#and I was immediately smacked directly in the head by how devastating the friends to lovers to enemies potential was

[rotisseries]

OH MY GOD and ganon? like what’s his deal

ok so. again the more recent games don't have much ganon (of the 4 I've played, only totk has ganondorf, the man, and he's not super important story wise beyond being a guy to fight. botw's enemy is ganon, as a miasma creature of hatred, and skyward sword's enemy is demise, who is not ganon. technically. and then link's awakening is not a standard zelda plot. so no ganon) the older games have more ganon, so I'm working with largely secondhand knowledge, but basically... nintendo will not give this man any sort of depth. he has some? in windwaker? to my understanding, i have not finished that one. but windwaker takes place in a hyrule that's been flooded and ganon always has a really long lifespan so he was there when it flooded and his people were suffering and he was trying to protect them idk the specifics and I don’t know how well done it is but it's there. and then in the rest of the games he's just evil for the sake of being evil?? which, if meant to be because he holds the triforce of power is dumb, because if there's three pieces of something the logical story conclusion isn't that one is automatically bad it's that all three should join in harmony. duh. they won't give him a real motivation for evil beyond conquering for conquering's sake, so if he HAS to be evil I think it'd be more interesting if they made him a victim of demise's curse? like, demise's curse demands a vessel for evil, if hylia's descendant always has the triforce of wisdom and her champion always has the triforce of courage, it'd make sense for demise to take the third piece, the holder of power. so like what if. this guy was just trying to be a good person, a good leader, but knowing from history books, from every ganondorf that has come before, and the triangle in the center of your hand, that you are predestined for evil, that hylia's vessel and her champion will cut you down one day. imagine fighting it. imagine being unable to. I JUST THINK IT COULD BE REALLY FUCKED UP. (also imagine a ganon who is on good terms with zelda and link. imagine having to be cut down by your friends. imagine having to cut down your friend)

the real world reason they won't give him any depth though is racism most likely. so. ganon looks like this in ocarina of time (his first appearance as a man, prior games ganon was just a creature again)

I'm sure you already know what zelda and link look like. he's from a desert tribe called the gerudo (a race of all women btw ganon is the only man they have one man born every hundred years they make him king) who are, in oot, referred to as a tribe of bandits and whatnot they just steal and attack you, so it's like. it's pretty obvious what's going on here, and the gerudo are characterized better in botw although their character design is still very orentalist which is an issue that doesn't really show through THIS ganon's design but IS an issue I promise go look up the gerudo women it's the jasmine in aladdin thing all over again. anyway. so. nintendo this man could be so cool and interesting PLEASEEEEEEE

[ateezmakemeweep]

you’re the one that i want (part 25)

word count: 5k

fluff

(part 24) (series masterlist)

almost every summer of your life, you spent at the beach.

and while you loved it each and every year, a place that served as a safe space you always so desperately needed, a part of you also knew it wasn’t a choice.

you came here because your parents sent you, because they didn’t want you with them and you didn’t have anywhere else to go. 

you’d spent those years feeling completely unwanted and terrified of everyone and everything; thinking at any given moment, someone was gonna hurt you. that no one cared about your thoughts or feelings or even your existence.

and you’d grown used to that mentality for so long. you were sad and hurt and just living day to day with that knowledge because what else could you do?

but now, you don’t even get the chance to think like that. because you have so many people around you as a reminder that you’re not alone anymore. 

you have your aunt who, from day one, you always knew was there for you. 

you have yunho and san who served as the people who were patient and caring from the second they met you, made you feel at ease when you were so obviously uncomfortable in a new environment. 

you have hongjoong and jongho who always make you smile and laugh despite whatever mood you’re in. 

you have wooyoung, mingi and yeosang who, while you might’ve gotten off to a bumpy start, have proved time and time again how much they care about you. how they’ll ruin anyone who tries to mess with you now and have seen the error in their ways. 

you have seonghwa who, despite everything he’s done, has always loved you. made you the happiest a person could be but also maybe the lowest; though even with that, you were able to get past it. 

he showed you how to love but also how to be loved, a concept you truly never experienced until him. how much power that feeling has over a person and once you see that it’s something completely pure and real, it could help heal a person.

but that’s not to say it completely healed you because you know that’s just not how it works. you still have your doubts and anxieties and some long-lasting trauma that you’ll have to work through. but he makes it easier, everyone makes it a little easier because you know they’re there to listen. 

you know seonghwa could take one look at you and just know you’re having a bad day, place a kiss on your forehead and comfort you in the form of your head on his chest and his hand rubbing your back. 

but for the most part, these long summer days have been amazing. even seonghwa thinks so, despite the way his friends have been staying at his house, stealing his food and giving him a headache more often than not.

“can someone please go on the ferris wheel with me!”

the loud bustling of the summer carnival truly rivaled the youngest boy’s whines, sick and tired of them all standing around and attempting to win a giant teddy bear for the past thirty minutes.

“jongho, if you ask one more time i’m gonna-”

“can someone PLEASE go on the ferris wheel with me!”

you let out a small sigh as you look at the boy, his eyes focusing right on you when he sees he finally has your attention. 

“please, y/n, we’ve just been standing here. they’re never gonna win.”

“yes we will!” mingi, wooyoung and hongjoong blurt out, causing you to snort and jongho to shake his head; it takes just one more look from him, one of pure and utter devastation, for you to give him a small smile and nod. 

an excited yelp leaves his mouth and he grabs your hand, fully prepared to pull you away and lead you to every ride possible. but then you stop in his hold and his head snaps back to see seonghwa’s arm wrapped around your waist, his mouth in your ear asking where you think you’re going. 

“she’s coming with me!” jongho says, “we wanna go on rides, not wait around for a stupid teddy bear.”

“it’s not stupid, you’re stupid,” hongjoong snaps, eyes narrowed as he aims a dart at a purple balloon. 

“seonghwa, please,” jongho whines, tightening his hold on your hand and attempting to tug you away from him. but the dirty blonde only narrows his eyes at his friend, eyes moving to see you looking at him in amusement. 

“come with us,” you say sweetly, despite the way you’re being pulled, almost painfully, in two different directions. 

“you know i get dizzy, baby,” he whines, a giggle leaving your mouth as you cock your head to the side. 

“ah, that’s right, forgot i was dating an old man,” you quip playfully, his eyes narrowing and his hold on you tightening. he tugs you closer and your hand gets pulled out of jongho’s, the boy behind you letting out a groan as he flails in a circle.

“y/n! apologize to him, god damn it, and let’s go! seonghwa, she didn’t mean it.”

“oh, i think i did though,” you tease, the smile pulling at seonghwa’s lips making you bite down on your lip. 

“you’re pushing it, you know that don’t you?” 

but you only roll your eyes as you turn in his hold, lifting on your toes to peck his lips sweetly. he meets the kiss and keeps it as chaste as possible, smiling against your lips before you pull back and look at him with one of your own. 

“we’re gonna go now,” you say, “are you sureee you don’t wanna come old man?”

his eyes narrow at you, about to pull you into him again when jongho, now teamed up with san, pull at your hands and charge away.

“we’re going on rides! fuck you lover boy!”

seonghwa shakes his head as he hears your parting giggle, smacking wooyoung in the back of the head when he misses the balloon for the 40th time.

“you are terrible.”

“you are terrible!” you squeal to jongho, watching as he shakes the cart of the ferris wheel and sends san screaming.

the blonde had been hesitant to go on this ride in the first place, a fear of heights that has made him have mental breakdowns at amusement parks before.

but you promised that he’d be okay, and it took a little bit of begging on the line to really convince him, just for jongho to mess it all up within the first ten seconds of being secured in.

“i’m gonna scream for wooyoung to beat you up if you don’t stop,” the blonde whines, his hand clutching onto the edge of the ride desperately.

“i’m not scared of that short little man, i could easily take him.”

“i don’t know, it’s usually the small ones that are crazy,” you reason, overlooking the calm evening sky despite the vigorous shaking beneath you.

“stop!” san yelps.“please, you little shit!” and now you can really hear the anxiety and fear cracking in the blonde’s voice.

“no more!” you scold, pinching jongho’s arm and watching his face pull into a pout. “stop! or we’re not going on anything else.”

and even though your threat was empty, because you wanted to go on more, it did the trick. you three bounced around to every and any ride you could get on, even the ones that weren’t san approved; he just shut his eyes tightly and screamed directly into your ear.

but you and the youngest had your heads thrown back in laughter, your hair zipping through the wind with your arms up in a sight seonghwa watched with a smile.

he was leant against the side of a booth, blueberry slushy in hand drowning out the sound of the boys arguing over who gets custody of the giant teddy bear.

“i was the one who popped it!”

“but we all paid for it!”

“you only popped it because we loosened it.”

“you can’t loosen a balloon dickface.”

your happy squeal rips him away from the nonsense bickering, your eyes finding his as you immediately run to him. 

“you should’ve came, it was so much fun!”

“yeah?” he says, offering you a sip from his slushie. you take the straw between your lips with a smile, sucking down the sugary blueberry before pulling back.

“that’s good.”

he smiles when he sees a blue speck on your lip, wiping it off with a delicate swipe of his thumb and soft look in his eyes. he knows you have your good days and bad days, the former more often than not during these past few weeks, but he can’t help but love the good days.

when he gets to see the smile he was robbed of for the first few weeks of knowing you and then again the first few months after reuniting. but now it’s like he makes it a personal mission everyday to see it; not even for his own enjoyment but to know you’re genuinely having a good, happy day. 

“your hair’s a mess,” he chuckles out, voice deep and amused as he runs his fingers through your knotty hair. but you only narrow your eyes at him and take the slushie from his hand, pecking his cheek quickly before running over to see the $100 carnival prize you eventually get custody of.

you remember how uncomfortable you felt at the first bonfire you went to, when yunho’s bright smile or hongjoong’s charisma or jongho’s funny antics did little to calm you. 

you remember being scared of seonghwa, the way he watched you with emotionless eyes and nearly threw a water bottle in your hand with demands for you to take it. you had usually felt out of place but it really stuck out that night to you, watching everyone talk and laugh and bond around a crackling fire. 

you never would’ve thought that, just a year later, you’d be around one of your own. laughing and giggling and kissing your boyfriend around a fire with people you felt comfortable and safe with. with people you went to, what felt like, hell and back with but came out okay. 

more than okay, really. 

because you watch wooyoung and san shove each other lovingly, two people who also overcame struggles in a strained relationship. you watch all of the boys with the blonde, once tumultuous and non-existent friendships that were able to blossom again. 

you watch from mingi’s shoulder seonghwa and yunho play cornhole, giggling when you see that after a year, yunho’s skills with the game still haven’t quite improved - and that’s obvious in the way the four boys charge down to the ocean.

“okay, honestly, he might’ve gone worse,” you mumble to mingi, the boy scoffing lightly and pushing you off his shoulder playfully.

“leave him alone,” he whines, a soft smile on your face that causes him to roll his eyes in embarrassment. you giggle and knock your arm into him, looking around the dark beach with a sense of tranquility. 

you always loved the beach at this time, that solitary part of you itching to feel the cold sand between your toes and hear the gentle lull of the waves with no one’s presence but your own.

but you wait until the boys are occupied, until mingi eventually sneaks over to yunho and defends him against everyone’s harsh insults; you also saw san and wooyoung go down to the ocean a few minutes ago, the blonde not having learned in his lesson from back in febuary.  

so it’s then that you quietly sneak away, catching your boyfriend’s eye and he already knows where you’re headed off to.

you make your way to the cliff you became well acquainted with during these types of events, watching your feet in the sand before you climb your way up and shimmy toward the end. 

you watch the waves crash under the bright moonlight as your pelt with memories, good and bad. how this beach marks almost every journey you and seonghwa went on together from first meeting, 

“you don’t talk a lot.”

his eyebrow raises at your comment, turning to look at you and the close eye-contact causes you to sharply inhale; he smells good, like the beach and cologne.

“neither do you,” he counters, “i don’t even know your name.”

your eyebrows furrow together, turning your neck to the side as you realize you haven’t told any of them your name yet. “i thought it was seonghwa,” he finds himself saying with a smirk, your confused gaze prompting him to speak again.

“you looked back when yunho said it yesterday.”

“oh,” you giggle awkwardly, remembering turning around in your flustered state and seeing him looking at you from your front yard. “no. my name isn’t seonghwa,” you tell him before telling him your real one.

he hums at the information, eyes roaming your face before his eyebrow quirks up again.

“so, why’d you come tonight, y/n?”

to your first kiss,

“...so i’ve never done this before.”

he hears the way nerves and embarrassment seep into your voice, looking at him wide-eyed with pink cheeks and now he’s really never wanted to kiss someone more in his life.

it’s why he takes your face in his hands, his palms cupping your cheeks and causing a breathy exhale to leave your mouth. “good,” he says, his thumbs stroking your face as he leans down and presses a feather light kiss to your lips.

it feels almost like nothing but still shocks you, not even having the time to close your eyes before you’re looking at him again; because that was one thing you knew, you knew you weren’t supposed to kiss someone with your eyes open.

“g-good?” you squeak after a few seconds, not even sound enough to feel embarrassed by the shake and waver in your voice.

“good,” he confirms and if the look on his face and smirk on his lips didn’t make you weak enough, his next words absolutely do.

“i wanna be your first.”

to your first confessions and vulnerable moments,

“i…don’t really know why you like me,” you say with a hiccup, “you could probably be with any girl ever who’s a lot prettier and more…experienced and-”

“don’t,” seonghwa growls lowly, his thumb running over your face sweetly. “no one’s prettier than you.”

your eyes widen and you want a laugh to bubble out of you but for some reason you can’t. you can only pout and look at him with your glossy eyes, your stupid little self feeling sad and insecure all of the sudden.

“that’s a lie,” you tell him softly as you shake your head. “no one thinks that. no one ever really likes me, actually.” you wanna say that not even your own parents or classmates like you, that no one has ever looked your way and actively cared about you felt.

“i do,” seonghwa hums, his heart hurting because he hates that you feel this way. “i liked you the second i saw you.” you look up at him and feel your eyes water, the softness and sincerity in his words causing a lump to form in your throat.

to even the heavier stuff, when you really weren’t sure if you two were gonna make it this far. 

“i don’t know what i want,” you admit quietly, confused because there’s the matter of trust at hand making this process incredibly daunting. but you also can’t escape the one fact you knew was true this whole time, no matter how much you didn’t want it to be because you were so sad and hurt.

“but i know that i’m still yours.”

he doesn’t think he’s ever felt the feeling that rips through his chest when you say that, an overwhelming, all consuming feeling that would’ve knocked him on his ass if he didn’t have some sort of hold on you.

he has to stop himself from completely breaking down in front of you, shaking his head and holding back a cry as he pulls you into his chest.

“you really shouldn’t be fucking saying that to me,” he mumbles against your head, his voice tight and throat constricting as he tries to keep his shit together. “i don’t deserve to hear that.”

you pull away and meet his gaze, his eyes wide and teary and full of such love you can see clear as day. you reach up with a small, sad smile and brush your hand through his hair, longer pieces of dirty blonde on the top such a contrast to the short, shaven ones he had during the summer.

“maybe not,” you say quietly, head cocking to the side as your wide eyes meet his. “but it’s how i feel.”

but you think that’s maybe why you’ve grown to love this beach town just a little bit more. 

because it not only shows the story of you and him but also of you as a person. someone who came here sad and lonely and a shell of a girl but was able to blossom into someone who, for the most part, was genuinely happy and content with life.

and you never thought you’d be able to say you were happy with your life. that you felt like you belonged anywhere or with anyone because you were just always in the way. 

but you see now that that’s not the case. you see that you were never the issue but your environment was. an environment your mind still drifts back to and makes your heart sink, wondering what went so wrong in your parents lives for them to act the way they do.

to never, not once, contact you or your aunt ever again to see if you were okay or adjusting well; but you try not to dwell on that. you try not to think about and dwell on things like that anymore. 

because you’re in a better place and have more than enough people who care about you and-

“you have a death wish?”

your head snaps back to see seonghwa standing a few feet behind you, his tall frame looming above you as he cocks his head to the side teasingly. you can only smirk at him with pink on your cheeks, your arm reaching out for him to come over and sit next to you. 

but he plops down behind you until you’re right between his legs, your back pressed against his chest and his lips mumbling into your exposed shoulder. 

“you okay, baby? i saw you sneak away.”

“yeah,” you hum lowly, taking his hand in yours so you can play with his fingers absentmindedly. “i just like it up here.”

he smiles against your head, pressing a kiss to your hair lightly as he watches you intertwine your fingers together. it’s something so small but it makes him bite back a smile, remembering when you were too scared or shy to initiate things.

but he’s watched you become more confident, not only with him but in general. the way you can hold eye contact now and your voice doesn’t always have a tremor. how you’ll kiss him sweetly before running off, like the action was so natural and immediate you didn’t think anything of it. 

he can only describe everything as easy; nothing is ever forced or feels fake. if you guys have problems now, you talk it out right away. you don’t throw his past mistakes in his face and he doesn’t ever push you to talk about something until you’re ready.

it’s at those moments you guys find yourselves here a lot, enjoying the usual quietness and tranquility of the dark beach. tonight, however, that’s not the case because even from this spot, you hear the distant screams and shouts coming from your crazy group of friends. 

“they’re so loud,” you hum quietly, seonghwa laughing against you as he nods his head and mumbles a string of expletives. 

you giggle softly and crane your neck backwards, looking at him upside down to see him already staring at you. you raise your eyebrows playfully and his deep chuckle sends your heart fluttering, his face meeting yours to place a soft peck on your nose. 

you giggle and pick yourself up, turning around so you can crawl into his lap. his arms wrap around your waist as he holds you to him, tucking a stray piece of your windblown hair behind your ear.  

“so...did you think about what your aunt said the other day?”

you bite down on your lip as you let out a sigh, knowing that you need to come to a decision but your heart hurting at both prospects. 

because when she first mentioned you transferring to the school here, you knew it made the most sense. it was only a seven minute drive and you already would have a small group of friends, hongjoong and yunho in your class and jongho in the year below. 

but then you’d have to sacrifice the school and environment you just got used to. you’d have to sacrifice your time with seonghwa and the other boys, your job at the cafe where you can’t imagine not ever working again. 

because who would work with san? you can’t let the blonde work there alone again, after seeing the after-school crowds and knowing how much he loved having someone to talk to there.

but the hour commute back and forth is rather taxing, depending on the day and traffic sometimes making it longer. and you can’t help but feel bad for seonghwa and your aunt’s gas bill - both of who never allow you to pay them back.

your aunt also thought it’d be a good idea to get a fresh start - away from a town and school full of bad memories and reminders of how life used to be.

“i don’t know,” you say quietly, pulling back from seonghwa’s shoulder to meet his gaze. “i know it makes sense to and i wouldn’t mind it,” you tell him honestly, “but...i’d miss it. i’d miss working with san and seeing the other boys everyday.”

“i know, love, but you’d still see them,” he says sweetly, “they’d probably drive out every fucking weekend for you.”

you giggle softly as you shrug, wrapping your arms around his shoulders before you look at him with the smallest of pouts. “but i wouldn’t go to school with you, either. i’ll reallly miss seeing you every day.”

a low chuckle leaves his mouth before he places a firm kiss right on your lips, the way in which he does it so surely and easily still surprising you after all this time. 

“like i’m not gonna stay here every night and make the drive,” he says lowly, amused that you think he’d actually go a week without seeing you.

