#and now I'm in light pollution city so i can't see them tonight

[starchaserdreams]

I have reached the level of my marauders era that has me feverishly writing wolfstar fanfiction on an airplane, leaning over into the window trying to be subtle about it but still typing like crazy into my phone.

Started reading Crimson Rivers on the same flight too. It was just a whole marauders flight.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

I arbitrarily decide to examine the post box again on the way back.

MAIL COLLECTION BOX - The dented yellow mailbox greets you with it's graffito and bullet holes in the front.

"Good mail delivery box." (Pat the box.)

"Fuck you, mail delivery box!" (Kick it.)

[Leave.]

MAIL COLLECTION BOX - The box seems happy.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Easy: Success] - "Eat shit, pig!", "FUCKED BY THE CUNN" and "Saint-G" with a crown have been scribbled on it. "Jennie is a WHORE" and "*Baise cette* mailbox!" also.

I feel you, mail collection box.

Been there, *Poste L'Aventurier* mail collection box... been there.

Mail collection box, you should man the fuck up.

MAIL COLLECTION BOX - The mail collection box seems cathartic, thankful even. So do you. You shudder. Then you swallow.

+1 Morale

The sea breeze carries more than salt: meat. Not rotten, not fresh; grilled.

🎵 Rue de Saint-Ghislane 32B

Waves crashing in the darkness.

Someone has torn down the wall.

BOOK "SIXTEEN DAYS OF COLDEST APRIL"

The cover features a row of concrete buildings with a monochrome rainbow in the sky. It tells a rather excruciating story about two lovers during a period of ethnic unrest in Yugo-Graad. The book has been filed under psychological realism.

Could be useful if we ever need to pass time. Otherwise, I don't see us getting much out of this one.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Master Investigator! You just can't keep yourself away from locked and hidden places, can you?

What do you mean?

It is my duty as a cop to investigate every square inch of this world.

Hey! I am not some sort of a... peeper.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Nothing. Nothing! You're right -- get in there... deep. Invade every personal space, break every lock...

I'm just browsing...

It is my duty as a cop to investigate every square inch of this world.

Hey! I am not some sort of a... peeper.

SAVOIR FAIRE - Attaboy! The world's secrets were made for you. They wait patiently for you to uncover them...

Thought gained: The Jamrock Shuffle

THE JAMROCK SHUFFLE

Temporary research bonus: -1 Esprit de Corps: Confusing behaviour Research time: 1h 5m

By now it’s clear you like to look inside containers. You like to open doors and see what’s behind them. Maybe secrets? Maybe... more juicy containers? Let’s be honest, you like *all* containers. Trash cans, utensil trays, manholes, coat pockets, secret containers left behind by the Filippian kings that hold forbidden relics. Okay, you haven’t come across one of those yet, but *one day*... Wait. Is that why you’re so hellbent on opening containers? Do you think you’ll find the Holy Scepter and the Orbe de Montagne?

Lot of loose change in this cabinet.

A blister pack of medicine peeks out of the box. You should take it!

It's Hypnogamma, which gives us three charges to Morale. Not useful to us right now.

Someone's also left change in their shoes.

Hmm... these shoes come in three different sizes.

This cabinet contains even more Magnesium and... some alcohol.

ALCOHOL "COMMODORE RED"

A large crimson bottle of cheap sugary wine. Made of poverty, sugar, artificial taste enhancers -- and a vague memory of grapes. Guaranteed to colour your lips.

Moss crawls on these bathroom tiles... actual moss.

*Kuuno de Ruyter* is the name on unfinished homework.

Three things occur to Harry at once out here.

Complete silence. Whoever lives here isn't home.

...I think that one was meant to trigger earlier.

You hear distant traffic. Night is falling on the city.

A maroon glow of light pollution rises from the east.

The curtains shift. Just a little. Someone is watching from within.

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Gendarmerie! You found me." The young man on the balcony gives you a bright smile, before taking another drag from his cigarette.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - His slender figure is backlit by city lights, its distant streets and motorways flashing like diamonds...

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - It feels like a Friday. He seems to be in a good mood tonight.

"We got your hint. Found the key right under that stone."

[Leave.]

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Beautiful," he replies, smiling. As he looks at you, something sparkles in his eyes.

"So tell me, are you here to make things *right* again?"

"That's what I'm aiming for, yes."

"Honestly I'm just trying to not screw anything up."

"I'm not going to make things just *right*, I'm going to make them *spectacular*."

(Ignore his question.) "I was hoping to talk to a possible witness. Your balcony overlooks the murder scene."

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Beautiful," he says again. A nearby street lamp casts shadows on his chin, drawing out the slender cheekbones.

"I have some good news for you. My Sunday friend is visiting me tonight. I told him about you and he'd like to say hello. Step in, he's already waiting." He nods towards door #28.

"By the way, I'm really digging the view here." (Point to the city skyline.)

"Is it Friday tonight? It feels like Friday."

"Why would I want to meet your friend?"

"Very well, I'll talk to him, but first I want to talk to *you*. I have so many questions." (Proceed.)

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Mhmh, that's why I chose this place." He looks away, his cigarette end glowing in the dark. "Martinaise is special, isn't it?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Wait, suddenly you're *digging* things?" the lieutenant whispers to you, shaking his head.

2. "Is it Friday tonight? It feels like Friday."

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Yeah, it does feel like the end of the week. Such gentle weather..."

"Even the rain feels nice." He leans over the railing and sticks out his hand to feel the rain.

3. "Why would I want to meet your friend?"

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Trust me, you do."

4. "Very well, I'll talk to him, but first I want to talk to *you*. I have so many questions." (Proceed.)

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "That's nice, but I don't have anything to tell you. It's my friend you're looking for, not me."

He takes another drag of his unfiltered cigarette and looks around. It's getting dark and the neighbouring windows have lit up one by one.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - Downstairs a cat crosses the yard, disappearing into the bush.

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Besides, I've got to run."

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - He's going to leave you alone again. That's sad.

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - Something tells you you're never going to talk to an individual this cool or mysterious ever again.

"Run where?"

"But I just *found* you again!"

"Go, if you must, I don't care. I don't care about people leaving me all the time."

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "Just look at it..." He gestures towards distant motorways, all leading to golden La Delta. "It's a beautiful night. Who's going to stay in on a night like this?"

"Only if you promise that we'll talk again. It's *important*."

"Alright, go then."

KIM KITSURAGI - Something flutters in the corner of the lieutenant's mouth as you're saying those words.

EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - It's laughter!

SMOKER ON THE BALCONY - "We'll talk," the smoker assures you, brushing his hand through the hair. "Just not tonight."

"Take care, alright?" he says with another disarming smile, before slipping off into the night.

Task complete: The smoker on the balcony

+70 XP

Level up!

New task: Interview the Sunday friend

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - And he's gone again. Looks like it's becoming a theme for him.

"He's always leaving... Why is he always leaving, Kim?"

