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come-on-darling-honey · 1 year

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colourblind [paul lahote x reader]

AN:// this pushes all of the wolves and new moon plot to summer.

summary: based on this post of how the shift Paul and the others experience would give them physical attributes akin to a wolf, which is being colourblind. Which Paul finds himself in, until of course, he sees you for the first time in months on the first day of summer.

warnings- mature language and themes. one suggestive scene. 18+ word count 10k.

“La Push baby! Its LaPush!”

“Do you have to say that every time we go to LaPush?” I asked, staring at the back of Mike and Eric’s heads in the van. They were singing and screaming into the warm air as we drove down to First Beach.

“He said that to me when I first came to LaPush,” Bella added, meekly. I laughed, lightly pushing against her. She was wearing a white blouse and tan shorts, opposing my dark shorts and tight blue shirt, Angela had gotten me it when she went to the Grand Canyon with her family. It read “visit the Grand Canyon today!” on the back, so ugly I loved it.

“He’s been saying it since we were five and our parents would carpool us in the summer.” I whispered to Bella; we were both laughing at the terrifying attempt from Mike to sing ‘Wanna Be’ by Spice Girls. Butchering the lines didn’t matter to Mike, it was summer. First day of it. Bella was finally out of the pit she had found herself in.

I’d spent almost every Friday and Saturday night of the past seven months sleeping over at the Swan house, waiting for Bella to come through. At first it was scary, the screaming and the vacancy of her mind, but she’s better now. At least I hope she is, Charlie thinks so, but I’m worried she’s becoming dependent on our friend Jacob. Coming to First Beach did mean a far chance we could run into Jacob, but it also means she’s surrounded by other people, and as annoying as Mikes singing is, I can tell she’s enjoying it.

“Are you okay?” I heard Bella say, we’d parked, and the boys were getting their surfing gear on. I hadn’t even noticed; Bella was wide eyed like a little deer and grasping onto my shoulder. “Is it to do with Paul?”

“No,” I laughed uncomfortably shaking her off as I got out of the seat into the back, taking of my clothes to reveal my favourite bikini underneath. “Not even thinking about him.” Which was true, to an extent. I had been thinking about Paul Lahote all morning and all last night and the day before, and every day since three weeks ago but that wasn’t in this moment. So technically… not a lie!

She watched me in clear disbelief but didn’t push it. She knew some rumours about Paul from Jacob, not kind ones but as the days go on, I’m starting to believe them myself. Hall monitors on steroids. “What book are you bringing?” Bella asked, changing the subject.

“The Metamorphosis by Kafka, are you rereading Austen again?” I said, searching through my bag for suncream. The only way id gotten Bella to agree to coming today was to promise I’d stay by her side all day and we can just read on the beach. Which worked out well for me, I always hated getting changed after leaving the ocean, everything stuck to you; clothes, sand, everything. She nodded and sheepishly pulled Persuasion out of her bag. Bella grabbed the towels we were going to lay on as I surveyed the beach for the best spot, there were a lot more people than usual but it’s what I expected. The remote spot in the south corner seemed perfect. Setting down camp, I heard laughter and colliding footsteps coming towards us, Mike, Eric and now Tyler ran to our spot, and all jumped over one another to lay on the sand. Not a single cloud in the sky, not that the boys noticed, too busy apologising to Bella for covering her towel with sand. Laughing it off quietly she shook the towel and threw all the sand on the boys. She stopped laughing as she looked over my shoulder. Standing up I saw, Sam Uley talking with Jared, Paul and Embry? But Embry was huge and at least half a foot taller than when I last saw him. They began kicking a ball around until Paul suddenly turned in my direction. Swivelling quickly, I stared into the sea. Sitting down on my towel that I was apparently sharing with Jess, I looked over at Bella. Giving me a comforting smile, she nodded towards our books that sat in the bag at the foot of her towel.

A few hours had passed when Jacob and Quil had made their way over to us, Jess, Angela, and the boys had all decided to go on an impromptu adventure leaving Bella and I in peace, that is until Quil collapsed on my towel and Jacob calmly sat next to Bella.

“See how normal Jake is?” I asked kicking Quil with my foot, “Be more like Jake.” They all laughed as the fiend on my towel rolled over.

“Figured you needed protecting.” He said, puffing his chest put lightly with a boyish smile.

“From what?” Bella laughed.

“Lahote’s been staring at you for a while,” Jacob said staring at me. Turning around I saw Paul from a distance, I could barely make out his face but saw that he definitely wasn’t happy.

“Well thank you gentlemen, but we can handle ourselves.” I said, laughing when Quil got hit with a rouge baseball.

We spoke for a while, making jokes at each other’s expense and avoiding the subject of Embry completely. Bella and I had come to an unspoken agreement that if they wanted to talk about it, they would. I looked around the beach and saw a stall on the pavement beyond the pavilion, an old lady selling handmade jewellery. I told Bella, Jake, and Quil that I was going to see what she was selling and grabbed my purse from my bag. Making my way over across the hot sand I regretted not grabbing a shirt from Quil or Jake or even making a detour to the van, so many people were looking at me, even if they were wearing the same thing, I felt so exposed.

“Hello dear, having a good day?” The lady asked as I finally reached her stand. We spoke about the weather and then about her creations, one with a beautiful orange crystal in the middle had caught my eye. “Citrine, they bring positivity and happiness” she winked once she caught where I was looking. I grabbed my purse but before I could hand over the $5 someone else passed it to her. Following the tan hand, I saw Paul; he was looking at the lady and explained he’d buy it for me. She smiled and accepted the money, handing him the necklace over. Paul looked at the necklace in his hand and squinted, looking oddly heartbroken.

“I can buy it myself.” I said as he walked a few steps out of earshot of the old lady. He still hadn’t actually looked me in the eye yet. It was infuriating. “You know its super fucking rude of you to ignore me for weeks, replace me with new friends, act like I don’t exist and then pretend like nothings happened.” He tensed at this; I kept going. “And now you won’t even look me in the eye!” I laughed, his large shoulders straightened, God when did he get so big.

As he turned around something shifted, I’m not sure what but it was definitely something. He stared at me wide eyed, speechless and I saw tension fall from him. But I had no patience for him.

“Are you going to give me the necklace or should I just go and buy one for myself.” This seemed to snap him out of it, he passed me the necklace and kept looking at me. Not staring anymore, more of a gaze. Not voyeuristic as the other gazes from men on the beach but an intimate one, one I wanted to avoid. His eyes are a stunning brown, I think to my painting at home, I’d made him sit for hours, waiting for the result when I’d spent twenty minutes alone painting half an eye, he waited.

Tearing myself away from him I look down at the necklace, it was beautiful. I had to not owe him this. I took the $5 out of my purse and pressed it to his chest. He finally caught on and gently pushed my hand away.

“Take it.” I demanded.

“It’s a gift.” He whispered, the way he used to.

“Please take it.” I begged lightly; I couldn’t owe him for this.

“What is going on?” A harsh voice interrupted us. Quil had stood in front of my right shoulder, not hiding me completely but being a clear attempt to shield me. He didn’t know any of the details of what happened between Paul and I, but honestly, I didn’t either. He just knew how broken I was, crying to him when Bella, Jake, and Embry weren’t around. Knowing I couldn’t handle their silent looks.

“None of your fucking business, Ateara.” Paul snapped, his body tightening. Quil pushed him, suddenly Jared was holding Paul back and Sam had appeared in front of us. He had whispered something to Paul that I couldn’t catch but it looked more like a demand. One I wasn’t entirely sure was in Quil and I’s favour or not.

Jacob had arrived by this point, staring at Embry in disbelief who had told Quil to ‘back off’, Embry was normally so sweet and quiet. The way he was acting as he was influenced by the others was a clear sign to the mentality that I didn’t want anything to do with. Paul had caught my eye from over Sam’s shoulder, a pleading sense to him. I looked away, staring at Quil’s back. I couldn’t do this, get caught up in whatever teenage boy bullshit was going on. I was 18, Paul 19, Quil 17. I had no fucking interest. Ignoring the yells of my name I walked back to Bella who had watched the whole affair in bewilderment. I walked back to Bella in more confidence then when I had left, I couldn’t explain it, but I knew the people looking know, weren’t looking at me and if they were it, was a good thing. Sitting on the towel I thanked Bella for staying with the stuff and picked up my book. Not before placing the Citrine necklace in my bag. She watched me as I lied back down but I couldn’t care, knowing I’d have to tell her every detail later anyway. Jess practically ran to us, monopolising my towel once again and demanding to know what she had seen from across the beach.

“I mean not only was he completely eye-fucking you but who were all his friends?!” She practically screamed, I hit her shoulder lightly with my book for ‘eye-fucking’ as Bella blushed, but explained who the boys were.

“Oh, they’re coming over!” Jess said, elated with the drama unfolding right in front of her. My legs slid over Jess so she wouldn’t leave and who ever was coming wouldn’t stay, which thankfully she understood as she grabbed my legs lightly with a comforting rub.

“Can you believe the nerve of Embry?” I heard Jake yell as he was approaching us, Bella’s cheeks were as pink as Jess’ bikini. Jess’ jaw dropped as she ate up Quil and Jake’s physique, I watched her over my book, smirking as she stared at the long haired boys.

Quil called my name, and I looked up, with my head laid down I saw him as a giant, which made me laugh.

“What the fuck was he saying to you.” Quil demanded, staring at me.

“It’s over, don’t worry about it.” I said calmly.

“Don’t worry? He’s a fucked-up dude! Literally almost exploded on me, again!” he gave Jess context, that Paul had almost ‘attacked’ Quil in a convenience store a few weeks ago. She looked down at me in surprise. I still read my book.

“As hot as he is,” Jess said with Quil and Jake protesting as she ignored them, “no boy is worth it if he has anger like that.” She said with the older sister tone she normally used on her younger siblings. Quil and Jake agreed with her, but Bella stayed silent, I looked at her from the corner of my eye and saw her staring at the pavilion.

“Honestly, if you go back to him, I can’t be your fucking friend.” I caught Quil saying. I stood up so quick I dropped my book on the towel, loosing the page. Where did this come from? Bella, Jake and even Jess went quiet. Quil had snapped, he never snapped at me.

“First of all, that would be my decision, second, I wasn’t ‘with’ him in the first place and thirdly you don’t get to be so fucking rude to me.” I snapped, pointing a finger at his chest.

“He’s a bad fucking person and you know it.” His eyes stared into mine, harsh and true.

“You don’t know him how I know him.” I defended Paul, for some unknown reason. I didn’t even fully believe myself I was just so hurt with how Quil was acting everything was blurring out of anger.

“After everything he did, you’re defending him!” Quil yelled, desperation in his eyes, he was looking at me as if I was crazy, which I was beginning to feel.

“You don’t fucking care about me.” I yelled back. Storming away, grabbing only my bag and purse, leaving my book and towel. All but Quil yelled after me.

Opening the van, Mike was sat in the back struggling to get the sand of his feet. “Pass me my clothes.” I said, I couldn’t hear myself due to the anger raising and blurring everything, but I could tell I was being rude, Mike’s smile dropped into a worried expression as he gave me my clothes. I dressed in silence as he asked me if someone did something, like the protective older brother he always acted like. I shook my head, unable to fathom words that weren’t a string of swears. Did Quil really think that lowly of me? Did he think he could just give me an ultimatum like that, and I’d accept it? Fuck this and fuck him.

I told Mike I was going home and as he asked if I wanted a lift, I slammed the door of the van shut too hard and made my way to the back streets of first beach. I knew if I got to the centre of LaPush that I could find the bus stops I used to use when I’d hang out with Paul. Led hit me over the head when I thought about him. I suddenly had an urge to sit by his side unlike the recent weeks where id sworn him off and cried and cried.

A truck pulled up beside me, old and worn I recognised it as Sam Uley’s. I looked over to see him sat in the driver’s seat looking at me.

“I’ll give you a ride.” He said, in a way I felt oddly comforted by as I got in. Normally, I would’ve told him to fuck off, but I felt way too emotional to walk the twenty minute walk to the centre of town. We sat in silence for ten minuets after I’d told him my address. I wanted to ask him about Paul, even about Emily and Leah but it didn’t feel right. This would be the fifth time I’d been near him let alone speak to him, so it just felt wrong. But he must’ve been thinking the same thing.

“It’s not Paul’s fault.”

“What?” I asked, looking at him. He was staring intensely into the road, it was weird, it felt like Sam was effortlessly the comforting older brother figure Mike had tried to be. Yet he seemed guilty like he’d made a mistake, not know but before.

“I told him to stay away from you, it was my fault. He had no choice.” I decided to listen, to make sense of what he was saying. “There’s somethings you need to know, do you remember Emily?” I nodded, unable to speak in fear he’d stop speaking. “I’ll write her address down for you, visit any time and she’ll help you.” How cryptic could one person be.

“Why did Paul listen to you?” I questioned, staring at him. His dark brown hair was swooped back so he could see the road.

“He had no choice, you’ll understand.”

“I don’t understand anything.” He laughed.

“You will.” He pulled over and stopped driving, we’d reached my house. He pulled a notebook from the glove compartment. “Here’s her address and my number if you need a ride.”

“I can get Bella to drive me.”

“No, Bella can’t know about this, it doesn’t involve her. I’m sorry but you must trust me.”

“I tell Bella everything.” I said, taking the sheet of paper from him.

“But does she tell you everything?” he asked, his tone wasn’t accusatory like Quil’s had been, no Sam asked me like he was genuinely worried about me. He was right, I knew Bella wasn’t telling me something. I couldn’t ask, hoping she’d finally tell me.

“I guess this means don’t tell Jake or… Quil.” He nodded, I got out of the truck, thanking him for the ride.

“You hike a lot, right?” It was my turn to nod. “Take a break for a while, with all those attacks it really isn’t safe.” I agreed, sadly, and went inside, after thanking him again for the ride. “Ever need a lift, just let me know, I’ll sort one out for you.”

I was glad it was summer break. All my free time had been spent on art, painting, sketching, and avoiding literally everything else. I’d been missing all of Bella’s calls and thankfully when she came over to my house I was working. Sam had been giving me lifts to work since I normally did a small hike there. I worked on the other side of Forks at a plant shop and nowhere near Bella. Whatever she was hiding from me had been eating away at me for a while. Summer break had also given me an escape from running into Jess, I loved her, but I had literally no answers for her. And the theories I had were so bat-shit crazy I had feeling no one would believe them.

Quil had called seventeen times. I couldn’t call him back, still angry at the way he spoke to me. Maybe he was right about Paul, but a small voice in the back of my head I’d nicknamed ‘stupid consciousness’ told me I should give Paul a fair chance and listen to Sam. Maybe it was some crazy mastermind ploy to pull down my defences, but id started to befriend Sam, and Emily as she’d joined him a few times to take me to work. I couldn’t figure out why they’d decided to help me out suddenly, but I decided to just go with it, I felt safer, loved and they never brought up Paul.

8:30am on a Tuesday morning I sat in the garden waiting for Sam. My headphones blasting Noah Kahan’s new album. It was chiller then it would be for this time of year, so a loose fleece hung around my body. We had another month of beautiful sun until the constant hood of clouds and rain returned to Forks. I had started worrying this morning that Sam driving me to and from work was an inconvenience, I hadn’t been insecure about this before, but it was daunting on me now. What if I was just pushing him out of his way and annoying him? Annoying Emily? I felt suddenly sick. But the truck in front of me pulled me out of the haze. Sam’s brotherly grin made me smile, my older brother was away at college, and I missed him. He opened my door form his side and I got in, the fear of inconvenience looming over me. Taking off my headphones I heard the soft folk music playing form the old truck. It was a twenty-minute drive to my work; we made nice conversation till Sam said something that struck me.

“Come to Ems tonight, I’ll finally explain it to you.” Weeks had passed since Sam initially asked me, it was clear I didn’t want to ask, so he’d decided to tell me. I nodded, silently looking out the window. Five minutes till we got there.

“Will he be there?”

“Yes.” He was short, sweet, and blunt. I knew I couldn’t hide from this, so I decided to ask what had been looming over me all morning.

“Why do you drive me? You work on the res; this is completely out of your way.” I still held my gaze out of the window. But I heard him grin as he told me.

“Well, I like your company, I always wanted a baby sister,” I scoffed at ‘baby’ which he caught and laughed, “plus it really is not safe if you walk to work, you walk through the bush, it isn’t safe.” His tone was serious at the end. I knew he was telling the truth. When we arrived, he looked over at me, smiling he passed me a brown bag. Holding back a laugh he told me “Em’s worried you aren’t eating enough”.

“She does know I’m an adult right?” I laughed, taking the bag.

“Well do you have any lunch today?” the silence from me made him laugh as I clearly did not, infact, have lunch. I threw a piece of card from the car door at him as I mumbled in protest.

“Pick me up at four?” I asked, putting the brown bag in my own. He nodded, as he drove away, I realised how long today was going to be.

I was right. So annoyingly, right. The day dragged, it felt that five hours had passed when in fact it was only two and I couldn’t even go for my lunch yet. If one more old lady asked me to point her in the direction of the roses, I was going to lose my mind. Not only was it weird that roses were extremely popular among old ladies but that they couldn’t see that the roses were at the front of the store, they were the first things you saw as you walked in.

At 1:25pm I heard a familiar gruff voice echo in the small shop. Charlie Swan. I was praying he was talking to a friend, or that there had been a horrible crime and the shop was under investigation. But as I heard a small, feminine voice I knew I wouldn’t have such luck. Of course, when I was working Chief Swan would decide to finally re-do his front garden. My lunch break was in five minutes if I could just hide here then my 60-year-old co-worker Henry would serve them. Henry was a true one, he’d help me in my hour of need. I hid behind the seeds, staring at Iris in its many forms as I heard Bella ask Henry if I was working too, I wasn’t sure if Henry and I had some super cool intuition or if he had genuinely forgotten I was working as he told her I wasn’t today. As I snuck away for my lunch break, I internally praised Henry for being the best co-worker that has ever lived.

Checking my phone, I noticed a missed call from Sam and a text.

“Can’t pick you up, Em is going to, she’ll be using her truck- its blue same make as Bella’s. Will be there when you arrive. Sorry.”

As weird as that was, I was just thankful I had a ride, I didn’t trust Henry behind the wheel.

The afternoon had passed quicker than the morning, the lunch Emily had made me was embarrassingly good and oddly comforting. As I finished my shift I gave Henry a fist bump, he laughed the way old people do, as a reflex showing that they’ve been laughing all their life. Emily’s blue truck pulled up; it was in a better paint job then Sam’s but I had a feeling Sam worked on her truck more than his own.

“How was your day?” Em gleamed as I got into the car.

“Dull but the lunch was amazing, thank you.” I laughed as she grinned like a fool.

“I knew you’d like it! Paul told me you were vegetarian, and I’ve been dying to pull out those veggie cookbooks! The boys always avoid vegetables, it’s ridiculous!” she laughed as I wound the window down, warm air sifting through. My fleece cocooned in my bag form this morning, abandoned in the heat. I smiled, feeling warm at the casual mentioning of Paul. I’d assumed Sam’s business was something to do with work and that it wasn’t my business but at Em’s odd avoidance of it, something felt different.

I’d told her about Henry and Bella, talking more about Henry then Bella, Em laughed so hard she coughed. Pulling up to her house, I was shocked. It was beautiful. When we got out, I stared at the cabin, two stories and covered in flowers and plants. Wooden furniture, big windows, and open doors. It was beautiful. Em pulled me in, it was even more perfect inside. Bright colours and paintings everywhere. Sitting at a round, wooden table Em beckoned me to join her.

“Your home is… wow just amazing,” I was still looking at everything, the open kitchen and dining room was so homely and comforting. She smiled and grabbed my hand.

Emily was one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. The scar on her face to her arm didn’t change that. She was even more beautiful; she wore it proudly. When she smiled part of the scar creased at her eye. Her long black hair hung over her shoulders, bangs perfectly trimmed. My hair was almost as long as hers, but she had a few inches on me.

“How are you feeling?” her caring tone standing through.

“Nervous, I have no idea what is about to happen.”

She nodded, squeezing my hand. “I’ll be here the whole time, if you don’t want to be here at any moment just say and we’ll go, no questions asked.” She must’ve noticed the apprehension in my face. “Nothings going to hurt you, Sam and Paul have made sure of that.” I trusted her, more than I trusted the people I grew up with. I knew for certain there was something going on, that involved Paul and Sam, probably Jared and Embry too. Whatever it was I hoped it didn’t involve Quil and Jake too.

Voices came through the door behind us that led out to Emily’s extensive garden. Sam and Paul came in. Both shirtless and only wearing shorts. Which was weird but I guess they felt the heat more than Emily and I, Emily was wearing a stunning white sundress and I white pants and black shirt, my apron from work stuffed in my bag along side the fleece.

Paul looked at me, he looked horrible, dark bags under his eyes, and it looked as if he had to hold himself back from me. Not in a threatening way, not the relief in his eyes told me this was good, that I was safe. Sam rubbed my shoulder as he passed me to Emily. As they hugged and kissed, I saw Paul still watching me, turning back to him I saw the weight in his eyes.

“Are you joining us?” I asked him, an olive branch being thrown in his direction.

He took a moment to process what I asked then silently nodded and sat a chair away from me, which did hurt. But I ignored it and looked to Sam and Emily who had both sat back down. Emily’s hand was once again in mine, Paul looked with an odd… jealousy? Till his eyes trailed up my arm to my neck, where the necklace laid. I’d worn it every day since the beach that I didn’t even think about it anymore.

“So,” Sam started, “there are some things we have to tell you, but I think it’ll be easier if we show you then explain.” Emily’s head snapped to him as Pauls hung in shame. He smiled at her reassuringly and guided us all to the garden where Jared and Embry were talking. They both greeted me with a relaxed voice I was deeply confused as to what was going to happen.

Sam and Paul stood slightly in front of me, Emily’s grip tightened as she held onto my arm. Without warning Jared had… disappeared? And there was a wolf in his place. I looked in frozen shock to Embry who was grinning ear to ear and then his body contorted itself into another oversized wolf. Both started chasing each other and I couldn’t find it in myself to be scared. Instead, I found it hilarious, two boys had just turned into great big wolves, and I was worried about my friend not liking me anymore! All my problems felt so small as I watched them both. Emily pinched me, whipping my head to her in pain I asked her what’s wrong.

“What is wrong? What is wrong! They just shifted into wolves and you’re acting like it’s the most normal thing in the world!” She yelled, trying to grasp anything from me.

“Let’s go inside.” Sam said, leaving Embry and Jared to playfight in the garden. Emily dragged me in, I couldn’t stop watching them. Enamoured by how small it made my problems feel. Everything had been feeling so all-consuming as I experienced every little emotion, it was awesome to feel so insignificant.

“How familiar are you with the tribe’s history?” Sam asked, trying to read me as we sat back in Emily’s kitchen. I finally turned away from the wolves in the garden to face him.

It all hit me, everything Paul had told me growing up and Quil had been telling me before the beach. About the vampires, about the three bloodlines that became protectors. Quil was in that bloodline. So was Jake. Fuck.

“I know a fair bit.” I said. The next ten minutes were spent by Sam monologuing everything they knew so far but I could tell he was leaving something out. Something I knew that I knew. Paul or Quil must have mentioned it. After he had finished, I sat processing, knowing there was something else. The leaches. Was it just the one Sam had mentioned. Oh god. I dropped the glass of water I was holding, Paul caught it.

“The Cullen’s.” I breathed, looking at Sam and Paul in horror.

“You caught that quicker than I thought you would,” Sam laughed, “the treaty doesn’t allow us to tell people what they are.”

“I sat next to them in classes… Bella dated one!” silence. “She knew?” I was bewildered. She knew that Edward Cullen was an ancient old man murderer and dated him? What is wrong with her. I can’t judge her completely, as gross and weirdly necrophiliac as that is, I didn’t know her story. I’m glad Sam warned me that she wasn’t telling me everything.

“Does she know about you guys?” Sam shook his head.

“Only the people in this room, Jared and Embry and the tribe’s elders know. Its safer that way.” I nodded. Embry was 17. He must’ve been so scared.

Suddenly it hit me how cruel I’ve been to Paul; Sam had explained the gag order he’d put on Paul. Thinking about him, I knew there was something else, but I couldn’t help but just feel horrible for how I acted. The way I spoke about him to Quil, not meaning a single word but loving how good it made me feel. Without looking at him I let go of Emily’s hand and held his. He squeezed in and I could practically feel the smile radiating of him. I knew I shouldn’t feel too bad for how I acted; I didn’t know. But I wish I did. Sam explained lightly how his transformation was, how painful and terrified he was. I didn’t want to imagine a similar story leaving Paul’s mouth.

“I’m thankful you told me but why exactly are you telling me?” I asked, Paul stiffened, my thumb absent and idly ran circles around the back of hand as I stared at Sam. He shifted uneasily under my gaze. Which felt wrong, Sam was never uncomfortable. What was he avoiding? What am I forgetting?

A ring ran through the silent kitchen, and I dropped Paul’s hand to look at my phone. Jakes name read across the screen, which was weird. Jake never called me. He texted me when he was picking me up to come hang out and that was it. It’d been radio silence on both ends since I had that argument with Quil.

“Erm, I’m gonna get this.” I went outside to Emily’s front porch rather than the open garden.

“Jake?” I asked to the empty phone line.

“Hello?” He panted; his breaths disjointed.

“Jake what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, something-” he was cut of by a pained groan. “Somethings wrong.” He sounded like a child, one who couldn’t understand the pain of a broken arm or where a relative had gone and why they wouldn’t come back.

“Jake? Is Quil there?”

“No, I just got back from the movies with Bella.” He screamed again. Then began pleading with me. I didn’t know what to do. Suddenly two wolves ran past me into the Woodline, I turned back to see Sam telling Paul and Emily something as he shifted into the clearly biggest wolf.

“Listen to me okay. Deep breaths Jake, help is coming. You just gotta keep calm. Please, okay?” I asked, figuring out what was going on. Jake was shifting. I was panicking and felt like crying at his screams of pain.

“How are you feeling?” a pained yell was all I got in reply, Emily came to the porch behind me and put a hand to my back, ‘keep going’ she mouthed.

“Focus on- Bella! Think of her okay. Bella she’s going to be an anchor for you. Think about her okay. What shirt was she wearing today?” I asked keeping my voice as calm and steady as I could.

“She was wearing-” another scream through gritted teeth.

“Focus.”

“a green jacket, and a white blouse.” I heard crashing through the call, Sam’s voice, more screaming. I hung up the phone. This was too much. Too soon. Emily’s hand ran up and down my back, I was breathing heavily. I only found out about this an hour ago, how was this happening to Jake? Bella had once called him “earthbound sun” and now all I was hearing was his screams of pain playing on repeat.

“Everything will be okay.” She whispered, taking me upstairs into a bedroom. The walls were wooden, and the large bed was plush, and it smelt of lavender when I sat on it. Emily leant in front of me, both my hands in hers as we breathed together, she must’ve gone threw this a few times now. I couldn’t even pinpoint why I was so worried. The idea of Jake or any of them making a mistake and Paul getting hurt was eating me up. As my eyes fell into Emily’s and my breathing matched hers, I remembered the last bit of the story Paul told me years ago.

We were 15, sat cross legged on his lawn. I was making daisy chains as he told the legends to me. He blushed as he mentioned imprinting. The two souls who were destined to meet brought together by fate. How the shifter devotes themselves to their imprint even at the cost of themselves. At the time we both couldn’t comprehend the power of it, we thought it was ludicrous. And it was, a complete lack of agency. But in a selfish way, it was fantastical. My breathing was normal, and Emily sat next to me.

“Did Paul… did he imprint on me?” I asked quietly, scared if I said it any louder id be ridiculed. Emily didn’t say anything, she just squeezed my hands gently.

“Why don’t you stay here tonight? I have some spare pyjamas; I can wash your uniform for tomorrow.” She asked, eyes searching my own. Nodding I waited as she left the room. She told me to start getting changed as she left, stripping down to my underwear I became oddly aware of how insane this was, but I trusted Emily. And I knew now, I was safe. She came in holding a brown tank top and white shorts, they were so soft as I put them on. I was still dazed as the panic left my system; every movement was a cloud in my mind.

