#I’m glad he got to do a drama before enlistment!

[feelingsobloom]

I can’t believe Kyuhyun is enlisting 😭 Hopefully the enlistment goes well for him 🫶 I don’t really know how the enlistment works necessarily but maybe him and Yeongtae will see each other!

[jazziejax]

PR & Matchmaking

Pairing- Callum Turner x OC! India Hayes

Summary- The flirtatious banter between two co-stars that are trying to make the most of their PR contract while also wondering if what they’re felling is real or not.

Warnings- none

Author’s Note- I haven’t written anything on here in so long so please be easy one me guys. I just wanted to post something because it’s been a while and I felt like Callum Turner needed more love.

Word Count- 2,131

Lights were flashing like crazy and the people were going wild as they walked onto the carpet. Tonight was the premiere of Masters of The Air, a drama miniseries on Apple TV that explores the aerial wars of WWII through enlisted men of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.

At first, the red carpet was filled with the men from the show, some posing for the perfect shot while others did interviews to talk about the show. Though all were dapper as the cameras clicked and flashed to capture their noticeable charm. One of the stars, Callum Turner, was in the middle of answering a question after being asked what was his biggest takeaway from a show like this.

“I mean, it’s taught me a lot. More than I knew it would, which is always great. Working with such amazing people has to be the greatest takeaway—.” The sound of his words were barely audible under the screams of the crowd. His face morphed into a shell of shock for only the briefest moment before he chuckled and turned his head to see what that commotion was about. His first assumption was that it was Austin and Barry offering tons of fanservice with their flirtatious banter.

But he couldn’t have been more wrong.

He could hardly see through the flashing lights but he could discern one name through what the photographers were saying.

“India!”

“India, this way!”

Even though he wasn’t facing the camera fully, it still caught the smile that graced his lips at the sound of the woman's name. From another angle, you could see him looking down the carpet at the girl in black, staring at her figure as she posed.

Realizing he’s still on camera and was in the middle of talking, Callum chuckled as she turned back to his interviewer. “Speaking of amazing—.” He laughed along with the guy, gesturing to the woman down the carpet.

“Did you guys and the Angels of War cast get to do any work together? Can we expect to see a crossover?” The man asked before holding his mic out to Callum. Said man pursed his lips, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I can’t say, you have to watch the show and see.” He joked.

Moments later, India was being asked her own set of questions.

“We’ve all seen Angels of War, we all loved it. It was great. But I must know what you think of Masters of the Air.” The woman asked her.

India smiled, prepared for her words to soon come bite her in the ass. “I loved it, it was so amazing and so detailed that you couldn’t help but fall in love it.” India smiled, her southern accent strong on her tongue. “I felt so connected to the characters because of such great acting.” She offered a soft smile. “But it was hard payin’ attention in some scenes because everyone was so sexy.” She laughed along with interviewer.

“Right! I’m glad you said it before I did.” The woman with the mic spoke.

“Yeah, but I’m gonna watch anything with Callum Turner in it.” India winked with a small smirk on her lips. This caused the interviewer to make a sound of excitement, knowing she just got her clip of the week. India just smiled and laughed along, knowing she was working her PR arm a little too much. But she liked riling people up, it’s why she was so loved.

“I have to agree with you, I am the same way with Henry Cavil.” The woman chuckled. Her eyes moved a tad to catch a glimpse of a tall figure dressed in black behind India’s shoulder. “And speaking of Callum Turner.” She beamed.

India turned her torso to see said man not too far from them walking somewhere along the outskirts of the red carpet, a few people straggling behind him. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Callum glanced to his left to see India and the interviewer staring at him, the camera slightly angled his way. A large smile made its way onto his face as he walked closer.

“Callum!” India said excitedly, opening her arms in invitation. His eyes disappeared behind the folds on his cheeks as he moved to embrace the woman once he made it to her. She wrapped her arms his neck while his went to her waist. Her height and hills made it to where her head fit almost perfectly within the nook of his neck. As she moved back slightly to grab a hold of his jaw and place a firm kiss on his cheek, his hands traveled from her waist to her hips. His large hands almost sitting on top of her bottom. Since they weren’t as close to the mic as they were before, the camera couldn’t pick up on any of what was being said.

“Did you play it up before I got here?” India asked through a smile as she drug her hand from his face to his chest.

“Why yes I did, darling.” He beamed down at the girl. “And I can see you are trying to upstage me.” He said before starting to rub his hands up and down the curve of her back. The tips of his middle fingers grazing one another as they traversed the span of her waist. India then made a dramatic sad face, her large eyes never leaving his. “Oh, never that.” She cooed. “I am just trying to get us both paid.” She cheesed before turning around to finish her interview. Callum followed after her, keeping his hand around her waist.

“Sorry about that. Speak of the devil and he shall appear and all that.” India said sarcastically, nodding her head over to the man behind her. The interviewer laughed, looking between the two. “It’s so good to now have you here with us, Callum, how are you?” She asked.

“I’m doing far better now that I’ve seen her.” The man smirked, glancing down at the woman on his arm as his hand moved from her hip to lying flat on her stomach. . India dramatically rolled her eyes at him, moving to place her hand on top of his. “He’s so cheesy.” She said.

“Only for the right price.” His voice said above her head. India burst into a fit of chuckles, angling her head to look up at the man without turning around. They shared a knowing look before going back to looking at the interviewer, who was red in the face from just watching their interactions.

“Well aren’t you two quite the pair!” She exclaimed. “Are we going to be seeing your characters together any time soon? I think it’s time for Loretta to settle down.” She asked before holding out the mic.

“Well, first off, Loretta needs no man!” India said, sassily waving her finger, causing the others to chuckle. “She probably would have liked one in a time such as then but needed one? No thank you.” She joked, although her words had a seemingly undertone due to the topic of her statement. “And secondly, you’ll just have to wait and see. I wouldn’t get my hopes up though.” She shrugged.

“Well, those are all the question I had for you, thank you two so much for being here!” She said excitedly.

“No, thank you for having us.” India said before giving the woman a small hug, Callum’s hand moving to her waist as she moved. She then finished her hug and walked away with Callum on her hip.

“Do you think we’re laying it on thick?” India asked, looking up at him. Callum looked down at her, the lights reflecting of her big eyes. She had a black silk scarf on her head on the carpet, but it was no gone, along with her shades, to show her short cut. He brought his hand up to the back of her neck, playing with the small hairs there. “No, I don’t think so.” He said, his suave demeanor dropping in a second of comfortability with her. “And if so, isn’t that kind of the point?” India didn’t answer his rhetorical question, caught up in the feeling of his hands playing in her short hair.

“We have the same haircut.” She said after a moment of silence, the two just staring at each other. Callum’s blue eyes twinkled in the light as he smiled at her. “Yeah, we do.”

“Although I think mines a little better, maybe I can give you my barbers number?” He finished before walking away from her. India’s mouth dropped but wasn’t for long as she caught up to his long legs and hit him in the arms. “I cannot believe you said that. You know I look way better than you with his haircut.” She sassed, rolling her eyes at the man before walking faster than him. Callum smiled his eyes following her figure as she walked back to the red carpet, where her life long friend, Janelle, was gesturing her over on the carpet with the rest of the Angels of War cast.

India scurried over, her and Janelle standing in the middle with the other girls on the side, all posing for the camera. Callum stood off on the side, looking at them while the lights flashed behind him. His eyes were trained on India as she and Janelle exchanged words before bubbling into laughter.

After a while longer, India looked over and made eye contact with him. They both immediately smiled at each other, eyes showing nothing but pure affection. She then detached one of her arms from Janelle and beckoned him over. Callum slightly shook his head. Seeing his hesitation, her face became serious as she beckoned him over again, although her movements were a little harsher this time. He was about to reject the offer again before his shoulder jerked forward slightly. His glanced back to his Austin gesture his head over to the carpet before walking off and over to his girlfriend Janelle, although no one else knew that piece of information.

He followed after him, his eyes locked on India playfully stern ones, the rest Masters of the Air cast following behind him and Austin. Once he made it to her, her eyes softened as he slipped behind her. While they waited for everyone to settle into their places, she smiled up at him before leaning back a little, her back met his torso. Her head laid on his chest as she looked up at him with a big fake smile. Callum looked down at her, staring into the eyes he thought looked beautiful from any angle. Trapped within her gaze, he leaned down a little, the tip of his large nose brushing against her forehead as he sniffed her. India crunched her eyebrows at him before raising her head to look back at the cameras. She still had her back against him, although you couldn’t tell unless you got a side angle.

“Enough of your flirting.” Austin piped up behind his smile as he glanced over at the pair dressed in all black.

“What, are we outshining the real couple?” Callum asked, smirking over at his friend.

“Outshine?” Austin asked. “Oh, you don’t even wanna know the things I’d do if we were public.” He finished, his grip tightening on Janelle’s waist as he continued to pose for the pictures. Said woman’s face flushed as she laughed and glanced up at him. They looked at each other for the briefest of seconds before going back to their original poses.

“This whole thing is so backwards.” India scoffed with a smirk on her face as the camera flicked to catch the moment between Austin and Janelle. Callum looked down at her and placed his hand on her hip, squeezing her fat as he sensed she was getting irritated. “Oh, but you love it.” He said joked, his deep voice vibrating through the both of them. Although she didn’t look up at him, India smiled at his words. “Yeah…you got me there.” She said, but couldn’t decide whether she was serious or not.

Social media went into a complete frenzy over those two. Clips of their cute moments floating all around the internet, some “fake”, you could say and others more authentic. Stills of Callum staring at India so lovingly were all over her feed, almost sending their girl into a spiral from seeing her own face that much. Compilations of every time they interacted during the premiere had millions of views as everyone speculated what they were. People were talking about the pair for weeks, which is just what their management wanted.

Indiahayes ✓⃝

likes by austinbutler, keoghan92, and 567,842 others

indiahayes happy masters of the air day!! go watch the show full of sexy men that kiss! ;)

view 7,627 comments

janellethat no one kissed guys :(

⤷ Indiahayes hush, don’t spoil the show!

callumsnumber1gurl let’s talk about these premiere photos hun!

callumturnerburner you and Callum look soo good together!!

⤷ austinbutlerbutt you are not sneaky at all

austinbutler Angels of War sister! 🤍

⤷ Indiahayes Masters of the Air brother!🖤

anthonyboyle why are you and Nina on the furniture?

⤷ ninasimone because we’re American 🇺🇸 🦅

randosuper3 it’s times like this where I wish Callum had an instagram 😔

lovelyrando you and Callum looked amazing together and I hope what you guys have lasts long

auatinslove are we just not going to talk about Janelle and Austin? What’s going on there???

⤷ indiassuperfan7 adults being adults

[zapreportsblog]

I love the last fanfiction. It is SOOO good. I like how you put the reader as student instead of a teacher's aide, it made much more sense for the plot. Also love there is a possibility that her daughter could become a lioness later on in life. Love how Rosalie and Alice work together to protect her daughter. My favorite part is where the major punches Edward in the jaw, so satisfying. Keep up the good work.

The next fanfic I would like you to is.

Garrett x Taller Female Reader.

She is a tattoo artist. has martial arts training. She can sing. They first meet in a bar. Feel free to freestyle however you would like with these details.

Now you’re just flattering me, and yeah I know you wanted her to be the teachers aid but her as a student would make the note passing a bit simpler and less sus if students could see them passing notes in class. As for with Alice and Rosalie I know Rosalie has a soft spot for kids so I just assumed Alice would be the same and since they can’t have any I’m sure if they did they wouldn’t want their kid caught up in the admits of drama and would get as far away from that situation as possible. But I am glad you enjoyed it and I got the perfect idea for how to write this new story for you :)

❝ tattoos and bar talks ❞

✭ pairing : garrett x reader

✭ fandom : twilight x reader

✭ summary : garrett takes bella to go get a tattoo because he’s just badass like that, starting a conversation up with her tattoo artist he finds her equally badass, so he asks her out to a bar.

✭ authors note : garrett would totally do sone shit like this

✭ twilight masterlist

Bella Swan had always been drawn to the idea of getting a tattoo, but her desire was met with resistance from her family and even her dad. However, her curiosity and determination led her to enlist the help of a certain troublemaker, Garrett. He was known for his rebellious spirit, and Bella hoped he might be the one to help her finally get her desired ink.

One afternoon, Bella found herself standing before Garrett, her request clear in her eyes. "Will you take me to get a tattoo?" she asked, not divulging the true reason behind her wish.

Garrett's lips curled into a mischievous grin as he looked at Bella. "You know, the Cullens and your dad would have my head if they found out."

Bella nodded, her expression earnest. "I know, but I really want this, Garrett."

He chuckled. "Alright, Swan. I'm in. Let's go."

They drove to the neighboring town where a skilled tattoo artist awaited. As they arrived at the tattoo parlor, Bella felt a mix of excitement and nerves. She was ready to take this step, even if it meant going against her family's wishes.

Inside the parlor, Bella and Garrett were greeted by a woman with a warm smile. "Hey there, folks. Looking to get some ink?"

Bella nodded, her heart pounding with anticipation. "Yeah, I want a small swan on my inner wrist."

The woman, whose name was (y/n), gave a nod of approval. "A swan, huh? Nice choice. It's a graceful symbol."

As (y/n) prepared for the tattoo, Garrett was about to follow Bella to the back when he was stopped by the person at the front desk. "Sorry, buddy, you can't go back there with her."

Disappointed, Garrett shrugged. "Fine. Can I at least sit by the curtain entrance?"

The person at the desk agreed, and Garrett took his seat, his eyes trained on the curtain. He could hear Bella's soft voice and the hum of the tattoo machine. In an attempt to offer support, he began talking to her through the curtain.

"Hey, Swan, you okay back there?"

Bella's voice came through, slightly shaky but determined. "Yeah, I'm good. It's just a little uncomfortable."

As the minutes passed, Garrett struck up a conversation with (y/n). "So, (y/n), how long have you been doing tattoos?"

"About five years now," she replied, her focus on her work. "I love being able to create art on people's skin. It's a unique way of self-expression."

As (y/n) continued her work, she struck up a conversation with Bella as well. "Almost done, Bella. This piece has turned out to be one of my favorites."

Bella smiled, relieved. "That's great to hear."

Garrett's curiosity got the better of him. "Hey, what design is she getting?"

"It's a swan," (y/n) answered, her voice soft and gentle.

Garrett chuckled. "Swan? Isn't that ironic, Bella?"

Bella laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess it is."

After some time, (y/n) announced that the tattoo was finished. Bella emerged from behind the curtain, her wrist adorned with the small swan. Garrett looked at the tattoo with a sense of pride for Bella's determination.

Bella thanked (y/n) with a smile before turning to Garrett. "Thanks for being here, Garrett."

He grinned. "Anytime, Swan."

As they left the tattoo parlor, Garrett turned to (y/n). "You know, this may sound forward, but how about we continue this conversation over drinks at the pub tomorrow night?"

(y/n)'s eyes sparkled with amusement. "You're quite the bold one, aren't you? Sure, I'll take you up on that offer."

With a wink and a smile, Garrett and (y/n) exchanged contact information, setting the stage for an unexpected connection that had been sparked by a simple desire for a tattoo.

Garrett dropped Bella off at home, a sense of contentment filling him after their little adventure. But his evening was far from over. He headed to the pub in the neighboring town where he was set to meet (y/n). Their earlier conversation had sparked his curiosity, and he was eager to learn more about her.

Inside the cozy pub, he found (y/n) sitting at a table, a welcoming smile on her face. He took a seat across from her, and they greeted each other warmly. The low lighting of the pub and the hum of conversations around them created an intimate atmosphere.

"Hey there," Garrett said with a grin.

(y/n) chuckled. "Hey, troublemaker."

They began to talk as they sipped on their drinks and shared some appetizers. Garrett learned that (y/n) had been practicing martial arts since she was a child. Her dedication to self-defense intrigued him, and he found himself impressed by her determination.

"You do martial arts?" he asked, genuinely interested.

(y/n) nodded, her eyes shining with passion. "Yeah, I've always been drawn to it. It's not just about the physical aspect, but the discipline and mental focus it requires."

Garrett couldn't help but admire her even more. "That's pretty badass, I have to say."

They continued to talk about their interests, and Garrett shared his love for traveling. He had a knack for storytelling, and he described some of his adventures with animated enthusiasm. (y/n) listened intently, hanging on his every word.

"Traveling sounds amazing," (y/n) said, a hint of longing in her eyes. "I've always dreamed of visiting different places."

Garrett grinned. "Well, if you ever want a travel buddy, you know where to find me."

As they continued their conversation, they stumbled upon the topic of strange talents. Garrett raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. "So, what's your strange talent?"

(y/n) chuckled, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, I can sing, but here's the strange part: I can sing with my mouth closed, kind of like a ventriloquist."

Garrett burst into laughter. "That's definitely one of the most unique talents I've heard."

(y/n) laughed too, her cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. "Yeah, I guess it's a bit weird, but it's always been a fun party trick."

Their laughter filled the air, creating a sense of ease and comfort between them. As the night went on, Garrett and (y/n) found themselves lost in conversation, oblivious to the passage of time. They shared stories, dreams, and even the occasional playful teasing.

The pub's closing time seemed to arrive too soon, and Garrett realized that he was genuinely enjoying his time with (y/n). He didn't want the night to end, but he knew they both had their own lives to return to.

With a sigh, he looked at (y/n). "I had a great time tonight."

(y/n) smiled warmly. "Me too. Thanks for inviting me out."

As they stood up from the table, Garrett eyes widened briefly, “Holy shit, how am I just now noticing how much taller you are than me?”

It wasn’t that big of a difference in height, (y/n) hung over Garrett with a few inches above his normal height. One would say it’s the heels she’s wearing but if you looked down she wasn’t wearing any.

She laughs with her head thrown back, “Yeah most people don’t notice it until they look down and realize I’m not wearing any heels.” She smiles throwing him a smirk right after, “Is my height a problem troublemaker?”

Garrett felt a sense of connection that he hadn't experienced in a long time. He knew that this was just the beginning of their journey, and he was excited to see where it would lead.

“Not at all.”

As they said their goodbyes and parted ways, Garrett couldn't help but feel a growing anticipation for what the future held, both for him and for the intriguing woman he had just spent the evening with.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

‘It’s the relationship I knew I wanted’: Scrublands star on learning to commit

Luke Arnold is an actor and writer who is best known for playing Michael Hutchence in Never Tear Us Apart. The 39-year-old discusses the endearing nickname he called his little sister as a child, a silly but romantic Christmas gesture and what he is most proud of in his current relationship.

“It’s interesting to reflect on the actresses I admired before I got into the acting industry who later became colleagues, like Heather Graham.”

My maternal great-great-grandmother thought her name was Jean, but when she was 70 she found her birth certificate, which said Jane. Her mother died when she was young, so I’m not sure what went wrong there, but she was still Jean to us all.

Some of my first memories are getting handwritten and recorded poems on cassettes from her. Looking at them recently, I can see the influence their form and patterns have had on my own writing.

When I was young, my maternal granny, Valerie, lived on a sailing boat with my step granddad. They also travelled around Australia on a motorbike. They were a great example of the freewheeling, bohemian lifestyle that was definitely passed down to me.

My parents, Nola and Colin, met while picking fruit. Mum is not the tallest lady and trained to become a jockey. It was her passion from a young age, but in the late 1970s she found the male-dominant culture of the racing industry too tough to realise her dream.

Mum is an enthusiastic and bubbly person. Before my younger sister, Ashley, and my brother, George, were born, I had her full attention for two years. It was great, as it meant that when I started school, I was on my way to reading and writing.