"There's something so *different* about him that I just can't put my finger on…"

"Let's go, Kim. We have to interview his Sunday friend." [Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "Who knows, detective? It's a... mystery," he says, turning his face away from you.

EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - There, he's laughing again!

2. "There's something so *different* about him that I just can't put my finger on…"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Different, of course."

[ghoulish-fiction]

Nearly Everything I Could Ever Want

Mountain/Reader Reader is nonbinary, AFAB. Explicit, 18+ only. Oral sex, breeding, knotting. See AO3 for full list of tags. 3,436 words.

Another fic I wrote for my wife and edited to share online. Its cute and hot, imo. At the time that I am posting this, I am still waiting on my wife to read their version. Lol

Read the full text under the cut, or on AO3 by clicking here, and please let me know what you think! 🖤

Mountain had told you to meet him outside the Abbey at sunset. You thought this a bit odd, but you didn't question him. He probably wouldn't have told you much, if anything, about what he had planned even if you had asked him. So here you stood alone on the grass watching the clouds turn from white to pink to orange as the sun sinks behind the treeline. You didn't have to wait long, you soon saw Mountain's towering figure appear from a back door and make its way across the lawn to you. As he draws nearer you see he's carrying a bag with blankets and pillows.

"Thank you for waiting." Mountain says with a voice deeper than a canyon. He bends down and lifts his mask just enough to kiss the top of your head.

"No problem, babe! Are we camping? What's all that?"

He chuckles and shakes his head.

"I promised you the perfect stargazing spot. I found it. Come on."

Mountain holds out his hand and you eagerly take it. He leads you silently through the woods behind the Abbey. As you venture deeper into the trees, and the Abbey is long out of sight behind you, Mountain lets out a deep, content sigh.

"Happy to be out here and away from everyone?" You ask with a warm smile.

"Everyone but you." He says giving your hand a tight squeeze and returns your smile.

The two of you continue on in comfortable silence. Mountain isn't much of a talker, which is fine by you. You are happy to simply be in the presence of your love.

After about twenty minutes of trudging on it becomes quite dark, and it is difficult for you to see where you are going. You try to keep pace with Mountain, who seems to have forgotten he's the only one between the two of you who can see in the dark. Just as you were beginning to fear it, you trip. Lucky for you, Mountain reacts quickly and catches you.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah I'm fine, but I can't see where I'm going. How much farther do we have to go?"

"Not much farther...uh... here hold this."

Mountain presses the bag of blankets and pillows into your arms. You look down at them in confusion.

"Why? Is this supposed to break my- Oh!"

Mountain bends over and lifts you effortlessly into a bridal carry. He holds you tightly to his strong, lean frame.

"I forgot you can't see in the dark. Sorry. I'll take you the rest of the way."

You feel a bit silly, but grateful to your kind giant for helping you. You certainly didn't want to end your evening together early because you twisted your ankle in the dark and fell down the hill Mountain is now climbing. After about ten more minutes of walking gradually higher, Mountain stops.

"We are here." He says excitedly as he gently lowers you to the ground. In front of you is a large, nearly circular clearing atop a hill.

You hurry forward to the middle of the clearing and look up. You see more stars than you have ever seen in your life. The Abbey is already far from the city lights, but you are now even farther and free of most light pollution. The full moon illuminates the clearing, allowing you to take a good look at your lover.

He's also staring up at the sky, but he was looking in the opposite direction of you.

"There's one more surprise. Looks like it has started." Mountain says pointing to the southern sky.

You look too, and see a star streak across the sky. And then another. And another after that.

"A meteor shower?! I had no idea there was one tonight. Thank you for finding this place and bringing us here, Mounty. Its beautiful."

"You're welcome." He says simply, but you can hear the pride in his voice.

"Let's lay down." He says reaching for the bag in your hand.

"Could we just lay in the grass for a bit? I always want to, but feel like people would judge me. We don't have to if you don't want to." You look nervously up at Mountain. You don't think he will mind, but you don't want him to think you're strange. Mountain stifles a laugh.

"I'd love to. I am an Earth Ghoul, love."

"Oh...right."

So the two if you sit down together on the ground. Mountain promptly removes his shoes, happy to have his bare feet in the grass.

Mountain sits with his legs spread in a wide V and gestures for you to come sit between them, which you do. With your back to his chest he wraps his arms around your waist and holds you snugly against him. You rest your hands on his arms, and his chin sits atop your head. You can hear the whisper of his tail swishing in the grass.

The two of you sit happily like this for a long time. You don't have to worry about the cold night air thanks to Mountain being a walking furnace. One of the many perks of marrying a ghoul.

Mountain occasionally points to a star or constellation to name it. You both count the shooting stars you see. After number fifty you ask, "Have you made any wishes?"

"Why? I have everything... nearly everything I could ever want right here in my arms."

He lifts his mask to kiss the top of your head, then he kisses your shoulder, and then your neck just to give you goosebumps and make you squeal, "You're mean!" He only holds you tighter as you try to wiggle away. You feel him smile into your skin before securing his mask again.

"You know you don't have to wear that around me, unless you just want to." You tell Mountain, "You're so handsome."

Mountain can't help but laugh, "Force of habit." He does take off his mask, though, and gently sets it aside before hugging you close and burying his face into the crook of your neck. He kisses you again. And sits up.

You sit together in silence for some time, before you say,

"Hey Mounty..."

"Yes?"

"You said you have nearly everything..."

"Yes. I do. I have you, and I'd like to have a family with you." He explains.

"That's what I thought you meant, but I wanted to be sure."

You and Mountain had talked about children before. You talked about it and agreed you both wanted a family before you were married. So you were madly in love, you both wanted children, but didn't know when to start. You were busy with your own career and education, Mountain was touring the world on and off with the band. Was now a good time? Is there ever a good time? Why not now?

"Mountain..."

"Yes?" He said hesitantly at the sound of his full name rather than a pet name or nickname.

"I want to start a family with you. I want to try... soon."

"How about now?" He purred, nipping at your shoulder with his sharp fangs, his long fingers starting to wander and pull up the hem of your shirt.

"Mountain, I'm serious!" You say growing frustrated.

"As am I." He says, "Look at me."

You turn to face him, and you see he is grinning. He gently cups your face in his hands.

"I've been waiting for you to be ready, love. Its your body, so we go at your pace, but I am ready. I can't wait to have a family with you." He gently places a hand on your stomach, long fingers splayed. "I can't wait to see you carrying my child."

"Oh." You say feeling your face growing hotter and desire start to well up inside you.

"Are we- are we doing this right now?" You ask, excitement growing.

"If you're ready."

"I am. Please, babe..."

He grabs you and pulls you into a feverish kiss. He pulls back grinning just as before.

"You get undressed. I'm going to get the blankets." He stands and begins to lay out the blankets and pillows on top of the soft grass.

Such a strange, out of place nest on top of a hill in the middle of the woods under a blanket of stars, you think to yourself, but it's perfect.  

