I have no wish to become the next monster who haunts your dreams.”

“You won’t, I remember now. From my first time meeting you, all the way up to our parting. You did so much for me and my family. You were right in saying those you feed off of were not your victims, I saw how they suffered from illness and injury.” Your voice starts to quake as you force it all out, confining his depth of importance to you to a few small statements is no easy task. “I understand why you feared your influence over me in the past. But please, know now, I do not consider myself a casualty of yours. I give you my blood of my own free will.”

You offer your hand once again but Yoongi doesn’t move his narrow gaze giving the impression that his decision is final. “Very well.” You counter, as you cup your hand with your own, pressing down on the wound as you consider the already escaped blood. “It seems a shame to waste it though. Maybe your friend Seokjin will take it, he appeared to be interested.” You play your bluff, hoping to gain a rise out of him the way Seokjin claimed Namjoon.

Shifting your weight, you ready to leave, but Yoongi moves faster, pulling you down to lay beneath him. “Why must you be so stubborn?” He mutters as he places one hand gently over your eyes obstructing your view of him. “Please, if I am to do this don’t look. I don’t want you to remember me by this act.” His other hand takes your blood soaked palm in his grip before he finally presses his lips to the dripping wound.

The tug of his mouth on your skin is gentle lasting only for a few seconds. His tongue then starts to drift down the scarlet trails that lead across your fingers, licking every inch of your skin clean. His touch is soft and attentive, you find yourself enjoying his caress, forgetting entirely the purpose of his actions. But it’s soon brought to an end when a soft scrape of his fangs crosses your knuckles, with your immediate instinct to flinch, it incites him to draw back and apologize.

He removes himself from your hand, and turns to draw his own blood. When he goes to press it to your laceration he hesitates and gives you his assurance. “This will only heal it. Do you trust me to do that?”

You nod with a deep breath and clenched teeth, dreading this part most, you look away until the tingling sensation of the skin's repair stops. When your gaze returns to the spot you find it without flaw, for his blood had also erased the scar of Taehyung. Tears begin to prick the corner of your eyes .

Yoongi wipes at the edge of his mouth taking away the dark remnants of your blood. “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“No, quite the opposite. Thank you for taking it away.”

“I’m sorry you had to bear his marks for so long.” His lips kiss the newly healed skin of your hand before he lays down on the bed next to you. As much as he tries to hide it you can see that he’s still weary from the silver. Your fingers trace down the slowly fading burn of his throat, a rumble of contentment flowing from it as his eyes close.

Embracing the softness of the bed you were promised earlier, and far too weary to change out of your damp clothes you join him in sleep.

...

You rest for only a few hours with the sun starting to break across the horizon, shocked but grateful that no appearance of Taehyung brought halt to your peaceful slumber. Rising to close the shutters to the light, you leave Yoongi to his sleep.

You open the door a slight amount, checking to see if anyone else is about, when you find a form of kindness you had not expected on the floor in front of your room. It would seem that Namjoon must have brought food while you slept, a small collection of bread, cured meat, and fruit awaits you along with the clothes he promised. Though your current outfit is now dry, you take the fresh garments inside for a later change before you depart in the evening. The food however, barely lasts a few minutes in your presence. For you indulge hastily on the wonderful meal as you sit at the rather cluttered desk.

Naturally, the mess you made earlier in the night still remains, the contents of Yoongi bags strewn over the desk and floor. Once finished with your plate, you start to pack the clothes and supplies all away again until there are only a few items left, including a piece of folded parchment lying in the corner. You flatten it out across the surface of the workspace, reuniting yourself with Yoongi’s map.

Of course, it wasn’t always his. No, this was the map that you had made from the fragments and pages he recorded. It was intended to be a gift for him upon his return after those long six months apart. Every stroke of the pen, every hour, and every drop of ink which bled into this creation brought you so much joy. But you also remember the sorrow that led to the error, the blotch left while trying to conceal the map before the ink had set.

...

-5 years ago-

It has been seven months since Yoongi’s departure, with no whisper or hint to his whereabouts. The blood supply he had given you was fully consumed in the past fortnight. You assure your lady’s maid, whom you imparted with the knowledge of the cure, that your friend will return soon. But still you wait for him, while putting the finishing touches to the map in the form of an ornate compass rose.

With the final mark of ink in place, your mother bursts into your room, consumed by a wealth of tears. You fold the map in haste, and tuck it under a book. Thankful that she is too distraught to realize that you should be in bed and not at your desk, but the news she shares gives grave reason to her oversight. Your brother had fallen from his own earlier in the night, causing a lesion to the back of his head. Without the aid of your vampire, you know it to be a likely death sentence.

Come near dawn, you wait in the hidden passage, praying for Yoongi to show. But when the sun comes to rise without his presence, you can only hope that your brother will survive this day without the medicine he’s grown so dependent on. However, as night falls, his health worsens, and the physicians resort to bleeding him again. You try to stop them, but that only results in you being banished from his room.

With no other options left, in the late hours of night, you don another of your maid’s old dresses, tugging it out from your hiding spot, and replacing it with the finished map which now bears an unfortunate scar. Taking your usual path you escape to the town of your kingdom. Your plan, to pace every street until you find him, or another who might know of his whereabouts.

...

Your memory fails to pass the darkened cobblestone roads which frame your search. Leaving you to conclude that was when you were found by your capture of these past five years. Yoongi was right, the open night is dangerous for one such as yourself, even so he left you with little choice, he broke his promise first.

There’s a creak from the bed behind you, but you keep your focus forward on the map, still trying to piece it all together. Until two hands wrap around your waist and Yoongi’s chin comes to rest on your shoulder.

“You said you would come back.” You remain still in his arms, scolding the vampire with tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “Why didn’t you return to me as promised.”

Yoongi turns you around to face him, raising your chin with his finger. “You remember our arrangement?” You nod your response, refusing to meet his gaze, until he lowers his own head in disappointment. “There were... difficulties. I know it does not excuse my broken oath in full, but I was prevented from going to you.” He sits you back down in the desk chair and kneels before you, taking your hand in his. “Taehyung had found the hunters we were attempting to embed in his ranks. He dealt us a swift blow with their deaths, and then sent his men east, towards our fortress, and your kingdom. The keepers, such as myself, were ordered by our own lord to remain within the walls of our residences, out of concern that we might be captured and lured into giving Taehyung's clan access.”

“Then you should have sent word of your delay!” You cut in, had you known this you never would have left to find him.

“I did. I wrote a letter and sent it by raven, telling you to stay within the castle walls no matter what. That it was far too dangerous for you on the outside, and my return would be a longer wait. But I received no reply. I thought then that you did not want to hear from me, that you had chosen a different path. It was weeks before my raven returned badly injured. I feared then that my warning might have gone astray.” He sighs, as continues to recount the dark narrative. “I couldn’t remain a willing captive of my own home when I know you might be in danger. So I renounced my title, I gave away my claim and access to the stronghold. Lowering myself to the status of clan hunter so I could leave and find you. But I was too late, you were already gone and well beyond my reach. I searched your room looking for any clues as to how you ended up in his hands. I found no dress, and only that in your drawer.” He nods over to the map.

“I have spent the past five years trying to correct my mistake of not going to you sooner, for not leaving with you when you asked. But when I found you again, without your memories, I had no way of knowing the choices you made or any feelings you had previous to your captivity. I kept our past from you so as to not impact your previous decisions with my own desires. If you thought me to be a monster who groomed you for my own needs, I would back away. If you were just catering to me to save the life of your brother, I wanted you to be free of that.” His hand comes to the side of your face, with a finger dotting at a tear that had fallen from the corner of your eye. “I’m aware I don't deserve it, but please I must know. What was your decision before I let you down so horrifically, what was it that led you to be in his custody?”

“I never felt pushed to stay by you because of my brother's condition. I had no wish to marry nor leave with another, it was never simply about journeying outside the castle for an adventure. I wanted to be with you. Those six months we spent apart only confirmed what I did not wish to tell you out of worry you might dismiss those feelings too. I loved you, and still do.”

Yoongi chokes out a wavering sigh of relief, lowering your head by his hand, he presses his forehead to yours. “And I you, your highness. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. I just didn’t want to unknowingly imprison you by my side with-without-”

“I know.” You whisper back. “You were right to be concerned, I was young and sheltered. I do not blame you for what happened. When the blood ran out, I could wait no longer. I had to find you. I went into the town but that is the last I remember.”

“And there you were taken.” Yoongi pulls back pausing as he bites his lip. “Now that you remember. Has your desire to return home changed?”

“I-I don’t think it can Yoongi. I still have so many gaps in my past. I hope that my return will mend that, as my time with you has brought light to our own history. Despite that, even if I was whole, the loss of my brother, it-it complicates things.”

“Your kingdom needs you to have an heir, a son to maintain the line of the crown.” He swallows glumly, as you reach out to clutch his hand. “Something that I cannot give you.”

“When my duty was just for the sake of pleasantries between kingdoms I could find it within reason to leave, but now, the kingdom’s people, the ones you’ve helped to save are at stake.”

Yoongi gives you a solemn nod. “At least now you can be certain you will not be sent away.”

“Once I return home...” You pull back, folding your hands on your lap, fidgeting while you ask the next important question of him. “Will you plan to stay nearby like before? You will not leave me alone again will you?”

“I must. With my lower position now, I will likely be sent back into Taehyung’s land again. Though I will be glad of it, for I can not stay still while he is still hunting, and risk you falling prey to him again. And for the sake of our attachment I feel that our parting would be easier on the both of us. Especially since it will not be long before you are asked to-”

“Marry?” You let out a deep breath of air in an attempt to dispel the building weight in your chest. Is he right to think that upon your return you’ll be bound to another so soon? You hope that there would be time to find yourself again, to re-educate your mind into what it was before. But how long will that take and how patient will your parents be without the line of succession secured. You can only hope any man who is chosen will be... will be, “Though I wish it to be you who remains by my side, if my future husband has half the character of you I should be so lucky.”

“Do not say that.” His voice cracks with his hushed plea.

“Why not?”

He stands up before you, pulling you from your seat, and tucking you into his chest. He holds you there while with one hand to your back, and the fingers of the other rooting amongst your hair. He breathes in deeply, whispering the challenges to his choice. “Because it’ll make leaving you so much harder. You made my cursed existence not only bearable, but desirable. When I consider the possibility of spending my life, with the one who gave me purpose, who saw me not as a monster but as a salvation, who I came to love more than I thought possible.” Yoongi lifts your head again, directing you to look up at him. “An eternity with you, is the greatest temptation of all.”

You reach up to take his face in your hands, delivering a solemn kiss to his lips before pulling away.“If we can not have eternity, what of one moment within it? One final memory together to help us through the time we must spend apart. Can you give me that? Can you give me yourself?”

Yoongi’s mouth comes down to you in search of another, the wave of passion in his approach is so much stronger and forceful than your own. His tongue, endeavouring to taste you in a far different manner than hours ago. “You already have me, my blood, my life, my love, it’s all yours.”

He picks you up and returns you to the bed with him, tugging off his oversized shirt, while you remove your own. His mouth seeks out your neck, your collarbone, and downward soon finding the peaks of your chest. He’s soft and careful not to leave a mark as his lips tug gently on your skin. With each graze of his tongue he insights an inadvertent reaction from you, in the form of a moan or twitch. As your fingers tangle in his locks, his eyes gazing up to look for your expression. “Are you sure you wish to continue?”

You lower your hand to his face, dragging your fingers across his cheek and lips. “Yes, I can’t tell you how much I desire a memory like this.”

He stands to remove your pants before lowering back down to hover over you on his hands and knees, straddling you as you lay on the feathered mattress. His fingers trail down the side of your chest, your waist, you hip, before moving inward to reach between your folds. You inhale with the first touch of his fingers to your slit. As his index starts to stroke from the inside, his thumb circles your clit. Forcing you to groan into his mouth which comes down again to cover yours.

Once he appears satisfied with the wetness pooling around his digits. He pulls out and takes his finger to his mouth with a hungry moan. Cursing as it slips out from his lips.

Your face heats up, embarrassed by his reaction. “Surely you are making too much fuss over it.”

“You think I don’t find you enjoyable? That I can’t see, feel or taste how divine you are?”

You grin, taking pleasure words despite their boastful nature. “Divine? No, you are just too kind to say otherwise.”

“Then allow me to prove you wrong.” Yoongi smirks, adjusting to take his place between your legs.

“What do you intend to-” He answers your question before you can finish, his mouth latching firmly onto your cunt. Your words lost as he takes in a long draft, his tongue playing along darts inside of you before shifting up to tease your most sensitive spot. When paired with his fingers, which once again come to stretch your inside, you do not stand more than a minute before biting the pillow to muffle your scream. Drenching his mouth and hands with your cum.

“As I said divine.” Yoongi grins as he looks up at you, his lips glistening with your fluids. After leaving you with no energy to debate his notion you can only nod and accept his truth. He cleans his fingers once again with his tongue, before sending them to undo the laces of his trousers.

When his cock slips free he takes your hand, guiding it along to stroke his shaft. His head falls back in pleasure, giving you the confidence to grow bolder. You sit up to meet him pulling his length down to glide along the outside of your folds and become wet with your slick.

You find to his mouth again with a kiss as he throbs against the inside of your legs and mound. “You are sure of this then?” He asks one last time.

“I am.” You promise looking into his eyes as he leans you back and guides his cock past your folds. The air in your throat catches, and your eyes flutter as you adapt to the sensation of him inside you.

The back of his fingers brushing at your cheek before folding out to cup your face. “Still with me?”

You nod back, pushing your lips to his upper chest and shoulder as you adjust to him. Yoongi lowers you back down to the bed, cradling your form as you descend. Finally cocooning you in a close embrace, with his nose buried in the nape of your neck.

His cock swells, and you arch your back in response, meeting his chest with yours. With his arm tucked around, he keeps you in that position. Dragging his hips away and towards, his thrusts come slow as your arousal coats his shaft. Every push becomes easier for you to take, but it would seem it’s harder for him to hold on. His forehead comes to rest on your shoulder a rasping grunt, as he remains inside. He changes tactics and turns to tend to your neck instead, slowing his pace to a halt, as he kisses the marked spot.

You take note of a low growl emitting from him as he continues to lavish the spot. He must hate it as much as you, his failure to come to you in time on display before him. But you know no amount of simple affection will remove the spot from view.

“Yoongi?” You ask in concern as his disdainful rumbles grow louder. Adjusting your head to get a glimpse of his pained face, you find a dampness forming in the duct of his eye. “Yoongi, is it-”

“I hate how he continues to mark you. It shouldn’t be here between us.”

“Then take it.” You suggest, for you like him are unable to tolerate it any longer.

He looks fearful of what you ask, his eyes wide as he explains, “I’ll need to break the skin.”

“Then do it. Please, help rid me of this too.” You tuck his head back down so his lips come to rest against your neck. No longer fearing such an act with him, not after the gentleness he showed you before.

His mouth opens with his teeth dragging across the scar. There’s a brief prick of pain before the spot is soothed by his lips. Yoongi’s groans of satisfaction start to encourage and blend with your own, his arms continuing to embrace you and coddle you.

With his still mouth fixed to your neck, you feel as his tongue turns beneath his teeth, and with a swift bite he laps his own blood on to the fresh wound. The lingering pain soon falls away as the skin heals. Your head swims in a state between dizziness and pleasure, a sense of euphoria takes over.

You place your hands on his hips wanting him to resume, craving more of his pleasure. And so the thrusts return with Yoongi’s hand pressed to the small of your back, ensuring that your clit grinds against him as he pushes deeper. He dives into you to the point where you can hear the dull thump of the bed frame against the wall. You wish you could hold on longer, you wish you didn’t have to let go, you find yourself whispering Yoongi’s name repeatedly as if it might change that. Only to be left stuttering between breaths as you claim your last climax.

He pulls out after his own release, hovering as he smiles down on the sight of you, and your legs wrapped around his thighs. After taking a moment to collect himself he goes to grab the washing dish and jug of water, dipping the supplied towel he proceeds to take care of what he left behind. You attempt to claim the cloth from him, as he lingers between your thighs, but he insists on being though. With a grin tugging at his lip each time the towel passes over your sensitive flesh and causes you to twitch.

“I will not forget this, not ever.” Yoongi whispers once finished, as he takes to your side covering you over with the blanket.

You nod in agreement, brushing the hair from his face. “When it is all done, I want you to come back to me. I don’t care how long, I have to see you again.”

“I-I will try, but I cannot promise I will survive this task. If my demise will allow me to stand between you and him then I will gladly become that barrier.” You gasp ready to argue against such a sacrifice, but one tap of his finger to your lip stops your conflict in its place, allowing him to finish. “Rest now. Think not of what we can’t change.”

You curl into Yoongi trying to do as he suggests. Though just as you get comfortable there’s an unexpected tap on the shutters of your room, a circumstance made even more surprising when you remember yourself to be on the second floor of the house. Your vampire rises, careful to open the window so no light shines on him. Allowing a raven to make its way inside.

Yoongi is quick to free it of a rolled letter attached to its foot before releasing the bird and blocking out the window behind it. As his eyes scan the paper, his brow furrows and his hand clenches the parchment to the point where it starts to crackle in his grip. He proceeds to throw back on his clothes, not even bothering to change out his torn shirt, while keeping the letter clutched in his hand.

“Yoongi, is something-”

“I need to talk to Seokjin. Stay here.” He growls bursting out the door in a formidable rage, slamming it behind him. You give time for him to descend the steps before crawling from your bed wrapped in the sheet and leaning your ear to the solid wood that bars you from the hall, but nothing can be heard through the thick barrier.

You can not help but fear what might be wrong for Yoongi to react in such a way. Going against his command you throw the clothes Namjoon left you and ready to exit your room. Carefully pulling on the latch of the door so as to not make a sound. You ease through the smallest crack you can muster before settling at top of the stairs, hidden from the view of the floor below. The voice of the vampires trailing up from the main room.

“You have her smell all over you, lucky bastard,” Seokjin groans. “How did she taste?”

Yoongi doesn’t answer the question, posing his own instead, with a rustle of parchment and a loud thump on the table. “How long, how long have you known of this?”

“Yoongi-” Seokjin responds, the uncertainty of his tone is a jarring contrast from your own previous interaction with him.

“Answer me Seokjin!”

“I couldn’t tell you, you gave up your position, because of her. You know there is information we must keep from the hunters in case it falls into the wrong hands. I’ve known this to be the truth since you first went to recover her from Taehyung. We all knew it was your primary goal to retrieve her, but I wasn’t allowed to say anything that might cause a change in course from you. If you had known you would not have led her this way.”

“So you kept me in the dark? All these years?” Yoongi seethes. “I promised I would take her home! And you're just now sharing with me that I can’t? You didn’t care if I knew the whole truth, just as long as in the end I brought her closer to the clan’s reach?”

“We can keep her safe.”

“No, she deserves her life away from us. She has been tortured enough Seokjin. How am I supposed to tell her this? She was just starting to recover, to remember her past, and to trust me again, but this... it will break her. She won’t accept this new fate if this is your only solution.”

“Then don’t tell her, don’t give her a chance to refuse. She accepted your blood, did she not? Use it to send her off to sleep and don’t wake her again until she’s resting comfortably behind the clan’s walls. You can return to your old life, Hoseok will grant you your title back if you do this, I’m sure of it. You can be the high keeper again, with your princess safe by your side.”

There’s a loud clamour and groan, prompting you to peak just around the edge to witness the struggle. There on the table, Yoongi has pinned Seokjin, his fingers wrapped around the vampire's neck.