When I was just a baby myself, I used to call my sister “my little darling”, as we were so close. In the teen years we grew apart a bit, but since 2019 we’ve become close again. Ashley’s a web designer and is living the life of a digital nomad.

My first celebrity crush was Amy Jo Johnson, the actress who played the Pink Power Ranger on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

It’s interesting to reflect on the actresses I admired before I got into the acting industry who later became colleagues, like Heather Graham, star of Boogie Nights, which is one of my favourite films. When Heather enlisted me to act opposite her on her 2018 film Half Magic, it was a “pinch-me” moment. One minute I would be talking to her as a colleague, then the next I’d think, “You’re HEATHER GRAHAM!”

My first serious relationship was with Hayley at Sunshine Beach High School in Queensland. We bonded over acting and performing. It was nice to meet a girl after my teenage years in Sydney, where I’d worked as a clown, doing parties and magic, mostly around dudes.

While at drama school [WAAPA in Perth], I picked up a girlfriend from the airport dressed in wrapping paper. I’d asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she’d replied, “Just you.” I took that literally. It was a silly, ridiculous, romantic gesture. I’m glad camera phones weren’t a big thing back then.

In the 2022 NITV SBS series True Colours, Rarriwuy Hick and I both played detectives. Filming that was a huge education for me. My touchstones on the Northern Territory set were the women – Rurriway and Arrernte/Warlpiri woman Marie Ellis, with whom we consulted daily to follow cultural protocol.

It was nerve-racking to be the white fella who was ignorant of so many things. But the First Nations people had such generosity teaching me about that part of the country, and about the practices that impacted storylines, like men’s business, kinship and payback. There was overwhelming care for us outsiders coming in.

I’ve been with my current partner, Laura, for a year. We met while making a film 16 years ago and I was completely and madly infatuated with her. We were both young and at that time I was ill-equipped to handle such strong feelings.

We had a couple of false starts that left us both feeling tender, but we kept returning to the flame. Something I’m proud of is that we kept showing up, as it would have been easy to just turn it into a story of heartbreak and not deal with it.

We’ve always been great friends throughout it all. Laura is the person I want to call with good news, with a question, or if I’m anxious about something. It’s the relationship I knew I wanted, and I’m very grateful to be in it now.

Luke Arnold stars in Scrublands, premiering November 16 on Stan.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

[thatpunkmaximoff]

Story: 5 out of 5 Smut: 2 out of 5

When I first picked up Stinger, I only picked it up because a prim and proper law student meeting an adult entertainer seemed rather intriguing. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? Wrong.

Within the first hundred pages or so, you get what you might be expecting after reading the summary on the back of the book. What I DID NOT expect was these two individuals going back to their lives and changing.

FIVE YEARS LATER, Grace has stayed somewhat on her path in law, but Carson… Carson completely dropped the porn industry in favor of becoming a Navy Seal!

Are all the military ops and vigilante missions believable? Maybe, maybe not. But it proved to be one hell of a read after I almost gave up on it.

There is humor and drama and spice, but the spice isn’t very descriptive so if you’re not a fan of spice, you’ll be alright with this read.

What I originally was gonna rate 3 stars ended up becoming a five star for me.

Some triggers you should know are: cheating, human trafficking, and mentions of SA.

Now here are my rambling thoughts...

* Cue awkward run in on page 3 🤭

* Okay… at first I thought Carson was a cocky jerk, but him riling Grave up about their “kids” had me chuckling.

* And now we’re stuck in an elevator. Yes!

* Oh my god. She said yes to the weekend with a porn star 😏

* Sooooo, sex with a porn star was pretty quick, no? I expected more.

* Also… she missed the beginning of her conference 🤦🏻‍♀️

* Why do I get the feeling Carson’s gonna give up porn to be with Grace 🤔 and that’s gonna cause some drama (his agents going after Grace and making her doubt her time with Carson).

* Carson and his hate for Titanic cracks me up 😂 Only he would borrow a raft to prove a point.

* Oh, Grace, no 🤦🏻‍♀️

* You too, Carson 🤦🏻‍♀️

* Well they got over their hurt pretty quickly.

* Fuck those fans who thought it would be okay to grab Carson by the dick. I’m so glad he yelled at them before they could.

* Carson’s agent is a dick.

* “I’ll always think of you when I get on an elevator or see a sunrise.”

* And their weekend is over. I knew it had to end, but the way it did sucked.

* On a side note, I’m not sure how I like this writing style. Everything is rushed, which is fine, but Carson’s lashing out seems… out of pocket-ish. Like whoa… where did that come from?

* Holy shit! Carson actually walked out on his shoot. And punched his agent. Good on you.

* Holy fuck! He ENLISTED to be a NAVY SEAL!?

* Aww. I’m so glad Carson’s boss let him out of his contract like that. She’s a real one.

* Goddamn. So much time has passed.

* Nooooooo! They were in the same place and he was going to visit and he got called away. He had to leave overseas. I’m so pissed.

* I don’t like this Alex guy. Grave BETTER not hook up with him.

* Fuck, Carson. What the fuck even is this book?!

* What the fuck, Grace?! You’re engaged to Alex!!!!

* Holy shit. So Carson and his buddies were medically discharged and they started their own operation…? And now one of them has been framed for murder..? Is Carson finally gonna meet Grace after all these years.?

* They finally met again… and it was so painfully awkward.

* Oh my god. I’m so glad Grace’s bestie does not like Alex lol. If he doesn’t care that you’re being hit on, he definitely is not the guy for you.

* Oh shit. He really told her to call off the wedding 😬

* Really, Grace. I know I want you with Carson, but I didn’t want you to cheat on Alex. That’s fucked up, man.

* Damn. There are signs everywhere! Fate is telling her to choose Carson.

* Aww. Dylan’s a good bro 😂

* Dayummmm. Reunion sex is the best sex.

* Fuck. I did not expect this book to make me cry. Carson’s story from Afghanistan… omg 😭

* So Carson and his buddies run a vigilante group, saving trafficked women. And he’s just told Grace. She’s proud of him! And now trying to help his friend that she was hired to put behind bars 👀

* Holy shit. They love each other. I’m so happy.

* And back to Vegas we go. How the fuck is Grace gonna get Josh out of this predicament?

* Wow. They did it. They got the confession and freed Josh!

* Omg SHE’S PREGNANT!?

* They’re a happy family 😭

[dessarious]

The Angel of Death Pt29

Inspired by this Story Starter by @someone-ev

AO3   Prologue   Beginning   Previous   Next

Tris didn’t respond. She was looking for cues from the others to see if or how she should. Gina was just studying Chloe and Tris got the impression she was surprised Chloe had actually put the pieces together so fast. Adrien and his mother both seemed lost in their own thoughts so no help there. Wonder Woman was studying Tris for some reason. Fu looked… pleased?

“You bastard, you meant for this to happen.” She didn’t need the small smirk to confirm her suspicions. “Why? What could you have possibly gained by putting yourself and all the Kwami at risk like this?” The man let out a disappointed sigh and it took everything in her to not throw one of her knives at him.

“I had hoped you would enlist the help of Tikki and Plagg’s holders rather than defaulting back to killing for one. It was not necessary to save me.” He sounded like he was explaining something to a toddler yet didn’t seem to understand the danger of doing so. She was going to have an aneurysm at this rate.

“I didn’t kill them to save you. If you want to get yourself killed that’s your prerogative. I killed them because you gave them information about me that puts me, the Kwami, and anyone who happens to be around me at risk of being tortured and killed. Well, stolen in the case  of the Miraculous but the point remains. You think Hawkmoth was bad? Imagine what all of them in the hands of assassins will do.” Everyone else seemed to be properly horrified by the idea. Fu actually rolled his eyes at her.

“It is very common in young people to think they are the center of the universe. I assure you others don’t see you as nearly the threat you think they do. When you get older you’ll understand.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to take deep breaths. She tried to tell herself that he didn’t understand the situation, which he didn’t. She tried to tell herself that his attitude made sense in most normal circumstances. Unfortunately she was too focused on not becoming homicidal herself to think about the others’ reactions.

“This isn’t some regular teen drama, we’re talking about groups of trained killers and you’re being flippant! How did you ever even become a Guardian?” Wonder Woman broke down into cursing at the man in various languages. Tris was impressed both at the originality and the fact that she didn’t know some of the languages.

“Especially considering you don’t even know which group of assassins she was affiliated with. The fact that you even thought she came out of that group of fools says how little you know about either their skill or hers.” Gina’s voice dripped with disdain and Marinette was glad there was someone there who understood the difference between those fools and other organizations. Especially the League of Assassins.

“You know nothing about my past other than the code name I’ve been operating under. I assure you I’m not exaggerating my importance or the probability of others coming after me. If the people who trained me realize I’m alive all hell will break loose and anyone close to me will be acceptable collateral damage.” She actually shuddered at the thought of Talia showing up in Paris. They would be begging for Hawkmoth’s return.

“I don’t understand why you would allow someone with that background near the Miraculous in the first place.” Mme. Agreste was splitting her frowns between Tris and Fu, though it seemed more confusion than anything else. It was obvious she had no idea exactly how bad of an idea it was to let Tris near them, of course neither did Fu.

“That was our decision.” Tikki was hovering protectively in front of her along Plagg. “Tris may have been forced into a life of violence but she’s still a good person at heart. She needs us and will make a good Guardian if she accepts the task.” Everyone looked at the Kwami in shock. Tris knew they wanted her to train with Fu but she hadn’t realized they were thinking that far ahead. She’d been constantly noticing how lax he was when it came to protecting them, but she hadn’t really considered taking over herself. She thought they just wanted him to humanize her again.

“Marinette has always been one of the kindest and most considerate people I’ve ever encountered. No matter what she was trained for she’s still herself. You can see that if you look at the aftermath of all her jobs.” She blinked at Chloe’s defense of her. Even knowing that her Nonna had planted the idea she was surprised Chloe had actually researched her. It was kind of weird to think about to be honest.

“And how exactly do you two know each other?” Fu’s question brought another flash of anger as she remembered the discussion she had originally planned on having with him.

“If you had ever bothered to ask me whether it was a good idea to house me with your holders you would know that I was born in Paris and lived here until my training. Chloe knew me at the time.” Fu seemed rather taken aback by that information. He obviously hadn’t considered the possibility when he decided she needed to be taught a lesson. She couldn’t really blame him but at the same time he was playing with her by forcing her into that situation and that she took offense to. “Which is why you’re going to be fully explaining anything that involves me in the future, assuming I don’t just leave you to your own devices now that you’ve unleashed this shitstorm.”

“What about the Miraculous?” Wonder Woman’s tone was slightly panicked and Tris could see her demanding the box for safekeeping. It would certainly be safer than Fu.

“That is up to the Kwami. I wouldn’t take or leave them without their consent. My life may not be the safest but I at least know how to disappear and take precautions. If that is their choice they will be safe. But again, I will not force them to go, that would make me no better than those who took me.” She saw concern on Chloe’s face moments before she marched up to Tris and pulled her into a crushing hug. She still didn’t really know how to react to that. The Agrestes shared a look before something seemed to dawn on Emilie.

“Wait… Marinette, as is Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” She winced at the reminder of her full name. It had been so long since she’d heard or been called that it didn’t even feel familiar anymore. That girl was dead, despite what Chloe had said.

AO3   Prologue   Beginning   Previous   Next

Ko-Fi

Tag List

@kceedraws @theatreandcomicfreak @krispydefendorpolice @magic-miraculous @chocolatecatstheron @mooshoon @northernbluetongue @interobanginyourmom @rebecarojas07 @dast218 @abrx2002 @damianette-is-life @yin-390 @fontegagrilledcheese @bigpicklebananatree @tbehartoo @nobodyw8s4evr @linim2503 @ladybug-182 @marinettepotterandplagg @daminett4life @thethirdwheelfriend @corabeth11 @emotionalsupportginger @shizukiryuu @toodaloo-kangaroo @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @hauntedfreakdeputyhero @sassakitty @my-name-is-michell @multplelifes @sassydepression @danielslilangel @winter-gardenflower @animegirlweeb @romanoff-queen @nanakeid @paradoxal-occurance @theg0ddesspersephone @hinata3487 @irontimetravelflower @the-real-gingakid @heaven428 @peachedpocky @justafanwarrior @gentlemanoftimetravel @18-fandoms-unite-08 @kittycatwowmeow @pale-lady-dreamer @i-is-mysterious @captainartsypants @write-for-your-life2 @queengeorgiaaa @schrodingers25 @thecaptainthunder @elspethshadow @stela-likes-drawing @loysydark @lozzybowe @renscorpio @elmokingkong @the-fusionist @tis-i-beanbandit @smolplantmum @iwantwhirlledpeasandlotsatrees @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @chocolateherringtacofan

[rwbyremnants]

WARNING: Graphic description of burn injuries/body horror kind of stuff.

=Chapter 33

No one could have looked more surprised than Blake at the strange assortment of people showing up on the Belladonna doorstep. Weiss was equally surprised to see that she wasn't the only one there waiting.

“Ilia!” she couldn't help gasping out upon seeing the diminutive girl standing awkwardly in the living room, rubbing her hand up and down one arm to try and rid herself of her jitters. “What is… I mean, what are you two doing- wait, that's not what I-”

Kali pushed her way past the young Schnee to smile down at her and say, “What a pleasant surprise! How have you been, Ilia?” Relieved that the host had taken over where she herself had failed, Weiss dropped back to stand next to her mother and Pyrrha.

“N-nothing.” It definitely sounded like the guilty, knee-jerk response of a small child being caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“She was asking what the rest of us were going to do about Cinder,” Blake explained. As usual, she looked less than thrilled to be dealing with someone so transparent in their unwelcome flirtations, but it wasn't as pronounced as before.

“Oh?” her mother asked mildly as they all crowded into the room, Pyrrha finally shutting the door behind her. “What about her?”

Clearing her throat, Ilia tried again. “Sh-she's being released from the hospital soon, but… I think she's, um, worried about how everyone will look at her when she gets out. So… s-so I thought- well, we said this was our fallback base until we found a new one, and I came here, but I didn't know you wouldn't be here when I got here, or I wouldn't have come! Sorry.”

“God, show a little backbone,” Raven muttered under her breath. Kali wasted no time in elbowing her in the gut.

“It's quite alright, dear. Blake, could you phone Yang and tell her what's transpired?”

“Of course.” Looking around at everyone there, she asked in a quieter voice, “And… what has ‘transpired’ again?”

While Kali guided her daughter into the kitchen and filled her in on recent events, and to make the call to Yang, Weiss and Pyrrha quickly approached the messenger. The latter asked, “What's the matter with Cinder?”

“What isn't? She won't see anyone but Salem - she won't even see Emerald anymore, and you know how close they were. Because of… o-of how she looks, and her pain, and…” The girl's eyes filled with tears as she looked away.

“Sorry,” Weiss whispered softly. “This is all my fault. And… oh, I'm so worried it's only going to get worse now.”

Ilia nodded regretfully. “Yeah. She really hates you now. But she's wrong - it's not any more your fault for having a dad like that than it's Yang's for going with you! Most of us understand! She just… she's really hurt, and needs somebody to… to blame.”

Trying her best to be patient, Pyrrha smiled down at her and asked, “What was it you wanted to do to help? You started to suggest something before, I think.”

“Oh, I did? Uh… gosh, I don't know. Just to go see her, maybe? She could use some support. But you're not a Dragon, so you shouldn't feel obligated.”

“Of course I’d go to see her. I may not be an official member, but I’m still your friend, aren’t I? A-and hers.” Her eyes lowered to stare at her saddle shoes. “Even if she seems to think we could be something, um… something else.”

Scoffing, Weiss patted her shoulder. “She’s delusional. You like that Jaune in class.”

“I do! I mean, he doesn’t seem to realise I like-like him, though.”

“What a conversation,” Raven grunted as she plopped into the armchair. Weiss turned to glare at her, but she raised a hand to ward off any admonitions. “Save your breath. I know the girl got hurt, and she probably feels like she’s never gonna have anybody ogle her gams again, and blah, blah, blah. Life really kicks you in the tail sometimes. But you have to grow up and move on.”

While Pyrrha was mouthing “Ogle her gams?”, Ilia frowned and said, “It’s not just a sprained ankle. She’s really in pain; she’ll never look the same way again. Or see the same; she might have to stop riding, and for a Dragon…” When Raven glared at her, she ducked her head and whispered, “Sorry. But it’s true.”

For once, Yang’s mother didn’t completely dismiss something a younger person was saying. “Yeah. Probably going to be a real drag.”

“We should go see her,” Weiss agreed with a nod. “She won’t want me there, but I’ll go as moral support for you guys, if you don’t mind.”

“That would be wonderful,” Ilia said with a smile.

Blake returned a moment later, looking a little sullen but resigned. If Weiss had to guess, she figured that Kali had stayed behind to call Yang - and probably whip up a batch of lemon squares for unexpected guests. As uncomfortable as she looked about it, the Italian Dragon wasted little time approaching the Schnee women.

“I'm sorry this is still happening. You shouldn't have to enlist protection just to go to your own house and get some clothes.”

Touched by her sentiment, Willow reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder. Blake looked a little surprised, but that was only because they had just met. “That's kind of you to say, dear. I agree that the situation is… well, I had hoped…” In the end, she seemed to realize that whatever she had been about to say would help nothing and fell silent.

“Can I ask you something?” When she didn't protest, Blake went on, “If he didn't mind hitting you with a belt a few times, I don't think… he would have any real problem doing it before now. Has he been? I mean, how often does this happen?”

Only now did a deep blush of pure shame fill Weiss’s mother's cheeks. Pyrrha tensed as if ready to intervene, and Weiss herself felt an impulse to pull Blake off to one side and ask her not to pour any more salt in this particular wound than was strictly necessary. But it appeared the Schnee matriarch was capable of answering on her own behalf.

“More than I would care to admit. But… probably far less than you are imagining now. Jacques was understandably frustrated with me because I couldn't face the harsher realities of the world. And I hid behind the wine. So… so he would lose his temper, and I wouldn't respond to the shouting, and…”

“And he decided to get your attention another way,” Raven grunted from her spot on the couch, voice full of disgust. “Typical. Small men like him love to feel big in any way they can.”

“Yeah,” Blake agreed, though she looked a little stunned at having to agree with Yang's mother.

“I'm so, so sorry,” Pyrrha told her gently as she wrapped her arms around the woman, patting her back gently. “I’m sorry we couldn’t do more.”

Weiss noticed in that moment that Ilia looked a little out of sorts, and she couldn't blame her - given that she was the only one in the room who had no direct connection to the drama within the Schnee dynasty. But that was just how things were going to be for a while.

Raven stayed planted where she was and the rest of them did their best to comfort Mrs. Schnee. Nobody had much to say until Kali returned from the kitchen. She was already dressed for leaving, and a weary but passive expression was in place.

“Alright, Yang has agreed to meet us at the hospital. Raven, would you mind staying here with Willow to keep her company?”

Ironically, Willow was probably the only person in the room who didn't realize that “keep her company” was a thinly-veiled euphemism for “bodyguard”. Raven simply nodded by way of response, moving to the couch and patting the cushion next to her to indicate Weiss's mother was to sit by her.

“Oh,” she sniffled numbly, moving to obey. Weiss fully understood why she would have no room left in her mind to put up much of a fight after all she had been through that day. She half-feared that Raven would put a hand on her thigh or some other terribly timed advance, but decided to trust her for the time being. She had proven herself worthy of such.

And the trust was well-placed. Raven only patted her shoulder as her mother watched the other women take their leave.

