#and none of this is my direct boss' control/fault

[pleasingforharry]

Take the Hint, Boss

SUMMARY: Her boss really likes her. She’s not so sure about it. Maybe she wants him to stop, maybe she doesn’t. She wishes she knew. 

WORD COUNT: 3.2k

WARNINGS: None.

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help this idea just randomly popped in my head

-

ass-boss: Dinner with me tonight. Okay?

me: no

ass-boss: Yes.

me: youre my boss. dont be stupid

ass-boss: Don't be difficult, woman.

me: im going out

ass-boss: You don't go out.

me: ever since you put your number in my phone and text me to have dinner with you, i do

He typed up a response, but I didn’t look, stuffing my phone in my clutch. For the sake of both of us, I ignored it. He simply didn’t get it.

Stacey and Gia wouldn't stop texting me throughout the week. The only reason I went out with them instead of staying at the office to work—like I direly needed to do right now—was because they would've just dragged me by the ear themselves.

"Y/N, you work too damn much. It's hurtful, and quite exhausting to watch you burn yourself to the ground," Stacey said sincerely on the ride there. We took an Uber because, apparently, we were all getting shitface drunk tonight. Exciting. "I should have a word with your boss. He's the reason you're only getting like four hours of sleep."

"It isn't his fault, Stace. I have control over how much work I do. If I wanted to, I could easily split it with someone else."

Gia, on my other side, cut in. "Yeah, but you're a perfectionist and won't share."

"Sue me?" I laughed with exasperation. Gia rolled her eyes, her purple eyeshadow glossy from the neon lights shooting by us.

My hair was out, traveling down my back, as Stacey twirled a strand around her finger. "No more talks about work tonight. Okay, girls?" The question was directed to me, but Gia still answered with a loud cheer. The driver glanced at us through the rear-view mirror. I waved apologetically.

My phone pinged again. Fuck, Harry. What the hell? Doesn’t he have to work to do himself? He’s literally the CEO, he’s always busy.

Gia gave me a sideway glance, before smirking. Stacey caught on and laughed theatrically. "Go on, answer him." I huffed and took my phone out of my clutch.

ass-boss: Where are you going out tonight?

me: with friends

ass-boss: Wasn't my question, Y/N.

me: bar

ass-boss: Where?

me: stop.

ass-boss: Answer me.

My phone flipped on its back as I sighed.

"That was hot," Stacey whispered.

"What was?"

Gia spoke first. "It's like a front row view of an enemies to lovers."

"Of course, you would think that," I teased, poking her breast. She bit her lip at me. "It's so entertaining to watch my boss annoy me about my whereabouts when I've made it clear that I don't want to do anything with him."

"It's just dinner," she shrugged.

Stacey leaned forward so we could both see her. “Just make it known that nothing will happen.”

"Yeah, last time it was 'just dinner' because I wasn’t going to let something happen, we ended up having sex.” I cringed at my moment of weakness. “I don't want to mislead him into thinking it'll happen again." I looked down at my phone as it lit up from another text.

ass-boss: When you're ready to go home, you call me. I'll pick you up.

"He's so protective. My boss doesn’t give two shits about me. I hate you," Gia scoffed, flicking my temple.

"He just paranoid that I'll go home with another guy," I corrected her with an annoyed wave.

me: no. dont you have work to do?

ass-boss: I have a dinner to attend to. But my date is being stubborn.

All of a sudden, my phone was snatched away. "Hey!" Gia started texting Harry back.

me: its Y/N's bff. we're gonna out to have a bunch of fun and it would be lovely if you left her alone for the night. thanks babe!

She held the power button down to shut my phone off. "There," she said as she handed it back to me. "It's gonna be an amazing night, okay? No more boss or thoughts about work." I smiled warmly.

"Thank you, G." She leaned in to kiss my cheek, but then quickly wiped it away as her gloss attached.

-

We finally arrived at the club and stumbled out of the car. I had to yank my dress at the hem while also stuffing my breasts back into my push-up bra.

The outfit I wore wasn't picked by me. No, Stacey and Gia completely raided my closet, searching through every corner for the most scandalous dress. I didn’t even remember buying it. But then I remembered, they did.

My heels were high, making me the tallest out of us three. Both girls held an arm of mine as we walked inside. The bouncer nodded his head at us, and Gia cooed with a seductive wave.

"We didn't even get inside. How are you already flirting with guys?" I snorted. She only shrugged.

"It's in my blood." Stacey laughed loudly in agreement.

We managed to push our way to our first spot; the bar. It was in the center of the club, a wide circular counter that seated many. We found three vacant stools and literally hopped on top of them.

The bartender slid over to us with a friendly smile. "Hello, ladies. Welcome. What can I get you started with?" I intended to get a light drink in order to pace myself. Stacey and Gia wanted to get three day hangover drunk, but I had work to do early tomorrow.

Before I could even speak, a hand slapped over my mouth. Stacey placed a long order of drinks, and the bartender nodded and winked at me before stalking away. When Stacey removed her hand from me, I gave her a bored look.

"Are you serious?" I scoffed, pinching her arm. They both laughed and ignored my rhetorical question as they fell into a conversation. I rolled around in my stool to face the club, listening to both my friends and my daydreaming monologue.

I had so much work to catch up on when I got home. If I even got home today. It might be tomorrow. The thought caused my shoulders to tense.

Fuck. Maybe I do need a drink.

-

We've been at the club for at least three hours. Neither Stacey or Gia planned to sneak away with a guy as many approached them for a drink and dance. They promised to stay by my side. But I knew it was only because as soon as I was out of their sight, I'd run home.

Gia walked backwards, holding my hands while Stacey held my shoulders, and the two of them led me to the dance floor. "How are you feeling, babe?" Stacey tugged my shoulders down so she could reach my ear. Her movements were a little rougher than she intended as the drinks added some strength to her.

"Better," I responded.

"Not good enough. I want you to feel amazing and free!" She cheered as we found a spot big enough for all of us to move. We stood in a circle, facing each other, and joining in with everyone as they danced to the music. It was so loud that it pounded in my ears and my chest. My body swayed on its own.

I dragged my hands up my sides and to the air as my hips swung to the beat. Gia howled, her hands grabbing at me. "Yes, yes, and yes, hot stuff!"

Stacey was in her own world, twirling and rolling her body. I noticed she had caught the attention of a guy only a few feet away. She didn't see him as her eyes were fluttered closed. So, I smoothly grabbed her hand and danced with her until she was in front of me. I was in her original spot, blocking his view with my back.

"You need to stop being so attractive," I joked to Stacey. She glanced at me with her dimed blue eyes. They crinkled at the corners as she smiled innocently.

"Can't," She shrugged and went back to dancing.

I scanned the floor again, monitoring creepy eyes that Gia and Stacey were too drunkly unaware of. There were a lot. And for the amount of other women on the dance floor, we were able to pull eyes on us like magnets. It was starting to ruin the vibe.

"Hey, maybe we should go back to the bar," I suggested, wrapping my arms around the both of them. Gia groaned, and Stacey blatantly ignored me. "I'm thirsty, guys. Please."

"Okay, let's go," Gia said, holding onto Stacey as I led the way.

We were able to snag our original spots at the bar, and the bartender approached us. "More drinks or you need me to call you guys an Uber home?" He asked, scooping ice into a glass.

"Drinks!" Stacey yelled, sitting on the middle stool this time. Her arms went around Gia and I. "On me. Shots?" She turned her head to each of us. I shrugged and Gia nodded wildly. The bartender chuckled and walked away to make our drinks.

While we were waiting, Stacey and Gia made loud conversation. I chipped in a few times, but mostly listened. I wasn't tired, just drained.

My hand was engulfed with Stacey’s because she wasn't completely facing me, but still wanted to know I was there. Gia leaned an elbow on the counter when she asked me a question or for my opinion.

We received our drinks and clinked them together, before knocking it down our throats. I cringed at the sting. Stacey always ordered the most outrageous drinks. But they always had a good aftertaste, which made it okay.

Gia was in the middle of adjusting her strapless dress around her breast while Stacey spoke.

"I think their bagels could be better," she was saying. "And that one blue haired girl always puts too much butter."

Gia snapped her finger, before pointing at Stacey. "Oh my god, I know who you're talking about! She—" Her voice trailed off as her eyes wandered behind me.

"What?" Both Stacey and I asked out loud. Gia didn’t answer, but I immediately figured out who she was looking at.

A solid chest pressed against my back. And a blazered arm, fingers encircled in rings, slapped down on the counter by my side. I froze in my spot. Both Stacey and Gia stared dumbfounded at him, jaws agape.

"Found you," a harsh voice, deep with frustration, darkly growled in my ear. His other hand grasped my shoulder and massaged the spot. "Hello, ladies," He said to my friends. Stacey flicked her eyes to me, then back at him. Gia only rolled them and grabbed her drink to slurp it down.

I considered turning around and fuming at him for showing up unannounced. To yell at him because he couldn’t take a hint. But I was at a bar with my best friends rather than at the office working late. They brought me here to let loose and forget about all the papers, the emails, and my hardheaded, but fucking tempting boss.

So, I ignored him.

"Your story, Gia. You weren't finished," I said with a smile, motioning to her. She looked at me with confusion. I widened my eyes and clenched my teeth. She got the message. Stacey did too as she continued our previous conversation.

"So, that blue haired girl. I should go back there and make my own food rather than trust her to do it right," She complained. Gia laughed, and so did I, but it was obvious that it was forced.

He stayed in his spot. His hand on my shoulder trailed down my arm, then to my hip. Fuck. I snatched up my half-filled drink and shot it down. That time, I invited the burn.

"Have you tried their BLT’s? Literal cardboard,” Gia said.

“I mean, how are they still in business?”

I finally spoke. “I think because of me. I actually enjoy their homemade lemonade.” He chuckled, his vibration running up my back. I felt a squeeze to my hip, but I continued to ignore it. Gia went on. My head couldn’t completely focus on what she was saying, though.

The bartender returned. He leaned on the counter. “What are we having next, ladies?” He glanced at Harry for a quick second then at me in question. I just shrugged.

“Just another round of the same,” Stacey told him. “Thanks.” She flashed a charming smile. 

Harry surprisingly wrapped his arm across my collarbones to pull me flush against him. His head was next to mine as he spoke to the bartender. His faint stubble scratched at my eyebrow.

“All the drinks they’ve had and will have, put it on this,” He said, nonchalantly. He flicked out a card and handed it to the bartender. My eyes widened at Stacey and Gia, who gave me the exact reaction back.

“Oh, this is gold,” Stacey sing-songed over the music. “Thanks, Styles.” I assumed he nodded with that blank, dark look he gives everyone. 

Gia smirked at me. “Thanks, H.” I rolled my eyes, resting my head against his shoulder. It was there, so might as well use it. He sighed under his breath and held me tighter.

“I kind of want to dance again,” Stacey groaned, raising her hands up to stretch. “Girls?” She looked at both of us. Just then, our drinks arrived. 

“Yes and yes,” Gia cheered, taking her glass and bringing it closer to us. I took mine and so did Stacey. The bartender apparently made one for Harry too as there was a fourth. He swiftly took it. “To Y/N’s fun night out!” Gia yelled. Stacey laughed and clinked her glass with Gia’s. They both turned to me.

“Thanks, guys.” We smacked our glasses together. Harry had already finished his and left the empty shot on the table.

I drank mine and shivered. Goosebumps trickled up my arms—Harry noticed. “Need my blazer?” He asked, his lips on my ear. Literally. 

Nice try. With a sigh, I ignored his question. He huffed angrily because of it, but still kissed my temple, his lips cold, before straightening up. His arms continued to hold me against him. I was instantly warmed up.

I did my best not to react and give him that satisfaction. I could tell he was getting angsty with me ignoring him. He yearned for attention.

“Okay, we dance!” Stacey grabbed mine and Gia’s hand. “Harry, stay here.” I leapt off my stool, and for the first time, glanced back at him. 

He looked good. I abashedly examined his outfit. It seemed as if he came searching for me right after work. Black blazer, black dress shirt underneath. Tight pants that stretched his long legs. His hair perfectly set, like each strand was placed in a direct spot.

He looked down at me with those dashing green eyes. His face was hard. He was mad at me—who cares—but still had a soft touch that only I could get from him. 

“You can go. You found me, I’m fine,” I told him with my free hand on my hip. Harry only blinked, his face staying unbothered. “What?”

Gia groaned, “Let’s go, Y/N. He’s fine.” Stacey dragged us both away. My eyes stuck on Harry’s, watching him settle on the stool I was on and leaning his elbows back on the counter. His head fell to the side, still hawk eyeing me.

I turned away and followed my friends. We were back in our circle, holding each other—mostly out of protection. Stacey was behind me and had her chin on my shoulder with our hands connected. We raised them up and laughed as I grinded back on her. 

“If your hot boss wasn’t turned on by this, he’d probably march right over and throw me across the floor by my hair,” Stacey said in my ear. Gia was next to her, able to hear, and nodded in agreement.

“I’m trying to hide you from his view, but he still finds away,” Gia complained. “Want us to move farther into the crowd?” I shook my head and continued to dance. 

“Fuck him.”

Gia and Stacey gasped. “There she is!”

Our dancing only lasted another few minutes, before my feet started to throb. Stacey and Gia were spinning each other around as I watched. I couldn’t keep up, so I pushed them together.

“I’m gonna go sit down,” I told them. 

“With Harry?” Gia asked, glancing over my shoulder at him. I shrugged.

“Not with him. He just happens to be over there.” They laughed. “Be prepared to call an Uber if I come back with bloody knuckles.”

“Hot men bring that out of us,” Stacey said. “Completely normal.”

I laughed. “Have fun, ladies.” They wiggled their fingers at me seductively, before grabbing at each other to dance again.

I stumbled as I walked away. My eyes were heavy, but I still caught Harry watching me. He looked more alert now that I was approaching him. He stood up from the stool and met me halfway.

When he was in reach, I wrapped my arms around his neck and fell into him. “Whoa, love. You okay?” I groaned against his chest.

“My feet are killing me,” I whined. “Carry me?” Oh yeah, I was drunk. Harry chuckled, staring down at me amusedly.

“Not in that tiny dress I will. Can’t let all these creeps see what’s mine,” He said, winking at me. I scoffed and dropped my arms from him.

“You ruined it.”

“I’m not wrong.”

“You’re completely wrong that I kind of feel bad.” I brushed past him on my way to the stool. “Sit.” I patted the seat. He followed my orders and did so. I climbed on top of him, sitting on one of his thighs. Both of his hands held my waist, pulling me closer.

He softly stuffed his nose into my neck. “We should’ve went to dinner together,” He whispered.

“Hmmm... what will the building think when I tell them that big, meanie Mr. Styles is obsessing over dinner with some woman?”

“You’re not just some woman,” He said. “And go on and tell them. I’d like someone to say something to me about it.” I smirked at him.

“That was kind of hot.” He gazed at me, longingly, before smiling. “I have so much work to do. I would’ve been stuck in the office if G and Stace didn’t drag me out. Don’t take my rejection so personally.” I patted his hard chest.

Harry sighed and kissed my jaw. “This isn’t the first rejection, though. You’re deliberately avoiding spending time with me.” I finally looked away with a blush. “Is it because we went too fast for you?” 

I thought back to that night. The lovely dinner, supposedly as friends, then the drinks at his house. I promised myself to make sure it didn’t go farther than that. His eyes, his lips, his laugh, his smirk, his cock bulging against the pants he wore. It was enough for me to climb on him like a koala and smash my lips onto his.

I’ve been trying to be distant towards him since then. Harry, on the other hand, was on my ass more than ever. At work, through text while I worked, during my lunch break, during his. 

“I’m leading you on, Mr. Styles,” I whispered. His hands grasped my neck. 

“Look at me, baby.” I don’t. So, he did it for me by nudging my jaw. We met eyes. “Do you want this?”

“It’s not right.”

“Why not?”

I had no excuse. I honestly didn’t know why my head was so convinced that we shouldn’t be together when every other aspect of my body wanted him. So fucking bad. It reacted on its own when he was near. Like now. My fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck, pushing his lips on my jaw. He gladly kissed a trail.

“Y/N?”

I sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Harry squeezed me closer to him.

“Another night. But I want to figure us out.” My teeth sunk into my bottom lip. Harry tugged it out just as fast. “Say it. I’m listening, baby.”

“Nope.” I shook my head. 

“You’re stubborn.”

“I know you like it.”

He smirked widely. “I love it.” He kissed my cheek. “But are you okay with this? Me constantly asking?” I shrugged.

“I think so.”

“You think so?”

I nodded. “You get everything you want and everyone bows down to your authority. I don’t, and I’m the only one who can get away with it. I like it.” Harry tilted his head to the side as he took in my words. “You make time just for me, and I can have your undivided attention whenever. I don’t want to abuse this so-called ‘power’ but I like when you want me. No one ever wanted me like this.”

He hummed and looked forward. I watched him. “You’re right. I like your power over me too.” I giggled and held him tighter.

“Is this weird?” I asked to no one in particular. Harry still shook his head. “Keep asking me to dinner, okay?” His eyes lit up.

“Will you agree to go?”

We looked at each other. I slowly smiled. Wickedly.

“Nah.”

We both laughed. Then we kissed. For the rest of the night. 

And then had some dinner.

-

idk just a random idea. had no ending in mind.

[sensitive-neuvi-enthusiast]

We Both Broke, But Now We Pieced it Back Together

♡♡-Request: A part two for the Kaveh Mafia AU! Kaveh inherited his father's legacy and asks the reader to come back. She accepts! Hurt/Comfort.

☆☆-Warnings: None.

That day was forever ingrained in your mind. The morning after your shared body heat and sweet (painful) words, you left at the first sign of dawn. Leaving behind the note you’d written a week prior when you’d first heard the news. Not strong enough to face him, especially when you saw the peaceful rest of his face as he laid on the bed. You were a coward. He deserved to know yet your heart couldn’t handle the broken man he’d soon become. With one final look, your form disappeared behind the door and out of his life.

…

That was eight months ago. Eight months you’d spent without seeing him, looking at him, talking to him. You knew you’d miss him but you didn’t think it’d be this hard. Or interfere with your new position. You were nowhere near the same level headed bodyguard you once were. Missing check ins, accidentally forgetting to clear a room, or doing background checks on delivery personnel. It was a disaster. But it seemed your new client liked you and gave you multiple chances. But it wasn’t him. And it seemed that he took your impromptu leave worse than you did. News of him causing a fight in a random bar roughly three nights after you left made headlines. You were sure he got a stern punishment for that. Because now, he was the epitome of Mafia leader; a Boss. Though he hadn’t taken the position, he might as well have had it. You were proud, as proud as you could be from afar and without seeming like you favored him over the boss you were currently under. 

He wrote you notes too. Letters being delivered every Friday to your room. You knew it was him, always leaving a print of your favorite flower in the corner of the paper. Kaveh sent you these yet you never returned a letter yourself. Too scared? Terrified? Embarrassed? It was all of the above. You couldn’t possibly face him, even in letter form, after leaving like that. You knew it wasn’t your fault you got reassigned but you did have control over how you handled it. And you did that poorly. 

So nowhere in your mind did you think you’d be getting called into your boss’s office, head hanging low as you were sure this was about your latest screw up. 

Imagine your surprise when a pair of crystal, red eyes bored into yours. His blonde hair was unmistakable, cascading over the broad width of his shoulders. Immediately, tears wanted to fall, but you held them, the same as you held the urge to rush into his arms. Or run the complete opposite direction. He was here. In front of you. “I want you back,” he said. His voice wavered, betraying his admirable attempt at staying stoic. “What..?” you asked softly, did you hear that right? He sighed, taking a step towards you. “My father passed recently…leaving me as the head of our group. And I want you as my bodyguard again. Please..” He wasn’t trying anymore. His emotions had taken over. Kaveh was prepared to beg if he needed to. Lucky for him, he wouldn’t.

Your eyes widened before you too, dropped your mask and nodded your head. “I’d love nothing more.” He smiled, God its been forever since you’d seen that brightness. Both from him and in your life. You couldn’t help yourself, flinging your arms around his shoulders as you hugged him. You could pretend you didn’t absolutely adore this man later, for now? You were making up for lost time. 

“Let’s go home.”

Navigation

[mary-is-writing]

@writeblrcafe Secret Santa 2023🎅🎁

Thank you for organizing this event! This is my gift for @sparrow-orion-writes , I hope you like this short story!! Sorry it took me so long, I wanted to finish by Christmas but life happened. Still, here it is, a coffee shop kinda enemies-to-lovers with a fantasy setting story. Happy holidays and happy new year!!!

Title: Snakes and Vines

Word count: 2409

CW: None

Something was burning and it wasn’t Eri’s fault.

She could’ve sworn she hadn’t left the oven unattended for that long. She simply went to decorate as many cookies as she could while the cupcakes finished baking, and then, she was planning on going back and multitask on decorating both to finish earlier. But it seemed that hellfire powder, though a quick rising agent, was more flammable than she thought, since the whole oven went up in flames with a kaboom that could be heard from every place in the shop.

The bits and pieces went flying, destroying most of the kitchen as well as whatever pastries were lying around. The good news was that nothing hit her and the coffee shop was empty since it was already late; the bad news was that the destruction reached even the tables and chairs that were farthest from the kitchen. The worse news was that her boss was already stomping his big combat boots towards her direction while yelling and cursing all heaven and hell, and there was no way for her to fix it before he opened the kitchen door. The terrible news was that the fire was spreading quickly through the wall.

And the worst, most absolute, horrible news was that a bunch of cookie-frosting and burnt cupcake had flown right into Amalia’s face, of all the demons in Obertham. However, as established earlier, this was not Eri’s fault.

“This is your fault!”, she quickly yelled at her, while Amalia tried to clean her face.

“WHAT?! How the fuck this is my fault?!” Amalia’s snake hair hissed back at her.

“You kept messing with the oven when I told you to leave it alone!” Eri answered, vines with thorns quickly growing around her.

“YOU’RE the one that added the stupid hellfire powder even though I told you not to!”

“And I wouldn’t have needed to bake another batch quickly five minutes before going home if you knew how to bake shit!”

“The only reason I have to bake is because of your slow ass that doesn’t get anything done! At least I know how to prepare coffee while working in a coffee shop.”

“You’re just a–”

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY KITCHEN?!”

Their boss entered, his screech giving off a freezing gust of wind so cold it immediately put down the fire. Then, after giving a quick look to the damage and the two, proceeded to freeze them in place so he could lecture them both for about half an hour, all the while letting his rage take control of his ice and making them feel like they were in a freezer. Eri didn’t like working for an ice demon; whether he was happy or angry (especially when angry) he was always surrounded by the cold. The whole “enjoying a warm coffee in a chilly environment” was part of the shop’s charm, but a dryad like her would never understand why anyone would like that. Still, she needed this job, so she had to suck it while trying to not freeze to death.

But getting yelled at was unfair. Sure, maybe she had added a tiny bit more of hellfire powder than she should have, but if Amalia hadn’t been messing with the oven, the settings would’ve been the correct ones and it wouldn’t have exploded. Nothing her boss would listen to, though, and she found herself being ordered to stay overnight, clean the whole mess and re–bake everything to be ready for tomorrow.

Alongside Amalia, because of course. And at that hour, it was only natural for their tasks to extend into ungodly hours of the night, so of course they had to spend it there. There was a sleeping room, destined to be used by employees in times where the shop had to remain open for days straight, like in the Festival of Light, so they could take turns sleeping and working during their shifts. Eri was glad that she at least wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor.

There was only one bed. Because of course.

“I’ll take the floor”, she said with a groan.

“No, I’ll take it”, Amalia said. “You take the bed. Just give me some sheets or something.”

“I said I’ll take it”, Eri responded dry. “It’s gonna be colder than usual thanks to the boss’s fit, and that’s bad for a snake demon like you.”

“Said the dryad, the cold is just as bad for you. Besides, I’m younger, so it’s better if I take the floor.”

“I’m sorry, did you just call me old?”

“Oh, for the love of–” Amalia ran a hand over her face. Some of her snakes hissed in frustration at her, and Eri almost wanted to hiss back. “Just take the goddamn bed, Eri.”

“No”, she crossed her arms. “After all, it’s the responsibility of the older ones to take care of the children. So, you take it.”

“Fine, I guess nobody is sleeping in the bed, then. We’ll both sleep on the floor.”

Eri was used to fight with Amalia at this point, so much so that she didn’t even think to contradict her just for the sake of it. Forest will wither and oceans will dry before she’d let her win an argument.

“If that’s the case, why don’t we both sleep in the bed, then?”, she said, only realizing what words had left her mouth afterwards.

“Fine! Geez! Have it your way then!”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

After a couple more “fines” that we’re said in a very “fuck you” kind of way, they both climbed in the bed. Amelia took the side closest to the wall, while Eri the side towards the door. There was also just one sheet and pillow, so they had to sleep back-to-back without moving an inch.

What a night. Eri couldn’t remember a worse one since she started working there…though having to carry around her tree in a pot in the middle of a cold night after getting evicted was a close one. Now what? She hoped the boss wouldn’t fire her for this. Without a job, one cannot survive in Obertham, not only because it was required for non-humans to have one in order to remain in the city, but also because it was expensive as hell and almost no landlord would give her a lease without one. Feeling the physical exhaustion and the mental stress growing got to her and, ever so softly, she sniffed a few tears away.

“I’m sorry.” Hearing Amalia apologize shot Eri wide awake.

“What did you just said?”, she asked, still not facing her. Amalia sighed, in a way Eri’d never heard before.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have messed with the oven. I thought that, if you weren’t gonna listen about the hellfire powder, at least I could prevent the oven from exploding by changing the settings, but…”

“Wow. You literally couldn’t have done a worse job.”

“Yeah. So. Well. I’ll tell the boss tomorrow to not punish you too much more for it.”

That was…weird. Was Amalia actually…being reasonable? As Eri was trying to wrap her head around this situation, a thought crossed her mind.

“You heard me cry, didn’t you”, she asked, monotone.

“…No.”

“Okay. Yeah. That’s not gonna fly.”

“I just thought you…could use a win.”

“Wow. Thanks.” Sarcasm dripped from her lips. And it must have been really bitter because Amalia immediately stood up.

“Why do you hate me, Eri? What have I ever done to you?”

“You mean besides destroying the kitchen, almost killing me, and jeopardizing my livelihood?”

“But you didn’t start hating me now, did you?” Even in the darkness, Eri could see the silhouette of the snakes in Amalia’s head squirming because of how agitated she was.

“I don’t hate you.” She answered. “I just don’t like you.”

“What’s the difference?”

“If I hated you, you’d be seeing me with thorns all around me all day long, since I have to be all day long next to you.”

“Okay, fine. Why do you dislike me, then?”

Maybe it was the tiredness. Maybe it was that they were completely alone, in the darkness, and she couldn’t see Amalia’s face. For whatever reason, Eri felt like spilling her guts.

“Because you’re arrogant, despite only knowing how to brew coffee. And you are terrible at baking, yet you act like you’re in charge of the kitchen. And you’re younger than me, yet ever since you first came you’ve had this attitude of ‘why do I have to work with this useless adult?’. And even though I need this job to survive, you act like just being here is a bother and couldn’t care less of what happens to it or me.”

The silence that proceeded was as cold as the floor, and as the seconds passed and Eri regained her composure, she started to wonder if she’d said too much. But then, Amalia talked.

“What about you, then? Ever since I came here, you’ve treated me with nothing but hostility.  You just assumed whatever you wanted about me and decided that you didn’t like me. I’ll admit I’m bad at baking, and I hate it, but if I didn’t care about this job, I would simply get another one. Saying that I don’t care about what happens to it or you is honestly insulting. You think I’m that heartless just cause I’m a demon?”

“Of course not. You think I’m nice and delicate just cause I’m a dryad?”

“A rabid hellhound is nicer and more delicate than you.”

Eri let out a sound that was a mix of scoff and laughter. Still laying on the bed, she breathed deeply.

“I’m sorry, too. For, you know… Antagonizing you, and stuff.” It felt awkward. When was the last time she’d talked with her without feeling a headache? Scratch that; Eri didn’t even think she’d ever had this calm of a conversation with Amalia, ever. “But don’t you think it’d be better if you showed you care more?”