Seokjin doesn’t appear to be too put off despite his situation, choosing instead to give advice to the one who has him by the throat. “You’re immortal Yoongi, she is not, you need to remember that. Her sadness will be only temporary if she chooses to hold it against you, but if you go against us now you will be alone, without a clan for eternity.”

Yoongi stands there in silence, no more refusals, no more rebuttals. Instead of continuing to argue on your behalf, he nods and lets Seokjin up from the table. His fellow vampire claps him on the shoulder and mutters, “You’ve made the right choice old friend. Hoseok will be pleased to have you back in the clan’s coven.”

While they embrace every part of you is lit ablaze with pain and anger. You both had been played, but he... he acquiesced to his puppeteer, and plans to string you up too. There’s nothing that could willingly compel you to take shelter in a castle full of vampires again... with Yoongi by your side though? You consider the notion for a fraction of a second before a resounding ‘no’ takes hold. Your younger self might have gone, and willingly so, but now the cost to you and your people is far too great.

With the growing list of broken promises, how long before the vow of safety fractures for the sake of his clan too? What is there to stop the situation from evolving into your own past with Taehyung? You can not, you will not endure that kind of life again.

With your only option being to run, your head concocts a plan to flee. Creeping back to the bedroom you crack the window open, and glance over the edge, thankful to see that there are several crates stacked close enough for you to reach with your feet. If you’re lucky Yoongi will stay downstairs for some time and have no reason to believe you’ve flown from his side. Fitting a spare cloak you escape out the window taking the map with you. Climbing down you flee towards the stables out back.

There you find the horse without a proper name, another painful reminder of Yoongi’s promises, and inability to return. Forcing you to recognize the constant pull between you and his clan. Your heart is left broken down the line of betrayal and understanding, for how can you entirely fault him when you yourself are determined to return to your own kingdom at the expense of his happiness. In the end the both of you are left to suffer the pain of duty over love.

Not wanting to journey with such a bitter token of the past, you choose the other smaller stead stolen from the hunters instead. Mounting the horse, you ride off into the noonday sun, eager to make it home before he or his kind have the ability to alter your course.

#bts smut #yoongi smut #yandere bts #yoongi x reader #taehyung x reader #bts fanfiction #bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts thriller au #bts vampire au #yandere taehyung #min yoongi #kim taehyung #bts blood bounty #suga x reader

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heyiwrotesomethings · 3 years

Text

Mitsuri’s Birthday

ShinoMitsu Week 2021 Day Seven: (Happy Birthday Mitsuri, Free Day)

A/N: Hello, welcome to the last day of my ShinoMitsu Week writings. This has been a fun little challenge for me as I scrambled to get everything done in time. I only finished this last piece last night so, much like with every other piece I did this week, I hope there aren’t too many errors because I’m tired and only skimmed through twice. Anyway, many thanks to those who read along! Lastly, I’d like to apologize to Mitsuri for making her sick on her birthday. At least Shinobu came to help! Word Count: 2,030

Mitsuri’s eyes fluttered against the sunlight filtering through her window, causing her to roll over and sigh with relief when the light no longer reached her. Nothing could make her get out of her warm, soft blankets.

“Wake up, Onee-chan!”

“Ah!”

Nothing could get her out of bed, except maybe her eight year old sister jumping on her bed.

“Happy birthday! Happy birthday!” Natsumi cheered as she bounced with abandon.

Mitsuri whined. Her sister did this every morning, special occasion or not, but today the jostling made her feel terrible.

“Natsumi, please be gentle.” Mitsuri coughed. Now that she was actually awake, Mitsuri noticed just how terrible she felt. She felt hot, achy and it hurt just to swallow.

“Mitsuri, honey, you’re going to be late for school if you don’t get ready soon.” she heard her mother call from down the hall.

“Moooom? Onee-chan doesn’t look too good.” Natsumi called, taking note of her big sister’s trembling and sweating form.

“I don’t feel well at all.” Mitsuri moaned. “Why today of all days?”

Their mother came into the girls’ shared room. She felt her eldest daughter’s forehead and tisked, a sympathetic look upon her face.

“Oh honey, you’re burning up. I guess you’ll be staying with me today.”

“But, birthday plans...” Mitsuri rasped, disappointment evident in her tone.

“Another day, sweetheart. Wouldn’t you rather be able to enjoy yourself to the fullest?”

“I guess...”

“Akimitsu?” The mother called and the young boy appeared in the doorway. “Walk Natsumi to her school will you? Your big sister is sick.”

“Okay mom. Get well soon, Onee-san. I’m sorry you’re sick on your birthday.” The polite boy frowned.

“Thank you.” Mitsuri sniffled.

“I’m going to make you some warm, soothing miso. I’ll be back soon.” Mitsuri’s mother smoothed back Mitsuri’s colorful bangs before following her other children out the door before closing it gently behind her.

Mitsuri weakly kicked her blanket to the bottom of her bed, freedom from the now stifling heat brought mere seconds of relief before returning to discomfort.

With difficulty, she heaved herself into a sitting position and peeled off the large sweatshirt she had taken from Shinobu’s the last time she stayed over. She weakly tossed it at the hamper and it barely made it halfway across the floor.

“Aww,” Mitsuri looked down at the tank top she was wearing covered in sweat. She really needed a cool bath. Carefully, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up on shaky legs. Her hips left especially achy with the change in altitude and her vision was swimming as lightheadedness consumed her.

She grasped onto her bedside table and sucked in a few deep breaths before braving the trip across the hall to the bathroom.

As she exited the room, she heard the cries of the twins as her mother worked to console them. Mitsuri would have loved to help her, but she knew she would be no help as she was now. Her mother would likely scold her for being up anyway.

Finally, she made it to the bathroom and stripped. A full bath would have been nice, but she simply didn’t have the energy and instead cooled herself and washed away the sticky sweat with the shower nozzle.

When she was done, she patted herself dry and hobbled back into her room. She had just enough strength to pull on another tank top and a pair of shorts before flipping back into her bed with a frown. At least the sweatshirt had helped keep most of the sweat off of her sheets.

She stared at her ceiling, feeling miserable. The chills were back so she pulled her blanket back up over her body, turning just in time to see her phone blink to life.

She gingerly scooped it up and squinted at the notification, a text from Shinobu. Mitsuri hurriedly unlocked her phone to open their conversation.

‘Where are you? You’re going to be late.’ the text read.

‘I’m sick : (‘ Mitsuri responded, frowning to herself as she realized she wouldn’t be seeing Shinobu today. Maybe she could ask for a facetime after school? This was easily her worst birthday ever.

‘I’m sorry Sunshine, that’s awful. What are your symptoms?’ Shinobu’s next text inquired.

Mitsuri relayed what she felt, selfishly wishing all the while that Shinobu would ditch her classes and sit beside her all day.

It took a little longer for Shinobu to text back, but when she did, the message made her heart soar.

‘Naho-san is working deliveries in the pharmacy today. She’ll be by in about half an hour with medicine and some other helpful items. I’ll come check on you after school. Love you.’

‘Love you too. Thank you, my knight <3 <3 <3’

Mitsuri clicked the screen off and hugged the phone to her chest. She coughed harshly and turned in her bed, eagerly awaiting Shinobu’s arrival later that afternoon.

About twenty minutes later, Mitsuri’s frazzled mother came in with Naho trailing behind her. The young woman waved at Mitsuri as soon as she saw her and she weakly gave one in return.

“Mitsuri, Naho-san from the pharmacy has a care package for you, but I’m sure you already knew she was coming.” Her mother guessed, carefully setting the miso on her daughter’s nightstand.

“Yeah, thank you for coming by Naho-san.”

“You’re welcome, Mitsuri-chan.” the pharmaceuticals student approached, “You do look ill, poor dear. Not to worry though, Kiyo, Sumi and I put together everything you’ll need for a speedy recovery!”

Naho produced a little bottle of medicine and explained to Mitsuri and her mother how much to take and when. Then she got out a little box of throat soothing tea leaves, a cooling peppermint oil for aching joints and a cute little pink elephant plush.

“On behalf of everyone at the Kochou Family Pharmacy, I hope you feel better soon, Mitsuri-chan, happy birthday.” Naho grinned.

“Thank you so much Naho-san. Please give Sumi-san and Kiyo-san my thanks as well.”

“Of course! Bye, Mitsuri-chan, Kanroji-san.”

And with that, Naho left to her next destination. Mitsuri’s mom stayed with Mitsuri a while longer to help her resettle. When Mitsuri fell asleep, she turned off the light and closed the door gently behind her.

***

Awhile later, Mitsuri began to stir in her sleep, a cough racked her lungs and stabbed at her throat like needles. She would have to ask her mother to make more of that tea. She was starting to feel hot again too. A small whine sounded in the back of her throat and mere moments later cool, smooth skin rested over her forehead.

Slowly, Mitsuri opened her bleary eyes to find Shinobu hovering close over head. Her eyes closed in concentration as her forehead resting against Mitsuri’s.

With a displeased hum, Shinobu straightened and opened her eyes, noticing Mitsuri staring back up at her.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Shinobu blushed faintly, “I was checking your temperature. You’re very warm. I’m going to get you a damp washcloth, I’ll be right back.”

“Wait Shinobu.” Mitsuri said, her voice quieted by her awakening as well as her sore throat.

Shinobu turned back to face her, “Yes?”.

“Hi.”

“Hi Sunshine.” Shinobu simpered, turning back to the door to retrieve a washcloth from the bathroom.

While Shinobu was away, something caught Mitsuri’s periphery and she turned her head to observe it more clearly. She was cheered by the sight of a lovely bouquet of flowers.

“Do you like them?”

Mitsuri startled a bit as the cool cloth was placed on her forehead, so distracted she hadn’t notice Shinobu come back in.

“Kanae helped me pick them out. She’s more adept at the whole flower language thing. These ones are supposed to represent good health and healing.” Shinobu informed.

“They’re beautiful, thank you.”

“I’m glad you like them. I’ve brought you some other things too.” Shinobu said, reaching for her school bag.

“Oo!” Mitsuri winced as another dry cough stabbed through, “what, what is it?”

“Well, least exciting is that I collected all your homework. Hinatsuru-senpai even made copies of all of her notes for you.”

“Ah, how practical of you two. Forgive me for not being excited by the thought of schoolwork.” Mitsuri groaned, causing Shinobu to laugh.

“I take no offense. Don’t worry, I’ve got something else you might enjoy more,” Shinobu returned her hand to her bag once more, withdrawing a neatly wrapped box, “Happy birthday, Mitsuri.”

“Aw, Shinobu!” Mitsuri squeaked as Shinobu handed her the box.

She gently removed the pretty wrapping paper as she always did, not wanting to tear it. Then she popped open the lid, wiggling once she saw the contents of the gift. If her throat wasn’t so sore, if she wasn’t so sick, she’d be bouncing around her room squeeing and showering Shinobu in kisses.

Inside was a neatly packed container of sakura mochi, a gift card from the Kamado Bakery, a new cook book detailing recipes from around the world and a beautifully crafted butterfly hairpin.

“Shinobu, this is all wonderful. Thank you so much!” Mitsuri couldn’t help but let a few tears slip down her cheeks and she sniffled, “I really wish I could kiss you right now but I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Then you’ll just have to rest and get better soon, won’t you?” Shinobu looked down at Mitsuri warmly. “Do you need anything? More tea perhaps?”

“Yes please.” Mitsuri sighed.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon,” Shinobu said as she turned over the cloth on Mitsuri’s forehead to the cooler side.

“You’re bedside manner is very good, Shinobu, like you’ve been helping sick people all your life and beyond. I’m so lucky.”

“If there’s one thing my family knows, it’s treatment of human health.” Shinobu nodded. “But it helps that you’re such an easy patient.”

Shinobu left the bedroom again and Mitsuri could hear Natsumi talking her ear off before they were too far away to be heard. Mitsuri looked back down at her box to touch the wing of the butterfly pin. She had often told Shinobu how much she liked hers and how cute it was that her sisters wore them too. It felt very special to be gifted one of her own.

Mitsuri ran a finger longing over the mochi, wanting nothing more than to dig right in. She knew she would enjoy them much more when she felt better so she held off. She took the cook book out and set the rest of the box down on the nightstand.

Shinobu returned with the tea, carefully setting it beside the flowers and box.

“Find any interesting recipes you want to try?” She asked.

“Mm, kind of. It’s hard to focus with this headache.” Mitsuri answered, rubbing at her eyes. Then she looked up at Shinobu standing in front of her, her eyes wide and pleading. “Will you read it to me?”

“Okay, put those puppy dog eyes away. I’ll be happy to read to the birthday girl.”

Shinobu walked around the bed and Mitsuri scooted over a bit to make room for her. Shinobu sat with her back against the headboard and smoothed her skirt over before taking the book from Mitsuri’s hands.

“Anywhere you want me to start in particular?” Shinobu asked, watching Mitsuri down her tea.

“The beginning is fine,” Mitsuri breathed, once she finished the cup and set it back down. Then she maneuvered herself to rest her head on Shinobu’s thigh, relaxing further when Shinobu combed her fingers through her fringe, trying to keep the wash cloth in place.

“Very well, recipes from Afghanistan it is. First we have a kidney bean curry recipe, lubya. The ingredients are as follows: coconut oil, coriander, cumin, dried mint, tomato, garlic, onion, broth, kidney beans...” Shinobu carried on, her voice as soft as a light breeze. She had hardly made it to the instructions when Mitsuri began to snore.

Shinobu set the cook book down with care and watched Mitsuri cling to her side. It may not have been the best birthday Mitsuri could have had, but Shinobu was happy she could be there to help her feel better.

#shinomitsuweek2021 #shinomitsu #shinobu kochou #shinobu kocho #mitsuri kanroji #demon slayer #kny #au

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myhockeyworld87 · 4 years

Text

Bubble Wrapped - Part 12

Word Count: 2,510

POV: Reader

Warnings: Same as always, Language, Smut, NSFW, Please see the note in the Masterlist

Teams: Bruins, Caps, Flyers, Lightning, Pens, Jackets, Canes, Islanders (more to come)

Notes: I literally have no clue what happened the frist time, but let’s try this again. When last we left this story, (Y/N) had just had a steamy encouter with Joel. Now with Svech back at the suite hurt, let’s find out what happens. As always feedback is greatly appreciated and wanted…hahaha! Luv ya all!! Happy Reading to all!

A quick run downstairs and a check-in with Carly told you that everything at the hotel was running smoothly. You gave her a recap of what had happened with Svech and told her that you were heading back upstairs to be with him at least until Joel and Dougie got back from practice. By the time you got back up to the suite, the boys were just heading out the door. "Ready to head up to bed?" You asked Svech and his eyebrow shot up. Obviously, you didn't mean it that way as the man was in no way able to perform. Or was he?

"Sure," he said eagerly then hobbled on his crutches to the elevator with you. It took a few minutes to get him into his shared bedroom with Joel, but once you did you propped his foot up on a stack of pillows, making sure to take extra care with it, so as to not cause him any more pain than necessary.

"Comfy?"

"Yeah," he mumbled and you could see the tiredness in his eyes.

"Do you need anything else?"

"I don't think so."

You dug through your bag and placed the bell you'd found in one of the offices on the nightstand. "Here, in case you need me, just ring this. I'll be downstairs doing some work, but will be up in a flash." He looked so young and innocent just lying there and you swept a bit of hair that had fallen onto his forehead away. "Get some rest."

You went to leave, but he grabbed your wrist, tugging you back in his direction, which caused you to stumble and land awkwardly on his chest; your face a mere inches away from his. He didn't say anything, just cupped your cheek with his free hand and brought your lips to his. It was soft, yet with the right kind of pressure, and he sought entrance to your mouth with a simple glide of his tongue to your lips. You opened for him, deepening the kiss. Svech was gorgeous there was no denying that, but at the same time you felt a little bad after doing what you'd done with Joel last night and now you were kissing his teammate. Though when he moaned into your mouth all thought of that left.

Gently you pushed back from the kiss. "Svech, what are you doing?"

"I want you, (Y/N). I have from the moment I saw you in this bubble a few weeks ago." You tried to think back about running into him at any point before the Canes had actually transferred to your hotel but couldn't recall a time that the two of you met. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to remember. I would come here to play tennis. Well, not really, it was just an excuse to see you. You're so beautiful." His hand caressed your body lightly as he spoke and it ignited a fire deep within you. "I know I'm younger than you, but it doesn't mean that I can't satisfy you."

"Svech it's not that..." For really it wasn't. You had no doubt that he was good in bed, it was just, well, his injury and all.

He must have caught on to your hesitation. "I'm fine I swear, though you'll have to be on top. I just think this is really the optimal time. The guys are gone and won't be around for a couple hours. Say you want me too."

There was a pleading look in his eyes, this sort of need to be wanted. Your body definitely couldn't deny that you craved him. It was just your head that wasn't in sync. You threw caution to the wind and decided to just give in to what your body wanted this time; not that you hadn't been doing that all along. "I want you too."

His hand went to the back of your neck and he drug you down to his lips again for a hard and searing kiss. "Undress for me, beautiful." He whispered out and you stepped back from the bed. Slowly, you unzipped your skirt, then shimmied it down your hips to fall on the floor. Your hands worked each button on your blouse revealing your soft supple skin to his gaze, and look he did. There was a hunger in his eyes as the top fell to the floor and you stood there in only a bra and thong. "Fuck you're gorgeous." He sat up and shucked his shirt over his head before propping himself up against the headboard a bit. "Don't stop now."

A small giggle escaped you at his eagerness. Your hands went to the clasp of your bra, releasing the globes for their confines. Holding the bra with one hand, you let the straps slide off your shoulders, then dropped the garment. You cupped your breasts, gently squeezing them and pulling on the nipples. Svech sucked in a breath of air and you saw him bite down gently on his bottom lip. Your eyes dropped to his crotch, where you could see his erection growing even through his shorts.

Hooking the elastic of your panties, you wiggled them over your hips and glided them down your legs. There was a visible wetness in the crotch that you knew Svech could see, letting him know how badly you wanted him. You sashed back over to the bed, then slid your hand down his chest and abs to the waistband of his shorts. "We're going to need to do something about these." He lifted his hips up, using his upper body strength and you slid them along with his boxers down. It was a bit tricky getting them over his boot, but you managed.

Once that task was accomplished, you went back up and kissed him. "You know you're a really good nurse." He laughed and you joined in, as you straddled his hips.

"Well, I try. Gotta keep my patients happy." His hands went to your hips, while you used his shoulders to steady yourself. "Let me know if I hurt you in any way."

"You're killing me now because I want to be inside you." You chuckled, then took his cock in your one hand and guided it to your entrance. You coated him a bit in your wetness before sinking down on him. "Fuck you feel amazing. So wet...and..." He didn't say anything more as you began to move up and down on his length. "Oh...yeah...fuck..." There was an endless stream of moans out of his mouth. When you swiveled your hips, he almost lost it. "Do that again."

"You're quite the demanding patient," you hissed out as you rode his cock.

"Can't help...it..." he panted. "I've wanted...this...oh fuck...for...mmm...yeah just like that....so long...faster baby." His hips started to rise up, thrusting into you, and you were concerned that he would be putting pressure on his bad foot. Your mind was so lost in making sure that he wasn't hurt, you'd knew that you'd never get off. "I'm so close...are you?"

You weren't but you didn't tell him that. Instead, you grabbed his hand on your hip and moved it to your clit. "I need you to..." you moaned out as he started to rub your little nub, grabbing onto the headboard now to steady you both. "Mmmm...yeah." His movements got faster pushing you to that familiar crest you wanted.