“Would you like to join me?” she asked, as I lifted my head up in confusion she continued “I’m going to watch a film, we can watch it together, if you’d like.”

“I’d like that.” I replied, Emily put my clothes in the wash with some of her own and we got comfy on the sofa, I’d learnt the room with the lavender smelling bed was a guest room, and I was welcome to stay over whenever. Emily’s room was just down the hall. Her Gran had left her this house and she spent two years renovating it. She always made sure anyone was welcome here. I texted my parents to let them know I wouldn’t be home tonight, they told me to stay safe and call them if something is wrong. I was an adult, and I knew they liked knowing I was okay.

“Paul stays over most nights,” she said, braiding my hair, “but he sleeps on the couch. I can’t get him to take a room.” I was laying half on her chest half on her the sofa. I felt like a child. It was the most comforting experience of my life. We watched 2005 Pride and Prejudice. Laughing and swooning the whole time. We cried at the love in the film, the hand moments making us kick our feet, giggling. It was relaxing, to be with a friend. One that wasn’t hiding anything. I guess I would be the friend that was hiding something now to all my friends, to Jess, Bella, and Angela. But I couldn’t dwell on that. I told Emily about how I was feeling with Bella, and she told me about Leah, my stomach dropped when she told me Sam gave her that scar.

“I couldn’t be angry at him, what happened to him, to all the boys, it takes away their agency in emotional moments. I forgive him.” She told me, watching the film. Like this was second nature. Merely an afterthought. I knew I was safe here but was that just hysterics? Was I in danger and too naive to notice? No. Sam and Paul care for me. But Sam loves Emily? No. I reassure myself as I fall into a drowsy slumber as Emily ran her fingers through my hair. Sam can control it, so can Paul and Jared and Embry and Jake will be able to.

Warm arms lifted me, I felt the soft plush of the bed beneath me. I wanted to grab onto to the body holding me, my eyes wouldn’t open but I tried. A light chuckle sifted through the air as I finally let go.

A pink sunrise fell over me. I was drenched in the colours. Walking through the house I saw Paul, asleep on the sofa. The pink and purple began to fall onto him, he shifted awake as I made my way to the kitchen.

“Did I wake you?” I froze, looking at him through sleep festered eyes. He shook his head, smiling. We made coffee and cereal in silence, I the coffee and Paul the cereal. As we ate, I asked about Jake.

“He’s better now, the first shift is always the worst. What you did on the phone really helped.”

“All I did was keep him talking till you guys got there,” I said, finishing my cereal.

“He mentioned you called Bella an anchor, that helps more than you know.” He was looking at me intently. Suddenly I remembered my conversation with Emily last night.

“Paul…” Emily and Sam walked in, laughing with each other. I didn’t want to ask Paul with others around. He seemed brighter though, maybe he’d finally had a full night of sleep. Sleep, id fallen asleep with Emily on the couch and woken up in bed. Looking back at Paul, he was already watching me, waiting. “Did you take me to bed last night? You could’ve just woken me.” I laughed, trying to play off my feelings.

Sam laughed, sitting down with a coffee, “You were both sound asleep when we got back, no use waking you.” Emily looked at me, asking if id said anything, lightly shaking my head I pulled myself away from the conversation as they updated Emily on Jacob. From the window I saw the orange sun dance across the green summer leaves, sway through the crisp morning grass. The sun had risen by now, but the early morning was still prevalent in its colourful glory.

Sam called my name, pulling me out of my thoughts. “When do you start work?”

“9am,” I lied. Well, it wasn’t an actual lie, but I had decided. I wasn’t going to go to work today, Henry had been telling me I need to take advantage of the paid sick days we get, so today I will. I need to process what the hell just happened. Alone. As much as I want to be here, I don’t know how much more I can handle. Sam had told us he hadn’t expected Jake to shift so soon and Quil’s grandfather has noticed he has a fever. It’s happening too fast and is still don’t really know why I am involved. Expect I do, which makes it so much worse. I would get dropped of at work, and then catch a bus to First Beach, which yes was counter intuitive, but it felt wrong to tell the people who immediately accepted me I didn’t want to be around them right now. I’d tell them id get a ride home from Henry and just walk back home. No, I shouldn’t walk. I promised Sam I wouldn’t walk. I’ll get the bus home or ask Bella as awkward as it might be.

Paul eyed me, brow furrowing. Sam and Emily didn’t notice but I couldn’t help feeling like Paul could read my mind. It feels weird being known so well. I sat with them for an hour or so before going to get a shower and then get dressed, Emily had layed my clothes on my bed while I was in the shower, and I suddenly felt insanely sick at the thought of lying to her.

Wandering back into the kitchen I saw Paul wearing worker pants that were just wow. I looked away before he caught my gaze. My heart beating in my throat.

“Where are you working?” I asked, he was looking for a job before all of this.

“Sam’s construction, he let Jared and I join after we shifted, he runs the business you know?” he said looking at my clothes. Wide legged white pants and black shirt, I was holding my apron, the ugly thing.

“Actually, Sam’s gone in early, so can I drive you to work?”

I nod, grabbing my bag and kissing Emily’s cheek goodbye as she started working on a wooden chair. Emily sold wooden furniture, I made sure to make note of that since my parents were looking at getting a new kitchen done. As we left, I noticed Sam had taken Emily’s truck and left his own for Paul. Fuckers had planned this.

“you’re a horrible liar, you know.” Paul said as we drove away from Emily’s. Is he psychic? “Sam told me you normally finish early on Wednesday’s, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too. I finish at 12, ill pick you up and explain everything.” I decided to play dumb.

“I thought you explained everything?” his laugh echoed in the car.

“We both know you’re too smart to think that.” The conversation ended, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Not the same feeling as when Sam drove me, this was new.

“You can meet Henry when you pick me up.” I added, laughing at the thought.

“Who?” Paul said, the familiar jealousy peaking in his voice.

“Oh, he’s a real catch, total ladies’ man. I have a conspiracy that we’re psychically linked.” I said nonchalantly, absolutely doing it on purpose.

“That’s cool.” He said, sharply. These three hours were gonna go smoothly.

And they did. I was so excited for Paul to come pick me up I was practically jumping the whole three-hour shift. Henry had been side eyeing me all day, possibly worried I was on drugs or something.

“So, Paul’s going to pick me up and I’d like for you to meet him.” I told Henry as we stocked the shelves, or as I stocked them, and he micromanaged me.

“Eh okay.” He grumbled, I smiled, excited.

As 12 came I was practically glued to the window. Seeing Sam’s truck pull up my chest had a weight lifted off that I didn’t know was there. Pauls stocky figure walked up to the front door, and I beckoned him over to where I stood.

“Where’s this Henry then?” he asked, trying to seem calm.

“This way!” he must’ve been taken back by my excitement as he gasped slightly as I dragged him to the back of the store. “Henry! This is Paul.”

I watched as Pauls deflated face turned quickly into annoyance and relief as he saw Henry, who looked him up and down, grumbled and asked him if he could pick up some boxes for him. Paul agreed, but it didn’t feel like he had much choice in the matter. After ten minutes of Paul moving boxes around for Henry, I finally got him away, saying goodbye we left the store.

“You minx.” He laughed, opening my door for me.

Laughing I asked him what he was talking about.

“All morning. All morning! I spent worrying some hot bachelor called Henry had stolen your heart! Jared was getting annoyed at how pissy I was acting!” he whined, driving to LaPush.

We made it to first beach without Paul ripping my head off from annoyance. I tried not to dwell too hard on his blatant admission to his jealousy. But it made my head spin.

But he went silent as we walked to the rocks on the southside of the beach. Whatever he was about to tell me was very serious, and I was ready to hear. As we sat down, he looked at the necklace I was wearing, the citrine he bought me.

“You know when I bought you that necklace, I had no idea how beautiful it was.” He said, slowly looking up into my eyes.

“What do you mean? The lady handed it to you, I saw you look down at it.” I asked, searching his eyes for whatever he was trying to tell me.

“What do you remember about imprinting?” he asked, his hand lightly holding onto mine, the other splayed against the rocks. He took me off guard which must be visible on my face as he laughed at my expression.

“I remember you telling me about the imprint who saved the tribe from the vampires by sacrificing herself.” It was a harrowing tale, one that even as children Paul and I treaded on lightly.

“Uh huh, anything else?” he probed.

“I know how the elders described the imprint to feel.” At his silence I continued “that the universe centres around them,” I was whispering to him now, “that it is a love of the souls, bonded and combined.” He nodded.

“Anything else?”

“Paul why are you asking me this?” dread filled me, what if he had imprinted on someone else, I would respect it and understand but telling me like this had to be some form of torture. Deep down I knew that wasn’t the case.

“I imprinted on you.” My head whirled. Everything else became singular as I looked at Paul Lahote who became a multitude. “I was scared I’d imprint on someone else, and it’d be me loosing my agency in life you know,” I did, it was what I was worried about. “But I imprinted on you, at the beach. And I’ve always been in love with you. When we were kids and you would always climb the highest tree, never scared if you fell. When we’d braid each other’s hair. It’s always been you, even the fates agree.” The wind was knocked out of his lungs as I practically jumped onto him. My arms around his neck, his around my waist.

I pulled away. Remembering how this conversation started. “What did you mean, when you said you didn’t know how beautiful the necklace was?”

“That’s the other thing, turns out when we shift for the first time, we go colourblind.”

“What?”

“Wolves, they are naturally colourblind, Sam thinks that’s why we lose it, Jared and I used to think it was just another way the fates could steal life from us.” I listened intently. “That was until Sam imprinted on Emily. He said it was the most overwhelming experience of his life, not only because of the horrible family drama but because it was the first time in months, he had seen colour. We realised then that the only way we could see truly again was when we imprinted. You have to understand how terrifying it was after we’d first shifted, I thought I was dying” He took a deep, steadying breath. “After I first shifted you sent me a picture, do you remember?”

“Not really.” I admitted.

“It was of that cloud with the colours on it.” I nodded, remembering. It was a pileus cloud I’d seen in my back garden; he pulled out his phone. Scrolling sheepishly past the texts from him asking to talk to me and then texts from me, begging for an answer. He landed on a picture I sent, on the pileus cloud, they have colours sitting on them, rainbows laying on the soft clouds of the sky. Had I been taking my sight for granted? Spending my whole life gazing while he had it stolen from him?

“I cried for hours when you sent me this, I couldn’t see it, Sam had told me to cut off all contact with you and all I needed was you to- I don’t know- explain the colours to me since I couldn’t see them.” He breathed heavily; I could see the anger weighing on his shoulders once more. I didn’t interrupt him, just placed a hand on his thigh as an attempt to soothe. He smiled gently at this, still looking at the cloud. “It was two days after I’d shifted for the first time, and I was always so overwhelmed. I kept snapping and shifting in a fit of rage.”

As he waited for a response from me, I finally formed a semi-coherent sentence.

“I would’ve done the same. I can’t imagine how it- losing that- I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s those bloodsuckers.” He laughed. Smiling at me. We spoke for what felt like hours, it probably was but I didn’t mind. “I’m sorry to unload all of this onto you. I didn’t want to drag you into it, but you have to realise you call the shots, all you.”

“Is this why Sam didn’t pick me up yesterday?” I asked, remembering the hasty text Sam had sent me yesterday afternoon.

“Yeah,” he blushed, “I got angry at him, and he spent the whole day trying to convince me.”

“Couldn’t he just demand it?” the authority Sam had over the boys couldn’t be questioned, but it was a natural thing to him I felt it too.

“Yeah, but I know that he wanted me to make the choice, you’re my imprint after all.” He smiled, putting a hair behind my ear.

The sun had begun to set when Paul and I stopped talking, we’d spoke for hours. Catching up on each other’s lives, I told him about my fight with Quil and how I was feeling about Bella, and he listened. He told me about his dad, who’d decided to go work down south for a few months, leaving Paul the house to himself. That even though he gets the entire one-story building to himself he prefers to stay at Emily’s, he’d always hated being alone. He watched the sun set and I watched him. How it reflected on his clear skin, how his short hair was growing back. He’d explained that they’d all cut their hair after their first shift as to now only be practical but because they were grieving, grieving themselves. Paul was growing his hair again, determined to have a piece of himself back again, the hair length only mattered on the first few shifts. No one was sure why.

Going back to Sam’s truck I hold onto Paul’s hand, pulling him to a stop halfway across the beach. Getting closer to him I felt the warmth radiate from him, he couldn’t help but become the sun. The confused look on his face amused me, as I pulled him in and kissed him. His hand let go of mine as he wove his arms around my waist. My hands going to his back and his hair. He didn’t drive back to Emily’s. We spent the night in his house, the blue walls of his bedroom were known better than my own. Making out on his bed I sat on his lap, pulling his shirt of and then my own he grinned up at me.

“You’re so beautiful.” I didn’t say anything as I unhooked my bra, his jaw dropped slightly, and I blushed. He pulled his own jeans off and then switched our positions, so I was on my back as he took my white trousers of, discarding them somewhere in the room. I felt his lips on mine again which stopped me from staring at his well-defined chest, my hands felt him completely. I reached into his boxers as he whined slightly into my mouth at my slow and teasing actions.

“Don’t play with me.” He whispered into my ears as he ripped his boxers off, slowly taking my underwear off. As I felt him align himself, I looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but love.

Three weeks had passed since I found out about Paul’s imprint. Summer had begun to spread itself thinly and form into fall. I’d spoken to Quil, but he could tell I was hiding something. Especially since Jake had abandoned him without word and so did I. I knew he wanted to be apart of whatever was going on, but we all hoped he would never have to know, never feel the pain they all went through.

I spent most nights at Emily’s and some at Pauls but few and few at home. I wasn’t sure why my parents trusted my choices so much, but I figured they trusted Paul and I’d been a well-behaved teen. They did, however, begin to question why Bella Swan was constantly coming over asking for me. I couldn’t tell her. I still wasn’t over her not telling me anything. But Jake had ghosted her, just after I did. After the Cullen did. She had other friends, but it felt like a really shitty thing to do, I knew if I saw her, I’d just tell her everything. Even if she wouldn’t do the same for me.

I was at Emily’s when Embry, Jared, and Bella Swan herself came into the kitchen. She looked at me in shock and I gestured to the seat beside me, she shook her head. As Emily and I were informed on how Bella found herself in this predicament I laughed at the thought of Jake and Paul fighting, it didn’t surprise me. But I was shocked at Bella slapping him, she defended herself explaining she was angry and didn’t know we’d made up at this point. She didn’t know much. Jared told her that the pack was faster and better than the leaches, Bella seemed to feel more comfortable.

Sam, Jake, and Paul came into the house, Bella seemed to stow herself away in the corner. Her face went bright red after Paul apologised to her and kissed me, Sam complimented how well she took seeing two men turn into wolves in front of her and she laughed it off.

“How are you feeling?” Paul asked as I climbed into bed beside him.

“Tired, Bella gave me a hard time about me ignoring her, she’s right I guess.” Facing him in bed I tried to savour how the moon bounced off him. How he seemed to glow in the blue moonlight. He disagreed, but I knew Paul was biased he’d never really trusted Bella.

“What about Quil have you made up your mind on what you’re going to do?” He asked, kissing my nose as he pulled me to his chest.

“I’m going to go to his house tomorrow. I can’t tell him anything, but I need him to know I’m still his friend and I still love him. He’s one of my closest friends, his love is tough but its true you know?”

“I know.”

“How are you feeling?”

“everything’s getting calmer, but the red leech is still circling, these hikers need to learn to stay on the trail for their own sake.” He laughed; it wasn’t a happy laugh but an exhausted one. “Plus, Quil really might shift soon, I’m not sure how I feel about you going to see him in person.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Doesn’t make me worry any less.” He was holding me so close, our legs intertwined.

“He knows me better than anyone, which is scary but I won’t talk to him about the fight it doesn’t matter to me anymore. I can’t not have him in my life, it feels so good to be known so well. And not in the way you know me,” I clarified, “he knows me in a way that is tried and true, its not as intimate as how you know me, Quil challenges me, I challenge him. I can’t stand ignoring him.”

Paul nodded, he understood. He just hoped he didn’t shift in front of me.

“I love you.” He whispered into my hair.

“I love you more.” I whispered back, falling into a perfect sleep.

“Are you happy being with Paul?” Quil asked, grey hoodie swamping his tall figure.

“Yes.” I replied, arms crossed over my chest.

“I’m not surprised.” He sighed. Then, crossing the front room he looked out of his front window. “You really hurt me, you know.”

“I know.”

“And you can’t even tell me why!”

“I’m sorry.”

“You, Embry and Jake can’t tell me a single thing!” he yelled, still not looking at me. I had prepared for this, for him to hate me. I just didn’t expect it to feel so horrible.

“I’m sorry, Quil, I really am.” He looked at me, eyes desperate.

“I’ve missed you.” He whispered. Tears in my eyes I ran to him, colliding with his chest we both cried on each other. “Remember we’re not keeping score, no arguments-”

“No winners.” I finished; we didn’t keep score.

As he pulled away, we both wiped at the tears streaming down our faces.

“Lahote? Really?” he laughed; I punched him in the arm. “Ow! Okay, okay.”

For now, everything was okay. I could handle okay.

pauls pinterest board

an:// i hoped you all loved reading this as much as i loved writing it! you can see why its taken me so long to actually write this :') Tumblr always gets rid of my paragraph spacing it kills me:( the word doc for this fic is 19 pages long! this is the longest fic i've written, im very proud of it!! requests are open, take care of yourself. i love you- em x

@ribbons-in-your-hair @notperfect-justme @thebestrouge [you guys asked me to tag you if i wrote anything about this headcannon! i hope you enjoy it!]

#twilight #twilight saga #x reader #x you #twilight revival #paul lahote #new moon twilight #x y/n #twilight renaissance #twilight imagine #paul lahote imagine #twilight paul #twilight wolf pack #twilight wolves #paul lahote x reader #twilight fanfiction #uley pack

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𝐌𝐫. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭'𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 | 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫

Part Three | Five Pairings: Bucky Barnes x f!reader, Steve Rogers x f!reader | Daughter of Thaddeus Ross (Red Hulk) Words: 6K Themes: Forbidden/Off-Limits Reader, Love Triangle, M for Mature, 18+ , Post-Endgame, AGE GAP (24y/o reader). Summary: Looking for her own answers, Y/N couldn't help but deviate from Bucky's original therapy plan. Steve takes interest at Y/N after bumping into her in the clinic, just before he and Bucky go out for a drink. A/N: Let the love triangle begin.

taggies: @astrelz @pattiemac1 @mrsevans90

Session 3

Bucky sat quietly on his side of the couch. He wasn’t really sure how to start off the session. He's almost certain they're going to talk about that list again. Then again, he couldn’t help but notice that something was a bit different this session. Though Y/N was in therapist mode—something he could never get used to, now—her posture seems a bit stiff.

He could sense it—something about the way she glanced up at him, the way she seemed a little too intent on keeping things professional. He shifted on the spot, trying to push away the thoughts creeping in from their last couple of run-ins outside the office.

“Not wanting to share today?” Y/N asked, breaking the silence as she scribbled something in her notebook. Her eyes flicked up, meeting his blue dilated ones.

Bucky shrugged. “Just... thinking.”

“About?”

“Nothing worth talking about here.”

Y/N studied him for a moment, before she glanced at his file. “Last week we talked about your amends list. How’s that been going?”

“It’s fine. Not much progress has been made, but it's fine.” Bucky exhaled slowly.

The sound of the ticking clock on the wall filled the space between them. For the first time, Y/N didn’t know how to even continue. She’s feeling a lot of pressure. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since their last session. Or maybe it was that nagging suspicion in the back of her mind.

She wasn’t supposed to pry, wasn’t supposed to deviate from the plan, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered. Could Bucky be the man she kissed at the party? Could he really be the one who’d left her heart racing that night?

She cleared her throat, glancing up at him. “And outside of the list? Your personal life... how’s that?”

Bucky’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Y/N hesitated. This wasn’t part of the session’s plan, but the words were already tumbling out before she could stop herself.

“I mean, outside of the list. Your relationships... intimacy... things like that. Have you—have you been able to connect with people?”

Bucky’s expression darkened, but not in anger—more like curiosity. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing.

“Intimacy?”

Y/N stood, moving slowly from behind her desk as if pulled by an invisible thread, her body on autopilot. Bucky’s eyes followed her every step. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she stopped in front of him. Without a second thought she lowered herself onto his lap, her legs straddling him as she settled against him.

Bucky didn’t flinch. He didn’t move, but his hands found her hips naturally, his grip firm, as if he had been waiting for this, too. His eyes, locked onto hers, but there was no confusion in them—only heat. Her heart raced, faster than she could keep up with, and her breath became shallow as her hands moved to rest on his shoulders.

She hesitated for a brief second, scanning his face—the sharp line of his jaw, the softness in his lips, the intensity of his gaze—before leaning in. Her lips hovered over his, and she felt a spark. When they finally touched, it was soft at first, a hesitant exploration. But the second he kissed her back, it was as if all the tension, all the uncertainty that had been building between them, broke free.

His lips were warm, firm against hers—experienced more like, and the kiss deepened, igniting something inside her. His hands tightened on her waist, pulling her closer, and her fingers threaded through his hair, tugging gently. She wanted more—needed more—and for a fleeting moment, she felt like she had found the answer she’d been searching for.

She pulled back slightly, breathless, her forehead resting against his. "It was you, wasn't it?" she whispered, her lips brushing against his. "The man at the party..."

Bucky’s grip on her tightened, his voice low and rough. "Y/N—"

"Y/N?"

Bucky's voice, sharp and real, sliced through the haze. She blinked, reality crashing back in with brutal clarity.

She wasn’t on his lap. She was still on the couch across from him, notebook clutched tightly in her hand, her knuckles white from the pressure. Her breathing was shallow, heart pounding in her chest.

Bucky was watching her from his seat, head tilted, concern etched into his features while waving his hand to catch her attention.

"Y/N?" he repeated, voice soft but questioning. "Hello?"

Her heart dropped into her stomach. She blinked again, forcing the heat flooding her cheeks to disappear. It was a daydream... just a daydream, why did it feel so real?

She shifted in her seat trying to ease the heat she's feeling in her core, clearing her throat, trying to hide the fact that her hands were trembling.

"Yeah, sorry, uh. . " she muttered, quickly looking down at her notes, her mind racing to catch up. "Just... lost my train of thought."

The room felt smaller and though there was only Bucky's pair of eyes staring at her. She felt a dozen other ones, staring like the know what she just daydreamed about.

Y/N felt her heart skip a beat, her mind racing with regret. She shouldn’t have brought this up. This wasn’t part of their professional dynamic, but she couldn’t let it go. The thought of him—of whether or not he had been the man from the party—had been gnawing at her. . .badly.

“Anyways, yes—um intimacy, I mean... have you been able to—well, feel connected to anyone?”

Bucky hesitated, his eyes narrowing slightly. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He simply watched her, his blue eyes searching hers, as if he was trying to figure something out.

“Why do you ask?” There was a subtle melody with the way Bucky said it.

Y/N swallowed, trying to maintain her composure. “It’s just... an important part of healing. Being able to open up, to trust someone.”

Bucky’s lips curled into a slight smirk, though there was no humor in it. “Are we still talking about healing?”

“Yes. It’s—it’s part of it. . .” Y/N felt her face heat up, her grip tightening on the notebook in her lap.

Bucky studied her for a long moment, then frowning. “You don’t seem convinced.”

“I’m just asking,” Y/N said quickly, her voice a little too defensive. She was starting to feel exposed, like Bucky could see right through her. This wasn’t about the session anymore, and they both knew it.

“I haven’t... been with anyone,” Bucky finally said, his tone more guarded now. “Not since... before everything happened. It’s not exactly easy when you’ve been turned into a killing machine.”

Y/N’s heart pounded in her chest. Her thoughts were spinning, and all she could think about was that night at the party—the kiss, the way he had held her so close. She needed to know. “And... do you want to be? With someone, I mean.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, his gaze sharp. “Is that part of the therapy session?”

Y/N opened her mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. She couldn’t admit what she was really asking—she couldn’t let him know that she had been wondering if he was the man from that night. But she couldn’t stop herself from pushing.

“I think it’s important,” she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “To know what you want.”

Bucky leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving hers. “What do you think I want?”

She didn’t know. She couldn’t answer that. But something in the way he was looking at her made her question everything she had been telling herself.

“I don’t know,” she finally whispered, her voice unsteady. “I don’t know.”

The silence stretched between them again, thick and suffocating, and for the first time in their sessions, Y/N felt completely unmoored.

Bucky’s gaze softened, and he let out a quiet sigh. “You’re so much better than your mentor, you know that?”

Y/N blinked, her cheeks flushing. “What do you mean?”

Bucky leaned forward again, his voice low. “You care. You’re not just asking because it’s part of your job. You’re asking because you actually care.”

Y/N felt her throat tighten, and she couldn’t bring herself to look away. “Maybe.”

Bucky nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. “I'll think about what I want, maybe we can talk about that in the next session.”

× × × ×

Y/N pushed open the door to the women’s bathroom, her footsteps echoing in the tiled room as she hurried inside. The moment the door swung shut behind her, she let out a long, shaky breath, the tension she had been holding in unraveling. She stepped over to the sink and braced her hands on the cold porcelain, her knuckles still tight and pale from the grip she’d held on her notebook moments before.

She dared to look up, eyes meeting her reflection in the mirror. Her face was flushed, cheeks stained pink, and her hair looked slightly disheveled from the way she had run her fingers through it during the session. But what caught her attention the most was the wide-eyed, almost haunted expression staring back at her.

What the hell was that? she thought, biting her bottom lip.

She straightened up, fingers dragging through her hair again, trying to smooth it down, but the action only made her frustration grow. Her mind spun in circles, replaying the daydream—the way she had straddled him, kissed him like she couldn’t get enough, like she needed to know.

And in front of him. In front of Bucky.

She let out a small, strangled laugh, though it wasn’t funny at all. She had fantasized about him, for crying out loud—right there in the session, with him watching her the entire time. The worst part? He probably noticed something was off. He had seen her spacing out, seen the tension in her, seen... something.

She groaned, pressing her hands to her face, trying to smother the memory, the heat creeping up her neck.

What is wrong with me? she thought, her mind racing. I'm his therapist. He’s my patient. He’s been through hell, and I’m here thinking— She stopped herself, shaking her head. She wasn’t even supposed to think about her patients like that. It was unprofessional, completely out of line.

But no matter how hard she tried to shake it, the image of Bucky—the feel of him, the intensity of his presence—clung to her like a shadow.

She paced for a moment, the sound of her footsteps reverberating in the quiet space, her fingers curling into her palms as she tried to steady herself.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered to her reflection. "You’re a professional. You can’t be thinking these kinds of thoughts. Essentially about him."

Y/N leaned in closer to the mirror. Her whole body trembled with the weight of the existential crisis she was battling. She wasn’t supposed to feel this way. She wasn’t supposed to find someone like Bucky attractive, someone so complicated, so old?

But she did.

She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror, squeezing her eyes shut, willing herself to calm down. “Get it together, Y/N," she whispered. "You can’t do this. You can’t think like this. Don't be one of those ‘I can fix him’ type.”

But the truth was, the more she tried to push him away, the more his presence seemed to seep into her thoughts, her every waking moment. She wasn’t sure how to face him again without her heart racing and her mind betraying her.

With one last glance at her flushed, conflicted reflection, Y/N took a deep breath and turned toward the door. The existential crisis would have to wait—she had a job to do, and more importantly, she had to find a way to keep her mind off Bucky Barnes.

Easier said than done, she thought, her stomach twisting with the weight of what had just happened.

Y/N took one final deep breath, bracing herself as she pushed open the bathroom door. The hallway outside seemed quieter than usual, but the mess inside her head was anything but. She needed to shake this off, to focus, to—

She wasn’t paying attention. Her mind was still swirling, and as soon as she stepped out, she collided with something solid. The sudden impact threw her off balance, and she gasped, her hand instinctively reaching for the wall, but before she could even register what had happened, strong arms caught her.

“Whoa, easy there.”

The voice was smooth and deep. Y/N’s heart lurched in her chest as she looked up to see Steve Rogers standing in front of her, his hands gently grabbing her arms to keep her steady before she could fall.