“Well, don’t you think it’d be better if you learned how to serve a cup?” She said, playfully.

“Why? Your coffee is great, I don’t need to learn.”

Amalia blinked. Some of her snakes looked at each other.

“You…like my coffee?” Eri felt wide awake for the second time. Crap, she hadn’t meant to say it. “You’ve…never said so…”

“Because I didn’t want it to get into your big head”, she said, then instantly regretted it. “Yeah, I like your coffee. It’s good coffee. Great, even. I don’t know how you do it, but every single fricking cup you make it’s perfect. Happy?”

She wanted to cover her face with her vines and disappear. Never would she had imagined she’d compliment Amalia, out loud, to her face.

“I…I like your baking.” Amalia responded, shyly.

“Don’t give me the pity talk, please.”

“No, I mean it. I started working here because… because of it.” Eri looked at her in the dark. She could almost see Amalia’s hand playing with her snake hair. “And I’ve always been good with coffee cause, y’know, my snakes help me perceive the smells and temperature appropriate for each brew, so I thought I could work here. Never expected to blow up the kitchen.”

There was something there, though. Something about the way the silhouette of her hand moved, how the snakes danced over the fingers. Like a very distant memory Eri’d almost forgotten but that came back little by little as she spoke.

“Wait…” Eri threaded carefully. “Are you– Are you that girl that always came here and always ordered black coffee with marshmallows and a slice of abyss strawberry shortcake? The one that always burnt her tongue whenever she had her first sip?

Amalia let out the biggest groan Eri had ever heard leave her lips.

“How do you remember that but not me?”

The dryad basically jumped up and sat on the bed next to her.

“WHAT?! That was you?!”

“Of course it was me! How have you never noticed it?! How many snake demons do you see in the daily to not recognize me?”

“I mean, all dryads have face blindness, so…?”

Well, that wasn’t an answer Amalia was expecting at all.

“W-Wait. What?”

“Yeah. We can only recognize one another. Everyone else just looks the same, like, beyond things like voices or mannerisms? It’s like trying to differentiate two grains of rice. And that was so long ago that both things are very fuzzy in my memory. But was that really, really you?”

“Yes, it was. Why do you keep asking?”

“Cause I’m pretty sure that girl gave me a love letter once”, she said. “But then she stopped coming, so I could never answer back.”

Eri could almost swear she heard a little gasp. The snakes suddenly stopped moving, and Amalia turned away, the line of her face showing she was looking left. Suddenly her coming to the coffee shop a lot, to the point of even starting to work there, made much more sense.

“That was in the past. Before I knew a rabid hellhound was nicer than you.”

The feel of a grin in Eri’s face made a few little flowers grow at the tip of her hair.

“Hoh? Disappointed, then?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe”, Amalia answered, trying to sound calm. So, since she was playing the cool card, Eri decided to play along.

“Really?” She approached her. Vines filled with leaves and flowers grew around, and she trapped Amalia with them by the wrists, the hip, and one ankle. “Then I guess this would do nothing for you, hm?”

The snakes hissed at her. For the first time since knowing her, she thought that reaction was cute.

“Screw you”, Amalia spouted.

“Pfft. Yeah, you wish.”

“ERI!” The dryad laughed as a response. She released the snake demon and went back to lay in the bed.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Goodnight, Amalia.”

Eri closed her eyes. Who knew her demon coworker could be this innocent? If she didn’t get fired, she’d have to start treating her more gently. Perhaps she’d get more fun reactions like those. As she was getting ready to start drifting into sleepiness, the voice of Amalia reached her once more.

“And what was it? Your answer…?”

Eri didn’t open her eyes, but she smiled.

“Maybe I’ll tell you over some coffee and cake.”

[mayjaysthots]