You could feel him tighten his grip with the hand that still held your hip and knew he was close. "Come on baby," he encouraged you and flicked your clit more. It was all you needed, as you screamed out in ecstasy as your orgasm came over you. "Fuck," Svech moaned as your pussy spasmed around him and he thrust deep in you, cumming hard. You were both breathing heavily as you came down off your high and it took a moment for you to collect yourself. As you made a move to roll off him, he held you tightly. "Don't go just yet."

"You've got to be uncomfortable like this." After all, you were practically lying on top of him.

"Quite the opposite, really. Besides, I don't know if we'll get another chance at this. I plan on savoring the moment." His fingertips skated up and down your spine. "You're really something, you know that?"

"I don't know about all that."

"I know I wouldn't have a shot, but if I was a few years older and maybe had a bit more experience in the league. I'd try and steal you away from everyone else here."

“You make me sound like I’m ancient or something. I’m only a few years older than you.”

His hands skimmed up and down your body, fingertips gliding along your ribcage and making you shiver. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…I can’t even take you out to dinner in Raleigh and buy a bottle of wine.” Damn, you forgot the boy was under twenty-one. You really should’ve thought about things before you jumped into bed with him. Why did your libido have to run rampant around these men? “These guys here are probably showering you with expensive gifts and I just can’t compete with them, though I wish I could. I’d give you the world if I could.”

“Aww Andrei, the fact that you want to do something like that, is just so sweet.” You placed a gentle kiss on his lips. You needed to diffuse the situation before things got too out of hand or the next thing you know he’d be asking for your hand in marriage or something. “I think you’ve had a little too much prescription medication.” He went to protest but you stopped him placing a finger to his lips. “This was fun, but you should rest. Besides I’m sure the others will be back soon.” He nodded as if he finally understood that nothing more was going to happen between the two of you. It was then that you climbed off him and out of bed, picking up your scattered clothes before kissing him one last time. “Get some sleep. If you need anything just ring the bell.”

The tile floor on the hallway felt cold as you made your way down to your room so that you could change into something more comfortable. Hearing Andrei’s declaration really made you start to think. Maybe you should be looking for more than just a fling here and there. Tyler was begging you to let him come to Toronto if the Stars lost or have you fly there if they continued on; maybe it was time to seriously start to consider his offer.

The rest of the morning you buried yourself in paperwork until Dougie and Joel got back early afternoon. Then they took over nursing duties, or at the very minimum getting their teammate food when he wanted. You were still in a cropped hoodie and leggings when you headed downstairs to see how things were going. Thankfully, no one had set the hotel on fire, which was a major accomplishment considering all the rival teams you had under one roof.

“So how goes it with your three roommates?” Carly asked you wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“You don’t even want to know.”

“Of course, I do. I’m living vicariously through you now that Brayden and I are together. Spill the juicy details.”

“Juicy details about what?” You knew that voice, before turning to see that Mat Barzal was standing there, a sheer sheen of sweat lightly coating his forehead, telling you that he had been working out. His shirt clung to his body in all the right places. And those thighs. Ugh! It should be downright illegal to have thighs as muscular as his and shorts that tight.

“We were just talking about…” Carly started to say before you elbowed her.

“It’s just about someone that works here in the hotel. You probably wouldn’t know them, considering you’re staying at the Royal.” God, you sounded like a snob; a snob and a prick. “I mean it’s really just work gossip.”

“Oh well, hopefully, I’ll be moving in here soon. Then maybe you’ll let me in on your little secrets.” He gave you a little wink as if he knew you weren’t exactly talking about some indiscretion of a hotel staff member. Although technically you were. That member just happened to be you.

“I guess if you do get to move, I’ll have to reveal all the dirty laundry this place has going on,” you said flirtatiously, and suddenly you were throwing out that whole idea of settling down.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing what you’d got going on underneath everything.” Mat playfully bantered back, as his eyes roamed your body. His heated stare had your panties getting wet. You were really going to have to do your laundry after the day you had.

“Well, I can see I’m not needed here.” Carly chimed in as you’d completely forgotten about her being there. “I think I’ll go check on what Chef’s preparing for dinner.”

She sauntered off leaving you standing there alone with Mat. “Speaking of dinner. Would you like to get some, say maybe tomorrow night? We’re playing tonight or I’d say in a couple of hours.”

“I’d like that, but it’s not like we can go out to any restaurants.”

“True, though I do remember you mentioning something about a suite you’re staying in.”

Had you mentioned that? You couldn’t really be sure and it didn’t really matter at the moment considering you had roommates. “About that…You see there was kind of a little incident here. Let’s just say it involved a hockey stick and some busted pipes.” Mat looked like he was ready to bust out laughing but he took a deep breath regaining control. “So now I have three people staying there with me.”

“Oh well if it’s your friend there and a couple others I’m sure Tito and a couple guys wouldn’t mind coming along.”

“Yeah,” you said cringing as you told him this next part. “It’s not Carly. It’s three guys from the Canes. Dougie Hamilton, Joel Edmunston and Andrei Svechnikov.” Mat’s eyes widen and his jaw dropped a bit before drawing together to form a hard line on his jaw. He hadn’t seemed like the jealous type in your last encounter but then at the time, it didn’t seem like you were having a foursome every night in your suite. “It’s just temporary.” You were quick to add. “Their room should be fixed in a couple days.”

“I see.” It was a short response and you could tell that he wasn’t pleased. “I guess dinner is off.”

You didn’t want it to be. In fact, Mat was the first guy that you really were interested in more than just a fling with since Sidney. You just needed to come up with another place for dinner and maybe some sort of dessert that involved both of you being naked. That shouldn’t be too hard.

#Bubble wrapped the series #NHL smut #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl fanfic #nhl fanfiction #joel edmundson #andrei svechnikov #andrei svechnikov imagine #andrei svechnikov imagines #andrei svechnikov smut #hockey fanfic #hockey smut #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #carolina hurricanes #carolina hurricanes imagine #carolina hurricanes imagines

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sunsetinmyvein · 4 years

Text

My Foot is in the Door - Patrick Stump

Eyyyy, thanks for the request from the prompt list lovely anon! I went with a slightly different angle with the “ I’m calling to cancel our date because I’m actually in the ER right now, sorry. I mean… sure? I guess you can come down here but- okay…” context, since I’ve done it once already for Mr Healy and wanted to spice it up. Hopefully you still enjoy it. (Also, it didn’t eat the bottom half of your ask, I’m just a dumbass lol)

“Pete, I just don’t know why you set me up on this date.” Patrick huffed into the phone as he tried to find his tie. Where the fuck had he put it? When did he last even wear it..? Probably for that shitty wedding two years ago.

“Because you need to get laid, ‘trick.” His friend’s voice echoed down the line.

“I’m fine.” He grumbled as he flipped his laundry basket over. It wasn’t there either.

“It’s been ages.” Pete droned.

“Just because you need to fuck someone every three days doesn’t mean I have to.” He shot back, only to hear the bassist laugh in response. “I’m not gonna sleep with someone I’m not into. You know that, right?” He asked as he finally caught sight of the dark blue tie sticking out from one of his dresser drawers.

“You should.” He yanked hard on the tie, but it wouldn’t budge.

“That’s not how it works.” Patrick spat angrily as he pulled on the tie again.

“It is for me.” He could just hear the smugness in Pete’s voice. He didn’t want to go on this stupid fucking date. He’d done it as a favour and it had just backfired on him. The restaurant was ages away and way too fancy, he didn’t even like this girl, and now he couldn’t even get his fucking tie to look half decent.

“Pete, I swear to god-” He started as he spun around and kicked his door in frustration, only to feel pain shoot up his leg and leave him crumpled on the floor.

At the sound of the phone clattering to the floor and Patrick’s strangled cry of pain, Pete became slightly concerned. “Are you okay?” The singer heard his friend ask. His phone was only a metre away, but he felt like if he let go of his ankle he might die. Patrick also saw the sizeable hole that was now in his bedroom door.

“No. Obviously I’m fucking not!” He shouted in the direction of the receiver.

“What did you do?” Pete continued.

“Probably just broke my foot when I kicked the door because I was mad at you and my stupid tie.” He stared daggers at the piece of fabric in question as he said it, hoping that it was able to feel his wrath.

All he could hear was laughter. “You’re a dumbass.” He was going to choke on his rage any second now and just die here on the floor with a broken foot.

“I’m going to fucking smash your bass over your car if you don’t take me to the hospital.” He eventually said through gritted teeth when Pete’s laughter died down.

“Shit. I’ll be there in five.” He mumbled as he hung up the call.

“You fucking better be.”

The drive to the hospital was mostly just filled with the crackling of Pete’s shabby old radio. Patrick was in too much pain to speak. He worried that if he opened his mouth he might just scream, so he opted to keep it shut. He was also still mad at Pete for being the cause of this. But at least he’d gotten out of the date. Shit. The date. “I’d better call her and let her know not to go to the restaurant…” He muttered as he fumbled in his pocket for his phone.

“You probably should, yeah.” Pete nodded as they pulled into the carpark.

Patrick scrolled through his phone for her contact, before begrudgingly hitting the call button. She picked up after three rings, which was a shame – he had hoped he could just leave her a voicemail. “Look, I’m really sorry but I need to cancel our date.” He sighed.

“What? Why?” She asked in what sounded like frustration.

“I, uh… I think I’ve broken my foot?” He answered hesitantly.

“Oh my god!” She gasped loud enough that Patrick had to pull his phone away from his ear.

“So, it needs to be looked at-” He continued.

“Let me drive you!” She offered instantly. He could hear her shuffling around on the other end of the line.

“No, it’s fine, I’m already here-” He shook his head vehemently, even though he knew she couldn’t see it.

“I’ll meet you there. Just let me find my jacket.” She interrupted, clearly not listening to what he was saying.

He decided to just get to the point and be honest with her, “Seriously, I’d rather you didn’t-”

“I’ll see you soon!” She called out, before he heard the click of the call ending.

“I… guess?” He said in disbelief as he stared at the phone in his hand.

“Come on.” Pete said, gesturing in the direction of the hospital doors and holding a hand out to help Patrick get out of the car. Patrick slapped it away, deciding to hobble to the doors by himself.

Once he had checked in, taken a number and sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, he let out a long sigh. At least it wasn’t too busy in the waiting room at this hour. He felt far too dressed up to be here, still in his good pants and crisp shirt. But no emergency room was complete without a crying baby and a TV that was turned up slightly too loud. The jarring noises rattled around Patrick’s skull incessantly. Why couldn’t he have grabbed some headphones on his way out of the house? He let out another defeated sigh.

“You gonna tell me what’s wrong or you just gonna wallow in your angst?” Pete asked, not even looking up from his phone.

“Why did you set me up with this girl?” Patrick moped. He could’ve had a pleasant evening by himself. But no, here he was with a fractured foot and a jerk.

“Because I am older and therefore wiser than you.” He spoke in an entitled tone.

“Get fucked.” He scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“Because she’s hot.” That sounded much more accurate.

“Then why didn’t you just take her out?” He questioned.

“I took pity on you.” Pete said as he clapped a supportive hand down on Patrick’s shoulder, which he instantly shrugged off.

“I don’t fucking need your pity, Pete.” He frowned. The notion that he required relationship help from someone like Pete was just downright offensive.

“Well, you need something to help you out. You’re doing pretty hopelessly at the moment.” He said as he tried to wrap his arm around the younger singer.

“Hey! Fuck you!” He nearly shouted, moving to grab Pete’s arm off him. But he was too fast.

“I’m doing you a favour, man.” Pete chuckled. He was about to also need to check himself into the emergency waiting list if he continued like this.

“Mr Stump?” A voice called, right as Patrick had lined up his fist with Pete’s teeth.

“Oh, that’s me.” He mumbled in surprise. “This isn’t over.” He added, glaring at his friend. Pete just flashed his shit-eating grin in response. Patrick gave him the finger.

“He can come too-” The nurse started to offer.

“No!” He cut her off instantly. “He absolutely is not coming.” He said, scrambling to get to his feet and limp over to the nurse. She eyed him in concern before taking a few steps closer to help him walk.

“Come through here.” She instructed as she motioned towards a set of double doors.

“Sure thing.” He nodded as she wrapped an arm around his waist to try and keep some of the weight off his foot. Patrick couldn’t help but feel the little nagging voice at the back of his brain informing him that the attention was nice.

“Just sit here and let’s take a look.” She said as she sat him down in a chair and began rifling through a few drawers. Patrick watched her as she tried to find whatever equipment she was looking for. She was quite pretty. That just made this all the more embarrassing. Having an attractive person deal with your stupid, anger induced injury? Awful.

“I think I might’ve broken it, or fractured it.” He started to explain as he took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, trying to fill the awkward silence. She nodded along, listening to him elaborate on his pain.

“All right.” She finally said, having removed his swollen foot from his shoe. “Let me know if this hurts.” She said as she began to try and roll his ankle around. He took in a sharp breath, the pain was instantaneous.

“That… yep.” Patrick squeaked, trying hard not to yank his foot away. “Definitely hurts.” He nodded rapidly.

“One a scale of one to ten?” She asked as she gently put his foot back on the ground.

“Nine. Nine point five.” He said quickly, rubbing at the stubble on his chin to stop himself from crying out in pain.

“Okay.” She said, turning around to make some notes on his file. “There doesn’t seem to be any abrasions or cuts, what did you do to it?” She questioned.

“I… er… I was worked up on the phone and kicked a door too hard.” He admitted sheepishly as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

“Must’ve been an intense conversation you were having there, Mr Stump.” She said with an amused look.

“My friend out there set me up on a shitty date.” He said, jabbing a thumb towards the door.

“Oh? Why was it so bad?” She asked as bandaged his foot to try and keep the swelling compressed.

“The girl he set me up with is more of his type of girl than mine, and now he’s just trying to guilt trip me into going on a date with her.” He explained with a huff. As he said it, he heard her familiar shrill voice echoing in through the waiting room door. “Oh my god, that’s her.” He said, shrinking down in his chair. “Please don’t let her know I’m back here.” He pleaded. He was trying not to sound desperate, but was absolutely certain he was failing.

“You don’t want her to know you’re okay?” She asked with a confused frown.

“I really don’t want to be on this date.” He said truthfully, scratching at one of his sideburns. “I told her I was going to the ER and she just told me she’d meet me her. I tried to ask her not to but she insisted.”

“Fair enough.” She shrugged as she grabbed a set of crutches. “I’m going to send you off for an x-ray to verify exactly what you’ve done. It’s just down the…” She was about to send him back through the waiting room to go down to the x-ray clinic, but then realised he probably didn’t want to go past this date of his. And the puppy dog look he was giving her was too sweet to resist. “Let’s go the back way.” She suggested.

“Thanks.” He grinned.

After a slow and shaky trip down to the x-ray machines, the nurse left him in the technician’s capable hands. The scan took less than five minutes. But then a further ten minutes was spent by Patrick prying to know what his foot looked like. Was it broken? Fractured? Sprained? The answer of ‘I’m not the doctor, I can’t tell you’ just wasn’t good enough. Also, he’d rather not leave this nice, confined room just yet. But eventually he had to give up and go back to the waiting room. He apprehensively pushed the door open, feeling a rush of relief to see Pete sitting by himself.

“Hey, man. What did they say?” He asked as Patrick hobbled over.

“I don’t know. They have to wait for the x-ray to come back.” He said as he tried to sit down. Crutches made everything so much more difficult to manoeuvre.

“Do they think it’s broken?” He continued to question.

“I don’t know.” He said again. “Where did she go?” He asked, glancing around the waiting room.

“She went out to go get a coffee.” Pete answered. A coffee at 11pm? Geez. “Did you want me to-”

“No!” Patrick instantly shouted, earning a death stare from the receptionist at his volume. “No.” He said again, quieter.

“I’ll let her know when you’re free next?” He suggested. It looked like he was trying to contain his stupid smile.

“Please don’t.” Patrick groaned.

The bandages soothed the pain somewhat. Which was helpful considering it was another hour in the waiting room before the results of his x-ray came back. “Mr Stump, please come through.” The same nurse called out.

“Coming!” He spoke, quickly getting to his feet. Pete watched his lack of coordination with the crutches with amusement, at one point sticking his foot out just to be difficult. Patrick stomped on it with his good foot, earning a yelp out of the bassist.

“Take a seat.” The nurse said when he eventually managed to get into the room.

“Is there a reason you never say my first name?” Patrick asked as he leaned his crutches against the wall.

“What?” She asked, seemingly caught off guard.

“You keep calling me Mr Stump.” He elaborated, adjusting his glasses.

“Oh, well… it’s just procedure, I guess? We’re told to refer to patients by their surname.” She answered.

“You can call me Patrick.” He said. She looked over at him, and he suddenly felt self-conscious under her stare. “Uh, if you want, anyway.” He added with a nervous grin. She just smiled back at him.

“Looking at your x-rays, it’s not broken.” She said, bringing them up on her screen.

“Oh, that’s good.” He said, the news brightening his mood.

“You’ve just dislocated it.” She continued, pointing out the leg bone that wasn’t sitting flush with his foot like it should be on the scan.

“That’s… not good.” He said quietly. The worries started building in his head about what that meant for their gig next weekend. Would he even be able to walk by then? Let alone be on stage for an hour?

“It’s not great Patrick, no.” She laughed lightly. The way she said his name pulled him out of his spiralling. “You really did a number on yourself.” The smile on her face made his heart rate start climbing. He realised after a second that he was just staring at her like a love-sick puppy, and should probably say something.

He cleared his throat before speaking, “So, um… What do I do now?” He asked, leaning forward in his seat to get a better look at the x-ray.

“We’re going to need to move the bones back into place.” She replied. He instantly grimaced. “It won’t be as bad as you think. It’ll hurt less once it’s sorted.” She reassured him.

“I’ll take your word for it.” He nodded grimly as he pulled a hand through his hair.

“We’re going to need to take you through to one of the doctors to get them to do it.” She said as she stood up and started moving towards the doors.

“Aw, man. More walking?” He complained. “These crutches are so hard to use.” He mumbled as he got to his feet.

“Have you adjusted them?” She questioned.

“What?”

“Have you adjusted them? To be correct to your height?”

“Oh, uh… no? How do I do that?” He stared down at the large metal contraptions. After a brief moment of laughing at him, she helped him sort out the crutches to be more comfortable. Usually, he would get pretty defensive at being laughed at, but in this moment, he was just happy to have made the cute girl laugh. Maybe all the adrenalin was messing with his brain.

As they stepped out into the waiting room, the nurse nudged his shoulder. “It would seem your friend is having a better night than you are.” She said quietly.

“Huh?” He looked around the room in confusion, before spotting what she was referring to. He caught sight of Pete walking out of the hospital, with his date hanging off his arm. The bastard then had the audacity to turn around and flash Patrick a thumbs up over his shoulder. The fucker.

“I’m gonna fucking kill him.” Patrick said through gritted teeth, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his crutches.

“Wait until your foot is better first.” He heard the nurse say.

“What?” He frowned.

“Don’t wanna give him any extra advantages or you might not succeed.” She explained.

He looked at her in bewilderment for a second, before starting to laugh. “I’m liking you more and more by the minute.”

She ushered him through to the doctor’s room, leaving him sat there waiting and worrying for the next twenty-five minutes. Finally, a doctor came in to reposition his foot. They ran him through a few things that they were going to do, before just jumping right in. The pain was on a new level from anything he had felt before as the doctor forcibly moved his bones. But once it was set as it should be, it started to ebb away slightly. Once the procedure was done, the doctor relegated him back to the nurse’s office. He sat quietly, massaging his ankle slightly to try and relieve some of the ache.