After watching for a moment you do as you were told. You shed your clothes and lay them in the grass. You stand bare in the moonlight, watching Mountain remove his shirt as well with his back to you. He turns now to see you.

"Y/N... you are amazing." He gasps. Without taking his eyes off you, he sits down and lays back in the nest, stretching his long limbs and beckoning you to join him. You can see the tent forming in his pants, so you straddle your lover and perch yourself upon his lap. You teasingly grind against his growing bulge.

Mountain lets out a low growl and pulls you down into another, much more heated kiss. He bites your lips again and again just to hear you moan and feel your breath hitch.

You break away from his lips to kiss and bite at his throat, your long nails scratching along his chest and sides. Mountain's eyes flutter closed and his head tilts back granting you full access, submitting himself to you.

"I love you so very much." You say softly into his ear.

Neck still bared Mountain chuckles, "I love you, too, honey. You sound so desperate."

"I am. I want you." You confess.

Mountain growls again. He wraps his arms around you and with a twist of his hips he's switched your positions. Now you lie on your back and he hovers over you.

He kisses your lips, biting them once more, before leaving a trail of kisses down your chest, to your stomach where he lingers, and then to your hips.

"May I?" He asks.

You nod, so he spreads your legs apart and puts them over his shoulders. He kisses and bites the inside of your thighs again and again. He teases you until your hips begin to wiggle impatiently.

You feel him smile against your leg as he tries to keep teasing you, but he can't make you wait any longer. Mountain runs two long fingers through your slit. He chirps in surprise.

"You're so wet for me already." He says before finally diving in. Mountain's long, forked tongue licks long stripes against your clit while he fingers and spreads you apart on his index and middle fingers. Your back arches and your mouth falls open.

"Oh, oh, oh! Yes! Ah! Yes, Mounty, please!" You beg. Mountain begins to suck on your clit, already adding a third finger, eager to have you ready for his cock.

Mountain begins to pull his head away to lick and swirl your clit with his tongue, but you were so close when he was sucking you off. You grab a fist full of his short hair and push him back against you. He growls and goes right back to sucking your clit. Your back arches again, your free hand grips the blankets in a tight fist. You feel your orgasm rushing in.

"Ah! Don't stop. Don't stop. Right there. Please... AH!" You cry out as your cum on Mountain's fingers. He moans at the feeling. He gives your clit one last long, slow lick before sitting up and pulling his cum soaked finger from you. He gently grabs hold of your jaw with his clean hand and holds the cum covered ones to your lips.

"Open up, love." He says, and you eagerly comply. You love Mountain's long fingers. You love watching his hands as he does tricks on stage with his drumsticks. You love how he holds them behind his back while standing at attention. You love holding his hand. You love when he runs his fingers through his hair or yours. You definitely love his fingers inside of you, but you love them in your mouth most of all. You suck and lick them clean. You let him gently pump them in and out of your mouth, across your eager tongue, while you both moan. He pulls them out of your mouth completely with a faint pop!

He kisses you softly, but still full of need. When you part, he moves away from you to remove the rest of his clothing. When you see his dick spring free, you can't help but stare. You've seen it, sucked it, and had it inside you before, but you still stare in disbelief everytime. To put it simply, Mountain's cock is monstrous. It's long and thick and has a slight, delicious curve. His thick head is already dripping, and you feel like you are, too, just at the sight of him.

"How do you want me?" He asks towering over you on his knees, lazily stroking himself. You prop yourself up on one elbow to run a hand from his chest, down his tight stomach, along the trail of hair that leads to his base where you wrap your fingers around him. You give his cock a small squeeze before replacing his hand to stroke him.

"I want you in my mouth first."

"Oh sweet Lucifer... Love, I wish you could suck me off but I am already so close... ah! I want to fill your pussy with my cum. I don't want to waste a single drop."

"Then take me however you want. Please, babe. I need you."

You let go of Mountain's giant dick and lay back. He hovers over you on his knees. The head of his cock presses lightly at your entrance while he rubs quick circles around your throbbing clit.

He kisses your cheek and asks once more, "Are you sure you want to do this, honey? It will be too late to stop when I knot you. So tell me you're sure. Do you want to have my baby?"

You take his face in your hands and look him dead in the eyes, well, as dead in the eyes as you can when he has four eyes and you only have two.

"I want this. I want you. I want us to make a baby. I have never been more sure about anything in my life than I am about wanting you and the family we will make."

Mountain kisses you deeply and pulls you close to him, causing you to scramble to hold onto him as you're lifted into his strong arms.

You feel him line his cock up with your entrance once more, and finally push into you while pulling you slowly onto him as well. The feeling makes your eyes snap shut. Your nails claw into his back. You're crying out in pleasure as he stretches you out. He doesn't stop until he bottoms out, something you didn't know was possible. The stretch is slightly painful in the most extraordinary way. You can't help but whimper and cling to him.

"Shhh... I've got you. Are you okay?"

You nod enthusiastically, not trusting your voice to be anything more than a needy whine.

"Good. You feel so good. Tell me when, love."

He holds you tight, gently rocking into you, waiting for you to adjust. You take several deep breaths before nodding in the crook of his shoulder.

"I need you to say it." He says in your ear, kissing the side of your head.

"I'm ready."

Mountain pulls out of you slightly, and shallowly thrusts back in. Then a little farther, and a little faster, again and again, until he has set a fast pace of deep thrusts in and out of your soaked cunt. He has laid you back down on the blanket again with a pillow under your head. He's propped up on one hand, the other is back to your clit. He keeps a brutal pace. His normally well kept, slicked back hair begins to fall onto his sweaty forehead. All four eyes closed as he moans and growls and pants above you. You feel like you're about to snap, but you know he's not ready yet. He's close but not there. You grab hold of the wrist of the hand that's rubbing your clit and you bring into your lips again. Mountain's eyes open wide and stare at you full of lust.

"Oh yes..." he breathes.

You open your mouth and take his index and middle fingers into your mouth again. You hollow your cheeks around him, causing Mountain to cry out in pleasure.

"Oh yes. Oh I'm going to knot you. Tell me I can, please."

"I want your knot, Mountain. Give it to me."

Mountain sits back on his knees suddenly with you laid out over his lap and the blanket. He grabs hold of your hips in a vice like grip which is sure to leave bruises later, not that you mind. He growls thunderously as he forces you onto his knot. Taking Mountain's cock already spreads you out wider than you ever had been before, but this? This felt impossible. You shouted out as he spread you farther and farther. You thought you might black out from pleasure and pain until he gave one last rough thrust of his hips. You could feel his knot settle inside you.

One hand released its hold on your hips to rub your clit again.

"Cum on my knot. I need to feel you squeeze me dry." Mountain growled, fangs bared.