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

When the group first arrived at the hospital, they were turned away, told that the patient had instructed she not be disturbed. They had worried that would be the end of a wasted trip until they spotted Emerald emerging from the ward.

“Hey!” Blake bade her, racing to clasp her hands immediately. Weiss really wished the first thing she noticed wasn't the bright pink scars along her forearms, but she knew she now had matching ones on her stomach and her back - which greatly reduced the amount of sympathy she felt, no matter who had or hadn’t been drugged.

“Hey,” she answered shakily.

“How did you… I mean, I thought they were going to take you off to the slammer!”

“Well, I could tell they wanted to. But the doctors swore up and down that there was no way I could have known what I was doing with all that stuff pumping through my veins. So now that I'm clean, they had to turn me loose. It's, uh, still really scary but better than being in jail, I guess.”

Kali stepped forward and bowed her head slightly in greeting. “Glad to see you're recovering, dear. How is Cinder coming along?”

Immediately, all light left Emerald's eyes. She looked like a puppet that had its strings cut, completely devoid of life on the inside. Then she forced herself to take a long breath and smile at the older woman. “Better, a little. She's getting better everyday.”

“Then I'm glad to hear that, too. Do you think there's any chance we could see her? They refused us at the desk, I'm afraid.”

“Oh, I don't know…” Her eyes went straight to Weiss.

“She's paid her dues,” Blake put in. There might have been a little reluctance in her voice, but at least she had said it. That was worth its weight in gold.

“You're right, I know you are. But after the fire, and the raid on Junior's, she's not quite as fond of Schnee as she used to be.” In the end, she shrugged and turned back toward the doors into the ward. “Don't say I promised anything.”

By the time Emerald returned, Yang had arrived on the scene - on her recently-mended motorcycle, which she was highly pleased about - and spent the rest of their wait caressing and kissing Weiss's head, trying to reassure and comfort her as best she could. She was only glad her mother wasn't there to have to witness it; maybe it was better in the long run for her to start getting used to seeing such things, but the day had been hard enough on her already. Stacking more trauma on top of other trauma certainly wasn't going to help anything.

“Umm… she said she'd see you. But that she doesn't want Weiss getting too close. Or talking. O-or anything.”

“I get the message,” she grumbled as they moved to follow her.

Halfway down the hall, Yang hooked an arm around the back of Weiss's neck to pull her in close. “Don't listen to that pile of shaving cream. We both know the truth.”

“Yeah,” she sighed contentedly, leaning into the touch and the solace it provided. “You're right. That's what matters.”

Cinder Fall's hospital room was no more or less depressing than the one Weiss had spent so long in during her tenure there. A single potted sunflower graced the table by her bedside - likely from either Salem or Emerald. As for Cinder herself…

Weiss now realized that she hadn't got a good look at all the last time she paid her a visit. There were still bandages. Even after such a long convalescence, she still had bandages hiding the left half of her face and her left arm. Would they ever let her out?

When they entered, she already looked hollow. The look didn't change in the slightest when they approached, and the visible eye didn't turn in their direction.

“Hello, Cinder,” Kali attempted. No answer. “Feeling any better today?”

After a few painfully awkward seconds, Emerald whispered, “She shook her head when I asked that earlier.”

“I can answer for myself,” Cinder rasped. Her once-velvety voice now scraped out like gravel across sandpaper. Kali recovered a lot faster than the others, who were all busy wincing.

“Good, good. Then you can tell me why you wouldn't let us back here before.” When the marred Dragon only gritted her teeth and turned away, she folded her arms over her chest. “Hmm… seems you can't answer for yourself consistently. Maybe you shouldn't snap at your devoted companion for trying to help you.”

Taking some initiative, Blake stepped forward and asked, “Any word on when you'll get out?”

“No.”

“Not since the last time,” Emerald added, this time ignoring the obvious irritation in Cinder's burning eye. “They're still saying ‘maybe another couple of weeks’ and that's as specific as they get.”

“You are really cruisin’ for a bruisin’,” Cinder muttered.

After the briefest of hesitations, Yang stepped forward and grinned, gesturing to the hastily lopped-off locks that were just barely hanging to Cinder's chin. “What a lazy fuzzy duck. Look at that hair! Didn't know you looked up to Vernal like that, copying her style and all.”

That did at least earn a little snort from the patient. But her eye was back to staring across the room at nothing. Any fool could tell that the scars on the surface were nothing compared to what had been done to her soul.

“It'll grow back,” Emerald whispered, sitting on the edge of her bed. “You'll see.”

“Yeah,” she rasped bitterly. Her voice got a little stronger the longer she spoke, but the smoke inhalation had done its temporary damage. “But the rest won't. They said… the burns are too deep. I'm ruined. Forever. And none of you understand even the slightest shred of how I feel. So you can all save your- your well-wishes and sunny words for somebody else. I don't want to see any of you. I don't want you in this room. Leave… me… alone.”

That really seemed to be all Cinder could stand. She said more than the last time Weiss tried to visit, though none of it could be viewed as an ‘improvement’. Yang, Ilia, and Emerald were already turning away, and Weiss was waffling, unsure of whether or not she ought to follow, when another voice spoke up.

“Can we see the damage?”

Cinder's visible eye went wide in mingling disbelief and anger as it swivelled in their direction. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you're right.” Pyrrha took a single, measured step toward the bed before she continued, “None of us know what you've been through. We can't without going through it ourselves. But maybe, if we saw the injuries, we could empathize a little better.”

“You can't be serious.”

“I am.”

Shaking her head, she looked down at her own lap. “You want to laugh at me; after all those passes I made at you, now you can gloat that I'm not good enough for you anymore. Should have known! Uppity Christian girls always love to feel smug and superior. Isn't that right, Weiss?”

She did open her mouth to respond to that barb, but Pyrrha beat her to the punch. “I won't laugh. Cross my heart.”

“What's that worth to me?” Eye squinting, she demanded, “If you laugh, you'll take off your blouse.”

“Cinder, really,” Kali sighed in pure exasperation.

“How is that not fair? She's asking me to expose myself! I'm only demanding she do the same if I have to suffer any ridicule or-”

“Deal,” Pyrrha cut across the budding argument. Then she took a few more steps closer. “Go on. Unless you're really that afraid of my reaction; I would understand.”

Weiss could see what her best friend was doing there, and she could scarcely believe it: goading Cinder, manipulating her into relenting to her demands. It was surprisingly underhanded from her! On the other hand, she thought she could tell where Pyrrha was going with this; if so, it was because she thought such manipulation was the only way to help Cinder. Even if it wasn't how she would normally choose to handle things, sometimes one has to work within the available options, no matter how less than ideal.

“Fine,” the bedridden girl growled, sitting up a little straighter and reaching for the bandages on her left arm. “You'll see. You're going to see right now, you pathetic little- nobody understands, you all think I'm…”

Weiss could see both Pyrrha and Kali twitching as if they would move to help her. She felt the same impulse; Cinder was a fiercely independent woman, but it was heartbreaking watching someone who had been so injured wrestling with bandages all on their own. But for the sake of her pride, they resisted.

Until they all gasped.

It was bad enough when she unravelled her arm, because they noticed there wasn't quite so much of it as there had been before. Huge chunks of the flesh on her forearm were gone, and worse still, her pinky and ring finger were completely missing. Though the upper arm was whole, it still bore several stretches of burns that would take as much time to heal as the rest of them.

Unfortunately, she wasn't done. As the gauze fell away from her face, they saw it looked no better than her forearm. The scar tissue stretched over the forehead and cheek, fading just above her lip and jaw. Some of it inched into her hairline, but it looked as if the hair was already growing back so the follicles were intact. But that wasn't the worst of it.

“Oh, your eye…” Blake looked as if she already regretted saying it by the time Weiss glanced at her, but she went on, “I'm so sorry, Cinder. I mean it, I can't imagine…”

It was a lot harder for Weiss to look into that gaping socket than the rest. Cinder could tell - she could tell all of them were having a harder time with that than the rest, even if Pyrrha was merely gazing at her, contemplative.

“Hand me that box.” When nobody moved, Cinder growled in annoyance. “Useless Dragons.” She reached for the side table herself, but Emerald got there first, passing it to her. “Guess we should try this so you all can close your damn mouths.”

There was a glass eye in the box. Cinder took it out, staring at it as if it were the enemy. Every inch of her being was rage, hatred, bitterness. She set it in her lap, then picked up her glass of water and hesitated again.

“I've only done this once. Just… they showed me how, but I haven't needed it since then. Bandages would be covering it up, anyway.”

Then the real struggle began. The remaining fingers on her left hand weren't recovered enough to be fully functional, and she wasn't able to hold the socket open enough to pop it in there. After the first few tries, she began shaking with frustration, which certainly didn't help matters.

“Here,” Pyrrha said, reaching for it. Cinder jerked it out of reach. “Let me help.”

“I don't need your help, Straightie.”

“You do. Don't you get tired of acting like a baby?”

Cinder's remaining eye flew open. Incensed, she glanced around at the rest of them, as if waiting for someone to jump to her defense - tell Pyrrha she was out of line.

“Don't look at me,” Yang snorted. “Had to have a lot of help putting on shirts and stuff from my mom while my shoulder was messed up - and you know how much I really wanna ask her for help.”

Already, the patient was completely caught off her guard. When Pyrrha sat on the edge of her bed, pulling the glass eye out of her numb grip, she started and drew back from her. “Wh-what… what are you trying to-”

“Can you pull down the skin under your eye for me?” she asked while dipping the little glass sphere in the water again. Cinder obeyed, too flabbergasted by everyone's reactions to her injuries when she had been so certain of what they would be. “Thank you. Here…”

Everyone in the room held their breath while Pyrrha used one thumb to push up her bald eyebrow and the other hand to ease the eye in. It did resist a bit, but eventually went where intended - and she only had to tap it once or twice to make its pupil aim in the same direction as the other one. For some reason, that was more disturbing for Weiss to watch than installing it in the first place.

“There,” she sighed at last, smiling in relief that she was finished and it had gone successfully.

“Thank you.” That was so unusual for Cinder to utter that she herself winced at how it sounded in her mouth. But when Pyrrha’s arm fell around her shoulders, she tensed and said, “Now what do you want?”

“Just getting comfortable. I'm visiting a friend, aren't I?”

“Are you? I thought you hated me hanging all over you. Making you uncomfortable. This was an easy excuse to put a stop to that; I wouldn't want some hideous freak hanging all over me, either. You could never darken my ‘hotel suite’ again and I would understand.”

Pyrrha's smile was gentle, but also bore a hint of mischief. “What do you mean? I'm sitting next to the strong, gorgeous, confident Cinder Fall. A little burn here and there doesn't change that. At least, I don't think so… and I know I'm not the only one.”

While Cinder was still goggling at that much, unable to fully comprehend the situation, Pyrrha used the hand behind Cinder's neck to crook a finger at Emerald, beckoning her over. When she approached, brown brow furrowing, the finger pointed down at the other side of the bed, where there was just enough space for her to sit. Still clearly not sure what she was doing, she sat.

“What are- Emerald, go away! Sit in the chair or s-something!”

Before Emerald could do as Cinder commanded, as she almost certainly would have, Pyrrha's other hand shot out to catch her hand and pull it over so that they were both resting on Cinder’s stomach. “Let her stay. She really wants to be close to you.”

“No, she doesn't! She's just… pitying me, like everyone else wants to pity me! God, you're all so, so…” But she couldn't seem to come up with a word for what they were.

“Is she? I think it's more than that. I may be a ‘straightie’, whatever that is, but I've seen the way she looks at you. Maybe you should just ask her.”

Looking more distressed than Weiss could ever remember her looking, Cinder glanced first at the rest of them, then up at Pyrrha. Then, very slowly, she turned to the green-haired friend who had been by her side all along.

“You'd better not be harboring some secret crush, Emerald. We tried things and they didn't work out. I'm just…” Almost begging now, her expression softened very slightly as she went on, “I’m a bed-and-forget kind of girl. You know that! Stop forcing some weird feelings on me that you know I can't return!”

Emerald shrugged her shoulders, dusky cheeks blushing a deeper shade as she looked away. “It's not a secret.”

“What?”

“I never tried to keep it a secret. After that time we… well, that time, I told you how I felt, and you rejected me. Said I should stop making a big deal about nothing. So… I haven't brought it up again because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable.” Passion rose in her voice as she went on, “Didn't mean those feelings went away. You're still the only one for me! I don't care if… if I'm not the one for you. That's fine, and I can accept it. But it doesn't mean I'll stop being your best friend.”

No one else in the room breathed or made a sound. Ilia did cough, but it seemed to be honestly involuntary, not as an excuse to break the silence.

“Why?” Her voice broke, and moisture began to leak from the corner of her good eye. “I'm… I am the worst bitch in the whole world. You deserve so much better.”

“What about those other women? Like this one right here?” She nodded toward Pyrrha, who only rolled her eyes at the attention being returned to her when she had specifically turned it away on purpose. “Don't they deserve better, too? I mean, she turned out to be alright.”

“Thank you,” Pyrrha laughed, amused at the phrasing.

“If they let a bitch like me pound them into the bed and dump them, they deserve to be dumped. I don't respect weakness; I respect strength.” Cinder’s eyes flicked over to the tall redhead. “If you gave in, I would have blown your mind… but lost respect for you since you didn't stick to your guns. You stood your ground. You're strong.”

She nodded, slightly pleased at the compliment hidden amongst the harsher words. “Well, that's… I suppose I understand how you would see it that way. And I don't know anything about sex, to be honest. But I'm…” With a little shrug, she rushed ahead, “What you see as a weakness, I think it's a kind of strength. To give someone your heart and trust that they'll take care of it for you? It's stronger than the fear telling you to protect yourself.”

“What do you know about it?!” she snapped, though the tears and scratchiness in her voice gave her words less bite than usual. “You've never even been with anyone, man or woman!”

“I haven't. Maybe I'm just not ready.”

“Oh, but Emerald and I are? I don't know the first thing about… about being someone's girlfriend! I'm a selfish, abrasive, aggressive, horrible woman! Why would I inflict that on an incredible friend like her?!” By now, Emerald was in shock, staring open-mouthed, but Cinder couldn't seem to stop. “Of course I've noticed her looking at me that way, like sh-she wanted to neck again! But… but what does she know about being in a relationship, either? So it was just better if we pretended… oh, you ruined it, you idiots!”

If the room was quiet before, it was a tomb now. Emerald started to get up, to retreat, but Pyrrha held her fast; she seemed to think they needed to finish that conversation.

“You… you could tell?” she breathed, mortified. Cinder nodded in defeat. “But I thought you weren't… interested in… with me, so I let go of…”

“I'm not. You're better than some tramp. You're my best friend, my right arm - or I guess my left, since that's the one that got roasted.” Yang did let out a soft chuckle, subdued as it was. “Why mess with success? Especially now that I'm like this.”

Pyrrha fielded this one. “Like what? A few scars aren't enough to eclipse the great Cinder Fall.”

“Oh yeah?” Her smirk was a good attempt, but didn't even come close to her usual haughtiness. “I wasn't great enough to get you into bed.”

“I'm not interested in women. But…” When she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, flashed a shy smile, Weiss finally realized that Pyrrha might have been spending more time with the Dragons than she previously realized… because she was flirting with disaster in a very literal sense. “You did shake my faith in that more than anyone else has.”

Cinder squinted up at her while the other women in the room looked on and sheer shock. Ilia and Blake glanced between each other, and Kali shook her head with a little smile; she definitely saw the moment for what it was, experienced as she was herself.

“Hmm… well, Little Miss Nikos, you may have to wait until my arm heals. Can't drive your body wild with only one good hand.”

“Really? I suspect what you mean is… you can't drive both of us wild with only one good hand.”

Emerald looked as shocked as Cinder. But when the latter turned to look at her in disbelief, stunned and a little bemused, Pyrrha chanced a wink at the other woman. Then she began to move their hands in a circle over Cinder's stomach. Picking up on her intentions at last, Emerald chanced a coy little grin and added her own efforts, teasing her through the hospital gown so much that she looked away from both of them, cheeks and neck filling with color.

This was really happening. Cinder Fall was blushing.

“Yeah,” Emerald finally giggled. “Pretty ambitious, even for you, Cin.”

“You two are really proud of yourselves, huh? T-teasing me when I'm injured and recovering? Very nice. Take advantage of the handicapped.”

“You don't seem like the type to make excuses,” Pyrrha said with a soft smile. Her other hand reached up to comb through her patient's hair, which from her side of the bed meant caressing her face on her way there. Weiss couldn't believe what she was seeing! Not only her best friend petting scar tissue, which was a little icky, but making the formidable Cinder a blushing, flustered mess.

Worse: an emotional mess. “But I'm…” Another tear slid down her unmarked cheek, voice smaller and more fragile than any of them had ever heard it before. “I'm so ugly now.”

It was obvious Pyrrha was about to reply, say something comforting. But this time, Emerald beat her to the punch. Her hand released Pyrrha's and lifted to tilt Cinder's head upward, meeting her eyes with her own.

“Like you weren't ugly before.”

Even while the other girl sitting on her bed was gasping in shock at the insult, the first real laugh she had enjoyed in weeks bubbled up from Cinder's stomach. “You really are terrible.” The others laughed in relief as the two smiled at each other. When Pyrrha moved to stand, she said without looking away, “Where are you going?”

“Oh, I… well, it seemed like you two wanted a moment alone.”

“Don't be ridiculous. You all came to see me; I'd hate to seem ungrateful and kick you out just so I can… rediscover Emerald.” While the named girl grinned goofily, she turned away and patted the bed, asking Pyrrha to sit again. She did, looking very slightly less confident but still satisfied with her own results. “And… I suppose I should apologize for how unwelcoming I was at first. Wallowing in my own misery; you're right, that isn't who I am.”

“Of course it isn't,” Weiss said with a smile - which vanished when Cinder's normally burning eyes shot a cold gaze in her direction. “Uh… hi.”

“Your father did this.”

“Yes, I- well, about tha-”

“Come here.” She approached, a little too guilty to refuse - even if she knew in her heart she had no reason to feel guilty. “Emerald tells me you have a new scar. Since I had to bare my shame in front of everyone, mind if we compare?”

“Must I?”

“It's not like I haven't seen more from you before.”

That was true. Hoping it would make it feel less like a violation, she was quick about nipping her shirt up to expose the little pink scar on her stomach. Then she turned to show the longer one at the respective position on her back. To her shock, gentle fingers caressed the scar, and she shivered as goosepimples broke out over her skin. The touch was surprisingly kind, given the person it was attached to. Blake let out a wolf whistle.

“You're forgiven. For whatever small role you played in the fire being set. You could have come after one or both of us for revenge for this wound, and you didn’t. And… I suppose there's no reason to mistrust you anymore. You’ve proven your loyalty over and over, and I was holding onto a grudge that didn’t really exist. I know better than anyone that you can’t help who your parents are.”

Feeling a little too self-conscious, Weiss waited for Cinder to stop petting her. When she didn’t, she turned back around and yanked her shirt down again. “Alright, you masher! Stop being so greedy when you already have a girl on each arm!”

Everyone else in the room laughed. After a moment or two, Weiss joined in; it was nice that they were getting along again, and could enjoy some moment of levity in the midst of so much despair. And even though they might have their differences, she was honestly glad to see Cinder getting back to being her old self again. Maybe now that she had Emerald and they could be open about their feelings, she could find some true happiness instead of fleeting moments of distraction. They all deserved that much.

[famedroleplayarchive]

BAEK JAEYOON is the MAIN DANCER AND LEAD VOCAL of QUICKSILVER under GOLD STAR MEDIA. He was born on OCTOBER 30, 1997. He looks a little like LEE MINHO (LEE KNOW) OF STRAY KIDS.