“Patrick, good to see you still in one piece.” She said as she came back into the room.

He looked up at her in surprise, unable to stop himself from cracking a smile. “Good to have my foot reconnected to my leg.” He shot back.

“The doctors sorted you out, then?”

“Yeah.” He nodded as he fiddled with the hat in his hands. “They said you had some medication for me?” He added.

“Yes. I do.” She began grabbing a box out from the cupboard above her computer before handing it to him. “Only take these painkillers once a day - I’d recommend using them to sleep.” She instructed with a serious expression.

“Got it.”

“Keep your foot elevated when you can to reduce the swelling, ice it if it’s hurting too much.” She continued.

“Okay. I can do that.”

“And if you’re really struggling,” She started, handing him some paperwork. “Feel free to ask me for help.”

He looked at her in confusion, before looking down at the papers to see a number written across the top. It took him a second for the pieces to click into place. “Really?” He grinned in disbelief.

“Take care of yourself, Patrick.” She smiled sweetly.

“But if I don’t, I’ll see you more.” He pointed out.

“You can see me without injuring yourself.” She laughed, rolling her eyes at his suggestion.

“Good to know.” He felt like his heart was beating so fast it might explode.

“Terrible night a little bit better now?”

“Much.”

#Patrick Stump x Reader #Sunsetinmyvein #Sunsetinmyvein prompts #Sunsetinmyvein requests

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captainscanadian · 4 years

Text

Long Way Home | Bucky Barnes x Reader (Part 3)

MY MASTERLIST

Series Masterlist

Summary: This urgent patient happened to be the last person Bucky had expected to be his patient.

Word Count: 2921

Pairing: Doctor!Bucky Barnes x Doctor!Reader, Doctor!Pietro Maximoff

Warnings: Heart Disease, Hospital, Surgery.

A/N: Give it up for another clusterfuck from yours truly. Thanks again to my dearest @dramadreamer14 for the beta, as always. Thank you all for reading this fic, and for all the love you’ve given me. It really means a lot. I DON’T DO TAGLISTS! Divider by @firefly-graphics <3

As Bucky walked into Dr. Y/L/N’s office, there were a thousand questions that he wanted to ask her. But not even one of them was, ‘Hey Bambi, would you let me keep my promise now?’ Although asking that exact question certainly would have answered all of the other questions that he had, it was safe to stay that this man was not necessarily the sharpest scalpel in the OR. But then again, neither was she.

“Dr. Y/L/N, I hope this is not a bad time?” He offered her a rather polite smile once he stepped into her office, watching her hobble towards him. He raised his brow slightly at the sight of her, as it seemed like she was struggling to even stand in front of him.

She was leaning against her desk, as though she was meaning to hide something from him. “Oh no, not at all.” She returned his smile, darting out a hand towards him. “You’re Dr. Barnes, right? The new guy. Steve’s told me a lot about you.”

His eyes darted towards her feet for a moment, eyeing the pumps that she was wearing before looking up to meet her eyes. “Oh please, call me James.” He shook her head. “I hope he wasn’t too honest about whatever he’s told you.”

“He told me that you wouldn’t mind bitching about him with me.” She admitted, laughing softly as she remembered her conversation with the Chief that morning. “But he also told me that you were the best there is. Is that an honest truth?”

“That I wouldn’t mind at all.” He agreed, glad that Steve had plenty of people at this hospital to humble him. “But as for whether or not I’m the best there is, I’m not one to brag. I guess it’s best that I let you be the judge of that.”

Speaking of which, there was a reason why he was here right now.

“Well then, why don’t we get right to it?” Y/N suggested, motioning him to take a seat as she limped around her desk and sat down.

Bucky gave her a nod before he bit down on his bottom lip, taking a seat across from her as he watched her pull up the patient’s file on her computer and turn the screen towards him. “You know, before we get started, I did have a few questions to ask you.”

Y/N paused for a moment as she was slipping off her shoes under her desk, and leaned forward to meet the man’s bright blue eyes. “Yes, of course.” She could not deny that there was something familiar about him, but she could not pinpoint what it was. Had they met before?

He leaned forward in his seat to look straight at her. “Dr. Y/L/N, why is it that you have requested a consult with me for a patient who is thirty five years old with transposition of the great arteries, if all of your patients are under the age of two?”

She raised her brow for a moment, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “I wonder…” She responded with a shrug, watching the man look towards the screen to see the patient’s name flashing before him.

Patient Name: Y/L/N, Y/N

It was her. She was the patient. She was his patient.

“You’re my patient.” Bucky finally understood the situation that he had just got himself into. It was one thing for him to convince his patient for surgery, but it was a whole other ball game when the patient who was refusing surgery happened to be a surgeon herself and a well-accomplished one at that. It seemed like Bucky’s job was a lot harder than he had thought.

“Not yet.” She replied. “I only promised Tony that I would meet with you before I made my decisions, so don’t get so ahead of yourself.”

His lips curled into a smirk at her words. “Well then… since you happened to request a consult from me, here’s my professional opinion. I read through your file while I was on the plane, and I have to admit, I was surprised that I would get to be working with… a walking miracle, really.” He admitted, genuinely geeking out. “I’m sure I don’t have to say… Thirty years ago, Tony performed a groundbreaking surgery. It’s an honour, really.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Dr. Barnes.”

Seriously, could he stop geeking out for one goddamn moment? This woman was probably looking for a reason to turn him down as they were speaking, and he was only going to make it worse.

Straightening himself up, Bucky gave her a genuine smile. “Well then, let’s try honesty. I came across Tony’s notes from your last follow up. I couldn’t help but be disappointed by what I saw.” He said, rather confidently, as he wanted to show her that his fascination towards her case did not mean that he was intimidated by her at all. “It says that you’re experiencing aortic valve regurgitation, but you refuse to go for a TAVR?”

A transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, was a minimally invasive surgical procedure that was performed through making an incision in the patient’s leg and inserting a catheter up to the heart. There would be no need to crack open the chest, so there was less likely for there to be any complications. It shouldn’t even take more than an hour to replace the valve. It was the safest thing to do.

“I’m not having surgery again.” Y/N shook her head.

“Why not?” He asked, curiously. “Why are you refusing to go for surgery? When Tony switched your arteries thirty years ago, the prognosis was aortic valve regurgitation. This was expected, wasn’t it?”

“I knew it was possible. Probable,” she corrected herself. “But I’ve gone thirty years without having to have my chest cut open, and I’d really like to keep it that way. I don’t want to have to turn my life upside down again.” She explained with a sigh.

“Y/N, you do know that we’re not going to cut you open this time.” He reminded her, clearly not appreciating how stubborn she was. “The procedure is minimally invasive, and a lot less risky in comparison to an open heart surgery.”

“That doesn’t make me any less scared.” Y/N mumbled, perhaps hoping that he hadn’t heard her.

This was possibly the first time she had even shown a sign of her true emotions, but she felt the need to be transparent with this man. Not that she had accepted him as her doctor or anything, but there was something about him that made her want to trust him. Perhaps Steve’s reassurance that he would trust Dr. Barnes with his life may have given her a little push, but she wasn’t sold just yet.

Truth be told, she was surprised that the man had known her for five minutes and hadn’t even found her intimidating. It was no secret that she was stubborn, but it seemed that he was just as stubborn as she was.

She had put on a tough exterior and ruled the Department of Neonatal Surgery with an iron fist, when in reality she was terrified. No matter how much she had grown, no matter how much she had accomplished, no matter how stubborn she was, deep down there was a five year old girl named Bambi who wanted nothing more than to run around the playground with her best friend Buck. But she knew that she couldn’t do that anymore. Or at least that was what she assumed.

“If you’re scared, then just be scarier than whatever is scaring you.”

To say that the words that escaped his lips caused Y/N’s heart to skip a beat would be quite the understatement. “What?” She looked over at the man with wide eyes, blinking in surprise upon hearing those exact words, the same words that a certain five year old boy in Shelbyville, Indiana, had told her all those years ago.

Not that she remembered much about him except that his name was Buck, and their mutual love for Bambi. Truth be told, she hadn’t even seen him since her parents had told her that they were moving to Boston. When her mother had moved back to Shelbyville, Y/N had tried to search for him. But she had no luck. How could she find someone whom she didn’t even know? She couldn’t even be sure if Buck was his actual name, to be honest. And her mom had no memory of him.

Oftentimes, she wondered where he was or what he was doing. Where had life taken him in these thirty years since the last time they saw each other? Did he remember her like she did him? Or was she someone who could have been forgotten? Was he still out there somewhere? Or was he just an imaginary friend?

And worst of all, did he actually promise her that he would fix her heart, or was just all her imagination too?

“You sound like a kid, James.” Y/N was quick to shrug him off, knowing that letting her emotions dictate her decisions regarding surgery would not do her any good. She had to be practical, and she could not deny that. “Fine… I guess I’ll let you be my doctor. I mean, what choice do I have? They say that you’re the best there is, and I do want the best.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Dr. Y/L/N.”

Rolling her eyes at his response, she shook her head. “You’re an arrogant one, aren’t you?”

“Why do you think Steve hired me to replace Tony?” He asked, grinning widely.

“Good point.” She admitted, sighing. She just had to accept that he was Tony’s replacement in every fucking way. “But… as I was saying, I’ll let you be my doctor. But I won’t consent to surgery… not- not until I’m scarier than my own fears of going for surgery.”

A smile on his lips as she said that, Bucky gave her a nod. “That’s understandable.” He agreed, feeling slightly accomplished despite the fact that she still won’t go for surgery. “But I’ll have you know that I can be quite persuasive.”

“Oh is that so?”

Before Bucky could respond to that, there was a knock on the door.

Now usually, if she were in the middle of a consult, Y/N wouldn’t let anyone just walk into her office. But she recognized that knock, and knew that it was probably her best friend coming back to check in on her, given that he had ordered her to get some rest. “Come in, Piet!” Y/N called out before the door flung open and Pietro Maximoff waltzed in.

He had probably been expecting to see Y/N still napping on the couch, but to his surprise, she was wide awake. “Oh-” He paused upon seeing Bucky, his eyes darting towards his best friend, and his lips curling into a smirk. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had company...”

“I told you I had a consult this afternoon, didn’t I?” Y/N grinned at him. “Dr. Maximoff, have you had a chance to meet Dr. Barnes?”

“Dr. Barnes, as in… Wanda’s new boss?” He chuckled softly as he walked up to Bucky and offered him his hand to shake. “No, I haven’t had the pleasure.”

“You’re Wanda’s twin.” Bucky noted, as he rose from his seat and shook his hand. “She’s told me a lot about you.”

“Has she really?” He asked, curiously. He was certain that his sister had only met the man that morning.

Bucky nodded. “She mentioned that you work in pediatric cardiology. I hope that means I’ll get to see you around in my department.”

“I’m sure you will… when I’m not babysitting this grown child, of course.” He motioned towards Y/N, earning a look of utter disapproval from the woman.

“Is that what you do around here?”

“When I’m in the Blake Building, mostly. But most of my research happens at the Heart Center.” He informed the man, certainly eager to show what he was working on to someone so well-regarded. “You should stop by my lab sometime. I would love to show you what I’ve been working on.”

“Of course, you just let me know when and I’ll clear my schedule.” Bucky was always interested in learning about what his colleagues were working on, and that was certainly not going to change even though he had just started working at Mass Gen.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Pietro agreed before turning back to Y/N. “I just wanted to let you know that Dr. Romanoff has agreed to handle your patients for the rest of the day. I also asked her to find someone who will cover your shift tonight, so that you can go home and get some rest before the party.”

“I’m sorry, what?” She shook her head at his words. “Pietro, I only agreed to let Nat take my patients for the day. I’m still on call tonight.”

“And miss Dr. Stark’s party?” He asked, genuinely confused by how his best friend’s brain even worked. She tells him that she owes Tony Stark her life, but still had the audacity to say that she was working a call shift during the man’s retirement party. “He is expecting you…”

“He would understand if I’m not there.” She sighed. “Besides, what am I even going to do there?”

“You do remember that he asked you to make a speech, right?” Pietro asked as he finally planted himself on the seat next to Bucky.

“No, I haven’t forgotten about the speech. I just think that he would have asked about a hundred people to make a speech about him. Who would even care enough to listen to my story?” She asked him. She really believed that her story was not worth telling.

“I would.” Bucky interjected. “I think I’ve made it clear since the moment I walked into your office; I’ve always been interested in Tony’s clinical trials for the Stark method. You’re a living example of the difference he made. I think you should own up to that.”

Y/N looked over at Bucky for a moment and then back at Pietro. “Piet, you know how extravagant his parties are. I don’t even have a dress.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Pietro chirped up. “I’m sure Wanda has something she’d let you borrow.”

“If it makes any difference, I’ll be there.”

She rolled her eyes at the man as she turned back to him. “Then why don’t you make the speech?”

Bucky snickered before he shook his head. “I think I have more pressing matters to attend to. There’s a really difficult patient who’s giving me a run for my money, and they require my full attention.”

Pietro could not help but wish that he had some popcorn in his hands right now, as it seemed that he had a front row seat to the best show in town. He knew that Y/N was a stubborn one; she had been since they had first met in medical school. He had never seen someone who had barely known her bring out the side of her that she rarely ever showed, though he must admit, he hadn’t seen someone who handled her like this either.

Unfortunately, the show was over before it even got to the good part. With Pietro being paged, he found himself getting up to leave. “I guess I should get going. I’ll see you at the party. I’ll tell Wanda to meet you at your place at 5?”

Knowing that there was no getting out of it now, Y/N gave in. “Fine, I’ll see you at the party.”

A smile on his lips upon hearing her response, Pietro turned over to Bucky to bid him farewell and left Y/N’s office.

“I told you I was persuasive.” Bucky perked up.

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Are you telling me that you didn’t change your mind because I was going to be there?” He asked, cheekily.

“Convincing me to go to a party that I’m expected to be at is a lot easier than changing my mind on having surgery.” She reminded him.

This caused Bucky to chuckle softly and shake his head, leaning forward in his seat so that he could meet her gaze. “I can tell that you’re strong-willed, Y/N. I really don’t think that you’re someone who would give up that easily. And I’m not talking about consenting to surgery when I say that.” His expression turned serious. “I’m talking about your life. Are you willing to give that up because you don’t want to have one more surgery?”

His words hit Y/N like a freight train, and she began to realize that he was right. She was stubborn, but that did not mean that she was being rational. Now might be the right time to accept the harsh reality that she was indeed unwell. This was not something like the common cold or a headache that would pass.

“Fine, but it’s just one surgery.”

“Just one.” He nodded. “You can trust me, Y/N.”

As her eyes teared up, Y/N reached over to grab a tissue. “You better be the best goddamn surgeon in the wide world.”

And he really was.

#aj writes #long way home #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes au #doctor au #doctor!Bucky #bucky barnes series

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queen-scribbles · 4 years

Text

Shepherd’s Honor

This oneshot brought to you by the mental image of Trouble carrying Trick piggyback that wouldn’t go away. :D Not that I tried all that hard.

----

Patrolling Haven was boring. Usually. Trick couldn’t say she cared much for how today chose to make itself an exception to that rule.

Namely the sharp, familiar pain that spiked through her right shin. It had her bracing one hand against a nearby wall for support even as her gaze tipped skyward.

Trouble must have heard her harsh breath in, because he stopped and swung around to look at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Trick said, not finding what she’d expected in her scan of the pale blue sky. She pushed away from the wall and fell in step next to him again, but only made it a few paces before a follow-up ache cramped her leg and made her flinch. “Okay, maybe something...”

Trouble shot her a look caught somewhere between confused and concerned. “What?”

“Well, first off, it’s gonna storm later,” she replied, leaning against his shoulder for support as she tried to shake out the cramping muscles.

That made him frown up at the cloudless sky. “How can you tell?”

“I’m magic,” Trick deadpanned, cautiously setting weight back on that leg.

Trouble snorted. “Shit, I know that. Seriously, Trick, how can you tell? An’ are you alright?”

“Yes, to the second,” she assured him when her leg held weight, “and short answer for the first is I broke my leg real bad when I was younger an’ now it aches when rain’s comin’.”

His nose wrinkled. “That’s... bad. But also kinda cool.”

She laughed. “Tell me about it; all in lookin’ for the silver lining. I don’t like that my leg hurts, but it really comes in handy to have a warning about that kinda thing when you’re debatin’ if you should move on from a town or stay put one more night.”

“I’ll bet.” He cocked his head. “You okay to keep going?”

Trick nodded. “Kinda hafta be, don’t I? We’re only halfway done.”

Trouble rolled his eyes. “Like I’d make you keep walkin’ on that leg if it was hurtin’ you that bad.”

“Sweet of you,” Trick laughed, flipping her braid back over her shoulder. “But it’s fine for now. I’ll let you know if that changes.”

He grinned and nudged her shoulder. “Promise?”

“Shepherd’s honor,” she grinned back. “I promise.”

They made it another quarter of the way before it changed. Not coincidentally, that was when the first dark storm clouds appeared on the horizon. Trouble noticed those two things in the opposite order Trick did; saw the clouds and turned to look at her.

She was limping, she knew, just noticeably, and flashed a sheepish smile. “It doesn’t hurt. Not that bad. Only thing that might be a problem is stairs.” The words had barely left her mouth when they reached the first (very long) flight of stairs back down to Ashtown and the Shepherd compound. “This just isn’t my day, is it?” she muttered wryly, and kicked a pebble off the top step.

Trouble scratched the back of his neck. “Want me to carry you?”

“What, like piggyback?” Trick snarked, touched by the offer but unsure how well it would work.

He shrugged. “’Less you wanna bang your head against the wall every few steps, that’s prob’ly the best way, dontcha think?”

“Yeah, but...”

He winked at her. “C’mon, Trick, you can’t be that heavy.”

Not for you, at least, she thought dryly. “It’s not that! I just know how fast carryin’ weight--any weight--can tire you out on stairs.”

Another shrug. “Better that than makin’ you walk on it.” Trouble grinned. “I’m not gonna drop you.”

Trick laughed. “Promise?”

His grin widened. “Shepherd’s honor.”

She only hesitated a couple seconds more. “Oh, fine.” It would be better than fumbling down on her own, no matter the loss of dignity. And they were pretty close in height, it was easy enough to wrap her arms around his neck and boost herself up. Trouble jokingly staggered sideways as he settled his grip under her legs.

“Muti,” Trick growled through a laugh as she freed one arm to punch his shoulder.

“Just teasin’,” Trouble promised with another grin.

“I know,” she said, resting her chin atop his head. His hair smelled like sun and charch and she smiled at the familiarity. “I’m good when you are.”

“Right.” He shifted ever so slightly so his hands were closer to the backs of her knees, and started down the steps.

It was trickier than either anticipated to keep their balance, but they managed to get to the bottom without killing themselves. There were two or three more similar flights to go, but Trick insisted on walking in between so Trouble could have a break. “It doesn’t hurt that much,” she promised. “More like a really strong cramp than anything.”

“You say that like it’s any better than your leg actually hurtin’.” he muttered.

“Trust me, it is,” she sighed, running one hand along her braid. I know from experience.

Trouble kicked a pebble, and they watched it skitter ahead of them. When they caught up to it, Trick kicked it further. This time it veered sideways when it ricocheted from the edge of a cobblestone and out of reach.