"Ah! Yes! Yes! Keep going. I'm going to...ohhh..." and with that a second orgasm crashed over you. As your cunt spasmed around Mountain's knot, his orgasm crashed over him as well. You gasped and moaned as Mountain growled "Yes, yes, yes!" 

He grabbed ahold of your hips again with both hands in a crushing grip in an attempt to thrust into you, which was quite impossible at this point. You could feel Mountain's cum pouring into you. It felt like it was never going to stop.

After riding out the waves of your orgasms, you both became still and quiet, nothing but the sound of you both trying to catch your breath filled the still night air.

With his knot still firmly in place, Mountain very carefully laid over you and then rolled you both so you could lay your head on his chest. You closed your eyes, listening to the rapid beating of his heart slow, and his breath become more even. He ran his hand up and down your back and kissed your thoroughly messed up hair.

"How are you doing, love?" He asks gently.

"Wonderful!" You sigh. "How about you?"

"Wonderful." he echoes.

"Thank you. Being with you is so good. So so good." He sighs.

He tilts your head up to kiss you.

You can feel his knot going down.

"Hey," you say, breaking the kiss and making Mountain look at you. "We're making a baby."

Mountain laughs and holds you tight.

"Yes, yes we are."

The two of you lay together for a long time, enjoying the quiet of the night and comfort of each other's embrace. You count a few more shooting stars. Eventually Mountain is able to pull out of you. It's a mess. You did not come prepared and both do your best to clean you up with the blanket. You two roll everything back up haphazardly and shove it into the bag, a problem to worry about tomorrow.

As you get dressed you find yourself barely able to stand. Your legs are very wobbly, but you manage. You look sadly out across the distance you must travel back to the Abbey.

"Ready?" Mountain asks, reluctantly slipping on his shoes as you shrug on the last of your clothes.

"Ready..." you sigh.

You go to take a shaky first step, bag in hand, when suddenly you're lifted off your feet.

You squeal in surprise.

"I didn't think you were going to carry me again."

"I couldn't let the mother of my child stumble through the woods in the dark. Also you could barely stand to put your clothes on."

"Well, I won't argue with you, the father of my child."

You both laugh.

"Let's go home and sleep." He says softly nuzzling against your hair.

As Mountain walks out of the clearing you fall swiftly to sleep in his arms, where he now truly, but unknowingly for the time being, held everything he could ever want.

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

Overgrown Metal

Chapter 2: Camping

Summary of fic:

Almost two decades ago, the fae rose up from beyond the realm with technology far surpassing the human race, quickly taking over after laying waste to nearly everything in their wake. Virgil and Roman, Society escapees and hunters, run into an uncertain future while fleeing from their pasts. Remy and Remus stare their only chance straight in the face as they teeter on the edge of reluctant adventure. Emile is left his cousins engineering palace and is given the tools to change the world. Logan, a lone researcher and outcast is found by an old friend who offers him a chance of the century. Hyden (deciet), can shift into anything he so chooses, but staying true to his form as his heritage slaps him sideways proves harder than he thought. Patton mourns the loss of his son as he slowly uncovers secrets he wishes aren't related.

Or less wordy:

Eight idiots with trust issues fumble around each other and try to save the world from killer mechanical beasts and fairies that will snap your neck without taking their hands from their wine glasses.

Warnings: Violence, fight scenes, dark fantasy, apocalypse setting, some gore, blood

TW for this chapter: spiraling thoughts, mentions of anxiety. If you see more you want mentioned, please say something.

Ships: Remy (sleep) x Remus. Brotherly Roman and Virgil. Platonic Logan and Hyden (Deciet)

Wrapping his cloak tighter around himself, the young man grumbled quietly to himself as he scooted closer to the small fire. Two cans of mini raviolis sat nearby, cracked open slightly and heating up just a foot away from the flames. He let out a quiet curse as his stomach grumbled loudly, making more noise in a couple seconds than he had in a week.

'What the hell is taking you so long?' he thought at his still absent companion. The water of the nearby river was freezing, it shouldn't be taking this long to clean. He would had heard if the other was attacked. Even if the attacker was silent Roman typically wasn't, their overly dramatic battle cries carrying over fields if they so chose them too. Maybe they fell in? Again, he would have heard the yell...unless the shock from the cold rendered them nonverbal. Or something had dragged them in. Maybe while cleaning off their weapons their hand had slipped and they had sliced themself open and was currently bleeding out and he wouldn't know because he was being too stubborn to leave the warmth of the fire. What if they fell and cracked their head open on a rock? What if-

Cruching footsteps interrupting his racing thoughts and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. While he was getting better at not having to check on Roman every few minutes to make sure they were still around, it didn't stop his thoughts from quickly spiraling when the thought of him being alone again filled his head. Roman plopped down beside him having deposited their pack with their other belongings nearby, leaning forward to carefully take the cans away from the fire and depositing one in front of each of them before procuring spoons from God-knows-where but he was hungry so it didn't matter.

He growled low as he snatched the utensil, ripping the lid the rest of the way off and shoveling the ravioli with essence of tin in his mouth regardless of the heat.

"Slow down, dark and stormy gremlin, you're gonna choke!" He didn't even spare a glance at the scandalized face as the last of the sauce was scraped up and eaten in less than a minute.

"Was hungry." He mumbled out, hands disappearing back into the cloak as he burrowed further into its warmth.

The other eyed him fondly. "Honestly, Virgil I can't take you anywhere. I get a spot at the nicest pasta joint in town and this is how you behave? I really can't take you anywhere."

They frowned as they only recieved a soft huff in response. "Are you alright? I'm sorry I was gone for so long, that oil takes a while to work out in cold water."

Virgil shook his head. "....that."

Catching only half the mumble, Roman set their own empty can down and scooted closer. "Can I ask you to repeat that or is it a signing day?"

Virgil squeezed himself tighter in the fabric and lifted his head up towards the other. Roman's eyes shone with concern even in the dim light of their small campfire, the effect only slightly ruined by the dark curls drying in the humid air making them puff out in a fluffy halo around their head. The image made him smile lightly and duck his head back down to suppress his giggles.

"Hairs messy."

He only giggled harder at the offended gasp. "I'm offering you a damn heart to heart here and I get insulted!" Roman grimaced as they felt what state their hair was in, ruing their days as a traveler if only for the fact that hairstyles were rendered useless on an adventure. They were still bitter over The Great Hairspray Debacle of 2015, having to give the space up in their pack for "actual necessary supplies, Roman".

Virgils laughter died down as the nervous feeling began to creep back into his thoughts. Roman noticed the sobering mood and sat back slightly, willing to wait for the young nervous wreck to gather his thoughts.

"Town's coming up."

Roman nodded. They knew there was a town with an underground market a few days travel away from the last time they had come through this way. They hadn't had time to stop before, but this time around they needed to empty out their packs of the items that had been piling up for a few weeks now and their supplies were getting low enough that they would have needed to stop to stock up anyway. They gestured for Virgil to continue even though they knew what the source of anxiety was going to be.