Always: Two

~~~~

Previous Chapter

Warnings: None

"How did you loose the Variant?" Runa asked Mobius as she ran down the hall.

"Me? Why is it just me? You are in charge of him too!" Mobius protested.

"Because you were the last one to use the Time-twister." She reminded.

"Why are you two running?" B-15 asked, stopping the duo in their tracks.

"Mobius might have lost the Variant." Runa gave B-15 a sheepish grin.

"Wish I could say I'm surprised." B-15 shook her head. "I need all available Minutemen to search for a missing Loki variant." She dispatched.

"This wouldn't be happening if you didn't interrupt us." Mobius told B-15 as the continued down the hall

"Me? It's my fault?" She asked.

"Look he can't have gotten far." Runa broke up the argument. "He isn't the sharpest Loki we've experienced." Minutemen come running down the hall to meet B-15

"Split up. Prune on Sight." She ordered.

"No! No pruning, no resetting. He can still help us!" Mobius yelled.

"I'm still blaming this on you boss." Runa remarked as B-15 and her men left.

"I should be blaming you. You were the one bullying him! Of course he wanted to escape!" Mobius pointed out.

"I was trying to get info out of him!" Runa argued.

"We wanted a response not reaction!"

"Ok! Blame the sidekick I see." She rolled her eyes. "If it's my mess I'll go look by myself." Runa stormed off in the opposite direction. She spotted B-15 with a Time Collar on. "What happened?" She asked.

"Your Variant." B-15 spat. "If you hurry you can catch him. He's back in the theater." Runa felt her heart skip a beat. Knowing this can be her chance to prove herself to Mobius.

Runa hesitantly opens the door of the Time Theater. Her Time Stick on and ready to prune if necessary.

"Loki?" Runa called. "No where left to run huh?" She spotted Loki sitting on the ledge his hands buried in his face.

"I can't go back, can I?" He asked, looking up at her. "Back to my timeline." Runa frowned and looked into his deep blue eyes. "I don't enjoy hurting people." Loki let out a sigh. "I...I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to... because I had to."

"Ok, explain that to me." Runa asked taking a seat next to him, closing her Time Stick and placing it on the other side of her

"Because it's part of the illusion." He explained looking over at her. "It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear."

"A desperate play for control." She nodded slowly. "You do know yourself." Runa gave him a playful nudge with her shoulder.

"A villain." Loki sighs, scooting away from her.

"That's not how I see it." Runa told him as she scooted back to his side.

"What about all the yelling and interrogating you were doing?" He asked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't have the right to do that. To poke and prod..." She apologized. Loki picked up the Tesseract and looked at it.

"You try to use that." Runa asked.

"Oh several times." Loki looked over at Runa. "Even an Infinity Stone is useless here." He shook his head. "The TVA is formidable."

"That's been my experience..." Runa bit her lip. "Listen I... or even Mobius can't offer you salvation. But maybe we can offer you something better." Runa offered. "A fugitive Variants been killing our Minutemen."

"And you need the God of Mischief to help you stop him?" Loki queried.

"That's right." She nodded.

"Why me?" He tilted his head.

"Well the Variant we're hunting is..." Runa poked Lokis chest. "You."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I got him Mobius! I convinced him to help us!" Runa exclaimed as her and Mobius walked down the hall.

"Yeah, but after he escaped because of your interrogating." Mobius reminded.

"I don't think it was my fau... anyway, I think you should let me lead this case! Give me a chance to do this on my own." She suggested.

"No. I'm not having you do this alone. He's a Loki. You know how they are." He shook his head.

"I've handled plenty of Lokis Mobius! I can do this." Runa protested.

"All under my supervision."

"Mobius please."

"No Runa!" Mobius yelled. "I can't have you screw this up."

"Mobius...."

"You're on babysitting duty. Making sure this Loki Variant doesn't cause trouble." He instructed. "Renslayers orders."

"Fine." She sighed.

"Okay, y'all, let's review what we've learned." Miss Minutes announced. "What happens when a nexus event branches past red line?"

"Very bad things." Loki replied not looking up from his magazine.

"Come on, Loki. What is it?" She urged.

"It's when the TVA can no longer reset a nexus event." Loki sighs. "Ok? Boring."

"Right. And that would lead to the destruction of the timeline and the collapse of reality as we know it." Miss Minutes explained.

"Can you hear me?" He asked, tilting his head. "Are you are recording? Or are you alive?"

"Uh sort of both."

"Ahh." Loki nodded rolling up his magazine, before swatting at Miss Minutes.

"Watch it! Where's your manners?" She asked. Loki smiled and swatted again, knocking off one of the plants that was on Runas desk. "Hey! Quit it!" He tried again and missed. "That's not nice!" Miss Minutes protested before going inside the computer. "Jerk." She muttered.

"Training going well Variant?" Runa asked as he walked in. "It better because Mobius put me in charge of..." She looked down at the shattered pot on the ground. "What happened to my plant! And is that Mobius' jet ski magazine?"

"Maybe?" Loki responded. "

Oh and it was my favorite plant too." Runa frowned

"Come on you two! There's been an attack let's go!" Mobius called. Runa threw a package at Loki.

"Gear up Variant." She ordered as she started to walk away. Loki stood up and scrambled after her. "Put it on."

"And?" Loki asked after putting the jacket on.

"Good. Smart. Mobius will love it."

"C-20 and her team went dark shortly after they jumped into the 1985 branch." B-15 explained. "All signs point to another ambush. We've grabbed enough temporal aura to know it's our Loki Variant.  But which kind of Loki, remains unknown."

"They're the lesser kind, to be clear." Loki added, resulting in Runa to roll her eyes.

"Let me see the back of that jacket." Runa sighs. Loki turned around, attempting to look at it as well.

"Very subtle. Well Done." Loki huffs.

"We don't want anybody out there to forget what you are." Runa told him.

"Oh, your only hope of capturing a murderer?"

"No. A cosmic mistake." Runa gave him a pout with her lip.

"Runa that's enough." Mobius scolded.

"Lovely." Loki narrowed his eyes at Runa.

"Here's the deal." Mobius stepped forward. "When we get out on the branch, we're not just looking for a Time Criminal. We're looking for a Loki. A Variation of this Guy." Mobius pointed at Loki. "A type we should all be very familiar with, because the TVA has pruned a lotta these guys, almost more than any other Variant." He pressed a button on his tempad to reveal different Loki Variants. "And no two are alike. Slight differences in appearances or not so slight. Different powers, although, powers generally include shape shifting, illusion projection, and my favorite...."

"Duplication casting." Loki interrupted.

"Illusion projection." Mobius corrected.

"No, they're two completely different powers."

"How?" Runa questioned.

"Illusion projection involves depicting a detailed image from outside oneself, which is perceptible in the external world, where duplication casting entails recreating an exact facsimile of one's own body in its present circumstance, which acts as a true holographic mirror of its molecular structure." Loki explained. "But you already knew that."

"Smart-ass." Runa muttered, glaring at Loki in warning.

"Okay, take a breath. Noted." Mobius said looking at both Runa and Loki. "We are gonna break into two teams, including myself, Runa and Professor Loki."

"Why?" A Minutemen asked.

"Because whoever this Variant is, we haven't been able to find him. So why not bring in an expert." Runa explained, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"That's me." Loki pointed at himself.

"Do I get a weapon?" Loki asked hopefully as him and Runa walked down the hall.

"Naw." Runa shook her head.

"Well, I'll have my magic back. Is no one concerned about that?" He queried.

"Of what?" She looked at him.

"Me betraying you." Loki reminded.

"No."

"Why not?" He questioned.

"You know that we can catch you. And how's betraying us gonna get you any closer to the Time-Keepers?" Runa told him.

"An audience with the Time-Keepers is on the table?" He asked.

"Whoops. Wasn't supposed to tell you that." She bit her lip. "But keep the focus." Runa said as they walked through the time door.

1985: Oshkosh, Wisconsin

"Apex of nexus signature located." A Minutemen announced.

"Let me ask you this, why don't we just travel back before the attack, when the Variant first arrives?" Loki asked.

"Nexus events destabilize the time flow." Mobius explained over his shoulder. "This branch is still changing and growing so you gotta show up in real time.... Did you watch any of the training videos you were supposed to?"

"Well, as many as I could stand. Your TVA propaganda is exhausting." Loki replied.

"Runa! You were supposed to be watching him!" Mobius scolded.

"Am I not allowed to get a snack or take a break?" Runa remarked.

"Not when you are babysitting a Variant!"

"Well I guess I'll die because I have to eat and drink." Runa rolled her eyes. "Loki. What do these do?" She pointed at the reset charges a Minutemen was holding.

"Reset Charges prune the affected radius of a branched timeline, allowing time to heal all its wounds." Loki quoted. "Which sounds like a nice way of saying disintegrating everything in its vicinity."

"See! He's on it!" Runa pointed out.

"I watched the videos... I mean some of them." Loki backed Runa up.

"Is he taking hostages now?" Runa asked, looking over at Mobius.

"The Variant never taken a hostage before." Mobius shook his head.

"Maybe he's upping his game." She suggested.

"Or he pruned her." B-15 added.

"A Loki couldn't have gotten the jump of C-20.." Runa shook her head.

"I think you underestimate, actually..." Loki butted in.

"Fan out and search for her." Mobius instructed. "And hurry up because we're at three units until red line." Runa added examing her tempad.

"Let's go. She's right." B-15 said.

"Wait...." Loki called out. "If you leave this tent, you'll end up like them."

"What do you see?" Mobius asked, approaching Loki. Runa on his heels.

"I see a scheme, and in that scheme I see myself." Loki explained. "We have a saying in Asgard..." He squatted down to the ground. "When there are wolf's ears, wolf's teeth are near... It means to be aware of your surroundings." He told them as he stood up. "Which is absurd, because my people are, by nature, gullible fools. Which a trait I, the God of Mischief, exploited time and time again simply by listening... My teeth were sharp, but my ears even sharper."

"We are running out of time Mobius." Runa reminded.

"Hold it Runa." Mobius held a hand out. "Give him a chance."

"Of course you give him a chance, but not me." She muttered.

"You remind me of them..." Loki pointed a finger at Mobius and Runa. "The Time Variance Authority and the gods of Asgard, one and the same." He approached them. "Drunk with power, blinded to the truth... Those you underestimate will devour you..." Loki looked at Runa. "You underestimate me, just as you underestimate this lesser Loki. Which is why you walk into one wolf's mouth after another." Runas Tempad beeped.

"Two Units! He's waisting out time." Runa rolled her eyes.

"Okay. Come on, Loki, make a long story short." Mobius urged.

"We need to look for C-20." Runa argued.

"That's exactly what the Variant wants you to do." Loki explained. "It's a trap. He's waiting for you outside this tent."

"Should I secure the reset charges?" B-15 asked.

"No. He wants me. I'm the key to his plan." Loki replied. "He knows that I'm stronger."

"Almost one unit Mobius." Runa reminded.

"Runa be quiet." Mobius ordered.

"And he rightly believes that together we can overland rule the TVA." Loki continued. "But that's not what I want. I have a new purpose. I'm a servant of the Sacred Timeline... And know what I now know about his tactics, I can deliver you the Variant, but I need assurances."

"Yeah?" Mobius asked.

"Assurances that I won't be completely disintegrated the moment the job has been done." Loki rambled.

"Right." Mobius nodded.

"We'll need to speak to the Time-Keepers at once. They're in graver danger than we realized." Loki whispered. Runas tempad beeps once again. Loki looks over at her and then back at Mobius.

"He's lying. Just playing games." Mobius sighed. "There's no one out there."

"And look who's right for once. No oh Runa you were right! We should have listened to you!" Runa huffed. "Reset the timeline." She instructed.

"You had me for a second." Mobius pointed at Loki. "My ears are sharp too."

"For once I was right! And did no one listen to me?" Runa protested outside of Renslayers office, Loki at her side. "No! Why would they? I'm just a kid! Mobius' little sidekick."

"Runa I..." Loki started, grabbing her hand.

"Shut up Variant." She spat, pulling her hand from his. "You ruin everything!" Mobius exited the office, whistling for the two to follow. Runa stood up, immediately going to Mobius side.

"You're probably wonder what happened out on the mission." Loki began, running to catch up with them. "That was the first lesson in catching a Loki... Expect the expected." He told them. "Half the fun of being a trickster is knowing everyone knows you're a trickster, and then you can exploit the fact you know that they know..."

"Can you just shut up!" Runa asked.

"What happened to the guy I met on the elevator? Who didn't like to talk." Mobius sighed. "Remember him? Now I'm stuck with this guy who won't stop taking about what makes a Loki tick! And my sidekick who thinks she better than everyone!"

"What?! I do not think that way!" Runa piped up.

"Isn't that precisely why I'm here?" Loki questioned.

"No! I don't care what makes you tick! I don't care that you want your own case! Both of you are here to help me catch the superior Loki!" Mobius explained.

"Hang on..." Runa frowned.

"I'm not sure superior is actually quite the right word." Loki added.

"See? There it is. Right there." Mobius stopped in front of the elevator.

"I believed, stupidly, that insecure need for validation would motivate you to find the killer." Mobius explained to Loki. "Not cause you care about the TVA mission of being a hero, but because you know that this Variant is better than you and you can't take it." Runa looked at Mobius and then Loki bitting her lip.

"Very nice." Loki quipped. "I mean, it's adorable that you think you could possibly manipulate me. And send you deadbeat sidekick to babysit me!" He fixed Runas collar. "I'm ten steps ahead of you two! I've been playing a game of my own all along."

"What? Charm you way in front of the Time-Keepers, hustle them, and seize control of the TVA?" Runa questioned. "Am I getting warm?"

"For once I agree with her." Mobius added.

"A double cross by history's most reliable liar." Runa crossed her arms in front of her.

"Okay? Then why is Mobius sticking his neck out for me?" Loki inquired.

"I'll give you two options, and you can believe whichever one you want... A, I see a scared little boy shivering in the cold. And you feel bad for that ice runt." Mobius told him. "Or B, I just want to catch this guy, and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you..."

"I don't need your sympathy." Loki said as the three entered the elevator.

"Good because I can speak on the behalf of Mobius and I, we're running out of it." Runa huffed.

"What's this?" Loki asked. "The next step of your manipulation?"

"No. This is the final step." Mobius corrected. "Your last chance."

"Oh, and what does my desperate last chance require?" Loki queried.

"Work." Mobius replied.

"Work?" Loki repeated.

"I need you to go over each and every one of the Variants case files, and then, give me your... How do I put it?"

"Your unique Loki perspective." Runa finished.

"Who knows? Maybe there's something we missed." Mobius continued.

"Well, you're idiots. I suspect you probably missed a lot." Loki remarked.

"That's why I'm lucky I got ya for a little bit longer." Mobius looked over at Loki. "I'm gonna park you at the desk, and don't be afraid to really lean into this work. Here's a good trick for you. Pretend your life depends on it." He instructed. "I'm gonna get a snack." Mobius started to walk off

"Same." Runa started to follow Mobius.

"No you aren't. You are on babysitting duty remember?" Mobius reminded.

"This is so unfair." Runa grumbled and sat down at the desk with a huff.

"Oh my goodness. Don't tell me the Variant ambushed and killed another team or Minutemen." Loki read out loud. "And stole their reset charge as well." He gasped.

"Shut up." Runa groaned.

"You shut up." Loki sassed and got up from the front desk. He rang the bell at the desk.

"Can I help you?" The librarian asked.

"Yes. I'm on some important TVA business. Follow-up go a field mission. You know how it goes." Loki explained. "We red lined best the apex, and.... We'll it's never good." He chuckled.

"Um, I'd like all the files pertaining to the creation of the TVA please."

"Those are classified." The librarian told him.

"Okay, I'd like all files pertaining to the beginning of time them." Loki told her.

"Those are classified."

"Okay then the end of time."

"Those are classified."

"I am so sorry!" Runa apologized running up to the front desk. "These Variants love to cause trouble." She laughed awkwardly as she dragged Loki off. "What in the world are you doing!?"

"Trying to get answers!" Loki argued.

"You can look for answers here." Runa sat him down back at their desk. "Stay here while I go get us snacks. And I swear if you cause trouble I will prune you myself." She threatened.

Runa sat down at the cafeteria far away from Mobius' line of sight. She started to dig into her salad until she saw Loki come out of the elevator.

"Runa I found something!" He called.

"Shhh. Mobius doesn't know I'm up here." She whispered.

"The answers isn't in the files! It's on the timeline!" Loki exclaimed as he took a seat in front of her.

"What do you mean?" Runa tilted her head.

"He's hiding in apocalypses."

"Which apocalypse? He can be at any time in history there is like a million of them."

"Ragnarok. Are you familiar?" Loki questioned.

"Yes. The destruction of Asgard and most of it's people I'm sorry." She frowned.

"Yes very sad... Anyway, it got me thinking." Loki looked up at Runa eagerly.

"Go ahead." She urged.

"Nexus events happen when someone does something they're not supposed to do, right?"

"Well it's more complicated, but yeah." Runa nodded.

"Great. And then that thing they're not supposed to do, cascades into a whole range of other things that aren't supposed to happen. And so on and so forth, until eventually, a new timeline branches. Yes?" Loki continued.

"Chaotic alterations of a predetermined outcome." Runa corrected.

"Exactly! So let's just say..." Loki grabbed Runas salad.

"What are you doing?" Runa asked.

"Your salad is Asgard in this scenario."

"No it's not Asgard it's my lunch!" Runa protested.

"It's a metaphor, just hang in there." Loki told her.

"I want that salad, you don't want to make me hangry Loki." Runa warned.

"I could go down to Asgard..." Loki continued. "Before Ragnarok causes its complete destruction and I could do anything I wanted. I could..." Loki grabbed the salt shaker. "Push the Hulk off the Rainbow Bridge." He started to shake salt into the salad.

"The salts the Hulk?" Runa asked.

"And I could also..." Loki grabbed the pepper shaker. "Set fire to the palace." Loki shook the pepper shaker.

"No just stop. Don't set fire to the palace." Runa begged.

"I can do whatever I want to do, and it would never matter." Loki explained as he continued to shake both the salt and pepper shakers. "It wouldn't go against the dictates of the timeline because." Loki put down the shakers and grabbed Runas water.

"What are you doing?"

"Because the apocalypse is coming. Ranarok, Sutur will destroy Asgard no matter what I do." Loki begins to pour the water in the salad.

"No don't do...." Runa sighed.

"There's the apocalypse." Loki told her.

"That's the apocalypse?" Runa raised an eyebrow.

"Ragnarok obliterates the salt." Loki smiled at Runa. "Ragnarok... there it is!"

"What am I looking at?" Runa shook her head.

"Okay, it was a clumsy metaphor. But you what I mean. It doesn't matter. It could be any apocalypse. It could be a tidal wave, a meteor, a volcano, a supernova anything! If everything and everyone around you is destined for imminent destruction, then nothing that I say or do will matter, because the timelines not gonna branch. Cause it gets destroyed." Loki described. "Hence, the Variant could be hiding in the apocalypse and do whatever he wants and we wouldn't know!"

"Not bad." Runa nodded slowly.

"Take me to a real apocalypse, to Ragnarok, I'll show you!" Loki beggedZ

"Yeah. Do you can run away back to your homeland?" Runa laughed. "No. Mobius would kill me if I lost you again."

"No, I'm not going home. We can go anywhere."

"I'm not taking you for a stroll along the promenade, much less an apocalypse." Runa shook her head.

"Oh Runa! Come on! This is your chance to prove yourself to Mobius!" Loki told her. "We need to prove this theory!"

"No! You'll probably lure me out to some field and stab me in the back."

"I'd never stab anyone in the back. That's such a boring form of betrayal." Loki protested.

"Loki I have seen almost every moment of your entire life. You have literally stabbed people in the back like 50 times!"

"Well I'd never do it again, because it got old." Loki promised. "And I would never do it to you Runa." Loki reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "I would do it to Mobius tho." Runa blushed and let out a laugh.

"I would too Variant." Runa slowly pulled her hand away from Lokis. "Come on. Let's test this theory out." She stood up from the table and headed towards the elevator.

[9tzuyu]

sick days

req: i was wondering if you could do a nat x daughter reader fic where we are basically overworking ourselves with school and our first job, and get really sick/depressed and nat notices and helps? cuddles and just support and fluff please?

hope this is ok, req is currently my situation and need some nat comfort for it :)))

notes: yass slayy another request down. idk how to feel abt it but i hope this was okay and i hope you like it!!

warnings: none? sickness, semi proofread, lazy title.

mama!nat x adopted daughter!reader

🏷: @c-is-writing yasss

. . .

monday started with a sore throat, but you ignored it thinking it would disappear on its own.

tuesday ended with a pounding headache and a bottle of tylenol by your bedside.

wednesday hit you with on and off waves of nausea, the night ending with you curled in a ball with your arms tucked into your side.

thursday you could hardly move out of your bed, but you trudged through it not wanting to worry about the consequences of not getting up.

the urge to fall in your mothers arms grew stronger every second you were awake. you'd been so stressed lately and she could tell. natasha tried to help in small ways as much as she could, but it only went so far when you were crammed day in and day out with work and school.

you had almost no time for yourself, let alone any time to spend with friends or hang around the house with your mom. it was no surprise natasha had no idea you were sick when you'd been leaving the house before she got up and coming home to her already asleep on the couch, clearly trying to stay up for your arrival.

friday though, was different.

natasha was up before you with breakfast ready on the kitchen table, something you typically didn't have time for before school.

"good morning." she greeted you with a warm smile on her face.

her red hair was tied back into a messy bun and you watched her for a quick second as she finished cleaning up her mess.

"morning." natasha was quick to raise her eyebrow at the sound of your voice.

"you okay?"

"mhm." you nodded, closing your eyes as you took a seat at the table. all you had to do was get through the next two days. that's it.

"you don't sound okay."

"i'm okay mom, promise." you mumbled, forcing yourself to take a bite of the food on your plate.

normally you'd be ecstatic that your mom made breakfast because she always made it well, but you didn't have the energy or the appetite to enjoy her cooking.

natasha watched as you shoved the food around on your plate and frowned. "i think you should stay home, you don't look too good sweetheart."

you were quick to shake your head in protest, "no mom i can't. i have school today and work after. i just have to wait until sunday and then i can rest."

"it won't kill you to call in, you know. i'm sure they'll understand. and you can always catch up on school, i'll help out with what i can." she tried to push.

"i said no." you snapped, despite that being the only thing you wanted to do.

"watch your tone," she warned. "and i'm not asking anymore, give me your keys."

"seriously? i have school-"

"and i'll call them and tell them you're absent."

"and work?" you huffed.

"it's a thursday night at a local craft store, they'll be fine. now hand me your keys."

"this is so stupid. i'm going to get behind and it's going to be all your fault." you rolled your eyes, shoving the keys in her direction before angrily getting up.

you didn't mean what you said to her. you were just so overwhelmed and tired, you couldn't control yourself when you snapped at her.

the next few hours were spent in your room. your muscles ached, your head was pounding and you felt like you were going to throw up any minute.

your only saving grace was the fact that your boss understood your situation and gave you the next couple of days off. now your mind was primarily focused on school and the work you were going to miss. it was only one day, but with AP classes it felt more like three days worth of work to catch up on.

natasha knocked on your door a little past noon with a bowl of soup. "here, it'll help your throat."

you didn't answer her out of guilt from earlier in the day, but when she left you didn't hesitate to turn over and try to provide some relief on your throat. plus it was good, natasha knew just the right seasonings to use that wouldn't bother your throat.

when you finished you tip-toed your way down the wooden floors of your hallway, careful not to make too much noise when you set the empty bowl in the sink.

before you could go back to your room you stopped to see your mom sitting on the couch, blanket wrapped around her body while she watched tv. she looked cozy, safe even.

it was because of that you went over to her, sneaking your way under the blanket and resting your head on her shoulder.

"i'm sorry mama." natasha snaked her arm around your back, gently guiding your body down so that you were laying on her stomach. her fingers found their way in your hair and began massaging the crown of your head in hopes of easing the headache she already knew you had.

"it's okay baby, i know you're sick." she reassured.

"i'm so stressed and i don't know what to do. and i'm so exhausted from everything, i barely have time for myself and i miss you and i can't-"

"hey, hey, shhh slow down. you're okay. take a deep breath for me." she rubbed her thumb over your cheek. "there you go sweetheart, you've got it."

when you managed to calm down a bit more natasha brought up the topic again.

"do you think dropping out of AP classes would help?"

"but what about college?" you mumbled softly. "i don't want to be a failure."

"you're anything but a failure, little lady. and most colleges don't care about AP classes anyway."

you sniffled, "they don't?"

"nope. it's mostly just a thing snobby kids use to boast about on their applications. you're only doing more work than necessary when it's not towards any kind of college credits." your mother confirmed.

"what about work?" natasha tilted her head, "can't you always adjust your availability? you don't have to work every single day of the week, especially not when you're still in high school. i don't like it when you're out so late every night anyway."

you nodded, "i missed spending time with you more than anything. i hate feeling this way."

natasha gave you a small squeeze, "i'm always here. we've got all the time in the world. now lets get you feeling better before we do anything else, okay? c'mon, i'll carry you to my room and we can watch a movie."

"mom i'm 17, you can't pick me up," you giggled as you hopped off the couch.

"you seem to forget that i have a serum running through my veins." she kissed the top of your head before picking you up and bringing you into her room.

you snuggled into her side, the feeling of sickness already starting to become less miserable.

everything would be okay as long as you had your mom around.

[xlonelysoulxx]

Being a Mermaid and Jacob’s Imprint Would Include... {2}

{gif isn’t mine}

xxxxx

You had disappeared for a whole month. You had only sent Leah a few messages after the incident, to give a sign of life and reassure the pack... which hadn’t helped matters when Jacob found out. "WHY didn't you tell me?!” “You acted like a f*cking jerk, why should I have?" The tension was so overwhelming, to the point where the other wolves must have come between them that day. Leah wanted to protect her friend, and Jacob wanted to get his imprint back. But he couldn't.

xxxxx

You hadn’t planned to come back, not so soon... this is what you had entrusted to the pretty wolf. You wanted to get some distance... away from Forks, from La Push... and from Jacob. You couldn't take it anymore. It was already hard that he treated you so coldly ‘cause he loved one another, but seeing him tear himself apart with his brothers... because of you? It was too much. It had gone way too far.

xxxxx

Grudge and worry kept growing among the wolves even when Jacob were gone, wandering god knows where near the Canadian border. Guilt and pain had kept twisting him from the inside ever since, and hearing the thoughts of his pack... especially when it came to you, had become torture. Even Jared, who had felt at fault at first, only felt annoyance now. Jacob was a ball of nerves ready to explode at any moment, while he was the one who had behaved badly in the first place. Fuck... he could have hurt you?! All because he had let himself be overcome by his emotions, emotions that he wasn’t yet ready to assume out loud.

xxxxx

The feeling of lack linked to the imprint was so strong that it sometimes prevented you from breathing, but that wasn't the worst. It was at that moment... that you realized how much you were in love with Jacob Black.

xxxxx

Even the pull of the bond wasn't as strong as the crack forged in your heart. A gash already wide open over the past few weeks (consciously or not) by the constant presence of Isabella Swan - hunted by Victoria - and now gaping as you left the Quileute... and Jacob, behind you. It was clear, the difference between these feelings - as if your heart and your guts were going in two distinct directions. How stupid you were... as if fate wasn't cruel enough like that.

xxxxx

You were quite surprised to see Alice and Jasper appear at your workplace one morning, a small neighborhood library near Port Angeles. It was brand new, no one knew about it. No one except Alice. Obviously... What were they doing there? You weren't particularly close to the Cullens, but you liked the lil’ brunette quite a bit. Did something happen? Did he... no, Leah would have warned you. Right..?

xxxxx

“He's stupidly stubborn, and guilty. But he's fine... for now.” You no longer understood anything, since when did Alice appreciate Jacob? She didn’t. But she couldn't control her visions. Time was running out. An army was approaching, Bella was once again the center of attention... and the future had darkened. The two clans who called themselves enemies had decided to unite reluctantly, to protect her - but what was your role in this story?

xxxxx

“Don't get me wrong, Alice... I don't wish Bella any harm.” You were boiling from the inside, but Bella wasn't the reason of your pain... Jacob was. You had no animosity towards the young girl, the shapeshifter was mature enough to make his own choices. It was between you and him, and yet. “But you came here for nothing.” You didn't look her in the eye anymore, busy sorting through the same books over and over in your hands. You couldn't believe she had come here just for this. She wanted you to come back to him, so he could come back to her... come back to Bella. To protect her.

xxxxx

Jasper hadn't moved from his place since their arrival, standing proudly straight behind his beloved. He could easily sense your anger, mixed with pain and incomprehension... and just like that, your eyes met his for a long second. “You should listen to her, Y/N.” You could feel a wave of appeasement sweep over you, immediately glaring at the vampire. "And you shouldn’t try to manipulate my emotions, Jasper."

xxxxx

“He won't survive it, Y/N... I saw it.” You could feel your blood running cold through your veins. What was she talking about?? Jacob was actually back in Forks, for more than a week now. But he was a freaking mess. He made sure to stay away from the pack, irritable... unpredictable, and more closed than ever. Quite the opposite of who he really was. You could feel your heart skipping a beat... Alice had glimpsed the impending confrontation, and the outcome had been fatal for the brown wolf.

xxxxx

No, no, no... it couldn't happen. It. Couldn't. The information was too much to handle as you began to hyperventilate like an idiot in the store, Jasper immediately moving to your side. You couldn't let him get killed all this because he was distracted by the whole "imprint thing”, no... you could never forgive yourself for it. You would leave your pride aside without any hesitation for him, everything for him... no matter the welcome you would receive in return.

xxxxx

The car ride was terribly quiet. The battle would take place in three days, so there was no time to waste. Your boss had been accommodating enough to give you your afternoon (he seemed to be pleased by your work, good for you) and this is where you were now... on the road back to Forks, sitting in the back of Alice's car. She had insisted on taking you there given your emotional state, and you were silently grateful for that. You could feel the anguish mounting as you approached the Quileute reserve, unconsciously wriggling in your seat.

xxxxx

“Stop the car.” The air was too thick to breathe, and you felt like you were drowning... there was only one way to fix it. You were close enough now, you could join the reserve on your own... but not right away. You quickly thanked the couple before slamming the door, taking the path to the forest under the worried gaze of the petite brunette. You ran, unable to stop before reaching the impressive cliff... not thinking twice before jumping.

xxxxx

You felt like you could finally breathe again as the icy water came in contact with your hot skin. You haven't been back to the ocean since the incident, and you had missed it - terribly. You could feel a pinch in your stomach as you rose to the surface, quickly looking up as your eyes instantly fell on the huge brown wolf that stood high on the rocks. Jacob. He was there... how?

xxxxx

You dived again after an endless exchange of glances, taking longer than necessary to reach the shore. A part of you feared your reunion, while the other was just relieved and excited to see him again. Jacob had reached the beach at an impressive speed, the shapeshifter dressed warmer than usual while a large jacket and boots complemented the usual shorts specific to all Quileutes. His heart was pounding as he observed the surface, impatiently waiting to see you reappear. Were you even going to do it..? He couldn't believe you were really there.

xxxxx

And you did. Your feet sank into the wet sand as you left the sweet comfort offered by the waves, your long hair sticking to your skin like a second skin. You were completely exposed as the cold wind whipped through your entire body, Jacob's eyes never leaving yours as he took off his jacket… wasting no time wrapping it around you. The distance between you was ridiculously thin now, the silence heavy and comfortable at the same time. There was no room for shyness here, it was Jacob. And despite everything that had happened you had full confidence in him.

xxxxx

None of you dared to speak first... almost like it's going to shatter the present moment, and bring bad memories to the surface. “I was afraid I had hurt you.” He finally confessed, almost shamefully. Start at the beginning, yeah... it was good. “I'm sorry I disappeared... I just panicked.” You answered briefly, but he cut you off almost immediately.“You don't have to feel sorry for anything, Y/N. I should. For everything.”  He really was. He wanted to tell you how sorry he was, how much he had missed you... and how much he loved you. But he didn't have the right. Not now, and maybe never. But repeating it to you, showing you how sorry he was and how much he regretted the way he had treated you... seemed like a good start. He wanted to be the best imprint for you... a friend, a protector. If you wanted him to be. He didn't want to be separated from you like that anymore. Never again.

xxxxx

You could hear the sincerity in his voice, the erratic changes in his breathing… and the heat radiating from his body which was enveloping you like a soft blanket. He meant every word. You were sure of it. And it was, indeed, a good start... yes. It was like a silent acceptance, like a secret language between the two of you... your throat tightening a bit before you wrapped your arms around him.

xxxxx

Jacob automatically tightens his embrace around you, selfishly accepting the gesture of affection you both needed so badly. He trapped your body against his, resting his chin against the top of your head as you stood on your tiptoes... inhaling his scent. There he was, alive and safe in your arms... and that was all that mattered right now. And you were going to make sure that it stays that way, no matter what.

xxxxx