“then i might as well keep going,” you whine, his look hardening because he’s truthfully with your aunt on this one - he thinks being away from that town littered with bad memories and trauma, some of which he himself contributed to, would be better for you. 

but it’s your decision after all. it’s gonna be you going through the two years, not anyone else - not him or your aunt or your friends. all of them can only give gentle encouragement and be supportive of what ever decision you make. 

“it won’t matter what you pick, we’ll be okay,” he says when you two stand up, his hand in yours as he runs a hand through your hair. “and if you’re scared about starting a new school, don’t. because you’ll have yunho and jongho and hongjoong and they’d be way too fucking excited to help you and show you around.”

“but what if i meet a mean, bad boy there?” you tease lightly, eyes glinted with amusement and a smirk pulling at your lips. “like right in homeroom or something, i don’t know.”

you watch his tongue poke into his cheek as he narrows his eyes at you, a giggle leaving your mouth as you wrap your arms around his waist. 

“just kidding,” you squeal, his eyes rolling before he pulls him into you. 

“not funny,” he says despite the humor laced in his voice and then his lips on yours. he slips his tongue in and you smile against him, only breaking away when you hear shouts and gags from directly below you. 

“can you stop making out for five fucking seconds and play with us!” 

everyone took the news of your decision to transfer schools...differently.

whereas jongho, hongjoong and yunho tackled you in a group hug and cheered in amusement, wooyoung, yeosang and mingi resembled children who just found out santa isn’t really.

seonghwa and san watched from the side, the two boys you consulted with most and eventually shared your decision with not all surprised by these reactions.

because despite how hard it was, despite how many factors you had to consider and people you couldn’t help but think about, you felt as if this was the right choice.

it was a fresh start and closer and just made more sense. even though you’d miss the familiarity of the other school and working with your best friend every day, you know it’ll be like you’re barely gone.

because seonghwa was correct in saying the boys would come every weekend to see you, the first idea coming from their mouths after their initial heartbreak and whines.

but it didn’t lessen the blow when the last day of summer did eventually come, when you sat around the pool with seonghwa and your friends and uttered dramatic goodbyes. 

“it’s only an hour away,” seonghwa grumbled, watching san and wooyoung cling to you for the past fifteen minutes. 

“you can say that because you’re-” 

“just shut up,” seonghwa says, a sense of urgency and warning in his tone that goes unnoticed to your ears. because the whole time you say your goodbyes and hug the boys, you’re holding back tears.

tears that don’t surface until you’re back in your room with seonghwa, watching from the balcony as yeosang and mingi stick their heads out the window and wave goodbye until the car is completely out of sight.

you turn around and seonghwa’s eyes soften upon seeing your expression, wide teary eyes and lower lip threatening to wobble from holding back cries. 

“baby, it’s okay,” he mumbles against your head, tightening his hold on you when you fully slump against him and let out a few quiet whimpers; because tomorrow, he’s gonna be gone too.

the feeling isn’t as gut wrenching and consuming as it was the last time you two separated like this but you still feel sad and a little scared. you still have to face a new school tomorrow, adjust to all the different teachers and classmates while also getting used to not having your familiar circle of people. 

you’re not gonna see him everyday when you first wake up, fall asleep to him kissing your head or the sound of his heartbeat against your ear.  

“maybe it’ll be good,” seonghwa mumbles against your head, the two of you now laying in your bed under the covers. “maybe you’ll like getting a break from me.”

“no,” you immediately whine against him, a small smile on his face as you push yourself up and straddle his waist. your fingers trail down naked his chest, making figure eights on his abs in a way that makes him groan lowly. 

“why?” you ask, cocking your head to the side with a pout on your face. “will you like the break from me?”

“fuck no,” seonghwa growls out, grabbing your hips roughly so he can put you on your back. “i’ll be surprised if i make two weeks before transferring.”

you didn’t even have time to think about that being a possibility before his mouth is on yours and he’s sucking hickies into your neck. trails his lips down your stomach until he’s slipping off your shorts and you’re moaning into the crease of your elbow. 

moans that turn to muffled cries into one another’s mouths, his cock steadily fucking into you until you both come in unison. your sweaty bodies and labored breathing fill the room, you on your back and seonghwa making his way into the bathroom to get a warm rag.

you hum at the feeling of it between your legs before you’re back in his arms, your head buried in his chest as you fall asleep to the sound of his deep “i love you.”

the same one that wakes you at five a.m., his hand softly running through your hair as your eyes fluttered open. 

“i gotta go, baby,” is all he says. but it immediately makes you frown and bury yourself further into him, mumble words he can’t quite make out besides little whines of “no.”

but you do eventually pry yourself off of him, after he presses soft kisses on every bit of your face until your nose is scrunching and you’re pushing him away from you playfully.

“okay, okay,” you whine, morning grogginess still in your voice and on your face. “please call me when you get home.”

“of course, baby, how ‘bout i come back after school? to see how your first day went?”

“mm it’s okay,” you mumble tiredly, knowing you have an hour and a half left before you have to get up and get ready. “just stay till i fall back asleep, please.”

and that tiny, whiney request almost makes him wanna drop the act entirely. but he sees your heavy eyes already threatening to shut and shakes his head, waiting until your breaths even to peck your cheek and he sneaks out of your room.

you wake later to the sound of yunho’s voice, his head peeking in your room before a sigh leaves his mouth.

“y/n! we have to leave in twenty minutes!”

he watches, and is totally not helpful, as you rush around your room to get ready quickly, his head thrown back in laughter in a way that makes you smack his arm lightly. 

but you all eventually get there with a few minutes to spare, the boys walking you through your schedule and introducing you to a few more people they’re friendly with.

“everyone’s really nice,” hongjoong tells you, hoping to ease your obvious anxiety. “you’re gonna think it’s suspicious but they’re all genuinely pretty good.”

“okay that makes me feel better,” you say with a smile, the five minute warning bell making your eyes widen and stomach knot even more. “oh no.”

“it’s fine,” yunho smiles softly, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into him. “i’ll walk you to homeroom, c’mon.”

he guides you through the halls until you’re standing in a doorway, the teacher in the front of the room greeting you with a small smile and saying hi to yunho. 

“this is my friend, y/n. she’s new and a little nervous so please be extra nice to her.”

the teacher rolls her eyes as she waves yunho off, warning him that he’s gonna be late just as the bell rings; she doesn’t even say a word as she walks over and grabs him a late pass, shoving it in his hand before telling him to move his ass. 

“so, y/n, was it?” she asks, looking over the paper in her hand with a curious gaze. “that’s funny, we were supposed to have two new students.”

your eyebrow raises at her statement and you think maybe you could befriend them. they’re probably just as scared as you, if not more because they don’t anyone at all. 

you think that would be nice, having another friend to get to know and help feel as ease and-

“oh, are you the other new student?” you hear the teacher ask, hearing footsteps slowly come up from behind you.

there’s a few beats of silence before chatter erupts from students, quiet mumbles about how he looks familiar and they’ve all definitely seen him before.

“yeah,” you hear the boy say and you immediately whip around at the deep voice you know so well, the handsome face that woke you this morning looking at you with soft eyes full of amusement. 

“i’m seonghwa.”

you can’t even hear the teacher welcome him or tell the other students to settle down, biting back a smile at the the way he so cockily and teasingly mouths ‘hi baby.”

complete

tag list: @chogiout ; @psshwa ; @yeocult ; @seongghwaa; @cherryeonii ; @chaoticbanqtan ; @8teenee ; @nczenniez ; @atinyarmyx1 ; @mingtopiaa ; @chubsluda ; @joongiebug ; @mochibabycakes ; @jisungity ; @skz-on-my-mind ; @nlost21 ; @myonlyaurora ; @closer-stars ; @kuaenam3g ; @byungaji ; @floweryjh ; @joeycheungg ; @lostscenarios ; @atinyxtopia ; @sanisms​ ; @kpopnightingale​ ; @simpforhyunjin​ ; @89staytinyzen21​ ; @lokicaramel​ ; @hwaxbum​ ; @sakura-uji​ ; @songsoomin​ ; @toffee-hwa​ ; @deobitiful​ ; @hyunjeansuniverse​ ; @chrryhwa​ ; @i-know-you-know-lee-know​ ; @tiny-whatsername​ ; @fairieofeternity​ ; @yixing-jaehyun​ ; @sleepyseonghwa​ ; @revehosh​ ; @atletino​ ; @yeol-wish​ ; @cxcxlxlee​ ; 

[sugarsugarmoon]

Bright Eyes - part 2

Summary: Yoongi won’t be caught so off guard this time...maybe...

Part 1: here

Genre: Smut. Angst. More smangst.

Warnings: oral (m. and f. receiving), unprotected sex (do as I say, not as I write, wrap it up), drinking as a coping mechanism, Yoongi is sad and bisexual.

a/n: Cot dammit @taetaesbaebaepsae​, you have hurt us all. Alternatively, titled “Lover I Don’t Have to Love” (based on the Bright Eyes song - yes calling the fic Bright Eyes was intentional). Alternatively alternatively titled “Yoongi is a Whole Clown.”

Word Count: 2969

Yoongi knows he’s being overdramatic. He knows that he is over-correcting a little bit. But he’s hurt and embarrassed, so he does what he knows. He gets drunk.

Not only does he get drunk, he goes out to bars with Namjoon or Jimin almost every night and gets drunk. He even agrees to go to a club with Hoseok a couple of times. When the most attractive people in the bar start giving him attention, he lets it happen. He lets cute boys buy him drinks, and he dances with the girls who try to get him to dance. And when they try to take him home at the end of the night, he lets them do that too. He doesn’t mind the one night stands for a change. He thinks that maybe he can get used to it. 

One night, he takes home a guy from a club he went to with Hobi. He had danced with him most of the night, and Yoongi noticed how adeptly he moved his hips. Yoongi can’t even remember his name, maybe something with a T, and he has his hands all over Yoongi as soon as the door to his apartment closes. Like every hook up that he’s had for the last few weeks, Yoongi knows that, because of the alcohol and the sadness, it’s going to take more than just kissing to get hard. The guy pulls Yoongi’s shirt over his head and is placing gentle kisses down his neck on to his chest. Yoongi pulls him back up to kiss him. He pulls T (or whatever) against his body and slips his hands under his shirt, running his fingertips over the smooth skin. Yoongi rips the shirt over his head and presses his chest flush to him. He wants the skin contact, but then he panics about the intimacy of it.

“Get on your knees for me, baby, yeah?” he says, knowing that he’s just using the pet name because he doesn’t know this dude’s name.

The guy nods and slips onto the floor. He has his hands on Yoongi’s belt when Yoongi hears his phone go off. He decides it can wait. The man on his knees now has his hand in Yoongi’s underwear, fist wrapped around his cock. Yoongi grunts in approval and looks down at him. Honestly, this guy is ridiculously good looking. He has this dark hair that he has flipped out of his eyes a couple of times, skin with honey tones that’s so smooth Yoongi could caress it with his fingertips forever, and adorable little moles all over his face, including under his eye and the tip of his nose.

“Hyung, do you want me to suck your cock?”

“Yes. Can you do that for me, baby?” Yoongi rasps. He is now completely hard under this younger man’s hand, and he wants to feel the way that his pillowy lips feel wrapped around his dick.

He nods and runs his tongue along the length of Yoongi’s cock and around the head, and Yoongi groans again. He can’t wait until he’s hitting the back of this angel’s throat because the things he’s doing already feel amazing. Yoongi feels the younger man’s lips encircle the head of his cock, and he grips the back of Yoongi’s legs to bring him further into his throat. With this mouth around his cock, he can almost forget you. Almost.

As the man starts to slide up and down Yoongi’s cock, there’s a knock on the door.

“What the fuck?” Yoongi exclaims, and the man pulls off of him.

“Do you need to get that?”

“Ugh. Probably. Give me just a minute.” Yoongi pulls up his underwear and pants, not bothering to button them. He crosses from the living room, where he probably shouldn’t be getting a blowjob anyway since he has roommates, and opens the front door with annoyance, “what?!” falling from his lips.

It takes him a second to register what’s in front of him. Your bright eyes look glassy, hair messy, eyeliner thick, tits on display with that low top. HIs breath catches when he registers you. You take in his appearance too, and he becomes very aware of what he looks like right now: hair messy, shirtless, pants undone, dick clearly straining in his underwear, marks on his neck and chest, and obviously drunk. The two of you just stare at each other for a minute.

“y/n,” he whispers.

“I just..was in the neighborhood, and you didn’t text me back…” He’s forgotten how much he loves your voice, especially when you’ve been drinking. A little gravely from use and a slight twang to it. You’re so perfect it strikes him in the chest.

“I...I wish I would have known…” he trails off as the other man appears in the foyer.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry. Of course you’re busy. I shouldn’t have come. This was stupid,” you apologize and dart off down the hall.

“y/n, no wait!” Yoongi shouts after you, but you’re already gone.

When he turns back around, the man is looking at him apologetically. 

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just was going to ask you if you wanted me to go.” He’s wringing his shirt in his hands. He’s so pretty and sweet, and Yoongi is feeling devastated after you’ve left like that.

“No, you should stay and finish what you started.” Yoongi leads him into his bedroom, hoping to numb the pain by fucking this beautiful stranger.

The next morning, Yoongi wakes up tangled in his sheets with the man from the night before clinging to him. If he’s being honest, it’s the best fuck he’s had since you, but his head is pounding right now. He wriggles free and heads to the kitchen. He sees his phone on the counter and realized he hadn’t looked at it since before he got back last night. He has missed texts from Hobi and Namjoon, but there are two that make his heart skip.

y/n (Bright Eyes) 1:20am: Hey, u up?

y/n (Bright Eyes) 1:23am: Can I come over and show you how sorry I am?

Yoongi sets the phone down on the counter hard and runs his hand through his hair. He hadn’t really figured you’d be the type to send fuckboi texts. You had come over last night to try to hook up with him, and he had been with someone else. He smacks his hand down on the counter, knowing he had fucked up the one thing he wanted most. He grabs two painkillers from the cabinet and drinks directly from the faucet to swallow them.

When he turns around, the man whose mouth left all the marks currently on his chest is standing there.

“Hey, I’m gonna take off, but I had a good time. Call me if you want to do it again,” he murmurs, turning back to the door.

“Wait,” Yoongi says flatly, “put your phone number in my phone.” He hands his phone over and waits.

When he gets it back, he finally has a name for the man walking out his door. Taehyung.

After he showers and cleans himself up, Yoongi lies in bed staring at your name in his phone. He wants to send you something, tell you that Taehyung was only in his bed because you weren’t, tell you how much he misses the way you smell. Instead, he deletes the text thread, sets his phone on his nightstand, and rolls over to sleep.

A few days later, Yoongi decides to go to another open mic night. He tells himself that it isn’t because he hopes he sees you there and hopes you hear his poem. He says it’s because he needs to get some things off his chest and needs someone to listen to it. He throws on a white tee, black jeans, and a bomber jacket over top. He keeps running his hands through his hair trying to get it to lay how he wants.

When he gets to the coffee shop, it’s a little busier than the last time, and he doesn’t see you in the crowd, not that he’s looking for you. He signs up for a slot and sits to watch all the other participants. He can’t focus very well on anything, but he does register a girl named Tessa telling a story about if her friends were pocket sized. He doesn’t want to love it, but it’s so adorable that he can’t help but imagine how fun it would be to have Namjoon, Hoseok, and Jimin in pocket sizes too. They’d also be easier to put somewhere and ignore them if they were tiny.

He’s so lost in thought that he almost misses his cue to go up on stage. Yoongi approaches the microphone and pulls his phone out of his pocket to read from his notes. He starts reading his poem “Lover I Don’t Have to Love,” and he pauses at “I want a girl who’s too sad to give a fuck,” and scans the crowd. And of course he sees them. Your bright eyes, peering up at him from under your hair. He clears his throat and keeps reading. At the part that’s about you, he looks up and holds your eye contact.

You don’t flinch or wince or anything. You just keep his gaze like nothing has happened. When he finishes, the crowd claps for him and he glides off the stage. His feet try to carry him to you, but he decides to just go to the bar instead. He orders an Americano and is waiting when he hears a throat clear behind him.

He turns, and you’re there. You have your hair loose and unstyled under a beanie, a tank top that shows off the top of your breasts, and loose sweatpants. He’s taken aback by how much this look turns him on. Yoongi wants to trace his fingers along the line of your collarbone and shove his hand in your sweatpants. He wants to bite your exposed neck and mark you up. You seem to know what he’s thinking because you give him a knowing smirk.

He clears his throat. “Hey, what’s up?”

He is trying to be casual, but he’s more nervous than he’s been in a long time because he doesn’t know what you’re going to say.

“Your boyfriend here?” you ask.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Yoongi huffs, and when you continue to stare at him, he continues, “no, he’s not here.”

“Huh…too bad.” You’re so casual that Yoongi wants to scream. “I would have liked to fuck him.”

“Great. It’s not enough for you to fuck other guys; you have to fuck this one too? Great. Really mature, y/n.” He is immediately fuming. You haven’t said 10 words to him in weeks, and the first thing you say to him is that you want to fuck the guy you thought was his boyfriend.

“I mean,” you raise your eyebrows, “I thought we could fuck him together.”

Yoongi nearly chokes on air, and he suddenly isn’t sure what he usually does with his hands. He shoves them in his pockets and drops his eyes to the floor. He’s mumbling. “Well, I don’t even know if he’d be into that, and maybe I don’t know that I want to share.” 

“Ah, come on, Yoongi. You don’t want to share. Even with me?”

“Especially with you.” He grits his teeth, grabs his coffee off the counter, and starts to walk out. He doesn’t expect you to follow him because that isn’t your style. When he finally gets outside into the cool air, you grab his arm. He’s startled by you, and he turns to face you. The expression on your face leaves his mouth dry, and he isn’t sure what to do. He pushes you against the brick wall, putting as much of his body as he can manage against yours. You feel warm and familiar under him, and he hates himself for loving how it feels.

“What do you want from me?” he growls into your ear, ghosting his lips over your skin.

“I just missed you, Yoongi.”

He pulls away from you and starts walking toward the parking lot. He turns back when he hears that you aren’t following him. “Well, are you coming?”

You catch up to him, and the two of you walk in silence to his car together. You ride in silence besides the faint sound of hip hop music from the radio the whole way to his apartment. Once your inside, he pushes you up against the door and leans down until his lips are just millimeters from yours. “Is this what you want, bright eyes?”

You lean up and press your mouth gently to his. Against his lips, you whisper, “Yes, but you better not push me against anymore walls tonight.”

He leads you by the hand to his room, and you push him back onto the bed. You kick the door shut and toss your beanie aside. 

You seem more eager than usual because you are taking off all your clothes until you're just in your panties. Yoongi feels himself instantly plumping in his jeans. Your tits are gorgeous, and he’s forgotten how much he loved them. He’s shaking with anticipation of touching them.

Before you climb in his lap, he pulls his shirt over his head and pulls down his pants, wiggling awkwardly out of them while lying down. You straddle him, and he can feel how warm your core is through your underwear. He thinks he’s going to start whining and begging if you don’t give it to him soon because he’s missed you so much.

Like you read his mind, you ask, “Did you miss me, baby?”

He nods slowly, bringing his hands to your hips. He’s forgotten how soft your skin was, how much he loved running the pads of his fingers over your curves. He’s trying to slow himself down because he doesn’t want you to know that he’s been thinking about this every single day since the last time.

“Show me how much,” you say.