"What if..." Virgil growled in frustration as the words stuck in his throat, the rolling anxiety in his stomach and mind making him struggle to not shut down. Long, pale fingers twisted and bunched the fabric around him until with a frustrated huff they darted out and flipped out a quick gesture.

"Recognized?"

Roman nodded in understanding and he sighed in relief. He knew not being able to speak most of the time had to be annoying for his companion but thankfully they never seemed to mind, only waiting patiently for either words to be forced out or hands to jerkedly spell out what little bit of sign language he knew. He made up a lot along the way and most of the time he was able to be understood. With no internet to look up the language, books being a Society priviledge and a general distrust of people making it difficult to ask anyone for lessons, even though they never stayed in one place for long, official sign wasn't something either of them were good at.

"That's why we have the cloaks and hoods and even the masks if we feel like we need them. We're pretty far away though, I doubt anyone we would know would be around." Roman took up a stick and poked around the fire a bit, stirring it as the embers began to die down for the night. "Nothing has ever happened at any of the towns we've been in, and I've heard this one is particularly...underground, so to speak. No one who would recognize us would be caught dead near there. We'll go in, sell our parts, grab supplies and get out. Next stop after that will be that abandoned city-town-place wherever that we heard about a while back. It'll be fine, Anx."

Virgil smiled at the old nickname, something Roman had taken to calling him when he refused to reveal his name the first few months they began traveling together. His shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit as the name ironically released some of the pent up anxiety, fingers releasing the cloak and instead splaying on his ripped black jeans to try and wipe off the accumulated sweat.

They both sat in silence for a while after that, watching the fire die down completely as the late evening faded into complete darkness, the clear sky allowing the stars to be on full display with no threat of light pollution to obscure their giddy twinkling. Crickets chirped quietly in the long grass, fireflies answering back their call with lazy winks of light. Even the river was hushed, water seeming to lap quieter at the shore for fear of breaking the rare tranquility the nearby travelers were soaking in.

With the world this soft and still, Virgil could pretend for a moment that this was merely an extended camping trip. Maybe they were on their summer break and were hiking for the fun of it. Tomorrow they could trek through a forest like it was nothing, sunlight streaming through normal tree branches as untouched wildlife teemed around them. All of their gear and supplies could be innocent in nature, the heaviest thing in their packs could be a small camping stove rather than their extensive collection of foreign trading parts. Their supplies were running low, so they'd soon start heading back the way they came, finding their car and laughing at some dumb play argument they had on the way back while they reloaded everything and climbed in the front, laughter turning to more bickering as they fought over what music they'd listen to first. Roman would drive first since Virgil only had his permit and wouldn't feel comfortable taking the wheel until he recognized the roads they were on. They'd get to Virgils house and it would be coming onto late evening so he'd let Roman stay the night, knowing his dad-

Virgil furiously scrubbed at his eyes, snapping back from his thoughts. His dad wouldn't care of a friend stayed over. He didn't care about anything. He didn't even care when - no. Nope, not tonight. Rubbing absentmindedly at his arms he scooted backwards away from the now dead fire and laid back to watch the sky, Roman following soon after. They didn't say anything as he turned and wrapped himself around the other tightly, for which he was grateful. He smiled as he felt lips touch the top of his head and careful arms lay themselves across his back. Surrounded by safety and warmth it wasn't hard for sleep to find him.

-------

".....an."

"Come on, Ro....."

"Princey, get up!"

Roman shot up, blinking rapidly to clear the lingering sleep from their eyes and shaking their head to try and whip the tangled curls away. Glaring in response to their brothers shit-eating grin, they settled for flipping him off while they rubbed at their eyes, getting a water bottle thrown at them in retaliation.

"Too early." They mumbled as they fumbled with the lid.

Virgil laughed. "Try again, Sleeping Ugly, it's almost noon. I've had camp packed up for hours now."

Offended at the nickname but grinning nonetheless, they downed half the bottle in one go and dragged their pack over lazily. Virgil was always the early riser in their party of two, despite the late nights he often kept as a sleeping schedule. Roman however, was happy to spend the day hitting the metaphorical snooze button unless they had actual plans. Which, unless another Mech Beast was spotted this close to a town, which was highly unlikely, this was supposed to be a day of resting.

Looking over at the other however, their irritation softened as the ball of anxious energy went from task to already done task trying to keep himself busy. Though it seemed he'd be more talkative today than he had been that didn't mean his nerves weren't soaring to the sky with how close they were to people again. They knew they should both take a break today, but if moving would help...

Mind made up they stood, swinging the pack around to rest on their shoulder and picking up another to carry first for the time being. Different peices of metal and containers holding strange substances clanked together inside, securely wrapped in paper and fabric to prevent them from breaking or getting scratched. They'd make Virgil carry it later on but they figured since they got extra sleep it would only be fair to carry the heavier pack first.

Trying one last time to fix their hair back into a reasonable shape Roman turned towards Virgil with a smile.

"Ready?"

Hoisting up his own pack he nodded and kicked at the already severely scuffed dirt, rising up on his tip toes as he began to walk.

"As I'll ever be."

--------

This is also available on AO3 if you're interested. I can't promise regular updates but I really like this story so I'll be picking at it for a while.

And we're another chapter in! I didnt think about this before, but if you'd like to be tagged for story updated feel free to ask. If you want to read it on here but can't find the first chapter, search overgrown metal in the tags and it'll come up.

[bigweldindustries]

It's sort of incredible how you can look at the same thing so many times and still see new things. I'm almost 19 goddamn years old and I've been stargazing since I was teensy and I saw a star cluster for the first time ever tonight; the Pleiades. Living in the outskirts of the city I can't see much due to light pollution, and I just can't get over how pretty they are. They're so tiny and so close and it's so cool!!! I knew they existed but I've never seen them before but now I have and!!!! Man!!!!!

(For reference with the light, this is what it looks like from the hill I live on, looking north-west into the city. This photo was taken at 11pm tonight, so it's definitely not sunset, and the sky is clear; it's far worst when it's cloudy.)

[dontreadthistrashgarbage]

G O T 7 PT. 9

"You're a monster." Guerin hissed to Charlie as she did her best to blend in with the crowd.

"What?" Charlie asked, baffled.

"Look at this." She held out her hands to show Charlie the outfit that had been selected for her. A black sequence crop top with a roaring trex head and red pleather leggings announced her presence loudly despite the amount of people.

"... okay how is it different from what you usually wear?" Charlie was perplexed.

"You didn't think I'd maybe want to blend in a little more after making a scene about falling into the pool? It's also a bit over the top even for me come on." Guerin grumbled, folding her arms across herself.

"Well when you say it like that... I did intentionally pick something loud to cheer you up but I didn't think you'd ever want to just blend in. I'm sorry..." Charlie had a smile but her reasoning was sound and her apology seemed genuine, "You look great though."

"Thank you..." Guerin sighed, "Actually I'm sorry. I'm just sensitive cause... you saw Jackson..."