Her breath hitched, the embarrassment of her near fall mixing with the embarrassment of everything that had just gone through her head minutes ago. Of all the people she could have bumped into…

“Steve—I mean Captain?” she managed to breathe out, her voice shaky.

“Steve is fine, you okay?” He gave her a small smile, his grip still firm but gentle, making sure she was steady on her feet before he let her go.

Y/N blinked up at him, her pulse still racing from the shock. “Yeah, sorry—I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she mumbled, trying to regain her composure, though the heat in her cheeks wasn’t helping.

Steve’s brow furrowed slightly, concern flashing across his features. “You seemed a little out of it there.”

Great, she thought. Just what I need—Captain America catching me at my worst moment.

Y/N quickly straightened herself, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to act like her entire world hadn’t just been flipped upside down in the last twenty minutes. “I’ts nothing. Just... long day.”

Steve nodded, his blue eyes studying her carefully, but he didn’t press. He stepped back, giving her a bit more space, though the warmth from his hands still lingered on her arms.

“Well, I’m glad I was here. You almost took a dive there,” he teased lightly, the corner of his mouth quirking up into that boyish smile of his.

She tried to return it, but the proximity to Steve wasn’t helping. First, she’d been daydreaming about Bucky, and now she was literally falling into Steve’s arms. Could this day get any worse?

“Thanks for the save,” she replied, fiddling with her necklace.

Steve’s smile softened, and for a second, he just looked at her, his gaze more thoughtful.

“You sure you’re alright?” he asked again, his voice lower this time, more serious.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just… some stuff on my mind.”

Steve’s eyes lingered on her, as if he wasn’t quite convinced but wasn’t going to push her any further.

“Alright,” he said finally, stepping back fully now. “Um. . .did Bucky leave already? He wasn’t replying to my texts.”

Y/N blinked at the mention of Bucky's name, her stomach doing a little flip. Of course, Steve was here for Bucky.

She nodded, trying to keep her voice steady. “Yeah, he left a little while ago. I’m not sure where he went, though. He seemed… really keen to leave.”

Steve’s eyebrows knitted together with concern. He ran a hand through his hair, clearly thinking.

“That sounds like him,” he muttered under his breath, then looked back at her with a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “He’s been a bit off lately, but I guess you’ve noticed.”

Y/N forced a tight smile. "Yeah... something like that."

She had definitely noticed. After that therapy session, where she'd practically thrown professionalism out the window in her head, there was no way she could not notice Bucky. The way he looked at her now, the way his presence filled the room even when he wasn’t trying—everything about him had her all twisted up inside.

“Mind if I ask?” Steve’s voice cut through her internal monologue, pulling her attention back to him.

“Hmm?” she asked, blinking back into focus. “Ask what?”

Steve shifted his weight slightly, rubbing the back of his neck—a nervous habit, she realized.

“What’s on your mind? You seem... I don’t know, like you’ve got something weighing on you. If it’s something about Bucky or—”

“No!” Y/N blurted out a little too quickly.

“Steve.”

Y/N's heart thudded loudly in her chest as she turned slowly, her body stiffening at the sound of Bucky’s voice. Bucky was walking towards them, his figure tall and imposing. His presence always had a way of commanding attention, whether he meant to or not. And now, with him walking toward them, every nerve in her body seemed to be on high alert.

Steve offered a small smile, clearly relieved. “Buck, there you are. You weren’t answering my texts.”

Bucky’s eyes flicked to Steve briefly, but then, almost immediately, they landed on Y/N. She could feel it, the weight of his gaze settling on her like a physical touch. Her stomach twisted, and her breath felt caught in her throat. She averted her eyes, focusing on the floor, the knot of tension tightening in her chest.

“I was busy,” Bucky replied.

Steve crossed his arms, glancing between the two of them. “Busy? You could’ve let me know. Thought you might’ve disappeared again.”

Y/N shifted on her feet, she could feel the awkwardness radiating off her in waves, and avoiding Bucky’s gaze was getting harder with every passing second. The memory of her daydream flashed through her mind—the way she had imagined being so close to him, the way her body had responded in ways it never should have.

I can't do this right now, she thought desperately, her pulse quickening.

Bucky was silent for a moment, and Y/N could tell he was still looking at her, probably noticing how rigid she had become. She willed herself to move, to say something, but she felt trapped, her embarrassment from earlier still clawing at her.

Finally, Bucky spoke, his voice softer than before. “I wasn’t planning on disappearing. Just needed some air.”

Y/N could feel Steve glancing between the two of them, probably trying to figure out what exactly was going on. She swallowed hard, still refusing to meet Bucky’s eyes, and cleared her throat, trying to force herself back into the present.

“Well,” Y/N said quickly, her voice tight and shaky. “I’ve got... a few things to take care of. Nice seeing you both, again.”

She stepped back, her heart racing as she turned on her heel. She couldn’t stand there for another second. Not with the weight of Bucky’s gaze still burning into her, not with the reminder of her unprofessional thoughts swirling in her mind. It was too much.

“Y/N,” Bucky’s voice stopped her in her tracks. Her breath hitched, and she stood frozen for a second, her heart pounding so hard she was sure Steve and Bucky could hear it. She swallowed hard, her mind racing. Please, not now.

She didn’t turn around, not yet. She couldn’t bring herself to face him, not after everything that had happened in her head, not with the heat of her embarrassment still simmering under her skin.

But then, she forced herself to respond, her voice shaky and soft. “Yes?”

There was a brief pause, a beat too long, before Bucky spoke again. “You dropped this.”

Y/N frowned, confused, before glancing down at her hand—only to realize her notebook was missing. Of course. Her face flushed as she realized she must have left it in the therapy room, completely distracted by her own spiraling thoughts. She slowly turned around to find Bucky standing there, holding the small notebook in his hand, his expression unreadable.

“Right. Thanks,” she mumbled, walking back toward him, though every step felt heavier with the awkward tension that lingered between them.

As she reached out to take the notebook from him, her fingers brushed his, and she quickly pulled her hand back, feeling the heat rush to her face. Bucky’s eyes lingered on her for just a moment longer, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. She clutched the notebook tightly, taking a small step back.

“I, uh… appreciate it,” she said, her voice quiet.

“No problem,” Bucky replied, his tone casual.

“Nice meeting you again, Y/N.” Steve smiled.

She gave them both a quick nod, forcing a small, tight smile before turning on her heel once more, this time making sure she didn’t leave anything behind as she hurried away.

As Y/N disappeared around the corner, Steve’s gaze lingered a little too long, his brow furrowed in thought. Bucky, standing beside him, noticed the way Steve was still watching, and his jaw clenched tighter.

After a moment of silence, Bucky finally spoke, his voice low and a bit sharper than he intended. “You’re staring, Steve.”

Steve blinked, tearing his eyes away from the hallway and glancing at Bucky, a flicker of amusement crossing his face. “Was I?”

Bucky gave him a pointed look, his blue eyes narrowing slightly. “Yeah, you were.”

Steve’s lips curved into a small smile, clearly unfazed. “Didn’t realize it,” he said lightly, though there was a teasing edge to his tone. “But now that you mention it, she is... easy to stare at. She looks very familiar now I see her up close, actually.”

Bucky didn’t say anything, but his expression tightened. He could feel the tension creeping up his spine, and for some reason, hearing Steve say that only made it worse.

Steve, sensing the shift in Bucky’s mood, raised his hands in mock surrender, still grinning. “Hey, don’t get all worked up. Just saying what I see.”

Bucky exhaled through his nose, trying to keep himself calm. “She’s my therapist.”

“Sure,” Steve replied, the teasing smile still on his face. “But don’t act like I’m the only one noticing.”

Bucky shot him a look, not bothering to hide his frustration. “Drop it.”

Steve chuckled, but he didn’t push further. “Alright, alright. Consider it dropped.”

Steve may have been teasing, but Bucky knew there was a kernel of truth in his words. And the fact that Steve had picked up on it only made things more complicated.

For the rest of the walk, Bucky couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling gnawing at him. He didn’t like how this was getting under his skin—how Y/N was getting under his skin. And now, with Steve’s attention on her too, it felt like everything was starting to blur in ways he hadn’t anticipated.

× × × ×

“Thanks for coming out, Buck,” Steve said, taking a sip of his beer.

Bucky shrugged, swirling his drink lazily before taking a sip. “Figured you could use the company.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve been here, huh?”

Bucky grunted, though his gaze wandered around the bar, his attention only half on the conversation. It was like he was avoiding something.

“So,” Steve started, deciding to dive in, “remember that girl?”

Bucky’s fingers tightened slightly around his glass, but his face stayed neutral as he raised an eyebrow. “The girl? Yeah, kinda hard to forget.”

Steve chuckled. “Sam’s been all over me about it. He thinks I should try to find her.”

“Oh, yeah?” Bucky asked, his voice smooth as ever, keeping the conversation light. “Sam’s full of great ideas, isn’t he?”

“He’s not wrong. I mean, until now it wont leave my head so there must be something about her, you know?” Steve laughed sheepishly.

Bucky smirked, taking another sip of his drink. “Different how? Did she float?”

Steve snorted. “No, smartass. It wasn’t like that. I don’t know... there was just something about her. I can’t explain it.”

Bucky hummed, feigning interest as he leaned back, his glass spinning lightly in his fingers. “Huh. Sounds like a case of party goggles. One kiss and now she’s stuck in your head forever?”

Steve shook his head, the smile fading a little. “Nah, it wasn’t like that. It’s just. . . I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”

Bucky nodded along like he was giving the whole thing serious thought. “Yeah, I get it. Girl shows up out of nowhere, sweeps you off your feet, then poof—vanishes into the night. Real fairytail stuff.”

Steve frowned, realizing Bucky was being more sarcastic than usual. “You don’t believe me?”

Bucky grinned. “Oh, I believe you. I just think maybe you’re making it a bigger deal than it is. You don’t even know her name, man.”

“That’s part of it,” Steve insisted, leaning in. “I don’t know why, but I can’t stop thinking about her. There’s something there, something I’ve gotta figure out.”

Bucky tilted his head, letting out a slow whistle. “That deep, huh?”

Steve nodded.

“Well,” Bucky shrugged, “you ever consider that maybe you’re chasing a ghost? People have a way of looking more perfect when they’re a mystery. Could just be the party messing with your head.”

Steve narrowed his eyes, watching Bucky closely. “You really don’t think I should try to find her?”

Bucky shrugged again, a casual grin on his lips. “I’m just saying, you can spend your life chasing down people you’ll never see again, or you can move on. It was a party. People dance, they move on.”

Steve studied Bucky for a moment, feeling like something was off but unable to pin it down. “You’re not telling me something.”

Bucky looked at him, his expression blank, and for a moment Steve thought he might be onto something. But then Bucky just leaned back in his chair and gave him an exaggerated look of confusion. “What, me? I told you, Steve. Party goggles. Happens to the best of us.”

Steve frowned, leaning back in his own seat. “You’ve been quiet since. You sure there’s nothing going on?”

Bucky gave him a slow, amused smile. “Me? Nah. I’m just enjoying the show. You chasing a mystery girl is way more fun than my life.”

Steve let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair.

Bucky gave a light chuckle, raising his glass. “Well, here’s to the hunt. Hope you find your princess, Cap.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but the smile returned. “Yeah, yeah.”

As they sat in silence for a moment, Steve’s mind continued to spin. There was something about Bucky’s tone that felt... off. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Anyway,” Steve said, breaking the silence, “thanks for listening.”

“Always here for a good mystery,” Bucky said with a wink, finishing his drink. “Just don’t expect me to go full detective with you. I’ve retired.”

Steve shook his head, smiling despite himself. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

The conversation turned to other things after that, more relaxed. But Bucky knew Steve wouldn’t drop the mystery girl anytime soon.

And Bucky? He wasn’t about to make it easy for him.

× × × ×

Y/N sat across from her father in the grand dining room, she tried to focus on his words, but her mind kept wandering. She nodded at the right moments, gave the expected responses, but her thoughts felt slippery, like trying to hold water in her hands.

Thaddeus’s words faded in and out, and at one point, Y/N realized with a start that she hadn’t been listening to him for the last several minutes. She blinked, trying to recall what he had just said, but her mind was blank.

"Y/N?" her father asked, his sharp voice breaking through her daze. "Did you hear what I said?"

Her heart jumped in her chest, and she forced herself to nod. "Yes. Sorry, just... distracted."

Thaddeus narrowed his eyes at her, clearly not buying her excuse. "You seem more than distracted."

Y/N quickly shook her head. "No, I’m fine. Really.”

Thaddeus cleared his throat, setting his fork down with a sense of authority. “We need to talk about the event next month.”

Y/N glanced up from her plate, already feeling the weight of the conversation. “Mhm, go on.”

Thaddeus nodded, his face serious. “Yes. In a month’s time, the world will know who you are. The Ross family will finally be complete in the public eye.”

Y/N let out a short, almost bitter laugh. “Family? It’s just you and me, Dad. Doesn’t really scream ‘family’ to me.”

Thaddeus’s eyes narrowed slightly at her comment, “This is about perception, Y/N. The country needs to see that I have a family standing behind me. Strong, united.”

Y/N shook her head, still smiling humorlessly. “You’ve kept me hidden for years, and now you want to play the ‘family man’ for the cameras?”

Thaddeus’s face hardened. “It's necessary. The public needs to see stability, especially with everything that’s happening politically. You’ll be introduced, and people will see that I’m not just a leader—I’m a father. A man with family values.”

Y/N couldn’t help but roll her eyes, pushing her plate away slightly. “Family values,” she repeated, the words tasting bitter. “What family values? You’re always working. I barely see you.”

Her father’s expression didn’t waver. “That’s why this is important. You’ll solidify the image. You’ll be the proof of my commitment, not just to the country, but to my family.”

Y/N shook her head, feeling a knot of frustration building in her chest. “I’ve lived outside the spotlight my whole life, Dad. I didn’t ask for any of this. And now you want me to just... smile and play the perfect daughter?”

Thaddeus’s gaze sharpened, his tone cooling. “It’s more than just smiling. You know that. This is about duty, Y/N.”

“Duty,” Y/N scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Of course. It’s always about duty with you.”

Thaddeus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You don’t understand how important this is.”

“No,” Y/N shot back, “I do understand. Now I realize that you’re using me for your image, and I’m supposed to just fall in line.”

“This isn’t just about you. This is bigger than either of us. The people need to see that I have a strong, supportive family. It gives them confidence.”

Y/N clenched her fists under the table, her heart racing with frustration. “But what about me, Dad? What about what I want? You’ve made all the decisions for me up until now, and I’ve gone along with it.”

Thaddeus leaned forward slightly, his tone growing more insistent. “You knew this was coming. We’ve talked about this before. You’ve had time to prepare.”

Y/N shook her head, her voice softening. “Prepare for what? To lose my privacy? You don’t care about what this means for me—you just care about how it looks for you.”

Thaddeus’s face remained impassive, though his tone was clipped. “That’s not true. I care about you, Y/N. But I also care about this country and what’s best for it.”

Y/N let out another hollow laugh, her frustration bubbling over. “Right. Because nothing says ‘family man’ like dragging your daughter into the spotlight when she’s never wanted to be there.”

Thaddeus didn’t respond for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. “You will do this, Y/N. It’s not just about me. It’s about this family, the country, and the image we need to uphold.”

Y/N stared at him for a long moment, her shoulders sagging under the weight of his expectations. She knew she couldn’t win this argument. Her father had already made up his mind, and she was just another part of his larger plan.

After a long pause, Y/N’s voice was quiet. “And after the event? What happens then?”

Thaddeus leaned back in his chair, his expression softening ever so slightly. “After the event, we’ll take it one step at a time. The public will get to know you gradually. It won’t all happen overnight.”

Y/N swallowed hard, the knot in her stomach tightening. “I don’t know if I want to do this.”

Her father’s gaze softened, if only for a moment. “You’re stronger than you think, Y/N. You’ve always been.”

Y/N nodded, though her heart felt heavy. “Fine,” she said quietly. “I’ll be there. But don’t expect me to be happy about it.”

Thaddeus gave her a small nod, satisfied with her response. “Good. We’ll go over the details as the date gets closer.”

Y/N pushed her plate further away, her appetite long gone. As the conversation shifted to less intense topics, she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that had settled in her chest. The event was a month away, but it already felt like it was looming over her, threatening to swallow her whole.

With a quiet sigh, she dabbed her napkin at her mouth and stood up from the table, her chair scraping lightly against the polished floor. “I’m going to go,” she said softly, her voice strained with the weight of the conversation.

Thaddeus looked up, his brow furrowed slightly. He hadn’t expected her to leave so abruptly. “What about the engagement?”

Y/N froze for a moment, her fingers tightening around the edge of the napkin. The conversation with Ethan flashed through her mind, the vague promises, the unspoken truths. She sighed, letting the napkin fall back onto the table.

“Me and Ethan are going to talk,” she said, her voice firm but distant. “If that gives you some peace of mind.”

Thaddeus’s eyes lingered on her, his expression unreadable. “Good,” he said finally, though there was little warmth in his voice. “Make sure you do. It’s important.”

Y/N didn’t respond. She gave him a small nod, turned on her heel, and walked out of the dining room. The ornate hallways of the White House felt colder tonight, the grandeur and elegance offering no comfort as she made her way back to her room. Her father’s words echoed in her mind, but it wasn’t just the upcoming event that weighed on her—it was everything. The engagement, the pressure, the constant feeling of being trapped in a life she hadn’t chosen.

× × × ×

As Y/N walked out of the dining room, the ornate hallways of the White House felt colder tonight, the grandeur and elegance offering no comfort as she made her way back to her room. Each step echoed off the polished marble floors, but something felt off. Her mind, which had been racing moments earlier, now felt strangely... blank. She frowned, her fingers brushing along the wall for balance.

Halfway to her room, she paused, looking around as though she had forgotten where she was going. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the portraits that lined the hallway—portraits she had passed a thousand times. Yet, tonight, the faces blurred.

Y/N blinked hard, trying to shake the strange feeling creeping over her. Where was I going again?

For a split second, the thought slipped away, her mind drawing a blank. It was disorienting, like waking from a deep dream and not remembering where you were. She took a slow breath, pressing a hand to her temple. The faint throb there wasn’t new, but it was persistent, as if her brain was working too hard to pull thoughts together.

“Get it together,” she whispered to herself, glancing around the hallway. The elegant space seemed suddenly unfamiliar, foreign, even though she had lived here for years.

Y/N shook her head, trying to dismiss the uneasy feeling that was building in her chest. It’s just stress, she told herself. It’s everything happening at once. The event, the engagement, the media. It’s all just... too much.

But deep down, she knew it wasn’t just the stress. It has been happening more often lately—small, almost unnoticeable lapses. Forgetting where she put her phone, struggling to recall the names of people she had just met, moments of disorientation that she’d brushed off. They weren’t constant, but they were enough to make her wonder.

Still, Y/N pushed the thought aside and continued down the hallway, her fingers trailing along the wall for grounding. She reached what will become her room and pushed the door open, exhaling a sigh of relief as she stepped into the familiar space. The tension in her shoulders eased slightly, but the lingering unease from the hallway stuck with her, sitting heavy in the pit of her stomach.

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blossomwritesthings · 1 year

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𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝? 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. | 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

pairing: minho x fem!reader (afab)

genre: veterinarian!minho (this includes a few of the skz members working in his clinic). client!reader. hurt/comfort. angst. fluff. smut - MDNI, 18+ only. reader pov. strangers to lovers au. slowburn romance. lots of pining.

content & warnings: explicit & strong language. very thematic elements. minho is reader's vet. reader's childhood cat suddenly gets diagnosed with cancer, and she has to make a big decision about what to do. this fanfic includes heavy topics like: pet euthanasia, extreme loss/grief, depression, the problems with pet healthcare, and more. there will be some humor/fluff placed throughout, and also smut somewhere along the way. :))

word count: 7.1k

summary: dr. lee minho is known throughout your area as the city's hottest veterinarian, and he's also the very man that's been taking good care of your two cats for the past three years. but one day, you're thrown down a dark path of heartache when the cat that you've grown up with - nyx - is diagnosed with an acute form of bone cancer. burdened with the hardest decision of your entire life, you come at a crossroads of what to do. and throughout it all, minho is the single most person who continually stays by your side.

a/n: i decided to split this fic up into like, 3-4 separate chapters, since i felt like having 20.k+ words for a single 'long oneshot' was kindaa excessive lmao 😂 anyways, i'm excited for the future of this little series and what it's gonna look like exploring the relationship between minho and y/n~ 😉 also, for anyone that noticed, YES- i changed my entire tumblr theme after like, 4 months of having it be rainbow haha, so you might not recognize me on your dash with my new look. but yeah, this is the 'new me' for the next few months... i was feeling super inspired to do a muted levanter theme, since it's one of my fav albums/songs from skz haha so here we are!! ☺️

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ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏsᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sɪᴛᴇs (ᴛʜɪs ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇs ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴs). ©ʙʟᴏssᴏᴍᴡʀɪᴛᴇsᴛʜɪɴɢs ⤐ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛs ʀᴇsᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

The clinic was incredibly busy as you stepped through the front doors. Looking around the medium-sized waiting room, you noticed how almost every single seat was taken up by a patient. Because apparently, the hot place to be on a Thursday morning was Starry Skies Veterinary Clinic.

You clutched on a little tighter to the carrier at your side, which held your cat Nyx just inside the bassinet. She was an American Shorthair, with a coat as black as midnight and big, ocean-blue eyes. Your parents had gifted you Nyx as a surprise for your sixth birthday, since you had been begging them for a cat all year long. And instantly, the two of you were inseparable. Nyx had been with you for almost every stage of your life - including grade/middle school, high school, and all of university. She was so incredibly affectionate towards everyone, but especially you. She loved curling up alongside you after you’d spent a long, hard day at work and would just cuddle into your skin for hours.

Nyx was your stability in everything - she was one of your only friends, even when you were surrounded by other adults your same age at work. And at the ripe age of twenty-four, you couldn’t imagine what your life would be like if she ever left your side.

But, you weren’t naive, or stupid.

And you knew that at some point, Nyx would have to move on from your world and onto a better, and brighter future.

Which is why you decided to adopt a female Bengal cat after you graduated from university. Taffy had a brilliant orange-and-brown coat with light green eyes. And because she was so much younger than Nyx, she had a lot more energy. But even still, the two cats got along quite well, despite their huge age gap. Taffy was the troublemaker out of the two and liked to get into mischief with all kinds of things.

You took great pride in both of them and the relationship that you had with your two kitties, which is why you regularly took them to the local veterinarian clinic for routine checkups. Usually, you visited every six months, just to make sure that Taffy and Nyx were in perfect health.

And it’s not like you were complaining about the visits to Starry Skies Veterinary Clinic. It was a beautiful and spacious place, with a friendly bunch of staff and an even better doctor.

Doctor Lee Minho had been the continual talk of the town since he had moved into the area three years before, and soon after he set up his practice - which was just a short walk from your quaint apartment - you started going to him for your cat’s regular check-ups. Dr. Lee was incredibly professional with all of his clients, and he had a true knack for animals… but especially, cats. That’s what he prided himself on - knowing the ins and outs of the feisty little beings... since he had three of his own. Some even said that he was a cat himself since he had similar mannerisms to the felines.

It also helped that he was insanely handsome.

Like, drop-dead gorgeous.

You weren’t a fool - you noticed how, every time you visited the clinic, most of the clients were women. And almost every time that you sat in the waiting room, you’d overhear women talking amongst themselves… about how they had dressed up for the occasion, and how Dr. Lee was way too cute for his good.

For the most part, all of the comments passed over your head.

After all, he was just a veterinarian. He wasn’t anything special…

He just took amazing care of the animals that visited his clinic.

And he seemed to adore your two cats.

And-

Perhaps he was kind of, sort of, attractive.

If a woman liked the silent, brooding, brown-haired types of guys- then yeah, he was fucking really hot.

But, you always tried to push those thoughts out of your mind each time they started to bubble up to the forefront of your mind. You didn’t want to ruin the professional doctor-client relationship that the two of you had been cultivating for over three years. He was an amazing veterinarian with a lot of skill and expertise, and you had a feeling that you taking advantage of your closeness with him, by forcing yourself onto him, would just turn him away.

After all, he was always professional and polite with you. Even if he seemed to give you a lot of smiles and laughs each time you had an appointment at the clinic. And even if he seemed overly affectionate with Nyx and Taffy. He was just doing his job, as that’s what was to be expected from a doctor like him.

And besides, a guy like him would never go for you. For starters, you had just recently found out that he was five years older than you, landing him at the mature age of twenty-nine. And older guys of that many years never went for you - never stooped that low. Plus, he was a successful doctor and a businessman with his clinic. Whereas you were a struggling woman who was fighting to make ends meet at her low-ranking corporate job. You sat in a small cubicle all day, typing away at a bright computer screen, and Dr. Lee sat in front of patients and animals, actually making a difference in others’ lives.

There was also the fact that you were borderline poor- since your job barely paid anything compared to the way that the economy was so expensive. You struggled to pay your bills monthly and lived from paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, Dr. Lee rolled up to the clinic in his dark-blue sports car and was always donned in all different kinds of designer dress shirts and slacks.

So, yeah, he’d never fall for you. Not in a million years.

“Y/N! Good to see you again!” You heard a bright voice call out to you, bringing you out of your daydreams of expensive cars and fancy clothes.

Your eyes flitted up to the person sitting behind the front check-in desk of the clinic. Chan, one of the two receptionists of the place, was looking up at you with a soft smile adorning his face.

“Oh- hi, Chan… I’m here for Nyx’s check-up.” You mimicked his smile, motioning with a tilt of your head to the carrier where Nyx was situated in.

You were on a first-name basis with the entire staff line of the clinic, as you had been visiting it for so many years. Everyone at the clinic was extremely nice, and all of the staff were Dr. Lee’s friends. Soon after you first visited the clinic, he told you about the story of how he had recruited some of his best friends to open the shop with him, and how the rest was history. Even still, you called everyone by their first name except for Dr. Lee - since you decided to keep it professional with him and always address him by his official title well into the beginning of your appointments at the clinic.

“Sure thing,” Chan began, tearing his gaze away from you and typing away at his computer. “I see here that Jisung jotted down your concerns for this visit’s file. Has anything changed since you called in a month ago?”

You moved your focus onto the carrier at your side, where you saw Nyx resting peacefully just inside it. She had long since gotten used to the clinic and was normally very calm whenever you visited the place. “Yeah, she’s been sleepier than usual, and like- she doesn’t want to eat the food that I’ve been giving her, even though I’ve changed the brand two times already.”

Chan’s eyes darted up to you, studying your face silently before they flitted over to the carrier that you had placed atop the counter at your side. “Okay, I’ll add all of that to the notes so that the doctor can take a look,” you noticed how his lips were pressed together in a grim line- like he didn’t like what you had just told him. “You can take a seat, and Yongbok will call you back when they’re ready for you guys.”

“Thanks, Chan,” you said, offering him a tiny, weak smile before you headed off to find one of the only available seats left in the waiting room. As soon as you got situated, you gingerly took Nyx out of her crate. She was warm and downy in your hands and purred quietly at the feel of you pressing her furry body against your chest. “It’s gonna be okay, girl, you’ll be alright…” You whispered to her, mouth nuzzling into her silky coat as you placed a gentle kiss against her head.

After you placed Nyx back in her crate, you spent the waiting time studying the people around you. Once again, it was mainly women’s faces that your eyes met as you scanned over the entire room. And there were all different types of pets everywhere, from dogs to cats to birds.

“Oh, and apparently, Jungmi’s friend saw him out on the streets late at night last week… like, all alone and stuff.” You heard the woman say beside you. She was sitting close to another woman, and their heads were bent at an angle as they gossiped together. “Some girl came out of this one cafe and was hanging all over him, but it didn't seem like he knew her that well.”

The other woman snorted lowly, “Well that bitch doesn’t matter, because I’m going to be sure to seduce him this time around. I mean, c’mon- who can resist this shirt?” At her insinuation, you realized that they were talking about Dr. Lee.

Even still, you felt the urge to peek over to your side and look at her attire, and when you did, you swallowed down the dryness in your throat. Because holy fuck- she looked like she was about to go to the club. Her shirt had a scoop neckline and was so low, more than half of her tits were hanging out of the loose fabric. It was tight and stretched over her bosom in an alluring kind of way, leaving little to the imagination.