He flips you on to your back wordlessly. He slips between your legs, pushing them apart. You spread them further for him, and he pushes your panties to the side as he runs his tongue over your clit and your folds.

“So wet,” he whispers, “Is this for me?”

“Yeah, Yoongi, it’s only for you,” you breathe out, grabbing on to his hair and pulling hard.

He gasps against you then brings your clit between his lips, sucking hard. Running his tongue over your clit slowly, he’s hitting all the right spots and soon you’re writhing under him. It brings him satisfaction to watch you fall apart under his tongue, knowing it’s him making you lose control. You cum against his tongue, thighs trying to shut around his head, but he holds them open.

He keeps moving his tongue against you after you come down, and you pant, “Yoongi too much.”

“I think you can take it, doll.” He keeps rolling his tongue over your clit in slow, deliberate circles. He collects your arousal on his tongue. He’s intoxicated by the smell and taste of you. He’s drunk on the way that you look under him, wiggling and moaning. He’s never wanted anything more than he wants you, but he would never say that out loud. He slides his fingers into you, curling them upward while he continues his motions with his tongue. You cum again around his fingers, and he feels like his chest is going to burst with pride.

He crawls up the bed to your face, kissing you with his glistening lips. “Can I fuck you now?”

You nod, and Yoongi pulls your panties all the way down. He lines himself up with you, pushing in adeptly. He forgot how good your pussy feels, like hot silk.  You’re already clenching around him, and he knows he can’t hold it for very long. He brings his thumb to your clit and growls, “let’s try for three?”

It isn’t long until you’re coming around him, and he’s coming undone at the way that you feel. He cums rope after rope inside of you. He leans down, panting and kisses your lips. He whispers, “thank you” before he rolls off of you. Soon the two of you are drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms.

In the morning, Yoongi wakes up to see that you are already awake, scrolling on your phone. He stretches and moans a little. You turn and look at him with a smile on your face, “Good morning, sleepy. Do you think maybe we should talk now?”

“About what?” He stretches again and then traces his fingertips down your waist and hip.

“About us, Yoongi.”

“No, I don’t think we need to. You made it pretty clear what this is. Besides, I don’t really have time right now because I’m supposed to get lunch with Taehyung today, and we slept in a little bit. I need to get going, actually.”

Hurt flashes in your eyes, and, even though it wasn’t his intention, he feels vindicated that he’s hurt you a little bit.

“No, you’re right. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.” Your voice wavers a little bit from your usual confident tone, but you quickly regain your composure. You get dressed, and Yoongi walks you to the door. He kisses your cheek goodbye. After he shuts the door, he sighs and leans against the door.

What the fuck is wrong with me? he thinks to himself as he texts Taehyung to see if he wants to get lunch.

[cuthian]

Becoming a Memory, Becoming a Treasure Chapter Four

Hi everyone!

I think there'll only be one more chapter after this one, but no promises on when that'll be out. Uni research work is calling my name and I've neglecting it far too much already 😅

The first scene in this chapter is rated a very tentative M, so practice caution ☺️

Thanks for the massive response and love!

Love, Annaelle

FOUR

“Maybe it's like Mac says. Ever man winds up with the horse that suits him.” —Cormac McCarthy

REGGIE

Reggie let Luke push him back into the studio, watching in amusement as he kicked the door shut before pushing Reggie down onto the couch, Reggie’s hands slipping up his thighs and around Luke’s waist when the other boy straddled him smoothly, pressing him back into the cushioned seat.

“Hi,” he breathed faintly, looking up at Luke breathlessly. “You know we only have like ten minutes to change and then pop to the restaurant, right?”

“Plenty of time,” Luke grinned, leaning down so his lips were just barely brushing over Reggie’s. “We haven’t had a second to ourselves all week.” Reggie’s heart squeezed a little in his chest in an odd mixture of fondness and exasperation before he nodded shakily, barely managing to smile before Luke’s lips were on his, his hands soft but insistent on Reggie’s cheeks.

Reggie kissed him back, slipping his fingers up into Luke’s messy hair for purchase, gasping against his lips when he deepened the kiss, tugging Reggie’s shirt up until they had to break the kiss to tug it over his head. “I know we’re supposed to change, but I don’t think this is the most efficient way to go about it,” Reggie remarked, grinning at the breathless look of desire and exasperation Luke gave him before he reeled Reggie back in for a much messier kiss this time, with clacking teeth and too much tongue, and Reggie loved every second of it.

Luke’s hold on his hair was just on the right edge of painful as he dragged Reggie’s head back, mouthing his way down his throat with hot, open-mouthed kisses. “Luke,” Reggie moaned, heart pounding wildly, fingers clenching in Luke’s loose shirt.

“What,” Luke grinned, lips curving into a smile against Reggie’s neck. “You want me to stop?”

“No,” Reggie squeaked, tightening his fingers in Luke’s shirt.

“Good,” Luke smirked, that great, devastating smirk that made Reggie’s knees wobble, and then the world tilted alarmingly for a moment as Luke maneuvered them sideways onto the couch, pressing Reggie flat on his back, his lips once again occupying Reggie’s in a downright filthy kiss as they writhed to get comfortable on the cramped surface.

They grappled for control for a while, Reggie impatiently tugging at Luke’s top and Luke feverishly attempting to unbutton Reggie’s trousers without breaking the kiss. Reggie groaned, eyes rolling back in his head and blunt fingernails digging into Luke’s shoulders when he bit down on the skin just above Reggie’s collarbone before soothing over the mark with his tongue.

“Luke,” he whined, slipping his hands down his back to his bottom, pulling Luke’s hips down to grind on his and holy fucking shit—

“We really don’t have time for this,” Reggie panted as Luke’s teeth scraped against his earlobe.

“Then tell me to stop,” Luke told him, his eyes dark and pupils blown wide as he leaned in for a slower, deeper kiss than before. Reggie found it very hard to concentrate in general with Luke pressed against him like this, hard and warm and insistent, and he didn’t think he was strong enough to tell Luke to stop—nor did he want him to.

Luke grinded down against him again and Reggie couldn’t contain the whimper that fell from his lips, and he could feel Luke smile against his lips.

“Someone’s excited,” he muttered, and Reggie kind of wanted to smack—or kiss—that mischievous grin from Luke’s lips. He did, pulling Luke down to kiss him again, slower and sweeter this time, slipping his hand down into the back pockets of Luke’s jeans to pull him closer.

“I thought that was the point,” Reggie gasped a little unsteadily, finally succeeding in ridding Luke of his stupid shirt and getting both their jeans unbuttoned once they’d broken the kiss again. He rocked his hips up against Luke, eagerly leaning into another kiss, and he couldn’t suppress the whine that fell from his lips at the feel of Luke’s heated skin on his—it was incredible.

He felt like he was burning from the inside out, and he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think and he couldn’t stop—not that he really wanted to in the first place.

plop.

“Hey guys, are you ready, Julie and Flynn are alre—woah!”

Reggie jerked away from Luke, who jerked away too, rolling right off the couch and onto the floor with a muted thud, staring wide-eyed at Alex, who’d covered his eyes with his hands, and had turned his back to them, cheeks flamed bright red. “I thought you were just changing clothes,” he said accusingly.

“I mean,” Luke said, having recovered from the shock and gotten back to his feet, looking remarkably unruffled, Reggie noted resentfully. “We would’ve gotten there eventually.”

Luke raised his eyebrows at Alex as Reggie struggled to his feet, any and all arousal squashed into oblivion by the mortification of being walked in on, buttoning his jeans back up regretfully. “Why are you—” Luke chuckled at Alex, stepping around the little end table to grab Alex’s hands and draw them down. “There’s literally nothing you haven’t seen from either of us.”

“That was different,” Alex squeaked, jerking his arm from Luke’s grasp, still blushing furiously—Reggie got it. “And get dressed. We have to go.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Luke chuckled, popping up to the loft to do exactly that.

Reggie’s hands shook a little as he retrieved his shirt from the floor, avoiding looking directly at Alex, because he was sure they’d both just burst into laughter—or tears—if they made eye contact.

“Well then,” Luke said cheerfully, popping back down when he’d put on a shirt and tossing an arm around each of their shoulders. “Let’s go.” Reggie exhaled shakily and managed to shoot an embarrassed grin towards Alex, who looked equal parts mortified and delighted.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Let’s.”  

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

JULIE

Julie was fidgeting, tapping her foot under the table as she and Flynn waited for the manager to show up. “Hey,” Flynn said softly, putting her hand on Julie’s thigh to still the constant movement. “Everything is going to be fine. This is just a first meeting.” She smiled lightly and knocked her shoulder against Julie’s. “The boys’ll be here, you’ll wow this agent, and we’ll see from there, okay?”

Julie laughed despite the nerves that were making her stomach clench, leaning into her girlfriend’s side gratefully.

“Okay,” she chuckled. “You’re right.”

She inhaled deeply and smiled at Flynn, blushing a little when the other girl pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Flynn took Julie’s hand and tangled their fingers together, resting their joined hands on her lap.  

“Did I tell you,” Julie said, in a bid to distract herself and Flynn from the impending meeting. “That Reggie and Luke finally got their heads out of their asses?” Flynn laughed and shook her head, and Julie continued, “They’re almost more annoying now. They can barely keep their hands to themselves.” She smiled lightly and added, “It is a little cute though.”

“Can they even,” Flynn frowned, tilting her head thoughtfully, “You know… Do that anymore? They’re ghosts. They’re made of air.”

“Ew,” Julie exclaimed, shoving at Flynn’s shoulder with her free hand. “I don’t know. I don’t wanna know! They’re my friends, I don’t wanna think about them… doing that.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust and shook her head again.

“Lies,” Flynn cackled. “You had a massive crush on Luke, don’t deny it.”

“I didn’t—” Julie sputtered, cheeks flaming with a blush. “It wasn’t—I wasn’t as bad as Reggie. And besides… I have you.” It was a lame comeback and she knew it.

“Duh,” Flynn rolled her eyes. “Reggie’s crush on Luke can be seen from space, even now. They have even more chemistry than you and Luke do sharing a mike.”

Before Julie could reply, the boys popped into existence right in front of their table, Luke grinning wide and unrepentant while both Reggie and Alex looked flushed and embarrassed. Luke’s hair was so messy it almost looked like he’d stuck his fingers in a light socket, and Reggie was wearing exactly the same thing he had been earlier—at least Luke had changed his shirt.

“Really?” She said, raising an eyebrow at them, trying to look stern, even though the corner of her lips tilted up in a smile anyway. “Again? Can you not keep your hands to yourself for ten minutes?”

“Nope,” Luke replied cheerfully, just as Flynn said, “The boys are here?”

Julie nodded, and Alex, who’d been looking around, said, “And I think your manager is here too.”

Julie turned to look over her shoulder with a smile that immediately froze on her face. Reggie inhaled sharply too. “That’s—” he choked, “that’s not—that’s Maggie, Alex.”

“Maggie?” Luke squinted. “What’s Maggie doing here?”

But the pieces of the puzzle were snapping together in Julie’s mind. Maggie’s wife had mentioned that Maggie worked with artists, and the woman she’d spoken to on the phone earlier this week had never mentioned the name of the person she was supposed to meet here, and—potentially worst of all—she’d given Maggie her full name.

“Shit,” she cursed quietly. When Flynn looked at her, wide-eyed, she hissed, “That’s Reggie’s little sister. If she saw our video—”

Before anyone could say anything, Maggie had reached the table, glaring down at Julie with an impassive, unimpressed expression. “Don’t stand up,” she said coolly, and she didn’t sound anything like the kind, sweet woman Julie had met just a week earlier. “Here’s how this is going to go. I’m gonna sit, and you’re going to tell me exactly how many of my brothers’ band’s songs you stole from those notebooks before you gave them back, and exactly how you managed to get enough footage of them to fake a performance. If you’re lucky I might not sue you and blackball you in the entire industry.”

Julie stared at her, openmouthed, as did Reggie and the others.

Maggie sat down across from Julie and Flynn, barely sparing a glance towards Flynn before she refocused her attention on Julie. “I’m sure you’re not a bad kid,” she continued. “You wouldn’t have returned this,” she tapped the bracelet on her wrist lightly, “if you were. But,” she leaned forward and Julie noticed, for the first time, that Maggie was barely keeping it together, that her eyes were shiny with unshed, furious tears, “you have no right using their music. I sure as hell didn’t give you permission and I know for a fact that Luke’s parents wouldn’t have either. So.” She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I—,” Julie stuttered. “It’s not—it’s not like that.”

Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Then, pray tell, what is it like?”

Julie opened her mouth, changed her mind and closed it again, looking helplessly at Flynn and the boys.

“Tell her,” Reggie said. “Just tell her everything.”

“Reg,” Luke started, and Julie wasn’t even sure what he was going to say, but she already knew he was thinking the same thing she was—they couldn’t tell Maggie. She would never believe them—she’d probably be even more likely to blackball her.

And to have her committed to an asylum.

“It’s complicated,” she finally said, looking away from the boys. “I don’t think—you wouldn’t believe me if I told you—”

“Try me,” Maggie said dryly. “I’m not letting this happen again, Julie. If you wanted to use their songs, their music, you should’ve gone about it differently.”

“I—” Julie stopped. Blinked. “You know about Trevor?”

This threw Maggie. “Of course I know,” she said. “How the hell do you know?”

“Damn it,” Reggie cursed, “tell her. Tell her everything. Or,” he started forward, holding out his hand to Julie. “Make me corporeal, let me tell her. Please, just tell her.”

“Reggie, man, we can’t tell her,” Luke jumped in, pulling Reggie back. “She’ll never believe us. Or she’ll think she’s gone crazy. You don’t wanna do that to her, do you?” Reggie opened his mouth to protest, but Alex put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back a little and shaking his head.

“It’s—they’re not—” Julie stuttered, “They’re lookalikes.” She could tell Flynn was trying to nod along with whatever she was trying to say, but Maggie clearly wasn’t buying it, but it was the only thing she had, she had no idea what else she could say. “They’re not from around here,” she added. “They live in Sweden, which is why it’s a… a hologram band.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Maggie deadpanned.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Reggie cursed, lunging forward. Julie tried to twist away from him, to stop him from what he was trying to do, but she was too late, and his fingers closed on her forearm.

With a sudden plop he became visible.

“What the fuck,” Maggie exclaimed, shoving her chair back and nearly tripping over it as she jumped to her feet. Her eyes were wide and stunned, Luke and Alex looked horrified and Reggie was looking at Maggie with a pleading expression. “It’s me,” he said, approaching her slowly, hands raised in supplication. “Mags, it’s me, I promise, I can—we’re ghosts, somehow, but when we make music, people can hear us, and see us and—” he gestured to Julie helplessly, “She’s singing with us, she’s helping us.”

Maggie looked from Reggie to Julie and back, mouth hanging slightly open in abject shock.

“What the hell are you trying to pull?” She demanded hoarsely. “My brother’s been dead for twenty-five years.” She looked at Reggie, although it did look like it physically hurt her to do so, and said, “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but it’s not funny.”

“Mags, it’s me,” Reggie repeated, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. “I swear.”

“Don’t call me that,” Maggie spat, snatching her purse from the back of her chair and shaking her head. “I don’t know who you are, but leave me and my family the hell alone.”

She turned to Julie. “If I ever find you using their songs again, I will make sure you will never have a career in music, no matter how good you are.” With that, she turned on her heel and stormed outside, slamming the door so hard behind her that the everyone who wasn’t already looking at them turned to stare. Reggie looked like he’d been slapped in the face, and Julie felt terrible for him, but also wanted to slap him up the head again, because there was no way that could’ve gone well.

“Reggie,” Luke whispered, coming up behind Reggie, trailing his hand down Reggie’s arm lightly. “Reggie, come on.”

“No,” Reggie said, “No, I’m going after her.”

“No, hey,” Alex intervened, stepping up in front of Reggie and pressing a hand to his chest. “Let me, okay? I’ll go. It might be easier if it’s not you.” He looked at Julie when Reggie nodded reluctantly and held out his hand. “Come on,” he said. “We can walk outside, you make me visible, and I’ll go find her, try to explain everything.”

“Yeah,” Julie nodded shakily, “Okay.” She stood and followed Alex outside in a daze.

How did everything go south this fast?

------

LUKE

It wasn’t hard to find Maggie when he put his mind to it.

She was walking fast, but she was also clearly still very shaken by what had happened in the restaurant.

Not that Alex could blame her, of course.

Reggie really should’ve thought that through more, although Alex had to admit he’d been at a loss too. There really wasn’t a reasonable explanation of why Julie was performing with three guys who looked and sounded just like a 90s rock band that had died of eating bad hotdogs.

He took a deep breath and popped around the corner, turning and waiting for Maggie.

Alex could see the exact moment she saw him. She froze in the middle of the sidewalk, wide eyes staring at him in disbelief and fear and confusion, and Alex felt horrible for her.

“Hey,” he said softly, approaching her slowly. “That went pretty badly.”

“You’re not real,” Maggie said hoarsely, shaking her head desperately. “You’re dead. I saw your bodies—you’re dead. We buried you.”

Alex was momentarily taken aback—why the hell had she seen their bodies, she’d been nine—before he said, “I am. I’m also here. It’s—you know, we don’t really know how it happened either. But we’re here. When we perform with Julie, other people can see us, can hear us—and now, whenever we touch her, we become—” he tapped his own chest and said, “corporeal. Just for a little while, but…”

“This is insane,” Maggie pleaded, a tear running down her cheek.

Alex chanced another step closer, and though she tensed up, she didn’t run from him. “I know,” he said. “I know, okay. But it’s real. And none of this is Julie’s fault, I promise. She had our permission to use the songs, she wrote half of them with us. And I know, I know this is a lot to take in, Mags. No one expects that you just accept this right away. Just…”

He held out his hand.

“Please let me give you Julie’s address and phone number so you can reach us.”

She looked at him for a long time, and he let her look, because he understood that this had to be overwhelming and weird and downright insane. “Okay,” she finally whispered, hoarsely. “Okay.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and unlocked it before she handed it to him, and Alex was so glad he’d had time to mess around with Julie’s phone, because at least now he knew what to do.

When he’d typed in the address and phone number, he saved the contact and handed the phone back, his fingers brushing past hers accidentally.

“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, pulling back and taking a step back, but Maggie shook her head, grasping at his wrist to pull him back.

“You’re real,” she whispered, staring at where her fingers were wrapped around his wrist, “I can—I can feel you.” She turned his wrist over and pressed her fingertips to his pulse point, and Alex let her, because it was one of the first things they’d done when they realized they became corporeal when Julie touched them too.

“But no pulse,” he said quietly, putting his hand on top of hers lightly.

Maggie looked up at him. “But no pulse,” she echoed. “You’re still dead.”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded.

Maggie stared at their hands for another long few minutes before she dropped her hand and stepped back. “If—tell Reggie I’m sorry,” she said hoarsely. “I don’t know if I—if this—” she looked up and swallowed thickly. “Just tell him I’m sorry.”

Alex nodded. “I will.”

Maggie nodded tightly, shot him one last, long look before she exhaled shakily and pushed past him, resuming her way home at a brisk pace.

Alex sighed. “That could’ve gone worse.”

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

MAGGIE

She sat on the floor in the walk-in closet, her laptop beside her with one of Julie and the Phantoms’ videos paused and the contents of three separate boxes with photos strew out on the floor around her.