Charlie frowned, "I wondered about that... for what it's worth he seems okay right now." She gestured to the Chinese man who laughed suddenly loudly with one of his staff members.

Guerin shrugged, not fully convinced, "Hopefully he's not just burying it. He seemed so sad when we were talking. It would make me feel better if he wasn't that invested to begin with."

"Wow, Guerin, this is quite the look." Jinyoung sidled up to his girlfriend, sliding an arm around her waist and did nothing to hide the amusement on his face.

"Yeah it is. And where was your fashion sense while this decision was being made?" Guerin passed at him.

"I was playing with Eneoji. But I think Charlie did an amazing job." He said, not swayed at all.

"Well I hope she got fur all over you." Guerin faked a sulk, crossing her arms.

"Oh, she did." Charlie said, opening his jacket to reveal his now tainted black shirt, "It's why he won't take off his coat."

"Hey." He looked offended by the betrayal and pulled his coat back into place but Charlie just slid her arm around him and scrunched her face cutely in response.

"Wow, this outfit is..." JB said, sucking air through his teeth and cocking his head as he suddenly joined them.

"This is all anyone is going to say to me for the rest of the night." Guerin tossed her hands up in the air.

"I mean, it's very YOU. It's just like you with a magnifying glass." JB said squinting his eyes.

"Well I think she looks great." Charlie said, defending her friend.

"Great is..." JB trailed off with a squint. Guerin felt a blow to her ego as she waited for him to finish his sentence, but he was interrupted.

"Guerin, you look straight off a runway girl." BamBam said flirtatiously, appearing next to her suddenly.

"Thank you. But I feel like a lamp attracting moths." Guerin said self consciously, still curious as to what JB was going to say.

"You should wear that to the shoot tomorrow." BamBam said as Byoungjin and Tobio joined. Both of them glanced at Guerin but they were the only ones so far with the sense to not make a comment.

"Absolutely not." Guerin responded to BamBam. "But I guess that means we don't need to wear the same outfit as last time."

"No. If you actually bring an second outfit to change into that would be better." BamBam said.

Byoungjin and Tobio were waiting patiently by the group until Guerin realized they were waiting for an invitation. She quickly introduced them to the rest, Byoungjin already knowing Jinyoung, JB and BamBam but Tobio was new to everyone.

"Noona, what are you filming for?" Tobio asked curiously.

"Ah, it's a music video for the song I recorded with JB." She said, suddenly feeling very silly.

"I cant wait to see it." Charlie said, nudging her friend.

"Yeah, once you make your debut doesn't that make Byoungjin and Tobio your sunbae's?" BamBam cackled at the prospect.

"Does it?" Guerin let out a laugh too.

"You'll always be our Noona first." Tobio assured Guerin with a straight face, only a hint of humor in his expression. She winked at him in return. Her eyes caught Byoungjin looking at JB as though he wanted to say something, which caused her gaze to travel to JB's as the others continued to talk. JB was looking at her and when their eyes met he gave a coy smile. Her mind immediately went back to his unfinished commentary from before. Still feeling raw from her conversation with Jackson she knew she was being unusually sensitive, but she just looked away from him without returning the smile. Guerin missed his surprised and confused expression, but Byoungjin didn't. After the others continued to talk and Byoungjin and Tobio finally got a chance to start a conversation with JB, Guerin excused herself and pretended to leave for the bathroom. Instead she snuck a drink from the bar and headed to the back patio, settling in one of the chairs out by the pool. She played music quietly on her phone and relaxed back, allowing herself to dissociate a bit as she sipped on her drink.

"Here you are Noona." A masculine tone got her attention. Looking up she saw Minhwan and Gabriel approaching.

"Hey boys. I'm surprised you're letting Gabriel out here." She grinned at them.

"He's grounded. Seungbin is with Insu." Minhwan threw his arm around Gabriel whose pout was very obviously over the top fake. "Can we join you?"

"Of course." She sat forward, "Are you guys having fun?"

"Yeah, it's been fun meeting Minhwan-hyung and Byoungjin-hyungs uh... hyungs." Gabriel said clunkily, "They're a lot of fun."

"He likes BamBam the most." Minhwan rolled his eyes, "He high fived him for falling in the pool."

"That tracks." Guerin said in English, knowing HEET knew the slang thanks to her and Gabriel.

"Noona, we wanted to make sure you were okay." Gabriel said suddenly, "Byoungjin mentioned we should check on you."

"You have the subtlety of a bulldozer." Minhwan sighed to his dongsaeng but didn't contradict him and instead looked to Guerin for her answer.

"Aww, you boys are too sweet." She beamed at them affectionately, "I'm okay. It's been an emotional night so I just came out to decompress a little before enjoying the rest of the party."

"Can we help?" Minhwan asked.

"Mmm... no I don't think so. But if that changes I'll definitely let you know." She patted Minhwans knee appreciatively, "You're both good boys, thank you for checking on me."

"I can't believe you're drinking again." Said an increasingly familiar voice. Guerin's smiled faded a little as she looked up at JB and pointedly finished off her drink.

"It's called hair of the dog. Drinking a little when you're hungover is supposed to help." She shrugged and turned back to stare out over the view of the sloping hills the extravagant home was perched on, cicadas and other nightlife chirping through the darkness. "Besides. It's a screwdriver. The orange juice means it's healthy."

"Does it work?" He asked, cocking his head to the side and sticking his hands in his pockets.

She shrugged, "It does if I believe it. I don't know the korean phrase for it, but in English it's called the placebo effect and it's pretty powerful."

JB nodded and greeted Minhwan and Gabriel who suddenly looked very uncomfortable with the change in atmosphere but seemed unwilling to leave their noona just yet.

"Im Jaebeom-ssi." Gabriel said suddenly, very formal. The other three looked at him, JB looked curious, Minhwan seemed worried and Guerin was confused, "Please forgive me if this is rude, I'm a foreigner so it may sound strange, but I would like it if you were sensitive to Guerin-noona right now." Gabriel finished.

JB still looked confused and a bit surprised. He looked from Gabriel to Guerin, whose mouth had dropped open before she let out a nervous laugh and covered her mouth with her free hand. Minhwan panicked and slung an arm around the younger man, covering his mouth from the other side, forcing him into a bow alongside himself. "Jaebeom-hyung, I am so sorry for his words. He did not mean any disrespect."

JB shook his head and raised his hand, "I'm just surprised is all. Would it be alright with you two if I have a private word with Guerin-ssi?"

Gabriel looked at Minhwan sideways from over the older boys hand as Minhwan nodded in agreement, pulling Gabriel up with him as he stood. They bowed again as they left, Guerin waving after them.

"May I join you?" JB asked, waiting for her nod before sitting down, also looking out into the night.

"I was just thinking it's a shame we can't see more stars despite being so far from the city." Guerin said randomly. JB looked at her before casting his gaze upward, "The light pollution isn't as bad but the house it so well lit... I thought about walking downhill a bit to see better."