“So, how exactly didja break your leg so bad it helps you predict the weather?” he asked when they reached the next flight of stairs, longer and narrower and curving left.

Trick laughed as she hoisted herself up on his back again. “Oh, it was very exciting. I fell off a ladder.”

Trouble barked a disbelieving laugh of his own. “Really? That’s it?”

“Well, I may have been runnin’ from some people...” she allowed, tightening her grip when he started to turn and look at her. “Trouble, watch where you’re goin’.”

“Right, right.” He hesitated a beat. “Who were you runnin’ from?”

“You want the long version?” Trick chuckled. Even that wasn’t a terribly exciting story, in her opinion, but he was carrying her down steps without a word of complaint. She’d spin him any damn tale about herself he wanted.

“Sure, why not?” Trouble grunted, shifting his grip. “If you don’t mind, anyway.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” she promised, wriggling higher when she realized she was sort of strangling him in her current position. “So, there’s this merchant. Decided he wanted extra muscle for the trip from Capra to this town out near Lindell, which makes sense. He was offering good money and I needed work, so I signed up. It’s a pretty long trip, we had to scare off a couple groups of bandit, actually kill some mean-spirited critters, so I more than earned my lyss this time ‘round.”

“And?” Trouble prompted when she paused.

Trick snorted a laugh through her nose and rested her chin atop his head again. “And the kisich tried to weasel outta payin’ me. Dunno if he was just a skinflint or had something against Diminished or whatever, but when I stood my ground instead of cavin’ like he expected, his men went to force the issue and we had a... uh, scuffle.” She chuckled. “Got the mother of all beautiful black eyes from that scrap. Anyway, partway in, one gets the bright idea to taunt me with the coin purse holdin’ my pay. Guess he thought it would rile me up so I didn’t think straight. He forgot how hard I am to rile. And how quick I can be.” She grinned, her fingers digging into Trouble’s collar. “Punched him in the nose and took off with my money when he dropped it.”

Trouble snorted. “Lemme guess, they came after you.”

“Like yiwari after a rabbit,” Trick confirmed, sliding off his back as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “But I had a really good head start.” Her leg cramped and she glanced up at the much closer storm clouds. “And I made it even bigger ‘cause the outskirts of the town had the houses all built close together, y’know, where you can jump pretty easy roof to roof?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“There was a ladder to the roof every so many houses, so I went up the first one I found and zigzagged my way along the outskirts, jumpin’ alleys an’ hidin’ a couple times ‘til I lost ‘em.”

“Good thing you didn’t fall,” Trouble commented

“Oh, very good,” Another of those silver linings. Trick agreed wryly, scanning the side streets they passed for anything off. It seemed all clear. “Would not have been pretty.”

“Why didn’t ya just tell somebody that kisich was tryin’ to cheat ya?”

She snorted. “Maybe I woulda if I weren’t so obviously Diminished.” She watched his gaze flick to her hair, then back to the street. “They had an.... unlovey reputation regarding how they treated my kind.”

“Oh.” Trouble cracked his knuckles. “I’da kicked their asses. The merchant’s men, I mean.”

“I know,” Trick said with a smile, bumping her shoulder to his(harder than she’d meant to, her limp was getting worse). “If I’d had you backin’ me, I mighta gone for that myself. As it was, I didn’t really wanna fight them. Not there. Just wanted my money. An’ I got that.”

This last stretch of road was a short one, and they reached the final flight of stairs much more quickly than the previous ones. The clouds were actually starting to dim the sun as Trick climbed up on Trouble’s back again, and she hoped the approaching storm held off long enough for them to reach the compound.

“So where this ladder you fell off figure in?” Trouble prompted as he started down the steps.

“Right.” Trick pulled her attention off the sky and back to her story. “Getting down. I waited a good... half hour in my last hidin’ spot to make sure they were gone. The sun was startin’ to set when I finally felt safe comin’ out; the shadows kept me from seeing the, uh, condition of the closest ladder. The wood was all dry-rotted, fourth or fifth rung down broke the second I put weight on it. I fell maybe fifteen feet? Somethin’ like that.”

Trouble gave a low whistle. “Ouch.”

“Tell me about it, I’m lucky my leg’s the only thing I broke. But it was bad enough to more than make up for being the only damage--bone ripped through the skin and everything.”

“What didja do?” he asked, boosting her higher as she started to slide.

“Limped--well, hobbled is prob’ly better--around til I found a healer. Fortunately didn’t take too long,” she shrugged. “Hadn’t scrapped together enough know-how to fix somethin’ that bad for myself yet.” She wiggled her finger significantly and snorted. “Barely had twenty lyss to my name after payin’ the man. And even with his help, it still scarred real nasty. ‘Bout this long.” She let go with one hand to hold thumb and index finger four or five inches apart in demonstration. “An’ now I have a surefire way of tellin’ when it’s gonna” --a fat, wet droplet hit the back of her neck and made her flinch--”rain.”

Trouble swore as they reached the bottom of the steps and he let her down. “Was hopin’ we’d make it back ‘fore that got here,” he admitted as rain freckled both their shirts.

“You and me both,” Trick said wryly. She grabbed his wrist. The compound was in view down the the far end of the street. “C’mon, if we hurry, maybe we can at least avoid getting completely drenched.”

He laughed and let her tug him into motion, but was nice enough to not outpace her when her limp slowed her down. Which meant they both got drenched when the skies opened up just before they made it through the Shepherd compound gates.

Trouble swore again, but he was grinning when they ducked under the cover of the entrance and he shook water from his hair like a dog.

“Sorry,” Trick said through a laugh, only slightly sheepish, and squeezed water from her braid. “But thanks for the help. And stickin’ with me.”

“Don’t mention it,” he winked, thumping her on the back with one hand while he raked hair out of his eyes with the other. “It’s what you do for friends.”

“Still.” She lightly punched his shoulder. “I appreciate it. And I appreciated even more that you didn’t drop me.”

“Hey, I promised, didn’t I?” Trouble said with a laugh. “Shepherd’s honor an’ all.”

“And I’ve encountered enough people who didn’t keep their word to make me appreciate when someone does.” Trick glanced toward the courtyard, rain now falling in sheets. “You know we still have to make it across that to get to our rooms, right?”

Trouble’s grin widened. “Need another ride?”

Trick’s leg twinged even as thunder rumbled and she snorted a laugh. “Wouldn’t turn it down.”

““Alright, then.”

Neither of them cared if anyone saw their pell-mell run through the downpour for the dormitory wing of the compound, Trick’s arms locked around Trouble’s neck and both laughing the whole way. Trouble kicked the door shut behind them and Trick tightened her grip in a backwards sort-of hug before sliding off.

“Thanks, Trouble,” she grinned, bumping her shoulder to his.

“Welcome, Trick,” he returned, also grinning as he returned the shoulder bump before they headed for their rooms to dry off.

Trick found herself smiling as she stripped off her wet clothes--and not just because her gun had escaped getting wet. While her leg flaring up and then getting rained on wouldn’t have been her first choice for how to break the monotony of patrol, at least handling it with a friend--especially one strong enough to carry her--had kept it from being entirely awful.

Honestly, she had to admit as she dried off and reached for fresh clothes, it had almost (almost) been fun.

#queens fic #shepherds of haven #elyana trick #trouble alder #shoh #not really shippy bc neither of these goofballs has started falling yet #(not that they'll REALIZE when they start falling #she's at least as oblivious as him)

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pergaias · 4 years

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a small miracle ; a short story

i wrote a short story about medieval lesbians for school and decided to put it here to prove ( to myself ) that i’m a Writer™ and not just someone who uses tumblr to procrastinate :)))))))

it’s not my best writing by any means ( some will argue that impossible for anything i write to be bad but i respectfully agree to disagree ), but it’s here. it’s kinda sweet. it took up too much brainpower to do. but, its late. this writing is gay. bear with me, and . . . enjoy ?

word count ; 2568

“Erwyn!” her name echoed across the stone walls of the courtyard, and Erwyn, lady of Halle Castle, eldest and only living child of Lord Halle, froze. Her strawberry-blonde braids were half-unwound, there was a tear in the rich brocade gown she was attempting to hurriedly tug on, and the rough-spun smock and trousers she had been wearing previously were covered in dust and dirt, discarded on the floor.

She looked up guiltily as her father - his girth richly clad in velvet and linen - approached her, his face mottled red with anger. “Erwyn!” he roared, spittle flecking the russet of his beard. “For the last time, Erwyn -”

Erwyn determinedly hiked her gown up, her cheeks and ears the color of her father’s red tunic. Her elaborately looped and pinned braids were long unbound - how she hated the way they tugged at her scalp. She resolutely yanked her gowns’ sleeves on over her wrinkled undergarments, her father glaring daggers at her as she did. She would not be humiliated half-dressed.

“There!” She exclaimed triumphantly, smoothing the front of the gown and fussing with the ruffles around her wrists and throat. Her smile died on her face as her father stepped forward, and she lifted her hands to shield her face. “Father - I - Father - please don’t,” she protested, but the fight had long been stamped out of the lady. She closed her eyes in defeat - again. So much for small miracles.

Her father always won - it didn’t matter if she didn’t want to gossip with her ladies-in-waiting or her stepmother. It didn’t matter that she had already done her studies for the day and that she didn’t want to embroider. Her lady-in-waiting who had smuggled her the boy’s clothes and a cap to tuck her hair under might be killed - her father had been very vocal about the king’s recent beheading of his second wife.

“The witch deserved everything!” he said emphatically over dinner when news reached them, as Erwyn pushed her food around her plate, her face vaguely green. She had liked Queen Anne. When her father had taken her to London - back when his family was more important to him than anything - she had met the queen. She had a nice smile, and a look in her eye that Erwyn had instantly admired.

Like she’d stared a tiger in the eye.

Erwyn held still as the back of her father’s hand cracked against her cheek. She didn’t say a word, only clenched her hands tighter into fists. One day, she silently vowed, I will hurt you. I will hurt you so badly you’ll regret every - crack - little - this slap burned - thing - this slap brought tears to Erwyn’s eyes - you’ve done to me.

Her father turned and marched away, leaving Erwyn a dusty little bundle of tears and bruises on the ballroom floor. Erwyn was an improper little girl - it had started when her mother had wistfully pushed Erwyn’s honey-and-roses hair behind her ears, murmuring that she wished her Erwyn was a boy, if only so that she’d be free. Because girls were doomed to marry and embroider and spend the rest of their tittering lives bearing children.

Her mother smelled like rosemary and sage leaves, and her elegant fingers were rough because of all the times she’s pricked herself sewing. It was hard to imagine her angry, bitter father loving her free, cheerful mother. But once upon a time, he did. Once upon a time, they were happy.

“Winnie!” a girl’s voice cried, and Erwyn felt hands touching her face and hair, heard her own voice hiss as her cheek was prodded. “You need a compress,” the girl murmured, and Erwyn attempted to open her eyes. One was swelled shut - through the other she saw a halo of a girl, slight and blonde, with a spray of freckles across her ruddy cheeks.

“I wish,” Erwyn murmured through split lips, her head spinning, “that I were a boy.”

The girl’s great brown eyes welled up, and Erwyn’s world spun before going dark. Her father won, yet again.

>*<

Alys Cartwright was built like a bird, all little bones and delicate lines, but she was stronger than she looked. Erwyn of Halle was built more sturdily, all soft curves and stubborn chins, and Alys attempted to lift her without hurting her, but to no avail. Frustrated, she gently sat down and put Erwyn’s head in her lap, gently stroking the hair away from her face. Her eyelids were faintly blue, and a bit of the whites of her eyes peeked from under her long lashes.

The side of her face was already mottling into bruising, turning her smooth cheek ugly shades of red and pink. It was glaring, and ugly, and . Yet, as Alys traced her fingers across the bruises, across Erwyn’s split lip, across her strawberry blonde hair, she was beautiful. Erwyn had always been beautiful - her many suitors proved that. She was smart and beautiful and undeserving of the life her father trapped her in.

“Ced!” Alys cried. “Cedric!”

Alys’ well-meaning but slightly oafish younger brother stumbled into the courtyard from where he was pruning the hedges, his tunic covered in grass stains. “Help me carry her, Ced,” Alys attempted to lift Erwyn again, and Erwyn’s lips parted in a weak moan. One of her eyes was swollen shut.

Cedric hefted her easily, and Alys fluttered uselessly by Erwyn’s head as her brother gently carried her out of the courtyard, past the green, to their small house. Cedric Cartwright fancied himself a knight, just as Alys had romanticized herself a princess before growing up caught up with her.

“What happened to her?” Ced asked, clearing the kitchen table with a sweep of his arm and setting Erwyn on it. Alys scrambled to put a pillow under her head. Erwyn’s face was rapidly swelling, and the bruising would be nasty for a few days.

“Her father,” Alys said bitterly, and Cedric quieted. Everyone under the lord’s lordship knew of the way he treated his daughter, first after his wife died and then after her betrothed did.

Alys spent hours sitting at Erwyn’s side, washing her bruising first in wine and then in water. She boiled yarrow stems and spent hours making salves and tying them onto her face with cloths. If Alys had left Erwyn there in the courtyard, there would be no doubt that her stepmother or one of her ladies would have cared for her, but Alys . . . She could care for her better. She was determined that she would.

“I’m going to be burned at the stake,” Alys threw her hands up in exasperation. They were covered in ground-up herbs and melted lard, and Erwyn was still asleep on the table, her cheek bruised and her lip busted. “I’m going to be beheaded, oh, Lord -”

“What are you going on about, Alys?” Cedric popped his head back into the house, his blond hair darkened with sweat. “Do you know what we should really be worried about? Not the comatose lady on our kitchen table, but the amount of grain that Lord Halle will allow us to keep. We don’t want to go hungry again this winter, Alys -”

Alys banged her fist on the table, causing a bunch of carrots to jump on their hook. “Get Isolde,” she said pointedly to her brother, and then hurrying back to her pot of salve. “Isolde’s better at this than I am, and I don’t trust Erwyn with her father right now.”

“What was she doing that made him so mad?” Cedric inquired, picking up a basket and absentmindedly stuffing the carrots into it.

“Get Isolde, brother darling,” Alys echoed, taking the dressings off of Erwyn’s cheek and applying more salve. Her skin was hot to the touch, too hot. The wine Alys washed it in must not have killed off the infection.

Cedric left with the carrots to find Aunt Isolde, who wasn’t anyone’s aunt, really. She was just there, healing people who needed healing and occasionally demanding favors from the village children. Lord Halle owned everything in his fiefdom, from his daughter to his peasants to every piece of grain, but Isolde owned this village. She had saved many a mother from childbirth, including Alys and Cedric’s own.

If Lord Halle hadn’t been so proud, Isolde might have been able to save his wife. Alys bit her bottom lip and hoped. But hoping was futile. If wishes were fishes Alys Cartwright would never have starved, but she’d starved. Time and time again.

>*<

Erwyn woke to a young girl - the blonde girl from before - and an old woman bowed over her, muttering at each other. The side of her face throbbed fearfully. She distinctly remembered one eye being unable to open, but both of her eyes were open, staring purple at the two women hovering over her.

“Lady Erwyn!” the girl squeaked, jumping away from her. The old woman muttered again and shook her head, before none too gently rubbing something onto her face. Erwyn held her tongue but thought of a choice few things to say to the woman about her maternal instincts.

“Lady Erwyn of Halle,” the crone muttered, now finally being gentle with the salve. It was actually quite soothing - Erwyn could smell rosemary in the air. “Yes, I’m aware that’s my name,” Erwyn said sarcastically, trying to sit up. She was still in her rumpled brocade.

“So am I,” the woman muttered crossly. “There you go, good to go, back to your father with you.” the woman hobbled out, and that was that. Erwyn was no longer dizzy from repetitive blows to the head, but she was bruised. All the worse for wear.

I wish that I were a boy. It was a foolish wish, one that Erwyn had kept close to her heart for years. If she were a boy, she could be a knight like her father had been, court girls without fear of being burned at the stake, talk loud and hunt deer and not spend mind-numbing hours gossiping at court or embroidering flowers onto handkerchiefs.

“Thank you,” she said awkwardly to the blonde girl, unbinding her hair and letting it cover the bruised side of her face. “You - you didn’t have to take me here. Or call me -”

“Winnie?” the girl blushed. “Sorry, it - it slipped out. It was my honor, Lady Erwyn -”

“Winnie is fine,” Erwyn smiled, and winced. Smiling hurt. Talking hurt - her lip was cracked, and she could taste a bit of salt on them, as if she’d been spoon-fed soup unconscious. “Like my mother’s name.”

The girl hung her head. “Lady Winifred is missed,” she said quietly, watching as Erwyn stumbled off of the table she had been laying on. “Oh! Do you need -” the girl blushed brighter as she offered Erwyn her arm, mumbling “I should have offered earlier, I’m so sorry -”

“It’s - it’s fine,” Erwyn coughed, her unbound waving hair covering the way her ears flamed up. “Again, thank you,” she murmured, as the girl helped her hobble out of the little village hut and into the green. It was brighter than the hut and loud and raucous outside - the peasants had come back from their daily work, and the sun was sinking over the horizon.

Shouts of “Ho, Alys!” followed the thin blonde as she helped Erwyn through the green, Erwyn pitifully attempting to cover her bruising with her hair as she walked. As the girls stumbled towards the manor, the blonde girl started shyly asking Erywn things, and Erwyn, glad for a distraction from her humiliating walk to the manor, answered.

“Why did you dress like a boy - or, a better question,” the girl said after a few questions, her cheeks ruddy. “Why does your father ha - hate you so?”

Perhaps the blonde was waiting for an emphatic response of no, he’d never hate me, but Erwyn worried at her split lip before replying. “I’m devil spawn,” she said wryly, her purple eyes full of everything but mirth. “My father loved my mother, and I’m a constant reminder that she’s gone.”

But the blonde girl still looked like she had more to inquire, and Erwyn’s pride was the only thing keeping her from spilling unasked-for answers.

“I dress like a boy because sometimes I wish I was a boy,” Erwyn said finally, after a stretch of silence. “There’s a freedom that comes with it. Women can only marry or go to a nunnery, and they don’t have much choice even when it comes to that.”

The girl nodded, her doe-brown eyes wide. “I’m sorry - I’m sorry about your fiance,” she squeaked, flushing bright pink. Erwyn rolled her eyes and had the audacity to laugh - laugh. This girl - Alys, if she wasn’t mistaken - was almost as well-versed in manor gossip as her stepmother and ladies-in-waiting.

“He was an old knight, it was bound to happen,” Erwyn waved a hand around airily. “My next suitor might be more palatable. He might let me take a female lover, who knows. It’s hit or miss with these men - usually miss,” Erwyn mused.

The blonde girl almost tripped over her feet. “Female - female lover?” she echoed - no, squeaked. This girl was barely older than Erwyn was, but she was acting like a much smaller child. Bashful, really.

Erwyn shrugged. “Tell me about your daily schedule?” she inquired. Only it was less of an inquiry than a command - so the noble lady and the peasant girl exchanged stories. Erwyn would wake up at the crack of dawn and go to Mass; Alys would help her mother prepare breakfast for her father and brother in the early morning, as well.

If it were summer or autumn, Alys and her mother would help with the harvest. Erwyn felt spoiled admitting that after Mass she would be helped to dress and then go to a leisurely breakfast - she felt even worse admitting that hated solars of discussing gossip and tittering over heinous affairs were a luxury.

Alys was a bright listener, and before dark they had made it to the manor gates.

Alys let go of Erwyn’s arm, and Erwyn felt the absence keenly. The warmth of her new friend - if Alys even could be called that - was gone.