She didn’t have a lot of photos from when she and Reggie had been little, because her father had been a drunk and a homophobic piece of crap who’d tried to get rid of everything that Reggie had ever touched when he’d realized Reggie liked boys. She’d been able to save a few things and pictures—her mother, in a rare fit of clarity, had helped her hide the boxes with pictures until she moved out at seventeen—and hadn’t really dared look at most of them since Reggie had died.

She didn’t know what to make of—of anything that had happened today.

It seemed so impossible, but the feel of Alex’s skin under her fingers had been real, the contact information he’d put into her phone was real, was a real house in a nice neighborhood that looked exactly like the house in the first video she’d watched.

“Sweetheart?”

“In here,” Maggie replied quietly, barely looking up when T’Nia walked in.

She was staring at a photo of her ten-year-old brother holding her as a baby, tears running down her cheeks silently. “Hey,” T’Nia said quietly, kneeling beside her, wiping at her tears gently. “Hey, what’s wrong, darling?”

“Nothing,” Maggie choked. Then, “Everything. I don’t know.” She looked up at her wife and asked, quietly, “Do you believe in ghosts?”

T’Nia leaned back on her heels, frowning a little in confusion. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “You know I believe that there’s much more to the world than we know, than we experience, but… I don’t know if that means ghosts, or God or something else entirely.” She ran her fingers gently through the loose strand of hair that had fallen across Maggie’s forehead and tucked it behind her ear.

“Why the question?”

Maggie looked down at the picture again and then gestured to the laptop. “See for yourself.”

T’Nia eyed her speculatively, and then, warily, drew the laptop closer and pressed ‘play’.

--------

Start from the beginning:

Becoming a Memory, Becoming a Treasure:

(1)  (2) (3)

Or read it HERE on AO3 :D Find the next chapter HERE on Tumblr :)

[gingerpeachtae]

Concentric [7]

masterlist

Words: 8.2k

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut (?)

Warnings: some bullying

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: oof this turned out so much longer than I was planning but oh well! engoy everyone! 😊

You sat next to Tae and Jimin, with Hobi directly across from you, as you all ate dinner. Much to your pleasant surprise, Jin had let you help prep the evening’s meal, though he still didn’t let you actually cook. But you didn’t mind, you were just happy to help.

You released a contentful sigh as you swallowed a big bite; closing your eyes and relishing in the taste, the breeze, and the lingering light of the setting sun through the leaves. As you reopened your lids, you stole a glance to your right to where Jungkook was having a serious conversation with his leader. You wouldn’t lie and say that you weren’t curious as to what they were speaking about. It sort of looked like Namjoon was lecturing the younger Saeni, but with your normal hearing, you couldn’t tell for sure. A part of you wanted to ask the boys sitting next to you if they could listen in, but you held yourself back. It wasn’t your place to pry. You squinted in the low light while taking in Jungkook’s demeanor. You could only see his back, but you still managed to catch sight of his hand twitching as if it was aching to clutch the handle of his dagger. You hummed and pursed your lips, wondering what exactly was agitating the male this time. For a change, it shouldn’t have been you. After your rather loud outburst that morning, Jungkook had not spoken to you. You don’t think he had even looked at you since.

That’s a good thing, dumbo. You reminded yourself.

But for some reason, you felt a little off that he hadn’t sent you a single glare since you had stormed away. You couldn’t pinpoint which was weirder for you: not getting multitudes of scowls from the asshat or that you almost missed them. It wasn’t like you enjoyed them, per say, but they were basically a routine by now. As uninviting as they were, they were a permanent fixture in the crazy, unpredictable days of Illain. But that coconut head had to go and throw a wrench into your already turned upside-down world. Your hum transitioned into a grumble. The little asshat was avoiding you and you didn’t like it.

You forced yourself to take a deep breath and consider that he was probably just doing what you had oh so kindly “asked” him to do. If he needed to completely ignore you for a while to figure out his shit toward you, then he should ignore to his heart’s content.

“Y/N?” You heard Hobi call to you.

You brought your eyes back to your dinner group.

“Yeah?”  You purposefully didn’t comment on Tae and Jimin sending each other smirks and focused solely on the dimpled Saeni across from you.

“So, how was your first morning of training? You seemed a little, um, agitated when you came back this morning.” He sounded innocent enough, but you knew a nosy lad sniffing for some drama when you saw one.

Too bad you didn’t feel like providing him with any juicy tid-bits.

You huffed and explained that it had actually gone quite well for the most part. You told him that you had just gotten a wee bit frustrated at the end. Out of your peripherals you saw both the Saeni next to you roll their eyes. Of course they would. They both knew what had happened. Well, besides the whole getting turned on by their brother part. But, they did not need to know about that. Regardless, when you had finally stomped back into camp sans asshat, they had seen your fuming expression and had immediately pulled you aside to question you. Unfortunately for Hobi, you weren’t in the mood to relay it all again, so you decided to just leave it at that. You figured that if he really wanted to know, he could talk to Tae about it since that boy loved to gossip.

Eyeing the others’ reactions, Hobi took out a knife to toy with as he replied, “Something tells me that’s not the whole story… but you don’t have to explain it if you don’t want to, little scorja. Just know that I’m always willing to listen.”

You gave the Saeni a grateful smile and changed the topic to express how you were going to focus on learning archery and hand to hand combat. All three males perked up and started spouting out how they would love to help teach you and to seek them out if you ever needed assistance.

You couldn’t suppress your laughter at their eager reactions. “Okay, okay, okay. Jeesh. I’ll be sure to let you know. But I’m always going to go to Coco first since he is my official teacher and all.”

After your giggles died down you started to bring a big scoop of food to your mouth, but a sudden, stern cough from behind you made you jump in surprise. The action damn near made you spill your plate.

“Ah! I almost dropped my croissant, you heathen!”

You turned and saw a tiny looking Jungkook simultaneously seeming unsure and baffled.

“Um… hi.” He finally said, fingers tapping against his thigh restlessly.

Tae tapped you on the shoulder. “What’s a croissant?”

Just as you went to bestow your knowledge upon your friend, Jimin said, “Don’t worry about it, Tae.”

While you crossed your arms and pouted, Jungkook hesitantly asked, “Hobi hyung? Tae hyung? Can I… um… talk to you?” His eyes darted over to you and Jimin before quickly looking away. “Alone, please?”

Standing up, Hobi clapped the younger Saeni on the shoulder. “Of course, Kook.”

“Come on,” Tae added, setting his plate aside and rising to his feet as well.

Jungkook pointed to the trees, as if silently asking his brothers if they could converse further away. The other two nodded in agreement and they all began making their way into the darkness cast by the dying daylight.

“Wonder what that was about…” You thought out loud as the three walked away.

“I have a pretty good idea.”

You smacked Jimin lightly on the arm. “Well, of course you do, Mr. Half-Saeni with better hearing than a weaselly human! And let me guess, you’re not going to tell me.”

“Nope!” He popped the ‘p’ and raised an arm to rest on your shoulders.

You made a miffed, but understanding, noise in the back of your throat and leaned back against him, watching as the trio slowly disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

The next morning began the same way the previous had: Tae waking you up, the popping of petal pills, and a kiss to your alarm’s cheek as he sent you off to two hours of training. The only difference was Jungkook. You weren’t greeted by a glare, grumble, or condescending comment as you saddled up beside him to walk further into the trees. He only nodded in response to your “good morning.” Throughout stretching he didn’t utter a word, only hummed to notify you that it was time to move to the next position. He continued being quiet during the entire session, unless he was giving you instructions or correcting your form.

Well… at least he was looking at you today.

The two hours were filled primarily with physical training that focused on strengthening your core and arms. In addition to that, you once again went over how to correctly punch as well as the best way to draw and aim a bow. When time was up, you went to give Jungkook the bow and quiver, but he shook his head. Giving him a quizzical look and cocking your head to the right, you wondered why he didn’t take them back.

“They’re yours now, which means you’re in charge of taking care of them. Plus, it’ll be a good way to become more comfortable with them.”

You made a noise in agreement and slipped both items over your shoulder. You began to contemplate what would be the best way to carry them. It would need to be both comfortable, efficient, and easily accessible. You were brought out of your thoughts by the sound of Jungkook clearing his throat.

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked over your head. “Y-you, uh, did good today.”

You lightly laughed at his awkwardness, but still gave him a warm smile in appreciation of his words.

“Thanks Coco. I’ll… see you later, I guess.” You sent him a small salute and skipped away to find your friends.

The same morning routine, only today, you caught sight of Jungkook’s mouth twitching after you kissed Tae’s cheek.

You gave the male a sly grin as you sauntered up to him. “Aw, do you want a kissie too, Coco?”

He snorted, but not in a mean way. Instead, he seemed to be playing along with your teasing.

“I already told you that I don’t want your mouth anywhere near me, little human.” He had a smirk on his face and a playful look in his eyes.

“Your loss.” You shrugged. “I’ve been told my lips are quite pillowy, you know.”

Jungkook whistled. “I’ve never heard a gremlin’s lips be described as ‘pillowy’ before, but maybe you humans have different standards.”

You gasped and clutched at your heart in mock devastation. ”And here I thought we were starting to get along.”

“In your dreams,” he shot back but in a light tone.

After getting through your prep for the training session, you showed Jungkook your new and improved punching technique that you had practiced with Tae and Hobi. He closely inspected your form until he finally consented to allowing you to practice on him. The rest of the session consisted of basic fighting techniques and more physical training. Once the two hours were up, you grabbed your bow and quiver from where you had rested them against a tree and gave the burgundy-haired Saeni a salute goodbye.

“Hey, Y/N!” He spoke up before you left.

“Mhmm?”

“Um, make sure you eat something when you get back, okay?”

“You got it. See ya later!”

As you were roused from sleep and stood up with a yawn, you were surprised when you noticed that Yoongi was up too. You pursed your lips, curious why he was awake.

“You and your spastic alarm have woken me up every damn day, so I figured I might as well come help Kookie this morning.”

You winced knowing how much the magic user valued his rest. “Sorry… we’ll try not to be as loud from now on.”

He grumbled, pleased you had the decency to look guilty for disrupting his sleep.

While he was looking away, you rushed up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning Mr. Sparkle Hands!”

He hastily pushed at your body, but you knew his tsundere ass liked the affection. The tiny upturn of his mouth gave him away.

You giggled at the pink-eyed Saeni but was quick to turn to Tae to give him his good morning kiss and hug when his whining reached your ears. Chuckling, you pulled back and raised a brow at your teacher who was watching from the sidelines.

“Are you sure you don’t want one too?”

Jungkook just rolled his green eyes at you before walking into the trees and ordering you to follow him over his shoulder.

You complied, but not before messing with him a bit. “Of course, Coco. You know how I always do what you want because I’m such a good girl for you!”

He sucked in a breath and shakily released it. “Just hurry up and start stretching, sweetheart.”

“What in the fuck did I get myself into?” Yoongi mumbled to himself as he trailed after the two of you.

You felt your diaphragm spasm as the air in your lungs was forced out. Jungkook had sent his fist into your stomach, effectively making you gasp for oxygen. There hadn’t been much power behind the hit, and it also wasn’t an effective spot to incapacitate an opponent, but the male was being more cautious so there wasn’t another accident.

You internally groaned in frustration. Yet another round of Jungkook winning and you not landing a single hit on him. Placing your hands on your knees, you took several deep breaths to calm your body and regain your mental composure.

“What did you do wrong?”

You looked into Jungkook’s light green eyes and panted, “I… got… impatient. Left myself… open.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, then pointed to your feet. “You also got sloppy with your stance and didn’t stay light on your feet. You let yourself get unstable.” He considered his next sentence. “I expected more from a dancer.”

You shut your eyes and focused on your breathing, doing your best to not lose yourself in his words. You knew what he was doing. He was baiting you. Trying to make your emotions control your actions.

With one final, deep inhale, you gave him a determined look. “Then let’s go again, so I can get it right.”

His lips extended into a smile, and he didn’t bother to say “go” before immediately launching after you. Preoccupied with dodging his fist, you failed to see the approval shinning in his eyes.

You snickered as you listened to Tae ramble to Jungkook as you neared the end of your stretching. With Tae joining you today, you had a feeling Coco was going to be at his wits end. You wondered how long it would be before the male was grasping for his dagger as you shifted your feet together and folded your body to touch your toes.

You were in the process of mentally counting up to thirty when you heard Tae say something rather… interesting.

“Does Y/N have something on her pants that I can’t see or are you just staring at her ass?”

You straightened and looked behind you. Tae had a genuinely curious expression on his face as his eyes traveled over your pants while Jungkook cursed and looked down to intently investigate a plant by his feet.

Good lord, Tae truly has a habit of exposing people when they’re checking someone out. But why the HECK was Coco checking me out!? Unless…

“So…”

“Hm?” The male in question bent down to further “look” at the plant.

“You like gremlin booties don’t you, Coco?” You wiggled your eyebrows at him.

He jerked his face up to look at yours, abandoning his vegetal inspection.

You could see that he was flushed from embarrassment, but the bugger still managed to snort. “More like judging how flabby it is.”

“Mhmm. Sure.”

He huffed and looked to his brother, who was watching the two of you with fascination. “Whatever. Can you just start your archery lesson already, hyung?”

Tae beamed his big, boxy grin. “Sure thing. Come here, Y/N.”

You briefly paused your steps to listen to the forest. You would be arriving at the palace by the afternoon, and you weren’t sure what to expect. Would the forest be cleared for a massive castle? Would there be pathways and structures built up in the trees like the Lothlórien elves? You really had no idea what it was going to be like, but you refused to inquire the kiela about it. You wanted it to be a surprise. But still… in the slight chance that you would no longer be surrounded by the calming symphony of rustling leaves, singing birds, and the creaking of wood, you wanted to cherish the sounds as much as you could.

“Y/N, you coming?”

You snapped out of your daze to see Jimin calling back to you with an amused smile. His eyes were squished closed, which made your chest grow warm. You yelled back a “coming!” and returned his smile while jogging to catch up with him.

Another hour or so passed of hiking alongside your best friend, discussing random things and coming up with dumb games to pass the time. You giggled when Jimin failed to correctly execute a tongue twister. Laughing, you turned your head to the side to avoid his pleas and excuses. Now that you weren’t looking ahead or at your friend, you were able to check in with the other Saeni and you threw a hand over your mouth in disbelief at what you saw.

Tae was riding on Jungkook’s back and yelling at him to go faster. The latter was cracking up and indulging his brother’s wishes by running and weaving through the trees. Tae cried out in delight, making Jungkook laugh even harder. It was such a childish thing to do, but in all honesty… it looked like fucking fun! A stream of laughter escaped past your hand, which caused Jimin to look over at what new thing had caught your attention.

“Aish, there they go again.” He let out his own chuckle at his brothers’ antics.

You looked at him with a gleam in your eyes. “You know that you’re a dear friend to me, right? My best friend, in fact! So… would you-”

Catching on to what you were wanting, he was fast to interrupt. “Oh, no. Not a damn chance.” He shook his head at you, but his eyes slowly widened as you began to sulk and walk away like a wilted flower. “Wait! Y/N, wait! Please don’t be sad.”

You lowered your head and sniffled how he wasn’t a real friend.

“FINE! We can do it.”

You immediately brightened and squealed in excitement, rushing back to your friend who was cursing himself for being weak for you yet again. Internally, you were snickering at your clever manipulation.

A few minutes later, you watched Jungkook’s legs momentarily pause as he saw you and Jimin copying him and Tae. But instead of shooting a glare your way, he only smiled even wider and continued running about.

It was definitely a weird thing to get accustomed to. Not being a target of the male’s animosity, that is. You didn’t know if Jungkook was only disguising his dislike for you now, or if he had decided to alter his initial opinion of you. No matter the reason, you had a feeling that the change was influenced by whatever he had discussed with Namjoon, Tae, and Hobi several days prior. You had to admit, though. This version of Jungkook was one you hoped would stick around. It seemed like his genuine personality. He was playful, sarcastic, and teasing, but he knew when to be serious and mature. It actually reminded you of… yourself.

“You doing alright up there?” Jimin asked.

You tightened your arms around him and grinned to nobody in particular. “I’m alright. Great, actually.”

Hours later, Namjoon stopped the group and gathered everyone together. He explained that you would be at the palace within the next twenty minutes, so Yoongi needed to release their glamours. He looked directly at you for his next statement. He told you that it was very important that you stayed in the middle of the group. The guards knew the kiela, but you were a stranger, an unknown variable, and he didn’t want them attacking you by mistake. You nodded to the leader and Hobi and Tae moved to your side, saying that they would stick next to you just in case. You smiled at the duo gratefully.

Once Yoongi officially removed your glamours and Namjoon was satisfied with your position, he gave the order to start moving again. Unlike the past, however, the kiela was no longer spread out. Now, they were in a tight, organized formation as you advanced through the forest.

After approximately twelve minutes, a voice suddenly yelled out. “Stop! Don’t move or we will shoot!”

Immediately, you all did as you were told, but you could hear Yoongi grumbling ahead of you. “Why do they always do this? They know it’s just us.”

Geez, it’s like I can hear his eye roll.

“Be quiet, hyung.” Namjoon sternly told him. “You know they have to do this with everyone. Plus, it’s not ‘just us’ this time.”

A small group of Saeni materialized out of the trees, approaching your group with caution, weapons at the ready.

“Hands up!” A male with bleach-blonde hair called out.

You and the others did as he demanded. Your eyes were darting around, taking in these new Saeni. Trying to remain calm, you focused on your breathing and not doing anything to make yourself suspicious.

“Jackson.” Namjoon greeted the blonde male.

“Hey Namjoon… who you got there?” He tilted his chin toward you.

Subtly, both Tae and Hobi shifted closer to you when he did so.

“She’s a friend of Chim’s. She’ll be no trouble. I vouch for her.”

It was quite annoying that you couldn’t speak for yourself, but you knew you shouldn’t start yapping in this situation. It was in your best interest to keep your mouth shut.

Jackson took you in, narrowing his eyes at you and scanning your body in an assessing way. You met his gaze straight on but maintained a nice, trouble-free face. After a few moments, he finally relented, shrugging and saying that if anyone could be trusted in vouching for another it was Namjoon.

You sent Hobi a questioning glance. “It’s all good? Just like that?”

You received a dimpled grin in response. “Yup! Just like that. We know Jackson from our trainee days, so he knows we wouldn’t try to pull anything.” He tugged on your arm to get you moving as the group of guards waved you forward.

Not wanting to question it, you gave the guards a small smile as you moved past them.

As you continued past what must have been the palace perimeter, you noticed that the ground was becoming more worn. It was no longer wild and undisturbed. It was still the same, earthy ground, but it was beaten down and resembled a pathway. You could see that the path broke off into branches that went in various directions. Perplexed, you began to notice other differences in the scenery. The plants and flowers were now growing in a more uniformed, organized fashion. There were ornate lanterns hanging from the branches high above your heads. And the farther you progressed, the more you saw other Saeni, only many of them were not dressed in warrior garb. Instead, they wore a material that was light, flowy, and almost transparent. Majority of the clothes were in natural shades, but there was still a plethora in vibrant colors too. But the thing that took the cake, though, was the giant mass of trees that were woven together to form one big, beautiful sculpture. The thing was seriously so massive it could probably fit three damn Costco’s inside.

Your jaw dropped when you watched a trio of Saeni approach the structure, causing some of the smaller tree trunks to unravel and form an opening. Then, the Saeni proceeded to enter the thing.

Tae and Hobi, amused at your astounded wonder, informed you that you were looking at the palace. Hobi went on to explain that it had been constructed by magic users who weaved the forest together to create the massive structure.