Meanwhile, you were dressed in one of your old, baggy hoodies and a pair of loose-fitting denim jeans. Even though it was the beginning of spring, it was still quite chilly out early in the morning. And besides, you weren’t planning on going anywhere else after you visited the clinic, since you had taken the rest of the day off from work, so there was no use in dressing up. Not like you had any nice, sexy clothes like that to begin with, though.

In all actuality, you really couldn’t afford to take a day off of work. But, you felt like it was needed after the long week that you had had. After the long year you had had.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious while you sat next to Aphrodite herself, your fingers scrambled to yank down the arms of your hoodie as best as you could, trying to let the fabric swallow you up in your seat.

Just then, your name was called over the hustle and bustle of the waiting room, and you peered up to see a smiling Yongbok standing in the doorway that lead to the rest of the clinic - where the examining rooms were.

In a hurry, you scrambled to pick up your tote bag and hoisted Nyx in her carrier with one arm, following right behind the young vet tech as he lead you through the back rooms of the clinic. The hallway was buzzing with movement, as the other Tech’s, Seungmin and Hyunjin, helped vet assistant Changbin calm down a barking German Shepherd so that they could usher him onto a weighing station that was positioned in a corner of the hallway. Dr. Lee was nowhere to be found… yet.

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Yongbok started, as he motioned to an examining room just off to the right side for you to walk in. You took a seat in the chair that was positioned next to the desk - where the doctor always sat. “Since Hyunjin is almost always the one who first greets you.” The younger man with light blonde hair and big, expressive eyes sighed in an exaggerated kind of way, which forced a quiet giggle out of you.

“He’s a good tech though… Taffy especially likes him, I think.” You started, your mind already trailing off to what your younger cat might be doing while being left home alone in your apartment. No doubt tearing into the bag of chips that you had accidentally left atop the kitchen counter.

“Mhm- how is she, by the way? I feel like you haven’t brought her in in a while,” Yongbok said, as he slipped on a pair of blue latex gloves. You dragged your eyes away from his form and instead concentrated on unzipping the carrier in your arms, slowly drawing out a lethargic Nyx.

“Taffy is good, just being her usual rambunctious self,” you laughed softly, shaking your head as the affection for your other cat took over your thoughts. “She’s definitely very different from my Nyx here, that’s for sure…”

Yongok wheeled his chair over to you then, gently taking your old cat from your hands and hoisting her up onto the examination table that was nearby. “I saw in the files that she’s been having problems with eating?” He started, voice growing serious as he began his study of your cat.

You nodded slowly, swallowing over the nervous lump that had begun to form in your throat as soon as he placed Nyx on the paper-lined table. You felt your heart beating wildly against your ribcage, and you watched in silence as Yongbok turned Nyx around to thoroughly examine her. “Yeah, and she hasn’t been wanting to play with Taffy either, even though she used to love to.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“About… four months now?”

Yongbok turned to you then, leveling you with a deep frown, “And you’re only bringing her in now?” His tone wasn’t accusatory, but was more on the perplexed side of things, as all of the staff at Starry Skies Veterinary Clinic knew how much you loved your cats and how you adored taking care of them.

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, hating the way that he seemed to question why you hadn’t taken care of Nyx’s symptoms earlier. “I-I didn’t have the money for this appointment until just recently, so that’s why I'm only bringing her in now.”

Your gaze snagged on Yongbok’s face, and the way that it instantly melted at your confession... brows furrowing and mouth pressing into a velvety line. The entire clinic must’ve known about your financial situation by now - about how you could barely afford food for yourself, let alone the bills from the clinic - since more oftentimes than not, you’d ask for a grace period from paying for the visits.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you’re in the wrong here,” he began, but his slight frown only seemed to deepen as he spoke the words, “It’s just that- these symptoms shouldn’t be ignored for that long.”

At that, your heart started beating frantically inside your chest. Your focus landed on Nyx, who was now resting atop the table, with her eyes closed peacefully. “W-What? What do you mean by that? Is something wrong-”

Yongbok reached over then, giving your shoulder a delicate pat. “I can’t confirm anything myself, but I’m going to take Nyx back to the X-Ray rooms to examine her better. Then, I’ll give the data to Dr. Lee and he can examine the diagnosis.” He gingerly scooped up Nyx into his arms, pressing her against his chest.

“O-Okay, but-” You began, but were soon cut off by the way that Yongbok gave you a slight, reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry about it, Y/N. I’m sure Nyx is just fine.” Is the last thing he said, before he was quickly filing out of the room with your cat in his hold, leaving you all alone.

And as soon as he shut the door closed, you were a nervous wreck. Your knees bounced up and down, hands turning clammy and breath falling out in shaky gasps as your mind raced a mile a minute with countless thoughts.

Would Nyx be okay?

Was she sick?

What was so wrong with her?

The wait time to see the doctor usually wasn’t that long, but this time - this time, it felt different.

It felt like each minute stretched out before you in an endless cycle, sending you down a deep and deeper spiral of anguish as you tried to wrack your brain around the entire situation.

When finally, there was a gentle knock on the door.

You had been holding your head in either of your hands, but upon hearing footsteps against the linoleum floors, you peered up to see Dr. Lee closing the door behind him. He was dressed in his usual garb - dress slacks, a simple white button-down, and his white doctor's coat.

Dr. Lee was silent, as he wheeled his chair over to you. And only then did you notice that Nyx was missing. That he wasn’t carrying her in his arms- like he usually did when he brought her back from the closed examination room.

And you knew the moment that he sat down, that something was wrong.

Because usually, when his eyes caught yours as he walked through the examining room’s door, his entire face would light up with one of those brilliant smiles that women gushed over. Usually, he’d be the first one to crack a stupid joke - whether it was something lame about the weather outside, or about the crazy animal that he just had an encounter with before seeing you.

But this time?

No, this time it was very different.

His proud shoulders were slumped low, cheekbones dark with shadows, and plump, red lips pressed together in a firm line.

He clenched and unclenched his jaw once,

twice,

three times.

Then, and only then, did his eyes meet yours.

And they said all you needed to know.

Just by the way that his dark, chestnut-brown pupils danced with a myriad of emotions; apprehension, fear, compassion, but most of all… sadness.

“What is it?”

The words flowed from your lips before you even knew what you were asking, and almost immediately, you were sitting up a little straighter in your chair.

Spine going rigid, fists growing tight at your sides.

Something swam, cool and deep, inside of you.

Chilling you to the bone, with tense unease.

In the depths of your mind, you felt the pinprick of ominous heartache prodding at the fleshy part of your soul.

The part that was weak and emotional and so very tender all of the time.

“I’m so sorry.”

Was the first thing Dr. Lee said.

You already felt the tears flowing, unbidden and unchecked, warming your suddenly freezing cheeks, at the sound of ‘sorry’ leaving his mouth. Because he had never said such a thing to you before. And you never, ever, wanted to hear it come from him again.

“What’s wrong?” You prodded again, limbs growing a little shaky in your anxiety. Breath hitching in your chest agonizingly, you could physically feel your heart pushing against your ribs.

Aching,

Burning,

Already seeping with hurt, even though you didn’t quite know what was wrong just yet.

Dr. Lee ran a rough hand up and down his face, sighing into his palm, shaking his head once. Then, his fingers were running through his black locks, tugging at the roots just a tiny bit.

Almost like, this crushed him just as much as it was about to pain you.

“It’s about Nyx.”

Swallowing over the huge lump forming in your throat proved very difficult at that moment, but somehow - by some miracle - you did it.

Your tongue felt heavy inside of your mouth- like it was made of hard metal.

For a few beats, you couldn’t manage to form the right words, but when you did, you already felt the stability seeping out of you. Like you were a hot air balloon that had been poked with a sharp needle, with the scalding air and sanity flooding from you in a single breath.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Y/N, I-”

“Just fucking say it, Dr. Lee!” You suddenly exclaimed, voice straining from your quiet sobs. The fat tears rolled down either of your cheeks, leaving angry wet trails in their wake.

He was silent after that, gaze running up and down the length of you slowly. Like you were one of his animals that he assessed daily - like he was testing out your strength and resolve.

Then, his eyes snapped back up to meet yours, and they melted into two puddles of grief.

“It seems as though Nyx is suffering from an acute form of bone cancer.”

And just like, your heart completely stopped.

Each breath you took felt garbled and all wrong.

Your shaky legs and arms wobbled all around you.

The floor crumbled underneath your feet,

Breaking, cracking, shattering irrevocably.

And in that moment, you wished for nothing more but for it to open up completely, and swallow you whole.

Please,

Oh, fuck, please-

Just swallow me already.

Because anything,

Anything,

Would be better than this newfound hell.

“No- no, you’re lying.” You said in a low, gravelly voice. You were clutching onto the arms of your chair, holding on for dear life. Like if you squeezed hard enough, you would be able to wake up and all of this would just fade away into a bad dream.

“Miss. Y/N, I’m so sorry but-” Dr. Lee started in a calm tone, but his face read everything but calm - as his brows wrinkled with concern and his brown eyes were alight with a certain kind of sadness.

“This is a bad dream, it has to be a bad dream,” you cut him off, violently shaking your head from side to side in your disbelief. If you just pinched yourself, maybe then you’d wake up from such a hell. So that’s exactly what you did.

Grabbing one of your arms, you frantically pinched at the skin there.

Again,

And again,

And again.

The tears blurred your vision so much that it was hard to see what was in front of you - hard to notice the angry red mark that started to bloom out across your flesh at your abuse.

Just then, two warm hands took hold of either of yours, fingers sliding between fingers, calloused palms squeezing your own.

The dark-haired figure was kneeling in front of you then, still holding onto your hands. Your heart felt like it was breaking over and over just beneath your ribcage. With each breath that you took, a new piece of it shattered off to swim in the blood flowing through your veins.

“Those symptoms that Nyx has been having are all signs of an acute form of bone cancer, Miss. Y/N. And, they will get worse,” the man said, his low, familiar voice running across your ears and nudging at a tender, warm spot deep inside of you.

“B-But she’ll get better, right? You can heal her, right, doctor?” You asked, throat straining from all of the tears. Through your hazy vision, you clutched a little harder at his hands.

There was a pause of silence on his end after that, which only made you feel worse.

When he finally spoke again, it felt like your world merely crumbled further and further. “Yongbok told me about your… situation, and why you didn’t bring her in earlier. But, because of the wait time, the cancer has developed into an acute case. The only options for helping her at this stage are- amputation and chemotherapy.”

It felt like someone took a bucket of ice-cold water and doused your entire form as soon as his words registered in your mind.

Because if you hadn’t waited so long to get it checked out,

If you hadn’t put it off because you didn’t have the money,

If you didn’t have such a low-paying, shitty job,

Then Nyx never would’ve gotten the cancer in the first place.

Instinctually, you ripped your hands out of Dr. Lee’s grasp. It was the first time you had ever had physical contact with him - and the feeling left you feeling both sick to your stomach and also sent anxious butterflies to erupt throughout your system.

“Oh fuck- it’s my fault,” you said in an incredulous tone, fingers digging into your scalp and tearing at your roots there. “If I hadn’t waited so long, she never would’ve gotten this and she wouldn’t be-”

You felt a heavy hand land atop one of your shoulders, nimble fingers pressing into your skin just slightly. Enough to help ground you back to reality. “I know it’s difficult right now, but I promise it’s going to be okay. You just have to take a few deep breaths and-”

“Where is she?” You asked in a low voice, having the sudden urge to hold your baby in your arms. Maybe, if she just felt you, she’d be healed… “Where is my Nyx, Dr. Lee?”

But you didn’t even wait for him to reply, as you tore away from his hold and hurried to the door, grabbing Nyx’s carrier on the way out. Faintly, you registered Dr. Lee calling out to you from behind, but you paid no mind to it and instead ran through the hallway just outside of the examination room.

“Nyx!” You called out, tone turning desperate. You raced down the hallway, sneakers hitting the concrete at your feet. “Nyx!” The tears clouded your vision, so it was hard to see where you going. But even still, you glimpsed Hyunjin coming out from a room in the back of the clinic, with a black mass of fur laying in his arms.

You cried out in relief at the sight of her, and in an instant, you were running forward and scooping her up and into your grasp. Pressing your face into her warm body, you cuddled her close.

“Y/N-” Hyunjin began, sympathy heavy in his tone. You felt his eyes travel across your face as you looked down at your sickly cat, with fat tears falling down your cheeks and a rapidly-beating heart.

“Let’s go home, my sweet girl…” You whispered so that only Nyx could hear you. And you couldn’t help but notice how light she felt in your arms - she hadn’t had much of an appetite in the last few months, and it pained you so much to know that you hadn’t realized it until it was too late.

Then you were turning away from Hyunjin, not even giving him any attention, as you rushed through the hallway and pressed onwards to the front desk area. Faintly, you could hear people calling out your name from somewhere in the back of the clinic.

But you couldn’t concentrate on any of that. All you could think of was your beautiful cat, who was peacefully sleeping in your arms. “Just a little bit longer, Nyx, we’re almost home…”

The rest of the week passed by in a blur of heartache and tears, as you battled with yourself and your mind to try and come to terms with what was happening.

With what you were going to lose.

It was hard to focus on anything else besides the impending doom that seemed to be right on your doorstep. You were slacking off at your work, which caused your boss to ream you out the next Monday morning. But you couldn’t help it - every time you tried to think about anything else besides Nyx, and losing her, the stormy feelings just came back tenfold.

You had found yourself holed up in your office’s bathroom stalls on more than one occasion already, and by the time it hit a week since you had visited the clinic, it felt like all of the tears had been completely drained from your body.

Every time you looked at her, you wanted to cry. You wanted to, but your body just wouldn't let you. So instead, you took to staying up late into the night and researching remedies to alleviate the pain of cancer - because truly, you hadn’t gotten a solid five hours of sleep since the diagnosis.

After two weeks, you had tried all of the solutions that you could find online - that ranged from implementing natural, whole foods into Nyx’s diet to rubbing lavender oil all over her limbs to try and soothe the pain from standing. Seeing her slowly start to deteriorate in front of your very eyes was possibly the worst part about it all - and how she’d whine and cry while walking around the house. Even Taffy could sense that something was wrong when her friend no longer had the energy to play with her anymore.

Throughout all of it, you avoided the phone calls. And they could be from only one ID - since you didn’t have any friends or family members who cared enough about you to call three times a day. Starry Skies Veterinary Clinic called you without fail, and they were adamant about getting in contact. No doubt Chan was on the other line the whole time, trying to talk some sense into you.

But you just couldn’t do it - couldn’t bring yourself to walk through those doors and face the dark road ahead that most-assuredly lead to death. Because you had already extensively researched the therapy for treating Nyx’s kind of cancer, and it was looking quite bleak. The procedures were so fucking expensive, it baffled you how anyone in their right mind could be able to afford such things.

Everything changed though, when on one Saturday night, you arrived home late from running errands and found Nyx sprawled out on your living room’s small, rickety couch. You scurried over to her side and shook her awake. But she wouldn’t open her eyes. And it seemed like she was hardly breathing. You called out to her again and again, startling Taffy of your presence.

When finally, Nyx awoke. After much pleading and crying, she opened her eyes lazily and stretched.

And so it was decided right then and there, that you’d go into the clinic that night.

You couldn’t afford to put it off any longer, and frankly, you had the feeling that Nyx couldn’t either. It was getting close to eight o’clock in the evening, and the clinic closed its doors for the weekend right at eight, so you made quick haste out of your dingy hell-hole-of-an-apartment.

When you arrived at Starry Skies Veterinary Clinic, the entire place was dark. You peeked through the windows and noticed the empty waiting room. “No, no- no…” You muttered to yourself, checking the time on your phone and reading that it was a little past eight.

You quickly looked around the street, noticing how most of the shops were already closed up for the weekend. Feeling the panic rising inside of you, you began to furiously knock on the glass door of the clinic. If someone was back there, maybe you could get ahold of Dr. Lee and-

“Miss. Y/N?” You heard a friendly, faint voice say from somewhere to your side. Turning around to the sound of it, you came face-to-face with Dr. Lee himself. He had his doctor’s coat off and was dressed in his usual work clothes of slacks and a dress shirt. “What are you-”

You pressed your hands against your chest, trying to calm your heart that was painfully beating against your ribcage. “Dr. Lee- please, it’s… it’s Nyx.”

His brown eyes flashed across the length of your form, the fading sunset coloring his skin in an orange and pink kind of glow. “Come inside, it’s too cold out to be standing around like this.” He said, already moving to unlock the front door of the clinic. After all, it was early spring and the nights tended to grow on the cooler side of things once the sun dipped below the horizon.

“Okay, thanks,” you whispered, following behind him as the two of you shifted through the clinic. Dr. Lee made his way over to a cluster of chairs in the corner of the waiting room.

“Please, sit.” He pointed to the nearest chair and waited for you to get situated before taking the seat just beside you. “So, tell me what’s going on.”

And suddenly, you realized the gravity of the situation. You realized that it was just the two of you - Dr. Lee and you - sitting inside the clinic, alone. There weren’t any other clients around, there wasn’t Chan or Jeongin, or Yongbok. And all at once, it felt rather… intimate.

You squirmed in your seat, your shaking hands beginning to play with the worn hemline of your oversized hoodie. Taking a deep breath, you gathered up all of your courage and leveled your gaze on the nearby front desk that was placed in the center of the large waiting room. “Well, I-I got home today from running some errands, and I found Nyx lying on my couch. But it didn’t seem like she was napping like she normally does… and she, she wouldn’t wake up. I kept trying and trying and-” Your words came out all rushed and garbled, as the tears began to crest over your eyes and you felt your cheeks heating with the flush of emotion.

“Hey- hey, it’s okay… don’t push yourself, yeah?” Dr. Lee’s smooth voice did something to the broken part inside of you - caused something to stir and yet settle at the same time. “That must’ve been a very scary experience for you, so it’s understandable that you would be shaken up about it.”

And just like that, the guilt piled on even higher.

Because Dr. Lee had always been incredibly nice to you and your cats. He had always been there for you guys, through the ups and downs of life, and you felt so horrible for ignoring the clinic’s calls. Because you knew that the team at Starry Skies Veterinary Clinic only wanted the very best for you and your cats… and especially, Dr. Lee.

“I’m so sorry for ignoring the clinic’s calls,” you suddenly blurted out, feeling the blush rise and pool in your ears at the feeling of Dr. Lee’s gaze landing on you - assessing your nervous state. Your thumbs continued to fiddle with the fabric at your waist, pulling and pulling. “I-I just didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t want to face the issue. But, I now realize how stupid that was- how stupid I’ve been about this whole thing-”

“Don’t ever say that again, Y/N. You’re not stupid, and Nyx having cancer isn’t your fault. This was something that was inevitable and nothing you could do was going to stop it.” Dr. Lee cut through your words. You tried to comprehend what he was saying, but instead, your brain was only repeating the same phrase over and over again.

Y/N,

Y/N-

Y/N.

He had used your name, without putting ‘miss’ before it. He had never done such a thing in the past. He had always kept things professional and addressed you by your proper title - just like you had done for him.

But all at once, you realized that perhaps you didn’t mind it at all. And perhaps, his dropping the honorifics wasn’t so bad.

“Still, I’m sorry for not answering the calls,” you said, shaking your head slowly in defeat. You were desperately trying to battle the furious blush that was slinking up your neck at the way that he had said your name. It sounded so perfect and beautiful on his tongue, like-

“I was the one making all of those calls, and I can assure you that I didn’t take your silence to heart. I understand what you’re going through right now because I’ve experienced something similar in the past with one of my passed cats.”

At that, your eyes tore away from the front desk and landed on Dr. Lee. Your gazes locked, and inside his chestnut-brown eyes, you found so many different emotions there… compassion and gentleness. There was a certain kind of faded light there, as you stared at him.

“I… I didn’t know. I just assumed that it was Chan or Jisung…”

Dr. Lee shrugged his proud shoulders nonchalantly, like him calling you three times a day to try and work out a treatment plan for Nyx wasn’t that big of a deal.

When in actuality,

No one in your entire life had ever tried so frantically to get ahold of you.

And the fact that it was him- behind the phone, waiting for you to pick up, hearing your voicemail click on every time the dial failed… just made you feel even worse.

“But that’s all in the past now, so don’t worry about it anymore,” Dr. Lee began, waving a hand in the air to seemingly try and clear your thoughts away. You watched in silence, then, as his hand slid away from his lap and hovered over yours. In a single beat, his fingers were threading through yours, palm against palm. And his hand was so incredibly warm and familiar. “Now, let’s instead focus on Nyx’s treatment, yeah? The sooner we can give her the help she needs, the better.”

For a few seconds, the thoughts of your dying childhood best friend had vanished from your mind and were instead replaced with the feeling of Dr. Lee’s hand holding yours and the way that his tongue formed your name, and the way he smelled - sitting so close to you - of warm chamomile and sweet cookies.

Immediately, at the mention of Nyx, you felt the tears prick at the corners of your eyes once more. “I-I don’t have the money.”

Silence filled the space around the two of you after that, and you felt Dr. Lee’s gaze studying your form, as you squeezed your eyes shut in embarrassment. “You mean for her treatment?”

“Y-Yeah… I, I don’t make that much. I can barely afford her and Taffy’s regular bills as it is. But, having to pay for the cancer treatment on top of everything else? I-I just don’t think I can manage that.”

You felt Dr. Lee shift in his seat beside you, making your eyes spring open as you watched the pained expression cast over his entire face. It darkened his cheekbones, shooting a look of pity through his eyes.

“The treatment is really expensive, I’m afraid.”

The hiccups started then, as the tears traced down your cheeks faster. Your entire body shook with the cries, “This is why I didn’t want to come here again… I didn’t want to hear the news that nothing else could be done except- except that.”

It was like the fucking jumbo-sized elephant in the room…

The fact that- the only other solution to Nyx’s cancer would be to put her down.

To euthanize her.

Gone, forever.

Just like that.

And even though you weren’t naïve enough to think that your cat would live forever, saying goodbye to her in such a way just felt downright… cruel, after everything that the two of you had been through together. But... what other choice did you have? It's not like anyone else was going to pay for the expensive treatment, and your insurance sure as hell didn't cover pet fees. And on top of all that, you couldn't expect Dr. Lee to drop his prices exponentially just for your specific case. That'd just be downright cruel to his other customers that paid the exact amount.

“I’m afraid you’re right,” Dr. Lee’s words cut through your stormy thoughts. A sharp pain coursed through your broken heart, as you were forced to come to terms with the problem at hand. “If you can’t afford the treatment, then the only other alternative is… euthanasia.”

You found yourself clutching onto his hand desperately, squeezing his fingers to death between yours, as you peered up at him through glassy eyes. “P-Please… just… just tell me you’ll do it. Because I-I don’t think I can handle it if-” Your voice seized in your chest at the thought of some stranger doing such a thing to your precious Nyx. It was already going to be extremely hard for you, but the thought of some other vet doing it just ripped your heart in two even more.

“We offer ethical euthanasia here, so, of course, I’ll do it,” Dr. Lee clutched a little harder on your hand, and the way that his warm, slender digits felt against yours did something to calm a rattling part inside of you. “Do you feel my hand? It is there, Y/N. And it will continue to be there throughout this entire process.”

The breath caught in your throat, forming a large lump there, as your eyes widened his way. Because there it was again, him calling you by your first name… with no ‘miss’ in front of it.

“T-Thank you… so much. I seriously don’t know what I’d do right now if it wasn’t for you and this wonderful clinic and all of the amazing staff here…” Your voice trailed off, as you felt the warmth of a flush creeping up into your cheeks.

“Yeah, well, that’s what we’re here for… to give as much support as we can to our clients.” Dr. Lee’s tone came out soft and quiet, it ghosted over the shell of your ear like an angel’s sweet whisper.

“I like it.”

You heard Dr. Lee take in a sharp breath at your disjointed words, but before he could ask the meaning behind them, you were talking again.

“You calling me by my first name, I mean… I like it, a lot, Dr. Lee.” Your eyes found him in the dim lighting of the room, and for a split second, you could’ve sworn that you saw… something flash deep in those chestnut-brown pupils.

But then all at once, it vanished, and he was giving you an easy smile, pearly white teeth on display. And pink, rosebud lips tugging up- wait, why were you thinking about his mouth?

“Me too,” he said in that delicate way of his, just as he squeezed your palm once more, “I really like it… Y/N.”

To be continued...

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©ʙʟᴏssᴏᴍᴡʀɪᴛᴇsᴛʜɪɴɢs⤐ ᴀʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛs ʀᴇsᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ

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sat0sugu-angst · 2 years

Note

Sooo what do you think of bakugo eating you out but with the panties on???

Maybe y/n is trying on clothes and they have a cute set that bakugo’s never seen before and he tells them he wants a closer look…

If not that’s okay :)

a/n: I LOVE THIS tysm for the ask @dreamland03 !! this sent my brain into overdrive 😍

"I Only Need Ten Minutes"

cw: afab!reader, established relationship, oral (f.receiving), fingering, pet names (babe/y), thicc reader, Katsuki is a king at dirty talk bc I said so, reader is a whore for Katsuki bc so am i

characters aged up 22+

MDNI

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"Babe! Come help me with this one!" You were jumping up and down trying to reach the zipper on the dress you were wearing, a short and fitted green number that matched the theme of the bachelorette party you were attending tonight (which of course was: to be as slutty as possible).

Katsuki had been in and out of the bedroom to check out your options for the night, but you were a bit annoyed that he seemed more distracted by dinner than he was by you.

He walked in, saying something about the chicken being overcooked, and raised a brow at seeing your not-so-graceful dance as you were still trying to get the zipper up yourself.

"You're never gonna get it. C'mere." He muttered, pulling you closer with a hand to your hip. You were utterly aware of the heat under his fingers as he held you, quickly getting the dress zipped up.

"Don't get food on my dress," you said, checking where he'd touched you for stains.

He grunted. "My hands are perfectly clean. Been having to wash them about five hundred times running back here to help you."

You shot him a sly look. "How else am I supposed to know what to wear if you won't tell me what I look best in?"

He rolled his eyes. "You just want me to compliment you. You know you look gorgeous in all of 'em."

You flashed a coy smile, twisting and twirling for him, showing off your best angles. "Well, what do you think about this one? It's definitely a contender, right?" He nodded, and you narrowed your eyes at him. "So you like this one better than the blue one, right?" Another nod. "Okay, well I have one more to try on. Will you just hang out here for a second? I'll probably need help getting this one zipped, too."

Luckily he didn't wait for you to struggle trying to get the damn zipper down before reaching out in a silent offer, and you quickly shimmied out of the dress before heading to the closet, where a sparkling champagne colored dress that had been a gift from Katsuki’s parents was on a hanger over the door.

You were almost too busy trying to grab the dress to notice the way Katsuki’s eyes hungrily ate you up, and you paused.

You were wearing a new set, a lacy pink bralette and matching panties, but you'd figured he'd seen you in it when you were trying on the last five dresses. Guess not.

You turned to look at him with a raised brow, hand on your hip. "This whole time I'm here prancin' around in these expensive dresses, and you can barely look at me for three seconds together, but this lil thing I got on sale and you're drooling over it."

His gaze snapped up to your face, and he grinned. "Don't know why you're surprised." You rolled your eyes, turning and grabbing the dress, about to shimmy it over your head when you felt his fingers settle on your hips. "What's the rush? S'not like you gotta be there right away."

You tried not to let him see you smirking, feigning annoyance. "I thought you were all concerned with dinner? Wouldn't want you to have to eat dry chicken because I was distracting you."

His breath ghosted over your neck. "Didn't seem to care about distracting me earlier. Everything's pretty much done, anyway." The way his lips whispered over your skin sent a chill up your spine. Even though it was no use, he could always see right through you, you wished your body wasn't so reactive to him. He knew which strings to pull, which buttons to push, to get you to do just as he wants.

He was sucking kisses into your neck, hands snaking around your middle and pulling you even tighter to him. You couldn't help the little groan that tumbled from your lips, leaning into him.

"You're gonna distract me, I gotta get ready." You said, lifting a hand to his cheek. His only response was a light graze of his teeth into your neck. "I'm serious, babe. I gotta be there by 9 to make the party bus."