"Okay, let's do that." He patted his legs and stood up again, gesturing for her to come along. She hesitated, then stood with him, leaving her empty cup behind she followed as he led the way downhill until they couldn't see the house anymore, "This should be good, right?"

"I think so? Our eyes will have to adjust before we can be sure." She said.

"Okay." He sat down again and laid back, patting the ground next to him.

"Ohhhh you think you are so cool right now don't you?" She said with a chuckle.

"I am pretty cool, yeah." He grinned at her as she joined him on the ground. "But not cool enough." He said after she had settled. Guerin turned her head to look at him, "I think I upset you." He said with a frown.

"Yeah, I think so." She sighed and looked back to the sky.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what it was, but if you tell me what it was, I won't do it again." JB said sincerely.

Guerin groaned and gave a small flail rolling away from him suddenly, "Aaaahhhh its dumb though." JB had to press his lips together as he tried not to laugh outright at the sudden tantrum from the older woman. She sighed before speaking again, "Tonight's been emotional so I was already sensitive." JB's hidden smile faded, "But when you were being critical of my appearance earlier it really bothered me."

JB sat up suddenly, "I was being critical?" He thought back on the interaction trying to remember. Guerin peeked through her fingers at him. "Oh, oh no! I was teasing you, I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings! I like your style, it's unusual and fun. I admire that you aren't afraid of attention, but it seems so natural-"

"Okay you don't need to overdo it." Guerin interrupted, still peeking through her fingers. JB stopped and looked embarrassed, his ears reddening slightly but went missed in the dark.

"I'm being genuine." He said sounding a little defensive.

"I appreciate that. And thank you for explaining and apologizing." Guerin dropped her hands and tugged on his sleeve, pointing to the sky when he looked at her, "Look, can you see the stars now?"

He looked up, "Oh... yeah." He started to lay back, then stopped suddenly. He pulled off his oversized dark gray cardigan, tossed it across Guerins body, then laid back in only his tshirt to stargaze with her. Guerin looked at the cardigan then back at JB appreciatively. Slipping her arms through the sleeves rather than argue with him she enjoyed the soft material and his scent now surrounding her as they stargazed in silence for a few minutes, before they headed back to the party.

Guerin had arrived early and was doing what little she could to help BamBam set up as they waited for JB.

"JB-hyung said that coming out and seeing you fly Mihi for the first time inspired him to write this song." BamBam said as they chitchatted.

"Yeah, he was curious how I trained her for free flight." Guerin nodded.

"What did you tell him?" BamBam asked curiously.

"Well, the first part is building and strengthening the relationship. Before any flying can happen she need to actually has to want to come back to me. That means I need to be more exciting and rewarding than anything she may discover on her own. Any punishment or force someone might be tempted to use only damages that relationship. Then she learns the mechanics of flying, how to move through tree branches, the cue to fly, the cue to return, all protected and in controlled circumstances, until finally all we have left is actually trying free flight. In order for that to be successful is eventually just trusting each other and going for it. She has to trust me that I'll be here and be worth returning to, and I have to trust that she finds me worth returning to. You saw yourself sometimes things go wrong, but we work together to overcome those hardships and we can keep flying. I really do approach all my relationships with a similar mentality." She trailed off, seeing BamBam had stopped working and was looking at her thoughtfully

"Ah... sorry, I should warned you it was a long explanation..." she mumbled with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah it was long." He said unable to resist teasing, "But actually it gave me an idea."

"I'm not late this time and I'm the last one?" JB trotted up to the two of them.

"Hyung, just in time. Do you two have plans for the evening? I have a couple extra scenes I want to shoot." BamBam explained eagerly.

"I didn't have solid plans..." JB trailed off, glancing at Guerin.

She looked nervous but slowly nodded, "Yeah... I'm free."

"Perfect, let's get this first part going then." BamBam rubbed his hands together. "So for this part, it's like you're just getting to know each other." BamBam explained, "Guerin, you sit on that bench like you're waiting for JB, JB you're gonna jog up and you'll greet each other."

They followed his instructions, Guerin standing and they bowed in greeting as though they didn't know each other well yet. Guerin couldn't help a nervous giggle and covered her mouth before forcing herself to drop her hands, "Sorry." She said to JB, "This feels silly."

He quirked a brow and held back a laugh, "You're the one making this weird."

She stuck her hip out and placed a fist on it in an exaggerated manner as she looked up to the sky, "I have no idea what you mean." They both giggled at the ridiculousness of the situation. BamBam called for a cut.

"That wasn't bad considering the video won't have any of your audio. He teased and Guerin hid her face again as she giggled in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry! I'm not a good actor!" She called back.

"Let's take another one." BamBam replied with a knowing smirk.

They managed a few more shots, including JB running off to get them drinks from a vending machine and attempts to skip rocks, which Guerin turned out to be more proficient with than JB and she absolutely lorded it over him off script. He tried to grab her hand at her last throw prompting her to dodge away from him and it led to a short game of chase until he caught her as she rounded a tree and the two giggled until BamBam called another cut and they remembered they were being recorded and separated dutifully.

"You two should just date already." BamBam said daringly as he reviewed the latest footage. "I'm not even giving you direction on this and look at it."

"Ya." JB said with a warning tone, resting his hand on the back of BamBam's neck, "Don't embarrass Guerin-noona." Guerin surpressed a smile at his protective response, but she didn't blame BamBam for his comment. The footage did look like a genuine couple.

"Sorry hyung!" BamBam managed to shrug away from JB's grip with a grin. "Let's move on. Change clothes to your other outfits and move. We're gonna shoot the scenes where you're in an established relationship."

These shots required more direction from BamBam. There was more direct contact and physical closeness than Guerin was mentally prepared for. With the setting sun at the park they were shooting at the scene was romantic already. They held hands and walked arm in arm.

"Guerin, in this part I want you to trip, JB, pull her to you in a hug." BamBam instructed.

JB looked at Guerin, "Is that okay?" He asked, reading her expression.

She swallowed and nodded. The closeness they had been exhibiting all day had been for show but it was wreaking havoc on her very real feelings. JB had confessed his feelings for her already but while she liked him she still couldn't help but wonder if they would be a good fit. Still, it was just a hug right?

She was wrong. As she tripped on an imaginary obstacle he pulled her into his arms and she felt her doubts melt away. At first her head was pulled into his shoulder but they separated enough that her eyes met his. He blinked once, slowly like a cat and she inhaled sharply before biting her lip nervously to resist pushing more.

"Yeah okay that's good." BamBam brought them back to earth and they separated quickly, "We don't need to do that again." He sounded both innocuous and lightly teasing as he wrapped up the shot.

"Okay. Both of you go home and get ready like you're going out for a night on the town." BamBam instructed. Both of them looked at him questioningly and he sighed, "It's for my last second inspiration."