“H-holy shit.” You stammered out in awe.

Minutes later, you were still stupefied by the sheer awesomeness of the palace as you passed through the doorway and entered its depths. A pair of guards greeted you inside and instructed you to follow them to the throne room. After making your way through the maze that was the palace, ogling at the architecture and art, you reached a large doorway with more guards posted outside of it. They opened the doors at your approach without a word. Crossing through the entryway, you saw that you had walked into a long, open room that was filled with gorgeous flower arrangements. The walls were a continuation of the trees that made up the entire structure, but these were more spaced out, allowing the outside world to flicker in and out as you stepped further in. Looking up, you saw that the roof was simply the plump, leafy tops of the trees that formed the space.

It’s so beautiful… but what do they do during the winter or when it rains?

“My King.” The guards that had escorted you bowed and left the room.

You glanced to the side and your eyes bugged out when you saw the kiela kneeling. You squeaked and hastily followed suit. You really did not need to be beheaded for “insulting” the king of Illain.

You heard an exasperated sigh come from the opposite end of the room. “Must you really do that? For Exia’s sake, you know how I feel about the whole bow down and praise me thing.”

You raised your head in confusion. There was no way that was the king. What you had just heard was so… not king like. When your eyes reached where the throne sat, you saw who must have been the king and his… queen? She had long, lilac-colored hair and pale blue eyes. She had a delicate, regal air to her and you blinked at how stunning she was. She appeared to be around your age, which seemed a little young to be married to the king, who looked like he was in his fifties or sixties. You didn’t want to judge, because you didn’t know their story, though, as you remembered that Jimin’s father had been in an arranged marriage. Plus, if they loved each other, then you definitely had no place to have your own opinions on the matter. Transferring your gaze to the king, you registered that he had dark hair and dark eyes. He also wore armor as he casually relaxed on his throne. His eyebrows were raised at the kiela as they rose to their feet while murmuring apologies. You scrambled up after them.

At your ascent, the king shifted his attention to send a warm smile in your direction. “Well, hello there, miss. You can probably tell that I am Illain’s ruler, but who might you be?”

“Y-Y/N.”

His dark eyes lit up in recognition. “So, you’re the Y/N I’ve heard so much about over the years!”

Before you could ask how he’s heard of you, he waved a hand dismissively. “I know all about Chim’s situation, dear. I’ve known him since before he was born, after all.”

At his words, you recalled how one of Jimin’s father’s friends had helped his mother escape and then brought Jimin to Illain when he was younger to train. You hadn’t realized that that friend was the one who had become the new king.

“It’s nice to finally have a face to your name, dear.” He then gestured to the girl standing next to him. “This is my daughter, Jiae.”

She smiled at you before daintily curtseying.

Oh gosh. Am… am I supposed to curtsey back? That’s not really my thing.

A couple of seconds of internal panic passed before you settled on just giving her a small wave back. Then what the king had said registered.

So, she’s a princess, NOT the queen. Duly noted.

“It’s lovely to meet you.” Jiae then turned to the kiela. “And to see you all again.”

When she met Jimin’s gaze, she blushed and reached up to tuck some of her lilac hair behind an ear. “And it’s… really nice to see you again, Chim.”

Your best friend coughed and ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to distract everyone from the heat creeping up his face, but he still smiled toward her. “It’s nice to see you too, Jiae. It’s been a while, huh?”

Your eyes widened as you watched their interaction. Did… did he like her?

You weren’t able to dwell on the disappointing thought long, though.

The king rubbed a hand down his face. “I know you’re all probably tired and want to rest, so I’ll try to keep this short.”

He went on to express that the reason he needed Jimin was because the threat of the draikensu was getting out of hand. Not only was it getting too dangerous for Jimin, but for all of Illain as well. As a result, the king needed Jimin to utilize the “key” within him. After years of researching what the draikensu meant by that, the king had figured out what this unknown key was. Essentially, Jimin’s family had been entrusted by Illai herself to safeguard a secret within their draeva for centuries. Only those in Jimin’s family had access to this secret and it was passed to every first-born of the next generation. However, it was never passed to Jimin since his father had died before the transfer was possible. Yet, being the blood of the previous holder, Jimin should be able to unlock the secret if he can find his father’s draeva. The only kicker was that nobody knew where it was.

Once the king was finished speaking, everyone in the room was silent. It was a lot of information to absorb, and no doubt it would be dangerous with the draikensu becoming more aggressive and larger in numbers.

Unable to take the agonizing quiet any longer, you raised your hand timidly as if you were in a classroom. “So, when do we leave?”

“Y/N.” Jimin’s voice was filled with warning and he shook his head at you.

“Oh, shit right. When do we leave… your majesty? Your highness? Mr. King Sir?” You gave the king an apologetic smile while he looked at you with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “Sorry, I’m not sure what’s really appropriate.”

Someone in the room snorted at your fumbling as Jimin turned to you with an incredulous face. “No, Y/N. You’re not coming with us.”

Oh boy, this is just like the park all over again.

You raised a daring brow at Jimin. “You can’t be serious. What else am I gonna do? Just lounge around here?” You scoffed at the ridiculous thought and crossed your arms.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the king’s lips twerk upward and Jiae’s head tilt to the side in curiosity. On the other hand, the other members of the kiela looked uncertain as to which side they felt was right.

“Yes! That is exactly what you’re going to do!” Jimin ran a hand through his orange hair. “You’re going to stay right here where it’ll be safe.”

“Mmmmmm, no.”

“Y/N, please.” His brown eyes looked to Namjoon, thinking that his leader could back him up.

“Whoa, okay, hell no. Don’t look at Namjoon. He may be your leader, but he isn’t mine.” You softly smiled at the yellow-eyed male. “Sorry, Joonie.”

He only raised his hands and shrugged, not taking any offense since it was true.

At the same time, the king let out a loud ruckus of laughter.

Slapping his hand against the armrest of his throne, he addressed Jimin through his chortles. “You got quite the stubborn, but loyal, friend there. She’s the type you want to keep close.”

Jimin clenched his hands, but before he could respond Tae sauntered up next to you and threw an arm over your shoulders. “I’ve told you before, Chim. You’re not going to win an argument against a female like our little scorja.”

You looked at Jimin defiantly, feeling even more determined to come now that you had some people supporting you. You didn’t say anything else, though. Jimin knew where you stood on the matter.

You felt another member step up behind you. You expected it to be Hobi, so you were thoroughly shocked when the person spoke up.

“Hyung, if she wants to come, then she can. It’s her decision.”

Coco!?

You peeked over your shoulder to gape at the male, but he kept his eyes locked onto his apricot-haired brother, a serious expression on his face. As you stared at him in astonishment, the rest of the kiela voiced their agreement.

Realizing that he was the only one trying to dissuade you from coming, Jimin ran yet another hand through his locks and turned back to the king. He had a painful look on his face as he quickly excused himself and walked out of the room.

You couldn’t believe him. Yes, you understood his stance, but like Jungkook has said, it was your decision.

The princess’ eyes followed Jimin as he retreated and hesitantly spoke up. “I-I should probably make sure he’s okay. Ex-excuse me, father.”

Watching his daughter exit the room as well, the king sighed. “Well, to answer your question, Y/N, five days should be enough to prepare. And please, there’s no need for formalities with me. Just call me Bang.”

The courtyard was bustling with Saeni. Some were absentimindly walking while they admired the nice weather. Others were hastily making their way along one of the numerous paths, carrying a variety of objects as they ran their errands. You even saw one poor fellow truly embodying the phrase as he actually ran by with a scroll in hand and a sweaty, panicked look plastered to his face. You really hoped he wouldn’t trip and fall as he rushed past.  Beyond the male’s footsteps, you could also hear the dribble of water cascading down the natural waterfalls of the creeks and ponds as well as the murmuring of the many other conversations in your vicinity.

You and Tae were on your way back to the palace after your daily training session. Jungkook had needed to tend to another matter this morning, so he had Tae fill in for him. As the two of you trudged along the worn paths, you massaged your sore muscles and wiped your sweaty hair out of your eyes.

Currently, you were in the middle of one of your standard rants, this one was about why eating popcorn with chopsticks was the ultimate power move.

No buttery hands AND you don’t inhale half the bag within the first two minutes. It’s genius!

Boisterous laughter erupted from farther down the path, interrupting your description of the pros of your eating technique. At the sound, you felt Tae flinch, but you didn’t think much of it. The sudden sound might’ve just scared him a bit. But when Tae didn’t respond after a minute, you gave him a side glance. His eyes were trained ahead, and his face was clear of emotion.

Well, that’s weird…

A flash of movement brought your eyes downward to where his hands were toying with one of the buckles on his armor. Gently, you placed your hand over his fidgeting ones and slowed your pace until you were both standing still.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

His face was still empty of emotion; however, when his blue eyes met yours, you were stunned to see that they were filled with anguish.

“What the fuck? Okay, you better tell me what’s going on with you. Right. Now.”

He attempted to avert his eyes, but you were having none of that. This handsome, adorable Saeni with grey hair and lack of respect for personal space had grown to be one of your most cherished friends and there was no way you were about to just let him stew in… whatever it was that he was stewing in! Before he could fully face away from you, your hand darted out to grab ahold of his chin and you forced him to look at you. His face and shoulders sagged in defeat.

“I…” His eyes became glassy. “Can we please leave befo-”

“Taehyung!”

Both your heads swiveled to the voice that yelled out his name. You squinted through the disorienting combination of morning light and lingering shadows, and you were able to make out a group of five Saeni walking toward you. As they drew closer, you dropped Tae’s chin from your grasp, but kept a firm grip on his hand.

You watched as one of the approaching group shoved another. “I told you it was him!”

Giving Tae’s hand a squeeze, you asked, “Do you know them?”

“Yes.” He spit the word out, his face once again devoid of emotion.

From the way he’d said it, it was apparent that they were not friends. You had never seen the Saeni act this way and it made your heart ache for him.

When the group finally reached you, you noted that there were two males and three females, all with the same camouflaged armor that the kiela wore. They also had various weapons strapped to their bodies, so it was fairly obvious as to what they were: warriors. But with Tae’s reaction to them, you decided not to greet them with a smile and instead only regarded them with a raised eyebrow.

Petty? Yes.

Did you care? No.

Not that it really mattered because they flat out ignored your presence.

One of the males with light red hair threw an arm around a green-haired female, who snuggled into him. “So, tell me Taehyung, what’s it like to be rootless?”

Uh. What?

Tae squeezed your hand tighter and he sharply inhaled but didn’t respond.

The second female, who had on bright pink lipstick that seriously clashed with her yellow hair, laughed.

But honestly, who the fuck bothers to put on lipstick this early!?

“Aw, look. I think you upset him, Roric.” She fake-pouted and flipped her long hair over her shoulder.

You could feel Tae start to shake. Whether it was from being angry or upset, you had no idea. You didn’t know exactly why he would be upset, apart from these people being dicks. But whatever they were talking about must have been a sensitive topic for him. All you knew was that you were picking up on some major bitchy vibes from the group across from you as you began to alternate between looking at Tae and the five strangers. You whipped your head back and forth to try to understand what in the heck was going on.

It was a situation you increasingly found yourself in ever since learning Jimin’s secret and coming to Illain.

“Oh, he’s fine.” The second male with a close buzz-cut rolled his beady eyes. “He’s probably just lost a few brain cells since he’s a stump now.”

The third and final female, who had a large axe strapped to her back, snickered at her buddy’s comment.

Looking back to Tae, you saw that his head was down, and he was biting his lip. He looked ashamed. It was an emotion you never would have imagined seeing on the care-free and aloof Saeni. As you took in your friend’s meek posture, you felt a wave of unprocessed, grade-A fury rush through you. Narrowing your eyes, you glared at those responsible for his disposition.

Bitchy vibes: confirmed. Targets: acquired.

“Excuse me!” You piped up in an innocent voice and widened your eyes to match your tone. “Hi there. I’m new and was wondering what your names were?”

Six pairs of eyes were suddenly on you. One pair was silently pleading with you to leave it be while the others eyed you with distate.

“Ugh. Who are you?” Pink Lipstick crinkled her upturned nose.

You waved your hand dismissively. “Oh, I’m Y/N, I’m not… from around here, but don’t worry about that! I’m more interested in who you are.”

Before even one of them could open their mouths to reply, you snapped your fingers and spoke up again, still in a sickly-sweet voice.

“That’s right, I’ve heard of you… Let’s see, you must be Mike and Ike.” You pointedly looked at both males.

“What in Exia’s name is she talking about?”

Ignoring the comment, you turned to the females. “And you three! Obviously, you must be Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim!” You sighed as you took in the group, placing your free hand under your chin to gaze at them with false amazement. “What fitting names for two assholes with miniscule dicks and three bitches for penchants for unnecessary drama.”

You smiled in satisfaction as you watched their faces transform from bored confusion to angered confusion. They might not have understood where the names came from, but they definitely understood your ending remark.

“What the fuck did you just say!?” The green-haired female you had ordained “Khloe” screeched.

You chuckled bitterly, releasing Tae’s hand and stepping forward while crossing your arms. “Do you really need me to repeat myself? Or did you just lose a few brain cells?”

The male, who you had deemed “Ike,” threatened, “I would watch your tone, bitch.”

“And I would watch what you say to her, Beomwoo.” You felt Tae step up beside you, his voice slightly shaky, but serious. “Or, should I say… Ike?”

You smirked at the group before turning to check in on Tae. He looked angry as hell and his blue eyes were focused menacingly on the other Saeni.

All three males were puffed up, ready for if, or more likely when, with how the situation was progressing, there was a physical altercation. Though, honestly, you and other females were doing no better with your postures.

Cocking your head to the side, you pursed your lips. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you can only dish it out but not take it yourself? Because, if so, the Weenie Hut Juniors will be down the path and to the left.” You gestured behind you with your thumb.

Miss. Axe, aka Kourtney, hissed. “You better control your bitch, stump.”

Tae growled while you barked out a laugh, eyes darkening with wild adrenaline. You were too caught up in the moment to even register that this was the first time you were seeing, or hearing, your friend be super aggressive like this.

Mike made a low noise and went to grab your wrist, but you easily stepped aside and raised your fists to guard your face.

The male scoffed. “Like you could take me, girl.”

He obviously underestimated you because he left himself wide open as he raised his own arms. You doubt you would have been able to touch him with your meager training if not for his incredibly too-high opinion of himself. But, after ducking below his right hook that was all power and no finesse, you quickly threw two jabs into his side. You made sure to make contact with your first two knuckles, to keep your wrist straight, and properly throw your weight behind the attack. You felt a surge of joy when he keeled over, but the whole shebang wasn’t over yet. You shoved him back with your foot, causing him to stumble onto his ass. Then, you straightened and raised a brow at the other Saeni, who stared at you with barely-controlled anger.

“It’s not polite to touch things without consent, isn’t that right, little scorja?” Tae addressed you but maintained his gaze on the Saeni in front of him.

You couldn’t see it, but his blue eyes were flickering with pride at your actions.

“You… you bitch!” Mike gasped out while the others shrieked other non-creative insults.

You rolled your eyes. “Fucking hell, you guys really need a thesaurus.”

Kim pulled Mike back up and all five of them lined up and looked like they were going to throw the biggest temper tantrum of 2019. You fell back into a defensive stance and felt Tae do the same beside you. Taking a deep breath, you prepared yourself for the first strike when you heard a familiar voice calling out.

“Hyung? Y/N?”

You furrowed your brows but didn’t relax as you whispered, “Coco?”

Tae copied you, not taking his eyes off the other Saeni. “Jungkook?”

At the sound of his name, the others’ eyes widened in disbelief and their stances faltered.

“Ju-Jungkook? Like Jeon Jungkook?”

“N-no way… It can’t be him!”

As if on cue, a “what the fuck” echoed off the trees. You craned your neck to see over your “targets’” shoulders and saw a very pissed off looking Jungkook. His hand was griping the handle of his dagger, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw was clenched tightly. He expelled an energy that was so intimidating, it reminded you of the day he had yelled at you right before Jimin got kidnapped. You momentarily flinched at the memory.

As Jungkook stalked over, the five Saeni fell out of their aggressive postures and began blubbering about how much they looked up to him, how in awe they were of his skills, and how nobody has yet to come close to matching his abilities.

He has a fucking fanclub? Seriously?

The burgundy-haired male didn’t even bat an eyelash at them as he made his way over to you and Tae. He still looked like an angry wasp, but his expression lightened a bit when he reached the two of you. He asked if you were okay, to which you nodded. He placed a fingertip gently on your forearm and asked again, his concerned green eyes searching you for any falter. You gave him a soft nudge with your own finger and reassured him that you were good, but before he could turn away, you grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

His eyes widened while you whispered into his ear. “They were calling Tae something like ‘rootless’ and ‘stump?’ I don’t know what that means, but it made him really upset.”

As you leaned back, you saw Jungkook’s face darken. The boy looked super pissed off now. His eyes darted over to his brother and demanded to know if what you said was true.

“Kookie, just-”

“Hyung! Is. It. True?” Jungkook spoke through his teeth as his chest heaved up and down.

Tae looked down and started fidgeting with his hands again. “Y-yeah…”

You quickly walked around the seething Saeni and grabbed Tae’s hand again, trying to offer him as much comfort as you could in the moment.

You had almost forgotten about the Saeni responsible for this shit show. Almost. One of them must have either been blind to The Jeon Jungkook’s obvious rage or he was a fucking idiot because he decided to snicker at Tae’s submissive demeanor.

The raging burgundy head ever so slowly pivoted on his heel until he faced the group of offenders. They shuddered when they saw the borderline murderous expression on his face.

“You say you look up to me… but you fucking dare to insult a member of my kiela?” His incredulous chuckle was almost sinister, and you felt a shiver run up your spine.

You knew first hand what it was like to be on the receiving end of those sounds. Knew how they made you feel utterly helpless and tiny and stole your breath away. This time, it still managed to take you breath away, but it was not in fear. This one made heat rush up to your cheeks and another feeling (that you tried to blatantly ignore) spread throughout your body.

The group blubbered even worse than they had at Jungkook’s arrival, their eyes now containing panic. It was a far cry from the admiration they had held before. They tripped over their words and each other as they tried to politely, but quickly, get away.

“Yeah, whatever.” Jungkook snarled and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Just get the fuck out of here and I swear to Exia if I ever hear you doing this again…

“You’ll answer to me.”

The five Saeni yelped and scrambled away, spouting off “yes sirs” and similar respectful answers. You scoffed at their retreat and squeezed Tae’s hand.

“What a lovely bunch of fake assholes,” you said loudly, knowing that their better senses would ensure that they heard you.

You snickered and sent a little teasing wave to Mike as he glared at you until he disappeared behind a tree. Suddenly, and much to your confusion, the two next to you stiffened before whipping their heads to look in the direction the Saeni had gone. Jungkook even let out hostile noise that made your cheeks heat up once again. He briefly glanced at his brother, who gave him a subtle nod, then returned his gaze ahead.

Good lord, what’s happening now?

Without looking back at you, Jungkook said in a restrained voice, “The reason I came to find you is because you’ll be attending the trainees’ fighting seminar in one hour, Y/N.”

“Wait, what!? But, I don’t-I can’t-where even-”

“You’ll be fine, and hyung can show you where you need to be.” He still didn’t look away from those trees ahead and his voice and body were stiff.