CHARACTER INFORMATION

faceclaim: lee minho (lee know), stray kids

legal name: baek jaeyoon

stage name: -

pronouns: he/him

birth date: october 30, 1997

hometown: seoul, south korea

position: main dancer & lead vocal of quicksilver

claims: n/a

BIOGRAPHY

triggers: depression, self harm, self image struggles.

baek seulki found out she was pregnant a week before she turned twenty-three. with no actual relationship to support her – the father of her child being a casual hook up she’d been with once or twice – and her parents quick to disown her for getting a baby before she got a husband, the woman had no other option but to do it all on her own. it was difficult at first having to coincide being very pregnant with her job as a seamstress for a theatre company, but she pulled through, being seen around the theatre using her belly as support for her sewing kit. what was originally just an extended part of her became a baby boy who she carried around with her, being fed while the woman attempted to fix someone’s costume.

jaeyoon was raised around actors. most of them were good people, always willing to take the burden of looking after him off his mother’s shoulders whenever she was busier with something else. tiny toddler feet hitting the stage excitedly would echo around the theatre together with the laughter of the troupe that found oh so much amusement at the sight of the child who seemed to be interested in everything he could look at and touch. wherever his mother went, the boy was literally carried on her back – be that the fabric store or the house of the few ladies around the neighborhood who hired his mother to do minor fixes in their clothes, providing her with the extra money she needed in order to take care of herself and her baby.

one thing about being around the theatre most of the time was that it made one fall in love with it. it couldn’t have been different for jaeyoon. from the moment he could recall, he had been enchanted by what the theatre could offer. he would watch plays and musicals that happened at the place his mother worked for – as well as a couple of ballets through the years – and even as young as he was, the boy had known he belonged on stage. he felt the pull from an early age, that desperate need to be up there, entertaining an audience, playing the part of someone else and being able to create and offer people a reality they could fall into for a couple of hours.

while seulki could not afford to put jaeyoon in drama classes, when she expressed his interest, the people she worked with insisted on financing them for him. that was, until his mother remarried, and his step-father had a job that made it possible for them to afford things they couldn’t in the past, such as living in an apartment with more than a single bedroom, or buying new clothes instead of seulki having to sew them ones from scratch with leftover fabric from work.

but jaeyoon found, from the start, that he didn’t like his step-father much. not that he was a bad guy, for jaeyoon, even as young as aged ten, could tell that the man treated his mother well and tried to do his best to care for jaeyoon too. yet, he couldn’t do it. his moods swung hard and often whenever he was around the older man, and their relationship wasn’t made better when jaeyoon was punished for his behavior by being forbidden to attend classes.

as a teenager, jaeyoon found that his mood changes grew increasingly harder to deal with. seulki wrote it off as teenage angst and, with a younger child to look after, she didn’t have the time nor the patience to deal with jaeyoon’s struggles. meanwhile, jaeyoon and his step-father started butting heads even more, to the point where jaeyoon would leave the house and not go back for days, camping at a different friend’s place each time, until he felt the anger leave him. each time he’d get back to a worried mother and even more worried step-father, who would just tell jaeyoon not to do it again.

but it was just rinse and repeat. the more the time passed, jaeyoon’s temper only got worse. he tried, very desperately, not to have such intense reactions each time, and the only way jaeyoon found to control it was to turn all the hatred he carried around inward. for the entirety of high school, jaeyoon went from a visible extrovert to a massive introvert. wallowing in thoughts of self-hatred, each time he minimally had an argument with someone, jaeyoon was convinced that the person would hate him, and he found no other way to deal with that other than punishing himself.

yet jaeyoon found himself further pushed into the arts than away from them. with a better source of income, he was able to start taking both dance and singing lessons, which were always the highlight of his days. everything was set up for him to go to university for drama as soon as he finished high school yet, in the very last months of school, jaeyoon’s step-father lost his job. the economic situation made it so that it was almost impossible for him to find a new job in a timely fashion, and that sent the man into a spiralling depression that his family couldn’t drag him out of.

with no practical skills and no degree, the only thing jaeyoon could think of to do to help his parents was to enlist. through the one year and a half he was in the army, most of the meager salary he got was sent home to his parents. being in the military only further pushed jaeyoon into intense self-hatred, especially being forced to deal with authorities that wouldn’t hesitate to punish him whenever he wasn’t able to control his temper.

by the time his service ended, jaeyoon’s step-father had been able to find a job working as a stagehand. while their lives weren’t as comfortable as before, things were much steadier and when seulki saw a pamphlet announcing auditions for gold star’s acting division, she insisted on jaeyoon auditioning. he wasn’t expecting to pass, but they were fairly impressed with his skills and when they found out about his background with dancing and singing, they asked him why he had never auditioned for a company before.

jaeyoon never thought about going down the idol route. yet, after assessing his skills, he was offered the opportunity of singing a contract as an idol trainee. his parents encouraged him, reminding jaeyoon that he was already at an age limit for this sort of thing, and might as well take this chance.

if jaeyoon struggled with his perception of self, it was nothing compared to what happened to him as a trainee. after the military, it was harder for him to lash out, with jaeyoon growing used to internalizing every single bad feeling he would have instead. but the trainers were demanding and sometimes even stricter than his superiors in the army, to the point where jaeyoon considered quitting entirely at least once a week for the better part of the four years he spent as a trainee.

it was only seulki’s encouragement that kept him going, and now the hunger he had deep down for the life on stage. the stubborn part of him pushed jaeyoon towards sticking around even after gold star announced the debut of vive, a boy group that jaeyoon wasn’t even given a chance to compete to be a part of. as long as i’m not kicked out, jaeyoon thought, it means they still have some interest. not long after, jaeyoon was told about him making the cut for quicksilver. the conditions of debut were not as he was expecting, what with quicksilver being an attempt at saving half of a dead group, but jaeyoon was glad to finally have an opportunity at all.

jaeyoon was not unaware that if life as a trainee was hard, life as an idol would be harder, especially for someone like him, but now he was unwilling to give up.

[curatedkmen]

“Closer”chapter II

Song rec: Blood Knows - Rhye

2016

“Seonho have you met everyone? This is Bae Sung Woo hyungnim, Park Sodam, and…” Le Dong Ha was introducing everyone to Seonho who just came in the theatre meeting room for a first script reading with the cast of “Closer.”

Closer. The theatre play that leave a huge impression in Seonho’s heart, mind, and body. After the alley accident that happened 6 years ago, Seonho could not get rid of Geunyoung’s image in his head. Well despite the fact that Moon Geunyoung is an actress and she is everywhere on tv so it’s impossible to forget her face but he specifically could not get rid of the image of Geunyoung kissing him and moaning between their kisses while his three fingers were moving deep inside her. That night when he went home, he was feeling a little pain and discomfort on his scrotum. The guy was feeling the symptoms of blue balls from holding that erection for a long time without having an orgasm. He got home riding the subway, went to his room and took a bath, feeling ecstatic from remembering Geunyoung’s face when she came and painful at the same time from his dick. 

A month after that alley accident, yes, Seonho prefered to call it an accident because both can't possibly know that they were gonna make out in an alley with strangers they just met in a club, Seonho went to the military. Fulfilling his duty as a South Korean citizen for 18 months and came back again as a theatre actor. 

He continued to land on offers and more offers for a theatrical role. He was given the nickname “theatre idol” because of how famous he is amongst the theater fans due to his great acting and irresistible dimples. His career gradually grew as he got more important roles and played in biggere auditoriums, which showed how more and more people were expecting his performance on stage. 

He continued with his life and had a couple of girlfriends but no one could ever help him forget Moon Geunyoung. 

One day in April, Seonho received news from his theatre crews about a role in “Closer” stage play that was going to be held in the second half of the year. He was offered the role of Dan.

When he first got a call from the directors, he almost lost his shits. He was so happy because he loved the play so much, the range of emotions, the dialogues, and the build up was so stupidly intense but delicate at the same time so as a theatre freak he was so excited to challenge himself in that role. 

“Kim Seonho-ssi, I’m sure you've heard about the offer, so I just want to confirm if you would like to join us on this year’s “Closer.” I watched you a lot already, I couldn’t watch “True West” but I watched “Almost Maine” and you were brilliant in it.”

“Yes, Director. I would love to join you. It is an honor, really. I have been a fan of “Closer” for a really long time. I would love to challenge myself to bring Dan into life this time.”

“Wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that. Oh did you perhaps watch “Closer” in 2010?”

“Yes, yes I did. It was a month before my enlistment so I couldn’t miss it”

“Actually we will have some of the same actors from “Closer” 2010 but it is still being discussed”

Seonho almost could not believe his ears. Same actors? Don't tell me she’s gonna play as Alice again? I’m not sure I can behave for the second time looking at her in that freaking dress for fuck sake.

“Really? Which actors is it?”

“Bae Sung Woo and I’m not sure again with the others. But I’m sure you’ll see them all in two weeks for our first reading”

“Okay Director, I will see you in two weeks then. Thank you very much again for this opportunity”

Seonho couldn't get the thought out of his mind that Geunyoung might be acting again on this year's closer again but he just decided to not let that thought bother him or even to ask the director about it and see for himself if In two weeks he will find her in the room for their first script reading.

Two weeks went by and he finally met his co-stars on the first group reading when he first entered the room. He quickly screened everyone out to make sure the girl that he would love to see once again but at the same time also the girl that he would hate to see in this setting is not in the room. Thankfully she was not there. 

“Sunbaenim, I actually went and saw ‘Closer’ six years ago and I watched the one where you were acting as Larry. I just wanna say that I admire you as an actor and it is an honor to be able to act in this year’s ‘Closer’ with you” Seonho said to Bae Sung Woo as they wrapped up the script reading session. 

“Thank you Seonho. It is like a fate then that you’re here now acting as Dan six years later. I’m really looking forward to your performance, I’m sure it’s gonna be great” 

Next to Bae Sung Woo was Park Sodam who acted as Alice in the play. She overheard Seonho talking to Sung Woo and jumped into the conversation. 

“You’re so lucky Oppa, I did not watch the Closer in 2010, I wish I did. Did you watch the one where Sung Woo Oppa and Geunyoung Unnie were in it?”

“Uhm yeah actually I watched the one with Moon Geunyoung in it” Seonho answered her question while trying to stay calm.

“Oh gosh, I bet she was amazing as Alice. I should call her and ask for advice.”

Seonho forgot for a second that these people in front of him have been working in the industry for years and it came as no surprise that they knew Geunyoung, the verteran actress. Suddenly, he felt a hand landed on his right shoulder, he looked towards his right, apparently Park Eunsok, the one who was gonna play Dan other than him, now stood beside him. 

“Hey you should invite her to come to our play Sodam-ah. For old time sake. I’m sure she would love to see it. I will contact her as well so she’ll come hahaha. Sung Woo Hyung you should also invite her!” Park Eunseok said eagerly.

Fuck, oh right he worked with her in that drama last year. Why does everyone know her? Well she could come when Park Eunseok plays instead then I’ll be saved. I’ll just see her from far away in the audience seats. 

A month later, after countless practice, they finally had their first show. Seonho had been so busy practicing for his role that he forgot about his worries about the possibility of Geunyoung watching the show for a while. He did a lot of shows already for 2 weeks and he had not seen Geunyoung in sight. He thought maybe she came already when Park Eunseok was playing as Dan and he did not even bother to ask Sodam or Eunseok because he could not even bear saying her name in front of her colleagues or friends. 

Until one day, in the middle of the show, he was saying his lines for the scene where he was arguing with Alice. He sat on a chair facing towards the right side of the audience. As the emotion built up, among the words of Dan, he spotted those eyes. 

The eyes that he could not possibly forget since he first saw them so close six years ago. Moon Geunyoung was amongst the audience. Wearing a black dress and a grey sweater on top of it. Even in the darkness he could see her eyes shining. He was lost in her eyes for a split second as she was also looking at him from her seat before he continued to deliver his lines. His heart was beating so fast he felt like he could explode on that stage in that second. The sudden adrenaline rush has caused him to scream louder when he finally hit the moments where he had to show frustrations to Alice. He thought that maybe letting it all out would reduce the surge of energy that he was feeling after he saw Geunyoung in the audience. 

The show finally ended, successfully, like usual. All casts went backstage to do a short evaluation and to pray once again for another successful show next week. Afterwards, usually the cast’s close friends or colleagues approached them backstage to say congrats and all. 

Seonho was talking to one of his college friends when he saw Geunyoung again, entering the room and went straight to Park Sodam to congratulate her. She had not seen him yet so Seonho had the liberty to stare at her still in disbelief from across the room since he was not able to do it in the auditorium. Not long after, Bae Sung Woo and Park Eunseok approached Geunyoung and Park Sodam. Seonho can see the four of them talking and laughing from where he was standing.

Not long after, his college friend bid him goodbye and so he was finally left alone. He was not able to think straight. He knew that Geunyoung just saw his performance on stage and now she is in the room standing just 7 metres from where he was standing. He did not have the guts to approach her. Not tonight. So he just packed up his stuff hurriedly and when he was finally done, he turned around and he felt like his heart dropped. Park Sodam was standing in front of him. 

“Kkamjjag-iya, why Sodam-ah? What’s wrong?” he said hurriedly while putting his right hand on his chest. 

Park-Sodam looked at him while trying to hide her laugh, “why are you so surprised Oppa? Hahaha you’re so red right now.”

“It’s just, because it’s hot here.”

“Wait are you leaving? No way, I want to introduce you to Geunyoung Unnie first. You’ll love her. You don't know her right?”

“No it’s fine you don't have-” 

Before he could finish his sentence, Sodam was already calling Geunyoung, “Unnie, come here” and she looked towards them. Now he could not possibly just run away. As Geunyoung walked towards them, he could feel his heart beating even faster every time she took a step closer to him. 

“This is Kim Seonho Oppa, he played as Dan earlier. He is good right? He said he saw Closer in 2010 when you were in it. Talking about fate huh and now he is in it”  

Geunyoung was standing in front of him, looking even more dazzling, mature and beautiful from the last time he saw her. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you again Seonho-ssi. It’s been awhile” she offered her hand and he shook it while trying his best to stay calm and to not smile creepily. The moment his hand touched hers, he felt like screaming inside. 

“Wait, you guys know each other? How?” Sodam asked in curiosity. Before he could answer Sodam, Geunyoung spoke.

“We had a drink together after my show in 2010, i met him in that Jazz club near this auditorium.” 

Seonho was so surprised at her answer, he thought she would pretend to not recognize him and besides, forgetting a face of a stranger after 6 years of not meeting them is understandable for him. Even when that stranger fingered you the first time you met. 

“Really? But you guys did not know each other before that? Interesting“ Sodam said as she smiled at both of them cheekily. “Well, you guys should catch up then. I’m gonna talk to Eunseok Oppa for a sec” and so they were left alone. 

“You look so handsome Seonho-ssi. I was enjoying your performance earlier. Dan really suits you. Finally I got to see you on stage six years later huh” Geunyoung broke the silence. She was lying when she said he was handsome. She thought he looked so hot the whole time Seonho was acting as Dan on stage, but she could not bring herself to say that. That suit and tie and the way he delivered his lines and acted out Dan’s emotions was so sexy. She could feel herself as Alice as she fell in love with this Dan on stage. 

“Thank you. You look-” he took a pause to find the appropriate words, “very pretty tonight. Thanks for coming to our show.” 

“When I saw you on stage, I wished I was Alice.” 

Seonho could not believe what Geunyoung just said to him. He stared at her in silence, hoping the woman in front of him would say something but she just stood there smiling at him.

“What do you mean?” 

“I guess I’ve missed you? Can we talk in private?”

[aboutcaseyaffleck]

Casey Affleck Gets Philosophical About Life, Time & The Whole Damn Thing

“Time,” reflects Casey Affleck, “is something I have been thinking about lately. It is ironic how the older you get, the better you are at being patient. With less time left, people become better at waiting. But this year, I feel much older and a lot less patient. I guess you’ve got to accept that time is never wasted? That doing is no different than not doing? That you can’t kill time no matter what you do, and that no matter what you do you can’t prevent the opposite from happening either? I don’t know. It’s a double-edged sword.”

It’s a Wednesday afternoon in early January, and Affleck and I are doing the Zoom thing, ostensibly to discuss his two new movies, the recently released indie Our Friend and the upcoming 19th-century period drama The World to Come. Yet our virtual tête-à-tête has become far more interesting, jumping wildly from his love of trains and travel to weightier topics like family, the future and the search for something more, something meaningful.

“I like the idea that time is an illusion. That past, present and future are all happening at once. I like it even though I can’t totally get my head around it. But either way, the me in the mirror gets older every day.”

Like most of us, he’s not only had plenty of time on his hands in recent months, housebound in L.A., but he’s tried to use his downtime wisely. “I tried to use this year of quarantine constructively,” the 45-year-old Oscar winner says. “I tried to see it as a winter season for shutting down and restoring something inside, but I just couldn’t. I’m not that evolved, I guess. I didn’t take up a new hobby or learn an instrument or get better at ‘self-care.’ If anything, I let my better habits and routines fall off. It was all I could do to keep my head above water and help buoy my friends and children when I could.”

As a guy with two teenagers at home — Indiana, 16, and Atticus, 13 — it hasn’t been easy, but he’s doing his best. He tried taking his sons on their annual camping road trip over the summer, but it was short-lived. Instead, he’s been focusing on making a happy home. “My kids don’t get to see their friends a lot, so I’m doing a lot more stuff with them, coming up with activities for the three of us, which they mostly hate, and I mostly let drop. And then I try again with the same outcome 90 percent of the time.”

While trying to create innovative plans to sustain his boys, he came up with one he thought might do some good, too. In June, he launched Stories from Tomorrow, a social-media initiative focused on creative writing by kids.

“At the beginning of all this last March, the first thing that occurred to me was that the quarantine would have a big impact on young people’s emotional well-being — the disruption they’re going to feel is really going to affect their mental health more than anyone else,” he says. “When I would sit down to write creatively, I felt better. But I couldn’t get my sons to journal or do creative writing much. I didn’t want to twist their arms about it. So I was like, ‘I’ll make a social media platform that inspires young people to write creatively, because it is such a good way of working out difficult feelings. And the way I will do that is have well-known people read the kids’ writing publicly.’ I knew that hearing your own writing read was exciting. I thought it would be really inspiring, that creative writing would be a great outlet for kids stuck at home.”

He enlisted some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Robert Redford, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, Matthew Broderick, Kyle Chandler and Danny Glover, as well as two current costars, Vanessa Kirby and Jason Segel, and arranged for donations made through the program to go to children’s hunger nonprofit Feeding America and Room to Read, which supports female education. He reached out to schools in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Haiti, hoping to create a global community.

Affleck was excited to make progress, to have done some good, but the initiative didn’t take off as planned. “In the end, an Instagram account for creative writing by tweens just couldn’t possibly compete with the quintillion bytes of daily data generated online. I don’t know. But I tried! And anyway, since then lots of other organizations started doing basically the same thing, and they are more organized than I am, and they have done a better job. So be it.”

Yet, adults have been disrupted, too, including Affleck himself, who is aware that, relatively speaking, he has gotten through mostly unscathed. “Am I happy? I mean, I’m relatively okay. It’s been a hard time to find balance and to keep it. I would say it’s been a hard time in my life, but I know that it’s been harder for other folks. So far we haven’t lost anyone, and we haven’t lost our house. And I rediscovered that when you’re feeling bad, there’s nothing better to do than to try to help other people. Being of service not only helps others but is a great way of getting outside of yourself. Also — and I really believe this — I think this time will be remembered as one when our country made leaps and bounds in the right direction; we are changing and growing and it’s uncomfortable, but we will be much, much better. I wish I could see the next couple hundred years. It’s going to be amazing.”