"Plenty of time." He mumbled against your skin, his fingers dipping below the waistband of your panties.

"Katsuki..." You began, settling your fingers atop his, guiding his hands away so you could pull away and turn to face him. "Much as I'd love to continue, I still have a lot to do to get ready before I leave."

He pursed his lips, obviously disgruntled at being rejected. You couldn't be too surprised, you very rarely told him no. He lifted a hand, reaching up and pulling the hair away from you neck and littering more kisses along your jaw. "I only need ten minutes." His voice was low and gruff, reverberating through your core.

"The goal is to put clothes on, not take them off." You said, though you could feel your resolve dissolving when he pulled you closer with a hand to your hip, and you felt an increasingly growing bulge through his shorts press against you.

Anticipation rushed through to your toes at his low chuckle. "Don't even gotta take anything off. You'll see."

You wondered if he was just going to dry hump you against the door. The prospect excited you, and you couldn't help the soft moan when he started kissing down your neck toward your chest, even if you were trying to feign indifference. His fingertips ghost over the swell of your breasts over the deliciously thin fabric, a chip at your already wavering resolve.

His thumb ran over a nipple, already hard with so little attention, before lightly pinching it. You took your bottom lip in your mouth to stifle the yelp of shock the sensation pulled from you. Watching him as he kissed down your body made a heat pool between your legs.

Even his kisses were possessive, claiming you with nips around your ribs and on your hipbone. He couldn't hide the smirk on his mouth when you jumped with shock when he placed an open mouthed kiss where he knew you were ticklish. "Jerk," the word held zero weight, it was practically a sigh when you felt him trail his finger over your slit, and then you moaned when his thumb rolled over your bundle of nerves.

"Fuck," you leaned your head back against the door. "Fine. Ten minutes."

"Mmhm, s'what I thought." He said, low voice smug as he continued to tease you over your underwear. His other hand dropped from your hip, grabbing you by the knee and hoisting it onto his shoulder.

His thumb moved from your clit, and then he was moving your panties to the side. You looked down.

"Aren't you gonna take them off?" You asked with a quirk of your brow.

He shot you a mean grin. "Nah, told you I wouldn't have to. 'Sides, i wanna see you come with 'em on."

You couldn't help the blush crawling up your face at that, but were spared from a response, because he leaned in, tongue running up your slit and gathering your slick, spreading it around your clit before he sucked it.

As his mouth worked you up, his hands were playing with your hips and thighs, squeezing the flesh there harshly in time with licks that teased your hole.

The coil low in your belly got tighter, but you were craving more of him. "Katsuki," you whined, your hips bucking unexpectedly when his tongue pressed into you. Fuck, at this rate you weren't sure you'd even last ten minutes.

He pulled away, and you let out a noise of complaint at the loss of his mouth. "Yeah, baby?" His voice was sweet, but the gleam in his eye let you know he knew exactly what he was doing to you.

"Want more," You said anyway, pleadingly, canting your hips to coax him back where he'd been.

He smiled wickedly, diving back in, taking your clit back into his mouth. As he sucked, his finger prodded your hole. You clenched in anticipation, and he chuckled against you, the vibration rocking through your whole body.

As his finger slipped inside you, you couldn't help letting out a shaky moan, and your fingers ran through his hair, tugging lightly and prompting a particularly deep thrust of his finger.

"Fuck, Kats--" his name was cut off by your moan at the intrusion of another finger, and you saw his free hand sneak into his shorts, pumping his now fully hard cock. Even with just his fingers, he filled you expertly, twisting and curling to have you clenching your toes.

"Katsuki," you whined. "Fuck, I'm close." You couldn't even bring yourself to tame the way your hips were moving, practically fucking yourself on his tongue and fingers.

His thumb replaced his mouth on your clit as he pulled away to say, "that's it, baby, fucking come for me."

He wanted to go back and suck your clit until you were trembling above him, but when he looked up at you, he knew he wanted to see you fall apart for him. Your cheeks were flushed, mouth open slightly, doing nothing to curb the gasps and sighs tumbling from your mouth freely. Especially the way you were meeting each thrust of his fingers, and finally when your leg began to shake and he saw the orgasm wash over you.

You softly called out his name, crying out repeatedly as the waves of pleasure crashed over you. He continued thrusting his fingers into you, completely addicted to the way you clenched around him, wishing it were his cock you were milking so sweetly.

He slowed to a stop after a while, helping you down from your high. You pushed loose strands of hair from your face, looking down at Katsuki. He pulled his fingers from you, fixing your panties before looking up at you. There was something warm in his expression that made your chest swell, and you desperately wanted to kiss him.

You moved your leg from his shoulder, leaning down to kiss him deeply. His hands settled on your hips, rubbing circles into your skin. He pulled you down until you were straddling his lap, and you ran your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Why're you leaving again?" He joked when you finally pulled away from each other, and you chuckled.

"I'll be back tonight." You said with a smile, even though you were currently trying to convince yourself that you in fact can't ditch your friend's bachelorette party to stay home and fuck your boyfriend. "Don't worry, I'll be all drunk and horny and we can continue where we left off. I'll be sure sure show you just how grateful I am to you." You rolled your hips against his lap.

You quickly checked the clock on your bedside table before looking back at him. "We have time to take care of you before I really gotta start getting ready." You offered, running your fingers down his shirt front and teasing the waistband of his shorts.

He smirked. "Came just seeing you lose your mind on my hand like that. 'And anyway," he began, pinching your hips between his fingers. "I wanna fucking ruin these panties tonight, an' I wanna make sure you can take it."

You bit your lip, a thrill of excitment rushing through you. He always knew just what to say to make you want to hole up in your bedroom and never leave.

"Bet I could last longer than you." You teased, leaning in for a kiss, nibbling on his lip as you pulled away.

He grinned. "You're on."

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Tysm for reading!!! I hope yall liked this lil one shot! ❤️/comments/rbs always appreciated 😊

taglist: @asmaechan @animexholic @justanothernpcartist @inumakicanrailme

masterlist

#bakugou katsuki #mha bakugou #bakugo smut #mha smut #katsuki bakugou #bakugo fluff #bnha smut #bnha bakugou #bnha fanfiction #my hero x reader #bakugo x y/n #katsuki bakugo x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugou #bakugo x chubby reader #bakugo x female reader

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mint-yooxgi · 1 year

Text

{13} - Paradise Gardens - Yandere!Demonic Entities!Ateez X Reader

Yandere AU & Demon AU - Book Two to Hotel California

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst, Fluff, Slight Humour

Pairing: Ateez X Reader (Focus on Yeosang, Yunho, San, and Mingi)

Words: 10,500

Warnings: Mentions of past trauma and bullying: past suicidal thoughts mentioned, and mention of a lack of self worth, OC runs into an old 'friend' near the beginning, I think that's it honestly. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: So, I decided to split this part into two since I feel it makes the story flow better. I'm happy where I ended it, and I really hope you all look forward to the next few parts! There's quite a lot of story coming your way hehehe As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Also, gentle reminder that I don’t do tag lists.

Mini Masterlist - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight - Part Nine - Part Ten - Part Eleven - Part Twelve

There’s a fond look in your eyes as you stand by yourself in front of the large window overlooking the newborns sleeping soundly before you. The hospital is quiet, given how early in the morning it is, a few staff walking behind you every now and then. Still, you cannot help but watch over little Elijah, even now, ensuring that nothing happens to him while his mother rests with his father in her hospital room.

Born a little over eight hours ago, well into the night, he sleeps soundly. A week late, weighing in at a healthy eight pounds, eleven ounces, they keep him wrapped up while Crystal recovers from giving birth the night before.

When you had gotten the call yesterday, you immediately rushed to the hospital with Seonghwa and the others. You met your parents here, waiting as long as you could before being sent home. Having wanted as natural a birth as possible, Crystal had been in for a long night.

Much to your content, you discovered Elijah had been born in the early hours of the morning, and had already been checked over for any ailments that might affect him after birth. He had none, and is perfectly healthy according to all of the doctors. A fact which makes you, and all of your family, happy beyond belief.

Currently, Vasco is with Crystal, staying with her after recovery while Elijah sleeps. San has went to grab you both coffees with Mingi, who you asked to stop by and check up on Crystal for you on the way to the café. You want to make sure that she’s fairing well while you check up on your baby nephew for the first time.

The other guys stayed home, per your request. Of course, a few of them had protested at that - Wooyoung, Seonghwa, and Hongjoong - considering you all don’t know what Malik or Dimitri’s next moves are. However, at your assurance, they backed off. Besides, you have both Mingi and San here with you, and you highly doubt you would be attacked in a hospital.

Still, you’re on high alert. Just in case.

Looking over little Elijah once more as he sleeps, you notice a figure come to stand beside you out of the corner of your eyes. He’s tall, but not as tall as Yunho, with dirty blond hair. He looks familiar, but you don’t pay him much mind. You just wish he’d stop glancing at you every few seconds.

The soft call of your name startles you, and you finally turn to get a good look at the man standing beside you. His blue eyes are hauntingly familiar.

“Hi, Jake.” You give him a small, albeit tight smile.

“I thought it was you, but I wasn’t sure.” He smiles lightly back. “I haven’t seen you since elementary school. How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been well.” You reply softly. “Yourself?”

“Never better,” his eyes crinkle slightly as he turns back to observe the sleeping infants before you. “Is one of them yours?”

He holds a paper coffee cup in his hand, using it to motion before him along the line of babies.

“Oh. No.” You shake your head. “Just a proud aunt watching over her nephew.”

The corner of your lips twitches upwards as you motion to Elijah sleeping soundly before you.

A moment of silence as you cradle your elbows in your hands, almost to the point of curling in on yourself. You clear your throat. “You?”

A brilliant smile lights up his features, his eyes crinkling at the sides as his chest puffs out slightly in pride. He nods in the direction of two girls sleeping side by side. “My wife just had a twins.”

“Oh.” You meet his gaze briefly, offering him a small smile. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” He grins widely, ruffling his hair which already seems quite disheveled. “It would have been your sister, right?”

You blink, pulled out of your own thoughts for the moment. “I’m sorry?”

“Your sister who had the baby,” he motions lightly to Elijah with his cup again. “If I remember correctly.”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” You clear your throat once more. “It was her.”

“Tell her congratulations for me.” He nods.

You swallow the dryness in your throat, shifting from foot to foot. “I will. Thank you.”

You don’t think you’ve ever had an encounter where you’ve felt more awkward in your life. Sure, you could brush up against Mingi’s, or even San’s mental links right now, but it’s not like you’re in danger. You’re just more uncomfortable than anything at the moment, given everything he did to you when you were younger.

“Actually, it must be pure luck that we ran into each other today.” This time, Jake clears his throat, somewhat nervously.

You hum in response, shifting the slightest bit further from him without arousing suspicion.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the past lately, and it just reminded me that I never apologized to you.”

His statement catches you so off guard, that your hands end up falling to your sides.

“I was a huge asshole to you when we were younger, and I don’t know how much this will mean to you now, but I’m sorry. I wasn’t happy when I was a kid, and I felt you were an easy target to take that out on. I was always jealous of you, and I let that and my anger control my actions. That was not right.” He says, no longer looking towards you, but down at his hands with that coffee cup held in them for dear life. “I regret getting my friends involved to torment you, too. The feeling of them listening to me gave me a sense of power I felt I lacked in my life, and you were the unfortunate victim.”

You swear you’ve stopped breathing, whole body feeling numb as you refuse to so much as look in his direction. Jake was one of the ones who tormented you so much when you were younger, and gave you all of those self doubts, as well as an incredible amount of self hatred. One of the ones who made you believe you were worthless, ugly, and unlovable.

The worst part: he started out as one of your closest friends, too. A close friend who you had cherished above all else, just as you do with all the people you care about.

A worried call of your name greets your ears, and you turn to see San standing to your opposite side, a cup of coffee held in each of his hands. Mingi is nowhere in sight.

There is no hiding the narrowed eyed look San sends Jake’s way as the former comes to stand beside you. He places the cup of coffee in your hand gently before immediately wrapping his now free arm around your waist. Almost instantly, he pulls you into his side.

“You don’t have to forgive me.” Jake continues, and you feel San’s grip around your waist tighten. “It’s been years, and I would understand if you never did. What I did was vile, and inexcusable. Just know, that I am sorry, and I regret it all.” He swallows thickly. “I just thought you should know.”

With a firm nod in acknowledgement towards San, and without another word spoken, Jake takes his leave.

Your eyes follow after him down the hall, watching as he retreats around a corner and out of sight. You don’t even notice Mingi has come to join you until you hear his voice speaking to you.

“Who was that?” There’s a hint of a growl to his words, him taking note of the distressed state you seem to be in at the moment.

You inhale sharply, as if suddenly coming back to the reality before you.

“Starlight?” Immediately, worry takes over Mingi’s features as he looks at you.

Beside you, you can feel San physically trembling.

“Baby,” his voice is low in attempts to control his building anger, “What did he do to you?”

You shake your head, blinking a few times blankly. “Nothing.”

“Then, why was he apologizing to you?” Mingi’s brow furrows, stepping in front of you in order to gently grasp your hands still holding onto that cup in his own.

“That was Jake.” You blink, head still reeling at this turn of events. “He- he-“ You take a deep breath in to steady your nerves. “He was my friend. Once.”

The two males share a look.

“You don’t look like you’ve just been chatting up an old friend.” San glares off in the direction Jake had walked off in, as if he can still see the male behind the walls of the hospital.

“He was my friend,” you repeat, pursing your lips for only a moment, “before he started bullying me.”

You swear that were you not in a public place, both males would have let growls escape them.

“He made me feel worthless, and pathetic.” Your gaze is somewhat blank, as if recalling memories from your childhood that you have long since kept hidden. “I can’t count the amount of times he told me I was ugly.” You swallow. “And fat. And stupid. And that I would never amount to anything. That no one would ever care for me, so I should just runaway and die.”

You swear you see San’s eyes flash in the reflection of the glass beside Mingi’s head.

“He got his friends involved, and it was like a game to them who could berate me the most.” You don’t know how you’re still standing, or how you’ve managed to quell your building emotions for the time being, but you do. “He told me to kill myself more times than I can remember.”

You look down at that cup of coffee in your hands, finally taking note of Mingi still gently holding onto you. The way they both have trouble breathing, chests heaving with each breath, you just know that they’re both barely containing their anger for the moment.

“I told you once before how people would pretend to like me as a joke,” you exhale shakily, and you hear the faintest of growls come from the man still holding you to his side. “I wish I could say I saw through it every time, but sometimes having a crush can blind you.”

San nearly drops the cup of coffee in his hand. “You liked him?”

“I mentioned we started off as friends, no?” Your lips twitch upwards sadly. “I think that’s what made what he did worse. I let so many things slide because I just wanted his attention. It’s something I’ve always done. With him though, any attention was good attention to me. It didn’t take long for it to change. His younger brother always was rude to me from the start, but then he started in on the ‘fun’, too.”

This time, there’s no mistaking when Mingi’s eyes flash black right before you.

Quickly, you scan the hallway to ensure it’s still empty.

It is.

“He never apologized, or even acknowledged what he did to me before. He always denied it when confronted about it, too.” Your grip tightens slightly around that cup in your hands. “Until now.”

Raising a shaky hand to your cheek, Mingi cups your face tenderly in his palm. Gently, his thumb strokes over your skin, and you can feel the barely contained rage in his touch despite how delicately he holds onto you.

“We should tear him apart for what he did to you.” Mingi keeps his voice surprisingly low and steady. His Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. “He doesn’t deserve to live.”

A low growl of agreement sounds from San.

Almost instantly, you’re shaking your head. “No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” San asks, pulling away from you in shock as he begins pacing in front of both you and Mingi in that little space between where you stand and the wall.

“He’s not worth it.” You reach out, and instantly San has his free hand in yours. “I never expected to run into him after all these years, least of all for him to apologize as soon as I did.”

“Are you-“ Mingi takes the time to study your features closely, gently guiding your gaze back to his. “Are you okay?”

“Shocked.” You blink a few times in response. “Attempting to process things for the moment, but I think I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?” San steps in closer, nothing but worry etched into his brow.

“Yeah.” You meet his gaze. “I don’t know, it’s almost… freeing in a sense.” You swallow. “It’s almost like getting a sense of closure I never knew I needed.”

Instantly, the two males seem to relax the slightest bit from your words.

“He seemed genuine when he spoke to you.” San adds softly, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Besides, I’m sure our dear Sannie here would have torn him apart in an instant if he sensed any malicious or deceitful thoughts towards you.” Mingi finally drops his hands, turning to glance off in the direction Jake went off in. “I know I would have.”

“You’re damn right I would have.” San hums in agreement.

A soft laugh escapes you. “That I do know.”

They offer you small smiles in response, an affectionate gleam to their eyes.

“His wife just had twins.” You motion to the two baby girls wrapped up in blankets near Elijah with your chin.

They spare a brief look in their direction before shifting their focus onto Elijah. Almost instantaneously, Elijah stretches in his sleep, a tiny yawn escaping him as he shifts his position.

You coo lovingly down at your little nephew.

“He’s perfectly healthy, as far as we, and all of the doctors can tell.” San is beside you once more, his arm wrapped securely around your waist.

“And Crystal?” You spare a glance at Mingi.

“A little tired, but recovering just fine.” He smiles at you in response. “I checked her over like you asked.”

“Good.” A soft smile pulls at your lips. “I’m glad.”

Slowly, the three of you begin making your way back down the hallway and towards the room Crystal is in. You plan to spend some time with her before heading back for the day, and getting some more training done with Yunho and Yeosang.

You’re almost at a point where you can start learning the basics of a few weapons, and you’re getting quite excited. Wooyoung is more than ready to start teaching you about different poisons, and he’s often hinted at certain plants which have high toxicity levels. For now, he’s still letting you have some space, not wanting to give you any ‘ideas’ for the next time he gets overtly clingy.

Not that you would poison him.

Similarly, Yunho has been helping you hone your mind, strengthening it before the inevitable happens once you become like them.

Once you become like them.

There’s a thought that has been crossing your mind more often than not lately. You know that they mentioned that it would consist of the merging of souls in a way - you give them a piece of your soul while they give you a piece of theirs in exchange - but you’re still not entirely sure what that entails. You’ve been meaning to ask, only, you haven’t found the proper time to do so.

Perhaps you’ll bring it up again, soon.

For now, you’ll focus on joking around and making your sister smile as you sit beside her hospital bed. Vasco managed to pass out in the one chair in the time it took for Mingi to come find both you and San, but you don’t hold it against him. The man has been up all night with his wife.

After about an hour, you notice Crystal starting to drift off to sleep, too, so you bid her a fond farewell for now. With a big hug and a kiss from you, you tell her to get as much rest as she can, and that you’ll be around to visit again soon.

The whole car ride back home is quiet. Both Mingi and San attempt to engage you in conversation, only for you to reply with small, one word answers. That is, if you don’t just hum in response. Your mind is clearly elsewhere, and worry furrows their brows as they watch you almost subconsciously drive home.

You seem distracted, and it’s enough to have the others observing you carefully as you walk through the house. The quiet is unusual for you after visiting your sister, and though you don’t appear angry, or upset, it’s quite unsettling.

Of course, it takes no time for both Mingi and San to be sharing what happened with the others.

Why am I suddenly getting flashbacks to that worm we disposed of all those months ago? Wooyoung nearly growls out in all of their heads.

Believe me, Hongjoong sighs. You’re not the only one.

So, why aren’t we doing that to this one right now? Perhaps even something worse?Jongho quirks a brow while staring down at the pages of his book.

She told us not to. Mingi replies. Said he wasn’t worth it.

But he hurt her. This time, it’s Seonghwa who responds. None of his brothers need to see him to know that he wears a frown on his features currently.

An expression mirrored by more than just one male.

She said it happened a long time ago. San adds. We don’t know the full details, just what she’s told us.

And that should have been enough to at least torment the fellow. Yunho says, as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

I don’t know, guys. Mingi sighs. She told us that she felt as if it was almost freeing in a sense for him to apologize after all these years. You know I’m all for eviscerating anyone that harms her, but if she says not to, I think we should listen to her.

We’re lucky she hasn’t found out about Calum, yet. Yeosang chimes in, an almost knowing hum to his words.

And she never will. Hongjoong confirms. Just like she doesn’t have to know about this ‘Jake’ guy.

His wife just had twins, Hongjoong. San states, rather firmly. Besides, do you really want to disobey Our Queen’s wishes like that so easily?

A moment of silence settles over all of them as San’s words sink in.

San’s right. Seonghwa finally breaks the building tension. We don’t purposely orphan children, or widow spouses. Nor should we go against her wishes.

Boo! You guys are no fun. They can all practically hear the pout in Wooyoung’s voice as he says this.

I suppose the circumstances were a lot different last time. Jongho sighs.

We could still torment him mentally. Yunho suggests casually.

Oh, I’m all for this! Wooyoung exclaims excitedly. I could mildly poison him. Make it a hindrance to his daily life for a week or so.

All fun ideas, Yeosang hums. But I think you’re all forgetting one important detail.

At his brother’s inquisitive silence, Yeosang is quick to continue.

She said, ‘no’.

“Is everything okay?” The sound of your voice, somewhat worried and soft, draws both Yunho and Yeosang out of their mental conversation with their brothers for the moment.

“Of course, Petal.” Yunho smiles at you. “We’re just worried about you, is all.”

“Me?” You quirk a brow in surprise.

“You seem distracted.” Yeosang tilts his head to the side slightly, almost curiously.

“You two have been standing to the side frowning like you can’t decide between cheddar or parmesan cheese for the past ten minutes.” You huff out a laugh. “If anyone’s distracted, it’s you.”

“We’re waiting for you to finish stretching.” Yeosang answers, attempting some form of causality.

“I finished stretching and doing some warm up exercises ten minutes ago.” You deadpan.

“Oh.”

That seems to shut them up for a good thirty seconds.

“So then, what would you like to work on today, Petal?” Yunho is quick to change the subject.

Immediately, you begin vibrating in excitement, grinning widely as your eyes shine.

“Let’s finalize your hand-to-hand combat training first before we pull out the knives.” Yunho chuckles.

A dramatic pout pulls onto your features and Yeosang elbows Yunho quite pointedly in the ribs.

“Don’t worry, My Dear, we’ll let you try some weapons later today.” Yeosang assures you.

Almost instantly, your mood perks up, and both of them are smiling fondly at you.

“I take it I won’t actually get any pointy objects to start.” You quirk a brow playfully.

The two males share a look before Yunho is shrugging. “If that’s what you want.”

“We may be overprotective, Dearest, but we’re not unreasonable.” Yeosang replies. “If any incidents occur, we can just heal you.”

“Or us.” Yunho adds at seeing your expression of disbelief.

A subtle nod of your head in amusement is all he gets in response.

“You’ve been working on building your strength with Mingi and San, correct?” Yunho is quick to ask, walking over to the sparring mats to your left.

A nod is all the confirmation he gets.

“Alright then, Dearest,” Yeosang smiles, moving over beside his brother before meeting your gaze. “Show us what you’ve got.”

“Are you suggesting I take the both of you at the same time?” You quirk a brow teasingly as you step onto the mats.

The low growls you receive in response are all the confirmation you get that they’ve taken the comment in a different way than what you originally insinuated.

“Keep thinking like that, I’ll easily distract the both of you.” You chuckle, a sultry pull to the corner of your lips.

“We can’t help it, Dearest,” Yeosang sighs, almost wistfully. “You have a habit of dropping the most interesting thoughts into our minds at the best of times.”

“Not the worst?” Your brows flick upwards suggestively.

“Sometimes.” Yunho chuckles, and at the way your mouth falls open in mock offence, he’s quick to add, “I never said it was a bad thing, Petal.”

“It’s just a little more difficult to…” Yeosang searches for the right word, “concentrate on the battlefield with certain additions to our physique.”

“Yes, I can quite imagine how painful it is to fight when you’re hard.” You grin, huffing out a small laugh.

“It’s certainly not the most comfortable thing.” Yeosang nods in agreement.

“You speak as if you have experience with this sort of thing,” Your eyebrows raise, amusement shining behind your eyes.

When both of them shrug, you cannot help the boisterous laugh that escapes you.

“I’d say Captain has the most, though.” Yunho adds, seemingly nonchalantly. “He can get intense on the battlefield. In more than one way.”

“Oh?” This piques your interest. “Then, I look forward to it.”

The way they both blink at you in mild shock has you giggling.

“What? Surprised it doesn’t phase me that much anymore?” You tilt your head curiously.

“A little bit,” Yunho blinks, loosening his stance in preparation to fight you.

“A girl has her fantasies.” This time, it’s your turn to shrug.

Two low growls greet your ears, the faintest tint of black darkening their eyes.

“Care to share, Dearest?” Yeosang begins stalking towards you slowly, like a predator would its prey.

You immediately begin countering his every move, watching Yunho carefully out of the corner of your eyes. “Perhaps I’ll just show you.”

His breath hitches, and you strike.

For the next forty minutes, the three of you spar together on the mats. A few times, you manage to pin one of them, only for the other to knock you right off your balance. You’ve only ever sparred with one partner before, besides last week when Jongho and Mingi decided to challenge you further. So, taking on multiple of them at a time requires even more quick maneuvers and thinking on your part, but you’re starting to recognize a pattern to their attacks.

You’re not sure if they’re doing it on purpose, or if they’re aware of it or not, but Yunho seems to be the one to observe the scene before moving, and only when it looks like Yeosang has created an opening for him to get through. That, or when you’ve managed to subdue Yeosang for the moment.

Yeosang, on the other hand, enjoys staying low to the ground, crouching as he goes in for the attack to throw off your balance. He’s nimble, and much more flexible than you thought he could be. A fact which intrigues you as much as impresses you.

Both never fail to praise you any opportunity they get.

During the second round, Yeosang accidentally manages to tear your shirt. The scraps of fabric hang limply off of your shoulders, exposing your torso and the sports bra you wear.

Luckily, for you, it seems to distract them for a moment. Out of shock or something else, you don’t quite know. Either way, you know an opportunity when you see one.

Using this to your advantage, you manage to land a solid roundhouse kick to the side of Yunho’s head, quickly subduing Yeosang in the next moment.

Your chest heaves as you pin Yeosang beneath you, a victorious grin pulling at your lips.

Just as you go to say something, a low groan from the male laying on his back to your left draws your attention.

“Oh shit, Universe!” You hop right off of Yeosang to inspect the damage you’ve done to Yunho’s cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he replies, somewhat in a daze. His hand comes up to cup his cheek, almost affectionately. “Never better.”

“I just kicked you in the face, and you’re acting like a schoolboy who’s just received a cheek kiss from his crush for the first time.” You chuckle, noticing how Yeosang now kneels beside you with an almost pout on his lips. You quirk a brow, “What, you want me to kick you, too?”

Yeosang shoots you an innocent side eyed look, hope shining behind his orbs.

“I can’t wait to tell Mingi,” Yunho chuckles, pushing himself into a sitting position.

“I think Wooyoung might be more jealous.” Yeosang comments casually.

“You guys want me to harm you when we spar?” The appal is clear on your features.

“We don’t get hurt that easily, Dearest, but when it’s you that manages to surprise us, it’s incredible.” Yeosang tells you honestly. “Not to mention how much pride that fills us when you hit us in this context.”

“Not to mention incredibly sexy.” Yunho breathes, still stuck in that daze as the tips of his fingers gently rub over his cheek.

A brief conversation with Hongjoong about that scar that still sits proudly on his chest flashes through your mind.

“It’s impressive.” Yeosang concludes with a firm nod.

“Oh.” You giggle, a heat rising to your cheeks at their praise. “I still worry, though.”

“We know.” Yunho smiles at you, noticing how you gently pull his hand away to place a tender kiss upon his cheek. His ears flare bright red. “The feeling is, and will always be, mutual, Petal.”

You simply smile in response, helping Yunho back to his feet. Still, you cannot hide the concern in your eyes.

“Don’t worry, Petal.” Yunho chuckles, wrapping his one arm around you briefly in order to place a gentle kiss onto your temple. “Believe me when I say we’ve all suffered much worse injuries at each other’s hands before.”

You blink at him in shock.

“Remember how we told that you we don’t hold back on each other when sparring?” Yeosang chimes in.