You hesitantly agreed and grunted as Tae grabbed your hand and started pulling you away, muttering about how you needed to eat something beforehand. As you let yourself be dragged to the kitchens, you glanced behind you and saw that Jungkook was now jogging down the same path the bitchass Saeni had left on.

Maybe he’s going to give them his autograph or something?

You made a judgmental face. He wasn’t a celeb for Exia’s sake! So what if he had a small fanclub? He was still an asshat. Sometimes.

Your judgmental expression shifted to shocked as you realized that you had used the Saeni phrase “for Exia’s sake.” The boys were really starting to rub off on you. It was definitely a surprise, but it had you smiling.

Tae gave your hand a squeeze and asked what you were grinning at.

You just shifted your toothy smile to him and shook your head. “It’s nothing, Tae Tae. Come on, let’s go get some foods!”

previous [6] — next [8.1]

[beca-mitchell]

what remains of our love (1/10)

Summary: Chloe spent years waiting for Beca Mitchell. She will continue to do so, even after fate deals them a cruel blow. Amnesia.

A/N: This is pretty experimental. I was debating posting this, but this is essentially how I would have written remember the day, if the tables were turned. What would have happened if I decided that Beca would be the one to lose her memory? I also feel like my writing style has changed significantly since last year. While I don't know if I'll be able to update as frequently as I did for remember the day, I promise you that I will try my best.

Read on AO3.

It’s not that they’ve been fighting a lot , but –

Well.

They’ve been fighting more than usual. And their usual isn’t a lot to begin with.

Beca’s career is demanding, that much Chloe knows. Beca is fairly famous and in the public spotlight enough that it grates on both their personal lives just a little bit.

Chloe is the opposite of demanding. She’s happy to sit back and let Beca take the reins because with Beca Mitchell, she knows better than to push or Beca will retreat into her head.

Even after years of being together – even just as friends – Chloe knows this much about her fiancée.

So that’s why she lets Beca go off to work distractedly, smiling into the brief kiss Beca presses to her lips.

She tries not to let it completely destroy her that Beca forgets to say “I love you.”

––––––

Beca feels the oddest sensation ripple up her back - like she’s forgotten something crucial. She almost twists to face the closed door of the apartment she shares with Chloe.

Instead, she’s distracted by the lingering tingle on her lips and the heaviness of her messenger bag – both reminders that she’s going to be late for her meeting with her manager and publicist if she doesn’t get going.

––––––

How they get together is almost completely cliché’d in how expected it is.

It’s because of singing , because of course there isn’t enough of it in their lives.

It’s fairly simple: Beca finds inspiration in Chloe Beale, so she writes a song about it. Chloe finds said song and demands an impromptu performance. Beca performs it, grumbling all the way. Chloe cries. Beca cries. They kiss.

The longer story kind of goes like this:

It’s more of a purge of emotion. Beca had grown to finally settle down with her rampant emotions and she let them run free across pages and pages of half-finished songs.

Being Chloe’s roommate was equal parts devastating and enlightening.

Beca never expected Chloe to find the music – it kind of just happened. Chloe had turned to her, holding up sheets of paper.

And her eyes – the way she had looked at Beca such that Beca simply crumbled under the pressure.

(Though, reflecting now, the pressure to–to tell Chloe that she loved her? To finally ensure that her deeply held secret burst out of her in the form of a song?

In short, it had taken minimal convincing on Chloe’s part.)

By the end of the song, Beca had been convinced that Chloe’s eyes were going to dry out by how hard she stared at Beca, unblinking.

“Who…” Chloe had cleared her throat. “Who did you write that for?”

It’s not often that Chloe gives her the reins to go out on any kind of emotional limb, so it throws Beca that Chloe’s choosing now to do this – to ensure that Beca’s blush remains on her face.

But as Beca tilted her head to face Chloe head-on, she had been reminded of all of Chloe’s own vulnerabilities and finds it in her to sympathize. She was kind of reminded of herself in an odd way, like she had been looking in a strange mirror of her own reality. Chloe looked nervous, her fists clenched in her lap, like she was resisting something; resisting from saying something; doing something.

“Chloe,” Beca said softly. “Chloe, it’s – you – you can’t imagine that I’d possibly have feelings for anybody else but you.”

It came out a little more stilted than she would have liked, but Beca prided herself on her honesty, not necessarily how her honesty came out.

Chloe had kissed her first, but they both agreed that Beca was the one who initiated it.

And the rest is history.

––––––

Chloe receives the call on her lunch break.

She fumbles with her thermos and nearly drops the entire stack of folders she's carrying.

Holding patients in the palm of her hand while Beca's life essentially hangs in the balance.

She can't even cry until she's in Aubrey's car and even then, only a few tears escape.

She's numb when she hears about the accident. She remains numb.

––––––

Now, in the hospital, two days later, Chloe isn't sure how the hours or days pass, exactly. Just that they do and she can't keep track anymore. She sits and fiddles absently with her ring, weighing it in her palm. Around her, hushed voices echo, but she can't be bothered to make out what her friends are saying until they address her directly.

“Chloe, you need to get some rest. It’s already been a couple of days and–”

"I don't care," she interrupts, almost on instinct. "If Beca dies, I don't want to live.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Aubrey says immediately, anger coloring her voice. “You know that Beca would literally find a way to smack some sense into you if she could right now.”

Chloe glares hard at her feet, knowing that Aubrey is right as usual. She tries not to let Emily and Amy’s concerned expressions get to her, but it’s making the worst kind of panic rise in her.

It’s all very dramatic and tense, because of course Beca Mitchell somehow gets the last word in and drives the most minor of wedges between Chloe and her best friend.

She’s sure that Beca would be very proud of herself somehow and makes a note to tell her.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe finally says. “I…I shouldn’t have said that. I was…” She swallows, battling back a hasty sob.

"Beca will make it," she hears Aubrey say, somewhat distantly. It floats through her ears slowly like she’s sitting far away. "She’s always been a fighter, especially adept at getting on my nerves."

It’s meant to bring levity and it does , but the memory of everything they’ve been through together – not just as Beca-and-Chloe , but through their entire history makes Chloe burst into tears.

“Jesus, Aubrey,” Amy says faintly. “Ease into it.”

“Chloe,” Emily whispers, like she’s afraid Chloe will break. “Chloe, please stop crying.”

“You can’t just tell her to stop crying,” Amy points out helpfully. Or unhelpfully. Chloe’s never sure.

What she is sure of, however, is that this is probably the strangest group of misfits this hospital’s ever seen, so she lets herself cry at the thought of potentially losing the love of her life while the world crumbles around her.

The one person who could possibly pull her together is in the emergency room (again), fighting for her life and all Chloe wants is to selfishly be there alongside Beca.

All she wants is Beca.

Ultimately, there isn’t much conversation during the remainder of the wait. Chloe notes absently that the walls seem to close in on them. She watches Aubrey fidget; watches Emily’s leg shake; watches Fat Amy flirt with a doctor. All of this seems to happen in slow motion.

Every once in a while Emily nervously asks Chloe one of three questions, the first being “Are you alright, Chloe?” The second, “Do you want a glass of water?” and the third, “Do you want to listen to music?” All with a hopeful, sympathetic smile.

Beca is dying.

We haven’t even gotten married yet.

The thought makes her tremble.

And now we never might.

That thought makes her ache with the most unbearable pain. It starts in her chest and spreads like an icy burn clawing through her veins.

So really, all Chloe can say is “No” to each of those questions.

For once, music doesn’t fill her mind. She’s met with silence where Beca’s voice should be.

––––––

It is two and a half weeks after the accident. Chloe trudges slowly into Beca’s hospital room, still shaking off the dredges of rain from her clothes – a surprising California rainfall.

It’s fitting, she thinks.

As per her usual course of action, Chloe slowly ensures Beca’s covers are tucked neatly around her. That Beca’s hands are moisturized.

(Aubrey quirks her eyebrows at her when she first sees Chloe pull out a bottle of hand lotion out of a massive bag of Beca’s favorite things.

Chloe shrugs, rubbing her hands together before picking up Beca’s hand to gently rub lotion into the soft skin. “She likes it. I like it.”

She tries to ignore the sympathetic glance.)

Then, Chloe lets her gaze track up slowly to Beca’s face. A few minor cuts have since healed from when Beca was first brought into the hospital. Faint scarring remains, but it’ll fade with time, Chloe knows.

She’s less concerned about the cosmetics of it all because Beca will always be beautiful to her. A few tiny cuts mean nothing to her. Chloe has had her own share of bruises and cuts. Growing up, her mother always told her that the real healing happened on the inside.

Chloe is so cognizant of that, especially now.

She feels like she’s been rearranged at a visceral, molecular level. From the moment she received the call to now, two and a half weeks later, she has been barely keeping herself afloat. She struggles with what small items to bring from their home to keep at Beca’s bedside. Maybe a trinket or two, she tells herself.

She might have brought a couple pairs of Beca’s headphones. They sit comfortably on Beca’s bedside. Chloe tries not to compare the way the headphone wires look compared to the multitude of other wires and tubes coming out of Beca’s body in a seemingly endless way.

“I miss you,” Chloe murmurs, finally pulling her usual chair up to Beca’s side. “I mean, I know you’re right here…” she pulls Beca’s hand into her own, marvelling in the solid weight and warmth.

She presses a kiss to Beca’s knuckles, lingering as she contemplates her lover.

Beca is the same and yet, barely recognizable. She gently plays with Beca's fingers, finding some solace in how easily Beca's hand still slots against her own. She's soothing her own fears in a way, perhaps selfishly, but she hopes that she can convey to Beca how much she loves her and misses her by way of touch. 

She observes things about Beca too, unable to stop herself from looking at Beca now that she has the opportunity.

(She did her best not to blatantly stare at Beca when they weren't dating and had greedily taken every chance she got while they were dating.)

She loves everything about Beca Mitchell and there is something exceptionally peaceful about her in this moment. The smoothness of Beca’s forehead. The lack of a frown. It almost makes Chloe laugh with how much she misses Beca’s trademark petulance. Her general disdain for fame.

“But where are you?” Chloe asks softly, beginning to cry.If Beca were there, she’d say something along the lines of “I’m right here, dummy” and they’d laugh about it.

Instead, all Chloe gets is the oppressive silence and stark white walls to keep her company while she waits.

And Beca —

Beca’s there. Kind of.

She’s asleep, Chloe tells herself. She’s resting. Just wait.

Chloe waited for Beca for years. She can wait a while longer.

––––––

When Beca comes to, all she sees is light.

Light everywhere and all around her.

It makes her immediately want to shut her eyes and drift off again, but something tells her drifting off immediately wouldn’t be the best idea. Especially not when it feels like she’s been through hell and back just to wake up.

She was never a morning person.

The second thing she sees is the top of a woman’s head – all unruly red curls and nothing else. It strikes her as odd because she feels like she should know this woman, but she doesn’t. Instead, the strangest hollowness fills her chest, briefly making her forget about the piercing pain in her side.

Like there is something crucial missing.

Something integral.

A series of disjointed notes in place of where a smooth harmony should fit.

The pain comes rushing back all at once, making her jolt.

Two things happen at once: the mysterious stranger sits upright and all Beca can see are endless sky-blue eyes.

Chloe...Chloe?

Chloe Beale, sitting by her bedside, holding her hand.

Beca’s confused, if anything. Last she remembers, she was storming away from Chloe and all of the Bellas and leaving them behind–

Second, Beca can do little to contain the scream of pain she lets out when another searing pain floats through her side, drifting up into her head almost lazily in how deeply it assaults her senses. She wrenches her hand away from Chloe so she can raise it to grip her head in agony. The motion itself jostles her entire body, which sets off a chain of events: fire spreads up her side and she figures belatedly that she probably has a broken bone or two. Though the how is murky to her.

Unbearable.

Chloe.

The two thoughts war in her mind until she finally sees black again.

––––––

Chloe blinks awake, wondering if her phone alarm went off. She's typically conscious enough of her phone's alarms and chooses not to set them whenever she visits Beca at the hospital. She realizes then that her phone is completely still and silent and it's Beca's hand squeezing her hand tightly. When she looks up, heart rate increasing, she meets Beca's eyes immediately. Beca, whose body jerks slightly, like she's alarmed by all the tubing around her – all the machines. Beca's eyes latch onto hers in a frantic manner and she whimpers a little in pain.

Beca rips her hand away from Chloe just as a couple nurses rush into the room, drawn by the sound of Beca's machines beeping erratically. Chloe stands shakily. "Beca," she calls softly. "Baby, breathe," she tries.

Beca looks completely out of it. It scares Chloe - the blankness in Beca's eyes. The way Beca is reacting. The way Beca writhes in pain. Chloe inhales sharply, allowing herself to be steered a little further away from Beca's bed.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe asks desperately, barely cognizant of the way the attendant’s hands come to grip her upper arms to pull her away from Beca’s side. Panic rises in her, but the more rational side tells her to calm down or Beca won’t get the help she needs.

Help that isn’t Chloe at the moment.

But–

But Beca had been awake. Conscious.

Alive.

Chloe had felt the telltale twitch of Beca’s hand. The sudden warmth that had spread through her own body when Beca finally made a sound. The tiniest of grunts, followed by a cough.

Chloe’s body had reacted instinctively, like the first greedy inhale of home after a long time away.

“Please,” she calls out, feeling her voice crack. A nurse guides her just outside the hospital room and the door shuts with the strangest sense of finality. Beca’s scream still rings sharp in her ear, like a cacophony of incomprehensible sound. Chloe finally focuses on the nurse in front of her, trying not to take stock of his sympathetic expression. “What happened?” she asks. “Why – she was just – she’s awake,” she says, unable to articulate any further.

Beca was awake – is awake.

She tries again. “Can’t I see her?”

“She’s probably in a lot of pain,” he explains quietly. Like he knows better than Chloe.

(And he probably does, Chloe can concede that. All her education flies out the window. Anything she ever learned about the human brain flies out the window.

For all intents and purposes, she’s probably useless as a music therapist here. She can't imagine even coming up with a plan. All her calm facades disappear.

It’s irrational, she knows.

Especially now. But somebody knowing Beca better than her is almost laughable. But it’s the reality of this situation and there’s nothing she can do.)

“–shock to her. It’ll be best if we just run some vitals, give her some medication. She’s probably going to be out for a little while more.”

“You’re putting her back under,” Chloe says numbly.

“Not like that,” he assures her. “The painkillers will probably knock her out, but she’ll be up again and I’m sure she’ll be calling for you in no time.”

Chloe tamps down her rising hysterics. “But she was–”

“Ms. Beale, you need to calm down.” He reaches out a hand cautiously. “Can I help you back to the waiting room?”

“No, I –” For one dizzying moment, Chloe imagines what it had been like, thinking she had lost Beca for good.

The love of her life.

Her soulmate.

Her partner.

Her best friend.

“I’m okay,” she says faintly. She tries to smile at him - this nurse who just wants to do his job in peace - and alleviate the concern in his eyes. “I just need to–” She heaves a breath, feeling the mildest of panic attacks begin. Pain blooms in her chest. As minute as it is, it’s there and she’s so aware of that fact. She can’t even imagine the kind of pain Beca is in.

“Do you need to sit down?” he asks gently. “Are your friends here? You can wait for Ms. Mitchell with them.”

“No,” Chloe says heavily. “I came alone. I’m alone.” Her words feel thick on her tongue, like she can taste them. When she flicks her tongue out to taste her suddenly dry lips, she tastes salt and realizes she's crying.

She's crying and the one person who learned how to properly wipe away her tears isn't there to hold her.

She has never felt more alone.

–––––

tbc // ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7 | ch. 8 | ch. 9 | ch. 10

[nijuuuu]

Fire Hazard

As y’all could apparently tell, a certain fic author has inspired me to write some gay. So here’s some fluffy gay.

Original fic for @fictober-event​.

Prompt 19:  “Yes, I admit it, you were right.” 

Rating: T+

Title: Fire Hazard

Warnings: Alcohol mentions, light harassment

AO3 mirror here.

Sophie moved like a skillful calligrapher’s brush, leaving behind deliberate, knowing strokes with every footstep. When she got close enough, the scent of freshly brewed lattes drifted through the air, and when the sun was shining, you could see pretty auburn dots run along the nape of her neck. Even her dorky glasses paired absurdly well with the gently cresting waves of her umber hair.

Sophie was beauty. Sophie was grace.

And Sophie was irritatingly straight.

“Why don’t you take a picture, paintcan? It’d last longer,” she smirked, shimmying into her usual chair.

Cait glared and stuck her tongue out. “Tough luck. I’m stuck with you until the lease runs out. And… I was staring at your shirt. You have a rough night?”

Sophie tilted her head to the side and absentmindedly ran two slender fingers over one of the holes in her shirt, revealing just a little more of her smooth, pale skin. “Hmm, I seem to recall you having a rough night yourself a while back. Or, more accurately, waking up next to one.”

“She was a mistake. A drunken, mistake, you overpaid coffee machine, and that was three months ago.” Cait avoided her roommate’s gaze by lifting her mug of scalding tea to her face. HOT HOT HOT. Keep it together.

Sophie giggled, a sound so bright it could make the sun wear sunglasses. “Well. It’s costume day at the cafe! Isn’t that exciting?”

“You going as ‘laundry night’? You’re gonna be freezing your butt off.”

“Think more ‘drop-dead gorgeous werewolf,’” Sophie shot back, a hint of honey in her voice. A few keys jingled, and suddenly she was waltzing her way to the front door. “I’ll post the finished look on Insta, ‘kay? Look forward to it! And I’ll get tonight’s groceries. Just grab a good lunch, sleepyhead!”

And just like that, the scent of lattes disappeared, and the sky was downcast again.

See? Irritating.

Cait let out a beleaguered sigh and sank down in her chair. “Sleepyhead” was a new one. And with every new one came a new emotion she didn’t know she could have, and certainly not one she knew how to deal with.

She didn’t sign up for this. Not at first, at least. Despite their constant bickering, the two had been good friends since high school. When they managed to get into the same university, they decided to move in together. Sophie was kind of a mess back then, and she had terrible taste in men. So moving in was for her own good. Yep. That was it. Cait could think of no other reason.

Until Sophie became less of a mess. She started to go through boyfriends slower than one a month, thank god, until the number finally dwindled down to zero. Then came her brushstroke movements and the way she would gently lift that lucky soup spoon to her lips. She started to do heart-melting little gestures, leaving fresh plates of cookies on the countertop, placing little sticky notes on the fridge to wish her roommate a good day. And then she landed that new job at the cafe. Cait was always weak for a good latte. She never stood a chance, really.

It had been almost two years since then, two tantalizing years. “Never get with your roommate,” her friends had cautioned her. “It never ends well.” That, plus the fact that Sophie had loudly proclaimed her love for men after a drunken night or two of revelry. Ah, how love can fizzle out as quickly as it sparks. Really, Cait never stood a chance.

“So can my dumbass heart stop for just one second!!” she yelped, leaping up in her chair. She couldn’t think straight with her roommate around, damnit! How inconsiderate. How irritating. She had commissions to finish, and a strongly worded letter to send to her professor, and that 200k slowburn wasn’t going to read itself.

That last one sounded good right now. Drawing could wait. Cait slapped her mug into the sink and trundled her way over to her laptop.

A few tear-jerking hours later, she felt her phone buzz on the tabletop. She took a glance. The barista of her dreams had just shared a post on Insta.

Cait had never unlocked the screen faster.