At the end of the day, it’s family that’s keeping him going. “Having my kids around and being able to spend so much time with them has been amazing. It is the brightest silver lining in all of this. They are what gives me the most joy. They are funny and smart and interesting and interested. They are just the best company ever,” he says. “Anytime I try to parent out some ‘teaching moment,’ I find they are two steps ahead. They help me make sense of stuff just as much I help them, if not more. I don’t have any answers, but batting the questions around, back and forth, is a good way of coping.”

CALEB CASEY MCGUIRE AFFLECK-BOLDT feels he is luckier than most. Although he and many of his peers have gone jobless for a full year, he spent 2019 working hard. He had not one but three films done and dusted prior to the start of the pandemic; the last one wrapped a week before mandatory quarantine. Two of these have back-to-back release dates: the tearjerker indie Our Friend came out in January, and sweeping period drama The World to Come will be released February 12. Thriller Every Breath You Take is slated for later this year. “I am so, so, so glad I spent 2019 working that much. It is what kept us afloat all through 2020,” he says.

The films themselves are radically different, but there are a few common threads. In both of his winter releases, Affleck plays a man who has lost a family member and whose marriage is in shambles. In both, he is a man in pain.

In the LGBTQ masterpiece The World to Come, which revolves around the love that blossoms between two married women on the mid-19th-century American frontier, his character, Dyer, says very little but manages to convey a wealth of emotion with his eyes alone. He may seem stoic, but he is suffering.

“The World to Come is a story about a couple who have lost a baby. They’re dealing with the grief in totally different ways and having a very hard time coming together again,” he explains. “My character wants to heal that by having another, but his wife [played by Katherine Waterson] is coping in a different way. She is severing all emotional attachment to him because it triggers more and more grief. She [only] seems to come alive when she is with their neighbor, a woman on the next farm [played by Vanessa Kirby]. He wants his wife happy, but he also would like her to love him. To me, this is the story of how couples can have their relationship shattered by a sudden loss. And it’s definitely a beautiful story about two women who feel that they have to hide their love and find the courage to love each other anyway.”

Affleck likes layers. He himself has many, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he’s drawn to roles written as fully formed characters, not caricatures. With Dyer, that’s abundantly clear. “Crisis is fun to play, [and Dyer] is in an interesting crisis,” he says. “I think he’s a really good person — a really decent, solid, loving person — which is what I loved so much about playing him and what I love so much about the writing. It’s more interesting when there’s no bad guy, just a conflict of circumstances and feelings that get so complicated that it drives two people apart.”

In Our Friend, a different set of circumstances drives the leads apart. Affleck and Dakota Johnson take on the true story of Matthew and Nicole Teague, whose imperfect marriage was strained by his long absences and her affair, neither of which seem at all important when she’s diagnosed with terminal cancer.

“To me, Our Friend is really a story about how petty grievances between people can divide them and then be forgotten when a gigantic tragedy is dropped in their laps. [Matthew] was wronged, it’s true — his wife cheated on him. On the other hand, he wronged her in a bunch of ways; [they] were just more passive and not quite so salacious. He wasn’t around. Matt got to be a dad and he got to travel the world as a journalist. He left her to take care of the kids. She wanted to have a life too, she had dreams of her own — she wanted to be a singer, she wanted to work — but she didn’t get to do that. She just got to be a mom. She was left holding the bag, and it wasn’t fair.”

He spent a fair amount of time immersing himself in the journalist’s life while filming in Fairhope, Ala., in 2019. (The film’s title is taken from Teague’s award-winning Esquire essay, “The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word.” The friend in question — played by Jason Segel — is a man who puts his life on hold to help the family during their darkest days.) But he did not become Matt Teague, which is an important distinction. “[Director] Gabriella Cowperthwaite asked that we not portray the personality traits of the real people. No accents, no mannerisms. [But] I did steal his style, because I had never seen someone nail the dad look any better than Matt. I say that with affection.”

As for the dreams Nicole gave up for her family, Affleck says, “If you were to ask Matt, I’m sure he would acknowledge that he was neglecting his role. He was neglecting her dreams, and that is a part of marriage, supporting what the other person wants. Like all relationships, it was complicated.”

Like life itself, really. This is why he can identify with both sides. He understands Nicole’s pain about the deference of her dreams as well as Matt’s desire to escape through travel — especially now, when Affleck himself has been completely grounded. Since the age of 17 he’s taken 20 cross-country road trips. His love of driving is secondary only to his enthusiasm for trains: Amtrak is his jam. He even fantasizes about owning his own train car one day.

Immersing himself in each location — whether it’s the sleepy Alabama town of Fairhope or the more exotic locale of Romania, which served as a stand-in for the East Coast of the U.S. in The World to Come — is actually one of the most desirable parts of the acting life, he says. “One of the things I love about working as an actor is that you go to some brand-new place and the community invites you in in a way that they don’t usually if you’re a tourist,” he confides. “You get to see what it’s like to really be there and imagine yourself living there.”

And he has — over the past ten years he’s spent so much time in cities including his hometown of Boston; Vancouver, British Columbia, the location of Light of My Life; Atlanta, where he shot the 2016 action flick Triple 9; Argentina, where he made Gerry; Dallas, for A Ghost Story; Calgary, Alberta, where much of the epic western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was filmed; Our Friend’s Fairhope set; Cincinnati, for The Old Man and the Gun; and Braddock, Pa., where he filmed the 2013 drama Out of the Furnace. “I have loved moving in and settling down and living a character’s life and then moving on. But I feel most at home in places that are struggling to get by. It reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in. I feel lighter in those places, more relaxed. I feel like myself. I fit in.”

For him, the where is almost as important as the who — immersing himself in the place is imperative to understanding his character. This is part of what makes him such an accomplished actor — he and most of the parts he plays merge. I draw a crappy analogy about how the characters are like a coat, which he very obligingly works with. “You have to build the coat from all of the scraps and pieces of yourself; all these characters are made up of little pieces of me,” he says, noting, “Obviously, sometimes they can’t be. Sometimes I have no connection whatsoever, and those are the jobs I look back on and I either feel nothing for, or worse. But sometimes you have to take the job that is available, like most people in the world. You know? I don’t think my dad wanted to be a janitor. But he did it.”

He’s won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Critics’ Choice Award, a Golden Globe and an Independent Spirit Award, among others, and appeared in films that run the gamut from box-office juggernauts like the Ocean’s 11 franchise and Tower Heist to indie darlings like brother Ben’s directorial debut Gone Baby Gone and Manchester by the Sea. He has even written and directed, most recently 2019’s Light of My Life, a bizarrely prescient movie about raising children in a pandemic. At this point in his career, he should have his pick of parts. “Not really,” he says. “There are a lot of people out there who have done good work, who are driven, and who have something to share. I have never been someone studios embraced as a ‘movie star,’ never knighted. I have always had to fight for the parts I have gotten. And you know what? That’s fine. Let me fight. It’s how I cut my teeth, and it is how I will keep them sharp. You can’t ask for more than a chance to be in the ring. Also, movies and TV aren’t all I care about. Sometimes I think, ‘Well, jeez, I have to work, and there are two jobs available to me, and the one that isn’t as good is the one that is close to home and I can see the kids, so I guess I am doing that.’ I love movies and really try hard to make them good. I really bust my ass every day when I get the chance to make one. I care more about my family than any movie. It’s not [always] the job I love, but this is the reality of my life. But maybe life will be long enough for a few more chapters.

The forward momentum of his future is an interesting topic. At the moment, he isn’t so much planning for the future as he is exploring it, because Affleck is not someone who likes to live with regret.

“I guess [at the end of the day], regret should be reframed as a reminder to be different,” he observes. And so, with this in mind, he embarked on a personal journey several years ago and decided to go back to college (at the Simon Fraser University in British Columbia). He had completed two years at Columbia University, but he never graduated — his film career kept getting in the way.

“I went back to school because I hadn’t finished, and I wanted to think about new things in a way that school can help you do,” he says. “I couldn’t go in person, so I found a strong online school and got started. You know, I’m 45, and I just thought, ’This is halftime. This is where you hit the locker room and think about how you want the rest of the game to go.’ You know what I mean? Like, ‘Okay, we went out, we played our best, we didn’t know what the other team was going to be like, we made some mistakes, we are in the game, so let’s adjust like this.’ Also, I’m not sure I want to be an actor forever. I had made a small pivot from acting into directing, and into producing more. And I like to direct movies. The most satisfying creative experience I’ve had in a long time was being a director. But ultimately it wasn’t quite enough. So I wanted to go study some of the things I was interested in. I wanted to do more with my life.”

Although he needed general credits to graduate, he found an unexpected passion for juvenile justice along the way, with a particular focus on alternative accountability programs. “I don’t know where this will lead me, or why I am so interested in it, but finding and implementing better systems for addressing harm and conflict among kids, adults too, but mostly young people, is something I care about. And the work that I have done so far has been fascinating and deeply rewarding.”

When I ask if this stems from his own experiences as a troubled kid growing up in Cambridge, Mass., with Christine, a single mom — his parents divorced when he was 9; his father, Timothy, an alcoholic tradesman, checked into a rehab facility in Indio, Calif., when Affleck was just 14 — he muses thoughtfully, “I love my parents and think they both did the very best they could and cared a lot. Period. Did I get into some trouble as a teenager? I got into some trouble when I was a kid, and I struggled a lot through high school with depression and substances, yes. Much of it I didn’t even know wasn’t normal. I don’t know if I was ‘troubled.’ Either way, as an adult, I’ve come to see that, regardless of how I compare to anyone else, I want less conflict in my life. That might be part of the reason why I’ve been so interested in learning about better ways of resolving conflicts, both with children and with grown-ups. It isn’t something they teach in school for some reason. Man, there is a lot they don’t teach you in school, huh? A lot you’ve got to learn on your own.”

And on this journey, mistakes will be made. That’s par for the course, and Affleck is no exception. “I have made so many mistakes, but life is the time for mistakes. I do believe people should hold themselves accountable and repair harm they have caused. That is important to me, and I try hard to do that whenever it is called for: apologize for mistakes and repair them,” he admits.

This is when our conversation, as such conversations are wont to do, comes full circle. Before we say goodbye, Affleck remarks, “You know, I heard Bono talking on Howard Stern’s show, and he said something about Frank Sinatra that was interesting. He said that he heard two versions of Frank singing ‘My Way.’ One version was recorded when Frank was young, and the other version was recorded when Frank was old. Each had the exact same words, same arrangement, same everything. But when Frank was young the line ‘I did it my way’ sounded proud, and when Frank was old it sounded humble. Whatever else time does to a person, I think it also does that.”

[source]

[icecoldflames]

Chapter 6 - The Mystery of Sanders Castle

Masterlist

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

***

Present Day, England

If not for the fact that Roman spent almost all night reading a book, he wouldn’t have slept. He was that excited. But, as soon as his head hit the pillow he was out like a light, dreaming of gay princes running around the 19th century.

Over the next few days, Roman devoured the larger book Satomi had suggested to him. All that was running through his mind was about Prince Logan and Prince Virgil. He wanted to read the other one in case he was making things up. But no, this book was more detailed and gave him even stronger vibes that the two princes were in a secret relationship.

As soon as he finished the second book, he called Satomi over during breakfast as soon as he saw her walk into the dining hall. He had already told Patton about Prince Virgil and Prince Logan’s maybe relationship a couple minutes earlier.

Satomi made her way through the first circle so she could sit across from Roman and Patton. “Wassup?” She asked with a smile, sliding into her seat.

Roman, who had been so excited to share, suddenly didn’t know how to bring it up. Fragments of sentences bubbled up from inside of him. “The princes! Virgil and Logan! Their relationship. Did you pick up on it? That they were in a relationship?”

Satomi smiled widely. “Yes,” she banged her fists on the table, causing a couple of students nearby to look at her oddly. “Someone finally picked up on it. I’ve been trying to tell mom for years but she never listens to me—she never listens to me a lot of the time anyways,” she rolled her eyes. She plonked three massive waffles onto her plate. “You’re the first person I know who’s realized it.”

“Is there any proof?” Patton asked, looking curiously at Satomi.

Satomi put on her mysterious face as she poured a heaping of maple syrup on her waffles. “Yes and no.”

“How’s that possible?” Roman asked.

“There are letters that I think were sent between Virgil and Logan. However,” she rolled her eyes again, “mom says that since they aren’t signed specifically by Logan and Virgil, it’s jumping to conclusions that they corresponded with each other.”

“Love letters?” Roman repeated, eyes as wide as saucers. “Why do you think they’re between Logan and Virgil?”

Satomi sat thoughtfully as she chewed, contemplating this. Finally, she said: “I don’t know.”

“So how are the letters signed?” Roman said curiously. “And do you have them?” He wondered what Virgil and Logan talked about. Were they like John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton? Like Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry from one of his favourite books, Red White and Royal Blue?

“One of them sends it to ‘Infinitesimal Professional’ while the other sends it to ‘Sweet Violet’,” Satomi explained to an eager Roman. “The letters are careful to avoid conversation of anything that could be proof—and if they do, they use codenames—but I’m almost sure that they are letters between Virgil and Logan.”

Roman thought back to his books. “So, in that case, these letters must have been sent between the time when Virgil and Philomena went back to Betrug after they visited Logan’s castle. Because they hadn’t known each other before Logan’s castle and they died right after Virgil’s!”

“Exactly,” Satomi nodded enthusiastically. “And as for where they are, they’re in the library.”

“Perfect!” Roman exclaimed, beginning to shovel the rest of his breakfast into his mouth. “Then we can go before class.”

“Uh, not exactly,” Satomi frowned. “The library as in the public library. In town.”

Oh. Roman deflated. They weren’t allowed to leave Violet Branch’s grounds unless it was for a field trip. And none of his teachers said anything about an upcoming field trip to town.

Satomi shrugged. “We’ll just sneak out tonight.” She said it so nonchalantly that Roman almost didn’t process what she had said.

Patton, who had been uncharacteristically quiet up until this point, put his foot down at this. “Uh, you are not sneaking out of school and going to the public library.” He looked shocked that Satomi even suggested it. “What if you were to get caught? And not even that, you’ll be breaking and entering.”

Roman probably should have known this was coming.

“I’m not letting you two run off to—”

“Get killed or worse expelled?” Roman cut in quickly, trying to make a joke. “C’mon, Patton. This is really exciting. What if Prince Logan is my great great grandfather or something?”

“Actually, he would be roughly your great great great great great great great grandfather,” Satomi interjected.

“Roman, I’m not allowing you to sneak out,” Patton said, ignoring Satomi’s comment. “I—” he began, but promptly shut his mouth as soon as that single letter got out.

Weird, Roman thought.

“—I just can’t. It’s not right,” Patton finally finished, his face a little flushed.

“I can just sneak out myself and bring the book back to you,” Satomi replied with a shrug. “Either way works for me.”

Patton’s eyes bugged out of his head.

Roman could practically hear Patton’s thoughts in his own head. Steal a book? Steal? He rolled his eyes. He would like to go with Satomi when she retrieved the book. But obviously Patton wasn’t going to allow it.

Roman swallowed. “You’re right,” he told Patton with a nod.

Satomi looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

He gently kicked her leg under the table. “It is wrong. And Satomi shouldn’t get the book herself either. She shouldn't steal from the public library. Besides, someone might’ve taken the book out and it might not even be in the library. I can ask to go whenever the first field trip will be.”

Patton looked at Roman with narrowed eyes, as if trying to detect if he was lying. Roman kept his face sincere, as if he really believed what he was saying, and eventually Patton turned away. “Good.”

***

Roman had math first and he was glad he and Satomi shared that class. On their way to Ms. Cirenza’s room, they planned how they would get to the public library. Well, Satomi planned it.

“There’s actually a secret passageway leading to the library,” Satomi explained as they walked. “Both it and the library are old. I sometimes wonder what the library used to be before it was a library. The plaque on the building said it was created in 1903. Must’ve been important for a secret passageway to lead to it.”

Throughout the class, they whispered about their plan to get pictures of the letters between the princes. They were looking for anything that could point to Prince Virgil or Prince Logan. Satomi had already been through them but she obviously couldn’t remember everything. Anyway, a new set of eyes could prove useful.

Roman hoped he could find something.

And, although Patton didn’t know any of this, Roman still wasn’t positive Patton believed him when he told him that he wouldn’t go steal the book. Roman knew Patton wouldn’t call him out or anything—that just wasn’t Patton’s style. Roman thought that perhaps Patton would make a quick visit into Roman’s dorm to see if he was still there when they decided to put their plan into action.

So, in his mind, he enlisted the help of Maxime and Oskar. He hoped they were willing. Throughout the day, Roman thought of what he would say to Maxime who was definitely more likely to be like Patton and be against him being out of bed after curfew.

Besides Roman and Satomi’s plans to go to the library, Roman was introduced to two new teachers and their classes. The first class was drama with Ms. Neville. Oskar was in that class too and they had a lot of fun participating in the exercises.

The second was an elective he had had to audition for before he even arrived at Violet Branch: choir. It was the only class Roman shared with Patton. Roman didn’t know which class he liked better. It was like he was living in a dream.

On Thursday, the day Satomi said would be ideal for their plan because of the teacher rounds that evening, Roman put their plan into motion. If there was anything he learned about faking sick, you had to do it hours beforehand. You couldn’t just magically have a stomach ache right before trumpet lessons. No, you had to claim a bellyache as soon as you came home from school. And you had to constantly complain about it (but not too much that your parents forced you to take medicine). And, by the time trumpet lessons rolled around, you had a perfectly good, and convincing, excuse not to go.

“Oof, I think I must’ve eaten something at lunch that’s not agreeing with me,” Roman said to Patton, holding his stomach.

Patton looked over at Roman worriedly. “Are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse’s office?”

Roman shook his head and put a determined look on his face. “No, I’m not missing choir.”

Then, at supper he didn’t eat much and complained a little again. He told Patton he was going to go to bed early and excused himself, going back to the dining hall once Patton left to get a proper supper.

And then he was off to his dorm room to put the next part of the plan into motion.

However, as soon as Roman arrived at his dorm, he found that he had assumed incorrectly. His impression that Maxime wouldn’t be likely to help him was wrong. It was Oskar who didn’t want him going and lying to Patton.

When he had told them in quiet voices his plan (not about sneaking off to the public library with Satomi, but about them lying to Patton that he was sick in bed part), Maxime had just shrugged and went back to reading his book while Oskar was adamant that he shouldn’t break any rules. At least not yet.

“We’re only in Year 1, Roman,” Oskar whisper-shouted. “We’re at the bottom of the food chain. I wouldn’t mind so much if we were in Year 4 or 5 and you were doing it, but Year 1?”

Roman glanced over at Maxime, hoping for backup, but found that Maxime had quietly slipped out of the room. He fixed his gaze back to Oskar. “Listen, I won’t be caught, okay?”

“You can’t promise that! You don’t know what’s going to happen. Some teacher or another student might just be happening by and rat you out. And what if your brother demands to see your face? What are Maxime and I supposed to do?”

Roman tried to calm him down. “I’m telling you, the recording should work.” He was rather proud of the sick sounding voice he had mustered up while lying face-first into his pillow.

Oskar still wasn’t convinced, though. “What if he forces himself in? Or calls a teacher? I can’t not let a teacher in our room if they’re right there. And what are you even doing, out of bed past curfew!? It’s our first full day here, what could you be possibly doing?”