“Alys Cartwright,” Erwyn said formally, the syllables of Alys’s name strange in her mouth. “For your service to the Lady of Halle,” Erwyn had to break off and laugh at the absurdity of her title, “I will do my best to grant you a favor. A wish, if you will.”

Aly’s great brown eyes brightened, like the sun when it hit the horizon. “A small miracle?” she inquired, smiling.

“A small miracle,” Erwyn conceded, her cheeks warming.

Alys thought for a heartbeat, and then another. And then she coyly brought her mouth to Erwyn’s ear and whispered in it, something that made Erwyn flush from the ends of her hair to the tips of her toes.

But Erwyn leaned forward and kissed Alys on the lips, and though her own lip hurt from her father’s hand, his heavy signet ring, every cruel word turned her way, it was a small miracle. Alys sighed and her hands tangled in Erwyn’s loose strawberry hair, and suddenly it didn’t matter if her father hated her. If her mother was gone. If she were going to exact her revenge on her father and make him pay.

This time, Erwyn won.

#cece writes #original #short story #medieval #historical fiction #wlw #lesbian short story #okay the middle ages were a terrifying time period #i'm scared of it #if you were gay you'd be burned at the stake #the research i did for this was ungodly and it's not even that good :')

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lalahbug · 4 years

Text

Turning Cold - Levi x Reader Chapter 1

Fandom: Attack on Titan Word Count: 2,043

My Masterlist

Warnings/disclaim: general Sexual Themes

Author’s Note: continued under story Originally posted on DeviantArt, under the same username, on 10/10/2016. Revamped/edited in 2020.

___ is a blank for your name/oc/whatever you prefer Written in 3rd person

Line/header is to separate paragraphs to indicate time skips, as Tumblr hates my formatting.

Story under cut, 1 of 3, Turning Cold Masterlist

“Do you want my bread, Sasha?” Lilah extended the food out to Potato Girl.

“YES!” Sasha screamed, devouring it as soon as she took it.

“You leaving, ___?” Mikasa looked at her with concern.

“Yeah, I don’t feel good,” she stated, picking at the leftovers in her tray.

“You’ve been saying that a lot lately. Go get some rest.” Armin knitted his eyebrows together, showing concern as well.

“Okay.” ___ mumbled before getting up with her tray and heading over to drop it off. Of course, her feet betrayed her while she was in a haze. The tray fell from her hands, as she fell on someone during her fall. ___ sat up rubbing her temples, everything was blurry.

“What the hell, ___?” Ymir complained before looking at her. “Hey, you okay?”

“My vision is a bit blurry, sorry.”

“Oi! Who made this mess?” The mess hall went quiet as everyone looked at Ymir and ___. Ymir then looked at ___. Levi followed everyone's gaze. “___ ___! Clean this mess up at once.” Levi barked at her as Mikasa was walking over to her, to help her up. Armin came behind Levi.

“Sir, I’ll clean it up for her. She hasn’t been feeling well. I’m sorry.” Armin already had the cleaning supplies in his arms. Levi stared him down for a moment.

“I don’t care who does it, make sure it’s done right.” With that Armin started cleaning up the mess, which wasn’t that big, it was just bits of food. Levi eyed Mikasa who had an arm around ___, walking up to him.

“Sorry, Captain. I’ll make sure I get my messes quicker in the future.”

“You had only fallen like a minute before he pointed it out. Don’t say stupid things. I’m taking you to Hange.”

“What? No. I just need to sleep.” ___ stood up straight, pulling away from Mikasa. Levi eyed the two. ___ was favoring one leg over the other, her posture wasn’t as straight as usual and she was paler.

“Take Ms. ___ to Shitty Glasses.” He looked at Mikasa, then at ___, who was about to retort. He loved the way she always tried to fight him. But she was always polite about it. He stared her down, with his normally stoic face. “That’s an order.”

“Sir, I simply messed up my leg a couple of days ago. Hange already knows. I need rest is all.”

“Wait, what happened to your leg?” Eren asked as he appeared beside her, suddenly.

“Remember; her gear went defective the other day. Slamming her into a tree.” Mikasa reminded Eren. “Hange saw it happen, but she never looked at it.”

“Really. I don’t want to be a burden.”

“You’re disobeying orders.”

“I don-”

“Brat. I’ll take you myself to make sure it happens.” Levi gripped her wrist and started walking, dragging her with him. ___ glanced back at Eren and Mikasa, Eren just smirked and Mikasa gave her an ‘I-told-you-so’ look.

After a few moments of silence, Levi glanced back at ___ whose face was contorted with pain. He slowed down his pace, which alleviated her pain, as they both walked slowly now.

“You’re an idiot.”

“I’m sorry, Heichou. I didn’t want to burden anyone, but I did it anyway.”

“Of course you did. You’re fucking hurt, you made a mess, you’d be useless if something were to happen.” ___ gazed down at the floor. “You fucking made me worry.”

“What was that last part, Heichou?”

“Levi.”

“What?”

“God,” he grumbled before sighing. ”Forget it, brat.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Levi exhaled heavily as they reached Hange’s office.

“Go in and report back to my office when you're done.” Levi started to leave her at the door.

“Thank you, Heichou!” She smiled and waved at him off before entering Hange’s office.

Levi heaved another sigh as he felt some heat come to his cheek. Oh, how he wanted to punish her, but not in a way that would hurt. ’I’ll tease her a bit when she gets to my office.’

___ stood outside of Levi’s door, holding her fist up, ready to knock, but what she really wanted to do was hobble back to her bedroom and to finally sleep. She had been in the nurse’s office with Hange for hours, getting her first cast, which took about six hours to dry. It was so late at night, she sighed softly.

“___!” Eren called out her name, making her flinch as he roused her from her reverie. “I see Hange made you get a cast. Do you need help getting back to your room? Wait, why are you in front of Heichou’s door?”

“After getting in trouble earlier, he wanted me to report back to him once I was done with Hange. I was about to knock.”

“Well you’ve been standing here for like five minutes, so I thought you might be stuck. I can carry you to bed after you report back to him if you want. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Levi stated as he opened the door. “You are loud Eren, go away.”

“Oh, of course, sir. Goodnight, ___,” Eren walked towards the basement.

“Sorry, Heichou.” Her eyes were half-lidded. She was clearly on the verge of passing out. “I didn’t know if you would still want to see me so late and I apologize for talking so loudly outside your door.”

“You should be, get in here,” Levi grumbled as he stood back so she could enter the room. On her crutches, she stood, unsure where to sit. “You can sit on the couch.”

“Thank you, that’s sweet of you, Heichou.” She giggled as she sat down gingerly. “Sorry, I talk a bit weird when I’m sleepy. Hange gave me something for the swelling since it was really bad, so I feel a bit drugged too.”

“You’ve been walking around on a broken leg for three days?”

“Yeah. I didn’t think I hit the tree that hard. Plus I could walk… It was just uncomfortable. Last night, the pain kept me up. So I’m more sleep-deprived than usual. If you hadn’t overhead mine and Eren’s conversation, I probably would have taken his offer to carry me to bed.”

“Do you like Eren?”

“What?” ___’s cheek tinted a bit. “No, he’s my friend. Plus, I am sure Mikasa likes him. I’ve learned to not take things away from Ackerman’s.” She giggled a bit, letting her blush disappear. “I tried taking her scarf once. if I wasn’t her friend, I think she would have killed me.”

“Did you forget I am an Ackerman?”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. It’s routine to call you Capitan or Heichou. Sometimes I just remember one name and subconsciously forget the others. But I remember now, your name I mean, Levi Ackerman. It has a nice flow.” She smiled at him. Levi sat down next to her, resting his arm on the back of the couch, behind her. A small tint of pink comes to her cheeks again. “Anyways, what punishment did you want to give me?”

“Punishment?”

“For disobeying orders, I assumed that is why you wanted me to report to you afterward.”

“What do you think of me?” Levi asked bluntly, smirking as her cheeks went crimson.

“Oh, um, you’re brave, stoic, you carry humanity on your back. You’re aggressive,” she paused for a moment glancing at him before looking away. ”You have a lot of emotions, but you’re so crude that it seems to mask the less urgent ones. You have a good sense of humor, though. Well, at least I think so,” ___ played with her skirt a bit, the one Hange lent her so that the cast could be put on.

“Is that all?” Levi noticed her tense up and heat spread to the tip of her ears.

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Levi. You can call me Levi when we’re alone.”

“O-okay.” She wasn’t doing too well, she’d always made sure not to get starstruck around Levi, but she was having a hard time controlling her heart, she hunched over a bit to try control her erratic heartbeat. Levi shifted closer to her.

“Are you nervous?” Levi whispered in her ear.

“W-what?!” She sat up straight then looked away. “N-no, of course not. W-why would I be, s-sir?”

“You’re bad at lying.”

“And?” Was all she could muster so that her voice wouldn’t crack. He chuckled slightly, which caused her to look over at him, confused. Levi took the opportunity to catch her chin in his fingers.

“I like you, ___.”

Her eyes widened at his confession. “Um, okay?” She was far too confused to articulate anything else.

“And?”

“I don’t know,” ___ whispered.

Levi clicked his tongue in frustration before pulling her in for a sharp kiss. Moving his hand to the back of her neck, making the kiss more passionate, as she relaxed into it. He bit her bottom lip, making her gasp. Then, he moved his tongue around hers.

___ pulled away, breathing a bit harder, Levi was composed. His eyes didn’t leave her lips. Levi pulled her closer before kissing her again, running his hands up and down her sides. She pulled away again.

“Tch, stop pulling away.”

She was panting now. “Learn to breathe out of your nose.” Levi aggressively kissed her, tugging her hair a bit to get her to gasp, which worked. Once again his tongue wrapped around hers. He lightly sucked on her tongue before pulling away.

___’s eyes were glazed over, from the kiss, being tired, drugged, and confused.

“You’re staying here tonight.” That made her snap back to reality.

“B-but, sir, I-” She moaned slightly as he tugged on her hair.

“Say my name,” Levi pressed his lips against her neck.

“L-Levi.”

He grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling it away a bit, kissing the curve of her neck before biting it roughly. “Levi!” He chuckled before pulling back as she clamped a hand to her neck out of shock.

“So, do you mind sleeping with me in bed?” She was far too flustered to say anything, so she shook her head ‘no’. “Perfect.” He gave her a sly smile, which nearly made her heart jump out of her chest. In one swift movement, she was scooped into his arms, he was assaulting her neck once again.

“Levi, what are you doing?” She looked at him as he sat her down on his bed. He leaned forward, pinning her arms above her head and lying on top of her. Kissing her neck, she squirmed a bit, underneath him.

“Hm, you said I could have you in bed.” He groped her chest.

“T-t-that’s not what I meant!” Her moan cut off the protest, as he bit her neck again.

“Tch, too bad,” she sighed in relief. “For you that is.”

“Wait!”

“Nope, you’re mine.” Levi pressed his lips to hers and smiled as she seemed to cave in.

___ lied in Levi’s arms, as morning light started to pour over Levi’s features, she softly pushed some of his bangs off his face. “I love you, Levi.”

“Finally,” he mumbled and smirked as she jumped in his arms a bit. He pulled her closer, snuggling his face into the nook of her neck. “I love you, ___.”

She smiled as she traced small circles onto his back, with her fingertips.

Extended Ending

“Oh, Shorty, you’re going to get into so much trouble.” Hange leaned in the entrance of his room, seeing the two pressed together.

___ tucked her head under his jaw, trying and failing to hide.

“Fuck off, Shitty Glasses. 1. I don’t care. 2. We didn’t do it. Yet.”

“Well, when you do, then you’ll be in trouble.”

“She turns 18 in two weeks.”

“She’ll be in that cast for 4 weeks after that.”

“That’s not going to stop me.”

“What stopped you last night?” Hange chuckled.

Levi looked down at her, the corner of his lip twitching up for a moment. Hange smiled at Levi, completely understanding.

“In this crazy world, full of change and chaos, there is one thing of which I am certain, one thing which does not change: my love for her.” Levi hugged her tighter making her squeak.

Author’s Note: continued I never posted the last two chapters on dA. Since it was unfinished it was deleted from my gallery, so you won’t be able to find it other than here and maybe other sites in the future. This was meant to be a one-shot but I wanted to continue it. So here we are. And that’s why there is an “extended ending” From some research I found out a cast in the 1800s, they took roughly 6 hours to dry. So that’s why I mention it.

#attack on titan #aot #aot fic #levi x reader #levi/reader #levi ackerman #fanfic #fanficition #lalahbug #Turning Cold series #lalah writes #reader insert #xreader #self insert

18 notes · View notes

yourdreamscenarios · 5 years

Text

When you fall and hurt yourself

∙ Requested ♡ ∙ Word count:

∙ Jin

“I’m done, if this is how it’s going to be I’ll just stick to where we’re living right now.” Seokjin complained, sitting down on top of one of the brown boxes piled up in the room which was supposed to become the living room. You raised your eyebrows at him, mainly because he was being dramatic, secondly because the box he’d just sat down his butt on clearly read breakable on the side. “It’s just a one time thing. As soon as we got all the boxes inside the worst part is over.” You reminded him while rolling up the sleeves of your shirt towards your elbows. Seokjin had immediately turned up the heating as the two of you had put food inside of the house, and by now you were both sweating. It was one thing to run up and down from the car towards the house and back, but it was something else to do so with heavy boxes in your hold. But you’d been delaying this for too long now. And since you both had a few days to spare in your schedule, it seemed the perfect timing to finally get into moving out.

All your friends thought it crazy that you’d bought a house almost two months ago but the two of you hadn’t even started moving out of your separate places until two weeks ago. But they didn’t seem to understand there was nothing as depressing as moving your stuff into a huge home while your significant other wasn’t there to help you along with it. You’d bought this house so you could spend more time together, see each other more often, not to fall back into old habits. “You’re lying. You realize we still have to unpack all this later, right? That’s going to be the hard work. Since you’re never pleased with where I put things. Which I still don’t understand. That zebra would have fit greatly next to our lamp.” You pulled a face as him, thinking back of the time the two of you had gone furniture shopping together and he had tried everything inside of him to convince you to buy a huge zebra statue. The fact that it had been a zebra wasn’t the problem. It had been it’s flashy pink color which had bothered you. Thinking about Seokjin decorating even one room in the house caused your heart to speed up.

“I could ask my mom for help, she’d love to.” You recalled, thinking of the offer she had made you last week. Your father was out on a business trip and she was at home by herself, staring at the walls. Usually you didn’t want her all over your things, but in this case it might actually be convenient. You could tell he found the idea quite appealing, sitting there on his box. You rolled your eyes at him before turning your back on him and marching mack towards the front door. “Take your time, I’ll get another box.” You called over your shoulder as you made your way through the door and down the porch steps. You’d known a long time before you bought the house that this was a place you where wanted to live. It was a nice neighborhood and since Seokjin was so popular, you couldn’t just pick any place to live. He needed a secured area, somewhere he felt at ease bringing his kids home to one day. To him, the style hadn’t really mattered, he just wanted something safe and private. So he’d left that up to you. And you loved every single detail of this house. It was big, but not too huge.

It had enough room to invite friends over, but not enough to brag about it being a villa. You loved the huge windows, letting sunlight rest against the walls throughout the entire house. The garden was fresh and cosy, a small pool attached to it. You’d never asked for the luxury you had today, but Seokjin insisted that he’d use his fortunes for your future and so you accepted anyway. As an author you had your own money. Your books sold well, the last one making it into the YA top thee for a whole year. You could live on this for the rest of your life, but you’d never been a person to put it on display. You put your money in more discreet things, like charity and buying nice things for your parents and sister. You didn’t have the amount of money Seokjin had, but nothing about that mattered. It was nice to be able to love someone for who they were, without thinking of what they had. Stopping in front of the trunk of a small van you’d hired for the day, you looked at the small stacks of boxed that were left. The two of you had moved many of them over the timespan of two hours. If you kept moving like this you’d be done by tonight and still have time to order some takeout.

Pressing one knee into the trunk you tried your best to reach for one of the boxes in the back. At least you’d get a good night of sleep tonight. You weren’t the type to work out and you were sure your muscles were going to be sore tomorrow. But it would be worth it, knowing you’d finally be able to move in with the man you wanted to spend your future with. You’d both still be busy, but there’d be a much bigger chance you’d wake up or get to fall asleep beside him once you’d live together. It were those tiny things you missed when he was not around. And the thought you’d have to miss those no longer made your heart race. Slowly you tugged the box out of the trunk and positioned it inside of your arms. Just like the others it was quite heavy. You had packed as many things inside of each box as possible, hoping you’d be done faster if there would be less boxes to carry. But you were damned either way. Dragging yourself towards the porch you stared at the children near the end of the street, playing football. They seemed careless, their laughter ringing through the air causing your spirit to grow wings and be lifted.

You had definitely made the right choice choosing this house. You scared up when you heard the sound of your phone coming from your jeans pocket at the same time your sneaker lost its grip on the concrete. Screeching you felt the ground slip from underneath your feet, and hobbled down two steps before your butt landed on the sidewalk. “Fuck.” You groaned, inwardly hoping the children were too far away to hear you curse. While trying to wrap your mind around what just happened you pushed yourself up until you were sitting on the first landing of stairs. At least there hadn’t been anyone close enough to witness your failure. Sighing in frustration you pulled down the waistband of your jeans, where pain was throbbing at your hip. A bruise was forming around the skin, probably the spot which had come down first and had caught the blow. “I’m so sorry! I swear I had no idea you’d fall!” Seokjin’s voices reached from behind you and before you had the time to turn your head and look at him, he came racing around you and kneeled down in front of you. “Are you hurt?” He asked, panic visible inside of his eyes as he held his hands in front of him, wanting to touch you but not sure if he was allowed to do so. “I think so, I guess the box broke the worst part of the fall.” You said, wincing as you tried to push yourself up to stand. A stabbing pain exploded from your hip and forced you to lower yourself back onto the cold stone.

“Shit, I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have texted you, it’s ridiculous. I could’ve just waited until you got back inside.” He rambled, and you blinked your eyes at him in surprise as you tried to understand what he’d just told you. When you realized you couldn’t, you blurted “What?” Guilt pooled inside of his dark irises as he stared at the spot you were clenching your side. He nibbled his bottom lip, his eyes darting back and fort as he tried to think of what to do. “We need to get you to the hospital. They need to check up on you.” He said, patting his pockets until he found the keys of the car. As much as you wanted to deny his words, you knew he was right. You needed a doctor to check on your hip. So it seemed like you’d have to put aside your distaste of hospitals for once. “Can you walk?” He asked, running over towards the van to open the door.

Clenching your teeth together you pressed yourself up from the floor, a wash of relief coming over you when you realized your hip wasn’t as painful anymore as it was before. Perhaps it would all be fine after all. Seokjin wrapped his arm around your middle and tugged yours across his shoulders before he wobbled you towards the passenger seat. A bit further ahead the children had stopped kicked the ball and were staring at the scene the two of you had made. You were sure that by tonight the neighbors would all have figured out their first impressions of you two. “Wait, what did you text me about?” You suddenly remembered, and as you turned to look at him you could tell he was avoiding your stare on purpose. His cheeks turned pinkish as he settled you down against the seat and leaned over you to fasten your seatbelt. His lips were only inches away from yours as he spoke. “I found that zebra online, it was on sale.”