But fate wasn't so lenient, you should have known that... it didn't rest only in your hands. Cruel reality exploded in your face that day, Jacob's scream echoing through the entire clearing at the same time as the sound of his ribs being broken by the newborn vampire. It all happened so fast. Leah had found herself trapped in the deadly embrace of one of them, Jacob had intervened... and now he was writhing in pain on the ground.

xxxxx

You had joined him in a few strides, stumbling alongside him as your heartbeat echoed through your ears. Carlisle stood by your side, examining the extent of the damage before the other members of the pack arrived in turn. His voice was twisted in pain as he tried to pronounce your name, squeezing your hand in his before the other wolves surrounded him to pick him up - Paul reluctantly pulling you away from your imprint. Tears filled your eyes, so much so that you hadn't even seen Bella arrive… the obvious horror on her face. How could this have happened? You thought you could change Alice's vision, you really believed you could... but you obviously failed. Literally.

[popitdontdropitwrites]

"Insatiable" Medic/Sniper (Vampire AU) - Chapter 2

Chapters: 1,

Returning to work the next morning was like coming to the gallows to be hung and mocked. He had slung a scarf around his neck to cover the now bruising bite, as nobody had to know. But he had the awful feeling that they did. The eyes of his newfound crowd – each member seated at their respective desks – followed him all the way up to the boss’ office. Some pointed fingers and whispered among themselves. Word had likely gotten out that he had ran from that manor with his tail between his legs. He felt like a laughingstock, one that had been abused for all of three metres to the office. He rapped on the door and waited, shame manifesting as a burdensome weight on his shoulders.

“Come in.” His boss said from behind the door.

Robin opened it slowly and slipped inside. The scent of a freshly microwaved lunch hit his nose and he felt only envy. It was always different seeing the pudgy, saggy potato sack of a boss in person rather than over the phone. He always looked smaller in Robin’s mind’s eye. He folded his hands on his desk and looked up expectantly at Robin.

“What is it, Robin?” Dennis said, thick brows furrowing in impatience.

“So, as ya might know, mate, I sorta…” He fumbled to find the right words. “Jeremy and I got ourselves into a bit of a situation and long story short, we couldn’t kill the targets.” He fidgeted with his hands as he spoke, as if to busy himself while he waited for the scolding.

“Did you kill any of them?” His boss growled, squeezing his hands together until his knuckles turned white. That spelled irritation out to Robin loud and clear.

“No.” He mumbled.

The big guy let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples. “Look, we’ll assign someone else to the manor—”

“—Don’t!” He cut in. “You’re sendin’ ‘em to death, mate. You can’t.”

“But these are merely vampires, Robin. We are all trained professionals in this building.” He huffed and crossed his arms. “Or is there more to this that you’re not telling me?”

“Look, this vampire – the bloke who owns that damned manor – he’s not the typical vampire. He went on this spiel about being a pure-blooded vampire or some sh… somethin’ like that. He had a whole bloody army in that house and they all listened to him like machines it was fuckin’ crazy!” He lost control of what he was saying. He was blabbering now, the lid was off and it was all coming out. “He got in my head, Dennis! I felt him in there, jus’ fuckin’ around with it. He made me drop my gun and then it all went to shit. I had to…” He stopped himself there. He cut it short and regained his composure.

The stout man scowled in disapproval. “Well then, you know the policy. I can’t pay you for work you didn’t do, mister Mundy.” He shrugged and sipped at his coffee. Robin raised a finger to object. “This is not up to negotiation.” He reminded, giving him a demeaning stare. “Off you go now. You have wasted too much of my time…” The big man grumbled, dismissing him with a half-hearted wave. “And just between you and me, mister Mundy, you may experience a… temporary and drastic increase in work if you understand me. It will be simply gruelling, I promise you. May it serve as a reminder not to come to me with your tail between your legs and nothing to show for it.”

“You’re punishing me? Mate… the humiliation is punishment enough!” Robin let out a groan and stormed out of there. He slammed the door on the way out.

Jeremy waiting there by the door and didn’t even bother to pretend that he hadn’t been listening in. “Jackass.” He hissed under his breath with his dark eyes darting in the direction of the office. “Let’s go.” He said, grabbing Robin by the arm. It wasn’t forceful but rather, caring. It was unusual for the kid to be so soft.

Then, all it once, it hit him. Jeremy felt bad about all of this. “Mate, ya don’t feel bad ‘bout this.” He said, patting Jeremy on the shoulder. He merely looked back at him with a guilty stare. “None of this is your fault, okay? And besides, it’s all gonna be fine. I don’t think it’s an infectious bite.” He whispered the last part, making sure it was out of earshot. The last thing he wanted was a medical examination. That would be the ultimate shaming. If a hunter got bit, that hunter was as good as dead and word around town was that these executions happened even if the bites weren’t infectious. Paranoia seemed to be eating away at even this once steady cornerstone of hope.

“I just think that we could have done it if I hadn’t gotten caught, y’know?” He mumbled guiltily as they walked. “The bite doesn’t even look real… it’s so… clean.” He trailed off into a mere mutter.

“Nah, mate. It was a no-win situation. We’re lucky we got out of there alive. There were jus’ too many for a two-man squad.” He reassured, allowing his voice to turn soft and kind. The last thing he wanted was for the kid to feel responsible for this or worse, for him to get all sulky. “It’s all gonna be okay, yeah?”

“Yeah.” The Bostonian nodded. “It fuckin’ sucks that he’s gonna force ya out for field work. I’ll come too, I mean, it’s only fair, right pally?” He smiled slightly, relieved to repay him for yesterday somehow.

“Yeah, yeah. Ya say that now but jus’ wait ‘till it’s four in the mornin’ and I’m called into work.” He reminded.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and sighed. “Forgot about that bit.” He said. “Well, I’m more than happy to tag along for afternoon jobs.” He shrugged.

“Since when do we get arvo jobs?” Robin piped in.

“Shit, You’re right.” He grumbled, shaking his head.

***

True to his word, the boss called him in the early hours of the morning. He was assigned to two jobs, back-to-back. Both were in the stinking alleys and ratty apartments of the city, a fact that made it incredibly difficult for Robin to even get out of bed. But even so, he forced himself into a decent set of clothes, pinned his hunter’s badge to his shirt – people in the city tended to ask questions about men with guns – and packed the essentials. As he shaved the beginnings of an ugly beard from his face, he noticed something odd on his neck and peeled back his collar, revealing how that damned bite had gotten red and patchy, like a rash. He hid it once more.

He picked Jeremy up on the way to the job. The kid seemed to be barely awake, with drooping eyelids and a quietness about him. He let out a little yawn as they drove past office complexes, gas stations and restaurants. Unlike his usual self, he didn’t comment on anything he saw, not even the odd bright pink car or eyeroll worthy custom numberplate.

Jeremy looked to him, then to his neck. “How’s the bite?” He asked groggily.

“It’s fine.” He replied flatly.

They made it to the destination just minutes later – a small alleyway just past a humble café. He opened the car door and stepped out, unholstering his gun. He motioned for Jeremy to tail him, in case things got ugly. He crept into the alley, careful as to not kick any trash on the way. A plastic bag drifted in the wind, scampering across the ground like a slowly deflating balloon. Bottles rolled across the shoddy paving like artificial tumbleweeds and glass shards glittered like jagged gemstones in the sun. At the end of the path was a lone tree, like a lighthouse in a storm – the only safe haven in this filthy alley. In the shade it provided were two vampires, glutted and fast asleep.

Jeremy trailed behind him, with his camera readied. He approached slowly and quietened every step and every breath. He peered over the napping duo and took note of the fangs protruding from their lips. Definitely vampires. He placed the gun to one’s temple and fired once. Before the other could move out of their slumber, he shot them, too.

With how easy it was, he wished the paperwork could be just as simple and quick.

***

He hated the way the elevator creaked and whined as it went up, as if it were complaining or worse, about to snap in two. It felt like a miracle every time he made it out alive. They reached their floor with a distorted ping, as if the speakers were low on batteries. The doors parted and he gave a nod to Jeremy. They walked down the halls, looking for the room. Eventually, they found it after some fumbling around. He first tried the door handle and found it to locked. He knocked just once and waited. He heard the rustle of sheets and the squeal of a bedframe before the lock clicked and then the door opened, just slightly to reveal half the face of an old, grumpy shila with hatred in every wrinkle.

“Whatcha want?” She growled out.

“We need to examine your apartment, miss.” He said, attempting to be as polite as possible. Any semblance of rudeness might result in a long tangent about ‘kids these days’.

“Why?” It was an irritated croak. He saw those fangs for the briefest of moments and he nearly gave himself away.

He made an excuse. “We’ve got reports of a vampire in the area and we jus’ wanna make sure there isn’t one hangin’ about in here.”

She sighed. “Make it quick.” The door opened all the way to let them in.

The place was a pigsty, with clothes all over the place, mysterious stains on the floor, wrappers everywhere and the stink of decay. The curtains appeared to have been eaten by moths and the bookshelf looked to be furry with dust. The bed – if one could even call it a bed – was a crumpled mess, and the wallpaper had peeled, like sunburnt skin.

A presence lingered behind him and he was about to turn around when long fangs grazed against his throat. He fumbled for his gun, desperate not to get bitten again. But to his surprise, she pulled away, with awe on her features. “You’re marked…” She uttered quietly, amazement in her voice. Instinct took over and he pulled the trigger. A bullet tore through her and she fell to the ground, dead in an instant.

“Ugh, can’t stand the feelin’ of teeth on my neck.” He groaned, looking to the old hag on the ground. “Hurry and get some photos so we can head into the office.”

Jeremy said nothing. He merely stared.

“You alright?” He asked, putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder.

He shook his head. “I dunno, man.” He said anxiously. “I don’t feel good about this. It’s all so… off.” He snapped a photo. “First boss assigns us to that fucking manor, knowing that there were about a billion vamps in there. Then we get there and they’re so… coordinated. There was somethin’ different about that big shot, too. He was too cocky and fucking full of himself. Normal vamps are all like ‘oh no don’t shoot me please’ kinda deal but that one knew we couldn’t touch him. Something isn’t right here, Robin.” He spoke faster and faster as he went along to the point where he was left out of breath. “We both know that vamps don’t stop for nothin’ so why did she stop?” He pulled at his hair.

“She said somethin’ ‘bout bein’ ‘marked’, whatever that meant.” He shrugged.

“She could have told you what that meant if you hadn’t’ve blown her brains out y’know.”

“I don’t need to know.” He said, waving it off. “All that matters is that it stopped her from bitin’ me.”

Jeremy let out a sigh. “I dunno, man. All I’m sayin’ is that this can’t be good.”

***

After submitting the paperwork to the higher ups, he invited Jeremy over to his place for a beer. He thought a bit of laughter and a cold one would do them both some good. He put a movie on, cooked up some sausages and joined the kid on the couch, with a hotdog in hand.

“This isn’t a fucking hotdog.” Jeremy scoffed, pointing to his own food.

“This is how we do it in Oz.” He replied. “Y’know, Sunday night and there’s no food in the fridge so your mum and dad jus’ throw a sausage between two slabs of bread and that’s dinner.” He ruffled the boy’s hair. “So eat up ‘cause there’s nothin’ else.”

“Already on it.” He said with a mouth full of bread. There was a pause filled by an energetic action scene and the sound of gunshots from the television. Jeremy swallowed and looked to him, with a grin on his face. “Didcha get paid lots for those jobs?”

“You’re dreamin’, mate. I jus’ got the usual and I’m guessin’ you did too.” The guilty chuckle from Jeremy gave him away. “It’s funny, I remember thinkin’ as a kid that hunters were respected and hell, even liked.”

“You must’ve been a pretty dumb kid.” Jeremy scoffed. “Even I knew that this was a crap job.”

“Yeah, but you knew what you were getting into. I was jus’ a dumbass boy right outta the countryside that had killed a few bloodsuckers.” He shrugged.

“Wait, you hunted them without tellin’ anyone? Surely that’s illegal, yeah?”

“I jus’ didn’t get caught.” He snickered.

“Right.” Jeremy added. “So, who was your first vamp? Maybe a random? Or did a pal or something get bit?”

“It’s a bit of a tale,” He said, recalling that scorching night on the farm.

“We got food, beer and time. I’m down.”

“It started pretty small.” He needed a second to properly recall the details. He had been young then, living with an uncle in the country. He missed the place sorely, but he didn’t miss the scorching summers and the crippling lack of an air conditioner. “When I was a young bloke, I lived on my uncle’s farm. Right, so one summer’s night – I still remember it to this day – I was havin’ trouble sleepin’ because it was so fuckin’ hot. I’m rollin’ around in bed and eventually I hear this horrible noise from the barn, which was outside my room pretty much. And the cattle are fuckin’ screamin’ like banshees and runnin’ around and crashin’ into shit like there was no tomorrow. I remember thinkin’ to myself ‘how the fuck did a dingo get in the barn?”’ He had Jeremy’s full attention, with wide, excited eyes. “And so I grab my gun – a little pistol at the time – and run outside stark fuckin’ naked because if I didn’t deal with whatever was in the barn and all the cows died my uncle would whoop my arse.”

“Fuck, dude. Why are uncles always so damn mean? Mine used to smoke in the house and he’d always piss on mom’s plants at Christmas. He wouldn’t even be sneaky about it, he’d just go dick out and… yeah.”

“Yeah, he was a proper cunt.” He shuddered at the memory of that skeletal, balding drongo. He always remembered the guy with a ciggie between his lips and wearing a dirty singlet with paint-stained shorts. “Anyway, I’m outside of the barn with my gun out and I realise whatever is in there is makin’ too much noise to be a dingo, so I start shittin’ myself wonderin’ if there was a bear or somethin’ in there and we don’t even get bears in Oz!”

“Ohh man, I see where this is going.” He snapped his fingers and smiled, awaiting the next part of the story.

“I open the barn and there was this horrible thing, I know now that it was a vampire, but then I had no fuckin’ idea. It was massive, with big ass fangs to boot. It had ripped into a poor cow and was eatin’ it. I shot it dead and woke up my uncle. He was pissed but when we started lookin’ at the thing we couldn’t work it out. Long story short, some townsfolk said there had been monsters about and offered to pay me to kill ‘em. Eventually the company grabbed me and offered a real job so I accepted it. And here we are, I s’pose.”

“Wow, you’re sounding like a grandpa at this point.” The Bostonian sipped his beer. “I’m getting a real ‘back in my day’ sorta feel.” He chuckled.

“I feel old jus’ tellin’ this story, believe me.” He drank to that. “So why did you join this godforsaken company?”

“It’s not an ancient legend like yours, but it’s worth still telling, I guess. Well, I wanted to help my mom out a bit with bills and that stuff. I knew how to shoot a gun and figured it’d be an easy job, so I joined up.” He paused to find his next words. “I also have this really faint memory of bein’ a little kid and I remember seein’ this chick with long, bloody teeth. And I didn’t understand it. I just thought maybe she was celebrating Halloween early. And I know she was one of them now. And over time, I’ve only seen more and more of the vamps and so I kinda wanted to do something about it.”

“Look at you, a local hero!” He exclaimed, grinning. His good intentions were admirable.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Jeremy dismissed it with a wave of the hand. “If only the ladies thought so as well.” He sighed.

A devilish hypothetical came to mind, and he blurted it. “Okay, mate, hypothetically…” He couldn’t contain his smile. “If a chick came up to you let’s just say at the bar and she’s clearly interested…” Jeremy nodded along. “And you two get to the bedroom or somethin’ like that but you notice two bite marks on her neck – old ones, by the way – and long fangs… would ya still go for it?”

“Would you?” That was clearly his way of avoiding the question.

���I’m the gayest cunt in this country, Jeremy.” He reminded.

“Right. Forgot.” He averted his gaze. “Uh, to answer the question, no. I wouldn’t do her. I feel like she’d bite me and that I’d be breaking some sort of code.”

“Probably. But no one has to know, right?” He gave a cheeky wink.

“I guess, but it’s still weird. Like what if vamps have weird ways of doin’ it?”

“They probably do.” He chuckled.

Jeremy’s eyes lit up. “Okay, okay, hypothetically. That freaky vamp, Will or whatever his name was… wouldcha bang him if given the chance? Like, let’s jus’ say he can’t bitecha or nothin’.”

“Where did that come from?” He asked, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.

“Just answer the question, pally. If I feel like you’re lying, I’ll get a lie detector in here.” He laughed. “Nah, I’d probably just get my mom in here. She can always tell if someone’s bullshitting.” Jeremy joked.

“Shit, I better not lie then.” He’d met Jeremy’s mum once or twice. She was a nice lady, but he could tell she could be a force to be reckoned with. “No way, mate.” He answered. Somehow, he felt it wasn’t exactly truthful. The feeling of a lie turned sour in his belly and he couldn’t help but wonder why.

***

Jeremy took a cab home when the credits started rolling. Robin hated watching the car go by. It meant he was to be left alone with his thoughts, which had swelled into a violent storm of conflicting feelings and ideas. He crawled into bed, feeling as if he were drowning under a sea of shouting thoughts. And the kicker was that a lone idea had summoned a violent cyclone. It had been that sour feeling of a lie. That was it. It had caused a whole chain reaction.

And so, here he was, in bed, thinking about that goddamned vampire. Robin reminded himself that the bastard had a name. Wilhelm.

That stupid hypothetical had overstayed its welcome. He couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping with a monster, even if he was desperate. He simply couldn’t. It was against everything he knew to allow himself to be used by a creature that wasn’t even human. He would just be a blood well, to be used and drank from without compassion. He could just imagine those fangs tearing into him without mercy while his body was used, his mind would be foggy and his senses dulled, making him a defenceless toy. It was a horrifying thought.

As Robin stared at the ceiling, that nightmare of a fabrication transformed into something else. It was no longer crude and primitive but rather dignified and somehow, pleasant. He imagined being spoiled with gentle touches and sweet kisses. He wanted to hear that light voice utter gentle and kind words of praise and adoration in his ears. He could almost imagine the subtle graze of fangs against his neck before they sunk in for a loving bite. He could just imagine touching the other’s face and caressing his cheek as a dulled, draining feeling consumed everything else. He would feel only soft, warm, buzzing sensations of a coming high—

He shook himself awake. This was all so wrong. He wanted to retch and to scrub his filthy mind with soap. This was filthy, disgusting and terribly immoral. Wilhelm was nothing more than a monster and to think of him of anything but that made him just as monstrous.

Absentmindedly, Robin’s fingers trailed down to the bite on his neck. He wasn’t even sure why he was so worked up. He never had to see the bloke ever again. He could just forget about Wilhelm.

But even so, he got the terrible feeling that his mind wouldn’t let him forget.

Next Chapter

[thatfanficstuff]

Impossible - 18

Pairing: Eric Northman x reader

Warnings: mentions of unwanted touching and assholes thinking of rape (no sexual assault takes place beyond groping)

A/N: This is longish. I'm lazy and didn't edit. If anything is glaring let me know.

***

It was decided that you and Sookie would present as friends looking for a new church. You intended to play quiet and if necessary you would pretend you were the puppet Stan thought you to be until you escaped from your horrible vampire boyfriend. You thought he loved you. Sob. So on and so forth.

Part of you wanted to go with Stan’s idea. Hell, if there was a way to be rid of the Fellowship without it pointing back to the vampires, you’d jump for it in a heartbeat. They were the epitome of everything wrong with so-called religions. Standing behind their gods to justify their hate and prejudices.

You sighed as you pulled into the parking lot. A perky blonde signaled for you to park and you frowned.

“Why does she look familiar?” Sookie asked.

“That’s Sarah Newlin, the reverend’s wife. I’m not happy that it appears we were expected, Sookie. I doubt she greets everyone that pulls in the parking lot.” You clenched your teeth together. Your gut was telling you to just pull right back out of the parking lot, but this was still your best bet to find Godric. “Just be on guard.”

Sookie nodded her head then slipped out of the car with a grin on her face, ready to greet the Mrs. You followed along behind her playing timid.

“Hi,” Sarah exclaimed. “I’m Sarah Newlin. I saw y’all pulling in and thought I’d come out and greet you myself.”

Sookie walked right up to her and shook her hand. “I can’t believe I’m actually getting to meet you. My name is Heidi Merlotte. This is my friend Sylvia North. We’ve recently moved to the area and are looking for a church.”

Sarah shifted that smile to you and held out her hand. You took it gingerly and kept your other arm wrapped around your waist. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sylvia.”

You just nodded in acknowledgement.

“Well, you’re a quiet thing aren’t you?”

Sookie wrapped her arm around you and leaned forward as if sharing a great secret. “We moved to get Sylvia out of a situation, so to speak. She’s still recovering.”

You could almost believe the look of sympathy Sarah directed your way. She turned and motioned for you to follow her. “Well, follow me and we’ll see if Steve’s available. I’m sure he’d just love to meet you.”

“The reverend himself?” Sookie enthused. “That would be amazing.”

The two of you followed Sarah to an office where Steve Newlin sat behind a large desk. “Honey, we’ve got a couple of friends here looking for a church. Heidi Merlotte and Sylvia North.” You shuffled in and took the offered hand, nodding at his greeting before looking around the office. Sarah bent over to whisper something in her husband’s ear that you weren’t meant to hear. “They insinuated they moved to escape some sort of trauma.”

Steve made a sound of agreement before gracing you with that megawatt smile he was so famous for. You settled into your chair, content to let Sookie do all the talking. She always chattered when she was nervous anyway.

“Sylvia and I met in church actually, but we left when we discovered that the pastor was…well he was…” Sookie trailed off dramatically and you managed to resist the urge to roll your eyes.

“Homosexual?” Steve suggested.

Ugh, just when you thought you couldn’t hate this guy more than you already did. What an ass. “A sympathizer. He was a sympathizer,” you said before he could say something else that made you want to punch him in the face.

“Now see, that really makes me mad. How can you claim to love God if you love something God hates?” Too late. You wanted to punch him.

“Well, given Sylvia’s history, we know just how horrible vampires are,” Sookie added after a pause and you wondered what she’d heard in the asshole’s head. “No one will ever convince us that they have any sort of control. They are just evil.”

The Newlins’ attention turned to you with her words. You’d curse her, but this was the plan. You unbuttoned the top button on your shirt and pulled it open to show Eric’s marks. Normally you just wore one, but he’d given you a couple of extra the night before to add to your story. Once they’d seen, you buttoned your shirt back up as if you were ashamed.

You cleared your throat. “He was my boss. He was nice enough at first but then he started catching me in the backroom and feeding. He glamoured me into thinking I enjoyed it. That he loved me. I didn’t know until he came to my house one night and Heidi caught him doing it. She told me everything and helped me escape.” You reached over and grabbed Sookie’s hand. “She saved my life. I truly believe that.”

When you finished with your fantasy, you bent your head forward and wiped away a non-existent tear.

“I am sorry that such a horrible thing happened to you. But that’s what we’re here for is to help people like you. None of this was your fault,” Sarah’s voice comes.

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” You kept your head down so you didn’t have to meet their gazes again. Frankly, you were tired of looking at them.

Steve clapped his hands together. “Well, let’s take a little tour, shall we?”

A tremor of unease crawled down your spine. You were pretty sure the Rev. Newlin’s job description didn’t include giving tours to the peons. You looked up at them, attempting to appear upset instead of untrusting. Sookie and you followed the couple out of the office to what you assumed was the door of the sanctuary.

Steve stopped before opening them and turned to face you. “Now, be careful when I open the doors.”

You arched a brow. “Careful?”

He grinned. “Sometimes when we open these doors, so much love comes flowing out it just knocks you right over.”

You were pretty sure that was the flood of bullshit actually.

“We’ll be sure and brace ourselves,” Sookie responds with a chipper smile.

When they opened the doors, you were actually impressed with the sight that greeted you. The large wall of windows at the back of the church allowed sunlight to flood the sanctuary. It was quite a stunning display. “It’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t it? I just love this room. It just seems to glow in the afternoon light,” Sarah said, obviously meaning every word.

“It’s just so inspiring,” Steve added.

Sookie fidgeted beside you and you knew whatever the reverend was thinking, it wasn’t pleasant. You reached over and hooked your arm with hers.

He looked between the two of you. “Say have you two ever been to a lock-in?”

“A l-lock-in?” Sookie stuttered out.

You gave your brightest, fakest smile and channeled your inner Sookie. “Not since I was a kid. Gosh, those were good times.”

“Well, we’d love to have you join us,” Steve offered.

Whatever he was up to, Sarah didn’t like it if her body language was anything to go by.

Sookie tugged at your arm. “We should go home and get our stuff so we can do the lock-down.”

You looked down to cover your smirk. They were definitely behind Godric’s disappearance then. You understood Sookie wanting to get out of here, if she’d confirmed that, but in all honesty you were the best option for getting Godric out of here without causing a scene.

“You have plenty of time. The lock-inisn’t until tomorrow. Besides, we haven’t finished the tour yet,” Steve said.

“You wanted to see me?” a voice interrupted and Sarah only looked more concerned. A large bald man came to stand by the Newlins. He was obviously their muscle.

“Oh good. Heidi, Sylvia, I’d like you to meet Gabe, one of my aides,” Steve introduced.

Gabe shook your hands while running his gaze over both of you. He licked his lips and you wanted to kick him in the nuts. Maybe later. It would give you something to look forward to.

“Gabe will be joining us for the rest of the tour,” Steve said, patting the other man on the back.

The tour continued far longer than necessary. “I’m sorry but we need to be going. I don’t like to be out after dark,” you said.

“Oh there’s just one more thing I want to show you. It’s a very special part of the tour. Most people don’t get to see it. My father’s tomb.” He sounded entirely too happy about that.

“Steve, are you sure?” Sarah asked.

“Absolutely.”

“I just don’t see why we need to go down there.”

“Not to be rude but I really don’t want to see someone’s grave,” you said.

Steve looked at you. “You have to see it. You can really feel his spirit down there. It’s the cornerstone our church is built on.” He opened a door that led down a steep set of stairs. Creepy basement. Check. And probably no windows. Perfect place to keep a vampire.

Sookie grasped your arm. “Sylvia?”

“What’s the matter?” Steve asked.

“She’s a little claustrophobic,” you lied.

“Well, at least take a little looksee so you can say you saw everything and you can make an informed decision,” the reverend argued.

“But we’ve already decided to go here so I don’t think it’s necessary,” Sookie said, her voice shaking. “We should go, Sylvia.”

“No,” Steve said. “Gabe!” Steve dived for Sookie and Gabe came after you. He grabbed you from behind, crossing his arms over the front of you, copping a cheap feel as he did so. Fucker. Irritation and Anger flooded through you and you knew Eric would pick up on it. He wouldn’t give you long before he came in after the two of you.

It wouldn’t take much for you to get free and to free Sookie as well, but you wouldn’t get a better opportunity to explore the basement. You feigned fighting and let the asshole carry you down the stairs with a firm grip on your breast.

You heard Sookie fighting behind you. “A little help, Gabe. I think the fucking banger’s on V,” Steve yelled.

“Quit fighting, Heidi. You’ll only get hurt,” you called and heard the commotion die down. At least she trusted you enough to do what you said.

They carried the two of you into a storage cage and locked you in after taking Sookie’s purse and searching both of you. As soon as they were out of sight and you heard the door shut upstairs, Sookie turned to you. “I sure as hell hope you have a plan because that Gabe guy is a total asshole.”

You hummed in agreement and pulled your lockpicking tools from your hair. They looked like barrettes and bobby pins to the untrained eye. “My plan is to find Godric before Eric gets here to rescue us.”

“You seem sure he’ll come,” she said, sounding surprised.

“I am. And if he doesn’t, I’ll get us out. Don’t worry about it.” You moved over to the gate to see the best way to go about getting the two of you out. The chain link configuration complicated things a bit but you’d figure it out.

“You’re always so sure about things. I wish I was like that.”

“A little bit of uncertainty makes life exciting,” you said with a grin before grabbing the gate and shaking it to see how sturdy it was. Keeping your grip you leaned against it. “Little god, little god, it’s time to go home,” you said in a singsong voice. Godric would hear you if he was anywhere in the basement.

“Little god?”

“Long story,” you assured her and shook the gate again. “Good news, the gate is designed to keep people out, not in. Also good news, I’m not completely human.”

“What’s the bad news?” she asked.

“This will be loud.” Unfortunately, the only top to the cage was the ceiling so there was nothing above you to grab onto. Instead, you grabbed onto the chain link beside the gate and used it to swing your body at an angle so your feet hit right where the lock was. You repeated the action two more times before dropping down so you could check the lock.

“Little god, I’m not leaving without you. I know you like me too much to let me die,” you said distracted as your focus was on the gate. You’d definitely done some damage but you decided to keep your feet on the ground and see what kind of damage side kicks could do.

After the second kick, you heard the door upstairs open. “What’s going on down there?” Gabe. Good.

“Nothing,” you called back even as you kicked again and the lock gave way. You grabbed the gate and pulled it shut as his feet thundered down the stairs.

He glared at the two of you before finally settling on you. You had no idea what Sookie looked like behind you but you were giving your best evil grin. “What are you up to, you little bitch?”

“That’s no way to talk to a lady,” you taunted, waiting for him to get closer.

“You’re not a lady,” he said. “You’re just some vampire’s whore.” He licked his lips and looked you over again as he pulled keys from his pocket. When he caught sight of the lock, he frowned and moved forward, “What the hell?”

Once he was within striking distance, you slammed the gate forward so it cracked him in the head and shoved him back. You didn’t give him time to recover before you attacked with punches and kicks. He got a couple of hits in as he tried to take you down. To regain the upper hand. But you weren’t about to let that happen. Finally, you got in position to put your arm around his neck. You kept the hold up until he dropped to his knees. When you would have continued until he quit breathing, a hand dropped on your shoulder.

“Enough.”

You looked to Godric. He wasn’t your sire. You had no loyalty to him, but he was a friend. You released Gabe and took a step back. Your gaze ran over the little god. Other than being paler than usual, he looked good. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. That was all the invitation you needed to wrap your arms around him.

He returned the hug. He moved his nose near your neck and inhaled. “You smell like my child.”

“Mates.”

He held you at arms length and looked at you in surprise. “He’ll come for you then. Not that he wouldn’t have anyway.”

“Oh, yeah. I figure we’re about out of time.” You gestured to the cage. “Godric, meet Sookie. Sookie, Godric.”

Sookie gave him a smile and a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”

His mouth set in a firm line and his gaze settled on you. “You brought a human with you to rescue me?”

“She’s a little something else, if that makes you feel any better.”

“Not particularly, no. Especially considering what this one would have done had you not been who you are,” he gestured at Gabe.

“Speaking of, you should let me kill him. He groped me.” Reminded of the earlier incident you moved over to the prone form and nudged him so he was laying on his back. Then you kicked him in the balls as hard as you could. “Asshole.”

Godric’s lips twitched. “Feel better?”

“Much.” Sounds of a fight came from upstairs. “Eric.”

“Yes. I am here, my child. Down here.”

In a flash Eric was there. He stopped in front of you first, holding your arms as he looked you over. “I’m fine.”

He nodded once before turning to his maker. “Godric,” he said almost reverently before kneeling in front of him.

The moment was interrupted by Sookie’s laughter. The three of you turned your attention to her. She had a hand over her mouth as she tried to quiet herself. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s just Eric is all respectful and kneeling while you hugged him and called him little god. It’s just funny.”

Eric got to his feet and gave you a look. “Of course, you did.”

“What? Godric likes my hugs.”

[roger-that-cap]

weatherman

at first, you loved the words on your body that connected you to your soulmate, your one and only. but the older you got, the more annoying and mocking they became. what weirdo sings rhianna when they first meet their soulmate, anyway?

steve rogers x fem!reader

soulmate au!

word count: 1.7k, she’s a baby :,)

warnings: none besides the fact that this was written in an hour and a half, flufff!

By the time you were old enough to read, the song wasn’t out yet. At the time, you had no idea it was a song, of course, and the words were still cute. It sounded like you had a sweet soulmate. You thought of your soulmate coming to you in a million different ways in your imaginative little brain every single time it rained.

But when you were eight years old, the song came out. And then, you were teased for your words relentlessly. They started to hum the song when you walked by. Someone drew you a picture of a raindrop. One kid was even bold enough to laugh right in your face and tell you that Rihanna herself was your soulmate.

And every morning, you would turn on your side, lift your arm up, and look at the words inscribed in semi-neat cursive, your soulmate’s writing.

You can stand under my umbrella

Who even said that? It was so… cheesy. As the years went by, you doubted that it was rain at all that made the words come out of your soulmate’s mouth. By the time you were in high school, you were certain that it was a pick up line. You no longer longingly stared at every rain shower that happened.

Even though you had a certain, tiny disdain for whoever was behind the words, you knew that you missed them in a way that you didn’t understand fully yet. Perhaps the reason was that everyone else around you was happy with their other halves, living perfect lives with the person destined for them, but you knew that wasn’t their fault that you didn’t have yours. By the end of high school, most people already met their soulmates. You didn’t have yours yet, and it was your second year of college. Naturally, you started to worry.

What if they didn’t exist at all?