“Does it have anything to do with the portrait that looks exactly like you but is actually a prince from the 19th century?” Maxime’s voice piped up and Oskar and Roman jumped up in surprise.

“What?” They both asked in unison, swivelling their heads to look over at their roommate.

Maxime held up his phone and plopped down on his bed. He showed it to the other two boys expectantly.

Oskar looked over at Roman, glancing at the picture of Prince Logan’s portrait on Maxime’s screen. He snapped his head back to Roman. “He looks exactly like you.”

“How did you know about that portrait? It’s in a dead end hallway,” Roman said.

Maxime shrugged. “I had my first art class today and Ms. Nomura had us explore the castle for our favourite portraits and stuff. I happened upon it and was a bit confused…”

“It’s like you’re twins,” Oskar marvelled. He turned to Roman. “But what does that have to do with your little expedition?”

So Roman explained a little to get both of them up to speed. It took a little less than five minutes but, by the end, Roman was out of breath.

“You’re going with Satomi?” Oskar repeated at the end of it all.

“Yeah.”

Oskar put a hand over his chest and breathed out a sigh of relief. “You could have told me that first! That girl’s in my gym class and she looks like she could be some kind of super spy.”

“Oh,” Roman said, his eyes widening slightly. He didn’t really understand where Oskar was coming from but, at least now he was on board with the whole plan. “Well, yeah, she’s coming with me.”

As if in cue, there was a light rap on their door. All three boys jumped up, startled at the sudden sound.

Roman quickly climbed off of his bed and quietly opened the door. His eyes lit up as he saw Satomi who was grinning in a dark hoodie and pants.

Roman glanced back at Oskar and Maxime who gave him a thumbs up and smile. “You know what to do if Patton comes, then?”

“Yup,” Oskar whispered back.

Roman grinned and shut the door with a click.

And then they were off.

Satomi led him through the smaller hallways, avoiding the larger ones. She told him in a hushed voice that the teachers on duty only went through them every hour while they patrolled the main ones every thirty minutes. She knew the schedule of all the teachers and told him this was the ideal teacher combination. None of the real strict teachers (including her mom) were on duty.

They hurried down a spiral staircase in the back—Roman was sure Satomi had led them into the staff part of the castle but he wasn’t sure, everything was so dark and looked the same.

The basement of Violet Branch was pretty empty. It housed the kitchens and a ton of dorms which used to be staff bedrooms.

Satomi stopped so abruptly at a stone wall that Roman almost smacked into her.

“Here we are,” she whispered. Roman couldn’t see her face but he knew she was smiling in excitement.

The wall was any ordinary wall. Stone. Hard. Grey. The usual. There was a large wooden utility wardrobe, however.

Satomi reached out and pulled one of the doors open. She pulled out a penlight, flicked it on, and shoved it in Roman’s hand. “Hold it for me, will you?”

Satomi pulled out a large rug and mop and broom before sliding the back panel over, revealing a gaping hole.

Roman eyed it nervously and pointed the light into the hole.

“C’mon,” Satomi urged, gesturing for Roman to go in first. “I have to put the things back in the closet.”

Roman swallowed his fears and stepped into the wardrobe. It creaked just slightly at his weight and he immediately went onto the stone platform of the passageway.

Satomi grabbed the rug and mop (how strong was she?) and walked into the entrance of the passageway backwards, placing the items in their spot before replacing the back panel.

She turned around, grinned, and pointed forwards. “Let’s go.”

The stairs led downwards and Roman would have hated walking down without Satomi’s penlight. He assumed the people in the past brought lanterns down with them.

They continued down the stairs until it gradually turned into just a straight floor with gradual inclines and declines.

They walked in mostly silence until Satomi finally spoke. Her voice was a hushed whisper. “What’s your relationship like with Patton?”

The question took Roman off guard. “What? What do you mean?” Did Satomi think he was a bad brother or something? He became defensive. “My relationship with Patton is just fine.”

“Oh, sorry,” Satomi said. “I-I just thought…” she shook her head. “Nevermind.”

“Uh, no. You can’t just say something like that and not say what you were thinking,” Roman said, flicking the penlight all over the stone walls.

Satomi didn’t say anything for the longest time. “I just…from the vibes I got from your brother he…” she trailed off.

“What?”

“He just seemed…I dunno…like he didn’t want to be here?” She said this all in a rush with her fists clenched.

Roman, who had been about to explode in questions, suddenly deflated like a balloon. He furrowed his brows together. “Huh? What do you mean?” He stopped short. “What do you know about Patton? He’s my brother.”

“Like I said, nevermind,” Satomi shook her head once again. “Forget I said anything.” A second of silence passed through them before Satomi spoke again. “You know, what I’ve been thinking for a while is that, if Prince Virgil and Prince Logan were gay and Logan never had a child with Philomena, then how are you here?”

Roman, who had been thinking about Patton and analyzing everything his brother had done since coming to Violet Branch, stopped in his tracks. Satomi’s words finally sunk in. “Hey yeah…you’re right. Could it have been possible for Philomena and Logan to have a child?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, they didn’t even get married so it’s highly unlikely Philomena could have been pregnant with Logan’s heir.”

Roman thought for a long moment, mulling two very different things over in his mind.

“Ah, here we are,” Satomi said, bringing Roman out of his thoughts.

Roman shined the pen light ahead more and he could just make out the beginnings of a ladder.

Satomi went first. She took the pen light and put it in her mouth so she could see the little hatch in the top. Then, she unlocked the hatch before pushing upwards with all of her might. The wooden hatch groaned and creaked before finally giving in and swinging upwards. She disappeared through the hole.

Roman quickly followed suit, the floor creaking under him as he popped his head up through and saw a room filled with books, a light bulb already on above. It looked like they were in some kind of back room.

Satomi was inspecting a bookshelf on the back wall.

Roman pulled himself through the trap door and glanced around. “Is the book here?” He asked excitedly. He could feel the dust in the room and let out a sneeze.

“Bless you,” Satomi said, spinning around to face Roman. “I don’t think so. It should be in the main building.” She reached out, opened the nearby door, and flicked off the light.

The library was full of massive bookshelves with windows above the tall shelves so there was enough light to see without Satomi’s pen light. She walked quick and silently through the bookshelves, as if she was a ghost.

Roman hurried to catch up with her, still thinking about Patton and Virgil and Logan. Why would Patton not want to be at Violet Branch? The place was perfect. It was magical and cool and amazing. Patton wouldn’t have come if he hadn’t wanted to. It had been Patton’s decision, anyway.

But still, Satomi’s words stuck with him.

“Ah! Here it is!” Satomi exclaimed, pulling out a large binder. She walked swiftly to the nearest table and opened the binder. The letters were yellow with age and in permanent plastic sleeves to keep them pristine. She opened the binder and flicked through about a dozen letters before going back to the first one. Satomi pulled out her phone and began to take pictures.

Roman watched silently. Some of the letters were longer than others and the two handwritings were distinctly different. The letters to ‘Infinitesimal Professional’ were scratchy and slanted while the letters to ‘Sweet Violet’ were even and steady and small.

He caught a couple of words and snatches of sentences as Satomi flipped through the binder. He couldn’t wait to read them. What kind of secrets could be unlocked between love letters between two princes?

***

Satomi and Roman snuck back into the school the way they came and Satomi dropped him off near his hallway, telling him that they’d meet up after breakfast and before first class to check out the first couple of letters in the library.

Roman came to his dormroom’s closed door and breathed out in relief as he didn’t see a line of light from under it. He pushed open the door quietly and shut it behind him before whispering into the dark, “I’m turning on the lights—brace yourselves, if you’re up.”

Patton stared at him, sitting cross-legged on Roman’s bed.

Oskar was fast asleep under his covers and Maxime glanced, wide-eyed, between Roman and Patton. ‘I’m sorry,’ he mouthed to Roman before saying, “I’m going to use the bathroom,” and stood up and left the room.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to sneak out with Satomi to look at those letters,” Patton whispered. He was in his light blue PJ’s and Oskar’s spinning night light made dark shadows flicker against his face.

Roman stood in the doorway. “You don’t understand Pat,” he said, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake Oskar. “I need to know what’s going on. I need to know what happened in Prince Logan’s life.”

Patton frowned deeply. “You’re right. I don’t understand. These people are in the past. If historians haven’t figured it out yet, I doubt two teenagers will. And, anyway, you can’t just break into a public library. There are consequences.”

Roman stepped forward and stared into Patton’s blue eyes. Satomi’s words rang in his ears. “Do you want to be here?”

Whatever Patton had been expecting Roman to say, it wasn’t that. “What?” Patton asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you want to be at Violet Branch?” Roman repeated steadily.

“I don’t understand,” Patton sputtered. “Of course. I have to be here.”

Roman walked even closer until he was at the foot of his bed. “You didn’t answer my question, Pat. Do you want to be here?” Something was flowing through him and he wasn’t sure if it was anger or sadness.

Patton ran a nervous hand through his hair and he swallowed. “I-I...why are you asking me this?”

“Patton.”

Patton sighed and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, he said, “you don’t understand.”

Roman sat down at the end of the bed. “Then explain.”

Patton bent down and held his head in his hands. He sighed. “When you first presented Violet Branch’s pamphlet to mom and dad and they said they would think about it, they actually were planning on not sending you at all. You stomped up to your room because they didn’t give a definite answer but I stayed at the supper table where they said they didn’t want to send you all the way to England alone at just 14 years old. So I said that I’d go too and then we’d be together at school.”

“I didn’t really want to go and be so isolated but I wanted you to go. You always got so passionate about things and always knew what you wanted. I didn’t want your dreams to be crushed if they didn’t have to be. So…yeah,” Patton shrugged. “I told mom and dad that I’d go to Violet Branch too.”

Roman felt his heart sink. “When you were 14 and went to your first year, that was a month into your relationship with Remy…” He had sent Patton off to England just when he had started dating his boyfriend. He closed his eyes. “Oh my gosh, Pat, I feel awful.” His whole body was numb.

“No, it’s okay. Uh, England’s nice. The people here are kind.” He shrugged again but he wouldn’t look Roman in the eye.

Roman straightened his back defiantly. “I’m telling our parents to not enroll you next year. I don’t want to be the one to come between you and Remy.”

“Roman, you can’t do that. If I come home then you have to come home too. Didn’t you hear me? Our parents don’t want to leave you here by yourself.”

“But they left you here for two years until I came up!” Roman retorted.

Both Patton and Roman’s mouth clamped shut as Oskar let out a loud yawn and rolled over to his other side.

“Yeah, because I would only be left alone for two years. If they just let you come up here on your own, that would be five,” Patton hissed.

Roman took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m calling mom and dad. I can take care of myself.”

Patton opened his mouth to oppose but Roman cut him off. “What’s done is done. Satomi has the pictures of the letters. I promise to not break any more laws while in school here. Patton, if you don’t like it here, you shouldn’t be forced to be here because of me.”

Patton began crying and Roman pulled him into a big hug. “I love you,” Patton muttered.

A single tear escaped Roman’s left eye and he smiled. “You’re the best brother ever. And you deserve to be back home with your boyfriend and mom and dad.”

Once Patton had wiped his nose and eyes, and he wasn’t crying anymore, he said, “I have to show you something tomorrow. It has to do with Philomena Scharf.”

[timebuzzer]

Ever After Chapter 9.6

3rd Person

Alex went back to the dressing room to change to a white shirt. Annie and Elvz thought they were done but were surprised when Alex asked for a retouch.

"You have another performance? I thought we're leaving? Do you still need to be pretty for us? Alex, no one else needs you to be pretty, it's just us." Elvz asked.

"Ani..." Alex was interrupted.

"Ani, Sage is there. So the gift needs to be pretty." Annie hinted.

"Gift?" Elvz asked innocently.

"Sage's birthday was last week, right? Is this your birthday gift?" Annie teased then the two laughed after Elvz got what she meant.

"I see...We saw him too when we peeked from backstage and OMG! He's so hot in his military uniform, with all the sweat he wiped when he came." Annie remarked with widened eyes.

"He was still fully clothed but he was oozing with hotness already. I can already see his biceps beneath his uniform... especially, after all his military training." Elvz exclaimed as she covered her mouth to control herself.

Immediately after, Elvz and Annie shrieked together, jumping while holding each other's hands.

"You know what, my husband was not fit before enlistment. But when he came out, oh la la. I didn't know he could have some abs and toned muscles." Then she added, "Though he only got 4-pack abs. But I'm not complaining. From none to 4? That's a dream come true all ready. And besides, he was only assigned as a police officer."

"Is that the reason why you married him immediately after his enlistment? His muscles and abs?" Aira joked as she checked Alex's face.

"Yes! Too bad, after 5 years, his 4 pack abs were non-existent anymore. Only single one remained. His abs are like "once upon a time" now." Elvz narrated feeling defeated.

They all laughed at her. But they know she was just kidding. She loved her husband dearly, with or without abs.

"Going back, so how much more for Sage? Army training is different and more intense. He already had 6 before enlisting..."

"8..." Alex corrected, which was her mistake. So she added, "I think?". But it's too late now because the trio began teasing her endlessly. The riot officially sparked again.

"So you checked him out?" Elvz inquired with widened eyes.

"He had a topless scene in After All..." Alex replied with the simplest and innocent answer she could with blushed cheeks, avoiding eye contact.

"Of course, you will check your man's assets properly", Annie added as she looked at her thru the mirror.

"So you are a part-time accountant now, Alex?" Aira teased her as she sat down to the nearest chair.

"Accountant Alex, if you are willing, you could share your annual report about Sage's asset so we could assess it all together? The financial growth, the return of investment, and all... We would gladly listen, if only you want." Elvz pleaded once more.

Alex was blushing while changing her clothes as she listened to the two, and of course, her imagination was also activated. The riot only stopped because of a knock on the door. Aira immediately hushed the two.

"Ms. Elle, General Yoon is asking for your presence in his office."

"Okay. We'll follow in a minute." Aira said dismissed the officer with a smile.

Elle and Aira then went to Mr. Yoon's office.

"Thank you so much for gracing our invitation, Elle. We really appreciate your performance. You made our soldiers look so comforted and happy." General Yoon sincerely thanked her while the duo occupied the seats in front of his table.

"It's my honor, General. I'm glad that I made them happy." Alex replied with a genuine smile.

"You also gave 2 bonus songs. If you have any request today, I would gladly grant it as a token of my appreciation."

"Hmmm, actually there is, General Yoon."

"What is it? You can tell me."

"A friend of mine is currently assigned here. If he's not on duty as of the moment, could I request to see him? I mean, he is actually a family friend and his mom knew that I will be performing here today so she sent something for him. But if it's against the rules sir, then I would understand."

"May I ask the name of the friend you would like to see Miss Elle, if he's not on duty then you can see him, that won't be a problem. I gave you my word, and I'm bound to keep it, so feel free to tell me."

"It's Mr. Sage Kim General Yoon." Alex declared while stroking her fingers on her lap trying to hide her nervousness.

After hearing the name, he responded, "Okay, I'll send someone to fetch him." He then dialed a number on his telephone.

"Major Park, can you check the schedule of Mr. Sage Kim and see if he's not on duty as of the moment?... Oh, okay, send him to the private visitor's area....okay."

After the call, he instructed, "I'll leave the three of you in one of our VIP meeting rooms later. As much as you could stay here in my office, I know you might be needing some privacy."

"Thank you so much, General, for your consideration." Aira smiled in appreciation of the general.

"We won't take long because we still need to go back to the capital immediately because Elle has an early schedule tomorrow."

"Oh, how hardworking Elle is. Well if you'll be leaving after this visit, could I request a picture and autograph from Elle for my daughter? She's a fan and a shipper. So as my wife. They've watched your drama. They are already bombarding me with messages about why I didn't invite them here today. So if you won't mind..."

"Sure thing, General Yoon." Elle agreed in delight without a second thought.

"But a gentle request, Sir. Please do not post the photo of them together. It might arouse issues and this might put Elle in a bad light if this goes out to the media." Aira reminded him. She didn't want to have another dispute with the CEO. And another issue would be troublesome.

"I know. Trust me, this will solely be for my wife and daughter and I would tell them that this picture would be highly classified. Thank you very much." General Yoon assured with a serious look.

They then took a photo. Elle signed a photocard. She even gave a signed album. After signing, someone knocked on the door.

It was Sage.

When he entered the room, he expected to see the general alone. But to his surprise, he saw Aira and across her seat was Alex...his wife.

His heart started to pound like a hardly beaten drum but he had to maintain his composure. He's wearing his military uniform.

Their eyes met. Alex saw longing, love, so as confusion in his eyes. But both of them managed to look like casual friends who met after a long time and the general did not sense anything out of the ordinary.

"For childhood friends, you don't look that close." General Yoon remarked.

"We are very close, Sir." Sage responded after his salute.

Everyone laughed and since Sage was there, he was immediately asked to sign and do photo ops. After their short fan meeting moment, the General lead the three, in a small meeting room then left.

As the door closed, Aira immediately turned into a supportive bestfriend and said,

"Okay, I will turn my back on you two. You can kiss. I know you miss each other. Just tell me if you're done. I'll cover my ears too. Just tone it down."

[danahmbisyosangdoktora]

Wow, I’m ten months behind in this supposed “drama list” ??? LOL why did I even try? I should just accept the fact that I am no longer capable of maintaining this blog. Just kidding! Of course... I still have to do this! 

Here’s the many dramas I have watched for the past months I’ve been... away... and working (wew! you know, I’m employed *winks*... but can still watch ofc ofc #asiandramaislife)

NOTE: I’m not gonna include the plot anymore because it takes so much characters and effort. Also I don’t have much luxury of time to rephrase each of them (because we don’t tolerate copy-paste here). I mean I only get them from Wiki! Anyway...

FEBRUARY Let’s Fight Ghost Rating: ★★★★☆ | Moderate plot Country: South Korea Genre: Horror, Mystery, Romantic Comedy No. of Episodes: 16 Thoughts: Watched this because of my number one bae, Kim So-hyun!!! This has been on my list since time immemorial but only decided to watch it this year and month. This is a breather from my usual high school drama (because I so dig this theme/genre) since it includes some uh, supernatural elements. Over-all, it was wrapped up nicely and the drama is such a good mix of different... flavors, be it horror, mystery, romance and comedy... I must say. Finished Watching: February 02, 2019 

Witch’s Love Rating: ★★★☆☆ | Light plot Country: South Korea No. of Episodes:12 Genre: Romantic Comedy, Fantasy Thoughts: I LITERALLY WATCHED THIS BECAUSE I SAW A CLIP ON FB AND THOUGHT THE LEAD ROLE GUY WAS CHANYEOL!!! #clown. It’s my first time to see Yoon So-Hee in a lead role. The last I saw her was in the Ruler: Master of the Mask. The drama is cute! I really ship the main actors!!! It’s kind of confusing in the middle but soon, you’ll get a hang of it... or is it just me?  Finished Watching: February 07, 2019.