∙ RM

“I’m sorry, I just don’t like you. I never wanted to hurt you, but I think it’s best if you stop trying to reach out for me.” The pity inside of his voice caused your feet to remain glued to the floor, no matter how hard you wanted to run. You blinked your eyes at him, wishing the tears wouldn’t come. The last thing you wanted was to cry in front of him. You told yourself he didn’t deserve any of your tears. Yet, that wasn’t what your heart felt. You’d liked this guy for years, had thought of only him for months straight. You couldn’t imagine your life without him being a part of it. For all this time, you had been foolish enough to think that a guy like him could like someone like you. You watched the way he turned around, planning on leaving you all alone in the middle of the hallway. You should be pleased there weren’t any people around, any of the other students who could watch you being rejected by Park Jimin. This moment would be meant for just the two of you, and you hoped he would respect that instead of laughing about it later with his friends. A deep part inside of you had been afraid this would happen.

There were so many girls who adored him, you had no idea why you’d thought for even a minute that you would have a chance with him. Still, you’d tried to prove your love for him for weeks, sending him secret notes and leaving him letters in his locker. You’d watched him read your messages with a little smile on his face. You knew he’d secretly enjoyed reading them. You’d thought they’d started meaning something to him, that he’d started looking forward to them after all this time. Yet, it didn’t seem to be enough. He’d probably expected his secret admirer to be someone else, someone prettier and more like him. Because unlike him you weren’t a part of any large groups at school, you didn’t particularly enjoy going out at night and getting drunk. You didn’t put layers and layers of make up on your face to hide your flaws, you didn’t pretend to be anyone you were not. Even though you were different, you’d always stayed true to yourself. In your mind you had always thought that if Jimin would give you a chance and would try to get to know you, he would realize the two of you would fit well together. But it had finally become clear to you that you would never figure it out. The dream which had been developing in your own head for weeks was just unraveling before your eyes.

You lingered down the hall for a while, not knowing where to go. You wanted some peaceful place to crawl up and cry, but there was no way you could ditch classes. If your parents would find out you’d walked out on your duties while you were supposed to be at school, no matter what he reason, you’d be grounded for weeks. And the thought of being stuck in the house right now threatened to suffocate you. “Idiot.” You whispered, inwardly calling yourself worse names but not wanting to get caught saying them out loud. The halls were deserted, but it wouldn’t take much longer before the bell would ring and students would start dripping out of their classrooms. And you definitely wanted to get out of here before anyone would see you in the current state you were in. The last thing you needed were any rumors, and for things to spread. Turning on your heel you speed walked further down the corridor, walking past shut lockers in an ocean of blue. You deliberately turned your head the other way when you walked past Jimin’s locker, the one you’d been deposing your feelings into for the past few weeks.

You felt like a fool and you knew you were one. And once again that awful part of your mind started wondering about who he’d wished his admirer had been. Had it been that beautiful girl from art class? Or that rock chick who sat two rows in front of him at science? You guessed you’d never find out. And perhaps it was better that way, so you didn’t have anyone to blame but yourself. The loud screeching of the bell rang inside of your ears and/or heart did a double one inside of your chest as you sped up. A door crashed against a wall down the hall, chatter filled the air and you knew you just wouldn’t be able to handle it. Before anyone could spot you, you raced through the huge doors, and stumbled into the afternoon air. The cold hit you straight in the gut and before you even realized what happened you could feel your feet trip. And there for a minute, you seemed to be floating into the air, as if like drifting on a cloud. Time was standing still in that moment, and for a minute the world stopped turning. Yet, soon that cloud was replaced by the hard grind pressing into the palms of your hands and scratching throughout the material of your jeans. You wheezed, feeling the sting of damaged skin travel down your nerve system.

Tears welled up inside of your eyes and you blinked rapidly to force them back. You knew that you needed to get up, before anyone would notice you laying on the ground. Not only would they find out you’d fallen, but someone would figure out you were supposed to be in class and would surely tell a teacher. But something caused to to stay limp, either it was your self pity or your pain. “Are you alright?” The voice broke through the noise inside of your head, and a blurred face appeared through the mist of your tears. You tried to remember if you’d ever heard that voice before, but you could barely summon it. Demanding your tears away you stared up inside of the worried gaze of Kim Namjoon. Shame slipped through you because you hadn’t recognized him by the sound of his voice, even though you had always loved the sound of his voice in your English class. He was one of the students who’s speech project you liked the most and he always kept your attention. Though it wasn’t like you really knew him. Namjoon was known to be a bit of an outsider. He never stuck around after class to talk with his friends, and during free moments he could be found spending his time in the library, surrounded by books.

And just like everyone else you’d never really put much effort into getting to know him, simply because you’d thought that he didn’t have the need to do so. But those were simply your interpretations. “I think so.” You mumbled, feeling embarrassed because he’d seen you fall. Yet, there wasn’t a single sign in his expression which seemed to be making fun of you. Instead, there seemed to be actual concern inside of his eyes and you could somehow feel your heart quiver inside of your chest because of it. “That was a nasty fall you took there.” He reminded you, but once again there was no cruelty inside of his voice, he said it as if he was simply stating a fact. Your cheeks reddened as you watched him extend his hand to you, waiting for you to take it. Letting a breath slip past your lips you accepted his gesture and laid your fingers inside of his. With a strength you hadn’t expected to come from him he tugged you upright until you were standing a few feet in front of him. He shot you a tiny smile before taking a step back and granting you your space and releasing your hand. You were surprised when a warmth you hadn’t known you’d felt disappeared together with his touch. “Let’s check out your hands.” He suggested and you turned your palms upwards to check upon the damage.

Small pieces of gravel were stuck against your skin and small droplets of blood tracked your wounds. You’d have to explain what had happened once you got home. “It’s fine, they’ll probably heal fast enough.” You tried, not wanting to bother him. Yet, he ignored you as he ran over to a bench he’d apparently been sitting on all this time and went to fetch his bag pack. As he made his way back to you, he grabbed a bottle of water he’d been keeping inside of it. You watched him in silent gratefulness as he gently held you by the wrists and rinsed your hands with his water one by one, erasing the dirt from them. The wetness stung, but you ignored it as you looked at his face while he focussed on your hands. You had no idea why he was being so nice to you, to a person who’d never bothered being nice to him in return. But he just did what he thought was right, no matter who you were. A certain admiration for him blossomed inside of your chest, for this stranger you’d never spoken to before. “You’re in my English class.” You said, simply to say something. You probably sounded like an idiot, but he still smiled never the less as he fixed his gaze on yours.

“So are you.” His reply caused the corners of your lips to curl upwards as he reached for a paper tissue inside of his bag and used it to carefully pat your palms. A cloud shifted above you and a ray of sunlight fell down around you, lighting up the world that seemed to have gone grey to you a few minutes ago. You couldn’t believe that you’d waisted your time falling for someone who never would have done this for you if he’d been the one seeing you tumble down the stairs. “My name is ______________.” You introduced yourself, feeling like that was the right thing to do. He released your hands, pleased with his work as he put the leftover tissues back inside of his bag. He swung the strap casually over his shoulder before he turned towards you, his face open and friendly as he smiled. “I’m Namjoon.” He said and you blinked in surprise as he bumped his elbow against yours as if it was a normal thing to do. He stared at your stunned expression and chuckled, a low and songlike sound. “Doesn’t seem like the best time for a handshake. But never the less, it’s nice to meet you.” You ignored the drill of students flowing past you as another bell cracked up around you, signaling the school day was over. You just stood there, perfectly content inside of an ocean of people, staring inside of the most gentle eyes you’d seen in a long time.

∙ J Hope

“You’ll do great. You practiced all week.” He assured you, waving his hand in front of your face to comb a piece of hair away from your eyes and behind your ear. You shot him a shy smile as his fingers lingered a few seconds against your skull before they retreated. Hoseok had been the perfect man all week, surrounding you with positivity and motivating you to keep going until the very end. Promotions had been a mess this time around, and now that everything was finally coming up to the finale, you were a giant ball of stress. No matter how hard you had practiced your vocals and your choreography, you were simply afraid one of you was going to mess it up. And that someone didn’t necessarily have to be you. You’d been a part of a band for two years now, but these trust issues seemed to be something you simply couldn’t get rid of. Thankfully your members had never blamed you for it, and they accepted the fact you were someone who pushed them to work harder than they might think possible. Besides, you were harder on yourself than you were on anyone else.

“Thanks for helping me out though. I couldn’t have done this without you.” You said, scrolling through the conversation on your phone you were having with your local friends from home. Everyone seemed to be talking about this comeback, which didn’t seem to make it any easier. You had been slaying your last project and people seemed to expect no less form these promotions. Once again you had tried a completely new concept, forcing yourself to try new things and dig for a different and new part of yourselves. Hoseok kept trying to convince you that your company was supposed to let you stay true to yourselves and figure out your own style and flow. But you’d more than once explained to him that after only two years of being a band, you all didn’t have a clue about what that style or flow was. So for now, experimenting seemed to be the right thing to do until you could stuck to the thing you felt most comfortable with. “Sure, you’d do the same thing for me. Besides, it was fun to see you sweat.” He grinned, and you pulled a face at him as you thought back of all the times he had been practically torturing you in the practice room.

Hoseok was one of the best dancers you knew and you wouldn’t want to accept advice from anyone else but him. He’d helped you to make every move as perfect as possible, correcting you each time he thought you could do better. Days had been long, for you and for him. Especially since he’d made time to help you out after his own schedules. Two nights ago the two of you had fallen asleep at Big Hit’s practice rooms, until Seokjin had walked in and had woken you both up with his cheerful morning greetings. So you guessed you were both quite pleased this was about to come to an end, even though none of you said it out loud. “I think they’re ready for us.” Lily muttered inside of your ear, her hands landing on top of your shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze. She smiled casually as Hoseok, who gave her a polite nod. Your band members kindly accepted your boyfriend’s presence around stages and practices, knowing that once they’d start dating someone they expected you to do the same. And you had to say you often enjoyed having him around, yet you still didn’t want it to become a habit. The two of you saw each other when you had mutual schedules, but you rarely invited him over when the two of you didn’t have a stage together. Mainly because he simply didn’t have the time to show and had his own stuff to deal with. Secondly because you didn’t want to mix your career with your love life. And it seemed as if the two of you had come to an unspoken agreement about that.

Hoseok patted your thigh, ignoring the face you threw him in the process. Your thighs were body parts you were insecure about, and he knew this all too well. Somehow he’d gotten the idea that if he showed them enough love you’d eventually accept them as a part of yourself you should honor. There was still quite some work to be done before such a thing could be achieved. “Good luck, I’ll see you when you’re done.” He said, groaning as he pushed himself up from his seat beside you on the coach and swiped away the imaginary dust from his trousers. “You don’t have to wait here, you could just go home. I’ll be fine.” You assured him, not wanting him to sit here and wait out the entire process of performing, filming, cutting and do-overs. He deserved his rest, especially after everything he had done for you. You didn’t want to keep him away from home longer than necessary. But he just shrugged and instead of heading towards the exit in search for a quiet place to sit or where perhaps he could find a few of his friends to hang out with. You sighed, but smiled never the less. Hoseok always did his own thing, you could never force him into certain directions. He had such a headstrong person, you kind of admired him for it.

“Let’s go, I’m so excited!” Hanna squealed, clapping her hands together as to prove her point. You followed them out into the hallway, once again checking your ear ins and your mic. Everything was set, everything was on point, now you only had to make this work. You all huddled together, sharing some enthusiastic last pep talk with each other before you got your cues and gathered in front of the stairs, getting ready to run up stage. A deep voice announced you and you knew you had to get up on that stage quickly if you wanted to get into the right position. The lights went out and you members quickly started moving up the steps in front of you, giving you no choice but to follow. But the space was cramped and before you knew what had happened, you misstepped, your feet missing a landing. A strangled noise came over your lips as you caught yourself with your hands, a terrible sting traveling up the entire length of your arm. “Are you okay?” Hanna asked, standing behind you, waiting for you to get up. You nodded, forcing a smile onto your face as you blinked away your tears. You cradled your wrist against your chest, and looked back to see Hoseok standing a few feet away, one foot in front of the other, as if he was at the point of running over to check on you.

But you shot him a reassuring smile, which seemed to settle things for now as you continued up the stairs and took your place upon the stage. At first it was a weird tingling sensation creeping through your arm, but it soon changed into some kind of pinching, which worsened and took your breath away when you tried to move your wrist. You felt lightheaded as you held your mic inside of your hand, forcing your fingers to close around it. The performance went by terribly slow, yet you seemed to be in some sort of daze the entire time. There was only one thing you could seem to focus on and that was the pain you felt. You knew something was wrong, and one look down at the joint made all the blood drain from your face. It was all bruised and thick. The choreography was far from perfect, mainly because of the mistakes you made. The hours and hours of practice for nothing, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. As soon as the lights went out you sped backstage, wanting to get away as quickly as you could. Tears were clouding your view, conjured by disappointment and hurt. “What the hell was that?” Jennifer seethed, trying to reach out for you by grabbing your shoulder and stopping you as soon as all of you were at the back. But before you could say anything Hoseok had suddenly appeared in front of you, suspicion written all over his face.

“What is it?” He asked, knowing better than anyone, that if you’d been in your right state of mind, this never would have happened. He was there, spending all of those hours with you in the practice rooms. He knew how hard you had worked, knew how nervous you had been. Your bottom lip was actually trembling as you held up your arm, and instantly a staff member came in helpful by pointing his flashlight at it. Some people gasped, and you could see Jennifer press her hand against her chest in shock as she stared at your wrist. “God that looks terrible.” She said, pulling a face at it. All of a sudden everyone was trying to give you some kind of advice. “Put some ice on it.” “Don’t let it hang down your side, it’ll only swell more.” “You should have said something!” But in the end it was your boyfriend who wrapped his arm around your shoulders and who let you away from all the commotion. He steered you down the halls, leading you towards a small room where you knew the paramedics were. There were always a few of them backstage, just in case something did happen.

“Was it when you fell?” He asked as he got you inside, two women and one man immediately all ears as they gently placed you on a chair and gingerly tried to take a look at your wrist. You nodded, trying to flex and bend your fingers like one of the women instructed you to do. “I caught myself, I felt it straight away, but I didn’t think it was this bad. It was only midway through the performance the pain got this bad.” You explained, trying not to take the judgement in Hoseok’s face too personal. You knew he’d understand as soon as he was over his concern for you. After all, he had seen his band members do the exact same thing, and he had done the same thing as well. It was a part of the job, pushing yourself, even though you knew you shouldn’t. “Alright honey, I’m going to give you some painkiller alright. Now, I don’t think it’s broken, just sprained. But just to be sure we should get you up to the hospital to take some x-rays. We don’t want to miss anything here.” She explained, reaching behind her before putting two round pills inside of your uninjured palm. She smiled kindly at you while presenting you a glass of water.

You thanked her and swallowed the pills down, hoping they’d lessen the throwing of your arm soon. You hadn’t eaten much before the performance due to stress, and you could feel your head swaying. “I’ll take you.” Hoseok assured you and you nodded, using his help to get up from your chair. He carefully placed your jacket over your shoulders before wrapping his arm tightly around you, pulling you close. If you had been glad that he’d been here before, it was nothing compared to how you felt now. “I’m sorry, this is such a mess.” You muttered, heaving a deep sigh as the two of you made your way towards the exit and his car. He waved your apology away and shot you a sweet smile, trying to make you feel better. “It’s all going to be fine. You’ll be better soon.” He tried to reassure you and brushed his lips past your temple. He opened the passenger door for you and carefully helped you get inside of the car. You were flustered as he reached down to help you fastened your seatbelt, but he ignored you when you told him you’d be fine by yourself. As soon as you were clicked in safely he patted your thigh, causing you to frown at him. “It’s a good thing I didn’t go home after all.” He joked and you swatted at him with your good hand. He was just in time to get out of the way, snickering softly.

∙ Suga

Coming soon

∙ Jimin

Coming soon

∙ V

Coming soon

∙ Jungkook

You moaned contently as you rolled over in bed, feeling the way you got tangled up inside of the covers. You had slept in shamefully long, but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel bad about it. The past few weeks, your schedule had been packed and you had been rushing from one point towards the other. Sleep had been a luxury and you thought you had deserved a nice and long night in bed now that you finally had a day off. You pressed your face deeply inside of the soft pillow, realizing that you had rolled over towards your boyfriend’s side of the bed as you smelled his cologne all of the sheets. It was a sad fact that he wasn’t here with you right now. But unfortunately, as you worked for different companies, it was almost impossible for the two of you to match your free days to each other. And so you had vaguely heard him get out of bed early this morning, had softly felt his lips press down at the side of your head, before he had gotten up and left the mattress to turn cold beside you. As a girl, you had been used to having a queen size bed at your parent’s place. So a very small part of you was secretly glad to have this much space again.

But it was nothing compared to the part of you which was missing your boyfriend. A battle went on inside of your head as you wondered if you should get up and get some stuff done, or if you’d stay in bed just a little bit longer. As you sneakily opened one eye you stared straight at the alarm clock which stood on your nightstand. Your heart leaped slightly inside of your chest when you saw it was almost noon. Talking about sleeping in. Instantly you were wide awake, feeling sheepish because you you hadn’t taken better control over the situation. But you’d been exhausted, and the sleep had done a great job on your mental and physical state. Last night you had felt droopy and forgetful. Your body had ached at places you hadn’t known been possible. You’d been having mood swings which were out of your control and headaches had become your best friend. Today, you felt as if you had become an entirely different person. Your muscles had popped back into the right place, your head felt clear and light. You felt better than you had done in weeks. So you decided not to feel bad about sleeping this long, and decided that this was simply something your body had been in terrible need of.

After stretching your arms above of your head, you pushed yourself up into a sitting position. You had messed up the sheets, one side kicked off of the bed completely. You pouted, wondering how you’d been able to do such a thing without waking up before you flipped your legs out of the bed and got up. Reaching for the curtains you tugged them open, being greeted by wonderful rays of sunlight. You smiled, thinking about all the things you could do today with a weather this nice. Perhaps you could go grocery shopping, fill up your fridge which was currently stored with leftovers. Jungkook would probably like a freshly prepared and healthy meal tonight. Turning on your heel you went back towards the bed, tugging the blankets straight and tugging them in at the sides. As soon as that was done you marched over towards the bathroom, to freshen up. You took a quick shower and got into some comfy clothes before gathering your hair together on top of your head into a ponytail. It was a typical ‘stay at home look but still be able to get out of the door to do something practical and be seen by paparazzi’ kind of look. You applied some lipgloss and took one look into the mirror before you decided you didn’t really care about how you looked and you flicked off the lights after collecting the laundry.

Muttering a song that magically popped inside of your mind you snapped your phone from your nightstand and walked out of the room. Propping the laundry basket underneath your arm you scrolled through your notifications, deciding which ones needed immediate attention and which ones could wait until later. You had a text from one of your band members, telling you that one of your photoshoots had been rescheduled for next week. You quickly switched the dates in your agenda, knowing you’d never be able to remember otherwise. There was a text from your mom, asking if you wanted some left over soup and she could bring it downtown for you if you wanted. And then there was one from Jungkook, asking to call him once you woke up. You frowned as you made your way down the hall towards the stairs. Had something happened? You checked the time, and saw he’d sent you this text almost two hours ago. He probably hadn’t expected for you to sleep in this long. You’d definitely have some explaining to do. Curiosity took master of you, and you knew you’d have to call him back as soon as possible. Perhaps he had something important to tell you? Maybe something had happened? Or maybe…

Your stream of thought was instantly cut off when your feet hung in open air, missing the step of the stairs it was supposed to take. You shrieked, lost your balance and before you knew what was happening you were tumbling down the stairs. The laundry flew everywhere and when you came to a sudden halt at the bottom on the stairs you realized you had been clamming your phone inside of your hands like crazy, holding onto it for dear life. Shock was the first thing that came over you as you tried to take in what had happened. Your heart was beating like crazy inside of your chest, your hands trembling. You had never fallen down the stairs before. Letting out a deep breath you realized this could have ended up entirely different. If you had fallen down headfirst, this could have been a true disaster, especially with nobody at home to find you here. You sat back and tried to calm yourself by chuckling softly. Of course this was something which had to happen to you. The adrenaline slowly wore off, which was when you began to feel all of the sore spots on your body.