The possibility of not having a soulmate and just having filler words in the form of a Rihanna song plagued you every day, and the thought only got stronger when it rained. When you were younger, rain meant good luck, and it was your comfort weather. Now, all it brought was the cold and negative thoughts.

§§

It was your lucky day, because it was quite literally pouring while you served the drenched customer her coffee. You watched her yank the door open and rush towards her car through the glass windows, and you swore under your breath when you remembered something.

Your car was in the shop, and you were supposed to be walking home from work. That meant walking home in the torrential downpour.

You sighed and shook your head, leaning over the counter and already anticipating getting ultimately drenched on your short walk home.

Your boss let you go home early and started closing shop, and you didn’t know if you wanted to thank her or send her the bird for not letting you wait out the storm. She had never let you go home early before, not once in the entire history of you working there. It was unusual. You had full intentions of asking her if she had a hot date, but she started to turn off the lights before you could ask her what made her want to do something nice for once.

You shook your head again as you realized that you didn’t even have a hood or jacket or even worse, and umbrella. You sighed and braced for the cold, yanking the door open and folding your arms, pushing through the uncomfortable feeling of the cold, wet rain with your head down.

You got caught at a crosswalk and had to watch cars fly by. Of course you did. There were footsteps behind you, and you sighed and regretted the second that you stomped your foot, looking up to the sky and letting the rain hit you right in the face. “This is the worst fucking day of my life.”

There was a gasp from beside you and you didn’t even open your eyes. You assumed that whoever it was, was offended by your language. “Sorry,” you said, but you didn’t sound apologetic at all.

Someone cleared their throat from beside you, and you turned your head to the side to see a handsome blonde man with a dark blue umbrella and a pink flush on his face smiling at you, already moving the umbrella your way. Your heart raced. This couldn’t be it. Was it? Your hands were suddenly shaky as you waited for the man to say something, anything. No, not anything, you were waiting to hear the predestined offer (or pickup line) that you now loved again.

“Here,” the man said, and the sound of rain hitting the roof of the umbrella was almost as empty as you felt in the moment. You mustered up a smile at him and said a small thank you, trying to mask the disappointment that came with being so close meeting your soulmate after all.

The man held the umbrella for as long as he walked in the same direction as you, and then he apologized for not being able to hold it for you any longer. “It’s alright, thank you” you said, and hoped that the sound of the pounding rain was enough to hide the tremor in your voice. You were not about to cry.

You went to stand under the roof of a building on the side of it, hoping that the wave of rain would be over in a few minutes. It was better than running for two minutes, you supposed. You saw another blonde man with large strides walk past, with an even darker blue umbrella in his hand, and he was dry.

You groaned. “How am I the only one who didn’t know about the rain?”

The man stopped in his tracks and turned around, looking at you with wide, blue eyes as you stood nonchalantly under the roof, arms crossed and still a little hurt after the universe teasing you with the first umbrella man. When all he did was stare at you, you have him a harsh look and looked away. Staring men always meant trouble, and the meaner you were, the faster they would leave you alone.

“You can stand under my umbrella,” the handsome man said, and slowly, your head turned back his way. Your eyes locked again, and it was your turn to stare like an idiot. “I-I mean, if you want to.”

You leaned off of the wall of the building and took a step towards him. “Did you really just say that?”

A grin lit up on his beautiful face, and you already decided that his smile was your favorite thing on earth. Screw churros from the fair. “Depends, did you just say something about being the only one who didn’t know about the rain?”

You threw yourself into his arms, and he nearly dropped the umbrella just to hold you. His embrace was warm and strong, and he used just enough pressure for you to feel he was there. “I didn’t think you were real.”

It truly did felt surreal. You were in your soulmate’s arms after all that time wondering, worrying, and losing sleep, and now it all felt like it was going to be alright. You could see the happiness in you near future coming your way, the questions and the subtle and uncontrollable bitterness towards others fading away quickly. You already held this man high in your mind, and just like that, he was a priority. And you didn’t even know his name yet.

Instead of asking him for the name that you so desperately wanted to know or saying any of the cheesy words swirling around in your mind, you decided to talk about the words. “Because, who quotes Rihanna?”

“Who doesn’t look at the weather before leaving the house?” He retorted, pulling back a bit to study your face. You were glad that he was able to do it, because you discovered that his face was just as comforting as the warmth of his arms.

“Shut up, weatherman.”

He smiled down at you, blue eyes giving you a fond look that only soulmates could give each other after meeting so suddenly. He poked you right on your nose, a fluttering touch that made your heart skip a few beats.

“I can walk you wherever you need to go.” Your heart warmed at his kindness. It turned out the younger you that hoped that your soulmate was a sweetheart was right, after all.

“No, it’s okay, it’s probably out of your way,” you said anyway, disregarding the way the inner you was screaming at the part of you that had control over your mouth.

“I’m not even supposed to be all the way over here right now, and I think I already missed my appointment.”

“Where are you supposed to be?”

“The barbershop.”

You frowned at him. The barbershop was all the way on the other side of town, and he didn’t seem like he was lost. “How’d you find yourself over here?”

He paused for a second, like he was debating on whether or not to tell the truth. “Something told me to walk this way.”

You could have fallen apart, and you believed that without even knowing you, he would have known how to put you back together again. “Looks like you listened,” you breathed out, in awe of the man before you, who was staring at you with the same look of bewilderment.

“How could I not?” He took one of your hands in his after asking for permission with his eyes, and you felt the tingling build up at the connection. “I’m Steve.”

You told him your name, and he repeated it once, and then twice, and then a smile was on his face, like that was the one word he needed to hear. You resisted the urge to touch his face now that you could see the subtle stubble growing in. “Don’t wear it out, weatherman.”

You took a step forward, and his long legs only took half of his normal stride to match up with you. He walked you home while you talked about anything and everything with him, every now and again talking about the words on your respective wrists and how glad you were that you found each other.

It felt so right.

You met him the next day at the park, and it was as sunny as it could be. He was carrying a tackily designed gift bag that he put red tissue paper in, and from then on, you knew he was a big goof. He handed you the bag with a huge, dopey smile on his face, and you cackled when you opened it.

It was an umbrella, an poncho, and a copy of Weather for Dummies.

******

omg omg not my first soulmate au lmao and many more to come in different shapes and sizes bc-

i’m obsessed

hope y’all liked it!!! <3

[mrkcore]

𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 - 𝐧.𝐣𝐦

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: na jaemin x f!reader

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: jaemin as DC’s nightwing/dick greyson, hero!jaemin

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: you’re the one picking him up, piece by piece, even when you’re gone.

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: angst, fluff

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): profanity, character deaths, blood, gun use

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 5.3k (woopwoop!)

𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨: ghost of you - 5sos, lie to me - 5sos, woke up in japan - 5sos, want you back - 5sos, more - 5sos, better man - 5sos, moving along - 5sos, thin white lies - 5sos, red desert - 5sos, lonely heart - 5sos, high - 5sos (just me being 5 seconds of summer trash)

𝐚/𝐧: part of @nct-writers​ collab, the heartbreak hotel (this is probably the longest fic i’m ever going to write, so pls gimmie feedback i will love you forever)

“imagine you're watching a runaway trolley barreling down the tracks straight towards five workers who you do not know and can't escape. you happen to be standing next to a switch that will divert the trolley onto a second track. here's the problem. that track has a worker on it, too, just one, but they’re not a stranger. what do you do? do you sacrifice that one person to save five?”

jaemin regrets being the hero in the story. 

jaemin regrets everything.

he constantly ponders the situation playing out where he wasn’t the protagonist. people have always said, “a hero would sacrifice you to save the planet, but a villain would sacrifice the planet to save you”. jaemin always thought that was bullshit, but now he knows the despairing truth. 

he regrets, he regrets, he regrets. but regret won’t bring you back.

you seemed so sure when you told him to let you go and it’d be okay, it wasn’t his fault. how was it so easy for you to think and say that? not his fault? he was basically the reason you’re dead. he just found you after so many years, now you’re gone again; but this time, it’s for real, forever.

jaemin remembers the cold tiny room he was forced to sleep in with the other children in the circus. 

it was a nightmare every single day. with kids screaming, singing, laughing, and running around the room, nobody could get any sleep. what made it worse was that jaemin had no one to talk to. 

none of the other boys liked him, being handsome, dubbed the “face of haly’s circus”, always talking behind your back how the boss always favoured him because he was bringing so many more views in. girls swarming around jaemin ever since him and his parents ever joined, it was so obvious that he was the most popular. jaemin never liked the attention, he was only trying to survive after all.

then, you arrived. 

y/n, the confounding witch, they called you. 

conjuring up little tricks for audience members, brewing up drinks to transform participants into different species of animals, and controlling birds in cages were only a few acts you could do.

the first day boss introduced you to everyone, you seemed so bright and excited to be joining. your unique eye smile, bubbly personality, and caring nature drew jaemin to you. he’s seldomly trying to calm the younger kids down so everyone can rest, but your patience and compassion towards the kids were something they weren’t used to, and eventually caved in.

soon, it became quieter in that god awful room jaemin always dreaded. but jaemin's heart beat louder in his chest than ever.

jaemin was never one to show off. like we established before, the attention jaemin got was not appreciated by him. except, it became different when you arrived.

he was constantly trying to impress you, sway you, hoping the things he did for the crowds of girls that rushed to buy tickets to see him, would work for you too.

however, that was just his wishful thinking.

you were unlike any of the interactions jaemin had with the opposite gender. you were confident, yet humble, witty, intelligent, and easy-going. he is constantly flustered whenever he is engaging in a conversation with you, but tries to act nonchalant whenever he knows you’re nearby.

after shows, girls screamed and bolted towards the entrance where jaemin stood for exit duty, to say goodbye to patrons. he’d always try to be paired with you for it, trying to make you jealous. 

but of course that never happened. jaemin would always be trampled by his enthusiastic female supporters, as surges of them stopped to interact with him. flirting with them all at the same time, they all swooned over your charms. he’d always see you giggle, laughing at his bursts of confidence he’d never have with you by yourselves. 

this continued for a year, until one day, you let something slip.

“ladies, ladies, i’m so glad you could join us for today.” jaemin smiled at the groups in front of him, glancing at you walking an elderly couple out of the tent. “make sure to take good care of yourselves, wouldn’t want anything happening to any of you sweet gals.” and cue the squeals. 

“hope you had fun pretty boy.” you directed to him calmly, as you walked back into the circus. jaemin’s head snapped to stare at your back. he’s stunned, did you just call him a “pretty boy”? 

remembering that the crowd in front of him was still there, he reacted quickly.

“i guess it’s time for me to go, i’ll catch you lovely girls at my next show, i hope.” he leaves with a wink, following your path straight towards you. 

finding you in your little assigned room, jaemin barged in, gaze fixated right on you, not even thinking what to say.

“oh, jaemin, hey.” you say, not even batting an eye, you’re focused on the book in your hands. “what’s up?”

“you called me pretty boy.” he breathed out. 

“yeah i did,” you’re still not paying attention to him. “what about it?”

“you think i’m pretty?” jaemin is suddenly very close to you, his hand caressing your face, lifting your line of sight up to meet his gaze. 

his eyes are sparkling, cheeks a slight tint of pink, with a look of determination. of course you thought he was pretty, anyone who said otherwise would either be lying, or have never seen his gorgeous face.

jaemin must’ve been acting impulsively, because when he realized how close he was to your face, he immediately pulled back.

“i am so sorry,” he says in disbelief. “i don’t know what came over me.”

“it’s okay,” you smile at him, grabbing his hand to where it was before. “i liked it.”

jaemin is flustered again, standing completely frozen as he admires your face up close. 

you’re breathtakingly beautiful. he’s known that you were attractive, but this just created even more butterflies in his stomach. 

“and yes, i do think you’re pretty.” you wink at him.

and that’s where it started.

you and jaemin started spending time together more.

jaemin was still a bit nervous and frenzied at the beginning, but that melted away, and his flirty, outgoing, and annoyingly confident side was revealed to you.

you were also quite popular amongst the other boys in the circus, so when you two were seen more frequently together, they started spreading rumours about jaemin to get you two away from each other.

“oh jaemin’s just trying to use them.”

“jaemin thinks after getting with them, he’s going to cross all of the names off his list.”

“he’s such a player, y’n’s too good for him.”

of course you’d hear them more often than him, the guys would always say these kinds of things around you.

but you know they’re just trying to stir up trouble. so you ignore them. 

just like how jaemin ignores the talk about you amongst his female supporters.

“she’s trying to take him away from us.”

“he’s not as happy anymore.”

“she thinks she’s all that, he’s probably just a new notch in her belt.”

of course jaemin would never listen to them. they’d never know about the secrets you had together, sneaking out of your rooms and sitting on the roof at night stargazing, your note exchanging, late night talks; they knew none of that. 

“i wish things weren’t like this,” you sighed, leaning on his shoulder as you two look at the early sunrise. “i wish we could be free and do whatever we want. this is so unfair.”

jaemin has never really thought about that. every day, his head was flooded with you. but now he thinks about it, it truly was unfair.

jaemin wishes he could take you on on real dates, take you on meaningful trips to explore the rest of the world. not hidden in this awful place where you could barely talk to each other in public. jaemin wishes he could give you more.

“it’s not your fault nana,” you look up at him like you’ve read his mind and know he’s overthinking. “there’s nothing you can do.”

“yeah,” jaemin exhales. “i know.” he tries to smile when you reach up to caress his face, you look at him with so much fondness, jaemin’s worries are almost all blown away. but you know he’s going to be pondering about this for the next week.

“maybe this just how it’s meant to be, our wicked fate.”

but all the gossip got to the point where the boss heard about it, and asked you guys to talk in his office.

“i think we should end it here.” you say one night on the roof, seemingly out of the blue.

“what?” jaemin is speechless, where did that come from? did he hear you wrong?

“he literally asked us to talk,” you’re facing the ground, not even daring to look at him. “it’s serious this time.”

“so you’re going to just throw all of this away?” jaemin asks, slightly furious. “just because of what a bunch of losers are saying?”

“it’s for the best,” you’re still not looking at him. “for the both of us.”

when you finally do look up to see jaemin’s reaction, you see tears in his eyes and you wish you hadn’t looked up.

“fine, if that’s what you want.” jaemin turns around and walks away, breaking that silence.

but what jaemin didn’t know was that it broke your heart to pieces. it took you so much courage to break it off with him, but in the end, you knew what boss haly was capable of. you needed to protect him, so if this is how it needed to go, it’s for the best.

the meeting the next day went smoothly, it was easy for both of you to deny everything since jaemin was giving you the cold shoulder. you didn’t need to pretend. it was for the sake of the both of you.

after the meeting, you didn’t get the chance to talk to jaemin as he rushed to get ready for his special act today. but it’s not like he would listen to you anyways, you couldn’t blame him.

you felt the aura of the circus today, it felt off. very off. 

maybe it was because you were so shaken by you and jaemin's fight. maybe it was nothing, and you were just overreacting. everything was probably fine.

except it wasn’t.  

as all of the spectators settled into their seats, when you tried to peak through the curtain to see the turnout, and as expected, it was packed.

but something catches your eye. a black raven flies in, the ambience in the tent suddenly changes so fast if gives you whiplash. this isn’t good. this isn’t good at all. something bad is going to happen, really bad. 

you’ve never seen that bird in your entire life, and it suddenly hits you.

someone is going to die tonight.

you pray and pray it’s going to be fine, but the unsettling energy gets to you. you need to tell someone.

“jaemin, jaemin!” you call out to him. he turns around, but when he sees you, his face turns sour. your heart sinks, but what you’re about to tell him is more important, so you brush it away.

“what do you want.” he snarls, you gulp back a sob. 

“something bad’s going to happen, i can feel it.” tears are threatening to spill out of you eyes. “someone’s going to die, and i don’t know what to do.”

“oh, so now you care?” jaemin rolls his eyes. “are you jealous that it’s my show tonight and all of those girls front row are here to see me and think they have a chance with me?” you’re shocked by his words, your eyes are wide. you never thought he was capable of saying something like that. “you’re just a little witch, and it’s all just an act. let it go.” tears stream down your face as jaemin huffs and walks away, strutting into the crowd as the ringmaster announces their act: “the flying greysons!”.

and jaemin was wrong. you were right. something awful happened that day.

jaemin watches helplessly as his parents’ high wires snaps and they pummel to their death. 

you were right. and he couldn’t do anything about it.

jaemin runs away that night as he leaves you in that horrible place by yourself, and you never see him again.

and here jaemin is. 10 years after the incident, a college student by day, leader of a crime fighting superhero team by night.

after the incident of his parents’ death, mr. jung jaehyun finds him on his path. crying, sobbing, and vulnerable. jaehyun takes jaemin in under his wing. providing him shelter, food, and as much support as he could. jaemin slowly realized jaehyun’s second identity: batman. 

jaemin has heard of jaehyun’s street name. but he’d never thought that he’d meet him in real life, and batman would be someone so similar to him. jaehyun saw a reflection of his younger self, the grief of losing your parents, the reality check of the world being a cruel place at a young age, he didn’t want jaemin to spiral in the same way he did. 

so even though jaemin lived a life of normalcy, his past never stopped coming back to haunt him. 

especially you.

jaehyun dug up some information about the circus, and piles and piles of their dark secrets were revealed. so did the truth of jaemin’s parents’ deaths too. how a well-known and feared crime-lord, threatened the circus unless the owner paid extortion money. boss haly refused, and that night someone messed with the equipment for the performance, resulting in the catastrophe. 

you were right all along, and jaemin didn’t listen to you. it was his fault, everything was his fault.

he even left you there by yourself, all alone, and he never got to say goodbye. oh how wishes he could see you one last time, and say all those things he wanted to these years. 

nightmares woke him throughout elementary school, middle school, high school, and even sometimes during his college time.

the same dream over and over, you reaching your hand out for jaemin to grab and save, but he’s too far away. and you fade away. 

inspired by what jaehyun did to help him, jaemin started to do the same. 

with a bunch of lost and uncared for young kids in new york, jaemin took them under his wing like jaehyun did with him.

with help from trusted individuals he met on the street, mark, renjun, jeno, and haechan, they started to take care of chenle and jisung full time. getting them off the street, given proper shelter, food, water, clean clothes, and access to education, this was the start of the dreamies. 

today was the same as any other.

jaemin’s philosophy and law studies class has just finished up and he’s walking to his favourite cafe to finish up some work.

“jaemin?” he hears a familiar voice behind him. 

he turns around and sees you. you haven’t changed a bit, still as homely and comforting as he can remember.

is he in a dream right now? how is this possible? 

“oh gosh, it really is you.” you laughed, the same laugh you had. jaemin feels this unknown warmth and reassurance with you here, like a weight has just been lifted off his shoulders.

“y/n.” he finally speaks. your eyes glimmer, looking at him affectionately.

“yep, right here in the flesh.” jaemin starts tearing up. “oh you big baby, why are you crying?”

jaemin pulls you in as he hugs your waist.

surprised by his emotional state, you were going to speak up again. but you choose not to. standing there, a bit awkwardly, stroking his soft hair, embracing him.

and you’re back. 

jaemin learns that you recently moved to new york city recently for your journalist job position, and you’re looking for a place to move in to.

he’s quick to offer his place, even though he’s still in college, his apartment is big enough for two people.

“are you sure?” you’re hesitant to accept his suggestion. “i don't want to be a big burden. you’re probably really busy as a student.”

“no, i’m fine.” he responds, enthusiastically. “my schedule is pretty much free since i’m third year now.”

and you accept. saying you’re only going to crash for a while until you found another place.

cherishing the time you had together, during the day, jaemin went to his lectures while you went to work, but when you got home, you did everything together. to the point where jaemin barely saw the dreamies, his crime-fighting crew.

staying up to watch the stars and sunrise, talking and laughing until your eyes were threatening to close. conversing about literally anything. 

but as time went by, you noticed that jaemin didn’t really want to talk about what happened back at the circus. you understood since he lost his parents that night, but he never asked you about how you left and ended up in new york. but you don’t push it, you understand that it’s a rough patch in both of you guys’ lives. 

“do you have anything that you regret?” you ask one night, you truly were just curious.

“not listening to you that night.” he says, monotone. “and leaving you by yourself at the circus when i ran away.”

“jaemin…” you start, but no words leave your mouth.

“fuck!” jaemin abruptly exclaims, mood crashing, turning furious. “it’s all that bastard haly’s fault.”

you shouldn’t have asked.

“if he didn’t make that fucking circus, everything would have been fine! it’s his fault, all his fault, i’m going to get revenge and kill that son-of-a-bitch one day!” he’s yelling now. “we could have met in normal circumstances, we could’ve gotten married, created a family, enjoyed life like all of these snarky city folk. why?”

you wipe the tears that are rolling down his face as he turns to cry in your chest. 

“i’m sorry i brought this up.” you pat his head as his sobs turn into soft snores, head in your lap. “maybe this just how it’s meant to be, our cruel fate.” 

it’s been a year now. it doesn’t seem like you’re moving out anytime soon, but jaemin’s not complaining. he loves having you here, you’ve become a standard part of his day. 

with jaemin more adapted to your appearance, he has started to become more involved with the dreamies.

helping 10-15 kids each month, the squad has advanced to milestones jaemin never thought it’d be at. he is so thankful to have the group and you there supporting him.

you’ve even discussed marriage. 

“y/n na has a nice ring to it, y’know.” jaemin beams.

“you’re such a softie.” you giggle out, but jaemin knows you like it. 

jaemin knows you want to wait until you have a stable job and when he graduates, but the thought always makes him elated. 

“what song would you play for our first dance at out wedding?” he asked one morning, waking up to the sun shining heavenly on you.

“hmm,” you grin. “best part, daniel caesar, h.e.r.”

“you’re perfect.” jaemin kisses your face as you cuddle into his warm chest.

imagining you in a white dress, walking up to the alter on your wedding day, saying your vows, slow dancing. you’re the only person jaemin has visioned a future with, and the only person jaemin wants a future with. 

the next day, you agree to slow dance with him in the living room.

jaemin is on cloud nine.

but like the old saying, all good things must come to an end. 

it’s been 5 years now.

jaemin comes home one night to the apartment door open, which is really unusual.

jaemin thinks it might be a robbery, but nothing is stolen, the apartment looked the same as it was when he left this morning.

but you’re nowhere to be found. jaemin isn’t panicked, maybe you went on a walk and forgot to close the door–

there’s a note on the dining room table.

“meet me on the top of the empire state building to see y/n, if you bring someone else, it’ll be for the last time.”

what is that supposed to mean?

was it one of the dreamies’ past enemies trying to get back at them? 

nonetheless, jaemin is bolting out the door.

when he gets there, he sees the dreamies tied up, sitting and struggling at the feet of someone jaemin never thought he’d see ever again. c.c. haly, the owner of haly’s circus jaemin escaped a whole decade ago.

haly smirks as he sees jaemin approaching, but jaemin is scowling. 

“what are you doing here?” jaemin snaps out, carefully advancing.

“i’m here to finish what you started.” haly says.

“how did you even find me?” jaemin snarls, stopping a fair distance between him and haly. “how did you find my friends?”

unexpectedly, haly starts to cackle loudly at his questions. turning around to reveal someone who has been absent, someone jaemin would never have thought of.

you. 

jaemin’s mind is internally crashing. why are you with haly? what is going on?

“y/n, do you want to explain to our dear jaemin here what’s going on?” haly finds so much amusement playing with you both, watching this event unfold.

“jaemin, i’m so sorry.” your lips are trembling, tears are starting to flood your vision.

“so it was all a lie?” jaemin can’t believe it. “everything that happened this year, it was just you building up to just stab me in the back?”

“i did it to protect you.” you’re sobbing hard now.

“save it.” jaemin cuts you off, now focusing on haly. “what do you want.”

“i want you dead.” haly says, blankly. 

“so what’s the deal.” the dreamies’ mouths were duct taped, but their muffled cries can still be heard.

haly is howling again.

“i get to kill you,” haly grins sinisterly. “and i let y/n and your little friends free.”

“if jaemin says yes, let me say one last thing to him.” your crying has stopped. “it’s the least you can do.”

jaemin is confused. are you just offering him up to haly with no fight? what are you thinking?

you look at him with pleading eyes, asking him to trust you. 

the same eyes he saw that day his parents died, and he knows to trust you.

“okay,” jaemin states boldly. “i say yes. now let y/n talk to me.”

haly is stunned. how did you convince jaemin to agree so quick? maybe haly was right to use you this time. the least he could do is to let jaemin and you have time to still pretend to be in love. so haly allows you to walk up to jaemin to talk.

“y/n, what are you doing.” jaemin whispers frantically.

“trust me, trust me this time.” you glance at him with weary eyes. “when i’m walking back to haly, when i signal to you, i want you to grab your friends and run. can you do that for me?” 

“what?” jaemin tries not to react to much that haly catches on, but do you hear what you’re suggesting? “you want me to just leave you here again?”

“jaemin listen to me, i’ll be fine. trust me.”

and you turn around, not letting jaemin respond.

there’s nothing he can do but go along with your plan.

and when you signal to him behind your back, jaemin grabs the dreamies and drags them away. everything is a whirlwind and happens in a flash. jaemin looks back and you’re struggling trying to get the gun out of haly’s hand. 

you notice jaemin stopping.

“jaemin, fucking RUN.” you scream at him.

there’s nothing he can do. and he hates himself that he got himself in this situation again. so he runs again, like the coward he is.

jaemin runs, because literally the dreamies’ lives are depending on him. when he gets them to safety, when he unties jeno, jeno pushes him towards where they came from.

“go.” jeno is huffing trying to catch his breath after removing the duct tape off his mouth. “i’ll untie everyone else, go get her.”

jaemin looks at jeno, and turns back for you.

when jaemin arrives back at the scene, you’re on the ground. he runs panic-stricken to you, finding you bleeding out really hard. 

“y/n? y/n, y/n please, are you okay?” he’s shaking you, distraught seeing you in this state.

“jaemin, i’m okay.” you say, barely any breath left in you. “i have the gun here, haly is behind the big box over there.”

“y/n, what are you talking about, we need to get you to the hospital.” jaemin tries to pick you up but you don’t allow him.

“use the gun and kill him.” you mutter out, quieter than before. “it’s what you wanted, jaemin. and he’ll be gone.” you’re smiling softly just thinking about it.

“y/n, are you insane? you’re going to die i could care less about haly, i’m taking you to the hospital–”

“jaemin let me go.” you mumble, stroking his cheek while you’re examining his pretty face for the last time. “it’ll be okay, it’s not your fault.”

“y/n…” jaemin’s tears are staining his shirt as he holds you tightly, trying to preserve your life.

“i love you, na jaemin.” a tear falls from your dazed gaze and trickles down your cold face. “i’m sorry that this is how it’s meant to be, our cruel fate.”

and you’re gone. 

jaemin screams. tears dripping down his face, he picks up the gun beside you and storms towards haly.

he’s basically sitting in a pool of his own blood and has no strength to get up anymore.

“is little greyson here to get revenge for his parents and little witch y/n?” he cackles even in the last moments of his life.

“yeah i am, they didn’t die for you to see another day too.”

haly is laughing sadistically again as if jaemin just told a joke, but the laughter subsides after the bullets fire through haly’s limp body. 

and he’s dead too. leaving jaemin alone, again. 

it’s been 2 years since you’ve died.

here he is, waking up. still can’t sleep on your side.

he really can’t sleep on your side, because it reminds him of those times where he woke up to your warm embrace, and now it’s desolately cold.

there’s your coffee cup, the lipstick stain fades with time.

he’s saved everything you had, and hasn’t touched anything. he’s also saved everything you shared, your bed, your apartment, everything. he needs those to remind him of those bittersweet memories of you.

when jaemin was going through your stuff, he finds a piece of paper on your work desk.

my dear jaemin,

when you find this, i’m probably going to be gone. but that’s okay, and i’ll tell you why.

first of all, thank you so much for these past 5 years. thank you for showing me what living life is like, what being a part of a family is like, and what being in love is like. you told me you wished you could give me a normal life, and you really fulfilled your wish. 

you must have so many questions right now, so i’m going to answer them.

i never left haly’s after you ran away. i couldn’t. because he was threatened by so many mobs and gangs everywhere, he had to kill off the other people that were a part of the circus. but he kept me. because i was the key to you. the government started an investigation into him, and he needed to keep a low-profile, but he still was angry that you didn’t die that night too. so he plotted this for years, and i just had to go along with it.

at first, i only agreed because i wanted to see you. i was young and still naive at the time, thinking that he wanted to see you too. but as i got older, i saw what he was planning. he would kill me in front of you and then take you out as well if i didn’t do as he said, so i kept quiet. i really did this to protect you.

i enjoyed every second being with you. you showed me the meaning of life i heard our patrons talk about. you showed me what true love was when i saw those elderly couples walking together as they look at each other adoringly while telling me they’ve been in love and married for decades. if i could choose to stay with you for a lifetime, i would, i would choose it a million times.

but i thought very long about this, and it truly is the only way.

remember when i asked you if you regretted anything that night? you mentioned how you regretted not listening to me, how you left me alone at the circus. and that’s when i realized, it was indeed our cruel fate.

you feel bad for me. you feel bad that you didn’t listen, you feel bad for leaving me at the circus, but it’s been over a decade. i know with me constantly here, you’re never going to stop feeling guilty, you’d never let the past go. we’re too young, too dumb, to know things like love. but i know better now. 

so jaemin, i did what i had to do. the best for the both of us. you got your revenge for your parents, and you’ll stop feeling guilty because i don’t want to hold you back and keep you feeling like this forever. 

i’m sorry jaemin i put you through all of this, and reminder that this is not your fault.

my love, nana, truly, truly, truly, thank you for everything. everything, everything, everything. 

there wasn’t a single day where i stopped wanting you. i want you in the most innocent form, i want to say goodnight to you and give you forehead kisses and say i love you when you feel at your worst. i want you in ways where i just want to be next to you and nothing more or less. i wish i could explain your eyes, oh how i adore your angel eyes, and how the sound of your voice gives me butterflies. how your smile makes my heart skip a beat and how every time i’m with you, i feel so complete. i swear when our lips touched, i could taste the remaining years of my life. i want you to know that when i picture myself happy, it’s with you.

i’ve looked at you in millions of ways, and i have loved you in every way.

but this is how it’s meant to be, our cruel fate.

my pretty boy, i love you forever.

his tears are ruining the page, and jaemin tries to wipe his tears away to save the letter.

when he turns around, he swears he can see you. and he chases it down, with a shot of truth.

maybe if he dreams long enough, you’d tell him he’d be just fine.

walking into the living room, remembering how you guys would slow dance like it was your wedding. your wedding. 

and he drowns it out, like he always does. dancing through your house, with a shot of truth, that his feet don’t dance, like the way they did with you.

jaemin knows your letter was right, he’s going to slowly get better, but he needs some time. meanwhile, he needs something help him cope, to get him by. 

so he’s dancing through your house, with the ghost of you.

©mrkcore, 2021.

[allegra-writes]

"Bad together"

Prologue: Benjamin Reilly

Peter Parker x Reader

General audiences

Warnings: none.

"And if I'm dead to you

Why are you at the wake?

Cursing my name, wishing I stayed"

My tears ricochet - Taylor Swift

"... It's a disaster! Look at her! It's like someone took a look at Black Cat, selected everything that made her sexy and then took it out!"