Realization floods your features, nodding along to his words slowly.

“The bets were the worst.” Yunho hums, clearly reminiscing some past memories. “We would never kill each other, but we’ve gotten close to it a few times.”

Your brow furrows immensely in worry.

“Heat of the moment, Dearest.” Yeosang is quick to explain at the way your lips seem to part with a response. “It’s why we always had at least one of us to moderate the fights when we made bets on each other.”

“I still want to watch you guys fight one another at some point.” You comment, moving off to the side to take a drink of water.

“We haven’t forgotten, Petal.” Yunho grins. “We’re just saving it for now.”

You pout, somewhat dramatically.

“All in due time, Dearest.” Yeosang chuckles. “All in due time.”

You sigh, “I suppose it might be better for when I know how to at least use some weapons. I can study how you guys all use them, then.”

“Exactly.” Yunho nods, before catching himself. “Wait, what?”

“I thought I mentioned that I’m somewhat of a visual learner?” You tilt your head slightly in inquiry at him.

A flash of your hands weaving together those flowers in that clearing all those months ago flits through his mind.

“I remember now.” He hums, a loving smile gracing his lips.

A smile which you return.

Yeosang clears his throat, looking pointedly at Yunho. “How’s your head?”

Yunho spares a brief look towards you, a smirk pulling subtly onto his features. He licks his lips. “No complaints.”

The second that you spit out the water you’re drinking, Yeosang has jumped onto Yunho’s back, locking his arms around the elder male’s throat and choking him out. You begin coughing simultaneously as laughter attempts to escape you, Yunho thrashing around with Yeosang clinging like a koala to his back.

Finally, you manage to get your coughing under control as laughter takes over in full swing. Your eyes crinkle as you see the two of them continuing to play fight, Yunho soon tossing Yeosang over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and slamming the shorter male onto the mat below him.

The fact that they can hear how joyous you are in this moment makes each of their hearts swell. A sound neither will ever grow tired of. Knowing that they are the cause only serves to make them happy, pride swelling in their chests despite the circumstances that lead to this encounter. Well, at least for one of them.

You watch on with a fond look in your eyes as you lean against the side wall. That is, until a distant look crosses your features, and you seem to zone out for a minute or two.

“Is everything okay, Dearest?” It’s Yeosang’s voice that manages to pull you out of your thoughts.

You focus back in on your surroundings, noticing the worried tug of both his and Yunho’s brows, the two of them standing before you.

“Yeah,” you send them both a small smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Now, who’s the distracted one?” Yunho jokes, moving beside you in order to nudge your arm slightly with his elbow.

Yeosang sends him a pointed look before turning back to you. “Are you sure you’re okay, Dearest? San and Mingi told us what happened earlier at the hospital.“

You take a moment to think, brow furrowing slightly as you look down at the ground.

“I just-“ you sigh. “I had so much pent up anger and sadness when I was younger for what he did to me. I never understood why he did it, and now that this has happened, I don’t quite know how to feel.”

“How do you feel, Petal?” Yunho steps in closer, placing a comforting hand onto your shoulder.

“Relieved, in a way.” You reply honestly. “Confused. Maybe a little angry, and a slight bit resentful still. It happened so long ago, that I didn’t think too much of the situation anymore. At least, I tried not to, but seeing him today just brought everything back. I’m still attempting to figure out if I’m actually passed everything with him or not, or if I just wanted to scrub it from my memory. I don’t think I can forgive him, though. Not after what he did to me.”

A brief pause.

“You know, I contemplating running away from home because of him. Just disappearing off the map, and dying in a ditch, because I believed him when he said no one would care.” You swallow thickly. “I was only ten.”

The way you see Yeosang’s eyes flash before you out of the corner of your vision says it all. You don’t even need to look at Yunho to know he does the same.

“Yet, hearing him apologize for things today…” you trail off, finally lifting your gaze to glance at both males standing around you. “Well, it’s like I told San and Mingi earlier today. It did feel freeing. It felt like finally getting an acknowledgment of everything bad he did to me, and him owning up to it. It’s- it’s-” you blink, your lips parting as they twitch upwards, “gratifying.”

Gently, Yeosang takes your hands in his own, yet you still manage to feel the subtle way he cannot control them from shaking.

“Is there-“ he swallows thickly, keeping his voice low as he clears his throat, “Is there anything we can do?”

You take a moment to stare deeply into his eyes, thinking of your answer carefully.

You blink lightly once more.

“No.” You shake your head. “No. I don’t think there is.”

“Petal-“

“The past can’t be changed now, nor do I want it to be.” You cut Yunho’s worried tone off. “I’m not the same person I was back then, but it’s made me who I am today. Yes, he hurt me.” You take a breath. “Am I going to let those old memories control my life? No. Besides, I’ve got more important things to think about now.”

“As long as you’re okay, Petal,” Yunho squeezes your shoulder gently. “That’s all we care about.”

“I’m okay, Yun.” You offer him a small smile before squeezing Yeosang’s hands back. “I’ll be okay.”

A comfortable silence settles over the three of you as you all hold onto each other so tenderly. You know both males will do whatever they can to comfort you, should you ask them to, but right now, you also have other things on your mind. Mainly, moving passed this and getting on with your new life.

“So…” You spare a glance at each male surrounding you. “Weapons?”

Yeosang quirks a brow, “What would you like to start with?”

“You’re letting me choose?” Your eyes widen, and you cannot help the way you begin to bounce on your feet.

At their nods, a large grin pulls at your lips.

“Is there something you have in mind?” Yunho asks, an eager tone to his inquiry.

Multiple weapons flash through your mind at once, and you bring a hand up to your chest in hopes to quell your racing heart. That’s when you remember the state of your shirt, or rather, your now non-existent shirt.

Humming in thought to yourself, you pull the last few scraps of material off of your body. Gently, you tuck the fabric beside your water bottle, leaving you in just your sports bra for the time being. Not that any of you really mind.

That’s when you get an idea.

“Well, it’d be best to start with something at least somewhat familiar, no?” You look between the two males before you.

“That would probably be best.” Yeosang nods in confirmation.

“Well, since I haven’t seen any of you use any of your weapons yet, I’ll stick with something I’ve used before.” You reply, a knowing grin tugging onto your features. “Could one of you please get me a bat?”

You can see the surprise on both of their features the instant you say this. Regardless, Yeosang makes a wooden baseball bat appear in his hand, presenting it to you almost immediately.

“A bat, Petal?” Yunho’s brow quirks.

“Listen, I don’t want to be playing around with something I don’t understand yet. No matter how badly I want to throw an axe, or stab something with a sword, it’s not worth the risk for my first try.” You reply, grabbing the wooden object from Yeosang’s outstretched hand. “This,” you shake the bat lightly, “at least I’m somewhat familiar with. The worst it can really do is break a few bones at the present.”

“Is that why you were going to use it to bash San’s kneecaps in with?” Yeosang’s eyes shine with nothing but amusement.

“I had a lot of pent up rage as a teenager.” You shrug, stepping back onto the sparring mat while letting the bat spin loosely in your hand. A blink, and you’ve allowed it to fall in a circle, the tip nearly touching the ground before you’re holding it upright in the air. “Reina and I spent a lot of time in rec rooms, smashing shit. Especially when the whole thing happened with her ex first year of university.”

“You’ve mentioned.” Yunho nods, recalling that conversation briefly in his mind.

“There’s a reason he takes my threats seriously.” You grin, stepping up before a fighting dummy.

You eye the test dummy, flipping the bat almost absentmindedly in your one hand.

“Should we be worried?” Yeosang chuckles, a pleasant shiver caressing his spine as he watches you handle that bat for the moment.

“It’s been a while, so potentially.” You shrug, solidifying your hold on the base. “The first few times I ever swung seriously, I kept accidentally letting the bat go. It would go flying across the room and into the wall.”

“We’ll stand behind you, then.” Yunho grins, an eager gleam in his eyes as he sees you beginning to weigh the bat in each of your hands.

Continuously, you do more spins with the bat, tossing it from hand to hand to get a better feel of the wood beneath your grip.

“I wonder how much worse my swing has gotten.” You say, almost absentmindedly to yourself. “It’s been a while. My aim’s also never been particularly good.”

“Oh, come on, Baby,” San’s voice suddenly coming from behind you has you jumping before you’re spinning around to face him. “You can’t be that bad if you’re confident enough to threaten me with it.”

Your eyebrow quirks, noticing all eight of them now standing behind you.

“You think we’re going to pass up the opportunity of seeing you hit something with a weapon for the first time?” Wooyoung grins, almost maniacally. “Not likely, Angel.”

“Didn’t realize I’d have an audience.” You mutter, tightening your grip on the base of that bat in your hand once more.

“We’re only here to encourage you, Starlight.” Mingi smiles, a proud nod to his head.

“Yunho also wouldn’t stop bragging about getting kicked in the face by you.” San adds, somewhat bitterly. “We’re also here to kick his ass afterwards."

You shoot a pointed look at Yunho.

“What?” He raises his hands in his own defence. “I told you already, Petal. It makes us proud knowing what you’re capable of.”

“He’s just hoping you’ll do it again.” Hongjoong hums, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Says the one begging to be stabbed all the time,” Seonghwa rolls his eyes.

“Just say you’re jealous and be done with it.” Jongho snorts, leaning against one of the racks with weights on them.

“Okay,” you huff out a small laugh, turning back around to face the fighting dummy.

Lowly, you can hear them continuing to bicker behind you, and the fact that you can hardly feel their attention lingering on you causes you to relax. Inhaling deeply, you fill your lungs with as much air as you can before slowly exhaling. Shuffling from foot to foot, you gently tap the tip of the bat against the side of your foot in preparation for what you’re about to do.

Raising the wooden object, you let it spin once more in your hand before you’re gripping it tightly in your hold. Lining up your shot, a crazed look takes over your features as you swing the bat to strike at the head of the dummy, letting your adrenaline drive you. The resulting crack fills the room on impact, and the dummy goes tumbling to the floor with little resistance.

Silence surrounds you, and all you can register is a loud ringing in your ears as your chest heaves with each breath. Your body stands over that fighting dummy, now laying face down on the floor, the bat resting at your side with the tip balanced upon the floor.

That felt good. Probably better than it should have for the moment.

You turn to face them, a gleeful giggle falling from your lips, “How was that?”

However, you do not expect the scene that greets you as soon as you turn around.

San has fallen to his knees, his chest heaving as his mouth rests open in shock. Wooyoung is right beside him, both his and San’s chests heaving as the younger supports himself using his one arm on the ground. Seonghwa has a hand on Hongjoong’s shoulder, steadying himself while the elder can only stand there, stunned, with his eyes as black as night. To his left, Jongho stands, barely holding himself upright against that rack of weights for the moment as Mingi attempts to steady himself against the wall. Both Yunho and Yeosang are not fairing much better, appearing as if they’ve stopped breathing for the time being.

They all look about ready to pounce on you. In a good way, of course.

“Uh…” you blink at them in shock.

A loud crash is heard as Jongho finally loses his balance, a weight tumbling to the ground as it dislodges from the rack. It lands unceremoniously on his foot, of which he immediately grabs, hopping around as curses fall from his mouth.

“Oh shit, are you okay?” Immediately, you attempt to rush over to Jongho, only to get stopped by two males.

The breath escapes you as you go tumbling to the floor, the bat clattering onto the mat beside you. You hardly register anything for the moment except the sight of the ceiling above you, and the sound of low, pleased snarls filling the room and surrounding you from all angles.

A male rests on top of you, and you can feel yourself laying on top of another, both with their faces pressed into either side of your neck. Their pleased rumbles reverberate through your chest, every exhale they make tickling your skin. You swear they both begin nuzzling into you, too.

“Geez, if this is how you’re going to react every time I smack something, I think we’re going to need to put some rules in place.” You joke, an amused chuckle spilling from your lips as you see Hongjoong finally pull back from your neck to stare into your eyes.

“My Love, you cannot blame us.” There’s a hint of a growl to his words as his gaze swirls with that all too familiar darkness that you’ve become used to. “You must understand, we’ve been dreaming of this moment for a very long time.”

“What?” The corner of your lips quirks upwards. “Me smacking something with a bat?”

“You using any kind of weapon.” Seonghwa answers, his chest rumbling beneath you once more as his grip tightens against your hips.

He shifts beneath you, and you swear that you can feel something hard already pressing firmly into your ass.

Your breath hitches slightly, and you swear you feel him smirk against your skin.

“So, you really could have done some damage to San that day.” Yunho observes casually with a hum.

“Hey!” Said male whines, finally managing to stand back to his feet.

“I would have paid to see it.” Jongho says, replacing the fallen weight back onto the rack.

“You were the one who gave her the bat.” Mingi recalls.

“And I’d do it again!” The youngest replies, quite eagerly at that.

“Okay, so make sure there aren’t any bats around when we do anything to piss her off.” Wooyoung nods, somewhat to himself.

“More like, make sure you hide all the bats when you inevitably annoy her again.” Yunho teases, the others snickering along in agreement.

“Hey!” This time, it’s Wooyoung’s turn to whine.

“Woah, let’s not rule out the fact that I’m not gonna go around smacking you guys for the hell of it.” You chime in, gently guiding Hongjoong off of you for the moment, much to his displeasure.

“So, you don’t want to smack our asses?” Mingi quirks a knowing brow.

“If anyone wants to smack someone’s ass here, Min, it’s you.” You playfully roll your eyes, noticing how he suddenly averts his own gaze knowing damn well that you speak the truth.

“How did we go from baseball bats to smacking asses?” Seonghwa exhales a long sigh, helping you sit up beside him.

“It’s good for moral support.” San quips, Wooyoung immediately nodding along enthusiastically.

“You want me to spank you?” You look at them expectantly, noticing how red quite a few of them begin to get at your words.

Mingi begins to splutter.

“Well, if you’re offering,” Wooyoung smirks deviously, jutting out his hip slightly as if to put his ass on display.

This earns him a smack upside the head from Jongho, who suddenly cannot seem to meet your gaze.

“I mean, if you want me to,” you shrug, unaware of the commotion you’ve just started.

San and Wooyoung now appear to be wrestling on the ground, arguing about who’s going to get felt up first. Meanwhile, both Mingi and Jongho keep pushing each other back every time the other takes a step forward and towards you. Yunho laughs off to the side while both Seonghwa and Hongjoong begin bickering beside you. The only one you have yet to hear speak since this whole fiasco started is Yeosang.

Turning your head, you nearly jump when you see Yeosang crouched beside you. Silently, he presses a finger to his lips, helping you to your feet as you both slip away during the chaos erupting around you.

Carefully, Yeosang leads you to an area off to the side. It’s quite a long area, acting as a shooting range for target practice more than anything. Given how close it is to where you just were, you’re surprised none of the others have noticed your disappearance yet. Looks like they’re too busy bickering with one another to take note of your absence.

“Yeo?” You blink at him curiously, noticing how he moves around quickly, gathering a few things before standing directly in front of you.

“I had to get you away before they noticed.” He smiles, resting a quiver of arrows against the bench closest to you.

A bow rests in his left hand. It’s simplistic in design, and quite slim, but even you can tell that it’s carved from wood despite the smooth, black paint that covers the entirety of it.

“Are you going to shoot for me?” You cannot hide the excitement in your eyes.

“Perhaps.” A teasing quirk to his lips upwards. “Or maybe I intend for us to shoot together.”

Your breath hitches, a large grin painting your features as you giggle gleefully.

“You know, I’ve always loved archery.” You comment, barely able to prevent yourself from bouncing on your toes as you watch him grab an arrow from the quiver.

“I remember.” He smiles, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “Would you like to watch me-“

“Yes.” There is no hesitation in your response, even as you clasp your hands over your chest hopefully. “I mean…” You clear your throat, noticing how he blinks at you in mild shock. “Please. I would love to.”

With those final words, you motion for him to continue.

A kind smile and a nod are all you get in response as Yeosang takes his position on the little shooting platform. Still, he holds that bow in his one hand, placing the arrow into the little nook before taking a deep breath to steady himself. Then, with a smooth precision that you’ve become so accustomed to from him, he lifts his weapon, lining up his shot with the target at the end of the track.

Every movement he makes, every breath he takes, you observe carefully. Your eyes never leave him, noting how focused he looks in this very moment. The string of the bow is pressed against the corner of his lips as he draws the arrow back, arms not so much as wavering even in the slightest in their hold. The line from the tip of the arrow to the end of his elbow is steady, and if you didn’t know him, you’d swear he was a statue rather than a living person in this very moment.

A breath, and the arrow is loosed.

The tip spears through the air, landing in a dull thunk as it meets its target across the way. Naturally, it lands dead centre.

Nothing but awe paints your features as you see him turn to you. Adoration is clear in your eyes as you watch him step up to you, a shy smile tugging at his lips.

“You’re incredible, you know that?” You breathe, your hands still clasped in front of your chest.

“That truly means the world to me coming from you, Dearest.” Yeosang smiles softly, bringing his free hand up to gently cup your cheek. “I’m just glad I can finally share this with you.”

“I won’t lie, I’ve been looking forward to this since you mentioned teaching me that day at the mall.” Your lids flutter shut, leaning into his touch.

“Really?” He tilts his head slightly, thumb tenderly stroking along your cheek. At the way you hum in response, he steps in closer, breath ghosting the skin of your lips. “I’m glad.”

Softly, your eyes open to stare deeply into his own. He seems to be studying your every feature, nothing but fondness reflected in his gaze as he cannot help but keep sparing fleeting glances down at your lips.

Your tongue darts out to wet them, and you hear his breath hitch slightly in his throat.

“I always enjoy spending time with you, Yeo.” The admission is but a whisper on your lips, scared that if you speak any louder, you’ll disturb the moment between the two of you.

Faintly, in the background, you can still hear the other seven bickering about something or other. Not that you’re really paying attention to them at the moment.

“The feeling is, and always will be, mutual, My Queen.” He breathes out, leaning forward slightly to rest his forehead against your own.

Your heart flutters.

“Yeosang?”

He hums, tilting his head slightly forward so that his nose brushes against your own.

“Kiss me.”

Like every time before, you do not have to ask him twice.

How the press of his lips against your own always feels just like the very first time escapes you. Always, he holds you gently, pouring everything he is into the movement of his lips over your own. He cradles you close, loving how your own hands find purchase on his shoulders to steady yourself as he kisses your breath away.

It’s slow, and loving. Nothing more expected than what the other is willing to give. All the same, it makes your heart race, nothing but love flooding your veins as he holds you to him gently.

Slowly, he retracts, only for you to quickly press forward to peck his lips a few more times.

He chuckles, “Dearest.”

“You can’t blame me.” You hum, eyes fluttering open as you loop your arms around his neck. “You’re addictive, Yeosang.”

A pleasant shiver caresses his spine as he growls lowly. “I could say the same about you, My Queen.”

You giggle, and it’s still one of the most melodic sounds Yeosang has ever heard in his entire life.

“Now,” you hum, taking a minor step back while unlocking your arms from around his shoulders in order to stare at him eagerly. “Show me how to do that, please.”

Yeosang smiles, his heart thundering inside of his chest. “It would be my honour.”

A dull thud from behind you both draws your attention to see the other seven seemingly wrestling with each other for the moment. Yunho seems to have pinned Mingi on the mat, both Wooyoung and San going after Jongho at the same time. Hongjoong and Seonghwa seem to be attempting to choke the other out while standing on their feet, locked in a stalemate of sorts as chaos thrives around them.

A low chuckle escapes you as you shake your head. “I have a feeling they’ll be busy for a while.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Yeosang grins right along with you. Extending his free hand out to you, his eyes begin to shine, “Shall we?”

“We shall.” You immediately place your hand in his.

Gently, Yeosang guides you up onto that little platform with him, making sure to line you both up with a fresh target on the track.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you see his first arrow still sticking proudly out of that first target off to the side.

“How much do you know about archery?” He asks, nothing but curiosity in his gaze as he grabs another arrow from the quiver.

“Honestly?” You take moment to think. “Not much. Other than what you’ve already told me.”

He nods, stepping in beside you as he offers you the bow.

“The hardest part to begin with can be finding enough strength to draw back the string.” He explains, noting how you carefully observe the bow and all its intricate details as soon as you have it in your hands. Your wonder and awe makes his heart skip a beat. “We can practice that a few times before you attempt to knock an arrow.”

“Okay.” Your eyes dart back up to meet his gaze, and you hear his breath catch in his throat yet again.

With a little help from Yeosang, he’s able to guide you on how to properly hold a bow.

“Don’t be afraid of it, Dearest.” He instructs. “You can cause far more damage with a bow than it can ever do to you while wielding it.”

A nod from you is all he receives that you understand his words.

For a few minutes, he has you practice lifting the bow into a shooting stance, and drawing the string back as if you’re about to take a shot. Still, he holds that arrow in his hand, watching on with nothing but loving pride in his eyes as you follow his every instruction with the utmost care.

“You’re doing wonderful, Dearest.” He grins, his gaze dripping with affection as he watches you absolutely revel in his praise. “You’re picking up things very quickly, especially the basics.”

You giggle, a subtle heat rising to your cheeks. “Well, I did spend a lot of time pretending to be an archer when I was younger. I may not have known much, but some of my favourite characters are, so I wanted to be just like them.”

Yeosang quirks a brow, “Oh?”

“Yeah,” you avert your gaze, somewhat shyly. “Katniss, Kagome, Legolas. I always wanted a bow from the woodland realm when I was small. I thought the designs were beautiful, and like I said before, I’ve always had a fascination with archery.”

“Remind me to show you my collection soon, then.” He hums knowingly, a fond look dancing within his eyes.

Your whole demeanour perks up even further, “Okay!”

“For now, how about we shoot your first arrow?” There’s nothing but tender love in his gaze as he looks at you, seeing as you begin shaking lightly in excitement. “Deep breath, Dearest. You don’t want to be shooting with a shaky arm.”

You grin, nodding eagerly.

Following his instructions and taking a deep, steadying breath, you manage to calm your nerves slightly. Still, you cannot deny the excitement that courses through your veins as he hands you that singular arrow.

Gently, Yeosang instructs you on how to notch it before drawing it back.

“We can practice with you drawing from a quiver another time.” He says. “For now, let’s just keep it simple.”

“Sounds good.” You smile.

“Okay, Dearest,” he motions towards the target with his head. “Whenever you’re ready.”

A nod is all he receives in response as you take another deep breath.

Looking towards your feet, you take a moment to steady your nerves once more. Shifting your gaze, you study that target across the way, relaxing your shoulders just as Yeosang has instructed you to do. Raising the bow, you draw the string back, lining up your shot as best as you can.

The feeling of his eyes watching you is a little nerve wracking to say the least. You can feel your hands shaking as you attempt to steady your aim, holding your breath as your eyes focus in on the target at the end of the track. With each second that passes, you find it increasingly difficult to maintain the pull of the string, that thin band threatening to snap forward and through your grip at any moment.

There’s a furrow to your brow as you concentrate, but even you can tell how shaky you’ve suddenly become.

Softly, Yeosang moves behind you, placing his hands on your waist in comfort.

“Breathe, Dearest.” He whispers lowly into your ear, causing a shiver to caress your spine as his nose trails up the skin of your neck. “You’ve got this.”

Slowly, his hands begin to trail up your sides. Goosebumps erupt on your arms as you feel him cover your one hand holding onto the bow with his own, the other supporting your arm that’s drawing back the string. His chin rests on your shoulder, head leaning in the softest of touches against your own.

Suddenly, the string doesn’t become as difficult to hold onto anymore.

“Guide me.” His voice rumbles out. “We can make the shot together.”

The soothing timbre of his voice manages to calm you, and you find yourself taking another much needed deep breath. The heat of his body pressing against yours only adds to the moment, and you allow the familiar, comforting scent of sea island cotton to surround you.

You steady your hands.

The arrow is loosed in the blink of an eye, and you barely register the dull thunk of it sinking into the target across the way. All you can think about in this moment is how Yeosang’s hands feel settling back on your waist, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he buries his face into the side of your neck.

“See,” he hums lowly, squeezing your waist gently in his grip. “I knew you could do it."

Blinking to clear your vision, you allow your whole body to relax into his touch.

That’s when you see where your arrow has landed.

An involuntary excited squeal escapes you as you turn around in his hold.

“Sangie! Look!” You giggle, eyes crinkling at the sides with your joyous expression. “We hit bullseye!”

“You did that all by yourself, Dearest.” He grins, hands squeezing your hips gently once more. “I’m so proud of you.”

You begin wiggling happily in his hold, eyes falling shut as you smile wide.

“Leave it to Yeosang to steal everyone’s thunder.” Mingi grumbles from off to the side.

Turning your head, you see him standing with his arms crossed, a slight pout on his lips. The others don’t seem to be faring any better, but you’re too happy to care at the moment.

“Guys!” You bounce on your feet, pointing to the target at the end of the track. “Look!”

Several sets of eyes finally take note of the two targets side by side with arrows sticking out of the centre of each of them.

“Is one of those yours, My Love?” There’s a certain prideful gleam shining within Hongjoong’s eyes as he asks this.

At your vigorous nod, they have all the answers they need.

“That’s incredible, Baby!” San immediately rushes over to you, pulling you out of Yeosang’s embrace and into his own. He immediately lifts you in his arms, laughing along with you in your excitement, much to the elder’s annoyance.

“You did wonderful, Petal.” Yunho hums, being the next to walk over to you. Easily, he pulls San off of you, dragging him back in order for Yeosang to wrap you back into his arms once again.

A firm nod is sent to the taller male from Yeosang in thanks, to which Yunho simply smiles at in response.

A pout rests on San’s lips as he crosses his arms, only lessened by the fact that Wooyoung has to be held back by Jongho in the next second before the male tackles you to the ground in his excitement.

“It’s only because I have such a good teacher.” The way you turn and look back at Yeosang with nothing but fondness in your gaze says it all.

Soft rumbles shake their chests as they observe the scene before them, and they know for a fact that the loving look that resides on Yeosang’s features right this very instant is reflected on all of their own faces right now. Seeing you so happy, and so eager to learn even one of their chosen weapons has both a pride and love unlike ever before filling their chests. Emotions of which they will gladly indulge in when they’re with you, any and every time that they can.

“How was shooting an arrow for the first time, My Divine?” Seonghwa asks, an eager gleam to his eyes.

You smile, hands tightening subconsciously around that bow still held in your hands. You spare a glance down at the weapon. “Wonderful.”

“She’s a natural.” Yeosang hums, never tearing his eyes away from you for one second.

“I swear you’re just saying that.” You avert your gaze shyly, a vibrant heat rising to your cheeks.

“We’re not.” Wooyoung shakes his head almost instantly.

“You’re incredible, Starlight.” Mingi adds without a moment of hesitation.

“Our Perfect Queen.” Yunho’s voice rumble out, growls of agreement sounding around you immediately.

You allow for your eyes to flutter shut, revelling in this moment with all of them for as long as you can as you relax further into Yeosang’s embrace.

“My Lovely Kings.” The words are but a pleasant hum on your lips.

Again, eight low growls rumble out through the room. A smile pulls at your lips as the sound dissipates, allowing for a comfortable silence to settle over all of you.

“So,” Yeosang’s low voice by your ear has you blinking your eyes open, heart skipping a beat as you hear his next words, “Want to see my collection?”

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quotedfictions · 1 year

Text

A Crystal Rose

Synopsis: As the princesses fight off Gramorr and save Ephidia, Mephisto sacrifices himself to save his sister, but in the process, his fate unknown, breaks more than his sisters heart.

Themes: Angst, heartbreak, Lolirock, forbidden love

Warnings: Implications of death, Death

Word Count: 768

Edit: Grammar and Spelling, I forgot the word count (again)

Note: This one was a little hard to write because it's been three months since I last watched Lolirock

Y/n wasn't a mighty princess, and she wasn't one of the five sent to help Iris, but she was there when Iris activated her Shanilla; she was there to see her protect her friends; she was there because y/n was scared, and worried even, for someone she wasn't allowed to be near, let alone look at in a caring way. She had been hiding behind some rocks when a green crystal rose formed before her eyes; he had noticed her, of course, he had. He loved her. He was focused on the fight but made the small gesture under the belief that he would survive this fight no matter the outcome.