SKY Castle Rating: ★★★★★ | Heavy plot Country: South Korea No. of Episodes: 20 + special Genre: Satire, Drama, Black Comedy, Family, School Thoughts: I HAVE NEVER SEEN A DRAMA THIS HEAVY??? Maybe it’s just me?? Coz this is the first time I shifted from the usual mood and age of the actors I watch??? I’ve only been seeing tweets about this drama during it’s airing that said “it’s a must-watch” and the like so I literally got curious and watched it. I don’t remember how exactly I felt during the earlier parts of the drama but I’m sure I never dropped it/delayed it until I was able to keep up with the weekly release of episodes. It’s a total page-turner if it is compared to a book. I really like how it was able to portray the side of education that most people with not-so-obsessed-with-merit-parents don’t understand; the manipulation, the strict competition and the emotional impact it brings to the family ganoin. I love how each family has their own issue and how it all got twisted together (I’m that obsessed with angst). It could really be just me because it’s my first time but I totes recommend!!!!!! Finished Watching: February 11, 2019

On Your Wedding Day (Movie) Rating: ★★ ☆☆☆ | Light plot Country: South Korea Genre: Melodrama, Romance Thoughts: Meh. Just kidding! I watched this during one of my night duties together with my workmate. She was actually the one who’s watching, naki-panood lang ako lol the plot really didn’t appeal to me... or because my attention wasn’t on it full time because I remember we stopped for a moment because I had to work hehe anyway, as someone who fancies... tragedies, it’s nice to see a drama which deviates from the usual happy ending of lead roles.  Finished Watching: February 20, 2019

MARCH Hwayugi Rating: ★★★★☆ | Moderate Plot Country: South Korea No. of Episodes: 20 Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Horror Thoughts: I remember watching this because I was in the mood for a supernatural theme.This has been on my list since its release too but only found the mood to watch this month. It’s the right amount of every genre, I love how it turned out. I watched this alongside four other dramas hahaha la lung, just to put it out there. 

I wasn’t able to note what date I exactly finished this though.

Romance is a Bonus Book Rating: ★★★★☆ | Light plot Country: South Korea No. of Episodes: 16 Genre: Comedy, Romance, Life, Drama Thoughts: Watched this when it’s on-going because it’s my number one oppa and nation’s boyfriend, LJS! I was actually surprised he was paired with a noona but ofc ofc, he was able to carry it. I was kilig the entire time! This is actually very close to my heart; aside from it being the last drama of LJS before enlisting, he was actually a Chief Editor!!! He’s really out there outdoing the man of my dreams by taking all roles/professions I like for my man and myself be it a journalist, a doctor, a lawyer/prosecutor and here, an editor. It’s actually not that deep? It focused on how one found love in the middle of career development and adulting. I really admire Jong Suk’s character here because he’s not the type to shove his feelings to the woman and respected whatever decisions she has. Finished Watching: March 29, 2019

Cart (Movie) Rating: ★★★★☆ | Moderate plot Country: South Korea Genre: Life, Drama, Family Thoughts: This was just one of my ‘catching-up-with-EXO-dramas’ moment. Okay, I cried. The plot isn’t perfect but it’s super powerful, it was able to speak volumes. It’s not enough (for a movie) but it was able to talk about the struggle of the working class and was able to show the wicked side of employers and how the upper class together with the media and the government handle situations such as workers’ protest. Just a little eye-opener to those who can’t seem to understand this matter. Finished Watching: March 29, 2019

JUNE Criminal Minds Rating: ★★★★☆ | Moderate plot Country: South Korea No. of Episodes: 20  Genre: Action, Mystery, Detective Thoughts: I was randomly watching tvN via SKY Cable (yes free promo) when I stumbled upon its episode 12. My mom joined me and we got hooked and curious, she asked me to search for the drama so we can watch it from the start. I think this was the first time that I watched an investigative drama. Not sure if Terius Behind Me and Strong Woman Bong Soon count so this was probably a first. Also, based on my little research, there are cases incorporated in the drama that actually happened in real life in Korea. I really love this! Finished Watching: June 09, 2019

Her Private Life Rating: ★★★★★ | Light plot Country: South Korea No. of Episodes: 16 Genre: Comedy, Romance Thoughts: I HAVE NEVER RELATED TO A DRAMA SO BAD AS I DID HERE!!! Of course, it’s a fangirl’s story!!! This was a bit anticipated by stan twitter and I’m one of them. Watched this while it’s on-going. Although the fangirl life was put aside in the middle of the plot to give way for the romance, I was glad someone thought of making a drama out of a fangirl’s perspective. I must say, Deok Mi is one hell of a fangirl! I can only dream of being on her level. Of course, that’s understandable because her character is a masternim.

To conclude my thought on this drama in two words: SANA ALL! Finished Watching: June 10, 2019

Put Your Head On My Shoulders Rating: ★★★★☆ | Light plot Country: China  No. of Episodes: 24 Genre: Youth, School, Romance, Comedy Thoughts: My coming-of-age and high school romance fix! This was one of the many “Facebook made me watch this” because again, I saw a clip of this drama on FB and got curious so I watched it! Haha I seriously can make a list of this sort though. I was lucky to be able to catch it while it’s on-going hahaha so much for #TeamOnGoing. It’s cute, tamang kilig ba. Finished Watching: June 21, 2019

It’s not a lot because I only watch whenever I’m off duty, whenever I get off from work or whenever I can squeeze it during work hours while waiting for blood work he he he 

Some people ask how I manage watching this lot. 

Answer: just watch a lot. 

The past months, I realize I’ve been watching a minimum of five dramas at the same time. Since most of the dramas I watch are all on-going, it’s not that hard to watch all of them. I watch either which ever drama updates first or what I feel watching first. Actually, each drama has their own schedules naman... one drama I watch either updates on Wed/Thu, another Thu/Fri then one on Fri/Sat and so on kaya it’s really not that hard. It’s also the reason why I get to watch completed dramas because each episodes only run for maximum of 1 hour and 30 minutes so let’s say, 4 on-going dramas with 2 episode-updates wont really take a day for me to finish. Remember, we have seven days in a week! So while waiting for the on-going dramas to update, that’s when I watch the completed ones. I only mentally schedule my on-going and completed dramas so I can watch them all equally and just in time when I can still retain what happened on the last episode I left off. Pero there are also times when I like the completed drama so much, I finish it in two days. I stopped finishing dramas in 24hrs because I have commitment issues, ayoko yung iniiwan ako agad cHAROT HAHAHA ANUDAW 

Anyway, ayun lang naman! Let’s see each other again for the other half of this year’s Drama List!

[rhysismydaddy]

Military Homecoming (Nessian Oneshot)

I’ll be there at ten.

Okay, I should be off by then.

That was all the information she and Cassian had exchanged that day, and Nesta was worried Cassian would be late, she wouldn’t be off work by then, or something would go wrong.

Nothing could go wrong.

She hadn’t seen him since he’d been deployed for Hybern, fighting in a war for a man he’d never met. He’d been lucky and gotten one of his best friends as his commander, but the danger was still too real.

But he’d made it back. That’s all that mattered.

It’d been ten months since she’d kissed him goodbye and told him to fucking stay alive. He’d been arrogant as always and told her to wait for him. And she did.

Nesta had never let anyone in before Cassian, and he’d asked her out about two hundred times before she finally gone out with him. She was glad she did, though, because things with Cassian were good. It was the only relationship she’d ever had where everything was good.

Cassian understood everything about her and didn’t find her “too harsh” or “negative” like everyone else in her life. He took her sarcasm and threw it back at her tenfold. Not that they didn’t fight, but Cassian always made sure to make up for his stupid mistakes later. Everything with him was perfect.

The only bad thing about Cassian was his career. He’d enlisted in the Marines when he was 18 and had found his calling. He’d become invaluable to his team, and despite being offered promotion after promotion, had turned them down. He didn’t want to “order people to do stuff he wasn’t willing to do himself” apparently.

He was noble and brave, and Nesta respected him for his patriotism. But it didn’t mean she didn’t miss him. They’d only been together two months before he’d left, but Nesta had never felt like she did with him.

Which was the main reason she was so gods damned nervous right now. What if they didn’t have a connection anymore? What if he was coming back to break up with her? What if he was haunted by war memories and she couldn’t help him?

She knew more went on in his mind than he told her, and she was worried-

“Nesta,” Rita snapped at her not unkindly. “Stop staring at me like that.”

“Oh, sorry,” she muttered. She’d been totally caught up in her on thoughts.

Her boss smiled and nodded downstairs. “You can go home. Apparently there’s someone waiting for you at the host stand.”

Nesta’s heart started pounding and blood rushed to her ears. What? He’s here?

“Fuck!” she yelled, throwing her waitress apron on an empty table and speed walking to the bathroom. When she looked in the mirror, she almost texted him to just go home. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, she didn’t have any makeup on, and her top was wrinkled to high heaven.

After taking her hair down and brushing the wrinkles out with her fingers, slapping on some mascara and lip gloss she kept in her locker, and changing into a less-disgusting shirt, Nesta decided it was good enough. He was probably coming to dump her anyway, so she didn’t feel the need to look too exceptional.

She went down the stairs, dodging customers and other waiters, slowing making her way toward the host stand, toward the tall male with his back to her.

When she got close enough to make out his too-long hair, gray sweatshirt, and signature boots, she stopped. She couldn’t make herself take another step, even though she wanted to run and throw her arms around him. Any more steps would bring her closer to him, and when she was close to him, he could hurt her.

But his senses were better than hers, and he turned around, eyes immediately locking with hers.

Any doubt, any fear, she’d had went out the window as she looked at him. His entire face lit up as he looked at her and smiled, holding out his broad arms in a come here gesture.

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she slowly walked toward him, stopping a few feet away. He looked so strong and healthy and happy. Nesta took in the deep hazel eyes, strong jawline, and dark golden skin and marveled that anyone that looked like that would ever love her. 

“Hi,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her face.

His arms were immediately around her, and he buried his head in her neck, arms coming around her waist and lifting her up.

Nesta didn’t care that she was at work, that she never let her coworkers know anything about her, or that she wanted to be professional as she threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Tears were flowing freely now as she held onto him like her life depended on it. She felt Cassian turn around and reach out toward Rita, who had apparently followed her downstairs.

Was he shaking her hand? Nesta couldn’t force herself to care.

He was here in her arms and alive and beautiful and strong and healthy. Nesta wasn’t religious, but she felt as if someone above had given her a gift.

She felt him start to walk out of the restaurant, realizing after a few seconds that she probably looked ridiculous wrapped around him, crying like crazy.

“Cassian,” she laughed. “You can put me down now.”

He shook his head. “I’m not ready yet.”

One arm around his waist, one under her ass, Cassian continued to carry her down the streets of Velaris.

“Where are we going, by the way?” she asked, no longer caring about how stupid they looked. He was here, and that’s all that mattered.

“It’s a surprise.”

She sighed in annoyance. She hated surprises.

“It’s a good surprise, baby. And we’re almost there, so just shut up.”

Nesta just shifted her hold on him and closed her eyes again, running her hands over his back. He was, somehow, bigger than she remembered.

“You’re distracting me, Nesta,” he murmured. “What if I get lost?”

She slipped her hands in his silky hair. “Then we can fuck on the side of the road.”

He roared with laughter, the sound making Nesta herself smile bigger.

“Such a pervert,” he muttered, shifting her up and squeezing her tighter to him.

She pressed her lips against his cheek, then pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. His hair was unkempt, his cheeks were covered in stubble, and he seemed a little sweaty. Nesta had never been so hot for someone in her life.

“I missed you, Cassian.”

He kissed her cheek softly. “I missed you, too,” he whispered. “Close your eyes. We’re here.”

“Okay, drama queen.” She reburied her head in his shoulders and closed her eyes, giving him control.

He walked them into a building, and Nesta could hear faint giggles as they passed people, then the beep of an elevator. By the time she heard a room key click, she'd figured out they were in a hotel. But when Cassian softly put her down, turned her around, and whispered, "Okay. You can open now," Nesta lost her breath.

She’d been right about the hotel. But Cassian had decorated it for her in the most epic, cheesy way. Red rose petals were laid out in a path on the floor, and candles were set on the ledges next to the humongous bed, lighting up the room.

She kicked off her shoes and walked on the petals to the bed, smiling at how silky they felt under her bare toes. She reached the mattress, took one look at the gigantic heart in white rose petals, turned around, and jumped on him again.

He immediately caught her, arms wrapping around her and trapping her to him. She pressed her lips again, needing to kiss him now that they were finally alone.

Gods, she'd forgotten how good he tasted.

It was their first kiss in ten months, but Nesta completely forgot about all the time she'd spent missing him. She never wanted him to leave again; she wanted him to stay right here, kissing her, forever. 

He slid his tongue into her mouth, and she moaned at the contact. They were a clash of teeth and tongues and lips as he walked her towards the bed and set her down on the edge. Cassian stepped back long enough for them both to peel off their shirts before bending down to kiss her again.

She couldn't get enough of him. Her hands were pulling the strands of his hair, her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, trying to pull him closer. But Cassian--the stubborn brute that he was--had other plans. He gently pushed her shoulders down until she was laying down completely on the roses, enjoying the luxurious feeling of them on her skin.

His fingers hooked under the band of her jeans and she lifted her hips for him as he pulled them down. Leaning over her, Cassian pressed sweet kisses all over her face as his hands drifted under her back to unhook her bra. He flung it off, then grabbed her behind her knees and yanked her to the edge of the bed.

She was about to complain about the inequality of her being almost completely naked while he still had his jeans on when he dropped to his knees and kissed her inner thigh, pushing every thought out of her mind. His fingers were drawing small circles all over her legs, getting closer to her center with every sweep. When he finally traced a thumb over her center--still covered by the lace of her underwear--he groaned, head dropping to rest on her thigh.

"Fuck, I've missed you," he muttered, softly biting the flesh his face was pressed against. He slipped a finger under her panties, then looked up at her with a coy smile. "Although, judging by how wet you are, I think you missed me more."

"You're such an ass," she told him, but secretly loved when he talked dirty to her. 

Cassian hooked her panties around his thumbs, taking his time while he slowly dragged them off of her, then slipped them in his back pocket. "Keepsake."

She started to come up with a retort, but Cassian leaned forward and brazenly licked up her bare center, causing her back to arch off the bed and her mind to lose its train of thought.

Nesta moaned his name, and Cassian peeked up at her when he heard it, making her blush.

“I missed that sound so much,” he told her, glancing down at the apex of her thighs. “And I fucking dreamed about this beautiful pussy.” He leaned down and put his mouth on her again, and Nesta slid her hands into his hair and pulled slightly on the strands. 

He slid a finger into her as he kissed her, and Nesta groaned, shifting her hips to give him a better angle. She could feel herself getting closer and closer to the edge.

“Cassian,” she moaned, repeating the word as he added another finger. His teeth grazed her clit and Nesta couldn’t stop herself from shouting as her climax barreled through her. He continued to work her as she rode it out, then immediately was on top of her, heavy weight pressing into her in the most appealing way.

As he settled in between her thighs, their chests pressed together, Nesta remembered where they were and blushed.

“What?” Cassian laughed. 

She covered her face with a hand. “I just remembered we’re in a hotel, and that I should probably at least try to be quiet.” If anyone was staying in the rooms next to theirs, they’d definitely heard her just now. 

“Baby, I’m one step ahead of you. I booked this room, the two next to it, and the one across the hall.” He licked her lower lip. “I plan on making you scream my name all night long, and I figured I’d be considerate.”

She laughed and pulled him back down to her. He dropped his head to kiss the top of her breasts and when he looked up at her, his face was like a kid on Christmas morning. 

“You have no idea how much I've missed you. I mean, I missed your brain and charm and intellect, as well, but these,” he lightly kissed a peaked nipple, “these I missed the most.” 

Nesta reached down between them and palmed him through the stupid jeans he was still wearing. “Cassian,” she whispered, “are you going to talk about how much you missed me all night or actually do something about it?”

He rolled his eyes, muttering something about romance being dead and Nesta being too horny to appreciate it, but lifted his hips. Nesta pressed a sweet kiss to his lips while she helped him pull his jeans and underwear off, then dropped them on the floor.

He settled into her again, nudging her entrance slightly. 

“Have I mentioned that I missed you?” he asked innocently.

Nesta growled, “Just fuck me, you idio-”

Cassian smiled and thrusted all the way into her, making her groan loudly. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his own, trying to eat the sound. 

“Come on Nesta,” he said, pulling out and pushing back into her, “I don’t think they heard you downstairs.”

She shoved his shoulders and flipped them over so she was on top. Bracing her hands on his chest, she started to move on him. His hands were on her hips, fingers digging in and urging her to go faster. 

Nesta’s head dropped backward, and Cassian took the opportunity to lean up and press a kiss to her throat. He worked his way down to her breasts, head burying between them, then taking one inside his mouth. His hand came up to the other and she moaned his name. 

She still couldn’t believe he was here, let alone that she was on top of him. Nesta pushed his shoulders down and leaned over to kiss him, but Cassian used his momentum to turn them over again. Except he underestimated how much room that’d take and sent them hurtling over the edge of the bed, landing on the floor with a loud thump.

Cassian didn’t even break his rhythm.

She grabbed the bedpost on the floor beside her as he pounded into her, trying to get some sort of grip on her slipping reality.

His mouth was on her neck, then dragging up her throat, until his teeth closed on her earlobe and pulled, his tongue coming to soothe the hurt. Release barreled into Nesta like a bus, and she called out his name, arching her back.

But Cassian wasn’t done. 

He’d been away for ten long months, and it seemed like he was trying to make up for lost time as he merely grabbed her leg and flung it over his shoulder, going deeper.

They were both getting progressively louder, and when Cassian reached down to play with her clit, Nesta came again, screaming his name and dragging her nails down his toned back. He called out her name, the word sounding like a prayer, as he came with her and collapsed on top of her.

For a few minutes, all they could do was lay there, enjoying the silence.

She wrapped her legs around his hips, hands coming to play in his hair.

Nesta caught her breath and murmured, “I hope you got the room beneath us, too.”

His laughter echoed through the room as he replied, “Nah, they get to listen.”

She smiled as her hands began to roam over his back, then whispered, “Ready to give them an encore?”

“Fuck I missed you.”

[omyeol]

chances - 01 | kjm

word count: 2,900+ words

genre: angst, fluff, but mostly angst tho

<< story masterlist >> | << writing masterlist >>

may 2020

Sundays were days reserved for relaxing; a day where Minhyo didn’t have to worry about the possibility of getting up late. Sundays were days reserved for relaxing; a day where Minhyo didn’t have to worry about the possibility of missing a deadline for some coursework. Sundays were also days where she didn’t have to be awakened by the sounds of children yelling and crying from the kindergarten in the neighborhood. Sundays were blessing that Minhyo held really dear to her heart because it’s a day where she wasn’t tied to a schedule or anything.

But on a particular Sunday in May, she didn’t feel relaxed at all. She might have even woken up two hours later than she usually was, and she even spent extra twenty minutes rolling around her bed and scrolling through her Instagram feeds, but that didn’t help the anxiety she had felt since the beginning of the week.

This Sunday was also the day where her father would be coming to visit her for the first time since she left Seoul three years ago. All the video calls made throughout the year was not enough to quench the longing feeling she felt, but this time, everything was going to be worth it. All the pain she felt and the tears she shed would be worth it.

Well, at least, that’s what the poetic side of her brain told her as she sat in the car, trying not to lose her mind because of the traffic. It seemed like the fact that she left her apartment earlier to go to the restaurant didn’t even matter because she still managed to meet all the red traffic lights.

“You haven’t said anything since we left your place. Are you okay?” Letting out a sigh, Minhyo glanced at her right where her dear friend sat on the passenger seat with her phone clutched in her right hand and a cold cup of coffee on another.

“I’m not. I feel like we’re going to be late.” Once the light turned green and the cars in front of them started to move, Minhyo let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God, finally.”

��I think she’s about to go crazy.” Minhyo furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at her right, seeing Bomi smiling and talking to her phone. “I’m also pretty sure that she doesn’t even realize that I’ve been doing this for ten minutes now.”

“Are you doing Instagram live?” Minhyo asked with her eyes still on the road and Bomi only hummed as an answer. Her stomach churned at the answer; she could even feel her palms starting to sweat.