Black Cat. The name froze the young photographer on his tracks right outside his boss' office. He hadn't heard that name in a long time, the last sighting had been well over a year ago. He would know.  After all, it had been him, the very last person to have seen Felicia Hardy, alive or dead.

"What are you talking about? That looks hot af, not to mention badass!" Jade's persuasive voice reached his ears, making him smirk: It was no secret the chief editor had a soft spot for the young intern. And, on her part, the petite brunette was a firecracker. Poor old Jameson didn't stand a chance. "Come on, dad. Single handedly taking down three of the Kingpin's goons? That's impressive. It deserves to be one of the slides!" 

"Not if we don't get a higher quality picture. That blurry video is good enough for a thumbnail, but not for a slide" Slides were a big deal, they were the Dailybugle.net's equivalent of a front page, and if J. Jonah Jameson took something seriously, it was his web site. He prided himself in the quality of the "receipts" of his "tea", as if that validated the trashiness of the bullshit articles he posted, more fiction from hyper imaginative wannabe writers than serious work from real reporters. 

"Well, then let's get the pictures. Where is that star photographer of yours?" 

The photographer rolled his eyes, typical Jade. As if the queen of cool didn't know his name. As if she hadn't graced his bed a handful of times already. 

"That's a good question. Dolores, get me Reilly!"

"I'm here, Jonah" Ben finally stepped inside the office, throwing an envelope on Jameson's desk before throwing himself on a chair across it. He could feel Jade's eyes on him, almost like a physical caress, trailing from the long, slick back curls on the top of his head, to the muscles of his arms, threatening to rip open the seams at the sleeves of his white t-shirt, to his jean clad thighs. Still, he didn't turn to look at her, refusing to give her the satisfaction. 

"What do you have for me today, boy?"

Ben gesticulated vaguely with his head in the direction of Jade, and Jameson caught the hint. 

"Jade, out!" 

"But, dad, my story!" The petulant reply left her mouth before she could stop it, undoubtedly the product of years of habit. But she had the grace to look embarrassed and leave the office without another word, trying to save whatever professionalism she had left. 

Once she was gone, Jameson opened the envelope, flipping through the various pictures of a masked figure swinging around New York in a black and red suit. 

"Hmmm… these are good" the older man praised, staring at the images of a frustrated robbery at 5th avenue

Ben snifled nocomitically,

"There was a fire at 16th avenue happening at the same time" He offered, "we could use that. Spider-Man forgets his roots and leaves his old neighborhood to fend for itself, running off to save some pretty socialite…"

"Oh, that is excellent! See, this is why I like you, kid. You have initiative. Unlike these snowflakes out there. Oh, but Spider-Man is a hero. Hero, my ass"

"Well, when you watch your so called hero sit back and do nothing as your life gets destroyed" Ben shrugged, "the rose colored glasses tend to fall off…"

Jameson made a face at that,

"Yeah, about that… I'm sorry. For the role the Daily Bugle played on that…"

Ben shook his head, 

"You thought you were getting the truth out there. It's not your fault to have been played, along with half the world. Plus," he added, sounding genuinely enthusiastic, "you gave me this job. And now we can really tell the truth"

"Even when our idea of the truth is somehow different" The older man scoffed, flipping around a picture of Spider-Man sat on what appeared to be a hammock of his own webs, eating a hamburger and reading something that looked suspiciously like a comic book, "Still hung up on that high schooler theory of yours?"

"Well, if it talks like a brat and acts like a brat…" Ben took out another envelope, this time containing a few burger king wrappers and, effectively, a spider-man comic book. 

"Where did you even get these?"

"Harlem" was Ben's curt reply, and Jameson knew that was as exact a location as he was going to get. 

"So you still believe this is a copycat? Some kid playing dress up"

Ben simply shrugged again. 

"Well, there seems to be an epidemic of those lately" Jameson admitted, indicating Ben to come closer, passing a tablet to him, "Jade just handled me this, take a look"

Ben took a deep breath, steeling himself, already knowing what he was going to see in it. Yet, a part of him couldn't help but hope to be wrong. To hope the silver haired figure facing three much bigger, stronger looking ones as he pressed play, wasn't the same one he had spent weeks memorizing last summer. Wasn't the body he had found solace in, when everything fell apart, once again, for the hundredth time in his life. 

To hope it wasn't you. 

But when in his twenty-two or so years of existence, had things ever gone his way? 

Ben felt the screen crack under his fingertips.

"I've heard of her" he lied through his teeth, "didn't even think she was real, to be honest. Extremely elusive, and cunning." That much was true, "I don't understand how something as mundane as a security camera managed to catch her…" 

Unless you wanted to be caught, that was. 

"Well, I don't care if she's the fucking Loch Ness monster, I want an HD picture of her on my desk tomorrow to go with Jade's article. I already have a headline: New Catastrophe Jen wreaks havoc on Hell's Kitchen" Jameson's eyes lit up with glee as he weaved his hands up in the air, like writing on an invisible marquee. 

Ben snorted

"Don't you mean Calamity Jane?"

Jameson's face fell, the color rising to his cheeks, characteristic vein popping on his forehead. 

"I meant what I meant, boy! Now, what are you still doing here? You have 24 hours to get me that picture"

"I'm going to need 72," came Ben's unphased reply, "and I want twice what you pay me for the spidey pics"

Jameson's vein looked about ready to explode,

"48 hours. And deal."

Ben jumped from his seat and bolted out of the office before his boss could change his mind, not realizing until it was too late that he was on a collision course with a sweet looking short haired blonde girl. 

"Watch where you're going! Jeez!"

"Me? You're the one who crashed against me!" 

Ben rolled his eyes, but crouched next to the girl anyway, helping her gather the papers that had been sent flying on impact back together.

"Peter? Oh my god, is that you?"

Of course. What an idiot, he should had recognized that annoying, shrilly voice the second he heard it. It had caught him off guard, something he knew he couldn't afford. But how could he had ever imagine he could run into Betty fucking Brant, Yale cum laude, in the freaking dailybugle.net headquarters of all places?

"Sorry, sweetheart. You must confuse me with someone else…" He mumbled, lowering his head even more in a vain attempt to hide his face.

"Of course not!" She insisted, "You're Peter, Peter Parker, we went to Midtown together!"

"Miss, I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"Don't be silly, Peter!" She chuckled, completely deft to his tone or the way his whole demeanor had changed the second she had called him by the old name. "How have you been? Oh, just wait until I tell Ned, he's going to be so-"

CRACK.

At last, the tablet that had been in peril ever since Jameson had put it in Ben's hands, the one that contained his assignment, met its demise, both broken halves falling to the ground, along with all the papers he had picked up for Betty. It was several moments before he could get the shaking of his hands under control, before the tar black rage inside him subsided enough for him to be able to move without shifting. But it had.

"Peter Parker is dead." He deadpanned, dark brown eyes finally meeting Betty's stunned blue ones, "Tell Ned that, he'll probably be glad to hear it"

With that, he stood up and walked away, leaving a confused and agitated Betty behind. 

To be continued...

[angelikook]

How to Find Your Soulmate

Pairing(s): Non-idol!Namjoon x reader

Genre: Tooth-rotting fluff, teensy bit of angst

Word Count: 10.2k

Warning(s): None

Summary: Where a journey to find his soulmate took a different turn.

A/n I wrote this as a spur in the moment thing, but it surprisingly came out really well.

The familiar sound of keys jiggling from his front door was a sure sign that he was about to lose whatever amount of peacefulness in his tiny apartment. As he braced himself for what was about to come, the door swung open and came in the person he had been waiting for.

Y/n was her name. Peculiar, wild, and random. Her hair basically could represent her entire personality. Unruly, messy, and out of control. She'd been a loner for most of her lifetime. Definitely a big believer in “I’m a strong independent woman who doesn’t need no man”.

It also came as a surprise to Namjoon when he couldn’t help but to be attached to her a long time ago when they were kids. And ever since that, he had gained a new best friend. Or more like the best friend since he didn’t have that many best friends to begin with.

“Joon, let’s go! We have things to do.” Y/n grabbed on his arm and tried to pull him up from his slouched position on his couch. The couch that became worn out so quickly for its rather frequent use whenever he was stressed.

In his defense, it wasn’t his fault that the couch was so comfy.

Failing to pull him up, Y/n groaned in frustration. “Come on! There’s a bazaar downtown that I wanna check. Can’t have me go alone at this time, right?”

“I don’t wanna get up. Let’s just watch Netflix,” he said as he turned on the TV.

Y/n snatched the remote from his hand and turned the TV back off. “Nope. Let’s go. Tomorrow is Saturday anyways, you can watch the TV all you want.”

Namjoon sighed. “What do I get for this?”

Y/n grinned and cupped her cheeks. “You get to spend time with me.”

“Ugh, I don’t want that,” he teased as he pulled himself up from the couch. “I'm tired of seeing your face.”

“You, mister.” She jabbed her finger at him. “Owe me a boba tea, remember? Now is the perfect time to redeem yourself.”

“Remind me not to wake you up again on Sunday mornings.” He shuddered at the memory of seeing bed headed Y/n screaming on top of her lungs, telling him not to wake her up from her beauty sleep or whatever.

“Are you seriously wearing that, though?” he asked as he eyed Y/n’s outfit.

She still wore the same outfit that she had worn since this morning. There was a noticeable coffee stain on her left cufflinks, indicating she probably had bumped her mug with her hand by accident. Her skirt was already crinkled especially on the bottom part. Disclaimer, he totally did not just check her out. Her heels made her feet red and look swollen. They clearly cut off her circulation, but somehow she insisted on wearing them anyways, claiming that she felt sexy and smart and beautiful in them.

“They look uncomfortable,” Namjoon had commented one day after noticing how her heels made Y/n walk weirdly. “Why don’t you just wear sneakers?”

Y/n scoffed, as if what he had said was ridiculous. “Real women don't wear sneakers to work, Joon.”

“Whatever you say, Y/n.” Namjoon had tried hard to stop the urge of rolling his eyes.

Ever since that, he didn’t even want to talk about her heels. “Let her suffer if she wanted that,” he always reminded himself.

Y/n walked to his full-length mirror inside his room and stared at herself. “What’s wrong with this?”

“Just change into more comfortable clothes,” Namjoon said from the living room. “You’d look out of place."

With that, Y/n closed the bedroom door behind her and grumbled. “This is perfectly fine. People do go out after work to a bazaar.”

She actually said more than that. Way more. But at this point, he didn’t even bother to listen to her. It wasn’t like this was his first time ignoring her blabbers. And he was pretty sure she was used to it, too.

Minutes later, Y/n came out to the living room wearing Namjoon’s hoodie and sweatpants. She even managed to find a pair of his sandals that he thought was gone. Sure her outfit now swallowed her, but at least it was more comfortable.

“Alright, let’s go!” was the last thing she said before they left his apartment.

A boba tea and a corn dog later, Namjoon and Y/n were walking aimlessly. They were just following the direction other people were taking, not really sure themselves where they would end up.

“Aren’t you glad I forced you out of that stuffy apartment?”

“Nope. I still rather be on my couch.”

Y/n frowned. “What?” She gestured to their surroundings. “This is so much better.” She saw a small bench and sat on it, gesturing to him to sit beside her. “I think you need to take a breather and just relax, my dude. Whatever problems you have at work, they don’t exist for now.”

“It’s easy for you to say that.”

Y/n slurped hard on her drink, trying to get as many bobas as possible into her mouth. “You-”. Chew. “-think too much-”. Chew. “-of things you can’t-”. Chew. “-control.”

“Okay, finish your drink first. That’s disgusting.”

Y/n laughed while trying to stop her bobas from coming out of her mouth. After succeeding to suppress her laughter, she chewed on the bobas thoroughly before swallowing them.

“You’re an overthinker who misses on great things in life just because you’re too caught up in your problems. And when you realize you missed those things, it’ll be all too late.” Y/n then continued finishing her drink in silence while he was registering what she just said.

He was so focused on his thoughts to the point he didn’t even realize when Y/n had left him to find a trash can. He was only drawn back to reality when Y/n came to him running and yelling his name in excitement.

Y/n spoke in rapid speed to the point she sounded like speaking gibberish. The only thing he heard was “fortune teller” before Y/n yanked on his hand and dragged him to a small kiosk.

The kiosk was mostly empty. No customers were surrounding it unlike other kiosks. But it wasn’t what set it apart from the others. It was the big letters in front of it that read “fortune teller” in big bold text. Inside, there was only one woman sitting, unmoving, seemingly reading something, a book maybe.

Aware of his and Y/n’s presence, the fortune teller looked up from the book and smiled at them both. Unlike what the media portrayed fortune tellers were, that they were scary and mysterious, her smile was warm and friendly.

“Is there something I can do?” The fortune teller closed the book and stood up.

“Yes!” Y/n replied. “My friend here-” She gestured to Namjoon “-wants to know his future.” After a few seconds of pause, she added, “And about his soulmate too, please.”

Before he could respond, the fortune teller beat him to it. “Very well.” The fortune teller cracked her knuckles before staring deep into his eyes. Her gaze somehow made him feel naked, vulnerable.

They hold their gaze for a while. As seconds became minutes, he felt breathless, and hot. The gaze that at first was soft but strong, became sharper and almost felt painful. But not long after, the fortune teller focused back at Y/n who stood still beside him, gawking at her. He could finally let out a breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding.

“From what I can tell, your friend is on the right track. He’s doing well, but he won’t be if he can’t appreciate the simple things in life,” the fortune teller explained. “As for his soulmate, he already knows who they are, he even knows where they are. The only thing left for him to do is just to figure it out within himself.”

The thing was, he didn’t believe in fortune tellers, astrology, and whatnot. He never even cared about things like that. But seeing Y/n’s grin and the glint in her eyes as she thanked the fortune teller and gave her a tip, he didn’t say anything against it. As much as Y/n called him boring, he wasn’t the type to burst people’s bubble of happiness.

Throughout the walk to Y/n’s apartment, she kept talking about what the fortune teller had said.

“Gosh, I can’t believe you know who your soulmate is.” Y/n lightly punched on his arm. “You never tell me anything.”

Namjoon shrugged. “What’s there to talk about? I don’t know who my soulmate is either. I apparently need to figure it out myself.”

“I know what we can do!”

This sounded like he was about to be in for a bad time. “What?”

“Let’s go do something different! Maybe you'll find your revelation or whatever.”

He really wanted to scoff. “How does that even work?”

“Don’t know. But it's worth a try. Do you want to figure out who your soulmate is or not?”

Of course he did. “Of course I do. What kind of question... ”

Y/n clapped her hands together. “Good! Tomorrow I’ll pick you up. Get ready for a week full of surprises.”

“Wait what? I never signed up for this.”

Y/n rolled her eyes. “You did sign up. You said you want to find your soulmate.”

“But not tomorrow!” he raised his voice in frustration. “We have work on Monday.”

“Just call your boss that you’ll be gone for a week.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Dude, bro, my guy, you need to live in the moment. Plus, you haven’t taken a leave in years. Years, Namjoon.”

He inhaled long and hard before exhaling it slowly. His best friend seriously was going to be the death of him.

“Please.” Y/n looked up at him. He suddenly became aware of the massive height difference they had.

It wasn't that Y/n was short. She said it herself that she was the average height although he didn’t really believe that. She just looked so tiny compared to him. But, on the other side, Namjoon was quite tall for a guy around his age.

He groaned. “Ugh, not the puppy eyes. Seriously.”

“Does that mean I win?” There was a soft gleam of hope in her eyes.

Namjoon was a strong man. At least, that was what everyone who knew him had said about him. So it was weird for the always composed and well mannered man to have a weakness. And to have that weakness took in the form of his childhood best friend was even weirder. What in his best friend that didn’t exist in literally anything that could melt his heart like no other? Puppies and kittens could never even compare. His cute bonsais, too, couldn’t even compare.

He might never find the answer to that. Heck maybe he found out about his soulmate before he could answer that. He could only shook his head in disbelief as Y/n put her bunny headband on his hair.

It was Saturday at 8 a.m, the morning after the fortune teller incident. Y/n simply invited herself into his apartment while he was still in the shower. It was one of the things he regretted after giving her the keys to his apartment. It was meant to be used during emergencies, not for her getting all cozy here and thinking this was her place.

He was walking out of the bedroom, fully dressed and ready for the day, when he heard a sizzling sound coming from the kitchen. He stepped closer to the kitchen and as it came into view, he saw Y/n cooking with her back facing him.

He thought he was being quiet, but apparently not because Y/n turned around and greeted him with a beaming smile.

"Morning! I'm making you some omelette and there's coffee on the table." She pointed at the mug on the table with smoke still puffing out of it. "Exactly two teaspoons as you like it." Then she continued cooking as if nothing had happened.

He was speechless as he looked at the mess in his kitchen. Egg shells on the floor, ketchup smeared all over the kitchen counter, and some puddles on the floor could be seen. It was as if a tornado just came.

“What is all this?” he asked when he finally found his voice.

Y/n carefully plated the omelette before proudly putting the plate beside the coffee. “This is what I call breakfast. Bet you usually only drink coffee in the morning.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. Look at the kitchen, Y/n! Who’s gonna clean up after this?”

Y/n took a look around the kitchen with a readable and all too familiar facial expression.

“I know what you’re gonna say,” Namjoon said as he took a seat. “And to that, I say, I don’t want to clean up your mess. You clean it up.”

She lifted her hands in surrender. “Fine, geez. A thank you would be nice.”

“You not making a mess would be appreciated.”

“Touché."

Usually when he had coffee in the morning, he felt that adrenaline rush. The kind that made you feel giddy, restless, and even made you tremble. This time, thanks to Y/n's cooking, he didn’t feel any of those. He was tempted to tell Y/n about this, but in the end, he just kept it to himself. He didn’t want to fuel her ego. It wasn’t a very good idea to do that so early into this “Journey to Find Namjoon’s Soulmate” or whatever Y/n had called it last night.

Even if he told him all those things, chances were she wasn’t going to listen to him as she was busy admiring her work on his hair. The bunny headband finally put on properly and held his hair away from his face.

“Have you ever put on a face mask before?” Y/n handed him a face mask.

“Umm, no.”

“Let me put it on you.” She smiled as she took back the face mask from his hand.

Within seconds, her trained hands successfully put the face mask on his face. And not long after, her face was also wearing one.

“We’re matching!” Y/n grinned at him. “Let’s take a selfie,” she said as she pulled out her phone.

He wasn’t big on selfies, he didn’t even remember the last time he took one. But seeing the huge smile on his best friend’s face was enough for him to reluctantly agree.

He forced a smile at the camera. He realized it looked awkward as Y/n shoved their photo in front of his face to show him the result. It looked even more ridiculous with the bunny headband on top of his head. However, the girl looked like she didn’t mind as she kept babbling on about how this was their first selfie in years and she wanted to upload it so bad.

“-will ask me about you. And what’s going to happen to me when you date one of them?”

A silence followed her ramblings until he realized she just asked him a question.

He cleared his throat. “First of all, just because I’m dating, doesn’t mean you can’t still be my best friend. Second of all, isn’t the purpose of this… adventure is to find my soulmate?”

Y/n eyes widened in realization. “You’re right! I’m gonna post it then.” As she was about to hit the post button on her phone, she looked at him. “Wait. What should I caption it?”

20 minutes later, when the once cold mask was no longer cold and it started to dry a bit, Y/n carefully peeled the mask from both their faces.

“What do you feel?” Y/n asked expectantly.

Namjoon didn’t even know how to answer that. Truth to be told, these skin care products never really made an impactful difference on his skin, hence the reason he didn’t have a skin care routine. The most he ever did was just wash his face with a face wash and even that was a leftover he found in his sister’s old room a few weeks after she left for uni. A side note, don’t even ask him why he was in her room, he wouldn’t answer it truthfully. His parents would probably say that he missed her, but he knew it wasn’t true… right?

The lack of response from him was enough for Y/n to catch on what he was feeling.

“You don’t feel anything, huh?”

“Wetness on my face.” His answer sounded more like a question.

“You’re unbelievable. Well, since today is just the first day, I’ll let it go. But, the correct answer to that is refreshed, Joon,” Y/n explained in exasperation as she scratched her head.

“What does that have to do with finding my soulmate?”

“You might find out your soulmate faster if you’re not stressed,” Y/n said as a matter-of-factly.

He sighed. “You know what, I don’t even bother to argue with you.”

“Cause you know I’m right.”

That night when he was about to fall asleep, when he was only half-aware of his surroundings, the memory of today’s activity played in his mind. The messy kitchen as his best friend attempted to make him breakfast. Her proud smile as she served his food. The focused look on her face when he was putting on her headband and the face mask on him. And lastly, the tired smile she offered him as she said goodbye when the day ended after they binge watched on Netflix. For the first time in years, he fell asleep with a smile plastered on his face.

The next morning on Sunday, he woke up much earlier than usual. He even woke up feeling energized. He could even feel anticipation bubbling inside of him. The last time he felt like this was when he was around 9 and his parents gave him tickets to Disneyland as a birthday gift. Simply put, he felt like a kid again, waiting for great things that were about to happen today.

As he smiled at the memories of his childhood, he couldn’t help but realize that maybe Y/n was right all along. She always nagged on him because all he did was to mope around on his old couch and get drunk when things got too hard.

“Live in the moment, dude,” she had said multiple times. “You worry too much like an old man who fears the end of the world.”

What a great metaphor, Y/n.

Just like the day before, Y/n entered his apartment without notice. But this time, instead of being in the shower, he was already dressed and waiting for her. He could feel his heart beat get faster when he heard the door being opened.

Y/n widened her eyes in surprise before she smirked. “I like the energy. Let’s just go, then!”

For the second activity in The Journey to Find Namjoon’s Soulmate, Y/n took him to an…

“Animal shelter?” Namjoon asked in disbelief.

Y/n nodded. “I want to see cute animals.”

“We can just go to the zoo.”

“It’s expensive. And they don't really care about animals."

Ever since the start of their friendship, he could never win against her wittiness. So this wasn’t really a rare occurrence where she said an argument so wrong yet so right.

“But a zoo is intended for exactly that purpose. Rather than you playing with those sheltered animals but not adopting one of them in the end,” Namjoon explained.

“Oh, shush. Stop being a party-” Y/n’s eyes suddenly caught a puppy running towards her. “Oh my God, come here, baby!” she yelled as she scooped the puppy up in her arms.

For a few minutes, it was just Y/n cooing at the puppy and he was just eyeing her in amusement. He knew that she would go mushy and all excited around animals, so he couldn’t really blame her for seemingly forgetting about him. Plus, he didn’t want to miss out on seeing Y/n using baby voices to talk to the animals.

His amusement was interrupted when Y/n abruptly shoved the puppy towards him.

“Wha-? I don’t-”

“Just take it. We’re here for you, not me.”

Namjoon sighed in defeat as he accepted the puppy into his arms. Its tail wagging so fast, going for miles per second, to the point he could feel its body shaking from the impact. Its big eyes looking up at Namjoon in… adoration? Maybe going to the shelter might be one of his favorite activities from now on.

They only went home after an entire day spent at the shelter. Namjoon was tired, he almost couldn’t keep his eyes open, but Y/n was probably more tired than him cause she kept running around to chase every puppy and kitten she saw.

He tried to stop her, knowing she would get tired, but she said, “Each one of them deserve love, okay,” before running around yet again.

Now as they sat in the bus on their way home, he saw out of the corner of his eyes Y/n’s head bobbing down every once in a while, following the motion of the bus. He snorted while he tried to hold his laugh. What he had thought would happen, really happened.

Feeling bad because he knew that would feel uncomfortable, he lightly directed Y/n’s head to rest on his shoulder. Instinctively, Y/n snuggled further into his shoulder to make herself more comfortable and when she was finally satisfied, she sighed.

This awfully looked like he was going to have a guest tonight.

The third day was on a Monday. He knew he was weird, Y/n had told him repeatedly, but he really liked Mondays. For him, it was finally the day in which he could do something about his problems at work that he just left off on Friday.

“I swear, you’re literally the personification of weird,” Y/n had commented one day.

To be honest, he didn’t really care if he was really what she had said. Can’t someone like something without being judged?

Right after they both woke up and had breakfast, Y/n went back to her apartment to get ready for the day.

Before leaving, she instructed him to find light clothes as they were going to spend time outdoors for the day. Exactly like what she said, he chose to wear an old t-shirt he had owned since he was in college and khaki shorts he found at the pit of his wardrobe.

“I hope they have mint choco flavor!” Y/n jumped up and down in excitement as they got closer to the ice cream parlor.

“Ew, why do you even like to eat cold toothpaste?” Namjoon asked rhetorically.

Y/n gasped. “What is this mint choco slander? You, mister, have never tasted life until you eat mint choco ice cream.”

“No, thanks. I bet I’d taste death eating those.”

Flabbergasted, Y/n stopped in her tracks and glared at him. “You-”

He quickly cut her off, “Let’s not continue the argument before there’s a bloodbath.”

Y/n chuckled proudly. “Because you know it’d be your blood that’ll be spilled.”

“Um, no,” he interjected. “I think you mistake your blood with mine.”

“Really? You wanna fight?” Y/n took a fighting stance in front of him in which Namjoon just grabbed her elbow and pulled her to walk again.

"Stop that! The kids will think you're one of them," he mumbled.

They were at a busy park surrounding a lake. Kids were running all around the place. Some parents tried to chase them but some went as far as scolding them. A small portion of parents even just let their kids disappear into the crowd of people. He doubted those parents even care about their kids.

He never knew such a place like this existed. During the three days he spent on this journey, he had learned and knew more things than all of his life experiences combined. Maybe he’d have to thank Y/n after they reached the end of this journey.

“I start to think this journey is just your excuse to have a holiday.”

“No way. This is totally 100% for you. Speaking of that, do you already have an idea who your soulmate might be?”

Namjoon shook his head as he opened the door to the ice parlor and gestured to her to enter first. “Just get your damn ice cream.”

There was a long line of people waiting to order, but soon enough, it was their turn.

Even before the cashier could greet them, Y/n already blurted out a question. “Do you have mint choco flavour?”

“We’re unfortunately ran out of it. Maybe you want to try mocha instead?”

Y/n pouted in disappointment as she was trying to find the next best flavor in the menu.

Though mint choco ice cream was his mortal enemy, he couldn’t help but to feel a pang of sadness upon seeing his best friend’s reaction. There was nothing worse than having your first choice unavailable.

“You know what? I changed my mind, bubblegum is now my favorite,” Y/n commented as they walked out of the parlor. A cup of bubblegum flavored ice cream in Y/n’s hand and the vanilla one in Namjoon’s. “Goodbye, mint choco.”

“See? You’re finally agreeing with me.”

“Yeah, but for different reasons. I still think it tastes good, but bubblegum is better. It’s a good thing they ran out of mint choco.”

“Your taste in ice cream is weird.”

“Why would they make these flavors then if not for me to enjoy?” she argued as she put more ice cream into her mouth. She closed her eyes and hummed in content. “I haven’t had ice cream in weeks. I miss how cold it feels.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.” There was no way, in his opinion, not even in alternate universes where she could stand not eating ice cream for weeks. She had a sweet tooth and couldn’t stand not eating ice cream in weeks, at least that was what he knew since the start of their friendship.

“Nope. These past few weeks, my boss has been giving me double the amount of work. I have to work overtime and by the time I’m off work, all ice cream places have closed. So I’m gonna savour all of this as much as I can. God knows when I can get ice cream again.”

Shortly after she said that, a kid, approximately around 9 years old, bumped into Namjoon and accidentally made him drop his ice cream. The kid, unaware of what just happened, just mindlessly bowing and saying sorry before running again to chase his friends.

“Oh no!” Y/n squatted down near the sorry sight of his ice cream.

Before he even registered what was happening, she handed him her ice cream. “Hold it for me.”

Instinctively, he held her ice cream. “Y/n, there’s no need for that. We can find the cleaning service and ask them to clean it.”

He didn’t know whether she was purposely ignoring him or she was so focused to the point she didn’t hear him. All he knew was the fact that she kept on cleaning up as best as she could. And that there was nothing he could do to stop her.

A few minutes later, Y/n jumped up from her squatting position. “All done!” She tossed the now dirty tissue in a trash can nearby.

She thanked Namjoon and took her ice cream back from him. But instead of eating it herself, she scooped some with the spoon and directed it in front of his face.

He must have looked bewildered because Y/n smiled and spoke, “We must share since you lost yours.”

He could swear when she said that, he felt warmth all around his body, originating from his chest. She just said she missed ice cream, yet when he lost his, she didn’t hesitate to share it.

“No, but thanks.”

Y/n frowned and softly touched the tip of the spoon to his lips. Reluctantly, he let her spoon-feed him.

“You said you want to savour it?” he asked after he swallowed.

Her answer, however, was something he never expected coming out from her mouth.

“What’s sweeter than eating ice cream is sharing it with your best friend.”

He swore he almost broke into tears at her words.

He knew how much she loved sweet foods. She even frequently ran to him crying when her brother ate all of her chocolate when they were kids. She broke many friendships because they didn’t want to accept her overpriced candies as presents. Heck, even a moment ago they were arguing about ice cream flavors!

This was a new side of Y/n that he just saw. A side she never showed him before, her best friend slash her only friend. He felt like he was learning more about Y/n than he was about his future soulmate.

So that was how their third day ended. Namjoon and her sitting on a bench facing the lake as they take turns to take a bite of her ice cream.

On Tuesday, the fourth day, Y/n had the genius idea of going on a road trip. It was a huge problem, because one: he couldn’t drive, and two: he wasn’t about to let Y/n drive for hours on end.

“This doesn’t sound like a very good idea,” Namjoon said for the millionth time that morning as Y/n stuffed their luggages into the tiny trunk in her tiny car. “Plus, I don’t think your car can withstand long hours on the road.”

"Shush." She forcefully closed the trunk. "You can't drive, therefore you don't deserve to have an opinion."

The car in question was a 2010 car that originally was owned by Y/n’s dad and given to her when she got a driver’s license. Please note that Y/n had told him long ago that she actually didn’t drive that much and probably wouldn’t need a car since she enjoyed taking the bus to work. Nevertheless, she refused to sell the car when she was in need of money after moving out of her parents’ house. She had said, and Namjoon still remembered it clearly, that, “I want to keep this bad boy until he’s an antique, then I want to sell him to the highest bidder, so I can be rich."

‘Okay’, Namjon had thought, ‘but antique cars are usually just sitting in the garage, not being overworked like Y/n’s.’ However, he never said anything, so Y/n automatically had thought she won again against him.

Minutes later, they were already on the road, going nowhere in particular. Namjoon was still steadfast in his stance. This wasn’t going to end well.

But what if he could persuade her to turn the car around by another means? He wasn't going to pass up this opportunity, so he tried again.

"Won't you be tired? Sleepy?" asked him.

"I'm not weak, Namjoon. Contrary to what you see me as, I'm as strong as you are, if not stronger."

"I lift three times a week." His words sounded more like a question.

"I walk up the stairs to the fifth floor multiple times a day."

Okay, this wasn't where the conversation was supposed to flow, but he wasn't going to back down.

"It's not my fault your apartment is crappy," he clapped back. “They can’t even fix their damn lift.”

"They will get it fixed soon, don't worry."

"That's what they said months ago!"

"Then what do you want me to do?" she challenged him.

"Find a new apartment!"

"They're all expensive. Plus, I’ve lived there since college, I’m kinda attached to it."

"You're a hopeless cause," he mumbled quietly, she probably didn't hear him.

After a few seconds of silence, Namjoon tried again, this time using another different approach.

"What if something terrible happens?"

"No, it won't. Relax. Chill. You're worrying too much. Why don't you just take a nap?"

"You're too chill, Y/n. We go out to nowhere without booking-"

"It's okay, really."

“How?” he asked, exasperated of how calm she was when they were about to go somewhere empty handed and with no planning whatsoever.

“How? Umm, I was on a road trip once.”

He wasn’t convinced. “When? You never tell me anything about it.”

“I don’t need to tell you everything I do! It was when I was 12. My dad and uncle took me along with them to go around the country.”

“12 years old, Y/n! You were 12. Now you’re in your 20s.” Namjoon wasn’t amused at all at this point. “Turn the car around now!”

“What? No!” Y/n exclaimed. “This is an important part of the journey. Being at a place you’re familiar with won’t help you dig deeper into yourself. You’d just be too preoccupied with your problems.” Then Y/n finished her speech off with a quiet mumble, “You’ll never find anything new by being in your comfort zone.”

Namjoon hated once again at how right her words were. He really wanted to argue with her, but she was right. Being on his couch all day, doing the same things everyday, wouldn’t change anything in his life.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Fine, okay, you win. Happy?”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Y/n grinned. “Very.”

That night they arrived at a small motel that probably only had like 10 rooms at most. It had a homey feeling, but the stench coming from the lobby, though. It was unbearable for him.