"Yugyeomie!" Guerin exclaimed happily, approaching BamBam and seeing his tall best friend with him, "What are you doing here?" The next part was taking place in the city, like friends going out for drinks.

"Hello Guerin-noona." Yugyeom responded politely with a shy smile and a respectful bow.

"Yugyeom-ah is helping with the shoot, I needed a third." BamBam responded to Guerin's inquiry.

Yugyeom was dressed simply but fashionably, matching the tone BamBam had requested Guerin and JB consider; to pick outfits for a night out. "You look so handsome!" Guerin gushed at the younger man who grinned at the compliment both flattered and embarrassed with the attention as he muttered a humble thanks in response.

"He knows he is handsome." JB's voice said in a teasing tone as he stepped up behind Guerin, causing her heart rate to increase and her skin tingled at his proximity before he put a few more inches of distance between them.

"Hyung..." Yugyeom whined with a pout.

"Oh he's just jealous that you're such a cute lil baby." Guerin cooed at Yugyeom.

"Noona, I am an adult man you know." He said turning on his devastatingly handsome charms.

Guerin crooned playfully, "Ooohhh yes I see that." While JB and BamBam visibly cringed causing Yugyeom to break character and hide his embarrassed smile by covering his face and dropping his head, "You might be a man but you look like a cute Yugy to me." She shook his arm cutely as he whined.

"Not to interrupt Yugyeom-ah's torment but we should get started." BamBam said as he reluctantly slid into his director role. It was fairly simple, Guerin and Yugyeom would be playing friends and they meet up with JB who would witness their closeness and have to react to it in his role as Guerin's boyfriend.

Since audio wasn't important she tried to keep her acting genuine by chatting and being friendly with Yugyeom who was clearly trying to be as cool and handsome as possible. They did several shots with them spotting JB and Guerin waving him over before BamBam paused after a take.

"Guerin, would you be okay hugging Yugyeom? That way it seems more obvious that JB has something to react to." He suggested, clearly dissatisfied with what they had gotten so far.

Guerin glanced at Yugyeom, "I'm fine with it if you're comfortable?"

"You've hugged me today already." Yugyeom pushed her shoulder playfully.

"Yeah but it's different on camera!" She protested, playfully punching him in the arm. He pretended to be hurt and Guerin played along with comforting him, missing the thoughtful frown on JB's face.

"Come on, let's get started." BamBam had to rein in his rowdy actors again. They apologized and got back into position.

They started off normally until Guerin comfortably wrapped her arms around the younger man in an affectionate hug after he did something she found cute. Looking up she made eye contact with JB who had entered the frame to his spot. She beamed seeing him and beckoned him over, but faltered seeing his expression. He looked very convincingly shocked and upset, but he walked over to join them. She took his arm affectionately and pretended to introduce the two before BamBam called for a cut and the three separated.

"I think that's the shot." He nodded.

They took the same scene from a few different angles before it was time to move on to the next scene. They all thanked Yugyeom for his help which he politely accepted, saying he couldn't wait to see the finished product.

"You'd think this would be the most comfortable one but it actually feels super weird." Guerin had been instructed to look like she was settling down for the night. She had showered and put on film appropriate pajamas, grey joggers and an oversized hoodie. Eneoji and Mihi were both in the scene as she sat on the couch. With her dog next to her and the severe macaw sitting on her shoulder, she sat back into her couch with her phone that was functioning as a prop.

"You're just expecting too much of yourself. You've been doing really well." JB said. He wasn't in the scene yet so he was just watching from the sidelines.

"All you need to do is act like you're having a text conversation that is upsetting you. You can pretend to be mad, annoyed, sad, stressed, all of it. Just go with it." BamBam said.

Guerin tried to slip into character, but she wasn't at it long before she got an actual text from JB. She couldn't resist glancing up at him but he was looking innocently down at his phone. Opening the message she had to keep from laughing. It was a picture of her with a filter that put her and Mihi in funny sunglasses. She had no idea how he had managed to get the parrots face to make it into the facial recognition.

"Guerin that's the one emotion I didn't ask for." BamBam directed. JB looked at her with eyebrows raised, still acting like he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Sorry." She glared at JB then looked back to her phone. She got another text from JB not long after. She furrowed her brow, refusing to look at him but couldn't resist taking a peak. This time it was a clip of Eneoji with a dinosaur mask on. She pursed her lips unconvincingly but managed her weakness without another scolding. Instead she texted JB back.

"You are so annoying!"

He responded with another image, this one was just a selfie of him making a ridiculous face. She outright laughed in surprise before remembering. BamBam sighed and Guerin launched into defense, "JB is sabotaging me! He keeps sending me funny pics." She sulked back.

"Hyung..." BamBam looked at JB with an expression of suffering.

"Sorry. Sorry I'll stop." JB said through a laugh he hadn't been able to contain after Guerin't outburst.

Despite the distraction the silliness had managed to relax her. JB messaged her again and she furrowed her brow, opening the message.

Whatever expressions she had made while texting with JB BamBam seemed to like. The last part of the scene involved her hearing a knock at her door, which is where JB came in. JB knocked on the door to get the timing right for reaction from the animals in the shot to look up, then Guerin stood, set Mihi on her perch and left the frame toward the door.

After shuffling the set up around to focus on the front door and putting the animals away to avoid distraction they continued with filming. Guerin opened the door to JB holding flowers and looking dejected. They did this several times, each time trying something different. The first time she just moved aside to let him in. The second time she leaned against the door and sighed before beckoning him in. The third time he was making a dumb face so she just shut the door again trying not to laugh. The fourth time she reached for his hand, gently holding his fingers as she raised her gaze to his. Meeting his eyes set her heart pounding loudly. She backed away and brought him into her apartment. Guerin was surprised she was able to hear BamBam call for a cut over the blood rushing through her veins.

"That was really great. Let's try for another like that." BamBam said as she quickly dropped JB's hand and moved away.

In the next take she held her arms open to invite him into a hug. He stepped sweetly to her arms, unexpectedly laying his head on her shoulder as he pulled her closer, like someone might if they were seeking comfort. She rubbed his back as though reassuring him but feeling his body against hers and his breath on her neck was becoming too much, so she stepped away from the embrace.

"I don't know about the hug, it makes it hard to see both of your faces." BamBam said looking at the camera with a thoughtful expression after the take, "Let's do another one."

The sixth take JB actually stepped closer to her first and took her hand. Guerin instinctively stepped back into the door but he was still alarmingly close. He had completely abandoned the apologetic expression he had been wearing before and she had to remind herself that they were supposed to be acting. BamBam called for another cut.

"That was a little aggressive JB. You're supposed to be asking forgiveness remember?" BamBam scolded his hyung.

"Ah, sorry I got carried away." JB said sheepishly, pulling away from Guerin.

"That startled me." She said, pressing her hand to her chest and forcing a laugh to cover for her reaction.

((((Tbc... this was so long ugh))))