What neither of them counted on, what broke Y/n from her hiding place, was when her beloved rushed in to save his sister, a massive crystal falling from the sky towards the thinnest part of the cliff, running past Gramorr and shocking the other girls with her appearance, Y/n rushes towards the falling crystal, not wishing for her beloved to get hurt. Unfortunately, the small girl was too late, screaming his name as she tried to grab his arm; Praxina was too shocked to try before leaning over the hole, watching her brother fall to his presumable end. Noticing the ground crumble, Praxina pushes Y/n away, understanding how much her brother cared for her and not wanting the girl to get hurt.

Y/n falls back, tears rolling down her face as she watches his sister meet the same fate as him, only that she had a higher chance of survival as Y/n watched Gramorr's body follow suit. Talia grabs y/n away from the edge as she tightly clutches his last loving gesture, as it begins to set in that her love might never come back. Y/n starts screaming, sobbing his name, slowing losing consciousness from the shock; she audibly cries one more time before losing all consciousness. When Y/n comes too, the sky is blue, and the Kingdom of Ephidia is free; looking around, the events of Gramorr's defeat are hazy.

Suddenly reality hits her, and she walks to the new edge of the cliff and falls to her knees holding the crystal rose, his last gift. Y/n begins to cry; the only words leaving her lips are the sad sobs of her calling out his name, "… Mephisto…." She jolts when she feels a hand on her shoulder and a guilty, regretful face standing behind her; it is Iris. Y/n couldn't blame Iris, considering the princess had no idea that the crystal would go flying or that gravity would take effect right above Praxina. Iris didn't plan on Mephisto running in to save Praxina; she didn't even plan to hurt the twins.

Y/n tries hard to be happy when they reach the palace of Ephidia, but it is difficult; the girl has just lost the most important person in her life, the love of her life, and she has no way of confirming if he is gone. Shortly after Iris is reunited with her parents, the doors of the castle slam shut, and the room grows dark; Y/n keeps a hold of her rose, scared that more danger is coming for Ephidia. In the middle of the room, a large, maroon-colored magic circle, detailed with butterflies, appears on the floor, and Y/n immediately knows. Praxina. The mourning, angry twin makes a whole speech about how she would harm everyone Iris ever cared for on earth and leaves, smashing a hole through the doors and disappearing to the other realm.

Y/n knew Mephisto very well, and he would have never allowed his sister to take her pain out like this; as much as he was evil, Mephisto loved his sister as much as he loved Y/n, an unknown princess who saw him for him and not his magical ability or intelligence level. Y/n felt even more heartbroken, seeing what Mephisto's fall had done to his sister; she cared for Praxina like a sister, and although they didn't get along well, they respected each other for putting up with the comical boy, but Y/n believed the Praxina's drive for avenging her brother was more potent than common sense more than what her brother would have wanted. All Y/n could do was let the tears roll down her face as she finally let the fact that Mephisto was gone sink in. The last of the pain finally set into Y/n, her voice gone; She decided to go to earth and stop Praxina, to escape the realm that reminded her of her love, and never feel that pain again.

End

#x reader #fem reader #fan fiction #reader insert #fanfic #female reader #lolirock #mephisto lolirock #praxina lolirock #lolirock x reader

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mrprettywhenhecries · 1 year

Text

i don’t think you notice (what you did to me) [b.h]

three. | start your engines

Billy Hargrove ✘ Win Lewis (OC)

⇾ w.c. 2.3k words ⇾ warning(s). canon x oc pairing, suggestive themes, smoking, illegal car racing

[ masterlist ] [ win lewis bio ]

Win wasn’t surprised that come Monday morning, Vicki was giving her the silent treatment, turning her nose up at her any time she passed, but it wasn’t until second period gym that she found out why.

Mr. Perkins was in the midst of splitting the boys up for a game of five on five, shirts versus skins, while the girls sat on the sidelines to watch, which Win was more than happy to. When Billy was assigned skins, he wasted no time pulling his gym shirt over his head and tossing it aside while shaking out his hair. When he caught Win watching, he winked, flashing a cheeky grin her way. Rolling her eyes, she quickly looked away, only to notice the other girls sitting with their heads together, whispering among themselves.

“Tommy said he saw them leave the bathroom together, half undressed, after being in there a while,” Carol said, cutting off when she noticed Win listening.

“Win!” Tina cried, looking betrayed. “You hooked up with Billy at my party and you didn’t even tell me?”

“What?” Win demanded, her eyes narrowing as they fixed on Carol who shrugged, the ghost of a pleased smirk on her lips.

“That’s what Tommy told me. He saw you guys go into the bathroom together,” she said, the look on her face just daring Win to deny it.

“Well Tommy’s fucking wrong,” Win snapped. “Nancy-fucking-Wheeler spilled punch on me, so I went to the bathroom to clean up and Billy followed me,” she explained.

Carol snorted. “Yeah, and when you came back out you were only wearing your bra,” she pointed out, smacking her gum.

“Because my shirt was soaked!” Win countered, growing more aggravated by the second.

“So, if you didn’t fuck, what were you doing?” Vicki asked.

“We talked. That’s it.”

“Uh huh, sure,” Vicki scoffed. “You know, Billy’s not denying it.”

“Of course he’s not,” Win grumbled under her breath, looking back out at the court just as Billy knocked Steve to the ground and stole the ball, throwing a trick shot under his leg.

“Steve! I need to talk to you.”

Nancy Wheeler’s sharp voice cut through the air, followed by Mr. Perkins’ shrill whistle.

“Go on, Harrington, but make it quick,” he warned.

Taking advantage of the brief time out, Win hurried down the bleachers with purpose, grabbing Billy by the arm and dragging him toward the hall.

“Hey Win,” he chuckled, amusement sparkling in his ocean blue eyes as he let himself be led.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she hissed once they were alone.

“You mean, other than dominating on the court?” he asked, his lips curling smugly. “Did you see that shot I just made?”

“Billy,” Win warned, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why does everyone think we slept together?”

“Oh that,” he mused, frowning as he shrugged. “I didn’t say anything.”

Win growled, taking a step closer. “That’s exactly my point, you’re not denying it!”

“Yeah, and–?” Billy asked, blinking at her as he tilted his head infuriatingly.

“Tell them it didn’t happen,” Win ground out, jabbing her finger into his sweat slicked chest.

For a moment he didn’t respond, chewing his lip as if deliberating. “I don’t think I will,” he finally said, wearing a grimace as if he actually felt bad about it.

Taken aback by his alacrity, Win merely gaped at him, unable to formulate a scathing enough response.

“I figure it’ll be true sooner or later, so why deny it?” he explained, smugness radiating off him in waves.

“You–you absolute creep!” Win exploded, fury running through her veins. “Do you actually think I’m gunna want to sleep with you after this?”

Billy’s husky chuckle brought her up short. “Has anyone ever told you how cute you are when you’re angry?” he asked, amused by her indignant expression.

All Win could get out was a furious “You–!” before Mr. Perkins interrupted.

“Hargrove, Lewis, quit flirting and get back in here, we have a game to play.”

“We’re not–” Win began, ready to argue when Billy cut her off.

“C’mon Win, you heard the man,” he said, flashing a grin. Appeased, Perkins nodded brusquely before turning and heading back inside, not waiting to see if they were following or not.

Stepping past her, Billy paused, leaning in closer. “For someone who can dish it out, you sure can’t take it, can you?”

For a moment, Win merely stood there, rooted in place, seething with incredulous disbelief, her pulse thundering in her ears, hating the effect he had on her. “I’m gunna kill him,” she muttered under her breath once she finally followed, setting her jaw and sitting as far away from the other girls as she could.

If looks could kill, Billy Hargrove would have been dead long before the end of gym class.

––

“He does have a point, you know,” Holly mused as she listened to Win’s rant about Billy over lunch. “You’ve been pretty ruthless, it seems like you’re getting a taste of your own medicine,” she pointed out.

“Hey, whose side are you on here?” Win exclaimed, frowning at her friend across the lunch table.

“I’m just saying!” Holly replied, holding her hands up defensively. “Besides, there are worse rumors that they could be spreading.”

“I guess…” Win groaned, piercing her meatloaf with more force than necessary. “He’s just so smug, it makes me wanna punch his stupid handsome face.”

“It’s not like you can make him admit the truth,” Holly murmured distractedly, glancing over her shoulder to search the lunchroom. “Did you hear that Steve and Nancy broke up at the party?” she asked, but Win didn’t seem to hear her, her mind still on her own problem.

“I think you’re onto something, Holly!” she exclaimed suddenly.

“I am?” Holly asked, blinking in confusion.

“C’mon!” Win exclaimed, jumping up and hurrying out of the lunchroom.

“Where are we going?” Holly cried, briskly following after.

“To issue a challenge that even Billy Hargrove won’t be able to pass up!”

“And how is that supposed to help?”

“You’ll see,” Win said, making her way to the bleachers, having a feeling he might be there.

Sure enough, Billy was leaning against the railing, cigarette between his lips, and Win wondered for a moment if he’d merely stolen her favourite spot or if he’d been waiting for her, the thought making her stomach flip traitorously.

“Hargrove,” she called.

Billy pulled his cigarette from his lips as he turned to her, blowing out the stream of smoke as his gaze traveled over her.

“Well, well, well, wondered if you were gunna show up,” he drawled. “Couldn’t stay away, could you?” he taunted.

“Actually, I’ve come to issue a challenge,” Win said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Oh yeah, what sort of challenge?” he asked, his brows raising as he wet his lips.

“A little race, your Camaro versus my Chevelle.”

Billy’s grin grew, no doubt thinking he’d have it in the bag. After all, as far as he knew, Win wasn’t supposed to be driving her daddy’s car, so how good could she actually be?

“What’re we playing for?” he asked, flicking his cigarette away and moving closer.

“If I win, you have to tell everyone we didn’t sleep together.”

Billy considered for a moment. “Alright,” he finally drawled. “What do I get if I win?”

Win shrugged. “What do you want?”

A smug grin spread across Billy’s face at her question. “A date,” he answered simply.

“A date?” Win asked, her brows pinching in confusion.

“Yeah, Princess, a date,” he insisted.

Win shrugged. “Alright fine, whatever you want.”

“So when and where is this little race taking place?” Billy asked, inspecting his fingernails, as if he couldn’t really care less. “Four p.m., Quarry Road,” Win answered. “That good for you?”

“Sure thing. See you there, Princess,” he drawled, grinning confidently.

“Don’t be late,” Win warned, turning her back on him and grabbing Holly’s arm as she strode in the opposite direction.

“You’re crazy! You’re gunna be in so much trouble if your dad finds out,” Holly hissed, though Win didn’t seem phased. “Besides, what if you lose?”

“I won’t lose,” Win assured her.

“How do you know?”

“Because, my Chevelle has a 427 engine, that’s more than twice the horsepower of his Z28,” she explained while Holly’s mouth fell open.

“How do you know all that?”

Win shrugged. “I like muscle cars.”

––

When Win arrived at the Quarry Road, she was surprised to find that word had spread and a small group of their classmates had gathered to watch the race. Sneaking the car out a second time hadn’t been too difficult with her father at work and for once she was glad for his long hours.

The more spectators there are, the more witnesses there’ll be when I win, she thought as she got out of the car to face Billy, who was already waiting, leaning against the hood of his Camaro, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Shall we go over the rules?” Win asked, holding his gaze as she approached.

“Yeah, whatever,” Billy scoffed, pushing off the car to meet her, towering over her.

“The length of the race will be a quarter mile and the first to cross the finish line wins. However, I think it’s only fair that both Holly and Tommy be at the finish line, so there’s no discrepancy about the winner,” she said, glancing at her friend who looked awfully nervous about her duties. “Sound fair?” she asked.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” Billy said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

Win looked at it for a moment before taking it. Billy’s hand tightened around hers and he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“Better start thinking where you want me to take you out on our date,” he drawled, wearing a cocky grin.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re expecting something more?” Win replied wryly.

“Depends on how good the date goes, right?” Billy chuckled.

“Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched, Hargrove.”

Win pulled her hand free and climbed behind the wheel, the Chevelle rumbling loudly to life as she turned the key in the ignition. Billy’s engine revved obnoxiously in response and several of the guys on the sidelines cheered.

Tina took her position in the middle of the road by the designated starting line and Billy cranked his radio up, his hands drumming on the steering wheel as the music blared.

“Ready?” Tina called, lifting her arms above her head. “Three, two, one–!” On one, she dropped her arms and let out a shriek as both cars hurtled past her, their tires squealing loudly.

Billy’s Camaro pulled ahead and Win could hear him crow over the roar of the wind and the radio. Unbothered, she pressed the gas pedal down, watching her speed climb as she switched gears smoothly, finally opening her up fully. She hit a hundred five as she caught up to him–knowing he was about to top out on speed. Turning to flash him a smirk, she floored it, passing one forty as she left him in the dust, the wind whipping her hair.

The look on his face when she passed him was gold–his incredulous expression darkening as she crossed the finish line. There was no contest, it was more than obvious who the winner was.

Win’s Chevelle skidded to a stop several yards away and she climbed out just as Billy parked next to her–the others running over to join them.

“Win! Win, you did it! You won!” Holly cried, nearly knocking her over in her excitement, jumping up and down. “That was so radical!”

“Thanks,” Win laughed, peering through the crowd, searching for Billy’s face.

When he noticed her looking his way, he scowled, shrugging Tommy’s hand from his shoulder before striding toward her purposefully. However, as he stopped in front of her, he wet his lips and turned his eyes on her car. Opening the hood, he took one look at her engine and let out a wry laugh at the sight, shaking his head.

“Well, colour me impressed,” he drawled, shutting the hood. “Even if you are a sneaky little thing.”

“That’s on you for underestimating me,” Win countered, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her chin defiantly to hide the tremor of adrenaline still coursing through her and vibrating outward.

“No, no, I can admit when I’ve been beat, especially when you looked so good doing it,” he added before shrugging. “It’s just a shame we won’t get that date. That is, unless you’d like to reconsider?” he murmured, watching her expectantly.

“In your dreams, Hargrove,” Win replied, a grin playing at her lips. “Now I believe you have something to tell them,” she said, nodding toward their classmates clustered nearby.

“Yeah, yeah,” Billy muttered, turning to them and whistling loudly to get their attention. “LISTEN UP!” he bellowed, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his deep voice. “Let’s get the record straight! Me and Lewis here, haven’t fucked–”

He turned to look at her, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face.

“ – YET!”

Billy’s announcement sent a ripple through the crowd, while some didn’t seem to believe him, others let out relieved sighs at the news. Win, however, turned away from them, unsure how it made her feel.

“That what you wanted?” Billy asked, appearing behind her, looming over her shoulder.

“For your information, it is,” she countered, spinning around to regard him.

Or at least, close enough.

Billy shrugged, reaching for a smoke. “This isn’t over yet,” he said, giving her a pointed look as he lit his cigarette.

“If you say so,” Win replied coolly, opening her car door. “See you at school.”

Billy nodded, deep in thought as she pulled away. She’d definitely won that round, but Billy wasn’t about to give up yet–he merely needed to change tactics.

Bear with me a moment while I talk a little bit about the car Win's Chevelle is based on because I like to nerd about this at any opportunity I get:

This particular '69 Cevelle COPO was originally owned by my dad when he was young. Now what made COPO Chevelles stand out from the other cars of the time was its 425hp L72 V-8 engine. This is one of the most powerful engines put into a car on the regular market. My dad once said, they had no use being that fast.

In 1969, only 323 COPO Chevelles were produced. Of those 323, only 3 were the tuxedo black and red pinstripe finish. And of those 3, only 1 was the four speed manual transmission shown above. This is literally a one of a kind car and it was a part of my family's history.

The last I had heard of this car, it went to auction and was sold for over $300,000. I will forever weep that for whatever reason, my dad let it leave his possession.

⇾ taglist: @eddiemunsonmeltdowns @wherethewitchersare @super-unpredictable98 @santacarlahorrorshow @elliethesuperfruitlover

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove x oc #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove imagine #oc: win lewis #otp: lewgrove #fic: i don't think you notice #joz.fic

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hypnoneghoul · 1 year

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Mushy May Day 26. Preparing the other’s drink for them - Aether/Meliora Pack

WC: 777

Read under the cut or on AO3.

Aether doesn’t wake up first, but he always ends up to be the first one in the kitchen. With a solid purpose, every time.

The quintessence ghoul takes out five different mugs from the cabinet and places them in a specific order on the counter.

First from the left a simple, big mug in a violet color, white on the inside. The next one was similar, though smaller and all black, with an evil Elmo in flames and a text ‘everything is fine’ on it. It made Aether chuckle every time.

Then a slimmer mug with piano keys around, and a handle in the shape of a music note. Next in line was much bigger, handmade, and it could as well be a bowl if not the handle. It was green on the inside, and the outside was brown, with a leaf texture. The last mug was small, especially next to the previous one, white inside, shiny greenish-blue on the outside, with a 3D coral reef theme and a tentacle shaped handle.

Aether then took on to prepare the ingredients that were going to end up in the mugs, and set the kettle to boil the water. He dropped a bag of black tea and two spoons of white sugar into the first mug, only one spoon of brown sugar and five of instant coffee into the second one, a bag of special tea made by Mountain with one cube of sugar into the third. Three spoonfuls of not bagged green tea into the big one, and four of sweet cocoa powder into the last one.

The quintessence ghoul poured hot water only into the first three cups, adding a splash of milk to the coffee in the second one and three pumps of raspberry syrup into the third one. Before the rest of his pack woke up, it all would probably already be cold, anyway.

But Aether did set a packet of small marshmallows and a measured amount of milk ready to be warmed up next to the last one. He also put four matching spoons into each, only the coral mug got a different one as Dew would never touch something with the wrong spoon.

Just as he was setting the kettle back, he heard a yawn from the hallway. He didn’t need to turn around or sniff the air to know who it was, “Good morning, Firecracker.”

“Hi, Starshine,” Ifrit hummed, coming closer to wrap his arms around Aether’s middle, chin hooked over his shoulder.

“Your coffee should be ready,“ Aether nuzzled his cheek into the fire ghoul’s horns. “Just stir it well.”

“Thank you, lovely,” he jumped over to sit on the counter after giving the other ghoul a quick kiss, taking a sip of the hot beverage then. “Perfect, as always.”

“I’m glad. Noticed anyone else awake?” Aether asked, grabbing his own cup and sitting down in the chair in the corner.

“Zeph, should be here in a-”

“Hi there,” the ghoul themself interrupted Ifrit’s announcement.

“Minute,” Ifrit finished.

“Oh, Aeth, how I love you,” Zephyr sighed, noticing the steam coming from their mug, grabbing at it and nearly moaning at the sweet, herbal scent.

“Love you too,” the quintessence ghoul giggled, patting his lap inviting Zephyr. They took the invitation with a purr, melting into their packmate.

Before another member of their pack emerged from his room, the three of them already moved onto the common room couch. They turned to look at Mountain when he grumbled his greetings, and it resulted in a fit of giggles.

“What’d you do to him?” Ifrit asked, having Dew limply thrown over the earth ghoul’s shoulder in mind.

“Oh, I-” he stuttered. “I may have pounded him into the next week yesterday evening.”

“He was moaning so high I doubt he’ll utter a word today,” Zephyr chimed in. Dewdrop let out a noise of complaint, but no words indeed.

Aether shook his head, just as Mountain grinned widely and walked into the kitchen, Dew still on him. The rest of the ghouls could hear the water boiling and microwave warming up the milk, and soon two ghouls returned to the rest of their pack, Mountain handing two mugs to Zephyr before plopping Dew down onto Ifrit’s lap.

The earth ghoul sat next to them, taking his tea back and started sipping on it slowly, murmuring his thanks to Aether. Dewdrop’s lips were glued to his mug already, opting to thank the quintessence ghoul through their mind link.

Soon, they would all get up to go on with their day, but all of them knew that the next morning it would all take place again.

THE MUGS

#hypnone writes #the band ghost #dewdrop ghoul #nameless ghouls #mushy may #fluff #fanfiction #aether ghoul #mountain ghoul #ifrit ghoul #zephyr ghoul

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faulty-writes · 2 years

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[ I present to you, a Tenya!DemonxReader series which was inspired by part 4 of Disenchantment (If you haven’t watched, I highly recommend) Now, I know I have requests to do, but I wanted to make a Halloween-themed piece for October and if I didn’t write it now, then I would never. This is | Part 1 | of a | 9 Part | series, yes you read that right. I hope you enjoy the first part. I’ll WARN everyone right now this series contains supernatural themes, demons, rituals, blood, murder, and death. So proceed with caution. ]

[ PART TWO ] - [ PART THREE ] - [ PART FOUR ] - [ PART FIVE ] [ PART SIX ] - [ PART SEVEN ] - [ PART EIGHT ] - [ PART NINE ]

[ A strange dream leads you to have an even stranger day at work. Then again, you were used to chaos considering you worked in the Department of Support. But there’s something almost...supernatural about your day. You swear someone or something is watching you and what exactly did you see pass by that doorway? ]

The first thing you noticed was the bright red cracks embedded into the walls that appeared to be made of some type of rock or stone. The second was the lake of fire that surrounded you. The third was the demonic whispers that echoed faintly through the air making you shiver.

The fourth was the fact you were not alone. A sizable demonic being with long blue horns stood next to you, the pressure of his long nails against the skin of your arm had you frozen in place. “I am quite pleased to have answered your call,” he said in a deep and authoritative voice that caused your head to turn.

That’s when you noticed the fifth thing, you were dressed in formal wedding attire. Confused, you opened your mouth to speak. But instead, an irritating noise filled the air and your body shot up. A gasp echoed before you exclaimed “What!?” and realized you were in your bedroom.

A cold sweat covered you from head to toe and your heart pounded in your chest. You groaned, pressing your hand against your forehead only to feel how drenched it was. You furrowed your brow before shaking your head as if to clear your mind of that strange dream.

Then you pulled your blanket back and hung your legs over the side of your bed, taking deep breaths to calm yourself. “Whatever the hell that was…” you muttered in a half-sleepy voice before walking to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

You should consider yourself lucky that you worked at the prestigious Yuuei High, but it was hard to say if the Department of Heroes or the Department of Support caused the most chaos. But, it was comforting to know that Principal Nezu refused to hire anyone he didn’t have the utmost confidence in.

In other words, if he knew you couldn’t handle what occurred during school hours you wouldn’t get the job. You had heard rumors that he only hired individuals he saw something in. What that something was remained unknown and frankly you didn’t see anything special about yourself.

Well, other than the fact that you had always been interested in support gear and followed this passion all the way to Yuuei where by some miracle you became a teacher. You had the special privilege of teaching first-years the ropes of the support course.

You found a certain joy in teaching them how to perfect their skills which included making proper blueprints and the basics of support gear creation. But as much as you loved your students, your favorite thing to do was to stay after school in order to work on your own creations.

After all, it was nice to work without any distractions and when everything was quiet. But today felt different, even as you entered the school you found yourself constantly looking over your shoulder. An uneasy feeling followed you, and you swore that someone or something was watching you.

Then again, it was October and with Halloween just around the corner, it was understandable that there would be a spooky vibe in the air. At least that’s what you told yourself, but then why did you keep seeing shadows out of the corner of your eye?

As expected, when you turned around there was nothing. Well, nothing other than a cold chill and the faintest scent of sulfur. You could barely focus when class started and your students immediately noticed that something was bothering you, some of them even asked if you were okay.

You lied, which made you feel a little guilty but it was better to lie than to scare them with your paranoia. By the time lunch came, you were a shaking mess. You decided to make yourself green tea, hoping it would calm you down. But, your hands wouldn’t stop shaking even as you held the mug between your palms.

“Yo, yo, yo!” Hizashi, otherwise known as Present Mic announced as he walked over to you, prying the mug out of your hands. “What’s with the trembles and shakes?!” he asked, grasping your shoulder. You immediately stiffened and squeezed your eyes shut, taking a deep breath.

You were being ridiculous, you didn’t believe in ghosts or ghouls or anything of the sort. So, why couldn’t you stop thinking about that dream? Why did it feel so real and why were you so scared? You swallowed hard, trying to find your words as you turned to look at Hizashi.

“I…just…” you paused, wondering if you should tell him about your dream. “Yeah?” he replied, moving two fingers in the air to signal you to continue speaking. You balled your hands into fists and focused your attention on the floor, shifting your feet.

“Do…do you believe in spirits and things like that?” you asked, somewhat grateful you weren’t looking at him. His hand remained on your shoulder and you felt his fingers loosen. “Spirits!?” he exclaimed, making you wince in response.

“Those kids have been spreading stories since the beginning of this month, yo! They need to pump those braaaaaakes!” he announced rather dramatically while waving his hands through the air. “Is that what’s causing you to have the heebie-jeebies?!” he laughed and roughly smacked your shoulder.

“All that hullabaloo is so not dope! Don’t let it get to you!” he flashed a smile. “Heh…” you forced one in return despite him not having helped with your problem. You knew that the students were telling scary stories left and right, most of them you didn’t believe and you certainly weren’t afraid of them.

But, maybe they were getting to you somehow. Maybe that’s what caused you to have that strange dream. “Um…thanks,” you said, finally lifting your head to look at him. “I guess I was just being-” you instantly paused, yet again seeing something out of the corner of your eye.

Shifting your attention to the door, you felt your blood run cold. A large being with pale skin was walking by, they had large blue-tinted horns that protruded from the base of their forehead and appeared to have short dark-colored hair. You couldn’t make out any facial features, but you swore they were wearing glasses.

Their body looked completely black, or maybe they were just wearing black clothing. You weren’t sure, but as they disappeared from view you could see a long pointed tail. Your jaw dropped and you began stuttering, pointing a trembling finger at the doorway.

“Hm, what?” Hizashi glanced in the direction you were pointing. “There’s nothing the-hey!” he shouted as you ran toward the door and poked your head out. Your heart was racing and for a moment you wondered if what you had just seen was only your imagination.

But if it was, then why could you make out such distinct features and why did those distinct features match the being from your dream? You let out a scream when Hizashi grabbed your arm. “Whoa there!” he said, pulling you back into the teacher’s lounge.

“What’s with the spooky whacky actions!?” he exclaimed but ended up stepping back when you turned around and grasped the front of his jacket. “It was them...h-him!” you exclaimed causing the man to raise his eyebrow. “Who?” he asked, clearly concerned about you.

He reached up, prying your hands from his jacket. “Him! The one from my dream! The d-demonic being or spirit or whatever he is!” you shouted, practically bouncing on your feet. Hizashi frowned, his concern over your behavior growing.

“I better get Aizawa an-” your eyes widened and you immediately shook your head. “No, no, no!” Aizawa was the last person you wanted to be involved with whatever this was. “Mm…” he continued to frown as he looked at you from behind his yellow-tinted shades.

“I’m not crazy!” you hissed, pulling your hands away from his just so you could point a finger at him. “I didn’t accuse you of hopping the crazy train! Just a little concerned that you…” he paused, obviously something was going on with you, but he was never one to believe in any spooky mumbo jumbo.

He sighed and pushed your finger away from his face. “I better escort you back to the support department,” he suggested, his tone flat and slightly annoyed. Your face dropped and you looked at him bewildered. “W-what?” you asked, but he didn’t answer you.

Instead, he wrapped one arm around you and guided you out of the teacher’s lounge. The walk down the hallway seemed longer than usual and with each step, your sense of dread increased. You kept looking over your shoulder, clearly anxious.

When you finally arrived at the Development Studio, you almost begged Hizashi to stay because even the thought of spending a few minutes by yourself after seeing whatever had passed by the teacher’s lounge door was terrifying.

“This hunk of concrete and stone was designed securely,” he said in reference to the Yuuei High building. “Consider it spirit-proof! Ain’t nothing gonna get ya,” his words were intended to give you comfort but didn’t do much for you.

Regardless, you allowed him to guide you inside and toward your designated workstation. After helping you sit down on your work stool, he gave you a few pats on the back and left. But you were trembling, jumping at every little creak and sound that echoed through the room.

“Mm…” you frowned, pulling your knees up to your chest. ‘Maybe Hizashi is right,’ you thought, wiggling your toes in your shoes. ‘After all, I’ve never acted like this before and this hasn’t been a problem up until today,’ your eyes fixated on the door, hearing the echo of the lunch bell.