“Yeah, you’ve been so preoccupied with your head and the traffic to notice it.” Minhyo sometimes forgot how impulsive Bomi could be when it came to using her social media accounts. She remembered a few times where her close friend got in a bit of trouble because she posted something ambiguous; like that one time in 2016 where Bomi posted a photo of Minhyo sitting in front of TV and eating a tub of ice cream with caption ‘my soulmate’ with a few heart emoji after the caption. So many people were speculating if the two of them were dating, when in fact they weren’t. It made it to the online news portal and people were talking about it.

(It affected the relationship Minhyo had with a certain someone after that, but she didn’t want to think about that).

“Want to say something?” Bomi’s airy voice pulled her back into the present, deep down Minhyo was hating it how her best friend could put her in the spot like that.

Clearing her throat and flexing her hand on the steering wheel, Minhyo opened her mouth and finally spoke. “Uhh, hello. I don’t know if you can see me clearly, but well, it’s been too long. I hope everyone has a nice day.” She didn’t even forget to crack a small smile that actually looked nothing like a smile at all. It was so forced that she wondered if she turned out like she had been holding a stomachache or something.

Whatever, she thought to herself as she continued to focus on the road and tuned out whatever Bomi was doing next to her. After all, it was easier for her to tune it out. Although it painfully reminded her of her own Instagram that she didn’t open unless she really wanted to post a picture. She felt a little guilty, too, remembering how she disabled her Instagram posts’ comment section ever since she left. It was for the best, though, her little heart defended herself.

She didn’t know how long Bomi had been doing Instagram live, but when they almost arrived at the restaurant where they would be meeting her father, Bomi wasn’t talking up a storm to her phone anymore.

“So, when are you going to turn on the comment section on your Instagram again?” Bomi was known to be blunt, but Minhyo didn’t think that her friend would ask such questions this early. She had gotten so comfortable to not see anything under her posts and truth to be told, she didn’t even have it in mind to turn it on anytime soon.

“I don’t know,” she opted to answer truthfully, knowing that the petite friend would be asking her questions anyway.

“You should turn it on the next time you post something.” Minhyo just hummed, not wanting to respond anything again. It was better to focus on parking the rented car because she was sane enough to decide to not buy a car in New York City. The only car she had was in Seoul and it was being used by her little sister on an almost daily basis. “People miss you a lot, you know.”

That wasn’t the first time Bomi told her that. She wasn’t even the first person. Sehun, who used the app frequently to interact with his followers, told her the same things a couple of times too. She was tired of being told that and sometimes on a bad day, she thought that even her closest friends didn’t understand her; they didn’t get how toxic the internet had been for her before and how it was the one thing that gave her the final push to leave.

“Let’s just go, okay?” Minhyo breathed, glancing at her friend briefly. It wasn’t the best time to explain it all to her.

Bomi only sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t get any more than that.

        K-Forum: Kim Minhyo is finally seen during Ahn Bomi’s Insta live!

[screenshot1.jpg]

[screenshot2.jpg]

It has been a while since the last time we saw Kim Minhyo! The last time we saw her is three years ago at the airport, right? Right when she’s about to leave the country...

I’m so sad when the news of her taking a break from the entertainment industry came out, but now I can see that it’s for the better. Wish I can see her in a drama/movie soon, though.

                                                     [post response]                                                        [+1,556;-412]

[+1,231;-432] She looks healthier, though! I remember when she used to be so skinny, it was borderline unhealthy. Glad that the break and the school are doing great on her.

[+947;-209] I miss her so much… I want to see her in movies and drama again... She is such a talented actress.

[+743;-111] Not only talented as an actress, but she’s also smart and beautiful… Did she save a nation in her past life or what?

[+460;-156] What happened between her and Kim Junmyeon, though? We never got a clarification whether they broke up or not. We only got that cryptic post and sudden news of Junmyeon enlisting.

[+284;-531] She should’ve just stayed unseen though. Stay in America and don’t even go back here.

Silver and purple.

Everywhere Minhyo turned, the only thing she could see was silver and purple. It’s on the flags, and their graduation gowns and caps. It was everywhere. She had seen those colors for the past two years, and she thought she’s done with it. No matter how many times she thought she’s going to miss campus life, she actually wouldn’t. She definitely wouldn’t miss stressing out over her classes and grades.

“Oh, my daughter, look at you!” Minhyo let out an embarrassed laugh at her father’s reaction when he approached her, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. “I’m so proud of you.” She could only flash her a grateful smile and open her arms, accepting his hug.

“Thank you so much, Pa.” She shut her eyes and squeezed her father. “It really means a lot that you came here.” They both pulled back from the hug and Minhyo accepted the flowers her dad gave to her.

“Do you really think I would miss such an important day?” Her father chided, shaking his head faintly when Mihyo just flashed him a sheepish smile. “Where’s Bomi, by the way? I thought she said she’s also coming.”

“She told me she’s close. I’m pretty sure she’ll be here at any moment.” While waiting for Bomi to join them, Minhyo pulled out her phone and took a few selfies with her father. She even recorded a short video too, for it to be posted on her Instagram later. It didn’t hurt to show her face once, she thought. It was her day, after all.

When Bomi finally came, Minhyo couldn’t believe her eyes. As she walked, she also had what seemed like more than six balloons in her hand and her phone on her free hand. Still unable to comprehend the whole thing, Minhyo let out a laugh and shook her head in disbelief, although the beaming smile on her face was still prominent.

“What the hell are you doing?” She asked, her eyes widening as her best friend finally approached her. “What is this?”

“Just some property for your picture.”

Minhyo ended up asking one of her classmates to take a picture of her and her father. In the end, her father even volunteered to take countless pictures of his daughter and the best friend. Those pictures needed to be sorted thoroughly later, but Minhyo wouldn’t mind the process. She could do it later when she laid down in her trusty bed after everything was done.

From that, everything felt like a blur of multicolor in her eyes.

There was a lunch at her favorite restaurant with her favorite foods and people and that was including Sehun who suddenly showed up in the middle of the lunch with a handful of balloons and a paper bag full of other goodies from the others. Minhyo couldn’t resist her tears anymore the minute she opened one of the presents, which was a scrapbook full of pictures of her alone and together with the others too and encouraging notes from the others. Her heart clenched at the fact that even though she kind of dropped her life in Seoul and moved to New York, they were still thinking of her and went out of their way to make such a meaningful gift for her.

“I’m recording this and sending this to all the hyungs.” She didn’t even have any energy to wrestle the phone out of Sehun’s hands. She was too busy sniffling while looking through the book.

The moments she didn’t know were going to be captured in-camera were surprisingly there. That moment when she was caught off guard by something Kyungsoo said and sprayed the water she was drinking all over the table, when they were celebrating Chanyeol’s birthday (this was a few months before she moved away) at her old apartment, when they were on a trip together to Japan, and so many moments in their friendship that she always treasured in her heart.

Out of everything, one picture that caught her off guard the most was the one of her and Junmyeon sitting together on his couch. In that picture, she leaned her head on his shoulder and he was leaning his head on top of hers and it was such an oddly intimate moment that they went through together after she had one of her breakdowns before the others came to have dinner together. She didn’t know that someone (it was Sehun, she knew, since he knew the passcode to Junmyeon’s apartment) would capture it in the picture.

Something shifted in her heart as she kept her eyes on the picture. It was like she missed it. She missed sitting on that couch with Junmyeon and doing nothing but talking. She missed having his shoulders to lean on and his hands to hold onto whenever she felt like she needed a grip because life liked to catch her by surprise.

“Do you have something to say, noona?” Sehun’s voice pulled her back to the moment, where both of her friends and her father were looking at her expectantly. Heaving out a shaky breath, she flashed her family (and the camera phone pointing at her) a wide smile.

“Thank you so much for this,” she breathed out. “This… This is so precious. I don’t even know what else I’m going to say.” She ended up chuckling through her happy tears. Placing the book on the table in front of her, she rose from her seat to give two of her best friends a big hug. It was a bit awkward since Sehun had his phone in hand and it was pressed up against her side, but she didn’t mind it. What’s important was that she could give them the biggest hug she could ever have given someone.

“We’re glad that you like it, though,” Bomi spoke up as she pulled back from the hug. “A certain someone was fussing about it, telling us that we have to make it special.” Minhyo didn’t ask any further about that certain someone, but she could have easily guessed who it was. It could only mean one person only and just thinking about his name already stirred something in her stomach.

“Okay, enough of this sappy moment. Let’s eat.”

It was pretty much smooth sailing after that. Minhyo didn’t shed any more tears since the tears were changed into a round of laughter that she couldn’t help but let out when Sehun shared a few stories from home. Sehun’s stoic face and his weird-but-adorable way of telling a story never failed to lift her mood. Although it was nice to hear those stories, she couldn’t help but have this forlorn hope that she was back home to experience it herself.

She wished she was there to experience it all with them. Too bad things weren’t the same as it was back then, though. After what happened, it was unlikely for things to work the way it was.

“Make sure to read the letters too, okay?” Bomi reminded her when Minhyo was looking through all the goodies in the car on their way back to her apartment. Sehun had kindly offered to drive them all because he liked driving (no matter if it was in Seoul or NYC, even though the traffic was testing their patience).

“What’s in there? Is it tears inducing?” Minhyo asked with an easy smile across her face, holding the bulk of letters in her hands. Her thumbs absentmindedly caressed the front of the letters from Junmyeon, but she didn’t even notice (Bomi, however, did).

“It’s just sappy things. I heard Chanyeol shed a bit of tear when he wrote the letter.” Minhyo couldn’t help but let out a string of giggles. Of course, Chanyeol would do that, she mused to herself.

It turned out that Chanyeol wasn’t the only one who shed tears. She did end up shedding tears, too, when she read the letters on her bed later that evening. How could she not, when the letters were filled with beautiful, touching words that moved her heart? How could she not, when she could really feel how each letter was written with sincerity? How could she not, when what she felt after each letter was how much she missed everyone and the realization of how lonely it had been for her for the past few years?

She might be torn of what she wanted to do after this. But after reading those letters, looking around her room, and realizing how painful it was that there was nothing but her traces in that place, she knew. She knew that she couldn’t spend another year in that city. Maybe it was the right time to come home.

Hi, it’s me, Junmyeon.

It feels weird writing this letter, actually. We’ve already used to text and call each other, right? It’s really weird to write this. I don’t even know what I’m going to write...

But anyway, congratulations on getting that Master’s degree! I’m (always have been and will) so proud of you, especially for finishing this graduate school. I’ve heard from Bomi and the others that you’ve been so stressed out about it, but hey, you finally made it! Now that it’s done, you can finally relax. Maybe you should take a few days and fly to LA and enjoy the sunset before going back to Seoul. Well, that is if you plan to come back home… We miss you a lot here, but whatever you’re planning for after this, just know that I will always support you (and so will the kids)!

I don’t really know what to write anymore, but well, I hope you’re okay. I hope you’re healthy and eating well and getting enough sleep too. Don’t drink too much coffee, you know you can’t drink more than 2 cups a day or it will really mess up your sleeping schedule. And I also hope that you’re enjoying your time and still managing to have a little bit of fun amid your busy days.

Once again, congratulations, Minhyo!

Love you. Always.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Sixty-Nine: Contacts ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Oil and Blood ] [ AO3 Link ]

“...I don’t like owing people, so…you’ll get compensated, either way.”

What a string of events this has been. First, one Hyūga Hinata - a simple young woman working in the claims division of a body modification insurance company - couldn’t sleep a few nights back. Then, she went for a walk to try and wear out her mind to get some rest. But before she could finish, she happened upon a member of the Uchiha crime syndicate, beaten and stripped of his (very expensive) mods, and proceeded to ignore every self-preservation instinct in her body, and instead haul him to a half-legal, half-very-illegal medical facility.

Upon going to check on him the following day, the Uchiha - given name Sasuke, as she’d found out - told her in no uncertain terms that he now owed her a debt. One he intended to pay.

And now she’s left wondering what exactly that means: to be owed a debt by someone who’s part of one of the largest and most powerful underground factions in Japan, let alone her home city. The past several days have seen her tired, tense, and tentatively awaiting a bunch of gang members to just...show up and ask her if she needs anything ‘taken care of’.

...okay, maybe she’s watched too many dramas, but she really has no idea what this Sasuke fellow means. And not knowing something makes her already nervous disposition all the more unnerved.

The day after her visit, she gets a call from the doctor that runs the clinic she took him to, informing her that he was cleared and sent him with a (mostly) clean bill of health.

“He just needs some time to recuperate from his beating, and me installing the new eye socket fitting. I managed to get him the replacement mods, so he’s all ready to go. He said to give you his thanks again for dragging him to me.”

“He, um…” Hinata hesitates, not sure how to phrase her question. “He doesn’t know how to, um...contact me, does he?”

“Well, I didn’t give him your information...and I think I only addressed you by your family name. But honestly given he saw your face and knows your last name, he’ll probably be able to find you if he really wants to...why? Did he threaten you?”

“Oh, n-no!” Hinata backpedals at the hard edge in her companion’s tone. “No, nothing like that!”

“Good...I’d have to have words with him otherwise.”

“He just - he, um...he said he wanted to pay me back, and that sort of...w-worries me?”

“Ah...understandable. Not exactly keen to interact with yakuza, right?”

“R...right. I mean...I appreciate your help, but even talking with you is a big risk. I don’t want to l-lose my job, or get in some kind of...l-legal trouble.”

“No, I understand. Well...I can send word through the contact I have, but...in the end, I doubt I have much sway. Debt is a pretty serious thing to people like them. Take my advice: ask for something small, and just get it out of the way. He’ll feel like he repaid you, and you’ll be in the clear.”

“...I guess so...I just don’t want to be, um…” ‘Associated’ seems like too strong a word… “You know...caught up in a-all of that.”

“As someone who is, I get that,” the medic replies with a dry laugh. “Don’t worry - they know what their presence means. If he’s smart - and I daresay he is, despite his attitude - he’ll bear that in mind, and not want to cause you even more trouble and increase his debt. Don’t worry, Hyūga-san.”

“...you know, I think we talk enough you can p-probably call me Hinata by now, ne?”

“Well, I try to always be professional, especially since we trade clients, you and I...but sure. I can do that, Hinata-san. But don’t worry about Sasuke. It’ll be fine.”

“...I hope so,” Hinata sighs before letting the call end.

...why does she get the feeling that isn’t going to be the case?

Several days later, scrolling through the holographic social media feed from her palm, Hinata startles and nearly drops her coffee as someone steps out in front of her, snapping her eyes back up. “Oh, I-I’m sorry, I -”

Glancing to her coolly, Sasuke doesn’t reply, just...looking expectantly.

Hinata immediately balks - they’re in public! Just...out on a sidewalk! “ I- ? Y-you shouldn’t -!”

“Relax, Hyūga. This is Uchiha territory. Cops are paid off. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother you.”

...oh. She...hadn’t known that. Blinking wide eyes, she nonetheless glances around warily. “D-do you, um...need something? How did you...find me?”

“I have contacts,” he replies vaguely. “Wasn’t that hard to track you down, in all honesty. To get to the point, I’m here about that favor I owe you.”

“Uchiha-san, really, I don’t need you to -”

“I don’t like being indebted. So just...give me a task, and I’ll do it.”

“Well, I...I don’t…” She struggles to think of something to occupy him...and in the interim, asks, “...how are you feeling?”

“Fine. Got all my tech replaced, the new fitting healed nicely...and the bruising’s about gone. I got off lightly, in all honesty.”

“I’m glad you’re all right. You looked, um...very out of sorts.”

That earns a snort. “Funny way to say ‘beat to hell’.”

She flushes a light pink.

“So, what’ll it be, Hyūga? I don’t have all day.”

“I...I really don’t know. I don’t really have any, um...issues? That need to be...dealt with?”

“No coworkers you have any beef with? Family? Exes or past friends?”

Hinata quickly balks. “Oh, g-gosh no! No. I...I wouldn’t want to cause any trouble with anyone, a-anyway. And it might get back to the wrong people, and...no. I-I’m fine.”

“Hm...no enemies you need protection from?”

“...not that I know of? Really, Uchiha-san: I’m just...a very run-of-the-mill person. No enemies, no...beef. I just work a basic job, live in a basic apartment, have basic mods…”

“Sure about that?”

“...what do you mean?”

“Cuz it didn’t take much digging to find out about your disinheritance. Not bitter about that?”

Hinata’s expression instantly shifts, becoming stonily blank. “...no.”

“Quite the fortune you’re missing out on.”

“I don’t care about money.”

“...well, damn. Paying you off was my second option. Strong-arming your dad was my first.”

“My father is n-none of your business. And I don’t want your money, either.”

“One of the largest mod manufacturers is, in a way, my business. And if he’s doing you dirty, then that’s also my business...if you want it to be.”

“Well, I don’t. So please, just...leave him out of things.”

Sasuke sighs, arms - one biological, one technological - crossing across his front. “Well then what do you want? It’s gotta be something, Hyūga. Otherwise you’re going to have to deal with me dogging you about it...and my temper getting shorter the longer I have to keep pestering you and wasting my time.”

She’s almost tempted to pout - why can’t this man just...leave her alone? “...any other suggestions?”

“None that immediately come to mind, no.”

Well, drat. Glancing aside, Hinata mulls this all over a little longer. And then an idea worms its way into her head. “...can I request something...specific? As in...a one-time favor, but only when it comes up?”

“...depends on what you mean.”

“Well, I...you probably guessed by where I took you that I have a few c-contacts of my own. Since the company I work for can’t always - or...won’t always - help people, I’ve taken things into my own hands before and refer them to underground technicians. And sometimes I have to meet them in person, which is...risky. If I ever feel like a meeting is going to be dangerous...could I enlist you as, like...a b-bodyguard?”

Sasuke perks a brow. “...not what I expected you to say, but...yeah, sure. Just give me a day or two notice if you can, and I’ll be there.”

“...really?”

“I do protection details sometimes, sure. Wouldn’t take much. And I guess that would be enough to call us even.”

She perks up. “Well...good! Um…” Teeth nibble her lip in thought. “I...guess I would need to be able to contact you…?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll give you my call signature, if you’re good with that.”

“...sure.” Watching him lift his modded arm, Hinata withholds a flinch as he hovers his palm over her right ear. In an instant, the information is traded wirelessly.

“Mind sharing yours? Promise not to bug you unless it’s important, but...something might come up.”

“Okay.” Modded hand lifting, Hinata does the same. “Just, um...avoid it if you can during business hours, in case I get screened, okay?”

“Will do. So...we even?”

“I guess so. I’ll let you know when I need you.”

“Sounds good. Hopefully sooner than later so we can get this squared away.” Giving a mock salute, Sasuke shoves hands into his pockets and just...disappears into the crowds.

Hinata watches, having completely forgotten about the now-cold coffee in her hand. Well...at least that should be a simple enough trade. She’ll call him in for her next arranged meeting, and have a little more peace of mind...and he’ll be free of his debt. Then they can both move on with their lives.

...but for now, they wait.

                                                      .oOo.

      (For previous works in this 'series', see days 250 and 254!)      Well, I'm officially back to being two days behind OTL I ended up with a majorly long, tiring day...and fell asleep early nursing a toothache. My bad ^^;      But, we're back with more of the cyberpunk AU! With a little more interaction between these two - and it seems they have a plan on how to get things even between them. Seems simple enough, right?      Riiight :3c      Anywho, it's very late, I'm still very tired, and I have even more to do tomorrow! Life is very busy lately, but I'll do by best to catch up soon. Either way though, thanks for reading (and for your patience)!