As they dragged their suitcases while they were trying to find their room amidst the numberless doors, Namjoon asked Y/n, “Why are we in this crappy motel again?”

To answer that, Y/n shrugged. “Don’t know. I just saw the signs and went straight in.”

“Didn’t you smell something at the receptionist?”

They finally arrived in front of their room. They didn’t actually know it was their room, but based on the instructions that the creepy receptionist just gave them, there was a high chance this was it.

Y/n answered as she opened the door. “Yeah. The receptionist actually whispered to me that they just finished eradicating rats. He said there was an infestation in the lobby.”

He couldn’t help but to grimace while following her into the room. She had been told about all of that and she still decided to rent a room. He would never understand her way of thinking even after years of friendship.

As if she could read his mind, she spoke, “Don’t worry. All the rats were successfully killed and all of them were in the lobby. We’re safe.”

“How do you know?”

“I asked him. I’m not stupid, Joon.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “Geez, chill. I just asked you a question.”

And that was how their fourth day concluded.

For the first time since the start of the journey, Namjoon finally initiated an activity on the fifth day.

He managed to browse on his phone for things they could do, eat breakfast with whatever food they had, and even pack lunch for the both of them before Y/n even woke up.

When she woke up, he hesitantly asked her to go hiking. Throughout the journey this far, he only followed wherever she wanted to go, so he didn’t really expect the reaction that he got from her after proposing his idea.

She widened her eyes as she digested his words and her breakfast. “Hiking? Where?”

“Behind this motel, there’s a small hill. What do you think?”

Y/n nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Let’s go. Spending a day with nature doesn’t hurt.”

Oh, how wrong she was.

The idea was for them to hike together, maybe even side by side, as they enjoyed the view. But instead, Namjoon left her a solid 50 meters.

Perhaps it was because he was taller, therefore he had longer legs and strides, or because he was excited, so he walked faster, or even both. No one really knew for sure, not even him.

“Joon!” she called once again in the span of less than 5 minutes. “Don’t walk too fast!”

Namjoon sighed as he stopped in his tracks, waiting for her to catch up with him. She was lucky she was his only best friend or he would’ve strangled her by now because of her naggings.

Quite a surprise to himself, when she finally caught up with him, he squatted down and ordered her to ride on his back. He wasn’t sure what had possessed him, but he just went with it. Maybe his unconscious thought that she would quit complaining if she was on his back. There was only one way to find out.

“Why? I can walk on my own.” She wiped the sweat on her forehead with a tissue.

He scoffed. “You look like you’re about to pass out any second. Just shut up and let me carry you.”

He didn’t know what he had expected from giving someone a piggyback ride and that someone to be Y/n, but he was sure a strangling grip around his neck wasn’t part of the deal.

“Can you-” Gasp. “-not strangle me?”

Y/n immediately let go of him. The warmth of her embrace suddenly disappeared. “Oops. Sorry.”

Once they arrived at the top, Y/n jumped off his back. “Woah, this is so cool.” She pointed at the motel that now looked small. “That’s our motel!” she exclaimed.

They found a large flat rock that they both could sit on and ate lunch together.

As she munched on her food, she asked, “Have you figured out who your soulmate is?”

“Not yet. I start to think this doesn’t work.”

“Good things take time, my dude.”

Oh, how he really wished it was true.

“Hey,” Y/n’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Do you know that I always wanted to tick off ‘hiking’ from my wishlist?”

“The wishlist you had since you’re 10?”

She nodded. “After more than a decade, I finally finished everything on my wishlist.” She suddenly broke into a fit of giggles. “I’m gonna make a new one once we’re home.”

“What’s going to be in it?” he asked curiously.

Y/n took a moment to think before answering, “Maybe… to find my soulmate.” It came out more like a question rather than an answer.

She abruptly chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if in the end we figure out our soulmates in this journey?”

A lightning fast thought struck him but disappeared just as fast as it came. Throughout the rest of the day, he was trying to recall that thought to no avail.

The next day, on Thursday, they were going home. They couldn’t handle another hour, no scratch that, they couldn’t even handle another minute at the motel. Opposite to what Y/n had initially thought, the stench of rat carcass reached far beyond the lobby to their room.

A series of “see I told you so”s later, Namjoon finally broke her.

“Yes, Namjoon. Thanks for telling me that. I know you’re right and I’m wrong. Now please put on a song, I want to sing.”

Another thing Y/n was bad at, according to him, was singing. He knew she liked to sing, she’d told him about it, but he never understood how she managed to be so confident yet so bad at it. If he were told to rank between her ability to sing and choose a good motel, he’d probably have put singing as the first place based on how bad she was at it. Call him a bad friend, but he was just being honest.

However, he still played a song just to satisfy her. An easy song that no one can screw up, but he knew she would still screw up anyways. After all, enduring her cracked singing voice was the least he could do after being driven from and to a crappy motel.

And then she sang. And sang. And sang. One song turned to three turned to five then ten and fifteen. Before she went for the sixteenth song, Namjoon stopped her.

“Aren’t you thirsty from singing?” Nice catch! The question was just an attempt to make her stop a while so he could regain his hearing.

“Don’t even have to ask.”

As she gulped down water from her flask, Namjoon eyed her warily. He prayed, and he was an atheist, that she would forget about singing.

He didn’t know which God had answered his prayers, but when Y/n put down her flask, she already babbled about something else other than singing. Looked like the world, and God, were on his side today.

She was talking about the random bird that was flying straight to her car, almost hitting the car. Also about a dog that stuck out its head from the car beside them. And about how expensive the motel was for being smelly and dirty.

Lastly, “Do you think I cut out to be a singer?”

Yeah, maybe he was pushing his luck.

Day seven fell on a Friday. They spent the day walking hand in hand leisurely on the beach. Beside him, Y/n was talking about what color she should dye her hair next.

“I think I should go with green. What do you think?” Y/n nudged his side with her elbow and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Your boss won't let you dye your hair crazy colors,” he said. “Please don’t do anything that can get you fired.”

Y/n pouted at his answer. But soon her frown vanished as her eyes fell upon a bikini in a display of a store.

Namjoon exhaled. He knew exactly what was going to happen.

True enough, Y/n pulled on his hand that was still clasped in hers towards the store and only stopped after they were in front of the display.

“What a cute bikini!” she cooed before running inside the store, leaving a bewildered Namjoon outside.

Right when he entered the store, he heard a squeal that could only belong to one person.

He turned to the source of the sound and saw Y/n laughing with a store clerk. A male and handsome store clerk.

He wasn't the type of person who gets jealous easily or possessive, but he never saw Y/n with a man other than himself. So he couldn't really help it when he felt jealousy seeped through his gritted teeth. But he soon had forgotten about it when Y/n looked up at him and grinned.

Y/n approached him while holding a bikini set.

“This is their latest design. I’m gonna try it. Wait for me!” Then she disappeared to the fitting room before he could remind her that she didn’t wear bikinis.

Throughout the time he had known her, not even once she ever said anything about bikinis, let alone wearing one and he had known her since they were in diapers. What made her suddenly want to have a bikini?

Minutes later, after a series of clanking noises and a few curses, Y/n came out of the fitting room and he couldn’t believe what he saw. Surely the fitting room was a magic box or something, because there was no way his childhood best friend, his innocent Y/n, came out looking like a model out of a magazine. Well, maybe more like a model before they got heavily photoshopped since he still could see some tiny spots, cellulite, and scars on her skin. And maybe a plus size model because her hips would be considered wide compared to those models. But he didn’t mind them, they made her look more… natural, more human.

While he was busy admiring her, a cough suddenly woke him from his daze. He turned to see the store clerk from earlier, now standing beside him.

“You look very beautiful,” he commented, not minding the killing glare coming from Namjoon.

Y/n, without heeding the store clerk’s compliment, asked, “Joon, do you think this is okay?”

Namjoon was tempted to say, “Just okay? You look like a greek goddess who just blessed me with her presence.” But he was too paralyzed to say anything.

“I think you look great,” the store clerk spoke up again. For a split second right after he said that, he looked at Y/n’s thighs before looking at her eyes again.

It happened so fast, Namjoon thought he was just imagining it. But when Y/n’s facial expression turned sour and she quickly went back to the fitting room, he was wondering whether she saw that too.

His suspicion was confirmed right after they left the store.

“I can’t believe it!” she said while stomping beside him. “He looked at my thighs, Joon! Did you see it, too?”

He just hummed.

Y/n huffed. “I’m going to file a complaint to their manager.”

“You won’t do that,” he replied knowingly.

“I’m gonna make it viral, then. Let the whole world see how horrible he is.”

Namjoon really wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. “How? You don’t have footage of him doing it.”

“Damn, you’re right,” she mumbled. “Maybe I’m just not meant to have a bikini.”

A lot of thoughts ran through his mind. He wanted to let her know how pretty she looked in that bikini. How captivating the curves in her body were. But in the end, he only suppressed all of that. In his justification, he wanted a more appropriate timing. He didn’t want to say all that to her when she was mad or she’d think he said that to make her feel better. He wanted not just to comfort her, but to actually make her realize how beautiful she was.

On Saturday, his second favorite day after Monday, Y/n arrived a bit later at his apartment compared the days before. But when she saw him ready for the day, she said, “I’m giving you a chance to wake up late, but whatever.”

As per usual, Y/n didn’t tell him where they were going, and he was surprised when they arrived in front of a large building with a sign that read “library”.

Looking at Namjoon’s puzzled face, Y/n probably could read what was in his mind. “You still have no idea who your soulmate is, right? I just think that maybe it’s because we’ve focused so much on doing physical activities instead of, like, feeding the mind.”

“Huh?”

“Maybe we can do a little bit of reading. Because, you know, reading is like eating but for the mind. Or whatever that quote is supposed to go,” she elaborated.

“I read in my free time.”

“Have you read anything during this entire journey?” she raised an eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes. “That’s because of your brilliant idea of having a journey. Had you let me sit down on my couch, I would’ve read the entire biography of the founding fathers by now.”

“Gosh, you’re so boring. No wonder you haven’t found your soulmate. And for the record, you learned a lot of things from this journey. Things that might help you find your soulmate. You know what, let’s just go.” With that, Y/n pulled on his hand and stepped into the library.

Namjoon was in the middle of reading a philosophy book when Y/n suddenly spoke to him.

“I can’t focus, Joon,” she whined. “I have too many things on my mind.”

Those words were the most terrifying words he had ever heard, especially if they came out of Y/n’s mouth. Every time he heard those words, he felt like he wasn’t being attentive enough towards his friends to the point he didn’t know that something was disturbing their peace. And that feeling was heightened when Y/n was the one in trouble. He knew her for the longest time, shouldn’t he be more caring towards her?

He breath hitched, anticipating what Y/n had to say. “Why?”

She took a deep inhale before exhaling slowly. “I know this stupid because it hasn’t ended yet, but I already miss this journey.”

Obviously he didn’t want to admit it in front of her, she would get a crazy idea otherwise, but he, too, could feel a pang in his chest that felt awfully familiar. It was the same feeling he got when he moved out of his parents’ house and when he was reminiscing the time he spent with his late dog. Also when he graduated from high school and had to leave his high school friends to pursue higher education. He wasn’t a stranger to this feeling. In fact, he knew it too well.

Y/n was right, though. It was indeed stupid to feel this way because they still had one more day together.

So he responded with, “We’re still in this journey. And even after this journey ends, we can still go on adventures together,” as a weak attempt to console her and also himself.

“It’s not the adventures that I miss. It’s the time we spend together. We’ve never spent this much time together.”

Of course he knew that. He knew he was going to miss the time they spent together, but his own pride made him unable to act vulnerable in front of her. Especially in the time when she needed him the most.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each deep within their own thoughts. That was when a crazy idea suddenly came to him. He usually wasn’t the one coming with crazy ideas, it was kinda Y/n’s thing and she probably would have copyrighted it if it was possible. But he wasn’t just going to be quiet at a time in crises like this.

“We can arrange some small one-day adventures every month. How does that sound?”

Y/n smiled although it didn’t reach her eyes. “Sounds great. Just promise me you won’t rain check on me.”

It worked! He successfully made her smile again. As he cheered inside his mind, he assured her, “I won’t. I’ll write it on my calendar.”

Namjoon dreaded the last day of The Journey to Find Namjoon’s Soulmate more than when he was called for a job interview by a big company. He even had clammy hands and was sweating bullets. His hand trembled as he waited for Y/n to announce what they were going to do on this last day.

“Holiday has to be concluded with a lazy day. So I call for breakfast in bed,” Y/n explained as she once again wrecked his kitchen.

“I’m not in my bed, though.”

“Your bed is not locked for the rest of the day once you’re out of it,” Y/n said in a matter-of-factly.

“But please don’t ruin my kitchen.”

Y/n briefly stopped cooking as she looked around the kitchen. Then she shrugged. “Well, it’s too late. You should’ve said that earlier.”

He originally had thought that Y/n would make food for him, give it to him, clean the kitchen, then left. But he was surprised when Y/n came back to his bedroom while holding a plate of her own after delivering his.

“Move,” she commanded before shimmying beside him on the bed. She grabbed the remote on the nightstand and turned on the TV.

“Now, we relax. Because we’ll be stressed out of our minds tomorrow.” She leaned back and started eating her bacon.

So that was pretty much how their ninth day went. But that wasn’t all.

Long after they had finished their food, they still watched the TV. Messy kitchen and other duties were long forgotten.

As time passed by, Namjoon found himself cuddling Y/n while she rested her head on his buff chest. And not long after, they both fell asleep in that position with the TV still playing in the background.

But all of that couldn’t last long as tomorrow they had to go to work. So after waking up from their nap, they cleaned the kitchen and Y/n went home before it got too dark.

Instantly after Y/n closed the door behind her, Namjoon felt empty. It wasn’t just his apartment that felt empty, but also his mind and soul. He was already used to her constant nagging, her constant company, and her voice. He wanted to run to her and tell her to extend their journey, but obviously, that was impossible. They had responsibilities, especially since they just neglected them for a week.

On Monday, the day that used to be his favorite but now he loathed it, he came home to a voice message from the person he’d been waiting for.

“Hey. Sorry I didn’t talk to you yesterday whether you’ve found your soulmate or not. I was anxious about work so I forgot. Umm… As soon as you receive this message, please call or text me, okay? I wanna hear what you thought.”

He couldn’t help but also notice something in her voice. Fatigue? Or was it sadness? He swore he could hear it and wasn’t just imagining it.

Wanting to check up on her, he automatically called her. First ring. Second ring. Third ring. He waited and waited, but it only went to her voicemail.

Not giving up so early to talk to his best friend, he rang her again. And waited. And waited. And kept waiting. But just like the first time, she didn’t pick up her phone.

In the end, he settled with sending her a text.

He didn’t know why he was suddenly nervous as he typed the message.

It said, “I still don’t have an idea who that might be. Maybe the journey didn’t work. But, hey, are you sad? Or maybe sick?”

He only got the reply the next day at lunch. He kinda hoped to read long messages about how he shouldn’t be so pessimistic and that he surely would find his soulmate, just like how Y/n usually talked. But instead, she just replied with, “What a bummer.”

He only sighed in disappointment.

The next few days were grim and hard for him. His boss gave him so much work despite having to catch up on his other work. Every time he rode the bus from and to work, he remembered Y/n’s slouched position beside him as they came home from the animal shelter. He could almost feel her head on his shoulder again.

Every time he played a song, he got reminded of the time when he had to endure Y/n’s off-key singing. A memory played in his mind every time he passed an ice cream parlor. Heck, he even missed the feeling of anticipation that he felt every time he woke up in the morning.

What was worst of all though was the fact that they didn’t talk at all after her last text. Not even the occasional text messages or sending each other memes just like what they used to do before the journey started.

He knew it was because they both had a lot of catch up to do after neglecting work for a week, but he really wished that they could spare a bit of time to talk together.

Oh, how silly he was when he dismissed her for missing their time together back at the library. What made him feel even more silly was him being a coward and not admitting back then that he was, too, going to miss spending time together.

One particular night, he had trouble sleeping worse than any other night he had been missing Y/n. He kept turning around, hoping to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in, but to no avail. In the end, he gave up and settled to reminiscing their time together.

As he delved into his memories, every single activity they did, every word she said, and every place they went to, his half-awake mind came upon a realization.

He missed her enthusiasm that could lift his bad mood instantly. He missed her pushiness that made him do things he didn’t want to do, only to show him that she knew what he would like. He also missed her short legs and her whines when he walked too fast. He missed her love for animals, her love for mint choco ice cream, her laugh, smile, kindness, and voice.

He missed her beauty, her body, and her sense of style. He even missed her unruly hair. He missed receiving her love and attention. He missed loving her and having her in his arms. He missed loving her. She was the soulmate he had been looking for. She was his soulmate. His. Soulmate.

At the crack of dawn, a few hours after Namjoon could finally fall asleep, he woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. He had an important thing to tell Y/n. And he had to do it now before she went to work and he lost another chance to meet her.

He checked the clock, it read 5 a.m. He quickly got up from his bed, took a shower, and grabbed a protein bar before leaving.

In the bus on his way to her apartment, he kept tapping his foot impatiently as he chewed on his protein bar. At times like this, he really wished he could drive. But for now he had to settle with the bus.

He jumped out of the bus as soon as it stopped at the bus stop closest to her apartment.

He checked the time again, 5:43 a.m. He still had a few minutes before she woke up.

He arrived in front of her apartment after five minutes of walking. He knocked on the door rapidly to the point he was sure he accidentally woke up the neighbors. However, it was the last thing on his mind.

A minute later, a sleepy Y/n with a bed head opened the door.

“Namjoon, wha-”

He instantly pushed her in and closed the door behind them both.

“Hear me out,” he demanded.

Y/n nodded while yawning.

“Let me help you cross out one activity from your wishlist.”

“Why are we talking about that at this time?”

“Because it’s important."

“I don’t see it."

He started to lose his patience. “It is! There’s one activity that’s really important right? Like, more important than the others.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Which one? I haven’t written a lot in the list, actually.”

“What are they?"

“To eat a banana-”

For a second, Namjoon was speechless. “What? Banana? Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just miss eating bananas.”

“Okay… What’s next?”

She took a moment to think, then answered, “Ah! I want to buy a new phone. Haven’t changed mine in years.”

He sighed. “Next?”

“Be a babysitter for a day.”

That wasn’t an answer he was looking for. “It’s a job for teenagers.”

“That’s why I only want to do it for a day.”

“Then?”

“Learn skateboarding. A skatepark just opened around here.”

“Anything else?”

She pouted. “You don’t want to help me cross any of those?”

“Not that. But, you said a few days ago on our journey that there was something you wanted to put on your wishlist.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “Really? I don’t remember. What was it?”

He really wanted to strangle someone at this point. Why was she so dense? “You really don’t remember?”

“I don’t think I do. Sorry. What was it, though?”

“You wanted to find your soulmate.”

It took her a second to digest his words, but when she finally did, her eyes widened. “Oh, right. Does that mean you want to help me find my soulmate? Go on another journey? You know, you don’t have to use that as an excuse to-”

“Shut up, Y/n. Stop talking so much.”

Y/n frowned. “Sorry.”

He huffed. “I never knew doing this was going to be this hard.” He looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t want to go on another journey to find anyone’s soulmate. And especially not after I realized last night that we have found our soulmates.”

Before he could say anything else, she cut him off. “Really? Who is yours? What about mine? Do I know-”

“Yes! We know them.” He finally decided to just cut the chase and came out clean. “You’re my soulmate, Y/n. And I’m yours. I was so busy chasing love during our journey to the point I never thought about the possibility of you being my soulmate.” With a softer tone, he concluded, “The fortune teller was right. I knew who my soulmate is and where to find them, but I was too stupid to realize that.”

Y/n was stunned for a while before slowly blinking. Once. Twice. “Wow. That’s crazy.” Then she grinned. “You finally admit that you’re stupid!”

“Y/n, that’s not the point!” he groaned.

“Yes, yes, I know.” She laughed. It sounded like bells in his ears. “I’m just messing with you. So, what should we do now?”

“Y/n.” He turned serious if he wasn’t being serious before. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

For a few seconds, Y/n stared at his eyes expectantly, as if she was waiting for something.

“Y/n?”

“What?”

“What do you say?”

“Of course yes, you dummy. I thought it was obvious.”

“Seriously now?” He rolled his eyes.

“Wait. Is this the part where we should kiss?” she asked in wonder.

He was really holding himself hard not to roll his eyes yet again. “Duh, Y/n.”

“But I haven’t brushed my teeth!” Then she disappeared into her bathroom, leaving a bewildered Namjoon in the living room.

As he stared at her bathroom door, he whispered to himself, “What did I just sign up for?”

Masterlist | Join/Leave Taglist

[lucyjay]

Finally  (I.ck)

You and Changkyun have been fuck buddies for a while now but all it takes for both of you to realise your true feelings is a make out session with Lee Taeyong.

Pairing: I.M ( Changkyun) x fem. reader ft. Lee Taeyong x reader 

Genre: smut, fluff

Word count: 3.3k

Warnings: kissing, sexual touching, unprotected sex (wrap it up fellahs), swearing, slight degradation, mentions of hate sex, possessiveness

Being a Starship Ent backup dancer meant not only following their groups in award shows and live performances, but most of the times even enjoying a couple after parties. And that’s how you found yourself trapped between a wall and Lee Taeyong’s mouth, gasping for air while he is devouring with all the strength he can master after rocking a live stage for 30′ straight.

“Every single fucking time I see you, I’m trying to control myself not to take you right there and then on stage”, he states between moans while his tongue trails down your jawline only to cease at your neck. 

You can feel yourself getting wet already but you know making out with Taeyong at a party held by the industry’s biggest companies is risky and irresponsible to say the least. Have you been craving for his touch since you saw him performing a couple hours ago? Yes. Have you always wondered how he would feel like buried balls deep inside you while you scream his name? Hell yeah. You don’t wanna pass on sex with Taeyong but you need to take it somewhere safer. 

“Tae, let’s go back to your hotel”, you manage to let out and you feel his smile against your skin when he nods positively. He grabs your hand but before you get to take a single step, you hear a voice calling your name causing you to freeze in your spot. A voice you would recognise amongst hundreds of screaming voices. 

You both turn to face the man standing a couple meters behind you, resting his weight against the wall you were pinned against only moments ago.

“How about this scenario”, he starts and waves his hand in the air like a maestro leading an orchestra,”...Taeyong fucks off back to his hotel and cuddles with one of his 327 members, and you stay your ass exactly where you are? Sounds better to me”, his dark tone sends shivers down your spine.

You can feel Taeyong’s confused eyes on your frame and you wish the earth could swallow you whole right there and then. But then again why? You and Changkyun aren’t a couple. He has no business telling you what or what not to do.

“Kyunah, am I missing something? I’m sure Y/N wants to join me back at mine so, if you don’t mind”, the older chuckles and turns to leave when Changkyun’s voice stops you once again.

“That’s the thing Taeyong. You are missing something and Y/N isn’t going anywhere with anyone but me. It’s not your fault, it’s between me and her so please”, the younger one was cut off mid sentence.

“Ah, I see you even dropped your honorifics”, Taeyong turns to you his hand still holding yours, “... I think he is mad at you Y/N.”, he teases and you take a deep breath preparing for the shit to hit the fan because you know that the last thing one should do when Changhyuk gets like this, would be to tease him. Tae turns his gaze back unto the slightly taller man’s frame. “ I think It should be her who decides what she wants to do. Don’t you?.”, he pauses, “...Changkyunah”, the name leaving his lips dipped in irony and you know this is it. 

Changkyun takes a step towards your direction and his frame is towering above yours and Taeyong’s body at this point. He chuckles allowing his gaze to drop on the floor while taking a deep breath possibly to end the lot of you, you think to yourself.

“Taeyongah, how about you let her hand go. Unless you want your group’s dance line to be 2 legs short”, his tone now serious with no room for games and tease. Taeyong lets out a breath and focuses his attention back on your face. Before he manages to allow any words to leave his mouth you interrupt him, placing a hand on his chest.

“Oppa, let me sort out this misunderstanding with Changkyun and I’ll join you later on. Is that ok? I know there’s gonna be a party at your hotel anyway so, you’ll see me there. Is that ok?”, you use the sweetest tone you can master while batting your eyelashes at him and you have him melting under your stare. 

“Sure thing baby. See you later”, he agrees and lets your hand go. After placing a soft kiss on your cheek he turns to Changkyun. “..have a good one man. See you around”, and with a chuckle he turns to leave, leaving you and the dark haired man standing next to you staring at each other and you swear you would be able to cut the tension with a knife at this point. 

You don’t get to even think of something to say, when his grip is on your arm literally dragging you up the staircase near the entrance of the space the event is being held at. You try to keep up with his step, pushing yourself to run when you realise that there is no way he will loosen his hold on you till you reach whichever destination he is guiding you towards. When you get to a couple floors above the one you were at a few moments ago, you realise that he is taking you where the group’s rooms are. 

“I didn’t know you had rooms in this hotel as well. Why are the dancer’s at a different hotel t-..”, he cuts you off by placing his finger on your lips. You hold a breath and for the first time get to stare straight at him. His eyes are dark and they hold something unknown to you. Something you haven’t seen before; it’s not lust, it’s not anger...

“Stop trying to read me for fuck’s sake”, he spits and opens the door in front of you, pushing you inside, locking it once he gets in the room as well. He lets out a breath, his back leaning against the door, his head tilted back and his eyes glued at the ceiling as he is trying to calm himself down.

You don’t know what to do. You don’t understand his behaviour and you know he isn’t planning on helping you to do so. You turn and walk towards the large window nonchalantly roaming your gaze at the city that spreads before you. The view is breathtaking and for a fraction of a second you allow yourself to think of the beauty of the view instead of the raging man behind you. This however doesn’t last long. Moments after, you feel two arms caging you in a hug. You can feel his body glued to yours and his chin resting on the crook of your neck.

“Distress and fear”. he whispers against your neck and the feeling of his warm breath against your skin has your eyes rolling back inside your head. “what?”, you ask and your voice comes out so quiet that you’re surprised he heard you.

“You were trying to understand what I was feeling. Distress and fear. Distress because i saw Lee fucking Taeyong eating your face like a fucking animal and fear because I was scared you would actually chose to go with him”, his tone isn’t weak anymore and you can sense him sliding back into character. His usual character. The annoying, bratty, aggressive, spoiled motherfucker you know. You shake him off and take a step away from him, walking up and down the space between the bed and the sofa trying to gather your thoughts just so that you won’t slap him right there and then.

“Let me get this straight because I assume you are mistakenly under the impression that you get to boss me around”, you take a short breath, “...you got mad because I, a single, free woman, chose to make out with a hot dude and then you were scared that I would chose him over you? First of all, what I do with my mouth and my pussy is none of your business and second of all. I don’t remember being given an option back there. All I remember was me being forced to agree with a 25 year old brat only because I knew that you would throw a fucking tantrum as you always do whenever you don’t get what you want.”, you finally stop and stare at him only to find his eyes already on you, wide open in shock. You can feel a dryness in your throat and you get a hint that you might have been actually screaming, but you don’t care, you have had enough of this behaviour.

“Whenever I don’t get what I want?”, he speaks and his voice though strong, carries an undertone of hurt. “ I throw a tantrum whenever I don’t get what I want?”, he continues louder and takes a step towards your direction. You take a step back only to feel the edge of the bed meeting the back of your knee. 

“Let me tell you how I see it then, because I feel like you are mistakenly under the impression that your behaviour is acceptable without realising that you’re being a bitch. You wanna fuck? You come to me. You wanna disappear for a week? You disappear for a week-” 

“That happened once”, you cut him off understanding what incident he is talking about.

“And i found you at a club, climbed up on a motherfucker’s lap.”, he shouts and his voice makes you jolt. “ I throw a tantrum whenever i don’t get what i want? The only time you saw me talking, TALKING’, he emphasises, “ to another girl you started flirting with Kihyun. Are you for fucking real? Who goes crazy when they don’t get things their way? You are the spoiled brat here not me.’, he brushes his fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm himself down.

“I don’t know what you feel. I can never tell what you’re thinking. How am I supposed to act?”, you say and your voice is now soft. You don’t want to push him because you find truth in his words and even though it hurts, you want to make it right.

“Why would I? Why would I let you understand? Why would I open up to someone who cares about me only when she wants a good fuck? You think it’s easy for me, holding back?”, he is standing right in front of you, not even a meter in between you, ducking slowly so that his face would be on the same level as yours. You lift your gaze to look at him and you see tears pooling in his eyes. 

Your chest feels heavy and you have to fight back your own tears from falling, not even knowing what they’re for. It’s getting harder to breathe yet all you want to do is hug the man in front of you. Not knowing why, or how that would help the mess unraveling between the two fo you, but all you can think about is offering him some comfort the only way you know how; physical contact. 

And that’s what you do, throwing your hands around his neck, your chest flashed against his and your chin resting on his shoulder. Your actions catch him off guard, you can tell, because it takes him a couple seconds to return the hug. But his does, his hands now toying with your hair while he pushes his entire body against yours. 

Your fingers are drawing meaningless shapes on his back, slowly traveling down to his lower body eventually resting on his ass and you push your lower part against his. He groans and quickly pushes you away.

“Are you for real right now? You’re doing it again. You’re using sex again. You are un-fucking-believable”, an ironic laugh slips his lips and he throws you a glare that makes you feel both stupid and small. 

“That’s what we do Chan. We fight and we have make up sex or hate sex or whatever. Don’t act like you don’t enjoy it. And if that’s the case then I’m sorry if I ever pushed you to do something you didn’t feel comfortable doing. As the older person here I should be the one-”

“Oh shut up, will you.”, he snaps, eyes locked with yours. “Don’t patronise me Y/N”.

“I see you have completely given up on your honorifics today, Taeyong was right”, you throw and you regret the snarky comment the moment it leaves your mouth.

“I always use titles that match one’s actions. There are times that I call you noona and that i’m being polite. Then there’s moments when you’re acting like a bitch. So today, that’ll be the title I’m going with. Bitch.”, he growls and you know that your pussy  shouldn’t be throbbing like that at his words. Your palms shouldn’t be sweaty and the only thing you want to do now shouldn’t be to let him take you on every single surface inside this bloody hotel room. 

You push your legs together in a useless attempt to calm the muscles dancing in your core. It doesn’t go unnoticed by him and he lets out a light chuckle while shaking his head in dispute. 

“Clothes off”, his voice comes out so calm and you feel bewitched. Staring at him you do as he says, getting rid of every piece of clothing hugging your body and move on to lay down on the bed. His stare is dancing on your figure, lingering a second or two more on your breasts, your curves. God, he has never seen a more perfect human being but he can’t let you know that. His pride won’t allow him to admit it. 

Following your actions, he takes off his clothes throwing them on a pile next to yours on the floor, and move up on the bed, his body now hovering above yours, his waist resting between your thighs.  

His hand plays with your breast, harshly pinching the sensitive bud before capturing it in his mouth causing the first loud moan to escape your lips. He teases with his tongue a bit more and then focuses his attention back on your face. You throw your hands around his neck and push him onto you, crashing your lips together. You kiss him softly, tenderly and it shocks you how much emotion you let out on a simple kiss. 