Twisting your arm you could tell your elbow had scratched against the wall, blood bubbling up from the nasty scratch. The side of your knee was swelling and the skin was transforming into a bruised color. You blinked away the tears inside of your eyes, which were partly caused because of the fright and partly because of the pain. “Stupid. Why would you text while walking down the stairs?” You scolded yourself, trying to push yourself upright. A loud help escaped your lips as soon as you tried to put some pressure on your left foot. Soon, the tears which had been clouding your view were rolling down your cheeks, the pain coming as a complete surprise to you. You quickly rolled down the longs socks you’d been wearing to keep your feet warm and actually gasped when you saw the size of the joint. It looked nothing like it had done before. Instantly hundreds of thought were penetrating your mind. How you had just messed up your schedule by getting injured. How you had abandoned your members by being so careless. You’d have to get to a doctor, but there was no way you could drive like this.

On autopilot you reached for your phone, dialing the first number popping up on your screen. It rang for an eternity before finally your name sounded on the other side of the line, the voice familiar. “______________!” I’m so glad you called! I wanted to talk to you. Why did it take so long for you to get back to me?” Jungkook’s voice was cheerful, which only added to your guilt of having to call him like this. “Jungkook!” You were barely able to hold back a sob as you said his name, your voice coming out all wry and crackling. Instantly a silence rang at the other side, since he clearly hadn’t been expected a greeting like this. He had expected you to sound happy after a good night of sleep, curious about what he was about to tell you, not as if you were about to burst into tears any second. “What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice worried as he hushed his members, who were probably there in the room with him and who were tracking the conversation. You tried to slow down your breathing, tried to come up with a plan to get towards the car. You could hobble, you had a good balance, you’d be able to make it on one leg. But there was no way you’d be able to drive using only one foot and just the thought of using your injured one made you feel like throwing up.

“I fell down the stairs.” You said, feeling stupid. Frustrations were searing through you as you shoveled forward on your butt, hoping to get towards the kitchen so you could at least grab a tissue to press against the scratch on your elbow. The blood was now slowly leaking down your arm, creating a mess on the floor. A snort could be heard next to your ear, and you scowled. You couldn’t believe he thought this way funny. “Did you get hurt?” He asked, laughter clearly audible inside of his voice. Him making fun of you only caused you to feel worse, and your volume got louder as you spoke next time, your words ringing with some sort of panic. “I can’t get up.” You moaned deeply as you bumped your injured feet into the side of the table as you finally managed to get inside of the kitchen. Instantly the laughter stopped, and you could hear him getting up and collect his things. “What do you mean you can’t get up?” He instantly sounded serious and the ringing of car keys was audible now. You leaned against the door, grabbed your leg and tried to breath in and out slowly, dizziness coming over you. “It’s my ankle, I can’t put any pressure on it. And my knee, it’s looking weird.” Once again you started tearing up, feeling miserable and helpless. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call. I know you’re busy…”

He immediately silenced you, telling you you shouldn’t apologize, that he was glad you’d called. “I’ll be there as fast as I can. Just stay where you are, I’ll take you to the hospital.” He assured you, and you hung up after saying your goodbye’s. You were such an idiot, always causing trouble like this. How were you supposed to tell your manager that you had been able to get yourself injured on your day off? You bumped your head against the wall once, then decided against it, after all the last thing you needed was a concussion to add to the problem. Instead you waited, focussing your ears on the sound of a car stopping on the driveway. And soon you heard a key getting jammed inside of the lock, the door smashing against the wall at the speed to get it open. “Where are you?” Jungkook’s voice rang through the apartment and you called out, leading him towards the kitchen with the sound of your voice. He speed walked into the room and his eyes immediately fell on you, sitting against the wall, your leg laying out in front of you. He crouched down in front of you, his fingers gingerly reaching out to your swollen knee.

His face contracted, as if only the sight of it was enough to cause him pain. “What happened?” He asked, looking up into your face in concern, his hands reaching out to wipe the tears from your face. You rolled your eyes at him, a bit of your own self returning now that you were no longer alone and he was here with you. “I was reading your text, missing a step. Before I knew it, I was on the floor.” He made a small ‘ah’ sound, and it was clear that he wanted to tell you off for using your phone instead of watching where you were going. But he said nothing, at least for now. “Let’s get you into the car. You need to let someone check up on that leg.” He said, positioning himself so that he could slip his arms underneath you and lift you from the floor. You sighed, and let your head lull back against his shoulder as he carried you towards the car. “I’m so stupid.” You muttered, feeling your ankle throbbing with every step, your face contorting a little in a hurtful expression. “Yeah…” Jungkook mumbled, but smiled as you glared at him, placing a small peck between your brows.

∙ BTS Masterlist ♡ ∙ Masterlist ♡

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megalony · 4 years

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The King’s heir- Part 2

Here is the second part of my new King! Ben Hardy series which I hope everyone is going to enjoy, feedback is always appreciated.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr @rogermeddow @radiob-l-a-hblah @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6 @rogertaylors-lipgloss @sj-thefan @omgitsearly @luckytrashgooprebel @scarsout @deaky-with-a-c @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez @jonesyaddiction @rogahs-drowse @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me @peterquillzsblog

Part 1

Summary: (Y/n) wants to have a child and it is expected of Ben to have an heir to the throne, but Ben doesn’t want a child. He has a genetic disorder that impacts his everyday life which he’s afraid will be passed down to his child.

Enjoy.

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"Ben just slow down." A sigh passed through (Y/n)'s lips after her words when they had no effect on her husband and when she wrapped her hands around his bicep and tried to pull him back, he didn't move very much. (Y/n) couldn't see why he wouldn't just walk slower than normal, no one was going to bat an eyelid if Ben just went a bit slower and his normal walk was noticed.

"No, I'm fine." The way Ben gritted his teeth made it clear that he was struggling because his words were forcefully pushed through his teeth and were spat quietly from his lips.

He couldn't afford to slow down because if he walked much slower he would be going at the same rate as a snail. If people caught sight of Ben walking slow or if he let his normal walk become visible then people would figure out that something was wrong and he couldn't have that. Since he got his diagnosis of his disorder when he was ten, Ben's parents had decided it was better that no one but their doctor knew about it and Ben agreed. He didn't want people finding out because it was a weakness and he didn't need anyone treating him like glass or making up rumours about him or whispering behind his back.

Ben knew people would try and do things for him and make him seem incapable and he had the image of a King to keep up. He didn't want anyone but his close family and a few staff to know about his disorder.

(Y/n), his father and brother were the only ones in the palace who knew that Ben struggled to walk properly. With the muscles around his hips being thin and very weak, walking stretched the muscles in a painful way. Ben began walking with his legs pointed out to the side or very tense and close together when he was younger to try and relieve the pain but that slowed him down even more. Walking like nothing was wrong was painful but stopped eyes watching him and scrutinising him.

"Why don't you use the crutches again?" Unravelling her hands from around Ben's arm, (Y/n) quickly moved his arm so it was placed over her shoulders. This way it would look like he was being affectionate when really, (Y/n) was letting him lean his weight onto her to take the pain from his weakened muscles.

"I'm not hobbling into this meeting with crutches." Ben tilted his head down to look at his wife who rose her brows in response. She was trying to come up with solutions to his pain but he wasn't cooperating today. "I've got the brace on instead." He added quietly before he leaned over to press a kiss to her temple.

Ben had a set of crutches he used if his pain was at the point where walking only a few steps caused immense pain and pressure. They relieved the tension in his hips but he couldn't rely on them everyday and he would rather bear the pain and walk than have the struggle of crutches. Besides, he has to come up with an excuse as to why he was using them if someone asked and it was too much hassle when they didn't work nearly enough as he would like.

He had a thick Velcro brace around his lower back and hips instead today which was tight on his torso but kept his back straight and it stopped the pain in his hips. He couldn't stretch his legs outwards which sometimes increased the pain and it put pressure on his muscles which he needed to keep himself moving about. The good thing about the brace was that it was hidden beneath his clothing so no one knew he was wearing it.

When he was a child Ben had leg braces to support him when he was walking when he started to lose muscle mass and he started getting taller because that was not an easy combination to deal with, growing up.

Reaching his left hand out, Ben breathed deeply as he pressed his palm against the wall and came to a standstill for a few moments. He leaned forward and tried to gain back his breath as his other arm tightened around (Y/n). The muscles on the sides of his hips were both weak and he'd lost the mass in those muscles years ago, it caused his body ratio to be slight dis-proportioned since his hips were so thin and visible but the rest of him wasn't. Those were the muscles affected the most and they were the ones that he desperately needed to keep walking properly.

Moving her hand, (Y/n) slowly rubbed her hand up and down Ben's chest as she leaned her head on his arm. It physically pained her to see Ben in such distress and pain, it was even worse when she knew how well he could mask that pain from her and everyone else. But there was little anyone could do to help.

"Okay?" (Y/n) mumbled quietly when Ben straightened up, but the muscles around his jaw and lips were drawn tight like string showing he was beginning to struggle. He didn't respond, just hummed and nodded before they started to slowly walk up the stairs, both of them thankful the steps were large and thin in height as opposed to being steep. "What's on your schedule after the meeting?"

"Probably lunch, why?"

"You can have lunch with me in our room, I think you've done enough running about for today." (Y/n) didn't want Ben to have to be running all over the palace because he'd been out into the town this morning to see the opening of a new building and then he'd come back and got his next events booked and ready for upcoming week and now he was going to a meeting with his council. He couldn't do much more today without wearing himself thin and (Y/n) didn't want him going all over the palace in his state.

Today was one of Ben's worse days and that was very clear. Ben had lapses in his pain, some days he could do so many things and events and not be bothered by his pain and this could extend weeks. Then other days dragged him down and he suffered.

Ben didn't have the energy to argue so he simply nodded his head before the couple headed down the corridor to reach the meeting room. Since the moment they married Ben had invited (Y/n) to all of his meetings, partly so she could see what went on and add her input and partly so he wasn't bored or at risk of losing his temper. (Y/n) had only just started coming along to meetings this month and it was more interesting than she thought and surprisingly no one commented on her being present which she guessed was because Ben briefed everyone beforehand.

When they reached the meeting, Ben unravelled his arm from (Y/n) and motioned for her to go in first before he straightened up and tried to look calm and composed.

The moment Ben got inside the room and sat down he could feel both the tension and the relief in his hips. The pain dulled significantly when he sat down because he was no longer applying pressure to his muscles or forcing them to stretch and move but he had to try and get comfy and relaxed. Ben couldn't sit in a chair that was low down or else he'd never be able to stand up again. As his muscles worsened it made mobility harder and the act of stretching and pushing up from a low down seat was a big strain for him.

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Turning her head to the side (Y/n) glanced over at her husband, raking her eyes over his form like she was searching for a sign that he wasn't well or that he was bored of this meeting like she was. They had been here for just over an hour now but it felt like a lifetime had passed since they walked into this room.

During the past hour (Y/n) had noticed Ben shifting in his seat, crossing one leg over the other and then undoing the action. He would turn to one side and then turn the other side or slouch but then sit up straight again, he didn't know what to do with himself because he was in discomfort.

Leaning his head on his hand, Ben fought hard not to screw his eyes shut from pain in case it alerted attention or made anyone think he was tired and paying no attention because he was trying. He was trying his best to listen and go through everything with the council but the pain in his hips was becoming overwhelming to the point it was all he could think about. He slowly dug his nails into his scalp to try and advert his mind to a new source of irritation but he intook a sharp breath when he could feel the muscle on his right hip begin to clench and spasm like a nerve.

He ground his teeth together whilst trying to stay still but he couldn't when the pain started to get worse.

All eyes around the rectangular table flitted to look over at Ben when his knee suddenly jolted up and bashed into the underside of the table when he tried to uncross his legs. Reaching over, (Y/n) rested her hand on Ben's arm, raising her brows to silently ask him if he was alright.

"Your Majesty?"

"This meetings over." Ben calmed down his breathing enough to sound calm and at ease but he knew his expression told everyone otherwise. He couldn't sit like this for any longer and he knew the meeting had at least another hour to go. Ben couldn't get through this any longer, it had to stop.

No one knew what they were supposed to do or what they were meant to say because Ben had never ended a meeting halfway through like this. He'd walked out right at the end with the last word or he managed to cut it short and then leave, but he wasn't cutting this short, he was just ending it right away. No one seemed to understand that Ben wanted them all to leave, he wanted everyone but (Y/n) out of this room so he could breakdown or lash out without them witnessing.

"Everybody out now." (Y/n) looked to the door before looking around the table as she rose her voice so they would listen and obey her command. She didn't miss the way Ben was scratching his nails against the underside of the table which showed he was in a lot of pain when he couldn't keep it under control.

Shivers shot through everyone as they seemed to realise they were becoming a nuisance and so stood to their feet and started to pile out of the room. When the last person left the room and closed the door behind him, (Y/n) stood up and moved so she was perched on the edge of the table in front of Ben so he would look up at her and talk to her.

"I-it's happening again." Ben breathed harshly through his teeth and the way his stomach was pulling inwards and tensing and how he was leaning over made (Y/n) think of a woman in labour. Ben looked like he was in the kind of pain that women experienced in childbirth, especially since he had grown up to be very good at hiding his pain so to show it in a meeting was a sure sign this was hard to endure for him.

When his eyes lifted up to lock with (Y/n)'s, she saw both pain and anger swirling around in his pupils and she noticed his hand hovering over his right hip like he was too afraid to touch it in case he sparked pain in himself.

Pushing herself off the table (Y/n) crouched in front of Ben and reached her arms around him so she could pull his shirt from where it was tucked into his trousers. Despite the obvious agony he seemed to be feeling, Ben managed to raise a brow and curve his lips into a pained smirk when (Y/n) undid the zipper on his trousers. Noticing the look he was giving her, (Y/n) rolled her eyes and pulled back for a second when Ben slouched down so his hips weren't pressed against the back of the chair.

"You can't wear this, it won't help if the muscle's spasming." (Y/n) undid the velcro and pulled the brace free from Ben's torso, noticing how hot the felt material was and how Ben had clearly started to sweat from wearing it for so many hours already. Adding pressure to the muscle that was struggling wasn't going to help right now, the pressure was only good for when Ben was walking.

Leaning his head back, Ben let his eyes fall closed as he breathed rapidly like he had just run a marathon. His hands grasped the wooden arms of the chair as he tried to stop himself from trembling but he breathed a little easier when (Y/n) leaned over him and started kissing his neck, trying to distract him.

"Do you think you're good enough to try and walk?" (Y/n) pulled back enough so that she could look Ben in the eye but the way he was pushing back in the chair and how his leg was shaking implied that he was certainly going to struggle. Just as (Y/n) pulled back and was about to offer her hands out to Ben, her head turned to look over her shoulder when the door opened but relief was present on her features when she saw that it was Ben's brother Brandon entering the room.

"I heard the council whispering that you've shunned them from the meeting... now I can see why." There was a smile on his face but his eyes held an essence of sadness behind them when he walked into the room and approached the couple.

Brandon was seven years older than Ben and there had always been resentment from Ben towards him because he had escaped this fate just as their father had done. Ben was the one lumbered with the disease that took its toll on him every day, he was the one who had to grow up with this and allow it to consume his body for the rest of his life. He was also the one who had to take the crown that he hadn't wanted in the first place. Ben was thrust into the public eye when he was born and he was told to hide his disease from them, he was brought up to act for everyone and he didn't know how to stop.

"Come on, let's get you up." (Y/n) held her hands out to Ben with a small smile but it did little to relieve the pain or the anguish he was feeling.

With a sigh and a certain look in his eyes, Ben placed one hand in (Y/n)'s and held the table with the other, not wanting to push all of his weight onto (Y/n) when he managed to stand. His palm rested against the smooth surface of the table but his arm tensed and started to shake when he tried to stand. The chairs in this room weren't low down (due to Ben's request) but it was still hard to stand from them when his muscles were playing up like this.

The moment he was finally on his feet he leaned over the table and let out a shuddering breath. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this room, let alone up a set of stairs and back to his and (Y/n)'s shared room.

"Shall we take you to your bed, your highness?" There was a playful tone to Brandon's voice that showed he was trying to break the unsettling atmosphere but he already knew his words wouldn't help with the kind of mood Ben seemed to be in. He walked over to the couple and rested his hand on Ben's back but a sigh passed through his lips when Ben shook him off.

"You can fuck right off if you think I'm walking out there with you both carting me up the stairs like a rag doll." There was a dark look in Ben's eyes that warned his brother from making any crude remarks but he couldn't fully bite down on his tongue and submit to what Ben was saying. It didn't matter if they carried Ben or if he crawled up the stairs, someone was bound to notice he wasn't okay.

"And you're insane if you think no one's going to notice you stumbling up those stairs like you're drunk or a cripple. What would you rather happen, crawl on your own or have us help you?"

On many occasions when Ben was younger, Brandon would sometimes carry Ben on his back around the palace and make out they were playing a game when in reality Ben struggled far too much to be able to walk. It had been a lot easier when Ben was little to hide his condition from prying eyes and from the public because the eyes and the cameras weren't on him half as much as they were now. But Ben wasn't a little boy anymore, Brandon couldn't carry him around and disguise the problem like he used to.

Saying nothing in response, Ben retracted his hand from (Y/n)'s and tried to walk past the pair of them like he was trying to prove a point. But his point was invalid and that was clearly shown when he had to reach out and hold onto the back of one of the chairs when his hip seemed to contract and buckle.

"Ben stop this." (Y/n) turned her head to look at Brandon with worry pooling in her eyes when Ben continued to try and prove his point to them.

Ben didn't want help, nor did he want to ask for help, he just wanted to be normal and without suffering. Both of them followed quickly behind him when he headed out of the room, holding his posture straight as a board and his head tilted up like nothing was the matter. But he was hardly putting any weight down on his right leg and he was dragging the limb more than moving it back and forth due to the pain it was causing.

A gasp left (Y/n)'s lips as her hands clenched and recoiled to her chest out of shock when Ben stumbled, quickly trying to grab onto the wall to stop himself from falling face down onto the carpet.

"Ben that's enough! You need to stop, you can't do this on your own." (Y/n) ran up behind him and tightly grabbed his arm whilst wrapping her other arm around his upper back to glue herself to his side. She took part of his weight without asking or letting him complain before slowly beginning to walk down the corridor with him. He couldn't push himself too far because his muscles were like elastic bands that were worn very thin, if he pulled them too much they would snap completely and they were both vital and brittle.

When Brandon moved to Ben's other side, the brothers shared a look before Brandon clasped his hands behind his back. Walking beside his brother as a precaution rather than to take his weight and share his burden.

"This is why I don't want kids." Ben whispered the words quietly in (Y/n)'s ear but his expression was more pained than (Y/n) had ever seen before. "I can't put them through this."

#ben hardy #ben x reader #ben hardy imagine #imagine #BoRhap #royalty #the kings heir

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