Sophie always looked cute in her uniform. But today, she was positively heavenly. Her apron caressed the generous curves of her torn shirt, giving the slightest peeks to a sight that could make anyone’s stomach churn. Her black stockings stretched over her short but heinously delicate legs, ending inside her fuzzy brown boots. She was holding a drink and biting the straw with a vengeance while wearing a playful expression on her face that really did not help Cait’s problem. Actually, the adorable creature was even baring a set of fake fangs, which really, really did not help the problem. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and a soft wolf-ear headband sat atop her head. And she was winking, her long lashes practically kissing the lenses of her big round glasses, showing off a hint of her brownish-red eyeshadow that unfortunately drew the line of sight directly to those irritatingly honeyed irises.

She was probably violating a few dress codes. She was a fire hazard. A horribly dangerous fire hazard in Cait’s heart.

Another notification broke the silence. This time, it was a DM.

Soupie: Paintcan!!

Soupie: New look uploaded!!! ;>

Soupie: Pretty fired up today.

Kitcait: Oh. Didn’t notice

Soupie: Well, NOTICE!!!

Kitcait: Still wearing that shirt in the freezing cold I see

Kitcait: Blogger to the core

Soupie: ...

Soupie: If you didn’t like the look, you can just say so.

Kitcait: No!! No. I actually think it’s really cute. Really. I don’t think anyone else could pull it off as well. Cute and seasonal. Nice ears lmao

Soupie: I--

Soupie: Thanks.

A moment passed.

Soupie: Suspicious thanks, but thanks, Cait.

Kitcait: Ye

Soupie: How’s your lunch going? You eating well, you vampire?

Cait snorted and sent Sophie a quick selfie with her half-eaten cup of instant noodles.

Kitcait: Meal of champions

Soupie: HEY!!!

Soupie: You’re gonna pass out from malnutrition some day!

Soupie: We’re going to have a decent dinner and I will cook the whole thing and feed it to you by hand if I have to.

Kitcait: Looking forward to biting your hand

Soupie: Worth it. Break’s over gotta go see you in 4

Ahhh,

Oh, jeez.

That adorable, kindhearted, devastating idiot.

How was she supposed to concentrate on anything now?

“Deep breaths, dumbass,” said Cait, clutching her comically pounding chest.

It was a bright, crisp autumn day outside. Some fresh air couldn’t hurt. A quick stroll might help. Maybe she could go get those groceries instead. But she would have to meet Sophie as she got out from work. You know, so they didn’t accidentally double up on expensive produce. Yeah, that’s why. Not because the short, peppy woman happened to be Aphrodite in an apron.

Cait stood up tugged on her overcoat. She paused as she saw the enormous orange blanket scarf that hung by the door, a relic from the previous tenants of their apartment.

Well. Just in case, yeah?

Cait lifted the fabric and hung it on her arm, and she was out the door as well.

Her arms were starting to get sore from lugging around two full bags of food, but luckily for her, she had the gift of long legs and a quick gait. And she was already getting close to the cafe. It would be all worth it if she could just see--

Sophie, standing right outside her workplace, in all of her ‘drop-dead gorgeous werewolf’ glory. The bottom of her shirt was tied in a little knot now, lifting above her midriff and her long plaid circle skirt. Cait tried her very, very best not to get lost in the sight of the most dazzling roommate in the world.

A roommate who, to her immediate dismay, was chatting with a local frat boy.

“Jerry, I’m too tired for this, I really have to get home--”

“Come on! Hey, you look great today.” His voice rumbled up and down the street like a revving engine, attracting more than a little attention from passers-by.

“I really have to--”

“Just one drink? I’m buyin’! We can go get the good stuff!” The wild gorilla-man gesticulated a little too enthusiastically. Enough was enough.

“Sophie!” Cait stepped forward and ruffled the barista’s hair. “Funny I should see you here.”

“Hey!” Jerry’s tone soured. “I saw you at that party. You’re that dy--”

“Six-foot-tall, MMA-certified lesbian,” snapped Cait, “who would love an excuse to smack your scrawny ass into the leaves. Or, you know. To call the cops.”

The man scoffed and thankfully began to trundle away. ���You’re no fun anyway.”

Cait let out a shaky sigh. It really wasn’t like her to pick a fight, but hell if she didn’t look at least a little bit cool in the heat of the moment.

She turned back towards Sophie.

“Hey. Are you hurt?”

Her roommate shook her head and stepped a little closer, holding the sides of her arms. “I’m okay. I don’t think he was going to do anything, he’s just kinda pushy, but...” Sophie looked up with soft eyes. “Thanks. Cait.”

Suddenly, fireworks.

So irritating!

“Anyway, MMA? Really?”

Cait chuckled, thankful for the change of topic. “I did taekwondo as a kid. Same difference.”

Her roommate let out a heart-stopping giggle, and they started walking back home. Somehow, up close and in person, she was a couple thousand times cuter. And suddenly the sidewalk became an object of close scrutiny.

“Achoo!”

Cait quickly glanced back over and let out an involuntary snort. Sophie was shivering in her scandalously frayed top, her nose and cheeks growing pink.

“Come on, wolfie, let’s sit down somewhere.”

As they made their way to a park bench, the taller girl slipped off her overcoat and draped it around Sophie, who let out a noise somewhere between a grunt and a breath of appreciation.

“Told you you’d get cold,” said Cait in a hushed tone, tucking the scarf around her friends’ neck.

Sophie scrunched up her face in a way that made the lesbian say a quick internal prayer of thanks that the two could exist at the very same point in time, just centimeters apart in this cold, cruel world.

“Yes, I admit it, you were right.”

Ugh.

Even her pout was perfect.

Then she flipped around and pressed up against Cait, filling her mind with nothing but coffee grounds and confetti. Sophie’s hair was on fire in the golden-hour glow as she leaned her head against her roommate’s chest. A couple stray threads tickled Cait’s jaw and positively set her cheeks ablaze as well.

“You know,” Sophie said with a playful sigh, “you’d be pretty good boyfriend material.”

Cait gave a slightly bitter scoff. “What about girlfriend material?”

They said nothing for just a moment too long.

The world passed by a mile a minute around them, and the feisty barista was uncharacteristically silent.

Suspiciously silent.

Sophie buried her face in that annoyingly orange scarf.

Cait fought back her heart as it threatened to leap up to her throat. She’d felt this before. But something was different this time. Oh gods, maybe, just maybe, something was different this time.

“Soph,” she whispered softly, her voice breaking with every heartbeat. “Can… can I see your face right now?”

The shorter girl disobediently turned the other way.

But Cait leaned forward, reaching out, and suddenly she was slowly easing her pouting crush’s head to face her own and gently prying the warm, soft scarf back downwards. It revealed a constellation of vivid freckles set aglow. And Sophie’s face was the most beautiful shade of red in the world, even redder than Cait had imagined in her wildest dreams.

“Holy cow,” Cait exhaled.

And for a single, heart-stopping moment, all the two could do was stare.

Until all of a sudden, fingertips were combing through umber hair, and slender hands were clinging on to the others’ back, and lips were meeting each other in near-painful desperation.

Sweet, soft, tender paradise for just a few seconds.

“I thought--”

“Cait. Hush,” whispered Sophie, looking directly into her roommate’s eyes this time.

And they both obliged and came together once more, a whirlwind of emotions kicking up in Cait’s heart that managed to settle on something warm and almost tearful. The kiss was gentler the second time around, a little kinder, and just a little harder to pull away again.

Then they both sat back into the bench, wide-eyed, looking off into the treetops.

“Weren’t you straight?” blurted Cait.

“Back then? I said I liked guys, you disaster, not that I exclusively liked guys.” Sophie seemed to be fighting back an enormous smile, cheeks still holding their brilliant rosy tint. “Plus, you didn’t hear what I mumbled after that. That I was maybe starting to think about girls. Well. Girl. To be accurate.” She continued, voice trailing off.

“Oh,” was all said girl could manage, as she felt soft arms wrapping gingerly around her.

For a beautiful moment, Sophie was all there ever was.

“You know,” the barista giggled mischievously into her roommate’s ear, “I can maybe. Think of some other nicknames I’d like to call you now.”

And Cait was on fire again.

“How about we make dinner first?”

[crutchie-with-a-y]

Can I got some tomeo? Tommy boy x romeo

yes! the last one i did for tomeo was newsies era so I’ll do this one modern, you can find that one here. i will def write for tomeo more if y’all are liking it…

Tommy Boy popped an Advil in his mouth and dry swallowed, his head pounding. 

“Jesus.” He staggered into his aparment kitchen and turned on the lights, only to turn them off when they blinded him and sent stabbing pains through his skull. He threw some cabinets open and smacked some things around, eventually starting a pot of coffee. He groaned and leaned his head against the counter while it brewed. He felt awful, as per usual when he was hungover, but this hangover hadn’t even been worth it. He’d had a pretty shitty night too. After an intense breakup a month ago, he thought he had finally gotten his life back together, and then low-and-behold when he dropped by a local bar to say hello to a friend who worked there, who did he see? His ex, cuddling and kissing with someone they had told him was “just a friend.” This painful night had lead to way too many rounds, and then walking home in the cold to drink another couple beers. And sob his heart out. 

Tommy Boy’s painful memories were interupted by the ding of the coffee machine, even that light bell being too much for his head. He straightened up, rubbing his eyes and stepping back against the wall, only to be met with a knock at his door that felt like someone detonated a bomb in his head. He groaned again and staggered to the door, expecting to open it to a Girl Scout with a shrill voice trying to sell him cookies. Was it even that time of the year? Or maybe a couple of Mormans, who would try to convince him to come to a serive. He didn’t know who it was, all he knew is he wanted them to go away. He opened the door to a shorter man, with a big smile that scrunched his nose and made his eyes twinkle. Tommy Boy’s heart leapt into his throat. 

“Romeo?” He squinted in shock. “What the hell are you doing here?” Romeo chuckled. 

“You were that drunk, huh?” Romeo put his hands on his hips, grocery bags hanging off his wrists. 

“What?” Tommy Boy stared at him blankly.

“You called me last night drunk-crying, but I couldn’t understand what you were saying so I said I’d come over tommorrow and make breakfast.” 

“Oh.” Tommy Boy bit his lip. I’m such an idiot, he thought. But that was so nice of Romeo. Then again, Romeo was always very kind. “Well, um, you don’t have to-” 

“I don’t care,” Romeo pushed past him into the kitchen, plopping his bags on the counter and taking out several boxes and cartons and jamming somethings into the fridge. “I’ve been violently craving pancakes all week and this gives me an excuse to make them.” 

“Oh, well.” Tommy Boy ducked into his bathroom to run his fingers through his hair and swish around some mouth wash against his stained teeth. God, I look disgusting, he thought, if only he’d remembered he was coming. “If you’ve been craving them…” 

“Exactly.” Romeo banged around in the cabinets and pulled down a few bowls. “Now, you talk me through what is going on while I cook.” He poured two mugs of coffee and handed one to Tommy Boy as he stepped back into the kitchen, knowing he liked it just black, with no cream or sugar. Tommy Boy smiled and took his mug over to the kitchen bar and sat down on a barstool, leaning foward on his elbows and warming his hands with his coffee. There was no use arguing with Romeo. When he decided he was doing something, he did it, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. 

“Well,” Tommy Boy started, slightly embarassed. “I went over to Mack’s after work yesterday, to say hi to Casedy, she just started working there.” 

“Oh my god, really? Casedy Stevens?” Romeo asked, folding up a grocery bag. Tommy Boy nodded and Romeo waved at him. “Continue, apologies for interupting.”

“No worries. So, I went to see her, and when I walk in there, I see fucking Sam.”

“Not fucking Sam!” Romeo complained as he turned dumped flour into a bowl. 

“With! With that asshole Tod, who Sam said was ‘just a friend.’“ Tommy Boy added, hardly able to believe it himself. 

“WITH THAT ASSHOLE TOD?” Romeo spun around, his jaw hanging lose dramatically. Tommy Boy chuckled, and it felt good. The last twelve hours had not been very smiley. Romeo could always make him laugh.

“Yeah. And it wouldn’t bother me at all, well it would, but it’s their choice and it’s none of my buisness, and I would want them to be happy, so I would just shut up, ya know?”

“You are a good person, I know that.” Romeo nodded, cracking eggs. Tommy Boy blushed, despite the fact it was much of a compliment. 

“But! Literally the reason we broke up was because I asked Sam about Tod. I had noticed they were really flirty and affectionate and hung out a lot, so I genuinely asked, ‘Do you like him? Are you guys a thing, because I will get out of the way if you say so.’“ 

“The right thing to say.” 

“Yeah,” Tommy Boy took a sip of his coffee. “But Sam got super mad at me for even asking, and we kept fighting about it until they dumped me. And it all just like.” He took a deep breah, feeling his eyes start to water. “Sucks. I thought I had everything together. I was even planning on asking someone else out, and now I just feel…” Romeo turned to look at him, leaning against the counter with one hand and holding his coffee in the other. 

“Like shit?” 

“Yeah,” Tommy Boy smiled sadly, a tear sliding slowly down his cheek. Romeo rushed over and wrapped his arms around him, causing butterflies to begin flapping their wings in his stomach through his tears. 

“Hey,” Romeo brushed a tear off of his friend’s face and smiled at him. “It’s going to be okay. It’s okay to feel like shit.”

“Oh good.” Tommy Boy rolled his eyes sarcastically, and felt like a jerk immediately afterward. Romeo pulled back and grabbed his shoulders so he had to look him in the eye. 

“Hey! I meant it’s okay to feel like shit now. It’s okay to take a day to cry and listen to sad songs and not do much of anything. Everything will feel better soon, I promise. But until then, it’s okay to take a day for ya heart.” Romeo winked, and Tommy Boy could barely breathe. His face was so close. And he was so sweet. And that little bit of flour streaked on his cheek was adorable… “Alright?” Romeo raised an eyebrow. Tommy Boy shook his head and nodded, blinking away the tears that clung to his eyelashes, and hoping the boy in front of him wouldn’t notice how red his ears were.  

“Good. Now, what do you want in these pancakes? I got blueberries and chocolate chips.” Romeo spun around and marched back into the kitchen. 

“Uh, blueberries sound good…thank you, Romeo. For, uh, everything.” Tommy Boy rubbed his knuckles awkwardly. 

“Don’t mention it.” Romeo clicked on the stove and set a pan on top, dropping a bit of butter onto it before begining to scoop batter. Tommy Boy watched him. He loved watching him. He always had. He liked watching him talk, write, walk, laugh, everything he did was fascinating. Back in high school, he remembered, he liked to watch him at choir concerts, where he would make silly faces to jazz up the rather boring songs. Romeo had always been like that, making everything more fun or less dreary. It was one of the many things he liked about him. To be fair, he liked everything about him. Tommy Boy had a huge crush on Romeo for so long, and he knew the real reason he had gone out with Sam was to get over how devastated he was when Romeo went out with someone else, though that relationship had ended long before he and Sam’s. Yes, Tommy Boy had always had a special place in his heart for Romeo, and as he watched him flip pancakes and blabber about how much blueberries cost, he realized it never really went away. 

“Here ya go,” Romeo slid a plate stacked with a couple pancakes across the counter to him. “First round.” He walked back over the the fridge and bent down a bit to grab maple syrup from a shelf. Tommy Boy stood up, walking quickly towards him before he lost his nerve. When Romeo turned around, Tommy Boy was standing directly behind him. 

“Um, hi.” Romeo’s eyes went wide and he clutched the syrup bottle a little tighter. Tommy Boy looked him over. The way his brown hair fell slightly in his face, the long, the dark lashes that fanned his bright eyes, and the thin lips that were at this moment pressed together. Tommy Boy grabbed his shoulders, pulled him closer to him, and, before he could think twice, pressed his lips against Romeo’s. Romeo had just lightly began to kiss back when Tommy Boy had to pull away to breathe. 

“I’m, uh, glad you enjoyed the pancakes.” Romeo said, blushing. Tommy Boy laughed. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just.” There was so much he wanted to say, but it was so hard to put it into words. “You’re just so sweet coming over here for me, and listening to me, and you’re so cute and silly and-and….you were the person I was going to ask out.” There was a loud thud when Romeo dropped the maple syrup on the floor, almost has loud as Tommy Boy’s heart, pounding in his ears as Romeo slid his hands into his hair and kissed him passionately. 

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE,” The wonderul moment was interupted when the smoke alarm went off, triggered by a burning pancake. Romeo pulled away quickly, ripping the pan off the stove as Tommy Boy fanned the smoke alarm with a towel 

“Well,” Romeo turned around, only to see Tommy Boy looking at his feet, which were covered in syrup. “Oh my god.” 

“The bottle fucking exploded when you dropped it.” Tommy laughed, pointing at the splatters all over the floor. 

“Well, maybe if you weren’t such a good kisser, this wouldn’t have happened!” Romeo joked, grabbing a rag from the edge of the sink and dropping to his knees to clean up. 

“Well, excuse me!” Tommy Boy said dramatically, bending down to help. “Ya know, gotta say I’m really loving Tod right now.” 

“Why’s that?” Romeo raised an eyebrow as he scrubbed the floor agressively.

“Because if they hadn’t been more than friends I wouldn’t have gotten to be more than a friend to you today.” 

[beans-shadow]

looking for the truth (pt 12)

Fandom: Naruto

Relationship: Kakasaku

Characters: Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura

read on ao3: here

part one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen

Sakura and Kakashi finally make it back to the village. But were they quick enough?

--

After their post-self-apology embrace, Sakura had seemed to snap back into full-ninja mode, remembering their ever-shortening time pressure. She brushed the leaves off of her outfit, and nodded.

“We have to get back. Let’s continue.” Without celebration, she picked up her backpack, and zipped into the trees.

Finding renewed energy after that previous ordeal, Kakashi ran aside Sakura as they had made their way home. Mind finally clear for what felt like the first time in forever, he’d felt like a new man. Sakura’s obvious rejection from earlier hurt him, but it did not counterbalance the freedom and ease he found in his renewed heart.

It only took another hour or so before the foliage separated, revealing the outline of Konoha. Kakashi started to take the lead, turning them towards the great entrance ready to confront Kotetsu and Izumo into letting them in with haste. Sakura grabbed his shoulder, shaking her head. Being the Hokage’s student for so long had given her insights unbeknownst to Jonin even of Kakashi’s stature – which apparently included secret passageways in and out of the Hokage’s tower. Kakashi always knew they existed, and presumed Tsunade used them to get away from her stacks of paperwork in favor of a glass of sake. Seeing them, however, was a revelation.

Unfortunately, time did not allow him to explore, as Sakura skipped up the stairs to open a trapdoor that led them directly into Tsunade’s quarters. Without help, she leapt up and hefted herself into the room. Scrambling after her, Kakashi could hear a conversation suddenly stop as surprise overstepped whatever the topic previously being discussed. Breathing heavily, the entire journey catching up to Kakashi, Kakashi rested with his hands on his knees. Sakura stood at attention by Tsunade’s desk, back straight, all business. Getting an awareness of his surroundings, Kakashi saw Shikamaru looking astounded at the pair, the first time Kakashi had ever seen something remotely like shock on the Nara clan head’s face. A scroll in his hands, he obviously had been going through some important business.

Tsunade’s wide eyes, on the other hand, quickly recovered. Shifting her gaze from her student to Kakashi, she quipped, “Sakura, what in the world did you do to my Copy Ninja, to make him breathless?” Standing from her seat, she circled around her desk to sit on the edge, crossing her arms. “Furthermore, what is the world do you think warrants using my secret tunnels, interrupting my private meeting with Shikamaru?”