That’s not your usual self. You never show him your true emotions when you kiss or fuck. How pathetic? You think to yourself. The backup dancer who fell in love with a famous idol. The realisation of how dangerous this all is hits you like a truck and you halt all your movements, detaching your lips from his.

Changkyun gives you a confused look as you gently push him off of you, but he refuses to move an inch, trying to catch your eyes, looking for any sort of hint, feeling or explanation. 

“What’s wrong”, he asks softly and he places a hand on your cheek, slowly caressing your skin.

“Chan, I-i can’t. I need to go”, you let out and your eyes are now scanning the room trying to locate your clothes when he grabs your jaw in his hand, forcing you to look at him. 

“You can and you won’t go anywhere. You want me? Tell me Y/N, do you want me?”, he radiates so much tension and you understand that this must be hard for him as well. Fuck it, it’s now or never.

“I’m in love with you. I know I shouldn’t, you can’t even date for fuck’s sake. It’s so stupid of me, I’ve been so stupid Chan, thinking that I wouldn’t get attached if I just acted like I didn’t, but I can’t do it anymore.”, you plead and you can feel tears rolling down your cheeks. “ Please end this. End this between us because I don’t have the strength to do it”, you hide your face inside your palms trying to not burst into a full sob. 

He takes your hands in his and moves them from your face. There’s a smile jeweling his beautiful lips and you can’t help but feel a wave of heat spreading in your chest. Next thing you can feel is his hard member pushing slowly into you, filling you up so good and all you can do is moan out his name. 

He sets a slow, steady pace that has you seeing stars. His lips kissing your mouth, cheeks, neck, softly biting the skin on your shoulder. You feel so close to him, you can feel the heat his body radiates, his heartbeat and suddenly it’s too much yet perfect. You allow yourself to get drown in this emotion, get swallowed by this man’s aura.

“Will you be my girlfriend? Be mine baby, please”, he whispers next to your ear before he gently bites on your lob. You moan out his name feeling closer to your high with every thrust, every word, every move. He doesn’t stop, he keeps fucking into you slowly but more harshly than before causing his pelvic area to slam against your oversensitive clit with every push.

“Chan, please I-I’m close-”, your whine gets lost in your own moans.

“Answer me first. Will you..”, he thrusts so deep inside you that you can feel him touching that soft spot that has your body going numb. “...be”, he says and thrusts again, with the same speed and strength and you can feel your release approaching. “...my girlfriend?”, he pushes inside you for the last time and you can only scream out your answer not caring about anyone else hearing you.

“Yes, yes. Please”, you plead and you know you won’t last more than a few more second. You stare at him and you can feel his dick twitching inside you causing your pussy to clench around the member. He is not moving, he stays still, balls deep inside you, staring at you lovingly and in all honesty you don’t need much more in order to cum.

“Cum for me baby, let it go”, he whispers while leaving soft kisses on your face and your body obeys, releasing around his member, clenching tighter again and again as you moan out his name. You can feel him spilling inside you, as he drops his entire body weight on yours, your hands playing with a couple strands of his hair.

It takes you a couple minutes for both of you to calm your breathings when you decide to break the silence.

“Changkyun, you can’t date”, you state and your tone melts like chocolate giving him goosebumps. He raises his head to take a look at your fucked out face and he knows that if he wasn’t already so head over heals for you, he would for sure fall in love right at this moment.

“I can do whatever I want”, he smiles.”I’m not some kind of pretty face that fills a gap in a group. What I write, what I sing and who I date are my decision.”, he continues and you can’t help but admit that you love this confident side of him. How he knows what his worth is and how not to take shit from anyone. 

“Ok. I trust you.”, you smile and leave a shy peck on his lips.

“Finally for fuck’s sake”, he shouts and throws his head back laughing like a kid who won their first grand prize. You can’t help but laugh back at him when you realise that he is still buried inside you and you can feel him getting hard again.

“Babe, I think-”

“Round two?”, he asks with a devilish smile on his lips.

[mardereads19]

Elriel Month 🌸🦇

Day 25:

Continuation of Day 8: Invisible String.

Cassian followed Elain as she circled in silent feet the camp along the shore of Koschei’s lake. They kept hidden behind the trees, but shadows surrounded both of them, blocking out any other noise that might escape by mistake while also keeping them out of sight.

Earlier today, when Elain had exited the tent after her vision, and had done as the shadow had bade her to do —follow— Elain discovered that there was more than one of them waiting for her. Shadows began to appear without notice, and Elain could not tell if they were Azriel’s shadows escaping from wherever Koschei was holding them captive or if they were new shadows coming over to help her. What she did know, however, was that she could communicate with them, and that they followed her lead.

Azriel, one of them whispered in her ear and Elain came to a stop, crouching low to look over a fallen tree trunk at the conglomeration of tents.

Cassian’s brows had been furrowed in grim determination and fury ever since Amren had confirmed there had been fear in Azriel’s tent, but now he scanned the dark glade, lifting an eyebrow. “Koschei has gathered forces since we last saw him.”

The Inner Circle had barely wasted an hour back at their glade to come up with a plan to rescue Azriel. They had expected a few other males to fight aside the death-lord, but this many soldiers? It was riskier than any of them had anticipated. It also did not help at all that it was the dead of night with no moon to help them see. There were only a few lamps every several feet and a bonfire by the center of this camp.

“Shit,” Cassian whispered, a slight quiver in his voice. Elain looked at him and by his expression she gathered that it was fear that had made his voice shake. Elain’s shoulder sagged. What could possibly make a determined Cassian blanch in fear? He swallowed and pointed ahead. Elain glanced to where he was pointing expecting the worst, but she saw nothing urgent. Only a flag she did not know waving in the soft breeze in a quiet tent. “Rask.”

Elain understood, then. One of the three countries they had feared could join with Hybern during the war was already allied with Koschei. It would be a matter of time before the other two also joined in.

“This must only be a small fraction of its army,” Cassian murmured, shaking his head. “Shit.”

Elain dispelled the worry that entered her mind at the new knowledge and instead focused on the task at hand. Azriel. There would be time to worry after he was safely in her arms.

When Elain had been in Hybern and her sister and shadowsinger had come to save her, Feyre had been able to shift into that priestess that she had known well. But neither Cassian nor Elain could shift and neither of them knew anyone here to use as leverage. Going in and out of this camp was a work meant for stealth. Meant for spies.

Meant for shadows.

I have need of you, she whispered to her friends. The ones surrounding her stilled, listening. She relaid her plan to them, wondering if the shadows would approve —if Azriel would approve— but they made no comment before Elain observed as a few of them slipped away and into the camp, staying close to the ground and hidden in the darkness.

Cassian stopped looking at the Rask flag and glanced between the retreating shadows and Elain. She knew he had questions, just like the rest of the inner circle had. None had said them out loud, but the time would come for them to do so. What would Elain answer? She didn’t know how she had gained the power to understand the shadows. The only thing she did know was that she was the only one who could help Azriel and that the shadows had sensed this. They had winnowed her and Cassian here.

Other than that, she was just as confused as her friends and family were.

A few murmurs made their way over to them, the conversation not quite discernible, but she strained to hear it. Two males, by the sound of it. She heard their steps —twigs snapping under the soles of their boots— and the sound of a heartbeat began to register in her mind.

She turned to Cassian. “Can you hear those males speaking?”

He frowned, tilting his head. “I don’t pick up anything.” He blinked at her, eyes contemplative. “Can you?”

Elain nodded. It was her hearing then, it was sharpening like it did almost every night. Those males must be on the other side of the camp if Cassian could not hear them. Other soft noises began to become clear for her —snoring, pacing, tossing and turning.

The heartbeat.

Her own heart responded to that one heartbeat.

She focused on that, trying to remember Nuala and Cerridwen’s instructions on how to concentrate on a sound and fade the others into the background. It was difficult and Elain hadn’t practiced much, since she had those ear plugs to block out noice back at the river house.

Movement caught her eye, and Elain saw a shadow approach them.

Follow, it whispered.

And Elain meant to do so as her surroundings went black.

***

Azriel had been left chained to the roof of the tent, a sturdy pole holding the structure to ensure he couldn’t collapse the whole thing.

Except, he couldn’t even try. Whatever hold of Azriel Koschei had seized remained. He could not move, could not speak. The only thing he could do was breathe and blink. He felt as useless as he had when he had been locked in that gods forsaken cell.

He wasn’t alone here either. His shadows had been left with him, but he had noticed how some had vanished. Azriel could not tell whether they were doing it out of their own free will or if Koschei was commanding them through his control over Azriel.

If the shadows were leaving out of their own free will, what did that mean? Azriel had seen them do things without his approval lately. They would follow Elain, or bring her flowers, or guard her door. They had begun acting without directions. But did that mean that they’d abandon him now at last?

Azriel pushed the worry away.

***

“Is this where they are keeping Azriel?” Cassian asked as he followed after Elain. His wings shifted, as if it were difficult to hold back the urge to burst into the sky and take a better look at the camp. But the sound of wings flapping would give them away.

They both followed the instructions the shadows gave her. Sometimes they commanded them to stop, telling Elain a soldier was turning a corner, and sometimes they changed directions entirely to avoid colliding with anyone. Elain listened to them and did as was told, the shadows blocking out the sounds of their steps, even though Elain applied every lesson by Azriel and her friends to her every move.

“Not exactly,” she answered Cassian as they neared a big white tent. Elain could hear Azriel’s heart beating a steady rhythm, but it was fading behind her instead of getting louder. She hoped she was not making a mistake in trusting her instinct and the vision she had just seen.

A box of black stone. She had seen that before. This time, she had seen where it was.

This tent.

Two males stood guarding the entry and the shadows stopped Elain and Cassian some feet away, hidden behind another smaller tent —snores coming from within.

“What do you mean not exactly?”

Elain ignored the slight angry tone with which Cassian spoke. “I just need to get something first.” He grumbled and she turned around. “Just— Trust me. Please.”

Cassian’s eyes softened and he nodded, but Elain saw his hesitancy. She understood. She also wondered whether she was losing precious time.

***

Azriel kept pushing against the leash that controlled him. Slamming his hands against the wall that now held him captive in his own mind. But it was powerful, ancient magic and he could not break free. He wasn’t sure if even Rhysand’s powers could find a way around this mind control. Could Helion break this wall?

His shadows slithered around the ground, but none lifted up to his ear, none spoke to him. Where they quiet because of Koschei or in spite of Koschei? Azriel didn’t want to find out if Koschei could hear everything Azriel listened to. If the shadows revealed anything about his family’s knowledge...

He was losing his mind in this silence. The only thing that surrounded him was darkness with the exception of the thin line of light that came in through the tiny gap between flaps of the tent.

It was like being back in his cell, except worse.

He didn’t know where Elain was or if she was safe.

Had Koschei ordered more of his lackeys to go back for her? To apprehend her and his family, his friends?

My boss knows who you are. And now, he knows what makes you weak, too.

Azriel had done this, it had been his fault, because he could not control his emotions, he could not see Elain was playing a part. He had showed his hand, he had revealed their plan. He deserved to be held captive. He deserved to be abused this way, because it had been his—

The tent’s flap opened and a shadow gazed into the room before leaving again.

Strange. But not strange at all. Koschei was using his shadows then, spying on Azriel through his own shadows. Using them for whatever reason.

The ones that were still in the tent filtered out after the one that visited and Azriel’s heart began to thunder against his chest. Now he was truly alone. Alone in this darkness. And Elain?

He had been taken away from the light once more.

The flap moved again and Azriel prepared to meet koschei. To suffer whatever torture he would implement to Azriel by making him do his bidding.

But the scent that hit him was known to him, familiar and lovely and it woke up his most visceral impulses. To protect, to guard, to touch, to kiss, to—

Elain hurried over to him, a sob coming out of her mouth. A pair of wings with a talon at their apexes almost cut the tent’s material overhead, and Cassian cursed under his breath, his eyes shining with relief.

Something in him lit up with curiosity, watching.

Azriel’s heart was a drum as Elain lifted her hands to his face, her thumb brushing his cheek.

“Azriel.” Her voice was a melody in his ear, a caress against that wall around his mind.

Azriel felt a tear slip down his cheek as he took in her beautiful face, her warm brown eyes, glowing with tears of her own. Her lips twisted up slightly.

Her gaze dropped to his torso, exactly where he had been stabbed. She frowned as she touched the fixed skin, but her shoulders relaxed. She met his eyes again.

“Are you hurt?” She removed the gag from his mouth, but he could not move. Could not speak the words that were in his heart.

You came for me.

But she saw it in his eyes and she dipped her chin in a small nod. Cassian stared as she lifted herself on her tiptoes and kissed Azriel’s lips, with enough pressure to reassure herself and him that they were both here, that it was real.

His light had come for him.

But he couldn’t kiss her back.

Cassian cleared his throat, his expression full of confusion and shock. “We should hurry.” Red flared from his Siphons.

Elain stepped away and began inspecting his chains. Azriel was trying his best to break free from Koschei’s hold on him, but he could not move. Cassian noticed.

“Shit,” Cassian said, approaching Azriel and waving a hand before his eyes. “Koschei has a hold on him.”

Elain stepped before Azriel again, cupping his face. “Azriel, can you hear me?” He beat and beat against the wall, roaring her name over and over, but he could do nothing but watch her as her shoulders stiffened in anger. She went back to working on the chains. “We’re going to get you out of here, Azriel. Don’t worry.”

Cassian shook his head, pain distorting his face. “If we take him like this, he’ll stay this way.”

Elain whirled on him. “I am not leaving him here!”

“Of course not,” Cassian said fiercely. “But we have to find a way to break Koschei’s control over him.”

Shadows burst into the tent, every one of them twirling with a sense of urgency. Azriel heard their warning just as Koschei stepped into the tent, a cruel smile on his face.

“How do you plan to do that?”

[dameronology]

sorry seems to be the hardest word {poe x reader}

summary: with the war over, poe has a little too much time to think. more specifically, he has too much time to think about you.

warnings; swearing, angst (but eventual fluff!) 

 i have a lecture at 9am and here i am at 2am, producing this shit content for u all. enjoy xx 

- jazz

You passed each other in the hallway sometimes.

Nobody would have known. Not a single person would have guessed that behind your professional nods and quick glances, that years of history lay untouched between the two of you. Early mornings, filled with rays of pink and yellow sunshine, fingers dancing across bare skin and as you laughed together, revelling in nothing but the highs of pure love. Then there had been the nights; they were undeniably colder, a shadow cast over the galaxy as the darkness forced people to face the horrors of war. You couldn’t see anything, not even a foot in front of you – but you could reach your hand out, and you knew that Poe Dameron would take it.  He was there. He was always there.

And then he wasn’t.

You knew it wasn’t his fault, nor was it yours. The Resistance needed both of you, but he’d been the one to call the shots on your relationship – and it had only been a matter of time, really. It was clear that things were going to come to head eventually and Poe had been the one to pull the trigger. You were important to him – perhaps the most paramount thing in his life – but none of it would have mattered if you lost the war. Secretly, he kind of hoped that he could just put a pin in it for later and win you back when the galaxy wasn’t batshit crazy.

Later was now. Poe was a general – your boss, actually – and you were a commander for one of the New Republic fleets. He saw you ten or twenty times a day in passing, chattering with your squad or delivering mission reports. Everything he loved about you was still there; your poise, your professionalism, your biting tongue and wit. And yet, all he got these days was a curt nod or a hope you’re doing well, general.  

To give credit where credit was due, Poe had tried to get your attention. He’d made many attempts to win you back without ever actually saying it: you were the first person he promoted after the war, and you always got the good missions. He never chased you up for paperwork and surely, you must have noticed that you were always assigned the most high-tech jets. It felt as though he were screaming into the void, throwing out everything he could and hoping that you would get the message.

But you never did. Or, if you did get it, you were ignoring it. Your icy demeanour never changed, nor did your attitude towards him. Poe witnessed you in action every day – in the air and on the ground, with blasters and with words – and with each passing one, he was certain that he was still in love with you. His distance from you was simply a reminder that he’d hurt you, as though to say congrats, you fucked up! Nice one, asshole.  

That brings us to now: specifically, early on a Tuesday morning, outside of your office. Poe, having reached breaking point, finally decided that he was just going to straight up tell you – or maybe he was asking you. Whatever it was, he knew that he had to get his feelings off his chest. If the war had taught him anything, it was that there was no time to roll over and let things pass. Even if you rejected him entirely, at least he could walk away knowing he’d tried.

Taking a deep breath, Poe raised his hand and knocked on your door twice. He knew that your schedule that day was clear – he’d made sure it was. You’d found it a little suspicious that your usual weekly meeting had suddenly been moved but you hadn’t questioned it. You were already running around doing a thousand different things.

‘One second!’ You called. There was a light shuffling sound, and after the fall of your boots against the ground, you swung the door open. ‘Poe – hi! General Dameron, sorry.’

‘I hate when you call me general.’ Poe groaned. (You found that to be quite ironic, because there had been many times when he’d demanded that you call him that – but that probably wasn’t relevant. Moving on.)

‘Right.’ You raised an eyebrow. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘Can we talk?’

‘We’re talking now.’

‘That’s not what I….’ his eyes fell to the floor. For someone who was usually so confident, he’d certainly lost his swagger. ‘Can I just come in?’

You stepped aside, gesturing for Poe to come inside. Your office was quintessentially you; organised, but homely. You had a neat stack of papers on your desk and a few photos lining the walls. Most of them were of you with your friends; you and Rose at Canto Bight, you and Snap beside his X-Wing, you and Leia laughing together. His favourite one, however, was one of you and him with Rey and Finn; it had been taken on Hoth, and you were all bundled up beside Threepio, who was wearing a beanie you had terribly knitted. It had been one of the hardest weeks the Resistance had seen, but you were all stood there with your arms linked, smiling at the camera despite everything.

You were the only thing that had got Poe through the war. He knew it then and he certainly knew it now.

‘You’re in luck.’ You said, dropping into your desk chair. ‘My morning meeting got cancelled.’

‘Yeah, I know.’ Poe sat opposite you. ‘I was the one who moved it.’

You thinned your eyes at him. ‘Why?’

‘Because…look, I’m just gonna give it to you straight.’ He rested his palms on the table in front of you. ‘I’ve been trying for months to get your attention. I’ve been giving you the best missions and the best jets and Finn has been on my ass about it but I was hoping it might get you to look at me.’

‘Poe, I-‘

‘- I know, it’s stupid.’ He continued. He rambled when he was nervous. ‘I thought that it might get you to talk to me again.’

‘I…’ you couldn’t quite find the words. ‘I’m not ignoring you. I’m just treating you like a colleague.’

‘And that’s the worst part!’ Poe shot back. ‘Because…we’re not just colleagues. Every time I look at you, I remember how you used to make me feel and it’s fucking killing me.’

You peered up at him, a small sigh escaping your lips. ‘The promotion.’

‘What?’

‘Was that because I deserved it or because you were trying to win me back?’

‘Shit.’ Poe murmured, heading dropping into his hands.

‘Poe.’ You leant forward, practically growling his name.

‘You know I wouldn’t do that.’ He pushed his hair back, brown eyes finally meeting yours. ‘You deserved that more than anyone.’

‘This is fucking crazy.’ You couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. ‘You broke my heart six months ago and now you’re here, in my office at 7am, telling me that what I thought was just my good luck has been entirely your doing.’

‘I didn’t know what else to do.’ Poe admitted. ‘I just…I am so fucking in love with you. Hurting you was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.’

You didn’t mean to falter. It was just that you’d been longing to hear him say for it so long and you hadn’t even realised it. In forcing yourself not to think about him, you hadn’t taken a moment to think about the possibility of getting back together. You didn’t want to let your mind wander in that direction, especially after all the hurt you’d felt the first time.

And now, he’d come in all guns blazing. Classic Poe, really.

‘So why did you do it?’ You quietly asked. ‘Why did you end it in the first place if you’re so in love with me?’

‘I was scared.’ Poe admitted. ‘I felt so helpless that ending it myself made me feel like I had some kind of control.’

‘Hey, Poe?’

He looked up, eyes suddenly full of hope. ‘Yeah?’

‘That’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.’

And then he deflated.

‘I know.’

You shook your head, giving him a small smile. ‘I’ve missed you.’

‘I’ve missed you too.’ He said. ‘So much. I know I see you every day but…I want to be with you. Those weird nods in the hallway and sideways glances just don’t quite do it for me.’

Your initial reaction had been to jump at the chance – to leap across the table and take your lips in his, making up for months of lost time there and then. On the other hand, you had to be realistic. He’d hurt you before and by taking him back, you were giving the power to do it all over again. That was a level of trust you weren’t sure you were ready for.

But it was Poe. It was your Poe – and you knew that no matter what had happened, his intention had never been to hurt you. Rather, it had been to protect you. It was a decision he’d made in catastrophically poor judgement, but the war had made everyone do stupid things. You hadn’t made it out the other side without your fair share of embarrassing stories.

If you did give him another chance – and if it went well? You could have everything. You’d have Poe by your side again (not that he’d ever really left). The future you used to talk about as a distraction from the war could become a reality. You could have your partner-in-crime back, your ride or die.

All it took was you overlooking the fact he’d hurt you.

Slowly reaching your hand out towards his, you intertwined your fingers with Poe’s. They still fit perfectly; warm and snug, as familiar as though you’d been holding one another just yesterday.

‘Dinner. Tomorrow night.’ You said.

Poe jolted up in his seat. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Dead serious.’ You shot back. ‘I’m…I’m a little hesitant, but I know you didn’t mean to hurt me the way you did.’

‘I could never hurt you intentionally.’ His grip on your hands tightened. ‘That doesn’t change the fact I did but I promise – I swear on everything I have – that this will be worth it.’

You gave him a watery smile. ‘I know.’

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Deja Vu

Here is part 3 everyone! Life has been hectic lately and I haven't found the time to write until recently. Let me know how you feel about this chapter though, I really appreciate all your comments!

Part 1 // Part 2

wordcount // 2185

*****

Aelin felt like she had stepped into an alternate reality. She couldn’t think beyond this moment, and the overwhelming emotions that came with it.

Rowan looked the same since she had seen him last. His features were sharp in contrast to the lush texture of his silver hair, slicked back for the event she assumed. His attire was work casual, a blue button down paired with black pants and nice dress shoes. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up his forearms, causing Aelin’s heart to flutter for just a second. He was angelic, standing there with so much hope in his eyes, all directed towards her.

And then he smiled. Gods. That smile could melt even the coldest of hearts and it was doing just that. Aelin thought she had finally steeled herself against this girlish feeling that was rushing through her body right now, but of course one look from the man she hadn’t seen in years was her undoing. Without her consent her body stepped to his direction, pulled by some unknown force to her. But one thing was certain. Despite their rough past and complicated emotional attachments, Aelin still considered those emerald eyes and pine scent her home. And ever since that day she had ended their relationship, she had just been living in limbo.

As Rowan started walking to her, his stance relaxed and tense all at the same time, Aelin’s attention was diverted by Arobynn as he slid up behind her. She swiveled around to face her boss, her eyes closed off once more. Aelin fought all her instincts as she looked up at those grey eyes, so close to unwinding herself from the cage he captured her in with his arm around her waist and his body towering over her. Aelin hoped that he hadn’t seen the moment with Rowan, fearful that the game she was playing with him was exposed. Without a glance back to the man who held her heart, Arobynn escorted her to the elevators to their suite rambling about his intentions with Dorian, the abundant amount of luggage they brought being dragged by a poor bellhop.

With her emotions under control again, Aelin made another vow to herself. One that she had to keep, or else her new life and plans for herself could be ruined by the boss who held all the power in his hands. She had to avoid Rowan during this convention. Despite her heart's true desire to run back down to the first floor and finally close that immeasurable distance between them, she couldn’t let herself fall down that rabbit hole.

-----

Rowan was so close to her, walking to his fireheart’s spot with a determination he had never experienced before. Until her attention was dragged away by the infamous Arobynn Hamel, looking as slimy as ever. The possessive hand around her waist was a clear message to Rowan, he was sure of it. The way he guided her away from him was another pointed statement. Even though the man never glanced his way, every move was calculated and manipulative, exactly the way Aelin had described him years ago. Aelin was his and nothing, not even a lost love, was going to change that.

Lyria found him as Aelin walked to the elevators, wrapped around her boss's arms never looking back at him. With a confused glance to the direction Rowan was stuck in, Lyria was finally able to break his trance.

“Rowan, how did you manage to lose Dorian? You only had him for two seconds?” Anger and frustration was evident in her tone. As Maeve’s assistant, she got the brunt of the blame for most incidents, and this one was no different. The whole team was on edge, and would be until Dorian’s presentation where he finally announced his book release.

“I’m sorry sweetie, I was just thinking about this weekend's plans and before I was able to react he just slipped away.” That was the truth, if only slightly veiled. Lyria didn’t know he saw Aelin or thought about her as often as he did while in their relationship. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders comfortingly, her anxiety rolling off of her in waves as her thoughts spiraled. Rowan needed to come up with a game plan and quickly.

“Let’s check in with the crew and we can go from there, how about that? Maeve doesn’t have to know about this if we find him soon.” With that said, Rowan opened his phone to see where the rest of the crew was in their search.

Fenrys> I can’t find the ass anywhere. I cleared the first floor and I’m about to go outside to the pool.

Lorcan> He’s not in his room, I just checked. On the way to the next floor up.

Vaughn> Connall and I just checked our room and The Cadre’s floor, found nothing. How the fuck did this happen?

Rowan> Lyria and I are in the lobby and didn’t see him. We will check outside on the perimeter and see if we find him. Text soon. Don’t tell Maeve, and avoid her at all costs.

With the game plan set, Rowan guided Lyria out to the sliding doors and filled her in on the Cadre’s spots. With a hmph of dissatisfaction, Lyria extracted herself from Rowan’s arms, and split off into the opposite direction outside. Great, she was pissed. Agitated, Rowan stomped around the front of the hotel making intense eye contact with any dark haired young man he saw. Out of all the people Rowan intimidated as he walked around the hotel, none were the culprit he was looking for. Rowan was out of ideas, and in no way did he want to go up to Maeve and tell her that he fucked up.

His chest was heavy with anxiety. It's not like Rowan hadn’t messed up before in his job, but losing their most precious asset this weekend was definitely his worst mistake yet. Plus, the repercussions Lyria would face because of him didn’t sit right in his stomach, guilt chewing at his insides. As he made his way back to the lobby entrance, his phone buzzed in the pocket of his pants.

Lorcan> Found the bastard at a party on the floor above us. Meet here, need help moving him. Room 690.

A wave of relief replaced the previous feelings of anxiety. Thank the gods for Lorcan’s man hunting skills and whoever he intimated to find the room the party was being held at. Rowan was big compared to the average sized man, and Lorcan was huge compared to him. Pair that with the oaf’s sour demeanor, and Rowan would cower in front of him if he wasn’t one of his closest friends.

With a quick text to Lyria, Rowan walked towards the elevators, punching the button for the 6 floor once inside. As he entered the floor, Rowan didn’t even need to use the signs for directions, going by the loud bass to find the room’s location. The door was wide open with young business interns filing in and out with red solo cups. Rowan walked through the door as he was bumped by a pair of drunk girls, giggling incessantly. Scanning the room he found the rest of the crew surrounding Dorian as he slumped on the floor in the corner of the room. Despite Lorcan being the first one to find their charge, he was distracted by a petite brunette on the opposite side of the room. Typical.

Fenrys saw him first, waving him over to their spot above Dorian. Connall and Vaughn noticed him then, all 3 of them staring with pointed looks. Great, everyone was pissed at him including himself. So, Rowan decided to introduce himself with a sincere apology because the next 24 hours were going to be very difficult for them all.

“Hey, I really need to apologize. I messed up and I admit that it was my fault that he got away. I need help though, he is too slippery for only one person to watch.” With a glance down to the new author, the men hummed in agreement. Although the crew was still displeased with him, the looks grew more relaxed and the tension lessened between the men. Lorcan, done with his flirting, joined the clump in the corner.

“Are we done with the discussions now? Because we need to move him now, before Maeve finds out.” The men nodded among one another, shifting to grab a limb and haul Dorian off the floor. Finding a sense of balance between the 5 of them, they waddled out into the hallway and to the elevators. As the elevator opened they were greeted by Lyria, wide-eyed at the scene in front of her. Holding the doors open, she shuffled to the side to allow the crew inside. Crushed in the elevator, they moved to the 5th floor and quietly shuffled past Maeve’s door. It was extremely convenient and inconvenient that they were all on the same floor. Despite a few grunts and swears at the weight of their unconscious man, The Cadre were able to get Dorian into his room safe and sound.

Lorcan had been able to gather from his female companion the details of how Dorian got to the party and what he drank. In the span of 30 minutes, Dorian had met a pair of interns who led him to the party and took 6 shots of tequila, shot gunned two beers, and drank a mysterious blue concoction. Dorian had a smaller stature compared to Rowan, and even Rowan would be seriously impacted by that combination of alcoholic drinks. They threw the man on the bed and shut the door, deciding to stay in his room for the rest of the day to ensure that he didn’t leave and get lost.

“Who is going to stay the night to make sure he doesn’t leave? I would suggest Rowan since this is his fault, but I don’t know if I trust the guy now.” Fenrys addressed the group while making eye contact with him, the only way to see the glint of mischief in his eyes that let him know not to take it seriously.

“Don’t be cruel. Vaughn and I will stay the night and make sure Dorian doesn’t get away. First thing in the morning though, all of better be here to help us dress him and sober him up.” Connall glanced at Vaughn for his approval, and with that the matter was settled. The couple had a calming presence about them, and no better two people were fit for the job in Rowan’s opinion.

The Cadre and Lyria opted for a quiet night in, already exhausted from the evening's events. The group ordered room service for dinner, dining on the graciousness of Dorian Havilliard and his new tab. Other than a stumbled trip to the bathroom to vomit and back, he hadn’t stirred much. The group had just sat down at the table to start a not-so-friendly game of cards when Rowan’s phone buzzed with a notification.

Glancing at his phone quickly, Rowan saw that the notification was from his instagram. Odd, considering the last time he posted was months ago. Lyria had decided that her new dream was to go to a sunflower maze to pick the gigantic flowers found there. They took a weekend and traveled the hour and a half to a popular sunflower farm in the area, blaring Billy Joel in the car with the windows rolled down. The memory was a fond one for Rowan, being one of the first times he was content with life since Aelin had broken his heart. They had taken goofy pictures of one another while at the field, and he had posted one of the pictures at Lyria’s behest.

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The username gave him no clarification either. Rowan had no idea who the account was linked to, and had never even seen their presence on his previous posts. Clicking on Instagram, he opened the link to the anonymous account. The pictures were innocent enough, filled with flattering photos of a mammoth sized white dog. As he scrolled through the feed, Rowan noticed something familiar. In one of the pictures, the owner of the dog had her hand out for Fleetfoot to grab a squishy toy from. Glinting in the sunlight of the image was a beautiful gold bracelet, accented with emerald jewels. The exact same bracelet he had given Aelin on her 21st birthday all those years ago. The fact that she still wore it astonished him, as well as the fact that this account was of her dog and she was stalking his page.

Somewhere in this hotel, Aelin was thinking about him and stalking his page. Rowan didn’t know how to feel, but hopeful was definitely not the right answer. But as his companions continued to set up the game around him, all Rowan could do was stare at the same image as that spark of unwanted hope continued to light within him.

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