Any moment, your students would be returning to class and that made you feel a little at ease. You took a deep breath and slid off your work stool, deciding to be brave. “Let’s just have a good rest of the day,” you said out loud as your students began to pile in.

You were almost grateful that they gave you plenty of work to do. You helped several students with their blueprints, and malfunctioning pieces of support gear, and took care of a few fires. But, this is what felt normal to you and soon enough you had forgotten about the events that took place earlier.

[ PART TWO ]

#tenya x reader #tenya x y/n #tenya x you #iida x reader #iida x you #bnha x reader #bnha x y/n #bnha x you #faulty writes: tenya iida #faulty writes: tenya iida: demon series

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cheddar-inq · 2 months

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you guys wanna hear a ramble abt my favorite drumcorp right. right.

of course you do. tw for this being a mostly negative ramble, sa mention, and a lot of swearing

i am genuinely so so so fucking SICK and TIRED of the endless troopers hate. holy fuck. you guys are so boring and unoriginal and honestly just exhausting for no fucking reason.

it is PERFECTLY FUCKING FINE TO NOT LIKE SOMETHING. there is ZERO issue with not liking something, including not liking a specific drumcorp for whatever reason !!!!! thats not the fucking problem and i say this as a HUGE troopers fan for three years now !!!!!!!

the issue is that nobody who hates troopers shuts the fuck up about a situation that happened YEARS ago. LONG FUCKING GONE that just about EVERY SINGLE DRUMCORP HAS EXPERIENCED.

"ougggghghhh oooooooo awuhwuwuhhhhhh they dontgive enough wateerr breakkkssss :[[[[[[" the genuine issue they had with not giving enough chances to drink water happened at the very least like FIVE FUCKING YEARS AGO and when i looked into it the earliest mention i found was from 2015. it was for one single fucking season and the director was fired and replaced for the next because of it.

why are you obsessed with that when you dont see people throwing a hissy fit over the fact that only like a year or two ago blue knights had a fucking sexual assault situation happen with their brass staff? nobody blames bk for it anymore because they replaced all of their brass staff???? and that is a MUCH more serious issue than water breaks and i am so so so fucking thankful that dci is very, very good at handling problems like these quickly.

"awwouuugggghhh i dont like that they do a western theme with a big flashy prop and a weird instrument solo every single eyarr ouggughhhh" holy shit guys. its part of a set. the set ended this year with Dance with the Devil. i think youre all just whiny actually because they pull it off SO FUCKING WELL and thats what ive been told by friends and family who arent troopers fans at all. they are an incredibly talented group.

and if they do it again next season, so fucking what? are you saying the giant tower with the electric cello was lame? are you saying the huge working sun prop was boring and the harmonica solo was bad? are you saying the return of the prop now repainted was stupid and the TWO guitar solos sucked? is that what youre saying? is that it?

if youve ever marched dci i think youd realize that marching band as a whole, especially at world-class drumcorps level, does not give very many true water breaks. i have a sibling who is in drumcorp this season who has admitted that those kind of breaks are not frequent

have you never noticed on every headcam and troopers video you see online posted by a troopers member often includes them talking about how much they loved the season? how they talk with fellow corp members about how amazing it was?

when i went to a show recently, while looking at some troopers merch deciding what to buy a couple of people stopped next to me and stood there for a few minutes looking at the merch with me while commenting about how much they hated it. all i heard next to me while i was looking at their merch and buying their merch was "ewww troopers" "dude theyre so unoriginal" "i hate troopers omg"

like. ok maybe go look at someone elses fucking merch??? whats your issue actually? do you not see the several other dci merch stands here?? try looking at some?

and just saying, i think it means something when all the shows ive seen / my friends and family have seen all have one thing in common- troopers show was the first to have almost EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE STANDS standing up to clap and cheer for them. maybe its because theyre actually pretty fucking talented? have you considered that?

chill the fuck out. if you started throwing tantrums like this over every drumcorp that has a season where the director doesnt give enough water breaks i dont think youd be able to attend a single show anywhere without seeing several corps you hate.

suck it up. please just focus on enjoying the shows, whether its troopers, blue devils, blue knights, vanguard (which have an INCREDIBLE show this season i am delighted to get to see them live), phantom regiment, genesis, jersey surf, ect. youre the reason you arent enjoying dci because you cant see past your pure blind irrational hatred for a group of people that almost completely changes every season. when you comment on how much you hate the instrument solos, it really seems like youre insulting the soloists for not being "interesting enough". when you cant shut the fuck up about how much you hate troopers, it seems like you hate the corp members. the people who dont choose the show. when you whine and whine about how boring and unoriginal the show is, it seems like youre insulting and blaming the corp members, the ones who are performing a -quite frankly- incredibly impressive show.

if you dont like troopers thats FINE. you dont fucking have to. you dont have to like everything and thats part of life. but being such a determined and irrational hater of something that has no reason to be so hated doesnt make you anyone but an annoying asshole who cant shut up and enjoy the fucking marching bands that work their asses off for months in pure blazing sun and pay thousands of dollars for nothing more than their pure passion and love for what they do.

#yeah sorry abt this guys. esp sorry to all of my mutuals who have to see this im just #SO FUCKING SICK OF IT.#they are not that fucking bad and you KNOW IT #and im not even saying that just because im a big troopers fan. im saying that because its true and i know you know it #lizard may bite #sa mention #tw sa mention #cw sa mention

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jcmarchi · 8 months

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Penny's Big Breakaway Preview - Bauhausian Rhapsody - Game Informer

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/pennys-big-breakaway-preview-bauhausian-rhapsody-game-informer/

Penny's Big Breakaway Preview - Bauhausian Rhapsody - Game Informer

Introduction

Sonic Mania is widely regarded as one of the blue blur’s best games. More than six years after its 2017 release, that sentiment remains as strong as ever, even after recent outings like 2022’s Sonic Frontiers and this year’s Sonic Superstars. While published by Sega, longtime Sonic fans who grew up playing the series, like Christian Whitehead, Hunter Bridges, Dave Padilla, Brad Flick, Tom Fry, and others, led the game’s development. And without speculating too much, the degree of separation afforded to these fans-turned-developers allowed Sonic Mania to feel like both a fresh breath of air and a return to form.

Not wanting to wade too deep into the world of independent contracts and wishing to maintain the friendship between each other strengthened in Sonic Mania’s development, the five of them formed Evening Star months after the game’s release. Studio CEO and executive producer Padilla, CTO and game director Bridges, creative director and lead engine architect Whitehead, design director Flick, and art director Fry all admit the easy follow-up was right there: A Sonic Mania-type 2D platformer. It’s what fans of Sonic Mania wanted, and to their credit, they worked with Sega on potential sequel ideas before amicably parting ways. But, unsatisfied with the easy answer, Evening Star got to work on a 3D momentum-based platformer inspired by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, an early 20th Century ballet, and 1995’s Jumping Flash on PlayStation.

Evening Star

“We always had this idea of, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had a character that could use a yo-yo to do different moves?’” Whitehead says. “Initially, we jotted them down on a 2D playfield, but there were several concurrent themes swirling in the background. At least for me, my perspective as a developer is I’ve spent the last decade working exclusively on 2D pixel art, so I really wanted to expand and prove that I could do something more than just one particular genre.”

Whitehead says he’s aware Penny’s Big Breakaway is another platformer but says it’s a different flavor in a different dimension. After playing more than two hours of the game myself, experiencing the first three of 11 regions in the world of Macaroon, including three different boss stages and special Star Globe bonus levels, that much is clear. Knowing the development leads of Sonic Mania are responsible for what I play, it’s impossible to deny the momentum-based inspiration that lives in both titles. But Whitehead’s right – even beyond the obvious shift from 2D to 3D, Penny’s Big Breakaway features a different flavor. It is not just a new flavor for these developers but something unique in the long-standing platforming genre.

Breaking the Standards

Breaking The Standards

I’m terrible at the game, at least for the first handful of stages. It doesn’t help that I just watched Bridges speed through them like someone with intimate knowledge of every stage’s challenges, but I’m slow and struggle to combo yo-tagonist Penny’s yo-yo-based moves across ramps, flag poles, gaps, and more. Penny can toss her yo-yo forward to attack enemies and break barrels with a button on a controller or, more curiously, by flicking the right stick in a direction. And that directional input is independent of Penny, meaning you can flick the yo-yo to her right while she walks left. It’s admittedly bizarre at first – not because it doesn’t feel good, but because it’s so different from how I typically interact with the combat and moveset of a 3D platformer mascot.

In the same vein, Penny can double jump, but instead of gaining a good amount of height with a second jump, she gains a barely noticeable amount; the purpose of her double jump isn’t height but a stop in momentum, Bridges tells me. She can dash by tossing her yo-yo forward, performed by flicking the right stick in the same direction twice, and she can swing left and right, forward and backward, on her yo-yo anywhere in the air as well.

Although it takes me some time – something I welcome because it’s rare to experience a new moveset that challenges my preconceptions of a genre – I finish my Penny’s Big Breakaway play time with the realization that it’s not a 3D platformer in the vein of something Nintendo might create, another challenged preconception. On the one hand, it’s a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater-inspired platformer with an emphasis on momentum that will appeal heavily to speedrunners and time trial fans, with a constant score and Devil May Cry-style combo tracker on the right side of the screen, too. On the other, it’s a team’s love letter to the weird and sometimes broken platformers of the 3D genre’s early days. Together as a complete package, it rules.

“The rules [of 3D platformers] at that stage weren’t really established that well,” Whitehead says. “I remember growing up playing a lot of PlayStation games where they were maybe a bit rough around the edges but trying to grapple platforming mechanics in 3D, and I felt really inspired by that era. I experienced that as a kid, but I wanted to experience that as a developer.”

A Roundtable Philosophy

Whitehead, admitting creative selfishness, says he wanted to try and make a PlayStation-style 3D platformer that fixes the problems he experienced growing up with the genre. The small slice I’ve played proves Evening Star is on the right path. But in speaking to others within Evening Star, like Bridges, Fry, Flick, and Padilla, it’s clear everyone is all-in on that idea. Even Fry, the art director on paper, says he was involved in all kinds of decisions outside of his development realm, a philosophy everyone else expresses too. “The collaborative effort is an intrinsic part of the team,” Fry says. “Not one person has an idea and everyone follows them like the Pied Piper with it. It’s something where we believe everyone has something of value to throw into the pot, and with the art, that’s certainly no different. I refer to it as a roundtable philosophy.”

That collaborative energy even made its way into the so-far-amazing score of Penny’s Big Breakaway, which utilizes a wide range of weird synthesizer instruments, instrumentation from genres like Latin and Calypso, and more to create a jazz-like symphony of music. Bridges, Whitehead, and others in the team contributed to the score in various ways, even after Evening Star hired Streets of Rage 4 and TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge composer Tee Lopes, who the team also worked with on Sonic Mania, and Sean Bialo to create the score.

Performance Art

If one aspect of Penny’s Big Breakaway speaks most to its early PlayStation inspiration, it’s the art direction. Inspired by the early 20th Century Triadisches Ballett and the Germanic Bauhaus art movement from the same period, combining colorful abstract ideas with primitive geometry, the world of Macaroon feels like one big performance. Your social status is defined by the performance you can give to denizens of the world. Every stage ends with a “Busker” bonus that requires quick and accurate QTE sequence completion to add additional points to your total score. Within each stage are three denizen challenges, like collecting four missing tax forms for an electric company while riding Penny’s yo-yo like a unicycle, and during the Busker bonus, the denizens you help watch you perform.

Even the conceit of the narrative speaks to the idea of performance art being everything – Penny attends a talent show after finding a special yo-yo with an insatiable hunger and, instead of wowing the emperor with a showstopping performance, the yo-yo eats the emperor’s clothes. She spends the rest of the game running further and further away from the emperor and Macaroon’s capital, chased to the world’s edges by the emperor’s ever-present penguins, only temporarily slowed by your efforts and never outright defeated.

“We want the game to keep the flow and dribble going,” Bridges tells me. “We really wanted to have that rhythm […] and never interrupt that. It’s a game where the most skilled players can theoretically make it through a level in an unbroken string of moves. That’s Penny’s masterful performance.”

That’s why Evening Star controls the camera at all times, which requires a flip in my brain. With three denizen challenges to complete and three Show Pieces to find in each level, I want to explore every nook and cranny. But without camera control, I can’t, and I hate this at first. It’s only after realizing that if Evening Star isn’t allowing the camera to take me here or there, then there isn’t anything to miss that I begin to play on the team’s terms. This switch is freeing, realizing Penny’s platforming playground is predicated on my ability to keep moving forward to where Evening Star was taking me in its design. With thoughtful movement and a keen eye, completing every challenge and finding every Show Piece feels intrinsic to Penny’s “performance” in each stage.

The game clashed with every notion I had of 3D platforming. I wanted to take things slow; I wanted to search every corner for something; I wanted to take my time. But Penny’s Big Breakaway is a welcome antithesis to everything (mostly) Nintendo had taught me about this genre. It’s a bold design choice and one I would have called risky on paper. In talking with Evening Star, it’s clear it understood that risk going into its first original game and IP. However, each member I spoke to expressed humble confidence in their respective facets of the game’s development.

“There are a lot of skills we really excel at when making games, and a lot of specific nuances we bring to the table because of our team dynamic and our tools, and I don’t think it’s going to be a complete surprise,” Padilla says. “I think a lot of folks are going to see this as something completely new and something completely original, but in terms of what we’ve done before and what we’re doing now, and hopefully what we’re doing in the future, folks are going to be able to connect the dots.”

This article originally appeared in Issue 362 of Game Informer.

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theshiaxartistwrites · 1 year

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Stardrop Valley

Fandom: Five Nights At Freddy's: Security Breach X Stardew Valley Rating: Mature Tw: 1st person, Lots of dead characters, Child Death, Missing Children, Graphic Violence, Stockholm Syndrome, Alternate Universe, Magic is Real, Monsters are Real, Not Canon Compliant, Different situations mean different behaviours, characters in distress, Kidnapping, Torture, thalassophobia AO3 Link

Chapter Four: Day Three, Spring

While you do wake up warm and comfortable, you can tell instantly that your face is swollen. Your nose and upper lip feel puffy and sore. Your eyes open with difficulty, a pain sparking between your eyebrows. That kid really did a number on you.

You pull back your blanket and sit up, head heavy with fog. Remembering what the last time you woke up was like, you lean out of bed and look for your shoes. Gone. You try to frown and wince. Guess you're not emoting today. Looking the other way you notice that the doors at the top of the stairs are wide open.

How the hell does he do that without waking you?? It would be impressive if it wasn't so terrifying.

You slip out of bed and go to grab your phone from your jacket, anger flaring when you find that missing as well. Well, the jacket is missing, as is your pile of dirty laundry, but your phone is sitting atop your dresser, plugged in and charging. You really can't be angry and it's getting harder and harder to be anxious about this 'Attendant' when all it seems he's doing is attending to you.

You grab your phone and run a hand through your hair. Hold on. Where's your hat?

You groan, but just chalk it up to the Attendant doing whatever he likes and move on. You're not sure if you lost it yesterday or if he took it, but you let it slip to the bottom of the things you need to worry about.

It's just before 8am, a decent chunk of sleep, though you wish you'd been up earlier. You pocket your phone, not bothering to change out of your pajamas with the door wide open, and start slowly up the stairs. You step with care, avoiding any boards that try to creak under your weight, until you reach the top and can look into the living room.

The lights are on, bathing the room in warm light. Among the plants you noticed before, you notice the walls are decorated with several paintings, all of them sun, moon, or star themed. A large woven lavender rug, decorated with white-threaded images of wolves and rabbits chasing stars, stretches the space between tall bookshelves and a cozy-looking blue armchair. Directly across from you is a large fish tank, maybe 100 to 125 gallons, with a dark blue lunar theme. Though from where you stand, the tank appears empty.

You hear a clink of silverware from the kitchen and step forward quickly, peeking from around the corner and past the yellow couch and multitude of plants. The kitchen is empty, but there's a plate, a glass, and a folded note at the place setting once again. Your stomach clenches with hunger as you cautiously approach the table.

Six strips of bacon, two slices of toast with some orange jelly on it, and a well seasoned omelet mixed with diced red pepper, mushrooms, and onions. There's even a glass of what looks like orange juice. You pick up the note, another smiling sun drawn on the front, and flip it open.

'Good morning, Starlight I hope you like eggs and bacon more than pancakes Breakfast is important!'

You…don't really know how to feel. You think maybe you should be afraid, grab your things, and run away as fast as your legs can carry you. You still have a good chunk of money, you could easily start new elsewhere.

But…

This feels kinda nice. Not safe, just nice.

You set down the note and eye the plate. You've had several near death experiences in the last twenty-four hours, what's it to you to risk one more?

With a nervous glance around the area you can see from where you are, you make sure The Attendant isn’t hiding nearby before you plop down into the chair and pull up to eat. The juice stings a cut inside your upper lip you didn't know was there and the crunch of the bacon makes your nose burn with pain. But damn, it's so fucking good. You can feel tears threatening to fall as you chew, your stomach so happy for a good home cooked meal that isn't stale beef ramen with week-old store bought green onions. God how you wish you could smell it.

When your plate is empty and your juice is gone, you pick up your dishes and carry them to place in the sink.

Now. You have a giant creepy monster to find.

You don’t really WANT to find him, but you have questions and he hasn’t tried to kill you yet. Well, not on purpose anyway.

You're sure he's not in the house, but you're not sure if he's going to be all that friendly if you start breaking into other buildings trying to find him. By the front door you find your shoes on the rug and your jacket hung up on a hook, donning both you try the door and find it unlocked. Stepping outside you're greeted with the same beautiful sight as before, the sun barely up over the edge of the forest, casting a warm glow over the farm. You step out onto the porch and sigh, cupping your hands and taking a deep breath. You hesitate.

Do you reeeaaaally want to draw this thing’s attention? It might not actually know you’re awake yet. You might be able to get away and go look for those kids on your own. It’s early morning. Now would be the safest time.

You suck in a deep breath again and shout out over the fields.

"HEY! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT HERE!" You yell. "YOU SAID I WOULD SEE YOU!"

No reply. You feel a twitch of irritation behind your eye and put your hands on your hips.

"IF YOU WON’T COME OUT, I GUESS I'LL JUST GO BACK INTO TOWN-"

"We would really prefer it if you didn't."

You jump and spin around and look up as the creature that grabbed you last night ducks under the doorway and steps outside with you. Even in your shock, you manage to stop and actually look at him. You start at the bottom and go up.

He stands at least eight feet tall, more or less given how he stands with a hunch and slightly bent legs on his tip-toes. His feet are the same split colors as his hands, one pale yellow and the other dark grey. He appears to have cloven hooves in place of toes, the pale one's hooves are an almost golden yellow like the claws on his pale hand, while the others are a striking blue. Around his waist is a bright red sash that matches the red ribbons wrapped around his wrists and ankles. The way the tattered ends dangle almost looks like blood at a glance. He's dressed in a barely off-white pair of matching shirt and pants that are tucked into his wraps.

Draped in layers around his shoulders and hips are two different orange fabrics, a lighter orange with a burnt orange over it. The collar and skirt both cut into multiple sharp-curved points from which unnaturally glowing little stars hang. Atop his head is a burst of yellow petal-like pieces stuck out around his face, attached to a blue nightcap-style hat with another burst of smaller yellow petals at the tip that hide a small silver bell.

All this and it's his face that draws you in. The side you saw last night, his right, your left, is a pale yellow like his hand, with a round golden-yellow spot on his cheek like a bit of blush and a brightly glowing white eye surrounded by that black starburst. His smile on this side is gentle, sweet even, as this pale side is shaped like a crescent moon that splits his face..

The other side is a stark contrast.

A hollow black eye with a burning white pupil stares at you, you're reminded of Chica's soul-scorching glare. This side has no lips, instead it's almost skull-like with oversized teeth so sharp you're sure he could bite straight through your arm if he wanted. The little blue circle of blush on his cheek is distracting enough that you do not flinch when he moves.

"It's rude to stare, Starlight." He chides, gently teasing. You can't help but notice that while the light side of his face smiles, his mouth doesn't actually move when he speaks.

"You nearly smothered me last night." You balk, indignant that he could possibly call you rude after trying to suffocate you.

"We did not," He straightens up, but it's not aggressive, more surprised. "We were very careful not to cover your nose-"

"I can't b r e a t h e out of my nose right now." You motion to your clearly bruised and swollen face and watch his right side droop in dismay as he inspects you and realizes the extent of the damage.

"Oh goodness," He moves forward too fast to dodge, an arm wrapped around your back to pull you close. "I'm so sorry, Starlight, I didn't know."

"Hey-!" You press your hands against his chest, trying to keep him away and lean your head back when he lifts his other hand toward your face.

"This'll only hurt for a moment." He promises as you struggle to dodge his encroaching hand.

"Now hold on-!" You try to turn your head and yelp when he grabs your nose and gives it a hard squeeze. You’re not sure which is louder, the crunch or your scream. Bright lights dance in your vision and the way you're being cradled close to his chest takes your attention. You try to push away and take a sharp breath to scream at him, only to find that you can breathe through your nose again. It doesn't hurt any less, but being able to breathe helps.

"Stop touching me!" You snap, flailing your arms and wriggling out of his grip. "You keep grabbing me and touching my stuff! Stop it!"

You flinch at the sad look on his face and the way he crouches with his hands folded in front of him. It would be pitiful if he wasn't so much stronger and larger than you.

"Just…ask first next time! That hurt!" You gently touch your face, pouting at the way he brightens slightly.

"Of course! We did say it would hurt. Silly me! We're so used to just doing, I suppose we forget you haven't been here in so very long!" He clasps his hands together and stands up a little to match your height.

"What-?" You frown at him, no matter how painful it is.

"We've missed you terribly," He continued. "We weren't sure you were ever going to come back, but now you're home-!"

"Whoa whoa whoa," You put your hands up in his face and wave to get his attention. "Home? Back? The fuck are you talking about?" You want to grab his face and shake the answers out of him, but he gasps and holds his hands over his nonexistent ears.

“Language!” He gasps, eyes wide and face in a frown. You groan loudly and step backwards, trying to put distance between you. You feel your foot slip off the top stair and yelp as you tip backward. You jerk to a stop, The Attendant’s claw hooked in the bottom hem of your shirt. His arm is stretched out as though he’s trying so hard not to touch you.

“May I-?” He starts, but you grab his wrist and drag yourself back to solid ground on the porch, making sure to unhook his claw and step sideways to get a few feet between you.

“Look,” You cross your arms defensively. “I appreciate how much you seem to want to help me, you’ve been very kind so far, but I don’t know you and you keep doing some very weird sh…stuff.” You catch yourself from swearing again. “Who are you? Why are you here? What was that Chica monstrosity last night? Why are the kids in town so afraid of you?”

"Well," He tilts his head, arms sagging at his sides. "I guess it has been a very long time and we're not quite…'us' anymore."

"That answers absolutely nothing." You growl, glaring at him as best your broken nose will allow.

"Mm." He bends down to reach for your hand and freezes when you flinch back, realizing that he was going to touch you without asking again, instead he holds his hand out to you and waits. You really shouldn't and you don’t want to, but after a long moment you put your hand in his and feel a weird tingle when his smile turns oh so sweet.

"I'm Sundrop," He says. "I was…I am the Sunnyday Farm Attendant."

"Sundrop." You echo. Why does that sound familiar?

"I belonged to your grandfather before he passed," He puts his other hand over yours to hold your hand so tenderly. "Now I'm yours. I look forward to taking care of you."

Oh.

That's a feeling.

You turn your eyes away, unable to handle the way he's looking at you.

"Okay, Sundrop," You grip his cold hand briefly and then take your hand back. He stands up fully, looking beside himself with delight. "So, what about all the locked doors?" You ask as he steps past you and off the porch.

"Locked doors?" Sundrop taps his chin with a claw in thought. "Oh, you mean the greenhouse?"

"Yeah," You hop down the stairs after him. "And the gates and-"

"Oh! I keep those locked to keep monsters from wandering around or getting into what they shouldn't." Sunny leads the way towards the greenhouse, while you struggle to keep up with his long strides.

"And the doors in the house?" You press, practically jogging. It feels like he’s trying to escape your questioning.

"To keep you safe!" He chirps.

"From the monsters?" You scoff, but are met with silence. It feels heavier than it should, leaving you looking up at Sunny's back with a weird feeling in your chest. The click of a lock draws you out of your thoughts, realizing you've reached the greenhouse as he opens the door. He holds it open for you, smiling down at you as you look up at him with a wary look. Eventually curiosity gets the better of you and you slip past him and step inside. The farm outside is lovely, but the greenhouse takes your breath away. You count no less than eight different types of fruit, two of each type of tree, resulting in sixteen trees with branches hanging heavily with the weight of their fruit. The space around the trees is packed with summer spangle flowers of all different colors.

You breathe a small gasp of awe and step up to the edge of the dirt, looking up at a tree heavy with bright red pomegranates. You want to reach for one, but don't want to risk stepping on the flowers.

"Sunny-" You barely turn your head before Sundrop has joined you and is reaching up to grab the largest pomegranate he can find. He plucks it from the tree with a sharp twist and turns it in his hands, claws dragging over the skin. You watch as he cuts it open and turns it inside out, a few of the red seeds dropping to the ground as he hands it to you.

"Thank you." You mutter, taking it from him and plucking at the tasty little seeds within.

"Um," You clear your throat, Sundrop looking down at you. "The kids in town," Oh god, you don't know how to talk about this with an eight foot monster farmer. "Why did you save me and not them? They seem to think you're dangerous. They're afraid of you." Hell, you also think he’s dangerous, you’d be hard pressed to say you weren’t afraid. Your eyes meet Sundrop's and you look at each other for a moment. That heavy silence starts to creep back in before Sundrop breaks it with a softer tone.

"I…keep trespassers and thieves out." He says, tilting his head slightly. "I would never hurt them."

Okay. That's good to know. As long as he’s not lying.

"But,"

BUT?? BUT WHAT??

"My twin, Moondrop, is much more dangerous. It’s not safe for them here." Sundrop looks away as he touches the darker side of his face.

"How dangerous?" You grip your snack to your chest.

"…He would pull even you apart if given the chance." Sun looks at you with a sad smile.

‘Even’ you? That's not good. Very not good.

“…Why is it safe for me, but not the kids?” You press, your snack forgotten as you turn it nervously in your hands. Sundrop is quiet. He stands there in silence, a growing silence that makes your heartbeat pound in your ears, your breathing becoming difficult to control. So you change the question.

"Where IS your brother?" You ask, your hands shaking a little as you consider how unsafe you might actually be.

"He only comes out after sunset," Sunny assures you. "You're safe with me. During the day he can't get you."

You're not sure how much you believe any of that, but with how Sundrop has treated you, you really can't think of a reason to question him.

"I would…like to find those kids again," You say, popping a few more seeds in your mouth. "They might need food or a place to stay-"

"They can't stay here." Sundrop says firmly, turning his head toward you again.

“Why not?" You huff. “You still haven’t explained-”

"It's not big enough to keep that many people safe, they're safer where they are." Sundrop sighs, plucking another pomegranate from the tree. You pout a little, but shove a handful of seeds in your mouth.

"I still want to help them however I can," You puff up defiantly. "They're just kids and there's plenty of food to share."

Sundrop hums as he brings the fruit to his mouth. He opens his mouth for the first time since you've met him and you see the inky blackness that is the inside of his throat. He bites the pomegranate in half with a solid crunch, jaw snapping shut like a bear trap, and swallows it without chewing. You shudder when you remember how close his face was to yours last night.

"If that's what you want, Starlight." He purrs, tossing the other half back before stepping away to a small stack of supplies in the corner. He digs around a bit before turning back with a few wicker baskets in his grip.

"Shall we pick something for your friends then?" He smiles as you brighten and nod eagerly.

"Absolutely!" You bound forward and jut your hand out for a basket. Sundrop covers his mouth, muffling a giggle as he holds it down where you can take it from him.

You're going to grab as much fruit as you can carry to give to Haley and the boys. If Sundrop won’t answer your questions, maybe you’ll manage to get some more answers out of the kids in exchange for food.

#fanfiction #shiaxart #chapter four #fnaf security breach #stardew valley #stardrop valley

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