Shivers flew down Kakashi’s spine, prompting him to stand straight along with Sakura. The Hokage’s tone affected him immensely, but clearly Sakura was used to it by now, or she’d grew accustomed to it enough to hide any infliction she might have from her master.

Eyeing Shikamaru without a care, Sakura stepped up to cut him off completely. “I assume you’ve been made aware of the soil sample I had Ino analyze,” she began.

Tilting slightly, Tsunade looked at Shikamaru over Sakura’s shoulder. “The what?”

Whirling around, Sakura’s hair flared. Kakashi kept his face neutral, knowing he would not want to be on the other end of her fury, given the situation.

Although a good foot shorter than the shadow master, Sakura drew closer to Shikamaru, forcing him back against the wall. “You didn’t tell her?” She growled. Shaking his head, Shikamaru fumbled.

“No, no, not yet. I mean, was all purely circumstantial,” he said. “We wanted to wait for something more concrete.”

Spinning again, Sakura turned back to Tsunade. “Well, here’s something concrete: we were told by the Daimyo himself our data is substantiated. We need to act now; we don’t know how badly we’re already infected.”

“Infected? Data? Someone, explain,” Tsunade commanded, making her way around her desk again to sit at her chair expectantly.

Sakura, gesturing wildly, started going through all the events she and Kakashi had uncovered while in the Land of Mountain Streams. When necessary, Kakashi chimed in to agree and supplement Sakura’s account. After just a few minutes, as Tsunade drew her clasped hands closer and closer to her face, she smacked her hands on the desk.

“Enough.” She stood, assertive. “I’ve heard enough.” She sank deep into her seat, hands now on her forehead. “This is awful. What do I do? Separate families? That will cause a panic. I can’t just raid homes.” Shifting, Tsunade made a move to look down from her window at the village that was entrusted to her be under her protection.

“If we can’t trust our loved ones, who can we trust?” She asked no one in particular.

The weight of the question fell on Kakashi. He’d been mentally preparing for the imminent battles between clans, between villages. But the emotional devastation hadn’t crossed his mind, and now he saw just how much worse that would be.

Shaking her head, Tsunade gathered her powerful stance. Turning around, she barked orders. “Shikamaru, go let Kotetsu and Izumo know they need to secure the gates and borders. I presume an attack is approaching us as we speak. Get Gai and his team to scout and figure out exactly what the situation is out there.” She turned to Sakura. “Sakura, get Ino and Shizune and start prepping the hospital for a cleanse. We need to start research for an antidote now. Time is of the essence.”

Eyes darkening, she finally turned to Kakashi. “And you, mister, have exhausted your chakra supply one too many times. Take him with you, Sakura,” Tsunade ordered with a flick of her wrist, acting as if Kakashi were only a bothersome fly zooming around her face. “He’ll be of no use to this village in his current state.”

Protesting, Kakashi took one step forward. “Tsunade-san, that’s not true –” He was immediately silenced by a hand in the air.

“I won’t hear any of it. It wastes your breath, and our precious time. See to it, and I’ll have more instructions later.” 

Thinning his lips, Kakashi bowed reluctantly along with the other ninjas in the room. Feet lightly tapping on the wooden floor, the three Jonin shuffled out of the small room. Shikamaru disappeared quickly using the flicker technique, and Kakashi made a move to peel off from Sakura as well, but she got a hold of his arm before he could escape her clutches that would lead him to the horrid affair that was his relationship with the hospital.

“Oh, no you don’t, you’re coming with me.”

“Wait, Sakura, no—”

His words got swept up in her own flicker technique, leaving his vocals behind in the Hokage’s tower as his body lurched in the direction of his nightmare. Of course, Sakura had made sure he had no hopes of escape: she’d led them straight to his reserved hospital room, as he frequented the ward so often.

“Alright, let’s call a nurse and get you settled quickly,” Sakura said, running around the room for his chart on the wall. She flipped through it and made a few notes. Kakashi peered over her shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of what she was writing, but Sakura tucked the clipboard to her chest. “Doctor’s eyes only!” She exclaimed. She pushed him into the cot. “You, in bed.”

Kakashi put his hands in the air, surrendering. Deciding to play coy, he asked, “Shouldn’t I change into my hospital gown?”

Sakura’s face paled, her cheeks then turning bright red. “Oh, yeah. Well, maybe just wait until the nurse gets here.”

Tilting his head as he sat on the bed, Kakashi asked, “Didn’t you say you were in a hurry?”

Now Sakura looked flustered. “Well, yes, but…”

“I’ll change in the restroom,” Kakashi decided.

Head down, he banished himself into the bathroom. Pulling off his smelly clothes, full of days of sweat, Kakashi gagged and contemplated. This was his first one-on-one time with Sakura since… since he’d tried kissing her. Before he’d gotten swept up in her urgency, but now it truly hit him now: her avoidance of his affection. After he’d opened up to her, letting his fears and guilt out. Not as if she owed him anything for that; he’d just thought they’d been growing close. Closer than he’d ever felt with anyone else.

She might not think of him in the exact same way, but Kakashi knew they were still more than simple friends. He could still trust her. He needed to talk to her, get his feelings out, so he could move on.

After he finished changing, Kakashi left the bathroom and crawled obediently into his bed. Sakura was still scribbling in his chart, eyebrows furrowed in cute concentration. Despite the situation that sat at their door, Kakashi still wanted to appreciate her hard-working spirit and brilliant mind.

“Sakura,” he began.

Startled, she looked up from her work. A bright smirk spread across her face. “What is this? I’ve never seen you get in bed without a few minutes of persuasion.”

Mussing with the wrinkles in the blankets, Kakashi murmured. “Yes, well. Times have changed, I’ve changed… because of you.”

Now it was Sakura’s turn to tilt her head. “Come again?”

“You’ve changed me. I thanked you before for letting me open to you. Now, I want to thank you for changing me into someone I like more.”

Fondness gleamed in Sakura’s bright eyes, and Kakashi’s heart ached. If only that fondness extended slightly more to how he felt. “Of course, Kakashi,” she said, voice velvet. “That person was always there. Everyone could see it; I could see it. It was just a matter of making you see it.”

Kakashi shook his head, not sure as to why. There was no clear way in his mind to transition the conversation to what he wanted to touch upon, so he decided bluntness would be the best tactic. “Sakura, after I… wept, right before we hugged…”

He heard Sakura take a quick intake of breath. That sign alone, and he knew she was aware what he was talking about. “Yes?”

“You know how I… leaned in…” Kami, this was awkward. Typically a smooth talker, now Kakashi finding it even difficult to quickly string together a sentence.

Contrary to his desire for honesty, Sakura feigned ignorance. “Leaned in? What do you mean?”

Her avoidance triggered some anger in Kakashi, and he found it within himself to face the root of the issue.

“I was trying to kiss you,” he said quickly. “And I’m sorry.”

Sakura seemed taken back by surprise. “Sorry?”

Nodding, Kakashi looked to the chair by the bedside which held up his sad, deposited clothes. “Yes, sorry, because you felt the need to dodge it. I did not mean to put you in an uncomfortable position. Please know I still cherish what we built over this mission, so I won’t ever try again. I just wanted to get it out in the open so we can move on.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Kakashi repeated, a small smile of bemusement on his face. The pink-haired medic, usually with so much to say, only could vocalize one word.

Kakashi thought too soon, because Sakura shook her head. “No, not ‘oh.’ I…” Sakura looked to the window, biting her bottom lip. Closing her eyes and taking one deep breath, she walked over to Kakashi’s bed, sitting by his side and taking his hand.

“That’s not true,” she whispered. Kakashi’s breath stopped. He did not want any movements, noises, or distractions from what he was about to hear.

“Well I mean, I did dodge it,” Sakura corrected. “But not for the reason you think.” She closed her eyes again, and now Kakashi put a comforting hand over her own. Her hand loosened in his own, and her chest expanded.

“Kakashi, I –”

The door opened and a nurse stepped in, a forehead glistening with the first signs of perspiration. Sakura’s impatience with slow-minded people also extended to their physical speed, a trait that spread through the wing like wildfire when she first took over the hospital.

“Dr. Haruno, I’m here,” the nurse said, stating the obvious. Wide-eyed and scared, the nurse gulped audibly as he took in the intimate moment the head doctor was in the middle of. Sakura looked spooked, and Kakashi never wanted to commit murder more. “Oh, Doctor, I’m sorry, I –”

Standing quickly, Sakura brushed off her clothes, leaving Kakashi’s hand empty, and her former spot cold. “No, that’s quite alright. Did you bring me my coat?”

Nodding, the nurse wordlessly handed the white jacket. In one swift moment that brushed Sakura’s scent over Kakashi, she dressed her part and became Head Doctor Haruno. “Here’s his chart,” she handed his papers to the nurse. “There’s not much to do besides the usual when it comes to this trouble maker,” she said playfully, avoiding Kakashi’s longing stare. “I need to go and start researching a way to combat this destructive disease at once.”

“Of course,” the nurse bowed, moving to Kakahsi’s side. He didn’t know this man, this medic. As if he would listen to anyone but Sakura. And now she was leaving him, at his most vulnerable, in the place he most despised.

“Sakura, please, wait,” Kakashi called, rising in his bed. The nurse, beefier than expected, shoved him back down on the cot into the pillows, shaking his head.

Body half-through the door, Kakashi watched as Sakura’s hand held all the tension in her body, not releasing her, not allowing herself to leave his room.

Sorrowful for a reason unbeknownst to Kakashi, Sakura peered in one last time and gave him a small smile. “Get some rest, Kakashi.” And then she was gone.

“Sleep, now, Hatake,” the nurse said, voice distant. The sensation of chakra infused with the feeling of sleepiness sank into his body, and Kakashi was forced into a state of unconsciousness.

---

How different this sleep was from that blessed night of tranquility besides Sakura in the tasteful in back in the Land of Mountain Streams. At peace with himself, besides someone he trusted, he’d been able to doze off with ease. Here, in the hospital, he fought the drowsiness that tugged at his body at every extremity possible. The urge to get up, contribute to his society instead of sleeping the days away that he could not fulfil frustrated him to no end. Whatever drugs Sakura had him on were powerful, more powerful than he’d previously experienced, and there was no way around it besides waiting.

And so, he did, after days of struggle. Succumbing to the drugs, he allowed his body to heal, and replenish.

A day later, a rumble sounded from outside of the window. Lids heavy, lips chapped, and body sore from atrophy, Kakashi summoned strength to turn his head towards the source. No visual cues presented themselves to give him any more information. Groaning, Kakashi sat up right. The sounds grew louder and clearer as Kakashi’s senses connected with his brain. Shouts, grunts, cries: the rudiments of close-combat warfare. A siren from far away: the raid siren, notifying the entire village that there was an attack. Although muffled by distance, Kakashi knew his resting time was over, despite any doctor’s orders, Sakura included.

Sakura.

His heart hurt just at the thought of her name. What was she going to say before the nurse came in and stopped her train of thought? She’d confused him immensely. Yes, she did dodge his advances, but no, not in the way he thought? What other way could that be?

Kakashi shook his head violently, giving him a slight headache. Holding his head, he grunted. This was not the time nor place to contemplate Sakura’s puzzling mind. Action was needed.

After his chakra supply joyously resounded in his body, full again, Kakashi summoned Pakkun on his bed.

The dog appeared on the sheets, mouth full of scroll. Wary, Pakkun sat by Kakashi’s feet, depositing the scroll in between his paws.

“Boss,” he greeted Kakashi, bowing his small head.

“Don’t ‘boss’ me,” Kakashi said, shifting his head in agitated imitation. “What’s going on?”

Pakkun shifted his paws before answering. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” he decided to say.

“Really?” Kakashi did not believe him for a second. In a quick motion, he grabbed the scroll by Pakkun, lifting it in the air where the dog could not reach. “Let me see for myself, then. What’s in this scroll?”

The pug scrambled up Kakashi’s chest to no avail. “No, Young Hatake! That’s not for your eyes! It’s from the Hokage herself.”

“Working with the Hokage without me, I see,��� Kakashi said, saddened. Relenting, the pug stopped fighting to climb up his human and sat, dejected, to the side. With rigor, Kakashi tore open the scroll and read the message.

Need more reinforcement by the southeast tower. Send three more Jonin teams from the trees, the two by the tunnels. Up to 20% contamination in the village. No antidote has been made yet, no update from Sakura. Assume a week longer of assault before progress is made. Prepare evacuation of children, separated from their mothers.

“What?” Kakashi breathed. The situation in his head did not compare to reality. It was much more dire. Rolling the message back up, he tossed the paper to Pakkun. “Here. Continue on. I’ll be there too.”

“Boss, are you sure you’re okay?”

“It doesn’t matter. If I’m okay, and we lose,” Kakashi argued, “I’ll have the same result as if I were not okay. Might as well contribute and fight.”

“I’m not sure I follow that logic…” Pakkun said, eyes questioning.

Ignoring the complaint, Kakashi pulled his sheets off and tore the stupid nightgown he wore. Fortunately, some nurse had been gracious enough to spring for an outfit cleaning, and his clothes were nice and folded by his nightstand.

Fully dressed, Kakashi turned to see Pakkun still waiting expectantly, standing as if he wanted to say something.

“Yes?” Kakashi prompted.

“Boss, I…” Pakkun trailed. “Please be careful.” He nodded, and poofed away.

Smiling, Kakashi sent the same prayer to his trusted companion. Taking one breath to gather himself, Kakashi pulled his hands to his chest, motioned, and flickered away to the base of south east tower.

---

As he appeared on the battlefield, the noise that had been dampened before blasted in Kakashi’s ears. Disoriented for a split second, Kakashi quickly took in the ground view of the fights.

Blends of Leaf shinobi faced off other ninja who hailed from many different villages. From flashes of headbands, Kakashi made out Mist Village ninja, Stone Ninja, Waterfall Ninja, Snow Ninja… a pattern of Water-associated villages and lands stuck out. Guess they were more loyal to each other thank Kakashi thought… or they all simply took the chance to strike Konoha when at its weakest.

Catapults of blazing stone flew from the walls of the village, crashing down all around the field, shaking the earth beneath Kakashi’s feet. Different ninjutsu techniques also morphed the scene around him. Spikes of dirt, masses of plant life, flooding fields, and pillars of fire all roared around him. The siren still blasted in the village, a constant reminder that civilian lives were being torn apart.

Keeping quiet, Kakashi prepared his chakra, then threw himself into the nearest fight. A Chunin he did not recognize struggled with an experienced ninja from the Mist Village. Only using taijutsu, Kakashi spun and kicked the ninja square in the chest, sending him far away. His fellow ninja breathed out, relieved. Giving Kakashi a nod, she sprinted away to find a more suitable opponent.

The Mist ninja leapt back into the air, wiping blood from his lips. Growling, he grazed his eyes over Kakashi’s.

“The infamous Copy Ninja,” he glowered. “Let’s see how that title lives up now that you don’t have a Sharingan!” He threw four shiruken at Kakashi, who easily dodged the attack. Kakashi assumed it would be a distraction, but it seemed Mist ninja lacked the cleverness even Leaf Genin had. Flipping in the air, Kakashi remembered the pressure points Sakura had used on their way to the Mountain Stream Village. With a one-two punch, the man lay on the group, indisposed.

“Hmph.” Kakashi kicked him lightly in the side, and bounded off to his next victim.

It took Kakashi five more opponents before he saw someone he knew.

“Haha! Take that! You are no match for the power of youth!” The boisterous laugh flew over the battle field. The man had not even opened a single gate. All he wielded were his nunchaku and green jumpsuit, yet we sent waves of fright wherever he next lay his eyes.

“Gai!” Kakashi shouted as he made his way to his friend, punching a few ninjas. 

The man turned, a huge smile plastered across his face. “My rival! I am glad you have finally made it onto the battle field. I’ve already defeated a few dozen of these bothersome folk who call themselves shinobi. Care to try and beat me?” He swept low, tripping a whole group of ninjas around him, before reaching Kakashi. Back to back, they postured, fists up.

“I’ll take that bet,” Kakashi said. “I’ve been on the battle field for about twenty minutes and I’m already up to six.”

“I would not expect anything else from my rival!” Gai bellowed. “How admirable!”

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi withheld laughter. “Any updates for me? I’m pretty much in the dark right now.”

Gai’s dazzling radiance dimmed. “It’s not good, Kakashi,” he said, voice low. “The first stages of the infection were impossible to track, so we tallied about eleven domestic fatalities before we could separate families. Sakura developed a way to test for the bacteria, but it’s not one hundred percent accurate.” He paused to punch a woman away. “Morality is low. People fight in the streets, across the entire village, even as Lady Tsunade orders separation of families’ along with an evacuation.”

“I did read a message saying there’s no antidote yet,” Kakashi said, using a lightning technique to fry a few Stone ninja.

He felt Gai nod behind him. “That is true. But Shizune and Sakura figured out a way to subdue patients to the point they don’t attack anyone they love on sight. But given the fact almost the entire village is surrounded, and we have infighting to handle, there are too many battle fronts to cover. Tactically, we are at a significant disadvantage.”

“We’ll just have to hold on for as long as possible,” Kakashi decided. “C’mon. I bet I can wrack up a few dozen before the sun sets.”

“Haha! We shall see, my rival! Gate one, the Gate of Opening! Gate two, the Gate of Healing, open!” A blast of energy flew by Kakashi. “Let us fight, dishonorable opponents!”

Although Kakashi took Gai’s challenge seriously, they pair ended up working together. It was endless. So many villages held grudges against the Leaf, and Kakashi was sick and tired of it. They were obviously stronger, of course they would be jealous. Instead of being jealous, he thought maybe they should focus on making themselves just as skilled or powerful. Then again, they also lacked the intellect of the Leaf.

Afternoon turned to dusk, and then only the stars and fire lit up the battle field as the ninja continued the assault. Konoha’s numbers kept up. It took more than a few days of fighting to tire noble leaf ninja out. And with Kakashi’s renewed chakra, he knew he could keep up.

A few days became five days. Five days turned into a week. More and more dark green flak jackets littered the floor around Kakashi’s feet. More and more still faces sparked memories. Medical ninjas worked as fast as they could, running around with stretchers and test kits. Konoha was hit twice: with the human opponent, and the microscopic opponent. Leaf ninja were forced to stand down, relenting to be taken to the hospital for treatment, in fear of starting to fight against their own army.

Gai, to make up for the shrinking fighting force, opened three more gates. Even with his youthful spirit, the toll of the technique was starting to catch up to him. Kakashi was tiring yet again. At every moment, he worried he too would get infected, and be taken to back to his bed in the village. Word got out the bacteria was blood borne, sparking fear every time he received a cut from a reused weapon.

Finally, a day later, word came that an antidote was in the works. Relief boosted the effort of leaf shinobi, and finally a shout of retreat permeated across the field. Just ten minutes later, every ninja that did not honor the Leaf symbol departed.

Hands bloody, clothes torn, Kaksahi held his last kunai with white knuckles. Many yards away, he saw Gai’s aggressive red figure scan the area for more enemies. And then he fell.

Rushing to his friend’s side, Kakashi cradled Gai’s head. “Hey. Hey. It’s over. We won.” Gai grimaced, and Kakashi felt Gai’s brittle bones shudder against the torn muscles of his comrade.

“Yes, yes we did,” Gai breathed. His eyes closed.

“Hang on!” Holding his friend bridal style, Kakashi sprinted back to the hospital.